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BJ Penn entered his main event battle against welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre looking to become the first man in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes. GSP never gave him the chance to make history, as he stopped Penn after four increasingly dominant rounds to retain his belt with a TKO victory and make a compelling case for being the pound for pound best fighter in mixed martial arts.

Both fighters had considerable fan support, with vocal, flag waving delegations from the Hawaiian Islands and Canada in evidence. During ring introductions, both men received enthusiastic cheers tempered with a few boos. After the opening horn sounded, however, the Penn backers had little to cheer about while the champions supports broke out in G-S-P chants on several occasions. The first round was fairly evenly contested, with St. Pierre trying to get a first hand feel for Penns often unorthodox”but highly successful”takedown defense. GSP made several takedown attempts, but had them repeatedly stuffed by Penns incredible balance and flexibility.

Boxing guru Freddy Roach recently praised Penn as the best technical puncher in MMA, but he had no opportunity to bring this weapon to bear as he had trouble finding the range from the outset. GSP mixed up his look perfectly, either staying just outside Penns range using his 6 reach advantage effectively or more often smothering his opponent on takedown attempts. St. Pierre was unable to complete any takedowns during the first round, but easily dictated the pace and style of the bout.

GSP began to assert his dominance in round two”with Penn starting to fatigue he was no longer able to fend off St. Pierres single leg takedown attempts by balancing on one leg. GSP got a takedown early in the frame and began to mount a ground and pound assault while moving around in Penns legendary guard almost at will moving from half guard to side control with frightening ease. At this point, it was apparent that GSPs superior strength and insane physical conditioning were going to figure prominently in the outcome of the fight.

The eventual outcome was foretold between rounds two and three, as the obviously exhausted Penn required a pep talk from his entourage to continue. Across the cage, GSP calmly sipped water and listened intently to trainer Greg Jacksons instructions looking for all the world that he could go 12 rounds if necessary.

Round three was similar to the previous one, with GSP taking his opponent to the mat with a decreasing level of resistance and mauling him with punches and elbows once he got there. His complete control over the BJJ black belt Penn was incredible, but hardly surprising given the way that GSP dominated four time NCAA All American wrestler Josh Koscheck on the ground during their matchup.

The fourth round was a wall to wall rout for the Canadian welterweight champion, who started by effectively trading strikes with Penn before taking him down once again and resuming his highly successful ground based attack. Penn survived the round on instinct alone, moving around just enough to keep the referee from stopping the proceedings. After the horn sounded to end the fourth round, however, it was evident that Penn had nothing physically or emotionally left. As he leaned headfirst against the cage in exhaustion, an impromptu conference amongst his handlers on whether or not to continue became moot when the fight was stopped by Dean on advice from the ringside physician. There was no argument whatsoever from Penn or his entourage.

Displaying his characteristic class, GSP delayed his celebration until he had crossed the cage and kneeled by his vanquished foe to honor his competitive spirit. After a quick celebration among GSP and his team, he faced his next challenger in the person of Thiago Alves. While clearly brought into the cage to start the fight promotion early, Alves appeared somewhat in awe as he congratulated the welterweight champion on his victory.

Earlier in the evening, Lyoto Machida kept his undefeated professional MMA record intact with a first round TKO victory over Thiago Silva. Machida may be the best in the world at fighting while backing up, and Silva found his aggressive style working against him. Machida took his opponent down and knocked his opponent down twice”all counters as Silva was coming forward and Machida backing away. As the first round entered its final seconds, it appeared that Silva started to ease up in anticipation of the horn. Machida used this opportunity for another takedown, and then nailed his surprised opponent with a powerful punch that ended the fight.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

From a business standpoint, the UFCs first trip to Germany will clearly fall short of their success in the UK. From poor ticket sales to a downright hostile German media, its been one headache after another for Dana White and company. The UFC 99 card itself turned out to be an entertaining affair highlighted by a spectacular main event between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. Franklin would ultimately win the unanimous decision victory, but the fight itself far exceeded the expectations of most fans.

For the most part, Franklin picked Silva apart throughout the course of the fight (to quote UFC color commentator Joe Rogan) and deserved the unanimous decision verdict. What made the fight exceptional were the occasional glimpses of the old Axe Murderer. Late in the second and third rounds, Silva tagged Franklin with hard punches that left him clearly stunned. The uncertainty was enough to make the main event a very entertaining and exciting fight.

In the co-main event, heavyweight phenom Cain Velasquez survived a few nervous moments to put in a wall to wall domination of Cheick Kongo. Velasquez was rocked by Kongos punches early in rounds one and two, but quickly recovered to take the fight to the ground where he mauled the Frenchman. The result was an impressive victory for Velasquez over a top level opponent, but his struggles against Kongos standup game left several unanswered questions. The most compelling concern, of course, is that Velesquez might have a weak chin and simply not be able to take a punch particularly well. His problems could also be tactical or simply a case of not having enough patience”rushing his takedown attempts and eating punches rather than work for a less risky opportunity.

The event also featured the UFC return of former PRIDE open weight GP champion Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop was making his return to action from knee surgery, and the Croatian striking machine got off to a slow start against overmatched Mostapha Al-Turk as he clearly sought to protect his rebuilt wheels. Of particular note was the fact that Cro Cop didnt throw a kick the entire fight”his bread and butter during his PRIDE dominance, which evoked the mantra right leg hospital, left leg cemetery. Once he let his hands go, however, he demonstrated emphatically that hes still got serious power. He ended the fight late in the first round by flooring Al-Turk with an overhand left followed up with some hammer fists on the ground. Al-Turk survived this onslaught, but when the referee returned the fight to standup he caught a poke in the eye (similar to the one suffered by Josh Barnett in his PRIDE OWGP Final matchup against Cro Cop). This caused him severe difficulty, but likely only hastened the inevitable Cro Cop TKO victory.

Perennial contender Mike Swick looked impressive as he defeated Ben Saunders via 2nd round TKO. After an uneventful first five minutes, Swick let his hands go and his impressive handspeed proved no match for his adversary. In the opening match of the live PPV, Dan Hardy won a hard fought split decision over Marcus Davis. The two men had feuded back and forth in the UK media, and while the fight may not have settled their differences in a decisive manner it did provide a solid opener to the evenings fight card.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva had lost a lot of his luster coming into Saturday nights UFC 101 matchup with former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin. He was undefeated in his previous nine UFC contests, but his last three victories had been far from impressive. Hed beaten overmatched James Irvin last July in his first effort at 205. That was followed by a TKO win against Patrick Cote when Cote blew out his knee mid fight. In his most recent bout, hed pouted and showboated his way to a unanimous decision victory by default against a thoroughly overwhelmed Thales Leites. On that night in Montreal he’d heard an abundance of boos from the fans who at one point started a GSP chant in reference to his most frequent challenger for pound for pound MMA supremacy. Even Dana White criticized his effort and finally conceded that St. Pierre might, indeed, be the best all around fighter in the game.

There was none of that on display at UFC 101. Silva was simply dominant as he overwhelmed the naturally larger Griffin, knocking his opponent down three times before finishing the fight with a spectacular”yet almost effortless”straight right hand.

The live crowd in Philadelphia clearly favored the likable Griffin and gave him a huge ovation as he bounced to the ring to his trademark walk-in song Shipping Up To Boston by the Dropkick Murphys. Silva, meanwhile, received a smattering of boos as he confidently strode to the cage. Silva displayed much more humility toward the fans than he has in his recent outings, bowing in all four directions after the entered the cage.

He displayed none of that courtesy toward Griffin once the fight began and was simply the wrecking machine that UFC fans had grown accustomed before his recent run of lackluster performances. Forrest came right at Silva, assuming that his natural size advantage would equate to a strength advantage as well.

The second knockdown clearly hurt Griffin, though he once again made it back to his feet quickly and landed a combination of his own. This was his best”and last”offense of the fight. Silva quickly floored Griffin with a left hand that left little doubt to the eventual outcome of the contest. The double tough Griffin made it to his feet again, and tried to land a leg kick”which Patrick Cote had used with some success in their fight.

Silva, backing up, landed a perfect and almost effortless straight right that sent Griffin down for good. The referee didnt even bother to count as he waved his arms over the prone fighter as Silva celebrated his win. Griffin quickly exited the cage and, reportedly, the arena.

Silva, apparently making an effort to be more fan friendly, did his postfight interview in English with a Portuguese interpreter standing at the ready. Hed been criticized in the past (somewhat unfairly) for not making more of an effort to engage the fans, and conducting his interview in English was likely intended to help change that image. His message was simple: I want to fight against the best. Whoever the best is at the time, I want to fight them. Though Silva didnt really affirm that hed be campaigning more at the heavier weight, that was the implicit message of his comment.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Rashad Evans didn’t scream about demanding respect in his prefight interviews because hes smart enough to know that respect must be earned. He earned it and then some with a devastating 2nd round TKO of Chuck Liddell in the main event of UFC 88.

If Evans needed any more validation of how little respect he was getting, he could have taken a look at the UFCs text message prediction poll of the main event which favored The Iceman by a whopping 81% to 19% margin. Or he could have listened to the UFC announcers, who had all but penciled Liddell in for a return to light heavyweight title contention after his inevitable victory.

From the opening horn, Evans showed no fear of Liddells once legendary power. Instead, he danced and moved (which was dumbly criticized as showboating by the UFC announce team), using his slick footwork and speed to dart in and out of range of Liddells punches. In the process, he was able to use his superior handspeed to get off first. His punches werent exactly highlight reel power shots at this point, but were nonetheless effective as evidenced by a cut opened under Liddells eye.

The end was to come in the 2nd round. Liddell backed Evans up near the cage wall and went to throw an uppercut. Simultaneously, Evans responded with an overhand right that landed quicker, harder and more accurately. The perfectly placed punch knocked Liddell out cold and referee Herb Dean jumped in to cover him up and wave off the fight without taking a second look.

Rashad Evans raised his record to 17-0-1, with the lone blemish a draw against Tito Ortiz at UFC 73. Liddell, meanwhile, saw his record drop to 21-6″with three of those six losses coming in his last 4 fights.

Liddells loss notwithstanding, it was a good night for UFC veterans as Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson won their fights in impressive fashion. Franklin looked particularly sharp in dismantling tough Matt Hamill, eventually prevailing by 3rd round TKO. Hamill had trouble getting inside for the takedown he needed to compete in the bout, and every time he closed the distance he was met with a barrage of Franklin punches and kicks.

This was the UFC’s first trip to Atlanta and despite a good attendance the crowd itself was somewhat disappointing. In a marked contrast to the knowledgeable and enthusiastic fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis for UFC 87–arguably the best MMA crowd ever at a US venue–the live crowd at Phillips Arena often acted as if they were at a taping of Georgia Championship Wrestling. Every foreign fighter was booed mercilessly–including South Korean Kim. Kim was treated like legendary Gary Hart managed pro wrestling heel Pak Song as he had to endure a USA chant during his fight. Perhaps the audience didn’t realize that South Korea has been a US ally since its establishment after WW II. The fighters from other “longtime adversaries” of the United States–Brazil and Holland–fared somewhat better.

More problematic was the crowds utter lack of respect for the fighters postfight. Poor Dong Hyun Kim was booed during his postfight interview like he was Professor Toru Takana cutting a heel promo on Mr. Wrestling 2 after winning the Georgia Heavyweight Title by throwing salt in his opponents eyes while the referee was distracted. Not quite the respect that a 4th degree judo black belt whod just won a very tough fight deserves. Kim’s treatment by the fans cant be written off as a reaction to a close split decision victory; Rashad Evans was booed after his victory over Liddell, and short of decapitating ‘The Iceman’ there was no way his win could have been more decisive.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on World Cup soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

A day after failing to make weight for his fight against Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves dominated the former UFC welterweight champion en route to a 2nd round TKO victory. The main event at UFC 85 in London was somewhat anticlimactic to the fans at the O2 Arena who considered the semifinal matchup between Manchester’s Michael Bisping and Jason Day the biggest fight on the card. Bisping actually improved upon his excellent showing against Charles McCarthy at UFC 83 and pummeled Day mercilessly from the top mount position until the fight was stopped just past the 3 minute mark of the first round.

Hughes didn’t make any excuses following his one sided loss, saying simply that hes a good fighter and he got me. The longtime king of the UFCs welterweight division also gave notice that his career as an active fighter was drawing to a close, suggesting that he had one fight left and challenging Matt Serra in what presumably would be his retirement match. Hughes had no answer for Alves from the opening horn, as he was stuffed on several takedown attempts early on. When he did finally get his opponent to the ground he was unable to do much damage. Alves, conversely, scored effectively with his striking including several damaging knee strikes. He also did considerable work on the ground, with an elbow strike opening up a large cut on Hughes forehead. Though he didnt get to his knees a la Georges St. Pierre, Alves did make a plea to Dana White for a title shot. His failure to make weight wont help his cause, however, and judging from the UFC Presidents incredulous smirk in response that opportunity wont be immediately forthcoming.

The end came early in the 2nd round as Hughes was caught coming in by a devastating knee strike. He fell to the canvas in a heap and referee Herb Dean was jumping in to stop the contest before Alves could follow up with any punches. As the ringside physician entered the ring to check on the fallen fighter, Hughes gave an indication that his knee was injured. Replays showed that his knee buckled under him in a very awkward fashion as he fell and while the extent of the damage is yet to be determined Hughes indicated in the postfight interview that it was messed up.

Michael Bisping simply overwhelmed Jason Day en route to a lopsided TKO victory. Bisping built upon the improved boxing skills he demonstrated at UFC 83 by unveiling an impressive ground and pound attack. Day never really got anything going and by the last minute of the fight was simply trying to cover up to prevent damage from Bispings elbows and hammer fists.

In other action, Mike Swick used an array of high kicks and a 7 reach advantage to coast to a unanimous decision over Marcus Davis. Davis, a former professional boxer, was unable to get inside against his lanky opponent and was never really in the fight. Like Bisping, Swick may have made an excellent career choice by moving down in weight.

A controversial point deduction for a strike to the back of the head cost Nate Marquardt his match against Thales Leites. Marquardt was solidly in charge for the entire fight, but suffered a point deduction for an illegal knee strike in round one. While that infraction was valid, replays of the 2nd round deduction for the strike to the back of the head gave the impression that he was penalized for a legal strike to the side of the head. The 2 point deduction changed the outcome of the fight, with Leites winning a split decision by the scores of 28-27, 28-27, 27-28. Marquardt was obviously disappointed in the outcome, but to his credit handled the loss with class despite the questionable nature of the outcome.

In the opening PPV match, another controversial ending saw Fabrico Werdum defeat Brandon Vera by 1st round KO. The fight had been evenly contested up until the stoppage, with Werdum scoring a couple of takedown and Vera countering with some effective punching. Late in the first round, Werdum got a full mount and began to fire a series of punches. Vera was clearly defending himself and didnt appear to be hurt at all when the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Vera said that hed answered that he was OK when asked by ref Dan Miragliotta and that he was just trying to ride out the round from that position. Mirgliotta was also the referee in the Kimbo Slice/James Thompson fight, and some have suggested that matchup was also stopped prematurely.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Decades before mixed martial arts became popular in the United States, events matching fighters of different fighting disciplines were very common in Japan. They weren’t called “mixed martial arts” at the time, but that’s essentially what they were.There’s an entire history of pro wrestlers fighting specialists from other martial arts (particularly judo) that were leaving out, but during the’70’s Antonio Inoki began to put the concept of “mixed martial arts” on the map with his matches against fighters from other disciplines.

Inoki billed himself as ‘World Martial Arts Champion’ and would frequently face other high profile fighters in contests that are generally believed to have had a pre-determined outcome similar to professional wrestling. Inoki faced a ‘who’s who’ of the martial arts world, but none were more famous than heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali Menu Display Cases.

There’s a great deal of uncertainty about many of the stories surrounding how the event came together and transpired, but a few facts are now known. Ali took the fight as it was a large and presumptively easy paycheck. The big money he was earning is what kept him from walking out when his camp started to disagree with Inoki’s handlers over the rules and ‘finish’ fo the fight. Some suggest that it was supposed to be a fair fight going in, but Ali at the last minute insisted on rules more favorable to him. The more likely version of events is that Ali’s handlers agreed to a predetermined finish, only to have Ali balk at the last moment.

By the time the fight began, Ali’s handlers had obtained a ridiculously one sided set of rules that prohibited Inkoi from using a closed fist, striking Ali in the head at all, using any chokes or submissions or even trying to take the fight to the ground. Were it not for the huge amount of money he’d be leaving on the table, Inoki would have been justified in not fighting at all under these highly restrictive and one-sided conditions.

The painfully boring event that ensued was, despite many suggestions to the contrary, an actual fight. Inoki spent most of the match on the ground, unsuccessfully imploring Ali to join him and throwing kicks at his opponent’s legs. Ali did even less throughout the match, throwing a few jabs and trying to protect his knees and legs. The fight was scored on a 5 point system, and ended up in a 74-74 draw. It’s worth noting that Inoki had three points deducted for very dubious infractions: the first for throwing (and missing) with a drop kick, the second for throwing an elbow to Ali’s head and the third for a swift kick to Ali’s ribs. Had these deductions not occurred, Inoki would have won by decision. From a strict standpoint of scoring boxing, he probably deserved to win since he at least tried to execute a fight plan despite the restrictions he faced. For all practical purposes, however, a draw was the proper outcome. Both guys got paid and no one won, least of all the fans.

Some interesting trivia about the fight–the referee was former pro wrestler “Judo” Gene Labell, who is considered by many ‘the baddest man on the planet’ even in his 80’s. He could have very likely beaten up both men at the same time–a spectacle that might have been welcomed by the live crowd and closed circuit audience worldwide.

The fiasco didn’t hurt Inoki’s popularity in Japan whatsoever. Oddly, he became something of a hero for trying to take the fight to Ali despite the one sided rules. He would remain one of Japan’s most popular pro wrestlers and later serve in the country’s parliament. Inoki’s fights against other martial artists remained wildly popular, and are often credited as being the forerunner of PRIDE, RINGS and the major MMA organizations in Japan today.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Ever since he burst onto the MMA scene with a shocking first round KO upset of Jens Pulver at UFC 63, Joe Lauzon has been working to earn respect. For some reason hes had trouble being taken seriously as a top contender in the UFCs lightweight division. He may not fit the classical profile of a fighter, looking more like a fresh faced kid and is often referred to as a geek due to his educational background in computer science. In the main event at the UFC Ultimate Fight Night in Tampa, Lauzon withstood a game challenge from late replacement Jeremy Stephens to earn a 2nd round submission victory.

Lauzon was in control of the fight throughout, but Stephens gave a good account of himself despite his opponents obvious technical superiority on the ground. Lauzon appeared to be on the verge of ending the fight midway through the second with a ground and pound assault that he attempted to transition into a rear naked choke. Stephens fought back with a vengeance despite his disadvantageous position and opened a nasty cut on Lauzon’s forehead with an elbow strike.

As puddles of crimson gathered anytime Lauzon’s head neared the mat, he gained a new sense of urgency not wanting to lose on a stoppage due to the cut. He regained control on the ground and caught his opponent in an arm bar. Stephens tried to extricate himself, but was eventually forced to tap giving the bloody Lauzon a hard fought triumph.

The semifinal matchup featured another impressive effort from Cain Velasquez, who many have pegged as the heavyweight superstar of the future. Velasquez is a formidable physical presence at 6′2″ 241 pounds, and has very well developed technical skills for a fighter with only five bouts under his belt.

Velasquez had some difficulty finishing off tough UFC newcomer Dennis Stojnic. Stojnic displayed impressive toughness and a chin of granite, which is less surprising given his training home at Amsterdam’s Golden Glory gym where he works alongside such fighters as K-1s Semmy Schilt and DREAMs Alistair Overeem. Stojnic did become the first of Velasquez’s opponents to make it into the second round as he withstood a brutal beating near the end of the first to make it to the bell.

In the second round, Velasquez quickly caught his opponent and sent him to the canvas with a nice combination which he followed up with another ground and pound attack. Stojnic again kept trying to defend himself despite a hellacious beating, though the referee finally jumped in and stopped the contest awarding Velasquez the TKO verdict.

On the undercard, Josh The Dentist Neer earned a tapout victory over the sports best known (and perhaps only) vegan, Mac Danzig.

In the opening bout of the evening, up-and-coming welterweight Anthony Rumble Johnson used his significant height and reach advantage to dispatch tough Luigi Fioravanti. Though most observers were impressed with Johnson’s wall to wall domination of the tough US Marine Corps veteran, he was very critical of himself in his postfight interview calling his performance sloppy.

The live crowd in Tampa gave a very poor account of themselves, at times booing fighters mercilessly for no apparent reason whatsoever. Their behavior reached a nadir in Cain Velasquez’s post fight interview, where he was booed mercilessly despite an impressive victory and informing Joe Rogan that he was about to become a father for the first time.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Here’s a word of advice to future opponents of Bobby Lashley–don’t make fun of his background in professional wrestling. Mike Cook found that out the hard way in the co-main event of the Maximum Fighting Championships MFC 21: Hard Knocks event. After spending the run up to fight week making fun of Lashley’s tenure in the WWE, Cook lasted a mere :24 seconds before being choked unconscious via a guillotine choke.

Perhaps Cook felt he was creating some sort of self doubt in the former WWE superstar by suggesting that he was out of his element in a real fight, but he turned it up a notch at the weigh in and in his ring entrance by donning a Mexican Lucha Libre mask. In prefight interviews, Cook had suggested that Lashley would soil himself once he entered the ring (though in not so erudite terms). That clearly incensed the massive 64 250 pound Lashley, who despite his inexperience in MMA is hardly the sort of individual prone to losing bowel control at the prospect of a fight.

Even after the opening bell rang, Cooks arrogant approach to the fight continued as he immediately clinched with his opponent as if he had no regard whatsoever for Lashley’s strength. Lashley immediately locked in a guillotine choke and basically yanked Cook down to the mat by his head. Once on the canvas, Lashley cinched it in deeper as Cook flopped around”partially in an effort to escape, partially in an involuntary muscle reaction as he sunk into unconsciousness.

After the fight Lashley gave his opponent a hug and flashed his trademark megawatt smile as if to say I told you so. In his postfight interview, however, he did slip in a final verbal jab toward his vanquished opponent saying that he didn’t come to play and that he is all business before quipping that now Cook can go put the mask back on and have fun with himself’.

Despite the fact that mixed martial arts and professional wrestling have been interwoven from the beginning, the American Top Team trained Lashley has been singled out by less knowledgeable fans for his tenure in the WWE. Against his next opponent, Bob Sapp, hell be facing a foe that has also spent some time in the worked environment of professional wrestling. In addition to his legit fighting experience in K-1 and PRIDE, Sapp has worked for several Japanese pro wrestling organizations and briefly held the prestigious IWGP Championship.

Even though Sapp’s days as a serious fighter are long past and he likely spends less time in the gym during a given year than Lashley does in a month, he does present an element of danger. Hes still got decent punching power, and his sheer bulk will be a challenge for Lashley who could give up as much as 100 pounds come fight night. Still, Sapp’s only victories in several years have been against overmatched and/or outsized opponents. In his last fight against an opponent of similar stature he was destroyed in under a minute by Jan Nortje who entered the matchup with a 1-6 career MMA record. Sapp remains a hugely popular personality in Japan, however, and simply by fighting him Lashley’s marketability in the lucrative Japanese fight sport market increases significantly.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira left a lot of questions unanswered in the wake of his UFC 92 loss to Frank Mir. He had been dominated in his defeat to Mir and in the process suffered the first stoppage of his career. After the fight it was revealed that hed suffered from a staph infection during training, severe enough to land him in the hospital for five days. He insisted that the loss was entirely attributable to his illness. At UFC 102 from the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, Big Nog made a compelling case that his loss to Mir was a definite aberration. Nogueira dominated a determined Randy Couture over three rounds, en route to a unanimous decision victory over the UFC Hall of Famer. Nogueira’s decisive victory culminated the UFC’s first ever event in the Pacific Northwest and after a bit of hand wringing over slow ticket sales the show came off very well on PPV.

Nogueira received a respectful welcome from the Rose City crowd, but nothing like the rousing ovation afforded local hero Couture. Couture lived in suburban Gresham, Oregon for a number of years and trained at Team Quest before leaving to start Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

Despite the lopsided outcome of the fight, The Natural gave his fans plenty to cheer about. Though hes no longer able to outwork opponents and earn victories, hes still an amazing physical specimen for a 46 year old man. Furthermore, he still has the amazing toughness and resilience that made him a legend. He was knocked down twice, and came close to being choked out in each of the three rounds.

Couture in no way embarrassed himself, but he never really threatened Nogueira either. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion looked every bit his old self, displaying a formidable standup game to compliment his top of the food chain groundfighting and submission skills. After the fight Nogueira expressed his respect for Couture and appreciation for the Portland fans before politely calling out current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

In the co-main event, Thiago Silva demonstrated why hes considered among the most underrated fighters in mixed martial arts as he dismantled Keith Jardine. After a feeling out process, Silva perfectly countered one of Jardines kicks with a nasty straight right hand. He followed up with a quick ground punching barrage before the referee called a halt to the fight early in the first round.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Two titles changed hands at UFC 92, with Rashad Evans defeating Forrest Griffin by TKO to win the light heavyweight title and Frank Mir knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to claim the UFC interim heavyweight title.

While nominally taking subordinate status to the Evans/Griffin main event the most shocking result by far was Frank Mir’s second round TKO stoppage of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira was the overwhelming favorite coming into the fight and had never been stopped inside the distance during a career where hed faced the best of the best: Fedor Emelianenko (three times), Josh Barnett (twice), Semmy Schilt and Mirko Cro Cop among many others.

Mir, meanwhile, had been on the verge of a full time move to the broadcast booth before his victory over WWE superstar turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar. The conventional wisdom concerning Mir was that hed never fully recovered from a serious motorcycle accident in 2004 and that he was essentially a shot fighter physically, emotionally and psychologically.

When the fight against Brock Lesnar was signed, the perception among most fans was that Mir was a high profile setup for the former WWE champ”a big name on the downside of his career that would be physically overwhelmed by the strength and athleticism of his opponent. The expectation was that after a one-sided loss to Lesnar that Mir would transition into the next phase of his career as a broadcaster.

For the first minute of the fight, it looked like the above scenario was going to play out”Lesnar manhandled Mir from the opening horn, taking him down and landing punishing hammer fists on the ground. That was rendered irrelevant, however, when Lesnar made a rookie mistake and dangled his leg in easy reach of the BJJ blackbelt. Mir locked in a deep knee bar and Lesnar was forced to tap. Even with the submission victory, however, the perception was that Mir had gotten lucky when Lesnar made a rookie mistake.

There would be no such reprieve against Nogueira, according to many pundits, as he was too experienced and too good of a BJJ player in his own right. Mos gave Mir little chance to prevail in this matchup against a highly experienced veteran that had never been stopped inside the distance.

The fight was certainly one-sided, but it was Mir who was in control throughout. From the opening horn he demonstrated surprisingly sharp striking skills, and knocked Nogueira down twice in the first round. Not expecting a solid standup offense, Nogueira looked downright lost in the later stages of the first round as Mir doubled and tripled up his jab and threw impressive punching combinations to go with low kicks and occasional takedown attempts.

Though Mir appeared in full control of the fight as the second round began, the end would come with startling suddenness and brutality. After a low kick attempt by Nogueira, Mirs counter tagged his opponent and he followed up with a big right hook that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas.

In the light heavyweight championship match, Forrest Griffin got off to a good start in his title defense by using his superior height and reach and an impressive array of kicks to keep Rashad Evans just out of range for two full rounds. That changed dramatically in the third, as Evans ended the fight with a punishing punching attack.

The most highly anticipated match on the undercard also featured a lopsided TKO finish as Quinton Rampage Jackson dominated Wanderlei Silva in the third fight between the two men. It was Jacksons first fight since his well publicized hit and run incident in Orange County, California and he looked very sharp throughout before bringing the contest to a close with a perfectly placed left hook to the cheekbone.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.