The UFC Blog

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!

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.  

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)

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.

Saturday May 23 don’t miss Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida as they step in the cage to send one of them out with their first loss.

This is going to be a fight to remember as they are both undefeated going into this fight.

Not to mention the Battle of the Matt’s, as Matt Serra and Matt Hughes step into the octagon with sever hatred towards each other that will guarantee a  fight worth watching.

Here is the line up for UFC 98:

Rashad Evans Vs Lyoto Machida
Matt Hughes Vs Matt Serra
Drew McFedries Vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Dan Miller Vs Chael Sonnen
Sean Sherk Vs Frank Edgar
Brock Larson Vs Chris Wilson
Pat Barry Vs Tim Hague
Phillipe Nover Vs Kyle Bradley
Krzysztof Soszynski Vs Andre Gusmao
Yoshiyuki Yoshida Vs Brandon Wolff
Dave Kaplan Vs George Roop

James Irvin will unfortunately be sitting out on the upcoming UFC 98 May 23.

Irvin has a torn meniscus and cannot step into the ring, Xavier Foupa-Pokam will be taking his place against Drew McFedries.

Despite the lose of Irvin on the card it will still be a card stacked enough to keep MMA fans happy all night.

With Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida headlining and a grudge match between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, as well as having the Muscle Shark Sherk return to the ring to square off with Frank Edgar this will be one great night of fights.

This is a must see event so mark it down on your schedule, May 23!

Time Is Running Out To Bid On Tickets To UFC® 98 Bid now to win tickets in the first three rows at UFC® 98 on Saturday, May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Bid Now.

UFC 97 is over and there is plenty to talk about coming out from those fights. Is it over for Chuck, was the Anderson fight worth watching or not, is the "Shogun" who was so dominate in Pride finally back? Many fans were disappointed by UFC 97 and others thought it was a good card.

Lets not dwell on the past and lets look to the future.

UFC® 98 EVANS vs MACHIDA
May 23, 2009 7pm PT/10pm ET
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

If you are one of the "Casual Fans" (in the words of Joe Rogan) who was disappointed by UFC 97, well sit tight because UFC 98 will not be the same kind of event. The UFC will be back home in Las Vegas with real hardcore fans who appreciate the work fighters put into the game for our amusement, and will feature an all star fight card.

Rashad Evans Vs. Lyoto Machida  - This is not going to be a title fight but is still a landmark fight for them both, being as it will mark a loss for the first time on one of their records. Both men coming in undefeated with some historic fights in their trail all ready. If you haven’t been enjoyin’ much MMA due to the so called "Lack Luster" of action then do not miss this fight.

Matt Hughes Vs. Matt Serra - We have not seen either of these fighters in awhile, but don’t get it mistaken, they are both still in fighting shape and have been training as hard as ever! Despite your feeling on these fighters, being washed up or still great fighters or however you look at it, this will be one to watch because I can guarantee that you hate at least one of these guys.

James Irvin Vs. Drew McFedries - It will be good to see Irvin back in the ring for many fans as well, he has been off the map since the Anderson Silva fight and I know a lot of you fans are happy he will be back in the ring.

also on this card:

Yushin Okami Vs. Dan Miller

Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar

Brock Larson Vs. Chris Wilson

Pat Barry Vs. Tim Hague

Phillipe Nover Vs. Kyle Bradley

Houston Alexander Vs. Andre Gusmao

Yoshiyuki Yoshida Vs. Brandon Wolff

Dave Kaplan Vs. George Roop

Current Interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir injured his knee during training and will be out of his UFC 98 unification bout with Brock Lesnar.  

Mir had minor knee surgery and should be back sometime during summer.  No word on if Lesnar will face somebody else or if the fight will be postponed indefiently.

Many people believe Brock Lesnar to be an unstoppable force because of his sheer size and quickness, not to mention he has hands the size of a "lunch box" and many have said. Then again Frank Mir has beaten him before, has a more impressive record and more fight experience and isn’t much smaller.

Brock Lesnar stands at 6′3" tall and so does Mir, and Lesnar only has 25 lbs on Mir. So on May 23 the two will go head to head one more time to see who is the Heavyweight Champ.

Also featured on this card, Matt Hughes returns to the Octagon to face Matt Serra and Sean Sherk will go up against Frank Edgar.

Brock Lesnar Vs. Frank Mir

Matt Hughes Vs. Matt Serra

Yushin Okami Vs. Dan Miller

Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar

James Irvin Vs. Drew McFedries

Phillipe Nover Vs. Kyle Bradley

Pat Barry Vs. Tim Hague

Houston Alexander Vs. Andre Gusmao

Yoshiyuki Yoshida Vs. Brandon Wolff

Dave Kaplan Vs. George Roop