chris caulfield Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 87: Jackson vs. Machida[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [U][B][CENTER]Undercard[/CENTER][/B][/U] [B][CENTER]Cung Le (6-0) vs. Rory Singer (11-7)[/CENTER][/B][B][CENTER]Sherdog's Prediction: Cung Le via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Le starts fast, firing off several crisp jabs that keep Singer on the back foot. A solid left hits gloves, but it's really just a set-up for Le to step in and use an uppercut. Not sure how much of it caught Singer, but certainly enough to to make him grab a clinch to stop any further punishment. Great start to the round from Le, it has been total domination so far. The clinch is broken, and the two fighters exchange some long range jabs that are easily avoided. Singer is looking a little lost so far, Le is controlling this round by virtue of his crisp accurate punches and higher aggression levels. Le with a body shot. Le leads with the left, then moves in and gets in a wicked right hand that grazes the cheek. Singer was fortunate there, if that had landed properly it would have been over. Singer comes back with a leg kick to set up a one-two combination, but the round is coming to a close and it's going to be too little too late. The one bright spot for Singer is that although Le clearly won the round, he didn't actually turn that dominance into any sort of real damage. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Le. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Le comes out fast and quickly backs Singer up, all the way up against the cage. Le throws a series of rights and lefts; none of the strikes to the head got through, but two nice body shots did. He doesn't follow up though, instead keeping a few steps back, clearly not wanting to get tied up in a clinch. Singer throws a low kick, then advances with some jabs, forcing Le to back off a little. They meet in the center and exchange strikes, with Le looking the crisper striker of the two, although without doing any real damage. Singer shoots in for the takedown, but Le sprawls and eventually pushes free. Right hand from Le, then two jabs which both find their mark. Singer bats away a third, then comes in hard and fast for a second takedown attempt. Le sprawls again, but gets pushed all the way up against the cage. Singer has a leg, but is low down to the ground and doesn't have the leverage to complete the takedown. He works to a better standing position, but has to lose the leg and grab a clinch instead. They both fire off some small punches from there. Singer tries for a trip, but Le avoids it and works free from the clinch. He returns to the center, clearly wanting a striking battle rather than a grappling match. Singer follows, hands held high, and throws a couple of jabs. Le connects with one instead though, and then with a looping right hand that catches Singer above the eye. He felt that, but doesn't go down. Best strike of the round so far. Singer throws a low kick. Le comes in to strike again, but this time cannot sprawl quickly enough and gets taken down. Le pulls guard. Unfortunately for Singer, now that he has finally gotten the takedown, there's less than thirty seconds left. He tries to pass guard to get to side control, but Le comfortably defends it until the round is over. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Le. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] The round starts slowly, with both fighters circling, tentatively throwing out the occasional jab. Singer is the first to make a positive move, stepping in to throw a right hand, although he probably wishes that he hadn't, as Le picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Singer throws a wild punch as a counter, but Le ducks and backs off out of range. They meet again in the center for an exchange of punches. Singer 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 Singer is looking for big punches, Le is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Singer manages to back Le up against the cage. Singer takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but Le ducks under at the last second, scores with a pair of punches to the gut, then darts out of trouble before Singer can unload. Singer may need to think about changing tactics, Le is looking far sharper in these striking battles, and is beginning to control the pace and tempo of the round. Singer fakes a right hand, then shoots out a low kick, catching Le on the thigh. Le presses forward for the first time, getting in close and using a couple of jabs to the body. Singer 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]Blurcat.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]: Comfortable win here for Le here, but then again he was expected to win here. Le is now 7-0 and 2-0 in the UFC. Hopefully this will make him a top ten UFC Middleweight. [B][CENTER]Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2) vs. Marcus Davis (14-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Yoshida via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] The round starts. They touch gloves. Davis throws a rapid-fire series of punches, forcing Yoshida to back off. Yoshida throws a nice kick that thumps into the rib cage. Another kick is thrown, this time aimed at the head, but Davis sees it coming and steps back. Yoshida advances and they meet in the center. Davis ducks a right hand, scores with a left to the gut. Yoshida 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. Davis bursts forward and goes for a big swing, Yoshida ducks under it, hits a right to the chest, then unloads another kick. This one hits the thigh, causing Davis to noticeably wince. It may have caught the very top of the knee judging from the replays. Davis 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. Yoshida's impressively sharp kicking game is hurting Davis and allowing him to take firm control of this round. There's not much time left, and Davis is going to have to do something special to win this round now. He doesn't, as time expires without anything interesting happening. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Yoshida. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Slow start to the round, nearly a minute has gone by without anything but a few jabs finding gloves. Davis comes in, looking for a grapple it seems, but takes a powerful kick just above the left hip. Yoshida really put some venom into that strike. Davis backs off, clearly stung. Yoshida 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. Davis ducks and moves out of range, but that was clearly intended to be a match-ender, Yoshida 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 Davis is looking to have a hard time countering them. On top of that, the threat of the kicks is keeping Davis from getting in too close. Yoshida stalks Davis, throwing the occasional high right hand, perhaps range-finding. Davis 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. Yoshida hits a knee, but takes one right back. The kicks aren't a danger from this position, that's for sure. Yoshida squirms free, but foolishly lost his concentration for a second and took a hard right hand above the eye in the process. Silly mistake. Davis comes in, looking more confident now, and gets in a couple of right hands and a lovely hook to the body. Yoshida tags him with a jab though, and then hits another fearsome kick to the same spot above the left hip. And another! Davis backs off, and a huge red mark has appeared in that spot. Yoshida advances and throws another head kick, but it is mostly blocked by the hands of Davis. The round is drawing to a close, and those kicks have certainly proved massively effective for Yoshida. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Yoshida by 10-8.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Yoshida 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 Davis advancing. A sharp right misses, and Yoshida takes the opportunity to pull Davis in to a tight clinch against the cage. Davis tries to break free, but cannot. It looks like we know the strategies for this round already; Davis wants to stand and bang, Yoshida wants to keep things at close quarters. Davis tries for an elbow, but only succeeds in getting turned around so that he is now the one against the cage. Trip from Yoshida, and we're down to the ground. Yoshida has side control, but Davis has landed with his left hand side against the cage, so that side of the body is basically safe for now. Yoshida will have to try to work the right-hand side, and starts by ramming a knee into the ribs. Davis tries to squirm into a better position, but Yoshida puts a stop to that with a stiff elbow to the stomach. Yoshida tries to work a kimura on the right arm, but Davis defends it. Davis manages to bring a knee up and catch Yoshida in the side, something of a cheeky move given his position. Yoshida responds with five or six rapid-fire right hands to the face, but Davis covers up and doesn't take any serious damage at all. Time is ticking away though, and so far Yoshida may be easily winning the round, but he is not taking full advantage of this great position. Yoshida tries to float over into a mount, but Davis uses the cage to push away and manages to unbalance Yoshida enough to get to a kneeling position, then standing, albeit back into a clinch. A knee from Yoshida is the last action of the round. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Yoshida. Yoshiyuki Yoshida wins, with a score of 30-26 from two judges, 29-27 from the other.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Great UFC debut for Yoshida here as he dominates Davis. Yoshida will be loving life at the moment and will be hoping to get a few more wins soon. [B][CENTER]Wilson Gouveia (10-4) vs. Luis Cane (7-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Wilson Gouveia via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] They touch gloves to begin. Gouveia throws out a looping right hand, setting up a mid-level kick. The punch found gloves, the kick found nothing but thin air as Cane had stepped back in time. They meet in the center, exchanging a series of blows, and Gouveia gets the better of it, scoring with a crisp jab that causes Cane to back up quickly. Sensing a chance, Gouveia follows and forces him up against the cage with some jabs. Cane covers up, as two hard strikes find the gloves from Gouveia. A right hand misses, and that is the chance Cane needs to quickly get out of trouble and back to the center. Great start to the round from Gouveia. Cane looks to be working an angle. Cane leads with a right hand, then comes in for a quick takedown. Gouveia saw it coming and smartly turns out of the grapple, pushing Cane to the ground, and ending up taking his back in a great defensive move. Gouveia gets one arm in and snakes it around the throat of Cane, squeezing his wind-pipe shut. Cane tries to pull the arm free, but can't, and so rolls over in a last-ditch effort to break free. It is to no avail though, as that allows Gouveia to get a body-scissors in too. [B]With no alternatives left, Cane taps out. Official time of the rear choke submission is 2:47 of the first.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Gouveia with a great submission win here over Cane which could get him into the top ten Light Heavyweights. [B][CENTER]Shane Carwin (9-0) vs. Christian Wellisch (8-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Shane Carwin via Decision[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Wellisch 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. Carwin steps in and throws some punches, landing a crisp jab to the shoulder. Wellisch 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 Carwin, he is basically controlling the tempo and positioning of this fight through intelligent use of sharp, accurate kicks. Wellisch comes in fast, faking left then going right, and gets close enough to throw some body blows. Carwin gets in a right hand of his own, then a beauty of a high kick. It lands right on the ear, causing Wellisch to back off quickly. If that had had more power, it might well have scored a knock out. The round is almost over. Carwin has controlled this one, Wellisch is finding it very difficult to find a way around those kicks. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Carwin[/B]. [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Wellisch goes to the center, and immediately throws some jabs, looking to engage in a striking battle. Carwin doesn't commit though, instead circling and looking for an angle. Carwin comes in, ducks a right hand, then unleashes a flurry of punches. Wellisch covers up at first, then throws a scathing right hand, but Carwin is already out of range. Carwin 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 Wellisch is beginning to look frustrated. Carwin's footwork and general movement is looking good, Wellisch is being made to look very slow and lumbering in comparison. Furthermore, Carwin is being able to launch multiple short bursts of offense without really being in any danger, Wellisch has yet to hit any sort of meaningful punch, simply because Carwin is too quick. Wellisch finally gets in close enough to grapple with Carwin, clinching up. Wellisch scores a nice body punch, then steps back and goes for a vicious right hand, but Carwin bobs out of the way and hits a right hook of his own. Time is ticking away, and Wellisch is well behind in this round, he needs to do something special. Wellisch swings for the fences, but Carwin has no problem avoiding it. The round peters out. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-8 Carwin.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] The round begins with Wellisch taking the iniative, coming in quickly with a straight right and a leg kick. Carwin replies with a snap jab and a wild left that misses by a long way. Wellisch goes for the takedown, but Carwin sprawls. Wellisch tries to power through, but Carwin uses that against him and turns it into a takedown of his own. They're quite close to the cage, which may help Wellisch defend this. Carwin is in guard. He throws a couple of half-hearted jabs, then tries to pass, but Wellisch isn't allowing it. Wellisch pulls Carwin in tight, locking up both his arms. Carwin 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. Carwin tries a big right hand, which Wellisch defends well. He has quite a high guard, Carwin has to be wary not to fall into a triangle when leaning in like that. Wellisch once again drags Carwin down into a clinch, and this time even tries to work a guillotine, but Carwin easily deals with it and hands out two solid right hands to the ribs along the way. We're back to Carwin trying to pass guard. Wellisch tries to throw a big punch and almost hands an armbar to Carwin, 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. Carwin scores with a jab, then a second. Wellisch goes for a sweeping kick to the right knee, but it isn't fast enough and gives Carwin enough time to take him down again. Carwin quickly goes to pass guard, looking for side control, but Wellisch once again defends it. It looks like a frustrating round will end with them on the ground, and almost certainly has to go to Carwin on points due to him being the aggressor and getting two takedowns in. End of round 3. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Carwin by 10-9. The three judges all give the match as 30-26 to Shane Carwin. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Carwin easily dispatches Wellisch in the win that takes his winning streak into double digits. He is 2-0 in the octagon after this win and in a year or so he may even get a title shot with another 3 or 4 wins. [B][CENTER]Kenny Florian (7-3) vs. Clay Guida (22-9) Sherdog's Prediction: Clay Guida via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Florian scores the first meaningful blow of the round, hitting a powerful overhand right that thumped past the gloves. Guida 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 Florian moves to a new angle and scores with a series of jabs. Guida turns and swings a heavy right hand, but Florian goes underneath it and hits a wicked kick to the gut. That exchange really showed the difference between the two fighters; Florian looks light on his feet and very agile, Guida looks slow and sluggish by comparison. Guida will need to find a way to nullify Florian's footwork, perhaps by getting in close, as he has been picked apart for the first half of this round. Florian darts in again, and gets in a nice flurry. Guida manages to hit a crisp jab in return, but one of Florian'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, Florian controlling the round with his superior movement. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Florian. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Guida 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. Florian steps in and throws some punches, landing a crisp jab to the shoulder. Guida 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 Florian, he is basically controlling the tempo and positioning of this fight through intelligent use of sharp, accurate kicks. Guida comes in fast, faking left then going right, and gets close enough to throw some body blows. Florian gets in a right hand of his own, then a beauty of a high kick. It lands right on the ear, causing Guida to back off quickly. If that had had more power, it might well have scored a knock out. The round is almost over. Florian has controlled this one, Guida is finding it very difficult to find a way around those kicks. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Florian.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] A touch of gloves to start the round, and we're underway. Guida lets rip with a vicious straight right almost immediately, but it's easily avoided. Florian sneaks a jab through the guard and catches Guida 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 Florian manages to get the better position, pushing Guida up against the cage. Right hand to the ribs from Florian. Guida 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. Florian tries a knee of his own, but that is the opportunity that Guida was waiting for and he sweeps the standing leg to take Florian down to the ground, in side control. Excellent takedown. Florian covers up to defend against a pair of back-hand blows, and even manages to sneak a knee strike in. Guida hits a big elbow to the ribs, Florian definitely felt that. Guida drives a knee to the near side, then attempts to float-over into a mount. Florian brought his legs in though, and manages to pull guard. Guida will be disappointed with that. He tries to get a big punch in, but Florian defends it well and gets a hold of both arms. The fight grinds to a halt, with Guida unable to generate any attacks, and Florian unwilling to give up a good defensive position. The referee stands them up. Guida 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. That's the end of the round. [B]Blurcat.com sees it 10-9 to Guida. Kenny Florian wins, with a score of 29-28 from two judges, 30-27 from the other.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Florian with an impressive win here over Guida but he had to fight hard for it and Guida didn't just lay down for him. This could catapult Florian up the ranks and afte another win or two a title shot could be within touching distance. [B][CENTER]Michael Bisping (15-2) vs. Jason Macdonald (19-9) Sherdog's Prediction: Michael Bisping via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] MacDonald 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 Bisping advancing. A sharp right misses, and MacDonald takes the opportunity to pull Bisping in to a tight clinch against the cage. Bisping tries to break free, but cannot. It looks like we know the strategies for this round already; Bisping wants to stand and bang, MacDonald wants to keep things at close quarters. Bisping tries for an elbow, but only succeeds in getting turned around so that he is now the one against the cage. Trip from MacDonald, and we're down to the ground. MacDonald has side control, but Bisping has landed with his left hand side against the cage, so that side of the body is basically safe for now. MacDonald will have to try to work the right-hand side, and starts by ramming a knee into the ribs. Bisping tries to squirm into a better position, but MacDonald puts a stop to that with a stiff elbow to the stomach. MacDonald tries to work a kimura on the right arm, but Bisping defends it. Bisping manages to bring a knee up and catch MacDonald in the side, something of a cheeky move given his position. MacDonald responds with five or six rapid-fire right hands to the face, but Bisping covers up and doesn't take any serious damage at all. Time is ticking away though, and so far MacDonald may be easily winning the round, but he is not taking full advantage of this great position. MacDonald tries to float over into a mount, but Bisping uses the cage to push away and manages to unbalance MacDonald enough to get to a kneeling position, then standing, albeit back into a clinch. A knee from MacDonald is the last action of the round. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to MacDonald by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Bisping meets MacDonald in the center. They exchange tentative long-range punches. MacDonald steps in to press the action, but gets caught with a right hand. Bisping scores with a left too, then a crisp jab. MacDonald backs off, that exchange did not go in his favour by any means. Bisping presses the advantage and gets in a couple more jabs, forcing MacDonald onto the back-foot, all the way until he is up against the cage. Bisping stands just in range and starts throwing occasional straight rights, forcing MacDonald to try and react in time. MacDonald parries a few shots away, but also gets caught with a couple. He steps forward and tries to get a clinch, but Bisping keeps away from it and continues to flick quick jabs out. MacDonald is really getting schooled so far, Bisping's hand speed and technique have allowed him to completely control everything about this round, MacDonald hasn't been able to generate anything of note. MacDonald tries to change that by coming after Bisping, but Bisping meets him in the center and exchanges punches, again winning the encounter comfortably. The final minute of the round sees MacDonald try two more times, and in neither can he manage to break Bisping's control. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Bisping.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] MacDonald starts out with a few straight rights, range-finding rather than actually dangerous. Bisping keeps out of their way. MacDonald steps forward and tries to unload with a looping left, but Bisping moves to the side and fires off a powerful right hand of his own, landing above the left eye. MacDonald doesn't go down, but definitely felt that shot. Bisping moves in closer and fires off two punches to the face and a big hook to the body. MacDonald parried the first two, but the third hit home hard. Bisping begins to stalk MacDonald, who may be slightly winded. They meet again in the center and exchange blows. MacDonald hits a high jab but gets caught with another hard punch to the side of the head. MacDonald clinches up, stopping Bisping from following up. It looks like MacDonald needs to change his game plan, standing up and banging with Bisping is playing right into his opponent's hands, as Bisping clearly has the more powerful strikes in his arsenal, and MacDonald is going to get floored sooner or later, judging by this round. The referee parts them from the clinch. Bisping continues to look ready to unleash some big punches. MacDonald takes a takedown, then comes in much closer, throws a jab, and clinches back up. MacDonald looks like he is going to grapple, stopping Bisping from throwing bombs. MacDonald gets in a few short punches to the ribs. The round ends with them still in the clinch. Bisping will take that round on points, having used the threat of a knock out to basically control everything about that round except the clinches. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Bisping. All three judges give a score of 29-28 in favour of Michael Bisping.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Despite winning this fight Bisping was not impressive. So far under the Avatar regime he has lost in an upset to Kendall Grove and now has an unimpressive win over Jason Macdonald. If he wishes to be a success in the Middleweight division he better start fighting better. [B][CENTER][U]Maincard[/U][/CENTER][/B] [B][CENTER]Thiago Silva (13-0) vs. Jason Lambert (23-7) Sherdog's Prediction: Thiago Silva via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] They circle each other. Lambert misses with a low kick, and Silva darts in to hit a jab before retreating. They come together and exchange punches, both got a few shots in. Silva is looking much lighter on his feet, and keeps moving in, hitting a few punches, then getting back out of range. Lambert is trying to catch him coming in, but doesn't have the timing quite right. It happens again. Silva isn't getting much power on the punches, but he is getting ahead on points. Lambert tries to get in close, but Silva is keeping moving, and isn't letting himself get cornered. About thirty seconds pass without any contact, and the crowd become a little restless. Silva gets a solid punch in, catching Lambert just above the left eye. Lambert finally gets a clinch, forcing Silva up against the cage, but it's too little, too late as the round ends. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Silva by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Slow start to the round, nearly a minute has gone by without anything but a few jabs finding gloves. Lambert comes in, looking for a grapple it seems, but takes a powerful kick just above the left hip. Silva really put some venom into that strike. Lambert backs off, clearly stung. Silva 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. Lambert ducks and moves out of range, but that was clearly intended to be a match-ender, Silva 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 Lambert is looking to have a hard time countering them. On top of that, the threat of the kicks is keeping Lambert from getting in too close. Silva stalks Lambert, throwing the occasional high right hand, perhaps range-finding. Lambert 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. Silva hits a knee, but takes one right back. The kicks aren't a danger from this position, that's for sure. Silva squirms free, but foolishly lost his concentration for a second and took a hard right hand above the eye in the process. Silly mistake. Lambert comes in, looking more confident now, and gets in a couple of right hands and a lovely hook to the body. Silva tags him with a jab though, and then hits another fearsome kick to the same spot above the left hip. And another! Lambert backs off, and a huge red mark has appeared in that spot. Silva advances and throws another head kick, but it is mostly blocked by the hands of Lambert. The round is drawing to a close, and those kicks have certainly proved massively effective for Silva. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Silva.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Silva and Lambert circle to start. Lambert throws a couple of looping punches, neither hitting, while Silva sits back, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Lambert comes in closer, looking to unload with a right hand; that misses, and it allows Silva to slip a nice jab in, catching Lambert just underneath the right eye. Silva comes in and scores with a straight left, then bounces a right hand off the body. Lambert misses with a right cross, then backs off. Silva stalks him, forcing Lambert back up against the cage. Silva doesn't rush in, instead standing back and throwing the occasional punch. Lambert throws a big left hand in response, but it misses by quite a margin. Silva pounces, hitting lefts and rights. Lambert covers up from the first two punches, then clinches up to prevent any more coming in. They're up against the cage, Silva in the dominant position. They remain that way as the time ticks down. Silva 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. Lambert comes in hard and fast, bobbing and weaving, and throws a couple of big shots. Silva 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 Silva's favour. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Silva. All three judges give a score of 30-27 in favour of Thiago Silva.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Good showing here from Thiago with a decision win over Lambert. He will be hoping to break into the top ten Light Heavyweights and face some tougher competition. [B][CENTER]Din Thomas (20-7) vs. Joe Lauzon (16-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Joe Lauzon via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] A touch of gloves to start the round, and we're underway. Thomas lets rip with a vicious straight right almost immediately, but it's easily avoided. Lauzon sneaks a jab through the guard and catches Thomas 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 Lauzon manages to get the better position, pushing Thomas up against the cage. Right hand to the ribs from Lauzon. Thomas 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. Lauzon tries a knee of his own, but that is the opportunity that Thomas was waiting for and he sweeps the standing leg to take Lauzon down to the ground, in side control. Excellent takedown. Lauzon covers up to defend against a pair of back-hand blows, and even manages to sneak a knee strike in. Thomas hits a big elbow to the ribs, Lauzon definitely felt that. Thomas drives a knee to the near side, then attempts to float-over into a mount. Lauzon brought his legs in though, and manages to pull guard. Thomas will be disappointed with that. He tries to get a big punch in, but Lauzon defends it well and gets a hold of both arms. The fight grinds to a halt, with Thomas unable to generate any attacks, and Lauzon unwilling to give up a good defensive position. The referee stands them up. Thomas 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 scores 10-9 Thomas. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Thomas doesn't waste any time and throws two jabs to the face, but Lauzon easily side-steps both and circles to the left. Lauzon 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. They clinch. Lauzon gets in a nice knee, but a second attempt sees him swept to the ground. Lauzon landed hard with Thomas right on top of him, it looks like he got winded. Thomas hits three big punches to the face, and Lauzon is rocked. Thomas gets an arm, locks in a kimura, and Lauzon has no alternative but to tap out. [B]Thomas wins via 2nd round kimura submission with the official time being 1:31.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes:[/B] Din will be hoping to move up a place or two in the Lightweight rankings with this submission win over Lauzon here. [B][CENTER]Jonathan Goulet (22-9) vs. Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) Sherdog's Prediction: Akihiro Gono via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] An early exchange of punches goes nowhere. Goulet tries to force Gono up against the cage, but can't. Gono scores with the first meaningful blow of the round, a solid right hand to the ribs. Goulet steps in, but we don't get to find out his intentions as Gono clinches up quickly. Goulet tries to shake free, but gets taken down via a trip. Gono tries to grab an arm to work a submission, but Goulet is defending it well by using short, sharp strikes to keep him back. Gono tries to pass the guard, but has no luck. A punch from Gono connects, but there was no real power behind it. Gono fakes Goulet out cleverly, and slips to a half mount. Goulet manages to hit a firm elbow, then is forced to defend the full mount attempt. Gono switches tactics and tries to work a kimura on the other arm, but Goulet blocks it, squirms his leg free, and secures the guard again. Gono looks frustrated at losing the half mount after having worked so hard to get it in the first place. Goulet is liable to lose the round on points, but he has done a fine job of defending the submissions attempts so far. Gono tries to secure a leglock, but the guard is tight and Goulet is safe. The 1st round ends. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Gono by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Gono hits a nice left hook. Goulet felt it, and throws a ragged punch in response, missing by a mile. Gono comes in close and hits a couple of big body shots, bobbing out of the way of the jabs that were aimed for his jaw. Goulet clinches up, but gets pushed all the way back to the cage, where Gono uses a trip to send them both down to the ground. Gono passes guard and gets into side control, but it's an awkward position; Goulet has the entire right hand side of his body up against the cage, and both his legs wrapped around Gono's left arm. Gono's attacking options are fairly limited. He uses a couple of back fists to strike away at the face, but Goulet covers up to defend them. Gono tries to pin down one of Goulet's arms and bring his legs around to trap them fully, but Goulet uses his free arm to stop that from happening. The ground battle enters a stalemate, as Gono finds himself unable to do any real damage other than occasional strikes, which he doesn't have the leverage to get much power behind, with virtually no chance of gaining a submission thanks to his left arm being trapped. The referee eventually stands them up, and the time expires before anything interesting can happen with them standing. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Gono.[/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. Gono 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. Gono 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. Gono 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. Gono 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 Gono saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Gono 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 Gono 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. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Gono. The official scores are: 30-27 (twice), 29-28 for Akihiro Gono.[/B] [B]Rating: [/B]** [B]Notes: [/B]I guess Goulet's win over Hughes was a fluke after all. This is bad for everyone except Gono ofcourse. It's bad for Hughes as he now has a loss to Goulet on his record and has 3 losses in his last 4 fights. It's bad for the UFC because they have Highes in a bad position and he is supposed to be a big part of the Welterweight division so they wanted Goulet to get a decent win streak going so he can replace Hughes but now that is down the drain with Goulet being thought of as a flash in the pan Hughes down near the bottom of the top ten of the Welterweights and Gono not really going up to much as people don't really think beating Goulet is much of an achievement. [B][CENTER]Andrei Arlovski (12-5) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Arlovski via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Tentative start to the round by both fighters, neither looks willing to commit themselves and make the first mistake. Emelianenko stalks Arlovski, working him back toward the cage. There's an exchange of strikes...and Emelianenko is down! Arlovski goes to finish it, but gets sucked into the guard position. Replays show that Arlovski stunned Emelianenko with a nice straight right to the cheek during the earlier flurry, and that's what dropped him. Arlovski looks to pound out a victory, throwing some big punches. Emelianenko's guard prevents him from getting his body behind the shots though, and none of them have enough power to really trouble Emelianenko. A couple do get through and hit home though. Emelianenko reaches up and smothers Arlovski into a clinch. He fights free, with some difficulty, and starts punching away again. Emelianenko parries the shots away. Unfortunately the round enters a lull, with Arlovski unable to pass guard and so being content just to throw punches from there, while Emelianenko is unwilling to risk letting Arlovski pass guard. We enter the final thirty seconds of the round before Arlovski gets a breakthrough, managing to power through the guard and mount Emelianenko! Emelianenko covers up and tries to buck and roll his hips to desperately try and dislodge Arlovski. It doesn't work, but it does unbalance him enough to reduce the amount of punches being thrown. Some do come raining down though, and Emelianenko is probably relieved when the round ends with him not having taken too much damage. End of round 1. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Arlovski.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Emelianenko throws the first punch of the round, a high searching jab that didn't carry a great deal of threat with it. Arlovski throws a one-two combination in return, neither connecting, then steps in and delivers a hard kick to the outside of the thigh. Emelianenko 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. Arlovski hits a knee to the ribs. A couple of shots to the back from Emelianenko. They struggle all the way back, with Emelianenko ending up backed up against the cage. Arlovski hits another knee, but there wasn't much power behind it. Emelianenko stomps downward onto his foot. Emelianenko manages to reverse their positions, but that only lasts about thirty seconds before it gets reversed once more. Arlovski gets an arm free and tries to throw a big shot to the cheek, Emelianenko ducks under it and gets the arm back under control. The referee finally breaks them up, and we're back to where we started. Emelianenko tries a high kick to start, but Arlovski saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Arlovski who gets the first sustained attack of the round, hitting two hard body shots and a jab that caught Emelianenko on the nose. Emelianenko hits a straight right, enough to stop Arlovski 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. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Arlovski. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] They come together into a clich almost right away. Arlovski gets a knee in, but that's about the total sum of the action, and the referee separates them. Emelianenko moves in, but gets caught with a big kick to the legs that causes him to stumble to the mat. Arlovski came in fast to try and capitalise, but Emelianenko uses the guard well. Emelianenko has the guard held very high. Arlovski throws a big right hand, but almost puts himself right into a triangle as a result, and he is forced to fight free. Emelianenko throws a punch and it lands right above the nose. Arlovski throws four massive punches as a response, threatening to try and knock Emelianenko right through the canvas, Emelianenko is forced to simply cover up and try to survive. Arlovski is controlling the round from this position, although it has to be said that he hasn't yet truly looked like he can stop the match from here. Emelianenko moves to butterfly guard and then tries to scramble back up, but Arlovski stops that by throwing another set of big punches, forcing Emelianenko to go back to the full guard. The round ends with them still like that, with Arlovski having totally controlled the round from the guard. The 3rd round ends. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Arlovski. Andrei Arlovski wins, with a score of 30-27 from two judges, 29-28 from the other.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Arlovski with an impressive win here. Arlovski could be in line for a title shot after the almost certain Nog-Fedor fight. [B][CENTER]UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Quinton Jackson (30-6) vs. Lyoto Machida (13-0) Sherdog's Prediction: Machida via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Machida puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Jackson defended well. Straight right from Jackson 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, Machida probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Jackson 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 Machida. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Machida by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Jackson hits some tentative punches, then comes in fast and forces Machida to back up against the cage, where they clinch. Jackson hits a nice body shot, but takes two short punches to the side of the head in return. Machida tries a trip, but it doesn't go anywhere. They separate, with Jackson having to stay sharp to avoid a scorching right hand from Machida. They come together, both throwing punches. Jackson gets a nice clean shot in, and Machida stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. Jackson 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]Jackson wins via 2nd round TKO with the official time being 3:38. Quinton Jackson successfully retains the UFC Light Heavyweight title.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] **** [B]Notes[/B]: Jackson hands Machida his first loss of his MMA career with a solid TKO. A Jackson Shogun fight must surely be looming now. [B][U]Post Show News Fighter Bonuses[/U][/B] Submission of the Night: Din Thomas Knock Out of the Night: Quinton Jackson Fight of the Night: Quinton Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida [B][U]Injuries[/U][/B] Andrei Arlovski was injured after his fight with Aleksander Emelianenko. He will be out for around 1 or 2 months with the head injury. Also Jason Lambert will be out for 1 or 2 months with a head injury. [B][U]Resignings[/U][/B] Michael Bisping, Thiago Silva, Shane Carwin, Din Thomas, Jonathan Goulet and Joe Lauzon will all be resigned to the UFC. Christian Wellisch has left after he completed his last contracted fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]New Rankings After UFC 87[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]UFC have released the new ranking following their UFC 87 event.[/CENTER] [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. Sean Sherk 2. Shinya Aoki 3. BJ Penn 4. Roger Huerta 5. Vitor Ribeiro 6. Din Thomas +2 7. Joe Stevenson -1 8. Rich Clementi -1 9. Thiago Tavares +1 10. Marcus Aurelio - New Entry [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Karo Parisyan 3. Thiago Alves 4. Matt Serra 5. Diego Sanchez 6. Akihiro Gono +3 7. Kuniyoshi Hironaka 8. Matt Hughes 9. Dan Hardy +1 10. Jon Fitch - New Entry [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Anderson Silva 2. Dan Henderson 3. Rich Franklin 4. Patrick Cote 5. Nate Marquardt 6. Joey Villasenor 7. Kendall Grove +1 8. Demian Maia -1 9. Joe Doerkson 10. Dean Lister [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua 3. Rashad Evans +1 4. Wanderlei Silva +1 5. Keith Jardine +1 6. Lyoto Machida -3 7. Antonio Mendes 8. Ricardo Arona 9. Thiago Silva - New Entry 10. Wilson Gouveia - New Entry [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Fedor Emelianenko 2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 3. Andrei Arlovski +2 4. Tim Sylvia -1 5. Cheick Kongo -1 6. Fabrico Werdum 7. Pedro Rizzo 8. Sergei Kharitonov 9. Randy Couture 10. Heath Herring - New Entry [B][U]P4P[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson +1 2. Fedor Emelianenko -1 3. George St. Pierre 4. Anderson Silva 5. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua 6. Sean Sherk 7. Shinya Aoki +1 8. Karo Parisyan +1 9. BJ Penn +1 10. Dan Henderson - New Entry [B]Biggest Jump this month[/B]: Akihiro Gono: Gono moved up 3 places to #6 this month after he defeated Jonathan Goulet via decision. He only moved up this much because in Goulet's previous match he won a upset against Matt Hughes which is now said to be a flash in the pan. Gono is expected to fight either Diego Snchez or Kuniyoshi Hironaka. [B]Biggest Drop this month[/B]: Lyoto Machida: Machida dropped 3 places in the Light Heavyweight rankings and dropped off the pound for pound rankings this month after his first ever loss to Quinton Jackson. Even though he won the first round he could do nothing to stop Jackson as he TKO'ed Machida in the second. He is expected to fight Ricardo Arona, Antonio Mendes or even Keith Jardine next to get him back on track. [B]Most Impressive New Entry[/B]: There isn't any impressive new entries this month as all the new entries are in the bottom two of the top ten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC Announces UFC 88: Fedor vs. Nogueira[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]Today UFC announced UFC 88: Fedor vs. Nogueira. Here is the card. [B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] UFC Heavyweight Championship: Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0-1) Matt Serra (10-5) vs. Diego Sanchez (19-2) Roger Huerta (21-1-1) vs. Joe Stevenson (28-8) Rich Franklin (24-3) vs. Dan Henderson (22-7) [B][U]Undercard[/U][/B] Pedro Rizzo (17-7) vs. Jake O'Brian (10-2) Josh Koscheck (10-2) vs. George Sotiropoulos (8-2) Glover Teixeira (5-2) vs. Ricardo Arona (13-5) Brock Lesnar (2-1) vs. Eddie Sanchez (8-2) Eddie Alvarez (15-1) vs. Cole Miller (13-3) Dean Lister (10-5) vs. Gregard Mousasi (21-2-1)[/CENTER] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFC-KING Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 [CENTER]Heavyweight Championship[B]: Fedor Emelianenko[/B] (28-1) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) [B]Wanderlei Silva [/B](31-8-1) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0-1) Matt Serra (10-5) vs. [B]Diego Sanchez [/B](19-2) Roger Huerta (21-1-1) vs. [B]Joe Stevenson[/B] (28-8) Rich Franklin (24-3) vs. [B]Dan Henderson[/B] (22-7) Undercard [B]Pedro Rizzo[/B] (17-7) vs. Jake O'Brian (10-2) [B]Josh Koscheck[/B] (10-2) vs. George Sotiropoulos (8-2) Glover Teixeira (5-2) vs.[B] Ricardo Arona[/B] (13-5) [B]Brock Lesnar[/B] (2-1) vs. Eddie Sanchez (8-2) [B]Eddie Alvarez [/B](15-1) vs. Cole Miller (13-3) Dean Lister (10-5) vs.[B] Gregard Mousasi [/B](21-2-1)[/CENTER] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 88 Preview[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER][B][U]Dean Lister (10-5) vs. Gregard Mousasi (21-2-1)[/U][/B] Mousasi makes his UFC debut against the #10 ranked Middleweight. A win for Lister could push him up the rankings abit but a win for Gregard could put him on the rankings. [B][U]Eddie Alvarez (15-1) vs. Cole Miller (13-3)[/U][/B] Alvarez is back in the octagon after his 1st round KO of Corey Hill. He will be hoping to replicate that win against Cole Miller this tiem around. The win for Alvarez could just sneak into the top ten Lightweights. [B][U]Brock Lesnar (2-1) vs. Eddie Sanchez (8-2)[/U][/B] Brock Lesnar steps into the octagon for only the third time here against Eddie Sanchez. Since the Mir fight it seems the UFC are keeping him away from any top ten talent and are giving him journeymen and low level gate keepers. A win for Sanchez could give him the push he needs to get a nice streak going. [B][U]Glover Teixeira (5-2) vs. Ricardo Arona (13-5)[/U][/B] Arona and Teixeira both make their UFC debuts here and whoever wins could be propeled up the rankings. Arona will be the fovourite at he has alot more experiance and he was a former PRIDE star. A win for Teixeira would be like a dream come true for him with his UFC debut and a win over Arona all in one. [B][U]Josh Koscheck (10-2) vs. George Sotiropoulos (8-2)[/U][/B] Kos will be the early favourite for this fight but one thing you must learn in MMA is that anything can happen. Sotiropoulos will be hoping that something will turn out as a win for him. A win for Kos could put him in the top ten Welterweights. [B][U]Pedro Rizzo (17-7) vs. Jake O'Brian (10-2)[/U][/B] Rizzo's UFC comeback continues with this fight against O'Brian. Rizzo is coming off of a decision win over Ben Rothwell, while O'Brian is coming off a decision loss to Chris Tuchscherer. A win for Rizzo could put him into the top five Heavyweights. [B][U]Rich Franklin (24-3) vs. Dan Henderson (22-7)[/U][/B] A year or two ago Franklin vs. Henderson would be the main event but now it's only the first televised bout. But this just shows how stacked this card is. In this bout the #2 and #3 Middleweights go head to head. While both would be worthy of a title shot after a win but both have already lost to the champion. Franklin has lost to Silva twice so he has next to no chance of ever getting another shot while Silva is champion. Henderson however has only lost to Silva once so if he gets a decent streak going he could get another chance. Both are in a really bad position as both could beat almost all the division except Silva but anyone else wanting a title shot would have to go through atleast one of them to get it. Someone like Patrick Cote could wipe out all the division except the top three and he wouldn't get a title shot. And if he faced either Henderson or Franklin he would more than likely lose. [B][U]Roger Huerta (21-1-1) vs. Joe Stevenson (28-8)[/U][/B] All the talk in the Lightweight division is about BJ Penn, Sean Sherk or Shinya Aoki. Everyone is so wrapped up in this trio it is forgetting the rest of the division. But interest is high in a Huerta-Penn fight and if Huerta should win you wouldn't rule out a title shot. Joe Stevenson is no can either though as he is ranked at #7 in the Lightweight division. [B][U]Matt Serra (10-5) vs. Diego Sanchez (19-2)[/U][/B] Both fighters are coming off a win form their last fight. Serra beat Marcus Davis with a third round submission. Sanchez comes off of a second round TKO of Luigi Fioravanti. A win for either fighter would put them in serious title contention right behind Karo and Alves. [B][U]Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0-1)[/U][/B] A massive fight for the Light Heavyweight division. Whoever wins this fight will be enxt in line for a title shot right after Shogun. A Silva-Rampage 3 would just be awesome for old PRIDE fans. An Evans-Rampage fight wouldn't be as hyped ut after Evans has beat Silva it would be big enough to main event any PPV. [B][U]UFC Heavyweight Championship: Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1)[/U][/B] Fedor fresh off his superfight win over Randy Couture gsquares off against Nogueira for the title. Fedor has beat Nogueira twice before in the old PRIDE days. Whoever wins this will be the undisputed Heavyweight king of the UFC. the next challenger is unknown at this point but it will most likely be out of 3. Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Cheick Kongo are the 3 fighters that are right up there in the Heavyweight division and any of the 3 could get the next title shot.[/CENTER] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 88: Fedor vs. Nogueira[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][U][CENTER]Undercard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER][B]Dean Lister (10-5) vs. Gregard Mousasi (21-2-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Dean Lister via Submission[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] They meet in the center. Lister hits a nice jab, a second misses. Mousasi steps in close and hits a brutal body shot, causing Lister to back up quickly. That was a really powerful shot. Mousasi stalks Lister, flicking occasional jabs. It looks like Mousasi wants to stand and trade punches with Lister. Mousasi gets within striking distance and throws a bomb of a right hand, narrowly missing. Lister fires off a raking left hook in response, but that is off target too. They meet and exchange punches. Lister goes for the body, but gets tagged with a left hand to the side of the head. Lister is rattled by it, but doesn't step off, instead throwing a couple of crisp jabs. Mousasi throws another big punch, this time thundering it into Lister's shoulder. They clinch. So far it looks like Lister simply can't live with the power that Mousasi has in his hands, you get the sense that if this continues, Lister is going to wind up knocked out sooner or later. The clinch is broken, but within thirty seconds they are right back in it, this time leaning against the cage. By the time that is broken, the round only has a few seconds left. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-8 for Mousasi. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Lister starts the round by throwing some low kicks. Mousasi checks them, then comes in and clearly wants to trade punches. Lister doesn't seem too bothered by that, and they enter into the first exchange of punches of the round. Difficult to say who came out on top, neither of them did a great deal of damage, most of the shots hit the opponent's gloves. Lister cleverly head-fakes, allowing him the time and angle that he needed to catch Mousasi with a beauty of a right hook. Mousasi stumbles backward, but doesn't go down. Lister presses the advantage by following in with a kick, then a right hand. Mousasi clinches. They remain clinched for a while. Mousasi scores with a nice knee, it appeared to catch Lister in the gut. Lister uses a single leg trip and takes the fight to the ground. Lister gets to side control upon impact, and immediately goes for an armbar. Mousasi reacts quickly, but is in real danger. Lister has his left arm straightened out, fortunately Mousasi has managed to roll and get a good position that is stopping Lister from getting the leverage needed to apply an armlock. Lister tries to step over and fully apply it, but Mousasi breaks free and gets him to back off with a couple of up-kicks. Lister steps back and motions for him to stand up. They go back to circling in the center. Mousasi hits a nice right hand, but takes one back too. The time runs down; Lister will probably get that round on points, he hit the best punch of the round, and got the only takedown, plus was the one who was working toward a submission. End of round 2. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Lister by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Mousasi doesn't waste any time, scoring with a big right hook almost immediately. Lister was caught sleeping, and that really landed hard, if it had been more accurate it might have been a knock out blow. Lister hits two sharp body shots in return, but it's clear that he is rattled. Lister is looking the slightly more fit of the two fighters. They get in close and exchange punches, it's not clear who got the better of that. Mousasi hits a good looping punch to the side of the head, that's another one that's rattled Lister. Mousasi is getting more force behind his punches at the moment, and that's the key difference. Other than a few half-hearted jabs, there's been a definite lull over the past minute. Time ticks away, and Lister offers nothing that would make you think that he has any chance of winning this round on points. The 3rd round ends. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Mousasi by 10-9. Gegard Mousasi wins the match, getting a score of 29-27 from all three judges.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Mousasi wins on his UFC debut after a dominating first round and winning the third round. If Mousasi continues to win he may soon reach the top end of the division. [CENTER][B]Eddie Alvarez (15-1) vs. Cole Miller (13-3) Sherdog's Prediction: Eddie Alvarez via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Miller starts the round by throwing some low kicks. Alvarez checks them, then comes in and clearly wants to trade punches. Miller doesn't seem too bothered by that, and they enter into the first exchange of punches of the round. Difficult to say who came out on top, neither of them did a great deal of damage, most of the shots hit the opponent's gloves. Miller cleverly head-fakes, allowing him the time and angle that he needed to catch Alvarez with a beauty of a right hook. Alvarez stumbles backward, but doesn't go down. Miller presses the advantage by following in with a kick, then a right hand. Alvarez clinches. They remain clinched for a while. Alvarez scores with a nice knee, it appeared to catch Miller in the gut. Miller uses a single leg trip and takes the fight to the ground. Miller gets to side control upon impact, and immediately goes for an armbar. Alvarez reacts quickly, but is in real danger. Miller has his left arm straightened out, fortunately Alvarez has managed to roll and get a good position that is stopping Miller from getting the leverage needed to apply an armlock. Miller tries to step over and fully apply it, but Alvarez breaks free and gets him to back off with a couple of up-kicks. Miller steps back and motions for him to stand up. They go back to circling in the center. Alvarez hits a nice right hand, but takes one back too. The time runs down; Miller will probably get that round on points, he hit the best punch of the round, and got the only takedown, plus was the one who was working toward a submission. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Miller. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Alvarez starts fast, unleashing a bomb of a right hand, but Miller avoids it without too much trouble. Alvarez isn't disheartened though, swinging two more huge punches, with Miller getting out the way each time, but being forced all over the place. Alvarez finally backs off a little, breathing hard. That was quite a frantic start. Miller opts to use that, and comes in to throw some jabs. Alvarez is backed up against the cage, covering up. Miller clinches. They struggle, and the fight enters a lull. Alvarez hits a knee strike to the hip. Miller slips one leg behind Alvarez and uses that as leverage for a big trip. Alvarez landed hard, with Miller on top. They're in half guard. It's to Alvarez's advantage that they're right next to the cage, that is blocking Miller from attacking the left hand side of the body. Alvarez is forced into action to defend a kimura attempt. Miller tries to step over to mount, but Alvarez keeps his legs in position and ends up almost rolled into a ball. Miller 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. Alvarez doesn't appear to be trying that though, instead trying to shift his weight so that he can get back up. Miller isn't allowing it though, and gets a couple more punches in before settling back into half guard. Alvarez ties him up in a snug clinch. The action halts, and time expires before Miller can get free. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Miller.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Alvarez hits some tentative punches, then comes in fast and forces Miller to back up against the cage, where they clinch. Alvarez hits a nice body shot, but takes two short punches to the side of the head in return. Miller tries a trip, but it doesn't go anywhere. They separate, with Alvarez having to stay sharp to avoid a scorching right hand from Miller. Alvarez hits two body shots, then comes in low under an attempted right cross and uses a single leg to take Miller down. Nicely done. Miller pulls guard. Miller is forced to cover up as Alvarez starts hammering away with enormous strikes from the guard, trying to simply power the shots through. Some do cause some damage, landing as Miller tries unsuccessfully to throw some counters. Alvarez transitions to side control without any issues and starts finding the punches down again, this time with more leverage and therefore more power. Miller tries to defend them, but a lot of them are getting through. The referee finally has enough and calls an end to the match, feeling that Miller was getting overwhelmed. [B]Alvarez wins via TKO at 4:39 of the third round.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] ** [B]Notes:[/B] Wow Alvarez is a lucky man. I was worried Miller was going to win then and then Alvarez just TKO's him. Alvarez will be happy no matter what though as he still has the win. [CENTER][B]Brock Lesnar (2-1) vs. Eddie Sanchez (8-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Brock Lesnar via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Lesnar starts the round like a house on fire, hitting three quick jabs and a vicious right hook. Sanchez covered up well, but at least one of the jabs got through and landed above the left eye. Sanchez backs up to buy some time, but Lesnar keeps coming and lands a right hand to the body. Sanchez scores with a jab in return, then goes with a kick to the waist. Lesnar catches the leg though and quickly rushes forward with a takedown. Sanchez pulls guard. Lesnar fires off a couple of tentative punches, testing out the guard of Sanchez. Lesnar tries to pass the guard, but can't, Sanchez 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. Sanchez 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 Sanchez fought it hard and gets back to guard within seconds. Butterfly guard by Sanchez, and Lesnar is having trouble generating any attacking threat. He'll probably win the round as he has been more aggressive, but Sanchez has defended the danger well. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Lesnar.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Tentative start, neither fighter is willing to commit yet. Lesnar fires off a jab, but it was easily blocked. Sanchez fakes a kick, then comes in hard and fast with a takedown, sending Lesnar to the floor. The momentum causes Sanchez to almost go completely over the top though, and Lesnar is able to flip him to the side and end up on top, in the guard position. Lesnar throws out a right hand, parried away by Sanchez. The guard is quite tight, for the moment at least Lesnar looks content to stay there and throw some punches. Sanchez 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, Sanchez thought it was going for the face. Another punch lands in the same place, and a red mark starts to develop. Sanchez 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. Sanchez 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. Sanchez 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 Sanchez does try to apply the triangle, and an armbar at the same time, but Lesnar breaks free. Time is ticking down, looks like Sanchez will survive this ground and pound attack. The round ends without further note. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Lesnar.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Lesnar throws the first punch of the round, a high searching jab that didn't carry a great deal of threat with it. Sanchez throws a one-two combination in return, neither connecting, then steps in and delivers a hard kick to the outside of the thigh. Lesnar 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. Sanchez hits a knee to the ribs. A couple of shots to the back from Lesnar. They struggle all the way back, with Lesnar ending up backed up against the cage. Sanchez hits another knee, but there wasn't much power behind it. Lesnar stomps downward onto his foot. Lesnar manages to reverse their positions, but that only lasts about thirty seconds before it gets reversed once more. Sanchez gets an arm free and tries to throw a big shot to the cheek, Lesnar ducks under it and gets the arm back under control. The referee finally breaks them up, and we're back to where we started. Lesnar tries a high kick to start, but Sanchez saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Sanchez who gets the first sustained attack of the round, hitting two hard body shots and a jab that caught Lesnar on the nose. Lesnar hits a straight right, enough to stop Sanchez 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 gives that one to Sanchez by 10-9. Brock Lesnar wins, with a score of 29-28 from two judges, 30-27 from the other.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Lesnar with his second win in a row now. It's only against Eddie Sanchez but it's still impressive. [CENTER][B]Glover Teixeira (5-2) vs. Ricardo Arona (13-5) Sherdog's Prediction: Glover Teixeira via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Right hand from Teixeira was thrown with power, but bounced off the gloves of Arona. Teixeira follows up by coming in close, but Arona is ready with a straight right hand that glances off the side of the head. Arona hits a stinging right hand, Teixeira felt it too. Arona moves in to follow up, but Teixeira anticipated it well and scores with a massive kick. Arona is stunned, and stumbles to the ground. Teixeira is on top of him almost right away, and fires off a series of punches. Arona covers up, barely, but a lot of shots are getting through. The referee decides that enough is enough, and pulls Teixeira off, it's a TKO victory. [B]Teixeira wins via 1st round TKO with the official time being 1:11. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Arona makes his UFC deut and he is TKO'ed in the first round by Teixeira. Teixeira will be overwhelmed to of TKO'ed someone who was once a top 5 LHW. [CENTER][B]Josh Koscheck (10-2) vs. George Sotiropoulos (8-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Josh Koscheck via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Koscheck leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, Sotiropoulos 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. Sotiropoulos uses a knee to the ribs before backing Koscheck up against the cage. Right hand from Koscheck connects though, that was well timed. Sotiropoulos breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, Koscheck was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from Sotiropoulos sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. Koscheck fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. Koscheck hits two jabs, then a high kick. It glances off Sotiropoulos's shoulder, catching him on the top of the head. He stumbles backward, ending up against the cage. [B]Koscheck charges in and starts unloading, and after several crunching punches have landed the referee has no choice but to jump in and bring the match to the end. The official time is 3:22. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes[/B]: Koscheck wl be happy with this win. He will be hoping to break into the top ten Welterweights with this win. [CENTER][B]Pedro Rizzo (17-7) vs. Jake O'Brian (10-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Pedro Rizzo via Submission[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Rizzo puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but O'Brien defended well. Straight right from O'Brien 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, Rizzo probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. O'Brien 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 Rizzo. End of round 1. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Rizzo by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Slow start to the round. Not much happens before they wind up clinched together, struggling for supremacy. O'Brien uses a trip to make a takedown, but doesn't go down himself, instead staying back. He pushes the raised legs away and dives in to get side control, but Rizzo scrambles and manages to get up, pushing O'Brien down to the ground. Rizzo ends up on top, in guard. Rizzo stands into a half-crouching position, dragging O'Brien's guard with him. O'Brien reaches up, parries away a couple of strikes, and tries to grab an arm to apply an armbar to. Rizzo knocks the attempt away and nails a hard shot to the ribs before reaching over and trying to nail a downward punch to the chin. O'Brien blocks it. Rizzo floats over and gets into side control. O'Brien scrambles to try and get back up, but is too close to the cage, which works against him. Rizzo lays in a couple of punches to the chest to soften O'Brien up, then tries to move up and isolate one of the arms. O'Brien makes sure to bring his body around to give him as much protection as possible. It works, as Rizzo can't get either arm isolated properly. Rizzo changes tactics and tries to get into crucifix position. O'Brien fights it for as long as he possibly can, but eventually gets caught. The length of struggle is, in itself, a good defence though, as the round ends before Rizzo can do anything with the position he has achieved, which will frustrate him enormously. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Rizzo. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Rizzo and O'Brien meet in the center, and both throw looping right hands at the same time. Neither hits home. Rizzo throws a couple of nice jabs that cause O'Brien to cover up. He throws a sharp right hand in response which narrowly misses. They clinch in the center. O'Brien tries to trip Rizzo, but it is easily dealt with, and Rizzo cheekily does the exact same thing to O'Brien, except with more success. O'Brien goes crashing to the ground with Rizzo on top. Rizzo tries to grab an arm to work a submission, but O'Brien is defending it well by using short, sharp strikes to keep him back. Rizzo tries to pass the guard, but has no luck. A punch from Rizzo connects, but there was no real power behind it. Rizzo fakes O'Brien out cleverly, and slips to a half mount. O'Brien manages to hit a firm elbow, then is forced to defend the full mount attempt. Rizzo switches tactics and tries to work a kimura on the other arm, but O'Brien blocks it, squirms his leg free, and secures the guard again. Rizzo looks frustrated at losing the half mount after having worked so hard to get it in the first place. O'Brien is liable to lose the round on points, but he has done a fine job of defending the submissions attempts so far. Rizzo tries to secure a leglock, but the guard is tight and O'Brien is safe. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Rizzo. All three judges give a score of 30-27 to Pedro Rizzo.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Rizzo with two wins and zero losses since returning to the UFC. Rizzo may even break into the top five with this win. [CENTER][B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] [B]Rich Franklin (24-3) vs. Dan Henderson (22-7) Sherdog's Prediction: Henderson via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Right hand from Henderson was thrown with power, but bounced off the gloves of Franklin. Henderson follows up by coming in close, but Franklin is ready with a straight right hand that glances off the side of the head. They come together, both throwing punches. Franklin gets a nice clean shot in, and Henderson stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. Franklin is on top of him quickly, and unloads with two more big punches, both connect solidly. [B]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. The official time is 1:53. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Henderson will not be happy after the fight was supposedly stopped early. Franklin however would argue that Henderson wasn't coming back from being knocked down and the two big punches while he was on the floor. Franklin though will have nowhere to go after this. He is the undisputed #2 Middleweight in the UFC now but he can't beat the #1 Middleweight in Anderson Silva. [CENTER][B]Roger Huerta (21-1-1) vs. Joe Stevenson (28-8) Sherdog's Prediction: Joe Stevenson via TKO[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Stevenson comes in quick to start, but none of the flurry of jabs that are thrown actually connect with anything but gloves. Huerta gets in a nice counter punch, bouncing a fist off the cheek. Stevenson backs off, then starts to circle. Stevenson throws a right hand to the the body that connects, then goes immediately for a high right hand that misses and puts him well off balance. Huerta capitalises, throwing a big kick to the head! Stevenson goes down, although it's unclear as to how much of that was due to the power of the kick, and how much was down to a stumble. He doesn't look too stunned, as he has the presence of mind to roll over and get ready to defend an attack. It doesn't come though, as Huerta remains back, biding his time. Huerta steps in and kicks at the legs, avoiding the up-kick that comes back. He tries to move around to the side, but Stevenson scoots the same way to keep the defence strong. Huerta finally moves in to throw some punches, but Stevenson manages to pull guard without taking any serious punishment. Huerta tries to pass guard, but Stevenson doesn't allow it. Stevenson throws a couple of punches, but they're parried away. He breaks his guard to bring a leg across and try to kick Huerta in the face, but it's a mistake as Huerta pushes the leg aside and gets side control. Huerta pushes them closer to the cage, near his own corner so that they can give him instructions. Following what they say, Huerta throws some heavy blows to the unprotected stomach of Stevenson, then tries to isolate the closest arm. Stevenson frantically tries to stop that happening, but does indeed give it up. He does manage to roll to the side, giving himself some good leverage and preventing Huerta from extending the arm. Huerta continues trying to apply an armbar, but Stevenson is not allowing it. Eventually Huerta turns and tries to get a crucifix position instead. Stevenson fights that off too. The round ends with Huerta still doggedly trying to get an armbar submission, and Stevenson tenaciously stopping it. The round ends. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Huerta. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Fast start by Stevenson, who has thrown three crisp jabs in the first twenty seconds, although none of them got past the gloves. Huerta circles, drawing a lunge from Stevenson, allowing him to score with a nice low kick to the front leg. Stevenson ignores that and darts in for a takedown, but only ends up holding one leg, Huerta hopping on the other to remain vertical. Stevenson tries to push forward to complete the takedown, but Huerta manages to pull them all the way back to the cage before ultimately going down. That's a much better position to be in though, he has his corner right there, and can use the cage to effectively cut off any form of attack to the left hand side of his body. Stevenson has one leg trapped between Huerta's, and is struggling to get it free. He throws a couple of punches, none of them doing much damage, and then tries to work on one of the arms. It might be a kimura that he looking for. Huerta defends it well, without fully escaping it, Stevenson can't really do a lot with it due to how much he is having to stretch to apply it, due to his leg being trapped. Huerta suddenly releases the leg and scrambles up, looking to take Stevenson's back. Stevenson was ready for it though, and blocks it by pinning a half-standing Huerta up against the cage. It's a precarious position for both fighters. Huerta throws a couple of short-range punches. Stevenson gets a leg in and trips Huerta, putting him back on the ground, albeit this time in full guard. It was a nice escape attempt from Huerta, at least he can take heart from the fact that it resulted in a better defensive position. Time is running out, it looks like this round will end with them in this position. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Stevenson by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Nice fast-paced start from Huerta, who gets right in Stevenson'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 Stevenson side-stepped. Stevenson fires back with a left hand, then a right to the body. Huerta steps in, but only into a waist-high kick from Stevenson. Huerta is quick though, and manages to catch it around the knee. Using it as leverage, Huerta sweeps Stevenson's standing leg and takes them to the ground. Stevenson quickly pulls guard. Huerta passes guard and gets into side control, but it's an awkward position; Stevenson has the entire right hand side of his body up against the cage, and both his legs wrapped around Huerta's left arm. Huerta's attacking options are fairly limited. He uses a couple of back fists to strike away at the face, but Stevenson covers up to defend them. Huerta tries to pin down one of Stevenson's arms and bring his legs around to trap them fully, but Stevenson uses his free arm to stop that from happening. The ground battle enters a stalemate, as Huerta finds himself unable to do any real damage other than occasional strikes, which he doesn't have the leverage to get much power behind, with virtually no chance of gaining a submission thanks to his left arm being trapped. The referee eventually stands them up, and the time expires before anything interesting can happen with them standing. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Huerta. The official scores are: 29-28 from all three judges for Roger Huerta. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Huerta Is right in the title picture now. Huerta could fight the person who doesn't get a shot against Penn, either Sherk or Aoki. [CENTER][B]Matt Serra (10-5) vs. Diego Sanchez (19-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Matt Serra via Decision[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/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 Serra picks him off with a crisp jab to the cheek. Sanchez throws a wild punch as a counter, but Serra 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, Serra is happy to avoid them and use quick counter punches instead. They clinch up, and Sanchez manages to back Serra up against the cage. Sanchez takes a half step backward and throws a big right hand to the head, but Serra 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, Serra 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 Serra on the thigh. Serra 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. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Serra. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Serra meets Sanchez in the center. They exchange tentative long-range punches. Sanchez steps in to press the action, but gets caught with a right hand. Serra scores with a left too, then a crisp jab. Sanchez backs off, that exchange did not go in his favour by any means. Serra presses the advantage and gets in a couple more jabs, forcing Sanchez onto the back-foot, all the way until he is up against the cage. Serra stands just in range and starts throwing occasional straight rights, forcing Sanchez to try and react in time. Sanchez parries a few shots away, but also gets caught with a couple. He steps forward and tries to get a clinch, but Serra keeps away from it and continues to flick quick jabs out. Sanchez is really getting schooled so far, Serra's hand speed and technique have allowed him to completely control everything about this round, Sanchez hasn't been able to generate anything of note. Sanchez tries to change that by coming after Serra, but Serra meets him in the center and exchanges punches, again winning the encounter comfortably. The final minute of the round sees Sanchez try two more times, and in neither can he manage to break Serra's control. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Serra. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] A touch of gloves to start the round, and we're underway. Serra lets rip with a vicious straight right almost immediately, but it's easily avoided. Sanchez sneaks a jab through the guard and catches Serra 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 Sanchez manages to get the better position, pushing Serra up against the cage. Right hand to the ribs from Sanchez. Serra 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. Sanchez tries a knee of his own, but that is the opportunity that Serra was waiting for and he sweeps the standing leg to take Sanchez down to the ground, in side control. Excellent takedown. Sanchez covers up to defend against a pair of back-hand blows, and even manages to sneak a knee strike in. Serra hits a big elbow to the ribs, Sanchez definitely felt that. Serra drives a knee to the near side, then attempts to float-over into a mount. Sanchez brought his legs in though, and manages to pull guard. Serra will be disappointed with that. He tries to get a big punch in, but Sanchez defends it well and gets a hold of both arms. The fight grinds to a halt, with Serra unable to generate any attacks, and Sanchez unwilling to give up a good defensive position. The referee stands them up. Serra 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 scores 10-9 Serra. Matt Serra wins the match, getting a score of 30-27 from all three judges.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Serra may move past Alves in the Welterweight rankings after this win over Diego. Serra will probably fight Alves next for the #1 contendership after Karo gets his shot. [CENTER][B]Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Wanderlei Silva via Knock Out[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/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. Evans complies, firing off a dangerous right cross, narrowly missing. Silva throws a couple of stiff jabs, but they only find gloves. Evans fakes left, then comes in from the right, hitting a nice body blow. Silva steps forward and unleashes a big kick, thundering it into Evans's ribs. He felt that one for sure. Silva follows up by hitting a right hand too. Evans finds himself backed up against the cage. Silva advances, and throws a scythe-like kick to the legs. Evans can't get out of the way, and almost gets felled by the impact. Silva steps in and scores with a high head kick. Evans partially blocked it with his hands, which was probably the only thing stopping it from being a knock out blow. Evans gets a right hand jab out in response, then pulls Silva into a clinch. Knee strike from Silva. They break. Evans still looks hurt from that first kick. Silva gets in close and gives a receipt for that earlier body blow, nailing a right hand to the gut. Evans hits a jab to the cheek in response, then clinches again. Time runs down, the round will end before anything more can happen. Silva has used those powerful kicks to dominate this round. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Silva by 10-9.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] They circle to start, both throwing a few tentative jabs. An uppercut misses its mark from Evans, providing the first moment of real action. Silva hits a nice combination of body shots to set up a big right hook, but Evans side-stepped to safety. A few punches get thrown, but there's a lack of real action to talk about. Silva 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. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Silva.[/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] As the round begins, it's noticeable that Evans still looks pretty wobbly, some of the shots he has taken so far seem to have taken their toll. Can Silva capitalise? Silva advances and throws a solid right, hitting gloves. A left hook gets parried. A crisp jab finds its way through and tags Evans above the right eye. That won't help. Evans puts together a nice sequence, following a one-two combination with a meaty right hook. Silva dealt with it well, parrying or avoiding each one. Silva sneaks a right hand in under the guard, landing just below the throat. The referee tells him to avoid hitting there. Evans finds an energy spurt and forces Silva back with a flurry of jabs. His head may be beginning to clear. Silva hits a right cross, then gets pulled into a clinch. That wastes a whole heap of time, and by the time they are broken apart by the referee, the time for the round is almost over. Silva will win this round on points, but he will be disappointed that he couldn't finish a rocked Evans off. End of round 3. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Silva. The three judges all give the match as 30-27 to Wanderlei Silva.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: **** [B]Notes[/B]: Silva will be next in line for a title shot right after the Shogun-Rampage fight. Evans will not be too dissapointed as he is still young and only has one loss on his record still and there is no shame in losing to Wanderlei Silva. He will jsut be happy he didn't get KO'ed like so may people before him. [CENTER][B]UFC Heavyweight Championship: Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Fedor Emelianenko via Knock Out[/B][/CENTER] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Nogueira throws two high punches, then steps in for a hook to the body. Nice combination, but Emelianenko defended with ease. They clinch up next to the cage, but a short struggle only ends with them separating and coming back in. There's a short period with not a lot happening. Emelianenko and Nogueira come in close and exchange strikes. Down goes Emelianenko! [B]Replays show that Nogueira hit a vicious uppercut during that exchange, although it appears that he actually just went for broke and simply swung for the fences as hard as he could. It doesn't change the fact that Emelianenko has been knocked out though. The official time of the knock out is 1:56 of round 1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira successfully retains the UFC Heavyweight title.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] *** [B]Notes[/B]: I guess third time is a charm. Nog beats Fedor on his third try and by KO no less. What will Fedor do next? Who will face Nog next? Will they face again? This fight has produced many questions and all will be answerd soon enough but one question that has already been answered is that currently Nog is the true Heavyweight king. [B][U]Post Show News[/U][/B] [B][U]Fighter Bonuses[/U][/B] Submission of the Night: N/A Knock Out of the Night: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Fight of the Night: Wanderlei Silva vs. Rashad Evans [B][U]Injuries[/U][/B] Rich Franklin suffered a leg injury during his fight with Dan Henderson and will be out for around 2 months. Also Pedro Rizzo suffered an elbow injury which will rule him out for just over a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]New Rankings After UFC 88[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]UFC have released the new rankings following their UFC 88 event.[/CENTER] [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. Sean Sherk 2. Roger Huerta +2 3. Shinya Aoki -1 4. BJ Penn -1 5. Vitor Ribeiro 6. Din Thomas 7. Rich Clementi +1 8. Eddie Alvarez - New Entry 9. Thiago Tavares 10. Joe Stevenson -3 [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Karo Parisyan 3. Matt Serra +1 4. Thiago Alves -1 5. Akihiro Gono +1 6. Kuniyoshi Hironaka +1 7. Matt Hughes +1 8. Dan Hardy +1 9. Jon Fitch +1 10. Chris Lytle - New Entry [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Rich Franklin +2 2. Anderson Silva -1 3. Patrick Cote +1 4. Nate Marquardt +1 5. Gregard Mousasi - New Entry 6. Dan Henderson -4 7. Joey Villasenor -1 8. Kendall Grove -1 9. Demian Maia -1 10. Joe Doerkson -1 [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua 3. Wanderlei Silva +1 4. Keith Jardine +1 5. Lyoto Machida +1 6. Antonio Mendes +1 7. Thiago Silva +2 8. Wilson Gouveia +2 9. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - New Entry 10. Chuck Liddell - New Entry [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira +1 2. Andrei Arlovski +1 3. Fedor Emelianenko -2 4. Tim Sylvia 5. Cheick Kongo 6. Pedro Rizzo +1 7. Fabrico Werdum -1 8. Sergei Kharitonov 9. Randy Couture 10. Heath Herring [B][U]P4P[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - New Entry 3. Rich Franklin - New Entry 4. George St. Pierre -1 5. Anderson Silva -1 6. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua -1 7. Sean Sherk -1 8. Roger Huerta - New Entry 9. Shinya Aoki -2 10. Karo Parisyan -2 [B]Biggest Jump this month[/B]: Roger Huerta: Roger jumped 2 places this month along with many others but his may mean the most for his division. His jump came after his decision win over Joe Stevenson who now lies at #10. Huerta is now ranked as the #2 Lightweight behind only Sean Sherk. Next for Huerta will be any of the 3 that are with him in the top four now. [B]Biggest Drop this month[/B]: Dan Henderson/Rashad Evans: Henderson dropped 4 places this month after his loss to Rich Franklin. Henderson will likely fight Nate Marquardt or Patrick Cote next. [B]Most Impressive New Entry[/B]:Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira(P4P)/Gregard Mousasi: Mousasi came in at #5 in the Middleweight rankings after his Decision win over Dean Lister. Next for him will probably be Joe Doerkson or Kendall Grove. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira moved from #2 to #1 in the Heavyweight rankings this month but he was a new entry on the pound for pound list debuting at an amazing #2 being behind only Quinton Jackson. This all came after his 1st round KO of Fedor. Next for Big Nog will probably be against Andrei Arlovski but could be against either Tim Sylvia or Cheick Kongo aswell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC Make Move To Rejuvenate Middleweight Division & Bring In New Title Shot System[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] UFC held a press conference today where they made not one but two huge announcements. First of all they introduce a new system to change how they hand out title shots. It will work around their ranking system. They announced that the only way for a fighter to get a title shot was to be ranked in the top 3 in their division. So in prectice the #4 fighter in their division couldn't get a title shot no matter what. They say that this will help the title fights to be contested between the best of the division. And second they aim to rejuvenate the Middleweight division by asking 2 welterweights to move up in weight class and 3 Light Heavyweights to move down in oreder to shake up the Middleweight division after they came to the decision that it had no viable contenders to Anderson Silva. Moving down form Light Heavyweight will be Forrest Griffin, Ricardo Arona & Stephan Bonnar. And moving up from Welterweight is Jonathan Goulet and Karo Parisyan. They announced that Karo Parisyan would fight Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Title in the main event of the next PPV. This will comply with the new top three rule as Karo has been placed at #3 in the middleweight rankings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC Announces UFC 89: Silva vs. Karo[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]Today UFC announced UFC 89: Silva vs. Karo. Here is the card. [B][U]Maincard[/U][/B] UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (21-4) vs. Karo Parisyan (19-4) Thiago Silva (14-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2) Tim Sylvia (24-4) vs. Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1) Shinya Aoki (16-2) vs. Rich Clementi (32-12-1) Forrest Griffin (15-5) vs. Kendall Grove (9-5) [B][U]Undercard[/U][/B] Matt Hughes (41-7) vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5) Tyson Griffin (11-2) vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8) Tomasz Drwal (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-5) Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (29-6) Ed Herman (14-5) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-10) Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) vs. Chris Wilson (13-4)[/CENTER] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 OOC: Ok there wasn't a prediction contest last time because I couldn't think of a prize but there will be for this event because in game Couture has said he will retire after his next fight so he will main event the next fight night which will be after UFC 89. The prize will be for you to choose which division, Light Heavyweight or Heavyweight, and who against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFC-KING Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Maincard UFC Middleweight Championship: [B]Anderson Silva (21-4)[/B] vs. Karo Parisyan (19-4) [B]Thiago Silva (14-0)[/B] vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2) [B]Tim Sylvia (24-4)[/B] vs. Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1) Shinya Aoki (16-2) vs. [B]Rich Clementi (32-12-1)[/B] [B]Forrest Griffin (15-5) [/B]vs. Kendall Grove (9-5) Undercard [B]Matt Hughes (41-7)[/B] vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5) [B]Tyson Griffin (11-2) [/B]vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8) Tomasz Drwal (14-2) vs. [B]James Irvin (13-5)[/B] Brandon Vera (8-1) vs.[B] Ben Rothwell (29-6)[/B] Ed Herman (14-5) vs.[B] Jonathan Goulet (22-10)[/B] [B]Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) [/B]vs. Chris Wilson (13-4) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjhabeeb Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Not to be picky but its 4th times a charm for Big Nog............btw WAR NOG Bros ....................................................... Maincard UFC Middleweight Championship:[B] Anderson Silva (21-4)[/B] vs. Karo Parisyan (19-4) [B]Thiago Silva (14-0) [/B]vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2) Tim Sylvia (24-4) vs. [B]Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1)[/B] break his arm again fabrico [B]Shinya Aoki (16-2)[/B] vs. Rich Clementi (32-12-1) the mod Im on HIGHLY overrates Clementi though.....btw what mod are you using [B]Forrest Griffin (15-5) [/B]vs. Kendall Grove (9-5) Grove is another guy highly overrated in mods but Griffen would be a ginormas 185 Undercard [B]Matt Hughes (41-7)[/B] vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5) No spoiler intended but poor Hughes [B]Tyson Griffin (11-2) [/B]vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8) Fireworks in this one [B]Tomasz Drwal (14-2) [/B]vs. James Irvin (13-5) glass chin Irvin Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. [B]Ben Rothwell (29-6)[/B] [B]Ed Herman (14-5) [/B]vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-10) [B]Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2)[/B] vs. Chris Wilson (13-4) Reply With Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 [QUOTE]Not to be picky but its 4th times a charm for Big Nog[/QUOTE] I wasn't counting the No Contest fight. Thanks for the predictions btw and keep them coming in and I will probably get the results up tommorow. Also and feedback on what I've done to revive the middleweights. EDIT: I'm using Modern Warriors 1.0 with a few tweaks by me but nothing major at all. Can't stand the loading time for Tap Or Snap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Today UFC announced UFC 89: Silva vs. Karo. Here is the card. Maincard UFC Middleweight Championship: [B]Anderson Silva[/B] (21-4) vs. Karo Parisyan (19-4) [B]Thiago Silva[/B] (14-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2) [B]Tim Sylvi[/B]a (24-4) vs. Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1) [B]Shinya Aoki[/B] (16-2) vs. Rich Clementi (32-12-1) [B]Forrest Griffin[/B] (15-5) vs. Kendall Grove (9-5) Undercard [B]Matt Hughes[/B] (41-7) vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5) [B]Tyson Griffin[/B] (11-2) vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8) Tomasz Drwal (14-2) vs. [B]James Irvin[/B] (13-5) [B]Brandon Vera[/B] (8-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (29-6) [B]Ed Herman[/B] (14-5) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-10) Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) vs[B]. Chris Wilson[/B] (13-4) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 89 Preview[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER][B][U]Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) vs. Chris Wilson (13-4)[/U][/B] Yoshida is back after a dominating decision win over Marcus Davis and this time he is against #10 ranked Welterweight Chris Wilson. If Yoshida wins he will almost certainly break into the top ten and then a win or two more and a title shot will be waiting. [B][U]Ed Herman (14-5) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-10)[/U][/B] Goulet makes his Middleweight debut after moving up from the Welterweight division after he found mixed success. Herman will hope to make it a bad debut for Goulet as he aims to break the top ten. However if Goulet wins he will certainly break into the top ten. [B][U]Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (29-6)[/U][/B] Rothwell returns after his decision loss to Pedro Rizzo and it doesn't get any easier as he goes up against up and coming star Brandon Vera. A win for either could push them up into the rankings sooner rather than later. [B][U]Tomasz Drwal (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-5)[/U][/B] A Light Heavyweight match up here and both fighters seem to be just there in a stacked division. A win though could give them a good enough push to get their confidence up for them to get a winning streak going. [B][U]Tyson Griffin (11-2) vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8)[/U][/B] Griffin returns after his loss to now #1 Lightweight Sean Sherk. He will hope for a better showing this time around. Ludwig is definately an easier opponent than Sherk but he is no can or he wouldn't be here. If Griffin wins and gets a few more wins he could be in the title hunt along with all the others. [B][U]Matt Hughes (41-7) vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5)[/U][/B] Hughes returns after his surprise decision loss to Jonathan Goulet. This time it's the same level of opponent being that he isn't at the bottom of the division but he isn't too far up either. Lytle will be looking to start making a big name for himself with a win like Goulet did but he would like to use this to get a streak of top names going. [B][U]Forrest Griffin (15-5) vs. Kendall Grove (9-5)[/U][/B] Forrest with his first fight since his loss to Rampage and it's also his debut in the Middleweight division. Griffin is already a big name so a win or two could get him a title shot sooner than many people would expect. [B][U]Shinya Aoki (16-2) vs. Rich Clementi (32-12-1)[/U][/B] Aoki said he didn't want a title shot right away so he was given a fight with UFC veteran Rich Clementi. This is by no means an easy fight for Aoki but it is one he is expected to win. a win could put him back at #2 or even put him at #1. [B][U]Tim Sylvia (24-4) vs. Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1)[/U][/B] In this fight the #4 and #7 Heavyweights duke it out. A win for Wrdum would put him at #5 or #6 or if he is lucky #4 so he would still need another win to get a title shot. But if Sylvia wins he could go upto #3 past Fedor and then he would be eligible for a title shot along with Arlovski. [B][U]Thiago Silva (14-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2)[/U][/B] Two top Light Heavyweights fight for ranking places here with Mendes at #6 at Silva at #7. A win for either could push them into the top five and after that a title shot looms. If they get to #4 then the loser of Shogun-Rampage will probably drop quite a bit and then they would be eligible for a title shot. [B][U]UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (21-4) vs. Karo Parisyan (19-4)[/U][/B] Parisyan is the third fighter to make his Middleweight debut on this card. And what a way to debut in a divisioN, by going up against the champion. A win for Silva would put him back at #1 in the Middleweight rankings after being inactive for over half a year. He fell to #2 last month after Rich Franklin beat Dan Henderson by 1st round TKO, but he would surely reclaim the top spot with a win over Parisyan. Karo will be looking to make his mark on the division though and if he wns it could open the whole division up for many people. I f Karo won it would give Rich Franklin another chance to be champion as he would no doubt be the #1 contender to Karo. But it wouldn't just open the division up for Franklin it would open it up for anyone who ever lost to Silva.[/CENTER] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Gadzinski Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Maincard UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (21-4) vs. [B]Karo Parisyan (19-4)[/B] [B]Thiago Silva (14-0)[/B] vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2) [B]Tim Sylvia (24-4)[/B] vs. Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1) Shinya Aoki (16-2) vs. [B]Rich Clementi (32-12-1)[/B] [B]Forrest Griffin (15-5)[/B] vs. Kendall Grove (9-5) Undercard [B]Matt Hughes (41-7)[/B] vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5) [B]Tyson Griffin (11-2)[/B] vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8) [B]Tomasz Drwal (14-2)[/B] vs. James Irvin (13-5) Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. [B]Ben Rothwell (29-6)[/B] [B]Ed Herman (14-5)[/B] vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-10) Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) vs. [B]Chris Wilson (13-4)[/B] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]UFC 89: Silva vs. Karo[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][U][CENTER]Undercard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][CENTER]Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) vs. Chris Wilson (13-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Yoshiyuki Yoshida via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] The two fighters circle. Wilson flicks out a couple of jabs, then an unconventinal looping right hand. Yoshida easily side-steps it, but trips and falls to the ground! He is up quickly, before Wilson could get in. Replays confirm that it was purely a stumble, the punch was well wide of the mark. Yoshida 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, Wilson is a little rattled. They struggle in the clinch, both throwing small punches to the back and ribs. The referee separates them. Wilson forces Yoshida back up against the cage, and starts throwing jabs. He looks to be keeping Yoshida in position, waiting to unload a big punch. Wilson does, lunging in with a huge right cross, but Yoshida saw it coming and goes underneath it, scoring with a right hand to the gut on the way past. Wilson turns and tries to follow up immediately, but gets tagged with a wicked left hook that drops him to one knee. Wilson is up quickly, causing Yoshida, who was about to dive in, to back off. Replays show that the punch connected, but Wilson was already going downward to duck the punch, so it wasn't as powerful as first thought. Wilson throws a high kick, but it doesn't do anything but cause Yoshida to step back. The time expires without anything further of note happening. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Yoshida by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Yoshida throws the first punch of the round, a high searching jab that didn't carry a great deal of threat with it. Wilson throws a one-two combination in return, neither connecting, then steps in and delivers a hard kick to the outside of the thigh. Yoshida 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. Wilson hits a knee to the ribs. A couple of shots to the back from Yoshida. They struggle all the way back, with Yoshida ending up backed up against the cage. Wilson hits another knee, but there wasn't much power behind it. Yoshida stomps downward onto his foot. Yoshida manages to reverse their positions, but that only lasts about thirty seconds before it gets reversed once more. Wilson gets an arm free and tries to throw a big shot to the cheek, Yoshida ducks under it and gets the arm back under control. The referee finally breaks them up, and we're back to where we started. Yoshida tries a high kick to start, but Wilson saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Wilson who gets the first sustained attack of the round, hitting two hard body shots and a jab that caught Yoshida on the nose. Yoshida hits a straight right, enough to stop Wilson 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 gives that one to Wilson by 10-9[/B]. [B][U]Round 3[/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 Yoshida, who then has to react quickly to avoid a right hook that was aimed right at the chin. Yoshida 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. Wilson covered up well, and gets in a couple of shots of his own before moving out of range again. Wilson glances at the referee, not sure why. Low kick from Wilson, 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 Yoshida will take the round on points. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Yoshida by 10-9. The official scores are: 29-28 (twice), 30-27 for Yoshiyuki Yoshida.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes:[/B] Yoshida is now 2-0 in the UFC and will be hoing to break through to the top ten Welterweights after this win over the #10 Welterweight Chris Wilson. He wasn't as dominant this time around though. [B][CENTER]Ed Herman (14-5) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-10) Sherdog's Prediction: Jonathan Goulet via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Goulet starts fast, unleashing a bomb of a right hand, but Herman avoids it without too much trouble. Goulet isn't disheartened though, swinging two more huge punches, with Herman getting out the way each time, but being forced all over the place. Goulet finally backs off a little, breathing hard. That was quite a frantic start. Herman opts to use that, and comes in to throw some jabs. Goulet is backed up against the cage, covering up. Herman clinches. They struggle, and the fight enters a lull. Goulet hits a knee strike to the hip. Herman slips one leg behind Goulet and uses that as leverage for a big trip. Goulet landed hard, with Herman on top. They're in half guard. It's to Goulet's advantage that they're right next to the cage, that is blocking Herman from attacking the left hand side of the body. Goulet is forced into action to defend a kimura attempt. Herman tries to step over to mount, but Goulet keeps his legs in position and ends up almost rolled into a ball. Herman 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. Goulet doesn't appear to be trying that though, instead trying to shift his weight so that he can get back up. Herman isn't allowing it though, and gets a couple more punches in before settling back into half guard. Goulet ties him up in a snug clinch. The action halts, and time expires before Herman can get free. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Herman. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Slow start to the round, nearly a minute has gone by without anything but a few jabs finding gloves. Herman comes in, looking for a grapple it seems, but takes a powerful kick just above the left hip. Goulet really put some venom into that strike. Herman backs off, clearly stung. Goulet 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. Herman ducks and moves out of range, but that was clearly intended to be a match-ender, Goulet 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 Herman is looking to have a hard time countering them. On top of that, the threat of the kicks is keeping Herman from getting in too close. Goulet stalks Herman, throwing the occasional high right hand, perhaps range-finding. Herman 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. Goulet hits a knee, but takes one right back. The kicks aren't a danger from this position, that's for sure. Goulet squirms free, but foolishly lost his concentration for a second and took a hard right hand above the eye in the process. Silly mistake. Herman comes in, looking more confident now, and gets in a couple of right hands and a lovely hook to the body. Goulet tags him with a jab though, and then hits another fearsome kick to the same spot above the left hip. And another! Herman backs off, and a huge red mark has appeared in that spot. Goulet advances and throws another head kick, but it is mostly blocked by the hands of Herman. The round is drawing to a close, and those kicks have certainly proved massively effective for Goulet. The second round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-8 to Goulet. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Not much happening at first. Herman is the first to make a move, coming in with a right hand that narrowly misses. Goulet gets in a jab that landed on the left cheek of Herman, and leaves a mark. Quite a slow paced round so far. Herman takes another jab and moves in to retaliate, but it was a set-up and he gets creamed with a high right kick to the side of the head! Herman stumbles but doesn't go down, and has to cover up as Goulet comes in with a series of punches to try and finish the job. Herman somehow manages to hold on long enough to get his senses back, and buys some time by clinching. Hard knee from Herman from the clinch, and Goulet felt that, he looks a little tired from unloading that barrage. They break, and Herman gets in a nice right hand. Goulet looks to be working an angle. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Goulet by 10-9. The official scores are: 29-27 (twice), 30-26 for Jonathan Goulet.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: * [B]Notes:[/B] Goulet is back to winning ways and starts off with a win in the Middleweight division. He lost the first round but he rallied in the second and dominated and then took the third for the decision win. [B][CENTER]Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (29-6) Sherdog's Prediction: Ben Rothwell via Split Decision[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Vera leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, Rothwell 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. Rothwell uses a knee to the ribs before backing Vera up against the cage. Right hand from Vera connects though, that was well timed. Rothwell breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, Vera was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from Rothwell sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. Vera fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. Rothwell seems to be growing in confidence over the past thirty seconds. He has just come up with four good separate straight rights, although I don't think any of them did too much damage. He moves in for another, but takes a wicked kick from Vera. Rothwell looks wobbly, and his hands drop. Vera sees it, and comes in with a solid right hand that drops Rothwell to the mat. Vera follows up with more punches, and the referee has to get in there and stop it, Rothwell was not defending himself properly. [B]I think it's the kick that did the most damage, it seemed to scramble his brains. The official time of the TKO is 3:47 of round 1. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Vera with a great win here, but if Rothwell loses his next fight he may be out. Vera will be happy to be back to winning. [B][CENTER]Tomasz Drwal (14-2) vs. James Irvin (13-5) Sherdog's Prediction: Tomasz Drwal via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Tentative start, neither fighter is willing to commit yet. Drwal fires off a jab, but it was easily blocked. Irvin fakes a kick, then comes in hard and fast with a takedown, sending Drwal to the floor. The momentum causes Irvin to almost go completely over the top though, and Drwal is able to flip him to the side and end up on top, in the guard position. The fight falls into a lull as a pattern develops; Drwal punctuating attempts to pass guard with some sharp punches to the body and face, while Irvin parries away any big blows and puts all of his effort into making sure Drwal doesn't get a better position. Things heat up as Drwal manages to break the guard and get through into a half mount. Irvin hits a nice clean right hand in response. Drwal 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. Irvin knows that having the leg trapped is his key to not ending up in huge trouble, and so has it locked up tight. Drwal tries a half-hearted attempt at a kimura, but Irvin defends it well. The round ends with Drwal still unable to transition into side control, although he has landed enough shots to have lit up Irvin's upper body with red marks, and definitely won the round on points. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Drwal by 10-9. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Drwal hits a nice left hook. Irvin felt it, and throws a ragged punch in response, missing by a mile. Drwal comes in close and hits a couple of big body shots, bobbing out of the way of the jabs that were aimed for his jaw. Irvin clinches up, but gets pushed all the way back to the cage, where Drwal uses a trip to send them both down to the ground. Irvin has the guard held very high. Drwal throws a big right hand, but almost puts himself right into a triangle as a result, and he is forced to fight free. Irvin throws a punch and it lands right above the nose. Drwal throws four massive punches as a response, threatening to try and knock Irvin right through the canvas, Irvin is forced to simply cover up and try to survive. Drwal is controlling the round from this position, although it has to be said that he hasn't yet truly looked like he can stop the match from here. Irvin moves to butterfly guard and then tries to scramble back up, but Drwal stops that by throwing another set of big punches, forcing Irvin to go back to the full guard. The round ends with them still like that, with Drwal having totally controlled the round from the guard. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Drwal. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Irvin starts brightly by throwing some looping punches. Defended well by Drwal. They circle, throwing tentative jabs. Drwal goes for a single leg and puts Irvin on the floor, but he is up very quickly, preventing Drwal from getting on top. Irvin definitely seems to want to keep this standing. Drwal hits a nice jab, avoids a counter left hook, then comes in low and takes down Irvin again. This time Irvin isn't able to get up, and has to pull guard. Times ticking away though, Drwal will have to hurry to finish. He goes for an armbar, but Irvin defends. Drwal tries to slip past to get side control, but Irvin just about manages to keep guard. A second attempt works though, and Drwal has the side. Two big elbows land, and Irvin seems in trouble. Drwal 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 is over. [B]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Drwal. The judges scores are unanimous, and give a score of 30-27 to Tomasz Drwal.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes:[/B] Comfortable win here for Drwal and he will look to get a streak going to break into the top ten now, while Irvin will just look for a win. [B][CENTER]Tyson Griffin (11-2) vs. Duane Ludwig (16-8) Sherdog's Prediction: Tyson Griffin via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Ludwig 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. Griffin dealt with them well though, avoiding the first two and parrying the uppercut away. Griffin fakes a takedown, causing Ludwig to back up, ready to sprawl. Ludwig stalks Griffin, forcing him back toward the cage. Ludwig moves in, looking to throw another big shot, but Griffin springs forward and connects with a great punch, crunching his fist into the cheek. Ludwig goes down! Griffin tries to pounce and pound his way to victory, but Ludwig has enough awareness to ensnare Griffin in the guard position as he dives in. Griffin tries to work free from the guard, but can't. Ludwig reaches up to try and bring Griffin down into a clinch, but the attempt gets swatted away. Griffin fires off a couple of punches, leaning forward to get some leverage, and Ludwig is forced to cover up. Griffin switches and starts firing off some rapid-fire shots to the chest, Ludwig deals with it by pulling the guard tighter and punching upward. Griffin looks like he is happy to sit there and throw punches at his leisure, with no real effort to pass guard. Ludwig occasionally tries to roll his hips to get free, but it may be that he has realised that this round is beyond saving, and is just making sure that he doesn't put himself into a position to be knocked out or submitted by trying to escape. Indeed, time ticks away with nothing breaking the pattern of occasional strikes and defensive positioning. End of round 1. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Griffin. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Griffin throws a low kick early on, although it missed. Ludwig flicks out a couple of jabs, trying to work an angle. He steps in to throw a body shot but gets caught with a left hook. Ludwig stumbles backwards, falling on his ass, stunned. Griffin charges in and throws a knock out powered right hand, but Ludwig parries it and brings his legs around Griffin's waist to pull guard. The fight falls into a lull as a pattern develops; Griffin punctuating attempts to pass guard with some sharp punches to the body and face, while Ludwig parries away any big blows and puts all of his effort into making sure Griffin doesn't get a better position. Things heat up as Griffin manages to break the guard and get through into a half mount. Ludwig hits a nice clean right hand in response. Griffin 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. Ludwig knows that having the leg trapped is his key to not ending up in huge trouble, and so has it locked up tight. Griffin tries a half-hearted attempt at a kimura, but Ludwig defends it well. The round ends with Griffin still unable to transition into side control, although he has landed enough shots to have lit up Ludwig's upper body with red marks, and definitely won the round on points. The 2nd round ends. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Griffin. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Ludwig starts fast, unleashing a bomb of a right hand, but Griffin avoids it without too much trouble. Ludwig isn't disheartened though, swinging two more huge punches, with Griffin getting out the way each time, but being forced all over the place. Ludwig finally backs off a little, breathing hard. That was quite a frantic start. Griffin opts to use that, and comes in to throw some jabs. Ludwig is backed up against the cage, covering up. Griffin clinches. They struggle, and the fight enters a lull. Ludwig hits a knee strike to the hip. Griffin slips one leg behind Ludwig and uses that as leverage for a big trip. Ludwig landed hard, with Griffin on top. They're in half guard. It's to Ludwig's advantage that they're right next to the cage, that is blocking Griffin from attacking the left hand side of the body. Ludwig is forced into action to defend a kimura attempt. Griffin tries to step over to mount, but Ludwig keeps his legs in position and ends up almost rolled into a ball. Griffin 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. Ludwig doesn't appear to be trying that though, instead trying to shift his weight so that he can get back up. Griffin isn't allowing it though, and gets a couple more punches in before settling back into half guard. Ludwig ties him up in a snug clinch. The action halts, and time expires before Griffin can get free. The third round is over. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Griffin by 10-9. Tyson Griffin wins, with a score of 30-27 from two judges, 29-28 from the other.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: ** [B]Notes[/B]: Griffin gets back on track with a win here over Ludwig. He will hope to get a few more and then hopefully a title shot. [B][CENTER]Matt Hughes (41-7) vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5) Sherdog's Prediction: Matt Hughes via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Hughes throws the first punch of the round, a high searching jab that didn't carry a great deal of threat with it. Lytle throws a one-two combination in return, neither connecting, then steps in and delivers a hard kick to the outside of the thigh. Hughes 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. Lytle hits a knee to the ribs. A couple of shots to the back from Hughes. They struggle all the way back, with Hughes ending up backed up against the cage. Lytle hits another knee, but there wasn't much power behind it. Hughes stomps downward onto his foot. Hughes manages to reverse their positions, but that only lasts about thirty seconds before it gets reversed once more. Lytle gets an arm free and tries to throw a big shot to the cheek, Hughes ducks under it and gets the arm back under control. The referee finally breaks them up, and we're back to where we started. Hughes tries a high kick to start, but Lytle saw it coming and easily avoids it. They come back together in the center, and it's Lytle who gets the first sustained attack of the round, hitting two hard body shots and a jab that caught Hughes on the nose. Hughes hits a straight right, enough to stop Lytle 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 Lytle. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Right hand from Hughes was thrown with power, but bounced off the gloves of Lytle. Hughes follows up by coming in close, but Lytle is ready with a straight right hand that glances off the side of the head. Lytle hits a right hand above Hughes's right eye, but gets clinched up before he can do anything further. Hughes forces him back against the cage. They struggle, with Lytle keeping the takedown from happening by pulling away from every trip attempt. Hughes pushes Lytle into the cage, then sweeps the legs quickly. Lytle couldn't get out of the way that time, and goes down. He pulls guard. Hughes drops a bomb of a right hand, smashing into the hands of Lytle and forcing them back into his face. Another right hand finds its way through, landing right above the eye, stunning Lytle. With his opponent's wits scrambled, Hughes moves from the guard into a mount with ease, and starts unloading with rights and lefts. Lytle tries to cover up, but is getting decimated, and the referee is forced to come in and pull Hughes off, signalling the win. [B]Official time of the TKO is 1:32 of the second.[/B] [B]Rating:[/B] ** [B]Notes:[/B] I bet Matt Hughes fans worldwide were worried after he lost that first round, but Hughes rallied and won via 2nd round TKO. [B][U][CENTER]Maincard[/CENTER][/U][/B] [B][CENTER]Forrest Griffin (15-5) vs. Kendall Grove (9-5) Sherdog's Prediction: Forrest Griffin via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Griffin starts fast, firing off several crisp jabs that keep Grove on the back foot. A solid left hits gloves, but it's really just a set-up for Griffin to step in and use an uppercut. Not sure how much of it caught Grove, but certainly enough to to make him grab a clinch to stop any further punishment. Great start to the round from Griffin, it has been total domination so far. The clinch is broken, and the two fighters exchange some long range jabs that are easily avoided. Grove is looking a little lost so far, Griffin is controlling this round by virtue of his crisp accurate punches and higher aggression levels. Grove narrowly misses a right cross. Griffin leads with the left, then moves in and gets in a wicked right hand that grazes the cheek. Grove was fortunate there, if that had landed properly it would have been over. Grove comes back with a leg kick to set up a one-two combination, but the round is coming to a close and it's going to be too little too late. The one bright spot for Grove is that although Griffin clearly won the round, he didn't actually turn that dominance into any sort of real damage. End of round 1. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Griffin. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Griffin starts tentatively, and scores with a few sharp leg kicks. A straight left connects, and Grove is forced backward to avoid an uppercut. Good start from Griffin. Grove tries to come inside, but eats a kick to the thigh. They clinch briefly, but it goes nowhere. Looping right hand from Grove, but it only caught Griffin on the shoulder. Another kick connects from Griffin, and that sets up a nice combination to the body. The accuracy of his kicks has been excellent so far, and is keeping Grove from doing very much. Grove looks to be working an angle. Right hand from Grove, that one definitely registered, but I don't think it had much power behind it. The time ticks away without anything further of interest happening. The 2nd round ends. [B]Sherdog.com gives that one to Griffin by 10-8. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Griffin puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Grove defended well. Straight right from Grove 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, Griffin probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Grove 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 Griffin. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Griffin. The official scores are in; two judges give 30-26, the other 29-27, all for Forrest Griffin. [/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Griffin with a dominant decision win over Grove here. In a win or two more a title shot may be on the horizon for Forrest. [B][CENTER]Shinya Aoki (16-2) vs. Rich Clementi (32-12-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Shinya Aoki via Submission[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Clementi is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Aoki blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Clementi is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Aoki is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Clementi 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 Clementi some problems later on. Clementi 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. Aoki is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Clementi 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 Clementi 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. Clementi goes for a trip, but Aoki 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 Aoki may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. The first round is over. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Aoki. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Tentative start to the round, the fighters are circling. Aoki throws out a couple of range-finding jabs, but they aren't anything that will trouble Clementi. Kick to the thigh from Clementi, but it lacked power. Both fighters circle. Aoki clinches with Clementi. A quick trip sends Clementi falling backward, pulling guard to take Aoki down with him. Aoki moves from the guard and gets side control. He is trying for the mount, but Clementi is defending it. There's a small lull as Aoki continues to try and get the mount. There it is, Clementi finally couldn't stop it. Aoki starts firing off punches, and Clementi has nowhere to go. A big elbow gets through. A right hand lands on the nose of Clementi. The referee is watching intently, I don't think he's going to let this go much longer unless Clementi can come up with some answers. Aoki hits another big elbow. And another. [B]The referee leaps in, it's over! The official time is 1:30.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Confident win here for Aoki that could push him upto the #1 spot in the LIghtweight rankings. [B][CENTER]Tim Sylvia (24-4) vs. Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1) Sherdog's Prediction: Fabrico Werdum via Split Decision[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Slow start, both fighters are throwing tentative punches without threatening anything more powerful. Sylvia puts together the first exciting moment, stringing together four punches in quick succession, but Werdum defended well. Straight right from Werdum 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, Sylvia probably getting the slightly better punches in, and then fall into a clinch. That goes nowhere, and the referee separates them. Werdum 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 Sylvia. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores 10-9 Sylvia. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Flat start to the round, thirty seconds of circling without any actual contact. The fans begin to get a bit restless. Sylvia is the first to try something, stringing together a couple of jabs and a low kick, but Werdum blocked the first two and avoided the latter. A lunge from Sylvia is meant to set up a punch, but it's clumsy and just leaves him off balance. Werdum is quick to react, and gets a great shot to the side of the face in before Sylvia 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 Sylvia some problems later on. Sylvia 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. Werdum is staying on it though, and glances three shots off the gloves of Sylvia 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 Sylvia 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. Sylvia goes for a trip, but Werdum 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 Werdum may prove decisive. As the round comes to an end, they wind up back in another clinch, with nothing coming of it. End of round 2. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Werdum[/B]. [B][U]Round 3[/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. Sylvia gets a knee to the ribs in, but it wasn't particularly hard. They break. Tentative long range jabs from both fighters. Werdum with a low sweeping kick, but it was telegraphed. Sylvia comes in quick but misses a kick. Werdum with a straight right, another, but then walks right into a solid punch. That certainly connected, the crowd could clearly hear it. Werdum backs up quickly, almost on instinct; his hands are down by his side, and he looks glassy eyed and unsteady on his feet. The referee quickly steps in and ends the fight, stopping Sylvia from following up. It'll go down as a TKO for Sylvia. As Sylvia celebrates, the doctor is quickly in to check on Werdum. From the looks of things, he may have been dealt a concussion with that punch to the jaw, as he doesn't look like he knows where he is. [B]Sylvia wins via TKO at 1:14 of the third round.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes:[/B] Sylvia will be hoping this gets him the #3 or even #2 spot in the Heavyweight ranking so he will be right in line for a title shot. It was a very good fight with Sylvia winning the first and Werdum winning the second and then Sylvia wins with the TKO finish in the third. [B][CENTER]Thiago Silva (14-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (15-2) Sherdog's Prediction: Thiago Silva via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Silva doesn't waste any time, scoring with a big right hook almost immediately. Mendes was caught sleeping, and that really landed hard, if it had been more accurate it might have been a knock out blow. Mendes hits two sharp body shots in return, but it's clear that he is rattled. Mendes glances at the referee, not sure why. They get in close and exchange punches, it's not clear who got the better of that. Silva hits a good looping punch to the side of the head, that's another one that's rattled Mendes. Silva is getting more force behind his punches at the moment, and that's the key difference. Other than a few half-hearted jabs, there's been a definite lull over the past minute. Time ticks away, and Mendes offers nothing that would make you think that he has any chance of winning this round on points. That's the end of the round. [B]Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 to Silva.[/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Silva comes out strongly, looking for an early knock down, but three crisp jabs all get blocked, and Mendes ties him up in a clinch inside of the first thirty seconds. They struggle in the clinch for a while. Silva breaks free and steps back. Mendes tries to follow, but takes a harsh kick to the hip as a result. Silva moves in and throws some high speed jabs. Mendes defends them fairly easily, and throws a right hand, narrowly missing. Silva thunders another kick into the hip area. Mendes backs off, limping slightly. Mendes fakes a takedown, allowing him to bring out a left cross from way down. Silva manages to parry it away, but it glances off the side of his head nonetheless. Mendes tries to capitalise, coming in with a looping overhand right, but Silva 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. Mendes is having real trouble finding a way past those kicks, they are so powerful that they're allowing Silva 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]Sherdog.com has it down as 10-9 Silva. [/B] [B][U]Round 3[/U][/B] Silva isn't hanging around, right from the start Mendes is forced onto the back foot by four hard shots, although none of them get through the gloves. Mendes circles, steps in, then unloads a combination of punches, but Silva weaves out of the way and scores with a beauty of a right hand, glancing above the right eye. That was some lovely counter punching from Silva, the timing had to be perfect and it was. Mendes is looking a bit frustrated, and uncorks a ragged-looking uppercut that missed by several inches. Silva really should have taken advantage of that mistake, Mendes was wide open for a moment there. Silva hits a high kick, catching Mendes on the shoulder. Jab from Mendes finds the mark, but it didn't have much power behind it as he was leaning backward too much. Silva fires off a couple of straight punches in response, but only finds gloves. They clinch, and the fight enters a lull. Mendes scores with a knee from the clinch, it landed around the hip area of Silva, who responds with a couple of shots to the ribs. The time runs out with them still clinched though. End of the round. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Silva. All three judges give a score of 30-27 to Thiago Silva.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: *** [B]Notes[/B]: Silva will be really happy with this comfortable decision win here. He will be hoping to move up quite a few ranking spots after this win. [B][CENTER]UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (21-4) vs. Karo Parisyan (19-4) Sherdog's Prediction: Anderson Silva via TKO[/CENTER][/B] [B][U]Round 1[/U][/B] Silva's straight right hand punch finds its mark early, tagging Parisyan below the right eye, leaving a mark. Parisyan throws a couple of strikes in return, but can't find a way past the gloves. Silva keeps Parisyan off balance by switching between looping punches, low kicks, and plenty of jabs. Parisyan can't work an angle under the barrage, and backs off. Silva tries to press the advantage, but Parisyan is quick to clinch up. Parisyan goes for a trip but Silva kicks it away. Parisyan drops down and tries for a single leg, but Silva bends down and blocks it. There's an awkward moment as neither can do a great deal. Parisyan eventually releases the leg and gets back into the clinch. Silva hits a knee, and they part. Parisyan throws a nice kick. Silva gets in close enough to hit a kick to the body, then darts back out of range. He repeats the trick, this time replacing the kick with a hard right hand. It appears that he is using 'hit and run' tactics, and Parisyan isn't coping with it yet. Silva goes for it again, and this time almost gets taken down as Parisyan times it well and shoots in. Silva sprawls to block the first attempt, then scrabbles free on the second push, getting out from the side. Parisyan was very close then. Silva keeps Parisyan back, throwing kicks. The action unfortunately peters out, with Parisyan unable to get in close enough to go for a takedown, Silva unwilling to risk the takedown by coming in and throwing strikes. The time eventually runs out on the round. The round is over. [B]Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Silva. [/B] [B][U]Round 2[/U][/B] Silva leads with the right hand to set up a low kick, Parisyan 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. Parisyan uses a knee to the ribs before backing Silva up against the cage. Right hand from Silva connects though, that was well timed. Parisyan breaks the clinch and backs off. That was sloppy on his part, Silva was basically gifted a free shot. Three quick jabs from Parisyan sting the gloves, then a crashing hook to the body finds its mark. Good recovery. Silva fires off a low kick again, but it's well wide. Parisyan works a nice angle and scores with a nice right hand to the body. Silva doesn't seem to pay it much attention though. He steps in and throws two sharp jabs, the first hitting gloves, the second grazing off the left shoulder. Parisyan throws a reckless left hook, then steps in. Silva throws a head kick in response, and it lands flush! Parisyan is out cold from the second it hits, and plummets to the ground completely limp. Silva doesn't even bother following up, he knew that was the match-ender as soon as it connected. [B]Silva wins via 2nd round knock out with the official time being 3:42. Anderson Silva retains the UFC Middleweight title.[/B] [B]Rating[/B]: **** [B]Notes[/B]: Anderson Silva with another dominant performance here. He hasn't been out of the second round since 2004. Karo loses his first Middleweight matches but it won't matter too much as it was to Anderson Silva. Next for Karo will probably be Rich or Henderson. Next for Silva is a mystery. [B][U]Post Show News Fighter Bonuses[/U][/B] Submission of the Night: N/A Knock Out of the Night: Anderson Silva Fight of the Night: Anderson Silva vs. Karo Parisyan [B][U]Injuries[/U][/B] Fabrico Werdum suffered a concussion last night during his fight with Tim Sylvia and will be out for 3 months. Also Antonio Mendes has suffered a back injury and will be out for 1 month. [B][U]Resignings[/U][/B] Forrest Griffin, Tomasz Drwal, Matt Hughes, Karo Parisyan, Rich Clemanti and Tyson Griffin will all be signing new contracts soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 [CENTER][IMG]http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wackyplanetshop/ufc-section-banner.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][U][CENTER][SIZE="5"]New Rankings After UFC 89[/SIZE][/CENTER][/U][/B] [CENTER]UFC have released the new rankings following their UFC 89 event.[/CENTER] [B][U]Lightweight[/U][/B] 1. Sean Sherk 2. Shinya Aoki +1 3. Roger Huerta -1 4. BJ Penn 5. Vitor Ribeiro 6. Din Thomas 7. Tyson Griffin - New Entry 8. Eddie Alvarez 9. Rich Clementi -2 10. Thiago Tavares -1 [B][U]Welterweight[/U][/B] 1. George St. Pierre 2. Matt Serra +1 3. Thiago Alves +1 4. Matt Hughes +3 5. Akihiro Gono 6. Kuniyoshi Hironaka 7. Yoshiyuki Yoshida - New Entry 8. Dan Hardy 9. Jon Fitch 10. Josh Koscheck - New Entry [B][U]Middleweight[/U][/B] 1. Rich Franklin 2. Anderson Silva 3. Patrick Cote 4. Nate Marquardt 5. Forrest Griffin - New Entry 6. Gregard Mousasi -1 7. Dan Henderson -1 8. Karo Parisyan - New Entry 9. Joey Villasenor -2 10. Jonathan Goulet - New Entry [B][U]Light Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua 3. Wanderlei Silva 4. Thiago Silva +3 5. Keith Jardine -1 6. Lyoto Machida -1 7. Tomasz Drwal - New Entry 8. Wilson Gouveia 9. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 10. Chuck Liddell [B][U]Heavyweight[/U][/B] 1. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 2. Tim Sylvia +2 3. Andrei Arlovski -1 4. Fedor Emelianenko -1 5. Cheick Kongo 6. Pedro Rizzo 7. Sergei Kharitonov +1 8. Randy Couture +1 9. Heath Herring +1 10. Chris Tuchscherer - New Entry [B][U]P4P[/U][/B] 1. Quinton Jackson 2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 3. Rich Franklin 4. Anderson Silva +1 5. George St. Pierre -1 6. Tim Sylvia - New Entry 7. Sean Sherk 8. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua -2 9. Shinya Aoki 10. Roger Huerta -2 [B]Biggest Jump this month[/B]: Matt Hughes/Thiago Silva: Matt Hughes and Thiago Silva both jumped up 3 spots this month after they both won their respective bout. Hughes returned to winning ways with a second rounf TKO of Chris Lytle. He would of been worried after he lost the first round though but he came back like the great fighter he is. He will likely fight either Akihiro Gono or Kuniyoshi Hironaka next. Thiago Silva jumped to #4 in the Light Heavyweight rankings after his Unanimous Decision win over Antonio Mendes. He will likely fight Keith Jardine next. [B]Biggest Drop this month[/B]: Rich Clementi: Clementi dropped two spots in the Lightweight rankings this month after his second round TKO loss to the now #2 Lightweight Shinya Aoki. He will likely fight either Thiago Tavares or Eddie Alvarez next. [B]Most Impressive New Entry[/B]: Forrest Griffin: Griffin made his debut at Middleweight with an impressive and dominant decision win over Kendall Grove. He makes his debut on the Middleweight rankings at an impressive #5. He will likely fight Nate Marquardt next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 [B][U]Prediction Contest[/U][/B] Dustin, rjhabeeb, UFC-KING: 8/11 Tylar Gadzinski: 6/11 So it's a three way tie which is fine. Do you guys want to see Randy fight his last fight at Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight. The 2 options at Heavyweight will be Pedro Rizzo & Brock Lesnar and the 2 options at Light Heavyweight will be Keith Jardine or Lyoto Machida. Please post the weight class you want him to fight in and your choice of Rizzo & Lesnar and also your choice of Jardine & Machida. Because there are three winners I will choose what weight and who by which option gets 2 votes or the full three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFC-KING Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 I want either one of them At LHW : I want Machida At HW : I want Lesnar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 UFC-KING: If both rjhabeeb & Dustin both pick the same weight class it is fine but is they pick different weight classes you will have the deciding vote so you can say now or say when or if the time arises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFC-KING Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 alright i think i will wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris caulfield Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 Thats fine with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Couture vs Machida at LHW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjhabeeb Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Man I'll be the odd man out and for Randy's last fight pick a rematch with Pedro Rizzo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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