First things first: Strikeforce lightweight contender K.J. Noons wants you to know he's not a dirty fighter.

While much of the focus on his second-round TKO win over Jorge Gurgel has centered around a pair of potentially illegal strikes, Noons says neither was intentional.

"I'm not trying to be dirty," Noons said. "I'm just trying to finish the fight."

The first questionable blow came at the end of the opening round. A crisp left hand knocked Gurgel on his backside, but the blow appeared to come just after the bell.

Noons explained that he certainly wasn't attempting to score late.

"I didn't hear the bell," Noons said. "I heard the 10 seconds. When you hear the 10 seconds, being a fighter, this is your chance. I don't know if I won that round. I don't know if he won that round. You want to end every round showing out good. A lot of guys do a takedown. For myself, I want to get that last couple combos in to maybe finish the round good and win the round."

Noons did exactly that. But the final combination left Gurgel dazed, and some observers believe the fight should have been stopped there. Had Gurgel been unable to answer the bell, then the focus on Noons' timing would have grown even more.

Regardless, Noons said it's important to note his intentions, even if the shot did come a fraction tardy.

"By any means am I a dirty fighter?" Noons asked. "No. You can look at my history. I'm not a dirty fighter. I was just going in there trying to engage and trying to get the round. I went in there, and not by any means did I try to hit him after the bell. That's not my style. It was the heat of the moment. I looked to try and finish the fight or finish the combination.

"I believe in my eyes it wasn't late. Can I stop my hands as it's flying as the bell is ringing? No."

The second questionable strike came early in the second frame. After another combination dropped the wobbling Gurgel, Noons rushed in for the finish and delivered what appeared to be an illegal knee to the head of a downed opponent.

Noons, who hadn't yet seen tape of the fight, said he's almost certain the blow didn't score directly to Gurgel's head.

"As best I can remember, I'm almost positive it didn't hit his head – not a direct knee," Noons said. "The ref stepped in and pushed me off.

"I'm almost positive it grazed and hit his shoulder. If it hit his face, it would be pretty obvious."

Of course, Noons admits the heat of the moment makes things a little hazy.

"I wasn't trying to aim for his head," Noons said. "I don't even remember throwing a kick or a knee. I was just going. It is a fight."

Either way, Noons was credited with a TKO win – the first-ever such result earned against the always-tough Gurgel.

Noons is now riding a six-fight win streak that includes a 3-0 record in 2010 and a 2-0 mark under the Strikeforce banner. With an 11-2 record as a boxer and a 2007 win over Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz in his pocket, the 27-year-old now has multiple options available.

Noons says it all looks good to him.

"I'm looking to do whatever Strikeforce wants me to do – if they want me to fight at the 155 title or fight another No. 1 contender or move up to 170 and fight Nick Diaz," Noons said. "I want to fight for his belt or fight a boxing champion, too, because of James Toney-Randy Couture. He's fighting MMA rules. I have an extensive background in boxing. I would definitely like to be the first person to represent Strikeforce and fight in a boxing ring against a boxing champion or former champion.

"I've got a couple options. Whatever people want to see, I'm down for."

After latest Strikeforce win, K.J. Noons open to Nick Diaz fight, boxing

For 25 minutes, Strikeforce middleweight challenger Tim Kennedy (12-3 MMA, 3-1 SF) did everything he could to claim the promotion's vacant belt.

The military veteran outstruck Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (13-2 MMA, 3-0 SF) for the five-round contest – both in volume and efficiency. He scored takedowns while defending the grappling advances of the decorated grappler that stood across the cage.

Yet in the end, it wasn't enough. Now Kennedy wants another chance to prove it should have been.

"I know I don't really have an objective opinion, but I'm pretty accurate in how I view how fights went, and I thought I landed more strikes," Kennedy told MMAjunkie. "I thought I landed more kicks. I knew I stuffed both of his takedowns. I knew I was the only one that scored takedowns. I knew I was the one that was controlling the center of the ring. In my understanding of the scoring of MMA, that means I won the fight."

Unfortunately for Kennedy, the three judges in charge of Saturday's "Strikeforce: Houston" co-main event felt differently, and Souza was awarded a unanimous-decision win – and the 185-pound title.

Kennedy said as the scores were being read at the conclusion of the contest, he had difficulty believing his ears.

"Before they announced the decision, I looked up, and I saw the statistics of me having landed more shots, more kicks, a higher percentage of the strikes and stuffing both of his takedowns and scoring the only two takedowns of the fight," Kennedy said. "At the conclusion of the fight, I was surprised.

According to a FightMetric report, Kennedy landed 69 total strikes to Souza's 48. But the Brazilian did hold the edge in strikes to the head, 36 to 31.

And it was "Jacare's" aggression on the feet that Kennedy said was most surprising...

Strikeforce's Tim Kennedy: "I want another five rounds with that guy"

Today's announcement that the provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has approved the regulation of mixed martial arts was a thrill to tens of thousands of Canadian fans of the sport.

But even the enthusiasm of those rabid supporters might be overshadowed by the joy felt by UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, who played a seminal role in the approval of the new legislation.

"This has been almost a three-year gestation period," Ratner today told MMAjunkie.com. "We've been going up to Toronto a lot. We're very, very excited.

"We're thrilled. The market is so huge there. It's the epicenter of MMA in Canada, and this is just a great development for us."

Today's announcement appeared to be a bit of an about-face for Ontario after Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in February infamously proclaimed that mixed martial arts regulation was "just not a priority." But Ratner suggest McGuinty's comments may have been slightly misconstrued.

"If it had been a priority with the Premier, that would have meant his priorities would have been out of whack," Ratner said. "We knew that he was never really against it. He just said, 'Hey, when it's time, it's time.'"

And that time is finally now.

After near-three year struggle, UFC's Ratner "very, very excited" for Toronto debu

U.K.-based welterweight Paul Daley (23-9-2) will soon face the music for his suckerpunch of Josh Koscheck at UFC 113.

Wad Alameddine, Daley's manager, recently told MMAjunkie that the Quebec Athletic Commission has set Aug. 10 for a hearing to address the incident, in which Daley slugged Koscheck after the final bell of their co-main event-fight.

Meanwhile, Daley is set to appear at Shark Fights 11 on Sept. 13 in Amarillo, Texas, and Alameddine is confident that a possible punishment will not interfere with the date.


"We've been given a few ideas on how long a suspension Paul's likely to get, and where the suspension is likely to be enforced," Alameddine said. "The more we understood the scenario, and the more we've spoken to the commission about what we should and shouldn't be doing, the more we've felt re-assured that come the hearing we're not going to have any problems competing anywhere, really."

QAC officials could not be reached for confirmation on the hearing date.

Daley threw the punch after a lopsided three-round fight in which Koscheck controlled the action on the mat. In the end, "Kos" got the judges' nod and secured both a coaching slot on "The Ultimate Fighter 12," as well as a shot at welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

An angered UFC president Dana White issued Daley's walking papers immediately after UFC 113. Daley eventually apologized for his actions amid scorn from fans and the media, though he would later say the incident would not hamper his fight career. He went on to fight in July's Impact FC 2 in Australia as the QAC waited on its lawyers to schedule a hearing.

August hearing date looms for Paul Daley

FC lightweight Kurt Pellegrino underwent surgery this past week to repair a torn meniscus and got some bad news afterward.

Pellegrino's doctor fixed a slight tear in his knee cartilage but discovered something much worse: a torn ACL. He would have fixed it, but Pellegrino had signed only to authorize work on his meniscus.

The fighter now must book another date with the surgeon to get his ACL replaced, though he is adamant that he won't be sidelined by the injury any longer than March 2011.

"You hear all these athletes (that) are out for a year," Pellegrino today told MMAjunkie. "I won't be out for a year. There's just no way."

The knee injury occurred when opponent George Sotiropoulos knocked down and jumped on top of Pellegrino in the first round of their fight at UFC 116. Pellegrino's knee buckled and he screamed in pain, but he refused to quit.

"As soon as he jumps on top of me, I'm holding my left knee with my hand as he's punching me in the face," Pellegrino said.

Pellegrino also had torn his meniscus in a fight with Fabricio Camoes at UFC 111 and underwent corrective surgery 10 weeks prior to UFC 116, which took place earlier this month.

UFC fighter Kurt Pellegrino's meniscus surgery also detects torn ACL, return TBD

Ed Ratcliff (7-2 MMA, 3-2 WEC) has pulled out of a bout with Chris Horodecki (13-2 MMA, 0-1 WEC) that was slated for this weekend's WEC 49 event.

Ratcliff posted the news on his Facebook account, though he didn't state a reason for the withdrawal.

WEC 49 takes place this Sunday, June 20, at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Ratcliff vs. Horodecki had third billing on the night's Versus-televised main card, which is headlined by Kamal Shalorus vs. Jamie Varner.

MMAjunkie.com first reported the Ratcliff vs. Horodecki bout in March. In fact, it was the first reported bout for the card, which is the WEC's first in Canada.

In his most recent bout, the 27-year-old Ratcliff fought in knockdown, drag-out scrap with Donald Cerrone in the main draw of WEC 45. He won "Fight of the Night" honors despite a third-round submission loss. Prior to the setback, the karate stylist defeated Phil Cardella by unanimous decision at WEC 42 to rebound from a WEC 33 submission loss to Marcus Hicks.

Ratcliff now likely will be shifted to a WEC card later this year....

Ed Ratcliff out of WEC 49 with injury, replacement fighter secured