A handful of links and predictions heading into the weekend. UFC 85 is on the horizon and the main event is a welterweight showdown between legend Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves. Has anyone been called a legend in their prime? Of course not, and that stays true here. Hughes' best days are behind him. For more on the main event, check out the guest panel from FightTicker.com.

The members of the panel are Larry Vollmer of The Journal News, Tom Kim of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Jared Barnes of the Houston Chronicle, Mark Chalifoux of baltimoresun.com (hey, that’s me!), and Carlos Arias of the OC Register. FightTicker.com is the site of this blog's former author, Pramit Mohapatra.

The UFC has issued a cease-and-desist notice to Tito Ortiz about the cover of his book, which has him with the UFC Light Heavyweight belt on the cover. Seems a little harsh, no?

Andrei Arlovski signs with Affliction. Their card is shaping up to be pretty impressive.

James Thompson feels his fight with Kimbo Slice was unfairly stopped, what a shocker. An interesting Q&A with someone who has zero chance of returning to the pinnacle he was placed on last weekend.

An interesting Q&A with Dana White in ESPN The Magazine. A lot of the same stuff from before and he hints at an announcement that will rock the MMA world. He sure enjoys making definitive statements. I'm still waiting for him to deliver on his "We will get Fedor" promise that he made in the UFC 68 press conference (just one of the places he made the claim). Hey, maybe it will be Fedor. I have to think it's the UFC getting a network TV deal, right?

Back with more on Saturday, and I'll be lurking throughout the comments section until then.