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 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

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 

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.

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

This past Saturday Mixed Martial Arts was introduced to the mainstream when EliteXC aired on CBS in primetime. It was supposed to be an event that grabbed those still on the cusp of being interested in MMA. Early ratings came in showing that 4.3 million people watched the event and that number could have gone up as the main event came on after 11:00 PM. In addition, this showcase was designed to get EliteXC into the MMA spotlight and take some attention away from the big dog in the sport, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Unfortunately the event did not live up to the hype. The main reason for this being because of the way the main event ended, with a great deal of controversy.

EliteXC is a brand not many people have probably heard of. However, I'm sure most of you that consider yourself even casual MMA fans or sports fans in general have heard the name Kevin Ferguson, or rather you've heard him by his fighting name, "Kimbo Slice." EliteXC has been pimping out Slice for months now as their poster boy. He's the phenom from the streets. He's the YouTube legend. He's the man that came from nothing and into the spotlight. Kimbo is the fighter EliteXC is hitching its wagon to, hoping he'll propel them on toward giving the UFC some competition in the MMA world.

This past Saturday Kimbo could have done just that, but in my mind, he failed. Slice came into his fight against James Thompson with a 2-0 record, both wins coming via KO and TKO. This fight showed how little experience he truly has and that he is still a work in progress. In his first to fights he had only been in the cage for a total of 62 seconds. It was a different story on Saturday as Thompson made Kimbo work into the third round. This was the first fight Kimbo had been taken down and had to fight from his back. His lack of ground game showed as Thompson worked him over and at one point had him completely pinned against the cage. Kimbo did have a few good moves from the ground that got the fight back to a standing position, but his lack of overall experience was on display no doubt.

Thompson came into this fight sporting some serious cauliflower ear. It was even more apparent as the fight went on. By the time the third round came around, his ear was flopping around and it looked like it had a little balloon on it. Thompson's left ear became a target for Kimbo and when he landed a big blow to that ear, it popped. Blood shot out of it. It was one of the grossest things I've seen since I've been watching MMA. The shot to the ear threw Thompson's equilibrium off for a second but he regained his composure. The fight continued, but not for much longer. Kimbo landed a few more shots, and even though Thompson looked like he was OK to continue, the referee stopped the fight and awarded Kimbo the TKO victory. It was a controversial ending to say the least.

So did Kimbo live up to his hype. Not hardly. He's still a raw talent that has to continue to learn. Put him up against almost any heavyweight fighter in the UFC and he wouldn't stand much of a chance I believe. His stand up is that of of a dirty boxer or street fighting style, which makes sense considering where he came from. But his ground game is almost non-existent. He'll learn as he goes and could become a great fighter for EliteXC. But for now he's just a lot of hype without any true credibility.

It was one of the greatest UFC PPV cards assembled in recent memory. In the end, fans were not disappointed. Almost every televised fight last night ended, not with a surprise winner, but in surprising fashion. Some ended with sudden knockouts or sudden submissions. Because the majority of the fights scheduled for the PPV ended so quickly, fans watching the show at home or in a bar got to see a few of the preliminary fights not scheduled for television. Usually we get one extra fight at the end if the PPV fights end early, but last night we got three times that many. A little more bang for the buck is always nice.

So let's get to the results.

BJ Penn def. Sean Sherk by KO at 5:00 in the third round to officially become the undisputed lightweight champion. For all the build-up to this fight and all the trash talk that happened between the two, this fight didn't quite live up to that hype. Sherk was out to get the title back that he never actually lost inside the Octagon. He lost it in court after testing positive for an illegal substance after his title defense in July of 2007. Surprisingly this fight never went to the ground. Both fighters stood up and went toe-to-toe with Penn landing a lot more shots than Sherk. Neither guy really had an decisive advantage or put together a barrage of consecutive blows to put the other into any type of trouble until late in the third round. It was then that Penn landed a shot that had Sherk stumbling backward toward the edge of the cage. When Sherk bounced off the cage, Penn was there to meet him with a knee to the face that sent him tumbling to the mat. Penn pounced and landed a barrage of shots. The round and fight ended in a very strange fashion. As Penn was landing the big blows the horn sounded to end the round. The referee ended up stopping the fight and apparently it was because Sherk said he was done. He definitely looked done as his face was a bruised and bloody mess, but the bizarre, quick ending had everyone stunned. Regardless of what truly happened at the end of the third round, Penn dominated the fight and now has the right to call himself the undisputed LW champ.

Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine by TKO at 0:36 in the first round. This by far was the most surprising finish of the night. Silva stated out quickly landing a barrage of shots that rocked Jardine and knocked him to the ground. Silva continued on the offensive and landed a few big punches to the face of Jardine while holding him down by the throat. Referee Steve Mazzagatti told Jardine to fight back and no sooner did he say that did Silva land a huge blow that knocked Jardine out cold. Mazzagatti stopped the fight as Jardine laid motionless. He would remain that way for a few minutes before being able to get up and walk out on his own power. The win by Silva puts him right back in the light-heavyweight title picture. On the contrary, the loss for Jardine puts him back behind the 8-ball when he was probably a win or two away from being named the No. 1 contender for the title.

Lyoto Machida def. Tito Ortiz by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the third round. Of all the fights on the card Saturday night, this one probably had the most intrigue surrounding it. Ortiz made it official in the post-fight interview that this was his last fight in the UFC. Unfortunately for him he will go out on a losing note as well as a frustrated one. Machida came into this fight undefeated in his MMA career. The win could move him into the No. 1 contender spot for the LHW title even though he was less than impressive last night. Machida ended up doing just enough to win, and just enough to take Ortiz out of his gameplan it seemed. Ortiz showed his frustration with Machida more than once during the contest as Machida bounced around the ring and never truly tried to take the fight to Ortiz. Machida landed kicks to the legs of Ortiz throughout the fight. It seemed that his strategy was to wear Ortiz down, which ultimately ended up working as he landed a couple of shots that knocked him down to the mat but Machida could never put him away. At one point late in the third round Machida knocked Ortiz down with a shot to the body. Machida saw the opening and went on the attack, but ended up finding himself in a triangle choke and arm-bar submission attempt at the same time. Machida was able to escape just before the round ended, but that attempt wasn't enough to get Ortiz the decision. Machida was just conservative enough to win and take minimal damage, but in the process he bored those watching. With the win, a fight between Machida and Wanderlei Silva isn't out of the question to decide the No. 1 contender for the LHW title now.

Goran Reljic def. Wilson Gouveia by TKO at 3:15 in the second round. Reljic, unlike many before him, had a very successful debut in the UFC. He came out quickly landing a flurry of punches that rocked Gouveia from the beginning. Gouveia was able to survive and mount some offense of his own in the first round. But it was the second round that belonged to Reljic. A left hook to the side of Gouveia's head sent him crashing to the mat. Reljic kept on the offensive until referee Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight. This was a very impressive UFC debut for Reljic and marked his eighth straight MMA win. The loss by Gouveia snapped a four fight winning streak.

Thiago Silva def. Antonio Mendes by Submission (strikes) at 2:24 in the first round. Mendes, like Reljic, was making his UFC debut Saturday night. He had a tall task ahead of him though as he was taking on the undefeated Silva. Mendes landed a kick to the head of Silva in the opening seconds of the fight that sent Silva to the mat. Just as Silva was able to get up and regain his composure, Mendes landed a big kick to the body that send Silva down again. Silva was able to get up again and after blocking a hip-toss attempt by Mendes, he was able to mount Mendes and began raining down shots to the head. In the midst of these punches Mendes tapped and the fight was stopped. The fight started out looking like an upset in the making, but it was not to be. Silva remains undefeated and continues to move up the ladder toward a LHW title shot.

Preliminary Bouts Rapid Results

• Rousimar Palhares def. Ivan Salaverry by Submission (arm-bar) at 2:36 in the first round.
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Kazuhiro Nakamura by TKO at 5:00 in the first round.
• Rich Clementi def. Terry Etim by Unanimous Decision (all three judges scored fight 29-28).
• Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Jon Koppenhaver by Submission (anaconda choke) at 0:56 in the first round.
• Dong-Hyun Kim def. Jason Tan by TKO at 0:25 in the third round.
• Shane Carwin def. Christian Wellisch by KO at 0:44 in the first round.

The next PPV event for the UFC will take place on June 7th at the O2 Arena in London, England at UFC 85: Bedlam. Originally this was supposed to showcase a main event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans. Because of an injury during training, Liddell had to back out of this fight. So the main event will now be between UFC legend Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves.

Prediction Results: 5-1 (Overall: 62-37)

This Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, at UFC 84: Ill Will, we will witness the return of one of the most well known fighters in MMA. Sean Sherk steps back into the Octagon to attempt to regain the lightweight title he never lost, well he did, but not because of losing a fight. Last year Sherk was stripped of his title after testing positive for steroids, a test that he tried to contest but to no avail. Because of that, the title was left vacant. In January the title was put on the line in a battle between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson. Penn would submit Stevenson in the second round in one of the bloodiest fights I've personally ever seen. That win set up the fight Saturday night between Penn and Sherk for the title.

In addition to the Sherk/Penn fight there are two other fights of interest this weekend. The first of which will see Keith Jardine hook up with Wanderlei Silva. This fight could have big implications toward a shot at the light heavyweight title, currently held by Quinton Jackson. The last fight both Jardine and Silva had was against the game guy, Chuck Liddell. Jardine won his match, Silva wasn't so fortunate. Should Silva beat Jardine this weekend, the LHW title picture could become very fuzzy.

The other intriguing fight of the night will see "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz take on Lyoto Machida. Ortiz hasn't stepped inside the Octagon in almost a year. His last fight was in July of last year when he fought to a draw with Rashad Evans. Machida comes into this weekend an undefeated fighter with a record of 12-0. He last fought in December when he beat Rameau Sokoudjou by submission in the second round. Machida will face his first true test in the UFC this weekend and should he come out with a win, he could make the LHW title picture even more hazy. For Ortiz, he has made it known that this will be his last fight in the UFC as he and management could not come together on a contract extension. He had one last fight on his contract and this will be it. There have been a few different places that Ortiz has been rumored to be going to including the new DREAM promotion, but last I heard, he may be starting his MMA organization.

OK, enough of the intro, lets get to the predictions for the PPV card this weekend.

BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk (for the lightweight title)
As I said in the intro, this is Sherk's chance to regain his title. He's going to have a tough go of it facing one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA in Penn. Sherk has only lost two fights in his career (to Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre) so his track record speaks well for him. Because of his suspension he hasn't fought in almost a year (last fight was in July 07 when he beat Hermes Franca). Because Sherk has been the around the block many times, I don't think the time off will affect him much, if at all. This fight against Penn should be interesting as both are good on the ground, Sherk more so with his wrestling while Penn is a great submission artist. Penn is good with the stand up as well but Sherk maybe the strongest fighter he's ever run up against. Sherk is coming into this fight with a lot to prove and with the chance to clear his name. He's going to have a tough time doing so against Penn though.
Prediction: Penn by submission in the third round

Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva
Two powerful fighters hook up here, one with a lot to prove in Silva after his loss to Liddell. Jardine has a very unorthodox style where he bounces around, always moving, which has created problems for some fighters. Silva is a world-class fighter though and if he decides to take the fight to Jardine unlike how Liddell did in their fight, he could end up walking away with a victory, and like I said before, make the LHW title picture a mess. Jardine has had a couple of big wins in his last few fights beating Liddell and Forrest Griffin. He did lose to upstart Houston Alexander in between those two fights when Alexander took the fight to him and completely dominated him. That's exactly what Silva needs to do if he expects to win against the herky-jerky fighter.
Prediction: Silva by TKO in the second round

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic
Gouveia comes into Saturday night with a four game winning streak, his last loss was to Jardine in June of 2006. He's a striker and a black belt in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, a good combination for any fighter. He'll step into the Octagon to take on Reljic who is undefeated in his MMA career. This will be Reljic's first fight in the UFC. His "welcome to the UFC" moment could be worse, but he definitely doesn't have it easy this weekend against Gouveia.
Prediction: Gouveia by TKO in the second round

Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz
Machida's undefeated record is on the line, as is his shot at the LHW title. Ortiz's reputation is on the line as him leaving the UFC with a win and by putting on a great show could help him with his new organization that he's wanting to start up, if in fact that is the way he goes. Should Machida win it should put him in line to take on the winner of the Forrest Griffin/Quinton Jackson fight that takes place in a couple months for the LHW title. Machida has come into the UFC and shot right up the ladder, taking on all comers, including one of the UFC icons this weekend. Ortiz has been one of the biggest names in the UFC for years and has been one of those fighters that the fans either loved or hated with a passion. Can he pull out another big win on his way out the door? Or will Machida spoil his party?
Prediction: Machida by decision

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes
Silva, like Machida, comes into this weekend with an undefeated record. His last fight was a surprising TKO victory over Houston Alexander back in November. He's an aggressive fighter, winning his three fights in the UFC by TKO. This will be Mendes' first fight in the UFC. How he adjusts to fighting inside the Octagon could make a difference in how he performs. In the end, its going to be difficult for Mendes to beat someone like Silva who is so aggressive and always looking for the knockout.
Prediction: Silva by TKO in the first round

BONUS
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Nakamura came into the UFC back in December and lost by unanimous decision to Lyoto Machida. Like Nakamura, Sokoudjou's last fight ended in a loss to Machida. Both fighters came into the UFC with a lot of promise and so far neither has a victory. Somebody has to win here, and it should be a good fight. Nakamura will probably try to take the fight to the ground, but if Sokoudjou can keep it standing and get into the clinch he could control the fight. It should be an interesting fight and its one that I hope makes it onto the PPV if time permits at the end.
Prediction: Sokoudjou by TKO in the third round

Record: 57-36

This weekend we will finally bear witness to one of the most anticipate rematches in UFC history. Saturday night Matt Serra will defend his Welterweight Title against Georges St-Pierre, a title that Serra actually won from GSP last year. Not only is this a highly intriguing fight, it will also mark the first time the UFC takes their event north of the border to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Oddly enough, that just so happens to be GSP's hometown. So to say he will have be the crowd favorite would be a huge understatement.

Serra will come into this fight after having to back out of his last fight against Matt Hughes due to suffering a back injury during his training. It was that injury that shot GSP back into the title picture as he stepped in to take on Hughes for the rights at an interim Welterweight Title. GSP dominated his fight against Hughes, earning his rematch with Serra. It will be just over a year since these two guys last met when Serra "shocked the world" in an upset win over GSP. That win put Serra on the MMA/UFC map. While the loss was devastating for GSP, it was also an awakening for him. Since then he has changed his training regiment and has become one of, if not the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Serra hasn't been in a fight since his win over GSP. On the other hand, GSP has fought and beat two great fighters in Josh Koscheck and future hall of famer, Hughes. Serra is coming into this fight as the champion. Oddly enough though, he's also coming in as the underdog.

In addition to the Serra/GSP battle this weekend, Cincinnati native, Rich Franklin will step back into the Octagon to take on Travis Lutter. Franklin hasn't had a fight since his loss to Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Title back in October. Since then he's been out of the Octagon since after having knee surgery. Like Franklin, Lutter's last fight was against Silva when he lost to him over a year ago in February of 2007.

PREDICTING THE PPV

Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra (for the Welterweight Title)
This is the main event on the evening, obviously. The background leading up to this fight has already been covered. How will it turn out? In my opinion, I think this is going to be a tough fight for Serra. GSP is a totally different guy from the one he saw over a year ago. Serra isn't going to surprise GSP this time around which leads me to think that we're going to see a new Welterweight Champion at the end of the PPV.
Prediction: GSP by submission in the 2nd round.

Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter
This should be a fun fight to watch. Lutter has lost three of his last four fights, so he has a lot to prove here if he wants to get his name on the list of fighters going for Silva's Middleweight Title. Franklin has lost two of his last four contest, both losses coming at the hands of Silva in title fights. The question that will be answered here is whether or not Lutter will be able to hang with the big boys of the middleweight division. If he can beat one of the best fighters in the division in Franklin, he could make a name for himself and catapult himself to an eventual title shot. While there is a chance that might happen, odds are Franklin will bounce back from his loss to Silva with an impressive win here. This could either turn out to be a good fight or one dominated by Franklin.
Prediction: Franklin by TKO in the 2nd round.

Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes
Another middleweight fight on the card will showcase two guys trying to become relevant in the title picture. Quarry's last two fights ended via knockout. One of those was a loss to Rich Franklin back in November of 2005. The other was a win over Pete Sell in September of 2007. Starnes is coming off a loss to Alan Belcher back in October. Quarry has knockout power and Starnes has been TKO'ed in two of his last four fights. This one is tough to call. Quarry will probably try to keep the fight standing and go for the knockout blow. On the flip side, Starnes might try to take the fight to the mat and look for the submission.
Prediction: Starnes by Submission in the 3rd round.

Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy
Up until his last fight, Bisping was undefeated in the UFC. His only loss came at the hands of Rashad Evans back in November. Before that fight Bisping had a controversial win over Matt Hamill. McCarthy is a relative unknown in the UFC. He hasn't fought in the UFC since November of 2006 when he defeated Gideon Ray. I honestly can't imagine an upset happening here. Bisping is going to be too strong for McCarthy and if he's able to keep the fight standing, McCarthy will be in trouble. Even if the fight goes to the mat, it probably won't stay there long.
Prediction: Bisping by TKO in the 1st round.

Mac Danzig vs. Mark Bocek
The most recent "The Ultimate Fighter" winner will step back into the Octagon for the first time since claiming that title. Danzig beat Tommy Spear in December of last year by submission in the first round to become the fifth TUF title. His matchup with Bocek this weekend should be a pretty good one to most likely kick off the PPV event. Bocek, like Danzig, comes into this fight having won his previous contest. Back in December Bocek beat Doug Evans by unanimous decision. Both of these guys are good at the ground game, so there's a good chance this one will end by submission. If one can't make the other tap, don't be surprised if it goes the distance and put into the judges hands.
Prediction: Danzig by Submission in the 2nd round.

OTHER QUICK PICKS

-Jason MacDonald vs. Joe Doerksen: MacDonald by Submission in the 2nd round.
-Alan Belcher vs. Jason Day: Belcher by Submission in the 1st round.
-Rich Clementi vs. Sam Stout: Stout by decision in the 3rd round.

Overall Prediction Results: 52-33

It is a busy week on GetSportsRadio.com, check out the latest podcasts:

PRO-FOOTBALL FACE-OFF: We welcome in Tony Conty, NFLDraftBlitz.com to talk about draft

HOOP SCOOP: Relive the tournament and get Chad Brendel's and Chris Pankau's final take on the season

WIRE-TO-WIRE: Are the Reds' fans already giving Dusty Baker the benefit of the doubt? Does he deserve it?

FANTASY FASTBALL: J-Fish helps owners address the desperate search for saves

:THE FIGHT CARD: Logan and the Bruiser talk MMA better than anybody in the business

TRIPLE CROWN LOW-DOWN: Horse Racing Guru Ryan Wolking joins me to talk about this weekend's big prep races

In the next few months the UFC will feature several great matchups on their PPV events. The main events over the next several PPVs will be worth ordering the event alone. The last few months have been somewhat lackluster for the UFC and their PPV events. While the main events have been worth watching, the rest of the event for that month have been somewhat disappointing.

Its somewhat disheartening when UFC Fight Night, a free event that was shown on Spike TV this past Wednesday night, had a better fight card assembled for it than some of the past PPVs. Granted the Fight Night event was the lead in for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series, but there's no reason that a free event should be more of a draw than an event that the viewer would have to pay for. That all will change with the next several events coming up for the UFC. Again, the card as a whole for a particular event may not excite the above average fan such as myself, but the main event for that card will be worth the price of admission all by itself, something that can only be said for one of the past few PPV events when Matt Hughes lost to Georges St-Pierre. Speaking of GSP, that's where we'll start our tour of the upcoming UFC events.

UFC 83: Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra 2 - April 19th, 10:00PM
Main Event - GSP vs. Serra: GSP looks to avenge his upset loss to Serra where he lost the welterweight title several months ago. The win put Serra on the UFC map. Since that fight Serra has been a coach on TUF and was set to defend his title against Matt Hughes at the conclusion of the show. Due to an injury, Serra had to step out and in stepped GSP. He dominated Hughes in their fight and won the interim welterweight title, something GSP could care less about. Now he gets his chance to get his title back and avenge his last loss to Serra. Oh, and I forgot to mention, this fight will take place in GSP's backyard of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Good luck Serra.

Also on the card
Travis Lutter vs. Rich Franklin: This could turn into a show stealer depending on how the GSP/Serra fight goes. Franklin is coming off another loss to Anderson Silva where he tried to get back the Middleweight title he lost to Silva back in October of 2006. Lutter hasn't fought in over a year. His last fight was also a loss to Silva back in February of last year. Both look to get back in the win column and start their road back to the Middleweight title.

UFC 84: Ill Will - May 24th, 10:00PM
Main Event - BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk: This is a fight for the Lightweight title, a title that Sherk never lost in a fight. Instead Sherk lost his title due to testing positive for performance enhancers. He was stripped of his title last year. Penn ended up winning the vacant title by defeating Joe Stevenson back in January. One of, if not the most technical fighters in the sport, Penn will look to defend his title against a guy that will look to bounce back from what could be a career threatening decision that cost him his title.

Also on the card
Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine: This should be an interesting matchup. The winner of this fight could move up into the No. 1 contender spot for the Light-Heavyweight title currently held by Quinton Jackson. Silva is coming off a loss to Chuck Liddell while Jardine is actually coming off a win over the "Iceman." A win by Jardine should assure him a spot in line for the LHW title in the near future. A win by Silva could muddle things up a little.

Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida: This is most likely going to be Ortiz's last fight in the UFC. He's already stated that he wasn't going to sign a new contract with the UFC and this is the last fight on his current contract. Instead he plans to leave and go help another MMA organization called DREAM. Machida, on the other hand, is making a huge name for himself in the UFC. He comes into this fight with an undefeated record of 12-0. A win over Ortiz could catapult him into contention for the Light-Heavyweight title for sure.

UFC 85: Title TBD - June 7th, 3:00PM
Main Event - Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans: This could end up going down as the fight of the year if both guys bring their "A game." Liddell is coming off a win over Wanderlei Silva back in December of last year after having lost two fights in a row for the first time in his career. He showed in his fight with Silva that the old Liddell is back and that he will go toe-to-toe with anyone willing to stand with him. Evans, on the other hand, is undefeated in his MMA career with a record of 16-0-1, the draw coming in a fight against Tito Ortiz back in July of last year. A win by either of these guys could leap frog them into contention for the Light-Heavyweight title with a handful of other fighters in that weight class.

Also on the card
Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera: A good matchup here in the heavyweight division. Werdum is coming off an impressive, and surprising, victory over one-time title contender, Gabriel Gonzaga, back in January. Vera, on the other hand, is coming off the first loss of his UFC career. A unanimous decision loss to Tim Sylvia back in October of last year derailed Vera's run at the HW title, currently held by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The pool of heavyweights in line for a title shot is somewhat shallow right now, so a win here could bounce one of these guys into contention.

UFC 86: Title TBD - July 5th, 10:00PM
Main Event - Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin: A fight that will be 13 weeks in the making as both of these guys are the coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter" this season. "Rampage" will defend his Light-Heavyweight title against Griffin in a matchup that fans have been hoping to see for months now. Jackson hasn't fought since September when he defeated Dan Henderson to unify the UFC and PRIDE LHW titles. Before that Jackson defeated fan favorite Chuck Liddell. So to say he's been on a role lately might be an understatement. Like Jackson, Griffin will come into this fight in July not having fought since September of last year. It was at that time he soundly defeated Mauricio Rua, a fighter most considered to be one of, if not the best in the world at the time. The win over Rua pushed Griffin into the No. 1 contender position for the LHW title. Its fitting that this fight will take place the day after the Fourth of July because there are sure to be fireworks going off during this fight. Of all the fights taking place over the next few months, this is the one I'm most looking forward to.

The next several months for the UFC are going to be big. They are starting to see some contention to their "monopoly" on the sport from other organizations, especially EliteXC. In order to keep themselves as the organization to watch, President Dana White is going to have to continue to put together fight cards worth paying $40 or $50 to watch on PPV. Time will tell how they fare against competition to their throne. All I know is that I will enjoy what the UFC has to offer to us as fans for the next several months.

The UFC was in Columbus for the second time in about a year Saturday night for UFC 82: Pride of a Champion. From top to bottom, the fight card was one of the best put together in a while by UFC President, Dana White. The fights that appeared on the PPV, for the most part, lived up to the build-up of the strength of the fight card. There were some surprises, a much awaited return of a particular fighter and a "major" announcement that wasn't exactly what UFC fans were expecting or thinking was going to be announced. More on that later. Let's get to the results.

PPV CARD RESULTS
Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson via Rear-Naked Choke at 4:52 in the 2nd round.
Henderson was thought to possibly be the last fighter in the middleweight division that could stop Silva from his dominance. So much for that. The first round belonged to Henderson as he took Silva to the ground and worked him over a little. Both fighters exchanged blows throughout the first and second round, but neither could truly get a clear cut advantage. That was until the second round was about to end. Silva got the advantage on the ground and took Henderson's back. He was able to slip in a rear-naked choke with about 25 seconds left or so. It looked like Henderson was going to hold on and get out of the round, but with eight seconds left he tapped, much to the surprise of myself and those I was watching the PPV with. It wasn't a typical Silva fight as he didn't get Henderson in the clinch as much as we're used to seeing from him. Instead we were treated to Silva's ground game and the only submission of the PPV card. With the win, Silva unified the UFC and PRIDE middleweight titles. In the post-fight interview, he surprised a lot of people when he said that his toughest opponent has been Rich Franklin. Was he being honest or looking for a cheap pop from the Ohio crowd (Franklin is from Cincinnati)? Hard to tell considering we had to wait for his translator to tell us what he said. Plus Silva dominated Franklin both times he beat Franklin. So who knows. One thing is for sure, Silva proved again that he can and will be all comers and he is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the UFC, if not all of MMA.

Heath Herring defeated Cheick Kongo via Split Decision.
A battle to possibly decide who will be the number one contender to the heavyweight title, currently held by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, didn't quite go the way viewers expected. In fact, it didn't go the way Herring thought it would either. Both fighters are known more for their stand-up and how hard they can throw blows. While it started out looking like it might go that way with Herring landing a quick shot to Kongo which stunned him, the fight mostly took place on the ground. Herring avoided getting hit by Kongo by keeping him down and taking him out of his element. His ability to keep Kongo down and hit him with knees to the shoulders and body, Kongo looked like he didn't know what to do. Ultimately, Herring did enough to convince two of the judges to give the nod his way.

Chris Leben defeated Alessio Sakara via TKO (strikes) at 3:36 in the 1st round.
Had the Silva vs. Henderson fight not been on this card, this could have been considered for fight of the night for the PPV audience. While it was over in the first round, both fighters traded blows from the jump. The difference was that Leben caught Sakara with a knee to the head followed by a left hook that saw Sakara go limp down to the mat. Leben jumped on the opening and pounded Sakara until the ref jumped in and stopped the fight. The fight may have been over pretty quickly, but there were fireworks from start to finish. My vote for the most exciting fight of the night goes here.

Yushin Okami defeated Evan Tanner by KO (knee) at 3:00 in the 2nd round.
This was Tanner's first fight in two years and it couldn't have gone any worse for him. The 37-year old fighter was signed back in November to a new four-fight deal. Until now, nobody would agree to take on Tanner for whatever reason. That was until Okami, an up-and-coming fighter in the middleweight division, accepted the fight. Tanner probably wished he hadn't now. The first round went back and forth, neither fighter gaining a clear advantage. The second round belonged to Okami. He started working from the clinch and ended up catching Tanner with a knee to the head. Tanner fell quickly to the mat and the ref stopped the fight. A triumphant return for Tanner was not to be. With the win, Okami ran his record in the UFC to 6-1 and now could be the next fighter in line to take on Silva for the middleweight title.

Jon Fitch defeated Chris Wilson by Unanimous Decision.
This was supposed to be an "easy" fight for Fitch. He's been on a role lately and has slowly started to become a crowd favorite. Wilson proved to be a tougher opponent than anyone thought he would be for Fitch. I was honestly expecting Fitch to knockout Wilson in the first round. When it went to the third round I was both shocked and impressed with Wilson. In the end Fitch was able to score the unanimous decision victory and keep his undefeated record (8-0) in the UFC in tact. The win could put Fitch in line for a welterweight title shot, possibly taking on the winner of the Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre fight next month. Should that be the case, a title reign for Serra or GSP could be short lived.

PRELIM RAPID RESULTS
Andrei Arlovski defeated Jake O'Brien by TKO (strikes) at 4:17 in the 2nd round.
Luigi Fioravanti defeated Luke Cummo by Unanimous Decision.
Josh Koscheck defeated Dustin Hazelett by TKO (strikes) at 1:24 in the 2nd round.
Diego Sanchez defeated David Bielkheden by Submission (strikes) at 4:42 in the 1st round.
Jorge Gurgel defeated John Halverson by Unanimous Decision.

PPV Prediction Results: 9-1 (overall 52-33)

The "major" announcement of the night came after former UFC heavyweight champion, Mark Coleman, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. The UFC's first ever heavyweight champion told the audience that he wasn't retired and wanted to make a comeback in the Octagon. He informed everyone that Dana White has granted him just that and Coleman's return will take place in August when he takes on UFC newcomer, Brock Lesnar. This wasn't the announcement I, or many others I'm sure, were expecting to hear. Most were expecting White to announce that the UFC had reached a TV deal with a major network. The reason for this was because just a couple days ago another MMA brand, EliteXC, announced that they had reached a TV deal with CBS. The Coleman announcement didn't get me all excited or make me feel all tingly inside. Its been quite a long time since Coleman has fought and Lesnar is wanting to prove he's not just a big name. I expect Lesnar to destroy Coleman to be completely honest.

Next up for the UFC is their Fight Night event on April 2nd on Spike TV. The main event that night will be Kenny Florian taking on Joe Lauzon. A little more than two weeks later on April 19th, the UFC crosses the US border into Canada for Serra vs. St-Pierre 2. That night we'll see the welterweight title unified when Matt Serra and Georges St-Pierre square off again.

Instead of doing a typical UFC 82 preview, I decided to run down some of the numbers, and then quickly break down some of the fights.

2: Anderson Silva VS Dan Henderson will be the second time a current PRIDE champion will fight a current UFC champion.

6: Yushin Okami has had 6 UFC fights, all of which have gone to the 3^rd round.

1156: Days since Anderson Silva’s last non DQ loss.

5: Alessio Sakara’s last 5 fights have all ended in the first round.

36: UFC events since Evan Tanner’s last fight, a triangle choke victory over Justin Levens

7: Different countries represented at UFC 82: Brazil, United States, France, Belarus, Sweden, Japan and Italy.

10-0: Jake O’Brien has a perfect 10-0 record in MMA.

70: Andrei Arlovski hasn’t fought since UFC 70 in April of last  year.

0: Number on times Dan Henderson has been knocked out

21:56: amount of time Anderson Silva has spent in the Octagon.

5: During UFC 82 Mark Coleman will be inducted as the 5^th member of the UFC Hall of Fame

15: Jon Fitch will be going for his 15^th straight victory.

8: Royce Gracie holds the record for most consecutive wins in the UFC at 8. With a win, Jon Fitch will tie him.

12/13/06: The last time Diego Sanchez won a fight. He beat Joe Riggs that night to go 17-0 for his career.

3: There are 3 contestants from the first season of the Ultimate Fighter on the fight card.

Anderson Silva VS Dan Henderson: Dan Henderson has never been knocked out. Anderson Silva is the best striker in the game putting up highlight reel KO’s including a standing elbow to Tony Fryklund, breaking Rich Franklin’s nose several times in several places and knocking out Chris Leben 3 times in one fight. Silva is great in the clinch, but Henderson will use his Greco skills to overpower Silva when in the clinch. Henderson does have power, but standing with Silva could be a mistake. I’m going with Silva via TKO in 2nd. Don’t be the least bit surprised to see Henderson win though.

Heath Herring VS Cheick Kongo: Kongo has very good standup, but his ground game is questionable. He was exposed badly against Carmelo Marrero. Since then he has defeated 2 strikers. Herring should try and take Kongo down and throw him some submissions. Herring via submission in the 2nd

Jon Fitch VS Chris Wilson: Fitch is going for the all-time record for most consecutive wins in the UFC. He is the UFC’s best kept secret. Wilson has been on the IFL and trains with Team Quest. Wilson has decent strikes and can submit you, but Fitch might be the 2^nd best 170lb fighter in the world. Fitch via Decision.

Evan Tanner VS Yushin Okami: A very weird fight. Evan hasn’t fought since UFC 59. Tanner has some amazing heart, he has some great comebacks. Okami likes to ground and pound, but Tanner has better wrestling. Don’t look for Yushin to have any fans after bashing American fighters. Tanner via Decision.  

Chris Leben VS Alessio Sakara: A classic strikers fight. They both love to throw and this fight will be a very entertaining fight. The difference is Leben can take a punch, Sakara cannot. Leben in the first via TKO.

Andrei Arlovski VS Jake O’Brien: Jake is a great wrestler, putting on a clinic against Heath Herrings. Arlovski was the UFC’s top dog about 3 years ago. Then he got KO’d by then Tim Sylvia. Since then his career has been spiraling downhill. However, on the feet, Arlovski should have no problems cleaning O’Brien clocks. Arlovski via TKO in the 2^nd. 

Check out the Fight Card show at www.getsportsradio.com and www.myspace.com/thefightcard for a full recap.

The UFC invades Columbus, OH for the second time in less than a year when UFC 82: Pride of a Champion takes place this Saturday, March 1st. Being that I'm on vacation this week, I don't have much time to actually do a full blown write-up on the event. Just know that the way the fight card is set up, viewers, whether you're there in person or watching on PPV, are in for one hell of a show.

The main event features quite possibly the best mixed martial arts fighter out there today in Anderson Silva. He takes on former PRIDE legend, Dan Henderson, in a bout to unify the UFC and PRIDE middleweight titles. Henderson lost his light heavyweight title several months ago to Quinton Jackson. At that time he held bot the middleweight and light heavyweight titles for PRIDE. If he loses this weekend, he'd be the first to lose a title in consecutive fights. Chances are, that's exactly what's going to happen.

Silva is coming off defending his title against Rich Franklin. He's looked impressive in every fight he's been in since becoming champ, and even leading up to winning the title to be more accurate. He's being touted as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. This weekend he'll be on display once again to show that that title isn't fictional.

Along with Silva vs. Henderson, there are many other fights of great interest on the card, including what should be a great heavyweight battle between Heath Herring and Cheick Kongo. Listed below are the fights taking place Saturday night complete with my predictions.

PPV CARD (televised fights)

Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson (unification of middleweight titles)
Prediction: Silva

Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
Prediction: Kongo

Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
Prediction: Leben

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner
Prediction: Okami

Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson
Prediction: Fitch

PRELIMINARY BOUTS (may not be televised)

Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Prediction: Arlovski

Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Prediction: Fioravanti

Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck
Prediction: Koscheck

David Bielkheden vs. Diego Sanchez
Prediction: Sanchez

Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
Prediction: Gurgel

Overall Prediction Results: 43-32