The UFC Blog

Now that UFC 98 is in the books, UFC 99 "The Comeback" is just two weeks away.  A catch weight fight at 195 pounds between former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin and former PRIDEFC middleweight champion Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva will headline the card.

This will be the first time the UFC has stepped into Germany and boasts a stellar night of fights.  Dan Hardy will face Marcus Davis.  Heavyweight sensation Cain Velasquez will be in action against Cheick Kongo, and Mirko CroCop will make his UFC re-debut as well.

I don’t know who comes off funnier Rampage or the interviewer?

The UFC is making history with the first ever UFC Fan Expo, Be a part of history.

Get your tickets now and get to meet some of the sports top fighters, take some training and development sessions and more.
While your there stop by Bodybuilding.com’s booth and don’t forget to check out ProMMARadio.com.

UFC 98 Fallout

The “Machida Era” has begun or has it?  

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida is still undefeated after demolishing Rashad Evans this past Saturday night at UFC 98.  The title earning victory came late in round 2 where Machida caught Evans with a vicious uppercut and followed it up with a barrage of punches that dropped the once unbeaten champ.  

Now that Machida has fulfilled a lifelong goal of becoming champion, can he hold onto the belt?

The light heavyweight strap has been a hot potato over the months as nobody has successfully defended it in nearly two years.  “Rampage” Jackson was the last to defend it back in 2007 where he defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 75.  

Next in line for Machida is rumored to be “Rampage.”  Dana White confirmed this during the UFC 98 post fight presser and Machida’s own website (http://lyotomachida.net/Lyoto_Machida/Welcome.html) did as well even stating it would be in September.  

However “Rampage” has confirmed via twitter that he is getting ready to head back to Vegas to coach the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, “about to watch myself in the movie midnight meat train & packing my stuff to move to vegas to coach TUF!!” http://twitter.com/Rampage4real

Filming begins June first for TUF and runs for about six weeks; making a September bout impossible due to the show not finishing airing till December.  Coaching opposite is rumored to be Rashad Evans and not Machida which seems odd, but since Machida’s English isn’t great, who else would it be?  Evans would be the logical choice since the war of words they had at UFC 96.  Hopefully Rampage gets the title shot in September and still coaches TUF.

Dana White will hopefully clear the air tonight during SpikeTV’s Video Game Awards tonight.  

So who’s next in line for the Champ come September if these rumors are true and it’s not Rampage?

There are many challengers biting at the bit to challenge Machida, but due to the lopsided beat down he put on Rashad, the once “stacked” UFC LHW division is quickly losing its luster.  

Chuck Liddell is no longer a factor after his back to back losses and pending retirement.  

Forrest Griffin has a blockbuster fight with Anderson Silva coming up; his stock will quickly drop if he were to lose to “The Spider.”

Wanderlei Silva would be a nice choice, but let’s see if he can get passed Rich Franklin in a couple of weeks and he’s a better fit at 185.  

Evans and Thiago Silva were just stomped by Machida en route to winning the title.  Both would need to string a couple impressive victories to get another shot at Machida.  

Keith Jardine has always been a gritty competitive fighter, but his inconsistency will keep him as the division’s gate keeper.  

The Brandon Veras, Matt Hamills and Jone Jones’s all look impressive, but need a bit more seasoning to compete for the belt.  

Since my boy Tito Ortiz is no longer fighting for the UFC, the most logical challenger for Machida would be Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.  

This might be a lot of speculation on my part but, Rua was in the office of Dana White the other day according to his pic and tweet:

Danawhiteblog: Been in meetings all day!!! We are putting together some great shit fight now. Stay tuned and I will let you know what going on.

Danawhiteblog: http://twitpic.com/60mav Look who’s in the office today!!!

Shogun VS Machida would be an excellent fight so would Rampage VS Machida.  

Machida has all the tools to remain champion for a very long time; can he defend the belt more than Tito did?  Only time will tell!

The Matt VS Matt fight was very entertaining and Matt Serra looked to nearly capture yet another upset.  Serra caught Hughes with an accidental head-butt that staggered Hughes, but Serra was not able to finish him off.  Hughes would go on to lay on Serra for the the remainder of the fight earning him the unanimous decision.  

Now a free agent, Hughes will sit down with Dana White to figure out what’s next.  Hughes looked decent during this fight, but is no longer at the caliber to challenge GSP or Thiago Alves.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch between Hughes and Serra since the fight was sooo close.

An old nemesis of Hughes was also re-signed to the UFC in the form of Frank Trigg.  Hughes/Trigg II is Dana Whites all time favorite fight, could we be in store for part three?

Chael Sonnen dominated Dan Miller for three rounds earning a unanimous decision victory and so did Frankie Edgar as he flustered Sean Sherk for three rounds.  

According to Dana White, Sherk went a little loco after the fight. Via twitter: “Sean Sherk ran out of the ring and out the doors and down the street in his fight shorts and no shirt.”  He should’ve used that excess energy trying to wrestle Edgar down instead of standing with him!?!?

Drew McFedries made quick work of Xavier Foupa-Pokum knocking him out in the first round.  This is two losses in a row for Professor X, but he took this fight on short notice and should be back in the octagon, I hope!

Lyoto Machida vs. The UFC 205 Division
By: Tomas Rios, Sherdog.com

Look back on the history of any sport, and you’ll find a history defined by evolution that comes by the mile early and by the inch once it becomes a mainstream entity.

After a slow burn from the early days of UWF and Pancrase to the packed arenas of today that follow the UFC wherever it goes, evolution seemed to be in short supply. The code had been cracked; the pillars of the sport were supposed to be wrestling, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and muay Thai. End of story.

Then came an unassuming light heavyweight bred on Shotokan karate and sumo, the product of exposure to both the traditional Japanese martial arts that his father passed on to him and his own unflinching acceptance of the modern fighting styles of today. Lyoto Machida is an absolute anomaly in a sport where a rigid notion of what works is defended at the expense of innovation, which is what makes his future even more compelling than his past.

As the newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion, Machida not only joins the pantheon of past champions but also has to avoid tacking onto the UFC’s streak of one and done light heavyweight champions. Ironically, Machida’s recent predecessors represent some of his stiffest competition.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was supposed to be building a legendary title run. Instead he lost his belt in an epic bout with Forrest Griffin and subsequently went off the rails. Now back to whatever qualifies as “normal” for him, Jackson is expected to be the first in line for Machida’s gold and as one of the division’s best boxer/wrestler hybrids, he can work the game plan that no one has had the good sense to go for.

Standing with Machida has become the cool thing to do, and it’s gotten some of the division’s best nothing more than a loss and some short-term memory problems. However, Jackson’s orthodox boxing style is good enough to get him inside on Machida without getting chin checked, which would put him in prime position to slam Machida to the mat and turn the fight into something other than another Shotokan striking seminar.

The problem with expecting that of Jackson is that he simply doesn’t work that game anymore. For whatever reason, Jackson is convinced that he is best served getting into firefights on the feet instead of mixing it up and reverting to the multifaceted fighter he once was. Boxer/wrestlers who forget how to wrestle don’t have much to offer Machida — just ask Rashad Evans.

The two fighters in the division who have something different to offer Machida also have the most to prove. In fact, one of them may not even get the chance, as Forrest Griffin has to deal with UFC middleweight champion and pound-for-pound luminary Anderson Silva before even being considered for another run at the title he once held. Regardless, Griffin’s bruising, physical style and sadistic taste for punishment have taken him from being just another one of Dana White’s chosen ones to a legitimate force in the sport’s most demanding weight class.

Of course, Griffin’s love of fistic fireworks makes him a major wildcard in the cage, especially since his chin is hardly bulletproof. Tempering that wild-eyed bloodlust and focusing on bulling Machida around and turning the fight into a trench war instead of a Wild West fistfight would be the key variable in any scenario that involves Griffin winning. In other words, you’d have to bank on Griffin fighting a mistake free fight against a fighter who simply doesn’t make mistakes.

Mistakes and more have hounded Mauricio "Shogun" Rua during his UFC run. Coming into fights with his knee in tatters and his cardio MIA sent his once brilliant career into a decline that culminated against Mark Coleman — a sloppy, amateurish display of professional fighting. Thankfully, just as quickly as Rua dovetailed into mediocrity, he got everything back in sync and turned Chuck Liddell into the canvas on which he painted the sign announcing his return.

Don’t get me wrong, Rua is by far the biggest wildcard in the division — a once great fighter who may or may not have rediscovered his past self. If Shogun can somehow resurrect the explosive, versatile fighter of old — the fighter who looked set to become the light heavyweight monarch of our time — he may be the only man who can truly stand toe to toe with Machida and expect something other than a loss.

Between his loaded punches, unorthodox arsenal of kicks, slick grappling and pure fighting instincts, Rua is the only fighter in the light heavyweight division who goes beyond the typical definition of what a modern mixed martial artist is supposed to be. Whether Rua simply looked great against a fading star in Liddell or whether he was making real progress toward fulfilling his unfulfilled potential is the important question, and no one has the answer to that one.

The answer may not even matter because Machida is a fighter that no one can prepare for. There isn’t a training camp in the world that can prepare a fighter for him. No one keeps training partners around who happen to be world-class Shotokan karate fighters. Even if someone starts, good luck finding one who also studies sumo, jiu-jitsu and muay Thai.

I’m not in the practice of assuming much of anything when it comes to a sport as wildly unpredictable as MMA, but I am getting myself ready to see the next generation of fighters take a second look at the forgotten styles of old. No matter how long Machida holds the belt, having a fighter leave behind a legacy built on rediscovering respect for tradition and ditching the pseudo-macho trappings of modern MMA is something we’ve all been missing out on until now.

Very impressed by some of the fights last night.

Starting out with Evans loss to the new Champion Machida, lets say WOW Lyoto is definitely the bad ass he has been said to be. The 205 class is gonna have a hard time trying to take the belt form Machida. Lyoto continued his unflawed record and has still never lost a round much less a fight. You want to talk about an amazing MMA Fighter then you’ll be talking about Lyoto Machida!

Matt Hughes and Matt Serra fight, as many people figured Hughes won but he didn’t demolish Serra like I heard so many people talking. I didn’t think this was going to be such a good fight but it turned out to be a very great match and both fighters looked good for not having a fight in so long. But it was a good match, I was wanting to see Serra win but I never really thought he would and sure enough Hughes got the win with a unanimous decision.

I was also very happy and impressed with Frankie Edgar and his Unanimous Decision over Sean Sherk.

All in all UFC 98 was a great card and some awesome MMA action, after a few events as of lately I’ve heard a lot of people hating on the UFC but after last night they can all stop their crying and get ready for some more killer action at UFC 99 on June 13th.

Here are you results for UFC 98:

Rashad Evans Vs Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida Wins by Knock Out at 3:57 in the 2nd round .

Matt Hughes Vs Matt Serra
Matt Hughes Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round .

Drew McFedries Vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Drew McFedries Wins by Technical Knock Out at 0:37 in the 1st round .

Dan Miller Vs Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round .

Sean Sherk Vs Frank Edgar
Frank Edgar Wins by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round .

Brock Larson Vs Mike Pyle
Brock Larson Wins by Submission at 3:06 in the 1st round by arm triangle.

Pat Barry Vs Tim Hague
Tim Hague Wins by Submission at 1:42 in the 1st round by guillotine.

Phillipe Nover Vs Kyle Bradley
Kyle Bradley Wins by Technical Knock Out at 1:03 in the 1st round .

Krzysztof Soszynski Vs Andre Gusmao
Krzysztof Soszynski Wins by Technical Knock Out at 3:17 in the 1st round .

Yoshiyuki Yoshida Vs Brandon Wolff
Yoshiyuki Yoshida Wins by Submission at 2:24 in the 1st round by guillotine.

Dave Kaplan Vs George Roop
George Roop Wins by Split Decision at 5:00 in the 3rd round .

Machida vs. Evans

“Wow!”

That was the first thing I wrote in my notes as I watched Rashad Evans crash to the canvas unconscious after being struck with a barrage of blows courtesy of new Light Heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida. The end came at 3:57 of the second round and saw Machida’s remarkable string of never losing a round in UFC competition continue. As I sat cageside and focused on Lyoto during the fight it is simply amazing how calm and unfazed he is by anything taking place in the cage. It’s like watching an NFL defense get ready for the play after they’ve been told exactly what’s coming and when. And even more baffling is Machida’s ability to baffle others. He is as close to unhittable as anyone in MMA can be.

Like all those who came before him, Rashad simply could not figure Lyoto out. Machida is lighting fast, seizing the opening when he sees it like his life depends on it. The days of criticizing him for lacking aggression in the cage and failing to finish fights are dead and buried after this Knockout of the Night performance where he was dominant from start to finish. At the post fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that Lyoto’s first title defense will be against Rampage Jackson. Good luck, Rampage, you’re going to need it. At the risk of sounding like a prisoner of the moment, I don’t see anyone in the star-studded, talent-laden 205 division who can beat Lyoto. At the end of the day, you can’t beat what you can’t hit.    

Hughes vs. Serra

In the first round it looked as if Matt Serra was going to put another UFC Hall of Famer down on his resume as another victim. Serra absolutely rocked Matt Hughes with a right hand that had the former long term welterweight champ on queer street for a majority of the round. In fact, Hughes was asking his corner in between rounds if he’d been knocked down. To his credit, he weathered the storm and ultimately got Serra to the ground at the end of the opening stanza but Serra easily won the round.

The second round saw vintage Hughes takedowns and ground control that earned him the nod. He inflicted some damage but nothing that would dampen the New Yorker’s spirit going into round three. It was clear to all in attendance that the third round would decide the winner of a grudge match that has been over two years in the making.

When the round began, Hughes looked like he had clearly gotten the worst of the culmination of rounds one and two. However, he was successful in taking Serra down and controlling him again while doing virtually no damage at all. Towards the end of the round, Serra swept the bigger Hughes, got on top of him and was doing some damage and aggressively trying to finish the fight for the last 30 seconds. While we all felt on press row that this was as close to an even round as you could have, the judges all saw it for Hughes for the amount of time he controlled the action instead of to Serra for the damage done. It could have gone either way, and the fighters were rewarded with $60,000 each for Fight of the Night. They hugged after the fight and raised each other’s arms, squashing the bad blood they have both lived off for two years. Both fighters intend to keep fighting.

Sonnen vs. Miller

If you heard Chael Sonnen on Pro MMA Radio last week, you know that he had to lose 36 pounds in 22 days for this fight as he took it on short notice.

You would have never known.

Chael’s gas tank was full for all three rounds and he followed a wining gameplan. Chael is a great wrestler and took Dan Miller down in every round, beat him on the ground, controlled him and took a unanimous decision that was well deserved. Dan is a very tough fighter and had Chael in several submissions but couldn’t get him to tap. The closest call for Chael came early in the first round when Dan got a deep, tight guillotine that had Sonnen’s face turning red and was locked in for about 30 seconds. Chael ultimately popped his head out and the pattern of his control and ground punishment started early and continued for the majority of the 15 minute fight.

Edgar vs. Sherk

Sean Sherk should spend some time with Chael Sonnen. Sherk, an amazing, wrestling cardio machine must have woken up the morning of the fight and thought he was Manny Pacquaio. When Yahoo’s Kevin Iole joined me last week on Pro MMA Radio to break down the card I said that I was concerned that Sean has so fallen in love with his striking and the desire to prove that he isn’t just a wrestler that he would stay away from the very things that made him one of the best fighters in the world and a former UFC Lightweight Champion.

That’s EXACTLY what he did. Sean turned himself into half the fighter he used to be by refusing to employ much of what made him successful in the first place.  

Take nothing away from Edgar. He looked phenomenal…lighting fast, great technical striking, a perfect mix of throwing hands, knees and kicks as well as going for some of his own takedowns and an exclamation point guillotine attempt at the end of the third round that might have ended it if time didn’t run out. Great, great win for Frankie who is now firmly in the title picture and a horrible gameplan for Sherk who now finds himself starting over again and out of the mix.  

Professor X vs. McFedries

Every fight Drew McFedries has had in the UFC has ended in the first round, win or lose.

The streak is still alive.

Drew scored a 37 second TKO of Xavier Foupa-Pokam with a devastating collection of power punches that floored X and finally caused the referee to pull McFedries off his French opponent as X was still holding on to Drew’s ankle for dear life. While he argued the call with referee Yves Lavigne for a while after the fight, there was no question that it was a good stoppage. There may not be any debate as to Xavier’s immediate future in the UFC. I’m guessing he will become an X-UFC fighter after this second loss in a row.

There were some great fights, fantastic finishes and one that will be debated for a while on the undercard of UFC 98.

Krzysztof Soszynski showed heavy hands and scored a first round TKO over an overmatched but highly touted Andre Gusmao. The Brazilian kept changing from southpaw to conventional stances as if he couldn’t find himself and finally got crushed by the bigger, stronger, more experienced Krzysztof. “The Polish Experiment” is now 3-0 in the UFC and is becoming very, very popular with the fans.

Brock Larson and Yoshiyuki Yoshida both scored first round submissions over Mike Pyle and Brandon Wolff respectively. Larson is a very underrated welterweight who needs to get a name opponent in his next fight. Don’t judge Pyle’s UFC debut too harshly, however. He found out that he was replacing Chris Wilson on Friday morning, passed out trying to make weight and probably didn’t put his best foot forward. Hopefully the UFC will give him another chance to prove himself under better circumstances. Don’t expect to see Brandon for a while. He is now 0-2 in the UFC and may have to prove himself elsewhere to get another shot at the big time.

Two heavy favorites bit the dust on the undercard. Pat Barry, a phenomenal, world class  kickboxer with a 1-0 UFC record was set to take on a 264 pound Canadian making his UFC debut named Tim Hague. The 237 pound Barry rocked his opponent with kicks and punches, but failed to finish him. Hague grabbed Barry and got him to the ground and ended up choking him out rather quickly. The answer to the question as to whether Pat has any ground game was answered tonight with a resounding no. An even bigger favorite, Phillipe Nover, took on the unheralded Kyle Bradley who was 0-2 in UFC competition coming into this fight. Kyle slammed Nover to the ground early in the round and followed with a huge right hand that landed flush. Nover desperately scrambled but got caught with another shot that showed his body go limp for a second and prompted Yves Lavigne to stop the fight. Nover recovered quickly and complained loudly, to no avail. It had to be stopped and the fighter Dana once compared to Anderson Silva and GSP is now 0-2 in the UFC.

In the opening bout, two Team Mir TUF alumni met as George Roop scored a split decision over Dave Kaplan.  

For those of you who haven’t been able to keep up with the latest season of the Ultimate Fighter, here is your chance to see a piece of the action.

Here is the fight card set so far and guaranteed to be some more great fights.

Diego Sanchez Vs. Clay Guida
Joe Stevenson Vs. Nate Diaz
Chris Lytle Vs. Kevin Burns

Event: The Ultimate Fighter Team US vs Team UK FINALE
When: June 20, 2009 9pm ET
Where: The Pearl, Nevada
Get you tickets now, click here.

LIMP BIZKIT TO PERFORM AS PART OF UFC® 100 EVENT WEEKEND
UFC, Press Release

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The most historic event in UFC just got bigger with the announcement that rap-metal pioneers Limp Bizkit are bringing their "Unicorns N’ Rainbows" tour to Mandalay Bay Beach on Friday, July 10th to perform in their first North American concert in eight years as a part of the UFC 100 weekend. The multi-platinum-selling group has picked the perfect time to return to North American stages, and you can be sure that once their hits “Break Stuff”, “Rollin’” and “My Way” start blasting through the speakers, you’ll have all the adrenaline you need for UFC 100 the next night on Saturday, July 11th.

“Music is one of the things that make the UFC experience so exciting, and I’ve always been a big fan of Limp Bizkit, so we are excited to have the group perform at UFC 100 event weekend,” said Dana White, UFC President.

"We are proud that our first show in the USA with the original line-up in eight years will be in Las Vegas at UFC 100. The ultimate fighting music has finally found its home with the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” said Fred Durst.

Tickets for Limp Bizkit, not including applicable service charges, go on sale Friday, May 29 at 10 a.m. at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com, or www.ticketmaster.com.

Doors will open at 7pm, BoneyB will perform at 8 p.m. and Limp Bizkit will go live at 9 p.m. The concert also will be streamed live on UFC.com.

As part of UFC Fan Expo, Limp Bizkit will appear and sign autographs on the main stage Friday July 10th from 2pm – 3pm, just hours before their U.S. concert premiere. Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and DJ Lethal are gearing up to record their first new studio album with the original line-up since 2000’s Worldwide 12x-platinum Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Flip/Interscope Records will announce more details and a release date in the coming months. The band’s first three albums have sold more than 20 million copies in the U.S. alone, and another 13 million in the rest of the world.

About UFC Fan Expo
UFC Fan Expo, spanning more than 200,000 gross square feet of space, will exhibit apparel, electronic gaming, food & beverages, fight gear and fitness equipment, MMA training and development, nutritional supplements, lifestyle products, and other sports and entertainment related organizations.

Tickets will be available at the Mandalay Bay Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, Charge-By-Phone at (702) 474-4000 or online at ticketmaster.com.

For more UFC Fan Expo information and to purchase tickets, visit UFCfanexpo.com. For companies interested in reserving space at this premier event, contact Ed Gallo, Event Director at 1-203-840-5546 or email egallo@ufcfanexpo.com.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa™, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN Entertainment, Bell ExpressVU, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, Viewers Choice, and WOWOW in Japan, and Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, and via the Internet worldwide on Yahoo! Sports, and commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. In addition to its North American distribution, UFC programming is distributed in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

Tonight si the night, we finally get to see Matt Hughes tear up the octagon again against Matt Serra, the bad blood between the Matts will finally be settled in the Cage.

The fight of the night is gonna have to be Lyoto and Rashad, can’t wait to see that one.

Get some of your buddies together grab some beer or some protein shakes and find some where to watch UFC 98!

The weigh ins went off without too much drama and all the fighters, except one, are ready to go.

Brock Larson, the former WEC welterweight title contender who is 25-2 and scored a first round submission victory over Jesse Sanders in his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night 18, was scheduled to fight Chris Wilson who flew in from Brazil for the fight. News came down earlier today that Mike Pyle would be taking Chris’ place and would weigh in later in the day instead of with the rest of the fighters. Pyle had major trouble making weight and the commission would not allow him to attempt to lose any more weight once he hit 173 where the fight will be contested.

I spoke to Wilson for a while at a promotional event tonight for the new UFC video game (which is amazing!). He was pretty devastated. According to Chris, he sent in all his medicals five weeks before the fight and was contacted a week out to be told that there were some issues. He did additional testing before leaving Brazil and more after he got to Vegas on Tuesday. While he did not want to be get specific, it sounds as though Chris may have an issue requiring some type of meds that raised some issue with the commission that couldn’t be handled in time. Chris was told at 9:15AM on Friday, less than seven hours before weigh ins and after he completed half of his weight cut, that he would not be fighting. As a result, he will not make any money this weekend (unless he gets lucky at the tables), won’t get paid by sponsors and is understandably bummed after prepping for the fight, paying trainers and dieting.

Here are the official weigh in results for tomorrow’s event:

205 lbs.: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans (205) vs. Lyoto Machida (204)
170 lbs.: Matt Hughes (170) vs. Matt Serra (171)
185 lbs.: Chael Sonnen (186) vs. Dan Miller (185)
155 lbs.: Sean Sherk (156) vs. Frank Edgar (155)
185 lbs.: Xavier Foupas-Pokam (186) vs. Drew McFedries (185)
170 lbs.: Brock Larson (171) vs. Mike Pyle (173)
265 lbs.: Tim Hague (263) vs. Patrick Barry (237)
155 lbs.: Phillipe Nover (156) vs. Kyle Bradley (156)
205 lbs.: Andre Gusmao (206) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (206)
170 lbs.: Yoshiyuki Yoshida (171) vs. Brandon Wolff (170)
155 lbs.: Dave Kaplan (156) vs. George Roop (154)

UFC 99 Main Event fighter Wanderlei Silva owns a gym here in Vegas called Wand Fight Team at 4631 Dean Martin Drive (702.538.8300). The UFC sent a notice to credentialed media here to cover UFC 98 that we were invited to watch Wanderlei train for his upcoming fight against Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195. He was scheduled to spar Mike Whitehead, but when we got there we learned that the doctor told him not to spar because his eye had taken a shot and had to heal.

We did watch Whitehead and several other fighters spar tonight and I have to tell you, it was almost like being a an actual fight. I spoke with Wandy manager, Robert Cardenas, who said that is simply the Chute Box way, referencing the infamous academy in Brazil where Wandy and other top MMA superstars would go to war in sparring sessions. It’s the theory of "the best way to get ready to fight is to really fight." It was intense, to say the least.

Afterward, the assembled media spoke with Wandy for a while about his upcoming fight, the brewing animosity between him and UFC MW Champ Anderson Silva, the possibility of him fighting at 185 after the Franklin fight and a host of other topics. We’re going to have Wandy as a guest on Pro MMA Radio here on Bodybuilding.com before he leaves for Germany for UFC 99, so stay tuned.

This was the first time I had the opportunity to talk with Wandy in person and I have to tell you that it is impossible not to like this guy. He is incredibly gracious and respectful of everyone he interacts with and makes you feel totally comfortable in his facility. The "Axe Murderer" is a real class act.

Just got back from the press conference for UFC 98 in just two days. It wasn’t that eventful…no one said anything too aggressive or new, but here’s a few highlights.

Matt Serra and Matt Hughes

–"Hughes and his trainer have said that when I look across the cage at him on Saturday night that I’m going to think to myself ‘what did I get myself into’. Believe me, come Saturday night there is no where I’d rather be". Serra
–Serra isn’t thinking past the fight and doesn’t know if the two will be any different once it is over. Hughes concurs. "Once the fight is over we won’t really have any reason to talk about each other. We come from two different areas and that has a lot to do with it."
–Hughes did say that the experience of getting ready for Serra is similar to when he got ready to beat Frank Trigg twice. They are the only two fighters he has really had bad blood with and said that it gave him extra motivation to get up early and train very hard for the fight. he mentioned that he has been in the game for so long that sometimes you get comfortable and the bad feelings with Serra gave him that extra drive for this one.  
–Both fighters said that they will stop fighting when it isn’t fun any more or they are doing it for the wrong reasons. Hughes said he loves to compete and still feels that way.

Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida

–In the opening comments, Dana White said that since they have started to keep stats on the fighters, that Machida is the least hit fighter in MMA history. He said that Machida gets hit about once every round and a half.
–Machida said that he is definitely going to try to finish the fight while Rashad said he is definitely going to win the fight.
–I had a chance to speak to Rashad for a while after the formal part of the presser was over. I asked him if he was let down when the fight with Rampage was called off and Lyoto was subbed in since there had been so much heat between him and Rampage after the Jardine fight. He said that he wasn’t because Lyoto really deserves the fight. "I want the toughest fights to test myself, so it’s cool."
–Rashad’s trainer, Greg Jackson and I spoke for a while as well. He said that Lyoto is a challenge to prepare for and is very hard to take down. There seems to be a lot of mutual respect in this fight all around. Pro MMA Radio listeners will remember that Lyoto’s manager, Ed Soares, was a guest on the show on Monday and was very complimentary of Rashad as well. Check out the archive if you haven’t heard it yet.

Overall Impressions

The Rashad/Lyoto main event has the makings of an amazing fight, or could be a bit on the sleepy side given they both like to counter-fight. With this being the first time in UFC history that two undefeated fighters have met for a title, there should be more buzz for the event. The mutual respect between them and the fact that Lyoto doesn’t speak fluent English definitely don’t help. But, the bad blood between Hughes and Serra, definitely for real, has done a lot to get fans amped for the event. I’m sure tonight’s Countdown show will go along way toward boosting PPV sales as well.

Pro MMA Radio

Make sure to keep a close watch on the show these coming weeks. Rashad Evans, Greg Jackson, photographer Tracey Lee are all coming on and we may get Lyoto Machida before he goes back to Brazil.

Special thanks to everyone at the UFC, particularly Jen Wenk, Rachel Trontel and Diann Brizzolara for all their help.

And keep checking back here on the Bodybuilding.com UFC blog…more to follow!

Don’t miss the UFC 98 countdown tonight on SpikeTV.

Then tomorrow you gotta see UFC 98 with Evans vs Machida. Both men are undefeated and one will be walking out with a not so perfect record.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Undefeated records will be on the line this Saturday night as “Sugar” Rashad Evans defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight title against Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.  

A grudge match years in the making will finally culminate as two former welterweight champs, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will settle their feud as the will be the night’s co main event.  

Rounding out the UFC 98 main card will be a pair of middleweight bouts where some of UFC’s rising stars will have their chance to shine.  Also former lightweight champ Sean Sherk will be in action as he faces fellow wrestler Frankie Edgar.

Fresh of his stunning TKO victory over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, Rashad “Sugar” Evans is set to defend his UFC Light heavyweight championship for the first time as he attempts to figure out the Riddler of the UFC, Lyoto Machida.  

Being half Brazilian and half Japanese, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida has incorporated many disciplines in his arsenal.  Holding black belts in Shotokan karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mastering the lost art of Sumo wrestling, Machida is one puzzling pugilist.  

Before his octagonal debut, Machida had beaten some of the games top names; such as Stephan Bonnar, BJ Penn and Rich Franklin.  During his first year within the UFC, he caught some flack for his inability to finish fights, but was able to submit the highly touted Sokoudjou at UFC 79.  Machida would later frustrate yet another former UFC champion in Tito Ortiz and at UFC 94 he made quick work of Thiago Silva, who was also undefeated at the time, knocking him out in the first round.  

“My philosophy is the same as a samurai, to hit without getting hit.” Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida is truly a modern day samurai warrior.  Boasting a perfect record at 14-0, the ultra elusive Machida has given all his opponents fits and to this day, no one has defended his style.  Can Rashad Evans?  

Rashad “Sugar” Evans has traveled down a similar path as his challenger.  He too was known not to be a finisher as his first three UFC bouts ended in decision.  

Known as just a wrestler, Evans quickly evolved to be an all around threat as he racked up a plethora of high light reel knock outs.  His KO of Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world and he displayed a vicious ground and pound at the expense of Forrest Griffin which earned him the belt.  

Evans has been known to be a slow starter as he displayed against Griffin.  He looked to be losing the first two rounds till he found the button in round three.  He can’t make the same mistake against Machida as Machida has yet to lose a round whilst in the UFC.  
Evans has predicted a third round victory, if the fight goes any longer than that the edge has to go to the challenger.  He’s coming into this fight with more doubters than ever and as an underdog, something he’s very comfortable with.

Machida promises to leave no doubt and I have to concur.  Machida will inflict enough damage for five rounds frustrating the champ with his elusiveness earning him the title.

However, I hope I’m wrong because I would love to see some black on black crime with Evans and my boy Rampage!

It’s not often that two fighters have as much hatred and disdain for one another than Matt Hughes and Matt Serra have.

A title fight which was originally scheduled for late 2007 was pushed back until now due to injuries to both fighters.  Serra suffered a herniated disc during training forcing him off the fight.  Georges St. Pierre quickly filled in for Serra and decimated Hughes in their interim title fight.  GSP would later dominate Serra last year unifying the title.  

The fight was pushed back even more as Hughes tore his MCL as he was crushed by Thiago Alves at UFC 87.  Two years later we finally have the bout, with a little less luster, but entertaining nonetheless.  Nothing makes a fight better than bad blood.  

Undoubtedly a UFC Hall of Famer and at one point the most dominant welterweight in the world, Matt Hughes is quickly finding himself with the likes of Chuck Liddell.  Hughes hasn’t looked the same since he relinquished the belt to GSP back in 06 and his last victory came over Chris Lytle two years ago.  The injuries and the flying knee from Alves have taken their toll; does he have enough left in the old gas tank to beat the tar out of Serra?

Matt “The Terror” Serra has vowed to retire Hughes once and for all and beat him down.  Serra’s strengths are his stand up with his big right hand and his BJJ.  He was the first American to receive a black belt from Renzo Gracie back in 2000.  However his lone UFC submission victory was seven years ago.  He’ll need to keep this fight standing if he wants the W.  

Will Serra be remembered as the one who retired the once mighty Hughes or will he be remembered with the likes of AH-HA, Billy Ray Cyrus and other one hit wonders?

Hughes has been softened up over the years and his time is done.  Look for a second round KO for Matt Serra.

Hard hitting middleweights Drew McFedries and Xavier Foupa-Pokam are both in dire need of a victory.  McFedries is always dangerous with his hard hitting approach, he stays in the pocket and bangs.  Pokam will need to utilize his kick boxing to stay out of harms way and land some punishment of his own.  Pokam is superior ground wise and that should pay dividends if he’s able to get McFedries down.  Don’t blink during this fight.

Up and coming middleweight Dan Miller, will look to remain unbeaten in the UFC as he faces his stiffest test to date in Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen, who was a star in the WEC, made his UFC debut at UFC 95 where he suffered a submission loss to Demian Maia.  This Team Quest product is an excellent wrestler with decent stand up.  His grappling game is suspect as he is prone to submissions.  

Miller might have his hands full with Sonnen wrestling wise, but Miller is very tricky on his back.  Seven of his eleven victories have come via submission and go ahead and chalk up another one for this rising star.  

Sean Sherk continues his path to another lightweight title shot as he faces Frankie “The Answer” Edgar in the first televised bout.  Both come from strong wrestling backgrounds, but Sherk is far superior.  His power and standup will prove too much for Edgar.  Bet the house on Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk!

PRELIMINARY CARD
• Brock Larson vs. Chris Wilson
• Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
Pat Barry is a beast; watch out for him and his Techno Viking entrance!
• Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover
• Andre Gusmao vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
• Brandon Wolff vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
• David Kaplan vs. George Roop

With Herring being forced to pull out of the fight due to an illness it was a frantic search to find such a last minute replacement to fight Cain Velasquez.

Kongo was quick to take the challenge against the undefeated Velasquez.

Kongo has been on a three fight winning streak and is highly regarded as one of the best upcoming fighters in the division. He doesn’t have the experience of Herring but this is still going to be one hell of a battle.

The UFC will be coming to Philadelphia for the first time ever Saturday August 8th for UFC 101!

All new episode of The Ultimate Fighter tonight 10pm ET/PT on Spike TV.