Odds and Ends

• The UFC confirmed that Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will serve as the UFC 108 main event on Jan. 2. UFC President Dana White guaranteed the winner will receive a heavyweight title shot. The bout was made after three potential main events -- Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin, Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua and Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort -- were ruled out due to injuries.

• The UFC announced it will continue to air preliminary fights on Spike TV preceding pay-per-view broadcasts. Prior to UFC 106 “Ortiz vs. Griffin 2” on Nov. 21, Spike TV will air Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt and Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders.

• Heavy.com reported that the UFC is working on making a Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie fight. The bout seems likely to be promoted as Gracie seeking revenge for Hughes’ defeat of his cousin, Royce, at UFC 60 in 2006.

• UFC U.K. President Marshall Zelaznik told Sherdog.com the UFC hopes to stage its first event in Abu Dhabi -- the capital of United Arab Emirates and namesake of the most prestigious submission grappling tournament in the world -- in the first half of 2010.

• Electronic Arts announced Strikeforce will be the “premier league” in the company’s upcoming “EA Sports MMA” game, which will feature fighters from a variety of promotions. This means players will be able to select the Strikeforce cage and arena motifs for game play. The game, which got its first television push during Saturday’s CBS show, will feature “Big” John McCarthy as a referee and will be released next year.

• Two prominent fighters are shaking up their training camps. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic dumped boxing coach Marjan Zizanovic and brought up Ivan Hippolyte, a Dutch muay Thai trainer who has worked with several K-1 legends. Cro Cop will visit the Netherlands for sparring sessions. He’s also no longer working with fellow UFC fighter Igor Pokrajac. Meanwhile, Sengoku middleweight Kazuo Misaki announced he was leaving the Grabaka Gym, headed by Sanae Kikuta, after nine years. It was not clear where the former top 10 middleweight will land, but there are rumors he may face Kazushi Sakuraba on New Year’s Eve.