Chuck Liddell Retiring From UFC? Many consider “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell to be the very first MMA big-name superstar in The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s history. According to UFC president and former manager Dana White, MMA fans might have witnessed Chuck Liddell’s last appearance inside the Octagon in UFC 97, last Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

In a non-title bout, Chuck Liddell took on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as the co-main event, leading up to what became a very disappointing Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites fight. Chuck Liddell Retiring From UFC?

Like he is accustomed to doing in his career, “The Iceman” came out swinging and ready to brawl against the Brazilian, but unfortunately it just wasn’t his night.

From the start, Liddell showed Rua no respect for his knockout power -- as he kept his hands down the entire time -- doing a poor job of protecting himself and paid the price. At four minutes and 28 seconds remaining in the first round, the Brazilian caught Liddell with a devastating left, pounced on him and finished the fight via TKO. 

We may have very well seen Liddell hit the canvas for the final time. 

COMPLETE UFC 97 RECAP (MMAJunkie.com) 

UFC ufc 97, chuck liddell, mauricio rua

Saw Intimidation Cage Fighting at US Bank Arean last week. The fighting was good, Julie stole the show...

COMPLETE PROFILE

Just For Fun, UFC icf, intimidation cage fighting, ring girls

If you aren't a Mixed Martial Arts fan yet, do yourself a favor and watch tonight. You'll see two of the top 5 fighters in the world square off against one another tonight. Both fighters are in their prime and both are champions. B.J. Penn is attempting to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two world titles at one time. He's already the lightweight champ (155 lbs.) and trying to become the welterweight champion (170 lbs.). This will be an epic fight and will most likely go down as one the best in the history of the UFC.

Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre (17-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) vs. Lightweight champ B.J. Penn (13-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) - for Welterweight Championship

These two fought once before at UFC 58 with Georges pulling out the decision victory. It could have gone either way in the eyes of many, but St. Pierre proved to be in better shape than Penn, the one knock against him in his career. Penn decided to change his attitude toward fighting after his 28th birthday and rededicated himself to training and endurance. Since dropping down to lightweight, Penn has been unstoppable. He wants to avenge another loss on his record against St. Pierre, who himself is a much better fighter than the one at UFC 58.

(Prediction: B.J. Penn via submission, round 4)

Lyoto Machida (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) vs. Thiago Silva (13-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC)

Two undefeated light heavyweights face off tonight before the main event. This matchup will likely set up one of these two fighters to be the next, next in line for the light heavyweight championship. Machida is a very talented, yet painstakingly boring fighter. That is the biggest con against him, but he is one hell of a fighter and deserves a chance at the title. Fans may not agree because he simply isn't flashy enough. He has victories over B.J. Penn and Rich Franklin. Silva on the other hand is very agressive, not wanting to let his opponents take the fight to a decision with 10 of his victories by knockout or TKO. Silva has victories over James Irvin and Houston Alexander.

(Prediction: Lyoto Machida via decision)

Karo Parisyan (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC)

Parisyan is a judo black belt who has won eight of his past 10 fights, all but one going to the cards. Kim is also a judo black belt with a split-decision and TKO in his two UFC victories. Parisyan is likely the less talented of the two fighters, but his desire to re-establish himself in the top of his weight class could propel him to decision victory. But his inability to finish fights does leave the door open for Kim to take him out.

(Prediction: Kim via TKO, round 2)

Nate Diaz (10-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) vs. Clay Guida (24-9 MMA, 5-3 UFC)

Diaz is the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 5 and is quickly becoming a force in the lightweight division. Guida is the gatekeeper to the division, putting on entertaining fights and likely launching the careers of those he faces to the next level. Diaz has great jiu jitsu skills and is improving as a striker. Guida will try to establish a hectic pace and get Diaz uncomfortable. Diaz will most likely get Guida down on the ground and submit him.

(Prediction: Diaz via submission, round 1)

Stephan Bonnar (11-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) vs. Jon Jones (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)

Bonnar is attempting to comeback after a serious knee injury that has kept him sidelined for 15 months. Bonnar is most famous for his Ultimate Fighter 1 finale with Forrest Griffin, but he's a serious fighter with serious skils when healthy. Great striker with solid muay thai and jiu jitsu, he should have the edge against Jones. Jones is a solid striker and wrestler, undefeated in MMA, but doesn't have the experience to match with Bonnar. If Bonnar is 100 percent, it's a victory for him.

(Prediction: Bonnar, 2nd round TKO)

UFC bj penn, georges st. pierre, ufc 94

from MMAJunkie.com:

In the build-up to Saturday's UFC 93 main event, the common belief was that a long fight favored Rich Franklin and a short one favored fellow headliner Dan Henderson.

The three-round light-heavyweight fight went the distance, but it was Henderson who left The 02 in Dublin, Ireland, with a victory.

After taking the first two rounds on two judges' scorecards, Henderson earned the split-decision win with scores of 29-28, 27-30, 29-28.

COMPLETE RECAP

UFC ufc 93, rich franklin, dan henderson

from MMAJunkie.com:

Official weigh-ins for "UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson" took place today at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) live from The 02 in Dublin, Ireland.

The weigh-ins preceded tomorrow's first UFC pay-per-view event of 2009, which features a main event between former champions Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson at light heavyweight.

All 20 fighters successfully made weight.

Both headliners came in light for the bout. With a 206-pound cutoff, Franklin weighed 203 pounds; Henderson was even lighter at 202.

Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson

While neither man is currently a champion, the luster of this match up hasn't been lost. It wasn't that long ago that both Franklin and Henderson were considered the top 185 pound fighters in the world. While Anderson Silva has since taken that title, both "Hendo" and "Ace" are clearly still very dangerous. Both are now fighting in the light heavyweight division with seemingly no ill effects. Henderson comes into this bout fresh off an impressive decision victory over hot shot prospect Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88. Franklin is coming off a one sided TKO victory over Matt Hamill at the same event. As usual, Franklin will likely try to keep the fight standing and use his southpaw stance, reach and precise strikes to pick apart Henderson. Conversely, Henderson will likely throw some big power shots from the outside to try to close the distance and work in his world class wrestling. Picking a winner in the fight is very difficult, but I like Franklin to win a very tough, entertaining fight.

Prediction: Franklin via decision.

COMPLETE UFC 93 PICKS

UFC ufc 93, rich franklin, dan henderson

Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune on UFC 90 in Chicago:

Before each bout begins, the throbbing bass of the piped-in music vibrates inside legs and chests and brainpans. If you were forced to guess — if, say, an Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor threatened to separate your face from the front of your head — you'd hazard that it's the kind of music the Mayans played before ritual sacrifices.

And you'd be fairly sure this answer would allow you to live another day.

Except for the glowing octagon, where the fights are taking place, it's all darkness. And from that darkness comes the oohing and aahing of people who have come to Allstate Arena on a Saturday night to get a taste of blood that isn't theirs...MORE

UFC ufc 90

No sorry ... I'm not talking about the plan Mike Brown has been implementing since he took over in 1990. That's been well covered and well documented. No, I'm talking about the so-called MMA fighter Kimbo Slice.

While I was disappointed not to see an awful Ken Shamrock fight him and most likely destroy him, I was happy to see an very average at best journeyman fighter, Seth Petruzelli, only need less than a minute to dispose of the fraud that was Kimbo Slice.

Sorry I've been away from the boards for a while. I'll make some UFC and other MMA posts soon enough. And the Bengals still blow. But hey ... I'm going 3-0 this week in my Fantasy leagues.

...more from MMAJunkie.com

"Seth Petruzelli wasn't the only big winner on the third edition of CBS EliteXC "Saturday Night Fights." Affliction Entertainment scored in its first attempt at cross-promotion and emerged from one of the most fascinating nights in the history of MMA having raised the profile of its brand.

In the near term, Petruzelli's eleventh-hour decision to scrap his fight with Aaron Rosa and stomp Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson in less time than it takes to order a pint at the pub will be all the buzz. However, from a business perspective, Affliction was the clear winner Saturday night.

It took Andrei Arlovski a round to get his motor running, but the former UFC heavyweight champion clobbered Roy Nelson inside the distance. That solid KO performance, coupled with Slice's meltdown, meant Affliction ended the night with the best heavyweight on the card."

UFC kimbo slice, mma, ufc

We've all heard of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx and the Madden curse. Well there's a new jinx/curse on the block courtesy of a relatively new, yet very popular MMA magazine called FIGHT! The magazine turned into a monthly publication at the beginning of 2008 (it was issued bi-monthly prior to the change). Since the beginning of the year they have put out eight publications. Of those eight, six fighers that made the cover lost their fight that month. Of those six, two lost their titles, one lost the chance to win a title and two lost a chance to move up to the number one contender spot in their weight class.

• February - Brock Lesnar makes the cover and in his first fight in the UFC he loses by submission to Frank Mir
• March - Dan Henderson stepped into the Octagon to take on Anderson Silva to unify the UFC and PRIDE Middleweight titles. He would lose by submission in the second round.
• June - Jens Pulver is recognized on the cover as the "Biggest Threat in the Featherweight Division." He would lose by unanimous decision to the WEC Featherweight Champ, Urijah Faber.
• July - Qinton "Rampage" Jackson is coined as "Unstoppable." And then he went out and lost his title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 in July by unanimous decision.
• August - The cover is graced by one of the hottest fighters in the UFC, Roger Huerta. He went into UFC 87 hoping to come out with a win and a possible shot at the Lightweight Title. He would lose by unanimous decision to Kenny Florian that night.
• September - Chuck Liddell, the biggest name in the UFC, if not all MMA, makes the cover. At UFC 88 on 9/6, he took on Rashad Evans. He was knocked out early in the second round in one of the most devastating blows possibly in UFC history. His possible shot at getting the Light Heavyweight Title back was stopped just like that.

Over the next two months, two big fights will take place in the UFC. Anderson Silva will defend his Middleweight title against Patrick Cote in October. Maybe the only thing that can stop Silva would be the FIGHT! Magazine cover jinx! Odds are they will put Cote on the cover though since this is his first shot at a title. If they approach you Cote, run!!! In November Randy Couture will return to the UFC to defend his Heavyweight Title against Brock Lesnar. Since Lesnar already made the cover this year, Couture could be the guy for that issue. If there were two guys that would "break the jinx" it would probably be Silva and Couture.

UFC fight! magazine, mma, wec, brock lesnar, frank mir, dan henderson, anderson silva, jens pulver, urijah faber, qinton jackson, forrest griffin, roger huerta, kenn florian chuck liddell, rashad evans, patrick cote, randy couture

From MMAJunkie.com:

UFC Fight Night 14's main event offered little surprise as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva successfully made his light-heavyweight debut with a quick first-round knockout of veteran fighter James Irvin.

The bout capped off Saturday's UFC Fight Night 14 event at The Palms Las Vegas, which aired live on Spike TV.

The event, a late booking put together to counter Saturday's debut event for Affliction Entertainment, concluded in predictable fashion as Silva, largely considered the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, easily disposed of Irvin in just 61 seconds.

COMPLETE STORY 

UFC anderson silva

This Saturday at 9:00 PM live on SPIKE TV, the UFC will put on a free show the likes their fans have never seen. That night the pound-for-pound best fighter in MMA right now, Anderson Silva (22-4), will step into the Octagon to take on James Irvin (14-4-1). The reason the UFC and president, Dana White, chose to put on this free show on Saturday is to counteract the first PPV event that the clothing brand, Affliction, is putting on featuring Tim Sylvia and Fedor Emelianenko. This is a very strategic move on White's part and he decided to pull out the big guns by putting Silva on the fight card as the main event.

This will be Silva's first fight in the light heavyweight division, a division stacked with talent from top to bottom. Silva currently holds the middleweight title and nobody has even come close to taking it from him since he won the title. His opponent is one of the hardest hitting fighters in the UFC. Irvin has hands of steel, the likes of which Silva hasn't seen yet.

Irvin comes into this weekend having won his last two fights including an amazing, albeit controversial eight second knockout of Houston Alexander back in April. Of his last seven wins, six came via TKO or KO. He truly has some of the best knockout power in the UFC and I wouldn't be surprised if he actually knocked out Silva on Saturday night. Silva has some KO power of his own, but he's stepping into a fight against a much bigger guy and one that's used to walking around at 205 rather than 185.

I honestly expect this fight to turn into a slug fest. Neither guy has anything to lose. If Irvin loses, he'll have lost to one of the best fighters in all of MMA. If Silva loses he can chalk it up to never having fought at the higher weight class. It could turn into a classic fight, and for free, what more could you ask for?! As far as who I think will win the fight? I'll take Irvin on a whim to actually knockout Silva in the second round.

In addition to the Silva/Irvin fight there are two other fights worth noting on the card this Saturday night. Brandon Vera (8-2) will take on Reese Andy (7-1) in light heavyweight action and in the lightweight division we'll see Hermes Franca (19-5) against Frankie Edgar (8-1). The Franca/Edgar fight could end up stealing the show as both are coming off losses in their last fights. A win by either guy could catapult them up the rankings in the lightweight division, a division currently headed up by champion, BJ Penn. This one could go either way, but I'll pick Edgar by decision.

This will be Andy's first fight in the UFC, and man did he get a bad draw. Vera is coming off disappointing back-to-back losses after starting 8-0 in the UFC. Those losses (to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum) halted his ascension up the rankings in the heavyweight division. Vera was one of the smaller heavyweights, and smartly decided to drop down to LHW. Saturday night will be his first fight at 205. A win this weekend, especially one in convincing fashion, could put him right in the middle of the LHW title picture, a belt currently held by the new champion, Forrest Griffin. So Vera is going to come into this fight and let it all hang out. If this fight stays standing, I can't see Andy pulling off the upset. With that said, my pick is Vera by TKO in the first round.

It should be a good show Saturday night, and for free, who could ask for more? It will be interesting to see the TV ratings for both the UFC and Affliction events this weekend. My guess is that the UFC will attract more people simply because its free.

UFC anderson silva, james irvin, brandon vera, reese andy, hermes franca, frank edgar

Well my fellow GSI blogger, Jeff Pugh, beat me to the punch (pun intended) for this week's PPV event. That's OK though. That won't stop me from putting my opinion out there, and possibly create some more talk about the UFC and MMA in general. So, with that introduction out of the way, let's get to Saturday night's show.

The UFC and its president, Dana White, have a knack for scheduling their events around other significant events or holidays. Earlier in the year they had a PPV the same weekend as the Super Bowl. And this weekend they'll capitalize on the Fourth of July in hopes that people will be home relaxing and order the event. Here's the problem though. There hasn't been much hype for this PPV compared to previous ones. The fight between Forrest Griffin and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was built up over the last few months throughout this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. Griffin and Rampage were the coaches on the show, but not much was mentioned about their fight that was coming up. Only one time that I can recall did both fighters get mad and elude to the upcoming fight. Aside from that, which included Griffin completely destroying a door which was quite impressive, there wasn't much mention of the light heavyweight title fight. Granted the TUF show was recorded well before the actual event, but usually there is still more hype generated throughout the show.

Part of the problem is that neither Griffin nor Rampage have a beef with the other. Unlike last season's coaches of Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, there wasn't any animosity coming into the show. Both fighters have a laid-back, chill style to them. Rampage will talk trash here and there, but he's not they type to create problems where they don't exist. And Griffin, the original TUF winner, has been the strong, silent type since he started in the UFC. Because of all of that, the hype isn't there, which is sad because this could be one of the greatest fights of the year.

With all of that said, let's get to my predictions for this weekend.

Forrest Griffin (15-4) vs. Quinton Jackson (27-6) for the Light Heavyweight Title
Neither fighter has had a contest since September of last year. That's almost 10 months between fights! Normally that wouldn't happen, but because of them being coaches on the TUF show, they couldn't fight anyone in between. This will be Griffin's first shot at the LHW title. He earned this shot by beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who was considered the No. 1 contender to Rampage's title at the time, and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Griffin dominated the fight and ended up beating Shogun by making him tap late in the third round. Like Griffin, Rampage is coming off an impressive win. Actually he's coming off a couple of impressive wins. Rampage won the LHW title back in May of 2007 when he knocked out fan favorite, Chuck Liddell. He followed that up by unifying the UFC and PRIDE LHW titles when he beat Dan Henderson by unanimous decision.

The question going into this fight is if Griffin can keep the fight standing? If he doesn't, he's going to have a tough time. Rampage has great wrestling ability along with great strength. While Griffin has great grappling ability, he has to defend from getting slammed to the canvas. If Griffin can keep the fight standing his chance of becoming the champ are more likely. I'm not sure that will happen though. I really like both of these guys and wish I could root for both and just say its going to end in a draw. But we all know that isn't going to happen. I expect a great fight here and I honestly won't be surprised at the outcome, no matter who wins.
Prediction: Jackson by TKO in the 3rd round

Ricardo Almeida (9-2) vs. Patrick Cote (13-4)
This fight will feature Almeida's ground game against the power of Cote. If you go by the latest results for each fighter, Almeida should lose this fight. He's lost every other fight in his last four, with his last contest being a submission win against Rob Yundt back in February. Cote is coming in riding a three fight win streak after losing four straight. His last win came via TKO back in January against Drew McFedries. A win for Cote could move him closer to a middleweight title shot, a title currently held by Anderson Silva. In addition to the KO power Cote possesses, he has good submission skills as well. So if this fight were to go to the ground, Almeida would have to watch for that. This could turn out to be a good fight. Then again it could also end up being a quick fight if Cote connects with any big shots.
Prediction: Cote by TKO in the 2nd round

Joe Stevenson (33-8) vs. Gleison Tibau (27-4)
Both Stevenson and Tibau come into this contest coming off a loss. The only difference is that Stevenson is coming off a loss to one of the best fighters in the game right now, BJ Penn. Oh, and that fight was for the lightweight title. It was a brutal fight where Stevenson shed a lot, and I mean A LOT, of blood. He put up a good fight against "The Prodigy" but ended up tapping out after Penn got a rear-naked choke hold on him. Before that fight, Stevenson had won four straight. Tibau also had a mini-win streak of three fights before he lost to Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision back in February. I can honestly say that I would be surprised if Tibau won this fight. He has good Brazilian Ju-Jitsu skills, but Stevenson is a good well-rounded fighter. If Stevenson can get this fight to the ground, there's a good chance we could see Tibau tap.
Prediction: Stevenson by submission in the 2nd round

Josh Koscheck (13-2) vs. Chris Lytle (35-15-4)
If cockiness could win you fights, Koscheck would be undefeated. He's a very arrogant fighter, but he tends to back it up pretty well. He's coming into this fight having beaten Dustin Hazlett by TKO in the second round back in March. Lytle is also coming into this weekend's event coming off a 33 second knockout of Kyle Bradley back in February. As you can see from his record, he's been around for quite awhile. The problem for Lytle lately seems to be that he can't beat the big names in the welterweight division. In the last few years he's lost to Karo Parysian, Joe Riggs, Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves. If he wants to get a title shot he's going to have to start beating the bigger names in the weight division. He could start that by beating Koscheck this weekend. Koscheck, a former TUF winner himself, has all the skills and the athleticism to make a run at the welterweight title, currently held by the guy that handed him his last loss, Georges St-Pierre. Its a fight between the veteran and the youth.
Prediction: Koscheck by decision

Marcus Aurelio (14-5) vs. Tyson Griffin (11-1)
Another fight featuring a veteran against one of the up-and-coming stars in the UFC takes place when these two step inside Octagon. Griffin's only loss came against Frank Edgar in February 2007. Since that loss he has beaten Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares and Gleison Tibau, all by decision. Aurelio's last fight ended in a submission victory over Ryan Roberts in April. Would I be surprised if Aurelio won this fight? No, not really. He has good BJJ skills that he will put up against Griffin's ground and pound skills. While Griffin only has one loss, if he's going to create any buzz for himself and get a LW title shot, he's going to have to win a fight convincingly and keep it out of the judges hands. If he is able to mount Aurelio and maintain a dominant position, a TKO victory isn't out of the question for Griffin.
Prediction: Griffin by TKO in the 3rd round

There are a few interesting names on the preliminary card including one time heavyweight title contender, Gabriel Gonzaga. He's taking on Justin McCully and I'm predicting a second round knockout for Gonzaga in this one. The prelim card also features Cincinnati native, Jorge Gurgel. He'll take on TUF veteran, Cole Miller. I'll take Gurgel here by decision.

UFC 86: Griffin vs. Jackson takes place this Saturday live on PPV at 10:00 PM EST from the UFC's home, the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Here's hoping we get to see some fireworks of a different kind Saturday night.

Overall Predictions: 63-41

UFC ufc 86, forrest griffin, quinton jackson, ricardo almeida, patrick cote, joe stevenson, gleison tibau, josh koscheck, chris lytle, marcus aurelio, tyson griffin, gabriel gonzaga, justin mccully, jorge gurgel, cole miller

UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin comes to you live this weekend, July 5, from Las Vegas, NV with one of the most anticipated fights of the year. While the UFC would have hoped for more “hatred” between Rampage and Forrest during The Ultimate Fighter, they will still get an incredible number of PPV buys and one hell of a fight. Season 7 of TUF had its finale about couple weeks back with Team Forrest fighter Amir Sadollah winning the lucrative contract. Will his coach win the Light Heavyweight Championship this weekend? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

This fight has two of the most popular fighters in the UFC, both considered to be class clowns. Rampage is widely considered to be the next star in the making (more face of the UFC, not that he isn’t already a star) and holds UFC’s most prized possession – the light heavyweight belt. He has defeated Dan Henderson and won the belt with a shocking first-round knock-out of Chuck Liddell. Griffin on the other hand, has slowly built his resume to this title fight by winning the first Ultimate Fighter contract and build his following after his bout with TUF runner-up Stephen Bonnar. (If you have a chance to watch that fight, try to. It is widely considered to be one of the best fights in UFC history because these two slugged it out for three solid rounds.) Griffin earned his shot by defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by submission, who was considered the number one contender for Rampage at the time, and was the last person to defeat Jackson by a knockout.

Now on to some fight predictions …I expect to see something from Chris Murdico soon ... 

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Forrest Griffin (15-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC)
Griffin enters this fight as a heavy underdog, 13-to-5 odds were the last I saw, but I think he will shock the MMA world this weekend by upsetting Jackson. Griffin is known to have an excellent chin and incredible conditioning. That was one of the keys to his win against Rua, just being able to outlast him and finish him when he knew he could keep going.

Jackson is the better standup fighter and has excellent counter-punching ability, seen by his knockout of Chuck Liddell. But he isn’t considered a top-notch ground fighter, which is where I see Forrest taking this fight. I think Forrest’s conditioning will lead to Jackson gassing and not being able to sustain the level he will need for the full five rounds.
Prediction: Griffin via decision

Patrick Côté (12-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC)
This will be an interesting fight with a striker versus a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist. Apparently this fight will lead to a title fight in the middleweight division, which Anderson Silva completely owns. Depending on who gets the edge, to keep it standing or go to the ground will determine the winner. Almeida is on his second fight since returning from a four-year layoff and looked impressive in his re-debut, but his caliber of opponent was very suspect. I expect Almeida to get the fight to the ground and submit Cote with an armbar.
Prediction: Almeida via submission, 2^nd round

Joe Stevenson (28-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs Gleison Tibau (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC)
Joe “Daddy” is coming off a loss to B.J. Penn and is now rebuilding his resume to challenge for the lightweight championship. Tibau lost to Tyson Griffin (also on the undercard) in his last bout, so neither fighter can afford to lose this fight. Tibau just isn’t in the same class as the elite lightweights and won’t present much of a challenge to Stevenson. “Daddy” has excellent jiu-jitsu and will prevail with his ground-and-pound.
Prediction: Stevenson via TKO, 2^nd round

Josh Koscheck (10-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) vs. Chris Lytle (25-15-5 MMA, 4-7 UFC)
This is a fight I’m looking forward to watching. Koscheck is still considered to be one of the top contenders in welterweight, even after his loss to Georges St. Pierre. Really, there is no shame in losing to GSP. Koscheck has an incredible wrestling and ground game. Koscheck has improved his striking and will be too much for Lytle. Lytle has 17 submission wins, but Koscheck wouldn’t submit to Dustin Hazelett, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert, in his last fight. Unfortunately for Lytle, this fight is just a bout to get Koscheck back in the picture for a title fight.
Prediction: Koscheck via TKO, 3^rd round

Tyson Griffin (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) vs. Marcus Aurelio (16-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC)
Griffin is coming of a loss to Gleison Tibau in February and matches up against PRIDE veteran Marcus Aurelio. Aurelio’s only loss in the UFC was his debut fight again Clay Guida via split decision. Griffin will want to get this fight to the ground to use his advantage in the ground-and-pound, but he’ll need to be worried about Aurelio’s BJJ submissions.
Prediction: Griffin via decision

That’s it for the main card. The preliminary card has fights with several TUF veterans. If the fights end early, I hope to see two of the lightweight fights: Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller and Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz.

Gurgel is a local fighter and one that I want to see do well. He tends to play to his competition in fights he should win, which I expect in this one. Cole Miller shouldn’t be underestimated, as he was a solid competitor on TUF season 5. Plus Miller has a significant size advantage to use against Gurgel.

Corey Hill is a dynamic fighter for the lightweight division, standing at 6’4” tall. It’s simply amazing to see him make weight with that frame. He’s still learning the ropes to MMA, but his athleticism is incredible. 

UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin
Main card
Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin
Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté vs. Ricardo Almeida
Lightweight bout: Joe Stevenson vs Gleison Tibau
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
Lightweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio 

Preliminary card
Heavyweight Bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Justin McCully
Lightweight Bout: Jorge Gurgel vs. Cole Miller
Lightweight Bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Lightweight Bout: Corey Hill vs. Justin Buchholz

UFC rampage jackson, forrest griffin, ufc 86

From MMAJunkie.com...

Rich Franklin (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will move to the UFC's light heavyweight division to fight Matt Hamill (4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 88 in September, according to MMAjunkie.com.

UFC 88, which features a main event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans, takes place at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. The Franklin-Hamill fight will likely be the night's co-main event.

Franklin, a former UFC middleweight champ, has been fighting in the 185-pound class but had already lost twice to current title-holder Anderson Silva. As we reported yesterday, he had been approached about moving up a fight class to create some new fight opportunities.

Hamill, who is a fellow Cincinnati-area native like Franklin, provides just that.

COMPLETE ARTILCE 

UFC ufc 88, rich franklin, matt hamill, chuck liddell, rashad evans

This past Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, England, an end of an era was most likely witnessed in the main event. Matt Hughes, a future UFC Hall of Famer and the greatest welterweight in UFC history, took on the up-and-coming Thiago "Pitbull" Alves. Things didn't go nearly as planned for Hughes and with the exception of maybe one more fight (against Matt Serra) his career could be coming to a close.

Lets get right to the results from Saturday night.

Thiago Alves def. Matt Hughes by TKO at 1:02 in the 1st Round.
Alves came into this fight four pounds overweight which had some contemplating his dedication. Coming in overweight for a fight is one of the most disrespectful things you can do in MMA. At the end of the fight we found out that Alves was nursing a sprained ankle which he says didn't allow him to train like he normally would, thus he wasn't able to cut the weight. The sprained ankle didn't matter in this fight. While the first round was pretty much even, the second round belonged to Alves. His speed and quickness (yes those are two different things) took over in the second round which led to him landing a flying knee to the body followed by a straight punch to the head which send Hughes to the mat. That was all Alves would need as the ref called a stop to the fight and awarded him the TKO victory. The win for Alves could propel him into a title shot against the winner of the Georges St-Pierre/Jon Fitch fight in a couple months. As far as Hughes goes, he said at the end of the fight that he has at least one more fight left in which there's no doubt who he wants that one fight to be against.

Michael Bisping def. Jason Day by TKO at 3:42 in the 1st Round.
This was Bisping's second fight since dropping down from light heavyweight to middleweight. It was also his second straight victory in dominating fashion. Not much to say about this fight other than Bisping looked awesome. Day didn't have an answer to his onslaught either on the ground or standing up. Bisping's barrage of punches lead to the referee stepping in to stop any further damage to Day. The win by Bisping marks his second straight first round TKO victory and his fifth in his last six victories overall.

Mike Swick def. Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd Round.
Davis came into this fight with a 12-fight win streak spanning over three years. Unfortunately for him he could not fend off Swick's ground and pound attack. While he was never in any serious danger of having the fight stopped, Davis never had control during the fight that ended up going the distance. Swick opened up a couple different spots on Davis' face, most likely because of the amount of scar tissue on his face. So on top of having to deal with Swick dealing blows to his face, Davis had to deal with the blood getting in his eyes, mouth and nose. Davis was clearly the crowd favorite but even that didn't help him as Swick controlled this fight from start to finish. It wasn't an exciting fight or one for the highlight reel for Swick, but its a win and a good one over a great fighter in the UFC.

Thales Leites def. Nate Marquardt by Split Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd Round.
This was the fight that stole the show in my opinion. It was also one that ended in some controversy. Marquardt suffered two point deductions during the fight which ultimately cost him the fight. The first one came in the second round when he delivered a knee to Leites' head while he was still down on the mat. There was no doubting that should have been a point deduction. The second point deduction was much more controversial. Referee Herb Dean took a second point away from Marquard for an alleged elbow to the back of Leites' head. The replay showed that the elbow was actually to the side of his head, which is not illegal. It was that point deduction that ultimately cost Marquardt a win, or at least a draw. Because of the point deductions making the last two rounds a tie 9-9, the fight was decided by what happened in the first round, which according to two of the judges, Leites won. It was a great fight regardless of the way it ended. The win for Leites will push him forward into contention for Anderson Silva's middleweight title. I'm not sure if that's a good thing as he really should have lost this fight and would probably get destroyed by Silva. Marquardt will be back and he'll be back even better in his next fight. Of all the middleweights out there, Bisping aside, another fight between Marquardt and Silva would be worth a main event billing, no doubt.

Fabricio Werdum def. Brandon Vera by TKO at 4:40 in the 1st Round.
Billed as the co-main event during the advertising for this event, this was actually the first televised fight of the night. Unfortunately it ended with a lot of controversy when referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight with just 20 seconds left in the first round. Vera landed the first substantial blow midway through the first round but Werdum weathered the storm. Eventually Werdum would score a takedown and mount Vera and start raining down a storm of punches. Vera appeared to be fine and was intelligently defending himself, but Miragliotta stopped the fight anyway. Oddly enough it was Miragliotta that stopped the fight just a little over a week ago between Kimbo Slice and James Thompson. At the end of the fight Vera confirmed with Joe Rogan that he was telling Miragliotta that he was OK and to not stop the fight. Apparently he was hard of hearing and did the exact opposite. The win for Werdum will likely push him into a heavyweight title shot against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in December. Its unfortunate for Vera, but he'll be back and he'll pose a big challenge for whoever the champ is once he gets to that No. 1 contender spot.

PRELIMINARY BOUT RAPID RESULTS

• Martin Kampmann def. Jorge Rivera by Submission (guillotine choke) at 2:44 in the 1st round.
• Matt Wiman def. Thiago Tavares by KO at 1:57 in the 2nd round.
• Kevin Burns def. Roan Carneiro by Submission (triangle choke) at 2:53 in the 2nd round.
• Luiz Cane def. Jason Lambert by TKO at 2:07 in the 1st round.
• Paul Taylor def. Jess Liaudin by Split Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round.
• Antoni Hardonk def. Eddie Sanchez by TKO at 4:15 in the 2nd round.

PPV Prediction Results: 1-4 (63-41 overall)

Up next for the UFC is the finale of this season's "The Ultimate Fighter" which takes place on Saturday, June 21 and features a main event between Kendall Grove and Evan Tanner. And then on July 5th the fight that a lot of people have been waiting for will happen when this season's TUF coaches, Forrest Griffin and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson step into the Octagon with Rampage's light heavyweight title on the line.

UFC ufc 85, thiago alves, matt hughes, michael bisping, jason day, mike swick, marcus davis, thales leites nate marquardt, fabricia werdum, brandon vera

On the heels of the minor leagues of MMA getting their day in the sun last Saturday, the UFC will have their second PPV in less than a month when they invade London, England this weekend. The card for UFC 84: Ill Will was pretty stacked and didn't disappoint. This weekend the card isn't nearly as stacked, in large part because of the injury suffered by Chuck Liddell. The main event was supposed to feature "The Iceman" versus Rashad Evans. Liddell suffered a knee injury while training so he had to back out. After a few different attempts to substitute another fighter for Liddell, no good matchups could be made for Evans, so he isn't on the card at all either.

In steps UFC legend, Matt Hughes. The last time we saw him he was being destroyed by, the now welterweight champ, Georges St-Pierre. Hughes agreed to step into the main event as a way to attempt to show that he's not washed up. His opponent will be Thiago Alves who is coming off a short time off from his last fight which took place back in April when he beat Karo Parysian. Alves is coming into this weekend with a five fight win streak.

Time for the predictions for this weekend.

Matt Hughes (43-6) vs. Thiago Alves (20-4)
This should be an interesting fight. It will be the wrestling of Hughes versus the striking and Jiu-Jitsu of Alves. Hughes is looking for a bounce back performance after having lost two of his last three fights (both of which were to GSP). Alves is 7-2 in his nine fights in the UFC and only one of those made it to the third round. Most of his wins come by the TKO. In order for Hughes to stay in this fight he is going to have to take Alves down and work him on the ground. He has to take the striking capability of Alves away. Alves is nowhere near as good as GSP so Hughes should have an easier time with him.
Prediction: Hughes by submission in the 2nd round

Michael Bisping (16-1) vs. Jason Day (17-5)
Bisping returns home this weekend, which wasn't such a good thing the last time he fought in front of his fellow Brits. The last time he fought in front of the hometown crowd he won a very controversial decision over Matt Hamill. Since then Bisping has suffered his first loss at the hands of Rashad Evans and then back in April he beat Charles McCarthy by TKO in the first round. Day has only had one fight in the UFC so far which came back in April when he shocked many by scoring a TKO victory in the first round over Alan Belcher. Depending on whether or not his win over Belcher was a fluke, this could turn out to be a good fight. Bisping could prove to be too strong for Day though, and his ability to adapt to any style could really help him as well.
Prediction: Bisping by TKO in the 2nd round

Marcus Davis (19-4) vs. Mike Swick (11-2)
Davis is coming into this weekend riding six fight winning streak. His last fight was back in January at UFC 80: Rapid Fire when he knocked out Jess Liaudin early in the first round. Davis has very strong boxing skills but he can pull a submission win out as well if the opportunity presents itself. Swick comes into the weekend having won his last fight back in January when he beat Josh Burkman by majority decision. He has good striking skills and is very fast. A loss by either of these guys would really hurt their chances of even getting into the welterweight title picture. This will be a good test for Swick as he's had a hard time beating the big names in the weight class with losses to Yushin Okami and Chris Leben as his two losses to date. Davis has won his last three three fights in the first round (two KOs and one submission) this could end up being a pretty quick fight.
Prediction: Davis by TKO in the 1st round

Thales Leites (12-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-7-1)
Leites will be looking to make a name for himself in the middleweight division this weekend. A win over Marquardt could move him into a shot at the title currently held by Anderson Silva. He hasn't fought since August when he beat Ryan Jensen by submission at UFC 74: Respect. Moving up the middleweight ladder isn't going to be easy as Marquardt is one of the best in the weight class. He's fought the best the division has to offer and won some and lost some. His last fight ended in a second round submission victory over Jeremy Horn back at UFC 81: Breaking Point. Marquardt is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the UFC, he just can't win the big one, which at this point that means beating Silva, something no other fighter seems to be able to do. Marquardt wants another crack at Silva, I'm sure, but a loss to Leites will make that very difficult anytime soon. This fight could possibly steal the show actually.
Prediction: Marquardt by Submission in the 2nd round

Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1)
Vera was on the fast track to a heavyweight title shot and then he stepped into the Octagon against Tim Sylvia. After eight straight wins he ended up losing by unanimous decision to Sylvia back in October at UFC 77: Hostile Territory. Had he beat Sylvia, there was a good chance that he would have become the No. 1 contender to the heavyweight title. Vera will look to get back on track against Werdum this weekend who is coming off an upset win over Gabriel Gonzaga back in January. It was only Werdum's second fight in the UFC and Gonzaga was coming off a loss for the heavyweight title to Randy Couture. So he was looking to right his ship and instead lost to Werdum by TKO in the second round. Vera can end a fight quickly, four of his last six fights didn't get past the 2:40 mark in the first round. Vera likes to throw kicks, elbows and knees. Werdum is going to have to work his strength which is the ground game to neutralize Vera or this fight could be over quickly as well.
Prediction: Vera by TKO in the 2nd round

The event airs live on PPV at 3:00 PM this Saturday because it is in England. It will replay at the usually 10:00 PM spot for those that prefer to wait until the normal time. Just be sure to stay away from all the MMA/UFC websites if you want to avoid knowing the winners.

Overall Prediction Results: 62-37

UFC ufc 85, matt hughes, thiago alves, michael bisping, jason day, marcus davis, mike swick, thales leites, nate marquart, brandon vera, fabricia werdum