Aaron Riley – Ross Pearson: After a tentative feeling out period early, Pearson aggresses more, has better strikes, and good knees in the clinch. 10-9 Pearson. Second saw Riley look to aggress more and takedown, but it wasn’t really working. Pearson just looked a better, more technical striker with a decent muay thai clinch game. Riley was cut very badly late in the round via a knee causing a technical stoppage, likely down two and needing a miracle at that stage anyway.

Matt Brown – James Wilks: Some nice early clinching, Wilks jumping on back, and Brown later angling for chokes. Brown with good combos, forcing Wilks to clinch. Wilks lands a nice kick following a break but can’t follow up. Wilks walks into a standing guillotine, which looked dangerous until he took Brown down. 10-9 Wilks. Brown hurt Wilks with a flying knee early in the second, and looks to pressure. Wilks nearly counters with a leglock. Fight returns to feet, Wilks is slowing. After a split, Brown drops him, but can’t quite finish. Brown somehow allows a gassed Wilks to get to side control. 10-9 Brown. Round 3 was mundane early until a position arises where Wilks looks for a kimura. Doesn’t quite work and Brown survives, falling into mount and ground and pounding his way to a stoppage.

Andre Winner – Rolando Delgado: Winner tags Delgado early, knocking him down. Can’t do much on the ground though. Standup is mundane until Winner connects with a one-hit KO.

Michael Bisping – Denis Kang: Cagey early. Kang catches Bisping with a good counter punch as Bisping came in. Passes to side control, but Bisping defends to half guard. Kang is looking to pass, gets to mount but Bisping shows a much improved bottom game, regaining guard. Kang mounts again later, but Bisping escapes again and almost got an armbar from the bottom. 10-9 Kang despite him doing no damage from a dominant position. Second round saw Bisping takedown Kang following more cagey standup. Lands some good shots. Takes him back down later. Kang gets busted open. One more takedown and Kang looks to turtle, Bisping stopping him soon after to get back on track.

Alex Gustaffson – Jared Hamman: Basically a very good 40 second striking cameo, Gustaffson getting the TKO. Quick but worth watching.

Mike Swick – Dan Hardy: Round 1 is tight with lots of clinching. Swick is the one trying to take it to the ground more. 10-10. Round 2 sees Hardy catch Swick early, who is able to clinch and relieve pressure. Clinch goes on for a good couple of minutes, Hardy being unable to take him down. Strikes in the clinch were fairly even. After a break, neither was able to land too much of note, 10-9 Hardy. The striking is more effective from both in the third, and somewhat wild. Hardy is able to hurt Swick, clinches again looking for a takedown, which this time he makes. Elbows from the guard by Hardy are useful, and Swick’s attempts to sub from the bottom are nowhere near. They get stood up and the last two minutes wind down without much of note. 10-9 and 30-28 Hardy, who will now get owned by GSP.

Randy Couture – Brandon Vera: Vera hits a nice shot early. Couture is able to clinch but does nothing. Manages to take him down from the clinch following a separation, but cannot keep Vera down. 10-9 to Couture, basically just on octagon control, in an instantly forgettable first. Vera tries to keep outside more in the second. Couture is still able to work inside and clinch. They are separated (too slowly), and Vera lands a great kick, knocking down Couture, who pulls to guard. Neither look to do much from there, it’s stood up and following that they clinch with little happening. 10-9 Vera. Third sees Couture looking to clinch again, except this time with better striking leading upto it and whilst in the clinch. They are separated again, and Vera lands good body kicks. Couture takes it to the clinch again, but Vera takes Couture down and mounts him. Couture holds him so he cannot do much from the mount, and after giving up his back rolls to his feet. Wild exchanges late. Vera looks to have done enough to win 10-9 and 29-28, but the judges all score it 29-28 Couture. But for that questionable decision, the fight isn’t worth viewing again.

You cannot sell the bear’s fur before you have killed the bear…That’s what he is doing, he is putting the cart ahead of the horse and come Saturday night I am going to burst his bubble.

Kang to Fighters Only.

Apparently that wasn’t the cliché of the day as Kang said later in the interview, “
Its gonna sound like a cliché, like a generic answer, but every fight I make it out to be my toughest opponent yet.”

Bisping, who said to Fighters Only that he’s looking forward to knocking out Kang, may be in trouble. Last I checked, Denis Kang isn’t a can of soup. Kang who hasn’t had a meaningful win since ’06, is still a dangerous opponent for Bisping. Bisping, of course, looked like a fresh salmon in his memorable TKFO loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100.

Remember, it's FREE on Spike!

Props: MMAJunkie

MAIN CARD

• Randy Couture (204) vs. Brandon Vera (204)
• Dan Hardy (171) vs. Mike Swick (170)
• Michael Bisping (186) vs. Denis Kang (185)
• Matt Brown (170) vs. James Wilks (169)
• Ross Pearson (156) vs. Aaron Riley (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• John Hathaway (170) vs. Paul Taylor (170)
• Terry Etim (155) vs. Shannon Gugerty (155)
• Nick Osipczak (170) vs. Matthew Riddle (171)
• Paul Kelly (156) vs. Dennis Siver (155)
• Alexander Gustafsson (203) vs. Jared Hamman (204)
• Roli Delgado (156) vs. Andre Winner (155)

Some final thoughts before tomorrow’s event:

• The prelim side has some awesome fights (Gustafsson/Hamman, Hathaway/Taylor, Kelly/Siver).  I really hope we get to see at least one of those fights.
• Pearson/Riley should be a good first fight on the main card.  I like both guys, Riley is a crowd-pleaser, and Ross just seems like a good dude.  Hopefully this bout sets the precedent for the rest of the fighters to come out and give it their all in front of the UK fans.
• I think Matt Brown is going to beat the shit out of Wilks.  Wilks definitely has some legit grappling skills, but overall, I think Brown is the more experienced and tested of the two.  Brown’s also got some excellent striking, I think he’ll dominate the TUF 9 winner.
• I thought Bisping looked ready to go at the weigh-ins, motivated, lean, and ready to take the fight to Kang.  Denis also looked really pumped, and I expect a good show from both guys.
• Hard and Swick got in each others faces a little bit, and as much hype that this fight has been getting, I think it’ll be a very lackluster battle.  Regardless of who wins (I predict Hardy), I don’t think either guy will be able to thwart the reign that Georges St. Pierre has instilled on the welterweight division.  I don’t know how the UFC will promote a fight between the winner of this fight and Rush.
• Randy and Vera both looked good, ready to go to war.  I have a feeling that this is going to be a “passing of the torch” type of fight, and I think Vera will TKO the MMA legend in the 2nd round with his superior striking skills.  If Randy wins, and wins dominantly, he’ll no doubt be considered a front-runner for Lyoto Machida’s title AFTER he and Shogun rematch.

Remember, the event airs for free on Spike tomorrow night.  The airing on Spike will be a tape-delay, NOT LIVE, so if you’re planning on viewing it live, you better have some hook-up over in the UK.  Most MMA news sites will be covering the event live though, so beware of spoilers and all that other shit.  Enjoy.

Fedor Emelianenko

UFC 105

I haven’t written any of these in a long time because no one reads them but screw it, I’m doing it anyway.  I didn’t miss a whole lot other than some really bad decisions robbing great fighters like Hatsou Hioki and more notably Shogun Rua.  Last weekend we got to see Fedor Emelianenko back in action against a top ten heavyweight, Brett Rogers, who was undefeated, and unlike the UFC’s prized undefeated prospects (e.g. Shane Carwin and Cain Velazquez) Rogers beat a former UFC champion in under 30 seconds.  If Fedor took the easy road at Strikeforce then even Dana White and other detractors can admit Rogers is still an extremely hard puncher with a chance against anyone.  Besides, if Fedor had three fights in the UFC instead, would they really pose more of a threat?  I still think so, primarily because Brock Lesnar looked so dominant against a seemingly prepared Frank Mir, but beyond that how are any of UFC’s other heavies better than guys like Werdum and Overeem?  Regardless, let’s make no mistake about it, I’m convinced that Fedor would defeat Brock Lesnar right now.  He repeatedly encounters adversity and his resourcefulness, speed, toughness, and determination keep him out of any serious trouble.  Other than his fights against Hong Man Choi and a smaller Matt Lindland, Fedor has fought and beat top guys for almost ten years.  Detractors point to former UFC champions Tim Sylvia and Arlovski as has-beens, but Tim Sylvia had just fought Big Nog for the UFC title only five months before Fedor, and Arlovski went through five straight fighters, four of which were arguably top twenty heavyweights in the world, before being stopped by Fedor in the first round.  Both fighters stock has plummeted since but Fedor is often the beginning of the end for some guys.  He outclasses guys in and out of the ring.  Dana White should take note, the hardcorel MMA fan is cynical enough to see through his more often than not silly and immature UFC elitism.  None of that matters though, because everyone wants to see Fedor fight Brock and both sides can be blamed.

Anyway, the UFC has some exciting cards coming up despite injuries and illness to their best guys.  The UFC 105 card, which is generously free on Spike tomorrow night, looks better in my opinion then the once stacked UFC 106 card.  The preliminary card looks like this.

Preliminary Card

• Welterweight bout: Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway
• Lightweight bout: Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty
• Welterweight bout: Nick Osipczak vs. Matthew Riddle
• Lightweight bout: Paul Kelly vs. Dennis Siver
• Light Heavyweight bout: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman
• Lightweight bout: Andre Winner vs. Rolando Delgado

Certainly some potentially exciting fights there but nothing stands out for its significance.  The main card is below with predictions.

Main Card

• Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang: At first there were rumors that Bisping was going to fight Wanderlei.  On the surface at least, Kang seems like a less risky fight but Bisping has always been tentative in going to the ground and now he has something to worry about on his feet after getting knocked out badly in his last fight.  I’m pretty sure his boxing will keep him out of trouble if it stays standing, but Kang is very strong for 185 and can take it to the ground.  I think this fight could go back and forth with Kang taking rounds 2 and 3. Prediction:  Kang by split decision.
• Welterweight bout: James Wilks vs. Matt Brown: Brown has looked very good in his last few fights and obviously someone thought he was ready for a step up as he was scheduled to fight Anthony Johnson until Johnson’s injury.  Wilks is a decent fighter in a sub-par TUF lineup.  If Brown paces himself instead of trying to take Wilks head off he should win and he could dominate.  Prediction:  Brown wins by unanimous decision.
• Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley: Aaron Riley is a tab bit under-appreciated.  His fights have been less than exciting but he has managed to win fights that at the time at least, he probably should not have.  Unfortunately for Pearson his experience is going to be a major factor.  Unfortunately for us this fight will not be exciting, but it’s free so hey.  Prediction:  Riley wins by unanimous decision.
• Welterweight bout: Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy: I love this fight.  Swick has all the tools for success in the welterweight division.  He’s tall, well-rounded, and extremely fast with both his hands and his submissions.  He’d still get stomped by GSP but it’s all relative.  Dan Hardy has not faced the same level of opposition but has shown great muay thai and explosive ground and pound in flashes.  His punches are deceptively sharp and his ground game looks to be pretty decent.  Still, I think he’s bit off more than he can chew, and after tomorrow Swick should be next in line for a shot at the title.  Prediction:  Swick by second round TKO.
• Light Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera:  This is a hard fight to call.  If Vera can capture the restrained, disciplined, and immaculate stand-up he’s had in a few fights at Light Heavyweight and combine it with the ego-maniacal Vera with a killer instinct of his days in the heavyweight division, then he will be a force in the light heavyweight division.  That’s not likely because he simply has not been the same since he tasted defeat.  With Couture, it’s simple, how long can he go?  How long before we see his age set in?  I think he will know before we do because he trains with the best and is the best at training.  Couture is going to take Vera to the clinch and give him a nice slow beating along the cage.  He might be in danger a few times but not like he was against a larger and more dominant ground fighter in Minotauro.  Prediction:  Couture by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto

Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto is a dream fight. I, being half Filipino, am obviously rooting for the Pacman, but I know that Cotto is no joke. A lot of uneducated Filipino fight fans don’t really know who Miguel Cotto is. This man is a straight up killer and has only one loss on his record which looking back on is very controversial. Cotto is the naturally bigger fighter as this bout will be for his 147 lb title. This fight is definitely a size versus speed match-up with Cotto being the big fighter, while Pacquiao will look to utilize his speed. Cotto has very good technical boxing ability, displayed in his fight against Mosely. Pacquiao has been on a tear in his last 2 fights, but looking back on those fights, he took on an over-the-hill, dehydrated De La Hoya, and a fighter in Ricky Hatton who wasn’t really that good. Cotto will be the best he’s ever faced.

So who wins? I know that Pacquiao has looked dominant as of late, but he does have a tendency to get reckless with his punching and he definitely does not like getting hit by these bigger fighters. Cotto has a tendency to take punishment in all his fights and I believe this will be his undoing in this one. I see Pacquiao using his superior speed to blitz Cotto early and often. Cotto has a tough chin, but I see Pacquiao finishing this one off in the 10th. Prediction: Manny Pacquiao 10th Round TKO

Couture vs. Vera

The UFC counters the boxing main event, with a main event of its own featuring a legend in Randy Couture and another Filipino fighter in Brandon Vera. Couture moves down in weight for this fight to 205 lbs. He has looked pretty good in both his fights, albeit losses, but I have noticed that his chin is diminishing. He can’t take shots like he could before. Vera looked unimpressive in his last win. He has been a very frustrating fighter to watch, as I know the potential he has, but he seems to like to play it safe in his bouts. Couture will make him fight in this one, as he loves to push the pace. For some reason, I have a sneaky suspicion we will see Vera’s best performance of his career in this one. Couture’s chin will be his undoing once again in this one. I see this fight as Vera’s breakout performance. Prediction: Brandon Vera 2nd Round TKO

Swick vs. Hardy

Mike Swick and Dan Hardy face off in a bout that should determine the next contender to GSP’s Welterweight Title. Honestly, I think Swick is a boring fighter and a little over hyped. Unfortunately, I think Hardy is a little more over hyped. I think Hardy is in over his head in this bout. Swick seems to have the faster hands and the better overall game. I think Swick rides out a decision in this one, repeatedly catching Hardy with punches and mixing in takedowns. Prediction: Mike Swick Unanimous Decision

Bisping vs. Kang

Michael Bisping looks to bounce back from a devastating loss against Pride Veteran Denis Kang. This could finally be the fight where Denis Kang breaks out into the mainstream. Kang is a very talented veteran of the game with all the tools. Bisping is getting no gimme in this one. Bisping will look to push the pace on Kang. Kang will most likely mix strikes and then pound Bisping on the mat. A couple questions arise when thinking about this fight? How does the knockout loss affect Bisping? And which Kang will show up in this fight? The world beater or the underachiever? I think with Bisping being in his hometown, and Kang’s tendency to not show up in big fights means a close Bisping victory. Prediction: Michael Bisping Split Decision

These next two main card fights are both trap fights. Mike Swick is probably one win away from a title shot. Michael Bisping is one impressive win away from redemption and fighting a top five middleweight. If either of these fighters lose it does less to help their opponents than it does to hurt them.

We’ll start with the original son of England Michael Bisping.

Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
Middleweight non-title bout

Bisping by split decision

Michael Bisping has humbled himself greatly since his devastating loss to Dan Henderson. In his interviews post UFC 100 we have always seen him give accolades to Henderson and to not give excuses for his loss. He’s even seen in the Countdown show poking a little fun at himself when he’s watching film on Kang. “Look he’s circling right……(turns to the camera and smiles) what kind of an idiot would do that?” I think that we’re going to get the old Bisping that is little more reckless than the one we’ve seen recently. I’m hoping that we get to see Bisping free his hands a little with the strikes and take the fight to Kang. I think that his apprehension against Henderson is what cost him and I think that if he can turn his movement forward and keep the pressure on Kang he should be able to grind out a decision. On the other hand, Kang is a hard striker and quite capable on the ground. He has the ability to end the fight whether it be in the stand up or in a submission. Kang has a chance to beat Bisping and it’s realistic. If it happens it will be in round one or two. If this fight goes to a third round it will be in Bisping’s favor.

Now this next fight has been lightly touted as the welterweight number one contender fight however I doubt this is truly the case if Dan Hardy wins.

Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy
Welterweight non title bout

Swick by TKO

Let me first start by saying this fight shouldn’t be happening. If I were Mike Swick I would question making this the top contender fight for me as Josh Koshchek is fighting Anthony Johnson. If the UFC were really forcing the issue they’d make Koshchek fight Swick and Johnson fight Hardy. This way you put two contenders against each other and two up and comers against each other and not American Kickboxing Academy vs. the world. No one would debate that if Johnson and Hardy fought each other that they wouldn’t be ready for a top contender or even a title shot afterward. However if both these guys lose to AKA fighters we’re going to have a top contender issue in the welterweight division. Anyways, I honestly think Swick’s hands are too fast for Hardy to contend with him. After making short work of Ben Saunders which was after making even shorter work of Jonathan Goulet this is kind of a step down in competition for Swick. Not to take anything away from Dan Hardy but his performance against Marcus Davis was not impressive to me. As a matter of fact I didn’t think he won that fight as much as he landed a big knee at the right time. (I don’t want to get into the judging debate in the UFC though we’ll save that for another day) Dan Hardy is going to have to end this fight fairly quickly with a big shot against Swick. Swick will move well as he always does and land shot after shot on Hardy if that doesn’t work he won’t mind taking the fight to the ground and pounding Hardy out. Regardless I don’t see this fight going past round one. If Swick looks past Hardy (who is a very dangerous opponent) then he’s going to sleep in round one.

Main event tomorrow…..

Denis Kang (34-11-1) says that he’s going to test Michael Bisping’s chin in their UFC 105 undercard match. He also claims that fighting in The Count‘s back yard is an advantage, as all the hometown pressure will be on Bisping.

Props: Pirozzi Sports Rush

Both fighters desperately need a win here. Bisping’s level of competition had been questioned for some time leading up to the fight with Henderson, and many people feel he was exposed as a fighter with a padded record. While I’m not one of the people that believes that, it is time for him to prove himself against what I believe is the second toughest test he has faced in his UFC career. He can afford a loss here from a contractual stand point, but losing this fight would derail almost any opportunity for him to get back on the road to contention at 185.

Kang can not afford a loss here. Losing would put him at 1-2 spot in the UFC, with the one win coming by decision over a fighter who is no longer with the UFC. On paper this appears to be a tough match up for Bisping, but Kang’s level of inconsistency through out his career could be the X factor in this fight. The other unknown intangible is whether or not Bisping’s chin has recovered from that devastating knockout.

Bisping has all the pressure in the world on himself here. Fighting in his home country, and fighting to prove that he is truly an elite middleweight. Kang feels no pressure, and feels that he has nothing to lose. Bisping will put up a spirited fight, but he will be out boxed on the feet, and takendown and controlled by Kang throughout the duration of the fight, as Denis Kang walks away with a unanimous decision victory.

Expect the soccer hooligans to begin preparing for a riot. With the first 3 hometown fighters losing their fights on the main card, they can only hope Dan Hardy will be their saving grace.

Bisping, the popular British fighter and Ultimate Fighter 3 winner is set to rebound from a devestating knockout loss at the hands of Dan Henderson at UFC 100.

Bisping wikk face Candian fighter Denis Kang at the event.  Kang has always been a solid fighter and is looking to improve to 2-1 in the UFC.  Kang made his UFC debut at UFC 93 in a loss to Alan Belcher.  Kang rebounded, however with a win over Xavier Foupa-Pokan at UFC 97.

UFC 105 will take place November 14th in England and will air on SPIKE.

We knew Brett Rogers was good, but Arlovski was a top 3 ranked heavyweight in the world.  It did not take Rogers 20 seconds to end Arlovski’s night and to catapolt Rogers into many people’s top 15 list. 

Ray Mercer over Tim Sylvia

Here is the thing…Tim Sylvia is a former UFC heavyweight champ and a near consensus top 10 heavyweight in the world.  This bout was slated to be a boxing match, but was changed to MMA rules last minute.  Mercer is a boxer nearing 50 years old.  He chopped Sylvia down like a giant tree in under 10 seconds.  Sylvia may be done in MMA, he was at the least very embarassed and he should not have lost that fight udner any circumstances. 

Paulo Thiago over Josh Koscheck

Thiago did not look too impressive early in the fight.  Koscheck was picking him apart.  However, a luck punch dropped Kos and caused the ref to stop the fight.  Although some see it is an early stoppage there is no excuse for Koscheck losing this fight.  I guess it is up to his teammate Jon Fitch to avegenge this loss.  Meanwhile, Koscheck took a big step back in the welterweight division.

Joe Warren over Kid Yamamoto

It was a close fight, but Kid is always a favorite to win.  Perhaps ring rust explains it.  However, Warren impressed as he bested Yamamoto and ended his run in the DREAM featherweight grand prix. 

Alan Belcher over Denis Kang

Frank Edgar vs. Sean Sherk

Others Considered: Alan Belcher, Jason Miller, Hector Lombard, Chris Leben

Note: Gegard Mousasi is not ranked with the middleweight because of his intent to move up and his failure to settle on a weight class.  Frank Trigg, who would be ranked will be moving to the UFC welterweight division.  Rich Franklin is headed to light heavyweight for an indefinite period.  Jake Shields could enter in this division once he settles in a weight class and he would certainly fall into the top 10.  Wanderlei Silva enters the middleweight division and is ranked based on the body of work through his career and a competitive showing against Rich Franklin at UFC 99 at 195 lbs.

[Method]
TKO

 Fight technician fans will enjoy this contest. It should prove to be an impressive fight between evenly matched submission artists. 

These two have racked up the experience with over 70 fights between them. Here’s their winning percentages:

The methods of wins are all across the board between these to fighters. Watch for the professor’s flying knees in this contest. I don’t think he’ll score a ko against Kang (as noone ever has) but, the knees should make an appearance. If they do, they will be impressive. I have to go with a win by submission in this fight. Let’s look at the deciding rounds.

The stats make the round choice fairly obvious.

Foupa-Pokam | Submission (armbar) | Round 1 | Min. 3

Kang was once considered one of the elite fighters of the 185-division. Over the last 2 years though, Kang is only 3-4. Kang has been known to make novice mistakes that have derailed his promising striking skills. Kang made his UFC debut against Alan Belcher and was winning the fight, but then got caught in a guillotine choke. Kang now faces an uphill battle to break back into title contention.

Xavier Foupa-Pokam has recessitated his career after compiling a lackluster 8-8 record. He’s since won his last 12 of 13 fights, the only loss coming to Murilo Rua. Foupa-Pokam is an explosive striker who likes to come out early looking for the stoppage.

UFC 97 Middleweight Bout:
Xavier Foupa-Pokam(0-0) vs. Denis Kang(0-1)

Contribute a comment if you want to share your views!

Hey All,

FYI, I’ve been doing most of my writing for MMARatings.net these past few weeks (cause ain’t much happenin’ in NY…hopefully that will all change soon). Checkout my latest story re: UFC 93 by clicking the pic below. 

Mauricio Shogun KO3 Mark Coleman
I have to say I was extremely impressed with Colemans effort and extremely dissappointed in Shogun. First of all on Coleman, as much as I like to rip on the guy because of his old school approach to a fast evolving sport, I’ll always be a fan of his. He showed an iron chin and an almost unmatched determination in there and it’s great that he got a chance to fight on a big show like this and put in a performance like that. His stamina still sucks (which is part of the reason why I like watching him fight as sick as it does sound) and it’ll always restrict him from beating anyone any good but he continued to fight and it wasn’t over until it was over and you always have to respect that no matter how old school his fighting approach is. That’s not to say I thought it was a great fight because it wasn’t but it would have been a hell of a lot worse had Coleman just lay down in the first round when he got tired.
I really thought the stoppage was bullshit. He was on all fours and he was hurt, but it isn’t boxing; Shogun has to finish him. Let Shogun follow-up and stop it if Coleman doesn’t defend himself from there. Coleman probably would have taken Shogun down again from that position which brings me to Shogun. What the fuck happened to the Shogun who dominated the 2005 Grand Prix? Anyone who says he was always this bad is a fucking moron. The Shogun of 2005 had stamina to fight for 20 minutes at full speed (see his fight with Little Nogueira) and a ground game as good as any Light Heavyweight (again see his fight with Little Nogueira as well as his fights with Randleman, Arona and Overeem).
Shogun’s weak area has always been his boxing and it showed again tonight even though he finished the fight with punches. His strengths have always been his top game and the clinch. After the card it was announced that Shogun will meet Chuck Liddell in the main event at UFC 97. Shogun is going to have to make some serious improvements in his form if he wants to last a round with Liddell. He’s not going to get the fight to the ground and, like Wanderlei Silva, he’ll have a hard time getting a clinch with Liddell where he can deliver his knees. I really hope Shogun can get his old form back because Shogun vs Liddell in 2006 was an MMA fans wet dream.

Alan Belcher Sub2 Denis Kang
What can be said about Denis Kang that hasn’t been said before? The guy has a seriously bad habbit of losing fights he’s dominating by giving his opponents submissions. He’s one of those top grapplers like Jeremy Horn who seem to get submitted a lot by guys they should rape on the ground. Credit to Belcher for finishing with the choke though even if he was getting dominated by a BJJ fighter in his preferred Muay Thai style.

Rampage vs Jardine
It was announced during the broadcast that Rampage will indeed headline the UFC 96 card, but against Keith Jardine and not Rashad Evans. I was skeptical that the title fight would come off so close to the last one, but they’ve come up with a decent main event which tops off the card nicely. Gabriel Gonzaga vs Shane Carwin was never going to sell and Rampage is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. I won’t be looking forward to it as much as I’m looking forward to UFC 94, but it’s a lot better then UFC 95.

Angry Match Maker
New Feature. It might not last but what the hell. After every UFC I’m going to do a list of matchups that could be made based off the results.

Henderson vs Bisping- Makes sense if both guys are coaching on TUF9.
Franklin vs Luiz Cane- A good way for Franklin to bounce back from a loss and a good chance for Cane to prove he belongs in the big time.
Shogun vs Liddell- Already made, it makes sense as both guys were scheduled to fight last year but were both injured. With Liddell coming off a loss a win over Shogun would be a good bounce back for him.
Coleman vs Wanderlei Silva- No one wants to see a repeat of Coleman-Cro Cop or Coleman-Fedor II. He has to fight a 205lber who can be taken down easily and who is still marketable. Wanderlei Silva would be this fighter. There’s bad blood there with the Hammer House vs Chute Boxe rivalry and both guys need a win. Put it on the UFC 97 undercard and then match the winners (hopefully Liddell vs Wanderlei) in a main event later in the year or as a feature attraction on the year end card.
Belcher vs Palhares- Both of these guys are up and comers in the UFC and it’d be a good way to see which one of them belongs in the upper end of the 185lb division.
Lytle vs Davis II- Watch the first fight, these guys could fight three times every year and I wouldn’t care.

Round two started the same as round three ended, with Franklin controlling the fight standing up but doing little damage to the former two-time Olympian. Midway through the round Henderson again got a grip on Franklin and tripped him to the mat where he worked from inside the former UFC champions guard. Franklin attempted a triangle but Henderson was playing it safe and ended the round after having been on top for the last half of the 2nd frame. With a 20-18 lead on my card, Henderson again scored a takedown early in the 3rd, but Franklin managed to escape and landed several punches to Henderson while he was turtled up. They worked their way back to their feet where Franklin again got the better of a tiring Henderson. With 40 seconds remaining, Henderson pawed with his left hand and poked Franklin in the eye. Franklin was given time to recover and the fight finished on the feet with Franklin taking the only real clear round of the fight.

The judges scored the bout 29-28 Henderson, 30-27 Franklin and 29-28 for Henderson giving him the split decision victory. I scored the bout 29-28 for Henderson with him winning the first two rounds and Franklin winning the third. With the win, Henderson likely earns himself a spot coaching the USA team on the next season of the Ultimate Fighter which will pit a team from the USA and a team from the UK. His rival coach will be British MMA star Michael Bisping and the two will likely meet later in the year. The winner of that fight will probably be condsidered the number one contender for Anderson Silva’s Middleweight title.

In the co feature of the card, PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua made a successful return to the Octagon by gaining revenge for the only loss of his PRIDE career against UFC Hall of Famer Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman. Rua suffered a broken arm as a result of a takedown during the fight at PRIDE 31: Unbreakable 49 seconds into the fight. Despite Coleman scoring numerous takedowns during the fight, Shogun was the fighter doing the damage in round one with vicious leg kicks and right hands to the face. Coleman looked to be tired at the end of the first round but fought valiantly in the second round again taking Shogun down a few times. Each time Shogun was able to escape and land with clean shots as Coleman couldn’t hold his hands above his waist. With both guys exhaused and the fight becoming painful to watch, Coleman took Shogun down again in the third round and looked like causing a massive upset. Shogun worked his way to his feet and landed what was ruled as an illegal knee to the head while Coleman was on his knees (replays showed the knee clearly landing to the body). With both guys again standing up, Shogun unleashed a flurry of punches that put Coleman down again and the referee stopped the fight. With the win, Shogun will meet Chuck Liddell at UFC 97.

In other action former PRIDE contender Denis Kang completely dominated Alan Belcher during the first round only to get caught in a deep guillotine choke midway through the 2nd round. With the submission, Belcher earned submission of the night honours. Rousimar Palhares grinded out a unanimous decision victory over a surprisingly game Jeremy Horn. Despite taking a beating in the first round, Horn was able to get on top in the 2nd and even had the Jiu Jitsu expert mounted for a period, however Palhares better top game and wrestling earned him the shutout decision win. In what won fight of the night, Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle went to war, trading hands and shins for the full three minutes of the fight. The fight was very close with neither fighter wanting to take it to the ground, but Davis sealed the decision win with a dominant round three. Both guys expressed interest in a rematch later in the year.

Preliminary Results
John Hathaway d. Thomas Egan by TKO at 4:36 of Round one (elbows)
Martin Kampmann d. Alexandre Barros by TKO at 3:07 of Round two (punches from back mount)
Eric Scaher d. Antonio Mendes by TKO at 3:34 of Round one (punches from mount)
Thomas Drwal d. Ivan Serati by TKO at 2:02 of Round one (ground and pound)
Dennis Siver d. Nate Mohr by KO at 3:47 of Round three (spinning back kick)