Alistair Overeem is no less than confident he’ll get a title shot after UFC 156 on Saturday. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

UFC 167 just got a lot heavier.

Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir will meet in a heavyweight bout in the Nov. 16 pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

UFC officials confirmed the fight with the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Overeem (36-13-1) came to the UFC on an enormous wave of hype, having earned championship belts in Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 before ever stepping foot in the octagon. But his post-UFC debut performances have been dismal, first getting knocked out by underdog Antonio Silva then again knocked out by Travis Browne.

Mir (16-8) is the loser of three consecutive fights for the first time in his career. His most recent loss came at the hands of Josh Barnett at UFC 164, a loss in which Mir protested the TKO stoppage because he felt it was early.

Earlier this week, Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans also agreed to meet in a light heavyweight bout on the UFC 167 card. The the PPV is headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Johny Hendricks.

UFC 167
St-Pierre vs. Hendricks
UFC 20th Anniversary
November 16, 2013
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card:
Georges St-Pierre (24-2) vs. Johny Hendricks (15-1)
Rashad Evans (18-3-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (28-13-1)
Alistair Overeem (36-13-1) vs. Frank Mir (16-8)
Josh Koscheck (17-7) vs. Tyron Woodley (11-2)
Rory MacDonald (15-1) vs. Robbie Lawler (21-9, 1 NC)

Wanderlei Silva kicks Rich Franklin during their UFC 147 bout in Brazil. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.

You wouldn’t expect something like this from someone named “The Axe Murderer.”

According to UFC President Dana White, Wanderlei Silva declined the UFC’s offer to fight Chael Sonnen after the Brazilian fighter said he wouldn’t compete if the payday doesn’t include income from pay-per-view earnings.

“[Silva] said he won’t fight him unless he gets PPV [points] so I guess he’s gonna retire,” White texted to MMAFighting.com.

GRACIEMAG.com attempted reaching Silva, but there was no response to requests for comment at the time of this publication.

Sonnen recently called out Silva, following a win over “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 26 last weekend, saying, “Wanderlei Silva, in three months: you and the bad guy.”

Since then, Silva hasn’t responded publicly to Sonnen’s post-fight speech, but White has apparently communicated with the former Pride middleweight champion with no agreements about the terms of the match-up.

Conor McGregor kicks Max Holloway. Photo via Getty Images.

Well now, Conor McGregor. We like watching you fight. It’s true, you’ve knocked out a lot of guys and hit with the same precision of a neural surgeon, giving you a reputation and swagger that not many can match. Well done.

But now we’re going down a list of fighters you’re not interested in fighting? OK, man, that’s fine. Just make sure that when you finally do pick an opponent, you win because it’ll look really bad losing after saying guys like Aldo are “safe” and “nobody cares” about a fight with Lamas.

Check out the tweet that McGregor posted last night below.

UFC President Dana White was on Fox Sports Live last night and announced Lyoto Machida will drop to middleweight to face Tim Kennedy.

Check out the video above to watch White break the news on Fox Sports’ new sports news show.

Robbie Lawler (left) victorious at UFC on Fox 8. Photo via Getty Images.

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will meet Canada’s Rory “Ares” MacDonald  at UFC 167 on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, UFC officials announced on Tuesday evening.

After returning to the UFC in 2013 following a more than eight-year absence, Lawler  knocked out Josh Koscheck followed by Bobby Voelker in his last two outings. The 24-year-old MacDonald is currently sporting a five-fight winning streak, including wins over B.J. Penn and Jake Ellenberger.

“We like that fight,” said UFC president Dana White during a media event last week.

UFC 167 is the UFC’s 20th anniversary celebration and is headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Johny Hendricks.

Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson pose for their 2006 fight at Pride 32.

Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson will likely meet for the second time in their careers, this time in Brazil.

According to a report from “UFC Tonight” on Tuesday evening, UFC President Dana White confirmed to the news show that Belfort and Henderson have verbally agreed to face each other at a yet-to-be announced card on Nov. 9.

Belfort (23-10) recently wrote on Twitter that he desires a fight with Chael Sonnen, following the American’s defeat of “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 26. After tonight’s news, however, Belfort will face a different American in Henderson. The match-up is the first accepted by Belfort after several offerings from UFC matchmakers, including a declined bout with Lyoto Machida.

Henderson (29-10) was last seen taking on Rashad Evans at UFC 161, a match wherein Evans edged the Team Quest mixed martial artist with a split-decision win. The fighter has for the most part remained out of the spotlight since his loss in June, but White, according to “UFC Tonight,” has communicated with the fighter and he’s agreed to compete in Brazil.

Belfort and Henderson have faced each other before. The two veterans first met at Pride 32 in 2006, a match that saw Henderson get the better of Belfort with a unanimous decision.

UFC officials are yet to announce the location for the Nov. 9 card, but GRACIEMAG.com will have further news as more information becomes available.

Frank Mir (left) pictured here with Robert Drysdale (left) in training.

Nine years ago, Frank Mir won his first UFC heavyweight title with an armbar submission of Tim Sylvia at UFC 48.

Soon after, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that sidelined the fighter for nearly two years, forcing him to vacate his title. The comeback was met with mixed results, dropping two of his next three fights.

The test of time has left many to believe Mir is past his better days and will never compete again for a UFC title. But that’s far from what he believes about himself.

“An outcome of my drive is to actually work back towards a title,” Mir told reporters on a Tuesday media conference call. “I don’t see it as a situation where that’s no longer within my grasp.”

The training Mir does nowadays and the lifestyle he lives, he said, tells him that he doesn’t have to concede to participating in fights solely for entertainment value. There’s more in the tank for the 34-year-old veteran of the sport.

“That’s just not where I’m at in my life,” Mir said when addressing being relegated to fights without title implications.

At UFC 164, Mir will take on a fellow former UFC champ in Josh Barnett. A veteran of 16 years in the fight business, Barnett has seen a lot of fighters like Mir who have a taste for submissions. That being said, Mir explained that he doesn’t think Barnett is one to fall for a submission on the first attempt because he obviously has an extensive amount of experience.

But that won’t stop the former heavyweight champ from trying to repeat what he did to Sylvia back on that June evening in 2004. UFC 164 will, perhaps, be another submission win for Mir.

“I think you have to have a respect and a knowledge of what your opponent is capable of, but at the same time you can’t let it nullify your offense,” Mir said. “You can’t sit there and second guess yourself and go, ‘Well, I’m not going to go for this because he’ll obviously block it.’ I think that’s when sometimes respect goes into apprehension and it causes you to hesitate. I think that [I] just fight the fight, prepare to know that I’m probably going to have to link four, five, six different attempts together. Obviously, I don’t see Josh falling victim to the first submission attempt that I just jump on, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m not going to attempt it anyways.”

UFC middleweights Michael Bisping and Mark Munoz are officially scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester, England on Oct. 26. Ahead of the fight, Munoz landed the first trash-talking blow when he said that Bisping has pillows for fists. Now Bisping gets his turn in the video above.

“If he says I don’t have punching power,” Bisping told video reporter Rick J. Lee, “the guy is ridiculous.”

Things are getting heated up before heading to the United Kingdom.

Check out the developing fight card below.

UFC Fight Night 30
Bisping vs. Munoz
October 26, 2013
Manchester Arena
Manchester, England

Michael Bisping (24-5) vs. Mark Munoz (13-3)
Ross Pearson (15-6) vs. Melvin Guillard (31-12-2)
Paul Taylor (11-6-1) vs. Anthony Njokuani (16-7)
Phil Harris (22-10) vs. John Lineker (22-6)
Jimi Manuwa (13-0) vs. Ryan Jimmo (18-2)
Mike Wilkinson (8-1) vs. Jimy Hettes (10-1)

Rousimar Palhares is on his way back to the Octagon.

A welterweight match-up between Mike Pierce and “Toquinho” is expected to take place on the UFC Fight Night 29 card in Brazil, according to media reports on Tuesday.

At the time of this publication, UFC officials did not return requests from GRACIEMAG.com for confirmation of the bout.

Palhares (14-5) last competed at UFC on FX 6, a losing effort to Hector Lombard in December of last year. Following the loss, the fighter failed a post-fight drug test for elevated levels of testosterone and was subsequently suspended nine months by the UFC.

Palhares’ return will be his debut at 170 pounds.

Pierce (17-5) is currently on a four-fight win streak, with his most recent outing being a technical-knockout win over David Mitchell at UFC 162 last month.

UFC Fight Night 29 is headlined by Demian Maia and Jake Shields, and takes place Oct. 9 in Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil.

LanceNet.com first reported news of the match-up.

UFC Fight Night 29
Maia vs. Shields
October 9, 2013
Jose Correa Gymnasium
Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil

Demian Maia (18-4) vs. Jake Shields (28-6-1, 1 NC)
Erick Silva (15-3, 1 NC) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (17-2-1, 1 NC)
Rony Jason (13-3) vs. Jeremy Stephens (21-9)
Thiago Silva (15-3, 2 NC) vs. Matt Hamill (10-4)
Fabio Maldonado (19-6) vs. Joey Beltran (14-8, 1 NC)
Raphael Assunção (20-4) vs. TJ Dillashaw (8-1)
Hacran Dias (21-2-1) vs. Rodrigo Damm (11-6)
Iliarde Santos (27-8-1, 1 NC)  vs. Chris Cariaso (14-5)
Rousimar Palhares (14-5) vs. Mike Pierce (17-5)

Josh Barnett (right) says fighters aren’t as tough as they used to be. Photo by Esther Lin/Forza LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.

UFC veteran Josh Barnett has seen it all in the mixed martial arts scene. Apart from changing his nickname from “Babyface Assassin” to “War Master,” the Southern California resident’s approach to the sport has remained mostly the same.

The difference, Barnett said Tuesday on a media conference call, has been in the fighters competing in today’s sport. Before, fighters fought honorably, he said, but nowadays a lot of guys are lacking something.

“There are still great, true fighters coming out of this, but these guys aren’t quite as tough as they used to be,” Barnett told reporters. “They’re way better athletes, they’re much better prepared, but some of these guys just don’t have that grip.”

Barnett explained that many fighters in modern-day MMA enter the sport with a desire to get famous and make money. This is a night-and-day difference to what it was like back when Barnett first started fighting, a time when MMA gear wasn’t readily available in local sports retailers, he said.

The drive to fight back in 1997, when Barnett had his first pro fight, came from different reasoning.

“I think that a lot of guys fight not for the reasons that we used to fight for, and there’s a lot of guys that get in here and they … think that they’re going to be famous,” Barnett said. “They fight for glory where we fought for blood and for honor.”

Audiences have drastically grown since Barnett first started fighting. The fighter has been in shows with just a few thousand spectators — sometimes even less — to tens of thousands of fans packing arenas.

The same can be said about the UFC’s 90s era compared to the current Zuffa-owned promotion. With Barnett signing a new contract with the organization, he’ll make his second run with the UFC, this time with  the company as the top MMA promotion.

The difference between early UFC and today’s version, Barnett said, is the opportunity it generates.

“There’s a lot more notoriety with this and a much bigger public spotlight that comes with it,” he said. “And as far as making a living, it’s a far better opportunity now than it was when I started.”

Barnett will likely get a hefty payday when he battles Frank Mir at UFC 164. He may have changed his nickname to “War Master” recently, but it’s a much better description for when he first started to compete.

“The only real reason to do it,” he said, “was because you just had a never-ending desire to get in there and bathe in blood.”

EA Sports UFC is set to debut on Sony Playstaion 4 and Xbox One in nine months, EA Sports officials announced at the Gamescon presentation on Tuesday.

The game is still in pre-production, so much of the gameplay is still to be finalized. However, early gameplay footage was revealed at Gamescon that shows UFC 205-pound champ Jon Jones fighting current No. 1 contender Alexander Gustafsson. Take a look for yourself in the video above.