UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship

[D]

IF THE UFC WERE SMART

and they arent

They would pull Tito/Machida, find a replacement for Tito to fight machida May 24th *they'd have a month to get ready,



Then put Tito on that card in a rematch with Rashad Evans.


U got enough great fights already may24th with Sherk/Penn and Jardine/Silva

So take tito off the Machida fight, headline england with tito/Rashad 2 and find a replacement to fight Machida. Problem solved.

hell how about Dan Henderson vsMachida?

[Hammy]

They might pull a switchero but I doubt it.  They way Tito is talking, he's definately done after this fight so I don't think UFC would put on a rematch and risk Rashad Evans, as good as Machida is he's much less marketable and they'd rather he lost to Tito although I think Tito will lose to be honest, so do the early betting lines....

[D]

Ive heard a great rumor of Micheal Bisping vs Rich Franklin to be the main event.

[Hammy]

Ive heard a great rumor of Micheal Bisping vs Rich Franklin to be the main event.

I've also seen Leben vs Bisping rumoured, either one would be a great stand up war!

[Hammy]

Well Irvin vs Evans is OFFICIAL now.

Also TUFFinale is shaping up really well.  Tanner and Grove should be a great slugfest and Lister vs Horn will be a BJJ clinic.  Can't wait!

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday announced several of the bouts for its June 21 finale for season seven of The Ultimate Fighter.

Already announced is the main event, Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove; a bout between Diego Sanchez and Luigi Fioravanti; and, of course, the finals of the reality series.

The four bouts added on Wednesday are: Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister in a middleweight contest, Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens in the lightweight division, another middleweight fight between Marvin Eastman and Drew McFedries, and Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett at welterweight.

[D]

Tonight is gonna be one of the best and biggest cards ever!

I am so excited for this card tonight.

Did anyone see Tito's "Dana is my Bitch" T shirt at the weigh ins?

It was hysterical!

Its gonna be rough fight against Machida but I believe tito will pull it out.


Predictions


BJ Penn if he is in shape will beat Sherk but if not, Sherk will win 

I have Keith Jardine over Wanderlei Silva. I think Wandy is finished. No more steroids and he is just over the hill. He has lost his KO power. Jardine will chop him down with leg kicks and get the victory.

Tito over Machida, Unanimous Decision

Cant wait till after the fight to see if Tito is allowed to talk.

I think it would be great if Dana presented Tito with a HOF plaque. That would diffuse anything Tito could say and it would be a nice gesture on the UFC's part.

[Hammy]

You really need to change that message under your avatar.  Maybe "If you fight Tito, you lose, unless you are Chuck, Randy, Machida, Rashad or Frank." 

And roids or no roids.....Wandy is back!

[D]

why cause he knocked out Keith Jardine?

Hell, Houston Alexander's was just as impressive.

Lets see Wandy beat someone a little bit better first.

I fucking hate Machida's style. Tito was chasing him all night long

Damn, had he just kept that triangle instead of goin for the arm he would've won

Do u think he wouldve seeing as u are the BJJ expert?

Do u think Machida would've went out?

[C0ma]

The way Machida rolled durring that triangle put pressure on the leg Tito was using to secure the triangle... while he did do too much by trying the arm bar too, Tito's foot slipped out durring that turn.
Thats what happens when a brawler tries to submit a BJJ BB from his back... they get out.
As far as Machida's "Slide and Hide" style of fighting, It think it is boring, but effective. He hit and moved... and used fake's to open up things like the knee to the liver.
I would like to see Machida v. Wandy next... It will either lead to a brutal Wandy KO, or a frustrating fight for Wandy like the Chuck fight. Machida and Chuck have a similar style where they jab and circle looking for strong counter opportunities.

[D]

There was an opportunity also for Tito to sit up in a triangle mount. Ed Herman got caught in one last UFC and had Tito known to sit up, he wouldve had a triangle mount and Machida would've been defenseless and Tito wouldve pounded him out.

[Hammy]

If you look back at the triangle, Machida was out before he even rolled over.  As soon as Ortiz was applying it he slipped his arm back ever so slightly (watch it again on youtube or something), it was never going on from that moment, Machida as a BJJ expert re-acted naturally, and Ortiz had to either readjust the triangle or go for the armbar and trying to get armbars especially that late on is damn hard.

Anyway, moving on, UFC 85 is here.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/pictures.asp?n_id=13086

If Thiago Alves was looking to impress fans this weekend when he takes on former welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes , he isn't off to a great start.

The American Top Team striker failed to make his 170-pound weight limit on Friday at the official weigh-ins for UFC 85 "Bedlam" at the O2 Arena in London, England.

The headlining bout would place either athlete onto the road for a championship bid, though Alves' difficulties could put that in jeopardy.

Without a formal regulatory body to oversee the proceedings (MMA is still under consideration by the British Boxing Board of Control and others in the United Kingdom), matters were handled amongst the promotion and the fighters. Alves was not required to weigh in again, and Hughes, who weighed in at 170 pounds on the dot, agreed to a catch weight of 174 pounds. Details of a purse penalty were not immediately available.

"It's going to be a war, and look out for the best ?Pitbull,'" said Alves. "I'm going to knock him out."

"This is a comeback fight, someone to put on the resume further down the line," answered Hughes.

This isn't the first time the 24-year-old Alves has battled the bulge. The Brazilian was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for eight months and fined $5,500 in early 2007, after testing positive for diuretics following his knockout victory over Tony DeSouza at UFC 66 "Liddell vs. Ortiz II" in Dec. 2006. Alves admitted he had used the non-approved substance to cut weight for the bout.

The remaining UFC 85 competitors made weight without incident.

UFC 85 "Bedlam" Weigh-In Results
Thiago Alves (174) vs. Matt Hughes (170)
Jason Day (184) vs. Michael Bisping (184)
Mike Swick (170) vs. Marcus Davis (170)
Thales Leites (185) vs. Nathan Marquardt (185)
Fabricio Werdum (247) vs. Brandon Vera (228)
Martin Kampmann (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (185)
Thiago Tavares (154.5) vs. Matt Wiman (155)
Roan Carneiro (171) vs. Kevin Burns (170)
Luis Arthur Cane (204) vs. Jason Lambert (205)
Jess Liaudin (169) vs. Paul Taylor (169)
Eddie Sanchez (244) vs. Antoni Hardonk (247)

Predictions
Hughes
Bisping
Swick
Marquardt
Vera
Kampmann
Tavares
Carnerio
Cane
Taylor
Sanchez

[D]

I think thats extremely unprofessional not making weight like that. If he loses, he may be in serious trouble.


I got a little cash riding on UFC 85

I took
Hughes
Bisping
Marquardt
Tavaras
and then on the UFN Diego Sanchez


So I am feeling pretty confident with my bet.

I also hit on the Elitexc/WEC card parlaying.

[Hammy]

It's time for Hughes to hang it up, one fight with Serra then he should call it quits.  Alves is very good but the Hughes who comes out to fight now isn't the same one who was Champion, you can tell looking at him, I thought that he would still have some left in him since his only real recent losses have been to GSP who is so good he can make anyone look bad with his domination of them.  Hughes controlled early one but was unable to inflict any damage and got cut, Alves looked and seemed damn powerful, I'm not surprised he struggled to make weight, he wants a title shot and claims he failed to make weight due to a sprained angle, I'd still say make him fight once more to prove he is good enough and can make weight, we don't need another Lutter.  It's Two months 'til Fitch and GSP anyway and depending on the state of the winner it could be awhile before he got his shot so he needs a fight in the meantime and judging by the little damage endured they could slot him on the UFC 88 card against Mike Swick who looked very impressive tonight with his domination of Marcus Davis, they could easily make that a #1 Contender match considering previous top guys are coming off losses to guys near the top.  Koscheck was beaten by GSP, Diego Sanchez was beaten by Fitch and Koscheck and Karo Parysian lost to Alves so those guys are going to have to wait for their shots.

Werdum and Vera who kicked off the night had what was a good fight ruined by an early stoppage from the safe ref who stopped Thompson vs Kimbo.    Whatever the crap ending doesn't change the fact Werdum has now stopped Gonzage and Vera but because of TUF holding up the title picture 'til 2009 he may as well get in another fight.  I like TUF and Frank Mir is my fave fighter but having the show hold up title matches annoys the hell out of me, we have to wait til New Years Eve for it!

Mike Bisping despite all the negativity he's been getting looked faultless against Jason Day.  2 easy wins at Middleweight, time for a step up in competition now.  Maybe Chris Leben and if he wins that, give him to Franklin or Henderson.

Nate The Great got screwed in his fight, he fouled once, not twice, everyone who saw that fight know apart from being knockdown once he totally dominated and is still a hell of a force at Middleweight.

There were some good Prelims.  Luiz Cane finished Jason Lambert in spectacular fashion and considering how crowded the Light-Heavyweight Division is, I think Lambert may get cut.  Speaking of fighters getting cut Jorge Rivera who has no consistency and can never get back to back wins going in the UFC may as well be cut, he's never going to be a contender in the division, Kampmann on the other hand looked great and the Middleweight Division is starting to take shape slowly but surely.

Matt Wiman proved all the doubters wrong.  At sherdog.com earlier they had a thread on how long would he last.  Everyone though Tavares would crush him.  Both looked good though this was a nice little fight, plenty of submission attempts and both threw bombs, Wiman now though has 4 wins in a row at 155 and he beat one of the highly touted guys in the Division.

All in all a fairly solid show and we have some great things coming up including TUFinale, UFC86 and 87.  Kendall Grove needs to beat Tanner if he gets a 3rd devastating loss in a row he may get cut.  Tanner is in the same boat though, with a lackluster comeback and a guy who has personal problems and loss will be real bad for him to.  Grove has been exposed as Mr Glass Jaw though and I see Tanner get a 1st Round win.

[Hammy]

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (21-4) will take a temporary leave of absence from the division he has all but cleared out and move up to light heavyweight to challenge James Irvin during the main event at the newly-minted UFC Fight Night 14 at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 19.

Win or lose the ?Spider? will retain his middleweight crown and likely still defend it in the near future, according to Yahoo!Sports.com.

It?s an interesting twist to say the least, considering Silva had been recently linked to a blockbuster bout with former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. That?s a showdown that can still happen; however, for now the ?Sandman? gets the unenviable task of taking on Silva.

Irvin rebounded from an injury-riddled and bizarre 2007 fight campaign, during which he blew out his knee in a loss to Thiago Silva and was knocked silly courtesy of an errant Luis Arthur Cane knee that resulted in a disqualification win, to knockout Houston Alexander in record time at UFC Fight Night 13 this April.

He was supposed to take on Rashad Evans at UFC 85: ?Bedlam? earlier this month; however, he had to withdraw because he broke several toes while training for the bout. Irvin boasts a 4-3 record inside the Octagon.

Silva, on the other hand, has stopped every single fighter put in front of him since his UFC debut in 2006, including Chris Leben, Rich Franklin (twice), Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson. It?s a ridiculous hit list to say the least.

There?s really only one man in the division remaining, Yushin Okami, who he has not defended against and has worked his way toward a title shot. In fact, Okami holds a controversial win over the Brazilian from back in 2006.

Perhaps that will happen sometime soon ? just not next.

In addition to the main event between Silva and Irvin, the UFC is working overtime to put together a card in five weeks that will get people to tune in to Spike TV.

Here?s the latest we have so far:

Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin
Frank Edgar vs. Hermes Franca (moved from UFC 87)
Cain Velasquez vs. TBA
Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns

Stay tuned for more details, including whether or not Brandon Vera will still co headline the card as previously mentioned. These fight announcements should come fast and furious.

I hope we see more of letting guys switch between divisions.  I'm not to keen in this instance because I'm all about title defences, but for non champions and for "Super Fights" I like the idea *cough* Penn St. Pierre *cough*

[D]

smart but kind of low class on the UFC's part.

Let Affliction have their night and see how it goes.

if u are so above and so much more elite, then it shouldnt matter.

[slash666]

Liddell vs Evans is gonna be at UFC 88 now, will be interesting to see how well Chuck recovers and how well his hamstring will hold up.

Hopefully Chuck vs Silva will happen next year maybe UFC 91 or 92

[Hammy]

Hopefully Chuck vs Silva will happen next year maybe UFC 91 or 92

Chuck vs Wandy II

or the "Dream" Chuck vs Anderson match?

Brazilian jiu-jitsu submission specialist Rousimar Palhares (8-1) has signed a contract to take on Dan Henderson (22-7) in a middleweight bout at UFC 88: ?Breakthrough? at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6, according to MMAWeekly.com.

?Dangerous Dan? ?- with his proven chin and prestigious Greco Roman wrestling pedigree ?- was supposed to be the man to derail the seemingly invincible champion, Anderson Silva. And in the first round of their fight at UFC 82: ?Pride of a Champion,? Henderson appeared to be well on his way.

However, Silva came out in the second frame and finished Henderson with a submission (rear naked choke) -? the first time that the former Pride FC dual champion had been stopped early since 2005.

With two straight losses since his return to the Octagon it?s safe to say that this is a must win for Henderson.

Palhares was impressive in his Octagon debut, submitting mixed martial arts veteran Ivan Salaverry via super slick armbar at UFC 84: ?Ill Will? back in May. It was so slick, in fact, it earned him a $70,000 ?Submission of the Night? bonus.

Henderson is no doubt the biggest test to date for the young Brazilian Top Team-trained fighter and it would brand him an instant force in the 185-pound division. And if there is one weakness in Henderson?s tight game it?s his submission defense ? three of his seven career losses have come via submission (the other four are decisions).

Put simply, it?s a big fight for both fighters for different reasons.

UFC 88 will showcase a main event between former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 heavyweight winner Rashad Evans.

That will be tricky for Henderson, the guy looked really good in his debut, although Dan should have a distinct reach advantage and is a superb wrestler, but like the article points out, he can get caught with submissions and this guy looked slick.

[slash666]

Hopefully Chuck vs Silva will happen next year maybe UFC 91 or 92

Chuck vs Wandy II

or the "Dream" Chuck vs Anderson match?

Chuck vs Anderson Silva, although with all that anticipation im sure it would turn out to be a dud

[Hammy]

Hopefully Chuck vs Silva will happen next year maybe UFC 91 or 92

Chuck vs Wandy II

or the "Dream" Chuck vs Anderson match?

Chuck vs Anderson Silva, although with all that anticipation im sure it would turn out to be a dud

I'd prefer Anderson vs Rampage tbh.

[slash666]

yeah that would be a better match, can see that happening sometime next year hopefully, but you can bet UFC will have the "big money" match with Chuck & Anderson first