MMA Newsday: The Hot UFC Middleweight Division, Junie Browning's Return

Hope everyone had a great holiday so far and keeps it going through the weekend. It's a light one for MMA today, which is welcome considered the enormous amount of events we've had this month.

Several outlets are reporting that Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping is set for the UFC's debut in Australia, the officially unannounced UFC 110 in February in Sydney.

Bisping (19-2) is coming off a second-round TKO of Denis Kang at UFC 105, while Silva (32-10-1) hasn't fought since losing to Rich Franklin by decision at June's UFC 99, as he's recovering from facial surgery.

The middleweight division has really been ramping up in the past few months, even with the departure of Dan Henderson. With middleweight champion Anderson Silva (hopefully) set to defend against Vitor Belfort at February's UFC 109, the winner will have either the winner of Bisping/Silva or Nate Marquardt/Chael Sonnen to look forward to in the early summer.

Speaking of Henderson, there is still no word on his future. Strikeforce has yet to announce anything and you've got to think Henderson is ready to fight as his last bout was in July.

Heavyweights Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is being planned for either UFC Feb. 6 Las Vegas show or the Australia show mentioned above. The winner will likely be the next in line for a heavyweight title shot, which could end up being an interim title match against Shane Carwin, as there's no update on Brock Lesnar's status.

This fight was originally scheduled for UFC 108 on Jan. 2 but got pushed back due to Nogueira's bout with a staph infection that put him in the hospital.

Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez for the undisputed Strikeforce lightweight title has been added to headline the Dec. 19 Strikeforce card on Showtime. These two have been looking to rematch since July of 2008, when Thomson won a unanimous decision over Melendez for the title. Since then, an interim belt was created, which Melendez won. Follow all that?

The card itself looks really fun with that, Cung Le vs. Scott Smith, Robbie Lawler vs. Benji Radach (rumored), King Mo vs. Mike Whitehead (rumored), and Matt Lindland vs. Jacare Souza.

Junie Browning is back and will headline for MMA Big Show this Saturday at the Belterra Casino Resort in Belterra, Ind., against Scott Cornwell. For those of you not in the area, you can stream the fight for $10 via MMABigShow.com. Fifteen fights in all including Mojo Horne vs. Kevin Barkdull and Chris Bennett vs. Brian Karmolinski.

Wreck MMA on Dec. 12 at the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada with Fabio Holanda vs. Sean Pierson, Mark Holst vs. Nabil Khatib, Igor Gracie and more. A portion of the proceeds will go to Solider On, a charity that assists ill or injured Canadian Forces personnel. (Thanks to www.WreckMMA.com.)

So much for a holiday. Brock Larson was cut by the UFC this week after two straight losses. In an interview with MMAJunkie.com, Larson didn't seem upset and said he's had a hard time getting motivated for the last two fights because "the undercards didn't do it" for him. I find that statement to be quite something. If competing for the UFC doesn't do it for a 32-year-old journeyman, why should he expect to get a top draw somewhere else?

Former Zuffa/Strikeforce fighter Jeff Curran will take on Tomohiko Hori on Dec. 5 in Lakemoor, Ill., for XFO. (Thanks to Phil Lanides/www.xfomma.com.)

Plans for the MMA Expo in Philadelphia are coming together, scheduled for January 9-10 at the Valley Forge Convention Center. Xtreme Cage Combat will be putting on a Pro-Am show, along with seminars, exhibitions, etc.

Sean Sherk, Shonie Carter, Kim Couture and Cung Le are already scheduled to be in attendance. For more info, go to Philadelphia.mixedmartialartsexpo.com.

X-1 World Events of Hawaii has agreed to a distribution deal with FightZone TV, a group that airing on Sun Sports in Florida, Sport South in Georgia and other small regional sports networks. (Thanks to Phil Lanides, x1events.com and fightzone.tv.)

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Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio. Follow him on Twitter.