Nobody said it would be easy. From the initial season of The Ultimate Fighter emerged a tall and goofy fighter who looked barely older than the childhood pictures of his youthful self. Dan Severn taught him that recognized MMA fighters were big time. Keith Jardine showed that he could be brought down. But better yet, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua proved that Forrest Griffin learned how to hang with the best in the world. And with that win over Shogun came a shot at the title against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86.

Griffin has the heart and the training to make many other fighters look weak. He doesn’t quit. He doesn’t let a little blood stop the fight. He doesn’t stop after a rounds of trading heavy punches. Forget about tapping too. Forrest Griffin wants to win. And on Saturday night, he did. Forrest Griffin executed a gameplan at UFC 86 to become the next light-heavyweight champion even after taking similar shots from Jackson that probably would have dropped many other fighters for good. While Quinton Jackson rightfully took the belt from Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 last year, and regardless of what people might say, Griffin did the same to Jackson this year.

Losers can’t make excuses forever. Although Jackson admitted that Griffin “whooped his ass”, I don’t expect his outspoken trainer, Juanito Ibarra, to say silent for long. But many make excuses for Shogun after his loss to Griffin via rear naked choke last November as well. His leg was injured. He wasn’t in shape. He shouldn’t have fought. But excuses are useless in a sport where you only get one chance. You better be ready or you better choose another profession. Griffin certainly didn’t let anything get in the way of his quest for the light heavyweight belt on Saturday Night. With leg kicks that proved that Jackson wasn’t an invincible standup fighter to ground control that did enough to keep the ex-champion from doing anything offensively in the second round of their five round brawl, Griffin knew what had to be done and he did it with his goofy, yet respectful, style.

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The UFC 84 fight card was a great one. It was jam packed with huge names, big fights, and plenty of controversy. One of the largest stories of the event and over the past 6 months was the ongoing feud between Dana White and Tito Ortiz. The post fight press conference only added more fuel to this fire as Tito was not invited! For the post event Tito interview go to http://opinionatedsports.com/Tito_after_UFC_84.html. Tito and his lady were definitely not happy about not getting an invite and did not hold back in the interview. Here is an update on the top fights of the night, the complete results and awards.

BJ Penn def. Sean Sherk via TKO - Round 3, 5:00 UFC Lightweight Championship

This was the main event, and was a solid performance for the champ. Penn used his jab and length to his advantage. Sherk wanted to establish his standup game prior to attempting takedowns; he wanted to show the world that he could box. Unfortunately Sherk never got to that point. Penn’s jab was used to perfection and let him control the fight from start to finish. The fight ended in a fury at the end of the 3^rd round. Penn pushed and got the better of an exchange. Sherk then stepped back and leaned into the cage. Once his momentum brought him off the cage, Penn landed a flying knee and dropped punches until the bell. At first glance it seemed like Sherk had been saved by the bell, but between rounds the referee stopped the fight. Throughout the 3^rd round it seemed like Sherk was favoring his right hand, and seemed to be throwing more leg kicks and less rights. The medical results aren’t out of yet. In a move of bad sportsmanship and one that many are talking about, Penn ran over to Sherk after the fight was stopped, wiped some of Sherk’s blood and licked it. Prior to the fight it was assumed that the winner would fight the winner of the Ken-Flo vs. Huerta fight, but Penn says the fans want him to bump up and fight GSP. The future of Sherk is unknown, but the loser of the Huerta Florian in Minnesota was hinted in the post fight press conference (if Penn gets the winner). That could happen unless Penn bumps up. If he does then the 155 division will be shaken up and a fight for the title could ensue.

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I won’t say that UFC 84 changed the entire sport, because that would be an outright lie, but the 205 pound division needs to be seriously rethought, and the UFC management has been neglecting restructuring it for a while. It’s clear that there are fighters that are ranked way to high in that division and other fighters who need to be reevaluated and reappraised.

The return of Wanderlei Silva to form may have been the most important thing that happened last night and, unfortunately, everyone simply sees it as a last hurrah for Silva, because after his loss to Liddell he seems almost unmarketable for title contention, and I think that’s the right judgement, but at the same time, there are guys that Wanderlei should be fighting, guys that he should step in with because they need to be tested as much as he needs to gain some more practice and credibility in the cage.

Questioning Wanderlei’s credibility as a fighter is like questioning Mirko CroCop’s ability to hit hard. It’s an unquestionable truth in the world of MMA, but the question is whether or not his return to the top tier is legitimate, or if it is just, as some seem to think, a last hurrah. It makes alot of sense to put him in and test him against top tier opponents like, say, Houston Alexander or Rameau Thierry Soukoudjou.

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The more I’ve been watching the things that people have been saying about the five resident kings of the UFC (for the record, I no longer consider Couture a champion, as his contract dispute will probably never put him back in the Octagon again) and it’s made me think that people are a little bit too attached to them, a little bit too enamored with what are, undoubtedly, incredibly impressive performances.

I’m not saying that the UFC champions aren’t the best fighters in the world. Certainly, some of them are and some of them are debatable. Still, it is important to remember that the UFC champions are beatable, and so I want to pick apart their games, take a look at what makes them tick and, most importantly, take a look at what can be done to beat the men that so many tout as the “undisputed champions” in a sport where there are so many ways to win, and even more ways to lose.

Just to explain the method to the seeming madness: I want to address these in order from easiest to hardest, and in order to make sure people don’t believe I’m talking about hypotheticals, I’ll list the guy (or guys) in each division that I think gives the largest problem, given my analysis, to each fighter. I’ll be saving the largest wrecking ball of all, Anderson Silva, for last. This will be in five parts, and I’ll make sure I finish these up.

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Dean of Mean : Wins by shocking UFC posterboy Chuck Liddell.

Forrest Griffin: shocks superstar and highly regarded Brazilian star, “Shogun” Rua.

Diego Sanchez: Sheds staph infection and Greg Jackson’s entire camp, but ultimately
loses to arch-nemesis’ training partner, Jon Fitch.

To review -

TUF Fighters: 2-1

MMA online media: Miserable unappreciative children, as always.

One group finished with a winning record. The other stayed consistent. I loved UFC
76. That is all.

E-mail John Philapavage at johnnyp@mmaopinion.com

How much worse can it get for Chuck? We have strip club photos on the internet, the loss of the light-heavyweight belt, and now there is talk of retirement.

Not only did the “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine publically announce that he would force Chuck Liddell to reconsider his career as a fighter, he beat him via a unanimous decision during UFC 76 and ruined Wanderlei Silva’s chances of making millions. Mr. Jardine, you are a very very bad man. Will Dana White punish Jardine and make him fight Rampage, Dan Henderson or former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva? I sure hope so. Although I am not a huge Liddell fan, I feel for the guy and was really hoping he could bring his career back to life with a knockout win on Saturday night. Dana needs to make a decision on the future on these fights and let’s hope it is a good one.

I guess there is only one thing to say regarding Liddell’s decision to stay with MMA (although I think it was said enough during UFC 75); good luck Chuck!

Tonight is UFC 71’s loser versus loser.

Liddell-Jardine just doesn’t seem like a fantasy matchup to headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship card. With the two fighters coming off first round losses during UFC 71, expect both to seek redemption during “Knockout”, the UFC production set for tonight, September 22nd in Anaheim, California. Expect the winning fighter to ask for a shot at the Light Heavyweight title while the losing fighter temporarily contemplates retirement. No matter what happens, I can’t see either fighting being satisfied unless something drastic happens.

You know that the UFC organization wants Chuck to win and we can all see why. If Liddell wins tonight, he will soon face former Pride light-heavyweight champion Wanderlei Silva. Every MMA fan and their brother wants this match to happen. Maybe Dana will influence the judges to pull off another Bisping-type decision or simply use Cecil Peoples again to ensure a Liddell victory. You know we can all count on Cecil to do something ridiculous and hand a win to the fighter he wants to win. At least the UFC is taking place in a state that allows for sanctioned MMA fights, that’s always a plus.

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