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
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 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
Just thought I’d post something different seeing how there’s limited action over the coming weeks until the K-1 event at the end of March. A few big fights have been announced over the last few weeks. I’ve beek keeping a MMA schedule on the main page (when I get around to updating it anyway) so if you want to see who’s on what card that’s coming up this might be a good place to check out.
Evans to fight Machida, not Rampage That’s right, like I said Rampage fighting three times in a little over five months was too much especially considering one of those was a hard fought fight with Keith Jardine who is a strong, powerful bastard. Machida will instead get his shot in probably the least exciting fight for a UFC title since the Pat Miletich reign at Welterweight. This fight could be very boring, but then again I’ve been wanting to see what it takes to beat one of these guys for a while so at least that’ll satisfy that bit of curiosity for me, that and the fact that Rampage will likely tear apart whoever wins this fight.
TUF 9 Finale features Sanchez-Guida and Diaz-Stevenson The two main fights apart from the Finals for TUF 9 will feature another round robin of lightweight clashes. After Nate Diaz and Clay Guida beat Josh Neer and Mac Danzig respectively, Diaz fought Guida and Danzig took on in bouts following. The same has happened again with Guida and Diaz, who will meet Sanchez and Stevenson in respective bouts. The Guida-Sanchez fight has serious implications with the winner probably next in line to battle BJ Penn (or Kenny Florian) as both guys have been in good form and are on winning streaks. Diaz and Stevenson should be another good test for Diaz and one that I think he’ll pass. The big thing will be whether or not he can finish ‘Daddy’ because he’ll deserve serious props if he does.
Coleman to face Bonnar at UFC 100 UFC 100 features a hall of fame member in what will be a sad showing as he’ll likely lose to one of the UFC’s average Light Heavyweights. Former UFC and PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman will take on TUF1 Runner-up Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100. Bonnar should win this fight on conditioning alone as Coleman struggles to fight for more then two minutes without being short of breath.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson scored a three round unanimous decision over Keith Jardine in the main event at UFC 96. After Frank Mir pulled out of his main event with Brock Lesnar at UFC 98, Rashad Evans said pre fight that should Rampage defeat Jardine, the two would meet at UFC 98. Rampage started slowly, allowing Jardine to control the tempo of the fight with his awkward style. After a first close round, Rampage attacked Jardine continously in the early goings of the 2nd round, dropping him with a left hook. Jardine scrambled well but ate a few punches and still looked hurt as the fight resumed on their feet after a brief clinch. Rampage then shot in for a successful takedown but again Jardine worked his way back to his feet where he continued to come off 2nd best in the exchanges.
Jardine started well in the 3rd round before again being taken down by Jackson. Jardine showed an underrated (well unseen) ground game as he worked his way back to his feet yet again. With the fight possibly in the balance, Jardine began to use his awkward style to get off first and back Rampage up. Rampage’s strikes became wild towards the end of the round, but with Jardine tiring and his hands below his waist, Rampage dropped Jardine again in the closing seconds of the bout to take any doubt about the decision away. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Rampage, who engaged in some post fight trash talk with UFC light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. In his own words, the fight is going to be ‘some black on black crime.’
I really thought Rampage fought like shit in this fight and I’d be all for Machida getting the first shot while Rampage gets a bit of rest in. Maybe it wasn’t the two fights in three months (that’s what Rampage said he thought it was after the fight) and maybe it was just Jardine making someone else look bad. If Rampage stayed in the pocket more in this fight he would have won it inside the distance no doubt in my opinion. Jardine’s inside game is horrible and that’s where a guy like Wanderlei Silva can take advantage because of his reckless style. Jardine is a nightmare for counter fighters like Liddell and Rampage.
In the main support bout, Shane Carwin knocked Gabriel Gonzaga out in just over a minute with one solid right hand. He didn’t have it all his own way however, as Gonzaga landed a handful of heavy right hands that looked to have Carwin momentarily hurt before he secured a trip takedown. Carwin scrambled well, and got back to his feet and then caught the former challenger for the UFC crown with one right hand that ended Gonzaga’s two fight winning streak. With the win, Carwin moves to 11-0 with all 11 fights ending in the first round. His UFC career moves to 3-0. Gonzaga drops to 10-4 with a 6-3 mark in the UFC. Carwin definately looked beatable but that power is always going to be an equaliser. Even though I think he looked beatable, Gonzaga is arguably the most dangerous fighter in the UFC with his ground skills and punching power and Carwin survived his onslaught. Carwin really is one of the top dogs in the division now and I’d love to see him in there with another top heavyweight ASAP.
Other Results
Matt Brown KO1 Pete Sell
Matt Hammill KO1 Mark Munoz
Gray Maynard Pts Jim Miller
Kendall Grove KO1 Jason Day
Tamdan McCrory TKO1 Ryan Madigan
Jason Brilz Pts Tim Boetsch
Brandon Vera KO2 Mike Patt
Shane Nelson KO1 Aaron Riley
Another UFC card takes place this weekend (making it the fourth this year so far in just over two months, don’t think I’m complaining though) and while some of you bitches out there think this card is shit, I completely disagree. While the main event is no St-Pierre vs Penn, the main card consists of four well matched fights and a typical Matt Hammill fight (why is this guy on the main card again?).
In the main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson takes on the always unpredictable Keith Jardine over three rounds. For Rampage, a win should secure him a title shot against Rashad Evans probably in August or September of this year (a loss would mean we have an extra six months of Lyoto Machida as champion). For Jardine, if he wins he’ll probably get a big rematch with Liddell should he beat Shogun or he’ll be fed to whichever Light Heavyweight Joe Silva thinks needs a big win again. So even though the main event isn’t a big fight in the big picture of both fighters careers, it’s still a very good matchup and one that will be very interesting to see how it unfolds.
The undercard sees Heavyweight prospect Shane Carwin’s first real test as he takes on Gabriel Gonzaga in what will be a match between two of the games most powerful fighters. Both of these guys are massive and have huge power in their strikes as well as excellent ground games (although we’re yet to see Carwin fight off his back). Also an interesting Lightweight clash with two of the UFC’s middle tier 155lbers looking to move into the big time with Gray Maynard taking on Jim Miller. The other fight sees two fighters who fight with their hearts on their sleeves in Pete Sell and Matt Brown clashing in what is the favourite to take out fight of the night honours and while I’d rather see Jason Day vs Kendall Grove, I’ll make do with watching another shitty Matt Hammill vs ‘some guy with wrestling background and no striking so Hammill is at no risk of losing’ fight.
Main Card
Rampge Jackson vs Keith Jardine Prediction- Rampage by 1st round KO Rampage is by far the more dangerous fighter. Jardine is awkward with his movement and has some heavy leg kicks but Jackson’s counter punching style I think will suit a fighter like Jardine who strikes from awkward angles and has a lot of unorthodox ways of moving after he throws his shots. I think Rampage will catch him with a big strike during an exchange and hurt ‘the Dean of Mean’ and then finish him with strikes on the ground.
Shane Carwin vs Gabriel Gonzaga Prediction- Gonzaga by 2nd round KO Carwin is still very green and unless he puts a hurting on Gonzaga early I think he’ll be forced to fight at a competitive pace and his body won’t be used to it. This isn’t to say I don’t think Carwin has what it takes because he’s an excellent prospect but I think Gonzaga is a step too far at this stage. The only thing that concerns me with ‘Napao’ is his tendancy to fold when he is put under good pressure but I think he’ll make Carwin fight harder in areas he isn’t used to fighting in (like the clinch) for extended periods of time and wear the bigger man out before knocking him out in the 2nd round.
Matt Brown vs Pete Sell Prediction- Brown by 2nd round KO The first round of this fight should be a slugfest. Sell could make things easy and try to take the fight to the ground where his BJJ black belt gives him a big advantage but he won’t. He’ll get drawn into Brown’s fight and end up trading with Brown who fights like a savage dog and Brown will prove to have too much firepower over the course of the fight.
Gray Maynard vs Jim Miller Prediction- Maynard on points On paper, this is probably the most interesting matchup in terms of styles on the card. Both guys have average hands but Maynard is one of the top Lightweights when it comes to wrestling and Miller is one of the best when it comes to Jiu Jitsu. However, these type of fights often end up being really average kickboxing battles and in that department I give an edge to Maynard. Miller is a southpaw so if he’s forced to stand up he might give Maynard, who is still a very inexperienced striker, a lot of problems. Maynard though will have the choice where this fight goes and I think he might avoid Millers ground arsenal and try his luck on his feet. Could be painful but if it hits the mat it might be more entertaining then Brown vs Sell. Still, Maynard has the wrestling to control Miller on the ground and probably the better stand-up skills if he wants to stay up. It’ll be close but I think Maynard will edge him by split decision.
Matt Hammill vs Mike Munoz Prediction- Hammill by 2nd round KO As I said, typical matchup for Hammill who needs more babying. Munoz is a collegiate wrestler up against one of the top wrestlers in the game. Hammill gets repeated takedowns that he doesn’t set up with his below average boxing skills and clubs his way to an ugly stoppage win yet again and fails to impress me yet again.
As for the rest, I couldn’t be fucked going into them, but here’s my picks.
Preliminaries
Jason Day vs Kendall Grove Prediction- Day by 2nd round KO
Ryan Madigan vs Tamdan McCrory
Prediction- McCrory by 2nd round submission
Tim Boetsch vs Jason Brilz Prediction- Brilz on points
Mike Patt vs Brandon Vera Prediction- Vera by 1st round KO
Shane Nelson vs Aaron Riley Prediction- Riley on points
These are also late, but even more then boxing these had to be left until the new year so all the events could be done and everything taken into consideration. As it turns out, a few of the last few events of the year won some awards.
Fight of the Year- Eddie Alvarez TKO 1 (7:35) Tatsuya Kawajiri (DREAM.5)
This fight took place in the semi finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix and a cut suffered by Alvarez in winning this fight left him unable to continue in the tournament marking the way for alternate Joachim Hansen, the man Alvarez beat in the Quarter Finals, to fight in and win the Final against Shinya Aoki. Both fighters traded heavy shots on their feet throughout the fight and both fighters were knocked down. Alvarez dropped Kawajiri with a left hook-right cross about three minutes in but he used good survival skills to get himself out of trouble. After the doctors ruled Alvarez’s cut was okay to continue, Kawajiri dropped him heavily with a right hand and then passed his guard and mounted him. Alvarez escaped the mount and got back to his feet where both guys traded heavy shots and hurt each other more then once. Alvarez then pinned Kawajiri against the ropes and dropped him again, took his back and finished him with heavy strikes to the head. I picked this fight over some of the other ones on the list because it was fast paced for the full distance of the fight unlike some of the other candidates this year and because the whole way through the fight you had no idea who was going to win. If you haven’t seen the fight, here it is:
Honourable Mentions- Miguel Torres TKO3 Yoshiro Maeda (WEC 34), Forrest Griffin UD5 Rampage Jackson (UFC 86), Eddie Alvarez UD (15 mins) Joachim Hansen (DREAM.3).
Fighter of the Year- Gegard Mousasi This might come as a strange pick to some people, but the big factor in this pick was that he went 6-0 this year (plus his victory under K-1 rules against MUSASHI) and four of those wins were against decent opposition in winning the DREAM Middleweight Tournament. After winning two fights early in the year (one over PRIDE veteran Evangelista Cyborg), Mousasi entered the Grand Prix as one of the dark horses. Matched up against PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Runner-up Denis Kang in the first round of the tournament, Mousasi’s triangle choke victory came as a big upset to most people. A workman-like decision win over Dong Sik Yoon in the Quarter Finals earned him his spot in the Final Event where he had to face Melvin Manhoef in the Semi Finals, and then fight again on the same night to win the title. Most were expecting a Manhoef-Ronaldo Jacare final, but Mousasi had other ideas, scoring a victory again via triangle choke in 88 seconds over the feared striker. Facing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Jacare in the Final, Mousasi ended up on his back early, but at the 2:15 mark of the first round a dramatic upkick followed up by punches with Jacare in his guard left his Brazilian opponent unconscious and made Gegard Mousasi the new DREAM Middleweight Champion. Some of the other fighters (particularily in the UFC) scored bigger wins this year, but all of them fought only twice this year and you can question the level of some of their wins. While some of Mousasi’s opponents certainly wouldn’t make it in the UFC, going 6-0 against that sort of competition is very impressive stuff. I definately don’t think he’d beat Anderson Silva or anything like that so save your time from writing some idiotic comment saying Silva would crush him or whatever because that’s not what this is about. It’s about which fighter accomplished the most in the calendar year and it was in my opinion Gegard Mousasi. Honourable Mentions- Frank Mir, Rashad Evans, Georges St Pierre.
Knockout of the Year- Rampage Jackson KO1 (left hook) Wanderlei Silva (UFC 92) This knockout just edged out Rashad Evans knocking out Chuck Liddell. I almost made it a tie, but then I measured my closet and realised I wasn’t big enough to fit into it so I could come out of it after making it a tie and acted like a man and made the pick. I think the deciding factor was the importance of the knockout for Rampage in this fight after avenging two brutal KO losses to Silva from their PRIDE days with an equally if not more devastating KO win himself. I would put a clip of the KO up, but ZUFFA are pricks about this sort of thing and don’t allow any of their fights to be on youtube so I’ll have to describe it. Wanderlei attacked Rampage while he was near the fence and threw a left hook-right hook combo. Rampage countered the left hook with a tighter one of his own and caught Wanderlei square on the jaw with his own hook putting him out cold right away while he was in the middle of throwing his own shot. Rampage then followed it up with two or three shots while Wanderlei was out. Both Rampage and Rashad will likely fight for the belt later this year and hopefully we’ll see another KO of the year candidate (and hopefully it’s Rashad who is on the receiving end). Honourable Mentions- Rashad Evans KO2 (overhand right) Chuck Liddell (UFC 88), Wanderlei Silva KO1 (rape choke + right hands from mount) Keith Jardine (UFC 84), Anthony Johnson KO3 (left high kick) Kevin Burns (TUF8 Finale).
Submission of the Year- Shinya Aoki Sub1 (5:12)(Aokiplata/Gogoplata from mount) Katsuhiko Nagata (DREAM.4) I watched this about 50 times in a row after I saw it. It was so cool it has to be given it’s own name and I will from now on refer to this as the Aokiplata no matter how much my friend who has done Jiu Jitsu longer then me tells me that the gogoplata was originally done from the mount before the guard and that the one he did on Hansen should therefore be the Aokiplata because I think he’s wrong. Anyway, unlike KO of the year, I have a clip, so I’ll shut up and you can enjoy:
Honourable Mentions- Dustin Hazelett Sub2 (Flying Armbar from Whizzer) Josh Burkman (TUF7 Finale), Dustin Hazelett Sub1 (Cutting Armbar against his own leg) Tamdan McCrory, Demian Maia Sub2 (Triangle Choke from Mount + Punches) Ed Herman (UFC 83).
Event of the Year- UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 (December 27th)
The UFC stacked their last show and it proved to be the best event of the year. On the card we had two title fights between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir for the UFC interim Heavyweight title and Rashad Evans challenging Forrest Griffin for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the main event. Also on the card was a fight featuring one of the best grudges in MMA between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva; one that has been around for more then five years since before their first bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. Thw two other fights that filled up the main card saw an excellent knockout by Cheick Kongo over Mustafa Al Turk as well as a great Middleweight battle between CB Dollaway and Mike Massenzio. The UFC put six of it’s top starts against each other in fights that had plenty of impact on their respective divisions as well as plenty of impact in future fights that can be made. This card had great matchups that turned into great fights, upsets plus some great finishes and you really can’t ask for anything more (other then the odd submission). Honourable Mentions- Affliction: Banned, UFC 81: Breaking Point, UFC 84: Ill Will.
Performance of the Year- Fedor Emelianenko Sub1 (36 seconds) Tim Sylvia (Affliction: Banned) There was a lot of hype around Fedor’s return to US soil and him fighting his (apparent) first ‘real’ opponent in former Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. Plenty of people thought that Fedor was all hype and no skill and the new promotion he represented, Affliction, depended on him to prove them wrong in order to succeed. That he did. After a brief feeling out process off about 10 seconds, Fedor dropped Sylvia with a series of big punches, battered him on the ground with even heavier punches, took his back and made him tap with a rear naked choke. It was easily the most you could dominate someone in just 36 seconds. Anyone who wasn’t impressed by Fedor in this fight is an idiot and I really don’t care what anyone has to say about it. Fact of the matter is he’s the best Heavyweight in the World until someone beats him. Guess what, I found a clip of it as well:
Honourable Mentions- Anderson Silva Sub2 Dan Henderson (UFC 81), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92), Georges St Pierre TKO2 Matt Serra (UFC 83).
Upset of the Year- Mike Brown TKO1 Urijah Faber (WEC 36) Faber was easily the top Featherweight in the World and was considered miles ahead of anyone else. He was a top pound for pound fighter as well and no one expected him to lose anytime soon. Mike Brown was a former UFC competitor (he had one fight and got tapped out by Genki Sudo) who had only lost to top fighters and usually fought at Lightweight. While a respectable fighter no one really thought he standed much of a chance with Faber. Two minutes 23 seconds later he had caught Faber with a big right hand as Faber attempted a spinning elbow and rained down punches until the referee pulled him off. I didn’t even bother watching this fight until I saw the result (plus I would have had a hard time finding it online because they broadcast fuckall down under in terms of MMA) because I thought this would be business as usual for Faber. None of the other upsets this year come close to that one.
Honourable Mentions- Junior dos Santos KO1 Fabricio Werdum (UFC 90), Rashad Evans KO2 (UFC 88), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92).
Before I get onto some of the lesser more comical awards, I’m going to explain my lack of a round of the year award. I prefer the Japanese 1 10 min/1-2 5 min rounds because I think MMA is a sport that doesn’t need rounds. It’s a proper fight and while I don’t care about having rounds as much as I care about say stand-ups and while I understand that they allow more fights to get sanctioned and make some fights more exciting, I still prefer the fighters to go for as long as they can for a round or two then a couple of shorter rounds at the end so I will not include a round of the year. If I did have one I’d give it to Alvarez-Kawajiri because it ended in the first round even though that round was 10 minutes long.
Now, seeing how MMA isn’t as old as boxing, these are all going to be completely new and made up awards named after whoever wins them as I go remembering some of the funnier moments of the year.
Shonie Carter Award for Best Referee Stoppage/- Shonie Carter (Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker)
Bryan/Parker Award for Double KO of the Year- Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker And here it is:
Just a prior warning, the next few awards go to EliteXC for their ‘Heat’ show, so make sure you have a bucket handy.
Shamrock/Kimbo Award for Most Entertaining Weigh-in of the Year- EliteXC: Heat This weigh-in had two big feuds that almost flared up as well as some nudity from someone not quite as ugly as Kimbo Slice. Undercard attraction and probably the most well known female MMA fighter Gina Carano failed to make weight for like the 4th time in her MMA career but instead of letting it go like what has happened in the past, EliteXC officials made her strip all the way to see if the limited clothing she was wearing accounted for extra weight that she was over. Somehow it did. About four towels covered Carano (and from what I read on a few message boards the wet dreams of many fight fans) that were being held up by her handlers and a very embarrassed Carano made the contracted weight for her fight with Kelly Kobald. After the Arlovski-Nelson weigh in went off without any problems, EliteEX Welterweight Championship competitors Paul Daley and Jake Shields had to be seperated after Shields blew Daley a kiss during the staredown. The main event for this fight was between UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and Youtube star Kimbo Slice (well at that stage it was) and going with his usual style, Shamrock decided to start some shit before the fight. While posing for the media in attention, Shamrock for absolutely no logical reason (Shamrock thinking he’s been disrespected isn’t a logical reason) pushed Slice in the back and caused the second near brawl of the weigh-in. This one took a lot longer to calm down though as both fighters had bigger entourages then Daley and Shields. Unfortunately, the actual card was no where near as entertaining as the weigh-in.
Jared Shaw Award for Worst Matchmaking of the Year- Kimbo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli (EliteXC: Heat)
Kimbo Slice Award for Most Pathetic Knockout of the Year- Seth Petruzelli KO1 (14 seconds) Kimbo Slice (EliteXC: Heat) Ken Shamrock somehow got himself cut warming-up for the fight and EliteXC needed someone to step in and fight Kimbo Slice in their main event. After an offer from commentator Frank Shamrock was turned down because Shamrock, despite being 50lbs lighter then Kimbo, has some serious skills and would likely have beaten Kimbo anywhere the fight went and EliteXC couldn’t risk their main drawcard getting beaten by a Middleweight. Instead Jared Shaw came up with former TUF2 competitor Seth Petruzelli who was fighting in a Light Heavyweight bout on the preliminary card. Petruzelli was an unorthodox but fairly handy striker who also had some wrestling ability and Shaw tried to make sure it was his striking skills that he would be using against their apparent ‘top 10 Heavyweight boxer in the World’ by asking that Petruzelli stand with Kimbo. What Shaw didn’t know is that there is a difference in levels of striking between your good street fighters and your trained fighters. It took only 14 seconds for him to be wishing that he picked Frank Shamrock. Kimbo rushed across the cage in his usual fashion and backed Petruzelli against the fence. Petruzelli flicked out a jab while off balance and to his and everyone else’s surprised it dropped Kimbo onto all fours. Petruzelli pounced and landed several shots while on Kimbos back, then rolled him over and landed a barrage from, side control that forced the referee to stop the fight at just 0:14 of the first round.
Bob Sapp Award for Biggest Mismatch of the Year- Jan Nortje vs Bob Sapp (Strikeforce: At the Dome) Some people might be surprised that I picked this fight over the Kinniku Mantaro fight against Sapp at the end of the year. Well the answer is obvious, that fight was competitive, this fight wasn’t. Jan Nortje was receiving a lot of hype for his 1-5 record that earned him a spot in the Strikeforce main event. They brought in monster of a man Bob Sapp to fight him because that wanted to see what happens when Nortje picks on someone his own size. The fight ended quickly after Nortje landed several hard blows that forced Sapp to run away, then chased him down and finished the job 55 seconds into the first round. It truly was a mismatch and the matchmakers at Strikeforce deserve an enquiry much more then EliteXC officials for bringing in someone as poor as Bob Sapp to fight a stud like Jan Nortje.
YAMMA Award for Worst MMA Show of the Year (maybe ever)- YAMMA Pit Fighting Seriously this was just horrendous. The creators of the UFC tried to bring back eight man-one night tournaments and make MMA ‘more exciting.’ The tournaments were impossible to do like they used to be done, so they had to compromise. Because fighters could only fight five rounds a night, the first and second rounds of the tournament would be one round of fighting each with the Final fight being three rounds. YAMMA also had a ‘revolutionary’ new fighting surface in which the area of the mat around the edge of the fence would go up on an angle so that the wrestlers couldn’t just pin you up against the cage and drop elbows on your head. Basically YAMMA wanted their organisation to be striker friendly. Instead, the wrestlers backed their opponents onto the ‘ramp’ then took them down with ease because they were off balance and because the fights were only one five minute round, the fight was over right there and then. The tournament consisted of every match being won by lay and prey (including the three round final). The only slightly entertaining part of this event was the super fights between Butterbean and Patrick Smith (mainly because Butterbean got royally fucked up) and Oleg Taktarov vs the man who ate Mark Kerr (Taktarov won by kneebar about one minute in). The event was bad from the fights to the Ring Announcer, who was so bad I’ve named an Award after him.
Scott Ferrall Award for Worst Ring Announcer of the Year- Scott Ferrall (YAMMA Pit Fighting) Scott Ferrall was funny but I wasn’t laughing with him. The guy was way too weird to be allowed to have his thoughts expressed on a microphone. He first announced referee Dan Miragliotta as “Big Dan Miragliotta STOMP YOU OUT!” and then “Big Dan the Man, How can I be the man if you’re the man, Dan Miragliotta (to which Dan shook his head in disgust). Pulled off a terribly lame call in “Travis ‘The Diesel’ Gimme a room with a Wiuff.” One fighter he said “hadn’t eaten in a week because he’s going to the electric chair.” Referred to the YAMMA Championship belt as ‘the strap-on’ and probably the weirdest call he made was “Kevin Mulhall will be the referee for this beautiful matchup of warriors and freaks ready to pound and dance…”
Gone but not Forgotten It’s sad that I have to do one of these for MMA. Boxing has been around for over 100 years and past champions are going to pass away each year and I feel it’s important to remember them. MMA on the other hand has been around for just 15 years and this year my favourite fighter, Evan Tanner, passed away way earlier then he should have.
Evan Tanner- Former UFC Middleweight Champion. Challenged Tito Ortiz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 30 but lost. Defeated Dave Terrell for the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 51 and won with strikes in the first round. Lost the title to Rich Franklin on a doctors stoppage in his first defence at UFC 53. None of this was why I liked Evan Tanner. He kept a blog on his website which I read for over a year about everything that went on in his life, including all his adventures and even his battle with alcohol which he beat in order to return to the UFC this year. I admired not so much the way the man led his life but the way he was completely honest with himself about who he was and who he wasn’t. He died in September of this year from heat exposure after his motorbike broke down in the desert and he ran out of water. He was 37.
Evans pounds out Griffin in three In what was the best fight of the night, undefeated winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter Rashad Evans won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with a third round technical knockout over Season one winner Forrest Griffin. The win marks the third man to hold the Light Heavyweight belt this year, with Griffin taking it from Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at UFC 86 before losing it in his first defence yesterday.
Both fighters started the first round of the fight slowly with Griffin landing more shots compared to Evans solid but infrequent bombs. The second round saw some furious exchanges with both guys looking hurt at different points in the fight. Evans ate a left hook early in the round which prompted Griffin to open up and chase Evans across the Octagon raining down blows. Evans retaliated by tauning Griffin then countering with a left hook. Later in the round Evans landed a series of bombs on Griffin that looked like they hurt the champion but Griffin fired back. Griffin landed heavily with a right hand at the end of the round which cemented the round for him on my card.
In the third round the fight finally hit the deck after Griffin slipped and Evans was quick to pounce, landing some hard shots from inside the champions guard. Griffin entually got wrist control but couldn’t control the challengers posture which made his submission attempts near impossible. Griffin tried a kimura from his back but Evans never let him get close. A triangle choke attempt from Griffin saw Evans briefly pass his guard and land some shots although Forrest was quick to get back to full guard. Evans finally got the opening he was after and landed a thunderous right hand from the guard which dazed Griffin. Numerous follow-up shots with first the right hand and eventually both hands had Griffin seriously hurt. Steve Mazzaghatti finally stepped in and halted the bout after what looked like Griffin tapped (although he claimed in the post fight interview that he didn’t and was just flailing from the punches) and crowned Evans the new champion at 2:46 of the third round.
Mir becomes first man to stop Nogueira
Fedor Emelianenko couldn’t do it. Josh Barnett couldn’t do it. Mirko Cro Cop couldn’t do it and either could Tim Sylvia or Heath Herring. But Jiu Jitsu stylist Frank Mir became the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with strikes in the second round of their five round clash for the Interim UFC Heavyweight title. The win sets up a rematch for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship with Brock Lesnar, a rematch from a great fight earlier in the year which Mir won by kneebar in 90 seconds after taking heavy punishment for at least 60 of those seconds.
Right from the start Mir dominated the fight with his stand-up against the sluggish looking Nogueira. Landing with crisp combinations usually consisting of right uppercut from his southpaw stance, Mir constantly kept Nogueira off balance and forced him back when he tried for a clinch. After a brief battle on the ground courtesy of a Mir takedown, Mir then dropped Nogueira with a combination and looked to finish on the ground. Nogueira showed his usual composure when hurt which has seen him score famous come from behind victories over the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Bob Sapp and saw off Mirs attack before Mir took the fight back to the feet. Standing up, Mir continued to get off first with crisp combinations while Nogueira failed to pull the trigger on anything before Mir again dropped Nogueira at the end of the round.
Nothing changed in the second round with Mir again easily outboxing the former PRIDE Heavyweight champion and landing with clean, crisp combinations. Mir then dropped Nogueira for the third time of the night with punches but this time was able to follow up and force referee Herb Dean to step in and rescue Nogueira for the first time in his 38 fight career. An emotional Mir thanked his team and his family for helping him to get back to where he was after his horrific motorcycle accident in 2004 which cost him the UFC Heavyweight title last time he held it.
Rampage scores sweet knockout over bitter rival Wanderlei Silva Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion made his comeback fight a successful one, avenging two previous knockout losses against Wanderlei Silva with a one punch left hook knockout at 3:21 of the first round. Silva had twice knocked Rampage out in fights for the PRIDE Middleweight (205lbs) title (one was the final of the 2003 Grand Prix) but lost his fourth fight in his last five appearances, his third by knockout. For Rampage, the win likely sets up another shot at the UFC crown he lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 earlier this year.
Both fighters came out striking with Rampage looking the quicker early on. After eating two shots from Silva, Rampage attempted to take the fight to the ground but ate a knee for his trouble. Silva appeared to be getting set, landing a few vicious leg kicks to Rampage’s left thigh. Rampage though kept his cool and after en exchange of punches near the fence, Rampage countered a Silva left hook with one of his own that landed flush on the jaw and put the former PRIDE Middleweight champion down and out cold. Three follow up shots from Rampage left Silva unconscious for around three minutes before he woke up.
Other Results
CB Dollaway TKO1 (strikes from back mount) Mike Massenzio
Cheick Kongo TKO1 (strikes) Mustafa Al Turk
Yushin Okami UD3 Dean Lister
Matt Hammill TKO2 (strikes) Reese Andy
Brad Blackburn UD3 Ryo Chonan
Patt Berry TKO1 (leg kicks) Dan Evenson
UFC 92 takes place this weekend with the annual years end card that the UFC seems to stack every year. This year is no exception with two title fights and a fight between a former UFC champion and a former PRIDE champion. In the main event, UFC Light Heavyweight champion makes the first defence of the title he won from Rampage Jackson in July against Rashad Evans. In the first co main event, TUF 8 coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira collide for Nogueira’s interim UFC Heavyweight title. In the other co main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson returns to face former nemesis Wanderlei Silva.
The UFC seems to be copying the PRIDE thing of having a special name for their end of year show. This years end of year event is being called ‘The Ultimate 2008′ although we’ll have to wait until next year to find out whether or not they keep this up. This card is seriously stacked with some good fights. I honestly didn’t know who else was on this card apart from one other fight until I checked out the website to write this article up. I would say that if they didn’t show any other fights apart from the main three it would be well worth the money even still but the two title fights have the potential to be a bit boring and there’s some good matchups on the undercard. I’m just hoping their isn’t a repeat of UFC 33 where they ran out of time on the pay per view because the three title fights on the card ended up all going the distance. Anway, onto the fights:
Main Card
Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans
(UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
Prediction- Griffin on points
The big advantage Griffin will have in this fight is size. He’s a monster at 205lbs whereas Evans looks like a middleweight in there. Griffin’s high work rate will also be a big advantage over the sometimes lacklustre and lazy Evans but I really wouldn’t be surprised if Evans catches Griffin in this fight and knocks him out. That’s about the only way I see him winning this fight though. Griffin’s hands are very suspect and he rarely steps in with his punches. That’s not to say that his stand-up is bad because he has excellent knees in the clinch and his kicks (especially his low kicks) are very good but he boxes with his head straight up and doesn’t commit to his punches like Rashad does. If Rashad gets Griffin to the ground I doubt he’ll do much damage as Griffin was able to successfully tie Rampage up and keep him from doing damage. Griffin to outwork Rashad in a bit of a snoozer I’m afraid. I just have to say that it’s strange thinking that these two will fight for the right to call themselves the best Light Heavyweight in the world, especially when Rampage takes on Wanderlei Silva on the same card.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir
(Interim UFC Heavyweight title) Prediction- Nogueira by third round stoppage This is fight also has the potential to be a snoozer I think. If Nogueira decides he wants to box Mir and not risk going to the ground we could very well have a repeat of Nogueira-Werdum, although I think thats unlikely because Mir is willing to duke it out if he can’t get to the ground. That’s where I think Nogueira will knock Mir out in this fight. Nogueira has excellent technique with his hands and as Mir gasses in the late rounds he should score more and more frequently, busting Mir’s face up and likely finishing him with strikes from on top. Mir will be very dangerous early especially if he gets on top in the first round. Nogueira has been submitted in submission wrestling in the past by lesser grapplers then Mir. I was almost tempted to pick Mir in the first round by leg lock but it’s hard to go past Nogueira with his big advantage in fitness. Mir rarely looks good after the first round.
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva Prediction- Silva by first round knockout I’m expecting knockout of the night to come in this fight regardless of whatever else takes place. If anyone here has seen the other two fights between the two they were both slugfests with Wanderlei surviving an onslaught on the ground early from Rampage before taking his head off with knees from the muay thai clinch late in the fight. There are two things that will give Rampage an advantage in this fight that didn’t happen in PRIDE. First is that these will be five minute rounds with Rampage having to stay busy for less time in order for the fight not to be stood back up like what happened in the two previous fights. Second, this time they are in a cage and not in a ring which will suit Rampage again if they hit the ground as he’ll be able to pin Wanderlei up against the cage. Still, I’m not convinced that Rampage can deal with the Chute Boxe style yet that Wanderlei is a master of and also I’m not sure that Rampage will be on top form with his recent switch of teams and personal problems. I think Wanderlei will walk through him in about two-three minutes with a brutal knockout that should set him up with a title shot early next year.
CB Dollaway vs Mike Massenzio
Prediction- Dollaway by first round submission Massenzio is a wrestler by background although he is more that that now. Dollaway is a much better wrestler who will likely put Massenzio on his back and finish him quickly. Hopefully the fight goes to the ground one way or the other because watching CB Dollaway stand-up and outbox someone is pretty painful to think about.
Cheick Kongo vs Mustafa Al-Turk
Prediction- Kongo by first round knockout Al-Turk holds a submission win (by strikes) over the man who ate Mark Kerr in Cage Rage a few years ago and thats about his only claim to fame. He could get Kongo on his back because Kongo’s takedown defence still sucks, but I think Kongo will decapitate him with a knee early on and give Wanderlei a good run for his money when it comes to knock out of the night.
Preliminary Card
Dean Lister vs Yushin Okami Prediction- Okami on points This fight not appearing on the main card is the best decision UFC matchmakers have ever made. This fight will go like this. Lister will throw some really bad strikes and hope for a takedown but he’ll miss and Okami will counter him with just enough to win every round comfortably on points. If they show this card on the main card it’ll be because Lister got the takedown he wanted and scored a submission or because Lister got caught coming in and knocked out.
Antoni Hardonk vs Mike Wessel Prediction- Hardonk by first round knockout
I don’t know anything about Wessel other then he’s short for a heavyweight and heavy for his height. If he is a wrestler he’ll probably win on points because Hardonk has no ground game. But I think Hardonk will have way too much firepower and end this one early.
Matt Hammill vs Reese Andy Prediction- Hammill by second round stoppage Both guys come from wrestling backgrounds but Hammill’s wrestling is by far the better. He’ll put Andy where he doesn’t want to be and punch with his right hand until the referee has seen enough. If anyone has taught him how to punch with his left hand it’ll likely end in the first round.
Brad Blackburn vs Ryo Chonan
Prediction- Blackburn on points
This could be a very entertaining fight. Both men have fought some good fighters over the years with mixed results, however I think Blackburns recent form suggests that he’ll come out victorious by split decision in a fight that should be good to watch wherever it ends up.
Patrick Barry vs Dan Evenson Prediction- Barry by first round knockout Seriously, why is Evenson getting another fight? Barry is an Ernesto Hoost trained K-1 veteran who is going to chop the apparent ‘Norwegian Kickboxing Champion’ down in probably a minute or two.
We saw a mixed bag during the UFC today. While the main event ended unsatisfactorily (although no one is to blame as it was a freak accident), four of the other five fights we saw today were either great battles or had great finishes. The other fight was a good tactical fight but one that left the Illinois crowd and the referee who repeatedly asked both fighters to work. I won’t write the Illinois crowd off as idiots yet because it seems to happen the first time a big MMA show hits a new US state, they’re so pumped up that they boo everything that isn’t Griffin-Bonnar like. One thing that does piss me off though is idiot referees who don’t let the fighters fight. I’m not sure why stand-ups are even in the UFC anymore. They originally came in for two reasons. First reason was Dan Severn who is the Godfather of Lay and Pray, and the second reason is because back in the day when fighters were one dimensional, probably 80% of fighters couldn’t get back to their feet when they got taken down. Then add to that the fact that probably 70% of fighters couldn’t do much on top unless they were fighting a BJJ newbie, it led to some really boring fights. In this day and age, if you’re in the UFC and you can’t get back to your feet you don’t belong there. I still think stand-ups should happen in smaller shows because at lower level MMA you get the same situation that used to happen in the UFC, but in the big show with the best fighters in the World let the fighters fight!
Anderson Silva TKO (injury) 3rd round Patrick Cote Strange fight. I’m not trying to take anything away from Cote here, but I really think Silva wanted some cage time. If he threw more then 30 strikes a round I’d be surprised. He looked nothing like he did when he took Rich Franklin apart in those two fights and Franklin is a much better fighter then Cote. To Cote’s credit, when Silva did land he took it well. He took a few head kicks and knees that would have floored lesser men. The ending was a little disappointing as Cote blew his knee out in the 3rd round and couldn’t continue. Full credit to him for repeatedly trying to get to his feet and continue, and Anderson Silva is a very classy guy for not jumping on him when he injured himself. The only fight for Silva at 185lbs is Yushin Okami. Okami is clearly the number one contender with wins over Jason McDonald and Evan Tanner as well as the close loss to Rich Franklin. Throw in the fact that Okami is the last man to defeat Silva (even if it was by disqualification in a fight that Silva should have won; I don’t care what the rules say, if you can knock someone out while on your back you deserve the win) and this is a fight that can be marketed. What I’d really like to see happen is for Silva to go up to 205lbs and rule there. Does anyone really think Rashad Evans or Forrest Griffin could hang with The Spider?
Thiago Alves UD Josh Koscheck
Great fight. Alves beat Koscheck up in the first and third rounds but Koscheck made a fight of it. Koscheck is a tough son of a bitch and even though I don’t like him, he deserves props for having a sturdy chin and heart to match it. Alves went to work with his leg kicks and high kicks and stuffed every one of Koschecks takedown attempts. He dropped Koscheck in the first round and had him in a lot of trouble in the third as well. Alves is the logical choice for the next shot at the Welterweight title whether that be against BJ Penn or Georges St Pierre. Whowver wins that super fight on Super Bowl weekend has their hands full with the Pitbull.
Gray Maynard UD3 Rich Clementi Maynard outwrestled him, it was that simple. Maynard is one of the top lightweights in the UFC and while I think he’ll struggle against some of the better fighters, I think he matches up very evenly with the others based entirely on his wrestling ability. I’d like to see Maynard take on Emerson again if he doesn’t land a big fight, but with BJ Penn possibly staying at 170lbs, a four man tournament over two events would be an exciting way to sort out who the new champion is and I think with his last two wins (over Clementi and Frankie Edgar) he deserves a spot among those four. Throw in Sherk, Nate Diaz and the Florian-Stevenson winner and thats a good four fighters to have compete for the crown if Penn stays at 170lbs.
Junior dos Santos KO 1st round Fabricio Werdum Wow! Santos shocked the hell out of everyone with that win. Props to anyone who called that and I know there were a few of them but I really didn’t think that Werdum would have much trouble in that fight. Santos is right in the mix now with that victory as Werdum was definately a top contender with his recent form. There’s plenty of good fights for Santos with the likes of Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Heath Herring or Cheick Kongo all matching up well with Santos.
Sean Sherk UD3 Tyson Griffin
I never thought I’d say this about a Sean Sherk fight, but that was fight of the night out of the ones I’ve seen. Sherk took Griffin down a lot easier then I thought he would early on and even took his back twice (although as always, Griffin escaped in the most exciting way possible). In the second and third rounds as I predicted both guys duked it out with Griffin dominating the first part of the round and Sherk outworking him in the last 2-3 minutes and probably pinching the fight there. Griffin’s cardio is good, but Sherk’s is on a whole other level and that was the difference in this fight. Sherk needs to remember that he’s a wrestler more and go for more takedowns because if Griffins cardio was better today he could have been in trouble standing with him when he was taking him down as easily as he was early in the fight.
Thales Leites Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1st round Drew McFedries Leites likely earns another submission of the night award with this performance. He used his right leg like a third arm once he took McFedries back (after he passed his guard like he was a white belt) and left McFedries defending with one arm. Then after sliding his free arm under McFedries’ throat, he quickly locked it up and forced the tap. Good to see Leites get his TV spot at the end of the show as well after his original opponent Goran Reljic was injured forcing him off the main card.
Other Results Pete Sell UD3 Josh Burkman
Hermes Franca UD3 Marcus Aurelio
Spencer Fisher Submission (Triangle Choke) 3rd Round Shannon Gugerty
Dan Miller UD3 Matt Horwich
