Ten Greatest Fights in UFC History

10-  Maurice Smith unanimous decision Mark Coleman (UFC 14)
The UFC 14 main event between undefeated Heavyweight champion Mark Coleman and stand-out kickboxer Maurice Smith was the first time in UFC history you saw an elite level kickboxer who had evolved. Maurice Smith had spent time with Japanese star Tsuyoshi Kohsaka learning how to fight off his back and when Coleman took him to the ground he was prepared for it. After a brief stand-off, Coleman shot in and took Smith to the ground with ease. From there Coleman unleashed with right hands and headbutts as he had done in his previous six UFC contests. Smith though established his guard and began stifling Colemans attacks and making Coleman work to keep him on the ground. Coleman at one stage moved to mount, but Smiths knowledge of grappling allowed him to get back to guard and continue defending. Maurice briefly escaped after about seven minutes but Coleman took him down again. Coleman though was gassing and his efforts from on top became less and less and Smith escaped again just before the 15 minutes was up and landed some solid punches and leg kicks. The following two-three minute over times were all Smith as Coleman was gassed and could barely walk from the leg kicks he was taking. Smith picked his shots and landed at will while stuffing Colemans takedowns. Coleman somehow survived the onslaught, but Smith took the decision and the title in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

9- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira submission (3rd) Tim Sylvia (UFC 81)
A battle a long time coming with Nogueira and Sylvia at one point holding the PRIDE and UFC Heavyweight titles at the same time. They eventually fought at UFC 81 for the interim Heavyweight championship after Randy Couture ‘retired’ and wouldn’t face Nogueira. Nogueira was out of form having split two fights with Josh Barnett by close decision and barely surviving against Heath Herring while Sylvia was looking to gain back some respect after losing his title to Couture almost a year ago. Sylvia came out with bad intentions, firing his jab and trying to follow it up. Nogueira pulled guard, but Sylvia wisely stood up and showed he had no interest in fighting on the ground with the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stylist. Midway through the first Sylvia dropped Nogueira heavily with a right hand and move in to finish. Nogueira regained his senses and Sylvia invited him back up. Nogueira scored a takedown in the final seconds, but Sylvia was saved by the bell. Sylvia continued to batter Nogueira during the 2nd round while stuffing his takedowns and standing up whenever he pulled guard. In the third round Nogueira pulled half guard and quickly swept Sylvia. Now on top, he passed Sylvia’s guard with ease and began looking for a submission. Sylvia turned into Nogueira and was immediately caught in a guillotine choke and forced to tap out. It was an incredible comeback from Nogueira who has made a career out of coming back from the brink of defeat.

8- Don Frye submission (11:19) Gary Goodridge (Ultimate Ultimate 1996)
Probably not the fight most people would have put in their top ten, but in my opinion (obviously) one of the greatest fights in UFC history. These two engaged in a gruelling battle of attrition that ended in the first round of the champions tournament of 1996. Goodridge, wearing a gi for some strange reason, and Frye immediately locked horns and started trading shots from the clinch. Frye was using Goodridges gi for leverage and pinned Goodridge against the cage while delivering knees and elbows on the inside. Goodridge repeatedly made room and landed his heavy right hand but Frye simply ate it. This went on for a few minutes before they seperated and started trading bombs from the outside. Frye seemed to be taking control when Goodridge took him down and began to land heavy shots of his own. With both men tiring it was Goodridge who was now able to use his weight advantage and he was landing heavy shots from on top. Frye then showed the newest trick in his game, an ability to fight off his back as he survived Goodridges onslaught and then swept the much larger man. With Goodridge exhausted and now on his back, he conceded the fight and tapped out due to exhaustion. Frye would go on to win two more fights that night, one of them against Tank Abbott which was #23 on this list, to win the tournament.

7- Oleg Taktarov submission (17:47) Tank Abbott (UFC 6)
Speaking of gruelling fights, they don’t get more gruelling then the Final of UFC 6 between newcomer Tank Abbott and UFC 5 veteran Oleg Taktarov. Abbott had walked through John Matua (20 seconds) and Paul Varelans (two minutes) earlier in the evening while Taktarov had a tougher then it sounds 57 second victory over UFC 5 runner-up Dave Beneteau and a 10 second submission win over Anthony Macias. Abbott immediately went on the offensive, rocking Taktarov with vicious bombs before ending up on top in a scramble. Abbott tried to finish, but Taktarov played his guard well and managed to wear Abbott down. Tank would open up from time to time and everytime they stood up he’d rock and bloody ‘The Russian Bear’ but could do little offensively against the Sambo master on the ground. Taktarov though was showing signs of fatigue by 10 minutes into the fight as Abbotts bombs were taking their toll on him. Somehow late in the fight, Taktarov found the energy to move to Abbotts back in a scramble and had just enough strength left to secure a rear naked choke and force Abbott to submit. After the fight both men lay exhausted and Taktarov needed oxygen as he was completely spent.

6- Frank Shamrock submission (4th) Tito Ortiz (UFC 22)
The tactical brilliance of Frank Shamrock was never more on display then when he defeated future  Light Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in their title matchup at UFC 22. Ortiz was the hungry young contender who had just blown through Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger and was gunning for Shamrock and his belt. Tito had a big size advantage as he cut down to the weight limit while Shamrock walked around 5-10lbs below it. The fight started off with them briefly striking before Ortiz took Shamrock down. Comfortable off his back, Shamrock was the one who opened up and began trading with Tito from his back while making Tito work to hold him down. Tito was happy to engage from on top and was throwing heavy shots and Frank was just as happy as his plan was to wear Ortiz out. Shamrock would escape back to his feet only too happy to let Tito take him back down and expend some more energy. By the 4th round Ortiz was gassed but continued to score takedowns. Shamrock knew though that Tito was struggling to hold him down and as he escaped from the bottom at the end of the 4th round, he landed an elbow that hurt Tito and followed it up with a barrage of punches that forced Ortiz to tap out to. It would be Shamrock’s last fight in the UFC having gone 5-0 with all five fights being for the title.

5- Randy Couture unanimous decision Pedro Rizzo (UFC 31)
At the time fighters like Mark Coleman were calling it the greatest fight in MMA history and it probably was. The opening rounds of this fight saw both fighters take punishment that would have stopped most men, but they took it and continued and went the full five rounds. Couture was the champion again after returning to the organisation and defeating Kevin Randleman for the belt. Rizzo was on an impressive run following his loss to Randleman for the belt and was coming off a huge knockout over Josh Barnett. Couture opened fast, taking Rizzo down and relentlessly scoring with hard shots from on top. Rizzo was closed to being stopped in the first round as Couture pushed him up against the fence and unleashed with bombs. Rizzo survived and in round two it was his turn to be the aggressor. ‘The Rock’ scored with numerous hard leg kicks that had Couture limping as well as scoring with hard punches to the face. Rizzo punished Couture for the entire five minutes with mainly his damaging leg kicks. After two rounds of action, I had the fight scored 18-18 with Couture winning the first 10-8 and Rizzo the 2nd 10-8. The last three rounds were all heart as both men were exhausted and battered. Couture’s wrestling game him the edge on my card as he was able to get Rizzo down, but Rizzo did more damage to Couture’s legs which made the decision a 50-50 one. The judges cards read the same as mine and Couture retained his belt by unanimous decision.

4- Matt Hughes submission (1st) Frank Trigg (UFC 52)
This is UFC president Dana White’s favourite fight of all-time and it was an incredible turnaround in an incredible fight. Hughes and Trigg hated each other and there had been a lot of trash talk after their first battle at UFC 45. Hughes had since lost his title to BJ Penn before regaining it with a submission win over Georges St Pierre after Penn had left the organisation while Trigg had scored wins over Dennis Hallman and Renato Verissimo by knockout. During the final instructions Trigg bumped heads with Hughes prompting Hughes to shove him and Trigg to blow him a kiss. They clinched up and Trigg scored an unintentional knee to Hughes’ groin. The referee missed the illegal blow and Trigg pounced, nearly knocking Hughes out before mounting him, then taking his back and sinking in the same rear naked choke that Hughes had submitted Trigg with in their first fight. Hughes somehow muscled his way out of the choke, picked Trigg up on his shoulder, ran the entire way across the Octagon and slammed him hard into the mat. From there Hughes rained down punches and elbows that bloodied Trigg up. Hughes continued to punish Trigg from on top before Trigg gave up his back. Hughes again looked for the rear naked choke and after a brief struggle forced Trigg to submit.

3- Chuck Liddell unanimous decision Wanderlei Silva (UFC 79)
While this is my all-time favourite MMA fight, I do believe there are two better fights in the UFC, but this is the one I enjoyed watching the most. It was a battle between long time PRIDE 205lb champion Wanderlei Silva and long time UFC 205lb champion Chuck Liddell but it wasn’t for the belts, it ended up coming at a time when both men were on the back of two fight losing streaks. Accurately described by Joe Rogan as ‘two dogs who have been looking through the cage at each other for a long time’ these two let loose with some of the hardest strikes ever traded inside a cage. Both men circled for much of the opening round letting everyone elses anticipations of the slugfest that was about to be delivered boil over. Then just at the time when people might have thought the fight wasn’t going to live up to expectations, they began exchanging. The shots were wild and they were hard nd they were trading almost evenly, but Liddell was landing the harder blows. Wanderlei continued to stand in the pocket though and Liddell even started walking him down but everytime he landed his home run strike, Wanderlei returned fire and they traded bombs. Liddell won the first round and Wanderlei won the 2nd and the fight was up for grabs in the third round. Liddell surprisingly opened with a takedown but Wanderlei quickly escaped to his feet. Midway through the round (which was full of further exchanges) Liddell rocked Wanderlei with a spinning backfist and looked to finish. With Wanderlei pinned up against the cage, Liddell unleashed a barrage that had dropped men like Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, but Wanderlei wouldn’t go down. Wanderlei lasted the third round and even landed some good shots later in the round, but the decision was Liddell’s. The only thing that could have made this fight better would be had they fought over five rounds for the UFC and PRIDE belts. It was almost a shame that they had to stop as both of them looked like they would fight like that all night.

2- Roger Huerta submission (3rd) Clay Guida (TUF6 Finale)
This was the crazy super fast lightweight battle. Clay Guida took on UFC poster boy Roger Huerta who was looking for a win to legitimise the hype around him. Guida had the advantage with his wrestling, but Huerta was the better striker and probably had the better submission game. Guida dominated early with his wrestling and was outworking Huerta on the mat in typical Guida fashion. In the 2nd round Guida rocked Huerta with an uppercut after a scramble and looked to be taking over. After losing the first two rounds, Huerta came out with a psychotic look on his face and went straight to work on Guida, rocking him with a knee. Guida shot in, but Huerta stuffed it and continued to punish him. Guida again shot in and Huerta took his back in a scramble, and began looking for the finish that he needed to win this fight. After sinking in the choke, Guida eventually tapped out and gave Huerta the victory. It was a spectacular comeback and finish from Huerta, who will unfortunately probably have his last fight in the UFC against Gray Maynard in September.

1- Forrest Griffin unanimous decision Stephan Bonnar (TUF1 Finale)
Seriously, have you seen a better slugfest before? This fight made the UFC into what it was today with the mainstream appeal it gave the sport. On non PPV TV, these two waged an incredible war that saw them trade repeated blows for a breathtaking 15 minutes. Back then it was hard for MMA fighters to make a proper living off just fighting and both of these guys needed that six figure contract to be able to keep on fighting professionally and they fought like it. Griffin got the better of the first round, landing the cleaner shots and rocking Bonnar once or twice. The fight briefly hit the mat in the first with Griffin using his underrated Jiu Jitsu game to nearly submit Bonnar with an arm bar. In the 2nd round Griffin gassed and Bonnar began landing heavy shots, one of which broke Griffin’s nose. It looked like the fight could be stopped because of a cut on Griffin’s nose, but the doctor allowed the fight to continue and the final round and a half saw both men leave the little they had left plus a lot more in the cage. It was a bar room brawl inside a cage on National TV and the crowd and TV audience were eating it up. Griffin took a razor thin unanimous decision, but the fight was so entertaining that Dana White declared  there was ‘no loser’ and gave Bonnar the same contract Griffin got. Bonnar unfortunately was thrown into several hard fights against the likes of James Irvin, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans on Fight Night cards while Griffin was built up on a steady diet of fringe contenders before they were ready to gamble with him. It’s funny to think how such a close decision that could have gone either way could have changed the course of the careers of both men. It could have been interesting to see where both men would be now had Bonnar got the decision, just food for thought…..

See Also:

Part 4 (11-20)

Part 3 (21-30)

Part 2 (31-40)

Part 1 (41-50)

Fifty Greatest Fights in UFC History Part 4/5

20- Sam Stout split decision Spencer Fisher (UFC 58)
This fight saw the explosive return of the lightweight division in the UFC after a two year absence. Fisher took the fight on short notice, filling in for the injured Kenny Florian, but no one would have known from the effort he put in. The fight was a back and forth battle between two heavy hitters, but it was Stout’s crisper striking that saw him take a razor thin split decision. The two would headline a UFC Fight Night in 2007 with Fisher winning in another war.

19- Bas Rutten KO (14:43) Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (UFC 18)
The long awaited Octagon debut of ‘El Guapo’ Bas Rutten nearly didn’t go as planned as Tsuyoshi Kohsaka repeatedly took Bas down in the early goings of their fight. The feared kickboxer, who was hyped as having been able to knock opponents in Pancrase out with palm strikes (closed fist strikes were illegal in Pancrase) showed a hole in his game with his inability to stop the takedown. Bas played his guard well and took any punishment that was dealt out to him. After the 12 minute regular period, Kohsaka was ahead on points and it appeared that Rutten had three minutes to finish ‘TK’ in order for his Octagon debut to be a successful one. Rutten punished Kohsaka in the final three minutes, kicking his legs and body as well as landing heavy right hands before finishing TK with a barrage against the cage.

18- Jens Pulver majority decision BJ Penn (UFC 35)
The fight that really put the Lightweight division on the map. The first fight between rivals BJ Penn and Jens Pulver was a war. Penn was the new phenom having dominated Din Thomas and Caol Uno already in the UFC and few gave reigning champion Pulver a chance. It was all Penn in the opening two rounds as he took Pulver down and took him to school on the ground. At the end of the second round, Penn secured an armbar but Pulver was literally saved by the buzzer. After that it was all Pulver as he stuffed Penn’s takedowns and battered him standing up. The fight went the full five rounds, but Pulver retained his title. It would take Penn another six years to capture the Lightweight title (in the meantime he moved up and choked out Matt Hughes for the welterweight title).

17- Frankie Edgar unanimous decision Tyson Griffin (UFC 67)
Another Lightweight fight makes it into the top 20 and this one pitted two young prospects with excellent wrestling against one another. Edgar had the better wrestling, but Griffin had the more complete game. The cardio and pace each could set was dead even and it was at an electrifying level. Edgar controlled much of the fight with his superior wrestling, but Griffin was able to light him up when he could keep it on his feet and used some excellent escapes which created some of the best ground transitions ever seen in the UFC. Griffin sunk in a deep knee bar at the end of the 3rd round which he held for a good 30 seconds as Edgar gutted it out and took a close decision due to time spent on top.

16- Shonie Carter knockout (3rd) Matt Serra (UFC 31)
The spinning backfist fight and a night that Jiu Jitsu expert and future UFC Welterweight champion Matt Serra will never forget. After dominating Carter on the ground for the majority of the fight, Carter caught Serra with a spinning backfist that knocked him out in the final seconds of the fight. Serra had gone from submission attempt to submission attempt to submission attempt for the full three rounds and was clearly ahead on points at the time of the stoppage, but Carters experience, submission defence and unorthodox style saw him over the line with one of the most memorable finishes in UFC history.

15- Royce Gracie submission (0:57) Ken Shamrock (UFC 1)
The first high paced grappling match in the UFC. The first time two future UFC Hall of Famers fought each other in the UFC. Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock were head and shoulders ahead of everyone in the first UFC tournament, but drew one another in the semi finals after winning their opening two matches quickly earlier in the night. Gracie immediately shot in and a scramble ensued and went on for nearly a minute before Gracie sunk in a sleeve choke after taking Shamrocks back and forced a tap-out. These two would dominate the early parts of UFC history with Royce winning UFC 1, 2 and 4 and Ken becoming the first UFC Heavyweight champion after winning the vacant title against Dan Severn at UFC 6. Gracie and Shamrock fought again, going to a draw in a dull 35 minute fight at UFC 5 which was fought entirely in Gracie’s guard.

14- Matt Lindland majority decision Phil Baroni (UFC 34)
The other fight between these two  was even better then the UFC 41 rematch. This one was fought on the preliminaries of UFC 34 and was an all-out war that was fought at a higher tempo and was alco closer then their rematch. In this fight Lindland again repeatedly took Baroni to the mat and was able to improve his position and do damage, but his stand-up back then was awful and Baroni rocked and dropped him whenever they stood up only for Lindland to get a clinch and then a takedown. After splitting the first two rounds, Lindland was having his way with Baroni again in the final round until a foul cost him a point and the fighters were stood back up. Baroni then looked like he had stolen the fight by nearly knocking Lindland out in the final seconds, but the judges saw differently with two of them scoring every round to Lindland and the other judge scoring it a draw (2-1 Lindland before the point deduction).

13- Forrest Griffin unanimous decision Rampage Jackson (UFC 86)
The controversial decision in MMA history. This fight is like the Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler Middleweight title fight for MMA. The Ultimate Fighter 7 coaches fought out a five round war for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and the decision still gets argued about to this day. Griffin pushed the pace in round one only for Rampage to drop him and come close to finishing him at the end of the round. Griffin dominated round two, hurting Rampage with a leg kick and then getting on top and mounting him. Round three was very close as again Forrest worked at an enormous pace, but Rampage scored with the heavier blows. Round four saw Rampage get a takedown and land some shots from on top, only for Forrest to come close with a triangle before the champion slammed his way out of it. The final round was again very close as Forrest continued to push the pace and Rampage picked the cleaner shots. I personally scored the fight a draw (10-9, 8-10, 10-9, 10-9, 9-10) but all three judges scored it for Griffin who became the first Ultimate Fighter Winner (excluding Matt Serra) to win a world championship.

12- Matt Hughes knockout (3rd) BJ Penn (UFC 63)
After being choked out in less then a round in their UFC 45 meeting, Hughes had revenge on his mind. The only trouble was BJ Penn is an absolute freak and even though he was filling in for an injured Georges St Pierre on five weeks notice, he came prepared to take his title back. Penn outboxed Hughes in the first round while showing cat like balance to avoid being taken down. In the 2nd round Hughes finally got Penn on his back, only to be caught in a triangle choke and an armbar that he barely made it out of. Penn seemingly blew his gas tank trying to finish Hughes in the 2nd round and Hughes began to land heavily standing up in the 3rd. Hughes took the weakened Penn to the ground and held him in a crucifix while landing clean shots on Penns head which forced the referee to stop the fight. It was an incredible comeback from Hughes and is probably his career defining victory. I would still like to see this rivalry become a trilogy and I’m sure there’s plenty of others who’d like to see these two fight again.

11- Diego Sanchez split decision Clay Guida (TUF9 Finale)
The last fight to take place in the Octagon makes it nearly into the top ten. After a staredown that almost put the Rampage-Wanderlei fights to shame (almost), both men exploded as the opening round started exchanging wild blows. Sanchez began scoring with heavy combinations before Guida took him to the mat. Sanchez escaped and dropped Guida moments later with a head kick that looked to have finished the fight. Guida showed the heart and determination that has made him a fan favourite and saw out the round. Rounds two and three saw Guida completing takedowns, but spending all his time defending submissions or trying to keep Diego on his back. The fight went the full three rounds at a pace that the Lightweights seemed to produce time and again and Sanchez’s work from the bottom gave him the split decision.

See Also:

Part 3 (30-21)

Part 2 (40-31)

Part 1 (50-41)

Fifty Greatest Fights in UFC History Part 2/5

40- Thiago Alves stoppage (2nd) Chris Lytle (UFC 78)
This fight had the potential to be higher had the doctor not come up with a bullshit stoppage. Alves and Lytle engaged in a stand-up war that saw a trade of knockdowns in the opening round with Lytle going down first before he knocked Alves down later in the round and began dominating with his hands. In the 2nd round Alves landed numerous heavy low kicks that were starting to slow Lytle, but “Lights Out” was still landing his punches and after a close 2nd round that could have gone either way may have just needed to survive. However, the doctor stopped the fight between rounds due to a cut over Lytle’s eye that put a damper on what was the only good fight of the ’Validation’ card.

39- Randy Couture knockout (8:17) Vitor Belfort (UFC 15)
The fight that made Randy Couture famous in the UFC. Taking on the seeminly invincible Vitor Belfort, Couture showed the tactical ability, heart and determination that would take him to three Heavyweight championships and two Light Heavyweight championships in years to come. After taking Belfort down early, Couture began to rough Vitor up with his now famous dirty boxing and land heavy shots from the single collar tie. After several minutes of fast paced action, Belfort slowed allowing Couture to pin him against the fence and finish him with strikes on the ground.

38- Matt Hughes knockout (2nd) Carlos Newton (UFC 34)
One of the most controversial endings in UFC history. Did Hughes slam Newton intentionally or did he fall because Newton choked him unconscious? For those of you who haven’t seen it, in the 2nd round Newton secured a triangle choke and Hughes’ defence was to stand. At some point Hughes, whether intentionally or not, slammed Newton on his head and knocked him out. The controversy came when Hughes was unaware of how the fight ended, making people wonder whether or not he consciously slammed Newton. Up until the ending the fight was great, with Hughes power against Newtons ground skills in what was a back and forth fight.

37- Kendall Grove unanimous decision Ed Herman (TUF 3 Finale)
One of the many great finishes to a season of TUF. The season three Middleweight final between Team Ortiz fighter Kendall Grove and Team Shamrock fighter Ed Herman was a war. Herman dominated the first from on top, landing hard shots to Grove who was game in looking for submissions. Herman again got on top in the 2nd, but spent much of the round fighting a deep, deep triangle attempt from the lanky 6’6 Hawaiian. He finally escaped, but was now on the bottom and at the end of the 2nd round it was all up for grabs. Herman scored a takedown to start the 3rd and despite being exhausted, took Groves back and began pounding away. Grove scrambled on top after an armbar attempt and took Hermans back sinking in a deep rear naked choke in the final seconds. The bell sounded with Herman nearly out and the choke was enough to swing the fight in Groves favour. Dana White awarded both men a six figure contract and I’ve been waiting to see a rematch of this fight ever since.

36- Josh Barnett knockout (2nd) Randy Couture (UFC 36)
Barnett ended Couture’s 7-0 run in the UFC with a shocking comeback win in the 2nd round of their Heavyweight title clash. After dishing out punishment upon punishment in the opening round that was surely a 10-8 for Couture, he again took ‘The Baby faced Assassin’ down and began to punish him in the 2nd round. Barnett though showed his toughness and managed to get on top and at this stage Couture was exhausted. Barnett proceeded to finish the job and become UFC heavyweight champion. The fight was controversial in that Barnett then tested positive for steroids and was stripped of the title.

35- Tim Sylvia knockout (1st) Andrei Arlovski (UFC 59)
As with the previous fight, this was another dramatic and sudden turnaround, but even more so. Arlovski appeared to be having his way with Sylvia after dropping him with a right hand, much like he did in their first fight at UFC 51 where he dropped him and then submitted him with an ankle lock. Sylvia this time rose quickly and although he was on shaky legs the fight was far from out of him. Arlovski rushed in to finish him only to eat a well timed uppercut that dropped him and Sylvia finished him off with solid ground and pound. The ending was truly breathtaking and probably as close a finish to the Corrales-Castillo fight you’re likely to see in MMA.

34- Roger Huerta unanimous decision Leonard Garcia (UFC 69)
Yeah it was a little one sided but Garcia was game as hell and made it exciting all the way. Huerta manhandled the smaller man for much of the fight, but Garcia repeatedly fought back and made for a very entertaining fight. it’s one of those fights that truly shows off the Lightweight divisions exciting battles as they kept up a pace that would drown a welterweight for the entire three rounds. The fight would have been higher had Huerta not dominated so much.

33- Randy Couture knockout (3rd) Pedro Rizzo (UFC 34)
After the razor thin decision went Coutures way in their first fight, both guys were out to make it clear cut in the rematch. Couture’s improved stand-up in the rematch was the difference and he stood up with Rizzo, landing leg kicks to the leg kick master. The two mostly kick boxed for the first two rounds and Couture appeared to get the better of it. In the third round sensing that Rizzo was tired, Couture took it to the mat and finished it quickly with a barrage of strikes.

32- Georges St Pierre split decision BJ Penn (UFC 58)
The first fight between these two pound for pound combatants wasn’t as controversial as the 2nd (well if you ask me it was because the rematch wasn’t controversial at all) but it was a better fight. Penn, the undefeated UFC Welterweight champion who left the organisation was making his comeback to the UFC and was pitted against the fast rising St Pierre who’s only loss was against Matt Hughes for the title. Penn lit GSP up in the opening round with his hands, landing repeatedly with sharp punches that cut GSP up and made his face look like a crimson mask. GSP showed his championship heart and came back, using his superior strength and conditioning to outwork Penn in a hard fought round two before dominating him on top in the 3rd round to take a split decision.

31- Evan Tanner knockout (1st) Phil Baroni (UFC 45)
This fight is again among the more controversial endings in UFC history. Well actually, Larry Landless just royally fucked up as a referee in this fight, but credit must go to Tanner for coming back from such adversity. Baroni rocked Tanner big time in the opening seconds, dropping him and landing a barrage of hard right hands that bloodied and dazed Tanner. Landless called time off and checked the cut on Tanner, and he had roughly a minute’s respite from the onslaught. When they resumed, Tanner got the clinch and landed repeated knees to Baroni’s body and Baroni was now the one who seemed to be fading. Tanner got a takedown, moved to mount and began to unleash repeated elbows to Baroni’s face. Baroni was sort of defending himself and with a minute remaining in the round it was hard to see how he would have survived, but Landless thought Baroni verbally submitted and stopped the fight. Baroni threw several strikes at Landless as a result and had to be restrained. The two had a rematch at UFC 48 with Tanner winning clearly on points.

See also:

Part 1 (41-50)

Fifty Greatest Fights in UFC History Part 1/5

With the UFC running their top 100 fights of all-time in celebration of the UFC 100 card next weekend (and doing such a shit job with some of the fights they selected), I thought I’d go to a certain amount of effort and come up with what I believe is the best 50 fights in UFC history. I’ve gone over and watched plenty of old fights in the past two weeks which is one of the reasons I’ve made few updates on the site in recent times and I hope I haven’t left anything too obvious out. I’ll be doing this over the next five days with five posts, enjoy:

50- Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson unanimous decision Dan Henderson (UFC 75)
Sure, not the most action packed fight of all-time but given it’s historical significance as well as the back and forth battle between the two I feel it deserves a place in my 50 even if it comes at 50. This was the long awaited mega fight all UFC and PRIDE fans had been waiting for between the UFC 205lb champion and the PRIDE 205lb champion, except that it got less attention because it wasn’t Liddell vs Silva. Rampage had knocked out Liddell at UFC 71 and Henderson KO’d Wanderlei at PRIDE 33 setting up what ended up being a very underrated fight. Henderson controlled early with his wrestling but after Rampage had an answer for Henderson’s takedown game the two became locked in a very even battle that Rampage came on top of due to superior conditioning.

49- Eugene Jackson knockout (2nd) Royce Alger (UFC 21)
A wild slugfest from the dark ages with Middleweight journeyman Jackson scoring a dramatic one punch knockout over a tiring Alger in the early part of the 2nd round. Alger was a well credentialed wrestler who scored numerous takedowns in the early goings of the fight, even advancing his position and doing damage which was unheard of for wrestlers of that age. Alger suffered from the typical lack of long term conditioning that top wrestlers had back then, and Jackson began escaping and landing shots. After a wild first round of takedowns, escapes and heavy punches being thrown, Jackson ended things quickly in the 2nd round.

48- Tito Ortiz split decision Forrest Griffin (UFC 59)
A fight that the UFC would like it’s fans to forget is the one where Tito Ortiz, the former golden boy of the UFC who Dana White hates, edged out one of their poster boys Forrest Griffin by split decision. It was Tito’s comeback after a period off contract with the UFC and his opponent was the ever popular TUF1 champion Forrest Griffin who was 2-0 since winning the show. Ortiz quickly attempted to show Griffin he was out of his league, scoring a takedown and landing with heavy elbows for the majority of the first round that rocked and bloodied Griffin. Griffin somehow survived the onslaught and began opening up on his feet in the 2nd round, scoring with rapid punches although Ortiz was landing some solid straight shots back on Forrest. With the crowd on Forrest’s side going into the third, he again tried outworking a tiring Tito but the two traded evenly with Forrest again scoring more and Tito landing the harder shots. A late takedown from Ortiz looked like it could be enough, but Forrest escaped and the fight went to the judges where Tito scored an unpopular (I actually thought he won) split decision victory.

47- Phillip Miller submission (2nd) Mark Weir (UFC 40)
If you have never seen this fight, it’s a war that could have easily been higher if anyone, anywhere knew who either of these two were. Mark Weir was coming off the quickest KO in UFC history over Eugene Jackson while Miller was a solid wrestler who lay and prayed his way to victory on the same card. The fight was back and forth with Miller scoring repeated takedowns only for Weir to escape and rock Miller with shots. In the 2nd round, Miller seemed to be out but again scored a takedown and dramatically took Weirs back and sunk in the choke for the victory. Miller would retire not long after with a 16-0 record including a 2-0 run in the UFC.

46- Don Frye submission (2:14) Gary Goodridge (UFC 8.)
The tournament billed as ‘David vs Goliath’ pitted such a matchup in the Final with 210lb Don Frye taking on 260lb Gary Goodridge. It was the first UFC event of both men and both men had an easy run to the final, winning their two previous fights of the evening in under a minute for Frye and just over six minutes for Goodridge. The fight was quick, but violent as both men traded heavy shots with Goodridge scoring a brief takedown before they returned to the feet and traded some more. After a scramble, Frye ended up on top in a good position and began landing heavy shots on Goodridge who quickly tapped out, giving Frye the UFC 8 tournament championship.

45- Matt Hughes submission (1st) Frank Trigg (UFC 45)
The not quite as attractive older sister of that hot girl everyone’s always talking about, but one you’d fuck nonetheless if you had the chance (although I wouldn’t fuck any girl that looked anything like Matt Hughes or Frank Trigg). The first fight was surely not as memorable as the epic rematch (although the ending was one of the most memorable), but it was still a great fight. The fight was a four minute scramble in which both men took top position on a number of occasions and although little damage was done, it was an awesme display of grappling. Hughes ended up taking Triggs back and as Trigg stood up to defend, sunk in a mid-air rear naked choke pulling Trigg on top of him as he tapped out.

44- Pedro Rizzo knockout (2nd) Josh Barnett (UFC 30)
It’s very rare you get a good heavyweight slugfest that goes for more then a few minutes, but top heavyweight contenders Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett put on a show at UFC 30. Despite Rizzo’s feared striking ability, Barnett was more then happy to stand with him and was doing well in the first round. Rizzo was having trouble timing Barnett’s odd style combined with his size advantage but midway through the first he began timing Barnett and the two started scoring heavily in the exchanges. Rizzo started scoring with leg kicks which were slowing Barnett down visibly in the 2nd round and then after stunning him with a right hand, he finished the job with a bigger right seconds later. It would be Barnett who would go on to defeat Randy Couture however as Rizzo fell short in his two attempts at the title.

43- Tyson Griffin split decision Clay Guida (UFC 72)
Two of the UFC’s most exciting current day fighters battled in Ireland at UFC 72 and as expected won fight of the night. Both guys set an electrifying pace that didn’t back off for the entire three rounds. It was a back and forth fight with Griffin doing better on the feet and Guida scoring more takedowns and getting the better positions. At one point Guida took Griffin’s back but was dropped on his face as he attempted to sink in the choke. The decision went to Griffin although many people feel Guida was robbed.

42- Forrest Griffin submission (3rd) Mauricio Shogun (UFC 76)
The 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion Mauricio Shogun’s UFC debut was spoiled by Forrest Griffin in an exciting battle which mostly took place on the ground. Expected to walk through the ‘reality TV star’ Shogun seemed a step behind the entire fight and despite opening two huge gashes on Griffin’s face in the opening round, Griffin’s pace was too much for Shogun. After a close first round, Griffin upped the tempo and left Shogun tired and battered at the end of the 2nd round and basically doing all that he could to survive. After battering Shogun in the third round, Forrest finished off Shogun, who at the time was considered the top Light Heavyweight in the world, with seconds remaining in the final round.

 41- Robbie Lawler unanimous decision Chris Lytle (UFC 45)
The comeback for Robbie Lawler after his first loss was also the beginning of the long time UFC career of Chris Lytle who in losing earned another chance in the organisation. Lawler took the fight to the ground early in the first where he dealt out considerable damage while avoiding numerous submission attempts from Lytle. After a slow 2nd round, the fight exploded with one of the most memorable final rounds in UFC history with a wild stand-up exchange taking place for the majority of the round. Lawler took away any doubt in the decision by dropping Lytle (only for Lytle to applaud as he fell to his back) in what was the first of many memorable fights for Lytle in the UFC.

40-31 tomorrow…..

The Machida era has begun

Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion at UFC 98 with a 2nd round knockout over Rashad Evans. Machida looked his usual self as he gave Evans no chance to land anything significant and scored with laser-like accuracy. After an uneventful first few minutes in the opening round, Machida briefly dropped Rashad with a short left after a leg lick in the only significant moment of the opening frame. The champion was more aggressive in the 2nd round which played right into Lyoto’s hands as he made Evans miss with ease before nailing the champion and dropping him again. Visibly hurt, Evans rose but was forced back into the cage by a barrage of strikes before being knocked out with another short left hand. The win sees the third UFC Light Heavyweight champion in as many fights with Forrest Griffin and now Evans both having lost their titles in their first defence.

This win surely puts Lyoto in the pound for pound mix. While he isn’t up there with the Silva’s, GSP’s and Fedors, he sits on or just below the same shelf as Penn and Torres. He’s gone through everyone he’s faced with such ease that it makes you wonder what is needed to beat him? The grapplers can’t get their hands on him and the strikers can’t land. His footwork, reflexes and defensive instints are on another level and he’s shown increased punching power so far this year with his two knockout wins. Rampage has to be next, although he might be looking for another fight before his next crack at the title. Light Heavyweight may have just joined Middleweight, Welterweight and Lightweight as a division with a seeminly unbeatable champion.

In the co main event, Matt Hughes won the long awaited grudge match with Matt Serra by unanimous decision. Serra had Hughes hurt in the first round after he followed up a head clash with a series of damaging punches before Hughes took Serra down and briefly had his back. The second round saw Hughes score with a takedown and control the entire round doing little damage from on top. The third was almost more of the same as Hughes scored another takedown and did nothing from on top as Serra attempted several submissions from his back. The lack of action forced a stand-up by Steve Mazzagatti before Serra took Hughes down and landed some decent shots from on top. Hughes escaped as the buzzer sounded and took the decision 29-28 on all three cards.

This fight made me kind of disappointed that these two didn’t fight over five rounds back at UFC 79. Rounds four and five would have likely decided the rightful winner in a razor thin fight that could have gone either way. I actually scored the fight for Serra as I thought he did more in the third round, but it really could have gone either way. I’d like to see these two fight again ASAP as there’s no one else out there that would make for a good fight with either of them right now. It was good to see them hug after the fight and exchange compliments, although I’m sure the ill-feelings between these two are fully resolved or ever will be.

Frankie Edgar scored the best win of his career with a unanimous decision over former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. Sherk showed the complete lack of versatility in his stand-up game that got him in trouble against BJ Penn as Edgar boxed and moved and did it easy for most of the fight against the former champion. Sherk only attempted a takedown once and scored it, although Edgar got back to his feet in quick time. This win shakes up the division a bit and really establishes Gray Maynard as one of the top contenders as he’s beaten Edgar as well as a few other decent opponents. Also on the main card, Drew McFedries scored a devastating knockout over Xaier Foupa-Pokam in just 37 seconds. McFedries jumped on Professor X quickly and ended the fight with a barrage of hard, accurate hooks. Chael Sonnen scored his 2nd win in the Octagon with a three round domination over Dan Miller.

Preliminary Results
Brock Larson 1st round submission (arm triangle choke) Mike Pyle
Tim Hague 1st round submission (guillotine choke) Pat Barry
Kyle Bradley 1st round TKO (referee blunder) Phillipe Nover
Kryzstof Soszynski 1st round KO (punch) Andre Gusmao
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 1st round submission (guillotine choke) Brandon Wolff
George Roop split decision Dave Kaplan

UFC 98 Predictions

The Pacquiao-Hatton hangover ends this weekend with a good few days of fight action, none of it more spectacular then the UFC event this weekend. Headlining the card is Rashad Evans making the first defence of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship that he won in December from Forrest Griffin. His opponent is the undefeated Brazilian star Lyoto Machida who has won all six of his fights in the UFC against the likes of Tito Ortiz, Sokoudjou and Thiago Silva. Outside of the UFC he has defeated two legends of the sport; Rich Franklin and BJ Penn (although Penn gave him a huge weight advantage). The co feature on the card is the long awaited grudge fighting between TUF6 coaches and former UFC Welterweight Champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. The two were expected to fight at UFC 79, but a back injury forced Serra off the card and both were then beaten in their last outings early last year.

Predictions
Main Card
Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida
Prediction- Evans by 4th round knockout
Yes I am picking against the so far unchallenged Machida (and when I say unchallenged, he’s definately beaten good fighters, just none of them have tested him yet). There’s a few factors in this pick. First of all is Evans new found boxing skills which is something Machida is yet to face in the Octagon. None of his opponents have had good technical boxing ability and with this I believe Evans can capitalise on some of Machida’s unorthodox evasive maneuvers and land his hard right hand. Next there’s Evans wrestling background, which Machida has faced in the past but not combined with the hand speed and boxing ability that Evans has. Rashad should be able to better use his stand-up to set up takedowns should he choose to take the fight down whereas someone like Tito Ortiz or Kazuhiro Nakamura had no set-ups to their takedowns which made them useless. Not to mention that Evans has probably the best tactician in MMA in his corner. If anyone can figure Machida out it’s Greg Jackson.
The key factor though is Evan’s incredible conditioning. I can’t remember ever seeing Rashad tired in a fight. Machida’s stamina has never really been questioned because he’s never had to fight in the late rounds at anything other then the pace he wanted to go at. If Rashad can land some shots or score some takedowns he could fluster Machida and break him down with his workrate. I think Machida will be overwhelmed especially as the fight hits the 3rd and 4th rounds and Evans will come over the top of him and score a knockout in what should be a very entertaining fight.

Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra
Prediction- Serra by 2nd round knockout
Yes I’m going with both Rashad and Serra. While Matt Hughes is very effective at what he does and it could work against Serra, I think he’ll need more then just good wrestling and a strong top game to win this fight. If the fight stays on the feet for a long period of time it’s big advantage Serra. If Serra gets on top in this fight it’s big, big advantage Serra. If Hughes gets on top of Serra he could very well get submitted although I think if Serra is on his back for too long he’ll do well to pull anything off on the bigger man. I think the big key in this fight is Serra’s improved stand-up and his punching power. Hughes’ stand-up has always been garbage and his keeness to trade in recent fights makes me believe Serra will take his head off with an overhand right and finish Hughes’ career.

ps- I’m going for Serra as well just so you know who’s side I’m on.

Frankie Edgar vs Sean Sherk
Prediction- Sherk on points
Sherk will give Edgar a chance if he’s stupid enough to box with him like he did with Tyson Griffin. If he fights like the Sherk who held the belt he’ll win this one easily.

Drew McFedries vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Prediction- Foupa-Pokam by 1st round submission
Like Sherk, Xavier gives McFedries a huge chance if he stands with him. He has excellent Muay Thai, but McFedries is as dangerous a banger as there is. Xavier’s submisison game is also good while McFedries’ is poor. If Xavier takes this to the mat he’ll tap McFedries quickly. If they stand up this could be fight of the night.

Dan Miller vs Chael Sonnen
Prediction- Sonnen on points
I’m picking this based on quality of opposition. I think Sonnen’s experience will help him in this one and his wrestling should dictate the course of the fight.

Preliminaries
Patrick Barry vs Tim Hague
Prediction- Barry by 2nd round knockout

Kyle Bradley vs Philipe Nover
Prediction- Nover by 1st round knockout

Andre Gusman vs Krysztof Soszynski
Prediction- Soszynski on points

Dave Kaplan vs George Roop
Prediction- Kaplan on points

Brock Larson vs Chris Wilson
Prediction- Larson by 2nd round submission

Brandon Wolff vs Yoshiyuko Yoshida
Prediction- Yoshida by 1st round submission

UFC Hall of Fame to increase by two at UFC 100

As part of the celebration of UFC 100, two more fighters will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the lead-up week of the historic card. The two men joining Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman has started some debate among MMA fans. The two leading candidates in my opinion are:

Chuck Liddell
Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was the poster boy for the UFC during the time the sport became mainstream. His trilogy with Randy Couture is the legendary trilogy in MMA history and his grudge fights with Tito Ortiz (well more so the lead up to those fights) gave the sport the exposure it needed at the time. Liddell won the championship with a 1st round knockout over Randy Couture before defending the belt four times against Couture, Ortiz, Renato Sobral and Jeremy Horn. Since losing the belt to Rampage Jackson at UFC 71, Liddell has lost three of his last four bouts with his only win coming in an exciting slugfest with Wanderlei Silva. Whether or not he makes the Hall of Fame now, he’ll definately make it at some stage. Liddell’s induction could rely on him announcing his retirement from the sport, although every member of the hall of fame has had a fight in the UFC following their induction (apart from Dan Severn) so who knows?

Matt Hughes
The longest reigning champion in UFC history, Matt Hughes had two monster runs as UFC Welterweight Champion. Originally avenging the loss of his trainer Pat Miletich with a controversial knockout of Carlos Newton at UFC 34, Hughes defended the belt five times against Newton, Hayato Sakurai, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg and Gil Castillo before losing his title to BJ Penn at UFC 45. Hughes won the belt back at UFC 50 with a 1st round submission over Georges St Pierre starting another domination of the division. This time defences against Frank Trigg, Joe Riggs (who didn’t make weight thus robbing Hughes of an official defence) and BJ Penn as well as a victory in a catchweight bout with Royce Gracie came before he dropped his title to Georges St Pierre. I think Hughes induction could be based on the result of his fight with Matt Serra, or more whether or not that is his last fight.

There are a few other possibilities, although I really think it’ll be the two mentioned above. I’d like to see John McCarthy in the hall of fame as he has been a huge part of the UFC until he retired from referreeing (although he came back this year). Evan Tanner could be inducted as could Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis as they have a huge sympathy vote with their tragic deaths in the last 12 months. An old school fighter like Don Frye could also end up taking up a spot although I think it’s doubtful. I really will be very surprised if it’s anyone but Liddell and Hughes.

UFC 98 main card pull-outs

UFC 98 is another PPV card that has been changed on a number of occasions due to injuries. Originally dubbed UFC 98: Lesnar vs Mir II with that fight as the headline, Mir pulled out with an injured knee leaving Rashad Evans to step in making the first defence of his Light Heavyweight crown against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Then Rampage pulled out leaving Lyoto Machida to take his place (don’t worry, nothing has happened to that fight). Josh Koscheck was set to face Chris Wilson on the main card along with the TUF 6 coaches grudge match between former Welterweight Champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra and the Lightweight battle between Seah Sherk and Frankie Edgar, but Koscheck was forced off the card with an injury leaving Brock Larson to step in instead.

Now, top Middleweight Yushin Okami has now pulled of his main card fight with Dan Miller as well as James Irvin pulling out of his 185lb debut against Drew McFedries (also on the main card) leaving two holes in the main card. Replacing Irvin will be Xavier Foupa-Pokam and replacing Okami will be Chael Sonnen. The Okami-Miller fight had upper level implications and should Miller win over Sonnen he’ll likely be seen as one of the top contenders (although an announced UFC 102 bout between Demian Maia and Nate Marquadt is likely to land the winner the next title shot). Foupa-Pokam has drawn a pretty exciting match that has me about 90% as excited as I was for the Irvin-McFedries fight. Although winning seven fights by submission (which makes anyone favourite over McFedries), Foupa-Pokam is a lethal striker and a slugfest could be on if Xavier doesn’t decide to take it to the ground where he should be too much for McFedries.

The UFC 98 card now looks like this:

Main Card
Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
Matt Hughes vs Matt Serra
Frankie Edgar vs Sean Sherk
(two to be added from Prelims)

Preliminaries
Dan Miller vs Chael Sonnen
Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs Drew McFedries
Houston Alexander vs Andre Gusmao
Pat Barry vs Tim Hague
Dave Kaplan vs George Roop
Brock Larsonvs Chris Wilson
Phillipe Nover vs Kyle Bradley
Brandon Wolff vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida

UFC 94: Breaking Down BJ Penn vs Georges St Pierre

This fight is quite probably the biggest in UFC history. It’s quite possibly the biggest and most significant in MMA history. It’s not like the PRIDE vs UFC days where you only had the best fighters in the organisation fighting each other, now you have the best at 155lbs vs the best at 170lbs. It’s a first in the sport that the absolute best in the world in one weight class has moved up to fight the absolute best in the world at another weight class. While Dana White compares this fight to Hagler-Hearns I really think he needs a boxing history lesson. While that fight proved to be extremely exciting, this is more like the first fight between Roberto Duran, arguably the greatest lightweight of all-time, and Sugar Ray Leonard, the young champion who was looking for the fights that would have him ranked alongside the other Sugar Ray.

In that fight the unchallenged lightweight champion moved up and fought the new but extremely hyped Welterweight champion in what was a stacked division. Duran and Penn both have their similarities as they are extremely talented fighters but often have trouble getting into the shape they needed to be in to make the most of it. Duran suffered a loss early in his career against Esteban De Jesus, a loss he later avenged twice in extremely dominant fashion. Duran’s De Jesus is like BJ Penn’s Jens Pulver. Both fighters also proved that their skill set was so great that they could dominate much larger fighters. With Duran’s frame being suited to 135lbs, he won World titles in four weight classes all the way up to 160lbs. Penn has already won the UFC Welterweight title and has given highly ranked Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida his toughest fight to date. Leonard and St Pierre don’t have as many similarities but there are some. Leonard at that stage of his career was looking to fight the real big names in boxing with the likes of Tonny Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Duran around him. St Pierre is in the same boat looking to sit on the peak with the likes of Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. Around him he has his own Hearns in Thiago Alves, a young dangerous contender, his own Marvin Hagler in Anderson Silva, the dominant, unmatched Middleweight champion and of course his Duran in Penn.

Even though the Hagler vs Hearns fight has a lot of hype behind it as far as being a great fight, the Duran vs Leonard fight in Montreal in 1979 is a much better fit for this fight. Hagler vs Hearns was two and a half rounds of mayhem inside the ring with both guys trying to take each others heads off. Duran and Leonard fought a 15 round tactical war with Duran forcing Leonard to fight him on the inside where he was at his best and Leonard trading punches with ‘Hands of Stone.’ This fight has all the makings of a five round tactical war. Both fighters are extremely well rounded and could win the fight from a number of situations. Both guys have excellent stand-up and have won fights via strikes before. St Pierre arguably has the best takedowns in MMA and BJ Penn has arguably the best takedown defence in MMA. Penn’s flexibility is almost unmatched and on his back he’ll likely prove too difficult for St Pierre to gain a dominanty position against or even half guard where he delivered so much damage to Matt Serra in their rematch last year. St Pierre’s wrestling will likely prove too much for Penn to be able to get mount or back control where his finishing ability in MMA is almost second to none. This really is a very evenly matched fight between two MMA masters.

There are two big factors in this fight; St Pierre’s chin and BJ Penns cardio. While St Pierre’s chin has only failed him once, Penn’s cardio is maybe the biggest factor in every one of his losses. In a five round fight with someone who can force the action as much as St Pierre I think this will be the deciding factor. Despite Penn cutting St Pierre’s face up in the first round of their first fight, St Pierre gave as good as he got in the first round of that fight. It really is my opinion that the fight should have been scored 30-27 for St Pierre before it was scored for Penn. Georges dominated the 2nd and 3rd round of that fight scoring heavy takedowns and working his top control. While I think Penn is a different animal now that he is training properly, I think if this fight reaches rounds three and four that St Pierre is going to take over. BJ Penn is yet to prove himself in a war or in a fight that isn’t going his way. Every one of his big wins have been in one sided fashion; Matt Hughes (first round submission), Jens Pulver (2nd round submission), Sean Sherk (one sided third round knockout); all of them Penn was in total control from start to finish. If St Pierre is getting his shots in and getting takedowns early in the fight, I think he’ll break Penn not so much mentally but definately physically. The fact that St Pierre probably fights at 180-185lbs and Penn fights at 170lbs also is a big factor as Penn has never faced someone big and athletic as St Pierre. As far as the improvement of both guys go since their first fight, I think St Pierre has improved more then Penn especially after his loss to Matt Serra.

Prediction
I’m picking St Pierre to TKO Penn in the 5th round. I think the first three rounds will be the three best rounds of MMA skill ever displayed. It will be back and forth with both guys showing high level kickboxing and excellent clinch fighting with the fight hitting the mat on occasion in St Pierre’s favour. However, sometime in the 3rd round I think St Pierre will get Penn in a bad spot and it’ll be all down hill from there. He’ll land some heavy punches or a head kick or some unanswered punches on the ground and then Penn’s cardio will fail him and St Pierre will turn up his game. St Pierre will dominate Penn with heavy punches from on top in the 4th round before finishing him in the 5th round with ground and pound. I think this will truly be an epic battle between two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world and while it may not be as electric as Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar or Thomas Hearns vs Marvin Hagler, that doesn’t mean it won’t be as good to watch. This fight on paper doesn’t look to be a bar room brawl style fight like those two matches, but it’ll go down in MMA history as an epic battle between two of the best fighters of all-time. Georges St Pierre by 5th round TKO.

UFC 98 looking massive

All rumours so far, but UFC 98 is scheduled for May 23rd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and so far the main bouts are good ones. The UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will meet the interim Champion (and only man to defeat him) Frank Mir in a ‘unification’ fight. This is one of the most anticipated fights of the year and while I think Fedor, Arlovski and Barnett would rape both of these guys, I’ll definately be looking forward to this bout. It’ll be very interesting to see how they both match given how much better they both looked since their first fight at UFC 81 last year.
The co-main event will be between former Welterweight Champions and TUF6 Coaches Matt Hughes and Matt Serra in an injury delayed grudge match. People have been saying that no one will care when this fight eventually comes around, but these two definately care. Matt Serra hates Matt Hughes because ‘Matt Hughes is a dick’ and Hughes hates Serra because ‘Hughes is a dick’. It won’t take too long for these two to rebuild their rivalry. After UFC 94 next weekend, this is the next big MMA card I’m looking forward to.
By the way, I’ve included an MMA schedule on this page now, check out the link on the menu across the top. It’s still a work in progress and I hope to add more to it soon.