The fight started slowly, with each man trying to get a feel for his opponent and wait him out to see who blinked first. Evans, who prefers to counter punch, quickly began to become uncomfortable with facing an adversary who didn\’t come right at him. Late in the first round, Machida went on offense with frightening suddenness, flooring Evans with a nice straight right hand. Evans gamely tried to fight back, but a final right hand from the Shotokan Karate master left him out cold.

After the fight UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed the start of the Machida era and this is not just mere hyperbole. Machida is unlike any fighter before him, rooted in mastery of traditional martial arts but with the versatility of a modern MMA competitor. He\’s essentially a Mortal Kombat character come to life–in a more realistic cross disciplinary comparison he shares many of the same characteristics as boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he combines insane handspeed, underrated stopping power and nearly impenetrable defense into an unorthodox and extremely lethal package. Like Mayweather, hes a tough opponent to prepare for as there\’s simply no way to replicate his skill set in sparring. In another similarity with boxing\’s recent pound for pound king, Machida has been bred to fight since birth. His father is a first generation Japanese –Brazilian and a Shotokan Karate legend, Yoshizo Machida. He began training in his fathers discipline at the age of 3 and by the time he was 12 years old had earned a black belt.

The comparisons with the insanely talented but equally insanely arrogant Mayweather end when the final bell sounds. Outside of the cage, Machida is a modest and respectful gentleman who is quick to give credit to his father and his karate teachers for his MMA success. He spent most of his UFC 98 postfight interview not singing his own praises, but imploring others to strive to realize their dreams. In the past, his limited English was seen as a potential marketing liability here in the US but on this occasion he demonstrated vastly improved fluency in the language as a Portuguese translator stood by with his hands in his pockets. Almost overnight hes simply become a marketers dream.

An odd trivia note about Machida serves as further repudiation for MMA neophytes who think that the sports kinship with pro wrestling began with Brock Lesnar: Machida was discovered by Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and became something of his protege. He trained for some time at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo and made his MMA debut on a NJPW card in 2003, defeating Pancrase veteran Kengo Watanabe.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about Machida is that hes only now reaching his full potential as an MMA fighter. In other words, hes only going to get better which is a scary prospect for opponents given the fact that hes never lost in MMA competition. Early in his UFC career he had a reputation as a boring fighter, but in his recent bouts hes shown a downright lethal ability to end fights.

Machida will very likely face Quinton \’Rampage\’ Jackson at some point in the future and, with all due respect to the PRIDE/UFC veteran, its difficult to see him faring much differently than Evans did. One thing working in \’Rampage\’s\’ favor is his greater experience and a resume filled with high level opponents of various fighting styles.

In the co-main event of the evening, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision to gain the upperhand in their long running feud. It was a surprisingly entertaining fight, with Serra taking the first round with his power punching before Hughes used his takedown and ground control abilities to win rounds two and three. The two men embraced after the fight so, for now at least, their well known dislike for one another that began during their stint as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter may have ebbed. After the fight, Hughes backed off his previous talk of retirement after this matchup and clearly indicated that hed like to keep competing in the UFC.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

There was none of the bad Silva on display at UFC 101. Silva was simply dominant as he overwhelmed the naturally larger Griffin, knocking his opponent down three times before finishing the fight with a spectacular\”yet almost effortless\”straight right hand. The TKO victory was The Spiders most impressive showing since his submission triumph over Dan Henderson at UFC 82. Ironically, Hendo\”off his own devastating KO victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100\”will likely be Silvas next challenger for his middleweight title.

The live crowd in Philadelphia clearly backed the likable Griffin and gave him a huge ovation as he entered the cage to Shipping Up To Boston by the Dropkick Murphys. Silva, meanwhile, received a smattering of boos as he confidently strode to the ring to the sound of Aint No Sunshine by rapper DMX.

Once the fight began Silva transformed into the wrecking machine that UFC fans had grown accustomed before his recent run of lackluster performances. Forrest came right at Silva, assuming that his natural size advantage would equate to a strength advantage as well. After an early feeling out process, Griffin flashed a body kick which was caught by Silva and countered with a short punch that sent him to the canvas for a flash knockdown.

The resolute Griffin quickly bounced to his feet, this time flashing a high kick which Silva easily countered for another knockdown. This one clearly hurt Griffin, though he once again made it back to his feet quickly and landed a combination of his own. This was his best\”and last\”offense of the fight. Silva quickly floored Griffin with a left hand that left little doubt to the eventual outcome of the contest.

Silva, backing up, landed a perfect and almost effortless straight right that sent Griffin down for good. The referee didnt even bother to count as he waved his arms over the prone fighter as Silva celebrated his win. Griffin quickly exited the cage and, reportedly, the arena. Postfight reports suggested that he wanted to get immediate medical attention for a dislocated jaw suffered on the penultimate knockdown.

Silva, apparently making an effort to be more fan friendly, did his postfight interview in English with a Portuguese interpreter standing at the ready. Hed been criticized in the past (somewhat unfairly) for not making more of an effort to engage the fans, and conducting his interview in English was likely intended to help change that image. His message was simple: I want to fight against the best. Whoever the best is at the time, I want to fight them. Though Silva didnt really affirm that hed be campaigning more at the heavier weight, that was the implicit message of his comment.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in casino gambling, entertainment and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf.

Lesnar is no doubt a handful for any opponent, but in many ways has been the beneficiary of favorable matchups throughout his MMA career. More recently, Frank Mir made a serious tactical error, thinking that he could absorb a beating on the ground and wait for a submission opportunity. Lesnar had gameplanned Mir perfectly, and implemented a fight plan that allowed him to pound his opponent mercilessly while avoiding the risk of submission. Neither observation is meant to diminish the significance of Lesnars victories, but to underscore the fact that hes not unbeatable. Heres five fighters who could do it:

1) FEDOR EMELIANENKO: \’The Last Emperor\’ is until proven otherwise the best heavyweight in the sport. The former PRIDE champion has striking power, submission mastery, and may be the toughest fighter mentally in the sport. Fedor might get taken down by the new UFC heavyweight champ, but hed reverse it from the bottom and win via armbar.

2) ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA: Nogueira would present Lesnar with another formidable challenge. His five career losses are all via decision and came to the absolute highest level of competition (Fedor Emelianenko twice, Frank Mir, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson). The Mir fight was a lopsided loss, but it was later revealed that he had been recovering from a staph infection that limited his training and clearly impacting his conditioning. His ability to withstand punishment and take a punch allows him to be patient against powerful opponents and wait for an opening for a submission, as evidenced in his fight against Tim Sylvia. A healthy \’Nog\’ would be able to test Lesnar\’s ability to \’finish\’ matches and would be an even more dangerous submission threat than Mir.

3) JOSH BARNETT: Barnett is another unlikely opponent for Lesnar, due as much to his recent positive drug test in California than anything else. Still, Barnett could be the worst matchup in the sport for the new UFC champ. Lesnar is likely the more powerful of the two, but Barnett is an imposing physical presence himself at 63 250 lbs. Barnett also has a solid wrestling background, with the added dimension of his sizable submission repertoire. As his career has progressed, Barnett has become a more patient and tactically sound fighter and his standup game has improved significantly. Perhaps Barnett\’s greatest weapon against Lesnar is his wide knowledge of \’shoot wrestling\’ submissions that are very effective and tough to learn how to defend.

4) ALISTAIR OVEREEM: Overeem is bigger than Lesnar\”260 pounds and 65 tall. He went through a rough patch in his career during his tenure in PRIDE, but has compiled a 5-1-1 record in his last seven fights. Mirko Cro Cop suggests that hes the *only* fighter in the world who could beat Fedor Emelianenko at this point. Hes got great standup including a kickboxing background that could cause Lesnar problems, as well as solid ground fighting ability. Hes yet another heavyweight that is unlikely to bend to Dana Whites contractual demands, and currently has a relationship with DREAM in Japan and Strikeforce in the US. Still, hes a dangerous matchup for any fighter on the planet.

5) RANDY COUTURE: Lesnars win over Couture was far from decisive, and it didnt have anything to do with the age disparity. Couture got caught with a big shot and it cost him the fight. Until that point, he was more than holding his own. He was making his opponent work hard, had the edge in the striking exchanges and had opened up a cut over Lesnars right eye. The most likely route for Couture at this stage of his career is to drop back down to light heavyweight but should he desire a rematch his experience and toughness give him a chance to prevail. Granted, itll never be a favorable matchup on paper for Couture but at the same time Lesnar in no way proved his categorical superiority over The Natural. New gameplan, new tactics and Lesnar could end up being a victim.

Lesnars next challenge is likely to be the winner of the Cain Velesquez/Shane Carwin match. Both are big, rugged competitors but are also beatable opponents for Lesnar. An intriguing matchup down the road could be against Croatian striking machine Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop has battled injuries over the past year or so but if he could come close to the form he demonstrated in winning the PRIDE Open Weight GP he could be another formidable challenge. At his best, Cro Cop is simply the most devastating striker in the sport.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

After losing to current light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in his last UFC appearance, Ortiz left the company and bounced around doing personal appearances and commentary for a variety of promotions. He had surgery on his back in the process, and now claims that hes back to 100%.

Tito may never regain his championship form as a fighter, but that is of minimal relevance due to one salient fact\”people will pay to see him fight.. Ortiz is a fighter that offers no middle ground of public opinion, as people either love him or hate him. That dynamic is box office and PPV gold, a fact not lost on the savvy UFC brass. Dana White noted this fact in his comments on Ortiz at a Friday press conference in Las Vegas:

\”Tito and I have a history that everyone knows. He\’s still a guy that everyone wants to see fight. He said his back has healed perfectly and he\’s ready to take a shot at the title. He\’s one of those guys that people love and people love to hate. We\’ve put all our differences aside, have squashed everything and will move forward, and Tito will retire in the UFC.\”

To which Ortiz offered this response:

\”Time really cures everything. Dana was a man of his word. Dana apologized to me. We\’re like boyfriend and girlfriend.\”

Ortiz said that Dana White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta came to his home in Huntington Beach, California and made him the proverbial offer he couldnt refuse:

\”I\’m happy, I\’m satisfied, You\’ll never hear anything about money again.

While neither Ortiz nor White would speculate on a timetable for his debut or his first opponents, sources suggest that he could debut on the UFCs New Years card against Mark Coleman. Coleman is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 in mid July.

To best understand Titos appeal and why the UFC was so anxious to re-sign him, well paraphrase HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant. As he previewed the George Foreman/Michael Moorer heavyweight championship bout he addressed criticism that Foreman didnt deserve the bout based on his recent form. Merchant noted that there are many fighters, but very few stars. Like George Foreman, Tito Ortiz is a star. Some love him, some hate him but people pay to watch him fight.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

After a dominant takedown to open the fight, followed by a barrage of GSP punches it looked as if Fitch wouldnt make it out of the first round. He managed to survive, though generated little offense the rest of the way as the champion had his way with him both on the ground and in standup striking exchanges. Fitch landed enough counterpunches to open a cut near the champions eye, but never even came close to winning a round. Fitch had to gut his way through another tough moment in the 4th, where a big knee followed by a flurry of kicks and punches had him on the verge of a TKO loss yet again. It may have been the champions strategy that saved him, as GSP decided to take Fitch down again rather than continue the striking onslaught as the round closed.

As the final horn sounded, GSP bowed down in front of Fitch in a nice, Muay Thai inspired show of respect. In yet another moment that is thankfully commonplace in fighting and all too rare in other sports, Fitch and GSP sat knee to knee in the center of the cage congratulating each other for over a minute as their respective cutmen worked on their wounds.

And theres very likely not another athlete like Brock Lesnar even within the ranks of fightsport competitors. In his 3rd professional MMA bout the amateur wrestling legend turned WWE champion displayed a brutally effective new fighting style along with stellar patience and cage control as he obliterated tough and highly experienced Heath Herring.

From that point forward, Herring was completely out of the fight though he repeatedly demonstrated his toughness by staying in the fight and not tapping out to strikes as had Min Soo Kim in Lesnars MMA debut. Unlike Lesnars gameplan against Frank Mir in his UFC debut”when he clearly wanted to overwhelm his opponent for a quick win”perhaps the most impressive element of his improvement as a fighter was his patience. There were a number of occasions where Lesnar could have tried and finished the fight by placing himself at greater risk, but took the conservative approach.

Overall, Lesnars performance bordered on amazing”a serious case could be made that he won all three rounds by 10-8 margins, though all three judges scored the fight 30-26. He repeatedly took down and threw around the 64 250 Herring like he was a welterweight, and controlled the fight to such a degree that his opponent didnt land more than a half dozen strikes during the entire fight”and none which were particularly effective.

Lesnars win gives a much needed boost to the UFCs barren heavyweight division. While it may be premature to consider him a top 10 heavyweight, should Lesnar continue to develop and do such a good job of fighting within his abilities his potential in the sport is limitless.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Though “The Colossus” kept his feet through several punishing combinations, the beginning of the end came when a Slice punch nearly sheared his ear off. The bloody, grotesque ear was clearly at risk of being seriously damaged and Kimbo punctuated this with four or five uncontested power punches. Thompson by this point was out on his feet and the ref jumped in to bring the proceedings to a halt giving Kimbo a TKO victory. After the fight an exhausted and relieved Slice flopped onto the mat, clearly relieved to have survived the toughest test hes faced in his embryonic MMA career.

While Thompson and his corner complained of an early stoppage, given the severity of the ear injury and the four or five uncontested power shots by Kimbo its a tough case to make. Furthermore, it was consistent with the officiating all night which obviously was trying to err on the side of caution in the first MMA event on prime time major network television. The ref was quick to call several of the earlier bouts, and the ringside physician was involved in two more bouts. Clearly, everyone concerned wanted to take no chances and risk an ugly late stoppage or serious injury with a huge broadcast TV audience”many of whom were assumed to be MMA neophytes.

EliteXC overall has to be very happy with how the event came off. The presentation was highly professional all night, and the announcing was superb. There was no question that Gus Johnson and Mauro Ranallo are solid pros, and Frank Shamrock is obviously a well spoken and experienced expert commentator but the three meshed together exceptionally well.

The emphasis from the start was on selling the sport of MMA, with the promotion taking a secondary role. This was done via nicely produced and informative instructional videos, which would be helpful to a first time MMA viewer but didnt come off as sophomoric to the seasoned aficionado. Given the often unpredictable nature of the sport, EliteXC has to be pleased with how everything came off and the results of the fights on the card.

Overall, it was a professionally produced and entertaining night of action. The end result is that both of their marquee names among the general public–Slice and Carano–remained undefeated.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected sports betting expert. He is also a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports handicapping theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, self defense and falconry.

The fight against Franklin was contested at a catchweight of 195 pounds, and Belfort took several tries to finally make weight on Friday afternoon. If he had been weakened by a difficult weight cut, he sure didnt show it as he entered the cage on Saturday looking noticeably larger than his opponent. The pace of the bout was tactical and deliberate until the very end”Belfort landed a few leg kicks, but for the most part it was several minutes of the fighters circling each other. Belfort was clearly measuring Franklin for a big power shot, and he found it after a brief flurry in which neither man gained an advantage. Out of nowhere, Belfort floored Franklin with a nasty uppercut and quickly mounted a ground and pound assault on his fallen adversary. It only took three or four big shots to Franklins head before the referee jumped in to call a halt to the proceedings.

At the post fight press conference, Dana White quickly endorsed the prospect of a matchup between Belfort and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva”either for the title or at a 195 catchweight. Silva has only three fights remaining on his UFC contract, after which hes insisted that hell retire (although he continues to toy with the idea of boxing against Roy Jones, Jr.). Obviously nothing has been signed, but White clearly wants to get his moneys worth out of the fights remaining on Silvas deal.

A changing of the guard was in evidence in the co-main event, as Junior Dos Santos defeated former PRIDE Open Weight GP champion and MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop by verbal submission. Cro Cop appeared to be moving much better on his surgically repaired knee than in recent fights and through the early part of the bout he was doing well with his straight left hand counter. As the fight wore on, however, Dos Santos began to pick Cro Cop apart and in the third round began to use his Muay Thai knee strikes to good effect. It was a knee strike to Cro Cops head followed by an uppercut that ended the fight”Cro Cop suddenly indicated to the referee that he couldnt see and was unable to continue.

Earlier in the card, Paul Daley made the most of his role as a late substitute for injured Mike Swick as he stopped Martin Kampmann by second round TKO. Kampmann complained of an early stoppage, but Daley gave him trouble throughout with his sharp strikes and fast hands. Kampmanns defense was nonexistent, and his decision to stand and trade with a noted power striker was highly suspect. The end came after a brutal left hook knocked Kampmann to the canvas, after which Daley followed up with some ground and pound until the stoppage.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected sports betting authority. He is also a staff handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports betting theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, self defense and falconry.