MMA Melee 2-28-09

Its been a bit too long since the last MMA Melee and thus the news has piled up. 1st things 1st, the WEC has already begun the phasing out process for the Welterweight division as Champion Carlos Condit is promoted to the UFC to fight against Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 18 April 1. This is going to be an amazing fight as Condit is ready to test himself at the big dance while the "Hitman" is looking for a 2nd win in his new Welterweight home.

Three of Japan’s most recognizable MMA stars were in attendance during UFC 94. Judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii and DREAM stars Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, and Caol Uno. Caol is the only fighter officially signed with the UFC making his debut/loss at UFC 99 against Spencer "The King" Fisher. The "Kid" still has 2 fights left for DREAM but could you imagine the super-fights between Yamamoto and Urijah Faber or Miguel Torres! Many hardcore MMA fans have dreamed of these potential Norifumi fights for years. Ishii is still mulling over his ridiculous offers and training at bit at Xtreme Couture.

Is Affliction 3 and done or not? Vice President Tom Atencio said, “The third show will be it. We dived into the MMA business for a reason. To put on good fights. We have done nothing but that. The third show will be it for us. We are taking a break.” Yet, the promotion continues to sign new fighters including former UFC/TUF fighter Din Thomas who would be dropping weight to fight in the Featherweight division. Affliction has also signed ginormous head Tito Ortiz to possibly fight Renato Sobral for the next event. I'm getting mixed signals.

A mega-fight has been signed between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva at a catch weight of 195 lbs. This is the beginning of Wand's eventual move to the Middleweight division while Rich just continues to meander through the UFC looking for interesting fights while hoping Anderson Silva retires. The bout will be at the aforementioned UFC 99 June 13, in Germany.

Another big bout slated for said 99er includes Mike Swick taking on Ben "Killa B" Saunders in a Welterweight fight. Ben is coming of his 20 something knee destruction of Brandon Wolff while Swick is returning from his Joe Silva gift of Jon Goulet KO. Let's hope the always injury prone and brittle Swick can make this fight which could be very fast paced and exciting. A little AKA (Swick) vs ATT (Saunders) action is always good.

Gilbert Melendez is finally getting his rematch for Josh Thomson's Lightweight Championship at Strikeforce April 11. "El Nino" lost the strap via decision in June of 2008 and has not competed since. The 14-2 fighter is facing the "Punk" on an 8 fight winning streak that has charted the AKA solidly on most Lightweight rankings.

Former boxing heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman is coming to MMA sometime this year, according to the fighter’s agent. The former Pro Boxer is "serious" about making a go of MMA after watching Kimbo Slice fight and recognizing he is a spry 36 years old. This on the heels of the announcement that Ray Mercer has signed to fight Tim "I'll Take Any Job At This Point" Sylvia in a boxing match at his agent Monte Cox's Adrenaline promotion. More washed up boxers coming to MMA only continues the slow death of a once proud boxing world.

UFC 95 Reults In The Premature

Paul Kelly closed the eye of "Rude Boy" Troy Mandaloniz en route to a Unanimous Decision.
Mike Ciesnolevicz had a successful UFC debut wrenching Neil Grove into submission with a heel hook. Pretty impressive for a Light Heavyweight to win so easily over an almost Super Heavyweight. Have we a new Brandon Vera here?
Evan Dunham TKO'd Per Eklund to da floor where his head actually beat his body to the ground. Nice.
Junior dos Santos took out Stefan Struve via TKO in under a minute though to be fair, the bout was stopped a bit premature (which would become a theme for the night), though I don't think the outcome would have.
Terry Etim looked twice the size of Brian Cobb who just couldn't get the ground game on the lanky Brit who eventually TKO'd the "Bandit."
Paulo Thiago pulls the upset of the night with a TKO in his UFC debut over one Josh Koscheck. Kos was doing just fine and winning the round when he caught an uppercut and an ugly slapping left hand which dropped him dazed to the floor. Obviously hurt, Koscheck immediately pulled his legs up for guard and scooted back on his butt to prepare for Paulo's eventual attack. However, the referee jumped in and stopped the fight much to the ire of Josh and the elation of Thiago. A lucky punch, a quick stop, but shit happens and they are not going to overturn the result. Anything can happen in a fight.
Demian Maia used a 2 arm underhook to finally throw Chael Sonnen to the ground and in mid move, swung his legs around into a tight triangle before the returning Team Quest member knew what happened. Damn, Maia is impressive with just some of the slickest Jiu-Jitsu I have ever seen. He may have secured a title shot against the winner of Anderson Silva/Thales Leites, instead of.........
Nate Marquardt finally turned it on in the final round as Wilson Gouveia began to show his standard gassing routine, while Nate landed a BRUTAL knee followed by a head kick, spinning back fist, and some extra strikes as the ref stepped in and saved a bloodied ATT member from more destruction. Pretty impressive, but Demian Maia has not lost to Anderson Silva and may have the edge in getting the #1 contender spot.
Dan Hardy KO'd the crap out of Rory Markham becoming the hometown hero for England. Rory bled early (of course) but mainly left himself wiiiiide open after throwing a swinging heymaker, and Dan struck with a perfect right hand that blasted Markham into la la land. Beautiful win and Dan has now called out one Marcus Davis for a fight. Both men love to stand and throw bombs, and both are cult hero's in the Euro circuit. Could be real interesting.
Diego Sanchez outpointed Joe Stevenson through all 3 rounds as Joe "Daddy" opted to either not pull the trigger on his offense, or just call on the "Nightmare" hoping that alone would garner him the victory he actually thought he had won. Diego didn't seem affected by the weight loss at all though he did look a bid aidsy, but his continual improvement, and odd screaming of the word "YES" over and over again in his odd ritualistic ring entrances, guarantee him a continual rise up the Lightweight ladder. I wouldn't mind seeing Sanchez take on Clay Guida in the battle of the Energizer bunnies that just don't quit match. Joe "Daddy" is at a crossroads in his career, his 1st back to back losses in the UFC, after falling short in his prior title match, leaves few options for a very talented fighter who still has a lot of fight left. It will be interesting to see what Stevenson's next move is, unless the UFC makes it for him.

Well, 8-2 on the picks and we seem to be stuck there for the most part which is pretty good.

By the by, anyone else find humor in Diego coming to the ring with Queen's "We Are The Champions?" Maybe next time he'll come out to Judas Priest, The Village People, Wham, or my god the perfect song for Sanchez, "What What (In The Butt)" by Samwell. Are ya picking up what I'm putting down?

UFC 95: Predictions For Sanchez vs Stevenson Fight Card

UFC 95 Sanchez vs Stevenson: is another UFC event from merry ole England featuring Diego Sanchez Lightweight debut, a PPV worthy Middleweight fight, the much deserved return of Chael Sonnen, 2 big boy fights, 4 hometown boys, 1 Swede, and a Dutchman.

Main card
Lightweight bout: Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez vs. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson Diego makes the proper move to 155 against the Daddy who is desperately seeking a win after getting waxed by Kenny Florian. Both men are superb wrestlers but as most guys will tell you, no matter where it goes on the floor, Sanchez is a top. Super aggressive with stamina Joe can't handle, expect the Nightmare to be in a mad scramble at all times, and use his reach to land some set up shots in route to taking out the very tough Stevenson for a successful Lightweight debut.

WINNER-Diego Sanchez by TKO Rd.3
Welterweight bout: Dan Hardy vs. Rory "Here To Bleed" Markham The mohawk Brit faces the ultra tough Miletich fighter and exciting IFL alumnus. Rory is always quick to bleed but tough as the come facing reach of the better banger in Hardy. "Fight Of The Night" pick as these 2 are going to throwdown, but.....

WINNER- Dan Hardy by swanton splash
Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia The winner has to be the #1 contender, after the Anderson Silva/Thales Leitas title fight, so this battle has big ramifications. Gouveia has that damn KO power to save his ass after he is losing a fight ala Jason Lambert, but "The Great" has such a better MMA education and arsenal leading to a punishing win over the cardio challenged Gouveia and getting the rematch he deserves!

WINNER-Marquardt by decision
Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs. Chael "For My Lord" Sonnen Chael deserves to be back, but is going to be subbed by Maia, no doubt. The problem, is Sonnen likes to make a boring fight Team Quest style (boring to arena fans not myself) and is good enough to frustrate Maia, but at the end of the day the Jiu-Jitsu genius taps everyone.

WINNER-Demian Maia by submission
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago OMG "Kos" is gonna rape this bitch. "Blanket" no more, I'm on board with JK and Paul is here to build up Koscheck's resume.

WINNER-Kos by TKO Rd.2

Prelims
Lightweight bout: Brian Cobb vs. Terry Etim Terry has all the reach in the world (as he usually does) but "Bandit" has put in his time on the floor with 10 winning submissions. 9 fight winning streak for Cobb while Terry is 2-2 in the UFC and on the verge of getting bounced. I like Brian to eventually outwork Etim who sets an early blistering pace, but fades against the consistent Cobb.

WINNER-Urijah Faber's boy by decision
Heavyweight bout: Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve 2 Heavyweight fights on 1 card, a rarity indeed. "Skyscraper" reminds me of a Shemmy Shilt, only 3 inches shorter at a mere 6'8" while Jr. is the Fabricio Werdum killer with major league striking, and training from Team Nogueira. The Holland fighter is actually adept at submissions with his size, but I think Jr. stays off the floor punching out the white Manute Bol for the win.

WINNER-Jr. dos KO
Heavyweight bout: Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Neil Grove Mike Cisenshellovicussoos is a Miletich Light Heavyweight against "Goliath," which is a fitting nickname for a guy who has to cut weight to make the 265 lb. Heavyweight Division, where this bout occurs. Mike has that standard solid wrestling base while Neil punch yo face till fall down time. Grove is also 38 but doesn't have a lot of wear and tear for his age and lacks a neck which deters the guillotine Grove is semi-famous for. Mike's a better fighter in the wrong weight class but he is a true MMA fighter while the big heavy will gas out and tapout.

WINNER-MC by said guillotine
Lightweight bout: Per Eklund vs. Evan Dunham 7-0 Evan is a good submission fighter and Per isn't really good at anything, though he knows a little about everything. Also, its hard to pick anyone who lost to Sam Stout.

WINNER-Evan Dunham and peanut by decision
Welterweight bout: Troy Mandaloniz vs. Paul Kelly The tough Brit is going to take a "bobby" baton to the "Rude Boy" as if he were soccer hooligan.

WINNER-Paul Kelly by TKO Rd.2

WARGODS Results In The Expected

Ken Shamrock came out and threw a right hand that dropped the super-fat Grizzly and then transitioned into a fight ending armbar. Ken then called out Tank Abbott for a fight 15 years in the making saying, "I'm gonna end his career."
Tank Abbott earlier in the night threw 1 punch and it looked to me like Mike Bourke took a slap to the back of the head and then a dive for a payout. Lame, but it does set up the whole point of this event, that Tank Abbott vs Ken Shamrock with both finally coming off a win!!


A lot of fights on the card didn't happen but your winners are Josh Haynes, Mike Moreno, Isaac de Jesus, Rick Reeves, Jen Tate, Zoila, and TBA. By the way I am 2-0 when I pick the TBA fighter and went 6-1 for the whole event. The show looked like it was put together by 7 year olds and is never worthy of watching again (wasn't worth it the 1st time for that matter). Enjoy STD day tomorrow!

WARGODS: Ken Shamrock vs Tomato Can

Well this joke of a MMA event will be streaming live on our favorite MMA website Sherdog.com for free, so its worth at least a peek at the freak show.

Fight Card
Ken Shamrock vs. Ross Clifton Ross is a meager 6-8 in his MMA career and is a near 7 foot 370 lbs. of pure fat. Ken co-booked this event with the hopes of ending his 5 fight losing streak. Clifton has only lost 3 in a row and how funny would it be if he clocked Shamrock into unconsciousness? Still I kinda doubt it and feel a bit sad for this big sacrificial hippo.

WINNER-Shamrock by submission
Josh Haynes vs. Rafael Real "BTP" is famous for being the TUF punching bag in the UFC but like about a hundred other people is coming off a win over Sean Salmon. Rafael is 5-11. What a card.

WINNER-Mohawk by "bringing the pain"
Kyacey Uscola vs. BJ Lacy W-BJ *Fight Did Not Happen
Mike Moreno vs. Gary Padilla (rematch) W-Gary
Buddy Roberts vs. Wesley “Cabbage” Correira Cabbage is still fighting, who knew? W-Bud *Fight Did Not Happen
Isaac de Jesus vs. Ashe Bowman Wow, Ashe, a Lion's Den member made it on the card, shocker! W-Christ

Rick Reeves vs. Nathan James W-Rick Rude
Jennifer Tate vs. Jen Babcock W-Tate
Zoila Frausto vs. Karina Hallinan W-Who are these two?
Darrin Freeman vs. TBA W-TBA
Tonya Evinger vs. TBA W-Tonya *Fight Did Not Happen

Tank Abbott may or may not be fighting Mike Bourke depending on what the athletic commission decides. If it happens I'll take Tank by fix.

What a card, enjoy fight fans!

ROY JONES JR. Brings The "March Badness"

Roy Jones Jr. has thrown his headband into the MMA world via his Square Ring Promotions which is promoting "March Badness," a MMA and boxing event March 21st at where else, but Pensacola.
A Light Heavyweight boxing match between Roy Jones Jr.(52-5) and Omar Sheika (27-8) will be the main event while 3 MMA bouts: Seth "Kimbo Killer" Petruzelli (10-4) vs. Doug "Rhino" Marshall (9-3) in a Light Heavyweight fight, Roy Nelson (13-3) vs. Jeff Monson (27-8) in a Heavyweight bout and former WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley (1-0) against an as-yet unnamed opponent.
Jones spoke on the coexistence of MMA and boxing saying,"I respect all kinds of fighters. People are always saying, ‘Boxing this, MMA that.’ But both of those are hand-to-hand combat man-to-man. Anyone who will fight another man straight up like that, I got nothing but the utmost respect for."
All this and Roy is still up for a fight with Anderson Silva somewhere down the line. The event will be available on PPV for a nominal fee. Not a bad little event for Roy and some good MMA fighters in need of a gig.

STRIKEFORCE Rises From Elite XC's Ashes

As many MMA fans know, Strikeforce has recently signed a major TV dead with Showtime and CBS while purchasing the assets of Elite XC. The new collaboration of shows is scheduled to begin April 11th with a show featuring Scott "Hands Of Stone" Smith versus Benji Radach. The San Jose based Strikeforce has been the baby of Scott Coker who has had the company around for many years as a kickboxing promotion, and then broke into MMA with their Shamrock vs Gracie show on March 10, 2006. Since that time they have built a solid promotion and fan following with such names as Cung Le, Josh Thompson, Paul Buentello, Tank Abbott, Bang Ludwig, Gilbert Melendez, Babalu Sobral, Daniel Puder, Alistair Overeem and many more totaling 16 fight cards.

Then February 5th, Strikeforce purchased select assets from ProElite, Inc. including the library of EliteXC’s fights as well as certain fighter contracts. There is a possibility of adding fighters such as Gina Carano, Brett Rogers, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, and possibly even Kimbo Slice. Not all contracts are transferable but managers and agents are already scrambling to work out deals with Strikeforce to get their fighters back to work. The rumor now is that 42 of some 150 contracts are already added to Strikeforce's stable.

Scott Coker was able to accomplish this amazing merger by buying Elite XC's debt to CBS & Showtime, while flexing his muscles with partners who run the San Jose Sharks and the HP Pavilion. Companies by Mark Ecko and Sun Entertainment also have an as yet unnamed financial stake in the new Strikeforce business.

Currently, the aforementioned Scott Smith and Benji Radach, as well as Christiane Cyborg Santos, are already signed while Scott Coker has opted not to pick up contracts to Antonio Silva and Ninja Rua. A huge rumor is that Strikeforce is planning Frank Shamrock vs Nick Diaz (at a catch weight) for their next show April 11th. Both sides have confirmed interest in the bout but no dotted lines have been signed.

It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks which fighters land in the new and improved Strikeforce, and it is great to have some established UFC competition taking their game to the next level with the support of Showtime and CBS. Great things to come...............

War Machine Continues To Embarrass Himself

After blubbering through a less than impressive season of the Ultimate Fighter, this kid officially changed his real name Jon Koppenhaver, to his nickname, War Machine. That is enough to write this kid off as a complete idiot but WM doesn't stop there. The dude actually tried to "shed light" on the tragic death of Evan Tanner but came out sounding like a disrespectful fool. The cost him his job at the UFC and he was bounced. Well he got a new job at upstart Bellator Fighting Championships when he decided to blog again with a headline that said, "Fuck an Obama." His genius post went on to intelligently say, "I could care less about the mother fucker...everywhere I turn I have to see his face or hear his fuckin' name...wtf? And the liberals and blacks are so happy because of change? All he is is a rich white guy with a tan...lol Shittt. I hope someone smokes that fucker..." and that's enough of the brilliant social commentary from, ahem, War Machine.

WM also frequently used the word "faggot" which is interesting Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver (Douche Machine) was arrested Saturday, February 8 at approximately 4 a.m. local time. According to Rivera, a citizen’s arrest was made of Koppenhaver on charges of misdemeanor battery. Now here's the rub, WM was arrested after getting into a fight at a gay night club. Krave, the night club where Mr. Machine got arrested, is described as a gay club, but very straight friendly.

Sounds like WM wasn't very friendly but is reportedly being comforted by friends Diego Sanchez and Clay Aiken. Bellator Fighting Championships has fired said moron and I can't wait for the next blog post.

Ultimate Fight Night 17 Results

Matt Riddle decisions Steve Bruno while Nick Catone got a keylock submission over Derek Downey. Gleison Tibau pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a guillotine choke that tapped Rich Clementi while Dan Miller used the same maneuver to end Jake Rosholt's night only a minute into their fight.
CONTROVERSY-Matt Veach defeated Matt Grice by TKO in their wild war. Grice came out strong and knocked down Veach pummeling him on the canvas for a full 26 second beating that the ref allowed to continue when the fight should have been stopped. Veach would later land a hey maker dropping Grice to the canvas when in only 4 seconds the ref called a stop to the bout with a completely fine Grice incensed at the premature stoppage. Seems like a little home cooking for the Matt Hughes camp as the HIT Squad steals one.
Kurt Pellegrino actually had a little trouble with Robert Emerson in the 1st round but collected himself and came back to lock in the RNC for the win.
Anthony Johnson looked great against Luigi Fioravanti stopping the always tough veteran with a TKO in round 1. Luigi just didn't have any answers for the barrage attack from a continually improving "Rumble."
Josh Neer came out like a man possessed, hands waving in the air like Nick Diaz as he took the fight to Mac Danzig. The vegan struggled early but came back to knock the Miletich fighter to the canvas but could not finish him. Josh constantly pushed forward in the fight being the aggressor and overwhelming Mac until he made a mistake sliding into an obvious triangle choke that would give Danzig back to back losses and puts Neer back into the Lightweight game. The "Dentist" looked vastly improved but should see one as the fans boo'd a great fight.
Cain Velasquez just did whatever he wanted against Denis Stojnic landing a myriad of strikes to the downed opponent who wasn't hurt, but didn't fight back causing an abrupt end to the one sided fight. Cain moves on to better things rocking the "beige pride" and Denis gets a snack cake.
Joe Lauzon bested a tough Jeremy Stephens after a pretty good little skirmish. If you want to see how to work the Jiu-Jitsu on the floor, watch "J-Lau" work in this match. Always calm and thinking even when Stephens had him in a little trouble, Joe worked his brilliant non-stop Jiu-Jitsu exhibition until he finally found the armbar tapping out Jeremy twice since the ref missed the 1st one. A nice win but we need to see Lauzon vs Hermes Franca when healthy.

Not a bad night of fighting on Spike TV despite the horrible stoppage of the Veach/Grice fight. MMA Fight Opinion goes 7-2-1 on the picks game because I refuse to count that moronic stoppage against my tally when Grice had the damn win in the 1st place! I can do this because its my site. UFC 95 from bloody London, England will be the next event and for free I might add, featuring Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez making his Lightweight debut versus Joe "Daddy" Stevenson.

"War in the cage, peace on Earth." -Wanderlei Silva

Ultimate Fight Night 17 Predictions

Main Card
Lightweight bout: Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens "J-Stee" may have the Mortal Kombat uppercut of death on his side, but he lacks technique, size, and is coming in on short notice to take on "J-Lau." Joe isn't going to keep this on the feet long and if he doesn't submit Stephanie instantly, he'll grind him so deep into the canvas that he'll find BJ Penn.

WINNER-J-Lau by submission
Heavyweight bout: Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnić Cain is going to dismantle the kickboxer like he has done everyone so far in his short but brutal career. The goal for Denis here is to be the 1st guy to get out of the 1st round with the 4-0 Velasquez.

WINNER-The man called Cain by AKA beatdown
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer Mac is back, rebounding from a frustrating loss to the ever loved Clay Guida, while the Miletich fighter is coming off a Split loss to Nate Diaz (hey, the winners just fought!). This is going to be another grind it out for Mac who is well prepared after his war with the "Carpenter" and with slicker stand up and submissions, expect the vegan to top the judges cards.

WINNER-Danzig by decision
Welterweight bout: Luigi Fioravanti vs. Anthony Johnson The odds on "Fight Of The Night" is supposed to be a strikers war, but don't be surprised if "Rumble" finds Super Mario's technically sound striking frustrating and takes this to the floor for some G&P. Johnson should wear down Luigi who likes to receive a bevvy of punishment to the face just to prove he is rarely stopped in a beating. Fiorvanti needs this to stay in the UFC while Anthony wants to keep climbing that looong ladder to the top of the Welterweight division. This will be his toughest test to date, but if he brings the cardio and can stay away from the KO hands of the ATT member, he has enough skill to win the points game in a close decision.

WINNER-Rumble squeaks one out

Prelims
Lightweight bout: Kurt Pellegrino vs. Rob Emerson "Batman" vs "The Saint" has all the Val Kilmer references you need so lets just get to the basics. I still think Rob is 1 dimensional and Kurt is well rounded and a far better fighter leading to a submission win.

WINNER-Pelligrino by not racing across the cage into Emerson's fist
Middleweight bout: Jake Rosholt vs. Dan Miller You know I'm high on the Miller brothers and that isn't going to change here. Sure Jake is the highly touted though as yet disappointing but superior wrestler, yet Dan has a better all around game and damned if I'm not going down with the ship. It's the advertised blue chipper versus the surprise underdog prospect.

WINNER-Dan Miller by dijon decision
Lightweight bout: Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach Matt the cop (Grice) takes on Matt (Veach) the Matt Hughes trained and HIT Squad rookie for the title of Lightweight Matt. I don't care for the 15 month layoff Grice had (though it did wonders for Stephan Bonnar in his comeback fight) but I think his quick starting style and higher level of experience causes this bout to go down like a subway beatdown of an unarmed kid on New Year's day (ooh that's a bit offsides).

WINNER-The Cop because the Police always win
Lightweight bout: Rich Clementi vs. Gleison Tibau ATT's GT is talented no doubt, but very inconsistent and "No Love" seems to know how to properly gameplan for everybody (that's 3 No's of a various sort, so far). Each man is coming from a loss and in Gleison's case 2, but I lean to the grizzled vet to take a lackluster decision.

WINNER-Rich "I Date A Porn Star Too" Clementi
Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. Derek Downey I gotta plead ignorance on both of these cats but I'm not picking they guy with the "Gentleman" as his nickname.

WINNER-Catone by however
Welterweight bout: Steve Bruno vs. Matthew Riddle Though I can't stand the little douche that still lives with his mommy, I going for correct picks here.

WINNER-Riddle by ground TKO

UFC 94: GSP Steamrolls Penn In A Night Of Decisions

Georges St-Pierre just straight steamrolled BJ Penn in the "main event" of UFC 94. As the fight began, GSP constantly worked for the takedown while BJ held his own with amazing balance and skill. "Rush" lands some strikes and Rd.1 is close but GSP's. In the 2nd, GSP finally gets the takedown and moves with ease on top landing great G&P but BJ should be credited for not allowing his opponent to gain full mount, and for the most part kept him in his guard. The 3rd begins with Penn looking a bit unsure and St-Pierre is just dominant bloodying "The Prodigy's" nose and welting his face. The end comes after the 4th which was all GSP bludgeoning Penn on the floor as Herb Dean almost calls the fight but the round does end and JB Penn stops the fight to protect his brother and Georges retains the Welterweight strap in an awesome display.
CONTROVERSY- The NSAC flew into the ring between rounds to address a complaint being filed as the fight ensued. Someone in GSP's corner was seen applying Vaseline to "Rush's" back which is illegal. Dana White addressed the situation saying, "I saw the commission jump up there and flipping out. They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges’ back in between rounds. It was one and two, I think. The guys from the athletic commission went up there and started screaming at them. Knocked the Vaseline and kicked the Vaseline out of the Octagon.” It would not have changed the outcome of the fight but is a breaking of the rules and no doubt the Penn camp will have a lot to say in the coming days.
Lyoto Machida karate KO'd Thiago Silva proving the haters wrong about his inability to finish fights, and making my "Upset Pick" look silly. Credit due to the new #1 Light Heavyweight contender. Thiago did not attack with that brutal Chute Boxe style he normally applies, but Machida had pinpoint accuracy knocking him down twice in the fight before tripping him to the floor and knocking him unconscious. Lyoto looked stronger, faster, in better shape, and smarter in a damn impressive showing.

Jon "Bones" Jones is the new man to watch in the UFC as he used spinning elbows, super-kicks, greco roman throws, and well spoken flare to defeat a tough but outmatched Stephan Bonnar. The 15 month layoff could not have helped Stephan but the mixed bag of tricks attack from Jones was just too much to handle. Really nice win for a really green MMA fighter that is taking the whole thing in stride. Watch this kid, he is exciting!

Karo Parisyan started slow but finished strong out pointing Dong Hyun Kim in their MMA/judo match. Both men have such similar skills that they really cancelled each other out for most of the bout. Karo gets a huge confidence booster and looks like he is back on track to regaining the "Heat." The "Donger" will be back.

Clay Guida squeaked out a Split-Decision win over Nate Diaz that I'm not so sure he won. Credit Clay for always bringing the non-stop action attack, but Nate dominated the striking on the feet and judo threw Guida about 3 times to the floor. I wouldn't want to judge that fight but a young Diaz was very respectful in the loss to the crowd favorite.

Jon Fitch beat Akihiro Gono by unanimous decision though he lost the battle of outrageous ring entrances, while Thiago Tavares got back in the win column with a decision win over the tough Manvel Gamburyan. Chris Wilson got a Split-Decision win over John Howard as Jake O'Brien bored the crowd to tears over the soon departing Christian Wellisch. Dan Cramer won his MMA debut upsetting Matt Arroyo with our 8th, count em, 8th decision of the night!

5 Split-Decisions or not, there is no excuse for going a career worst 5-5 on our picks! This cannot stand apologies all around for the pathetic effort of the MMA Fight Opinion staff.