Sam Stout at the UFC 108 weigh-ins at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

BY JAMES BRYDON
sportsnet.ca

London, Ont.'s Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout showed up at Friday's UFC 108 weigh-ins sporting six-pack abs, and he appeared raring to go right then and there.

What do you expect from a guy fresh off back-to-back training camps without an actual fight in between?

It's been over eight months since the Canadian lightweight last put his skills to the test in the Octagon. Stout, who returns to action Saturday against Joe Lauzon on the main card of the event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, was supposed to face Phillipe Nover in a Sept. 16 UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma. The bout was still on, all the way until fight night, and Stout was in the dressing room getting ready, only to find out Nover had had a seizure.

The fight was off, but Stout still got paid. The UFC even threw in a win bonus, with president Dana White saying it wasn't his fault the contest was scrapped.

The 25-year-old wasn't about to complain.

"It’s been a good year (for me) in terms of making money," Stout said. "I haven't been that busy when it comes to fighting."

He kept busy getting in shape however. Stout (14-5-1) said he trains year-round, but eight weeks prior to a fight he starts stepping it up. That involves cleaning up his diet, getting more sleep (read: less partying) and drinking at bars less.

So when the September fight was cancelled, he got right back at it.

"The way I see this one is I may not have fought in a while but ... I've (basically) done two training camps for one fight," Stout said. "So I feel great for this fight. I'm in a good place mentally and physically."

Stout couldn't say that a year ago. He had hernia surgery in September 2008, and as a result he was a little sluggish to start 2009.

Of course, he shook that off pretty quickly. The Canadian lightweight Muay Thai champion and renowned striker fought in April at the UFC's Montreal event for the second straight year, beating Matt Wiman by split decision, and earning the fight of the night bonus to boot. But that was only after waiting in the locker room for hours when their bout was bumped one fight after another until the two finally went out at the end of the night.

It seems Stout hasn't had much luck in dressing rooms of late.

No problems are expected this time around, as both he and Lauzon hit the scale right at 155, and the two embraced following their relatively tame staredown.

It's been even longer since Lauzon (18-4), a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, has competed. The American defeated Jeremy Stephens in the main event of a UFC Fight Night in Tampa on Feb. 7. But he was sidelined a month later with a torn meniscus in his right knee.

He had ACL surgery in March and required an extensive recovery period. But he should be back to 100 per cent Saturday.

Stout thinks he has a definitive advantage against him.

"I expect him to attempt to take me down and I expect to shut those attempts down and force him to stand up with me," Stout said. "And I definitely have the edge if it stays standing.

He isn't overly concerned if the fight does happen to go to the ground, which is where Lauzon, who has competed in and won jiu-jitsu tournaments since 2004, excels.

"I feel I can hang with him on the ground," Stout added. "He's definitely got a little bit of an advantage, more experience on the ground.

"He’s got a lot of wins by submission. But you know I'm a pretty tough guy to submit."

The other thing that has changed for Stout in the past year is where he does his training.

He spends a lot of time at his home-town gym, Adrenaline Training Centre, which he owns along with fellow Canadian fighters Mark Hominick and Chris Horodecki. But whereas before he trained at Xtreme Couture gyms, including the one in Toronto, this time he switched his training camp to the TapouT training centre in Las Vegas.

It was a relatively seamless transition -- the change was precipitated by the move by Shawn Tompkins, his longtime coach and good friend, from Xtreme Couture to become head trainer at the TapouT facility.

Despite the changes -- or perhaps because of them -- Stout expects positive results when two finally make their long-awaited returns to the cage. (Fingers crossed.)

"I think it's going to be probably the best Sam Stout you've ever seen."

NOTES: All fighters made weight Friday save for one. English welterweight Paul (Semtex) Daley weighed in at 172, one pound over the limit for his co-main event bout against Dustin Hazelett, who was at 168. The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not permit Daley to take any extra time to cut more weight, reportedly citing safety concerns. The two agreed on a 172-pound catchweight bout, but Daley will forfeit 10 per cent of purse to Hazelett. ... There appears to be some bad blood between Lauzon’s brother, Dan Lauzon, and Cole Miller, who will meet on a televised undercard bout. After both hit the scales at 155, the two had to be separated during the staredown, which included a fair amount of jawing. ... Main-event competitors Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva both hit the scale at 205 for their light-heavyweight showdown. Evans said a win over Silva should make him "No. 2 in the division." ... Newest UFC Octagon girl Chandella Powell made her first official appearance at the weigh-ins, standing on the stage opposite longtime regular Arianny Celeste. Logan Stanton and Natasha Wicks, who was the winner of a Maxim Octagon Girl Search contest this summer, were recently released by the UFC.