It was another fast-paced whirlwind of a day in Sin City, which saw me go from Mandalay Bay to two of the finest gyms in Las Vegas, and dare I say it, the world.

The day started with the UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II pre-fight press conference. Right before it was to commence, we got word that UFC president Dana White would not be able to attend. This is the day we generally get to sit White down and ask him a plethora of questions for Sportsnet Connected, as well as MMA Connected.

Just as we started scrambling and changing our plans, the news came out (via Dana of course) that Karo Parisyan had backed out of his fight vs. submission specialist Dustin Hazelett. White was incensed to say the least, but after speaking with Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer (as well as my fellow media peers), it was obvious there was (and is) something seriously wrong with Parisyan.

To make a long story short, all of the research I have gathered on this leads me to believe that Karo may need to seek out some help, both psychologically and physically. I've seen this before with my own friends who were fighters, and the signs point to Parisyan needing a sports psychologist and perhaps more. I may be wrong, but that's what I've been hearing. He's simply too great a fighter and seriously a wonderfully spirited warrior for his career to be derailed like this.

After the post-fight press conference, we made our way to Xtreme Couture, where we met up with Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald to record our UFC 106 predictions. J-Mac was training with some of Xtreme Couture's finest, prepping for his Dec. 4 battle at MFC 23: Unstoppable, vs. Solomon Hutcherson.

Once we were done recording, J-Mac and I discussed a variety of topics, and with his "insider" information, it confirms why he is always one of our best "Cage Connections" on MMA Connected. I learned more in 20 minutes with him than I can in a month on the internet.

After our trip to Xtreme Couture, I decided to take up an offer from Shawn "The Coach" Tompkins, and headed out to the TapouT training facitlity -- and was I ever impressed. This place was arguably the biggest MMA gym I had ever seen -- multiple workout areas, cages, a ring, a store, and a who's who of the MMA industry.

After interviewing Shawn, we sat down Chris (The Polish Hammer) Horodecki, who was there prepping for his WEC debut vs. Anthony Njokuani on Dec. 19. Chris's answers sounded as if he had been in the industry as long as Tito Ortiz -- an unbelievable amount of professionalism and understanding from a guy who is just 22 years old (and for the record, neither Shawn and I believe he's 22 -- he's still the 13-year-old I remember from Tillsonburg, Ont., a long time ago). According to "The Coach," he firmly believes we may have the next Fedor on our hands here.

The three of us eventually stepped onto the mats and recorded three straight "Fight School" segments, where "The Coach" used Chris and I as examples of how to "keep your opponent guessing," and show "three ways to defeat a southpaw," and more. One of the finer moments was when Chris got some good air with a double leg takedown, with me being the one getting tossed around.

As we were wrapping up, we looked in the next room and we saw both Noguiera brothers, Junior Dos Santos, Ed Soares, Jorge Britto as well as Royler Gracie. I caught up with Big Nog, who was training separately from his brother and the rest of the team due to the fourth staph infection he has incurred during the past 12 months, and for once, we did not argue about which country was superior in soccer: Brazil or Italy.

What we did discuss was his love for me wearing a "Pride FC" shirt while I was there, calling me "old school," while we admired Lil Nog and Junior pounding the pads. For the record, Cigano has some serious speed and power... and Lil Nog's southpaw combinations are spectacular.

We now prepare for the weigh-ins and on Saturday, the actual event, UFC 106, with the two of the prelim fights on Rogers Sportsnet.

You'll be able to catch Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis take on Ben (Killa B) Saunders as well as Jake Rosholt vs. Kendall (Da Spyder) Grove, both in HD, exclusively on Rogers Sportsnet.