Former World Wrestling Entertainment pro wrestler Victoria, whose real name is Lisa Marie Varon, will be competing in mixed martial arts
in the next year, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Varon, who is 38 years-old, is also a former bodybuilding and fitness competitor, earning her IFBB pro fitness card in 1999.

She left the WWE earlier this year and joined its main competitor Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. She currently wrestles under the ring name Tara.

TNA’s non-restrictive contract will permit her to both wrestle and compete in MMA at the same time.

Varon is one of several pro wrestlers to make the transition to MMA, including Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.

“Obviously, with the exposure from the WWE, she already had the marquee value,” said her manager J.T. Stewart. “She has the name. Women’s MMA is just starting to peak, and with her built-in fan base, she’ll have lot of opportunities with endorsements, sponsorships, autograph signings and card shows. Plus, she’s also just very athletic. We’ve seen Lashley and Lesnar cross over and do very well in MMA. I’d expect no less from her.”

Stewart and Varon are looking at Strikeforce fighter Kim Couture as a possible opponent for Varon’s debut fight.

“That’s definitely a fight we’re interested in,” said Stewart.

THE CAST for season ten of The Ultimate Fighter has leaked – and SunSport can reveal who will pit their wits against Kimbo Slice.

With the ninth instalment of the show ending on Saturday at the TUF 9 Finale, mixed martial arts fans are already eager to find out which men will make up the roster for the next series.

We understand that the full list of the 16 heavyweights who will compete for a six-figure contract with the UFC will be:

KIMBO SLICE: The YouTube phenomenon and former Elite XC headliner will be the main attraction in the new season. UFC president Dana White has continually derided the 35-year-old, claiming “he would get killed in the UFC”. It will be interesting to see if he is proved right.

ROY NELSON: Boasting a 13-4 MMA record, the 32-year-old is a former Elite XC fighter who is perhaps best known for being knocked out by Andrei Arlovski last October.

WES SIMS: Formerly on the UFC roster, the 29-year-old was cut after just one year in the promotion in 2004 after losing three successive fights to Frank Mir (twice) and Mike Kyle.

MARCUS JONES: Former NFL defensive end for Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 1996 and 2002. Occasional guest on the popular American radio show Bubba the Love Sponge. Trained in MMA for just over two years.

MATT MITRIONE: Another ex-NFL player, debuted as a rookie in 2002 for Minnesota Vikings. Very little MMA experience but trains with highly-regarded UFC heavyweight Jake O’Brien.

WES SHIVERS: NFL veteran and a late call-up to replace fellow pro-footballer Rex Richards. Very confident of winning the whole thing. Speaking last year, he bragged: “The only reason I have six fights now is because we have trouble finding opponents. One fight in particular, I had four opponents back out on me in a two-week period of time.”

JIM YORK: Nicknamed “Big”, York shares one thing in common with Kimbo – he too has beaten Britain’s James Thompson. The 33-year-old New Zealander emerged victorious from their Sengoku 7 clash after KO’ing the Englishman in the opening round of their bout in March.

JUSTIN WREN: At 22 years old, The Viking is the youngest contestant in the new series. He has a 6-1 MMA record and trains with UFC star Travis Lutter’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team.

MIKE WESSEL: The Ohio native has already fought in the UFC, losing to Antoni Hardonk via TKO at UFC 92 in the second round. However, it should be noted that Wessel only took that fight on a week’s notice, and UFC president Dana White was impressed enough to offer him a four-fight deal and place on season ten of TUF for his efforts.

SCOTT JUNK: Another fighter with previous UFC experience. The 30-year-old lost via heel hook in the opening round of his UFC 72 bout against Hungarian Christian Wellisch in September 2007.

ZAK JENSEN: Boasts a 7-3 MMA record and is noted for his strong wrestling ability. Has suffered defeats to fellow TUF alumni Brad Imes and Mike Whitehead.

DARRILL SCHOONOVER: An impressive 10-0 MMA record sets the big Texan apart from the rest of the cast. The 23-year-old is an early favourite to win the series and UFC contract.

BRENDAN SCHAUB: Has fought in MMA for over two years but little is known about his ability. A 4-0 record suggests he has raw skills but his lack of experience could count against him.

JON MADSEN: Part of legendary UFC welterweight Matt Hughes’ stable but only has one MMA fight to his name – a KO win over Cody Griffen earlier this month.

TOM BLACKLEDGE: British MMA enthusiasts may already be familiar with Blackledge – he fights out of the Wolfslair in Widnes. He will be hoping to repeat the success of teammate Michael Bisping by winning TUF, but his 8-6 record suggests the odds may be against him.

ABE WAGNER: Big Nebraskan holds a 6-2 professional MMA record and could be the surprise package of this season.

Moments after eye-poking his way to victory over Mostapha Al-Turk at UFC 99 in Germany, Mirko Cro Cop bolted from the UFC to the Japan-based Dream, according to Yahoo! Sports.

“He didn’t keep his word,” UFC president Dana White told Yahoo! MMA writer Kevin Iole.

White said he’d had a two-hour talk with Filipovic on the day Filipovic texted and asked to be able to return. “He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.

Pretty chump move to call White and beg for a one-fight deal — but only against a tomato can — then turn around and leave for another MMA organization. Should this be true, it looks like Cro Cop learned a lot from his time in Croatia’s parliament.

If it’s just a money move, I can’t blame Cro Cop since I’m fairly certain everyone of us would leave our current job if an offer to do the same thing for more money came along. Still, it comes off as sketchy, at best. It’s a WWE good guy turns bad guy move. Remember when The Rock joined the Corporation?

We’re predicting that Cro Cop winds up on the same side of Dana White’s brain as Tito Ortiz.

Mirko Filipovic joined the UFC two years ago amid more hype and expectation than perhaps any fighter in mixed martial arts history — and Cro Cop flopped.

After three desultory fights forced Filipovic into a yearlong retreat for mental adjustments and knee surgery, he returns to the octagon at UFC 99 on Saturday night in Cologne, Germany, against Mostapha Al Turk. The former anti-terrorist policeman in his native Croatia should have plenty of countrymen cheering the start of his second run toward the UFC heavyweight title.

And the 34-year-old Cro Cop insists he’s better prepared to put on the show many expected when he first joined the UFC. After tinkering with his training and clearing his mind, he’s ready to show off a new approach still built on the superb kickboxing and standup fighting that made him a star in Japan and an international attention-grabber.

“I’ve spent much time thinking about it,” Filipovic said. “Maybe I was empty after (Japan). Maybe I wasn’t adapted for the cage. Maybe I wasn’t hungry enough, I don’t know. I don’t mean blood for real, but I just couldn’t smell the blood as I could in my previous fights. I just wasn’t the old one.”

Filipovic was an incredible striker in his prime in Japan, best known for high kicks resulting in knockouts that amplified his Internet fame. His celebrity back home allowed him to win a seat in the Croatian parliament from 2003-07, and he also starred in a movie before taking on the UFC.

Those innumerable distractions clouded his mind, Filipovic believes. He went 1-2 with the UFC in 2007, struggling through fights that showcased almost none of his previous flair. Fans were left wondering what happened to the dynamic, fearsome Cro Cop they had seen on television.

“I think I was just empty in the head,” Filipovic said. “It was a head problem, not body. I’m not looking for an alibi, but it was just a problem with my head.”

There were also technical aspects to his struggles, some centered on the differences in moving from a kickboxing ring to an octagon.

“I spent my whole career fighting in the ring, and I must say I underestimated the cage,” Filipovic said. “It’s much easier to go from the cage to the ring than the ring to the cage. Many experienced fighters from the UFC like to use the cage, like to use the wire. It’s not so easy when somebody puts you on the wire. You can’t move. If you’re on the wire, you have to know how to get away.”

UFC president Dana White was among those who were infatuated with Filipovic at his best. When Filipovic got the itch to return, White slipped him onto the UFC 99 card with just a few weeks’ notice, doing the deal entirely on faith.

Although it’s just a one-fight arrangement, Filipovic says it’s “definitely not my last fight with UFC.”

“I always said I respect Mirko, and whenever he wanted to come back, it was a phone call away,” White said. “In the history of the company, I’ve never done a deal over the phone with anybody, ever. I respect Mirko.”

Filipovic fought three times in front of his loyal fans in Japan last year, regaining his confidence but also injuring his knee, requiring apparently minor surgery in January.

With a new hunger for UFC success, Filipovic is determined not to repeat his errors. He built an octagon in his home training gym in Croatia, and he has lived an ascetic lifestyle in recent months — no acting, no lawmaking and not much else, either.

“Nothing but training, and every morning I have to take my dogs out in the forest,” Filipovic said. “That’s all I’m doing. I’m not even going out of the house. That makes me happy, and I just want to stay that way.”

After months of angling and negotiating, the highly anticipated bout between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos has been set for the main event of Strikeforce’s August 15th event in San Jose, as was announced during the broadcast of “Lawler vs. Shields.” Now, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has confirmed that the match will crown an official female champion for the organization:

_{“That’s going to be the number one and the number two females fighting in the world. It will be our first Strikeforce female title belt…I think it’s going to be a fight of epic proportions.”}

No weight class has been announced for the belt yet, which is either because Strikeforce hasn’t yet determined what weight the two scale-haunted fighters will compete at, or because their female bouts will have an even looser approach to weight classes than their men’s bouts. After all, Cyborg basically earned her title shot by beating up a girl who was two weight classes smaller than her.

Former Playboy model turned fighter LaTasha Marzolla won her MMA debut this weekend in Las Vegas, beating on Christy Tada until Tada’s corner called a stop to it after one round at Saturday night’s Tuff-N-Uff event. Guess you do learn a thing or two being best buds with Gina Carano. As you can see, Marzolla isn’t built like the typical female MMA fighter but she’s still not worried about getting her pretty face smashed in.

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida stopped Rashad Evans at 3:57 of the second round to win the light heavyweight title at UFC 98 on Saturday night.

Machida landed a barrage of punches that sent Evans reeling up against the cage and finished him off with a left hand that folded Evans backwards onto the canvas.

“I’ve tried all my life to become a champion and I am very, very happy,” a jubilant Machida said. “Now I’m going to keep this belt for a long time.”

The light heavyweight title has now changed hands four times in the last five title bouts.

In the co-main event earlier, Matt Hughes won a unanimous decision against Matt Serra in a matchup of former welterweight champions.

Serra took the advantage early on, flooring Hughes with strikes in the first round. Hughes was able to fight back utilizing his superior wrestling ability and controlled the final two rounds with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28.

The two embraced after the fight and seemed to put the bad blood behind them.

The fighters developed a heated rivalry while coaching opposing teams on The Ultimate Fighter reality show and were scheduled to meet at UFC 79 in December 2007 when Serra pulled out of the bout due to injury.

When asked what his plans for the future were, Hughes said,” I’m still motivated to compete so we’ll see what happens. I’d like to fight in my home area.”

On the undercard, Drew McFedries made quick work of Xavier Foupa-Pokam, getting the TKO just 37 seconds into their fight. Also, Chael Sonnen beat Dan Miller by unanimous decision and Frank Edgar looked impressive, earning a unanimous decision victory over former lightweight champion Sean Sherk.

Brock Larson, Tim Hague, Kyle Bradley, Krzysztof Soszynski, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and George Roop won preliminary fights.

Larson forced Mike Pyle to tapout via arm triangle in the first round, Hague used a guillotine choke to submit Pat Barry in the first round, and Bradley also stopped Phillipe Nover by TKO in the opening round. Soszynski scored a first-round knockout of Andre Gusmao, Yoshida forced Brandon Wolff to tap in the first round, and Roop earned a split decision over Dave Kaplan.

Even by Japanese standards, Dream’s open-weight tournament has an eclectic mix. There’s Gegard Mousasi, ranked fourth among middleweights in the new USA TODAY/SB Nation rankings. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has slipped in light heavyweight rankings. Bob Sapp, a former NFL lineman turned Japanese ring celebrity, will squeeze in an appearance between his Dec. 31 demolition of a cartoon character and his upcoming bout with former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley. Then we have two kickboxers who occasionally dabble in MMA — Mark Hunt and 7-foot-2 Korean Hong Man Choi.

Choi’s first opponent: former baseball player Jose Canseco. Yes, that Jose Canseco.

Multiple sources are reporting this, Sherdog and MMA Junkie among them. The official Dream site has a cardboard cutout of Canseco next to a cardboard cutout of Choi. Safe to say Choi will have the reach advantage.

Canseco’s boxing experience is mixed. Former NFL player Vai Sikahema knocked him out. He then earned a majority draw against radio personality and former Partridge Family star Danny Bonaduce.

Choi mostly sticks to kickboxing but has been a fixture of New Year’s Eve MMA cards for the past three years, including a credible bout against No. 1-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. He’s 1-2 in official MMA bouts.