UFC 145 has arrived

I'm pretty pumped for tonight's UFC 145 event from Atlanta, GA. And my company, Swirl, was awesome enough to let a few of us MMA junkies at the office use the big screen in the creative lounge to watch the fights together tonight. Should be a great time. We're all bringing our favorite fast food meals to enjoy while we watch some of the best athletes on the planet go toe-to-toe. Oh, the irony.

Tonight's main event is going to have a tremendous ripple effect in the MMA community, regardless of the outcome. I was talking about this with a co-worker yesterday, and the point I made is that the UFC will be in a great place no matter which fighter wins the title bout. If Jones defends successfully, the UFC's decision to sponsor him and essentially put their eggs in the proverbial one basket will be paid off tremendously. Jones will have defeated his rival and biggest test to date, one that was looming in the background the past year since he won the title from Shogun back in March 2011. Evans has always been the guy people wanted to see Jones fight, and it'll finally happen. If he wins, there's Dan Henderson and perhaps Alexander Gustafson down the road, but I think discussions will start to turn to Jones moving up to the heavyweight. He's now walking around at 230 and filling out his frame as he matures. And with Lesnar gone from the heavyweight picture, Jones could fill the void as "the big draw" in that division. And do what Brandon Vera never even came close to doing, despite many, including himself, predicting he would: be the first man to hold both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles at the same time.

On the flip side, if Evans wins, the light heavyweight division will get flipped upside down. Jones invincibility will be gone, the major deals potentially off the table for the time being, and a major rematch will loom. One that will be bigger than the Silva-Sonnen bout later this year. That would be HUGE money, and the UFC would not be in a bad place if that's the case.

The easy money is to bet on Jones tonight. He's a physical freak: the reach, the athleticism, the added strength, and the ability to soak up so much MMA knowledge in only a matter of 4-5 years. He's the best out there. But the smart money is on Evans. He's a 5 to 1 dog in Vegas, and quite frankly, I think that's a bit aggressive. Evans has shown the ability to finish fights on his feet and on the ground, something he was crucified for early in his career. Ever since the brutal Sean Salmon head kick KO, Evans has gone on to finish multiple opponents in exciting fashion: Liddell via one-punch KO, Griffin for the title via vicious ground-and-pound, and Tito Ortiz via knee to the body. And in other fights where he won via decision, he added excitement and overcame adversity in some cases. Against both Thiago Silva and Quinton Jackson, he survived late scares, overcoming knockdowns to recover quickly and save the win. And against the latter, he put Jackson on his butt early in the fight, turning the tables on the once feared KO artist. His fight against Phil Davis was a tutorial, a glorified practice - or so it seemed. Davis, a highly touted prospect, had nothing for Evans. Literally. Evans is a stud, and he's got enough tools in his box to dethrone the champ.

The difference in the fight will be the jab and front kick of Jones. He'll need to use those at will to keep Evans at bay and avoid the challenger from closing the gap and dictating the pace and location of the fight. If he doesn't consistently jab and kick, Evans will work his way inside and either land a takedown or put fists to face. And either will be a problem for Jones. But for Evans, that's the rub. If he can't get in tight, he doesn't have a chance. No one in the UFC can win a fight from the outside against Jones simply b/c of his reach. Machida did it for a round, but Jones made the adjustment and was able to clip Machida several times in the 2nd round from the outside, the final one putting Machida on the mat, eventually leading to a nasty gash from a Jones elbow and ultimately ending with a standing guillotine.

I'm picking Jones to win, but if I decide to put money on the fight tonight, I'm taking Evans. The odds are too good not to. As for the action, I see Jones and Evans going toe-to-toe for a battle. It will be the defining fight for both fighters; Jones passes a grueling test against his biggest challenge yet, while Rashad shows the world that he really is one of the best EVER at light heavyweight. This won't be a 5-0 shutout. It'll be a 48-47 type of card, one that will earn a tremendous amount of respect for both fighters, and hopefully put an end to this ridiculous, bitter war of words between the two of them.

Main Event
Jon Jones defeats Rashad Evans via UD

Other Main Card fights
Rory MacDonald defeats Che Mills via 2nd round (T)KO
Ben Rothwell defeats Brendan Schaub via UD
Miguel Torres defeats Mike McDonald via 2nd round submission (rear-naked choke)
Mark Hominick defeats Eddie Yagan via 1st round KO (punch)

UFC on Fox 2 Thoughts and 143 Predictions

Before I get into my breakdown and picks for tonight's UFC 143 PPV card, I want to start with a quick op-ed on the 2nd installment of the UFC on Fox series.

I didn't watch the fights live. I was in San Diego for an engagement party, so I set the DVR and followed the action on my Twitter feed the entire night. I wasn't surprised by the results, but I was more surprised about some of the opinions that flooded Twitter in regards to performances, particularly the Sonnen-Bisping fight.

After watching the fights on DVR last night, I have to say that I don't disagree with the judge who scored it 30-27. The first two rounds were razor-thin close. And just because a fight is scored 30-27 doesn't mean it was a dominant performance by one fighter. S/He could have barely won all three rounds, but won them nonetheless. I think that was the case with Sonnen.

The first round was closely fought, particularly in the 2nd half when Bisping started to control the clinch against the cage. But by control, I mean position only. He mounted little offense, as he just kept Sonnen up against it. I thought Sonnen's work early in the round gave him the nod. He scored two takedowns and mounted some offense on the first one in particular, landing solid shots to Bisping's grill.

The second round was the closest of the match and could have gone either way. You wanna give it to Bisping? I won't complain. But I thought Sonnen landed the more effective strikes and seemed to have more of an impact when on the offensive. Bisping defended the takedowns well, but I just never really saw him land any effective strikes. But again, closest of the fight.

In the third, Sonnen shifted the momentum in his direction, scoring the most dominant round of the fight. He landed a beautiful double right out of the gate, landed in the mount, took Bisping's back, and found himself in dominant positions that swayed the round in his favor. Solid round. I probably would have scored it 29-28 Sonnen, but again, I didn't disagree with the 30-27.

Takeaways from the fight were that Sonnen will need to be more effective on the feet if he plans to have a chance against Silva. Landing that big shot early in their first fight gave Silva something else to think about and opened up the takedowns for Sonnen throughout. But against Bisping, while his takedowns were crisp, his striking was sloppy. He came forward with no regard for Bisping's power - perhaps part of his strategy given Bisping hits with little mittens - and he won't be able to do that against Silva. But props to Bisping. Great performance. I'd like to see him fight Munoz next after Munoz recovers from injury to determine the next guy in line to fight the winner of Silva-Sonnen II.

The Evans-Davis fight was a showcase of how much better Evans is, and solidified him as the #1 contender. Davis' striking was ineffective and he looked timid and overwhelmed in such a high-profile fight. Evans, meanwhile, did his job, got the win, and now moves on to take on Jon Jones in what has become a budding rivalry. Should be a great event at UFC 145 in Atlanta.

Now onto UFC 143...

Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit

Diaz-Condit will fight for the interim welterweight crown as champion Georges St. Pierre recovers from a blown-out knee. This fight should be exciting, as both guys are high-volume fighters that bring it every time they step out there.

The cardio and pace of Diaz is stuff for legends, particularly in the latter part of his career where we've seen him wear down opponents, drag them into deep waters and impose his will late in the fight when his opponent is broken down and unable to sustain any success because of the beating they've taken, rendering them useless. Most recently, it was BJ Penn, who had success in the 1st round but was worn out from the activity of Diaz in the 2nd and was lucky to survive in the 3rd. Diaz's boxing is, in my opinion, the best in MMA. He's active, effective, and benefits from power through volume. In other words, the sheer volume of punches that he lands eventually take their toll and make him more powerful later in the fight, when he's still strong and his opponent is not. The body punches break down the defense, leaving openings up top where he can capitalize with multi-punch combinations.

On the ground, his Gracie black belt in jiu-jitsu looms. And his submissions are tight. Pick your poison with Diaz. Wherever the fight goes, he's going to be a handful.

Condit, meanwhile, is a diverse striker with knockout power, great kicks and knees. He's got more highlight reel knockouts on the feet than Diaz, including his last couple victories: a KO win over brawler Dan Hardy and a brutal KO via flying knee against Dong Hyun Kim. The win over Hardy was shocking, as both men landed simultaneous punches, with Condit's landing on the button of Hardy, putting him down and eventually out via final blows on the ground. The victory over Kim, however, was just as impressive as Condit landed a flying knee then sent Kim into a quick coma with strikes as Kim was pressed and trapped up against the cage with nowhere to hide. Brutal.

The ground game of Condit is solid and competent. Perhaps not on the level of Diaz, but if the fight goes there, it will be fun to watch. Condit has 13 submissions wins to Diaz's 8, but I still give the edge Diaz there. But again, to talented practitioners of jiu-jitsu on the ground should be fun to watch.

For my pick, I'm going 3rd round (T)KO to Diaz. I think the first couple rounds will be competitive, as both men will have their moments. But late in the 2nd Diaz will start to shift the momentum in his favor, peppering Condit with punches to the body and head. In the 3rd, Condit will start to wear down, and halfway through the round Diaz will body-head combination that forces Condit to keel over at the waste, leaving an opening for Diaz to pepper the head and take Condit out for the stoppage and interim title.

Pick: Diaz over Condit via 2nd round (T)KO due to strikes (3:49)

Additional picks:

Roy Nelson over Fabricio Werdum via 2nd round KO (punch)

Josh Koscheck over Mike Pierce via decision (lay & pray)

-Bess

Like Father, Like Son...maybe not

Hector Camacho Jr. fought last weekend, bringing his 52-3-1 (28 KO) record into a match with David Lemieux, who entered with an unblemished 23-0 tally. Lemieux left still unblemished, both in record and on face. He was quicker to the punch, much faster and simply more aggressive and better than the son of Hector Camacho. "Macho Camacho" ended his career with major titles across four weight classes and a 79-5-3 record. His son will never reach the heights the elder Camacho did in his career. See below...



Great knockout for Lemieux, and a fun treat for spectators. It's always fun to see a slowly crumble after taking a clean shot like Camacho did. Kind of reminds of this:



-Bess

Besse's UFC 107 picks

Several months ago, tonight was a night we couldn't wait for. We were finally going to see Quinton "Rampage" Jackson square off against Rashad Evans after some of the most intense sh*t talking this sport has seen. And TUF10 was going to get us even more jacked up for the fight. Unfortunately, "Rampage" got cast as the old Mr. T in the new "A-team" flick - with Liam Neeson, who's a badass, and Bradley Cooper, who was the man in "The Hangover". According to Dana White and "Rampage" himself, he'll return soon to settle the score.

But instead of that being tonight's main event, we get a lightweight title fight between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez. Penn is uber talented at lightweight, and Sanchez is maniacal. I can't help but think part of the antics Sanchez displays are merely an act, but good lord this dude is awkward. I just don't see anyone beating Penn at lightweight. I thought Florian had a chance, but his brother is retarded and developed the worst gameplan in the history of MMA. And instead of holding Keith culpable, Ken-Flo dumps one of the best trainers in the game, Mark Dellagrotte, so he can go hang on GSP's nuts a little more with Firas up at Tri-Star. Here are my picks for the three main fights tonight...

BJ Penn defeats Diego Sanchez via submission (rear-naked choke) in the 3rd round
Frank Mir defeats Chieck Kongo via submission (kimura) in the 1st round
Kenny Florian defeats Clay Guida via decision

-Bess

Kimbo Slice on The Ultimate Fighter

Kimbo to the UFC? Well sort of. Dana White has always said the only way Kimbo would compete in the UFC is if he went on and won the reality show. For Kimbo, step 1 is in the books. He will join 15 other Heavyweights for the upcoming season of TUF to be coached by Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, two former Light Heavyweight Champions. Theres two will also square off when the season if over, meaning the next challenger for Lyoto Machida will be none other than Shogun Rua.

Anyway I am excited to hear the news that Kimbo will be on TUF. Just a few days ago I wrote "Enough of TUF" (scroll down a bit to see it). I was getting sick of the stale show that focused much more on the coaches than that of the new fighters. Well Kimbo just changed all of that. I'm going to watch every show. Nice job out of Kimbo for stepping up and taking this challenge and hey, good job out of Dana for putting him on the show after talking so much crap about him. Plus he knows the rating are going to "spike" right back up. Should be very interesting to see how he does.

-Keefe

Also be sure to check out all the "great" 1st pitches Besse has found below and vote on our poll (top right.)

Enough of "TUF"

I loved The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. The UFC came up with an idea for a show to promote the sport, the organization, and some new fighters. With such fighters as Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Chris Leben, Stephen Bonnar, Kenny Florian, Mike Swick, Nate Quarry, Rashad Evans, Joe Stevenson, Marcus Davis, Michael Bisping, Mac Danzig, not to mention the comeback cast that included Matt Serra, Chris Lytle, and Travis Lutter, all living in the Ultimate Fighter house, it couldn't miss.

The coaches early on were UFC stars, that were being introduced to the majority of the public. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, and Matt Hughes put their "teams" through work outs preparing them for elimination fights. But Season 3, Dana White got an idea. Let's promote an upcoming fight, a grudge match. Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock would coach opposite sides, then square off in the octogon. It made for good tv. You had to tune in each week to see the confrontations between Tito and Shamrock, two guys that couldn't wait to fight each other.

The problem may have been that this was successful. Now Dana and the UFC wanted to promote big fights through TUF. Rather than letting a guy fight for or defend the belt in a couple months, they would film a season of the show and then finally have their fight. (See: Rampage vs. Forrest & Mir vs. Big Nog.) As Besse and I have pointed out many times, it essentially puts a hold on a division.

Well mmajunkie.com and other outlets have confirmed that Season 10 of TUF will be coached by Rampage Jackson (again) and former TUF winner Rashad Evans. What? Why recycle coaches? Why put a guy in who's getting a title fight against some one else? Is Rampage still getting the first crack at Lyoto? I don't get it. The season is going to be all heavyweights, 16 of them, and possibly including a few former NFL players. Rashad, the former Light Heavyweight Champ, was the only Heavyweight Champion of TUF, so I understand bringing him back to the show, but Rampage?

The focus has become more on the coaches then the new talent, plus let's face it, the show has run its course. They took out the Real World/ Road Rules Challenge type tasks after the first or second season, but since then its been basically the same stuff. I'll still watch every once in awhile, but it used to be appointment television. Can't say the same thing now.

TUF brought in a ton of fans to MMA, the Griffin vs. Bonnar fight at the TUF 1 Finale may very well be the most important fight in the history of mixed martial arts. Despite all that it's time to hang it up.

Enough of TUF.


-Keefe


Side note: Frank Trigg signed a new deal with the UFC. Should be very interesting to see what he has left, and who he will face next.

The fruits of one's labor

Lyoto Machida is one scary, scary dude. Should be a lot of fun watching him take on "Rampage" Jackson later this year. There are rumors swirling about him and Jackson taking opposing sides as coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. I have mixed emotions about this. The positive in doing this is that it would give Machida even more exposure to American fans, perhaps even moreso to casual fans who may be checking the show out. It's hard to believe that a lot of hardcore fans still watch TUF because of the antics within the house, the fact that it's the same boring format every season, and quite frankly, the fighters are decent at best. But for a casual or new fan to the sport, it's a solid way to become introduce to MMA and UFC, and also gives them exposure to some of the sports stars who are serving as coaches.

However, I'm weary of Jackson and Machida being coaches on this show for a couple reasons. First and foremost is that show starts filming in the first week of June. It wouldn't start airing until September and thus Jackson and Machida would not square off for "The Dragon's" belt until the end of the year, most likely headlining the final card of 2009. Secondly, Jackson has already served as a coach on the show against Forrest Griffin. Admittedly, Jackson said he didn't really enjoy it and that he got extremely overweight being on the show. Obviously it could serve as a nice PR move to continue rebuilding his reputation with fans after his meltdown following the loss of his title to Griffin, but I'm skeptical. I want to see the best Rampage take on Machida because it could make for an all-time classic matchup. Rampage has terrific standup with his boxing skillset and his defense, and he also brings great wrestling and tremendous ground and pound to the table. I honestly don't know if he has the tools to take out Machida - he is one dangerous BAMF - but it could make for an exciting fight. Rampage always brings the fight, and it would be interesting to see Machida karate take on such an aggressive, yet calculated and disciplined style of boxing and wrestling. Dana White's announcement comes on June 2nd, so we'll just have to wait and see, but with every other title currently scheduled for upcoming matchups, all signs point to it happened. Unless they're bringing Tito and Ken Shamrock back for another grudge match.

-Bess

UFC 98 Results

Main Card:

Lyoto Machida def. Rashad Evans in 2nd round via TKO (strikes). Machida wins Light Heavyweight Championship
Matt Hughes def. Matt Serra via unanimous decision (29-28).
Drew McFedries def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam in 1st round via TKO (37 seconds).
Chael Sonnen def. Dan Miller via unanimous decision.
Frankie Edgar def. Sean Sherk via unanimous decision.

Undercard:

Brock Larson def. Mike Pyle via 1st round submission (Arm Triangle)
Tim Hague def. Pat Barry via 1st round submission (Guillotine)
Kyle Bradley def. Phillipe Nover via 1st round TKO
Krzysztof Soszynski def. Andre Gusmao via 1st round TKO
Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Brandon Wolff via 1st round submission (Guillotine)
George Roop def. Dave Kaplan via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)

-Keefe

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (2-5-09)

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Andrei Arlovski
4. Frank Mir
5. Josh Barnett
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7. Randy Couture
8. Tim Sylvia
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Chiek Kongo

Gabriel Gonzaga, Shane Carwin, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos

Fedor remains on top with his win over Arlovski. Upcoming fights: Cain Velasquez is in action this weekend, Junior Dos Santos fights in 2 weeks at UFC 95, but next month at UFC 96 Gonzaga vs. Carwin. You got to wait until May for Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II for the unification of the UFC Heavyweight belt.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Rashad Evans
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Chuck Liddell
6. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
7. Babalu Sobral
8. Wanderlei Silva
9. Keith Jardine
10. Thiago Silva

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Luis Cane, Tito Ortiz, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Jon Jones

Lyoto just beat Thiago in a top 10 showdown, and Bababu took down Soko and Lil Nog over the Janitor at Affliction 2. Upcoming fights: Rampage vs. Jardine in March. What? I don't get it either. Shogun and Iceman in April, barring injury. Some other good matchups as well including Luis Cane and Brandon Vera fight, but not each other.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson
3. Rich Franklin
4. Robbie Lawler
5. Vitor Belfort
6. Yushin Okami
7. Gegard Mousasi
8. Michael Bisping
9. Nathan Marquardt
10. Thales Leites

Cung Le (Le had been in our top 10, but due to inactivity, we bumped him. The rational there being, we aren’t ranking Royce Gracie and Dan Severn, so Le will have to sit it out until he fights again.) Jorge Santiago, Matt Lindland, Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Demian Maia, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

Besse and I can't make head or tails of this division outside of Anderson Silva. Hendo beat Franklin at 205, but Henderson will be a TUF coach vs. Bisping and fight him at 185. Leites gets the title fight with Silva. Belfort is more than back on the map after whoopin up on Lindland. Upcoming fights: UFC 95: Marquart vs. Wilson Gouveia and Chael Sonnen vs. Demian Maia.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
t-6. Matt Hughes
t-6. Matt Serra
8. Karo Parisyan
9. Carlos Condit
10. Jay Hieron

Nick Thompson, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett

GSP retained the belt with a 4 round demolition over Penn. Next up for St. Pierre will be Thiago Alves. Jon Fitch got a decision win on the GSP/Penn undercard. Diego Sanchez drops off the list as he is heading to Lightweight. Upcoming fights: UFC 95 Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Thiago. Carlos Condit makes his UFC debut (as the WEC has stopped welterweight fights) taking on Martin Kampann at a Fight Night to start April.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Eddie Alverez
4. Joachim Hansen
5. JZ Cavalcante
6. Josh Thomson
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Sean Sherk
9. Kenny Florian
10. Gilbert Melendez

Satoru Kitaoka, Takanori Gomi, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Frankie Edgar

Penn loses to GSP, but he is still the best Lightweight in the world, regardless of what WAMMA says, Aoki beat Sanchez for that destinction. Diego Sanchez could make a splash when he faces Joe Stevenson. Gomi loses again to Kitaoka this time and is out of the Top 10 for the 1st time since we've done this. Where will Huerta fight next after leaving the UFC?

Upcoming Events:

UFC Fight Night 17 (Feb. 7th)

UFC 95 (Feb. 21st)

WEC 39 (March 1st)

UFC 96 (March 7th)

Dream 7 (March 8th)

The Sports Brief’s MMA RANKINGS (12/30/08)

Here it is our loyal readers, the Sports Brief's year end MMA Rankings. The UFC finished 2008 with a bang with UFC 92 last weekend. Great card, great fights, great night! Let's take a look at how the new Top 10's look going in to 2009.

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Andrei Arlovski
4. Frank Mir
5. Josh Barnett
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7. Randy Couture
8. Tim Sylvia
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Chiek Kongo

Gabriel Gonzaga, Shane Carwin, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos

The UFC's 4 Man Tournament dethroned both the Champion and Interim Champ. What looked like a Couture/ Big Nog final turns into a rematch of Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Elsewhere Affliction gets going again next month with their 2nd show, Fedor takes on Arlovski. Overeem and Cro Cop fight on New Year's but alas not against each other.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Rashad Evans
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Forrest Griffin
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Chuck Liddell
6. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
7. Thiago Silva
8. Babalu Sobral
9. Wanderlei Silva
10. Keith Jardine

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Luis Cane

Another title fight, another Light Heavyweight Champion. Will anyone ever retain this belt? Rashad beat Forrest at UFC 92 and Rampage knocked out Wanderlei. Makes sense for Rampage to get a shot at the title next, but he wants Forrest as well. Machida and Thiago is on the way. Soko failed in the UFC and followed many others to Affliction. Speaking of Affliction Tito Ortiz... will provide the color commentary for the next card. The long awaited return of Shogun Rua is next month, but against Mark Coleman. What? Interesting weightclass to say the least, looks as though everyone can beat everyone in the top 10.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Matt Lindland
3. Dan Henderson
4. Rich Franklin
5. Robbie Lawler
6. Cung Le
7. Yushin Okami
8. Gegard Mousasi
9. Michael Bisping
10. Nathan Marquardt

Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

No changes here since last month. A very deep division world wide, with Anderson Silva head, shoulders, and even a full body length ahead of everyone else. A rumored bout with Thales Leites does not get me goin though. Denis Kang and Chael Sonnen are coming to the UFC. Sonnen to face Maia in a few months. Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin fight in a couple weeks, but at 205. Not sure I get that one. The Spider might as well move up too.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego Sanchez
t-7. Matt Hughes
t-7. Matt Serra
9. Karo Parisyan
10. Carlos Condit

Nick Thompson, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Jay Hieron

January 31st GSP puts his belt on the line against Lightweight Champ B.J. Penn. We'll see what happens to both divisions after that. Who will Shields fight next? And it looks as though Diego Sanchez will be moving down a weight class to challenge Joe Stevenson.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Eddie Alverez
3. Joachim Hansen
4. Shinya Aoki
5. JZ Cavalcante
6. Takanori Gomi
7. Josh Thomson
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri
9. Sean Sherk
10. Kenny Florian

Gilbert Melendez, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Frankie Edgar

The little hyped WAMMA Championship comes to the Lightweight division on New Year's Eve in Japan with Eddie Alverez vs. Shinya Aoki. B.J. Penn anyone? Even still the Aoki/ Alverez fight should be very entertaining. The UFC dominates many of these divisions, but clearly not this one. Does Penn stay here or move up for good? What kind of splash does Diego make down here?

UFC 88 Results

Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell via violent KO - 1:51 of round 2
(You'll see this next on Ultimate Knockouts 6. Watching this on TV you had no idea how long it took the Iceman to get back to his feet. This was vicious. He was out. Not until after Rashad's interview by Joe Rogan did you see Hackelman and the rest of Liddell's corner holding him up ala Weekend at Bernie's or dare I say Weekend at Bernie's II. Just unbelievable. Who fights Forrest now for the Light Heavyweight title? We shall see.)

Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill via TKO - 0:39 of round 3

Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares via unanimous decision

Nate Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann via TKO - 1:21 of round 1

Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown via split decision

UNDERCARD:

Kurt Pellegrino def. Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision.

Tim Boetsch def. Mike Patt via TKO - 2:03 of round 1.

Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambert via submission - 1:20 of round 2.

Ryo Chonan def. Roan Carneiro via split decision.

How we did...

Keefe UFC 88 Picks: 8-1, (14-5 overall)

Besse UFC 88 Picks: 5-4, (13-6 overall)