Morning Report: Greg Jackson believes Chael Sonnen is 'tougher than a lot of people give him credit for'

You guys are smart (and attractive), so it'd be silly for me to lie to you. The mixed martial arts news cycle has run a bit slow over the past few days.

Luckily, we're about much more than that here at the Morning Report, and of course we're chugging along with full slate lined up for you today. So without further ado, let's kick back and relax into some headlines.

5 MUST-READ STORIES

Jackson talks Sonnen. Asked by Bloody Elbow's Steph Daniels about fans overlooking Chael Sonnen's chances against Jon Jones, Greg Jackson offered this frank response: "There are a lot of danger zones with Chael. Chael is tougher than a lot of people give him credit for. ... People think he doesn't have any punching power, but then you see him drop Anderson Silva. Once he gets on top of you, it's trouble, and a lot of guys can't seem to get around that ground and pound style, so if you don't do things correctly with him, you get in trouble real quick."

Goldberg to fill in for Anik. UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik told Fighters.com that pay-per-view play-by-play man Mike Goldberg will be filling in for him at UFC on FUEL 9 in Sweden. Said Anik: "My wife is due with our second daughter in mid April so Goldie is going to step in for me in Sweden. Just because I can't be that far away in case she comes early."

Fitch vs. Burkman. A non-title welterweight rematch between Jon Fitch and Josh Burkman is slated to headline WSOF 3, which takes place June 14, 2013 in Las Vegas, NV. Fitch defeated Burkman via second-round rear-naked choke back in 2006.

Bellator 94 weigh-in results. All eight main card fighters met their required weight at Wednesday's official Bellator 94 weigh-ins, including tournament finalists Saad Awad, David Rickels, Emanuel Newton and Mikhail Zayats.

Teixeira a heavy favorite. According to our friends at BestFightOdds.com, Glover Teixeira opened as more than a 3-to-1 favorite over James Te Huna (+247) in advance of the pair's UFC 160 bout.

MEDIA STEW

I'm not even going to spoil this one for you guys. Jump to 1:20 and enjoy.

Huge props to @swissdeath for the find.

Not bad, Mr. Gustafsson. Not bad at all.

The Rogan/Rutten banter makes this highlight. And it's down. Well that was fun while it lasted.

(HT: Reddit)

Yep, Rose Namajunas and Pat Barry win the lifetime Harlem Shake title.

I have no idea what's going on, but there seems to be a lesson in here somewhere.

(HT: MiddleEasy)

I have to say Tommy, that's easily one of your best thumbnails.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING

The injury bug strikes at the last minute, Rory Shallcross vs. Ivan Delvalle is off tomorrow's card.

— Bellator (@BellatorMMA) March 27, 2013

SHIELDS IN TOWN

Pic from last nights training. twitter.com/bisping/status…

— michael (@bisping) March 28, 2013

GOOD POINT

Sitting in the backseat on baby duty with a huge smile on my face, You'll never guess what movie I just bought

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2013

Lol I knew you guys wouldn't see this coming twitter.com/JonnyBones/sta…

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2013

I sang in my high schools jazz choir and still remember some of the songs. Don't judge, I can still beat you up

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) March 28, 2013

JOYS OF THE ROAD

"@stone_bones: @joerogan This show will not soon be forgotten. twitter.com/stone_bones/st…" I bet that dude remembers NOTHING!

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) March 27, 2013

@rymcfluury just a really drunk dude that fell down in front of the stage. I was helping him up. Dude was as drunk as you can get & not die

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) March 27, 2013

ONE MORE FOR 'THINGS I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO'

Thank you Ally @hyi505 you're the best instagram.com/p/XWESbMvcIG/

— Michelle Waterson(@karatehottiemma) March 27, 2013

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announced yesterday (Wednesday, March 27, 2013):

• WSOF 3: Jon Fitch (24-5-1) vs. Josh Burkman (25-9) booked as main event

FANPOST OF THE DAY

Today's Fanpost of the Day sees dpk875 pose an interesting theory: Phil Davis should have signed with Bellator

In 2008 Phil Davis won a NCAA Division 1 wrestling title, rounding out a career where he was a 4 time All-American. He made his MMA debut later that year, and by June 2009 he had racked up a 4-0 record and was noticed by the UFC. He came in and immediately found success with wins over Brian Stann, and another hot prospect named Alexander Gustafsson. Davis racked up three more victories before running into perhaps the best version of Rashad Evans that ever fought in the UFC.

But what if Phil Davis had chosen to go to Bellator back in 2010. LHW outside of UFC, and Strikeforce was, and for the most part still is a waste land. Bellator's first LHW tourney was in 2011, but for the sake of argument lets say that they would have held a tourney to accommodate a hot prospect back in 2010, they did for Cole Konrad at HW. I have little doubt that Davis would have run through any competition that Bellator could have produced at the time. The first Bellator Tourney had guys like Christian M'Pumbu, Chris Davis, Tim Carpenter, and Rich Hale. I don't just think Davis would have won, but I think he would have submitted, or TKO'd most of them. Then Bellator would have brought in journeymen like Travis Wiuff to fight Davis giving him the chance to once again look like an MMA wrestling monster. He would have experienced some periods of inactivity, but when he did fight he would have looked great, and have quickly been in the discussion for best fighter outside of UFC.

Fast forward to 2013. UFC has an amazing LHW Champion in Jon Jones, who also made his MMA debut in 2008. Many people don't think Jones has a legitimate threat at LHW. But what if Davis, with his elite amateur wrestling credentials, and athleticism was coming upon free agency at the end of a dominating run in Bellator. If Hector Lombard can land a $400K signing bonus, six figure per fight salary, and PPV points, what would the younger, and probably even more hyped Davis command? Eddie Alvarez 2 fights removed from a loss in Bellator has also commanded a $250K signing bonus, $70K/$70K salary, PPV points, and wording in his contract regarding a quick title fight.

Instead of a situation where Davis leaves Bellator with a ton of hype, and would probably be walking into a title shot later this year, the reality is that Davis is a solid contender but isn't near the top of the list for a title shot. Alexander Gustaffson (Only has lost to Davis), Glover Teixiera, and Lyoto Machida all seem to be well ahead of Davis in line. Another fighter he has defeated "lil Nog" is also likely to jump past Davis in line for a title shot if he can defeat Shogun Rua in June. Davis is next matched against a marginal top 25 talent in Vinny Magalhaes to answer being called out on twitter. A win here will do little for Davis except to help him tread water and hope for a big fight next time out.

The thought to write this piece came from comments I have heard where fans ask, why would top young prospects sign with Bellator? To me it actually makes sense. I almost wrote this piece about Johny Hendricks, but he is actually in a position to cash in on a title shot right now, so Davis is a better example. Michael Chandler, Pat Curran, and even Ben Askren are getting close to cashing in on the bidding war that is breaking out between Viacom and Zuffa for elite Bellator talent. Prospects are going to notice this, and think that if they have a better chance of looking good running the Bellator tourney on SPIKE TV, instead of grinding away up very deep divisions in UFC sometimes on Facebook it is worth the risk. I think that HW, and LHW prospects will especially take notice considering how weak the divisions are in Bellator.

Found something you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we'll include it in tomorrow's column.