B.J. Penn Is 'Hoodwinked', 'Cro Cop' Talks Retirement On The Round-Up

MMA Nation Round-Up provides you with daily coverage of the latest in news, multimedia, and analysis throughout the world of combat sports. This morning we bring you a truckload of UFC 137 video, including the UFC 137 pre-fight press conference, alongside interviews with B.J. Penn, Nick Diaz, and Matt Mitrione. Plus the Cro Cop head kick gallery you so richly desire.

- The newest edition of the Bloody Elbow/USA Today mixed martial arts rankings came out yesterday. Where does your favorite fighter stand? 

- We'll start things off with Thursday's UFC 137 pre-fight fight press conference. MMA Nation has full coverage of the proceedings, including a live blog of notable quotes. But in case you missed it, here's the full video.

- B.J. Penn has been relatively calm in the lead-up to UFC 137. But old habits are hard to leave behind, and his old temperament flared up recently in an interview with Ariel Helwani when the former champion claimed he had been "hoodwinked" by Cesar Gracie. 

- Penn's UFC 137 counterpart, Nick Diaz, stopped by for his own interview with Helwani, and boy, was it a doozy. In the nearly 25-minute long conversation, Diaz broaches a myriad of subjects including his dislike of fighting and his bewilderment at fighters that enjoy hurting other people.

- Meanwhile, Penn released the second part of his blog with Yahoo Sports. In it, Penn goes into great detail about the lack of hype for his fight with Diaz. "This isn't a fight either of us would have asked for, but we are both at the top of the division and there's no one else for us to fight."

- Much has been said about the similarities between Penn and Diaz, and the Hawaiian whole-heartedly agrees with the sentiment.

- Moving to the night's co-main event, Kevin Haggerty provides a complete statistical breakdown of Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo. Which fighter does the computer favor?

- Brian Hemminger weighed in with his own analysis of the heavyweight tussle. "We already know that Cheick Kongo is an upper mid-level heavyweight, but if 'Meathead' can pass this test, he'll have the potential to be a UFC title challenger someday."

- As a former NFL player, Mitrione is no stranger to the primetime stage. See why he says "Cheick Kongo has never seen a fighter like me."

- Moving on to non-UFC 137 matters, the roster of UFC Undisputed 3 has become a hot topic of late, as fans get up-in-arms about missing names such as Anthony Johnson, Stephan Bonnar, Joe Lauzon, Nam Phan, and Rory MacDonald. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your view of DLC) THQ intends to make those fighters available, for a price.

- Ben Henderson is ready for the bright lights of Fox. In fact, according to the Phoenix-native he's "just hitting his stride."

- Finally, with Mirko "Cro Cop" revealing on Wednesday that he may plan to retire after his fight with Roy Nelson, we'll leave you with this trio of images guaranteed to tickle your inner Pride fan.