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Nope, James Toney isn’t stopping with the YouTube videos just because he finally got the UFC deal he was looking for. Funny thing is with each passing one it’s getting harder and harder to understand what the hell he is saying, but I’m pretty sure the whole point of this one is to call out Kimbo Slice. Dude’s been hit in the head one too many times.

The main event for the not-yet-official-but-totally-happening-to-screw-with-Strikeforce  UFC Fight Night 22 card still hasn’t leaked, but all the speculation is still centering around Kimbo Slice. To add more fuel to that fire, Matt Mitrione was set to fight Kimbo Slice on May 8 at UFC 113, but now he’s not sure what the hell is going on.

“I have no clue what’s going on; the last 15 hours have been pretty crazy,” Mitrione said. “To be truly honest, I haven’t heard a thing from the UFC, and it’s frustrating me. It’s my understanding that it took awhile to get his paperwork signed, but I’m sure it’s signed.

“Then again, that doesn’t mean (expletive). When I was in the NFL I signed a contract, they signed a contract, and they can cut you whenever they want. I know that from first-hand experience.”

“I texted Joe Silva (Thursday) night and asked what was happening, if there was any danger of this being cancelled,” Mitrione said. “His response was basically that nothing was official and that I should keep preparing — that I’m still fighting in Montreal.”

If the UFC does put Kimbo Slice at the forefront of this card, the other question will be who is his opponent? Well, it doesn’t sound like it will be Matt Mitrione unless they’re just keeping him in the dark until they get a green light from Kimbo. The big rumor out there is James Toney, but after he was done telling MDS he isn’t worried about takedowns he said he’s positive he’ll fight this summer on a pay-per-view.

So for now it remains a mystery, but with only five or so weeks left to promote the event we should find out soon enough.

Update: Turns out Kimbo Slice won’t be a part of the UFC Fight Night 22 card after all. The UFC has officially announced Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione for UFC 113. Dave Meltzer says Kimbo was under serious consider for April 17, but apparently the UFC has decided to go in a different direction. What that direction is is anyone’s guess at this point.

If you thought live counter-programming was the only trick the UFC has up their sleeve for Strikeforce on April 17, you might be sorely mistaken. They may be going after Strikeforce’s ticket sales too.

The venue for the proposed UFC event has not been settled upon, though speculation centers on Vanderbilt University’s Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. Tennessee Athletic Commission Executive Director Jeff Mullen told Sherdog.com the UFC had not yet applied for a permit.

For those that aren’t familiar with Nashville, the Bridgestone Arena and Vanderbilt University are literally only two miles apart. If Tennessee mixed martial arts fans have the choice between attending a UFC event live or a Strikeforce event, you know a lot are going to hit up the UFC show even if their card is weaker, and I wouldn’t put it past the UFC to give away boatloads of tickets if they have to just to screw Strikeforce. All is fair in love and war I suppose, but damn, that would just be downright mean.

By the way, Mike Swick will not fight Matt Serra on the card. He has a pretty serious arm injury that will likely need surgery. The other big rumor out there is that James Toney would make his debut against Kimbo Slice, but all actual reports on Kimbo and Toney suggest otherwise. The rumor is coming from Carmichael Dave who’s close with Dana White though, so you never know.

One other tidbit, and it probably goes without saying, but word is Strikeforce’s future with CBS may be heavily dependent upon the ratings of the Nashville show.

Update: More from Dave Meltzer:

On Thursday, UFC president Dana White confirmed a live show on the same date, “Ultimate Fight Night 22,” on Spike TV. While UFC countered an Affliction pay-per-view show in 2008 with a live event featuring Anderson Silva, if things don’t change this time, it will be the first time the two top promotions run major nationally televised events simultaneously.

No matches are confirmed for the UFC show, however. Thursday, White attempted to make Matt Serra vs. Mike Swick, but that will be impossible since Swick just suffered an arm injury and will likely need surgery. UFC sources indicated Kimbo Slice vs. James Toney was under consideration, but the talks hit snags.

No site has been confirmed for the UFC show, although it is known at least two locations are under consideration in the state of Tennessee, including Nashville’s Vanderbilt University.

So it’s definitely happening, the questions are with who and where?

Round 5 has unveiled series 2 of their UFC Ultimate Collector figurines. This batch includes BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping, Randy Couture and Kimbo Slice. They hit retail stores in April.

Round 5 unveiled their second collector’s series of UFC figurines today. This set includes Randy Couture, Kimbo Slice, Forrest Griffin, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz and Michael Bisping. They will be available for purchase in retail outlets in the second quarter of 2010.

UFC 113 was already shaping up to be huge with Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua II and Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans (tentatively) co-headlining, and now it’s getting even bigger.

So how crazy would it be if the UFC managed to sign Fedor Emelianenko, like relatively soon? Yeah, he’s currently under some form of contract with Strikeforce and it probably won’t happen, but in this interview with Sherdog, Dana White hints that it’s still a possibility. Via BE:

When you’re a 41 year old professional boxer, there’s basically only one way you’re going to get yourself a UFC contract. Publicly talk your way into it, because the UFC sure as hell isn’t going to come looking for you. That’s what James Toney has been doing for the past few months, and it appears to be working because Dana White is willing to sit down and talk.

“I’m here. We can do this. I was waiting for [Dana White] to give me a call and quit dodging me,” Toney told Ariel Helwani from AOL FanHouse. “This will be the biggest fight ever, period. The biggest event.”

“Of all the guys they’ve tried to bring [over] from boxing, either guy who were shot or too old. James Toney is the real deal,” White told Rogers SportsNet’s Joe Ferraro. “He’s a nasty, mean dude. We’re going to sit down and talk tonight.”

I’m not really sure what makes James Toney “the real deal” in Dana White’s eyes. From what I gather, he was a great fighter back in the day and Ray Mercer proved last year that an aging boxer is still dangerous, but let’s be serious, Dana isn’t going to bring him in to make a title run. There’s one fight for Toney that makes sense, Kimbo Slice, and Toney is already talking trash.

Update: Toney isn’t worried about making any friends with these quotes.

PC: A lot of fans are saying it’s a different ball game getting punched in the face with 4 oz. gloves opposed to the 10 to 12 oz. gloves that you are accustomed to.

JT: I would be wearing 4 oz. gloves? They see what I did to peoples face with 10 oz. gloves, right? My chin is great dog! I ain’t even worried about that. Just show them the video tape of these fighters after I finish hitting them with 4 oz. gloves. They gotta get this shit together man; can’t nobody see me in this game. They talking about ground game? That don’t mean nothing to me dog. Number one, I ain’t going to allow none of them boys to lay on top of me like a lil’ fag, you know what I’m saying? You know what the UFC really stand for, don’t you?

PC: I know what it stands for, but I’m sure you have something clever.

JT: Ultimate Fucking Chumps or Ultimate Fighting Cocksuckers, whatever you want to call it. It is what it is and now I have put the ball in Dana’s court and if he doesn’t do it, everybody will know he’s scared.

He’s really pulling it out all the stops to get himself a big payday in the UFC. Some of his comments have been so outlandish it’s hard to take him seriously, but it still kind of makes you want to see him fight someone like Lesnar or Carwin who will take him down and maul him, doesn’t it?

On this week’s edition of Fox Fight Game, Mike Straka and co. discussed Kimbo Slice and the TUF 10 Finale and previewed UFC 107.

Scott Coker talks to Steve Cofield of Cagewriter about Herschel Walker, Kim Couture and passing on Kimbo Slice.

Herschel Walker hasn’t made his debut yet, so it’s easy to say skill-wise he’s worthy of fighting on such a big stage, but how they can justify keeping Kim Couture on board is beyond me.

As far as Kimbo goes, I think Coker made the right call in not signing him. The UFC had the perfect vehicle and gameplan to reinvent Kimbo’s image. That’s just not something Strikeforce could have accomplished with 10 and 30-second promos, and eventually I think it would have backfired on them like it did with EliteXC.