The Ultimate Fighting Championship

[chris caulfield]

O.O.C:This Dynasty will be operated as a purely independent dynasty that will not follow the Real World UFC in its Dates, Times , Places or Event Names. This is my version of the UFC, hope you enjoy it. [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] UFC have hired a new match maker to work along with Joe Silva and Dana White. His name is Scott Avatar. He is unknown in the MMA world but the UFC obviously trust him. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] UFC have signed a massive 30 new fighters across all of their 5 divisions. Here they are: [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] Billy Evangelista Dan Lauzon Duane Ludwig Eddie Alvarez Gleison Tibau Josh Thompson Shinya Aoki [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] Dan Hardy [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] Aaron Meisner CB Dolloway Cung Le Gregard Mousasi Jesse Taylor Joey Villasenor Ronaldo Souza [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Glover Teixeira Ricardo Arona [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] Aleksander Emelianenko Andrei Arlovski Ben Rothwell Chris Tuchscherer Daniel Puder Fedor Emelianenko Ibragim Mogomedov Pedro Rizzo Rolles Gracie Sergei Kharitonov Tim Sylvia It is rumoured that all these signings were made under the request of the new match maker Scott Avatar. People are now wondering how much power he actually has.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] UFC have decided to start a ranking system in all their weight divisions and also a pound for pound ranking table aswell. They announced that this will help them choose who to give title shots to. This is rumoured to be the work of Scott Avatar which just goes to show that the UFC is putting a huge ammount of trust into him. Any way here are the rankings: [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. BJ Penn 2. Shinya Aoki 3. Sean Sherk 4. Vitor Ribeiro 5. Joe Stevenson 6. Roger Huerta 7. Tyson Griffin 8. Frankie Edgar 9. Din Thomas 10. Rich Clementi [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Matt Hughes 3. Karo Parisyan 4. Jon Fitch 5. Matt Serra 6. Diego Sanchez 7. Thiago Alves 8. Kuniyoshi Hironaka 9. Akihiro Gono 10. Dan Hardy [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Rich Franklin 4. Yushin Okami 5. Nate Marquardt 6. Patrick Cote 7. Joey Villasenor 8. Chris Leben 9. Joe Doerkson 10. Dean Lister [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Chuck Liddell 3. Lyoto Machida 4. Shogun 5. Forrest Griffin 6. Wanderlei Silva 7. Keith Jardine 8. Tito Ortiz 9. Ricardo Arona 10. Rashad Evans [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Randy Couture 3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 4. Tim Sylvia 5. Andrei Arlovski 6. Fabrico Werdum 7. Sergei Kharitonov 8. Frank Mir 9. Cheick Kongo 10. Aleksander Emelianenko

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE="5"][B][U]UFC Announces UFC 84: Jackson vs. Griffin[/U][/B][/SIZE] Today UFC announced UFC 84: Jackson vs. Griffin. Here is the card. Light Heavyweight Championship: Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (29-6) vs. Forrest Griffin (15-4) Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar (8-0) vs. 'El Matador' Roger Huerta (20-1-1) Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida (12-0) vs. 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) Matt 'The Terror' Serra (9-5) vs. 'The Irish Hand Grenade' Marcus Davis (14-3) 'Thunder' Yushin Okami (21-4) vs. Alan 'The Talent' Belcher (12-4) Ben Rothwell (29-5) vs. Pedro 'The Rock' Rizzo (16-7) Michael 'The Count' Bisping (15-1) vs. 'Da Spyder' Kendall Grove (8-5) Thiago Silva (12-0) vs. James Lee (13-3) Shane Carwin (8-0) vs. Eddie Sanchez (8-1) 'Hands Of Stone' Sam Stout (13-3-1) vs. Mac Danzig (18-4-1) Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4) vs. Paul Kelly (7-0)[/CENTER]

[Tyler Gadzinski]

[SIZE="5"][B][U]UFC Announces UFC 84: Jackson vs. Griffin[/U][/B][/SIZE] Today UFC announced UFC 84: Jackson vs. Griffin. Here is the card. Light Heavyweight Championship: Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (29-6) vs. [B]Forrest Griffin (15-4)[/B] Jackson has the strength but Griffin has the Heart. [B]Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar (8-0)[/B] vs. 'El Matador' Roger Huerta (20-1-1) Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida (12-0) vs. [B]'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Tito Ortiz (15-5-1)[/B] Just a fan of Ortiz. [B]Matt 'The Terror' Serra (9-5)[/B] vs. 'The Irish Hand Grenade' Marcus Davis (14-3) [B]'Thunder' Yushin Okami (21-4)[/B] vs. Alan 'The Talent' Belcher (12-4) Ben Rothwell (29-5) vs. [B]Pedro 'The Rock' Rizzo (16-7)[/B] [B]Michael 'The Count' Bisping (15-1)[/B] vs. 'Da Spyder' Kendall Grove (8-5) Bisping is way better than Kendall should be a good fight going no longer than 2 rounds. [B]Thiago Silva (12-0)[/B] vs. James Lee (13-3) Shane Carwin (8-0) vs. [B]Eddie Sanchez (8-1)[/B] [B]'Hands Of Stone' Sam Stout (13-3-1)[/B] vs. Mac Danzig (18-4-1) Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4) vs. [B]Paul Kelly (7-0)[/B]

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [SIZE="5"][CENTER][B]UFC 84: Jackson vs. Griffin[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE] [CENTER][B][U]Undercard[/U] Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4) vs. Paul Kelly (7-0) Sherdog's Prediction: Kuniyoshi Hironaka via Split Decision[/B][/CENTER] [B]Round 1[/B] Exchange of punches to start, nothing really hit though. They go into a clinch, and the pace disappears as both fighters try and get the advantage. Eventually the referee separates them. Jab from Hironaka, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Hironaka puts on a burst of energy and fires off a big sequence of punches, maybe twelve or thirteen in a row, although not many actually connected. Kelly covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Hironaka looks for an opening. Low kick from Kelly, almost to the groin, although it didn't look intentional. They come together in a clinch again, and it returns to a stalemate. Not a great round by anyone's standard, but that flurry should mean that Hironaka will take the round on points. End of round 1. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Hironaka. [/B] [B]Round 2[/B] Hironaka is forced onto the backfoot almost immediately, having to retreat to avoid a series of sharp jabs. He ends up with his back to the cage, with Kelly advancing. A sharp right misses, and Hironaka takes the opportunity to pull Kelly in to a tight clinch against the cage. Kelly tries to break free, but cannot. It looks like we know the strategies for this round already; Kelly wants to stand and bang, Hironaka wants to keep things at close quarters. Kelly tries for an elbow, but only succeeds in getting turned around so that he is now the one against the cage. Trip from Hironaka, and we're down to the ground. Hironaka has side control, but Kelly has landed with his left hand side against the cage, so that side of the body is basically safe for now. Hironaka will have to try to work the right-hand side, and starts by ramming a knee into the ribs. Kelly tries to squirm into a better position, but Hironaka puts a stop to that with a stiff elbow to the stomach. Hironaka tries to work a kimura on the right arm, but Kelly defends it. Kelly manages to bring a knee up and catch Hironaka in the side, something of a cheeky move given his position. Hironaka responds with five or six rapid-fire right hands to the face, but Kelly covers up and doesn't take any serious damage at all. Time is ticking away though, and so far Hironaka may be easily winning the round, but he is not taking full advantage of this great position. Hironaka tries to float over into a mount, but Kelly uses the cage to push away and manages to unbalance Hironaka enough to get to a kneeling position, then standing, albeit back into a clinch. A knee from Hironaka is the last action of the round. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Hironaka. [/B] [B]Round 3[/B] The round starts slowly, with both fighters circling, tentatively throwing out the occasional jab. Kelly is the first to make a positive move, stepping in to throw a right hand, although he probably wishes that he hadn't, as Hironaka picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Kelly throws a wild punch as a counter, but Hironaka ducks and backs off out of range. They meet again in the center for an exchange of punches. Kelly gets a clubbing blow to the side of the head in, but takes a hard shot to the stomach in return. The early pattern seems to be that Kelly is looking for big punches, Hironaka is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Kelly manages to back Hironaka up against the cage. Kelly takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but Hironaka ducks under at the last second, scores with a pair of punches to the gut, then darts out of trouble before Kelly can unload. Kelly may need to think about changing tactics, Hironaka is looking far sharper in these striking battles, and is beginning to control the pace and tempo of the round. Kelly fakes a right hand, then shoots out a low kick, catching Hironaka on the thigh. Hironaka presses forward for the first time, getting in close and using a couple of jabs to the body. Kelly gets a nice left hook in, glancing off the gloves, and then clinches up. Time ticks away and the round ends just a few seconds after the referee separates them. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Hironaka[/B]. [B]The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Kuniyoshi Hironaka.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: First Loss for Paul which I'm abit annoyed about because it would of been nice to keep him undefeated. [CENTER][B]'Hands Of Stone' Sam Stout (13-3-1) vs. Mac Danzig (18-4-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Mac Danzig via Submission[/B][/CENTER] [B]Round 1[/B] Danzig throws a nice series of straight rights from the start, bobbing and weaving to keep Stout from landing anything in return. None of the punches got through though, Stout parried them away. Nice crisp start to the round though. Stout forces Danzig back against the cage and comes in close to try and unload. Danzig pushes him away with a shove, palm across the face, and Stout loses his balance and is dumped onto the ground. Danzig leaps into action to follow up. A clubbing blow from Danzig connects, hitting home across the left cheek. Danzig gets into full mount, Stout is in enormous trouble from this position. Right hands rain down, and Stout can only cover up. One or two got through though, and there's blood coming from a cut below his left eye. Danzig pulls back and throws an absolute bomb, Stout brought his hands up to block but could do almost nothing against it, that had power to spare. Stout looks groggy, and that allows Danzig to start throwing a barrage of rights and lefts to the face. The referee has seen enough, he doesn't think Stout can defend himself, this match is over. [B]Danzig wins via TKO at 1:26 of the first round.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Nice win for Danzig here which should help him climb close to the top of the Lightweight division which is where I want him to be. [B][CENTER]Shane Carwin (8-0) vs. Eddie Sanchez (8-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Shane Carwin via KO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] The round starts slowly, with both fighters circling, tentatively throwing out the occasional jab. Sanchez is the first to make a positive move, stepping in to throw a right hand, although he probably wishes that he hadn't, as Carwin picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Sanchez throws a wild punch as a counter, but Carwin ducks and backs off out of range. They meet again in the center for an exchange of punches. Sanchez gets a clubbing blow to the side of the head in, but takes a hard shot to the stomach in return. The early pattern seems to be that Sanchez is looking for big punches, Carwin is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Sanchez manages to back Carwin up against the cage. Sanchez takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but Carwin ducks under at the last second, scores with a pair of punches to the gut, then darts out of trouble before Sanchez can unload. Sanchez may need to think about changing tactics, Carwin is looking far sharper in these striking battles, and is beginning to control the pace and tempo of the round. Sanchez fakes a right hand, then shoots out a low kick, catching Carwin on the thigh. Carwin presses forward for the first time, getting in close and using a couple of jabs to the body. Sanchez gets a nice left hook in, glancing off the gloves, and then clinches up. Time ticks away and the round ends just a few seconds after the referee separates them. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Carwin by 10-9. [/B] [B]Round 2[/B] They circle each other. Sanchez misses with a low kick, and Carwin darts in to hit a jab before retreating. They come together and exchange punches, both got a few shots in. Carwin is looking much lighter on his feet, and keeps moving in, hitting a few punches, then getting back out of range. Sanchez is trying to catch him coming in, but doesn't have the timing quite right. It happens again. Carwin isn't getting much power on the punches, but he is getting ahead on points. Sanchez tries to get in close, but Carwin is keeping moving, and isn't letting himself get cornered. Carwin tries to back Sanchez up against the cage wall, but it comes to nothing. Carwin gets a solid punch in, catching Sanchez just above the left eye. Sanchez finally gets a clinch, forcing Carwin up against the cage, but it's too little, too late as the round ends. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Carwin.[/B] [B]Round 3[/B] Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Sanchez is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Carwin blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Sanchez is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Carwin is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Sanchez can cover up. That landed above the left eye and has left an ugly red mark. No cut, but that will start to swell and could give Sanchez some problems later on. Sanchez moves in for a right hook, but takes a hard kick to the knee, then is forced to retreat so as not to get caught with the two right hands that follow. Carwin is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Sanchez before they wind up in a clinch. That punch above the eye, or maybe the mistake that led to it, seems to have completely thrown Sanchez off, since that moment he has been comprehensively out-struck and is now in danger of losing this round. They struggle in the clinch, neither fighter managing a great deal more than minor blows. Sanchez goes for a trip, but Carwin cleverly spins out of it and the two fighters are back to circling. Not a great round for purists, it has all been a bit disjointed, but that one shot from Carwin may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. [B]End of round 3. Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Carwin. The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Shane Carwin.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Good win for Carwin geting of to a great start under the Avatar reign. [B][CENTER]Thiago Silva (12-0) vs. James Lee (13-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Thiago Silva via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] Lee goes to the center, and immediately throws some jabs, looking to engage in a striking battle. Silva doesn't commit though, instead circling and looking for an angle. Silva comes in, ducks a right hand, then unleashes a flurry of punches. Lee covers up at first, then throws a scathing right hand, but Silva is already out of range. Silva repeats the trick, working a new angle, darting in, then firing off strikes while keeping out of the way of any counter punches. It happens a third time, and Lee is beginning to look frustrated. Silva's footwork and general movement is looking good, Lee is being made to look very slow and lumbering in comparison. Furthermore, Silva is being able to launch multiple short bursts of offense without really being in any danger, Lee has yet to hit any sort of meaningful punch, simply because Silva is too quick. Lee finally gets in close enough to grapple with Silva, clinching up. Lee scores a nice body punch, then steps back and goes for a vicious right hand, but Silva bobs out of the way and hits a right hook of his own. Time is ticking away, and Lee is well behind in this round, he needs to do something special. Lee swings for the fences, but Silva has no problem avoiding it. The round peters out. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-8 Silva.[/B] [B]Round 2[/B] Silva scores the first meaningful blow of the round, hitting a powerful overhand right that thumped past the gloves. Lee shakes it off though, and scores with a nice low kick to the outside of the thigh. He steps in to throw some strikes, but Silva moves to a new angle and scores with a series of jabs. Lee turns and swings a heavy right hand, but Silva goes underneath it and hits a wicked kick to the gut. That exchange really showed the difference between the two fighters; Silva looks light on his feet and very agile, Lee looks slow and sluggish by comparison. Lee will need to find a way to nullify Silva's footwork, perhaps by getting in close, as he has been picked apart for the first half of this round. Silva darts in again, and gets in a nice flurry. Lee manages to hit a crisp jab in return, but one of Silva's punches caught him above the eye, leaving a mark, so he came off the worse from that exchange. The round ends without any further big strikes happening, Silva controlling the round with his superior movement. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Silva.[/B] [B]Round 3[/B] Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Lee is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Silva blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Lee is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Silva is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Lee can cover up. That landed above the left eye and has left an ugly red mark. No cut, but that will start to swell and could give Lee some problems later on. Lee moves in for a right hook, but takes a hard kick to the knee, then is forced to retreat so as not to get caught with the two right hands that follow. Silva is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Lee before they wind up in a clinch. That punch above the eye, or maybe the mistake that led to it, seems to have completely thrown Lee off, since that moment he has been comprehensively out-struck and is now in danger of losing this round. They struggle in the clinch, neither fighter managing a great deal more than minor blows. Lee goes for a trip, but Silva cleverly spins out of it and the two fighters are back to circling. Not a great round for purists, it has all been a bit disjointed, but that one shot from Silva may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Silva. The judges scores are unanimous, and give a score of 30-26 to Thiago Silva.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: And Thiago's run continues and maybe in a few more wins he might get a title shot. [B][CENTER]Michael 'The Count' Bisping (15-1) vs. 'Da Spyder' Kendall Grove (8-5) Sherdog's Predicton: Michael Bisping via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] Slow start to the round, they're both circling, looking for an opening. Bisping tries a looping punch from way back, but Grove side steps with ease. Jab from Grove, gets one back in response. Bisping comes in, looking for the right hand lead, but Grove shoots in and uses a double-leg takedown. He winds up in a closed guard. Grove immediately tries to pass guard, but Bisping is not allowing it. Grove fires off some punches, but Bisping blocks them before grabbing a butterfly guard to keep Grove trapped. They stay like that for a while before Grove breaks free, but only back into regular guard. Bisping tries a cheeky guillotine attempt, but Grove easily defends it, I don't think Bisping really thought that was going to work. Grove tries to get side control, but Bisping defends it. Not the second time though, and Grove has the side. Bisping has him tied up pretty well though, and the clock is running down. Grove gets in a firm couple of elbows to the ribs, but the time expires and the referee gets them to part. The 1st round ends. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Grove. [/B] [B]Round 2[/B] Grove and Bisping meet in the center, and both throw looping right hands at the same time. Neither hits home. Grove throws a couple of nice jabs that cause Bisping to cover up. He throws a sharp right hand in response which narrowly misses. They clinch in the center. Bisping tries to trip Grove, but it is easily dealt with, and Grove cheekily does the exact same thing to Bisping, except with more success. Bisping goes crashing to the ground with Grove on top. Bisping is forced into defending an attempted armbar straight away, although in truth Grove was leaning into it and really didn't have the leverage to apply it, he would need to get past the guard to really make that a dangerous tactic. Speaking of which, Grove does try to pass guard, but Bisping keeps him tightly caught up in the guard. Grove shuffles them all the way over to the cage, so that he can get instructions from the corner. A couple of punches come raining down, but Bisping covers up nicely. Bisping tries to generate some attacking threat of his own, reaching up and trying to secure a guillotine, but Grove pops his head out quite easily. Bisping drags him down into a clinch, and they remain that way for a while, with Grove throwing the occasional punch to the ribs, Bisping throwing them to the back. Grove breaks free and quickly tries to pass guard, getting as far as half guard. He tries to secure an armbar, but Bisping brings his legs in to defend it. Grove stands, still holding the arm, and ends up almost sitting on top of a balled-up Bisping. He can't do a great deal from that position, although Bisping will have found it hard to breathe, and the time expires without any more noteworthy strikes hitting. End of round 2. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Grove.[/B] [B]Round 3[/B] Very, very slow start to the round. Over a minute has gone before the first meaningful strike connects. It's Bisping who hits it, scoring with a shot to the chest. Grove fires back with a couple of jabs, both of which connect with the shoulder rather than the face where they were aimed. The two fighters come together in the center and exchange punches, neither getting the clear advantage. Grove suddenly shoots in and goes for a takedown, but Bisping manages to sprawl long enough to get them all the way back to the cage, which keeps him upright. Grove tries to complete the takedown, but realises that the leverage isn't there and instead stands and clinches. Bisping hits a couple of shots to the back. Grove hits a stomp. Bisping lifts his leg to go for a knee, but that gives Grove the opportunity to lift him and slam him down to the ground. That was a hard slam! Grove is on top, almost sitting on top of a balled-up Bisping. He throws some hard downward punches, Bisping defends most of them, although one hits hard above the eye. Grove leaves his arm in for a second too long and Bisping reaches up and almost gets an armbar. Grove gets free though, although the effort puts him off-balance enough for him to stumble, giving Bisping the opportunity to scramble back up. There's a nasty mark above the eye where the earlier punch connected though. They go back to circling each other. There's not much time left. Bisping tries one last big attack, swinging for the fences with two bombs, but Grove avoids both, adding a nice shot to the stomach after the second dodge. The round ends there. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Grove. All three judges give a score of 30-27 in favour of Kendall Grove.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Didn't expect that at all. This just screws my plans up completely. [B][CENTER]Ben Rothwell (29-5) vs. Pedro 'The Rock' Rizzo (16-7) Sherdog's Prediction: Ben Rothwell via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] Not the most interesting of starts to the round, it's mainly a lot of circling. The referee apparently gets bored, as he tells them to get on with it and fight. Rothwell complies, firing off a dangerous right cross, narrowly missing. Rizzo throws a couple of stiff jabs, but they only find gloves. Rothwell fakes left, then comes in from the right, hitting a nice body blow. Rizzo steps forward and unleashes a big kick, thundering it into Rothwell's ribs. He felt that one for sure. Rizzo follows up by hitting a right hand too. Rothwell finds himself backed up against the cage. Rizzo advances, and throws a scythe-like kick to the legs. Rothwell can't get out of the way, and almost gets felled by the impact. Rizzo steps in and scores with a high head kick. Rothwell partially blocked it with his hands, which was probably the only thing stopping it from being a knock out blow. Rothwell gets a right hand jab out in response, then pulls Rizzo into a clinch. Knee strike from Rizzo. They break. Rothwell still looks hurt from that first kick. Rizzo gets in close and gives a receipt for that earlier body blow, nailing a right hand to the gut. Rothwell hits a jab to the cheek in response, then clinches again. Time runs down, the round will end before anything more can happen. Rizzo has used those powerful kicks to dominate this round. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Rizzo by 10-9. [/B] [B]Round 2[/B] Rizzo scores the first meaningful blow of the round, hitting a powerful overhand right that thumped past the gloves. Rothwell shakes it off though, and scores with a nice low kick to the outside of the thigh. He steps in to throw some strikes, but Rizzo moves to a new angle and scores with a series of jabs. Rothwell turns and swings a heavy right hand, but Rizzo goes underneath it and hits a wicked kick to the gut. That exchange really showed the difference between the two fighters; Rizzo looks light on his feet and very agile, Rothwell looks slow and sluggish by comparison. Rothwell will need to find a way to nullify Rizzo's footwork, perhaps by getting in close, as he has been picked apart for the first half of this round. Rizzo darts in again, and gets in a nice flurry. Rothwell manages to hit a crisp jab in return, but one of Rizzo's punches caught him above the eye, leaving a mark, so he came off the worse from that exchange. The round ends without any further big strikes happening, Rizzo controlling the round with his superior movement. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Rizzo[/B]. [B]Round 3[/B] The round starts with some tentative striking. Both fighters look to be using their strikes merely to keep the opponent off-balance while they work for an angle for a takedown, rather than actually trying to inflict too much damage. Rizzo goes for the first takedown, but Rothwell has it well-scouted and they merely end up in a clinch. They tussle, ending up all the way back against the cage. Both fighters try trips, but neither gets anything. Finally, the referee steps in and separates them. Rothwell storms back in almost immediately and takes Rizzo down, into guard. It's hard to say whether that was just a good takedown or whether Rizzo just had a lapse in concentration. Rothwell tries to pass the guard but can't, with Rizzo employing a rubber guard now. There's a definite stalemate, Rizzo is defending very well but isn't really offering any attacking threat or really trying to get out of this predicament. Rothwell makes a big effort to pass, and manages to get to half guard, but Rizzo has him tied up pretty well all the same. Time is ticking away, what has been a very tame round looks set to end without much in the way of highlights. It'll have to go to Rothwell on points, the takedown is really the only noteworthy thing that has happened. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Rothwell. The official scores are: 29-28 (twice), 30-27 for Pedro Rizzo.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: This match I didn't care who won so I'm just happy for Rizzo here. [B][U][CENTER]Main Card[/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER][B]'Thunder' Yushin Okami (21-4) vs. Alan 'The Talent' Belcher (12-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Yushin Okami via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B]Round 1[/B] Belcher starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Okami. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Okami goes for a single leg and puts Belcher on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Okami from getting on top. Belcher definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Okami hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Belcher again. This time Belcher isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Okami will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Belcher defends. Okami tries to slip past to get side control, but Belcher just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Okami has the side. Two big elbows land, and Belcher seems in trouble. Okami goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Okami. Round 2[/B] Very, very slow start to the round. Over a minute has gone before the first meaningful strike connects. It's Belcher who hits it, scoring with a shot to the chest. Okami fires back with a couple of jabs, both of which connect with the shoulder rather than the face where they were aimed. The two fighters come together in the center and exchange punches, neither getting the clear advantage. Okami suddenly shoots in and goes for a takedown, but Belcher manages to sprawl long enough to get them all the way back to the cage, which keeps him upright. Okami tries to complete the takedown, but realises that the leverage isn't there and instead stands and clinches. Belcher hits a couple of shots to the back. Okami hits a stomp. Belcher lifts his leg to go for a knee, but that gives Okami the opportunity to lift him and slam him down to the ground. That was a hard slam! Okami is on top, almost sitting on top of a balled-up Belcher. He throws some hard downward punches, Belcher defends most of them, although one hits hard above the eye. Okami leaves his arm in for a second too long and Belcher reaches up and almost gets an armbar. Okami gets free though, although the effort puts him off-balance enough for him to stumble, giving Belcher the opportunity to scramble back up. There's a nasty mark above the eye where the earlier punch connected though. They go back to circling each other. There's not much time left. Belcher tries one last big attack, swinging for the fences with two bombs, but Okami avoids both, adding a nice shot to the stomach after the second dodge. The round ends there. End of round 2. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Okami by 10-9. Round 3[/B] Okami works an angle and comes in from the side of Belcher, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Belcher hits a low kick to back Okami against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Okami fights out and the action returns to the center. Belcher throws a big head kick, but Okami ducks and back pedals to safety. If that had hit, this was all over, because Belcher wasn't holding anything back on that missile of a kick. Okami regains his composure and advances, throwing a pair of looping rights. Belcher throws a kick to the legs, then a range-finding left hand. Okami steps to the side to get a better angle, then steps in...and this time the scorching head kick that comes his way catches him unaware and lands flush to the side of the jaw! Okami goes completely limp as he crash-lands to the ground, that was a brutal knock out kick. [B]The official time of the knock out is 2:22 of round 3.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]:** [B]Notes[/B]: Unlucky for Okami there. Won the first 2 round and then gets Ko'ed by Belcher. Hopefully this isn't a one time thing for Belcher. [B][CENTER]Matt 'The Terror' Serra (9-5) vs. 'The Irish Hand Grenade' Marcus Davis (14-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Mat Serra via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] Davis starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Serra. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Serra goes for a single leg and puts Davis on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Serra from getting on top. Davis definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Serra hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Davis again. This time Davis isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Serra will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Davis defends. Serra tries to slip past to get side control, but Davis just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Serra has the side. Two big elbows land, and Davis seems in trouble. Serra goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Serra. Round 2[/B] Good start from Serra, taking Davis down almost immediately! Davis scrambles though, and gets back to his feet without taking any damage at all. Serra will be disappointed with that. Davis comes in and throws two big right hands, but neither connects, and they put him off balance, allowing Serra to score with a nice right hook to the side of the head, crunching into the top of the ear. Davis felt that one for sure. He stalks Serra, trying to back him up against the cage. It doesn't work though, Serra keeps out of the way. Davis tries a kick, but Serra catches the foot and uses it for a trip. Serra gets Davis down for the second time, and this time is right on top of him in guard position. Serra throws some punches, then tries to pass. Davis doesn't allow it, and tries to grab an armbar in response. Serra easily stops that, and throws some more punches. That becomes the pattern, as the fight falls into a predictable pattern; punches from Serra followed by a pass attempt, with Davis blocking the pass and throwing the occasional punch in response. The round ends like that, just as the referee was about to stand them back up. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-8 for Serra. Round 3[/B] The two fighters meet in the center with an exchange of jabs, but neither gets anything but gloves or air. They go right into a clinch, with only a few seconds of the match gone. Serra gets a knee to the ribs in, but it wasn't particularly hard. They break. Davis throws a left, then a right, but neither connects. Serra clinches up, and they wind up against the cage. Davis tries to throw a knee, but Serra sweeps his standing leg and is on top on the ground. Serra gets past the guard, but only just, one leg is trapped by Davis. A couple of right hands by Serra leave ugly red marks where they hit the unprotected stomach of Davis. Serra gets both legs free and transitions higher up the body, putting Davis in huge trouble. Serra manages to get a forearm firmly across the throat of Davis and he pushes down. Davis, with no way of getting out, has no alternative but to tap out. [B]Official time of the choke submission is 1:33 of the third.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Quality win here for Serra and keeps him up there in the Welterweight rankings. [B][CENTER]Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida (12-0) vs. 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Lyoto Machida via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] Tentative start to the round, the fighters are circling. Machida throws out a couple of range-finding jabs, but they aren't anything that will trouble Ortiz. Kick to the thigh from Ortiz, but it lacked power. For a second it looked like Machida was about to go for a takedown, but nothing came from it. Ortiz misses with a straight right. Machida hits a standing kick, and Ortiz is rocked, stumbling backwards and falling to the floor. Machida leaps into action and fires off a barrage of right hands. The referee dives in and protects Ortiz, bringing the fight to an end. The kick didn't knock Ortiz out, but it left him stunned, and that was all that Machida needed to finish the job. [B]The official time of the TKO is 1:21 of round 1.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: And bye bye Tito. Great win here for Machida. [B][CENTER]Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar (8-0) vs. 'El Matador' Roger Huerta (20-1-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Roger Huerta via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] They come together, both throwing punches. Huerta gets a nice clean shot in, and Edgar stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. Huerta is on top of him quickly, and unloads with two more big punches, both connect solidly. The referee jumps in and pulls him away before a third is thrown, this match is over by TKO. Replays show the referee may have been slightly early. [B]Huerta wins via 1st round TKO with the official time being 0:31.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Huerta's first step towards a Lightweight title shot maybe? [B][CENTER]Light Heavyweight Championship: Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (29-6) vs. Forrest Griffin (15-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Quinton Jackson via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B]Round 1[/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Jackson puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Griffin defended well. Straight right from Griffin in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Jackson probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Griffin gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Jackson. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Jackson. Round 2[/B] Griffin and Jackson circle to start. Jackson throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Griffin sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Jackson comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Griffin to slip a nice jab in, catching Jackson just underneath the right eye. Griffin comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Jackson misses with a right cross, then backs off. Griffin stalks him, forcing Jackson back up against the cage. Griffin doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Jackson throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Griffin pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Jackson covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Griffin in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Griffin throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Jackson comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Griffin parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Griffin's favour. End of round 2. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Griffin. Round 3[/B] Slow start to the round, nearly a minute has gone by without anything but a few jabs finding gloves. Griffin comes in, looking for a grapple it seems, but takes a powerful kick just above the left hip. Jackson really put some venom into that strike. Griffin backs off, clearly stung. Jackson is the one advancing now, using a left hand jab to lead. He steps forward and fires off a big kick, aimed at the head. Griffin ducks and moves out of range, but that was clearly intended to be a match-ender, Jackson was going for the knock out. It's pretty clear that he thinks that kicks are going to do the job in this round, and it has to be said that Griffin is looking to have a hard time countering them. On top of that, the threat of the kicks is keeping Griffin from getting in too close. Jackson stalks Griffin, throwing the occasional high right hand, perhaps range-finding. Griffin is circling, seeking an opening of some kind. He moves in from the left and is quick enough to get into the clinch without taking any shots. Jackson hits a knee, but takes one right back. The kicks aren't a danger from this position, that's for sure. Jackson squirms free, but foolishly lost his concentration for a second and took a hard right hand above the eye in the process. Silly mistake. Griffin comes in, looking more confident now, and gets in a couple of right hands and a lovely hook to the body. Jackson tags him with a jab though, and then hits another fearsome kick to the same spot above the left hip. And another! Griffin backs off, and a huge red mark has appeared in that spot. Jackson advances and throws another head kick, but it is mostly blocked by the hands of Griffin. The round is drawing to a close, and those kicks have certainly proved massively effective for Jackson. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Jackson. Round 4[/B] They circle each other. Griffin misses with a low kick, and Jackson darts in to hit a jab before retreating. They come together and exchange punches, both got a few shots in. Jackson is looking much lighter on his feet, and keeps moving in, hitting a few punches, then getting back out of range. Griffin is trying to catch him coming in, but doesn't have the timing quite right. It happens again. Jackson isn't getting much power on the punches, but he is getting ahead on points. Griffin tries to get in close, but Jackson is keeping moving, and isn't letting himself get cornered. Other than a few half-hearted jabs, there's been a definite lull over the past minute. Jackson gets a solid punch in, catching Griffin just above the left eye. Griffin finally gets a clinch, forcing Jackson up against the cage, but it's too little, too late as the round ends. The fourth round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Jackson by 10-9. Round 5[/B] Jackson starts with a high kick, but Griffin was well out of range. Other than a few half-hearted jabs, there's been a definite lull over the past minute. Jackson steps in and exchanges strikes with Griffin, neither fighter gets a particular advantage from it. Griffin parries away a nice right hand and gets in a crisp counter punch that catches Jackson on the shoulder. The round has been a little flat so far, neither of them is really forcing the issue. They enter into a clinch, which doesn't help matters, and that seems to last for an eternity before the referee separates them and tells them to get on with it. Jackson finally shows some fire, putting together a combination of two jabs, a cross, and an uppercut. Griffin did well to defend it, bobbing and weaving out of the way and using his gloves to parry away anything that was too close. He uses a low kick to the thigh as a response, then steps in and unloads with two fine punches, although Jackson blocked them. Jackson scores the best punch of the round so far, coming in fast, ducking under a dangerous right hand, and catching Griffin square in the face with a lunging overhand right. Griffin backs off and covers up, clearly having felt that one, and unfortunately Jackson's attempts to follow up and thwarted as he gets tied up in a clinch near the cage. The time expires, with Jackson probably having stolen that round thanks to that one big punch. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Jackson. The three judges all give the match as 49-46 to Quinton Jackson. Quinton Jackson successfully retains the UFC Light Heavyweight title.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Comfortable defence here for Jackson. [B][U]Fighter Bonuses[/U][/B] [B]Fight Of The Night[/B]: Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin [B]Submission Of The Night[/B]: Matt Serra [B]Knock Out Of The Night[/B]: Alan Belcher

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="4"]New Rankings & Resignings[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] Sam Stout, Paul Kelly and Kuniyashi Hironaka have all signed new contracts with the UFC however Eddie Sanchez has not been offered a contract. Also the UFC have released new rankings after their UFC 84 event. Here they are. [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. BJ Penn 2. Shinya Aoki 3. Sean Sherk 4. Roger Huerta 5. Vitor Ribeiro 6. Joe Stevenson 7. Tyson Griffin 8. Mac Danzig 9. Din Thomas 10. Rich Clementi [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Matt Hughes 3. Karo Parisyan 4. Jon Fitch 5. Matt Serra 6. Diego Sanchez 7. Thiago Alves 8. Kuniyoshi Hironaka 9. Akihiro Gono 10. Dan Hardy [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Rich Franklin 4. Nate Marquardt 5. Alan Belcher 6. Patrick Cote 7. Joey Villasenor 8. Kendall Grove 9. Chris Leben 10. Joe Doerkson [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Lyoto Machida 3. Chuck Liddell 4. Shogun 5. Wanderlei Silva 6. Keith Jardine 7. Ricardo Arona 8. Rashad Evans 9. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 10. Wilson Gouveia [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Randy Couture 3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 4. Tim Sylvia 5. Andrei Arlovski 6. Fabrico Werdum 7. Pedro Rizzo 8. Sergei Kharitonov 9. Frank Mir 10. Cheick Kongo [B][U]P4P[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Fedor Emelianenko 3. Anderson Silva 4. Gearge St. Pierre 5. Lyoto Machida 6. Randy Couture 7. Matt Hughes 8. Dan Henderson 9. BJ Penn 10. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [SIZE="5"][B][U][CENTER]UFC Announces UFC 85: Fedor vs. Couture[/CENTER][/U][/B][/SIZE] [CENTER]Today UFC announced UFC 85: Fedor vs. Couture. Here is the card. [B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-8) Sean Sherk (32-2-1) vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1) Rashad Evans (11-0-1) vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-4) Rich Franklin (23-3) vs. Chris Leben (18-4) Matt Hughes (41-6) vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9) [B][U]Undercard[/U][/B] Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs. Christian Wellisch (8-3) Eddie Alvarez (14-1) vs. Corey Hill (2-0) Diego Sanchez (18-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) Marvin Eastman (15-7) vs. Cung Le (5-0) Antonio Mendes (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-4) Brad Morris (8-3) vs. Rolles Gracie (1-0)[/CENTER]

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 85 Preview[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER][B][U]Brad Morris (8-3) vs. Rolles Gracie (1-0)[/U][/B] Here we have a guy who is just starting t break through in Brad Morris and also possibly the next great Gracie. If Morris wins it could propel him up but if Rolles wins it will just add to the already abundant hype he has. [B][U]Antonio Mendes (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-4)[/U][/B] Here is a meaningless Lightheavyweight matchup that wil be good for what it is. If James Irvin can get another KO he may move up to higher level opponents. [B][U]Marvin Eastman (15-7) vs. Cung Le (5-0)[/U][/B] Here is Cung Le's UFC debut and if he wins it could be instumental in his fighting career. If he loses however he could go down just as quick as he came up. [B][U]Diego Sanchez (18-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3)[/U][/B] A comfortable win here for Sanchez is what I am seeing but who knows anything can happen in MMA. [B][U]Eddie Alvarez (14-1) vs. Corey Hill (2-0)[/U][/B] This is Eddie Alvarez's UFC debut but if he loses to Corey Hill me may be out before he got a real chance. [B][U]Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs. Christian Wellisch (8-3)[/U][/B] Seems the UFC have changed their approach for Lesnar here giving him an easier opponent this time, maybe hoping for him to get a winning streak going. [B][U]Matt Hughes (41-6) vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9)[/U][/B] Jonathan Goulet goes up against a living legend in Matt Hughes here and if he could win it would catapult him into possible title contention. [B][U]Rich Franklin (23-3) vs. Chris Leben (18-4)[/U][/B] Here if Rich wins it does nothing for him having already lost to Anderson Silva twice already but if Leben wins he could possibly get another shot against Silva. [B][U]Rashad Evans (11-0-1) vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-4)[/U][/B] Interesting matchup here. If either of these men win another win could easily give them a title shot so alot is up for stakes here. [B][U]Sean Sherk (32-2-1) vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1)[/U][/B] Effectively whoever wins this fight will get a shot at Penn. So both fighters will hopefully be going all out here. [B][U]Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-8)[/U][/B] Fedor's UFC debut and it's against Rany Couture, by no means an easy fight for him. Randy will be as happy as anyone in the world right now as he has been waiting for thiss fight for a long time. We should see a Fedor win here and then he could possibly go up against Big Nog for the title.[/CENTER]

[Tyler Gadzinski]

[SIZE="5"][B][U][CENTER]UFC Announces UFC 85: Fedor vs. Couture[/CENTER][/U][/B][/SIZE] Today UFC announced UFC 85: Fedor vs. Couture. Here is the card. [B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. [B]Randy Couture (16-8)[/B] [B]Sean Sherk (32-2-1)[/B] vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1) Rashad Evans (11-0-1) vs. [B]Stephan Bonnar (11-4)[/B] Rich Franklin (23-3) vs. [B]Chris Leben (18-4)[/B] [B]Matt Hughes (41-6)[/B] vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9) [B][U]Undercard[/U][/B] Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs. [B]Christian Wellisch (8-3)[/B] ... There is no way Lesnar is gonna win.. if he does I will eat my shoe! [B]Eddie Alvarez (14-1)[/B] vs. Corey Hill (2-0) ... Experiance over undefeated. [B]Diego Sanchez (18-2)[/B] vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) [B]Marvin Eastman (15-7)[/B] vs. Cung Le (5-0) Antonio Mendes (14-2) vs. [B]James Irvin (13-4)[/B] [B]Brad Morris (8-3)[/B] vs. Rolles Gracie (1-0)

[smurphy1014]

UFC 85: Fedor vs. Couture Maincard Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. [B]Randy Couture (16-8)[/B] Sean Sherk (32-2-1) vs. [B]Tyson Griffin (11-1)[/B] [B]Rashad Evans (11-0-1)[/B] vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-4) [B]Rich Franklin (23-3)[/B] vs. Chris Leben (18-4) [B]Matt Hughes (41-6)[/B] vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9) Undercard [B]Brock Lesnar (1-1)[/B] vs. Christian Wellisch (8-3) [B]Eddie Alvarez (14-1)[/B] vs. Corey Hill (2-0) [B]Diego Sanchez (18-2)[/B] vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) Marvin Eastman (15-7) vs. [B]Cung Le (5-0)[/B] Antonio Mendes (14-2) vs. [B]James Irvin (13-4)[/B] Brad Morris (8-3) vs. [B]Rolles Gracie (1-0)[/B]

[critical-23]

Maincard [B]Fedor Emelianenko (27-1)[/B] vs. Randy Couture (16-8) [B]Sean Sherk (32-2-1)[/B] vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1) [B]Rashad Evans (11-0-1)[/B] vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-4) [B]Rich Franklin (23-3)[/B] vs. Chris Leben (18-4) [B]Matt Hughes (41-6)[/B] vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9) Undercard Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs. [B]Christian Wellisch (8-3)[/B] [B]Eddie Alvarez (14-1)[/B] vs. Corey Hill (2-0) [B]Diego Sanchez (18-2) [/B]vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) Marvin Eastman (15-7) vs. [B]Cung Le (5-0)[/B] Antonio Mendes (14-2) vs. [B]James Irvin (13-4)[/B] Brad Morris (8-3) vs. [B]Rolles Gracie (1-0)[/B]

[Dustin]

Maincard [B]Fedor Emelianenko[/B] (27-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-8) [B]Sean Sherk[/B] (32-2-1) vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1) [B]Rashad Evans[/B] (11-0-1) vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-4) [B]Rich Franklin [/B](23-3) vs. Chris Leben (18-4) [B]Matt Hughes [/B](41-6) vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9) Undercard Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs. [B]Christian W[/B]ellisch (8-3) [B]Eddie Alvarez[/B] (14-1) vs. Corey Hill (2-0) [B]Diego Sanchez [/B](18-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) Marvin Eastman (15-7) vs. [B]Cung Le [/B](5-0) [B]Antonio Mendes[/B] (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-4) Brad Morris (8-3) vs. [B]Rolles Gracie [/B](1-0)

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 85: Couture vs. Fedor[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][U][CENTER]Undercard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][CENTER]Brad Morris (8-3) vs. Rolles Gracie (1-0)[/CENTER][/B][B][CENTER]Sherdog's Prediction: Rolles Gracie via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] They start the round with an exchange of strikes, all from fairly long range as they circle and try to work angles. None of the blows did any damage, either missing or being straight into the opponent's gloves. Gracie is the first to land a worthwhile blow, hitting a straight right that catches Morris on the side of the cheek. Gracie follows up by backing him up against the cage, throws a couple of big punches, but gets pulled into a clinch without doing any serious damage. Morris goes for a trip and almost gets it, but Gracie is able to regain his footing at the last moment. Morris has Gracie against the cage, and hits three right hands to the side of the ribs. Gracie reaches down and picks up a leg, using that as leverage to topple Morris, who pulls guard. Gracie starts pounding away and does some damage before Morris grapples and pulls him down into a clinch. Morris has both of Gracie's arms tied up, preventing much in the way of attacking action. Gracie uses some shoulder shrugs to the face, but Morris isn't going to be too bothered by that. Gracie pulls one arm free. Morris still has tight control of the other, and brings his legs up, trying to apply an armbar. Gracie sees it coming and blocks it easily, getting in a couple of punches for good measure. Gracie steps through the legs and forces Morris to release the arm so that he can cover up against a series of strikes. Morris manages to ensare one leg though, and so Gracie has to make do with being in half guard instead of getting the full mount that he wanted. Gracie hits a couple of punches, takes one back, then attempts to get side control. Morris keeps him at bay. Time is ticking away, if Gracie is going to use this position to finish the match, it had better be done soon. Gracie pulls Morris's left arm to one side and straightens it out, perhaps looking to turn it into an armbar. Morris rolls over to stop the arm getting trapped. Gracie continues to work for it though. Time expires though, the round is over. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Gracie by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] The two fighters meet in the center with an exchange of jabs, but neither gets anything but gloves or air. They go right into a clinch, with only a few seconds of the match gone. Morris gets a knee to the ribs in, but it wasn't particularly hard. They break. Gracie clinches with Morris. A quick trip sends Morris falling backward, pulling guard to take Gracie down with him. Gracie tries to pass the guard. Morris is holding it quite high, which is helping. Gracie throws a couple of loose punches, then grabs the legs and turns Morris over. Morris tries to scramble free, but Gracie is already on top of him and has his back! Gracie doesn't waste any time, he starts throwing bombs with both left and right fists, slamming them into the side of Morris's head. He is trying to cover up, but a lot of shots are getting through. The referee is watching closely. A vicious right hand thunders into the ear of Morris, then another to the side of the nose. That's all the referee wants to see, he pulls Gracie off. [B]The official time of the TKO is 1:34 of round 2.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Was expecting Rolles to win but definately not by TKO. Was expecting a easy an easy decision maybe even a submission but never a TKO. [B][CENTER]Antonio Mendes (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-4)[/CENTER][/B][B][CENTER]Sherdog's Prediction: Mendes via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Mendes, providing the first moment of real action. Irvin hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Mendes side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Irvin is being slightly the more aggressive, but neither fighter is really going for it. They come together again and exchange punches, but no big shots get through, and they end up clinched for a while. The referee separates them, but the time is ticking away and this round looks like it's going to the judges. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Irvin.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Exchange of punches to start, nothing really hit though. They go into a clinch, and the pace disappears as both fighters try and get the advantage. Eventually the referee separates them. Jab from Mendes, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Mendes puts on a burst of energy and fires off a big sequence of punches, maybe twelve or thirteen in a row, although not many actually connected. Irvin covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Irvin glances at the referee, not sure why. Low kick from Irvin, almost to the groin, although it didn't look intentional. They come together in a clinch again, and it returns to a stalemate. Not a great round by anyone's standard, but that flurry should mean that Mendes will take the round on points. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Mendes. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] The fighters come together right in the center. Irvin throws out a jab, but Mendes bobs out of the way and uses a right hand to glance a blow off the side of the ribs in response. Mendes works an angle and storms in suddenly with three crisp jabs and a looping overhand punch, Irvin covered up quickly but at least one of the jabs hit home. Mendes is making Irvin look sluggish in comparison, such is the speed and crispness with which he is delivering strikes. Irvin hits a low kick before back-pedalling to avoid a clubbing blow. Irvin looks to be working an angle. They meet in the center to exchange a flurry of strikes that gets the crowd on their feet. Mendes got slightly the better of it, he definitely snuck through a right hand that rocked Irvin slightly. Irvin initiates a clinch, and the action grinds to a halt. Irvin looks out of ideas, he is being repeatedly lured into these exchange of strikes, but Mendes is clearly winning them. Irvin needs to find some way to deal with them. Not much time left in this round. The referee separates them. Mendes tries a speculative high kick, but Irvin saw it coming and was well out of range by the time it came. Irvin tries to work an angle, but Mendes is having none of it and fires off a straight right hand to keep him from stepping in. Comfortable round for Mendes, he will probably be disappointed not to have done more damage given his dominance of the striking in this round. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Mendes. All three judges give a score of 29-28 to Antonio Mendes.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Thought Irvin would win this but guess I was wrong. This does nothing for Mendes really maybe a few more wins then he could get better competition but not now. [B][CENTER]Marvin Eastman (15-7) vs. Cung Le (5-0) Sherdog's Prediction: Cung Le via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Eastman starts out with a few straight rights, range-finding rather than actually dangerous. Le keeps out of their way. Eastman steps forward and tries to unload with a looping left, but Le moves to the side and fires off a powerful right hand of his own, landing above the left eye. Eastman doesn't go down, but definitely felt that shot. Le moves in closer and fires off two punches to the face and a big hook to the body. Eastman parried the first two, but the third hit home hard. Le begins to stalk Eastman, who may be slightly winded. They meet again in the center and exchange blows. Eastman hits a high jab but gets caught with another hard punch to the side of the head. Eastman clinches up, stopping Le from following up. It looks like Eastman needs to change his game plan, standing up and banging with Le is playing right into his opponent's hands, as Le clearly has the more powerful strikes in his arsenal, and Eastman is going to get floored sooner or later, judging by this round. The referee parts them from the clinch. Le continues to look ready to unleash some big punches. Eastman takes a takedown, then comes in much closer, throws a jab, and clinches back up. Eastman looks like he is going to grapple, stopping Le from throwing bombs. Eastman gets in a few short punches to the ribs. The round ends with them still in the clinch. Le will take that round on points, having used the threat of a knock out to basically control everything about that round except the clinches. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Le by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] A fizzing right hand from Le opens the round; it didn't find its intended target of Eastman's chin, but it did land hard on the left shoulder instead. Eastman fights back with a jab, but takes a hard shot to the body after leaning in too far. Le pins him to the cage with a quick burst, and unloads with lefts and rights. Eastman looks for a moment like he may be about to get overwhelmed, especially after a right hand appears to hit flush on the chin, but he recovers well and works his way back to the center. Le is looking the more confident of the two by far. He smells blood, and comes in looking for a big right hand, only to walk right into a takedown. Eastman had to time that perfectly, and did. Le doesn't pull guard, instead scrambling, ending up onto his knees, with Eastman taking his back! Eastman tries to go for a choke, but Le bucks and twists, scrambling back to his feet and backing off. A big right hand and a high kick prevent Eastman from following too closely. After that frenetic minute of action, things die down, with the fighters circling. Le scores with two leg kicks, Eastman hits a tasty right hand to the body, but otherwise nothing much happens for the next couple of exchanges. Indeed, the clock runs down and the round ends without further noteworthy events. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Le. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start to the round, nearly a minute has gone by without anything but a few jabs finding gloves. Eastman comes in, looking for a grapple it seems, but takes a powerful kick just above the left hip. Le really put some venom into that strike. Eastman backs off, clearly stung. Le is the one advancing now, using a left hand jab to lead. He steps forward and fires off a big kick, aimed at the head. Eastman ducks and moves out of range, but that was clearly intended to be a match-ender, Le was going for the knock out. It's pretty clear that he thinks that kicks are going to do the job in this round, and it has to be said that Eastman is looking to have a hard time countering them. On top of that, the threat of the kicks is keeping Eastman from getting in too close. Le stalks Eastman, throwing the occasional high right hand, perhaps range-finding. Eastman is circling, seeking an opening of some kind. He moves in from the left and is quick enough to get into the clinch without taking any shots. Le hits a knee, but takes one right back. The kicks aren't a danger from this position, that's for sure. Le squirms free, but foolishly lost his concentration for a second and took a hard right hand above the eye in the process. Silly mistake. Eastman comes in, looking more confident now, and gets in a couple of right hands and a lovely hook to the body. Le tags him with a jab though, and then hits another fearsome kick to the same spot above the left hip. And another! Eastman backs off, and a huge red mark has appeared in that spot. Le advances and throws another head kick, but it is mostly blocked by the hands of Eastman. The round is drawing to a close, and those kicks have certainly proved massively effective for Le. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Le. Cung Le wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes:[/B] Great octagon debut for Le here. What he can do afer this against better competition though is unknown. [B][CENTER]Diego Sanchez (18-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Diego Sanchez via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Sanchez is quickest out, and comes at Fioravanti with a series of jabs and straight punches. Fioravanti covered up well, and I don't think anything got through. Fioravanti hits a body shot, but it didn't connect solidly. They get in close, and it's Sanchez who takes it to the ground. Fioravanti pulls guard. There's a lull, as Sanchez tries to pass, and Fioravanti defends it. Punches get thrown every so often, but it's really a stalemate at the moment. Fioravanti almost gets a guillotine, but it's blocked and almost leads to a kimura for Sanchez, but that too goes nowhere. The referee stands them up, but the time is almost over. The 1st round ends. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Sanchez by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Sanchez leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, Fioravanti deals with it well. They clinch, but only for a few seconds before it gets broken. Both throw stiff jabs at the same time, neither connects properly. Back to the clinch. It has been a disjointed start to the round, the flow hasn't quite developed properly. Fioravanti uses a knee to the ribs before backing Sanchez up against the cage. Right hand from Sanchez connects though, that was well timed. Fioravanti breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, Sanchez was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from Fioravanti sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. Sanchez fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. They clinch, although it's an ugly-looking one. Sanchez forces his way to the side, still grappling for supremacy, and then manages to get all the way behind. Fioravanti gave up his back quite easily. Sanchez takes Fioravanti down with a variation on the suplex, but Fioravanti keeps his wits and makes sure that he is able to pull guard pretty quickly upon landing. Sanchez moves from the guard and gets side control. He is trying for the mount, but Fioravanti is defending it. There's a small lull as Sanchez continues to try and get the mount. There it is, Fioravanti finally couldn't stop it. Sanchez starts firing off punches, and Fioravanti has nowhere to go. A big elbow gets through. A right hand lands on the nose of Fioravanti. The referee is watching intently, I don't think he's going to let this go much longer unless Fioravanti can come up with some answers. Sanchez hits another big elbow. And another. [B]The referee leaps in, it's over! The official time is 4:59.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Comfortable win for Diego which should help him build up a few wins before a possible title shot maybe. [B][CENTER]Eddie Alvarez (14-1) vs. Corey Hill (2-0) Sherdog's Predictions: Eddie Alvarez via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Hill works an angle and comes in from the side of Alvarez, getting two good jabs in before a ragged left misses by quite a margin. Alvarez hits a low kick to back Hill against the cage, then works the body with a series of short punches. Hill fights out and the action returns to the center. Hill hits a right hand above Alvarez's right eye, but gets clinched up before he can do anything further. Alvarez forces him back against the cage. They struggle, with Hill keeping the takedown from happening by pulling away from every trip attempt. Alvarez pushes Hill into the cage, then sweeps the legs quickly. Hill couldn't get out of the way that time, and goes down. He pulls guard. Alvarez breaks the guard and stands up, leaving Hill on his back. Hill tries to keep Alvarez back with some up-kicks, Alvarez has to be careful not to get caught with them, they have power. Alvarez fakes a dive, pushes the legs to one side, and gets side control. Hill tries to turn into it so that he can pull guard, but Alvarez isn't allowing it, and traps both arms, creating a crucifix position. Alvarez starts throwing punches to the face, Hill having no arms free to block them. Big shot from Alvarez, that caught Hill on the chin as he momentarily lifted his head while trying to struggle free. Hill is out like a light. The referee jumps in, this is over. [B]The official time is 2:25.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Getting a KO win on your debut is always nice. Does Alvarez have further potential who knows, but lets hope so. [B][CENTER]Brock Lesnar (1-1) vs. Christian Wellisch (8-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Brock Lesnar via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] They start the round with an exchange of strikes, all from fairly long range as they circle and try to work angles. None of the blows did any damage, either missing or being straight into the opponent's gloves. Lesnar is the first to land a worthwhile blow, hitting a straight right that catches Wellisch on the side of the cheek. Lesnar follows up by backing him up against the cage, throws a couple of big punches, but gets pulled into a clinch without doing any serious damage. Wellisch goes for a trip and almost gets it, but Lesnar is able to regain his footing at the last moment. Wellisch has Lesnar against the cage, and hits three right hands to the side of the ribs. Lesnar reaches down and picks up a leg, using that as leverage to topple Wellisch, who pulls guard. Lesnar starts pounding away and does some damage before Wellisch grapples and pulls him down into a clinch. Wellisch has both of Lesnar's arms tied up, preventing much in the way of attacking action. Lesnar uses some shoulder shrugs to the face, but Wellisch isn't going to be too bothered by that. Lesnar pulls one arm free. Wellisch still has tight control of the other, and brings his legs up, trying to apply an armbar. Lesnar sees it coming and blocks it easily, getting in a couple of punches for good measure. Lesnar steps through the legs and forces Wellisch to release the arm so that he can cover up against a series of strikes. Wellisch manages to ensare one leg though, and so Lesnar has to make do with being in half guard instead of getting the full mount that he wanted. Lesnar hits a couple of punches, takes one back, then attempts to get side control. Wellisch keeps him at bay. Time is ticking away, if Lesnar is going to use this position to finish the match, it had better be done soon. Lesnar pulls Wellisch's left arm to one side and straightens it out, perhaps looking to turn it into an armbar. Wellisch rolls over to stop the arm getting trapped. Lesnar continues to work for it though. Time expires though, the round is over. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Lesnar by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Quick start to the round from Wellisch, he comes storming in with a flurry of jabs. Lesnar defends it well, parrying them away. Nice straight right from Lesnar connects. Wellisch gets in close and hits a pair of nice body shots, then they clinch up. Wellisch pushes Lesnar back against the cage and goes for a trip, but Lesnar blocks it. Lesnar suddenly pushes forward off the cage and uses the momentum to take Wellisch down to the ground, into guard. Lesnar throws out a right hand, parried away by Wellisch. The guard is quite tight, for the moment at least Lesnar looks content to stay there and throw some punches. Wellisch isn't offering any sort of attacking threat yet, instead concentrating on keeping the strikes from landing. A big punch is driven into the ribs, Wellisch thought it was going for the face. Another punch lands in the same place, and a red mark starts to develop. Wellisch reaches up and pulls Lesnar down into a clinch, and tries to work an armbar from the bottom. Lesnar defends it easily, and gets in a sharp jab to the face too. He stands up slightly, leaning forward into the guard, and starts throwing some right hands. One gets through, the others are parried. Wellisch looked like he might be considering trying to apply a triangle then, as Lesnar was very exposed, but he didn't get a chance due to the ferocity of the punches. Lesnar gets back down to kneeling in the guard. Another right hand lands to the ribs. Wellisch fires off two punches from his back, but Lesnar defends them easily by simply leaning backward out of reach. Lesnar stands again, the guard remaining tight around him, and throws another couple of bombs. This time Wellisch does try to apply the triangle, and an armbar at the same time, but Lesnar breaks free. Time is ticking down, looks like Wellisch will survive this ground and pound attack. The round ends without further note. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Lesnar by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Wellisch may have realised that he left the gas on back at home, as he starts the round as if he needs to get this fight finished quickly, throwing two giant-sized right hand bombs and a vicious uppercut within the first thirty seconds. Lesnar dealt with them well though, avoiding the first two and parrying the uppercut away. Lesnar fakes a takedown, causing Wellisch to back up, ready to sprawl. Wellisch stalks Lesnar, forcing him back toward the cage. Wellisch moves in, looking to throw another big shot, but Lesnar springs forward and connects with a great punch, crunching his fist into the cheek. Wellisch goes down! Lesnar tries to pounce and pound his way to victory, but Wellisch has enough awareness to ensnare Lesnar in the guard position as he dives in. Lesnar fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Wellisch. Lesnar tries to pass the guard, but can't, Wellisch isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Lesnar will start raining down punches. Lesnar tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Wellisch gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Lesnar again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Lesnar fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Wellisch fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Wellisch, and Lesnar is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Wellisch has defended the danger well. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Lesnar. The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Brock Lesnar.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Solid win for Lesnar which proves he isn't just a load of hype. My plans from now on are to keep him on the undercard and feed him cans and then when he has a good run going he can fight some real competition so if he does lose it won't make his record look terrible. [B][U][CENTER]Maincard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][CENTER]Matt Hughes (41-6) vs. Jonathan Goulet (21-9) Sherdog's Prediction: Matt Hughes via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Hughes tries to work an angle from the start, but is kept back by some sharp kicks, one landing painfully across the outside of the calf. Goulet steps in and throws some punches, landing a crisp jab to the shoulder. Hughes lands a jab of his own, but gets hit with a vicious waist-high kick when stepping in to follow up. Good tactics so far from Goulet, he is basically controlling the tempo and positioning of this fight through intelligent use of sharp, accurate kicks. Hughes comes in fast, faking left then going right, and gets close enough to throw some body blows. Goulet gets in a right hand of his own, then a beauty of a high kick. It lands right on the ear, causing Hughes to back off quickly. If that had had more power, it might well have scored a knock out. The round is almost over. Goulet has controlled this one, Hughes is finding it very difficult to find a way around those kicks. End of round 1. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Goulet. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Hughes starts strongly, hitting two stiff jabs to the gloves, stinging the hands of Goulet. The third strike is a meaty left hook that narrowly misses. If that had hit, Goulet may well have been decapitated. Despite leaning backwards, Goulet throws a mighty kick that explodes across the chest, Hughes staggers back. That was an enormously powerful blow, and Hughes didn't see it coming at all. They circle for a moment, sizing each other up. Goulet throws a flurry of jabs, but Hughes blocks them easily. A right hand from Hughes lands below the eye, and a straight left glances off the shoulder. Another exchange doesn't see either fighter get an advantage. Hughes throws a heavy left, but Goulet goes underneath it. Another hard kick from Goulet, this time smashing into the left thigh. Hughes almost get knocked down. He throws a left hook in retaliation which misses by a mile, and gives Goulet the chance to hit another big kick, this time to the ribs. The round has been pretty even, with the exception of those kicks by Goulet which have really made a big difference. As the round comes to an end, it looks like those will make sure that Goulet wins the round on points. End of round 2. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Goulet.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Goulet throws the first punch of the round, a high searching jab that didn't carry a great deal of threat with it. Hughes throws a one-two combination in return, neither connecting, then steps in and delivers a hard kick to the outside of the thigh. Goulet steps back, throwing a right hand as he does to buy himself space. They circle, then move in again to exchange strikes, neither fighter getting a clear advantage. They come together again and the same result. It has become something of a stalemate at the moment. They come together to exchange strikes for the third time, and this time they wind up in a clinch. Hughes hits a knee to the ribs. A couple of shots to the back from Goulet. They struggle all the way back, with Goulet ending up backed up against the cage. Hughes hits another knee, but there wasn't much power behind it. Goulet stomps downward onto his foot. Goulet manages to reverse their positions, but that only lasts about thirty seconds before it gets reversed once more. Hughes gets an arm free and tries to throw a big shot to the cheek, Goulet ducks under it and gets the arm back under control. The referee finally breaks them up, and we're back to where we started. Goulet tries a high kick to start, but Hughes saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Hughes who gets the first sustained attack of the round, hitting two hard body shots and a jab that caught Goulet on the nose. Goulet hits a straight right, enough to stop Hughes from following up any further. The time expires with them standing. Not a great round for either of them or the crowd, it was very scrappy. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Hughes. The official scores are: 29-28 from all three judges for Jonathan Goulet.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Wow did not expect that. Could this propel Goulet to top tier or was this just a fluke. In previous games of mine whoever has beaten Hughes has gone on to have atleast a title shot, some examples would be Kos and Lyte. Now Goulet has the potential factor but what will he do with it. [B][CENTER]Rich Franklin (23-3) vs. Chris Leben (18-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Rich Franklin via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Franklin and Leben circle to start. Leben throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Franklin sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Leben comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Franklin to slip a nice jab in, catching Leben just underneath the right eye. Franklin comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Leben misses with a right cross, then backs off. Franklin stalks him, forcing Leben back up against the cage. Franklin doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Leben throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Franklin pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Leben covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Franklin in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Franklin throws the occasional knee, but can't really do much with his arms tied up like that. The referee finally tells them to break, and they return to the center. That clinch ate up a lot of time though. Leben comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Franklin parries them with his gloves and scores with a well-executed counter punch, hitting just above the eye. They come in close again, throwing punches, but wind up clinched again. The time expires with them like that, and that round will definitely go down in Franklin's favour. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Franklin by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Leben puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Franklin defended well. Straight right from Franklin in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, Leben probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Franklin gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to Leben. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Leben.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Leben doesn't waste any time and throws two jabs to the face, but Franklin easily side-steps both and circles to the left. Franklin throws a head fake, then comes in fast from an angle with a looping punch, but misses and takes a glancing shot to the shoulder from a left hand counter. Franklin throws a stinging jab, landing just above the left eye. Leben steps in and fires off one of his own, but Franklin bobs out of the way and scores with a pair of solid shots to the body. Leben turns and swings, just as Franklin also unloads...and it's Franklin who connects first! Leben's hands drop and he is on rubbery legs. Franklin follows up with a beauty of a right hand, and that drops Leben. The referee doesn't even wait for Franklin to dive in to finish, he's seen enough, Leben is clearly on Dream Street. [B]This bout is over! The official time is 1:34.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Nice win here for Franklin which with a few more wins might give him a third match with Anderson Silva. [B][CENTER]Rashad Evans (11-0-1) vs. Stephan Bonnar (11-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Rashad Evans via Knock Out[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Evans starts fast, immediately going on the attack with jabs and straight rights. Bonnar covers up from the initial burst, then starts throwing some raking rights and lefts. Evans bobs and weaves out of harm's way, countering by flicking off jabs whenever possible, peppering Bonnar with strikes. None of them are likely to knock Bonnar down, but they will add up over time. Bonnar moves in and tries to back Evans up against the cage, but he is too quick, and won't allow himself to get caught. Bonnar is having a real problem with Evans's movement, which is allowing him to dart in and out almost at will, hitting quick jabs and avoiding any counters. There's another example, as Evans scores with a sharp left hand to the chest, and is gone before the big right hand of Bonnar hits. Bonnar looks frustrated, and switches tactics, no longer looking for the big punches but trying to stop Evans getting in close by using low kicks and long, raking punches. Evans is kept from doing any further damage, but Bonnar isn't generating any offence either. Evans comes in from an angle, takes a right hand, but scores with a flurry of his own. Bonnar tries to hit a low kick, but misses. Time is running down, Evans is going to take this round on points, he has been able to dominate it thanks to his superior movement. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-8 to Evans.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] The two fighters touch gloves as the round begins. Bonnar starts brightly, throwing out a series of jabs and raking punches, but Evans is too light on his feet and avoids all of them. Evans steps in and hits a lovely overhand right, then a low kick to the outside of the thigh. Bonnar throws a vicious right cross, but Evans goes under it and catches Bonnar with a scathing left hand to the gut. The next few minutes follow a very similar pattern; Evans using his excellent movement to 'hit and run', coming in from a variety of angles to score with crisp punches, dodging out of the way of Bonnar's counters. Bonnar is being made to look sluggish by comparison, and the amount of punches that Evans has landed in comparison to him is becoming huge. None of them have been particularly big punches, certainly nothing likely to end a fight, but the sheer number of them must be hurting Bonnar. Bonnar finally hits a meaningful blow, catching Evans coming in with a low kick. Evans still gets a crisp jab in though, and is back out of range before Bonnar can apply a second strike. The round comes to an end with Evans having dominated. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Evans. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start; nearly a full minute of circling, occasional fakes, and long-range jabs. Neither fighter is creating much. Evans works an angle, but takes a low kick to the shin when he advances. They clinch, and end up with Bonnar backed up against the cage. Evans gets a couple of right hands to the body, but his attempts at knee strikes are deflected by Bonnar, who uses his legs well to defend. Evans pulls free and takes a step back, then powers in a right hand. Bonnar gets out the way, ducks under a second right hand, and backs up to the center. Evans follows, and we're back to circling. Uninspiring action so far, they've both been fairly devoid of inspiration. Evans hits a couple of right hands, both hitting gloves, then a left hand to the body that connected. That was the best shot of the round so far. Bonnar tags him with a flicked jab to the cheek, but it had virtually no power on it. Bonnar leans in to a looping left, but it puts him off balance and it's only at the last second that he gets his chin out of the way of a vicious right cross that comes back. If that had hit, we may have had a knock out. Time runs out with them standing, circling again. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Evans. All three judges give a score of 30-26 to Rashad Evans.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Quality win here for Rashad. Hopefully he wins a few more and sets up a match with Jackson. [B][CENTER]Sean Sherk (32-2-1) vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Sean Sherk via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] The two fighters circle. Griffin flicks out a couple of jabs, then an unconventinal looping right hand. Sherk easily side-steps it, but trips and falls to the ground! He is up quickly, before Griffin could get in. Replays confirm that it was purely a stumble, the punch was well wide of the mark. Sherk moves in, ducks under a big right hand, and gets two crisp jabs in before getting smothered into a clinch. One of those jabs landed hard, Griffin is a little rattled. They struggle in the clinch, both throwing small punches to the back and ribs. The referee separates them. Griffin forces Sherk back up against the cage, and starts throwing jabs. He looks to be keeping Sherk in position, waiting to unload a big punch. Griffin does, lunging in with a huge right cross, but Sherk saw it coming and goes underneath it, scoring with a right hand to the gut on the way past. Griffin turns and tries to follow up immediately, but gets tagged with a wicked left hook that drops him to one knee. Griffin is up quickly, causing Sherk, who was about to dive in, to back off. Replays show that the punch connected, but Griffin was already going downward to duck the punch, so it wasn't as powerful as first thought. Griffin throws a high kick, but it doesn't do anything but cause Sherk to step back. The time expires without anything further of note happening. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Sherk[/B]. [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] A touch of gloves to start the round, and we're underway. Sherk lets rip with a vicious straight right almost immediately, but it's easily avoided. Griffin sneaks a jab through the guard and catches Sherk on the left cheek, but the follow up right hook only finds gloves. They get close to each other and end up in a clinch, from which Griffin manages to get the better position, pushing Sherk up against the cage. Right hand to the ribs from Griffin. Sherk hits a couple of knees to the side. There's a struggle for supremacy going on, it's difficult to see who is winning it. Griffin tries a knee of his own, but that is the opportunity that Sherk was waiting for and he sweeps the standing leg to take Griffin down to the ground, in side control. Excellent takedown. Griffin covers up to defend against a pair of back-hand blows, and even manages to sneak a knee strike in. Sherk hits a big elbow to the ribs, Griffin definitely felt that. Sherk drives a knee to the near side, then attempts to float-over into a mount. Griffin brought his legs in though, and manages to pull guard. Sherk will be disappointed with that. He tries to get a big punch in, but Griffin defends it well and gets a hold of both arms. The fight grinds to a halt, with Sherk unable to generate any attacks, and Griffin unwilling to give up a good defensive position. The referee stands them up. Sherk will likely be very angry that he didn't make more of that takedown. They exchange half-hearted jabs as the round draws to an end. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Sherk.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] The fighters come together right in the center. Griffin throws out a jab, but Sherk bobs out of the way and uses a right hand to glance a blow off the side of the ribs in response. Sherk works an angle and storms in suddenly with three crisp jabs and a looping overhand punch, Griffin covered up quickly but at least one of the jabs hit home. Sherk is making Griffin look sluggish in comparison, such is the speed and crispness with which he is delivering strikes. Griffin hits a low kick before back-pedalling to avoid a clubbing blow. Sherk tries to back Griffin up against the cage wall, but it comes to nothing. They meet in the center to exchange a flurry of strikes that gets the crowd on their feet. Sherk got slightly the better of it, he definitely snuck through a right hand that rocked Griffin slightly. Griffin initiates a clinch, and the action grinds to a halt. Griffin looks out of ideas, he is being repeatedly lured into these exchange of strikes, but Sherk is clearly winning them. Griffin needs to find some way to deal with them. Not much time left in this round. The referee separates them. Sherk tries a speculative high kick, but Griffin saw it coming and was well out of range by the time it came. Griffin tries to work an angle, but Sherk is having none of it and fires off a straight right hand to keep him from stepping in. Comfortable round for Sherk, he will probably be disappointed not to have done more damage given his dominance of the striking in this round. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Sherk. All three judges give a score of 30-27 to Sean Sherk.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Solid win for Sherk and after one more fight if not straight away he will prebably be against Penn for the title. [B][CENTER]Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-8) Sherdog's Prediction: Fedor Emelianenko via Decision[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Couture comes out quick and immediately starts pressing Emelianenko back toward the cage. Couture tries to use the position to his advantage, pinning Emelianenko in to prevent him from moving freely, but the exchange of punches that follows is clearly won by Emelianenko, who catches Couture with a wicked right cross during the flurry of blows. Couture tries again, but Emelianenko is looking sharp and parries away any dangerous shot, getting in a few crisp jabs of his own along the way. Couture finally backs off, realising that this isn't working. Emelianenko is showing superior ability with his hands, they're fast and accurate, Couture isn't able to cope with them at close quarters, being made to look slow and ragged in comparison. Couture switches to using raking right hands and looping punches, keeping Emelianenko back, but its effectiveness is limited as Couture's punches are easily parried away, and Emelianenko can still hit the occasional right hand. The round ends with that being the pattern. Emelianenko has used his better punching technique and hand speed to confound Couture, and has controlled this round almost entirely. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Emelianenko by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Couture starts out with a few straight rights, range-finding rather than actually dangerous. Emelianenko keeps out of their way. Couture steps forward and tries to unload with a looping left, but Emelianenko moves to the side and fires off a powerful right hand of his own, landing above the left eye. Couture doesn't go down, but definitely felt that shot. Emelianenko moves in closer and fires off two punches to the face and a big hook to the body. Couture parried the first two, but the third hit home hard. Emelianenko begins to stalk Couture, who may be slightly winded. They meet again in the center and exchange blows. Couture hits a high jab but gets caught with another hard punch to the side of the head. Couture clinches up, stopping Emelianenko from following up. It looks like Couture needs to change his game plan, standing up and banging with Emelianenko is playing right into his opponent's hands, as Emelianenko clearly has the more powerful strikes in his arsenal, and Couture is going to get floored sooner or later, judging by this round. The referee parts them from the clinch. Emelianenko continues to look ready to unleash some big punches. Couture takes a takedown, then comes in much closer, throws a jab, and clinches back up. Couture looks like he is going to grapple, stopping Emelianenko from throwing bombs. Couture gets in a few short punches to the ribs. The round ends with them still in the clinch. Emelianenko will take that round on points, having used the threat of a knock out to basically control everything about that round except the clinches. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Emelianenko. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start; nearly a full minute of circling, occasional fakes, and long-range jabs. Neither fighter is creating much. Emelianenko works an angle, but takes a low kick to the shin when he advances. They clinch, and end up with Couture backed up against the cage. Emelianenko gets a couple of right hands to the body, but his attempts at knee strikes are deflected by Couture, who uses his legs well to defend. Emelianenko pulls free and takes a step back, then powers in a right hand. Couture gets out the way, ducks under a second right hand, and backs up to the center. Emelianenko follows, and we're back to circling. Uninspiring action so far, they've both been fairly devoid of inspiration. Emelianenko hits a couple of right hands, both hitting gloves, then a left hand to the body that connected. That was the best shot of the round so far. Couture tags him with a flicked jab to the cheek, but it had virtually no power on it. Couture leans in to a looping left, but it puts him off balance and it's only at the last second that he gets his chin out of the way of a vicious right cross that comes back. If that had hit, we may have had a knock out. Time runs out with them standing, circling again. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Emelianenko by 10-9. All three judges give a score of 30-27 in favour of Fedor Emelianenko.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: And Fedor wins and now will almost certainly get shot at Big Nog for the title. [B][U]Post Show News[/U][/B] [B][U]Fighter Bonuses[/U][/B] Submission of the Night: N/A Knock Out of the Night: Eddie Alvarez Fight of the Night: Rich Franklin vs. Chris Leben [B][U]Resignings[/U][/B] James Irvin, Randy Couture, Luigi Fioravanti and Antonio Mendes will all be resigned but unfortunately both Christian Wellisch and Marvin Eastman will be released after their next fight.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]New Rankings From UFC 85[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] UFC have released the new ranking following their UFC 85 event. [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. Sean Sherk +2 2. BJ Penn -1 3. Shinya Aoki -1 4. Roger Huerta 5. Vitor Ribeiro 6. Joe Stevenson 7. Mac Danzig +1 8. Din Thomas +1 9. Rich Clementi +1 10. Joe Lauzon - New Entry [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Karo Parisyan +1 3. Jon Fitch +1 4. Matt Serra +1 5. Diego Sanchez +1 6. Jonathan Goulet - New Entry 7. Thiago Alves 8. Kuniyoshi Hironaka 9. Matt Hughes -7 10. Akihiro Gono -1 [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Rich Franklin 4. Nate Marquardt 5. Alan Belcher 6. Patrick Cote 7. Joey Villasenor 8. Kendall Grove 9. Joe Doerkson +1 10. Dean Lister - New Entry [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Lyoto Machida 3. Chuck Liddell 4. Shogun 5. Rashad Evans +3 6. Wanderlei Silva -1 7. Keith Jardine -1 8. Antonio Mendes - New Entry 9. Ricardo Arona -2 10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira -1 [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira +1 3. Tim Sylvia +1 4. Fabrico Wedum +2 5. Andrei Arlovski 6. Pedro Rizzo +1 7. Sergei Kharitonov +1 8. Frank Mir +1 9. Randy Couture -7 10. Cheick Kongo [B][U]P4P[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko +1 2. Quinton Jackson -1 3. Anderson Silva 4. Sean Sherk - New Entry 5. Gearge St. Pierre -1 6. Lyoto Machida -1 7. Dan Henderson +1 8. BJ Penn +1 9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira +1 10. Rich Franklin - New Entry [B]Biggest Jump this month[/B]: Rashad Evans: He jumped up 3 places this month this month after his unanimous decision win over Stephan Bonnar. He is now recognised as a top 5 Light Heavyweight in the UFC. His next fight should be against tougher competition to show his rise in the rankings. He will probably face either Wanderlei Silva or Shogun. [B]Biggest Drop this month[/B]: Matt Hughes/Randy Couture: both these huge stars dropped 7 spots after losses this month. The losses came under very different circumstances though. Couture lost a fight he wasn't really expected to win against the #1 Heavyweight in the world and he drew out a decision from him, but Hughes on the other hand lost in a massive upset to Jonathan Goulet. Both will be looking to get a win when they fight next but who they will be against is unknown. [B]Most Impressive New Entry[/B]: Sean Sherk(P4P)/Jonathon Goulet: Lets start with Goulet shall we. He defeated someone who many say is the best Welterweight of all time in Matt Hughes. This could of just been a massive fluke and Goulet will be a flash in the pan or it could propel him to stardom. We will all see in his next fight I guess which is rumoured to be against either Thiago Alves or Diego Sanchez. Now lets talk about Sherk. He was already on the Lightweight rankings at number 3 last month but not only has he gone to the top of the Lightweight rankings but he has debuted on the P4P rankings at a resounding #4. Some say he doesn't deserve his #4 spot because he only beat Tyson Griffin but never the less it is still a great achievement. Sean Sherk's next fight will most likely be against BJ Penn for the title.

[chris caulfield]

[B][U]Prediction Contest[/U][/B] O.K. I've decided to run a prediction contest thanks to all the predictions I got last time. So here is how everyone did. Dustin: 9/11 Critical-23: 8/11 smurphy1014: 7/11 Tyler Gadzinski: 3/11 The prize for winning this month is to decide who will fight George St. Pierre for his Welterweight title at the next PPV out of either Karo Parisyan or Jon Fitch. If you could post your choice here or PM me with it asap so I can get the card up.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC Announces UFC 86: St. Pierre vs. Fitch[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]Today UFC announced UFC 86: St. Pierre vs. Fitch. Here is the card. [B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] UFC Welterweight Championship: George St. Pierre (16-2) vs. Jon Fitch (16-2) Chuck Liddell (21-5) vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (16-3) Cheick Kongo (11-4) vs. Frank Mir (11-3) Patrick Cote (12-4) vs. Alan Belcher (13-4) Shinya Aoki (15-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (20-4) [B][U]Undercard[/U][/B] Karo Parisyan (18-4) vs. Ben Saunders (5-0-2) Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Matt Hamill (3-1) Rich Clementi (31-12-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-4-1) Thiago Alves (13-3) vs. Ryo Chonan (14-8) Demian Maia (7-0) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2) Jake O'Brian (10-1) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (11-0)[/CENTER]

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 86 Preview[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER][B][U]Jake O'Brian (10-1) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (11-0)[/U][/B] Tuchscherer here with his octagon debut and if he wins he could soon become a serious contender. A win here for him would prove he belongs in the UFC and his record would speak for itself at 12-0. But if he loses it doesn't do much for O'Brian as most just see him as a low level gatekeeper. I'm sure UFC officials will be hoping for a dominant Tuchscherer win here. [B][U]Demian Maia (7-0) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2)[/U][/B] A win for either man here could put him in the top 10 middleweights which from there after another win or two could give the a title shot. Demian Maia is undefeated coming into this and will hope to carry on his streak. Almeida on the other hand has 2 defeats but that won't matter too much if he wins this fight which would put him at 10-2. [B][U]Thiago Alves (13-3) vs. Ryo Chonan (14-8)[/U][/B] A win here for Alves could put him in the top 5 welterweights and another win form there would almost certainly give him a title shot. Chonan on the other hand has nothing to gain as most will just say it was an upset and blow him off as a flash in the pan. UFC officials will definately be hoping for an Alves win. [B][U]Rich Clementi (31-12-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-4-1)[/U][/B] Mac Danzig is back in the Octagon just 2 months after he beat Sam Stout via TKO after only 1:26 of the first round. Another comfortable win like that could put him into the top 5 Lightweights. Clementi on the other hand comes into this as the underdog. If Clementi wins he could get a run going and maybe even get a title shot if he is lucky. UFC will hope Danzig can get another win here just to show that TUF wasn't a waste as so many people say. [B][U]Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Matt Hamill (3-1)[/U][/B] Two rising stars go to battle here and whoever wins seems to have a bright future, but the other will almost definately need to win their next fight if they are to remain in the UFC. A Sokoudjou win could put him in the top 10 which would be a good step for him. A win for Hamill would have to be pretty impressive to put him into the top 10 though. [B][U]Karo Parisyan (18-4) vs. Ben Saunders (5-0-2)[/U][/B] Karo Parisyan is ranked as the #2 Welterweight in the UFC but he is still fighting on the undercard, which just shows how stacked this card is. Karo will be expecting a win here and then to fight the winner of the main event after that. Saunders though will be hoping for an upset that could propel him to the top 10. UFC will definately be hoping for a Karo win as a Saunders win would throw a spanner in their plans for their Welterweight division. [B][U]Shinya Aoki (15-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (20-4)[/U][/B] Aoki is already being recognised as one of the top 3 Lightweights in the UFC before he has even debuted. His debut will be at the next PPV though against Spencer Fisher where Aoki will be hoping to move into the top 2 Lightweights or even move upto #1. If he does go to #1 it could wreck Sean Sherk's plans as Sherk was hoping to go against BJ Penn for the Lightweight title in his next fight but if Aoki goes #1 or even #2 Sherk may have to beat Aoki before he gets a shot at Penn or he may not even get that opportunity and the UFC may just give the shot to Aoki. Fisher will not be given a chance by most people but tou can never right anyone off in MMA so Aoki won't be able to just lay back he will have to give it his all in his Octagon debut. The UFC will be hoping for an Aoki debut win as tha would put the Lightweight division in a great palce with lots of viable contenders for a title shot. [B][U]Patrick Cote (12-4) vs. Alan Belcher (13-4)[/U][/B] When Belcher KO'ed Yushin Okami at UFC 84 everyone was surprised but if he wins here people might actually start believing it wasn't an upset. He is already ranked in the top 5 UFC middleweights but a win here could put him in with the big 3 of Franklin, Henderson and Silva. Cote will be hoping for a win here as it would definately put him into the top 5 as he is #6 now and Belcher is #5. Whoever wins this after a win over Nate Marquardt and another over either Henderson or Franklin and they could be in line for a title shot. [B][U]Cheick Kongo (11-4) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)[/U][/B] A exciting looking Heavyweight bout here with both being in the top 10 UFC Heavyweights. A win for either wouldn't put them in title contention but a win or 2 after that and then the will almost certainly get a title shot. [B][U]Chuck Liddell (21-5) vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (16-3)[/U][/B] A massive fight here as Liddell goes up against Shogun. Liddell is the #3 Light Heavyweight and Shougn the #4 so a win here could put either in serious title contention along with Lyoto Machida. The winner of this fight will fight 1 out of 3 people next. 1 is Rashad Evans to see if Evans really deserves his top 5 ranking but this match is more likely for the loser of the bout. 2 is Lyoto Machida which would be a #1 contender fight for a shot at Rampage for the title. Or option 3 is go straight to the title shot with Rampage. all 3 could main event a future PPV so alot is at stake here for both fighters so we should see a exciting match here as both go all out. [B][U]UFC Welterweight Championship: George St. Pierre (16-2) vs. Jon Fitch (16-2)[/U][/B] St. Pierre will make his first defence of his Welterweight title against Jon Fitch who is on a 15 fight win streak and is undefeated in all of his 8 bouts in the Octagon. The question is though can he keep it up? George St. Pierre will hope the answer will be no as he will not want to repeat what happened last time he was champion where he lost in his first defence. Whoever wins here will almost definately fight Karo Parisyan next for the title if Karo wins his next fight earlier in the night. If Karo loses though the next title shot could go to a number of people. One would be Thiago Alves if he won his fight earlier in the night. If Jon Fitch won Matt Serra might possibly get the next shot after his near domination of Marcus Davis at UFC 84. Diego Sanchez could possibly get the next title shot or even Jonathan Goulet after his upset Decisoin win over Matt Hughes. Whatever happens there are plenty of contenders which just goes to show how strong the UFC Welterwight division really is.[/CENTER]

[chris caulfield]

OOC: There will be a prize for the person with the most correct predictions for this months PPV aswell so hurry up and get your predictions in but I probably won't get the show posted up until next weekend as I'm going on holiday for the week and I'm pretty sure I won't have an internet connection. Not sure what the prize will be for the winner this time but it probably won't be as big as picking a #1 contender and one half of a main event so I may very well give two prizes out possibly to the same person or possibly to different people I havn't decided yet. One of the prizes will have something to do with someone debuting in the middleweight division though.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 86: St. Pierre vs. Fitch[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][U][CENTER]Undercard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][CENTER]Jake O'Brian (10-1) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (11-0) Sherdog's Prediction: Jake O'Brian via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Nice fast-paced start from Tuchscherer, who gets right in O'Brien's face from the beginning of the round, throwing some crisp jabs and then a vicious uppercut. The two jabs got parried, the uppercut missed as O'Brien side-stepped. O'Brien fires back with a left hand, then a right to the body. Tuchscherer steps in, but only into a waist-high kick from O'Brien. Tuchscherer is quick though, and manages to catch it around the knee. Using it as leverage, Tuchscherer sweeps O'Brien's standing leg and takes them to the ground. O'Brien quickly pulls guard. Tuchscherer throws out a right hand, parried away by O'Brien. The guard is quite tight, for the moment at least Tuchscherer looks content to stay there and throw some punches. O'Brien isn't offering any sort of attacking threat yet, instead concentrating on keeping the strikes from landing. A big punch is driven into the ribs, O'Brien thought it was going for the face. Another punch lands in the same place, and a red mark starts to develop. O'Brien reaches up and pulls Tuchscherer down into a clinch, and tries to work an armbar from the bottom. Tuchscherer defends it easily, and gets in a sharp jab to the face too. He stands up slightly, leaning forward into the guard, and starts throwing some right hands. One gets through, the others are parried. O'Brien looked like he might be considering trying to apply a triangle then, as Tuchscherer was very exposed, but he didn't get a chance due to the ferocity of the punches. Tuchscherer gets back down to kneeling in the guard. Another right hand lands to the ribs. O'Brien fires off two punches from his back, but Tuchscherer defends them easily by simply leaning backward out of reach. Tuchscherer stands again, the guard remaining tight around him, and throws another couple of bombs. This time O'Brien does try to apply the triangle, and an armbar at the same time, but Tuchscherer breaks free. Time is ticking down, looks like O'Brien will survive this ground and pound attack. The round ends without further note. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Tuchscherer. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Tuchscherer starts the round like a house on fire, hitting three quick jabs and a vicious right hook. O'Brien covered up well, but at least one of the jabs got through and landed above the left eye. O'Brien backs up to buy some time, but Tuchscherer keeps coming and lands a right hand to the body. O'Brien scores with a jab in return, then goes with a kick to the waist. Tuchscherer catches the leg though and quickly rushes forward with a takedown. O'Brien pulls guard. Tuchscherer fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of O'Brien. Tuchscherer tries to pass the guard, but can't, O'Brien isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Tuchscherer will start raining down punches. Tuchscherer tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. O'Brien gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Tuchscherer again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Tuchscherer fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but O'Brien fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by O'Brien, and Tuchscherer is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but O'Brien has defended the danger well. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Tuchscherer by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. O'Brien puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Tuchscherer defended well. Straight right from Tuchscherer in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, O'Brien probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Tuchscherer gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to O'Brien. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to O'Brien by 10-9. All three judges give a score of 29-28 to Chris Tuchscherer.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] * [B]Notes: [/B]And Tuchscherer's streak continues and it now stands at twelve straight wins. With such a weak Heavyweight division at the moment a few more wins may make him a key player. [B][CENTER]Demian Maia (7-0) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Demian Maia via Split Decision[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] The two fighters circle. Almeida flicks out a couple of jabs, then an unconventinal looping right hand. Maia easily side-steps it, but trips and falls to the ground! He is up quickly, before Almeida could get in. Replays confirm that it was purely a stumble, the punch was well wide of the mark. Maia moves in, ducks under a big right hand, and gets two crisp jabs in before getting smothered into a clinch. One of those jabs landed hard, Almeida is a little rattled. They struggle in the clinch, both throwing small punches to the back and ribs. The referee separates them. Almeida forces Maia back up against the cage, and starts throwing jabs. He looks to be keeping Maia in position, waiting to unload a big punch. Almeida does, lunging in with a huge right cross, but Maia saw it coming and goes underneath it, scoring with a right hand to the gut on the way past. Almeida turns and tries to follow up immediately, but gets tagged with a wicked left hook that drops him to one knee. Almeida is up quickly, causing Maia, who was about to dive in, to back off. Replays show that the punch connected, but Almeida was already going downward to duck the punch, so it wasn't as powerful as first thought. Almeida throws a high kick, but it doesn't do anything but cause Maia to step back. The time expires without anything further of note happening. [B]The first round is over. Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Maia.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] The round starts. They touch gloves. Almeida throws a rapid-fire series of punches, forcing Maia to back off. Maia throws a nice kick that thumps into the rib cage. Another kick is thrown, this time aimed at the head, but Almeida sees it coming and steps back. Maia advances and they meet in the center. Almeida ducks a right hand, scores with a left to the gut. Maia throws a one-two combination, neither connecting, but it does allow him to follow up with a stinging kick to the ribs. A big red mark has appeared there. Almeida bursts forward and goes for a big swing, Maia ducks under it, hits a right to the chest, then unloads another kick. This one hits the thigh, causing Almeida to noticeably wince. It may have caught the very top of the knee judging from the replays. Almeida tries to come in to get a measure of revenge, but is met with some low kicks that make sure that he can't get close enough to throw any bombs. Maia's impressively sharp kicking game is hurting Almeida and allowing him to take firm control of this round. There's not much time left, and Almeida is going to have to do something special to win this round now. He doesn't, as time expires without anything interesting happening. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Maia. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Maia is quickest out, and comes at Almeida with a series of jabs and straight punches. Almeida covered up well, and I don't think anything got through. Almeida hits a body shot, but it didn't connect solidly. They get in close, and it's Maia who takes it to the ground. Almeida pulls guard. There's a lull, as Maia tries to pass, and Almeida defends it. Punches get thrown every so often, but it's really a stalemate at the moment. Almeida almost gets a guillotine, but it's blocked and almost leads to a kimura for Maia, but that too goes nowhere. The referee stands them up, but the time is almost over. That's the end of the round. [B]Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Maia. Demian Maia wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes:[/B] Maia could be the person to dethrone Anderson Silva with his strictly ground based style. In another win or two he could get a chance to try. [B][CENTER]Thiago Alves (13-3) vs. Ryo Chonan (14-8) Sherdog's Prediction: Thiago Alves via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Slow start to the round, there's a lot of circling going on, not much contact though. Alves fakes a kick, then darts in to score with a left hand to the shoulder region. Chonan almost catches Alves with a massive left hook. A big arcing kick from Alves catches Chonan on the shoulder, it wasn't far away from landing on the side of the jaw. Chonan storms in throwing a flurry of blows, but Alves dodges out of the way. A jab catches Chonan on the cheek, then another big kick hits home, this time into the ribs. Alves is really using those big kicks well, they're both keeping Chonan at bay and hurting him. Chonan tries another attack, first working an angle away from the kicks then coming in with a couple of straight rights. Alves defends it well, parrying the punches away and moving to safety before Chonan can unload with any bombs. Alves hits another kick, this time to the thigh, setting it up with a couple of raking punches. That's the last significant action of the round, a round that Alves has dominated with kicks. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Alves.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Alves, providing the first moment of real action. Chonan hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Alves side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Chonan is being slightly the more aggressive, but neither fighter is really going for it. They come together again and exchange punches, but no big shots get through, and they end up clinched for a while. The referee separates them, but the time is ticking away and this round looks like it's going to the judges. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Chonan.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Alves comes out strongly, looking for an early knock down, but three crisp jabs all get blocked, and Chonan ties him up in a clinch inside of the first thirty seconds. They struggle in the clinch for a while. Alves breaks free and steps back. Chonan tries to follow, but takes a harsh kick to the hip as a result. Alves moves in and throws some high speed jabs. Chonan defends them fairly easily, and throws a right hand, narrowly missing. Alves thunders another kick into the hip area. Chonan backs off, limping slightly. Chonan fakes a takedown, allowing him to bring out a left cross from way down. Alves manages to parry it away, but it glances off the side of his head nonetheless. Chonan tries to capitalise, coming in with a looping overhand right, but Alves gets out of the way and has the time to pick his spot for another brutal kick. This one is slightly higher, crashing into the rib cage. Chonan is having real trouble finding a way past those kicks, they are so powerful that they're allowing Alves to dictate the action. He will win this round on points, as time is about to run out. That's the end of the round. [B]Blurcat.com scores 10-9 Alves. The three judges all give the match as 29-28 to Thiago Alves.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Thiago Alves here shows why he is a top ten Welterweight with a hard fought decision win. [B][CENTER]Rich Clementi (31-12-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-4-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Mac Danzig via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Clementi hits some tentative punches, then comes in fast and forces Danzig to back up against the cage, where they clinch. Clementi hits a nice body shot, but takes two short punches to the side of the head in return. Danzig tries a trip, but it doesn't go anywhere. They separate, with Clementi having to stay sharp to avoid a scorching right hand from Danzig. Danzig gets caught with a solid right hand out of nowhere, and is rocked. Clementi follows up with another one, and Danzig looks in trouble all of a sudden. He is backed up against the cage and Clementi is unloading. The punches are raining down, Danzig is covering up. The referee has seen enough and stops the fight, clearly feeling that Danzig was unable to defend himself intelligently. Clementi wins. [B]Clementi wins via 1st round TKO with the official time being 3:45. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Danzig can't garner a second win under the new Avater regime as he falls to Rich Clementi. Clementi will be very happy with this win here and this and a few more wins could provide him with a title shot. [B][CENTER]Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Matt Hamill (3-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Matt Hamill via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Sokoudjou starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Hamill. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Hamill goes for a single leg and puts Sokoudjou on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Hamill from getting on top. Sokoudjou definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Hamill hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Sokoudjou again. This time Sokoudjou isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Hamill will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Sokoudjou defends. Hamill tries to slip past to get side control, but Sokoudjou just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Hamill has the side. Two big elbows land, and Sokoudjou seems in trouble. Hamill goes for the kimura, but can't quite get it. The time expires before he can try again, and the referee separates them. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Hamill.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Nice fast-paced start from Hamill, who gets right in Sokoudjou's face from the beginning of the round, throwing some crisp jabs and then a vicious uppercut. The two jabs got parried, the uppercut missed as Sokoudjou side-stepped. Sokoudjou fires back with a left hand, then a right to the body. Hamill steps in, but only into a waist-high kick from Sokoudjou. Hamill is quick though, and manages to catch it around the knee. Using it as leverage, Hamill sweeps Sokoudjou's standing leg and takes them to the ground. Sokoudjou quickly pulls guard. Hamill fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Sokoudjou. Hamill tries to pass the guard, but can't, Sokoudjou isn't going to let him get a better position, as he knows that Hamill will start raining down punches. Hamill tries a big right hand, but it's easily defended. Sokoudjou gets a punch of his own in, but it didn't connect properly. Hamill again tries to get past the guard, but again is foiled. It's turned into a bit of a stalemate, although the referee probably won't stand them up as long as the punches continue to flow. Hamill fakes an elbow before trying to pass the guard for a third time, and briefly has side mount, but Sokoudjou fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Sokoudjou, and Hamill is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Sokoudjou has defended the danger well. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Hamill.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Sokoudjou doesn't hold back, starting by immediately shooting in for a takedown. Hamill sprawls and keeps him at bay. Sokoudjou pushes harder, but Hamill has the much better position and manages to flip him over, putting Sokoudjou on his back. Hamill gets sucked into his guard though. The fight falls into a lull as a pattern develops; Hamill punctuating attempts to pass guard with some sharp punches to the body and face, while Sokoudjou parries away any big blows and puts all of his effort into making sure Hamill doesn't get a better position. Things heat up as Hamill manages to break the guard and get through into a half mount. Sokoudjou hits a nice clean right hand in response. Hamill throws a couple of hard punches to the stomach. He has one leg trapped, and is trying to pull that free so that he can move further up the body and really start pounding away. Sokoudjou knows that having the leg trapped is his key to not ending up in huge trouble, and so has it locked up tight. Hamill tries a half-hearted attempt at a kimura, but Sokoudjou defends it well. The round ends with Hamill still unable to transition into side control, although he has landed enough shots to have lit up Sokoudjou's upper body with red marks, and definitely won the round on points. That's the end of the round. [B]Blurcat.com scores it 10-9 for Hamill. The three judges all give the match as 30-27 to Matt Hamill.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Hamill hands Sokoudjou his second UFC loss and surely if Sokoudjou doesn't win his next fight he will surely be released. For Hamill though this is a big step in the right direction. [B][CENTER]Karo Parisyan (18-4) vs. Ben Saunders (5-0-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Karo Parisyan via Decision[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Parisyan hits the first punch of the round, scoring with a jab to the cheek. Saunders throws a left hook in response, but it's well wide of the mark. Parisyan steps in and hits a low kick. Saunders ignores it and shoots in for a takedown. Parisyan saw it coming though, and defends it brilliantly, sprawling at first, then pushing Saunders face-down to the ground so that he can take his back. Saunders turtles up. Parisyan hits a couple of hard shots to the body, but can't stop Saunders working his way up and turning over, pulling guard. Parisyan doggedly tries to pass guard, but Saunders keeps him at bay. The referee tells them that he wants to see more in the way of action or he'll stand them up. Not much of an incentive for Saunders to do anything, but it does inspire Parisyan to throw a couple of hard punches, albeit ones that are easily parried by the gloves of Saunders. Parisyan manages to work past Saunders's right leg, but gets caught in half guard before he can get the mount that he was looking for. The fight once again slows right down, with Saunders's tenacious defence frustrating Parisyan. Saunders sucks Parisyan into a clinch, and even tries a cheeky guillotine. Parisyan pushes him away though, and nails a beauty of a right hand to the cheek in response. I don't think Saunders will be trying that move again for a while. Parisyan grabs an arm and tries to twist it backward to create some torque. Saunders uses his free arm to grab his own wrist, preventing that from happening. The time expires without anything further of note happening. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Parisyan. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Parisyan starts the round like a house on fire, hitting three quick jabs and a vicious right hook. Saunders covered up well, but at least one of the jabs got through and landed above the left eye. Saunders backs up to buy some time, but Parisyan keeps coming and lands a right hand to the body. Saunders scores with a jab in return, then goes with a kick to the waist. Parisyan catches the leg though and quickly rushes forward with a takedown. Saunders pulls guard. Saunders tries to push free, but Parisyan forces him to go back to guard by raining down some jabs. Parisyan reaches over and tries to apply some sort of neck vice, but Saunders breaks it by bringing his arms up. Parisyan steps through in an effort to mount Saunders, but can only get to half guard as one of his legs gets trapped. Parisyan throws some strikes, then tries to work an armbar on the closest arm. Saunders rolls over and uses his free arm to keep that from happening. That goes on for quite a long time, with Parisyan determined to try and work the arm free and get an armbar, while Saunders uses everything at his disposal to block it. The round ends without Parisyan having made the breakthrough, although he clearly ran away with the round in terms of points. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Parisyan. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start; nearly a full minute of circling, occasional fakes, and long-range jabs. Neither fighter is creating much. Parisyan works an angle, but takes a low kick to the shin when he advances. They clinch, and end up with Saunders backed up against the cage. Parisyan gets a couple of right hands to the body, but his attempts at knee strikes are deflected by Saunders, who uses his legs well to defend. Parisyan pulls free and takes a step back, then powers in a right hand. Saunders gets out the way, ducks under a second right hand, and backs up to the center. Parisyan follows, and we're back to circling. Uninspiring action so far, they've both been fairly devoid of inspiration. Parisyan hits a couple of right hands, both hitting gloves, then a left hand to the body that connected. That was the best shot of the round so far. Saunders tags him with a flicked jab to the cheek, but it had virtually no power on it. Saunders leans in to a looping left, but it puts him off balance and it's only at the last second that he gets his chin out of the way of a vicious right cross that comes back. If that had hit, we may have had a knock out. Time runs out with them standing, circling again. The 3rd round ends. [B]Blurcat.com has it down as 10-9 Parisyan. The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Karo Parisyan.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] ** [B]Notes[/B]: Comfortable win here for Parisyan cewrtainly secureing his title shot against the winner of tonights main event. [B][U][CENTER]Maincard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][CENTER]Shinya Aoki (15-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (20-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Shinya Aoki via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] The round starts. They touch gloves. Fisher throws a rapid-fire series of punches, forcing Aoki to back off. Aoki throws a nice kick that thumps into the rib cage. Another kick is thrown, this time aimed at the head, but Fisher sees it coming and steps back. Aoki advances and they meet in the center. Fisher ducks a right hand, scores with a left to the gut. Aoki throws a one-two combination, neither connecting, but it does allow him to follow up with a stinging kick to the ribs. A big red mark has appeared there. Fisher bursts forward and goes for a big swing, Aoki ducks under it, hits a right to the chest, then unloads another kick. This one hits the thigh, causing Fisher to noticeably wince. It may have caught the very top of the knee judging from the replays. Fisher tries to come in to get a measure of revenge, but is met with some low kicks that make sure that he can't get close enough to throw any bombs. Aoki's impressively sharp kicking game is hurting Fisher and allowing him to take firm control of this round. There's not much time left, and Fisher is going to have to do something special to win this round now. He doesn't, as time expires without anything interesting happening. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Aoki. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] The round starts slowly, with both fighters circling, tentatively throwing out the occasional jab. Fisher is the first to make a positive move, stepping in to throw a right hand, although he probably wishes that he hadn't, as Aoki picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Fisher throws a wild punch as a counter, but Aoki ducks and backs off out of range. They meet again in the center for an exchange of punches. Fisher gets a clubbing blow to the side of the head in, but takes a hard shot to the stomach in return. The early pattern seems to be that Fisher is looking for big punches, Aoki is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Fisher manages to back Aoki up against the cage. Fisher takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but Aoki ducks under at the last second, scores with a pair of punches to the gut, then darts out of trouble before Fisher can unload. Fisher may need to think about changing tactics, Aoki is looking far sharper in these striking battles, and is beginning to control the pace and tempo of the round. Fisher fakes a right hand, then shoots out a low kick, catching Aoki on the thigh. Aoki presses forward for the first time, getting in close and using a couple of jabs to the body. Fisher gets a nice left hook in, glancing off the gloves, and then clinches up. Time ticks away and the round ends just a few seconds after the referee separates them. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Aoki.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] The round begins with Fisher taking the iniative, coming in quickly with a straight right and a leg kick. Aoki replies with a snap jab and a wild left that misses by a long way. Fisher goes for the takedown, but Aoki sprawls. Fisher tries to power through, but Aoki uses that against him and turns it into a takedown of his own. They're quite close to the cage, which may help Fisher defend this. Aoki is in guard. He throws a couple of half-hearted jabs, then tries to pass, but Fisher isn't allowing it. Fisher pulls Aoki in tight, locking up both his arms. Aoki pulls free and again tries to pass guard. This has turned into a bit of a stalemate, the referee may be thinking of standing them up if nothing happens soon. Aoki tries a big right hand, which Fisher defends well. He has quite a high guard, Aoki has to be wary not to fall into a triangle when leaning in like that. Fisher once again drags Aoki down into a clinch, and this time even tries to work a guillotine, but Aoki easily deals with it and hands out two solid right hands to the ribs along the way. We're back to Aoki trying to pass guard. Fisher tries to throw a big punch and almost hands an armbar to Aoki, but he realises the danger in time and manages to recover. The referee finally gets them back to their feet due to the lack of progress that has been made. Aoki scores with a jab, then a second. Fisher goes for a sweeping kick to the right knee, but it isn't fast enough and gives Aoki enough time to take him down again. Aoki quickly goes to pass guard, looking for side control, but Fisher once again defends it. It looks like a frustrating round will end with them on the ground, and almost certainly has to go to Aoki on points due to him being the aggressor and getting two takedowns in. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Aoki. Shinya Aoki wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Aoki proves he is worth his high ranking with a comfortable win here over Fisher. [B][CENTER]Patrick Cote (12-4) vs. Alan Belcher (13-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Patrick Cote via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Cote hits some tentative punches, then comes in fast and forces Belcher to back up against the cage, where they clinch. Cote hits a nice body shot, but takes two short punches to the side of the head in return. Belcher tries a trip, but it doesn't go anywhere. They separate, with Cote having to stay sharp to avoid a scorching right hand from Belcher. Belcher makes Cote back up against the cage by throwing some looping punches. He comes in closer and hits a right hook to the body, getting a jab to the cheek in return. Belcher throws another two punches, both to the body, then steps back to avoid an uppercut. Cote lets fly with a scorching punch though, and it catches Belcher by surprise, putting him down! Cote follows up and starts raining down right hands. [B]Belcher covers up as best he can, but it's not enough as the referee pulls Cote off, the match is over. The official time is 3:18.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] ** [B]Notes[/B]: Cote with a confident win here over Belcher securing it with a first round TKO. This will almost certainly put Cote into the top 5 midleweights withis a step in the right direction for him. [B][CENTER]Cheick Kongo (11-4) vs. Frank Mir (11-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Frank Mir via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] The two fighters circle. Mir flicks out a couple of jabs, then an unconventinal looping right hand. Kongo easily side-steps it, but trips and falls to the ground! He is up quickly, before Mir could get in. Replays confirm that it was purely a stumble, the punch was well wide of the mark. Kongo moves in, ducks under a big right hand, and gets two crisp jabs in before getting smothered into a clinch. One of those jabs landed hard, Mir is a little rattled. They struggle in the clinch, both throwing small punches to the back and ribs. The referee separates them. Mir forces Kongo back up against the cage, and starts throwing jabs. He looks to be keeping Kongo in position, waiting to unload a big punch. Mir does, lunging in with a huge right cross, but Kongo saw it coming and goes underneath it, scoring with a right hand to the gut on the way past. Mir turns and tries to follow up immediately, but gets tagged with a wicked left hook that drops him to one knee. Mir is up quickly, causing Kongo, who was about to dive in, to back off. Replays show that the punch connected, but Mir was already going downward to duck the punch, so it wasn't as powerful as first thought. Mir throws a high kick, but it doesn't do anything but cause Kongo to step back. The time expires without anything further of note happening. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Kongo. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Kongo starts fast, unleashing a bomb of a right hand, but Mir avoids it without too much trouble. Kongo isn't disheartened though, swinging two more huge punches, with Mir getting out the way each time, but being forced all over the place. Kongo finally backs off a little, breathing hard. That was quite a frantic start. Mir opts to use that, and comes in to throw some jabs. Kongo is backed up against the cage, covering up. Mir clinches. They struggle, and the fight enters a lull. Kongo hits a knee strike to the hip. Mir slips one leg behind Kongo and uses that as leverage for a big trip. Kongo landed hard, with Mir on top. They're in half guard. It's to Kongo's advantage that they're right next to the cage, that is blocking Mir from attacking the left hand side of the body. Kongo is forced into action to defend a kimura attempt. Mir tries to step over to mount, but Kongo keeps his legs in position and ends up almost rolled into a ball. Mir fires some stiff punches to the back, then one to the face. He reaches through and tries to secure an armbar, but has to be careful as he is in danger of getting picked off with a counter armbar too. Kongo doesn't appear to be trying that though, instead trying to shift his weight so that he can get back up. Mir isn't allowing it though, and gets a couple more punches in before settling back into half guard. Kongo ties him up in a snug clinch. The action halts, and time expires before Mir can get free. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Mir. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start to the round, nearly a minute has gone by without anything but a few jabs finding gloves. Mir comes in, looking for a grapple it seems, but takes a powerful kick just above the left hip. Kongo really put some venom into that strike. Mir backs off, clearly stung. Kongo is the one advancing now, using a left hand jab to lead. He steps forward and fires off a big kick, aimed at the head. Mir ducks and moves out of range, but that was clearly intended to be a match-ender, Kongo was going for the knock out. It's pretty clear that he thinks that kicks are going to do the job in this round, and it has to be said that Mir is looking to have a hard time countering them. On top of that, the threat of the kicks is keeping Mir from getting in too close. Kongo stalks Mir, throwing the occasional high right hand, perhaps range-finding. Mir is circling, seeking an opening of some kind. He moves in from the left and is quick enough to get into the clinch without taking any shots. Kongo hits a knee, but takes one right back. The kicks aren't a danger from this position, that's for sure. Kongo squirms free, but foolishly lost his concentration for a second and took a hard right hand above the eye in the process. Silly mistake. Mir comes in, looking more confident now, and gets in a couple of right hands and a lovely hook to the body. Kongo tags him with a jab though, and then hits another fearsome kick to the same spot above the left hip. And another! Mir backs off, and a huge red mark has appeared in that spot. Kongo advances and throws another head kick, but it is mostly blocked by the hands of Mir. The round is drawing to a close, and those kicks have certainly proved massively effective for Kongo. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Kongo. The three judges all give the match as 29-28 to Cheick Kongo.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Good win here for Kongo which barely anyone would of predicted as Mir was a strong favourite. [B][CENTER]Chuck Liddell (21-5) vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (16-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Chuck Liddell via Knock Out[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Tentative start to the round, the fighters are circling. Liddell throws out a couple of range-finding jabs, but they aren't anything that will trouble Rua. Kick to the thigh from Rua, but it lacked power. For a second it looked like Liddell was about to go for a takedown, but nothing came from it. Rua with a jab. Rua looks to be working an angle. Big kick from Rua! That was out of nowhere, and hit Liddell on the jaw. I don't think anyone saw that coming, least of all Liddell, and he has been laid out cold with one massively powerful kick. [B]Official time of the knock out is 1:44 of the first round.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: **** [B]Notes[/B]: Wow! Great win here for Shogun and what a way to do it. This could give him a title shot or atleast a fight with Machida for the #1 contendership. [B][CENTER]UFC Welterweight Championship: George St. Pierre (16-2) vs. Jon Fitch (16-2) Sherdog's Prediction: George St. Pierre via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Exchange of punches to start, nothing really hit though. They go into a clinch, and the pace disappears as both fighters try and get the advantage. Eventually the referee separates them. Jab from St. Pierre, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. St. Pierre puts on a burst of energy and fires off a big sequence of punches, maybe twelve or thirteen in a row, although not many actually connected. Fitch covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. St. Pierre with a body shot. Low kick from Fitch, almost to the groin, although it didn't look intentional. They come together in a clinch again, and it returns to a stalemate. Not a great round by anyone's standard, but that flurry should mean that St. Pierre will take the round on points. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to St. Pierre by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] The two fighters touch gloves as the round begins. Fitch starts brightly, throwing out a series of jabs and raking punches, but St. Pierre is too light on his feet and avoids all of them. St. Pierre steps in and hits a lovely overhand right, then a low kick to the outside of the thigh. Fitch throws a vicious right cross, but St. Pierre goes under it and catches Fitch with a scathing left hand to the gut. The next few minutes follow a very similar pattern; St. Pierre using his excellent movement to 'hit and run', coming in from a variety of angles to score with crisp punches, dodging out of the way of Fitch's counters. Fitch is being made to look sluggish by comparison, and the amount of punches that St. Pierre has landed in comparison to him is becoming huge. None of them have been particularly big punches, certainly nothing likely to end a fight, but the sheer number of them must be hurting Fitch. Fitch finally hits a meaningful blow, catching St. Pierre coming in with a low kick. St. Pierre still gets a crisp jab in though, and is back out of range before Fitch can apply a second strike. The round comes to an end with St. Pierre having dominated. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 St. Pierre.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. St. Pierre puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Fitch defended well. Straight right from Fitch in response, but it caught nothing but gloves. They start circling. The referee tells them to fight, the lack of action so far is worrying. They get in close and exchange body shots, St. Pierre probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Fitch gets a nice kick in just before the time expires, but it's unlikely that is going to stop the judges giving that round to St. Pierre. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 St. Pierre. [/B] [B][U]Round 4[/U][/B] Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Fitch is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but St. Pierre blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Fitch is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. St. Pierre is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Fitch can cover up. That landed above the left eye and has left an ugly red mark. No cut, but that will start to swell and could give Fitch some problems later on. Fitch moves in for a right hook, but takes a hard kick to the knee, then is forced to retreat so as not to get caught with the two right hands that follow. St. Pierre is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Fitch before they wind up in a clinch. That punch above the eye, or maybe the mistake that led to it, seems to have completely thrown Fitch off, since that moment he has been comprehensively out-struck and is now in danger of losing this round. They struggle in the clinch, neither fighter managing a great deal more than minor blows. Fitch goes for a trip, but St. Pierre cleverly spins out of it and the two fighters are back to circling. Not a great round for purists, it has all been a bit disjointed, but that one shot from St. Pierre may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to St. Pierre. [/B] [B][U]Round 5[/U][/B] St. Pierre starts with a high kick, but Fitch was well out of range. Fitch looks to be working an angle. St. Pierre steps in and exchanges strikes with Fitch, neither fighter gets a particular advantage from it. Fitch parries away a nice right hand and gets in a crisp counter punch that catches St. Pierre on the shoulder. The round has been a little flat so far, neither of them is really forcing the issue. They enter into a clinch, which doesn't help matters, and that seems to last for an eternity before the referee separates them and tells them to get on with it. St. Pierre finally shows some fire, putting together a combination of two jabs, a cross, and an uppercut. Fitch did well to defend it, bobbing and weaving out of the way and using his gloves to parry away anything that was too close. He uses a low kick to the thigh as a response, then steps in and unloads with two fine punches, although St. Pierre blocked them. St. Pierre scores the best punch of the round so far, coming in fast, ducking under a dangerous right hand, and catching Fitch square in the face with a lunging overhand right. Fitch backs off and covers up, clearly having felt that one, and unfortunately St. Pierre's attempts to follow up and thwarted as he gets tied up in a clinch near the cage. The time expires, with St. Pierre probably having stolen that round thanks to that one big punch. The round is over. [B]Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to St. Pierre. Georges St. Pierre wins, with a score of 50-45 from two judges, 49-46 from the other. Georges St. Pierre retains the UFC Welterweight title.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Good win here for GSP and one must wonder if he beats Karo who else is left. And then will he change weight classes to Middleweight or Lightweight. Guess we will just have to wait and see. [B][U]Post Show News[/U][/B] [B][U]Fighter Bonuses[/U][/B] Submission of the Night: N/A Knock Out of the Night: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua Fight of the Night: Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua [B][U]Resignings[/U][/B] Brock Lesnar, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, Jake O'Brian, Alan Belcher, Ricardo Almeida and Thiago Alves have all been resigned to the UFC but unfortunately Jason Black has been let go.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG] [B][U][SIZE="5"]New Rankings After UFC 86[/SIZE][/U][/B] UFC have released the new ranking following their UFC 86 event.[/CENTER] [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. Sean Sherk 2. Shinya Aoki +1 3. BJ Penn -1 4. Roger Huerta 5. Vitor Ribeiro 6. Joe Stevenson 7. Rich Clementi +2 8. Din Thomas 9. Joe Lauzon +1 10. Thiago Tavares - New Entry [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Karo Parisyan 3. Thiago Alves +4 4. Matt Serra 5. Diego Sanchez 6. Jonathan Goulet 7. Kuniyoshi Hironaka +1 8. Matt Hughes +1 9. Akihiro Gono +1 10. Dan Hardy - New Entry [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Rich Franklin 4. Patrick Cote +2 5. Nate Marquardt -1 6. Joey Villasenor +1 7. Demian Maia - New Entry 8. Kendall Grove 9. Joe Doerkson 10. Dean Lister [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua +2 3. Lyoto Machida -1 4. Rashad Evans +1 5. Wanderlei Silva +1 6. Keith Jardine +1 7. Antonio Mendes +1 8. Ricardo Arona +1 9. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira +1 10. Chuck Liddell -7 [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 3. Tim Sylvia 4. Cheick Kongo +6 5. Andrei Arlovski 6. Fabrico Werdum -2 7. Pedro Rizzo -1 8. Sergei Kharitonov -1 9. Randy Couture 10. Aleksander Emelianenko - New Entry [B][U]P4P[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Quinton Jackson 3. George St. Pierre +2 4. Anderson Silva 5. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua - New Entry 6. Sean Sherk -2 7. Lyoto Machida -1 8. Shinya Aoki - New Entry 9. Karo Parisyan - New Entry 10. BJ Penn -2 [B]Biggest Jump this month[/B]: Cheick Kongo: Kongo had a impressive display this month against Frank Mir which he won by decision. He is now considered the #4 Heavyweight in the UFC and this will surely be a great pleasure for him to see. His next fight will probably be against Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski or Fabrico Werdum. [B]Biggest Drop this month[/B]: Chuck Liddell/Jon Fitch: Liddell fell 7 places this month after being brutally KO'ed by a Shogun head kick. He was expected to fight Rashad Evans next if he lost but after such a big drop he will probably either 'Lil Nog' or Arona, while Evans will probably fight Wanderlei Silva next. The other big drop this month is Jon Fitch after he has completely dropped of the Welterweight rankings after being #3 last month. This massive drop comes after his decision loss to George St. Pierre in the main event of UFC 86. He is expected to fight someone like Kuniyoshi Hironaka or Jonathan Goulet next. [B]Most Impressive New Entry[/B]: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua(P4P)/Demian Maia: Lets start with Maia. He is now ranked as the #7 Middleweight in the UFC after his decision win over Ricardo Almeida. He will likely fight Kendall Grove, Joe Doerkson or Dean Lister next. Shogun moved up form #4 to #2 in the Light Heavyweight rankings this month but he also debuted on the P4P top 10 at #5 after his brutal KO of Chuck Liddell after only 1 minute and 44 seconds of the first round. He is expected to fight either Lyoto Machida for the #1 contendership to the title or Quinton Jackson for the title next. He will be hoping for the latter.

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC Announces UFC 87: Jackson vs. Machida[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]Today UFC announced UFC 87:Jackson vs. Machida. Here is the card. [B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Quinton Jackson (30-6) vs. Lyoto Machida (13-0) Andrei Arlovski (12-5) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3) Jonathan Goulet (22-9) vs. Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) Din Thomas (20-7) vs. Joe Lauzon (16-3) Thiago Silva (13-0) vs. Jason Lambert (23-7) [B][U]Undercard[/U][/B] Michael Bisping (15-2) vs. Jason Macdonald (19-9) Kenny Florian (7-3) vs. Clay Guida (22-9) Shane Carwin (9-0) vs. Christian Wellisch (8-4) Wilson Gouveia (10-4) vs. Luis Cane (7-1) Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2) vs. Marcus Davis (14-4) Cung Le (6-0) vs. Rory Singer (11-7)[/CENTER]

[MrSelfDestruct]

Maincard Quinton Jackson vs. [B]Lyoto Machida[/B] [B]Andrei Arlovski [/B] vs. Aleksander Emelianenko [B]Jonathan Goulet[/B] vs. Akihiro Gono Din Thomas vs. [B]Joe Lauzon [/B] [B]Thiago Silva[/B] vs. Jason Lambert Undercard [B]Michael Bisping [/B] vs. Jason Macdonald Kenny Florian vs.[B] Clay Guida[/B] [B]Shane Carwin[/B] vs. Christian Wellisch [B]Wilson Gouveia [/B] vs. Luis Cane Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. [B]Marcus Davis[/B] [B]Cung Le[/B] vs. Rory Singer

[Dustin]

Maincard Quinton Jackson vs. [B]Lyoto Machida[/B] [B]Andrei Arlovski [/B]vs. Aleksander Emelianenko Jonathan Goulet vs. [B]Akihiro Gono[/B] [B]Din Thomas[/B] vs. Joe Lauzon [B]Thiago Silva[/B] vs. Jason Lambert Undercard [B]Michael Bisping[/B] vs. Jason Macdonald [B]Kenny Florian[/B] vs. Clay Guida [B]Shane Carwin[/B] vs. Christian Wellisch [B]Wilson Gouveia[/B] vs. Luis Cane Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. [B]Marcus Davis[/B] [B]Cung Le[/B] vs. Rory Singer

[chris caulfield]

[CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG] [U][B][SIZE="5"]UFC 87 Preview[/SIZE][/B][/U] [B][U]Cung Le (6-0) vs. Rory Singer (11-7)[/U][/B] Cung Le with his second fight in the octagon here after his decision win over Marvin Eastman at UFC 85. Most will expect Le to remain undefeated and defeat Singer without much trouble. With a win here Le may move into the top ten. [B][U]Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2) vs. Marcus Davis (14-4)[/U][/B] Yoshida will make octagon debut against Davis here. Davis will be looking to win and possibly break into the top ten while Yoshida will just be happy to win in his debut. [B][U]Wilson Gouveia (10-4) vs. Luis Cane (7-1)[/U][/B] Gouveia will look to become a viable contender here with a win over Cane. Cane however will look to make his already impressive looking record become even better by addig another fight in the win column. A win here for Gouveia could break him into the top ten. [B][U]Shane Carwin (9-0) vs. Christian Wellisch (8-4)[/U][/B] Carwin with his second UFC fight here after his decision win over Eddie Sanchez at UFC 84. Carwin will look to make his win streak go into double digits with a win over Wellisch. Wellisch however look to get a win after his loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 85. [B][U]Kenny Florian (7-3) vs. Clay Guida (22-9)[/U][/B] A very exciting looking fight here. Guida is always exciting and Florian is looking to get to the top and a win here would do him a world of good. A win for either of them could put them into the top ten Lightweights. [B][U]Michael Bisping (15-2) vs. Jason Macdonald (19-9)[/U][/B] Bisping who had a dissapointing loss last time out to Kendall Grove will look to get a win here which after another win could put him into the title picture. Macdonald will just be happy to be there with barely anyone expecting to see him win. [B][U]Thiago Silva (13-0) vs. Jason Lambert (23-7)[/U][/B] Thiago will want to finish this against Lambert who he says doesn't deserve to be in the UFC. Will he be able to prove his point or not who knows but if he does win one would expect to see him make appearance in the top ten Light Heavyweights with a record like his. [B][U]Din Thomas (20-7) vs. Joe Lauzon (16-3)[/U][/B] Two top ten Lightweights go to battle here with Din ranked at #8 at Lauzon at #9. A win could put either into the top five which would do wonders for either. With such a stacked Lightweight division a win here would be great for either fighter. [B][U]Jonathan Goulet (22-9) vs. Akihiro Gono (28-12-7)[/U][/B] Goulet steps into the octagon for the first time since his upset win against Matt Hughes. A win here could but him into the top five Welterweights in the UFC where a title shot could be on the horizon. Gono though is no can as he he is ranked at #9 in the UFC and will be looking to win here and climb the ranks further. [B][U]Andrei Arlovski (12-5) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3)[/U][/B] This is a big fight for the Heavyweight division which people continue to call weak despite all the great fighters in there. A win for Arlovski would put him in serious contention for a title shot against whoever may hold it with Nog looking certain to fight Fedor next. Meanwhile Aleksander is making his UFC debut and by no means is it an easy one. He is already ranked at #10 in the UFC and a win over Arlovski who is ranked #5 would do him the world of good. Whoever wins here will defintely be in contendership for a title shot as both are already considered top class and a win over either could just push them up another level. [B][U]UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Quinton Jackson (30-6) vs. Lyoto Machida (13-0)[/U][/B] Rampage defends his title as he goes up against the undefeated Lyoto Machida just 3 months after he defended it against the then #1 contender Forrest Griffin. Machida fought on that same card though as he defeated Tito Ortiz in his final fight in the UFC. There isn't a favourite in this fight as both fighters are considered world class fighters. Rampage is the champ and has looked increasingly impressive ever since he got into the UFC. Machida though is undefeated and has wins over people like BJ Penn, Rich Franklin and most recently Tito Ortiz. People describe him as 'elusive' and he will need to be at his most 'elusive' to defeat Rampage who is ranked as the #1 Light Heavyweight and the #2 pound for pond fighter in the UFC. Whoever wins here will almost certainly go up against the #2 ranked Light Heavyweight Shogun after his brutal KO win over Chuck Liddell.[/CENTER]