UFC 90: Silva Chicago Style

The AllState Arena was packed to the gills this Saturday, October 25th, 2008. The sold out crowd that produced a record breaking 2.8 million dollar gate featured some entertaining fights.

I had floor seats with a couple friends and we were delighted to get to meet and greet with Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman and Hermes Franca. Others in attendence were Matt Hughes, Dan Severn, Jeff Samardzija, Clay Guida, Rashad Evans, Georges St. Pierre and other UFC stars.

The Chicago crowd left somewhat dissappointed as there were 6 decisions and 3 to start the show, and a main card bout that featured one of the odder title fights in some time. There weren't as many fans booing as many are making it out to be. It wasn't any different than a Las Vegas, England, Ohio or any other crowd.

Results-

Pete Sell def Josh Burkman via Decision (Unanimous)- Sell looked quick and sharp as he outdueled Burkman. Sell is a guy that could move up the ladder at 170.

Hermes Franca def Marcus Aurelio via Decision (Unanimous)- Hermes ran into Aurelio before the fight even started, creating more buzz about the fight. Unfortunately, it was pretty slow as there was alot of circling and not much action.

Dan Miller def Matt Horwich via Decision (Unanimous)- This fight turned into mainly a grappling match as Miller ground out a unanimous decision.

Spencer Fisher def Shannon Gugerty via Sub (Triangle Choke) R3, 3:56


Thales Leites def Drew McFedries via Sub (Rear Naked choke) R1, 1:18- Leites was able to stop the one-dimensional McFedries with a quick submission.

Sean Sherk def Tyson Griffin via Decision (Unanimous)- This was a pretty entertaining fight as Sherk almost got the victory in the first with a rear naked choke. Sherk controlled the rest of the fight getting takedowns and landing punches.

Junior dos Santos def Fabricio Werdum via TKO (Punches) R1 1:21- This fight ended quickly, with Junior dos Santos crushing Werdum's shot at a top contender spot. Dos Santos used a right uppercut to strike Werdum clean sending him to the canvas.

Gray Maynard def Rich Clementi via Decision (Unanimous)- Maynard frustrated Clementi throughout the fight with superior wrestling. Maynard tried to work ground and pound, but really didn't do much damage.

Thiago Alves def Josh Koscheck via Decision (Unanimous)- Alves dominated the fight from start to finish dropping Koscheck with a left hand in the first. He threw snapping leg kicks throughout the fight keeping Koscheck off balance. Koscheck was tough throughout, occasionally landing shots. Alves however reigned supreme, making it one step closer to a title shot.


Anderson Silva def Patrick Cote via TKO (Injured knee) R3 0:39- Silva and Cote started out tenative with Cote trying to attack Silva with punches. Silva was content to counter, throwing kicks and jabs.

Silva continued to play the counter game circling and throwing power shots. Silva was able to catch Cote with a kick across the jaw and body kicks. Near the end of the round, Anderson was able to get a takedown.

In the third, was bouncing to set up a shot when it looked like his right knee buckled. In a bit of confusion, the fight was called. Many around me were asking what the heck had happened. With 6 fights going to decision and 5 hours of fights, the crowd was not pleased at the result of the main card bout. Anderson did look impressive at stretches, but there was some inactivity. I have a feeling Anderson will put on a nasty display in his next bout.


*All photos taken by MMA Blaster

UFC 90 Preview

I will be at UFC 90 this weekend in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Just a short trip on the blue-line will send me to the Allstate Arena in Rosemont to see one of the best mixed martial artists of all-time, Anderson Silva. Needless to say, I am ecstatic.

MAIN CARD

Anderson Silva (22-4, 7-0 UFC) vs. Patrick Cote (13-4, 4-4 UFC)- MW Title Fight- Anderson Silva is on the most dominating run in UFC history winning the belt in his second UFC fight and defending four times, then beating James Irvin at 205. Not one fight has entered the third round. Rich Franklin's nose has been destroyed twice. Nate Marquardt was dominated, and Dan Henderson choked out. Anderson has displayed some of the finest stand-up skills ever seen in mma fighting.

Cote has a tall task ahead of him if he wants to stomp out the Spider. Cote is on an impressive run, winning five straight with four wins in the UFC. He has beaten Ricardo Almeida, Drew McFedries, Kendall Grove and Scott Smith in the UFC and Jason Day in the Canadian based TKO promotion during that time.

The fight will be a stand-up affair. Cote has a strong chin and will be able to take punches. Cote will have to look to counter and throw his punches with precision, while blocking Anderson's kicks. Silva has the superior ground game, and may use it to take out Cote if eating too many blows.


Thiago Alves (15-3) vs. Josh Koscheck (11-2)- Koscheck is replacing Diego Sanchez who had to withdraw due to injury. Alves is on a big run with 6 victories in the UFC including TKO wins over Matt Hughes, Karo Parisyan and Kuniyoshi Hironaka. Koscheck meanwhile has rattled off two wins since his loss to Georges St. Pierre. He looked excellent in his recent wins over Dustin Hazelett and Chris Lytle.

I expect Koscheck to try a takedown to ground and pound as he is a superb wrestler. Alves meanwhile is a devastating striker who will try to keep this one standing. It will be interesting to see how the fight unfolds and the winner will be positioning themselves for a potential shot at the title.

*pic of Thiago Alves

Fabricio Werdum (11-3) vs. Junior dos Santos (7-1)- Poor Fabricio Werdum. With the Lesnar/Couture and Mir/Big Nog match-ups in place, it will likely take Werdum to win this fight and another against one of the aforementioned big four to get a shot at the title. Werdum has quality wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera since his uneventful loss to Andrei Arlovski.

Dos Santos is an unknown fighter hailing from Brazil. All his wins seem to have come in Brazil against quality local fighters. We will see what "Cigano" is made of when he faces Werdum. Werdum has wins against Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Alistair Overeem and Tom Erickson on his resume.

*pic of Werdum

Tyson Griffin (12-1) vs. Sean Sherk (32-3)- Sherk is attempting to rebound from his loss for the title against BJ Penn. The previous fight happened with the dark cloud a failed appeal for a postive Sherk steroid test. Griffin has four straight decision victories in the UFC since his loss to Frankie Edgar. That includes wins over Marcus Aurelio, Thiago Tavares, and Gleison Tibau. Prior to Sherk's loss to Penn, he had won three straight times in the UFC via decision over Hermes Franca, Kenny Florian and Nick Diaz.

Sherk is going to be looking for a takedown and ground and pound. I would expect Griffin to try to keep the fight standing. We could see a lot of clinching from Sherk to wear down his oppoenent.

*pic of Sean Sherk

Rich Clementi (32-12) vs. Gray Maynard (5-0)- Clementi is riding a six fight win streak, with four straight in the UFC over Sam Stout, Anthony Johnson, Melvin Guillard and Terry Etim. Maynard meanwhile has three straight victories in the UFC over Joe Veres, Dennis Siver and Frank Edgard. Expect Maynard to look for the takedown and Clementi to keep the fight standing.

UNDERCARD

Thales Leites vs. Drew McFedries
Spencer Fisher vs. Shannon Gugerty
Matt Horwich vs. Dan Miller
Marcus Aurelio vs. Hermes Franca
Josh Burkman vs. Pete Sell

UFC 84 ILL WILL Review

UFC 84 lived up to all the hype as all the fights broadcast were entertaining. Quick knockouts, submissions, the end of Tito Ortiz' UFC legacy, and the cementing of BJ Penn's UFC legacy. This was the best card of the year featured a whopping nine fights on the broadcast.

BJ Penn def. Sean Sherk via TKO, R3 5:00- This fight made the card the best so far this year. Excellent three round stand-up battle. BJ and Sherk boxed the duration of the bout as Sherk tried to get only a couple takedowns. BJ attempted one which did not land. BJ landed strong snapping jabs, damaging Sherk's face repetitively through the night. You really didn't know how hard the jabs were landing until they showed Sherk's face afterwards.

Sherk threw haymakers and attempted to get inside throughout the fight, but they mainly missed or were blocked. You could hear by snapping sounds that Sherk's punches were strong. They end came with seconds left in the third, as BJ landed a beautiful combo dazing Sherk which was followed by a flying knee and strikes. The bell sounded and Sherk looked as if he didn't know he had been saved by the bell. With Sherk still dazed and BJ looking on, the ref did the smart thing and called the fight. Afterwards, BJ was respectful and invited Sherk to Hawaii to train with him.
*MMA Blaster pollsters correct 23-9 Penn.



Lyoto Machida def. Tito Ortiz via unanimous decision (all 30-27)- Lyoto fought an elusive yet snapping karate style. Machida hit Tito's legs with kicks all through the fight. Some of the high kicks looked to almost sneak in. Machida was able to get a takedown on Ortiz and deny all Tito's takedown attempts. Machida's big hit was a crushing knee to Tito's liver in the third. Tito was crumpled, and looked to be in serious trouble as Machida rained down strikes. In dramatic fashion, Tito came very close to getting a triangle with seconds left, and then arm-bar. Lyoto, didn't tap and got the victory.

*Lyoto's striking style and excellent takedown defense will frustrate wrestlers, ground fighters, and aggressive stand-up fighters.
*During a long post fight interview, Tito said he will be fighting for another 3-4 years.
*Tito's shirt said, "I did it my way." A sharp contrast from the weigh-in shirt, "Dana White is my Bitch."

Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine via TKO, R1 :36- Jardine came out to a crazy bag pipe song while Wanderlei opted up tempo Zombie Nation. Silva landed some absolutely nasty strikes in this bout. Jardine threw a leg kick that was perfectly countered by Silva, as a shot landed flush on Jardine's face. Jardine was hurt and Wandy took advantage pouncing and throwing more bombs. Jardine's eye's rolled back, and it was a little scary for a second, but Jardine eventually walked out under his own power.
*UFC KO of the night bonus.

Thiago Silva def. Antonio Mendes via TKO, R1 2:24- Mendes came out with a huge head kick that nearly knocked Silva out, despite Silva slightly blocking the kick. While dazed, Silva stayed calm and weathered Mendes' storm. After a takedown, Silva got an opening and threw down massive bombs connecting with Mendes' face, forcing a Herb Dean stoppage.

Goran Reljic def. Wilson Gouveia via TKO, R2 3:15- The 24 year old Reljic has been hyped quite a bit regarding his striking and undefeated record. From the start of the bout, Reljic threw powerful kicks to the head and body of Gouveia. At the end of the first, Gouveia came back with some flurry's of punches to Reljic that seemed to give him the momentum.

In the second Gouveia seemed to get the best of it standing, got a takedown and had Reljic near the end of his rope. After a scramble, Reljic landed a massive left hand, then a barrage of hammerfists and punches forcing a TKO stoppage.
*UFC Fight of the night bonus given to both fighters.

Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry via sub. (armbar), R1 2:36- This fight was shown after Wanderlei's quick knockout of Jardine. Palhares got a good body lock throw takedown on Salaverry to start things out. Palahares was textbook as he went from sidemount, mount, rear naked choke attempt to arm bar finish.
*UFC submission of the night.

Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. John Koppenhaver via sub. (anaconda choke), R1 :56- We were able to see this fight after the BJ Penn fight. Yoshida got a judo throw to a gator roll anaconda choke. Herb Dean saw that War Machine lost consciousness and was out of commission. He made the right move calling the bout. Yoshida did not have much to say afterwards and actually seemed confused that Joe Rogan would want to ask him questions.

Shane Carwin def. Christian Wellisch via KO, R1 :43- We actually got to see this fight on the ppv and dang!!! Carwin dropped Wellish at 43 seconds in the first round with a vicious right straight directly to the chin. Wellish's mouthpiece shot out of his mouth bouncing off the canvas as Wellish's body hit the ground seconds later. The stands were pretty empty at this point and the fans should feel bad for missing such a nasty KO. I don't understand why fans miss the opening fights.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Kazuhiro Nakamura via TKO(leg injury), R1 5:00- Sokoudjou dished out quite a bit of leg kick variations smashing Nakamura's legs. He seemed to pack some power behind the shots. Near the 4th minute Sokoudjou seemed to fade and favor a taped knee. After one of the shots landed and dropped, Nakamura's knee seemed to buckle. The bout was called shortly thereafter. Nakamura wasn't knocked out, but the injury was too much for the ref to allow him to continue.

Rich Clementi def. Terry Etim via unanimous decision- not broadcast
Dong-Hyun Kim def. Jason Tan via TKO (elbows) R3, :25- not broadcast

*David Spade was there and was holding a mini-whiskey bottle, probably Jack Daniels.
*The Rock was there was extremely pearly whites.
*Shaq was in full in attendence. I wouldn't want to be seated behind Shaq.
*Former UFC Heavyweight Champ and Celebrity Rehab castmate Ricco Rodriguez was in Tito's corner.
*Laura Prepon from that 70's Show was seated next to Spade.
*Mandy Moore was there with some hot hot friends.
*The first hour saw less than 20 minutes of fight time, but 9 fights made the broadcast.
*Steve Mazzagati ref'd without the moustache
*In the crowd was Urijah Faber whom Joe Rogan interviewed. Apparently Urijah went to Hawaii to train. WEC got some press during the ppv. Jens seemed excited and ready to go. Versus got quite a bit of advertising.
*As usual, tons of filler and advertising.
*Actor Jason Statham was .

UFC 84 Preview

Here is the fight card for UFC 84 as stated on ufc.com. The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 24th in Las Vegas.



Champ B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk- Bad blood is brewing for this lightweight title fight. Penn has looked crisp and athletic at 155, especially in his submission victories over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver. Sherk has had quite a bit of distraction since his victory over Hermes Franca at UFC 73.

Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva- Wanderlei is in desperate need of a victory, while Jardine is seeking to get to contender status. Dana wouldn't mind seeing either fighter win, as a Silva win would lock a rematch with Rampage Jackson.

Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz- Machida is undefeated in the UFC with four straight victories. Ortiz is on the last fight of his contract, and more than likely will pull off some sort of stunt. He will not bow gracefully into potential free agency like Arlovski.

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic Gouveia has four straight stoppage wins in the UFC after his decision loss to Keith Jardine. His latest was a TKO of Jason Lambert. Reljic is 7-0 but has faced less than steller competition. Reljic comes out of Gracie Barra and has five submission wins, 3 armbars, on his record.

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes- 12-0 Thiago Silva is the favorite in this 205 pound fight. Silva is 3-0 in the UFC, and most recently TKO'd Houston Alexander in the first round.

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry
Rich Clementi vs. Terry Etim
John Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan
Shane Carwin vs. Christian Wellisch

*I'll be updating this post over the week.

BJ Penn v. Sean Sherk

Like most mma fans, I'm looking forward to the BJ Penn (12-4) v. Sean Sherk (31-2) matchup at UFC 84. BJ has looked dominant in steamrolling Jens Pulver and Joe Stevenson in the 155 division.

Sherk meanwhile has served his steroid suspension, a charge which he blames on supplements. Sherk was coming off a victory over Kenny Florian (9-3) when he failed the test. Florian has rattled off four straight victories after the loss.


BJ Penn


Sean Sherk

Sherk Stripped of Title

Thoughts by the MMA Blaster

Recently, Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk (32-2-1) was stripped of his lightweight belt after "sorta" losing his appeal to CSAC. While his suspension was reduced from one year to six months, the fine was upheld, and he wasn't absolved of responsibility for having elevated levels of the anabolic steroid Nandrolone in his body. Even though Sherk was stripped of his title, he will get an immediate title shot against the winner of Stevenson v. Penn.

Sherk blamed the test results on a tainted supplement he took. The supplement was supposedly from the Xyience brand, a brand which used to sponsor Sherk and many UFC fighters. Apparently he went to long lengths to disprove the test results, such as taking a lie detector, but he was not able to overturn the positive test. Apparently, Phil Baroni was confronted with a similar situation. Both fighters were taking an extreme amount of supplements per day.

The sport has to be known as one that is clean. A speculation that MMA fighters are steroid users will only hurt the sports image, and hurt the fighters in the long run. With side effects such as acne, anaphylactic shock, birth defects, kidney failure, blood clotting changes, cardiovascular disease, depression, stunted growth, sexual dysfunction, hair loss, headache, blood pressure changes, liver stress, prostate enlargement, lowering of life expectancy ect, ect, ect, something has to be done to keep the fighters safe.

Steroid use should be frowned upon more by the UFC, and the UFC should set its own penalties for use. The UFC must also take a long look at supplements. Especially ones, (cough-Xyience), that have been known to produce false positives. Maybe, supplements should be banned altogether, or maybe the UFC can produce their own supplement line. Regardless, I would like to see the UFC confront the issue and do their best to rectify the situation for the sake of the sport and the fighters health.