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Losing isn’t always the end of the world. Sometimes, taking an ass-kicking — or getting screwed out of a well-deserved victory — can be the best thing for a fighter’s career. Don’t believe us? We’ll start with one that should still be fresh in your minds…

#7: Jason Brilz‘s split-decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
UFC 114, 5/29/10

(Early front-runner for Punch Face of 2010. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

What happened: Lil’ Nog was originally supposed to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 114, until Griff was struck down by a shoulder injury three-and-a-half weeks before the event. The UFC had to book a replacement, and fast, so they called up wrestling specialist Jason Brilz. Like a true warrior, Brilz put down his beer, blew off his 10-year wedding anniversary, and stepped up to the plate. On paper, he should have been destroyed by the sharp hands and top-flight experience of Nogueira. Instead, Brilz nearly choked Nog out with a guillotine in the second round, wobbled him with strikes, out-wrestled him, and arguably controlled the majority of the fight. But after the last horn sounded and the scores were added up, only one judge saw it his way.

Victory in defeat: If you didn’t know who Jason Brilz was before last weekend’s show, you do now. Brilz picked up even more classy-points by not bitching about the decision: "I’m not upset. Sure, I’d have liked to win. Everybody likes to win. I think I went out there and I proved to people, but more importantly I proved to myself, that I can compete with the top dogs. That’s sort of what I’ve been aiming for my whole career.” We don’t know exactly what Jason’s future holds, but it’s looking a lot brighter now. The $65,000 bonus check probably doesn’t hurt either.

#6: Jon Jones‘s disqualification loss to Matt Hamill
TUF 10 Finale, 12/5/09

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News bj penn, Chan Sung Jung, Features, Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre, Jason Brilz, Jon Jones, Kazushi Sakuraba, Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, Stephan Bonnar, UFC

(In retrospect, eating that gallon of chili before the fight was probably a bad idea. / Photo courtesy of MMA Fighting.)

Sorry for the delay on this one, dear readers — the Potato Index was waiting on its customary bribe from the UFC before it could give favorable rankings to the fighters at "Rampage vs. Evans." Now that the check has cleared, we're ready to roll. So who went from zero to hero? And who went from classy to gassy?

Rashad Evans +125
Sugar's measured, wrestling-based gameplan didn't exactly transform the haters into fans, but he achieved something a lot more important — he beat an arch-rival and stayed relevant. Rampage can keep his legion of devotees; Rashad is getting a title shot against Shogun, so eat it.

Quinton Jackson -150
Except for his brief blast in the third round, Quinton was just too slow and too predictable. Ring rust was obviously an issue; still, we're more concerned about Jackson's ongoing unwillingness to do anything other than box. Those who don't evolve in this sport are destined to get their asses dug by hungrier competitors. Rampage's days as an elite light-heavyweight may be numbered.

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News Commentary, Jason Brilz, john hathaway, Mike Russow, Potato index, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Todd Duffee, UFC 114

("This is bullshit, I'll be in my trailer. Somebody come get me when craft services arrives.")

Before Rashad Evans restored order to the universe by outmaneuvering and out-grappling Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the main event, UFC 114 turned out to be a surprisingly good night for guys sporting what might charitably be described as the “man on the street” build. A dumpy Mike Russow and a doughy Jason Brilz each turned in the evening’s most interesting performances, for different reasons.

Brilz, who stepped in on short notice for an injured Forrest Griffin, got flat-out screwed in dropping a split decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira after clearly winning at least two rounds of their fight. Russow, on the other hand, spent almost three full periods letting Todd Duffee use his face for target practice before he calmly clicked Duffee’s off switch with a lucky right midway through the final round.

It’s a shame the UFC doesn’t award a bonus for “Most Obvious Post-Fight Comment,” because the winner certainly would’ve been Russow, who (without a hint of irony) told Joe Rogan: “I need to get back in the gym,” during their in-ring interview, after Rogan called his KO of Duffee “the best come-from-behind, one-punch knockout in (MMA) history.”

Uh, dude, you need to get back in the gym?

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News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason Brilz, Mike Russow, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, UFC 114

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans

Jason Brilz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller

Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow

Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway

Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon

Luis Arthur Cane vs. Cyrille Diabate

Amir Sadollah vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Jesse Forbes vs. Ryan Jensen

News Amir Sadollah, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, cyrille diabate, Dan Lauzon, Dan Miller, diego sanchez, Dong Hyun Kim, Efrain Escudero, Jason Brilz, Jesse Forbes, john hathaway, Luis Arthur Cane, Michael Bisping, Mike Russow, mma, Quinton Jackson, Quinton Rampage Jackson, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Ryan Jensen, Todd Duffee, UFC 114

Main Card

Rashad Evans def. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by Unanimous Decision.

Michael Bisping def. Dan Miller by Unanimous Decision.

Mike Russow def. Todd Duffee by KO (Punch) @ 2:35 of Round 3.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Jason Brilz by Split Decision.

John Hathaway def. Diego Sanchez by Unanimous Decision.

Undercard

Dong Hyun Kim def. Amir Sadollah by Unanimous Decision.

Efrain Escudero def. Dan Lauzon by Unanimous Decision.

Melvin Guillard def. Waylon Lowe by TKO @ 3:28 of Round 1.

Cyrille Diabate def. Luis Cane by TKO @ 2:13 of Round 1.

Aaron Riley def. Joe Brammar by Unanimous Decision.

Ryan Jensen def. Jesse Forbes by Submission (Guillotine Choke) @ 1:06 of Round 1.

News Aaron Riley, Amir Sadollah, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, cyrille diabate, Dan Lauzon, Dan Miller, diego sanchez, Dong Hyun Kim, Efrain Escudero, Jason Brilz, Jesse Forbes, Joe Brammar, john hathaway, Luis Cane, Melvin Guillard, Michael Bisping, Mike Russow, mma, Quinton Jackson, Quinton Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Ryan Jensen, Todd Duffee, UFC 114, Waylon Lowe

(Care to share what's so funny, girls?)

Kevin Iole reveals in latest Yahoo!Sports mailbag that up-and-coming UFC light heavyweight star John Jones declined a slot on the upcoming UFC 114 card as a fill-in for Forrest Griffin against Antônio Rogério Nogueira because he didn't feel that one month was enough time to prepare for the fight. Jones explained that he hadn't been in the gym since his win over Brandon Vera a month and a half ago at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones in Broomfield, CO.

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News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Bones, Jason Brilz, Jon Jones, UFC 114

(Jason desperately tries to defend the unpredictable mucous attacks of Eliot Marshall. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Sorry guys, it won't be Jon Jones. Not long after word came out that Forrest Griffin had to withdraw from his UFC 114 fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira due to injury, wrestling specialist Jason Brilz has reportedly stepped up in Griffin's place; bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly. 

Brilz (18-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has been quietly heating up as a light-heavyweight prospect, most recently scoring a unanimous decision win over Eric Schafer at UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones. His only loss in his last 15 fights was a decision against Eliot Marshall last September, and he also holds career wins over Tim Boetsch, Brad Morris, Jason MacDonald, and Alex Schoenauer. Of course, holding his own against a world-class 205'er like Lil' Nog on less than a month's notice will be a tall order, but at the very least, Brilz is tough enough to avoid being steamrolled. As long as Nogueira stays on the card, we can't really complain...

News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Forrest Griffin, Jason Brilz, UFC 114

Filed under: UFC

When Forrest Griffin had to pull out of his UFC 114 co-main event with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, I hoped the UFC would replace Griffin with Jon Jones in a fight that would have matched the most impressive up-and-comer in the light heavyweight division with one of the divisions most accomplished veterans.

Instead the UFC has decided to put Nogueira in the Octagon with someone who won't get fans quite so excited.

News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Forrest Griffin, Jason Brilz, UFC 114

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive

When UFC matchmaker Joe Silva first contacted Jason Brilz about filling in at UFC 114 on four weeks' notice, Brilz assumed they were talking about a fight on the preliminary card. Maybe fellow light heavyweight Luis Cane had gotten injured and had to pull out of his bout with Cyrille Diabate. Maybe it was the other way around.

Regardless, he told Silva, he was up for the challenge.

"I was planning on running a triathlon this summer with my dad, so I'm in shape," said Brilz. "I've been working on some stuff in the gym. I thought, hey this gives me four weeks to concentrate on it. My girls are still in school right now, so yeah, I can do that."

News Alistair Overeem, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, cyrille diabate, dan henderson, eric schafer, Forrest Griffin, Jason Brilz, UFC 114

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos

LAS VEGAS -- MMA Fighting spoke to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira prior to his UFC 114 fight against Jason Brilz.

Nogueira talked about having to deal with a late change in opponent due to Forrest Griffin's injury, not looking past the relatively unknown Brilz and whether he sees any similarities between this fight and his 2007 fight against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

Check out the video interview below.

News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason Brilz, UFC 114

Filed under: UFC, News

LAS VEGAS -- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was ready for his breakout performance in the US. He was ready for the big audience and the big hype that fighting Forrest Griffin would bring, until it all went away. Griffin got hurt, withdrew from the fight, and Nogueira waited to hear who the UFC could round up.

When he got the call about his UFC 114 replacement, Nogueira and the rest of his team had little idea of just exactly who exactly Jason Brilz is.

News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ed Soares, Forrest Griffin, Jason Brilz, Luiz Cane, UFC 114

Filed under: UFC, News

Everyone thought Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz at UFC 114 was a mismatch. Everyone was wrong.

Brilz, who took the biggest fight of his career on four weeks' notice when Forrest Griffin pulled out of the fight with Nogueira, stunned everyone by going toe-to-toe with Nogueira both on the feet and on the ground for 15 minutes before losing a very close split decision that left the crowd booing.

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News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason Brilz, UFC 114

Filed under: UFC

LAS VEGAS -- This is the UFC 114 live blog for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz, a light heavyweight bout on tonight's pay-per-view card from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Brilz fills in for the injured Forrest Griffin and will look to beat the odds against Nogueira.

The live blog is below.

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News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason Brilz, UFC 114

Filed under: UFC

It's one thing to make fight predictions from a safe distance, muttering something to your friends about who's going to win the next main event and then hoping that they don't remember to rub it in your face when your pick gets starched in the first round.

But what would happen if you put your predictions in black and white, and went head-to-head with one of the guys who actually knows what it's like inside the cage? Who knows the sport better: a pro fighter, or a pro writer?

To find out, I tracked down Cain Velasquez at THQ's "UFC Undisputed 2010" party at the Mandalay Bay on Friday night. He was strolling around with a free copy of the game (which he still has yet to play) in his hand, watching as eager fans pitted him against Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar on TVs stationed around the pool.

News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Cain Velasquez, Dan Miller, diego sanchez, Jason Brilz, john hathaway, Michael Bisping, Mike Russow, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Todd Duffee, UFC 114

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos

LAS VEGAS -- MMA Fighting spoke to a disappointed, yet content Jason Brilz following his controversial loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114 Saturday night.

Brilz talked about why he thought he won the fight, how he almost finished the fight via guillotine choke,

Check out the video interview below.

News Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason Brilz, UFC 114