Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau: This is definitely the fight I’m looking forward to the most. Pellegrino is a veteran of twenty fights, while Tibau is only a few fights shy of reaching the thirty-fight mark. Both have had their high points and low points, but you can almost always count on these two for an entertaining performance. Thanks to their many years of experience, I see both men grinding this one out and giving fans a pretty good fight. I personally think Pellegrino has had bigger wins over better competition, so I’m calling for Kurt Pellegrino to win by Unanimous Decision.

Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle: There’s a certain section of the fanbase that’s come out against this fight being on the prelims, and I have to say that I agree. Mike Pyle just had a huge victory over John Hathaway, Ricardo Almeida is only seven months removed from facing UFC legend Matt Hughes. As to the fight itself, both men have a ton of experience but Almeida is a bad match-up for Pyle. Both men’s strong suits are the ground game, but Almeida is simply at a much higher level than Pyle. Ricardo Almeida wins by submission in Round 2.

Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani: I’ve always been impressed and entertained whenever I see Anthony Njokuani fight, but Edson Barboza is an undefeated prospect that has finished all seven of his professional fights, six of them by (T)KO and five of them within the first round. Njokuani will definitely put up a fight, but I think this will be the big win Barboza needs in order to get him on major MMA cards for the foreseeable future. Barboza wins by (T)KO in Round 2.

Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall: Luiz Cane never fully realized his potential in the UFC, but then again, neither did Eliot Marshall. However, Marshall getting booted from the UFC seems to have reinvigorated him: he’s won three straight fights. Meanwhile, Luiz Cane hasn’t fought since May 2010 and is currently in the midst of a two-fight losing-streak, with both losses being by TKO. Simply put, Marshall is out of the woods and back on the path while Cane is still deeply lost. Eliot Marshall wins by Unanimous Decision.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. I probably won’t do this series too often, but when the UFC and/or Strikeforce (or any other company for that matter) gives me access to preliminary fights that deserve to be talked about, you can bet that you’ll see a new “Prelims Predictions” before long. Until then, what’s your opinion on the UFC 128 prelims?

The September card, which is headlined by former champions Frank Mir and Mirko Filipovic, better known simply as “Cro Cop”, is now going 11-deep with the addition of the lightweight match up of veteran Thiago Tavares against octagon debutant Pat Audinwood.

Tavares, a once prominent contender in the UFC’s 155-pound weight class, has largely struggled as of late inside the cage. In his last four performances, Tavares has only picked up only one win, a decision victory over “The Ultimate Fighter” season five finalist Manny Gamburyan who left the UFC in early 2009 to try his hat at 145 in the WEC. In his most recent outing, Thiago drew with fellow lightweight Nik Lentz this past January after having a point deducted in the third round after repeated low blows–Tavares was ahead on the score cards and likely on his way to victory before the final 9-9 round enabled the draw decision.

Before the win and subsequent draw, Tavares was riding a two-fight losing streak to standouts Matt Wiman and Kurt Pellegrino, respectively.

Audinwood, an undefeated prospect from the east coast, hails from “Team Bombsquad” out of Cortland, New York–the same team that heralded UFC veteran Tamdam McCrory and UFC phenom Jon Jones. A pro since 2007, Pat is ten fights into his mixed martial arts career, sporting a 9-0-1 record, 4 of his victories come by way of submission. “Awesomely Awesome” (yes, that’s his real nick name) doesn’t hold an “Awesome” signature victory to his credit, but a win over Tavares is certainly a step in the right direction for the UFC rookie.

The lightweight match up is important for both men, a means to an end for Audinwood and all his hard work leading up to this point, and a chance for Tavares to reassert himself as a viable fighter in a deep 155-pound division, where he was once regarded as one of their best.

The bout takes place on the night’s untelevised, preliminary card.

Dana White, president of the UFC, has taken notice of all the social media outlets today and is using it to build a bigger and more loyal fanbase. Dana can be found on Twitter quite often giving the people that follow him small updates as to what he is doing and what we can expect from the UFC in the coming future. This allows fans to feel like they are a part of the UFC as a company or that they are getting inside information.

Dana has used Twitter, a free social networking and microblogging service, to stir up a frenzy for tickets to events. He regularly posts his location in the weeks and days leading up to fights via Twitter and tells fans to find him for free tickets. Quite the genius move by a very savvy Mr. White. Fans flock to find him with hopes of not only scoring tickets but a chance to get their picture taken with the man many believe has made MMA what it is today. MMA Gospel writer Josh Turner actually took advantage of this and ended up with two tickets directly from Dana himself for UFC 104. The sports world should take notice of this as this is the cutting edge of building a lasting fan base. When was the last time owner of the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Brown, gave out free tickets to fans even when the organization was in danger of not selling out a home game and then getting blacked out on local television?

The MMA media is also using the social media outlet to bring stories to their readers much faster than ever before possible.I have personally seen many breaking news stories come directly off of Twitter. I broke the story of Fighters.com seventh-ranked heavyweight Shane Carwin (10-0) getting a title shot at UFC 108. This fight was called off due to the illness of second-ranked Brock Lesnar (4-1) however the story was broke via a message from Shane himself. This, in conjunction with live news feeds on sites like Facebook are changing the way fight fans get the latest in breaking news.

Fighters are always looking for a way to build a larger fan base and they have done so in the past with MySpace. Now with the rise of Facebook and Twitter they are able to communicate with fans and build that following in a much more efficient manner than in the past. Fans on Twitter are constantly telling others to follow a certain fighter. Fighters such as Shane Carwin, “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (15-4) and “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-7) are some of the most active on the site. They post pictures of themselves doing everything from eating and training to just relaxing and playing video games. Twitter alone as become a top tier marketing tool for these fighters but it is not just fighters using it to gain an edge.

MMA radio shows such as MMA Gospel Radio and most major MMA websites are now using the tool to bring more traffic to their shows and sites. As the founder and host of MMA Gospel Radio I can say that the social media sites have been one of the main keys to generating a following for my show. We are only 28 episodes old and already have generated a very loyal following. Trying to become successful at building a MMA radio show just a year ago, without the aid of one of the most visited websites would have been impossible. We have essentially done just that. Although we now are partnered with Fighters.com it did not start out that way. It started small and unlike TAGG Radio, I did not have a star fighter like Frank Trigg to make the show an instant hit. Social media was the key to the rise of the show.

Social media is being used by fighters, promoters, websites, radio shows and fans. Fans are using the social media to talk to their favorite fighters and more importantly, meet other fans of MMA that are as passionate and knowledgeable about the sport as them. Many MMA fans use their computer to follow fighters and friends via twitter but when on the go the majority seem to use their cell phones as well. Never out of touch with fighters and the latest news due to cell phone applications, MMA fans today may very well be the most well informed fans of any sport.

Thanks to promoters, fighters, fans and all others involved involved in the sport, MMA is leading the charge in social media and showing why it is such a powerful tool. I have no idea what we will see next but I am sure I will find out via Twitter or another social media site and I will share it with the world. Follow me at www.twitter.com/mmagospel to find out more.

Sanchez has certainly fought in some of SpikeTV’s most memorable fights, including his most recent split decision victory over perennial gatekeeper “Carpenter” Clay Guida (25-10) at The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale in Las Vegas June 20.

But, UFC lightweights fifth-ranked “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0) and sixth-ranked “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1) are more deserving of a title shot, though admittedly less well-known to casual UFC fans.

Maynard won a split decision over another unranked, but popular UFC lightweight “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1) at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City September 16.

Edgar will follow-up his unanimous decision over former UFC champ ninth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) at UFC 98 in Las Vegas May 23 versus “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (15-4) at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale in Las Vegas December 5.

Diaz beats unrelenting, but beatable Guida and gets a title shot versus Penn.  Edgar beats the former champ Sherk and is notched down to fight Pellegrino.  Explain that…

Sherk was scheduled to fight Gleison Tibau (16-6) at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24, but withdrew with an injury.

Most recent UFC title challenger, seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4), will swap opponents with Diaz when he fights Guida at UFC 107.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific second-ranked DREAM champ “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) avenged his most recent loss in the division with an armbar submission of fourth-ranked “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) at DREAM.11 in Yokohama October 6 and is already slated to defend his title from eighth-ranked “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2) at Dynamite!! 2009 north of Tokyo on New Year’s Eve.

Third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (16-2) and tenth-ranked Katsunori Kikuno (5-0-1) will fight at DREAM.12 in Osaka October 25 for the next DREAM title shot versus the winner of Aoki v Kawajiri.

Fighters.com’s October Lightweight Rankings

1. “Prodigy” BJ Penn (14-5-1)

2. “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4)

3. Eddie Alvarez (16-2)

4. “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-7)

5. “Bully” Gray Maynard (8-0)

6. “The Answer” Frank Edgar (10-1)

7. “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-4)

8. “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)

9. “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1)

10. Katsunori Kikuno (5-0-1)

Pellegrino’s takedowns went undefended by Neer and the lightweight pecked away at Neer with hammerfists and elbows while Neer shrugged at the referee from his back.

Neer did more damage and made more attempts to finish the fight. In the first round, Neer threw up several armbars and in the second round he attempted triangle chokes, but Pellegrino bucked them all.

In the third round, Neer opened a cut over Pellegrino’s right eye with elbows from his back, then chiseled away in the clinch, leaving Pellegrino bloddied at the final bell.

The fight card from Philadelphia includes:

“Prodigy” B.J. Penn (13-5-1) v “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (11-3) for the UFC lightweight strap

Fighters.com’s third-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (16-5) v UFC middleweight champ ““Spider” Anderson Silva (24-4) in 205-pound matchup

The Ultimate Fighter 7 champ Amir Sadollah (1-0) v John Hendricks (5-0)

“Cacharrao” Ricardo Almeida (10-3) v The Ultimate Fighter 3 champ “Spyder” Kendall Grove (10-5)

“Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (14-4) v “Dentist” Josh Neer (25-7-1)

Aaron Riley (27-11-1) v Shane Nelson (11-3)

“Doomsday” John Howard (11-3) v “Barn Cat” Tamdan McCrory (11-2)

Thales Leites (14-2) v “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (13-7)

Dan Cramer (3-0) v Matt Riddle (2-0)

George Sotiropoulos (9-2) v George Roop (9-2)

“Indio” Danillo Villefort (7-2) v “Ox” Jesse Lennox (13-1)

Liddell lay unconcious on the canvas for several minutes after the punch.

Evans jitter-bugged around a stalking Liddell the entire fight.  Liddell never really got a beat on him, but landed a straight right in the first round.  Evans back-pedalled and taunted Liddell with a dance.

In the second round, Liddell lunged for an uppercut and took Evans’s counter right hook square on the jaw to end the fight at 1:51.

Franklin Finishes Friend

“Ace” Rich Franklin (24-3) TKO’d his friend and former training partner “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) at 39 seconds of round three with a left kick to Hamill’s floating rib in Franklin’s return to 205.

Franklin had landed the same kick consistently through the first two rounds.  In the third, the kick dropped Hamill and Franklin landed two punches before referee Mario Yamasaki waved the fight off.

Franklin took a deep cut over his right eye from a Hamill uppercut in the first round.  In the second round, Yamasaki asked a referee to take a look at the cut.

“I’m walking around with a black eye already; so, it wasn’t too bad,” Franklin said of the cut after the fight.

The fight continued; and, Hamill chose to stand with “Ace” after several takedown attempts were resisted.

Of his new weight class, Franklin said, “Cutting weight this week was awesome; but, pushing around another 20 pounds wasn’t.”

Marquardt Kayos Kampmann

Middleweight Nathan Marquardt (27-8-2) quickly KO’d kickboxer “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (13-2) at 1:22 of round one Saturday night in Atlanta.

After the fight, Marquardt said, “I knew I was better and, though he was a kickboxer, I knew I could take him standing.”

Marquardt connected early with a right head kick that plopped Kampmann on his ass.  Kampmann bounced back up, but ate Marquardt’s straights while backpedaling to cage.  At the fence, Marquardt dug an uppercut into Kampmann’s chin.  Kampmann fell and the fight was stopped.

Pellegrino Brutalizes Tavares

Before Saturday night, only two fighters had ever defeated lightweight Brazilian Thiago Tavares (13-3).  “Batman” Kurt Pellegrino (12-4) beat him twice in Atlanta.

Officially, the judges scored the unanimous decision 29-27 twice and 29-8, all for Pellegrino.

Pellegrino won a 10-8 first round on two score cards, dropping Tavares with a flush right hook and crackling uppercut.  On the mat, Pellegrino’s elbows opened up cuts on each of Tavares’s temples and under his righ eyelid.

In the second round, the only round Tavares won (paritally due to an inadvertant eye poke by Tavares), Pellegrino squeezed an armbar from his back; and, Tavares appeared to tap; but, referee Yves Lavigne missed the call.

After the fight, Pellegrino said, “I know it was super duper tight.  Yeah, he tapped.  All I remember him saying was ‘you couldn’t get me.’”

Pellegrino eeked out a close third between two exhausted fighters to put away the unanimous decision.

Barbarian Chops Down Patt

After peppering Octagon rookie Michael Patt (12-3) with right hooks, “Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (8-2) crashed a straight right through Patt’s guard.

Patt took a seat on the mat with a split lip and a faint idea where he was.  Boetsch pounded the fight closed at 2:03.

Boetsch said after the fight, “I’m pumped.  I trained real hard to get an explosive finish like this.”

Kim Barely Beats Brown

“Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1) remained undefeated versus Matt Brown (7-7)…barely.

Kim won a split decision 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Brown.  Fighters.com scored it 29-28 for Kim; but, UFC commentator Joe Rogan told the disappointed crowd he thought Brown had won.

Kim rode Brown’s back most of round one, nearly finishing Brown in a rear naked choke while Brown stood.

Apparently, that was the controversial round as two judges and Fighters.com scored it 10-9 for Kim while Cecil Peoples scored round one 10-9 for Brown.

Kim was sluggish in round two.  Brown took advantage, capturing Kim in his Thai clinch and hammering knees to the Korean’s midsection.

In round three, Brown walked right through a square Kim left hook; but, Kim followed up with a toss into Brown’s full guard.  Kim opened up a deep cut under Brown’s left cheekbone with a slick elbow.

Kim lamented, “I hate to go to a decision.  Next time I’m going to be different.”

Brown made clear after the fight, “I don’t fight for the judges.  I fight for the fans and to finish.”

MacDonald Avenges Maia Loss

Middleweight “Athlete” Jason MacDonald (21-10) willed a second-round submission ”W” over “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-9) after nearly being forced to tap in a guilltoine himself at the end of round one.

MacDonald said after the fight, “[The guillotine] was pretty tight; but, my head was toward the screen and I knew I could hold my breath for six seconds.”

MacDonald held on and dumped Lambert on his ass to open the second round, then passed to mount.  Lambert rolled right into J-Mac’s rear naked choke at 1:20.

“I knew he was getting tired from making the cut to 185 pounds,” MacDonald said, ”so I knew if I could take it into the later rounds I would get him.”

Chonan Earns Split Decision

Two of the three cageside judges prevented welterweight “Jucao” Roan Carneiro (12-8) from serving “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (15-8) a cold dish of revenge for 2005 TKO loss.

Chonan won a split decision by 29-28 twice and 28-29 once in favor of Carneiro.  Fighters.com scored the fight for Carneiro 29-28.

Carneiro dominated round one, flopping “Piranha” on his back and chiseling a cut over Chonan’s right eye with elbows.  Earlier in the round, Carneiro had nearly scored an omoplata transitioned from a triangle; but, Chonan rolled free.

Chonan won the second round by stuffing Carneiro’s shot and out wrestling him while landing infrequent punches.  The crowd pleaded with referee Herb Dean to stand the fighters; but, Dean let them tussle for position.

Chonan stuffed Carneiro’s shot again in the third, but rolled into Carneiro’s guard.  Carneiro landed a few shots before Chonan regained his feet.  Chonan gained top position before the round ended, but did little damage.

Hendo’ Earns First UFC “W” Since 1998

“It’s been awhile,” said “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (23-7) after squeaking a unanimous decision “W” over “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (8-2) passed the judges by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28.

A timid Hendo’ wanted no part of Palhares’s Brazilian jiu-jiu, consistently waving off the ground game throughout the three rounds.

Instead, “Hollywood” stalked with his devastating right hand cocked.

“Normally I’m more aggressive,” he said, “so, I apologize about that.

Palhares shot often, almost all of them stuffed by Henderson.  Palhares also peppered Hendo’ with an impressive array of kicks and nearly locked in two knee bars.

Hendo’ only landed his overhand right cleanly with ten seconds left in the fight, dropping Palhares.  Hendo’s pounced with two more overhands to steal the round.

Pellegrino lost his most recent fight to Nathan Diaz (9-2) when Diaz caught him in a triangle choke in the second round at Fight Night 13 in April.

Tavares also lost his last fight, to “Handsome” Matt Wiman (10-3) via second-round TKO at UFC 85 in June.

The UFC also confirmed three other preliminary match-ups, a welterweight match between “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim (10-0-1) and Matt Brown (7-6), a light heavyweight match between “The Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (7-2) and James Lee (13-3), and the previously reported match between welterweights “Jucao” Roan Carneiro (12-7) and “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (14-8).

Kim made his Octagon debut at UFC 84 in May with a third-round TKO over Jason Tan (5-3).

Brown, a TUF 7 competitor, won his fight in the June finale with a TKO in round two over “No Regard” Matt Arroyo (3-2).

Boetsch fell to “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1)’s punches in round two in April.

Lee lost his UFC debut in January to “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara (12-7) via first-round TKO, ending a ten-fight win streak.

The former title challenger from Sityodtong, Florian, dominated the quirky computer tech.

“KenFlo” opened a gash on the back of Lauzon’s head with elbows from his full guard in the first round, but was warned by referee Herb Dean for striking behind the head.

It was a call Dean missed while refereeing a lightweight fight between “Cleat” Rich Crunkilton (16-2) and Sergio Gomez (7-2) at last week’s Las Vegas WEC event.

After the stand-up, Lauzon clinched for a takedown and stepped over Florians body in half-guard for a knee bar that turned into a Achilles lock that Florian yanked free from.

Lauzon snatched an ankle again and reclined into a heel hook that Florian was again able to wriggle free from to end the round.

The frantic mat work and elevation exhausted “J-Lau” for the second round and Florian was able to score a takedown into full mount that Lauzon never bucked free from.

Florian poured on a cocktail of elbows, straights, and hammerfists from the mount, but Lauzon defended.  Dean called an end to the fight after it was clear Lauzon was to spent to transition out of the bad spot.

In a grueling war game between undefeated wrestlers, “The Bully” Gray Maynard (5-0) won a decisive unanimous decision over “The Answer” Frank Edgar (8-1).

Maynard set the pace in the first round by stuffing Edgar’s takedown attempts and deciding when he’d take the inevitable wrestling match to the mat.

Edgar made it a scrap in the second round with crisp 1-2 combos that scored, but Maynard continued to stuff “The Answer’s” shot and score his own powerful takedowns, though neither fighter did much more than molest the other on the mat.

Edgar was gassed by round three and the bigger “Bully” slammed Edgar three times to convince all three judges he was dominant.

Earlier in the night, “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-1) pummeled TUF finalist Tom Speer (9-3) over 51 seconds, knocking home the stoppage “W” with a clean straight right that slumped Speer against the cage.

“I’m crunk right now, I’m real crunk,” said Johnson after the fight.

Johnson began the end with a left kick to Speer’s head as the wrestler attempted to shoot, followed by a knee that backed Speer to the cage.   Speer was out on his feet when he absorbed the death blow.

In a welterweight clash, “The Pitbull” Thiago Alves (14-3) crumpled “The Heat” Karo Parisyan (18-5) with a left knee strike to Parisyan’s head in the second round as Parisyan sought the clinch.

At 34-seconds of the round, referee Steve Mazzagatti dove across the downed fighter as he defended Alves’s follow-up pounding.

“The referee did a good job,” Alves claimed after Parisyan disputed the stoppage.  “He was out!”

Parisyan had won round one with deft, one-off striking versus the American Top Team trained kickboxer, who appeared wary of Parisyan’s takedowns. 

In his UFC debut last February, “The Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (7-2) surprised David Heath (7-3) with an onslaught ending in a first-round Boetsch TKO.

Tonight, “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1) weathered Boetsch’s first round avalanche of strikes to reveal “The Barbarian” couldn’t continue his barrage passed the first five minutes.

Hamill began the fight with a powerful double-leg takedown, but couldn’t capitalize before the referee stood the fighters.

Boetsch proved effective with a repeating knee strike that split Hamill’s lip like a ripe peach, splashing blood across Hamill’s chest.

In round two, Boetsch heaved heavily from his corner.  He shot for a single-leg takedown and held Hamill’s leg as the champion wrestler hovered over him hammering punches.  Boetsch rolled into guard, but had nothing left as “The Hammer” finished him at 1:25 with undefended plugs to Boetsch’s face.

Fast-rising Nathan Diaz (9-2) submitted Kurt Pellegrino (11-4) in an air-tight leg triangle choke in the second round of their undercard match, flashing double middle fingers in the air as Pellegrino tapped helplessly.

Diaz was cut on his right eyelid by Pellegrino punches in a first round controlled on the mat by Pellegrino.

Pellegrino dumped Diaz at will and hammered punches and elbows inside Diaz’s full- and half-guard.  Pellegrino passed to side control and pinned Diaz’s arms, hammering Diaz’s unprotected face to open the cut.

But, durable Diaz escaped a lost first round.

The second round continued as the first, with Diaz getting dumped to the mat by Pellegrino.  This time, Diaz ran his guard up Pellegrino’s back and submitted the lightweight in a leg triangle at 3:06 of the round.

“He shouldn’t have pinned me down like that,” Diaz scolded Pellegrino after the hard-won “W”. 

In the televised card’s first fight, “The Assassin” Houston Alexander (8-3) got touched by “The Sandman” James Irvin (14-4) in the first exchange of their light heavyweight match.

Alexander was beaten to the punch by a right Superman punch from Irvin as Alexander launched his own right cross.

Alexander fell to the mat and Irvin followed with a right exclamation point to Alexander’s noggin as referee Steve Mazzagatti dove to Alexander’s rescue at :08 of the fight, tying a UFC record for quickest KO.

“I was still conscious,” Alexander repeated after the stoppage.

Amidst boos, Irvin challenged, “We can do it again right now.  If you want to go out into the parking lot, we can do it right now.”

 In untelevised fights, “The Dentist” Josh Neer (24-6-1) won a unanimous decision over “Dinyero” Din Thomas (20-8), who was returning from a knee injury in his last outing.

 ”Maximus” Marcus Aurelio (16-5) submitted lightweight Ryan Roberts (8-3) 16 seconds into the fight.

“Pitbull” Manvel Gamburyan (8-2) submitted Jeffrey Cox (9-5) in guillotine choke at 1:41 of the first round.

“The Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9) TKO’d lightweight Samy Schiavo (10-5) at 4:15 of round one.

Finally, welterweight George Sotiropoulos (9-2) TKO’d Roman Mitichyan (5-2) 2:24 into round two.