That's according to his manager Alex Davis:

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what the problem or problems were. I tryed [sic] hard to avoid, but Dana wasn't listening. It unfortunate, but Todd's an ass."

SI.com's Josh Gross passes along the quote from Davis about the apparent difficulty in dealing with the talented but ornery Duffee, who set the division ablaze with his record-setting knockout over Tim Hague, only to go belly up after a KO loss to Mike Russow just a couple of months later. Any chance he shows up in Strikeforce? And what kind of impact can he make if he does?

Just like in the movies, every time you think "Godzilla" is finished, he comes back in yet another sequel.

Less than a month after his Boston massacre at UFC 118: "Edgar vs. Penn 2," former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 contestant Gabe Ruediger has been given another chance to prove he belongs among the ranks of the Octagon's finest when he battles Paul Kelly at the upcoming UFC 123 pay-per-view on Nov. 20 in Auburn Hills, MI.

MMA Weekly brought word of the pending match-up earlier today.

Ruediger (17-6) was the recipient of a "Beantown" beatdown back on Aug. 28 when fellow TUF guy Joe Lauzon gave him a first round shellacking at the TD Garden during the Spike TV "Prelims" special featuring their 155-pound contest.

The loss snapped a six-fight winning streak for "Cake Boss."

Like Ruediger, things didn't exactly go as planned for Paul Kelly (10-3) his last time out. The Brit was canceled by "Christmas" at UFC on Versus 2 back in August, dropping a unanimous decision to Jacob Volkmann in San Diego.

The loss marked "Telly's" second in three fights, pushing his Octagon record to 4-3 since his UFC 80 debut way back in early 2008.

While it may not be "win or go home" just yet, dropping two straight is never an enviable position to be in with today's competitive landscape.

UFC 123 is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight match up of top contenders Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Karo "The Heat" Parisyan has also been given a second chance at UFC stardom against the venerable Dennis "Superman" Hallman.

Stay tuned for more UFC 123 fight announcements as they become available.

Any chance that Josh Koscheck can prove him wrong in Montreal?

CHICAGO, Ill. (September 7th, 2010) - Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Semifinalist Bryan "The Beast" Baker will face off with dangerous MMA veteran Jeremy Horn at Bellator 30 as Bellator Fighting Championships returns to Fourth Street Live! on September 23rd from Louisville, Kentucky.

After suffering the first TKO loss of his career, Baker is ready to make his return to the Bellator cage. Impressive victories over Sean Loeffler and Eric Schambari put Baker in the Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Finals and a win away from having the chance at the Middleweight Championship.

Knockout specialist Alexander "Storm" Shlemenko was the only fighter standing in Baker's way, and the hard-hitting Russian proved too much for Baker to handle, as Shlemenko delivered a first round TKO ending Baker's tournament run.

"The whole goal was to have a shot at the title, and I didn't get to that point, so obviously there is disappointment," said Baker. "I didn't get much of a chance to show my abilities in that fight, but I'm excited I get another chance in Louisville to give the fans a good show."

The chance Baker is referring to is at Bellator 30 when he battles one of MMA's most experienced fighters in Horn on September 23rd in Louisville, Kentucky. Horn, a veteran of over 100 fights since his professional career began in 1996, has fought MMA legends including Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Dan Severn, Frank Shamrock and Anderson Silva. Horn holds impressive victories over the likes of Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen and others during his decorated fighting career.

Baker is well aware of the experience the battle-tested Horn brings to the cage, but hopes to use it to his advantage.

"Knowing who Jeremy has taken on, it just makes me even more focused for this fight. Fighting an opponent with a history like that, it pulls the better fighter out of me, and I'm excited for Bellator 30," said an eager Baker. "Everyone knows Jeremy has made his career off of his submission moves, so I'm looking to stay on my feet. I'm more athletic than him, and my reach should give him all sorts of problems."

For Horn, the longtime MMA mainstay sees the landscape of the sport changing in front of his eyes, and realizes that his vast amount of experience isn't as valuable as it once was.

"As the sport progresses on, my experience starts to mean less and less in the ring," said Horn. "I obviously have a good understanding of when to stay calm and when to turn things on, but for the most part, I feel like a lot of us are on a pretty level playing field. With a guy like Bryan, he is a well rounded fighter that doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, and it's just going to be a great fight."

Not surprisingly, Baker and Horn aren't the only ones looking forward to the matchup.

"Bryan was the favorite going into our Season 2 Middleweight Tournament, and deserves another high caliber fight to put him right back in the mix," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Jeremy Horn will be a perfect test for Bryan, and fans should be looking forward to a great fight."

Tickets for the event - which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights - are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Props: SenseiBlog

Quoteworthy:

"That’s a target as a professional (making MMA career). In my case the injuries has held me. The mixed martial arts is a field in which I’m not used to and I can’t wait to fight once again. I’m still recovering from a knee lesion. I only make slow trainings with my students. This year I’m resigned I won’t fight. I’m going to fight in the United States next year. I’ve negotiated my return to March. I’d like to confirm when I was healthy from the injury not to come back from my decision. I think it is important to get the rhythm but as I already have a name, I know they won’t give me a pushover but I’ll choose an event to give moral."

Two-time jiu-jitsu world champion Alexandre Ribeiro has two fights in mixed martial arts -- both ending by way of (T)KO under the Japanese organization Sengoku. "Xande" was forced to keep himself away from both MMA and jiu-jitsu competitions due to knee injury but the "Arena Team" product promises to be back next spring and doesn't want his future employer to give him a can as his first opponent. Anyone want to take a guess as to when and where he shows up?

CHICAGO, Ill. (September 07, 2010) - Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that South African born, UK-based knockout artist Neil "Goliath" Grove will take on Russian submission specialist Alexey Oleinik in a Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Semi-final fight taking place at Bellator 29 from the historic Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Sept. 16th.

Bellator 29 will mark the first nationally televised, sanctioned MMA event to take place in the state of Wisconsin.

"Neil vs. Alexey is a classic striker vs. grappler match-up that should provide fans with an explosive heavyweight fight," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "We're thrilled to be able to bring our unique brand of Mixed Martial Arts to the great city of Milwaukee for their first taste of world class nationally televised MMA action. It will be a great night of fights."

Grove literally punched his ticket to the semifinals with a brutal first-round TKO over hard-hitting UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez in quarterfinal action at Bellator 24. With the win, the 6'6", 265 lbs former professional rugby player improved his record to an impressive 9-2-1 with every one of his wins coming via TKO or KO.

Oleinik had a tougher route to the semifinals, as the feared submission specialist engaged in a three round war with Mike "300" Hayes at Bellator 26. In a back and forth battle, Oleinik managed to remain busier than Hayes, drawing from an underestimated striking arsenal while consistently searching for his trademark Ezekiel Choke on the way to the unanimous decision victory. Oleinik brings an impressive 28-5-1 professional record into his highly anticipated semifinal fight with Grove, with an astounding 23 of those victories coming via submission.

The Fox Sports Net event will take place at the Rave/Eagles Club that was built in 1926 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places on July 29, 1986. The Rave/Eagles Ballroom is the largest venue at the club featuring 25,000 square feet and 1,500 seats which will provide an intimate venue for MMA fans.

Tickets for the event are priced at $100, $75, $50, and $35, and are on sale NOW at www.Ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Props: AngryMarks.com

Quoteworthy:

"I can't stand watching Georges St. Pierre fight. I put him in the same category as watching Scott Coker talk. God, it kills me. You know? I want to watch people like Ryan Ford fight. I want to watch people like Jon Jones fight. I want to watch Clay Guida fight. I want to watch people like Tom Watson from England who fights for the Maximum Fighting Championship. I want to watch him fight. Because I know he's going to do dirty shit to people. I know he's going to kick someone in the head."

Don't count outspoken mixed martial arts promoter Mark Pavelich among the legions of GSP fans. The owner and president of Maximum Fighting Championship, who at one time promised a pink slip to guard-pulling butt-scooters, prides himself on a new breed of fighters who risk life and limb inside the cage. Is Pavelich sticking up for the sport? Or name dropping in an effort to promote his upcoming "Retribution" fight card on Sept. 10?

Can't wait for "EA Sports MMA" to drop on Oct. 19?

You don't have to. Much like THQ's "UFC Undisputed 2010" mixed martial arts video game, EA will give fans an early test drive of their newest offering starting on Sept. 28.

From the official website:

Jump right into a match via "Fight Now" to experience the intensity of MMA in two weight classes: heavyweight and middleweight. Fans can take control of current STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem, or utilize the brute strength of former professional wrestler, Bobby Lashley. The two middleweights featured in the demo are predominantly Jiu-Jitsu fighters - the top ranked Jake Shields, as well as the always entertaining Jason "Mayhem" Miller ... By sharing the demo with friends, fans can unlock "Classic" Randy Couture as a playable character in the full version of the game.

The full version will feature Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko as a digitized version of himself facing any and all challengers — including UFC star Randy "The Natural" Couture, who retains control over his ancillary rights and has language in his Zuffa contract that allows him the freedom to use his likeness outside of the UFC.

The San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion has been named the "Premiere League" and art seems to be imitating life as the current agreement between DREAM and Strikeforce allows the exchange of talent for select cards, like the Shinya Aoki vs. Gilbert Melendez lightweight title fight that went down on April 17 in Nashville.

Of course comparisons to the "Undisputed 2010" video game are inevitable -- but don't call it a case of friendly competition.

UFC President Dana White had a very public war of words back in 2009 after White accused the gaming giant of turning down his offer for a video game partnership only to then create one of their own after the massive success of THQ's "UFC Undisputed 2009."

Which game the casual fan selects may depend heavily on their choice of fighters. Would you be willing to sacrifice the chance to play as BJ Penn or Anderson Silva to have a better overall game? EA Sports is banking on it and is expected to pull out all the stops in their debut effort.

For a look at the full roster for the EA Sports MMA video game release on Oct. 19 click here.

If you're anywhere between Virginia and Oklahoma, be sure to duck if you leave the house.

There's a lot of mud-slinging right now between Shine Fights and the Virginia Athletic Commission after the mixed martial arts promotion was denied a license to hold its lightweight grand prix pay-per-view on Sept. 10 in Fairfax.

Shine Fights CEO Devin Price blamed the commission for hasty decision making after word spread that it had not fulfilled its financial obligations from the failed "Worlds Collide" event back in May.

"I was given verbal approval for our Sept 10 event by the Virginia state commission 32 days prior to the fight date. The commission did not express any problems with our event until certain members of the MMA community accused Shine of having reneged on our responsibilities following the cancellation of our May 15, 2010 "Worlds Collide: Ricardo Mayorga-Din Thomas" fight card in Fayetteville, NC. The Virginia commission was understandably concerned, but instead of allowing us to prove the concerns were unfounded, they refused to provide a license. And we could have proved this since on Friday [Sept 3] the North Carolina commission ruled that Shine HAD met all its obligations from the May 15, 2010 event. It is unfortunate things had to end this way; however, I know we will still have a great show on Sept 10 and we are happy to be working with the First Council Casino."

The Virginia Atheltic Commission tells Sherdog.com it had no choice, as Shine failed to prove that it had "procured a surety bond" and was "either late or unable to provide complete medical records and test results."

From Mary Broz-Vaughan, director of communications for the Dept. of Professional and Occupational Regulation:

"We were begging for information from them on Tuesday. We just can’t put on an event without the required documents. Our bonding requirement would have allayed these (purse and payout) concerns, but (Shine) didn’t provide evidence that they’d acquired one. Allegations alone are not sufficient grounds for denial. We looked to see if there was a way we could make [a grand prix tournament] work, though we don’t take kindly to that type of event in the state. There just wasn’t enough level of detail in (Shine’s proposed rules) that we were comfortable with."

Shine is committed to the Sept. 10 date for its 155-pound tournament and was able to secure a spot at the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma, after Virginia put the kibosh on Saturday's event.

Not coincidentally, the show will now be unsanctioned and unregulated, which means fighters are putting both their health and their paychecks at risk.

Sounds like a blast.