Henderson had held an interim title since defeating “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone (10-3) at WEC 43 in San Antonio October 10.

Varner had controlled the first two rounds with aggressive stand-up and stated after the fight, “I came to fight.  Ben was the better man. He caught me in a guillotine. He’s a studly dude. I wanted to box…he wanted to kick.  Shit happens. I was winning that fight. All he was doing was throwing were body kicks. I had the takedowns, I had the control.  He didn’t want to box. I came to fight, Ben came to grapple. Two different things.”

But, as Varner shot in round three, he ate a big Henderson knee.  As Varner stumbled from the knee, Henderson wrapped the guillotine choke around Varner’s neck and squeezed until Varner tapped out.

Henderson will likely rematch Cerrone for his first title defense.

The fight had been renegotiated as a 172-pound catchweight fight after Daley couldn’t make the 171-pound welterweight limit Friday.

Among hardcore American UFC fans, the fight was to be a second coming out for Hazelett, considered one of the best MMA submission grapplers in any division.  But, for Daley and his English fans, it was a coming out for the explosive kickboxer instead.

Hazelett utilized his four-inch height advantage with jabs and teep kicks to keep Daley outside early.  And, Hazelett launched a snapping high kick to keep Daley honest, though Daley blocked the brunt of the kick.

But, 15 seconds or so after the two minute mark of the co-main event, the jiu-jitsu blackbelt, Hazelett, and Muay Thai champion, Daley, stood toe-to-toe in an exchange that ended with a Daley looping left hook flooring Hazelett.  Daley pounced, but it was academic as Hazelett was finished after the big shot and the referee ended the fight.

The win for Daley is marred by his inability to make the 170-pound limit and therefore doesn’t count towards the division rankings, though he was awarded the $50,000 Knockout of the Night award denied to “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (8-3) after he missed weight then KO’d eighth-ranked welterweight “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-3) at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24.

Ironically, UFC President Dana White announced after the fight that sixth-ranked Josh Koscheck (14-4) is a likely next opponent for Daley.  Koscheck was Johnson’s follow-up to Johnson’s overweight KO performance and Koscheck tapped Johnson in a rear naked choke at UFC 106 in Las Vegas November 21.

Daley is without question an exciting kickboxer, but Fighters.com remains skeptical Daley will be able to compete at the top of the division due to his lack of basic grappling skills.  He’s been submitted five times, most recently in an armbar by second-ranked Jake Shields (24-4-1) at EliteXC Heat in October 2008.  Though the UFC’s emphasis on exciting stand-up fights has benefitted Daley in his two knockout wins, Daley will be put on his back eventually like “Assassin” Houston Alexander (9-5) before him.

The loss is particularly disappointing for Hazelett.  It was his second time stepping up in competition and again ended in Hazelett layed out on his back.  And, it’s the third consecutive disappointment to come out of the Cincinnati-based camp headed by Jorge Gurgel (13-6).

“Thiago Silva was a tough opponent.  He was legit all the way around,” said Evans after winning.  “I just wanted to go out there and give the fans a good fight.”

But, though it was an exciting matchup of styles on paper, it couldn’t have been more disappointing in the Octagon.  Go figure.

Evans jitterbugged around Silva, throwing combinations to set-up shots.  That tactic was affective with Evans scoring takedown after takedown in rounds one and two.  Silva didn’t sprawl out of Evans’s shots until round three, but consistently scrambled back to his feet after every Evans takedown.  In round one, Evans even took full mount over Silva; but, Silva was able to wrestle himself erect.

“I need to train more wrestling, because takedowns are hard for me,” Silva exclaimed in the dressing room after the fight, throwing his hands to his head, then to the ground.

Evans said, “That was the big thing, to stick to my game plan, to go back to my wrestling, to go back to what made me strong in the division.”

Twice Silva raised his hands above his head and goaded Evans into a brawl.

But, Evans wasn’t biting.  “He tried to coax me out a little bit, use the crowd against me…but I’m too seasoned for that.”

Silva’s frustration culminated in Silva mimicking Evans’s jitterbug in round three.  Ironically, it was Silva’s most successful tactic.  After a right hook landed square, he had Evans doing the “stanky leg” reminiscent of Evans’s loss to Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0) at UFC 98 in Las Vegas May 23.

“I didn’t really think I was rocked because I felt like I rolled with the punch,” said Evans after the fight.

Silva pounced and landed several more shots to Evans’s head, but gassed out in the process.  Knowing he needed a stoppage for a “W” after losing the first two rounds, Silva didn’t have the will or stamina to finish Evans when the opportunity to steal the fight and earn a title shot was spread out on the Octagon mat before him.  Silva gave up.

Silva admitted after the loss, “I had a hard time defending his wrestling.  It tired me out a lot.”  About not being able to finish when the win was within his grasp, Silva added, “I just couldn’t.  I have no excuses.”

Ortiz had won a split decision over Griffin in 2006.

Though Ortiz admitted his loss in the Octagon after the fight Saturday, saying, “Forrest was the better man tonight.  I’ve got to give it to him,” he added during the post-fight press conference, “I thought I won the fight. I pulled it off two rounds to one.”  He added, “Letting down fans, knowing that I came and I gave my heart and soul. To be robbed like that. It is what it is. I’ll be back.”

Griffin said, “I thought I won,” but added, “I think we’ll have to do a third.”

UFC President Dana White complained after the fight about one judge’s 30-27 score.  “The 30-27 score is outrageous.  It’s insane,” White said after the fight.

Ortiz suggested he and Griffin coach on SpikeTV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ before having a rubber match.

White responded, “I don’t know. We’ll have to look at it. We’ll see.”

The fighters exchanged punches from the opening of round one before Evangelista suddenly took Gurgel to the ground. In response during the final seconds of round two, Gurgel landed a powerful left kick sending Evangelista to the mat. Gurgel almost landed a guillotine choke on Evangelista, but the local favorite escaped during the remaining seconds.

The final round was a back-and-forth affair, but Evangelista pulled through and earned a lightweight title shot.

Following the fight, a disappointed Gurgel stated, “The guy is tough. I have to take my hat off to him.”

In another exciting fight, heavyweight Shane Del Rosario (7-0) defeated local fighter “Cash Money” Brandon Cash (4-1) with a first round submission.

During the third televised fight on Showtime, middleweight Luke Rockhold (6-1) defeated Jesse Taylor (9-4) with a rear naked choke in the first round. The referee called the fight at 3:42 of the round one.

Merritt Warren (2-4) defeated Thomas Diagne (0-1) via heel hook in a lightning fast affair. Warren quickly caught Diagne in the submission forcing the French San Shou champion to tap at 3:49 of the opening round.

Wednesday the fighters took part in an open media workout at POW Kickboxing Gym in Chicago.

Emelianenko told the media, “This is going to be a good fight. Brett Rogers is good opponent who is undefeated. Fighting in a cage will be different, but I have trained in a cage before.”

That contradicts a statment Emelianenko made in Kansas City August 28 when he told the audience for M-1 Global Breakthrough that he hadn’t trained in a cage and didn’t think it was different than a ring.

Friday morning before the biggest fight of his MMA career the following Saturday night, Rogers will appear on NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly at 1:35 AM ET.

Always concerned with promoting his sport, Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1), who is matched up versus UFC vet “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) in a non-title fight, told the media Wednesday, “I feel good and I am happy to be part of such a great card. The exposure we will get for ourselves and the sport of MMA will be tremendous on Saturday night.”

The cast of fighters will weigh-in Friday at 5:00 PM CT at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, northwest of Chicago.  The public is invited to attend.  Doors open at 4:00 PM CT.

Doors at the Sears Centre will open at 8:00 PM local time.  Tickets will go on sale Friday to subscribers of Strikeforce’s newsletter and to the general public on Monday, September 28.  Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster or by calling (800) 745-3000.  The four-fight televised card will broadcast in the United States on CBS at 9:00 PM ET Saturday, November 7.

Ultimately Machida was awarded the unanimous decision, but by no means was the victory without controversy.  I was at UFC 104 and, prior to the decision being announced, predicted the match going to Machida by the score of 48-47.

That being said, I didn’t think Machida dominated Rua in his typical fashion and watched the UFC’s most elusive fighter take an unexpected beating.

Regardless of my scoring of the fight, a statistically analytical review will shed some light on this highly-debated match up. For statistical data, I referenced Fight Metric’s break down of the fight.

Round One

Machida came out in this round and stuck to his usual game plan, forcing the usually aggressive Rua to chase him.  Rua showed great patience and landed 15 solid leg kicks, something that most of Machida’s past opponents found impossible.  Machida showed his usual elusive patience and landed nine solid body shots and only one leg kick.

It appeared that although Machida was still hard to aggress, Rua’s game plan was to take “The Dragon’s” legs out of the equation.  By sheer numbers alone, Rua appeared to have taken this round by out-striking Machida 19 to 11.

But, what most casual fans don’t realize is that the scoring criteria that the judges use scores higher for “clean” striking than sheer volume.

CSAC judge Cecil People’s was quoted as saying, “Clean strikes are valued more-so than the quantity of strikes landed.  You have to keep in mind we always favor the fighter who is trying to finish the fight, and leg kicks certainly don’t do that.”

Although I disagree Peoples’s “leg kick” comment, Machida won the first round using his criteria.  Rua also had one takedown attempt defended successfully by Machida, therefore scoring grappling points in favor of Machida.

Round Two

The second round featured more of the same game plan for both fighters.  Machida was still making Rua come to him and looking for opportune times to counter. Rua came out and threw another impressive series of 14 leg kicks, effectively containing Machida’s leg attack and minimizing Machida’s kicking game to a mere two kicks landed.

Rua also began to land body shots in round two, out striking Machida by double and landing a total of six solid body shots. Although Machida was landing a few shots, Rua shook them off and stayed focused and patient.  Machida did unleash two solid power shots to Rua’s head in this round and successfully defended another Rua takedown attempt.

By a statistical account, Rua took this round.

One of the factors over which Machida did maintain an advantage was dictating when and where the fight happened. Machida is a master at forcing his opponent to chase him and attempt to push the fight.  And, when his opponents chase, Machida unleashes his lethally accurate counterattack.  Although Machida did stick to that game plan, Rua did a phenomenal job at fending off Machida’s counterattacks and working to land strikes as well.

Based on the “quality-over-quantity” method, I found this round hard to score.  Machida won this round on all judges’ score cards, and next to no one else’s.

Round Three

Machida came out for round three looking winded and noticeably affected by Rua’s onslaught of leg kicks. Rua continued his assault on Machida’s legs, landing another nine leg kicks throughout the round.

However, Machida finally seemed to find the accuracy with his hands, landing 15 total head and body shots. Rua attempted another failed takedown, but still showed a great ability to find his range, landing ten shots to Machida’s head and body. Machida’s usually lightning fast defense was too slow and Rua began chipping away at the holes.

This was arguably the closest statistical round, Rua landing 19 shots to Machida’s 15. Machida also shook off another Rua takedown attempt. Machida won the hearts of all three judges this round, but few fans were swayed.

Round Four

Round four was where Machida began to show fatigue and Rua’s damaging leg attack paid off.  Machida threw a measly three strikes all round while defendind a takedown attempt.

On the other hand, Rua seemed to gain steam as the crowd cheered his name. Rua landed another five solid leg kicks and lit Machida up with a total of five power strikes to the body and head of the champ.

It looked like Machida was finished and just dodging Rua’s hungry attack. But, on California State Athletic Commission’s Nelson Hamilton’s card, Machida won the round. 
Machida looked battered, moved slowly, and landed next to nothing. Machida obviously lost round five.

Round Five

Machida, although bruised, battered, and tired, seemed to know that he lost the previous round and came out for the final round trying to push the pace. Unfortunately for Machida, Rua came out with the same mind set and looked crisp.

Rua was fighting with patient aggression, nearly doubling Machida’s strikes, and continued to land leg kicks at will.  Rua attempted no takedowns, thus no grappling points could be awarded to Machida.  Machida was exhausted and beat up.  Rua won this round.

At the end of the fight, the jury was out.

Rua did the best job yet at neutralizing Machida’s puzzling style.  Machida appeared mortal. Both fighters left it all in the cage.  But, based on the criteria professional judges use to score fights, Machida won by the score 48-47.

Round One: 10-9
Round Two: 10-9
Round Three: 10-9
Round Four: 9-10
Round Five: 9-10

When watching a fight live, UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg aren’t whispering their own biases in my ear. Also, live UFC events last about six hours and, by the time the main card hits, the live audience is full of beer and ready to cheer and jeer anything. Don’t always interpret the crowd’s reaction as reflective of what’s happening in a fight.

Finally, as everyone knows, never let the judges decide. They are human and have their own views and opinions. If you want the win, finish the fight.

The official voice of Fighters.com, MMA Gospel Radio will broadcast at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT Saturday November 7 before the Strikeforce fights on CBS.  Listen live and join us in the chat room at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel.

“He feels great and he’s looking forward to fight in the USA again,” said M-1 Global spokesman Fabrice Deters.

Like the judges’ decision in the main event, referee Steve Mazzagatti’s decision to stop the fight as Rothwell was standing up from Velasquez’s ground’n'pound assault was controversial.

However, the outcome of this fight was not.  Velasquez dominated the much larger and more experienced Rothwell, taking him down at will and launching thunderous shot after shot to Rothwell’s face and head.

Even Velasquez was surprised he was so dominant.  “I just felt like he’d defend [my takedowns] a lot more,” he admitted after the fight.

Mazzagatti had warned Rothwell between rounds that he was taking too much unanswered damage, so when Velasquez began round two as round one had ened – putting Rothwell on his back pounding him – Mazzagatti stepped in and ended the fight.

Rothwell protested, perhaps justifiably as he was standing up when the fight was ended; but, only Mazzagatti’s timing was bad as there was no reason to continue allowing Rothwell to take so much damage.

A confident and now well-vetted Velasquez said after the fight, “I know I need to get better, but, you know, I came in this sport to be the champion.  I want that belt.  And, whomever wins that fight between Lesnar and Carwin, that’s the fight I want.”

UFC President Dana White would not commit to assuring Velasquez a title shot versus the winner between UFC champion second-ranked Brock Lesnar (4-1) and sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0).

“It was my most difficult fight I’ve had in the UFC,” said Machida after defeating his fellow Brazilian contryman.  “All three basically gave me a unanimous decision, so that’s how the judges saw it.”

But the fans in the STAPLES Center saw it differently, vigorously booing the judges’ decision, and so did UFC President Dana White.

“I thought ‘Shogun’ won the fight,” White admitted at the post-fight press conference and promised there would be an immediate rematch.

Both competitors had the same response to White’s promise of a rematch: Any time, anywhere.

Rua had studied his elusive opponent and used a combination of leg kicks and body kicks throughout the fight to slow Machida down and leave a pink welt on the left side of Machida’s body.

“I feel like I won this fight, but a fight is a fight, what can I do,” said “Shogun” after the loss.

Machida was most effective when he countered Rua’s aggressive attack with his own onslaught.  Near the end of round three, Machida marched forward in a flurry of punches that tagged Rua.

The final round continued the fight’s trend of Machida struggling to find his range and timing while Rua tagged him with leg and body kicks.

Emelianenko trains in the Russian mining town of Stary Oskol where he lives with his wife Marina and daughter Vasilisa.

Four fights from the event will be televised live on CBS beginning at 9:00 PM EST, delayed on the west coast.  Doors at the Sears Centre will open at 8:00 PM local time.  Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster or by calling (800) 745-3000.

The Emelianenkos were already legally married, according to M-1 Global’s PR representative, but the couple wanted to take their marriage vows in a church.  Other media have reported the couple was never married.  Emelianenko has a 22-month old daughter named Vasilisa with Marina.

For Emelianenko, Marina is his second wife.  He has a daughter named Masha with his previous wife, Oksana, both of whom live in St. Petersburg.

Emelianenko will fight fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-0) will fight at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates 33 miles northwest of Chicago November 7.   Four fights from the event will be televised live on CBS beginning at 9:00 PM EST, delayed on the west coast.  Doors at the Sears Centre will open at 8:00 PM local time.  Tickets will go on sale Friday to subscribers of Strikeforce’s newsletter and to the general public on Monday, September 28.  Purchase tickets at Ticketmaster or by calling (800) 745-3000.

Certain future rival for Campbell, welterweight Dennis Olsen (8-1) tapped out Ryan Schielding (5-2) in an armbar at 1:04 of the first frame for the WCF title.

“Spider” Saul Almeida (5-0) won a two-round unanimous decision over Kevin Corrigan (2-1) for the WCF featherweight championship.

Welterweight Hitalo Machado (5-3) submitted John Benoit (8-2) in a rear naked choke at 2:04 of round one.

Lightweight Joshua Key (4-2) sentenced Luis Felix (2-3) to precautionary hospitalization after a TKO 51-seconds into the third round.  Felix has since been reported as fine.

Featherweight Josh LeBerge (4-4) stopped Dan Bonnell (6-6) at 1:20 of round one.

Middleweight Joe McGann (2-1) won a three-round unanimous decision over Jason Dublin (7-8).

Welterweight John Ortolani (2-0) TKO’d Travis Lerchen (4-6) at 2:16 of round one.

Noah Wiseman (2-0) squashed “The Tick” Eddie Felix (5-22) in a rear naked choke, forcing the tapout at 3:38 of the first round.

Aniss Alhajjajy (3-0) finished Brent Reed (1-2) in a rear naked choke at 3:47 of round two.

Lev Kamenetski (1-0) earned a first round stoppage of Joel Ty (0-1) by punches in both fighters’ debuts.

Jim Pitner (2-0) won a three-round UD over James Boran (1-1).

Kennedy was spectacular!  In round two, Kennedy hopped into a standing guillotine attempt, slipped out of easily by Cummings.  Kennedy put Cummings against the cage, but Cummings pushed clear, falling neatly into another choke.  Cumming rolled free, but Kennedy transitioned quickly into the final choke, forcing the tap out.

In the first round, Kennedy forced Cummings into a desperate death roll as Kennedy maintained a sturdy top position and pounded or worked a rear naked choke, sometimes both, as Cummings rolled from his back to his stomach and back again.

Heavyweight K-1 kickboxer “Sugarfoot” Ray Sefo (2-1) won a TKO over “Shaman” Kevin Jordan (10-9) when Jordan pulled up lame 24 seconds into round two.
 
After Jordan shot for a takedown to open the second frame, he clutched his knee in clear distress.  “Shaman” attempted to regain his feet, but his knee buckled and the referee ended the fight.

Jordan had won a tedious round one with sporadic offense from top position on the mat.

Strikeforce welterweight prospect “T-Wood” Tyron Woodley (6-0) tapped out “Lisbon Outlaw” Zach Light (6-9) in an armbar at 3:38 of round two.

Woodley slammed Light to the mat for the second time in the bout and slickly transitioned into the armbar.  Light actually tapped twice, first lightly and out of site of the referee and again after Woodley had loosened his grip from the first tap then doubled his effort when the referee didn’t stop the fight.

Woodley had dominated Light in the first round, taking Light to the mat, passing to side control, then to full mount after Light had won half guard, and applying an arm triangle.

Heavyweight two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier (1-0) won a lackluster TKO ove Gary Frazier (0-1) at 3:39 of round two.

Frazier attacked with a knee, but lost his footing giving up half mount to Cormier on the mat.  Cormier slammed down several hammer fists, then passed to full mount to land more blows from top position.  Frazier rolled to his stomach; and, Cormier locked in his hooks and finished Frazier with punches.

Tulsa featherweight Thomas Longacre (5-0) won a three-round unanimous decision over fellow Oklahoman “Dark Knight” Travis Calanoc (4-1) by judges’ scores of 30-27 across the board.

Middleweight “Gentleman” Paul Bradley (11-1) won a three-round unanimous decision over Levi Avera (12-6) by judges’ scores of 30-27 three times.

Middleweight Trey Houston (2-0) tapped out Brandon Gaines (4-11) in an arm triangle at 1:28 of round two.

Lightweight Kenny Giddens (9-5) tapped out “King of Late Night” Jon Carson (8-2) in a D’arce choke at 4:15 of round two.

Featherweight “Platypus” Josh Pulsifer (12-4) tapped out Nick Gibbons (3-1) in a D’arce choke at 1:05 of round one.

Dillon Smith (1-0) tapped out Lemont Davis (2-4) in a rear naked choke at 1:15 of round one.

Heavyweight K-1 kickboxer “Sugarfoot” Ray Sefo (1-1) tipped the scales at 240.8 pounds and his opponent, “Shaman” Kevin Jordan (10-7), weighed 236.6 pounds.  Jordan, a former UFC fighter and veteran mixed martial artist, will test the kickboxer with a limited and mixed MMA record.

Two-time Olympian wrestler Daniel Cormier (0-0), who dehydrated himself to renal failure in an attempt to make the 2008 Olympic weight limit of 211.5 pounds, will make his MMA debut at 250.2 pounds.  His opponent, fellow rookie Gary Frazier (0-0) weighed 245.2 pounds.

In a matchup of welterweights, “T-Wood” Tyron Woodley (5-0) weighed 171 pounds and “Lisbon Outlaw” Zach Light (6-8) weighed 170.4 pounds.

Oklahoman featherweight “Dark Knight” Travis Calanoc (4-0) weighed 148 pounds and Thomas Longacre (4-0) weighed 146.6.

Wallace tapped out “Juggernaut” Antwain Britt (11-3) in an armbar in the tournament’s finale after disposing of Gregory Milliard (1-2) by decision in the first round and Team Quest’s Aaron Stark (9-5) by decision in the semi-final.

Britt had won decisions over “Fury” Carmelo Marrero (9-4) and Richard Hale (8-3-1) on his path to the final.

According to Vendetta FC promoter Chris Allen, Wallace was signed by the UFC shortly after returning home from Aruba.  Fighters.com could not verify with Wallace or the UFC.