UFC Fight Night 13, one of the most anticipated Fight Night events in UFC’s history, can not come soon enough! From elite strikers, grapplers, brawlers, to ground & pound and jiu jitsu experts, the explosions are guaranteed to go off throughout the night. Stacked with top talent, this fight card may very well be bigger than many of UFC’s Saturday night Pay Per View events. With this exciting night just a few days away, I caught up with one of UFC’s intense seasoned grapplers Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino (17-3) as he prepares to face off against the recent Ultimate Fighter series winner Nate Diaz (8-2) on Wed. April 2 Live on Spike TV.

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Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin will be joined by TUF Alumni Cole Miller, American Top Team’s Gleison Tibau, and UFC newbie Steve Bruno. The American Top Team announced that all three of these fighters will be fighting on the card.

Cole Miller is another one of those “TUF” guys as he was a part of season 5 of the UFC reality show. Although he didn’t win, he had a successful tenure and the exposure from the show helped get him a UFC contract. Cole started training with the American Top Team in 2006. He is currently 13-3 in his MMA career.

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Dana White is a hero to most. Just look at what he has done for the sport of MMA, completely bringing it out of extinction and into popular existence. It is because of him, the hard core MMA fans can quench their thirst with 2 to 4 big events a month. I am one of Dana’s biggest fans, but lately it seems that maybe he has lost sight of his vision. Every other week there is something being said, from fighters speaking out against the UFC to Dana putting down other organizations, leaving you to wonder if Dana believes that MMA is apart of the UFC or if this the UFC is apart of MMA.

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I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about the 185 pound division recently, and when I wrote a handful of pieces criticizing the UFC heavyweight division, I got a lot of interesting responses from people telling me that they thought the middleweight division was in similarly bad shape. Now, while I don’t entirely agree with this, I think that there’s something to be said for the status of a division that has seen as dominant a champion as the 185 pounders have in Anderson Silva.The first thing that I think we all have to acknowledge is that there isn’t a contender in the division right now that anyone thinks can beat Anderson Silva. People have suggested Yushin Okami and I’ve suggested either Martin Kampmann (who I believe is next in line for a title shot) and Drew McFedries. But the more Anderson proves himself by dominating guys that we think are going to give him a tough fight, we really have to look for a contender that is going to give the Brazilian wrecking ball a serious fight. There may be some hope in that Dan Henderson lasted as long as anyone, but we also have to recognize that Dan Henderson did not last as long as many fans (myself included) thought he should, and he stands as proof that we, yet again, underestimated the UFC middleweight champion.

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In a few weeks the UFC’s popular television series will premiere for its 7^th time. Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin will lead the 32 fighters on their journey throughout the show, and help them pursue their goal to be considered The Ultimate Fighter. This show has provided the UFC with another avenue to increase popularity and provide a stage for the leading MMA organization.

The Cast:

Paul Bradley

Steve Byrnes

Mike Dolce

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During the UFC 82 post-fight press conference, Dana White talked a bit about how the other organizations like HDNet Fights and the IFL don’t compare to the UFC in terms of love for the sport of MMA. The quotes from White on Five Ounces of Pain look something like this:

“The IFL was gonna take us out last year and they’re offering stock options and other stuff to all of the fighters,” White continued. “Some guys we had long-term relationships with left and went there. A year later it’s gone.

… Now the big scary guy was Mark Cuban. Mark Cuban is coming in. Mark Cuban doesn’t give a [expletive deleted] about mixed martial arts. Mark Cuban has dumped millions of dollars into HDNet and he wants subscribers. He’s a businessman. He’ll build up the subscribers and sell it to Comcast and get out. I think he’s passionate about basketball (but) I don’t think he’s interested in mixed martial arts and he’ll be onto the next business venture.

Now CBS is getting involved. CBS bought ProElite, which was going out of business and about to fail. And they bought them and now they’re going to give them a shot.”

While Dana White has every right to express his opinion, as Sam Caplan also mentioned in the article, “but does White have a plan to keep the talent pool going if these organizations fail?” asked a commenter. And it’s a great question to ask. Where will all of the fighters go to put food on the table? Will the UFC expand to hold 36 fights a year to do so? Will the WEC finally act like a minor league farm team to the UFC? Not likely. Maybe White should take a step back, look around, and realize all of the untapped talent that the UFC has yet to even consider if he cares so much about the sport and keeping alive past these eight years. Maybe it’s a good idea to work with your competitors for a little while to keep MMA going strong, Dana. After all, it’s how other similar organizations stayed alive.

John Philapavage had mentioned to me in the past that Vince McMahon knew how to do business in the pro wrestling world by keeping his competitors alive. Then he’d buy them and their fighters up to keep his organization strong. Now you can watch WWE weekly. It’s a great thing for pro wretsling, but what about MMA?

After all, if all of the organizations die out and the UFC is the only show left, do I really want to watch MMA just once a month? I don’t care that Dana White is getting rich by developing the sport, I’m worried he wants to get rich by killing it now. Perhaps those rumors that Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, is looking to sell to McMahon could be the one thing to save the sport? It’s going to be a interesting year for MMA in 2008.

It is hard to imagine that a man that paints his nails and loves to dance is one of the most feared strikers in the world of MMA. “I will dance anywhere, anytime” is what Chuck Liddell told ESPN for an interview last May. This summer he will be dancing in the octagon again as he faces outstanding wrestler Rashad Evans. This fight will be the main bout on the June UFC 85 event in London. Liddell was penciled in to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but after sustaining a training injury, Rashad steps in to take Rua’s place.

Rua re-injured his right ACL that he had previously had surgically repaired after his loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76. The ACL is a ligament that joins the upper leg bone with the lower leg bone, and keeps the knee stable. For UFC fighters or other professional athletes this injury almost always requires surgery. Without the full use and strength of a fighter’s knee, they can’ explode into takedowns, generate leverage to keep their opponent against the cage, as well as they are susceptible to other serious knee injuries.

Chuck Liddell at one time was one of the biggest names in the UFC. He was the reigning champ, and was being marketed everywhere. He was on ESPN, talk shows, magazines, and almost everywhere imaginable a fighter could be. He seemed unbeatable until being beaten for the second time by Quinton Rampage Jackson. After that fight, he suffered another loss to underrated fighter Keith Jardine. This was the first time Chuck suffered back to back losses since joining the UFC. Since the loss to Jardine, Chuck fought the Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva and won via decision. This at one time was the most anticipated fight in MMA history and even with the losses, Chuck is still a highly feared opponent. He has bricks for hands, and is an amazing wrestler.

Rashad Evans stepped up to the challenge. This former Michigan State wrestling standout is currently 11-0-1 with his lone draw thanks to former UFC champion Tito Ortiz. Some feel that Evans did enough to win the fight and should be 12-0-0, but the judges felt otherwise. Luckily, Ortiz was penalized a point for grabbing the fence to avoid a takedown. In his career 11 wins, he only has only been able to stop a fight early 5 times. To this point he has been able to control his opponents and continue to win fights and fans feel that Rashad matches up with Chuck very well, but I disagree. Rashad is another wrestler that Chuck will expose. Evans is an athletic fighter that is always moving, and for that reason many fans feel that he will be able to put Chuck to the test.

This fight will be one comprised of two great wrestlers, and one with great hands. Rashad Evans is more of the traditional wrestler. He takes people down, and has very good mat presence. On the other hand, Chuck uses his wrestling different than most in the game. Instead of concentrating on takedowns, he uses his wrestling sprawl to prevent others from taking him down. This allows him to throw his hands of stone. These are the same hands that have stopped 13 people along his career. I believe that during this fight, Chuck will be able to neutralize Rashad’s wrestling and will finish him sometime in the first two rounds.

This fight could be the next stepping stone for a title shot. Currently the next person to get that shot will be Forrest Griffin. After that, the next contender will either be the winner of this fight, or the Wand vs. Jardine fight. Either way, there is suddenly a circle of talent that will be ready to test the champ at any time. Not only is this the deepest weight class in the UFC, but it is the deepest weight class in the sport. Where else can rival with names like Rampage Jackon, Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, and Keith Jardine? The Chuck vs. Rashad fight will be exciting and full of unknowns, but two things are certain; Rashad’s chin and Chuck’s wrestling will be put to the test. If Chuck loses it could signal the beginning of the end for a future Hall-of-famer, and a rise of a young superstar to the top level.

Anderson Silva is considered by most to be the pound for pound best MMA fighter in the game. Last weekend he added a victory over Dan Henderson, the Olympic wrestler out of Team Quest, to his resume. The fight of the night included a first round that I gave to Henderson, but ended with Dan having a spider on his back. Silva tapped out Henderson via rear-naked choke in the second round and by doing so, Silva is now in rare company. Not only is he undefeated in the UFC and hasn’t gone into the third round since joining the MMA juggernaut, he is quickly beating the best competition in that weight class too. He has beat Rich Franklin twice, Nathan Marquardt, Chris Leben, and Dan Henderson amongst others. He is showing why he is the best pound for pound fighter in MMA.

If you look around the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, there is only a hand full of fighters that you could compare The Spider’s run to. A few of these are Matt Hughes, Fedor Emelianenko, and Chuck Liddell. Looking at the records of these fighters I found an uncanny similarity between Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell. This is not bad company to keep, but could it be an eye opener for Silva in the future?

During Chuck Liddell’s run as the champion ,he won an impressive seven wins in a row. He was in the top spot and every fight was against the second best guy the UFC could throw at him at that time. He achieved wins over fighters like Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Renalto Sobral, and Jeremy Horn. He was at the top of the UFC, but most of all he was Dana White’s boy. He was the untouchable of the UFC and everything he touched was turning to gold. He was in magazines, websites, and on television. Chuck also was being interviewed on the sports world wide leader ESPN. It almost seemed like Chuck may never lose again, but the luck ran out and Chuck encountered one major road block to continuing his streak; Quinton Rampage Jackson. Rampage seemingly beat Chuck at his own game. Rampage knocked Chuck out quickly in the first round and has been the champion ever since.

I bring up the history about Chuck because Anderson Silva is starting to head down the same path. He is Dana White’s new boy thanks to Dana going on the record saying that Anderson Silva is the best pound for pound Mixed Martial Artist in the world. I can’t say that I completely disagree, but he is starting to believe it like it could be considered fact. To date, Anderson is on an amazing 7 win streak. He is on fire and similar to Chuck, he seems like he can’t do any wrong. I am not saying that he is going to lose his next fight, but I am saying that he is due. Lately the sport has been one of upsets (see Matt Sera vs. GSP I). The sport has suddenly been revolutionized with new athletic all around fighters that can achieve victory in every aspect of a fight. Each time Silva steps into a fight it will be against top competition.

In the mean tine, Anderson Silva will continue to be pushed as one of the faces of the sport, and the UFC organization. Pictures of him and teammate “Big Nog” will continue to surface around the internet as the two Brazilians continue to seek dominance in the UFC. Anderson Silva is a great champion as a BJJ black belt, and is the most feared striker in the sport. He is a homerun hitter in a league of contact punchers. At this point there are not many that can challenge him. He has beat black belts, Olympic wrestlers, and others on his way to his hot streak and the only hope for that weight class is that he gets bored, and decides that he wants to bump up. I would love to see Anderson Silva avenge his loss over Yushin Okami, then bump up to 205 and battle with the big guys. If he is the striker he is known for, I want to see him stand with the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Chuck and Rampage. After UFC 82, Silva said that he would like to fight the 185 boxing champ, with boxing rules. This will throw even more fuel to the MMA vs. boxing rivalry. Currently the boxing champions in the 190 pound class are Firat Arslan (28-3-1), David Haye (20-1), and Steve Cunningham (21-1). If Anderson Silva was able to beat one of these world class boxers, it would be an amazing boost for the sport. Combine that with a huge sponsor in Bud Light, and you have the makings of an amazing popularity boost for one of the most amazing sports in the world.

Jon Fitch has lost his mind. If you are not sure what I am talking about, check out his post fight interview here. If you did miss it or if you are an avid UFC hater, I will break it down for you. The first sentence says it - Jon Fitch has lost his mind! First of all he says that he has earned his way to a title shot. Yes, he has won an impressive 8 in a row, bet easy fella. You are cruising for a bruising with this crazy talk. Second, he talks about about GSP being afraid to get knocked out. GSP did take one giant blow to his chin and ego, but to say he is afraid to get knocked out is like saying A-Rod is afraid of getting beaned.

On April 7th of last year, St. Pierre fought a huge underdog; a term that has been used often lately. Several times the guy favored to win hasn’t been able to do so and This proved true on that April night. GSP took a shot to the chin that rocked him, eventually leading to a Matt Serra victory. We could all be very rich people if we would have been betting the farm on Serra that night.

Since that fight, GSP has out wrestled the best wrestler in MMA and confirmed his spot at the top as he beat an aging Matt Hughes. GSP is for real - not a random fighter that will only have a short rein at the top. He is a legit champion and will be at the top for as long as he fights.

Jon Fitch, I hope you have a game plan. I hope you have seen something on tape, or you have an amazing boxing coach. Currently, Jon Fitch has racked up those 8 wins in a row and in the press conference he says that every win has been against “tough bastards”. I don’t feel that these guys are the toughest competition in the division. Right now the top guys at 170 are GSP, Serra, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck. I feel that Fitch falls at number 5 below them. GSP is the champ, Serra is the top contender, Hughes is a legend, and Koscheck is just out of a fight with GSP and a win at 82. I would like to see Fitch fight Koschek before he gets his date with winner of GSP vs. Serra II, or a Diego Sanchez rematch.

Since joining the UFC Fitch has been on a tear. His most recent win was over Team Quest fighter, Chris Wilson. This turned out to be a tougher fight than many thought it would be. I actually thought Fitch was in trouble at one point, but he kept himself out of trouble and went on to win. Out of every fight that Fitch has fought in the UFC I feel that the toughest opponent has been Diego Sanchez. This is no where near the competition of the ones I mentioned earlier and at the post fight press conference Fitch had some fighting words for GSP. Jon Fitch may in fact be the one to beat GSP. In my opinion I don’t feel that he is. He’s up against a fighter who is on the top of his game and a little pissed off. Good luck with that!

1. Anderson Silva’s two top dream contenders are out. Lindland has signed with a promotion to face nobody because UFC has no interest. He is a top contender they could do SOMETHING with, even if he isn’t a draw. The second is Paulo Filho, who will stay in WEC. He and Silva simply refuse to fight, as they train together and are countrymen. I don’t get this as I’d fight anyone for the right price even if I lived in the same house as them. If you’re a fighter, you fight, right? Guess not.

2. To me UFC should market GSP and Silva as unstoppable and try to get anyone and everyone like the Lindlands in to face him, get knocked out, and try to get rid of them (the Arloski booking pre-CBS deal). If that CBS deal takes off Frank Shamrock will use it to try to spotlight his last name and his mic skills. UFC should lay out a grandstand challenge to combat this.

3. Staunch MMA purist writers (like Josh Gross and TJ Desantis) are missing the boat by failing to gain perspective through constant trial and error by MMA promoting they themselves report on. This block of thinkers/fans/MMA ideologists will never REALLY be true MMA opinion setters because they’ll only appeal to those who want to feel like the intellectual snobs of the MMA fanbase. It’s not that they are dumb, they just don’t WANT to see it as business or promotion. They don’t care to believe people want to see Lesnar and Kimbo. They can’t understand why people wouldn’t care about pretend rankings from a website. They are so called “purists”, and sport and entertainment don’t traditionally mix well in their minds.

I’ve heard them talk about Frank Shamrock. They talked about his legacy and what it is and what it could be. They talk about Frank making crazy claims about being the greatest of all time now and forever. These writers and radio hosts take claims like Shamrocks’ not only at face value, but they take the idea he would say it very seriously. They talk about a fight with Anderson Silva and what it could mean to both.

The truth is that fight will not ever happen because Shamrock isn’t a mark. A mark is generally used as a derogatory term in Pro Wrestling, but it applies to MMA as well. A mark in MMA gets wrapped up in legacy, purist fantasies, and rankings. He takes less money to travel the globe and become some pretend website pound-for-pound unified champ to bask in the glory of blog writer opinions and photographer admirations.

Shamrock, on the other hand, knows he’s got a finite few years to make the most money possible putting together the most marketable fights and promoting them with his mouth. It’s irrelevant if it is the best match nup or settles anything concrete in terms of title or rank. It’s about selling compelling fighters and an intriguing match up to the most people whether they see MMA as a sport, Ultimate Fighting, or a human cock fight. He wants the most money for the least work, though he’ll work quite hard to do it. I applaud him. takes the millions and walk away with your health.

Josh Gross’ idea (I’ll unfairly single him out) of a legacy or his website’s pretend rankings only mean something to less than 100 thousand fickle people with no perspective. Those people aren’t purists. They’re fantasy puppet masters. Frank Shamrock is a businessman.

For some, there were some big shocks on the UFC 82 card, but the fact is, most of it was understandable.

We saw Anderson Silva submit Dan Henderson to solidify his position at the top of the 185 pound ranks in most minds.

We saw Diego Sanchez return to form and destroy his Swedish opponent, who I clearly overestimated.

We saw Koscheck destroy Dustin Hazelett, who everyone else seemed to have drastically overestimated.

We saw Chris Wilson take Jon Fitch the distance, but drop the fight in the end, as was expected.

We saw Andrei Arlovski pound Jake O’Brien into a bloody pulp, and many of us pointed and laughed.

We saw Heath Herring outgrapple Cheick Kongo, who seems to be showing improvement on the ground, but doesn’t seem to understand that his ground game still sucks.

We saw Yushin Okami kick the crap out of Evan Tanner, which I might not have predicted, but I’ll admit that when I saw the size difference as they squared off I considered as a possibility.

The real question is what does this mean for the future of the division.

Well, the middleweight division seems devoid of challengers. I mean, there’s the possibility of Cote or Kampmann, but I don’t think anyone expects them to beat Silva. That’s just a fact.

Silva may have to engage in a unification fight with Paulo Filho to find a real challenge, and it certainly would be, given that Filho looks like the #2 man in the division, with Henderson getting knocked off.

The possibility of Zuffa doing that unification fight seems more and more possible, as Filho’s division doesn’t seem particularly rife with talented opposition either, and it would certainly be an incredible draw.

Kongo’s loss simplifies the UFC heavyweight division, leaving us with only two serious contenders: Arlovski and Werdum. While people didn’t think that Kongo was a serious contender, I still maintain that he would have been.

I think that Kongo will fight Antoni Hardonk in his next fight, and that will be an awesome matchup. If Joe Silva doesn’t set this fight up, I’ll be seriously disappointed, as it would be an interesting striking war, the kind we really only get to see in K-1 nowadays.

Mir also seems to be looking like a legitimate contender, now that Kongo is gone, but it’s hard to really call him that when I tend to believe that he’d be destroyed by both Werdum and Arlovski. Still, I wouldn’t object to seeing Mir fight Sylvia again to try and prove that he’s really back in the division. That would make for a great rematch. The possibility of him fighting Kongo was really nullified by this fight with Herring, but I think that it’s still a possibility to see Mir fight Herring, should Herring continue to fight with the UFC.

Sanchez, Koscheck and Fitch caused perhaps the biggest shift in their division, because all three are really vying for the chance to fight Matt Hughes for a top-contender position. Personally, I think that they should give it to Fitch, given that he is still undefeated in the UFC, but they may give it to Koscheck because of his wrestling pedigree and his status as a reality show celebrity.

I’m fairly certain they won’t give it to Sanchez, because they want to see him recover a little bit first, but I haven’t dismissed the prospect of him fighting Hughes if Hughes should lose a fight to either Fitch or Koscheck. I’d like to see Diego fight Tommy Speer, but I think that such a possibility is unlikely, as the UFC wants to keep their country boy pretty.

As for Leben, I’d like to see him fight Drew McFedries, as they are both trying to get back on the contender trail. I’m also open to the idea of Leben fighting Evan Tanner, as I think that would be a cool stylistic matchup and help to get Tanner back on track if he should win.

Okami is in a very interesting position, as he’s not really deserving of a top tier position in my mind, but could hold up a solid post as a gatekeeper. I’d like to see him fight the loser of Patrick Cote vs. Martin Kampmann (which I hope would be a top contenders’ match) and see what happens from there. I’d also like to see him fight Joe Riggs, as it would be an interesting fight, but since that fight really doesn’t seriously advance Okami, I doubt Joe Silva will put it together.

The UFC is in for an interesting year, and seems to be putting together an interesting group of contenders in their lower weight classes, while working hard to reestablish the big men. UFC 82 was a good step towards that, especially for the 170 pounders and Anderson Silva. The future for all looks bright.

Next up, UFN: Lauzon vs. Florian.

Tanner’s debut fell short, nobody seems to like WWE wrestlers in the stands, Urijah Faber gets his recognition, and Anderson Silva can’t be beat. There’s a lot more, but I want to focus on a few thoughts from UFC 82 last night in Columbus, Ohio.

Jon Fitch had a hard time with his replacement oppononent, Chris Smith, but it was Evan Tanner who had the hardest night of them all. The middleweight fighter, absent from the octagon for nearly two years, made his comeback attempt last night against potential middleweight contender Yushin Okami. It fell just a tad short in the second round as Okami felled Tanner with a knee in the clinch. Is it the end for Tanner? Knowing his heart, I doubt it. Let’s just hope the UFC gives him a fighter who is a little more dynamic. The crowd wasn’t very excited to watch the somewhat boring Okami attempt to dance around a reluctant Tanner. But there’s a lesson to be learned - don’t underestimate the cautious fighter. Just look at Lyoto Machida.

So why don’t UFC fans like WWE stars in the crowd, but they’ll watch PPV events with WWE stars in record numbers? Brock Lesnar’s numbers from UFC 81 are showing one of the best numbers for the UFC ever, yet the fans overwhelm the arena with boos when a wrestler is given some camera time. I’m a little confused. Is there really that big of a difference between the live gate fans versus the PPV fans? As noted by the Wrestling Observer, Urijah Faber finally received some recognition from the fans. Perhaps the MMA crowd is starting to learn more about other (albeit UFC-owned) promotions?

A couple years ago, it was Wanderlei Silva who was the big name to beat. Now, it’s Anderson. After destroying Chris Leben, Nate Marquardt, Travis Lutter, Chris Leben, and Rich Franklin (twice), Silva was finally up against a new contender. Although Silva was able to submit Dan Henderson with 8 seconds left in the second round, it certainly wasn’t in dominating fashion similar to his previous five UFC fights. John Philapavage thinks an immediate rematch could be on it’s way. I’m thinking Dana White is shopping around for some more middleweights to bring in against Silva before allowing Henderson another shot at the title. Henderson, who showed that he was a formidable contender with his wrestling throughout the first round, may have to face off against Leben, Okami, Marquardt, or even the winner of Franklin/Lutter. We saw The Spider trap another opponent, but he still can beaten. Can the UFC find that guy?

Overall, the show was exciting from the PPV side of things. I was happy to learn that Arlovski stopped lay-n-pray wrestler Jake O’Brien, Heath Herring looked to be back in shape, and Leben showed his chin was still intact. I couldn’t really complain - 9/10.

MMA Fightline is reporting that Dana White does have plans to re-sign, not resign, well-known fighters Andre Arlovski and Josh Koscheck. Did the recent EliteXC/CBS deal scare Dana White into re-signing fighters that he may have dropped earlier this year? After the news broke that EliteXC has temporarily filled the void of MMA on prime time television, other organizations like the IFL are praising Gary Shaw and his organization for making a move in the right direction. Other guys, like Dana White, are probably not so happy with rival organization. Here’s the full short article.

Amid confusion about the status of UFC fighters Andrei Arlovski and Josh Koscheck, Dana White has recently announced the he plans to resign the two of them. Arlovski’s career has been in limbo since UFC 70 when he last fought to a snoozer decision win over Fabricio Werdum. The Belrusian fighter’s next fight is this Saturday against Jake O’Brien.

Welterweight contender Josh Koscheck who is also on the UFC 82 undercard will also be resigned as well.

“When I want a guy, I’ll get it done,” said Dana White.

About Arlovski, Dana White had this to say, “Andrei’s a guy that I want, so I think we’ll get it done,” he said.

I guess White wanted to get it done now before Arlovski gets a bid from another organization after his final fight on Saturday night. Nothing would make White and the UFC look worse than losing a fighter to the newest contendor on television, EliteXC. It’s bad enough that Arlovski has been patiently waiting to fight again after his decision win over Fabricio Werdum during UFC 70. Although Arlovski did manage to grab the decision over Werdum, fans were not happy with the fight overall as boos echoed throughout the arena in Manchester.

I expect to see other fighters to be re-signed by the UFC before they can be scooped up by rivals EliteXC, IFL, and M-1 later this year. With the IFL premiering their new format tonight on HDNet Fights, MMA fans may finally have a choice when it comes to watching MMA on a weekly basis. Bad for the UFC, good for everyone else.

Bud Light is one of the most popular brands of beer in the world. It is known for the Bud Bowl, Real Men of Genius, and now the first beer to step into the cage. Yesterday the UFC announced that the King of Beers, Anheuser- Busch, will make Bud Light their newest and most exclusive sponsor. The UFC could have announced a future fight or a new television deal, but the addition of this beer sponsor is a huge deal for the beer company as well as the UFC.

Annually, beer companies spend millions of dollars advertising. Last year alone they sponsored the most popular NASCAR driver, had some of the funniest Super Bowl commercials, and could be seen in almost every professional sports complex in America. Annually, the Bud Light creator is responsible for almost half of the beer sales in the U.S. Take this into the cage, and the UFC may have the top sponsor needed to put them and the sport of MMA in the forefront of american sports.

If it were a fight between Mickey’s Fine Malt Liquor and Bud Light, Bud light just completed a knock out similar to that of Rampage over the Iceman. Mickey’s is almost certain to lose it’s sponsorship with time considering Bud Light is on a different playing field. The UFC will eventually have to decide between the two beer sponsors. If or when this happens, Mickey’s has less of a chance than a Tito and Shamrock rematch. Bud Light is part of a monstrous corporate company that would smash Mickey’s in a fight of sponsors.

In my opinion this is a giant step in the right direction for the UFC and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Most of the media has said that the UFC needs a major sponsor and this is about as big as it gets. Not only will this open doors for the UFC in commercials, but it also opens the door for large companies such as Nike, Under Armor, Sony, or another top notch sponsor to come along. In the future we may see a Nike MMA clothing line, a Chuck Liddell Gatorade flavor, or even a Rich Franklin Math for Dummies Book. A large sponsor would bring larger demographics to the sport. It could create an influx of new fans and viewers that thinks of the sport as barbaric. In their minds, if Nike is a UFC sponsor, how barbaric can MMA be?

Only a day after StrikeForce inked a deal with CBS, the UFC announced the huge addition of the Anheuser-Busch beer Bud Light as an amazing turn of events for the UFC. If the UFC can capitalize on this move, then they will open some incredible doors for other companies to step forward in the future. It may be a matter of time before Chuck has a Bud Light symbol on his Iceman shorts. The move gives the UFC and the WEC a major sponsor in the addition of Harley Davidson. The UFC is the show of shows in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. They currently have the most talent, the most exposure, and they have solidified the best sponsors. I look for more big time sponsors in the future for the UFC.

If they like watching people get punched in the face.

Raghu Nath recently gave a pretty good look at the hype package and inserted some of his picks. I’m not going to really look at the hype behind the fights, because the UFC will do plenty of that themselves. Instead, here’s what I think’s going down, from the bottom of the card to the top.

John Halverson vs. Jorge Gurgel

This is, in my mind, a classic Jiu-Jitsu vs. Striker matchup, but since Gurgel has shown an incredible inability to finish throughout his career, I’m going to do something I don’t usually do, and pick the BJJ blackbelt to lose. While part of this is just to mix this up, I really think that if Halverson comes out swinging, as he’s expected to, he could land a short that puts Gurgel out. Otherwise, he’ll probably drop a decision.

My Pick: Halverson via TKO, Round 1

David Bielkheden vs. Diego Sanchez

There’s very little knowledge about Bielkheden, but what little I do know has endeared him to me alot. That, and the fact that Sanchez has dropped two straight without really showing serious signs of recovery from the initial loss to Josh Koscheck via decision. While both of his losses were to pin-down fighters with great wrestling backgrounds, I think that Bielkheden is going to make this a fight off of his back. The Swede’s BJJ blackbelt and training with Brazilian Top Team make this fight interesting if it hits the floor. Still, I think that Sanchez’s standup will take this fight as it wears on.

My Pick: Sanchez by KO, Round 3

Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck

As someone who’s trained with Kos, and knows what the AKA camp is capable of under the instruction of the Camarillo’s and their many talented 170 pound fighters, I think that Kos is not getting the credit he deserves. I won’t take anything away from Hazelett, as his submission game is very good, but Koscheck is a national champion wrestler, and that NCAA background plays a huge roll in his physical power and his ability to control opponents on the ground. Bar a Drew Fickett-esque come from behind victory, I don’t see Hazelett winning this match, and I see Kos controlling it on the ground

My Pick: Koscheck by Unanimous Decision (Bring Pillows)

Luigi Fiorovanti vs. Luke Cummo

I refuse to underestimate the power of Fiorovanti’s camp, as the ATT guys are complete warriors, and the coaching staff contains one of the best grapplers in the world, Jeff Monson. I don’t know how Cummo expects to deal with that, and though he’s got a great camp with the Serra Jiu-Jitsu guys and kickboxing genius Ray Luongo, I don’t see Cummo being able to pull this one out, as he has alot of trouble fighting off of the bottom.

My Pick: Fiorovanti by TKO, Round 2

Jake O’Brien vs. Andrei Arlovski

Andrei Arlovski is fighting a wrestler who barely beat a badly injured, Octagon shocked Heath Herring. Not to mention that Andrei has something to prove, since his unimpressive performance against Fabricio Werdum. If this fight stays on the feet, expect Andrei to do alot of punching and O’Brien to do alot of falling down. If it goes to the ground, do not forget that Andrei Arlovski has a submission game, he’s a serious Sambo fighter. Still, don’t hold your breath for Andrei to pull out a submission, I’m sure he’d much rather punch O’Brien in the mouth.

My Pick: Andrei Arlovski by KO, Round 1 (The Big Dog is back)

Chris Wilson vs. Jon Fitch

I won’t write off Chris Wilson. He might be a great fighter and certainly has a solid submission game, but the fact is, he wasn’t called into this fight because people expected him to win. Fitch is supposed to beat Wilson down and advance his rank in the 170 pound division, by posting his 8th straight win and finishing an opponent, ideally in impressive fashion. That is what I expect him to do, because, while Wilson can catch a submission off the bottom, I don’t expect he will on a wrestler like Fitch, who’s been proven to have serious heart when it comes to fighting through submissions.

My Pick: Jon Fitch by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 2 (Round 1 will be exciting, as like the fight with Roan Carniero, but the ending will be similar, too)

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner

Both of these men are underrated submission fighters. Tanner has one of the most wicked triangles in the sport and Okami almost finished Rich Franklin with a kimura when they fought. That said, it really comes down to a battle of size against experience. Okami is a huge dude, and Tanner has alot of experience in this sport, and against alot of incredible fighters, include his middleweight title win over David Terrell. Personally, I’ll be cheering for Tanner, and I think this will be a close, back and forth match.

My Pick: Tanner by Submission (Some sort of Triangle), Round 3 (expect Okami to get on top and do some damage in rounds 1 and 2)

Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben

Leben is a warrior, but I think that, to put it simply, he will fail against a much more experienced, much more skilled boxer. While Sakara has been proven to be a painfully one dimensional fighter in the past, I think the fact that he is coming down to 185 and will be very large compared to Leben will give him a serious edge in this fight and allow it to keep it on the feet and manipulate the pace of the fight, using his boxing whenever and however he likes to dispatch Leben. It make take a few rounds for the technical control to really sink in, but it will happen, and when it does there will be a big KO.

My Pick: Sakara by KO, Round 2

Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring

If Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva weren’t on this card, this would be a shoe-in for fight of the night. Herring may try to take this fight to the ground, but, personally, I’d love to see this fight stay on the feet and, given Herring’s not much of a wrestler, it probably will. He may test Kongo’s takedown defense a little, but I think that the Frenchman’s ability to control distance and manipulate the pace of this fight will give him the huge edge in the overall game, and his general kickboxing prowess will put it in the bag.

My Pick: Kongo by KO, Round 2

Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson

I’ve given a much longer analysis of this fight, but I’ll abbreviate it by saying that I expect this fight to stay at range, as Anderson will lay back and try and avoid the clinch, not because he thinks Henderson is better at doing damage there, but because Henderson is certainly better at taking the fight to the ground from there. If Silva can stay at range and land powerful strikes and alot of combinations, we’ll see a solid test of Henderson’s chin, and while I don’t think that Silva will knock Hendo out, I think he’ll make a great argument for the judges to give the fight to him after five rounds.

My Pick: Silva by Unanimous Decision

Awards

Knock Out of the Night: Andrei Arlovski

Submission of the Night: Evan Tanner

Fight of the Night: Anderson Silva over Dan Henderson

In the followup to my previous article in the same series, here is my breakdown and predictions for the main card for the upcoming UFC 82: PRIDE of a Champion event.The fights covered in this edition are:Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara v/s Chris “The Crippler” Leben
Jon Fitch v/s Chris Wilson
Yushin “Thunder” Okami v/s Evan Tanner

Let’s get it on, then.

1. Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara v/s Chris “The Crippler” Leben

This is Alessio Sakara’s first fight at middleweight and judging by his last performance at Light Heavyweight, this one is going to be a barnburner! Sakara comes in with amazing boxing ability and a newly found confidence on the ground as well, thanks to his new camp - The American Top Team. Sakara, ever a dangerous knockout artist, seems to finally have worked at his achilles heel, the Takedown defence. What one wonders is whether Sakara will be able to translate his power and skill down in the middleweight division.

His acid test - The Crippler, Chris Leben. Although Leben is more known for his antics on the camera on the Ultimate fighter season 1, do not take this team quest and now hawaii based fighter lightly. Many people on the internet make the mistake of judging him by his TV appearance and have been proven wrong a few times. Ever an exciting fighter, Leben brings excellent ground skills and really good striking into this fight. What might be a bad idea for him would be to wait till he gets hit before he exhibits any fire in this match since one punch from Sakara will be all it takes to knock Leben out. Leben does have an advantage on the ground and I think that should be his strategy in this fight - take Sakara down and end the fight with punches from side mount.

An exciting standup battle is what I predict.

Prediction: Chris Leben by TKO round 2.

2. Jon Fitch v/s Chris Wilson

This is one of three match-ups that I am very excited to watch. Jon Fitch goes up against a very dangerous newcomer to the octagon in Chris Wilson.

Fitch, an exciting ground fighter, is well known in the division and is thought of by many as one of the rising stars in the division. Fitch has a phenomenal ground game and is pretty good at strikes also. I forsee Fitch trying to take the match to the mat and use his considerable wrestling skills to dominate Wilson on the ground to take the victory.

Wilson, on the otherhand, is a seasoned muay-thai veteran and has had an excellent record in stand-up matches. Wilson’s knees and strikes and especially his setups for the same are phenomenal and have ever gained the praise of many of the game’s best. His ground game is pretty good as well, training at Team Quest with the likes of Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland have really helped Wilson step up his skills on the ground and his submissions are really good as well. I personally am really excited to finally see Wilson in the UFC and can’t wait to see how he performs.

I think the match will end up on the ground for the latter half of the first round with Fitch dominating after taking a few blows while on the feet. The second round will have Fitch trying to get Wilson to the ground but Wilson will use his considerable reach to keep him at bay and the match ends by either submission or TKO on the ground for Chris Wilson. I know a lot of people are going to disagree with this one - glad to hear your thoughts.

Prediction: Chris Wilson - round 2 - Submission/ TKO

3. Yushin “Thunder” Okami v/s Evan Tanner

Evan Tanner returns!! This is basically what has been hyped a lot during the past few weeks and I have even read articles with Tanner claiming to know how to beat Anderson Silva. Two things here that don’t pertain to the match-up. It may be to generate interest, but I have never seen Tanner given so much media attention and secondly, never has Tanner ever made such statements before a fight either. Now that I have that off my chest…

Yushin “Thunder” Liger ..errr…I mean Okami is back after his decision loss to Rich Franklin and has been given the task of judging whether the 35 year old Tanner is still a force to reckon in the middleweight division or not. Okami is mainly a ground fighter with excellent takedowns and dominant wrestling capabilities. Deceptively strong, Okami possesses strength that will be a challenge for Tanner to fight against. The one big weakness that I see in Okami’s game that might cause him problems is that Okami is not very comfortable with strikes and someone with as dangerous a striking game as Tanner can be a daunting task for Okami. The one thing that Okami always goes to and I believe will this time as well is going to be the takedown and ground and pound strategy (if it works, don’t change it right?) and his strength and skill will definitely be difficult for Tanner to combat.

Tanner on the other hand has every eye on him and has a lot to prove. No one knows how good Tanner’s conditioning is - although I have never seen Tanner gas and he looked better than ever in promo material. Secondly, is the Evan Tanner who steps in to the octagon the same Tanner who stepped out a few years back? Third - Does Evan Tanner have the will and determination to take his game back to and beyond what it was when he lost to Rich Franklin?

This is the first time that Tanner has had a proper training and conditioning camp for a fight. Tanner’s strengths have always been his elite level striking and excellent submission game. Although his will is sometimes questioned, his heart has never been. He has excellent control during most of his defensive manouvers and can easily turn a defensive manouvre into an offensive tipping point. Look for a lot of crazy elbows from the back while maintaining guard and also look for some really crisp striking from Tanner.

Prediction: Evan Tanner by Submission/ Tapout - Round 3 (provided this is a fully prepared, ready Tanner who shows up).

P.S.: I really enjoyed the thoughtful counter-arguments and intelligent discussion that my first article generated and hope that all my future work including this one are the source of similar discussion. Thanks to all for participating in these discussions and all future ones.

This weekend is the biggest fight card of the year to date in the top MMA organization. Before every UFC event, I fill out a poll to see if I can outwit my local UFC fans and pick the winners. Earlier today while I was making my picks, one of my fellow workers asked me a question. “why Chris Leben is on the main card, while Sanchez and Koscheck sit on the undercard?” As I continued to make my picks, the question stuck in my mind. This one time Team Quest fighter has trumped the other TUF alumni on this card, but the question is - why?

Team Quest is known for top fighters. Fighters among the likes of Randy Couture, Nate Quarry, Ed Herman, Matt Lindland, and Dan Henderson have called this Oregon gym home. One fighter who began his climb to the big leagues of MMA here is Chris Leben. Leben was one of the most exciting guys on the original cast of The Ultimate Fighter and on the show he experienced highs and lows. He is a part of some the most memorable moments in the show’s history. One of which he showcased his heart and desire when he out performed everyone on the treadmill. On the other side of the spectrum he also used Jason Thacker’s bed as a urinal. Thacker and Leben fought at the finale of the show, and after ending the fight Leben apologized for the act. His colorful flare and comical approach gained him tons of fans, and eventually a UFC contract.

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It just doesn’t happen often enough; a fight where I am so uncertain about who is going to win that I am flip-flopping about my pick as I am starting to write. Honestly, I haven’t been this unsure about a pick since Fedor vs. CroCop. I’ve been wrong, but I haven’t been unsure.

The fact is, Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson make for a fight that we cannot, with any real certainty, call, and the odds are proof of that. The UFC and Pride Champions are locked even and I doubt that even Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson would have been considered this tight of a matchup if it had happened instead of the Henderson fight at the end of last year.

I’ve already talked about why it is that Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva are forces to be reckoned with in the middleweight division, why it is they are both dominant and devastating, and why it is that I so rarely bet against either of them when they are competing in this weight class.

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