If the docs say it's OK, count on seeing UFC vet Aaron Simpson at welterweight.

After a loss to Ronny Markes (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) on Wednesday at UFC on FUEL TV 1, Simpson (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) said he's tired of being undersized at middleweight.

"I've been thinking about it over the last year and a half," the 37-year-old today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Everybody I fight is cutting from 220 (pounds)."

UFC on FUEL TV 1 took place at Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb. Simpson vs. Markes served as part of the event's main card, which aired on FUEL TV following prelims on Facebook.

The noticeably bulky Markes pinned Simpson on the cage several times during the three-round fight, which ended in a split decision for the Brazilian.

Simpson, who saw a three-fight win streak broken, said he never gets heavier than 200 pounds.

"There were times I couldn't budge," he said. "[Markes] had his shoulder buried in my chest, and I couldn't move him. And I can defend a lot of people's takedowns and everything, and it was just one of those deals where that really dwarfed me."

A positive Simpson took from the fight was the power in his punches, which dropped Markes in the first round. However, that advantage was muted by his size deficit.

"I can hit those guys hard, but if a guy puts you against the cage, it drains you," he said.

Now, Simpson plans to get his body fat tested to see whether a move to 170 pounds is medically possible. Then he'll make a test cut if he gets the green light. He hasn't seen the number on the scale since 1993.

While many criticized Markes for using his bulk to avoid a fight, Simpson isn't upset about the judges' decision.

"I should have finished him in the first, so I deserve to lose if I didn't go out there and do it," he said. "I don't know that he did a whole lot of damage on me, but you lose, you always think you could have done more."

If you were left begging for two more rounds after Jake Ellenberger's thrilling three-round victory over Diego Sanchez, you weren't alone.

Following Wednesday's UFC on FUEL TV 1 event in Omaha, Neb., UFC president Dana White admitted he "blew it," and all future main events will feature five rounds.

"Already thought and done," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I'm actually pissed at myself about it, so yeah."

The UFC first implemented five-round non-title fights this past June.

"From this day forward, as we speak right here, right now today, every fight that is a main event that is not a title fight will be a five-round fight," White said following a UFC 131 pre-fight press conference.

However, when the UFC later signed a multi-year deal with the FOX family of networks, it turned out the new change only applied to pay-per-view and FOX-aired contests, leaving FX and FUEL TV with three-round main events.

No longer, said White.

"I can do 33 rounds on FUEL TV if I want to," White said. "FUEL TV can't get enough.

"We blew it tonight. It should have been a five-round fight."

Many MMA fans and pundits felt the same after Sanchez called up third-round heroics, blasting Ellenberger on the feet and nearly scoring a finish on the floor. However, Sanchez had clearly dropped the opening two rounds and was forced to settle for a unanimous-decision loss.

With the tide turned, Sanchez simply ran out of time, and many observers believe an additional 10 minutes could have changed the course of the fight.

There are a few notable exceptions to the new policy: The Thiago Alves vs. Martin Kampmann headliner of UFC on FX 2 and the Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Alexander Gustafsson main event at UFC on FUEL TV 2 will remain three-round affairs. With bout agreements already in place, White said it wouldn't make sense to try and change the terms of the contracts.

There’s no question that UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez is one of the most exciting fighters on the roster. A dynamic personality with tremendous heart, an iron will, and polished skill-set, Sanchez has made a name for himself as one of the few “must see” competitors since making his Octagon debut in 2005.
However, since defeating Kenny Florian at the original Ultimate Fighter Finale, Sanchez is only 11-5 including last night’s clear-cut decision loss to Jake Ellenberger.
Sanchez spoke some about his performance after the event on the Fuel TV post-fight broadcast where the 30-year old also addressed the possibility of dropping back down to lightweight. Though “The Dream” avoided offering anything concrete on the topic it appears he’s at least open to the idea.
“That’s up in the air,” responded Sanchez when asked about competing at 155 pounds. “I’m gonna take the fights that propel me to the biggest stage.”
In 2009 Sanchez went 2-1 at lightweight, losing in a championship bout against B.J. Penn after taking out Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. He is only 4-4 in his current divisional home since 2007.
As far as the ankle injury he errantly referred to after his loss, at least regarding fans’ reaction, the 23-5 Sanchez elaborated some saying it wasn’t an issue during the fight with Ellenberger but affected his ability to prepare.
“It wasn’t that it bothered me, you know? It was okay. I had an ankle brace on it and a little tape but I just didn’t have the proper training that I could have had if I would’ve been at 100%,” Sanchez explained. “I didn’t get to run. I didn’t get to sprint. I couldn’t even jump rope. I had to work around the injury, do what I could do, and prepare. I came in with the best Sanchez that I could be. I gave it my all.”
All was nearly enough, as Sanchez overcame two-and-a-half rounds of losing to nearly pull out a victory in the end thanks to a late flurry on the ground.

The last time a fighter was injured warming up and had to pull out of a bout it began the demise of an entire promotion. In October of 2008, Kimbo Slice was scheduled to compete against Ken Shamrock for Pro Elite in Florida, but during his warmp up Shamrock received a cut that would keep him from fighting. The promotion scrambled and moved TUF vetern Seth Petruzelli into the main slot versus Slice. Petruzelli knocked out Slice in :14 seconds and started the beginning of the end for the promotion.

Last night in Omaha, Sean Loeffler was forced to pull out of his scheduled bout against Buddy Roberts at the UFC on Fuel TV event. Most fans were wondering why, but Dana White cleared it up when he posted this photo of Loeffler's ankle on Twitter:

You dropped to the middleweight, but you looked like a heavyweight fighting...

Man, that’s right. I gained weight, thank God. I was weighting like 215, 216lbs. I was eating like crazy, but Andre (Pederneiras) held me, otherwise I would be with 222lbs (laughs).

When you were a light heavyweight fighter, how much did you weight?

The same thing, 222lbs.

You seem to be unsatisfied about your performance. What happened?

What happened was that on that first streak I broke my hand. Then it was really hard for me, because when I held him my hand was really hurt and I couldn’t do much.

Did it disturb your game plan?

Absolutely. The entire fight my hand was aching, but I got the win anyway. I guess it influenced a lot. It was a God’s blessing I made it through until the end with my hand like this.

He knocked you down on the first round. Did it really get to you?

It got me, but I was aware of it when I felt. I stood up and I knew what I had to do. When the fight was over I knew I had won.

Did you change your game plan after your hand incident?

Of course I did. I wanted to use my hands, use a deceiving flow, but I didn’t risk it because I could get my hand more injured than it already was.

Will you keep fighting in this division?

I should’ve dropped a long time ago. This is my division, the one I used to fight at in Brazil. I’ll stay here now.

How long will it take to cure this?

I’m getting to Natal now, Saturday, and Tuesday (21st) I’ll be back in Rio for a surgery. I gotta get this hand operated. Let’s see. If I’m recovered in time, I really want to fight at UFC Brazil, I’ll do a campaign to get in this card. I really want to fight for the Brazilian people.

Do you want to send a message?

I wanna thank all my fans, people who have supported me, my entire team, my coaches, Jair Lourenco, Andre Pederneiras, the guys here. Thales Leites, Pedro Rizzo, the guys from Manguinhos and everyone in Natal. Our family is our foundation, so I want to thank my wify and my kids, who push me to keep on fighting.