Anderson Silva re-emphasized his standing as the greatest MMA fighter of the world, but he did so for the first time in his home country of Brazil. After twice dropping the highly regarded Yushin Okami in round two with a perfectly timed punch to the head, barrages of punches from the top soon followed, prompting the referee to call the bout to a halt. It was vintage Spider, who displayed his usual dazzling speed, cat-like reflexes and most importantly, his finesse and flash that just can’t be replicated inside the Octagon.

A performance akin to that of the middleweight champ’s destruction of Forrest Griffin, Okami was simply overmatched, unable to neither initiate any offense nor sustain any effective output. Silva extends his unbeaten UFC streak to fourteen and successfully defended his middleweight crown for the ninth time.

The co-main event in Rio featured Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, who avenged his loss to Forrest Griffin in a rematch between two former light heavyweight champions. Shogun was sharp, creating distance to measure his striking. Griffin looked a bit listless and got dropped by a right hand to the head, allowing Rua to follow up with a series of hammerfists. The referee soon stepped in, giving Rua the victory at the 1:53 mark of the first round.

Former heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira revived his career in an exciting first round stoppage win over the streaking Brendan Schaub in a legend vs. up-and-coming contender type match up. Both fighters shared exchanges and the early going appeared to favor the American, who was able to stun the hometown veteran. The much more experienced Nogueira effectively used his clinch to push Schaub against the cage and landed a hard right hand that dropped his younger foe face-first on the canvas. It only took another hard shot to finish off Schaub, causing the ref to step in at 3:09. With the win, Nogueira gets back on the winning column, after suffering a devastating loss to current champion Cain Velasquez back in UFC 110.

In the other fights, Paulo Thiago bounced back from two consecutive losses to win in front of his home country against David Mitchell. It was a one-sided fight that saw Thiago use superior grappling and effective aggression to grind out a unanimous decision. Jungle Fight’s welterweight champion Erick Silva impressed in his UFC debut,quickly disposing Luis Ramos with an overhand right. After a quick ground and pound follow up, the ref stopped the contest at the :40 mark. The best fight of the night saw Rousimar Palhares and Dan Miller taking turns nearly knocking each other out before going the distance over three rounds. Palhares dropped Miller and relented after a short attack from the top, assuming that the fight was over. Palhares jovially got on top of the cage to celebrate before referee Herb Dean informed the Brazilian fighter that the fight was not finished. As the fight resumed, Miller recuperated and landed a devastating punch of his own, nearly stopping his foe all within the same round. Palhares dominated with a series of punches from the top in round two and secured the unanimous decision victory after three rounds.

The long waited return of UFC to Brazil is finally here. What better way to do it than showcasing not only the nation’s own hero but also the planet’s greatest mixed martial artist in the history seeking to avenge his last official loss. In what many would perceive as a home coming night for the great Anderson Silva, I personally beg to differ. Given the inconclusive outcome of their first fight and the stylistic problems that Yushin Okami poses, the man known as ‘the Spider’ could be in for another tug of war similar to one he had with Chael Sonnen on the night of UFC 117.

It’s been done many times before, where a hometown guy gets to shine in front of the crowd getting his way with an overmatched opponent en route to a one-sided victory. However, even on paper, this UFC 134 event just doesn’t seem fit that description. Look at this card from top to bottom, there’s not a single easy W that could be predicted in favor of a Brazilian fighter.

In fact, it wouldn’t be out of the realm if all of the non-Brazilian counterparts were able to escape Rio de Janeiro as winners which probably would not bode well for the native fans in Brazil. Don’t expect blow outs in favor of any.

THE ONLY AND LAST HOME COMING

Starting with the main event, one can’t doubt Anderson Silva’s motivation to erase that controversial loss to Yushin Okami that took place in Hawaii more than five years ago. Truth be told, there’s not a whole lot to analyze from their first encounter that lasted less than three full minutes.

The outspoken Chael Sonnen (who’s fought both Silva and Okami) speaks otherwise. Sonnen claimed in his recent interview that the illegal upkick that led to Silva’s disqualification was intentional, indicating that he was looking for a way out after being taken down.

Take it for what it’s worth, but I don’t fully agree nor disagree with Sonnen’s input. While Silva may or may have not been aware of the rules, I don’t for a second believe that he threw that kick to get himself disqualified. Until that takedown, which was almost given by Silva to pull Okami into his guard, he was easily winning in standup where it appeared to be a horrible mismatch. However, given how much Okami has grown experience-wse and displayed improvement on his dominant ground game, I think we’re looking at a completely different fight come this Saturday.

Silva re-exemplified his old self in his last outing when he landed that front-kick to render Vitor Belfort unconscious in one of the most creative and picture perfect knockouts we’ve seen in the sport. But that didn’t make most of us forget the four and a half rounds of beating he took from Sonnen, who for the first time made Silva look seemingly beatable with relentless takedowns and effective ground and pound from the top position.

If they were any indications of Spider’s decline in terms of speed and reflexes, Okami just might have the perfect style to exploit those vulnerabilities and dethrone the aging champ. In addition, despite his lack of submission strength and decision loss to Sonnen, the judo and wrestling based Okami hasn’t shown any susceptibility to triangle holds or other submission attempts in his five career losses. That’s not likely to change against Silva, whose submissions skills are underrated, but not overwhelmingly threatening in this case.

As much as I laugh listening to Chael Sonnen and his verbose tactics to antagonize his rivals in a WWE persona type manner, I can’t be dissuaded by his words to pick the best Japanese fighter UFC has produced. Some must believe that Silva, even at this stage of his career is several notches above in terms of striking and will do whatever he can to thwart the fight from going to the ground. I’m among those who are tabbing the legend to further extend his legacy for a few more fights.

Believe it or not, this is a huge defense for Silva, who has a chance to repudiate any claims that their first fight was a result of an intentional escape from a legitimate loss.

SHOGUN’S REVENGE

Just by looking at the main event and its co-feature, this card reminds me a lot of Don King’s Revenge: The Rematches PPV that took place back in ’94. Although it wasn’t the biggest PPV success in terms of revenues, it still remains as one of the best PPV cards ever distributed in history of boxing. And if Silva vs. Okami II serves as UFC’s version of Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Frankie Randall II, the rematch between former light heavyweight champions Mauricio Rua and Forrest Griffin is more like the much anticipated return bout of Terry Norris against Simon Brown.

Looking back on their first meeting, Norris, an established champion at 154 pounds was the heavy favorite going in against the older Brown, a former great in his own right during his campaign at welterweight. This was supposed to be the eleventh defense of Norris’ WBC title and many experts had expected a rather easy win for the younger, faster, and bigger man known as ‘Terrible’. Brown didn’t follow the script, landing a right hand that visibly staggered Norris near the end of round two. Norris fought back valiantly in the third, but Brown unleashed attack seconds before the bell, again putting the champ on wobbly legs. Brown finished the job in the following round with a devastating right cross that rendered the champion unconscious. It was a huge upset considering Norris’ status as one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound. The rematch wasn’t as compelling, but Norris fought a smarter fight, dictating the pace over the course of twelve rounds with constant movement, tighter defense, and fluid combinations.

Prior to crossing paths at UFC 76, Forrest Griffin was then considered the gate keeper of the light heavyweight division. Having won the Ultimate Fighter contest in his memorable battle against Stephan Bonnar, he felt short of becoming a top threat in the weight class, losing to veteran Tito Ortiz in a spirited effort and shockingly getting cold-cocked by Keith Jardine in the first round. By then, he was thought merely as a sacrificial lamb against the former Pride badass Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua who crossed waters from the Japanese circuit after the demise of the now defunct Pride FC.

Rua, who’s displayed variety of mixed martial arts prowess in his previous outings as the Pride middleweight grand prix winner, was known for his vicious Muay Thai strikes and strong BJJ skills. At the time, Shogun was easily found in many of experts’ so called pound for pound lists and was one of the biggest acquisitions made by the UFC after its purchase of Pride. Meanwhile, Griffin at the given stage was simply a segway for Rua to rise above ranks in the UFC.

The fight, however told a different story. From the first round, it was fought at a rapid pace and the tempo definitely favored Griffin. Rua seemingly had the advantage in takedowns, but was unable sustain control on the ground. The Brazilian began to tire and Griffin poured on. In the last minute of the third round, Shogun hardly resembled the man he was thought to be as he wilted under constant smothering attacks of Griffin, who sealed the deal with win via a rear-naked choke.

Four years have gone by and the two now find themselves in a crossroad with a lot more at stake. Since their last battle, both have gone on to achieve great success, each winning the light heavyweight title in separate reigns. Griffin went on to shock the MMA world once more when he dethroned Rampage Jackson to lift the UFC light heavyweight belt. He also suffered humiliating defeats to Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva, but bounced back in his last two bouts against Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin.

As for Rua, the Chutebox Academy product gradually climbed back to title contention with sluggish yet decisive stoppage wins over Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell before returning to full form to decapitate unbeaten Lyoto Machida to capture the light heavyweight crown. To his dismay, Shogun was sidelined by recurring injuries and was forced to sit out for almost a year before succumbing to hot sensation Jon Jones in an unmerciful, one-sided beating.

Rua will not only seek to avenge his loss, but also fight for resurgence if he wants to keep his name relevant as a key player in the division. Fighting in front of his home country shall provide plenty of motivation for the former champ. A win this Saturday could mean another title shot. Fans should expect both to deliver something special.

LOOKING AHEAD, WAY AHEAD

Okay, I think it’s safe to say that should Yushin Okami upset Anderson Silva in Brazil, it’s definitely not the worst thing for the powerhouse organization. Actually, it would be far from it. Understanding that UFC’s global impact will soon emerge in Japan, imagine the drawing power that could be generated by Okami should he headline a card in a championship fight? Also, consider the fact that Yoshihiro Akiyama has lost three in a row and White’s intentions are to keep him on the roster for use of his star power for promotional purposes in Japan. And despite lack of success from the likes of Kid Yamamato and Takanori Gomi since their UFC debuts, they are already established names in the world of MMA and they certainly wouldn’t hurt to help initiate things as things transpire over to the eastern hemisphere.

Just more than twenty-four hours after announcing his retirement, Chris Lytle choked out Dan Hardy in round three of their Welterweight bout that was the main event of a UFC on Versus show from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Each had their moments until Hardy tried to shoot in with a takedown and Lytle was able to lock in the choke that made Hardy tap out at 4:16 of round three

Lytle, 170 1/2 lbs of Indianapolis, IND finishes his career with a mark of 41-18-4.

Ben Henderson battered Jim Miller over the final two rounds to win an three round unanimous decision and ending both a seven fight win streak and a potential title shot for Miller.

Miller had a good first frame as he had Henderson in a choke hold. Henderson came back to bloody the right eye of Miller, get Miller in a submission and at the end of round two begin to pound away on Miller. In round three, Henderson beat up Miller as he dominated the whole round by pounding and attempting to choke out Miller.

Henderson, 156 lbs of Glendale, AZ win by scores of 30-26; 30-27 and 29-28 and is now 14-2. Miller, 155 1/2 lbs of Whippany, NJ is now 20-3

Donald Cerrone scored a first round stoppage over Charles Oliveira in a Lightweight bout.

Cerrone landed a short punch to the body that sent Oliveria down. Cerrone then preceded to land twenty-five unanswered blows before referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the bout at 3:01

Cerrone, 156 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 16-3-1. Oliveria, 155 lbs of Houston, TX is now 14-2-1.

Duane Ludwig scored a three round unanimous decision over Amir Sadollah in a Welterweight bout.

Ludwig won on the strength of striking from the standup position.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Ludwig, 170 1/2 lbs of Denver, CO and is now 29-11. Sadollah, 170 lbs of Las Vegas, NV is 6-3

PHILADELPHIA—Rashad Evans came back after nearly a year and a half layoff to write a bad chapter in the Cinderella Story of Tito Ortiz as Evans scored a punishing second round stoppage of their emotional Light Heavyweight bout at the Wells Fargo Center.

The crowd was in frenzy as it was a Pro-Ortiz audience and they tried to urge their man on.

There was not much action in the first moments but Evans took control in the latter stages of the round as he had Ortiz in a dominant position while landing some good punches.

The second and deciding frame had as much ebb and flow as a round could have as Evans back slammed Ortiz hard to the mat. Ortiz showed his fighting spirited and excited the crowd as for a brief moment he applied a Guillotine choke for which Evans was able to slide out of.

That may have deflated Ortiz as Evans got on the offensive and pounded a prone Ortiz before the fight was stopped.

Evans, 204.4 lbs of Boca Raton, FL will now look for the winner of Jon Jones and “Rampage” Jackson for Light Heavyweight supremacy with a record of 21-1-1. Ortiz, 205.8 lbs of Huntington Beach, CA took the fight on just two and a half weeks notice and is now 17-9-1.

RASHAD EVANS
“Speed kills and I feel that tonight I was fast. Tito was a couple of steps behind. I had to keep the pressure on because Tito is strong. I didn’t feel in any danger with the choke, I felt like it was a wrestling position where I put my head to the ground and my shoulder to him so there wasn’t too much he could do with that. This victory is sweet, after 14 months off I feel stronger than ever.”

TITO ORTIZ
“Rashad was the better man tonight. I take my hat off to him. I fought my ass off tonight and I will be back. I took this fight on short notice and gave it my all. I stepped up for Dana, Lorenzo and the UFC.”

In the Middleweight co-feature, Vitor Belfort thrilled a partisan crowd by stopping Yoshihiro Akiyama in round one.

After a cautious first moment of the bout, Belfort landed a hard combination that got Akiyama to the ground. Belfort followed up by pounding the head of Akiyama and the fight was stopped.

Belfort, 185.4 lbs of Las Vegas, NV showed no affects of his title losing knockout loss to Anderson Silva and will look for another title shot at 20-9. Akiyama, 184.6 lbs of Osaka, JAP is now 13-4.

VITOR BELFORT
“I feel great. God gave me the strength to move forward and I thank Him for that. I have the courage it takes to be one of the best. I feel strong, fit, powerful and fast.”

Brian Ebersole took out Denis Hallman in round of their welterweight battle of MMA veterans.
The match took a backseat to Hallman’s tight trunks, which Dana White later described as tighter than Speedos.

That did not seem to distract Ebersole as escaped off his back to turn the tables and begin to land hard punches and elbows on Hallman. A thudding elbow across the head was the nail in the coffin as it sent Hallman out and the bout was stopped at 4:28 of round one.

Ebersole, 170.6 lbs of Melbourne, AUS is now 48-14-1-1. Hallman, 170.8 lbs of Yelm, WA is now 66-14-2.

BRIAN EBERSOLE
“The feeling is bitter sweet, the fight didn’t start the way I wanted it to start. I thought I would have had to wear him down much more but luckily for me he had an open guard which let me get in there. I’m ecstatic about my two straight victories. I want to fight the veterans now, the ones that I came up watching.”

DENNIS HALLMAN
“I feel the fight was stopped too soon, but Brian had some good blows. Overall it was a fair fight.”

Constantinos Philippou scored a three round split decision over Jorge Rivera in a Middleweight bout.
It was a close fight with both guys having their moments.

Scores were 29-28 for Philippou in two cards and Rivera took a card at 29-28.

Phililppou, 185.2 lbs of Long Island, NY is now 8-2. Rivera, 186.4 lbs of Milford, MA is 18-9

CONSTANTINOS PHILIPPOU
“I am very happy with winning my first UFC fight, but it wasn’t the way I wanted to win it. I wanted to show off my boxing skills and instead I was wrestling and using my jiu jitsu skills. But I will learn from my mistakes and come back stronger and fitter.”

JORGE RIVERA
“I wish I had finished the fight. I think that when the decision is left to the judges, you get what you deserve, and tonight I didn’t deserve to win.”

Superstar in the making Rory McDonald scored an impressive first round stoppage over Mike Pyle in a Welterweight bout.

McDonald had Pyle on his back and began to reign elbows and punches and the fight was stopped at 3:54 of round one.

McDonald, 170.5 lbs of Montreal is now 12-1. Pyle, 170.8 lbs of Las Vegas is now 21-8-1.

RORY MACDONALD
“I went in really confident, and I have a lot more to show. I’m constantly improving and stepping up the ladder which is what I want to be doing. Everything went my way tonight, I wanted a clear shot and I knew from looking in his eyes that the fight was over.”

MIKE PYLE
“I’ll do better next time”.

Alexander Gustafsson pounded Matt Hamill in round two of their three round Light Heavyweight bout.
After Hamill took round one, Gutafsson pounded Hamill on the ground until the ref stopped the bout at 3:34 of round two.

Gustafsson of Gothenburg, Sweden is now 12-1. Hamill of Utica, NY is 11-4.

ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON
“This was by far the biggest fight of my career. It was unbelievable. I think that I was too defensive in the first round, but the second round I felt great. I want a career out of this, I want to fight the best guys in the world.”

MATT HAMILL
“I was eager going into the Octagon, but I was also fatigued. I had little time to prepare for the fight, and you could see my fatigue as my arms were down from the start of the fight. Alexander is a dangerous striker, and it was dangerous for me to have my arms down. I’ll be back tougher than ever though.”

Chad Mendes remained perfect with a three round unanimous decision over Rani Yahya in a Featherweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Mendes of Sacramento, CA and is now 11-0. Yahya of Brasilla. Brazil is now 16-7.

CHAD MENDES
“Of course we all look for a finish, but overall I am happy with the fight and I felt good. When I took him down the first time I wanted to see what he felt like. Hes a tough guy and I knew he would be strong. I was trying to elbow him and follow through with some quick pop-shots as much as possible.”

RANI YAHYA
“Chad is strong and Chad is good. He is really good at what he does. He kicked me a few times and I felt them for sure, and he has great take downs.”

Ivan Menjivar scored a three round unanimous decision over Nick Pace in a Bantamweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Menjivar of Montreal and is now 23-8. Pace of Staten Island, NY is 6-2

IVAN MENJIVAR
“I happy with the win, he took me down so it was a very close fight. I think I punched him more than he did so I was more in control, but he hit me hard twice and that made my legs shake.”

NICK PACE
“I hate losing more then I like winning, and I want to be the champion. It was very unlucky, but that’s MMA and that’s life, its not always fair.”

Johny Hendricks scored a three round split decision over Mike Pierce in a Welterweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on two cards for Hendricks and Pierce took a card at 29-28.

Hendricks of Dallas, TX is now 11-1. Pierce of Vancouver, WA is 12-4.

JOHNY HENDRICKS
“It was a very tough fight. Its always hard with other wrestlers, and he changed levels often making it even harder. I feel that the take downs were even, in fact, I don’t think he took me down at all. I feel awesome, my ground game is good, my knees are great and I am really happy with my improvement.”

MIKE PIERCE
“I’m obviously dissapointed. I had a really good camp, went through really good training and I feel dissapointed after all the hard work I put in. It was a fair fight, both of us were trying to finish what we started, and unfortunately it went the way it did.”

On the strength of a dominant first round, former WEC champion Mike Brown scored a three round unanimous decision over Nam Phan in A Featherweight bout.

Brown pounded Phan on the ground for the majority of the opening frame.

Scores were 29-27; 29-28 and 29-28 for Brown, 146 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL and is now 25-8. Phan, 145 lbs of Orange County, CA is 16-10.

MIKE BROWN
“At the beginning my back was haunting me so that’s why I was a little conservative, but I’m glad I got the job done. There was a lot of repetitive trauma there for over four minutes so even though I didn’t knock him out, I know that I was breaking him down. It wasn’t the most perfect fight, but I’m happy I got the victory.”

NAM PHAN
“It was a really tough bout so I did what I could do. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, but I believe it was as fair as it could be”.

In the opening bout of the evening, Rafael Natal scored a three round unanimous decision over Paul Bradley in a Middleweight bout.

Scores were 30-27; 29-28 and 29-28 for Natal.

Natal, 185.4 lbs of New York is now 13-3-1. Bradley, 185.2 lbs of Minneapolis, MN is now 18-3-0-1

RAFAEL NATAL
“I am really, really happy about this fight! I feel like I needed it, I worked really hard for it. It was a tough fight and I’m glad I came through winning. Thank you God and thank you UFC.”

PAUL BRADLEY
“I feel like it was my fault, I could have taken him down in the second round. I didn’t, so it’s my fault. It was a close fight, and I am disappointed by the result. Like Dana always says, never leave it to the judges.”

UFC President Dana White talks UFC 133 & More

15rounds.com and gfl.tv was on hand for the UFC 133 Press conference that features Rashad Evans- Tito Ortiz; Vitor Belfort – Yoshihiro Akiyama and Rory McDonald – Mike Pyle

PART 2

Middleweight Contender Yoshihiro Akiyama works out before his UFC 133 showdown with Vitor Belfort

Middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama talks to the media about his UFC 133 showdown with Vitor Belfort

Middleweight contender Vitor Belfort talks to the media about his showdown Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133

Light Heavyweight contender Vitor Belfort works out in Philadelphia before his UFC 133 showdown with Yoshhiro Akiyama

UFC Legend Tito Ortiz works out in Philadelphia in advance of his UFC 133 bout with Rashad Evans

UFC Legend Tito Ortiz talks about his UFC 133 battle with Rashad Evans on August 6th in Philadelphia

UFC Middleweight contender Jorge Rivera works out before his UFC 133 fight with Constantious Philippou

Whether it’s MMA or boxing, injuries happen and happen often. As was the case a month or so ago, both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard were forced pull out of their anticipated rubber match for UFC 130. Considering the absence of both participants, there was no last minute replacement that could’ve truly saved the promotion. The fight, simply put, was dead and the show had to settle for Jackson vs. Hamil as the main event.

However, that’s not always the case when only one guy drops out of a fight. If match-makers do their jobs appropriately with given resources and their availability, interesting things may play out.

Dating back to the first scrap between a young Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn back in UFC 58, cirumstances were already interesting. St. Pierre had lost to then champion Matt Hughes in UFC 50 and Penn, who was making his return to the UFC had already scored a stoppage win over Hughes in UFC 46. The two were signed to fight for the number one contender spot.

St. Pierre went on to narrowly outpoint ‘the Prodigy’ to earn a title shot, but suffered an injury which delayed his crack at the title. Penn received a shot instead and faced Hughes for the title on UFC 63. Penn lost and GSP later came back to defeat Hughes via stoppage. The three would later go on to fighter each other once more. In the end, we saw a round-robin between three all-time greats and legends. It wasn’t so bad after all.

When Cain Velasquez humbled Brock Lesnar to lift the heavyweight title at UFC 121, experts and fan acknowledged that we finally have a big complete package sort of a heavyweight champion.

Junior Dos Santos on the other hand, was just another guy waiting in line, who many perceived as the ‘other’ top contender at the time. It was a no-brainer for the two to meet, and it was only a matter of time.

But of course, Velasquez suffered an injury while training, which postponed this much-talked showdown until further notice. No worries though… because fighters move on, and carry on fighting new fights. Re-enter Brock Lesnar, we thought we had a suitable replacement. The solution was simple; sit on opposite sides of the coaching gig for the Ultimate Fighter 13 and then later fight each other.

As the promotion of Lesnar vs. Santos began, pundits begun to analyze the potential outcome, it was a choice of sheer strength or pure knockout power. Which would you prefer; an overzealous and explosive series of double-leg takedowns or a cool yet disciplined style which includes a set of tight defense and vicious striking? This was a perfect interim fight, if there ever was one.

And then it came…another buzz-kill. Lesnar dropped out of the contest due to another case of diverticulitis, a disease that not only stalled his career for nearly a year, but one which in its course throughout threatened his life.

Stepping in as the new replacement to complete this heavyweight title eliminator equation, Shane Carwin was given a chance for his own redemption. After nearly decapitating the monstrous then heavyweight king, Lesnar, the former Division-II wrestling champion from Colardo ran out of gas in the second round and succumbed to a powerful arm triangle choke in his first title bid. Carwin was plagued by a multitude of issues concerning legal matters and also injuries that prohibited his return to the cage. They say inactivity is a killer in all sports but in MMA, if the timing is right, it could very well turn out to be a wonderful fortune.

Also, given the styles, we just might have a more aesthetically pleasing fight between two vicious strikers as opposed to a possible clinch-fest. Carwin, despite his extensive wrestling pedigree, is anything but gun-shy, shown in his explosiveness and relentlessness against the likes of Frank Mir, Gabriel Gonzaga and even during his losing efforts against Lesnar.

Dos Santos, who is unbeaten in the UFC, is a proven puncher himself, demonstrated in his frightening knockouts and stoppage wins against a respectable tally which included Crocop, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Gilbert Yvel, and Fabricio Werdum. The last we saw of JDS was against the charismatic Roy Nelson, in a bout which he easily won with superior striking and unbendable takedown defense.

So fans, experts, message boarders and casual spectators and bar-goers, don’t blink. Come Saturday night in Vancouver, we have a shoot-out. And perhaps, it’s a beginning of another possible round-robin.

UNDERCARD

ESPN’s on-studio analyst and former lightweight contender Kenny Florian makes his debut at 145 pounds against Diego Nunes in attempt to earn his title shot in the recently added featherweight division. Florian, whose last bout was a disappointing decision loss to current top contender Gray Maynard, will hope to bounce back with a win and look forward to a possible showdown against the pound-for-pound great, Jose Aldo.

In a battle of great Brazilian jujitsu and American wrestling, middleweights Demian Maia is set to fight former Division-I champion Mark Munoz. Maia, a BJJ specialist will probably approach his usual technical ground game method, while Munoz will hope to utilize his strong takedown defense and much improved striking for his tricky opponent.

Also on the card, American Dave Herman will be up against Norway’s Jon Olav Einmo. Lightweights in action are Donald Cerrone and Vagner Rocha. Spike TV will televise the non-PPV portion of the undercard, including Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards and Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman. Fans can also catch the preliminary card on Facebook.

RANDOM NOTES FROM AC

This past weekend saw the super middleweight title tilt between Carl Froch and Glen Johnson at the Boardwalk Hall Ball Room in Atlantic City, NJ. While this marked the return of Glen Johnson to Atlantic City since downing Hugo Pineda back in January of 2008, this was also the return of yours truly since the November of 2008. This was only my second fight coverage since (first was in my hometown of Fairfax, VA back in November of last year) ‘08, and it was great to see the old gang and also witness some new blood. Move aside Marc Abrams and young Yano. The real Mr. AC is back!

Speaking of the fight itself, I thought the 42 year-old Johnson fought the best fight he could, but Froch was just too fast, too busy, too tough, and just better. Still, the King of Miami is one of the toughest fighters I’ve ever seen and his ability to create excitement in the ring has gone well underappreciated. Much respect to the future hall of famer. As for Froch, I think he’s earned the respect of many since his gutty effort against Mikkel Kessler in Denmark. The Cobra is now slated to enter the final championship of the super middleweight tournament against Andre Ward. Stylistically, I think his ability to backpedal and throw long, rangy combinations will pose some serious issues for Ward. The way Ward dips below the waist line can create some openings for Froch’s oddly angled uppercuts and I would not be surprised at all if the Brit comes out victorious.

PARIS HAS NO LOVE FOR ROGER

During the weekend, the French Open was also underway. Needless to say, it was great to see my man Roger Federer end the crazy streak of Novak Djokovic to reach another grand slam final. Initially, I had hoped for Djokovic to win, considering his chances (based on their last four outings) of denying Rafael Nadal of his sixth title in Paris. While it was sad to see the aging Federer lose to Nadal again (0-3 this year, 0-4 in French Open, and 8-17 total), I’ve come to accept the possibility of Nadal one day reaching or surpassing the greatness that of Roger Federer. The level of game these guys are playing today are just unbelievable. Also throw Djokovic and Andy Murray in the mix; this truly is a remarkable era of tennis. Wimbledon ought to bring something special later this month and July.

MIAMI-DALLAS THOUGHTS

When Wade, LeBron, and Bosh edged out Dirk and Co. in game 3, I thought the Heat might have sealed the deal. Or at least it gave me that impression going into remainder of the series.. But serious nerves started to kick in after the loss on Tuesday. I, for one, am worried that the momentum swing is not only in favor of Dallas, but LeBron James may just be finished for this series. Scoring just 8 points in game 4 (while averaging 20+ throughout the playoffs), it was akin to seeing Mike Jones trying to finish out the fight vs. Jesus Soto Karass after punching himself out in the second round. Granted, that was boxing and this is basketball, but James looks like the guy who shot his load in the Chicago series. Hopefully I’m wrong, and it’s still plausible that Miami closes out the series before game 7…I gotta’ hand it to Dirk Nowitzki though. He’s as tough as they come and if anyone deserves the championship from Dallas, it’s the German-based PF who’s been with the franchise since he first started in the league, not Jason Kidd. But I can’t lie, I’m a big supporter of LeBron and D-Wade, and even with all this flopping and complaining, I’m still on the wagon. Viva Miami!

May 6, 2011 – The hottest fighter in the mixed martial arts landscape right now is Stocktons own, Nick Diaz. He is currently riding an 11-fight win streak and has been mentioned as a potential super-fight candidate to face-off against UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre at the end of 2011.

Due to the structuring of Diaz’s contract with MMA outfit, Strikeforce, he is in a unique position where he can contractually pursue a professional boxing career in addition to his mixed-martial arts title reign.

While rumors of opponents such as former champions Fernando Vargas and Roy Jones Jr. have been floated around, neither mans team have yet solidified a contract with the young champion.

A few moments ago, former IBF super-middleweight champion & devastating knockout artist, Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, officially signed on the dotted line to square off against Diaz in the Fall of 2011.

Lacy possesses the type of dangerous punching power in both hands that can end the double digit win streak of the rugged Northern California champion.

Don Chargin states, “This is a very dangerous fight for both men. Not only is this fight dangerous but stylistically it is very intriguing. I expected more resistance from fight fans and media in regards to this match-up but its amazing as to the hundreds of calls and e-mails I’ve received from fans on both sides wanting to see this match-up take place. I’ve received more than a few inquiries from some other very high-profile boxers that want to step up and fight Nick. Its been a real whirlwind.”

Chargin continues, “I’ve been around boxing for quite some time and I’ve seen a lot of great, tough fighters in my six decades within the sport. I believe that if Nick had been one of those kids who had picked up boxing from a youth, he’d undoubtedly be a world-champion today. Sometime within the next 2 weeks I’ll be personally making the trek to Cesar Gracies gym to setup a private, closed door sparring session between Nick and a few nameless top-level contenders I have in mind.”

Can Jeff Lacy refocus his career to regain the once promising glory that lingered at his fingertips just a few short years back?

Can Nick Diaz’s granite chin withstand the devastating punching power of arguably the hardest punching 168-pound fighter on the planet?

These questions will definitely be answered before the end of 2011 as the fight titled, “Breaking History” is fairly self-explanatory.

Ontario, Canada presented its first ever UFC event with a remarkable turnout of 55,000 fans in attendance as native hero and UFC welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre (22-2) successfully defended his crown via unanimous verdict in the main event against the highly regarded Jake Shields (26-5) over five contested rounds.

In a bout that was presumed to be a wrestling match between two upper echelon grapplers, the crowd witnessed a tactical boxing and sometimes kicking contest, mostly controlled and dominated by St-Pierre.

The opening round saw the champion execute superior timing of overhand rights, jabs, spinning back kicks, and a superman punch that actually found its mark.

St-Pierre, known for his relentless wrestling prowess, was able to secure two brief takedowns, but did not sustain any further to take the fight to the ground. Shields, more renown of his grappling repertoire than striking, made several single leg attempts, but to no avail.

After sweeping the first two, St-Pierre appeared to be distraught by an eye injury that seemed to be caused by a flickering Shields jab. Between rounds, St-Pierre informed his corner that he could not see out of his left eye. This turned out favorably for Shields, who gained confidence to increase his aggression in the fourth, connecting with solid straight punches to the face. However, the champion responded with a vicious head kick that hurt and dropped the challenger for a brief moment. The final round was competitive as Shields continued to raise his tempo, while St-Pierre kept his distance to time his clobbering overhand rights.

While there was a bit of a jeer from the crowd for what resulted in a safety first if not uninspiring performance by GSP, there was no doubt as to who came out victorious after 25 minutes of Octagon fighting. Official scores were 50-45, 48-47(twice). St-Pierre did not respond with a decisive answer when asked about a potential move to the middleweight division. As for Shields, this marks the first loss in nearly six years for the former Strikeforce Middleweight champion.

ALDO DEFEATS HOMINICK IN A CLASSIC

The Toronto held event also featured UFC’s inaugural featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick. Aldo (19-1), making his anticipated debut in the UFC, began the first round furiously landing vicious leg kicks and hard punches. Hominick (20-9) refused to wilt, as he switched tactics in rounds two and three, to seemingly outbox and outsmart Aldo in spurts.

In round four, a nasty elbow landed by the champion Aldo, caused a grotesque swelling on the forehead of Hominick, who was then further punished by relentless ground and pound attack. The cageside physician observed the swelling, but did allow Hominick to continue. In a true display of toughness and iron will, Hominick came out furiously in the fifth and final stanza to immediately take down the tiring champion and unleashed a series of unanswered punches from the top. Unable to fully break Aldo’s guard, Hominick tried his best to land as many as he could, but the Brazilian was able to hang tight and hear the final bell.

Judges’ scores were unanimous in favor of Aldo by a way of 50-43, 48-46, and 49-46. It wasn’t the most eye opening performance given Aldo’s reputation as one the top 3, 4 pound for pound fighters in the sport. However, the champion still demonstrated indomitable will and toughness in the fifth round to pull out the W.

MACHIDA DISMANTLES CAPTAIN AMERICA INTO RETIREMENT

Heading into tonight’s event, it was announced that Randy Couture (19-11) would fight his final fight in the Octagon. After what we saw tonight, he made a wise decision. In a heavily one-sided affair, Lyoto Machida (17-2) got back on the winning track, suddenly ending the fight and the career of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, with a perfectly executed jumping front kick that landed on the jaw of the former Greco Roman wrestler.

The kick dropped and nearly rendered Couture unconscious as the referee immediately called a halt to the bout at 1:06 of the first round. Couture shortly announced his retirement and received a standing ovation from the crowd. With a win, Machida puts himself back in the light heavyweight contention, after suffering back-to-back losses to Maurcio Rua and Quinton Jackson.

In other bouts, Russian light heavyweight and long time cage veteran Vladimir Matyushenko (26-5), destroyed American former wrestler Jason Brilz (18-4-1) in the first round. A hard one-two punch combo dropped Brilz to the canvas which was then followed by a string of hammer fists which prompted the referee to stop the contest. Former WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson won an exciting three round battle against Mark Bocek. Henderson dominated in striking and survived an anaconda choke and other submission attempts to receive the unanimous nod.

Diego Sanchez scored a controversial three round unanimous decision over Martin Kampmann in a bloody welterweight bout at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Both guys thrilled the crowd with power punches with Sanchez being bloodied all over his face in round one and Kampmann was bleeding over his left eye in round two. The two landed huge punches in every round with round’s two and three being close rounds as Kampmann won the first round.

Sanchez, 171 lbs of Albuquerque, NM won on all cards 29-28 which was booed loudly by the crowd. Sanchez is now 25-4. Kampmann, 171 lbs of Las Vegas is now 17-5

Mark Munoz needed just fifty-four seconds to pound out CB Dollaway in a Middleweight bout.

Munoz, 186 lbs of Vallejo, CA is now 10-2. Dollaway, 185 lbs of Tempe, AZ is now 12-4.

Chris Weidman as he bloodies and batterd and stopped Alessio Sakara in a Middleweight bout.

Weidman, 186 lbs of Mineola, NY is now 5-0. Sakara, 186 lbs of Rome, Italy is now 19-8-1.

Brain Bowles scored a first round stoppage over Damaico Page in a Featherweight bout from a Guillotine choke at 3:30

Bowles, 135 lbs is now 9-1. Page, 136 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 12-6

Igor Pokrajac scored a first round stoppage over Todd Brown in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Pokrajac pounded Brown to a pulp and the fight was stopped at the end of round one.

Shane Roller scored a devastating second round stoppage over Thiago Tavares.

Time was 1:28 of round round two.

Melvin Guillard scored a first round stoppage over Evan Dunham in a scheduled three round lightweight bout that highlighted UFC Fight for the Troops in Fort Hood, Texas.

Guillard landed some quick punches that hurt Dunham and Guillard followed up with several vicious kicks and punches that led to the stoppage at 2:58 of round one.

Guillard, 155 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 45-9-3-1. Dunham, 156 lbs of Las Vegas, NV is now 11-2.

Matt Mitrione remained undefeated by scoring a first round stoppage at 2:59 over Tim Hague in a scheduled three round Heavyweight bout.

Mitrione dropped Hague with a straight left and landed a barrage of punches while Hague covered up on the canvas and the fight was stopped.

Mitrione, 260 lbs of Indianapolis, is now 4-0. Hague, 256 1/2 lbs of Edmonton, Alberta, CAN is now 12-5.

Mark Hominick scored a devastating first round knockout at 1:28 over George Roop in a scheduled three round Featherweight fight.

Hominick landed a blistering left hook that sent Roop to the canvas and followed up with a crushing left to the face while a defenseless Roop sat on the canvas and the fight was stopped.

Himinick, 145 1/2 lbs of Ontario, Canada now will earn a title shot at UFC Featherweight champ Jose Aldo and is now 20-8. Roop, 145 1/2 lbs of Tucson, AZ is now 11-8-1.

Pat Barry scored a three round unanimous decision over Joey Beltran in a exciting Heavyweight bout.

Scores were 30-27; 29-28 and 29-28 for Barry, 240 lbs of Milwaukee, WI and is now 6-2. Beltran. 230 lbs of Carlsbad, CA and is now 12-5.

Matt Wimon scored a dominating three round unanimous decision over Cole Miller in a Lightweight bout

Scores were 30-27 on two cards while a third read 28-28 for Wimon, 155 lbs of Colorado. Miller, 155 1/2 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL and is now 17-5

The Attendance was 12, 688 which produced a gate of over $2,174,000

The Submission of The night was awaded to Clay Guida

The Knockout of the night was awarded to Jeremy Stephens

The fight of the night was Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard and each will receive their win bonus

It was announced at the press conference that Edgar will next defend his title against the exciting Anthony Pettis

Frankie Edgar retained the UFC Lightweight championship as he survived a first round drubbing to come back in his fight with Gray Maynard to headline UFC 125 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Midway through the first round, Maynard landed a vicious left hook that dropped Edgar to the canvas and Maynard immediately pounced on the champion. For the next two-plus minutes, Maynard savagely drilled a visibly hurt and bloody Edgar all over the octagon. Edgar was bleeding from the nose and on several occasions it seemed that he was just one shot away from being stopped. Edgar began to show some signs of life towards the end of the first frame. Edgar gathered himself and began winning most of the nest three rounds and he started landing hard shots of his own and solid kicks as he began to figure out Maynard. Edgar had a big round four as he momentarily locked in a guillotine choke. Round five was good back and forth action as both men gave all they had left to the delight of the crowd.

When the scores were read, each man took a card at 48-46 while a third card was tallied at 47-47.

Edgar, 155 lbs of Summit, NJ retains his belt for the second time. Maynard, 155 lbs of Phoenix, AZ was attempting to beat Edgar for the second time and is now 11-0-1-1.

In The co-feature, Brian Stann pounded out Chris Leben at 3:37 of round one of their bout.

Stann of Scranton, PA is 10-3. Leben is 21-7.

Thiago Silva scored a three round unanimous decision over Brandon Vera in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Scores were 30-36; 30-27 and 30-27 for Silva, of San Paulo, Brazil and is now 15-2. Vera, 205 lbs of Norfolk, VA is now 11-6.

Dong Hyun Kim scored a three round unanimous decision over Nate Diaz in a Welterweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Kim, 171 lbs of Suwon, South Korea and is now 14-0-1. Diaz, 170 lbs of Stockton, CA is now 13-7.

Clay Guida scored a second round tapout over Takanori Gomi in a scheduled three round Lightweight bout.

Guida choked Gomi out with a guillotine at 4:27 of round two.

Brad Tavares pounded out veteran Phil Baroni in round one of their scheduled three round Middleweight bout.

Tavares landed a high leg kick to the head that startled Baroni which led to an assault of punches that forced referee Josh Rosenthal to stop the bout at 4:20 of round one.

Tavares, 186 lbs of Las Vegas is now 6-1. Baroni, 186 lbs of Las Vegas is now 13-13.

Guida, 156 lbs of Ground Lake, IL is now 28-8. Gomi, 155 lbs of Kanangawa, Japan is now 32-7-1

Dustin Poirier scored a three round unanimous decision over Josh Grispi in a Featherweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for the twenty-one year old Poirier, 145 lbs of Lafyette, LA and is now 9-1. Grispi, 146 lbs of Massachusetts is 14-2.

Jeremy Stephens scored an explosive one punch knockout over Marcus Davis in the final scheduled round of their three round Lightweight bout.

Stephens landed a crushing right that knocked Davis down aand out.

Stevens, 156 lbs of San Diego, CA is now 19-6. Davis, 156 lbs of Bangor, ME is now 22-9.

Michael Bisping scored a three round unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Akiyama in a Middleweight bout to headline UFC 120 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Bisping scored the harder punches after being hurt seconds into the fight. Bisping had a high workrate for which Akiyama had no answer for.

All three judges scored 30-27 in favor of Bisping, 185 lbs of Nottingham, England and is now 21-3. Akiyama, 185 lbs of Osaka, Japan is now 12-3-2.

Former WEC Welterweight champion, Carlos Condit scored a vicious first round stoppage over Dan Hardy in a scheduled three round Welterweight bout.

After the two exchanged a few kicks and punches, Condit caught Hardy with a hard left hook just as Hardy was trying to land one himself. That punch sent Hardy to the mat and the fight was waved off just as Condit was moving into inflict more damage at the 4:27 mark of round one.

Condit, 170 lbs of Albuquerque, New Mexico is now 26-5. Hardy, 171 lbs of Nottingham, England is now 23-8.

Paul Sass scored a first round submission over Mark Holst in a Lightweight bout.

Sass made Holst tap with a triangle at 4:45 of round one.

Mike Pyle scored an upset as he handed Brit John Hathaway his first loss by scoring a unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for Pyle, 170 lbs of Las Vegas, NV and is now 20-7-1. Hathaway, 171 lbs of Britain is now 14-1.

Cheick Kongo and Travis Browne fought to a three round draw in a Heavyweight bout.

Kongo would have won a unanimous decision had he not been docked a point in the final frame for holding on to the shorts of Browne. Instead all judges scored the bout even at 28-28.

Kongo, 228 lbs of Paris, France is now 25-6-2. Browne, 251 lbs of San Diego is now 10-0-1.

Alexander Gustaffson choked out Cyrill Diabate in round two of a scheduled three round Light Heavyweight bout.

Gustaffson, 204 lbs of Gothenberg, Sweden is now 9-1. Diabate, 204 lbs of France is now 17-7-3.

Light Heavyweight Jon Jones continued his dominance as he stopped Vladimir Matyushenko in round one of a scheduled three round bout at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California.

Jones pounded a way at Matyushenko while holding his left arm and Matyushenko was unable to defend himself which led referee Herb Dean to stop the fight ninety-two seconds into the fight.

Yushin Okami scored a three round split decision victory over Mark Munoz in a Middleweight bout.

Scores were 29-28, 29-28 for Okami and 29-28 for Munoz

Okami, 185 lbs of Kangawa, Japan is now 26-5. Munoz, 185 lbs of Vallejo, CA is now 8-2.

Charles Olivera remained undefeated as he needed forty-one seconds to make Darren Elkins tap out from an arm bar in a lightweight bout scheduled for three rounds.

Jake Ellenberger scored a third round stoppage over John Howard when Howard could not continue due to excessive swelling around his left eye.

In a match that was back and forth, it was Ellenberger’s striking that made Howard’s eye swell grotesquely fro both over and under his eye. When the Octagonside physician asked Howard, Howard said he could not see which prompted the fight to be stopped at 2:21 of round three.

Ellenberger, 170 1/2 lbs of Omaha, NB is now 23-5. Howard, 170 1/2 lbs of Boston, MA is now 14-6.

Takanori Gomi scored a one punch knockout over Tyson Griffin in round one of a three round Lightweight bout.

Gomi landed a huge right hook that cracked Griffin to the canvas and the fight was stopped before anymore damage could be done.

The end came at 1:04 of round for Gomi, 156 lbs of Tokyo, Japan is now 32-6-1. Griffin, 154 lbs of Las Vegas was stopped for the first time and is now 14-4.

Kenny Florian scored a third round choke out over Japanese import Takanori Gomi at 2:52 of the final round in the main event at Ultimate Fight Night 21 at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina

Florian was dominant and softened Gomi as he mounted him with a choke just before going hind Gomi for the rear-naked choke.

Florian, 156 lbs of Brookline, MA is now 15-4. Gomi, 155 lbs of Tokyo, Japan is now 31-6-1.

Reigning Ultimate Fighter winner, Roy “Big Country” Nelson landed one huge over hand right that lvirtually knocked out Stefan Struve and scored a first round stoppage in their scheduled three round Heavyweight bout.

After Nelson landed that blow he pounced on Struve and the fight was quickly stopped thirty-nine seconds into the bout.

Nelson, 263 lbs of Las vegas was giving up eleven inches to the 6?11? Struve is now 16-4. Struve of the Netherlands is now 23-4.

Jorge Rivera pounded Nate Quarry over two rounds in their scheduled three round Middleweight bout.

Rivera pounded Quarry and bloodied him in round one. In round two, Rivera quickly knocked Quarry down and then pounded on a Quarry when the fight was stopped by referee Mario Yamasaki at twenty-nine seconds of round two.

Rivera, 186 lbs of Milford, MA is now 18-7. Quarry, 186 lbs of Gresham, OR is now 18-4.

Ross Pearson scored a three round unanimous decision over Dennis Siver in a Lightweight bout.

Pearson bloodied Siver in round one but Siver showed some spunk but it wasnt enough as Pearson won by scores of 30-27 on all cards.

Pearson, 156 lbs of Sunderland, England is now 13-3. Siver, 156 lbs of Manheim, Germany

Gray Maynard scored a three round split decision over Nate Diaz in the Lightweight main event of UFC Fight Night at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA

Scores were 30-37 and 29-28 for Maynard, 155 lbs of Las Vegas and is now 10-0. Diaz, 155 lbs of Stockton, CA is now 11-6

Evan Dunham scored athird round tapout submission over Efarin Escudero in a three round Lightweight bout between undefeated fighters.

Dunham, 155 lbs of Las Vegas is 10-0. Escudero, 155 lbs of Tempe, AZ is 13-1

Aaron Simpson was almost knocked out in the first round but came back to win a close split decision over Tom Lawlor in a three round Light Heavyweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on two cards for Simpson and 29-28 Lawlor. Simpson, 185 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is now 7-0. Lawlor, 185 lbs of Orlando, FL is 6-2-1.

Amir Sadollah scored a three round unanimous decision over Brad Blackburn in a Middelweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for Sadollah, 170 lbs of Richmond, VA and is now 4-1. Blackburn, 170 lbs of Olympia, WA is now 15-10-1.