Gegard Mousasi is currently rehabbing his injured knee, but when he returns, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion may very well be fighting in a brand new division.

"There's a big chance that I will go to middleweight," Mousasi revealed to MMAFighting.com "It all depends on the fights that I'm going to get. If I'm going to get a big name at middleweight, I'll probably go down.

"It's all about matchups. Let's say they're going to give me somebody like Vitor Belfort that's maybe a contender. That's the kind of fight I want."

Mousasi fought much of his early career in Japan at middleweight, and easily tipped the scales at 204 pounds without cutting weight for his UFC debut.

In the past, the 27-year-old believed dropping back down would've been a dicey proposition, but after considering the way he's recently trained and the ease with which he's lost weight, he's now confident it won't be a problem.

"To be honest, I believe middleweight will be much better for me," Mousasi said. "I will give my opponent less advantages. But at the end of the day it's all about skills. That doesn't mean that size advantages always win, but like I've said, in the highest level, you don't want to give the slightest edge to your opponent. Everyone is skilled, everyone has abilities. So that's why I think middleweight will be much more suitable to my body frame.

"It's all about the opportunity," he continued. "I really want to go for this belt. I believe that style-wise, matchup-wise, I matchup much better against Anderson Silva than Jon Jones, but it doesn't mean that I'm scared to fight at 205. Jon Jones is skilled and so is Anderson Silva, but at the highest levels, when you're competing against the top levels, you don't want to give anybody an advantage. So I don't want to give a weight and size difference advantage also. That's why I said middleweight."

Mousasi is currently ahead of schedule in his recovery from injury and is targeting a late-2013 comeback to the Octagon. When he returns, the Dutch-Armenian fighter hopes to immediately make up for lost time.

"My focus is to get to the belt as soon as possible," said Mousasi. "I‘ve done the route of [waiting]. I don't have those things that other fighters complain about, jetlag and days off. I don't have those issues. I never have. So I'm just looking for big fights.

"The fight I had last (Ilir Latifi), the guy wasn't known, he wasn't ranked. It doesn't mean anything. But I have a history. I only haven't fought in UFC, but I have a history. People come and get immediate title shots. I don't think that's going to be the case for me, but I've beaten champions, ex-champions. So it's all about one, maybe two big names and then I hope to get a title shot."

Mousasi emphasized that his decision is not yet final and will be reliant on whichever division offers him the quickest road to the top. If UFC matchmakers prefer him to fight at light heavyweight, he'll be more than willing to do so, but only against a top-3 opponent, and preferably against Alexander Gustafsson since the two never got the chance to meet at UFC on FUEL 9.

Nonetheless, middleweight is Mousasi's preference at this juncture.

Aside from Belfort, Mousasi also mentioned Yushin Okami as a possible opponent, repeating that he'll cut down to fight anybody residing in the top-3 of the UFC middleweight rankings.

In Mousasi's perfect world, victories over one or two top contenders at 185 pounds would ultimately lead to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That matchup, Mousasi believes, is a more suitable bout than one against the much taller, longer and heavier Jones.

"I think size-wise, the difference wouldn't be much. Also matchup-wise, I think Anderson is more of a striker," Mousasi said in closing. "Jon Jones is more of a takedowns guy. So I think matchup-wise and also size-wise [it makes more sense]. But I don't have any problem fighting Jon Jones either. So before people make something else out of it and say, ‘Ah, he's already losing' -- I'm confident. I'm a fighter. If I don't have any confidence I can win a fight, then I shouldn't be fighting. So it's not about that. It's just being smart.

"I fought Mark Hunt, you know? I fought K-1 at heavyweight. My last fights, Mike Kyle was much bigger. The guy that I fought, Latifi, he cut 20, 22 pounds before that. He was also much heavier. Size doesn't mean a lot. But like I said, on the highest level guys are much better, so you don't want to give any advantage. That's what I'm saying."

Interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao was confirmed as being officially off UFC 161 on Tuesday, where he was to headline in a title defense against Eddie Wineland.

The previous co-main event, pitting light heavyweights Dan Henderson (29-9) against Rashad Evans (22-3-1) has been moved into the main event slot according to an announcement by UFC. Because the change was made after contracts for the bout had been signed, UFC President Dana White confirmed it would remain a three-round fight.

According to the UFC's media rankings panel, Henderson is currently ranked as No. 3 contender behind Lyoto Machida and Alexander Gustafsson. Evans is ranked No. 7.

Barao (30-1, 1 no contest) suffered torn ligaments in his right foot. Over the weekend White had said he believed it was probable he'd have to miss the June 15 show at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the company's debut in what has been a strong pay-per-view market. He was scheduled to defend his title against Eddie Wineland (20-8-1). There is still no word on whether Wineland would remain on the show, or they would attempt to book the fight later in the year. There has also been no timetable announced as to when Barao would be able to defend the title.

Evans had one of the best records of current UFC headliners, before suffering decision losses to Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his last two fights, the latter on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas. The 42-year-old Henderson is a legend of the sport, and is coming off a decision loss to Lyoto Machida on the Feb. 23 show in Anaheim, Calif. Before the loss, Henderson was considered one of the potential top contenders for Jones' title, and was set for a title match on Sept. 1 before a knee injury forced him out of the later-canceled UFC 151 show.

Generally, losing a championship less than a month out would be a major blow to a card. In this case, it's probably not going to make a major difference. While not the advertised main event, Evans vs. Henderson, being two long standing stars, would have likely had more interest than the title match in a main event position.

Another light heavyweight fight, pitting former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (21-7) against Nogueira (21-5), ranked No. 7 and No. 5 respectively, moves to the co-feature spot.

Undefeated welterweight Ben Askren is set for his latest challenge.

Bellator MMA's 170-pound champion returns to action on July 31 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M., a suburb of Albuquerque. His opponent on the evening is fellow unbeaten Andrey Koreshkov.

Askren (11-0), the former U. of Missouri wrestling standout, has held the title since 2010 and will be making his fourth title defense. His most recent victory was a doctor stoppage TKO over Karl Amoussou on Jan. 24.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back into that cage and putting on a show," Askren said. "I feel like I've continued to mature and get better in every one of my fights, and July 31^st should be no different. I don't think Andrey has any ability to stop my wrestling and ground attack, so this will be another successful title defense."

Korsehkov, meanwhile, has a sizzling 2012 in which he went 5-0. His year was capped with decision over Lyman Good on Nov. 30 to claim the tourney title.

"I'll be 110 percent ready for this fight," Koreshkov said. "I'll make sure that Askren's tactics to put everybody in the audience to sleep won't work this time. Instead, I'll keep everybody entertained by putting him to sleep."

The Rio Rancho card will also feature the postponed season eight welterweight tourney final, as Douglas Lima takes on Ben Saunders. The bout, originally scheduled for March 21, was delayed when Lima (24-5) suffered a broken hand.

"It's an honor to fight a fighter like Ben again," Lima said. "With the time off I've been able to fully heal to 100 percent and like always, will be looking to finish the fight early."

Lima vs. Saunders is a rematch of the Bellator season five tournament, won by Lima on a second-round KO.

At the Xbox One reveal, EA Sports introduced its first glimpse of the upcoming UFC game Tuesday. According to Polygon, the video game will be released within the next year and it also explained more about the new Ignite Engine technology used in the game. The video above features all four of EA Sports' upcoming franchises (NBA Live, Madden, FIFA and UFC), and it choose to recreate the Showtime kick by Anthony Pettis against Benson Henderson to promote the UFC game.

It was in 2006 when Jorge De La Noval made the decision to get into mixed martial arts. He'd just survived a health scare that included heart surgery, and at 26 years old, the perspective that comes with facing mortality followed. Instead of chasing dollar signs as he had with his previous business, it was time to do something he loved. He's still doing that, even though after promoting 10 Championship Fighting Alliance cards, he's yet to turn a profit.

Friday night's event, which stars the headline-grabbing transgender fighter Fallon Fox in a featured role, won't end that stretch of bleeding money. This event won't, and neither likely will the next one, or the next one. Yet De La Noval is undeterred, determined to take advantage of the spotlight that has suddenly come towards his promotion after a surprise revelation.

"Do I plan on competing with the UFC one day? If I tell you no, I'm limiting my dreams," he told MMA Fighting. "Are we ready to compete with them now? Of course not. The way I'm looking at, if I'm comparing it to a fighter, this is my first fight. It's going to take time and investment to create a platform where we can compete."

That vision didn't always include women. It wasn't until CFA's last event that De La Noval cooked up a tournament format to include women. At the time of that announcement, there was little fanfare, but things exploded after its opening round, after Fox revealed to Sports Illustrated that she had been born male.

When that news broke, reaction followed in every conceivable direction, from ignorant hate speech to complete acceptance. Professionally, the debate centered on one thing: whether someone born a man should be able to compete against women in a combat sport. While some felt there was insufficient scientific proof that Fox had no physical advantage from being born a male, others were satisfied that her years of hormone therapy had stripped her of any edge.

Fox became a topic hot enough that mainstream outlets as varied as TMZ and The New York Times have followed her story. Of course, many female MMA stars were asked their thoughts as well, with some like UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey saying Fox should be precluded from competing in women's MMA, and others like veteran Julie Kedzie welcoming Fox into the women's fight game.

In CFA, there were many initial concerns from the female fighters, De La Noval said, but that didn't last for long, as they learned more about Fox's therapy, and saw the attention she began receiving. Since then, all of the remaining tournament contestants have signed amendments to their contracts stating they are willing to fight Fox.

Allanna Jones shared a locker room with Fox in March. The two were able to celebrate victories on the same night. As Jones recalls it, Fox seemed like a nice, polite person.

"We both shared that experience," Jones told MMA Fighting. "Every fighter, and me and Fallon, we share the same dream. We want to be successful and fight the best. We want to pursue a dream."

At the time, Jones had no idea of Fox's secret. When she found out alongside the rest of the sporting world, Jones said she didn't immediately decide to go through with her semifinal fight against Fox. Instead, she decided to research the subject, and she saw enough to believe the playing field was level. Against the objection of some of her loved ones and confidantes, including her manager, she accepted the fight.

"i know people were kind of shocked by it and I was a little shocked by it too," she said. "I was mostly upset because she didn’t come clean in the beginning, before the tournament ever started. I think that would be a normal reaction from anyone. I felt like that's something you should be honest about. I felt like women should have the choice to fight her, and that they'd almost been tricked into it. Not that she was trying to trick them, but I think it would have been better if she said it in the beginning. I could also put myself in her position and think about it from her point of view. I could understand that she didn't want to deal with the backlash, but I guess it's something she was going to have to deal with."

Jones grew up playing basketball and track, and initially joined an MMA class because her brother Victor was interested in the sport, but also because she wanted to lose weight. At the time, she tipped the scales at over 200 pounds.

From the first day, she was hooked, spending 12 hours at the gym, 9 am to 9 pm, trying to soak it up. At the time -- this was back in 2009 -- competition wasn't forefront on her mind. But she also couldn't lie to herself. She knew it was something she wanted to try.

Upon competing for the first time, Jones' love affair with the sport only grew. The rush of fighting in front of an electric live crowd was something that couldn't be replicated.

Recently, the 26-year-old Jones tried out for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. That was a thrill, and she still harbors the dream of eventually fighting in the UFC, but she's fully cognizant of the possibility that Friday is as big as it will get for her. The BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida holds around 8,000 fans. The event will also be broadcast live on AXS TV. While her fight with Fox isn't officially the main event -- that designation goes to veterans Travis Wiuff and Mike Kyle -- it sure seems that way, dwarfing the headliner in terms of attention.

"I want the fans to support me because they want to see me win, not because they want bad things to happen to Fallon Fox," she said. "She's human just like we all are. She has feelings, too. I just want everything to be positive."

De La Noval is hopeful they will be. He said after promoting 10 events, the organization has never even had a fight in the stands. That's by design, he says, as the promotion works to present an upscale event where fans are comfortable dressing up and presenting themselves with class. The behavior usually follows suit, he says.

But just in case, they are taking additional precautions, hiring extra security to keep an eye on Fox. The Florida State Boxing Commission, which will oversee the event, is taking extra steps as well, requiring blood tests from Fox to check her testosterone levels and ensure they are not higher than average for a female.

Like Fox and Jones, De La Noval has big hopes for Friday night. He views the wide exposure as another step in building his brand. But whether his drawing card Fox wins or Jones stops her momentum, the CFA leader thinks this is a significant step in an undeniable climb. Building a promotion takes seminal moments. The opportunity is here, and he can't let it pass.

"Everybody in MMA is going to be watching," he said. "They're going to see how committed we are to the sport. We're not basing this company on Fallon Fox. We're not making the investment based on one fighter. It just happens that we have her and that she has a lot of momentum going. It's bringing a lot of attention, and everyone is going to try to enjoy it and take advantage of all that attention and exposure. This is an opportunity you can't even pay to create. It happens when it happens, so we're all doing the best we can with it."

Vitor Belfort's knockout win over Luke Rockhold last Saturday predictably received quite a bit of attention in the hours that followed. There were those who simply wanted to enjoy it for the "wow" factor, and others who used it as a springboard to delve once again into the debate over testosterone replacement therapy. Both viewpoints have validity. As Belfort's supporters note, he is not breaking any rules. As his detractors point out, his past positive drug test places him under greater scrutiny than some other TRT users.

I chose to write about Belfort's TRT use on Sunday, and many of those who commented on my column noted that Belfort seems to get far more criticism than other TRT users like Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen. This may be true, although it's hard to tell because there are no verifiable metrics to prove it. I will say that winning changes the discussion. I will also say that our knowledge of TRT has grown quite a bit over the last year, when Belfort has been active and winning, and Sonnen and Hendo have been either absent or losing.

The truth about the TRT debate is that there is no easy answers about it. It is not a wonder drug. If it was, Frank Mir would be the heavyweight champion of the world. It is also not the only drug in town. Others are cheating behind closed doors, and there is an argument to be made that at least someone like Belfort is trying to do things on the up and up.

But even if it is legal, the whole of the TRT landscape in MMA seems out of whack. While it is true that a few athletes may have a legitimate, verifiable need for it, the number of cases we've seen in MMA makes it a near statistical certainty that some fighters are either gaming the system or getting bad advice from doctors. Belfort may well have a real need for it, and it would be irresponsible for me to suggest that he doesn't. But in 2013, whether you're a pro fighter, a football player or a golfer, this is the reality you face as a pro athlete. If you go this route, skepticism will follow, and the criticism of the treatment is yours to own along with its benefits.

On to the predictions ...

Vitor Belfort
After notching another knockout, Belfort has the best middleweight contender resume of anyone not named Chris Weidman. The UFC could wait for the middleweight title match between Weidman and Anderson Silva, and have Belfort face the winner, or give him one more fight against a name like "Jacare" or Yushin Okami.
Prediction: I think they'll wait and see what happens. If Silva beats Weidman, we get the Belfort-Silva rematch. If Silva loses to Weidman, he gets an automatic Weidman rematch and Belfort moves on to the next best contender, someone like "Jacare."

Luke Rockhold
After 10 months off, Rockhold faced a tough task, stepping in against a rejuvenated Belfort. For all the talk about TRT, yes, it's also fair to say that Belfort has added some new tricks to his arsenal, and that comes through hard work. I pointed out in my breakdown before the fight that if Rockhold had any trouble, it would be early, due to reacclimatizing himself to the speed of the fight. He never got the chance.
Prediction: A fight with Michael Bisping makes sense now

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Here's another former Strikeforce stud who went underappreciated fighting in Zuffa's junior circuit. If there was any question over whether he was for real, he answered it by steamrolling the surging Chris Camozzi. Of course, there's still one more level on the UFC middleweight totem pole, and he's not far from reaching it.
Prediction: As mentioned, Belfort is a possibility, but if it's not him, how about he draws Okami in a dangerous matchup for both.

Rafael dos Anjos
With wins in five of his last six bouts including Saturday's close call over Evan Dunham, dos Anjos steps into the top 10, where something significant must be on the horizon.
Prediction: He fights Pat Healy when Healy returns from his suspension

Rafael Natal
Natal doesn't blow you away with any one thing he does, but he is certainly a true professional, always coming into his bouts in great shape, and taking over late when his opponent fades. In each of his last two fights, he won mostly because of his conditioning. Still, though while he's won four of his last five, he's yet to make much of a dent in the division.
Prediction: He faces CB Dollaway when Dollaway is ready to return from injury towards the end of the year

Nik Lentz
Hacran Dias was the proud owner of a nine-fight win streak until running into Lentz, who has seen his career rejuvenated since moving down to featherweight. Lentz's grinding style and stifling top control will be challenged as he moves into the upper echelons of a division that is stocked with good wrestlers, including the likes of Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar. For now though, he still has room to grow.
Prediction: He faces the winner of the UFC 162 matchup between Cub Swanson and Dennis Siver

Gleison Tibau
Do you know that Gleison Tibau has competed 19 times in the octagon? That's tied for 11th most all time. More amazing? Though it seems like he's been around forever, he's still just 29. Is this the time he finally realizes his potential?
Prediction: He's matched up with Ross Pearson

John Lineker
Flyweights with power are a rare breed, which makes Lineker an especially intriguing prospect. Just 23, he has knockouts in four of his last seven wins. He's also capable of keeping the frantic pace that the 125-pounders are known for. If the rest of his game tightens up, the UFC may find themselves with a gem.
Prediction: He fights Tim Elliott