Roger Huerta is a known MMA figure, having once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a UFC fighter.   It appears, however, that his UFC days are done, at least for now.  You see, MMAJunkie.com was the first to report that he has signed with Bellator Fighting Championships. 

Huerta will enter their upcoming Season 2 Lightweight Tournament as a pretty big favorite.  If he wins the whole thing, he'll pull in $100,000, which isn't exactly chump change.  What's more,  a win would set up a lightweight title fight against Eddie Alvarez, who's one heckuva fighter in his own right. 

In his last fight, Huerta lost a close decision to Gray Maynard.  He's one of the bigger signings that Bellator has made to date.

When Denzel Washington decided to take on the starring role in the The Book of Eli, he likely knew that martial arts training would be a big part of it.  Lucky for him, the film's martial arts trainer was Dan Inosanto, Bruce Lee's former student.  Beyond Jeet Kune Do (which is an eclectic martial arts philosophy more than a style), Inosanto boasts significant training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kali, and many other martial arts styles.  But one of the greatest lessons Washington took home from his time with Inosanto was one about flexibility.

"One of the things I learned from training with Dan and which I ought to apply but I'm lazy to do is stretch," Washington said in an article at the Inquirer.  "Great athletes, from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Steve Carlton, stretched a lot. It extends your ability to do things athletically. By the time we were about to shoot, I was ready."

A little talked about thing, but one that's very important to martial arts, don't you think?

More Articles

Martial Arts Stretching

Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli

Bruce Lee Biography

According to Inside MMA, former WWE star Maria Kanellis will be joining the King of the Cage broadcast team.  That means, she'll be on Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's HDNet.  She will make her debut on March 26 in Reno.

What's more, Kanellis will also debut on Celebrity Apprentice this Sunday. 

Business savvy and mixed martial arts knowledge.  Pretty cool, huh?  Even better, it should serve as good publicity for the sport.

Jon Jones has proven to be an athletic fighter with some seriously unorthodox and potent striking skills. But in Brandon Vera at UFC Live on March 21, he'll be going up against the most well-rounded adversary he's ever met in the Octagon.

Vera has a very good jaw, having never been stopped by a true knockout despite having previously fought in the heavyweight division against big hitters like Tim Sylvia. He has excellent, razor sharp kicks, more Brazilian Jiu Jitsu than most, and good enough takedown defense to thwart Randy Couture for the majority of their recent encounter. So it's going to be hard for Jones to overwhelm him like he's done to several opponents.

But here's the thing- even if Vera is the best fighter Jones has ever encountered, Jones is probably the most athletic guy Vera has ever stepped in there with. The guy hits spinning kicks and jumping strikes with an ease that's scary. And when he puts together a combination, watch out.  The bottom line is that opponents just aren't safe anywhere with him.

To top it off, of course, is the fact that he just started training with Jackson's Submission Fighting, one of the top training camps in the world. So bottom line?

Yes, Vera is a step up. But Jones's style may simply be a step up for everyone, regardless of his lesser experience.  Watch out for him; he's going to be a fighter to watch for years to come.