We head to Sherdog for the official scoop on what punishments were handed down to Thiago Silva. First and foremost, Silva is now suspended for one year, starting from the date of the contest (January 1, 2011). Silva was also fined a grand total of $33,750. Finally, the finish of his fight with Vera has been changed and is now a No Contest.

A little over a week ago, Silva took to The Underground to explain his actions. Here’s a highlight: “I reinjured my back 45 days before the fight with Brandon Vera. After not fighting for a year, I made the decision to not pull out of the fight. I also decided that the only way I could continue with the fight was to take injections in my back and spine that contained substances prohibited by the Nevada Athletic Commission. I also made the decision to use a product to hide the presence of these substances in a urine test.”

I’ve honestly avoided discussing Thiago Silva until this point. Now that the dust has cleared and Silva will have to live with his actions, here are my thoughts on this entire situation.

I know it’s pretty cliché, but there’s an old saying that goes something like “Don’t do the crime if you can’t pay the time”. That’s usually my response 99% of the time when a fighter gets caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing. If you get caught, you have no choice but to live with the consequences of your actions. The NSAC has become a bit notorious for their firm hand, but when it comes to fighters failing tests, I honestly prefer the iron fist to the velvet glove.

Did I lose respect for Thiago Silva? I honestly did. It doesn’t matter how big of a fan I am of you or how much I respect you, if you’re a fighter that has to cheat in order to win, you immediately lose most, if not all, of my respect.

Now, do I understand that there were mitigating circumstances? Do I understand that Thiago Silva was between a rock and a hard place? Yes, I do. I realize how difficult it must have been to make this sort of decision. Silva did sound sincerely apologetic when he discussed his actions. But is the impact of his honesty lessened by the fact that he only came clean after being caught? Very much so.

At the end of the day, I’m disappointed but not particularly angry with Thiago Silva. I understand the difficult position he was in, but I refuse to believe that cheating was the answer. Rules exist for a reason, and if you don’t follow them, you deserve to get punished. I only hope that Silva spends his time on the sidelines resting, healing, and thinking. I do hope that when he comes back, Silva will come back a rejuvenated fighter that will never cheat again. I’m not without sympathy for Thiago Silva… but I have no problem with him being both fined and suspended.

And that’s that, fans and friends. What about you? What do you think about Thiago Silva’s situation?

The Brazilian slugger that hails out of American Top Team, recently admitted to having cheated his post-fight urine test from ufc 125, which took place on January 1 of this year.

In his bout at the pay-per-view event, Silva originally defeated, and quite convincingly dominated, former top contender Brandon Vera over the course of three-rounds of action, taking home a unanimous decision win.

Now that Silva has admitted the wrong doing, he will likely face a hefty fine, suspension, and the win in his favor to be changed to a “no-contest”.

Thiago, 28, had come forward to MMAJunkie.com with a prepared statement which he illustrates his reasoning as far as why he altered his urine test.

“I used a urine adulterant when giving a sample following my fight with Brandon Vera. I did so in an attempt to alter the results of the test and knowingly broke the rules of the Nevada (State) Athletic Commission”, said Silva in the statement.

“This was a terrible decision on my part for which I will be punished. I am prepared to accept this punishment, learn from it and move on. I apologize to the commission, the UFC, Brandon Vera and the MMA fans.”

According to the Brazilian, the reason for the secrecy surrounding his urine test was due to a chronic back injury that acting up once again. Said back injury occurred at UFC 108 in January of 2010 when Silva faced off against former champion Rashad Evans, having lost a unanimous decision to the Greg Jackson product. Evans took Thiago down over and over again during the course of the three-round affair, which likely caused the back injury. The back problems persisted and kept him out for the remainder of the year until his return in January of this year.

Now, Silva has requested for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to render their verdict so that he can be fitted for the crime and do the time.

I encourage everyone to ready the fully prepared statement in the shared link above.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the news? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. A trial run back at Heavyweight

Please note that the title of this piece is “What’s Left”, not “What’s Likely”. As such, this is a remote possibility, but it’s definitely one thing Vera could do in order to reinvigorate his career. When Vera made his drop down to Light Heavyweight, he did it after high-profile losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum. Neither of those two men are in the UFC anymore, and the UFC has seen an influx of smaller, dangerous Heavyweight fighters, from Cain Velasquez to Brendan Schaub and even Roy Nelson (who tips the scales at or near 265 but for a very different reason than some of the UFC’s muscular Heavyweights). In fact, aside from obvious examples like Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, the UFC Heavyweight division seems to be shifting towards a “leaner and meaner” breed of Heavyweight fighters. That’s definitely a division that Vera could recapture some glory in.

4. A rematch with Randy Couture

Again, it’s not too likely given how Couture is back on a main event level and may be leaving the sport entirely within the year, but if Brandon Vera starts a comeback and “Captain America” agrees to it, this is definitely a major rematch and a milestone for Brandon Vera. The outcome of their first bout is still open to a bit of debate, a second go-round would be a big step in the right direction for Vera’s career.

3. More “Fight Night Live” or “UFC on Versus” appearances.

Even when he’s losing, Brandon Vera normally fights at or near the top of the card, especially when he fights on Spike TV or on Versus. Vera is a tough and entertaining fighter, and his name still holds some value or else he wouldn’t consistently be put into these types of positions. Much like Keith Jardine before he went out of the UFC, Vera’s fans are willing to support him to the bitter end. If the UFC needs to fill a spot on any of their “Fight Night Live” outings, Vera is always good for a fun fight on free TV.

2. A trial run as a gatekeeper.

This is probably what will happen to Vera if he’s able to win his return fight to the UFC and stave off the dreaded pink slip for at least a few more fights. Vera may never fully realize the potential he had at the start of his UFC career, but I can see him being pretty successful as a gatekeeper, giving a tough test to any aspiring fighters that want to climb the Light Heavyweight rankings. Vera will likely get several fights against young up-and-coming talent in order to fully gauge where he is right now in the UFC’s increasingly-crowded Light Heavyweight division.

And the number one thing Vera has left to do in the UFC is…

1. A rematch with Thiago Silva

At the time of this piece’s publication, it still hasn’t been officially confirmed that Thiago Silva has tested positive for banned substances. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is still processing the results to Silva’s drug test. But an air of uncertainty will forever hang around this match and it’s outcome, so the logical thing to do is book a rematch. Vera has already stated that he would love to take on Silva again, and without a doubt, this is the one thing Vera has to do in the UFC if he really wants to make the most of this unexpected return.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. What about you? What do you think “The Truth” should do now that he’s headed back to the UFC?

He was a former top prospect in the sport, a former contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division, whom has recorded a first-round TKO win over former titleholder Frank Mir.

However after his third-consecutive loss against Thiago Silva on January 1st, it looked like his roller coaster ride inside the octagon was finally over. Now, though, fate has shown kindness to “The Truth” and he will now be back in the UFC fold following recently having been cut from the organization.

FiveOuncesofPain.com has been able to confirm that Vera will be back within the organization in the immediate future, likely thanks to his last outing with Thiago Silva, ironically enough.

At UFC 125, both Silva and Vera were featured on the main=card of the pay-per-view event. While Brandon remained aggressive on the feet, he was taken down and battered repeatedly by the bigger and more physical Silva, who man handled “The Truth” en route to a decision win.

Since then, Silva had been schedued for a 205-pound encounter with former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, however with his post-fight drug tests still pending from the January event, the UFC has reason to believe that Silva has failed said tests. Conversley, it looks as if the bout could be changed to a “no-contest” rather than a win for Thiago and a loss for Brandon.

Vera’s losing streak dates back to November of 2009, where Brandon lost a controveral split-decision to Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Following the performance, Vera next lost via first-round TKO to current title challenger Jon Jones last March, then Vera met with Silva.

In his prime with the UFC, Brandon rattled off a four-fight win streak in the heavyweight division which earned him top-billing in the organization, where he was earning six-figures in his heyday.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the news? Silva is rumored to have testes positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs, though nothing will be for certain before test results are confirmed. Sound off in the comment section below.

On January 1, Silva defeated former top contender Brandon Vera in a one-sided unanimous decision victory at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. However, since then several media forums have reported, as per the Nevada State Athletic Commission, that Silva’s drug screening’s have not come along swimmingly, to say the least.

The news leaves his upcoming bout with former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in some serious doubt.

MMA-Scraps.com has caught the beat of the story from the American Top Team product who bluntly states ““My blood is clean…I haven’t used anything”, as per USA Today via TATAME.com, with the Brazilian insinuating that no performance enhancing drugs were involved in the botched drug test.

That statement, however, is as vague and general as they come. The NSAC reported earlier this week with MMAJunkie.com that one drug test in particular was still in the screening process, and the one in question was pin pointed to Silva’s, and since then a slew of reports have stated that his original opponent Quinton Jackson would face a new foe, with most pointing to rival Rashad Evans as the likely replacement.

However, UFC execs have yet to make any change to the scheduled 205-pound match official.

So, MMA peeps, what’s your take on the matter? With Silva’s the only drug test having come under fire post-UFC 125, there leaves little doubt to the gravity of the situation. Who would you like to see replace Thiago this May? Sound off in the comment section below.

We head to MMA Junkie for a nice little breakdown on the entire story, which up to this point is as follows: Silva may be out of his bout with “Rampage” at UFC 130 but he denies that he is injured. The Nevada State Athletic Commission is still examining a pre-fight drug screen that came from UFC 125, with the current rumor being that the drug test is Thiago’s. Another rumor says that UFC top brass are already in discussion with Rashad Evans to replace Silva. Evans recently had to bow out of his long-awaited shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship after injuring his knee during practice.

At the time of this article’s publication, nothing is official and everything is speculation.

To be honest, I really hope the Silva vs. Jackson fight goes on as planned. I’ll get to why I’m not particularly interested in Evans/Jackson 2 in a little bit, but for now, I’ll focus on why I’m so interested in Silva/Jackson. Putting it plainly and simply, this has the potential to be one of the best brawls of the year.

Thiago Silva recently took a big step on the comeback trial with his crushing victory over Brandon Vera, Jackson did the same with his narrow win over Lyoto Machida. Both men are motivated and hungry to prove that they’re still big threats in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division. It’s an excellent match between arguably two of the best striking-based fighters in the division, and it’s a new, fresh match we’ve never seen before. I definitely hope it happens.

The reason I don’t want to see Rashad/Rampage 2 is also pretty simple: personally and professionally, these two bring out the worst in each other. Evans didn’t want to risk getting knocked out, so for the most part he blanketed Jackson in their first fight. Due to several factors, not the least of which was the sizable amount of ring rust he had going into the bout, Jackson seemed to only come alive in the dying minutes of his fight with Rashad. Maybe the second fight would be the fight we were all hoping for the first time around, but then again, it could also be more of the same.

So I say stick with the new, and don’t jump the gun and look past Thiago Silva just yet. Because even though it certainly sounds appealing on paper, I think Thiago Silva vs. Quinton Jackson is the fight we should all be looking forward to, not another bout between Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson.

And what about you, fans and friends? If you had the choice, would you rather see Quinton Jackson fight Thiago Silva or Rashad Evans?

Anderson Silva continued his reign of dominance by deftly defeating former teammate Vitor Belfort with a first-round knockout, defending his UFC middleweight title once again.

Forrest Griffin has now extended a two-fight win streak for himself inside the octagon with a dominant performance turned in over former titleholder Rich “Ace” Franklin.

Meanwhile, Jon Jones submitted then-undefeated light heavyweight star Ryan Bader with a second-round guillotine choke. The win came with an unexpected prize, earning Jones the 205-pound title shot when an injured Rashad Evans bowed out of the championship bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua–who insists that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was initially offered the fight, however turned it down immediately after.

Jackson didn’t take too kindly that the Brazilian took to the media to reveal the proposed bout.

MMAJunkie.com caught up with the former light heavyweight champion, who was clearly agitated when he learned that Rua seemed to be questioning Jackson’s desire to fight. Quinton is already scheduled to be facing contender Thiago Silva at UFC 130 in May, and should “Rampage” had agreed to step in on short notice to face Mauricio, he would have only six-weeks to prepare for the bout. He currently is walking around at 250-pounds and is in nowhere near fighting shape.

“It’s not enough time to get ready for a five-round fight,” said Jackson.

“Dana knows that. And ‘Shogun,’ he’s a fighter, and he should know that. He shouldn’t even go and say [expletive] like that with him being a fighter. He saw me at the fight this weekend. Everybody saw how big I am.”

Everyone knows that Quinton isn’t exactly the prototypical fighter who stays in fighting shape year-round. When he’s not inside the cage, he’s enjoying himself elsewhere, which is evident to his heavy frame that would put even some heavyweight fighters to shame. To cut 45-pounds in six weeks on top of preparing for the technical prowess of a fight with some as dangerous as Rua is asking a little too much.

And Jackson knows all too well how dangerous the Muay Thai specialist is, having lost to the Brazilian more than five years ago when they were both under the PRIDE banner in Japan, where Rua TKO’d the enigmatic light heavyweight fighter inside of the first-round.

So, MMA peeps, what did you think of Jackson’s comments? Do you agree that it was a little bit premature for Rua to question whether or not Jackson wanted to fight, let alone reveal that Jones was second choice to “Rampage”? Sound off in the comment section below.

With credit going to MMA Junkie, the UFC recently confirmed as official the following bouts for UFC 130: Frank Edgar (c) vs. Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship, Quinton Jackson vs. Thiago Silva, Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson, Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva, and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story.

MMA Junkie also recently revealed that a match-up pitting Stefan Struve against Travis Browne was official for the UFC 130 preliminary card.

This comes on the heels of the major announcement that the UFC 129 fight card is now officially complete, and features several amazing matches that will take place in front of a possible crowd of at least 40,000.

While I don’t think that UFC 130 is as good as UFC 129, I do think it’s an amazing show and fully encapsulates how hard the UFC is focusing in on making all the best fights come together in 2011.

There’s simply too much to like when it comes to UFC 130. Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 should be an amazing encounter that has the potential to be an even bigger, even better match than their second encounter. I still believe in Frank Edgar, and I know that if he can come back from the beating “The Bully” gave him in the first round of their second fight, he can pretty much come back from anything. My early prediction is that this will be another super-close fight between two incredibly gifted athletes, but I think the third time will be the charm: this time Edgar will finally solve the puzzle, and he will finally beat Gray Maynard.

Add to that the awesome wars that should be Thiago Silva vs. Quinton Jackson and Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva. In particular, Silva/Jackson should be an epic brawl that I expect will end with a dramatic KO. Both men are at pivotal moments in their careers, and a big KO will almost certainly put the winner right back “into the mix”. Stann/Silva should also be a major proving point for both fighters, and will likely be one of the most explosive fights of the night.

And to top it all off, you’ve got Roy Nelson vs. Frank Mir and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story, which are important matches for all involved and should be some very exciting fights to watch.

So while UFC 129 may be shaping up to be one of the best cards of the last several years, UFC 130 is also shaping up to be a landmark event and possibly one of the best events of 2011, which has already been a fantastic year for Mixed Martial Arts and should turn out to be a banner year for the sport as a whole.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your early reaction to the UFC 130 card?

The American Top Team product bested the Muay Thai specialist throughout the fifteen-minute affair, recording his first decision victory inside the octagon. The win over Vera helped Silva bounce back from a disappointing loss to Rashad Evans in January of last year. It also marked his return after a near-year absence following a debilitating back injury that had the Brazilian sidelined for the time being.

Now back in form, Silva will next meet with former champion Quinton Jackson at an event later this year, but before his fight with “Rampage” Silva has addressed some remarks made by light heavyweight phenom Jon Jones, and it looks like Thiago wouldn’t mind tangling with the Greg Jackson product in the future.

The ire of Jones’ remarks comes from Silva’s performance against Vera, stating that some of his antic’s in the ring such as slapping Brandon on his back and yelling at him inside the cage are indicative of his bad attitude.

“We never do anything without a reason. What I did in there was to take his focus away”, said Thiago who spoke with TATAME.com regarding his fight against Vera.

“The only provocation I did was when I slapped him on his back, the others I did because my hands were aching when I punched him because I broke my finger. So it would open me the way to try a submission or something like it. The only provocation was that one so he would lose his focus, and there’s no other reason.”

It was when Jones specifically attacked Silva’s position as an MMA fighter, stating that the 28-year-old isn’t a “mixed martial artist” and what he did wasn’t becoming of “a professional fighter”. Then, Silva went off.

“(Jon Jones) is a jerk. Everybody’s a professional fighter and all fights include provocations. Brandon Vera said he’s break my legs, that I wasn’t on his level”, said Silva.

“I don’t say things, I do. You get recognized when you do things. I’m a professional fighter, but I can’t always please everybody. There’s always somebody behind the computed with a plate filled with French fries, ready to criticize you. I fight for the fans, for the money and to put my name up there. Talking is too much easy, nobody knows what goes on in your life, your trainings… I think I did my job. Who likes it, likes it, but you can dislike it if you want.”

So, MMA peeps, how do you feel about Thiago’s remarks against your 205-pound hero? I have to admit too that I think Jones is a little bit smug, specifically the way he acted during the 2010 World MMA Awards, but why shouldn’t he be? He’s one of MMA’s most highly touted prospects, a hammer in the light heavyweight division and he’s only 23-years-old. Sound off in the comment section below.

I’ll get this out of the way right away, because although I feel it needs to be said, it’s one of the few things I dislike about this fight. So here it is: I’m one of the ones that think that Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida should have fought in an immediate rematch. I think their first encounter was simply too close to call, and I know that I’m not the only one that had Machida winning. It seems as if the UFC is handing out immediate rematches more and more often these days, and not giving Machida one after so close of a fight just seems a bit unfair. You’re free to disagree with me, but as I said, I do feel that the point should be made.

But now that I’ve said that, allow me to say this: this is probably going to be an awesome fight. Even though I’ve picked against him in the past, even though I was less-than-sympathetic when news broke of Jackson’s notorious “Rampage”, at the end of the day Quinton Jackson has gone a long way towards rebuilding some of the respect he lost. He had a rough time against Rashad Evans, but even a huge amount of ring rust couldn’t keep Jackson’s killer instinct at bay for long, as he nearly finished “Sugar” in the dying rounds of their fight.

Against Machida, Jackson fought smart and hit hard, and while some are critical of both men for the fight not being a wild brawl, I personally think that Jackson showed remarkable improvement when his performance against Machida is compared to his performance against Evans. And, as I said, I don’t think Jackson’s performance against Evans was all that bad to begin with.

Speaking of Rashad Evans, it looks as if the deflating loss Thiago Silva suffered at the hands of Evans was the best thing that’s ever happened to him. After a sizable layoff to deal with some pretty serious back injuries, Silva looked amazing against Brandon Vera at the recent UFC 125 event. In fact, it may have been Silva’s most impressive performance in the UFC. It may not have been his most fiery, but for three straight rounds, Silva outright dominated Vera after taking almost a year off. And while Silva didn’t get to add a KO to his highlight reel, he’ll probably live on in MMA infamy for quite some time for dishing out one of the most heinous broken noses ever seen in an MMA fight.

I think this is a great fight for both men, and I think it’ll become the brawl we all want to see. Both men will know full well just how important this fight is by the time they step into the Octagon, so we should see fists flying and someone getting KO’d. But even if it goes to the ground, both men have intriguing ground games and it should be fun to watch them there too. There’s always the risk of them neutralizing each other and giving us a semi-boring fight, but I think that neither man will be afraid to engage and that, ultimately, we’ll get a dramatic encounter between two knockout artists that start headhunting from the moment the bell rings. I’ve got some high hopes for this encounter, and I can’t wait to see it happen.

And what about you, fans and friends? What are your early thoughts on Quinton Jackson vs. Thiago Silva?

Silva was last seen in action on the main card for “UFC 125: Resolution” when he soundly defeated former top contender Brandon Vera by unanimous decision last Saturday. The victory was the Brazilian’s first in 2011, and first in nearly a year. Before his bout with “The Truth”, Silva was last inside the cage when he was defeated by former champ Rashad Evans, who bested the Brazilian with effective takedowns en route to a decision win.

Now, Thiago is back on track and hopes to add the “A-Team” star to his list of victims.

Quinton is also on the heels of redeeming himself over Evans when he defeated former champ Lyoto Machida, where the two served as the headlinder last November for UFC 123, which took place in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Jackson edged out “The Dragon” with a close split-decision victory. It marks only the second time the Brazilian had been beaten in his career, with his only other career loss coming to fellow Brazilian Mauricio Rua–the current light heavyweight champion in the UFC.

Both Thiago and Jackson have a penchant for punching people in the face, so this fight should turn out to be an instant classic for those in attendance. A win here for either man will likely vaunt him into title contention in the ultra-competitive 205-pound division.

UFC 130 is expected to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 28.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the new match? If both Thiago and Quinton show up to fight, then this will be anything loss than an early candidate for either “Fight of the Night” or “Knockout of the Night”–but who do you think will come away the winner? Sound off in the comment section below.

According to Five Ounces of Pain, Antonio “Mandingo” McKee has been released from the UFC after having only one fight with the organization. At UFC 125, McKee lost via Split Decision to Jacob Volkmann after McKee spent several weeks hyping up his UFC debut, which included a bizarre interview where he compared himself to Muhammed Ali. The defeat to Volkmann marked the first time McKee had been beaten in MMA since 2003.

Five Ounces of Pain also brings word that Brandon “The Truth” Vera has officially been released from his UFC contract after a one-sided loss to Thiago Silva at UFC 125. The defeat marked Vera’s third in a row, a far cry from when he first entered the UFC and took the Heavyweight division by storm. Now it looks as if Vera will use the time off he needs to heal his horrendously-broken nose by looking over contracts.

In all honesty, I’m not too surprised with either firing and I don’t think the UFC is losing that much with these two no longer on the roster. If you’ll recall, I actually predicted that Vera would get the axe the day after UFC 125 in my traditional “What’s Next for the Winners and Losers” series.

In all honesty, I never understood the hype behind Antonio McKee. Everyone criticized him for continually winning by decision, but that never really bothered me. What bothered me is the amount of hyper-active self-promotion Antonio McKee involved himself in. The man built himself up as a destroyer, someone that would take the UFC by storm, and in the end he couldn’t even squeak by one single UFC opponent. I’m really finding it hard to empathize with the man, because frankly, he became so in love with himself that he overlooked his opponent and paid the price.

I certainly do feel a bit sad for Vera, though. Vera is a tough lesson that a lot of hot prospects should learn from: sometimes the incredible hype that goes alongside being a young and dominant fighter can turn into your worst enemy even if it starts off as your best friend. Vera began believing his own hype and developed a bloated sense of self-worth, and it took several humbling victories to send him crashing back down into reality. Unfortunately, he learned his lessons too late, he now sports a 11-6 record and is now a free agent. Vera should still be able to make a pretty penny on the regional circuit and I wouldn’t be surprised if Bellator, Strikeforce, or even SHINE Fights scooped him up. But his story is a somber one, and it’s a firm reminder that the phrase “anything can happen in MMA” is quite the double-edged sword.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your opinion on the UFC releasing Brandon Vera and Antonio McKee?

Next for Clay Guida: Once again it’s time to see if Clay Guida is ready to fight top-division talent. Guida looked great against Gomi even though he’s already being accused of doing a fantastic Willow Smith impersonation (because HE WHIPS HIS HAIR BACK AND FORTH HE WHIPS HIS HAIR BACK AND FORTH HE WHIPS HIS… you get the point). Even though Guida normally always ends up with a deflating loss whenever he goes on an impressive hotstreak, few can doubt that he’s once again earned his chance to prove everyone wrong and finally ascend to top-division status.

Next for Nate Diaz: Even though I think Nate Diaz has progressed admirably in his most recent run at Welterweight, it’s still very clear that the Diaz style, at least the way Nate utilizes it, is still a work-in-progress. Diaz was in no trouble on the ground, but he kept getting taken down, and he needs to address that issue. If he truly wants to excel to the highest levels of the UFC, Nate needs to realize that completely relying on your ground game and having virtually no takedown defense is an incredibly one-dimensional way of thinking.

Next for Brandon Vera: Strikeforce, Shark Fights, DREAM, SHINE Fights… take your pick. Putting it plainly and bluntly, I’d be shocked if Brandon Vera kept his job after this performance. With this loss to Thiago Silva, “The Truth” has permanently put himself into the “what could have been” files. It was a humiliating defeat, and one that will likely haunt Vera for some time. I honestly don’t know how successful Vera will be on the minor circuit or in second-tier promotions… I just know he’s headed there.

Next for Brian Stann: The world is Stann’s oyster, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more deserving individual. Stann has an incredible backstory and a lot of skill, so he’s got all the tools necessary to become a major draw and also a top-ranked athlete. Stann really and truly impressed me at UFC 125, and I think he’ll quickly find himself fighting top-division talent as he rolls into 2011 with an incredible amount of momentum.

Next for Chris Leben: This was a crippling blow for “The Crippler”. As harsh as this sounds to say, I think this fight finally closed the book on Leben’s championship aspirations. The man has been in too many wars, he’s eaten too many big shots and while his style is entertaining, it’s “take two to give one” nature continues to be his biggest downfall. I don’t think Chris Leben will ever be outright fired from the UFC, he’s got the skills to be a mid-level threat for quite some time and he’ll always be a marketable bad-boy brawler, but I do think that we’ve seen the last of any serious talks of Chris Leben as a top-division athlete.

Next for Frank Edgar: Anthony Pettis, of course. I know how a lot of people are already calling for an immediate rematch, but it just doesn’t seem fair to make Pettis wait until after Maynard/Edgar 3. So I’m all for “The Answer” meeting “Showtime” and giving us the much-talked-about WEC/UFC Lightweight Championship Unification Bout.

But how is Edgar going to do against the final WEC Lightweight Champion? If his performance at UFC 125 is used as a basis…  Frank Edgar is going to get knocked out. If Pettis catches Edgar the way Maynard caught Edgar, Pettis has the kind of killer instinct necessary to finish the job and emerge the champion. My respect and even admiration for Frank Edgar continues to grow on a per-fight basis, but I’ve been saying that Pettis will become the UFC Lightweight Champion for a while now. And while his fight at UFC 125 was excellent, Edgar simply didn’t show me enough to make me change my stance.

So that’s what I see when I gaze into my crystal ball and try to channel my inner Nostradamus, fans and friends. What about you? What do you think the future holds for the big winners and losers of UFC 125: “Resolution”?

Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard fight to a Split Draw. Brian Stann defeats Chris Leben by TKO (Strikes) at 3:37 of Round 1. Thiago Silva defeats Brandon Vera by Unanimous Decision. Dong Hyun Kim defeats Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision. Clay Guida defeats Takanori Gomi by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:47 of Round 2. Jeremy Stephens defeats Marcus Davis by KO (Punch) at 2:33 of Round 3. Dustin Poirier defeats Josh Grispi by Unanimous Decision. Brad Tavares defeats Phil Baroni by TKO (Strikes) at 4:20 of Round 1. Diego Nunes defeats Mike Brown by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Daniel Roberts defeats Greg Soto by Submission (Kimura) at 3:45 of Round 1. Jacob Volkmann defeats Antonio McKee by Split Decision.

So much for the “Muhammed Ali of MMA”, it appears as if Antoni McKee was a victim of his own hype… hype that pretty much only existed in his own head. Speaking of failed hype, Josh Grispi looked completely out of his element against Dustin Poirier, it was honestly a downright embarrassing performance. I guess Dustin wasn’t lying when he said that we’d all know his name before UFC 125 is over. I can’t wait to see how Poirier builds off this pretty huge win.

I was very impressed by Thiago Silva’s performance, and I think that this was one of those fights where you can undoubtedly say that the winner is “back”. Silva looked fantastic as always on the feet and seemed to have found new life on the ground, plus he gave Brandon Vera one of the most heinous broken noses ever seen in MMA. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Thiago.

Brian Stann made a gigantic statement at UFC 125, and I think huge things are in store for this man in the future. He’s already incredibly marketable due to his backstory, but being the man to end arguably the hottest hotstreak of Chris Leben’s career immediately puts him into a prime position in the UFC. We might just have seen a possible UFC Middleweight Championship contender emerge at UFC 125.

The main event was wildly entertaining and fully lived up to the amazing potential I just knew it had. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for both competitors, and I think Edgar/Maynard 2 has officially set the quality benchmark for 2011. While I am disappointed that the fight didn’t have a clear winner, I think both men proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they’re far from boring and are two of the UFC’s absolute best and brightest. I can’t wait to see what’s next for both men.

All in all, I was pretty glad that I tuned in to UFC 125. The event had several memorable fights and several fantastic finishes. I was a bit gutted that some of my perennial favorites like Marcus Davis, Chris Leben, and Nate Diaz would all lose, some of them dramatically, but all in all, I hesitate to call any of the UFC 125 fights bad. The UFC had a pretty good kickoff to 2011, which is already shaping up to be an utterly amazing year.

And what about you, fans and friends? What are your early thoughts on UFC 125: “Resolution”?

In a new interview with Tapology, the feared American Top Team product recently said the following: “I don’t consider myself a violent person. A violent person to me is someone who fights or kills another person for something stupid… I have seen it and I don’t want any part of it… My job is to train and to be prepared to fight when I’m suppose to… Fighting is a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual challenge between two men, and only the man who is stronger in all of these areas will win… I love the challenges this sport offers. It is unlike any other.”

Thiago Silva is currently scheduled to face Brandon Vera on New Year’s Day as part of the stacked Pay-Per-View telecast of the upcoming UFC 125 “Resolution” event. Silva entered the UFC a flawless 9-0 and would go on to win his next four bouts, all by strikes, before being matched up with Lyoto Machida. Machida would go on to hand Silva the first loss and the first KO of his career. Silva emphatically rebounded with a stunning first-round KO over Keith Jardine, but recently faltered against Rashad Evans at UFC 108, a card notorious for its continued reworking due to a host of injuries that bizarrely all occurred in and around the same time of each other.

I admit to only being a mild fan of Thiago Silva, but with this interview he certainly gained a measure of respect from me. I think this is a great mentality to have, but as others have said, it’s a bit ironic to read about Silva claiming that he’s not a violent person, considering that this is a man most famous for doing a throat-cutting gesture after he brutally knocks his opponents unconscious.

Even with that in mind, I applaud Silva’s professionalism and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him step into the Octagon against Brandon Vera. I think this is a match-up that sees both men at very interesting, very crucial crossroads in their careers. Silva needs another big KO to keep his name out there and stay at or near the top of the division. Vera needs a win or else he starts looking expendable in the eyes of the UFC, since Vera hasn’t won a fight in over a year. While I don’t think Thiago Silva is in a do-or-die situation, I do think that he’ll go into the fight with that kind of mentality simply because he wants to remain a top-level threat that badly. And make no mistake, Vera is most definitely in a do-or-die situation. So it should be a great fight.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think of Thiago Silva’s recent comments, and how do you see him matching up with Brandon “The Truth” Vera?

Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi: I think Gomi still swings hammers when he throws punches, but I also think that Clay Guida knows this. This fight will all depend on the mentality Clay Guida brings when he faces the former PRIDE FC destroyer. If Guida avoids brawling and sticks to taking Gomi out of his element, Guida is well-rounded enough to virtually coast to an easy Unanimous Decision win. But if Clay Guida comes in looking to strike for whatever reason, I think Gomi will eventually land something huge and be the first man to (T)KO Clay Guida, probably in the second round.

Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim: I’ve enjoyed watching “Stun Gun” go to work in his time with the UFC, but I think this fight will focus almost exclusively on the continuing evolution of Nate Diaz. Diaz seems to have finally learned how to duplicate his brother Nick Diaz’s vaunted “punches in bunches” style, and both Diaz brothers have never looked better. Diaz may be a dark horse when it comes to a future shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship, but I’m very confident that he’ll win this fight by TKO in Round 2 or 3.

Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva: It’s been an interesting, long, winding, and considerably rocky road for Brandon Vera, the “next big thing” that never was. Vera is dangerously close to the precipice, one more loss gives him a three-fight losing streak, and it’s become generally accepted that that’s the golden number where you start looking expendable in the eyes of the UFC. Unfortunately for “The Truth”, I think Thiago Silva is just too much for Brandon Vera. Thiago Silva will win by Unanimous Decision.

Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann: Chris Leben should come out of his corner swinging like his life depended on it, because in a way, it does. While this may be a co-main event, Brian Stann is a step backwards compared to the talent Leben has been facing and beating recently. A loss to Stann would be the absolute worst thing to happen to “The Crippler” since Anderson Silva made his UFC debut by pounding Leben’s face into mush. The added pressure combined with Leben’s already-aggressive style has me thinking that Chris Leben wins by KO in Round 1.

Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard: Get ready for a war, because this one is going all five rounds and both men are going to tear each other apart from the first bell to the final second. Expect to see big takedowns, huge slams, lots of striking, and an amazing pace. If Gray Maynard doesn’t show up in monster shape, Edgar’s uncanny cardio may be his biggest ally in the fight with “The Bully”. I don’t know how he’ll specifically do it, but every indicator I have points towards Edgar once again coming into a big fight with the best gameplan possible and once again forcing everyone to shut up and take him seriously. Frank Edgar wins by Unanimous Decision.

And what about you, fans and friends? Who do you see emerging as the big winners and losers when UFC 125 is over?

The Event: UFC 125 “Resolution”, scheduled for January 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will air live on Pay-Per-View starting at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET.

Why You Should Care: The UFC is starting 2011 with a bang. The #1 Lightweight in the world defends his championship against the only man that’s ever beaten him, Gray Maynard. Despite the criticism this match has been getting, I’ve vehemently defended it as what should be a very entertaining fight between two amazing wrestlers. Plus, you’ve got big names like Nate Diaz, Thiago Silva, Chris Leben, Brandon Vera, Clay Guida, Marcus Davis, and Mike Thomas Brown all competing at some point throughout the night.

What to Look Forward to in the Main Event: Constant, blistering action between two men with fantastic cardio and serious wrestling skills. There’s a very personal rivalry between these two, and with the championship on the line, they’ll be bringing their absolute best for this event. Maynard will continue to try and live up to his nickname “The Bully”, while Edgar will once again look to combine his ridiculous cardio with his uncanny ability to put together the best gameplan possible. It’s going to be close, it’s going to be a war, and it’s going to be an awesome fight no matter what anyone else says.

What to Look Forward to in the Co-Main Event: Look for two big strikers to come out headhunting the second the bell rings. Leben wants to end this decisively and quickly, since he’s arguably never been this close to getting a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship. Brian Stann is fighting for relevancy in the increasingly-crowded UFC Middleweight division, and being the man that ends the best win-streak Chris Leben has ever been on would immediately put him on everyone’s radar. It won’t last very long, but it’ll be immensely entertaining until someone gets (T)KO’d.

Why You Should Watch This Card: This card is a strong indicator that the WEC/UFC merger is already paying dividends. This card is filled with fantastic talent, and they’re all smartly booked. It’ll be the first MMA event of 2011, but I have a feeling that it’ll also be remembered as one of the best events of 2011.

Why You Shouldn’t Watch This Card: I honestly, sincerely cannot think of a good reason. The only thing you can really hold against this card is that there’s only one championship on the line. Even though the main card is loaded with potential, most of the fighters involved are working their ways towards top-division status rather than actually being top-division talent. Still, even the untelevised undercard is filled with interesting match-ups and potential. From Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi to Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim, this looks to be an action-packed night of fights that has a little bit of something for everyone.

Closing Thoughts: The UFC may not be throwing us its biggest guns and its brightest stars to start off the New Year, but they’ve put together an incredible card nonetheless. The only question surrounding this card is whether or not it can live up to its potential. I’ll certainly be giving it a watch, and while it’s true that anything is possible in MMA, I’m very confident when I say that this show should be well worth a purchase and even repeated viewings.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your opinion on UFC 125?

Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship, Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann, Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera, Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim, Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida, Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens, Josh Grispi vs. Dustin Poirier, Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares, Mike Thomas Brown vs. Diego Nunes, Daniel Roberts vs. Greg Soto, and Antonio McKee vs. Jacob Volkmann.

My early thoughts on this card are very simple and easily summarized: wow. This is an awesome-looking card. I say this without hyperbole: I think all of the main card fights could have headlined their own “Fight Night Live” special. Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann should be a great back-and-forth war. Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera is going to end very, very violently. Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim should be an important stepping stone and proving point for both men, especially if either one is able to finish and finish convincingly. And then you have Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida: it won’t be technical by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s going to be one entertaining scrap and a fantastic way to kick off the PPV portion of the show.

We’ve even got some pretty good names on the undercard. Marcus Davis always steps into the Octagon ready to brawl. Josh Grispi would have been the next man to face Jose Aldo if Aldo hadn’t pulled out with an injury. Mike Brown is a former WEC champion. You’ve even got veterans like Antonio McKee, Phil Baroni, and Jeremy Stephens. Some may say that the preliminary card has a lot of fighters that are down on their luck in their most-recent fights, but I personally think that shouldn’t and ultimately doesn’t overshadow the fact that they almost always put on entertaining fights.

And in the main event, you’ve got two great Lightweights competing for the championship of a division that’s been blown wide open ever since Frankie “The Answer” Edgar managed to beat BJ Penn not once, but twice. In an era where “The Prodigy” is back at Welterweight and Frank Edgar is the #1 Lightweight in the world, it’s literally anyone’s ballgame. This should be a fantastic fight between two great wrestlers, and I personally can’t wait to see it happen. I know that some fans are quick to criticize how both men haven’t finished their opponents in what feels like forever, but I’m willing to give both these men a pass since they’re entertaining throughout their long wars that end up going to the judges. Don’t believe the doom-sayers, fans and friends: Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard is going to be an awesome fight.

So that’s what I think, fans and friends. What about you? Now that everything is “officially official”, what’s your opinion on UFC 125: “Resolution”?

Next New Year’s, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC will return to Nevada with a lightweight title fight pitting current champion Frankie Edgar, who is riding on a 5-fight win streak (which included two back-to-back victories over former champion BJ Penn) will look to exact revenge when he defends his title against the only man to defeat him, undefeated UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard.

Also in action, former Interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin is coming back to action after succumbing to his first defeat as a professional at UFC 116 when he tangles with the former IFL heavyweight champion and season 10 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Roy Nelson.

Nate Diaz has recently been announced as a new addition to the card. Making his third consecutive trip to the welterweight division, Diaz will look to go three-in-a-row following some recent success with victories over Rory Markham and Marcus Davis (respectively) finishing both competitors before it went the distance.

Meeting Diaz will be Korean Judoka, Dong Hyun Kim. An undefeated prospect in the 170-pound division, Diaz will arguably be his toughest test to date, and should Dong come away from the bout in impressive fashion, it could spell title implications.

While no official word has come as far the order of the match ups, though I would assert that the card should look something like this. Here is the event in it’s entirety, though additional match ups are soon to be announced.

Main Card:
-Lightweight Championship bout: Frankie Edgar (champion) vs. Gray Maynard
-Heavyweight bout: Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
-Lightweight bout: Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
-Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
-Welterweight bout: Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Preliminary:
-Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva
-Middleweight bout: Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares
-Lightweight bout: Antonio McKee vs. Jacob Volkmann

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of match ups so far? Any additional bouts you would like to see make the main card? Which bouts do you think, should they be featured, for the Spike Prelims special?
Sound off in the comment section below.

Here’s what Silva had to say in an interview with Tatame.com: “I think it’s a good fight, the two of us like to bang and it seems it’ll be a great fight. I’m anxious for this fight, our games match. He won’t be like trying to grab me all the time, we’ll trade a lot of punches. There’s plenty time and I still have to fix my spine. I’m doing treatment for it. It’ll take a month so I can go back to the trainings, but now I just have to wait for me to fight again.”

I wish Thiago Silva a speedy recovery, and can’t wait to see him get back inside of the Octagon. The UFC’s Light Heavyweight division boasts some of the most diverse, dynamic, and entertaining strikers in the entire sport of MMA, and I think Thiago Silva should be regarded as one of those strikers. At 27, with five years as a professional Mixed Martial Artist, he’s still got plenty of time to mold himself into a true championship-caliber fighter. I think this fight with Vera will go a long way towards reestablishing Thiago Silva as a force to be reckoned with in the super-competitive UFC Light Heavyweight division.

In regards to his opponent, it’s put up or shut up time for Brandon Vera, plain and simple. 1-2 in your last three fights is a dangerous record to have in the UFC, no matter who you lost to or how they beat you. If Silva comes back strong and gives Vera his second straight (T)KO loss and his third loss in a row, it just might be enough to get Vera cut from the UFC. But if Vera comes back strong with a win over Silva, and wins in a big way, not only will it take his career in the UFC off of life support, I honestly think it will jettison him up several spots and put him in line for some major-name fights.

And if you want my opinion? I think a healthy, motivated Thiago Silva is more than a match for a down-on-his-luck Brandon Vera. I think both men want to win this fight very badly, so it should be wildly entertaining from start to finish. Vera has some very powerful leg kicks, but Silva’s punching power is right up there with the rest of the division’s heavy hitters. His ground game may need a lot of work, but if the fight goes the way Silva thinks it will, with Vera choosing to keep the fight standing up, you’ve got to give the advantage to Silva. It’s a do-or-die situation for both men: Silva’s relevancy is on the line, as is Vera’s livelihood. This is going to be an awesome fight.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Who takes it: Brandon Vera or Thiago Silva? And how/why?

After a two-fight losing skid to standouts Jon Jones and former champion and UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture, Vera is expected to tangle with Brazilian slugger, Thiago Silva.

Brandon, a former contender to the UFC heavyweight title, has been on shaky legs with the promotion ever since his return to the cage.

Following a year long layoff due to litigation with his former manager, Vera, a then heavyweight, dropped an uninspired decision to former champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 77, in late 2007. Since then, Vera has been hot and cold, even with a drop to the 205-pound division which better suits his frame.

Though some argue that “The Truth” won a disputed split-decision against the aforementioned Couture, he was blasted by spitfire Jon Jones inside of the first round, by way of TKO.

Silva is looking to get back in the win column as well. The former top contender initially lost his bid at a title shot when he faced Lyoto Machida at UFC 94. The two Brazilians battled it out, but in the end Machida was able to walk away the victor with just a few seconds left in the first round, and knocked out Silva with ground and pound. Thiago bounced back at UFC 102 with a commanding knockout victory of his own when he defeated former top contender Keith Jardine.

Thiago failed at another big win when he met with former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 108. The 27-year-old was controlled for the better part of rounds 1 and 2 with effective take downs initiated by Evans, the former collegiate wrestler, however rallied back in round three and dropped Evans but in the end lost a unanimous decision.

Vera is likely fighting for his job with the promotion while Silva is looking to bounce back to top contenders status with a commanding win over Vera. With that in mind, both competitors will be sure to lay it out all on the line with this potentially exciting 205-pound match up.

UFC 125, where the bout is said to take life, is tentatively scheduled for January 1st at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

So, MMA peeps, who do you think takes this bout? Both have something to prove and will sure to be a crowd pleaser for those in attendance. Let your opinions known below.

Randy Couture is a fighter that I admire and have a hard time picking against but he is not near the top of the division. How can a fight against Coleman, a man not in the top ten of the light heavyweight division, suddenly put Randy in the top five? If Mark had beaten a top tier fighter in his last fight then I might be able to see an argument for it but his win was over Stephan Bonnar (11-6) whose last win inside the Octagon was in October of 2007.

The light heavyweight division is not a weak division. If it was not so stacked with guys ready to make title runs then putting Randy in their makes sense.

Currently you have guys like “Little Nog” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3) and “Bones” Jon Jones (9-1) making a splash in the division and the top spots held by Fighters.com and UFC light heavyweight champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0) and “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4). Rounding out the top five is “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1) in my opinion. This leaves Randy on the outside of the top 5 at the very least. That does not include the fact that Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) has fought a few fights in that division and has to be considered a contender.

I can easily put Randy in the top ten of the division but that would be it for now. He has slowed a bit with age and doesn’t get his punches off as fast nor are his take downs as explosive. The only way to see exactly where he fits in the rankings is to put him in a fight with someone like “Bones” Jones, “Little Nog” or even Anderson Silva.

Silva has a fight coming up against “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) and with Randy fighting as often as he has been this fight would be to far out for it to be the next fight for Randy. It is a fight that would bring in massive pay-per-view numbers though. The man many feel is the pound-for-pound best in the world versus Captain America is an easy sell.

Who should Randy fight next in order to keep moving toward a title shot in the future? Would Jones be to much for him? Maybe a fight with Thiago Silva (15-2) who is coming off a loss to Evans at UFC 108 would be smart.

No matter who Dana White and Joe Silva find for Randy to fight, I am sure many will say it is a fight Randy can’t win but history shows it is never smart to count out Randy Couture.

The first fight ended in a controversial decision for Machida.  The rematch should crown a definitive champion at 205 pounds.

If Rua wins, we could even see a mouthwatering matchup versus top contender “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4), who also reigns as Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion.  Silva has indicated his unwillingness to fight training partner Machida, but Silva and Rua have a war of words between them and a title fight would be a grudge match as well.

Fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1) won a workmanlike unanimous decision over fifth-ranked Thiago Silva (15-2) at UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2 with a return to his wrestling base.  Next for Evans is seventh-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) at UFC 114 in Las Vegas May 29.

Silva should get a second crack at a top ten opponent in his next fight.

Sixth-ranked Forrest Griffin (17-6) and eighth-ranked “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3) are likely to matchup at UFC 113, though the fight isn’t yet official.

Ninth-ranked Strikeforce champ “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) expects he’ll fight rising star “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (4-0) at Strikeforce in April on CBS.

Tenth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) has been preparing to return after facial surgery, but into the middleweight division.

Fighters.com’s January Light Heavyweight Top Ten

1. “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0)

2. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

3. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4)

4. “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1)

5. Thiago Silva (15-2)

6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)

7. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

8. “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)

9. “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1)

10. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rashad is a fighter that started out has a pure wrestler and has since found a stand up game that he used to beat Fighters.com eighth-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and fifth-ranked Forrest Griffin. He did this using patience and counter strikes mixed with his footwork. Rashad’s footwork is not very technical rather it is more natural as is his balance which comes from his wrestling background.

Thiago Silva is a fighter that uses controlled aggression to push the fight and force exchanges with his opponent. These exchanges is where he excels. Silva will try to get Evans to trade with him so he can use his short straight punches to hurt Evans. Thiago throws some of the straightest punches in mixed martial arts (MMA). Silva will have to temper this agregssion and become very patient going against Evans as Rashad can frustrate even the most patient fighter.

Rashad bob and weaves and uses the aforementioned footwork to lull his opponents into frustration. Once they decide to press the action he lets them inside and unloads one of his power punches that is well timed and perfectly placed. This is something he will need to do in order to win this fight but as I already mentioned, that will not happen.

Here is how I see the fight going. Both fighters will come out looking to feel each other out. Silva will throw some jabs and small combinations to see how Rashad will react and move. Rashad will be moving, staying just on the ouyside so that he can counter. This will go on for the most of the first round until Silva decides he has the distance and timing down and is tired of waiting and will push the fight. The round will end with Silva and Evans trading punches and Silva getting the better of the exchanges.

Round two starts and right away Silva will try to get back to the exchanges. Rashad will do everything he can to move out of the way and use his angles to counter. Eventually Thiago will cut Evans off and unload on him leading to a whirlwind exchange. This is where Rashad does not want to be because his punches are the wide looping kind and as I already mentioned, Silva throws very straight punches. You can imagine who will get hit first in this exchange. Straight punches have the shorter distance and as we all know, Silva has power in those hands.

Rashad may think about the take down at this time but that may not be the best idea as Silva has a very good, albeit underrated ground game. After all, Silva has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu under Macaco. He used to teach Jiu Jitsu in Brazil before becoming a professional MMA fighter

This is where I see Silva hurting Evans and possibly looking to take him down to the ground and punish him. Typically Rashad would be able to defend take downs from Silva unless he just out muscled Rashad. However, having eaten some big punches from Silva, he will find himself on the mat being beaten and battered until the ref stops the fight.

This is MMA so anything can happen but I feel confident in the fact that Silva will be to much for Rashad to handle. The only thing that beats Silva in this fight his himself. If he tries to push the action to hard and to fast, throwing with reckless abandon one of those looping punches of Rashad’s may just land and put his lights out. I find this highly unlikely though.

The end of UFC 108 will leave us with a Rashad Evans who is on a serious slide with many questioning his ability to compete with the best in the division and a Thiago Silva hunting for another shot at the elusive “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0). The fans will also be left with joy as the cursed card is finally over and all of us can start to look towards UFC 109.

Do you feel I am wrong about this fight or have I somehow overlooked something? Feel free to join myself and co-host New York Gary Friedman on MMA Gospel Radio every Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. There is a live MMA chat where you can talk to other fans as well as myself. Not good enough for you? You can also call into the show by dialing the guest line at 347-857-1337 or email me personally at turk@fighters.com

Li’l Nog’ knocked formerly ranked fellow Brazilian “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-2) out of the top ten in the same fashion Nog’ himself was removed from the rankings after being TKO’d by “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-5) in 23 seconds at PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas in February 2007.  Nogueira took 1:56 to finish Cane at UFC 106 in Las Vegas November 21 and capture the seventh spot at 205 pounds.

On the same card, fifth-ranked Forrest Griffin (17-6) returned to winning with a split decision over “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1), a rematch Griffin had lost by SD in 2006.

Shortly after the fight, UFC President Dana White announced Ortiz will  complete a trilogy versus “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) in 2010.  Usually  trilogies are reserved for rubber matches, or at least matchups that have been compellingly close in previous fights.  Liddell has TKO’d Ortiz twice this decade, but if the trend holds – second round in 2004 and third round in 2006 – perhaps Ortiz will survive to a decision in 2010.

Fighters.com Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0) and third-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4) is the kind of matchup deserving of a rematch, and in 2010 the two will replay their fight that ended in a controversial UD in favor of Machida at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24.

Second-ranked “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) will await the outcome as he defends his Fighters.com and UFC middleweight titles versus tenth-ranked middleweight “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8).  A Rua win in the Machida-Rua rematch could mean a Silva challenge for a second UFC belt.

Fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1) and tenth-ranked Thiago Silva (15-1) will headline UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2 with sixth-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) waiting in the wings to reignite his rivalry with Evans if Evans wins, and probably even if Evans loses.

Ninth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) has dropped down to make a run at middleweight.

Fighters.com’s December Light Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0)

2. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

3. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4)

4. “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1)

5. Forrest Griffin (17-6)

6. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

7. “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)

8. “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7)

9. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1)

10. Thiago Silva (15-1)

The previously scheduled main event between fourth-ranked heavyweight “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1) and Cain Velasquez (6-0) has been postponed due to a staph infection to Nogueira.

“The bout between Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva is a fight we always talked about as a main event, and now these guys have the chance to headline UFC 108 and kick off the new year in impressive fashion,” said UFC President Dana White. “At the same time, we wish Antonio Nogueira a speedy recovery and can’t wait for his return.”

Evans has told AOL FanHouse of the matchup versus Silva, “I think I match up really well with Thiago Silva.  He’s a great striker, and I love his focus.  He’s going to be a challenge, and that’s the kind of fight I want.”

Silva responded via Tatame, saying, “We’re two aggressive fighters, it’ll be a good fight, the game matches.  I want to fight with the bests and show my work to be close to a title shot.”

Rua confounded and flustered Machida with kicks to Machida’s legs and body for at least three out of five rounds in Los Angeles October 24, and some have argued Rua won four rounds.  But all three judges scored the fight 48-47 in favor of the champ.

Across the great South American nation from which both fighters have travelled around the world to entertain and awe fight fans, familiar lines are being redrawn because of the controversial UFC 104 main event.

Second-ranked “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) of Black House, a team made-up largely of former Brazilian Top Team members, told Tatame, “In my opinion, Lyoto won every round.”

And, ninth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1), formerly of Chute Boxe with Rua, declared to Tatame, “[Rua] is the new champion.”

Years ago Brazilian Top Team and Chute Boxe played out one of MMA’s greatest camp rivalries in the now defunct PRIDE promotion.  The hot blood between the two camps was thought to have cooled after many of the greatest fighters from both camps moved on to other camps or started their own gyms.

But, the title fight between Machida and Rua has heated up the old adversaries and reignited excitement about MMA in Brazil.

UFC President Dana White promised an immediate rematch between Machida and Rua; and, Since UFC 104, Machida has announced he will undergo surgery on his left hand, postponing the rematch in 2010.

Brazil deserves the rematch!  It would be a huge UFC return to Brazil since their only Brazilian event in São Paulo in October 1998.

And, besides the top three spots in MMA’s most competitive and popular division being held by Brazilians, three other Brazilians are also ranked among the top ten at 205.

Of course, Anderson Silva will defend his Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Championship from Brazilian “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) sometime in 2010.  That previously UFC 108 slotted main event could also be postponed until the UFC can put on a show in Brazil next spring, making a Brazilian card with two all-Brazilian title fights at the top.

Seventh-ranked Brazilian “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) will fight countryman “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (15-3) at UFC 106 in Las Vegas November 11.

Wanderlei Silva is expected to lead the UFC into Australia at UFC 110 February 20, 2010 in a middleweight fight versus tenth-ranked middleweight “Sexyama” Yoshihiro Akiyama (14-2).

Newly tenth-ranked Brazilian Thiago Silva (15-1) will get a chance to step-up versus fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1) at UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2.

Fifth-ranked American Forrest Griffin (16-6) will welcome former UFC light heavyweight champion “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) back to the UFC at UFC 106 in Las Vegas November 21 in a rematch Ortiz won the first time.

Sixth-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) remains retired; but, eighth-ranked “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) is expected to come out of retirement in 2010.

Fighters.com’s November Light Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0)

2. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

3. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4)

4. “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1)

5. Forrest Griffin (16-6)

6. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

7. “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1)

8. “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7)

9. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1)

10. Thiago Silva (15-1)

What began as an uninteresting matchup forced after fifth-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) turned down a title shot versus Machida has become a bona fide grudge match between the Brazilians.

Top contender “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) will be tied-up through January defending his Middleweight Championship versus countryman “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) at UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2.  Silva has repeated that he won’t fight his friend Machida, but Fighters.com sources say the fight could be made if UFC President Dana White meets certain conditions.  But, if Rua beats Machida at UFC 104, former Chute Box training partners Silva and Rua have been tossing verbal barbs back and forth and would make an exciting 205-pound title fight.

Third-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1) swapped a much-hyped grudge match versus “Rampage” for a fight versus Thiago Silva (14-1) at UFC 108.

“Rampage” has evidently retired, but Fighters.com isn’t buying it.  I’ll put money down that Jackson will fight in the Octagon in 2010.

The winner between Evans and Silva is next in line for the UFC title shot if Machida successfully defends.

Seventh-ranked “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) will welcome fellow Brazilian “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Noguiera (15-3) to the Octagon at UFC 106 in Las Vegas November 21.  The winner will quickly enter the title mix.

Fourth-ranked Forrest Griffin (16-5) has been laying low since his embarrassing knockout loss to “Spider” Silva at UFC 101 in Philadelphia August 8.

Eighth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (24-7) is a free agent and in negotiations to return to the UFC, but Hendo’ told Sherdog negotiations aren’t going well.

Ninth-ranked “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) has also “retired” and can be seen on “Dancing with the stars”, but Fighters.com expects to see Liddell return to the Octagon in 2010 as well.

“Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) is preparing to debut at 185-pounds.

Fighters.com October Light Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (15-0)

2. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

3. “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1)

4. Forrest Griffin (16-5)

5. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

6. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-3)

7. “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1)

8. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (24-7)

9. “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7)

10. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1)

After Jackson announced his retirement from fighting Tuesday, Silva stepped up to take the challenge in an interview with Tatame Saturday.  Silva said, “If doesn’t happens the fight between Rashad and Rampage, that would be good for me.  I want to fight with top athletes and I’m ready.  Alex [Davis] is managing the stuff, trying to make this fight happen.”

Silva was responding to an interview Evans gave to AOL FanHouse in which Evans  said, “Thiago Silva is a good fighter.  I’d like to fight him and I think he wants to fight me.  I think I match up really well with Thiago Silva.  He’s a great striker, and I love his focus.  He’s going to be a challenge, and that’s the kind of fight I want”.

In agreement with Evans, Silva added, “It would be a show, a very movement fight.  We’re two aggressive fighters, it’ll be a good fight, the game matches.  I want to fight with the bests and show my work to be close to a title shot.

But, Evans’s previouslyly scheduled foe, “Rampage” Jackson, hasn’t given up on a fight with Evans even after retiring from professional fighting.  Jackson responded to Evans’s challenge to punch Jackson for free at MMA Bay, “Now he’s talking all hard, like he’s gonna hit me in the face?  All he’s doing is really pissing me off more and more.  I will go to Rashad’s house, knock on his door, drag his ugly ass out into the yard, let him play with his nipples first and knock him the fuck out.

“Like Rashad says, we’ll do the fight for free.  I want him to put his money where his mouth is so I can knock his teeth out and give him some change, the boy needs a change, his mouth is too big but he ain’t nothing.  The boy ain’t fought the people I’ve fought, he ain’t got the experience I’ve got.  He’s barking up the wrong tree so he’s gonna get pissed on for real.

Jackson added, “Rashad’s just real cocky and he wants to talk about punching me in the face for free?  I would love to see that, I would love to see that.  Wait till you guys see The Ultimate Fighter show, wait for all the episodes to come out and all the stuff that Rashad talks.  We all know, everybody knows, if I fought Rashad how he would do.  He would run around and play with his nipples like he does everybody else.  The boy don’t wanna fight me, he don’t wanna see me.  He knows that but he’s got a big mouth, he’s real cocky and he’s writing cheques that his ass can’t cash!

“He’s probably happy as hell that I took this movie instead of whoopin’ his ass and he’s trying to play it up like he’s not.  That’s all he is, he’s all talk. I did a show with the guy for six weeks.  I know what he is.  He’s all talk, it’s all show.  If there wasn’t cameras or stuff around or nobody to grab his ass he wouldn’t do half the things that he did.”

Jardine leaned into a left uppercut and Silva countered with a left hook that floored the American. Silva followed-up with a straight left to Jardine’s chin while hovering inside his open guard and Jardine’s legs flattend out on the mat.

“I was just throwing the punch to make sure he don’t get up again,” explained Silva post-fight.

Referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight as a confused Jardine slowly raised his head off the mat and questioned the stoppage.

After the fight, Silva addressed his future: “Whatever the UFC wants to do, whoever they want me to fight, I will be ready. I’m here to fight.”

UFC President Dana White has publicly pleaded for Liddell to retire. Liddell had barely woken up from his last knockout before the UFC put all Chuck Liddell merchandise on sale. But, is losing four out of five, three by knockout, a fitting end to a storied career? Does Liddell have one more big win in him so he can retire with dignity?

Evans and fourth-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) have been pegged to coach The Ultimate Fighter 10 and meet in the Octagon in December.

Third-ranked Forrest Griffin (16-5) has drawn the honor of finding out whether Fighters.com’s Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (24-4) is ready for the big time at 205 next month in Philadelphia at UFC 101.

Tenth-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (14-5-1) and former top ten Thiago Silva (14-1) will battle for a place at the bottom of the rankings at UFC 102 in Portland next month.

Sixth-ranked “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1), seventh-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (24-7), and ninth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) are all without named or rumored opponents.

The organization also confirmed a lightweight match between between David Baron (16-2) and Jim Miller (11-1) at the same event.

Silva withdrew last week due to a back injury, and now Machida has also been removed completely from the card.

Machida told Tatame, “There’s no way to find an opponent now, and I’ll have to wait another event to fight.  I don’t know who I’ll face, UFC didn’t say anything yet, only that I won’t fight at UFC 89.  It’s sad because I was focused, training hard and prepared, but this kind of things happens.”

Machida most recently faced “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-6-1), winning a unanimous decision at UFC 84 in May.

Shooto veteran Baron won his last fight via first-round guillotine choke over “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-8-2) in May.

Baron has not been defeated since Fighters.com’s second-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (29-3) caught him with a rear naked choke at PRIDE in 2008.

Miller last fought in the IFL, winning a unanimous decision over “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski (29-11) in April.

Jackson lost a decision to Griffin, but won a decision over third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7) and knocked out fourth-ranked “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5)…twice.

Henderson knocked out sixth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1), but lost the aforementioned decision to Jackson.

Liddell won a decision over Wanderlei Silva, but lost a decision to seventh-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) and, again, got knocked out by “Rampage”…twice.

Silva knocked out Jardine and has two TKOs of Jackson from PRIDE, but got knocked out by Henderson and lost a decision to Liddell.

Which leads me back to Jardine, who TKO’d Champ Griffin before he was Champ and won a decision over Liddell, only to be kayoed by Wanderlei Silva in 36 seconds.

Somewhere in that mixed soup of wins and losses from one through seven in Fighters.com’s September Heavyweight Rankings there’s order.  The following is Fighters.com’s version of it.

Conspicuously left out of the party is fifth-ranked “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0).  UFC President Dana White chose to match him down to formidable tenth-ranked Thiago Silva (13-0) rather than take his hard-earned shot at one of the division’s studs.

Evidently Machida still needs to prove himself while heavyweight Brock Lesnar (2-1) leap-frogged fifth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-3-1) this week for a crack at returning UFC Heavyweight Champion and Hall of Famer “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8) after going 1-1 in the Octagon.  Hmmm…

After winning a UD over “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-5-1), Machida should’ve drawn Liddell to determine a true top contender to the UFC title; but, instead, Liddell will make his case for a UFC title shot Saturday in Atlanta versus unranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (11-0-1).  Hmmm…

“Rampage” seems fated to avenge PRIDE-era losses to Wanderlei Silva or ninth-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3) in December…or not avenge those losses?

Jardine will fight former heavyweight “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2) in Birmingham; and, eighth-ranked Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) will fight fast-rising “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1).

Unfortunately, Henderson probably won’t return to the division he’s been most successful in the last two years.

September Light Heavyweight Rankings

1. Forrest Griffin (16-4)

“The Ultimate Fighter” is now truly the ultimate fighter after a close decision over Jackson, but now carries a target on his back in MMA’s most competitive division with Jackson, Liddell, and Machida taking aim.

2. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

Jackson returned from a 10-month holiday to lose a close UD to a hungry Griffin, but is 4-1 since bringing his “Rampage” to the cage.  He’s out-wrestled Olympian Hendo and became the only man to put Liddell on ice twice.

3. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

To think 205 is Hendo’s other weight class is astounding. A UD to Vitor Belfort paved a path for him to hold the PRIDE belt after a KO of long-time champ Silva. Henderson came up just short of unifying titles in a slog with ‘Page.  Until next time?

4. “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5)

Liddell has faced the toughest schedule the last two years, but fell consecutively to Jackson and Jardine.  He looked tough in his return to winning in the long-awaited face-off with Silva.

5. “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0)

Versus Sokou, the undefeated “Dragon” proved he could fly high and finish; but, his UD over Tito Ortiz was back to boring. His measured style is as tough for opposition to decipher as it sometimes is for fans to watch. His “W” column reads like a who’s who of MMA, but Machida needs stoppages to excite.

6. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)

It’s been a bloody mess for “The Axe Murderer” the last two years, but a 36-second slaughter of Jardine in May means the division still has to deal with one of it’s most popular names.

7. “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1)

A 36-second knockout loss to Silva, the third time he’s been kayoed in under a minute, left the “Dean” exposed amidst a division of big punchers.  But, wins over Liddell and Griffin keep him in the 205 mix.

8. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2)

Sokou had been punching fighters out of their top ten ranking until he ran into Machida, but there’s no shame in tapping to “The Dragon”.  Another big punch knocking out Kaz Nakamura in June stamped Sokou firmly in the top ten.

9. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3)

Whether injury, energy, or focus was the issue, Rua debuted in the UFC with a loss to then-struggling Griffin after earning the kudos of many with PRIDE wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem and Kazuhiro Nakamura.  His injured knee leaves him out of active duty until December.

10. Thiago Silva (13-0)

Undefeated in four Octagon appearances, Silva was the first to expose Houston Alexander‘s ground game and recently made “Antonio Mendes scream “uncle” beneath a brutal first-round G’n'P barrage.  He’s only seen the second round once in the last two years.

In Las Vegas 4 July, Fighters.com’s new Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) worked over now top contender “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) with leg kicks in a close unanimous decision.

Though Griffin hopped seven spots to take the championship, the decision loss was close enough that Jackson only drops one rank.

Jackson has declared his next opponent to be sixth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1), who drops a rank on Griffin’s ascension; but, no official word has come from the UFC.

Jackson versus Silva would make a trilogy that Silva dominated 2-0 in PRIDE.

Griffin will probably fight the winner of fourth-ranked “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) versus “Sugar” Rashad Evans (11-0-1), which gets on in Atlanta 6 September, but may also take on the winner of fifth-ranked “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0) versus tenth-ranked Thiago Silva (13-0) in Birmingham 18 October.

The debate rages across Internet message boards about who the top contender to Griffin’s title is: Jackson, Liddell, or Machida?

It seems third-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson will stay at 185-pounds after an impressive three-fight run at light heavyweight.

Seventh-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) will fight former heavyweight “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2) in Birmingham.

On the same card, eighth-ranked “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) will fight rising dark horse “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1).

Ninth-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3) remains on the DL with a knee injury.

August Light Heavyweight Rankings

1. Forrest Griffin (16-4)

“The Ultimate Fighter” is now truly the ultimate fighter after a close decision over Jackson, but now carries a target on his back in MMA’s most competitive division with Jackson, Liddell, and Machida taking aim.

2. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

Jackson returned from a 10-month holiday to lose a close UD to a hungry Griffin, but is 4-1 since bringing his “Rampage” to the cage.  He’s out-wrestled Olympian Hendo and became the only man to put Liddell on ice twice.

3. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

To think 205 is Hendo’s other weight class is astounding. A UD to Vitor Belfort paved a path for him to hold the PRIDE belt after a KO of long-time champ Silva. Henderson came up just short of unifying titles in a slog with ‘Page.  Until next time?

4. “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5)

Liddell has faced the toughest schedule the last two years, but fell consecutively to Jackson and Jardine.  He looked tough in his return to winning in the long-awaited face-off with Silva.

5. “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0)

Versus Sokou, the undefeated “Dragon” proved he could fly high and finish; but, his UD over Tito Ortiz was back to boring. His measured style is as tough for opposition to decipher as it sometimes is for fans to watch. His “W” column reads like a who’s who of MMA, but Machida needs stoppages to excite.

6. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)

It’s been a bloody mess for “The Axe Murderer” the last two years, but a 36-second slaughter of Jardine in May means the division still has to deal with one of it’s most popular names.

7. “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1)

A 36-second knockout loss to Silva, the third time he’s been kayoed in under a minute, left the “Dean” exposed amidst a division of big punchers.  But, wins over Liddell and Griffin keep him in the 205 mix.

8. “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2)

Sokou had been punching fighters out of their top ten ranking until he ran into Machida, but there’s no shame in tapping to “The Dragon”.  Another big punch knocking out Kaz Nakamura in June stamped Sokou firmly in the top ten.

9. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3)

Whether injury, energy, or focus was the issue, Rua debuted in the UFC with a loss to then-struggling Griffin after earning the kudos of many with PRIDE wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem and Kazuhiro Nakamura.  His injured knee leaves him out of active duty until December.

10. Thiago Silva (13-0)

Undefeated in four Octagon appearances, Silva was the first to expose Houston Alexander‘s ground game and recently made “Antonio Mendes scream “uncle” beneath a brutal first-round G’n'P barrage.  He’s only seen the second round once in the last two years.

Machida earned his latest victory in Las Vegas 24 May, a unanimous decision over “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-6-1).

Machida took five of his last six fights by unanimous decision.

Silva, on the other hand, finished eight of his last nine in the first round.

Silva most recently TKO’d “Samuray” Antonio Mendes (14-3) in 2:24 in Las Vegas 24 May.

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3), former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner (32-7), and “Hammer” Mark Coleman (15-8) signed autographs and third-ranked lightweight “JZ” Gesias Calvancanti (14-2-1) was in the crowd with his smokin’ hot girlfriend.

First up to the scale was debuting UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin (8-0) weighing in at 253 pounds. Carwin fights “Hungarian Nightmare” Christian Wellisch (9-3), who weighed 230 pounds.

Wellisch said, “He’s not as big as he looked on video.”

Next to the scale was DEEP vet, UFC debuting Dong Hyun Kim (9-1-1) weighing 171 pounds and his opponent, 170-pound Liverpudlian Jason Tan (5-2).

Another UFC first-timer, tenth-ranked welterweight “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2) weighed 170 pounds, the same as his opponent, “War Machine” Jon Koppenhaver (5-1).

Antoher Liverpudlian pugilist Terry Etim (10-1) weighed 155 pounds to match his UFC 84 opponent, “No Love” Rich Clementi (31-12-1).

“Kaz” Kazurhiro Nakamura (11-7) weighed a pound over light heavyweight at 206 pounds (“Without the Easter basket,” UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan commented). His UFC 84 opponent, seventh-ranked “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-2), weighed in a pound under at 204 pounds.

Brazilian Top Team’s “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (7-1) looked large at 185 pounds, which matched his Speedo-clad foe Ivan Salaverry (12-6).

UFC debuting “Samuray” Antonio Mendes (14-2) weighed two pounds under the light heavyweight limit at 203 pounds. His opponent, Thiago Silva (12-0), met the 205-pound limit. Mendes looked about as big around as one of Silva’s thighs.

Ninth-ranked “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) wore a shirt that read “Dana White Is My Bitch” and weighed 205 pounds. His opponent, third-ranked “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (12-0), shook his hand at the face-off, after matching his weight.

UFC debuting Goran Reljic (7-0) nudged his opponent Wilson Gouveia (10-4) at the face-off; but, American Top Team’s Gouveia didn’t flinch. They both weighed 205 pounds.

Tenth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) and fourth-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-3-1) both weighed 205 pounds.

Fifth-ranked “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-2-1) and fourth-ranked “Prodigy” B.J. Penn (12-4-1) both weighed 155 pounds for the UFC 84 main event title fight.

These girls didn’t weigh in; and, I didn’t think it polite to ask.

Gouveia arrived at Wednesday’s UFC 84 open workout with stablemate Thiago Silva (12-0), another rising talent at 205-pounds who will fight “Samuray” Antonio Mendes (14-2).

Gouveia talked about his commitment to MMA and the opening night jitters his UFC 84 opponent Goran Reljic (7-0) will be feeling Saturday.

Silva was rumored to be paired with Rashad Evans (11-0-1) for a top contender eliminator until Evans was tagged for bigger game at UFC 85 in London after “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3) re-injured his knee and dropped his main event match with “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5).

Mendes of Fortaleza, where fighters are born, rides into the fight capital of the world atop an 11-fight “W” trend.

In his last fight in M-1 last July, the ring-side doc waved mercy over his Russian opposite Kiril Sidelnikov (2-1) of Red Devil Sport Club at the end of round two for a TKO.

Silva of Sao Paulo is fresh from exposing hulking Nebraskan Houston Alexander (8-2) to what we in the biz refer to as “the ground game”, TKOing the hyped disc jockey at 3:25 of round one last November.

When “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3) blew his ACL and comeback shot versus “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) scheduled for 7 June in London, there was really only one fighter who could step-in.

The UFC announced today that Rua’s replacement will be TUF 2 champ Rashad Evans (11-0-1) of Jackson’s Submission Fighting.

Every other light heavy worth mentioning in the UFC is already committed to announced bouts.

As I speculated Tuesday, the undefeated former collegiate wrestler was the most likely candidate.

But, that’s unfortunate.

This is the kind of matchup I hate to see an accomplished fighter like Liddell take, the kind that’s only significant if he loses.

Big names and best-selling books aside, Liddell’s take down defense and spot on, double-barrel fisticuffs blesses him with the favor of the odds.

But, in MMA odds are what the fighters wipe their feet on before entering the Octagon.  I take the attitude fighters remind me of everyday.  Any fighter who steps into the Octagon can step out a winner.

That’s why Evans is an unfortunate matchup for Liddell, who’s KO’d a Hall of Fame list of mixed martial artists.  Evans might win.

I favor Liddell, you say?  If Liddell is so good, he should defeat any challenge.

All true.  However, it’s an unfortunate matchup because Evans hasn’t earned it in the Octagon, only in Nielsen ratings.

Evans’s last two Octagon appearances have been thresholds to bigger fights.

Versus “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) in July 2007, Evans fought  hard, but was physically and tactically over-matched by his fellow wrestler.  The fight ended in a draw.

As a headliner in November 2007, Evans faced “The Count” Michael Bisping (14-1), who was coming off what most believed should’ve been his first loss, a generous split decision victory over Matt Hamill (3-1).

The odds were heavily in Evans’s favor in a situation much like Liddell faces in this matchup.  The outcome was only significant in Evans lost.

Evans eeked out a split decision “W”, convincing Bisping he’s better suited to 185-pounds, but convincing no one that Evans is ready for bigger fights at 205.

Evans failed to traverse both thresholds, and had been rumored to be matched against Thiago Silva (12-0) of American Top Team in London before Rua’s injury.

Despite the loss to Forrest Griffin (15-5) in September 2007, Rua’s record of vanquished opponents compared to Liddell’s, including a 2005 KO of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-6), a unanimous decision over “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and a KO of Ricardo Arona (13-5).

Evans’s most notable “W” may be that split decision over Bisping, a fellow TUF champ.

Liddell now faces the same situation he did before losing a split decision to “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-3-1).

In Evans, Liddell faces a dangerous competitor made doubly-dangerous because he has little to lose and a title shot to gain.

Loose lips had already divulged details for both events.

At the MGM Grand Garden Arena 24 May, “The Prodigy” BJ Penn will defend his UFC Lightweight Championship against the improper advances of former 155-pound champ Sean Sherk, returning from a banned substances suspension.

My Portuguese is a little rusty, but Wanderlei Silva has also confirmed via his blog that he’s signed to fight Keith Jardine on the Vegas strip.

Other rumored bouts include:

Ryoto Machida v Tito Ortiz
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou v Kazuhiro Nakamura
Rashad Evans v Thiago Silva
Wilson Gouveia v Goran Reljic
Rousimar Palhares v Ivan Salaverry
Dong-hyun Kim v Jason Tan
Terry Etim v Jeremy Stephens
Shane Carwin v Christian Wellisch

At 02 Arena in London 7 June, light heavyweights Chuck Liddell and  Mauricio Rua will headline in a fight that not too long ago would’ve been considered the king-maker at 205.

Brandon Vera has also confirmed he’ll return versus Fabricio Werdum in London.

Brock Lesnar is also rumored to return on this fight card.