"Stipe Miocic may actually be the next big thing. He may be the next Shane Carwin, a guy that comes in undefeated and just smashes everybody, but you know what? We're going to find out October 8. I'm not going to lay down for him, that's for sure. In a lot of the footage that I've seen it's guys that look like they fell off the bar stool, got hit once, and got scared and rolled over. I really, really expect a tough fight, and I'm just ready to go wherever it goes. If it goes on the ground, I'm going to do my best to submit him. If it stays on the feet, I'm going to do my best to knock him out. It definitely takes a little bit of weight off my back in terms of fighting for my career, but you can still be cut at any moment. If I go out and lay a turd, especially with the acquisition of all those great heavyweights in Strikeforce, who's to say they aren't going to start cutting people after one bad performance?"

Joey Beltran, fresh off his Mexicution of Aaron Rosa back in June, tells Heavy.com he's ready to beat the checkers off the shorts of Stipe Miocic, who makes his Octagon debut at UFC 136: "Edgar vs. Maynard 3" at the Toyota Center this Saturday night (Oct. 8, 2011) in Houston, Texas. Beltran, who was a Strikeforce "Young Gun" way back in 2007, is hoping to get back "into the mix" by playing spoiler in "The Lone Star State," but can he overcome one of the division's brightest prospects? Or will Miocic, who owns five knockout/technical knockout stoppages, do what Matt Mitrione and Pat Barry (or anyone else) couldn't and finish Beltran on the feet? How do you see this one playing out?