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Things were going so well for Cung Le. He wasn't just beating Scott Smith; he was dominating him. He was hitting him with everything he could think of -- spinning backfists, rapid punch combos, the kind of flashy kicks that normally only work in action movies -- and he was doing it all in front of his hometown fans in San Jose.

There didn't seem to be any way he could possibly lose.

Then he got hit with one good punch, which opened the door for several more good punches. The next thing he knew he was sitting upright against the fence, his nose flattened in a sickening posture against his face while a cageside doctor aimed a light in his eyes and tried to figure out whether his brain was still in proper working condition.

Earlier this week during a Strikeforce conference call, Fedor Emelianenko was asked about the upcoming UFC 116 fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, and on Tuesday, the roles were reversed, as the UFC heavyweight title fight combatants were asked about the Russian MMA star.

Because rumblings of Emelianenko's possible retirement have circulated in the last few days, Lesnar and Carwin were asked their opinions on never having the opportunity to face Fedor before he calls it a career.

"Good for Fedor. I hope he does retire. He's the greatest champion of all-time," he said with a laugh. Before anyone could ask him if he was being sarcastic, he made his feelings clear.

Wanderlei Silva, who was scheduled to meet Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 on July 3, has been forced to withdraw from the card due to fractured ribs suffered in training, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Tuesday afternoon.

Akiyama, who defeated Alan Belcher in his UFC debut last July, will still fight on the card, and according to White, the organization is currently working on signing his replacement. No word just yet on who that might be.

When James Toney signed with the UFC, many long-time fans of the organization, for one reason or another, let out a collective groan.

And now that training footage of Toney has surfaced online branded with the M-1 Global logo, many are wondering what the connection is between Toney and the organization that is best known for not agreeing to a deal with the UFC that would have seen Fedor Emelianenko fight inside the Octagon.

Apparently, though, there isn't much of a connection.

By his mere presence, Brock Lesnar found a way to change the game in the UFC's heavyweight division. A weight class that had previously been big on quickness and/or power striking (think Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia), suddenly became the domain of mega-heavyweights who cut to make the 265-pound limit and mauled their opponents with strength and wrestling.

But just when you think you know exactly what you're in for with Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight champion has gone and if not reinvented, at least retooled his attack.

Speaking today about his upcoming UFC 116 championship title defense against Shane Carwin following a year away, Lesnar told reporters on a conference call that he'd dropped weight, added a new striking coach and focused heavily on his strength and conditioning.

An average of 2 million viewers tuned in this past Saturday to watch the three-hour live broadcast of The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale and 2.4 million viewers watched the middleweight final between Court McGee and Kris McCray, Spike TV announced Tuesday afternoon.

The numbers are way down from last season, but on par with previous Kimbo-less seasons. The TUF 10 Finale drew an average of 3.7 million viewers and peaked with 5.2 million when Kimbo Slice made his official UFC debut against Houston Alexander. The season nine finale averaged 2.2 million viewers and peaked with 2.8 million.

In his third Strikeforce fight of his career, former light heavyweight champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral earned $100,000 in his decision win over former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler last Wednesday at Strikeforce: Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre.

Lawler, who fell to 1-2 in the Strikeforce cage, pocketed $85,000 in his loss in the main event of the card. Check out below the official salaries from the California athletic commission for the entire six-bout card.

A total of four preliminary bouts and potentially one more will fill out Strikeforce and M-1 Global's Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum card this Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, MMAFighting.com has learned from M-1 Global.

The matchups, featuring four M-1 Global representatives taking on four local fighters, are Gareth Joseph (M-1) vs. Yancy Medeiros, Derrick Burnsed (M-1) vs. Bobby Stack, Vagner Rocha (M-1) vs. Brett Bergmark and Chris Cope (M-1) vs. Ron Keslar.

In February, then-Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi announced that he had split with M-1 Global. Mousasi even categorized the break-up as "bitter." This led to speculation that Mousasi was setting himself up for a departure to the UFC.

Four months later, Mousasi is no longer the 205-pound champion and, according to Evgeni Kogan, M-1 Global's director of operations, "The Dreamcatcher" appears to be on his way back to M-1.

Although Shane Carwin is only making $40,000/$40,000 his upcoming UFC 116 fight -- far less compared to what opponent Brock Lesnar will be earning -- and would have preferred a percentage of the pay-per-view buys that typically benefits UFC superstars, Carwin says he loves to compete and "would have done it for less."

"I won't lie and say I wish I was getting a piece of this PPV," Carwin wrote Monday on his latest blog. "Of course I want that, so does every other fighter on the card that is not. I love to fight but I would love to fight for millions of dollars. Who wouldn't want to be paid millions of dollars for doing what they love (aside from that girl in Twilight)? But, I am not fighting for the money. If I was I would have checked out of this sport LONG ago."