Chuck comes into this fight coming off back-to-back losses yet is amongst other mixed martial arts (MMA) writers and fans he seems to be the very clear favorite in this fight.

Chuck came into the weigh-ins looking better than Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio has ever seen him. He had a visible six pack which many see as a sign that Chuck is in the best shape of his life. However there have been times when fighters come in looking tight and very lean which could be a sign of a tough weight cut.

Chuck has always been a very big light heavyweight and this fight is one that will test Rich’s ability to seriously make a run for the title in the division.

Can Rich deal with the size of Liddell and/or the power of such a big fighter? I fully believe he will tonight.

Rich has always been a very cerebral fighter and one with good technical striking. He comes into fights with a very specific game plan and sticks to it, even if it doesn’t seem to be working. This has been a positive and negative for Franklin.

Rich did not leave his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to train for this fight. The past few fights he has traveled out west to Seattle  to train with world renowned Matt Hume. Could staying home make the difference in this fight?

No, it won’t be the difference maker but will be is the stand-up game of both men.

Chuck brings amazing power into this fight which has been the Achilles heal of Franklin in his past fights. He tends to get lost when a fighter has more power and it has shown in his losses to UFC middleweight champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4) as well as “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8). This fight will come down to where Rich excels though and not what his weakness seems to be in fights.

Rich is a southpaw that has done very well working angles, moving away from big right hands and using kicks to the legs and body to wear opponents down. This strength is something Chuck has struggled with in the past, “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (14-7-1) ring a bell to anyone?

I see Rich circling away from the big looping punches Chuck throws with reckless abandon and using his kicks to work the lower end of Liddell and to drain him of some of the power he needs to win this fight. Rich will use his range to stay just out of the reach of Chuck’s big shots, which come very slow. Chuck has taken advantage of fighters pushing forward as they get frustrated and then landing the big, slow and looping counter punch to end the fight. Rich will not be suckered into this and will be content to grind out a victory here.

Will this fight see the end of Chuck Liddell’s career inside the Octagon? Only Chuck and UFC president Dana White have the answer to that.

Fighters.com wants to know who are you picking in this fight and why?

Let’s start by trying to define what the “MMA Hardcore” actually means. The hardcore MMA fan usually defines oneself as someone who has been around MMA since it’s birth or shortly thereafter. They watch the UFC but have a strong affinity towards the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships. They watch as much of the sort as they can get often scouring the internet for videos of fights from Japan and other far off places. They spend time on Twitter following fighters and industry insiders and listen to MMA podcasts such as MMA Gospel Radio. I believe this is a fair assessment of the hardcore fan in a nut shell.

Hardcore fans of the sport think of mixed martial arts as “theirs” and this is a stance that I highly disagree with. This automatically alienates any newcomers to the sport. Rather than trying to keep the sport of MMA to ourselves we need to be willing to share the sport with everyone we come in contact with on a day to day basis. The growth of the sport depends on bringing in new fans and tutoring them on the sport, the fighters and the history.

Many come to Twitter or to MMA message boards on various sites and rather than be welcomed they are chastised. I spoke with @BigDog_KA via Twitter and he stated “People seemed kind of annoyed at me for being new. Like it’s a club, and I have to be a fan for X years til I can get in.” How can the hardcore MMA fans want the sport to grow and to become the top sport in the world yet ridicule and cast aside new fans that can do just that?

I understand how annoying it can be when someone tells you that they consider Fighters.com fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (17-6) one of the pound for pound best in the sport with elite striking a solid chin. However rather than belittle them and possibly take the chance of souring them to the sport, why not take the high road and work to educate these new fans?

I asked the followers of @mmagospel on Twitter their thoughts on hardcore fans verus the casual fan and @scream13 said “Splintering the fan base of MMA always seemed very Anti-MMA to me. My eyes light up when I meet any MMA fans. period.” I happen to know that @scream13 is a hardcore MMA fan. I found it refreshing to see someone so passionate about the sport take the proper stance on new fans. I happen to agree that the splintering of the fan base is bad for the sport as a whole.

There is a class system being established inside the sport and that goes against sports in general, does it not? Aren’t sports a pastime that is supposed to bring together the masses? Regardless of age, sex, race or background sports is something that has welcomed us all and allowed us to form bonds with those that we may not normally run across in our everyday lives.

The elitism of some current MMA fans could lead to a stalled growth in the near future. This will not come specifically because of those on the MMA message boards and forums but it will be the patient zero so to speak. If a person can sit there and turn their back on someone new to the sport who thinks enough about it to actively seek out new information in the form of a message board, how do you think they would treat an even more casual fan?

In today’s economy and with the number of pay-per-view events we are being offered each month, people are flocking to their local bars or pubs to watch the fights. This is where the elitist attitude can have a direct and very negative impact on the sport. I admit that I have been to a bar to watch the fights and heard someone make a comment that made me laugh at first and then got my blood boiling. It was ignorant and told me all I needed to know about their MMA IQ. Later I realized that I was given an opportunity at that moment. It is times like these when you can share your knowledge of the sport. Of course one must do it in a non-condescending way so as not to anger the person but you have the chance to educate and that is a chance all MMA fans need to take.

Some hardcore fans can also be found making fun of those wearing certain combat sport brand clothing. I have witnessed on more than one occasion where someone sees a person wearing a TapouT shirt and laughs at them. They feel they know more about MMA than that person and that they are just being “posers”. Again, obviously they have some sort of connection to the sport. Rather than laugh at them, call them names and think you are better than them because you have been to live events, met fighters and have watched the sport for a long time, invite them to watch the next fight with you.  Yes hardcore fans, I am suggesting you take “The Ultimate Fighter Noob” and allow them to watch the fights with you. This way they become part of the conversation, can hear someone with real knowledge of the sport, learn more than they could on their own and become a real part of the massive growth of this sport.

It is the duty of all fans of the sport to bring in new fans and to make sure these new fans are as educated as possible. It is far time we think of MMA as less of “our sport” and more a sport for every man and woman. Let’s drop the insults and elitist attitudes and welcome the masses that are sure to come with wide open arms.

MMA Gospel Radio (MGR): Welcome Ryan, I have to say, I am happy to hear you got another shot. (in the Bellator tournament)

Ryan Thomas: Yeah, I am too, it’s one I definitely deserved I think. I think people are happy to see me back in this Bellator tournament.

MGR: First off, what got you interested in MMA and how long have you actually been training?

RT: I have been wrestling my entire life, ever since I was about five years old. All the way through college. I wrestled for two years at a junior college and then transferred to Eastern Illinois University. That is where Matt Hughes and Matt Veach wrestled at and I was there for a year. Then my program got cut while I was wrestling there and I wanted to keep competing. My assistant coach at Eastern, Clay French,he was the King of the Cage Champion and I started training with him. I also trained with Chase Beebe, the WEC bantamweight champion. Derick Noble worked out with us back then and been fighting ever since, about four years now. It has been a roller coaster ride, that’s for sure.

MGR: You experienced something this week something I would imagine very fighters have had to experience. With all the ups and downs it should make you feel unique.

RT: Yeah it does, it has been pretty cool and has really helped to get my name out there. That is part of the whole game though. If you want to be one of the best in the world you have to jump on these opportunities, roll with the punches if things don’t go your way. When they do you have to adapt and be flexible and that is what I am trying to do, make the best out of it, keep my head up and hope to get back in there and win this tournament.

MGR: What would say right now are your strengths and weaknesses as a fighter and how have you been working on each of the weaknesses?

RT: I guess I could have started younger with the jiu jitsu and the muay thai but anymore people are starting much younger. I know my opponent Jacob McClintock has been doing jiu jitsu since he was like 12 years old. One weakness I have is I am training in East Central Illinois and there aren’t very many gyms around there and the people I am competing against are at real big gyms that have all the resources at their fingertips. They have a muay thai coach, a jiu jitsu coach and a wrestling coach and surrounded by world class fighters as training partners all in one facility. I am driving all over the midwest, Chicago and Indianapolis and in little Matsue, Illinois where my main gym is but it has been worth it. It got me in the UFC and now in Bellator and I am going to make the best of it.

MGR: Do you ever envision yourself maybe moving to another location, for instance New Mexico or Vegas where there are some of the larger gyms?

RT: Yeah, I am. That is something me and my coaches have been talking about. They all agree with me that I have kind if outgrown where I came from in East Central Illinois. I have outgrown the gyms there and may need to move to a bigger gym where I have more high quality training partners than what i have got right now.

The only bad part is I just graduated from college with my elementary education degree in December. I am taking a couple extra classes so I can be a P.E. teacher also. So I can’t leave right now because I am in the middle of these classes. I need to wait until May till these classes are over. When I signed up for them I didn’t expect to be in Bellator and was having a hard time getting fights so it was the right thing to do at the then. After this semester I am probably going to have to go elsewhere.

MGR: You started your career at middleweight and since dropped to welterweight after just a few fights. Some people find it hard to understand how much difference there is in size from a middleweight compared to a welterweight. Did you feel a big difference in the strengths of opponents when you fought at 185 as opposed to 170?

RT: I don’t think the strength was that big a deal for me because when I first started. The more I fought and as I got to welterweight I stated to fight tougher opponents and a lot of them were stronger than the middleweights I fought. I think welterweight is my home because as I train and learn more about nutrition I have gotten leaner and leaner and I like to cut a little weight anyway so it works out well for me.

MGR: Your two fights in the UFC were against Ben Saunders and Matt Brown. How stressfull was it fighting in the UFC and can you give us just a few thoughts on each of those fights?

RT: The first one I took on short notice, it was 12 days and I had to cut 26 pounds. I really didn’t get to fight to my full potential in that one. I am not happy with how I performed. In that one everything happened so quickly, I did not have time to really enjoy with trying to get in shape and getting medicals. I really didn’t get to have fun with that one like I hoped to. The next one I was supposed to fight Matt Riddle but he got hurt so I got Matt Brown instead. I fought him pretty tough and definitely thing I was winning that fight and I just got caught in an armbar. Yeah, it was pretty awesome fighting in the UFC, it has always been a dream of mine.

MGR: Very few people can say they were able to do that and if you win Bellator you could possibly be back on your way there.

RT: Yeah maybe, I am happy with Bellator. If I can win this tournament and get that belt I am not going to want to go anywhere. I am happy with Bellator and how Bjorn Rebney (Bellator CEO) has treated me.

MGR: We had Bjorn on the show and all our listeners were impressed, as were we and it is nice to hear that you would like to stick with them.

RT: Yeah, they have treated me great. I was really happy for them to bring me on board for the tournament and then after everything that happened last Thursday he made me the first alternate and here I am in Connecticut getting ready to throw down again. He is a great guy. He didn’t have to do all this. With me fighting Thursday in Chicago, I guess Connecticut is one of the stricter commissions and they really didn’t want me to fight but Bjorn pleaded with them and really put his neck on the line and kind of talked them into bringing me on board. He told them what happened to me and the promise he made me about being the first alternate and he really came through for me.

The next installment will be up tomorrow and we will get to hear about the fight with Askren and much more.

Tito has been blasted for lying to fans and telling them the fight between him and Chuck was still on even though he knew he was off of the card. His response came via Twitter and is one all fans and media alike should understand.

“I haven’t lied to anyone. I was told not to say “Anything”! Having a chance to be sued for $5 million was not a chance I wanted to take. So watch TUF 11 and see what happens. I was just doing what I was told, for once. Sorry!”

Fans and media alike are well aware of the nondisclosure agreement coaches and fighters appearing on”The Ultimate Fighter” must sign. It comes as no shock to Fighters.com that he was unable to tell the truth. Regardless many fans felt he should have just stated they would have to wait and see what happens. Now using our brains here, had he come out and not responded to the questions regarding his health, him leaving the show and his fight with “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) the media would have gone crazy with it. The only way to ensure that the information stayed locked away until the UFC was ready to release it was to say that everything was still a go and leave it at that.

Regardless of what Tito said or did not say, the change of fighters in the main event seems to have made an impact on the sale of tickets for UFC 115.

UFC 115 takes place in Vancouver and on Tuesday pre-sale tickets were available. UFC fans were not messing around as the set a new record for the fastest sellout in UFC history, with the event selling out just 30 minutes after tickets went on sale at 10 AM PT. Dana White announced it via Twitter by saying “Vancouver sold out in 30 mins!!!! Thank you Vancouver we worked hard on getting it there. Thank you Mayor Robertson.”

There is no way to tell if the change from Tito to Rich had any effect on the speed of ticket sales but I would venture to say that it was a factor. Consider what the headline was and what it has now become.

Chuck versus Tito is a fight fans have twice before and neither fight was very competitive. Chuck did what he wanted in both fights and Tito never really seemed to have a shot during the fight. Other than the fact that so many enjoy watching Tito get beat, what other motivation would there be for fans to rush out and buy tickets to the event? Chuck is now fighting Rich Franklin and this fight is much more intriguing.

Chuck Liddell is on a slide in the UFC with four losses in his last five fights. Even though there have been talks of his retirement by UFC president Dana White, Chuck still has the drive to fight and carries the power to put people to sleep. Chuck has beaten the best during his reign as UFC light heavyweight champion. He has ten knockouts inside the Octagon and had seven consecutive at one time. A UFC Hall of Famer, Chuck is coming in prepared to get back on the winning track.

Chuck told MMA Weekly “I’m ready for this fight, I’m in the best shape of my life, and I can’t wait to get back in the Octagon.”  “I can’t tell the fans what happens in the Ultimate Fighter 11, you have to watch the show, but I’ll tell you how this is gonna end, I’m knocking Rich out.”

Rich on the other hand is a fighter that has been in limbo since his defeats to Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4). He has had a couple of fights at a catch-weight of 195 as well as fights at 205. Rich currently has twelve wins inside the Octagon and is now looking to make a run at the light heavyweight championship as he takes on the former champion.

“Chuck is a gamer,” Franklin said. “He is a professional – take Randy for example. He and Randy are friends, but he didn’t have a problem fighting Randy and punching him in the head, so he sure won’t have a problem punching me in the head. I’m excited about fighting Chuck, I’m going to give everything I have, and I look forward to giving fans a great fight in Vancouver.”

Rich is the epitome of a company man, always saying the right things and doing whatever is needed of him by the UFC. He did not want to coach again on TUF yet here he is stepping in to take over for Tito and face a man who regardless of public opinion, can take you out with one punch.

This is a fight fans love to see, two former champions trying to get back what they once had and coveted. Two true fan favorites who will give us what Anderson Silva did not, non-stop action. I have been asked by fans if I believe Rich has the chin to stand and trade with Liddell and honestly I don’t have an answer to that question. We all watched as Rich stood and traded with a man many thought was the scariest on the planet when he was in Pride, “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (34-10-1). Rich went on to win by unanimous decision in that fight. So can he take a shot? I believe he can but I doubt Rich will attack like the fallen that have stood before Chuck in the past.

Liddell is known for his ability to suck fighters inside and is one of the best counter-punchers in the game. Rich is well aware of this and his trainer Matt Hume is sure to develop a game plan that will include getting inside, using the clinch and working some dirty boxing. I would not be shocked to see Rich try and take Chuck down either but getting Chuck down and keeping him there has never been an easy task.

The bottom line is that this fight is one I believe had much to do with the fastest sell-out in UFC history. Two legends known to bring the fight to their opponents and both looking to rise up out of the ashes.

Tito lied but really had no choice, just like the fans in Vancouver had no choice but to clammer for tickets to see what is sure to be a great main event.

Granted, TUF 10 had Internet sensation Kimbo Slice (4-1) but TUF 11 has a crop of middleweight fighters that I feel is far superior to any season we have seen thus far on Spike TV.

According to Spike, 1.9 million viewers were watching “TUF 11″ which is an increase of nine percent over “TUF 9″

As I said earlier, I feel this season has a much better cast of prospects who seem to be more technical than those of previous seasons. However, maybe it is because I am a part of the mixed martial arts (MMA) media and at my very core a hardcore fan.

Many casual fans may not know some of the fighters appearing on the show and thus have no idea how good some of them truly are and how compelling their background stories will be once they receive air time.

One fighter in particular stands out when speaking of background stories. Court McGee (9-1) is a fighter that with the proper exposure could become an instant fan favorite. His story was something I ran across on Queen of the Cage. Court is a former drug addict who was actually declared dead from an overdose of black tar heroin. Since then he has found God and has been clean since Easter of 2006. Court hit the epitome of rock bottom and now is on his rise to the top where he hopes to talk to others about the dangers of drugs.

This story alone would be a very uplifting moment if given the time on the show and could be a positive story for MMA as a whole.

“The Ultimate Fighter 11″ on Spike TV features middleweights fighting it out for a six-figure contract with the UFC and the title of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

Coaches for this season are Fighters.com eighth-ranked and former UFC light heavyweight champion “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and his nemesis, former UFC light heavyweight champion “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1). Both men are coming off back to back losses inside the Octagon and are supposed to face off against one another after the season ends.

There are rumors that Tito suffered some sort of injury during the taping of the show and that his fight with Chuck may be put on the back burner but we will have to wait and see how this season unfolds before the facts actually come to light.

Stay tuned to MMA Gospel Radio each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PT as we discuss the latest season of TUF and interview some of the top fighters in the business as well as the best new talent you may have not heard of yet. We can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel.

The eye poke issue is a hot topic and one that needs to be addressed right away before an athlete has their career ended due to a finger in the eye socket. Fighters have always been subjected to the occasional poke and maybe it is me but it seems to be happening more frequently as of late. It could be attribute to the fact that we now are able to witness more MMA than ever before but regardless, something needs to be done.

In order to fix the problem we first need to look at some of the more severe cases we have seen in recent days.

At Strikeforce Challengers in February the fight between Karl Amoussou (12-2-2) and Trevor Prangley (21-4-1) had to be stopped due to an accidental eye poke from Prangley in the first round. The doctor checked on Amoussou and once he told the doctor he could not see out of his eye, the doc and heard enough and stopped the fight. The fight ended up being a ruled a draw and both fighters would like to get back in the cage and finish this.

“Rumble” Anthony Johnson (8-3) has been involved in two fights where the orbital jab had a profound effect. The first fight took place at UFC: Silva versus Irvin in July of 2008. Johnson took such a bad eye poke it dropped him and the ref thought it was due to an uppercut. Sadly, he lost due to TKO and had some major eye problems to deal with. He later came back and fought Kevin Burns (8-4) again and this time he won.

The second fight was against Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (14-4) at UFC 106. Johnson actually caught Kos in the eye and then later Josh returned the favor, twice!

These are just but a few of the major incidents. I could  continue to discuss fights like those above but I feel like we now have seen enough to move forward and discuss how to fix a problem such as this.

The first idea to fix this problem can be found by in the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships. Pride had a glove design that was much different than the current glove used by the UFC. The UFC uses a glove in which all the fingers are separate and the padding does not extend all the way to the finger tips. Pride however used a loose thumb but all four fingers were connected as well as having padding that extends all the way to the finger tips. There is no need to use a glove like the UFC has at this time. Never did anyone in Pride have issues with not being able to sink in submissions due to the glove style. It did however cut back drastically on eye pokes.

Does this mean there were never any Stooges style pokes in Pride? No, there were but they were far and few between. I am still not sure why the UFC has decided to go with the gloves they currently have but as this trend continues both the UFC and athletic commissions will be forced to examine what changes they can make to better protect the fighters.

There is another way to work on eliminating eye pokes but I don’t feel it is as effective as a change to the gloves. This would be to make it a foul in which an eye poke could lead to either a one point deduction or to a loss of a percentage of a fighter’s purse.

Many fighters like to push off to keep the distance or the paw the jab out there with fists that are not closed all the way. This leads to possible career ending injuries. Force the fighters to make a full fist when striking. Making an eye poke a foul in which the fighter gets a point deducted could make a big difference.

However I think using something more similar to the Pride yellow card system would better motivate fighters to close the fist. Pride used a yellow card if fighters were inactive. Once it was issued, that fighter lost ten percent of his fight purse that night. It made fighters become more aggressive and using this for eye pokes could be just what the sport needs to eliminate this foul.

I am of course not a fan of taking money from fighters. After all, not all fighters make the big bucks, even in the UFC. However I am first and foremost for fighter safety and I think it is the job of the organizations and the athletic commissions to protect these men and women. Right now, both are failing to make a positive impact where one is clearly needed.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the eye poke and possible solutions for the problem. As always you can comment here or join myself and Gary Friedman every Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PM PST on MMA Gospel Radio by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel.

That next fight will be his first title defense and comes against high profile Strikeforce import “Hendo” Dan Henderson (25-7). Typically we see organizations use the “champion clause” in contracts to keep their investments with them once they become a champion.

Shields told MMA Junkie that his fight with Hendo is in fact his final obligation on his Strikeforce contract.

This leaves him in a very unique position. When Jake appeared on MMA Gospel Radio with myself and Gary Friedman, who mentioned that he really wanted a chance to fight Fighters.com and UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2). Georges has stated that he would also welcome a fight with Shields as he feels that he is one of the best in the world.

Shields has recently been a coach on the soon to air UFC program The Ultimate Fighter 11 which leaves many to wonder if this is a step towards him heading to the UFC to get bigger fights with some of the top fighters in the world.

Obviously Jake would like to test the waters to see what he is actually worth on the open market. This could be a tool he can use to get a bigger contract with Strikeforce. The UFC can make him an offer and he could allow Strikeforce to counter if he decides he really wants to stay there.

However there are a few problems with all of this. First, he has to face Henderson before becoming a free agent and a loss would dramatically drop his stock on the market. However, even with a loss the UFC may decide to strike and make him an offer that Strikeforce just can’t match. After all, Dana White seems to love to kick Strikeforce any chance he gets and this would be a Shogun style kick if he can steal Shields.

Even more of a kick in the pants to Strikeforce would be if Shields were to beat Hendo and then leave for the UFC. This would leave them without a champion and one less fighter that they can use to promote big fights. He has been a cornerstone of many of the major cards they have put on to date.

This is without a doubt a very high risk, high reward for Shields and I know all of us will be watching to see just how this unfolds.

WEC 48 will take place April 24 and is the very first WEC pay-per-view. This fight between Scott and Antonio will be the first fight of the televised portion of the fight card.

Many may remember that these two have already gone to war once before at WEC 41 where Antonio came out on the better end of a split-decision. This fight was in the running for fight of the year as it was an absolute war.

Since then Jorgenson has pulled the hat trick with three consecutive wins including a fight at WEC 45 that earned him “Fight of the Night” honors.

Scott joined myself and Gary Friedman on MMA Gospel Radio Episode 28 back in January and told us he thought he had won that fight. He stated that during the first exchange he got hit right on the eye and it effected his vision and he believes he lost the first round but after that he took control of the fight. He also said “I learned a lot from that fight” I learned to stick to my strategy and to not get drawn in and fighting with emotions”

If Jorgenson comes back to avenge his previous loss he very well could be in line for the next shot at the title.

This is a fight all fans should be excited see after watching the first one and seeing the improvement from Scott in his fights since then. If Scott can stick to his game plan of mixing up the striking with his wresting we should be in for a real treat to start off the pay-per-view.

I was very excited to see another Gracie step inside the Octagon but that fight was hard to watch. I am shocked the UFC actually showed the fight. I would have probably ended the broadcast early before showing that to awful display of MMA to fans. Neither fighter was worth watching and rarely, if ever, do I say that.

“The Terror” Matt Serra (10-6) had me eating crow as I called for “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-8) to use his wrestling to dominate the smaller Serra. Frank did not look for the shot and ended up getting knocked out by Serra.

Fighters.com sixth-ranked Demian Maia (11-1) has been working his striking and it was very evident in his fight with Dan Miller (11-2). Let’s not jump the gun here though. He could never stand with a clean striker but his improvement shows he is serious about trying to become the UFC champion.

This is the worst I have done with picks on any fight card,ever! Fighters.com ninth-ranked “Quick’ Mike Swick (14-4) did not help me out any. His loss to the man I am now calling the “AKA Hunter”, fourth-ranked welterweight Paulo Thiago (9-1) made a statement to the division. Paulo is a fast rising star in the division and his D’arce choke was very well set up.

Phil Davis (5-0) showed why he is such a great prospect. While his striking was sloppy, his speed and athleticism shined through. He moved from dominant position to dominant position during the fight. The UFC will need to bring him along slowly and allow his stand-up and submissions to improve before throwing him into the deep end of the division. He will be one to watch in the future.

After watching UFC 109 and thinking about the last Strikforce card, the UFC production team does a very good job of moving seamlessly from one thing to another. Plus they get prelim fights on the pay-per-view. Strikeforce will need to work harder to provide a painless broadcast like we saw last night.

A card that many mocked ended up with some entertaining fights, a knock out, great submissions and some shockers. All this and I did not have to sit through painful post-fight interviews by the fight professor.

Paulo Thiago (8-1) versus “Quick’ Mike Swick (14-3)

Fighters.com fourth-ranked welterweight Thiago takes on ninth-ranked Swick. Thiago was originally slated to fight seventh-ranked “Kos” Josh Koscheck(14-4) but that fight feel through and his teammate stepped up to get revenge.

Thiago is primarily known for his grappling but after the brutal uppercut KO of Koscheck many have been talking about his punching prowess, including Paulo himself.

Swick is a fast and aggressive striker with amazing takedown defense. His striking, while not technically perfect, has vastly improved and his use of the counter-punch is something he has relied on after his stint on The Ultimate Fighter Season One.

Thiago has a great chin and even though he knocked out Kos, his striking is sloppy. He loves to drop his hands and against the speedy Swick this could be trouble.

Swick is looking to get a rematch with fifth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) and even though he is taking this fight on short notice he has quite the advantage in training with Kos and third-ranked Jon Fitch (20-3). Fitch, in his usual style, ground out a decision win over Paulo.

I know Paulo could throw that Kos shot and catch Swick but I feel Swick is going to work to keep this fight standing and try to look for those dropped hands of Thiago. The one trend from Swick that concerns me is when he has fought in big fights in the past he seems to hold back.

The Gospel on this one is Mike Swick by Decision.

Demian Maia (10-1) versus Dan Miller (11-2)

Dan Miller is a hardcore MMA fan’s dream. Just a gritty fighter who loves to grind and usually puts on quite the show.

Fighters.com sixth-ranked Damian Maia has the best MMA jiu-jitsu in the sport and is looking to rebound from his crushing knocking out at the hands of fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2).

Miller has good but not great muay thai skills and just recently received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. There are differences in skills from one black belt to the next and I feel Dan will want nothing to do with hitting the mat with Maia.

Maia has rudimentary striking at best and will need to take this to the ground but Dan has a good grappling game and will need to use that to keep this fight standing where he has the clear advantage.

This fight may hit the mat and get stalled. I don’t think this will be a Fight of the Night candidate but I feel Maia, if his psyche has recovered from that KO, will catch Miller.

The Gospel is Maia by late third-round submission

“The Terror” Matt Serra (9-6) versus “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-7)

The smack alone before this fight has been epic however I don’t feel the fight will live up to the hype. Serra has said he refuses to lose to a man with a tramp stamp while Trigg has made cracks about Serra being a guido. Great stuff from these two guys.

The fight though will not be a barn burner. Matt Serra is another jiu-jitsu black belt but in contrast to Maia, he has not finished a fight via submission in eight years.

Trigg is a wrestler at heart and although Serra has not posed a threat on the ground in years, Trigg’s kryptonite is the rear naked choke.

Serra will likely want to turn this into a stand up war that will make boxing fans cringe as neither man has very clean striking.

I think Frank’s size and strength advantage will play a huge role in this fight

In the end Trigg will need to use a smothering top game to defeat Serra as a loss for him could mean leaving the UFC.

Gospel: Frank Trigg by unanimous decision

I will skip the Sonnen versus Marquardt fight as I wrote a piece this week on my thoughts of that fight..basically it will be Nate winning and getting the next title shot.

This leads us to the much talked about main event.

“The Natural” Randy Couture (17-10) versus “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-9)

You either love this fight or hate it. Some see it as two over-the-hill fighters making their last stand and trying to stay in a sport that is passing them by. Others see it as a fight they have been waiting to see since UFC 17.

Tenth-ranked heavyweight, but now fighting at light heavyweight, Couture is a greco roman wrestler who helped to define dirty boxing in MMA.

Mark Coleman is a freestyle wrestler who is the inventor of brutal ground and pound.

Mark has not evolved over the years like Randy has and this is a major area of concern in this fight.

Randy has taken his wrestling and used it to push fighters against the cage, use his dirty boxing and win fight after fight when he has been told he is to old.

While Mark did beat Couture the last time they met, in the 1989 Olympic Wrestling Festival, it was only by a point and much has changed since then.

The first key to this fight is obviously wrestling. While I feel Mark was the better wrestler, the additions to Randy’s game will help him to keep this fight standing where he has a huge advantage over Coleman.

The second key is cardio, cardio, cardio. Randy has it and Mark lacks it. Randy will want to keep the pressure on Mark, pushing him against the cage, using his dirty boxing and wearing him down.

Mark needs this fight to hit the mat with him in top position so that he can use that ground and pound to shock the world. Sadly for Mark he will not see this come to fruition.

Randy will tire Mark out and end up getting the takedown himself and beat Coleman at his own game.

I am a born and bred Buckeye and it hurts me to say, Randy Couture wins via TKO due to ground and pound in round two.

This momentous event will include Spanish graphics, play-by-play and on camera commentary. Dana White stated “For our fans who want to watch and listen to our UFC events in Spanish, we are now creating a show just for them, in their language, so they can enjoy the whole UFC experience from start to finish.”

UFC 111: St. Pierre versus Hardy is already being picked up by DirecTV, iNDemand, DISH Network and Avail-TVN pay-per-view carriers for the Spanish language feed.

This is a move that comes rather late in the life of the Zuffa owned company in my opinion. Regardless, it is a very positive move for the future of the UFC. Historically speaking, Spanish fight fans have been a very large source of income for boxing. The Mexican population has always loved combat sports and I foresee the UFC grabbing hold and taking root.

Mexico is a place ripe for the picking when it comes to athletes. Many have studied boxing since they were children and as of late have worked to incorporate martial arts into their repertoires.

As I have stated on MMA Gospel Radio, Mexico is a place the UFC must head to soon. Right now they are working on going overseas but I believe the best course of action is to hold a pay-per-event live from Mexico this year. Fighters with Mexican heritage are already in the UFC. Fighters such as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1), “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-3) and Efrain Escudero (8-1) to name a few are men that would be perfect to have on the main card of a UFC event in Mexico.

The growth of this sport and the worldwide appeal the UFC brass are seeking will surely take off with a move down south and I look forward to watching it take place.

I was shocked with the patience Manhoef showed once the bell rang as he is normally and very explosive fighter. I feel he is learning more about the MMA game each and every fight. Lawler’s tactics were quite odd to say the least but in the end it worked and the crowd got what it expected. The highlight reel knock out came after getting his leg battered, bruised and practically kicked off. Manhoef made one mistake by dropping his left while trying to finish the hurt Lawler. Lawler shocked many by winning the fight in the stand up game as many experts, myself included, thought he needed the fight to hit the mat in order to win.

Herschel Walker (1-0) made his media rounds to promote this fight and it had many watching the sport for the first time. It was a good thing that he won and looked as solid as he did. I will admit his stand up was atrocious as he was flat-footed, stiff legged and robotic. However he did get off a few shots and once the fight went to the ground he showed just why the guys at AKA were ranting and raving about him. He had tight control, moved from position to postion effortlessly and defended some submission attempts. His use of the crucifix was impressive as was his cardio. While I am not one to say he will be a force to be reckoned with, there are some interesting fights for him if he decides to keep fighting.

Another one of the positives for Strikeforce last night was the fight between Strikeforce 145 pound woman’s champion “Cyborg” Cristiane Santos (9-1) and Marloes Coenen (14-3). Most people gave Coenen very little chance in this fight so to sit down and end up seeing such an entertaining fight was a real treat. Coenen used leg kicks and straight punches early on to stave off the trademarked rapid fire aggression of Cyborg. Cyborg is a true champion though, found a way to get inside and use her strength to her advantage. This fight was a true highlight for women’s MMA and Strikeforce.

Strikeforce: Miami was not all lollipops and rainbows though as there were some lows to the event starting with the name. How can an organization name an event after a city unless they don’t plan on going back to that city? I think they need to work on a more creative way to name shows but this was a small low point overall.

My next issue was with the commentating during the event, especially during the Cyborg versus Coenen fight. At one point Conenen was using one of my favorite moves from the clinch, the foot stomp. Announcer Mauro Ranallo thought it would be cute to say that “maybe she doesn’t like the color of her nail polish.” Now I know that many announcers use some comedy in their broadcasts but Mauro is no Michael Shiavello. As I stated earlier, many potential new fans were watching thanks to the hype behind Herschel Walker. That being the case you want to put the fights in the best light possible. I thought the comment was demeaning to women’s MMA and to both Coenen and the champion, Cris Santos. The ringside commentators have a duty to be proffesional and to help to keep these new viewers in the sport of MMA.

Two more lows are on my list and the first is the time management of Strikeforce. Many of the main event fights ended early and yet they still had to push back the fight between Michael Byrnes (0-2) and David Zitanick (1-1) due to “time constraints” This has happened before with Strikeforce but at least the fight was not scrapped all together. If they did not interview Rex Ryan of the NFL as well as others, maybe they would have had time to fix the huge mistake I felt was the biggest low.

This would be the “Thoroughbred” Jay Hieron (16-4) debacle. Jay has been beaten up by Scott Coker and Strikeforce over and over again. He seems to be in line for a title shot but keeps getting passed over. The they put him on the under-card. Due to fan backlash EASportsMMA.com decided to air his fight against “Diesel” Joe Riggs (31-12) on their site. Sadly and much to the dismay of hardcore MMA fans, the site was ill prepared to handle the number of people trying to view the fight. Many fans could not get the feed to play and for those that did, including myself, the feed had a terrible lag and was grainy at best. This is a slap in the face to MMA fans who flock in mass to purchase video games such as the EA Sports MMA game. Strikeforce and EASportsMMA.com owe Jay an apology and a title shot but it does not seem like that will happen.

According to a report from MMAFight.com, Coker already has plans for title shots for his champions, including new champion Diaz. It seems Coker is looking to his Japanese friends to bring in “Mach” Hayoto Sakurai
(32-8-3). While I think this fight would be a gift to hardcore fans, I have to state that Jay deserves the title shot regardless of his performance last night.

Future Strikeforce events will need to get better if they want to keep fighters and keep ratings. We expect much more and they need to deliver.

Pride FC was a Japanese MMA organization that began in October of 1997 and ran until April of 2007 when Zuffa bought them out. There were some differences in rules from the UFC as well as the fights taking place in a ring rather than a cage. The difference in rules from the Unified Rules were significant.

Pride did not allow elbow strikes to the head of an opponent. Many think that this would have an effect on the numbers of fights that were finished in devastating fashion but that could not be further from the truth. They had a rule or two that led to some of the most devastating finishes in the sport. They allowed kicking and kneeing the head of a downed opponent. They also allowed what I call the Shogun Stomp to the head of an opponent. This move seemed to be perfected by Fighters.com third-ranked light heavyweight “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4) who used it as a guard pass that just happened to be quite caustic.

Many Pride fans still debate which rules were better for the sport of MMA. They debate seems to revolve around fights ending due to cuts from elbows which can happen even if a fighter is winning the fight.

Fights in Pride seemed to never be dull and that may be due to the rule of inactivity. If fighters failed to engage they got a yellow card issued by the ref which took away ten percent of their fight purse.

Some of my fondest memories from Pride come from fights such as “Predator” Don Frye (20-8-1) versus Yoshiro Takayama (0-4) which was less of a technical fight and more of a raw and gritty battle that had me glued to the television in awe of what I was watching. These two men met in the middle of the ring at Pride 21: Demolition in what turned out to be more like a hockey fight than a mixed martial arts fight, none the less it was amazing.

There are many great fights that I remember from Pride and the for those that are unfamiliar with the now defunct organization I will list a few here:

“Shogun” Mauricio Rua versus “Minotoro” Antonio Nogueira at Pride: Critical Countdown 2005

Royce Gracie verus “The Gracie Hunter” Kazushi Sakauraba at Pride: Grand Prix 2000 Final Round

‘The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko versus”Minotauro” Antonio  Nogueria at both Pride 25: Body Blow and Pride: Shockwave 2004

Takanori Gomi versus Luiz Azeredo at Pride: Bushido 7

This is a small list and I could go on forever including men like Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop but these are the ones that stand out to me. What fights stand out to you as the best Pride had to offer?

When you look back on an organization that hardcore MMA fans look upon as the holy grail in the sport what comes to mind first? The different rules, the crazy female announcer or the epic wars? No matter what Spike TV is bringing back those fond memories and I am eating it up.

You can join me and my co-host, Gary Friedman, on MMA Gospel Radio each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. Join in the live chat and tell us your favorite Pride memories or call in to the show by dialing 347-857-1337 and tell us on air what stand out in your mind.

Melvin is known as more than just a K-1 level striker, he is known as a force of mass destruction. All of his wins but one have come by way of knock out or TKO. He is an aggressive fighter with the power of Zeus in his hands who fights out of the world famous Mike’s Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is very clear what his game plan will be come Saturday night in Miami at the BankAtlantic Center. Manhoef will want to put his fists through the face of Robbie Lawler and everyone on the planet knows this.

Robbie Lawler is gutsy brawler that ends fights with his fists as well. Most of his fights have ended the same way that Melvin has ended his and this is what makes people believe we will see fireworks inside the cage when these two collide. Lawler was the EliteXC middleweight champion until they went bankrupt and he found a new home in Strikeforce. Once hailing from the Miletech camp, he now trains out of the gym he co-owns with former UFC champion and  Fighters.com eighth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (41-7), the H.I.T. Squad.

Robbie is known as a guy that take a punch with many reffering to his chin as being made of granite. However, training being such an experienced fighter and training with guys like Hughes, you have to think his camp is revolving around wrestling and the ground game, the glaring weakness of Dutch striker, Manhoef.

Robbie will need to avoid the initial onslaught of Melvin and work his way inside to get this fight t the ground where he can easily finish the fight. One thing stands in his way of getting back to his winning ways, his ego.

Men like Lawler are easily swayed from their solid game plans by the crowd noise and the mere anticipation of the fight ending in a KO. Wednesday night I interviewed “Razor” Rob McCullough (17-6) on MMA Gospel Radio and asked him just how easy it was to feel you can KO anyone after doing it a few times. He told us that it was very easy to get away from the game plan and it sometimes leads to disaster. Lawler must avoid this at cost in order to win this fight.

What separates the two fighters is that Manhoef has next to no ground game and while not known for his submissions, Lawler trains with Hughes who is an amazing wrestler. You have to think that after all his time working with his friend and business partner that he has picked up some wrestling knowledge. One thing is for sure, Matt Hughes used to put together good game plans and for this fight I would be shocked if the game plan was anything other than taking the fight to the mat and making it a quick night.

Lawler has the steel chin to stave off the Manhoef Blitzkrieg and should have the wrestling skills to get this fight where he is guaranteed a win. All the tools are there and the only thing getting in the way of his win on Saturday is himself.

Pride and ego can make or break a fighter and Saturday we will see how it works out for Robbie. No matter the outcome the fans are the true winners after this fight.

You can join me and my co-host Gary Friedman each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST as we talk MMA news, interview the best in the business and discuss the latest combat sports rumors. MMA Gospel Radio can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel as well as available for download on iTunes.

There are many fans and journalists of MMA that look at men like Randy and Mark and see old guys that are to stubborn to know when to tap out of a sport they have been apart of for over a decade. I see men who still have that drive to fight and believe that they can still stand inside the Octagon with the men half their age.

Randy has shows time and time again that you can never count him out. He lost at UFC 57 to Fighters.com eighth-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and after that fight many thought Randy was done and that he should retire. His next fight saw him move up to the heavyweight division to fight for the title against”Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (25-6) in Columbus, Ohio at UFC 68. His detractors said he was old, had not done well at heavyweight in the past and that Tim was just to much for the old guy. Then as if out of spite, Randy shocked the world by knocking Tim done in the first exchange of the fight. Nationwide Arena was on their feet and rocking and through five rounds became what I believe to be the loudest crowd at an MMA fight in the history of the sport. Randy won a unanimous decision, the UFC heavyweight title and some respect that night. Moments like this are what sports are all about.

Mark Coleman is a legend in the sport as well and has had some of the best fights in the sport in Pride and the UFC. His return to the Octagon was one many cringed at due to the fact that Mark looked run down, only a fraction of the fighter he was once. He changed some training methods and decided to get back in the Octagon once again. He lost his “Welcome Back” fight at UFC 93 against third-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4)in a fight that ended in a TKO but was very lackluster in that both fighters seemed to be running on empty after the first round. It was back to the drawing board for Mark and fans spoke loudly about his inability to compete in the UFC at his age. UFC 100 rolled around and Mark was facing The Ultimate Fighter fan favorite Stephan Bonnar (11-6). Shocking almost everyone in the sport, Coleman won a via unanimous decision. He was back and ready for war once again.

This week we have heard rumors of yet another legend in MMA coming back to the UFC to do battle inside the Octagon. The always rousing “The Predator: Don Frye (20-8-1) was talked about by Dana White in a report from the Bleacher Report. Dana said “I’m not saying Don Frye’s coming back to fight in the UFC,” What I’m saying is, Don Frye’s coming back to dominate the UFC. I called Don Frye and asked him if he was in fact coming back to the UFC. He told me he could not lie to a man of the cloth (although my title is Reverend it is merely for the sake of marrying friends) so he would not comment on that question. Don’s silence on the issue leads me to only one conclusion, he will be back inside the Octagon if for nothing else than for a one fight deal. I can see Don stepping inside the Octagon after the Coleman and Couture fight to challenge Coleman. After all, he did lose to him back at UFC 10: The Tournament via TKO due to punishment.

Don is such a popular fighter amongst the hardcore fans that many will love seeing him back as he is a fighter that displays true grit and told me on MMA Gospel Radio that it is a fighters job to not tap. You fight until you lose and never give up. How will the casual fan that may not remember Don Frye see his return?

Yet another fighter in his middle 40s trying to hang with the boys or as a grizzled veteran hungry for more and ready to once again go to war? Guys like Don Frye, Mark Coleman and Randy Couture dominated the sport at one time and I feel they still have that fight like Randy versus Tim Sylvia in them to bring the crowd to their feet and make us rethink our opinion of legends getting back to action. They have been the elite in the sport at one time and in my opinion they always will have that level of commitment and the shear will to keep fighting and hold on to that status.

Diego won The Ultimate Fighter season one at welterweight and came into the UFC with guns blazing. He won five in a row before taking the fight against Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (14-4). There was no love lost between these two and the war of words was spanned from interviews to social media sites like Myspace. Diego stepped inside the Octagon undefeated and was seen by some as a very real threat to the title. However he left that night with his first loss and had to regroup. He lost his next fight as well. This time to third-ranked Jon Fitch (20-3).

Both Fitch and Kos are still near the top of the division and looking to get a shot at Fighters.com and UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2). So what makes Diego think this time will be any different?

During Diego’s fight with Penn many finally realized that his striking is not as good as it had been touted. His punches, which usually come in bunches, were slow. He was unable to unload the barrage of strikes we typically see from him due to the fact that Penn was faster and countering well. Sanchez could not find a rhythm in the fight and we witnessed first hand his lack of a solid defense while on his feet. Penn seemed to hit him when he wanted and as often as he wanted during the fight. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for fans of “The Nightmare” to watch him unable to do anything. Not only were his punches not landing but his head movement was predictable. All in all his stand up, as I have been saying, is just not up there with the top strikers in the UFC and there are some KO artists in the welterweight division.

Diego finding himself unable to hit BJ and getting dropped in the first round tried for take-downs. Many have found out just how good Penn’s take-down defense is and Diego was no different. Instead of getting BJ down he ate punches for his effort. This coming from such a solid wrestler who people thought had a shot to to get BJ down in the later rounds due to his cardio.

The cardio that Sanchez was known for seemed to fade from him after getting dropped by BJ in the first round. Then everyone could see just how predictable Diego is when he fights. How will this change with a move back up to welterweight? His cardio might be better due to not having to cut weight which could make him a bit more explosive. However we saw him fail in his fights against top contenders already. Let’s say for arguments sake that he happened to beat guys like Fitch and Koscheck and gets a shot at GSP. Does anyone believe that, including Diego,that the fight would go better for him than the Penn fight did?

GSP has clean, precise punches that in conjunction with with his kicks keep opponents at a distance. They stay there until he is ready to put them on their back with his high caliber wrestling. GSP has already beaten both Kos and Fitch, who as we know, beat Sanchez. I know MMA math is not something that works very well but knowing the stregths of GSP and seeing the major holes in Diego’s game can only lead to one conclusion. Diego would get yet another beat down by another champion.

I will admit that with the talent that we see coming into the welterweight division there are some fights for Diego that would be easy to market for the UFC. Once fifth-ranked “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) loses to GSP, we could see him fight Diego. The pre-fight smack talk from Hardy alone would cause Diego to go crazy and would bring in the casual fans in droves, even though I dislike those antics. Not to mention another fight with his enemy Koscheck or the hard hitting “Semtex” Paul Daley (20-9-2). All of these would be worthy of a pay per view main card.

If Diego thinks the road to the title in the welterweight division is an easy one he is sorely mistaken. Maybe he thinks he would have a better shot at GSP than he did with Penn. Again, that would be a critical error in his thinking if that is the case.

The only logical conclusion that I see at this time is for Diego to be used as a gatekeeper to the divisions elite. He would fight the men that were a fight or two away from the title shot and never really progress. Diego has finally opened the eyes of many of you and we can now see he is not the elite fighter he was once touted as being. He shall remain a fighter that you either love or hate and therefore be able to be used by the UFC but only as other fighters step over him on the road to gold.

You can join me on MMA Gospel Radio each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST to discuss my articles here and listen to the best MMA interviews in the business. Join us at www.blogtalkradio.com.mmagospel where we have a live “Cageside Chat” room or call in and be a guest by dialing 347-857-1337.

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.