Of course before we get too far ahead of ourselves we should look at the roadblock that is standing directly in front of Faber this weekend at UFC 157 in the form of Ivan Menjivar. The 12 year veteran of the sport has comprised a 4-1 record inside the Octagon since being imported over from the WEC with his one loss coming to Mike Easton (he also had one a time showing back at UFC 48 where he lost to Matt Serra but that is, for all intents and purposes, ancient history). Most recently he went to the bank thanks to a first round armbar victory over Azamat Gashimov that won him Submission of the Night honors. He had a crack at Faber back in 2006 but lost the bout due to an illegal kick. It’s a very interesting battle here between two guys who will be more than happy to keep things standing and can both keep a frantic pace. Menjivar will be more reliant on the big power punches and elbows and will be more vulnerable if things hit the mat (think of what happened to Mizugaki once Faber was able to ground him). To win he will have to batter Faber the way Aldo did (leg kick, leg kick, leg kick) as opposed to the way Cruz did because if this turns into a dance routine/point fight expect Faber to walk away with an easy victory.

It won’t necessarily be by choice but I do expect this fight to eventually boil down to a boxing match and it will be one that Faber should be able to dominate. I think that in general the narrative of the Bantamweight division will be richer and far more interesting in the coming year if we were to have the seasoned veteran Menjivar suddenly thrust into the title picture as opposed to us all pretending to get psyched over another Faber humiliation but I just don’t see things going down that way. Faber is far too crafty to get caught in one of Menjivar’s submissions and his speed and slight cardio advantage should be enough to earn him 29-28 scorecards come Saturday night.

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Fight Card
Middleweight Bout: Rich Franklin (185) vs. Cung Le (186)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Stanislav Nedkov (203) vs. Thiago Silva (205)
Welterweight Bout: Dong Hyum Kim (170.5) vs. Paulo Thiago (169.5)
Lightweight Bout: Mac Danzig (155) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)
Lightweight Bout: Jon Tuck (156) vs. Tiequan Zhang (155)
Bantamweight Bout: Jeff Hougland (135) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135.5)
Bantamweight Bout: Alex Caceres (136) vs. Motonobu Tezuka (135.5)
Flyweight Bout: John Lineker (126) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (125.5)
Middleweight Bout: Tom DeBlass (185) vs. Riki Fukuda (186)

Middleweight Bout
Tom DeBlass (7-1) vs. Riki Fukuda (18-6)

Round 1- Marc Goddard will be the ref for this opening contest. DeBlass opens with a leg kick and then follows it with another and another. Fukuda is keeping the pressure on and is able to score a double leg takedown. DeBlass gets his guard up and Fukuda is having difficulty landing shots on him. Fukuda works the body but DeBlass is utilizing strong defense off his back. DeBlass is back to his feet. The fighters exchange shots tot he face but nothing lands cleanly. Outside leg kick for DeBlass. DeBlass lands a jab but catches an eyepoke at the same time and the action is halted for a few seconds. Fukuda goes for a single leg takedown but DeBlass is able to fend it off. Inside leg kick for Fukuda. Fukuda peppers DeBlass with some punches and kicks though is unable to do any real damage. Fukuda grabs a single leg takedown in the final seconds on the opening stanza. He keeps the action there for the duration and it is enough to steal him a round. 10-9 Fukuda.

Round 2- Hook for Fukuda to open the round. They tie up against the cage and exchange some knees. Fukuda is in the dominant position and works the knees very nicely. Soft outside leg kick for Fukuda. He hits a few more leg kicks as DeBlass is unable to get anything going in round 2. Inside leg kick for Fukuda. Fukuda ties him up and grabs the clinch so that he can land a few more knees. DeBlass comes back with a combo of his own hoping to score some points. Fukuda pushes forward with some crisp shots of his own. The action slows down but Fukuda seems to be in charge as he is able to keep DeBlass moving backwards. They are back up against the cage and Fukuda is able to connect with some shots to the temple. They break and box for a good minute or so. The final seconds tick away and Fukuda has another one in the bag. 10-9 Fukuda.

Round 3- More boxing to open the final round. Fukuda lands a big right hook that startles DeBlass momentarily. Fukuda grabs his with a bearhug and muscles him to the ground for top position. Fukuda starts to work the mid-section of DeBlass. DeBlass seems to be out of gas and Fukuda is doing enough to keep the fight grounded. Fukuda goes for the pass but can’t quite get it and is back in full guard. He fires a few more shots in towards the head of DeBlass. DeBlass tries to fight his way out but gets scolded for hitting the back of the head. DeBlass desperately trying to grab an armbar but cannot find it and Fukuda is relentless. More shots to the side of DeBlass. Goddard stands them up which is a questionable decision. DeBlass tries to land big shots after the stand up but Fukuda quickly ties him up again against the inside of the Octagon and lands some nice shots. The round and the fight come to a close. Fukuda 10-9, once again, giving him a dominant 30-27 win on our scorecard.

Riki Fukuda def. Tom DeBlass via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Flyweight Bout
John Lineker (19-6) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-5-6)

Round 1- Lineker opens up with a series of leg kicks that land. Urushitani is staying active and councing around the cage trying to find his distance. He lands a leg kick of his own. Urushitani comes forward with a strong kick to the stomach of Lineker. Lineker goes back to the leg kick and finds some success. Neither man is overly eager to commit to anything which has led to a semi-uneventful opening frame. Knee for Urushitani. Stiff jab lands for Lineker. A very right hook for Lineker also finds its mark. Lineker keeps the heat on as he charges forward with a series of punches. None of them do much in the way of damage but he is certainly scoring points with them. Urushitani tries his hand at kickboxing but nothing has really worked for him thus far. Lineker lands a left hook as Urushianti leaps that floors his opponent but he is unable to capitalize on it. Urushitani finds his way back to his feet and the round ends a few seconds later. 10-9 Lineker.

Round 2- After a few seconds of dancing Lineker connects beautifully with a spinning back kick that seems to hurt Urushitani. After a quick recovery Urushitani lands a two kick combo. Lineker comes right back though and hammers Urushitani with a clean shot of his own. Urushitani goes for a headkick but he comes up dry. Lineker charges forward again with a series of punches and he lands cleanly with a few of them. Urushitani seems to be dazed and in danger as Lineker is having all sorts of success here. Inside leg kick for Lineker. Urushitani returns the favor. Urushitani gets poked in the left eye and the action stops for 30 seconds or so. After the timeout LIneker picks up right where he left off, pushing the action and staying in charge. Urushitani finds his range with a right hand. Massive left hook from Lineker. Nasty inside leg kick for Lineker which he follows with two more as the round ends. 10-9 Lineker.

Round 3- Inside leg kick for Lineker lands followed by a big right hand that knocks Urushitani down again. He gets up quickly though and the fight continues. Inside leg kick for Urushitani. Big left hook for Lineker stuns his opponent again. A beautiful 2 punch combo lands for Lineker. Anik and Florian spend some time telling us what an amazing fight this has been despite the evidence. Urushitani throws a kick which is blocked. Lineker comes forward and lands a flurry of punches that once again seem to have Urushitani on the ropes. He can’t quite finish him though and Urushitani is able to create enough diatance to collect his thoughts. Big left for Lineker lands. He goes for the takedown but Urushitani is able to sprawl away from it. They end up tied up against the cage with Lineker in control. Straight left for Urushitani finds Lineker’s chin. Lineker will not stop though as he keeps throwing an insane number of punches. The round and the fight come to a close. 10-9 Lineker again which means that he is up 30-27 on our scorecard as we go to the judges.

John Lineker def. Yasuhiro Urushitani via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Bantamweight Bout
Alex Caceras (7-5) vs. Motonobu Tezuka (19-4-4)

Round 1- Caceres opens up as the aggressor trying to land some kicks to start this fight off. Outside leg kick for Tezuka lands. Tezuka goes for the single leg and Caceres tries to grab the guillotine but Tezuka is able to get things to the mat. Caceres tries for a triangle but Tezuka uses the opportunity to pass guard and get into side control. Tezuka is slow to take advantage however as the fight slows down dramatically. Tezuka is possibly looking for the North South Choke but he doesn’t do it fast enough as referee Marc Goddard stands them up. Tezuka goes for an ankle pick but it doesn’t work. Then he tries for the single leg but Caceres does well for himself in fending it off. Tezuka tries desperatly to hold on to the leg but Caceres escapes and gets a takedown of his own. Tezuka once again goes for the ankle, Caceres grabs the back but Tezuka rolls to escape. It works for a minute but Caceras grabs the back again and lands a nice short elbow. Super close round but we see it 10-9 Tezuka.

Round 2- Outside leg kick for Tezuka is the first bit of offense we see in round 2. He lands another while Caceres tries to utilize his spinning attacks. Caceres throws a sidekick but Tezuka grabs it and scores a takedown. Caceres has a modified half guard that he’s working. Tezuka falls into the full guard but can’t really do anything on the ground and Caceras is able to escape and stand up. Outside leg kick for Caceres. Caceres tries a flying knee but it appears to be mostly blocked. Tezuka grabs a leg and tries to wrestle Caceres to the ground. They end up against the cage. Caceres gets away and lands a good, clean punch to the side of Tezuka’s face. Caceres with a short little jab. Tezuka is throwing some strikes of his own. Tezuka goes for yet another single leg but Caceres is able to blast him. Another flying knee from caceras and this one gets through though does limited damaged. 10-9 Caceres.

Round 3- Caceres slips in the opening seconds. Tezuka follows up with a shot that knocks Caceres backwards. They break and then come back together and tie up against the cage. Another break and Caceres tries to start working his jab. Hook for Caceres lands. Another good combo from Caceres finds a home. Some boxing from the fighters. Tezuka goes for another single leg but Caceres has gotten very good at blocking these. Tezuka throws a 1-2 combo but neither shot really lands. Caceres keeps moving and lands a few nice jabs. He also catches Tezuka with a hook on the way in. Another tough hook lands for Caceres. Tezuka starts to look desperate and begins to throw some more strikes. He then ties Caceres up against the cage trying with all his might to score a last second takedown. Instead Caceres locks on side traingle but the round ends before he can do anything with it. 10-9 Cacers giving him a 29-28 advantage on our scorecard.

Alex Caceres def. Motonobu Tezuka via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)

Bantamweight Bout
Takeya Mizugaki (15-7-2) vs. Jeff Hougland (10-5)

Round 1- I guess they only hired two refs for tonight but that is neither here nor there. izugaki comes out throwing bombs. Hougland tries to close the distance and work from the clinch but isn’t really able to. Mizugaki lands another shots that backs Hougland up. Hook for Hougland. Mizugaki backs him up again with some strikes but Hougland falls back on his gameplan and takes him down with a double leg. Mizugaki quickly reverses it though and ends up on top. Hougland grabs an arm looking for a submission but Mizugaki lands some big shot and Hougland releases the hold. Hougland has him in full guard but Mizugaki is able to get some heavy shots through. Two minutes left in the opening frame and Mizugaki is finding all kind of success from the top as he lands shot after shot on Hougland. Hougland appears to be looking for a triangle but Mizugaki will not be stopped as he continues to beat up Jeff Hougland. Mizugaki goes a little too far into the guard and Hougland grabs a nice looking head and arm choke from the bootom that seems to be quite tight. Mizugaki is able to escape though and remaind on top of the American. The round ends and things are looking good for Mizugaki. 10-9 Mizugaki.

Round 2- Mizugaki lands a body shot early on in the round. HE grabs the clinch and connects with a short elbow that staggers Hougland. Hougland looks for a takedown but it isn’t meant to be as Mizugaki flattens him and gets a takedown of his own. And we are right back to where we were last round with Mizugaki on top dominating the action and pasting Hougland with punches to the face. Hougland rolls backwards to escape but Mizugaki pounces and takes the back for a second before Hougland is able to turn over. However, that lands him right back to where he’s been for the majority of the fight which is to say flat on his back. He gets a reprieve though as the ref stands the action back up. Right away Mizugaki connects with a left hook and scores another takedown. Hougland has been completely useless in this fight through the first 10 minutes. Mizugaki is able to slip in a few more blows before the bell rings. 10-9 Mizugaki, easily.

Round 3- Inside leg kick for Mizugaki, followed by a huge shot that drops Hougland for a second. But when Mizugaki comes in to take advantage Hougland grabs him and scores a big power double takedown. But, as has been the case, he can’t stay in control on the ground and within seconds Mizugaki is back in the driver’s seat. They stand up and Hougland tries to throw some punches for a few seconds before Mizugaki predictably takes him back down. The crowd is a little restless but you can hardly blame Mizugaki when Hougland is making it so easy for him to pitch a shutout. Hougland tries to stay active from the bottom but he is unable to get any steam behind any of his punches. He is able to get things standing again and now he has 2 minutes to try and finish the fight. But Mizugaki quickly takes things down again. I assume we are seeing the end of Jeff Hougland’s UFC career. Mizugaki is content to lay on top and run out on the clock on what could be the easiest victory of his career. Hougland is busted open bad in the final seconds which just adds insult to injury. 10-9 Mizugaki again giving him a 30-27 victory on our scorecard and if anybody saw any of those rounds for Hougland then they out of their mind.

Takeya Mizugaki def. Jeff Hougland via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-27)

Can’t say I really disagree with that 30-25 scorecard, I just didn’t see enough offense in any of those rounds from him to give him a 10-8 but Hougland was limp and useless.

Lightweight Bout
Tiequan Zhang (15-3) vs. Jon Tuck (6-0)

Round 1- Very nice of the UFC to put their one Chinese fighter on their one UFC card. They start off boxing. Zhang gets a bodyslam and instantly takes side control. Tuck tries to land some elbows from the bottow but not much comes from it. Zhang tries to land shots from the top but Tuck grabs a big armbar that looks like it has the potential to finish the fight. They roll and and roll and Tuck keeps cranking on the arm but Zhang hangs on and escapes the hold. Tuck is able to take the back though and begins moving towards a rear naked choke. Zhang defends well but Tuck transitions beautifully into full mount. Zhang spins and gives up his back again. Tuck grabs for the neck. He looks like he might be able to lock it in but Zhang is a fighter and the battle continues. Tuck tries to soften them up with blows to Zhang’s face and side. Zhang escapes and gets back to his feet with only a few seconds left in the round. 10-9 Tuck.

Round 2- Tuck opens with a straight to the face and follows it with an attempted head kick. Big left for Tuck lands and Zhang fires back and a war breaks out in the center of the cage. Tuck keeps throwing bombs but Zhang locks him up and takes him down. Zhan’s offense from the top is pretty inert so far and Tuck is able to reverse and land on top. The fight slows down as the two combatants try to gain an advantage. Tuck certainly seems to be ahead on grappling points. He moves into full mount again and has a full two minutes to work with. He pins the right arm of Zhang down with his knee. Tuck transitions around and once again gets the back of Zhang. Tuck tries for a body triangle but can’t get it all the way on. Not much going on near the end of the round as Tuck clings to Zhang’s back. 10-9 Tuck once again.

Round 3- Zhang comes out swinging so I guess he knows that he’s down two rounds to none. Jab for Tuck. Outside leg kick for Zhang. Tuck hits another jab and Zhang swings wildly and misses with two shots. Zhang hammers him with two massive shots right to the kisser and Tuck is stunned and off balance. Tuck tries for some funky kicks but neither of them really land and Zhang is clearly in control of this round. Tuck tries to recover and resorts to throwing some short punches. They exchange kicks. Big right hook for Zhang. Outside leg kick for Zhang. Zhang is actually pushing the action for the first time all night and Tuck is forced to fight while backing up. Inside leg kick for Zhang is checked. Zhang keeps on him with a diet of kicks and punches to the face. Flying knee from Tuck does not find a home. The round and the fight come to a close. We have that round 10-9 Zhang but we have the fight going to Tuck 29-28.

Jon Tuck def. Tiequan Zhang via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Lightweight Bout
Takanori Gomi (33-8) vs. Mac Danzig (21-9-1)

Round 1- Inside leg kick for Danzig. Kick to the body for Danzig. Danzig throws another kick, Gomi catches it and makes him pay with a straight punch. Lots of trepidation from both of them in the early stages of the fight. They exchange punches, Danzig moves in, grabs the clinch and lands a few knees. Gomi counters with a double leg takedown. Danzig grabs for the neck, Gomi escapes but it allows Danzig to stand up. Big leg kick for Gomi. Another and then a right hook to follow. Hook slips through for Danzig. Gomi with a big shot to the chin. Leg kick for Gomi. Danzig follows with one of his own. Danzig leaps forward and gets a nice single leg takedown and then lands a few shots. With a few seconds left Gomi goes for a heel hook and the round ends. 10-9 Gomi though it was close and neither of them looked all that spectacular.

Round 2- Danzig lands a leg kick but has to eat a shot to the face for his trouble. Danzig starts boxing but isn’t doing much in the way of damage. Gomi is looking for the bigger shots but isn’t having any more luck as far as landing is conerned. Gomi works through the defense and hits some big body shots. Quick combo for Danzig connects. Jab from Gomi lands. Gomi goes for a takedown but is shrugged off. Danzig goes for the Thai clinch but only lands a mediocre knee out of it. Leg kick for Gomi. Gomi continues to apply pressure, throwing tough straights and hooks. Danzig comes back with a 2-1 combo and then is able to secure a double leg takedown. Gomi tries to get up but Danzig locks on a dandy guillotine. It looks tight at first but Gomi adjusts his poisition to relieve some of the pressure. Danzig himself readjusts and goes for the finish but Gomi is able to hold on until the end of the round. 10-9 Danzig.

Round 3- Gomi catches Danzig with a sneaky right to open the round that knocks Danzig down. Gomi is right there to get on top and start working his top game. Danzig has a half guard. Gomi starts working for a head and arm choke but Danzig defends and Gomi has to release it. Danzig finds a leg and goes for a knee lock. Gomi defends and tries for a submission of his own. It goes nowhere but Gomi ends up on top which is ultra important in this all decisive round. Danzig stands up after about 30 seconds or so. The two grapple for position. They fight their way tot he mat where Danzig slips around and almost gets the back but Gomi is sneaky and manages to stand up. Nice hook for Danzig. Leg kick for Gomi. Florian comments on how tired both of them are and I am inclined to agree Danzig tries to hurn up the heat. He goes for a takedown but is stuffed. Two uppercuts from the clinch for Danzig. Gomi responds with a few of his own. The fight ends. That was an ultra close round to end an ultra close fight. We are going with Gomi 10-9, giving him a 29-28 advantage on our scorecard though it will be very interesting to see which way the judges fall on this one.

Takanori Gomi def. Mac Danzig via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Welterweight Bout
Dong Hyun Kim (15-2-1) vs. Paula Thiago (14-4)

Round 1- Kim goes for the single leg right away but Thiago is able to defend for a bit. He goes for a choke but Kim escapes and maintains his grip on Thiago and scores the takedown. Thiago gives up his back and Kim begins working on getting his hooks in. Kim is looking for some sort of choke, perhaps a modified rear naked is the best way to describe it. He releases that and begins to pound away on the face of Thiago. Thiago is able to get out of one of the hooks. Kim is now focused on getting ahold of Thiago’s arm. Kim now has a body triangle in place. He works over the face of Thiago remaining in complete control of this fight. He begins work on another rear naked choke. Thiago defends well and tries to slip out the back door. Kim still has the back and is still pounding away. With 30 seconds left Kim goes for another choke. He doesn’t quite have it all the way on. He transitions into a neck crank and really torques on it. Somehow Thiago survives but that round was clearly a 10-8 for Kim.

Round 2- Big head kick for Thiago glances off the head of Kim. Kim struggles for a takedown but Thiago grabs the arm and begins to crank on a kimura. It looks tight but Kim man’s up and powers through it to survive. Thiago still has the arm but Kim is looking to take the back. He’s pressty much there but Thiago will not let go of the arm. He finally lets go and Kim gets his arms around the torso of Thiago. Thiago tries to scramble away but is unable. They jockey for position but Kim is easily winning this fight. Kim goes for short elbows to the head and Thiago reverses out the back door and uses it to stand up. Kim moves away and gets Thiago up against the cage. Kim sees an opportunity for a D’Arce choke and he commits to it but the round ends before he has a chance to finish. 10-9 Kim.

Round 3- Kim goes for a crazy spinning back fist that misses and sends him off balance. Didn’t we learn anything from Chael Sonnen? Thiago with a kick that sort of lands. Thiago does seem a bit more urgent here in the final round. Kim grabs a single leg and then spins around and takes the back once again. Kim is very high on Thiago’s back. He tries to soften Thiago up with some shots to the face. Again Thiago tries to slip out the back door but Kim is holding on for dear life. Kim almost has a body triangle on but it isn’t quite there. Kim grounds Thiago again which allows him to move back down the back and improve his position. Kim uncorks some huge shots to the side of Thiago’s head. Now he moves to elbows and Thiago looks to be in danger. Anik will not shut up about how Kim is the UFC’s most accurate welterweight. More big shots for Kim. He even utilizing the double axehandle. More ground and pound to finish and that ends a huge performance for Dong Hyun Kim. 10-8 Kim giving him an extremely dominant 30-25 scorecard as far as we are concerned.

Dong Hyun Kim def. Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Light Heavyweight Bout
Thiago Silva (14-3) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (12-0)

Round 1- Nedkov charges ahead and backs Silva up and locks him there. They exchange some knees and try to gain an advantage. Silva lands a strong knee to the thigh of Nedkov. Nedkov isn’t doing much until he floors Silva with a shot. Silva stands up and they begin to brawl. Nedkov plays it safe and ties him up against the Octagon again. Silva lands a knee from the clinch. Nedkov fires back with huge looping punches. Silva looks to be gassed very early on. Nedkov with a nasty leg kick. Once again Nedkov locks him against the cage and tries to land some knees. Silva returns fire but his shots don’t have a ton of mustard on them. Big knee from the Thai clinch for Silva. Nedkov goes for the uppercut, Silva copvers up but Nedkov moves in and ties him up again. Soft knee from Silva but it is enough to break the hold. Nedkov closes the distance again and is looking for a takedown. The round ends. We are going 10-9 Nedkov in the name of Octagon control but it was a close one.

Round 2- Silva comes out kicking and he lands one square in the groin of Nedkov. The fight is paused so that he can recover. Silva throws another kick after the restart. Nedkov throws some punches and closes the distance so I guess he is going with the same strategy here in round 2. He has been very successful at tieing Silva up against the cage and keeping him there for long periods of time. The ref warns them to work so Silva starts to throw some more knees. They get a break from the ref. Nedkov moves in and lands a few shots and ties him up again. it is only because he is able to land some of these punches that his gameplan is working so well. The crowd is getting restless so at least we now know that premature booing is universal in MMA. Silva goes for a punch but Nedkov clocks him in the process. Silva connects with a good punch to the face. Nedkov though seems unaffected and locks Silva up again. If this is the way this fight is going down then I guess we really are getting all judge’s decisions today. Big leg kick for Silva. Huge right from Nedkov knocks Silva over. He gets on top and tries to finish but silva is able to cover up and survive the rest of the round. Uneventful except for the last 20 seconds or so but once again Nedkov wins the round 10-9.

Round 3- Inside leg kick for Silva. Nedkov swings wildly and misses and Silva makes him pay for it. Again Silva lands a beautiful counter strike. Nedkov is stunned and Silva takes him down and easily moves into full mount. Silva is right at home here on the mat and is making NEdkov pay. Nedkov is looking to tie up his opponent and get the stand up. Silva transitions into a head and arm choke and quickly finishes the fight via submission. That should net Silva some serious cash as I like it for submission of the night (obviously) and fight of the night (depending on what happens in the main event).

Thiago Silva def. Stanislav Nedkov via Submission (Arm Triangle), Round 3 (1:45)

Middleweight Bout
Rich Franklin (29-6) vs. Cung Le (8-2)

Round 1- Inside leg kick from Le, counter strike by Franklin. Big outside leg kick for Franklin. Another. And another, Le tries to land a spinning back kick but it comes up short. Franklin with a left. Then he puts together a combo that lands well. Hook for Franklin. Then out of nowhere Le hits an amazing right hook that knocks Franklin out cold. It came out of nowhere and gives what had been a lackluster show a shocking ending. Le gets his second straight UFC victory.
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This was an odd week for White because this was one of those weeks when a statement he made caused a firestorm and then went ahead and had to modify it 24 hours later. It made him look like somebody who is susceptible to speaking without thinking, something he’s been accused of in the past, as well as bending to the cries of those in the bleachers. But to those of us who have paid attention we know that simply isn’t true. It begs a question or two. Mainly it came down to “why the blunder?”

And why allow misinformation to seep in when it totally wasn’t necessary? It has everything to do with the nature of the Light Heavyweight division and what it takes to crown a #1 contender in the early days of what will most likely be called the “Jon Jones Era.”

On Monday White stated that the winner of Shogun Rua and Brandon Vera would be given a title shot during the UFC on Fox 4 pre-fight media call. He continued to sing the praises of Rua while also admitting that perhaps Vera had wandered into a fairly lucky situation. Once word spread of this news the backlash began: White did a good job of articulating former UFC light heavyweight champion and Pride star Rua’s accomplishments.

Sadly the same cannot be said for Vera. He’s lost 3 out of his last four fights, with the fight against Thiago Silva technically changed to a no-contest due to a failed drug test. He is only still in the UFC because of that falsified urine sample and he is only in this fight because that same Silva fell out of a UFC 149 fight against Shogun; Shogun passed on upstart Glover Teixeira, who is now scheduled against Quinton Jackson in Teixeira’s native Brazil. Dana took it all back and said whoever looked the best in the Shogun/Vera AND Lyoto Machida/Ryan Bader match would get the next shot at Jon Jones.

With Dan Henderson scheduled for the near future, the challengers afterwards (provided he defeats Henderson) aren’t as promising because of glaring deficiencies or the feeling that they’re not quite ready to take that next step up. Chances are that after Saturday Rua and Machida will emerge as the winners and while a final piece to their trilogy feels appropriate, throwing in a coaching stint on the second season of “TUF: Brazil” to make it a “can’t miss” fight on a card later in Rio, finding Jones somebody credible to defeat means that one of these gentlemen is going to get a rematch much sooner they ought to.

Such is the state of the light heavyweight division.

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Such is life I suppose, but for me it’s kind of a bummer because while I am totally on board with the crazy antics of Nick Diaz, Nate just seems like the brother who has chosen to go big on the thuggishness but can’t back it up with straight comedy that his bro can provide.

As for the fight itself I don’t think that this warrants FOX TV main event status and not because these guys aren’t capable of being stars. Miller is one of the better fighters in the world in the sports toughest division while Diaz has that personality that is impossible to ignore. But I find it to be a mismatch. Currently Fight Matrix has them listed as #7 and 8 with Diaz as the higher ranked of the two but I just don’t buy into those numbers. I know a win over Donald Cerrone is worth a lot these days but certainly not that much. Also, I think the utter failure of his welterweight campaign should still be counted against him since he has only had 2 fights back at lightweight.

I will admit to being surprised by the ease with which Diaz handled Cerrone back at UFC 140 so maybe I’m writing him off too soon but that fight alone is not enough to convince me that he’ll have what it takes to combat the strength and wrestling ability of his opponent. Plus, if there are two things we can count on a Diaz to be it is cocky and sloppy and look how far that got Melvin Guillard when he ran up against Miller a few months ago. Miller’s only two loses in his last 18 fights have come against current UFC champ Ben Henderson and two time UFC contender Grey Maynard. Yes he got gobbled up in an ugly way by Henderson but there is no shame in that.

Much more shameful to me is Diaz’s 5-5 record in his last 10 outings. Sure that’s far better than I would have accomplished but Dana White really should be looking at that when granting title shots and not his excitement over the opportunity to splash Diaz’s name all over a PPV. To me this is clearly the easiest pick on the main card, look for Miller to chew Diaz up and finish him far before Nick has a chance to offer any brotherly advice from the corner. Miller doesn’t have the raw boxing skills that Diaz does but he has much more of a chance of landing a one punch knockout. I think he’ll land it early and end this fight in the opening frame but if not he can always fall back on his grappling and toss Diaz around the cage in much the same manner that Rory MacDonald did in Toronto last year.

Neither is likely to run out of steam though neither has ever fought past the third round. If you had to bet on one of them to outlast the other you would probably want to go with Diaz in that department which might slant the balance in his favor if this fight goes the distance. Of course for him to rack up massive points he’ll also have to keep things standing, something he had no problem doing against Cerrone. But I just can’t envision Miller letting things go that deep before he earns the stoppage victory. He’ll probably still need one more win to earn a rematch with Henderson (possibly against the winner of Guida/Maynard) but I have faith that he will one day be a champion.

Miller via 1st Round TKO
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In the main event, Antonio McKee (27-4-2) fights Chad Dietmeyer (8-1) in a lightweight scrap. McKee is a former UFC veteran, a former champion with MFC and an IFL standout. There is not a better fighter in the game that can control a fight and take it to the ground and keep it on the ground like McKee. McKee went on an 8 year undefeated streak and looks to continue his two-fight streak he is currently riding. For Dietmeyer, this will be a huge step up in competition and with it comes a huge career opportunity. Dietmeyer has fought on the Arizona circuit for some time, grabbing regional titles and a victory over the vaunted McKee would do wonders for his future. Expect McKee to do what he does best and try to get the fight to the ground early and keep it there. Dietmeyer needs to make McKee pay when he comes in for a takedown, a tall order, and then if he finds himself on the bottom work submission after submission.

In the co-main event, Jesse Juarez (15-5) takes on Leonardo Silva. For the Strikeforce and Bellator vet, Juarez this is another chance to get on the radar of the UFC. Juarez is a strong wrestler, especially as a welterweight, and will no doubt try and control the bout and get Silva on his back. For Silva, this could be a make or break fight as he has suffered back to back losses, so expect the Strikeforce and Bellator veteran to come out guns blazing, leaving nothing to chance. This is an important fight for both fighters for very different reasons so that is great news to the fans. Expect fireworks of some kind early on in this bout.

Don’t miss this exciting card. Extreme Fighters World Championship brings you another fully loaded card with “The Untamed 2″. Watch the hottest SoCal fighters compete in the cage. Order this event now, exclusively through the GFL Combat Sport Network at GFL.tv.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (March 28, 2012) – Invicta Fighting Championships will stream its inaugural all-women’s professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event live in its entirety, free of charge to a worldwide audience on the promotion’s website, InvictaFC.com, from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. on Saturday, April 28.

“Since we announced the formation of Invicta, we’ve received tremendous support and interest from fight fans around the world who are eager to watch some of the best fighters in the women’s field of MMA compete in our first event,” said Invicta President and Co-Founder Shannon Knapp.

“The live stream,” continued Knapp, “is the best way to give fans, no matter where they are located, the opportunity to participate and take in the action as it unfolds and, at the same time, establish the forthcoming Invicta website as an online destination for women’s MMA content.”

The live stream on InvictaFC.com will begin at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST with the event’s five-bout preliminary card and continue with the seven-bout main card.

The first-ever Invicta Fighting Championships event will be headlined by a long-awaited featherweight (145 pounds) rematch between superstar Marloes Coenen (19-5) of The Netherlands and Romy Ruyssen (5-1) of France.

In the co-main event, two 29-year-old submission specialists – Jessica Penne (8-1) of Laguna Hills, Calif. and Lisa Ellis-Ward (14-7) of Lacey, Wash.- will square off with one another at strawweight (105 pounds).

Undefeated rising star Cat “Alpha” Zingano (6-0) of Denver, Colo. will square off with fellow hard-hitting prospect and professional boxer Anita “El Tigre” Rodriguez (5-2) of Dallas, Texas in a featured bantamweight (135 pounds) bout.

Strikeforce bantamweight star and United States Marine Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche (5-2) of San Diego, Calif. will square off with unbeaten prospect Ashleigh Curry (1-0) of Kansas City, Mo.

Another Strikeforce bantamweight competitor, Sarah D’Alelio (4-2) of San Jose, Calif., will face Shana “Rock Solid” Nelson (5-2) of Hibbing, Minn.

Leslie Smith (3-2) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will meet Kaitlin Young (7-5) of St. Louis Park, Minn. at bantamweight and Sally Krumdiack (9-4) of Bellingham, Wash. will duke it out with Sarah Schneider (5-5) of Kansas City, Mo. at flyweight (115 pounds).

In preliminary card action, Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (7-5) of Tulsa, Okla. will take on Amy Davis (2-2) of Idaho Falls, Idaho at strawweight. Sarah Maloy (2-2) of Ada, Okla. will meet Michele Gutierrez (3-2) of Las Vegas, Nev. in a super flyweight (125 pounds) tilt. Mollie Estes (1-0) of Lake Lotawana, Mo. will face Randi Miller (0-0) of Broomfield, Colo. at featherweight. Unbeaten Ashley Cummins (2-0) of St. Louis will battle Sofia Bagherdai (4-1) of Upland, Calif. at flyweight. Jessica Philippus (0-0) of Marshall, Mo. will make her professional debut against Meghan Wright (1-3) of Cincinnati, Ohio in a strawweight matchup.

All bouts have been approved by the Kansas State Athletic Commission.

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Photo: MMA Weekly

PRESS RELEASE:

Palo Alto, California (USA): As mixed martial arts nears its twenty-year anniversary here in the United States, MMA fans are starting to see second generation competitors enter the ranks of fighters. Right here in the Bay Area, two young fighters are continuing their father’s legacy as they prepare for their likely eventual pro fight debuts. Their quest will continue this Saturday, as Casey and Nikko Jackson will look to represent their father, former UFC/Strikeforce fighter Eugene “The Wolf” Jackson, at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California as Elite Combat Sports brings “Hybrid 3” to the Bay Area. “Hybrid 3” will feature a mix of electrifying mixed martial arts and Muay Thai fights, and showcase some of the top amateur fighters on the West Coast.

At “Hybrid 3,” 20 year-old Nikko Jackson will put his 8-4 amateur record on the line against undefeated Keith Cutrone (5-0), while 19 year-old Casey will look to improve his 4-3 record against Ashton Pierce, who will be making his amateur MMA debut.

A West Coast MMA legend, Eugene Jackson is remembered for his brutal KO of Royce Alger at UFC 21 in 1999, as well as his 15-9 record that included only one decision. A seven-time UFC veteran who also fought four times in Strikeforce, “The Wolf” finished his career with three wins in four fights, and won the now-defunct Strikeforce U.S. Middleweight Championship in the process. During his career, he faced well-known fighters such as Joe Doerksen, Wanderlei Silva, Sanae Kikuta, Jeremy Horn, Ricardo Almeida, Tony Fryklund, Ronald Jhun, and Joe Riggs.

Since his retirement, Jackson has poured his energies into fighting the gang culture that has plagued East Palo Alto in recent years. He has taken in many young athletes, training them to put their aggression into training for the cage rather than on the streets. Now, through his sons Nikko and Casey, “The Wolf” is passing on a heritage that should live long into the future.

“It’s an honor to have two great young fighters like Nikko and Casey on the card,” said Dave Madsen. “Eugene is a true legend, and a gentleman, and we welcome him with open arms to any ECS event.”

ECS’ “Hybrid 3” takes place on Saturday, March 17th at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California. Doors open at 6 PM, with the first fight hitting the cage at 7 PM. Tickets are available online at http://www.elitecombatsports.com/store/tickets.php.

Besides the Jackson bouts, other notable fights on the card include a California State Amateur Bantamweight Championship bout between the current title-holder Radames Garcia and the undefeated Ashton Crow, as well as a scrap between John Donaldson and Isaiah Batin-Gonzalez. In addition, Charlie Seang and Jaime Rios will engage in a featherweight battle that will see one of these two combatants get their first loss.

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But any misconceptions about her ability to fight for her right to fight aside she still has a larger problem in the marketing of her own brand and that is the in cage product she puts on display. We’ve all forgotten it by now (thankfully) but her five round jab-a-thon with Takayo Hashi back in February 2010 still stands as the most excruciating main event in televised MMA history. The folks at Showtime, supposedly operating independently of Dana White’s influence, are not the brightest promoters on the planet but they were at least smart enough to know that sending Rousey in there to break Tate’s arm would make for far better TV than whatever Kaufman could provide and based off of last night’s title fight they were right.

Kaufman though is no dim bulb and knew that she had to provide something more than just peppering Alexis Davis with little baby leg kicks to win the respect of the fans and the suits and so she came out with reckless abandon and engaged in a bloody three round war that saw her take home a majority decision. It was a crazy sight to see and totally unlike any Sarah Kaufman we had known before. Later on her battered mug was rolled out to cage side to watch Rousey armbar her way to victory in another spectacular women’s match setting up an inevitable showdown between the two. Unfortunately this will just be another case in which the pre-fight mic work will almost certainly outshine anything that happens after the bell rings as everything I’ve seen since Rousey burst on the scene seems to indicate that she is indestructible.

Of course I am basing that off of what Rousey has done to low level competition and then to Tate but women’s MMA being what it is (shallow) it’s always hard to gauge an athlete’s true worth and I think in the case of Miesha Tate her beauty causes even more cloudiness. As much as I would love to judge her solely on her in-ring performance it is hard because I find it hard to believe that somebody not blessed with that face would have been pushed quite as hard as she. It was always her sitting ringside with Frank Shamrock winking at the camera and not, say, Marleos Coenen. Be that as it may she has more than earned her spot in the division by winning a one night, four woman tournament and choking out the aforementioned Coenen, neither of which are small tasks. However, going into her fight with Rousey the entire MMA community had predicted her going down to a first round submission and they all were proven right. But was the lack of respect due to a perceived false push of Tate or to the apparent awesomeness of Rousey? Either way Rousey did what she was done in every other one of her pro bouts and earned a stoppage victory in under a round.

Kaufman may not have beauty on her side but she is respected by the MMA media. She may even be less of an underdog heading into her fight with Rousey. We all know she can win fights (she’s 15-1 after all) we just didn’t know until last night that she could do it with any sort of panache. And yet I still dare you to tell me that there is any other possible outcome to their fight other than Rousey by first round submission. I might bite on second round submission but that is as far as I’ll go.
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The lightweight title picture(s) being what it is we never really got the unification bout between the UFC and WEC that we all craved. But this weekend we’ll get the closest thing yet to that as Ben Henderson tries to claim the UFC title from Frankie Edgar. Even though Henderson missed his chance to close down the WEC with their title he did hold it for the last 14 months of the promotions existance except for their final night. And during that reign was pretty much universally left off of pound for pound lists while Zuffa’s more reputable lightweight champ, Edgar starting in April of 2010, got to soak up all the glory. It was just taken as common knowledge that the WEC Lightweight champ really couldn’t be considered as good as the UFC champ because the competition wasn’t nearly as stiff. However, we have seen time and time again that the WEC division was no joke as they continue to score wins over UFC guys. And considering that these two were the reigning champs in the finals months of the WEC there is no better chance to examine the conventional wisdom that proclaimed Edgar the far superior fighter. Even the betting line is remarkably close for the UFC title fight giving indication right away that perhaps Bendo was undervalued back when he fought for that other Zuffa promotion.

It’s hard to sleep on Henderson, a guy who has gone 13-1 in his last 14 outings and who maybe was the victim of some biased judges who were won over by Anthony Pettis and his flashy cage kick at WEC 53. Since entering the UFC he shut out Mark Bocek which may not be saying a lot other than it happened in Bocek’s backyard. But after that he chewed up and destroyed a seemingly unstoppable Jim Miller in August earning himself a title eliminator match up against the man who had earlier in the year flattened Pettis, Clay Guida. The fight was one of the best of the year but Henderson was never really in any danger. He ended up losing one round on one of the judges scorecards and now is ready to take on Edgar in Japan.

Strategically he is also a tough nut to crack. He has a well balanced offense that means that he can’t really be exploited on his feet or on the ground. His legs are possibly the biggest in MMA and have proven difficult to control. He already has a significant size advantage over Edgar and when you factor in those thighs it’s really hard to see him getting taken down at all. If Edgar were to get him there then he would have a wrestling advantage but desiring a take down of Henderson and actually scoring it are two different things. Plus Edgar has to be well aware of Henderson’s ability to choke, four of his career victories have come via the guillotine. Though all of his UFC wins have come thanks to the judges so perhaps the competition has started to catch on, not that it has done them a whole lot of good.

Of course Edgar is one of the top fighters in the world. He has a record of 14-1-1, but if we eliminate Gray Maynard from the equation he is 14-0 and in his last fight he knocked Maynard out sort of nullifying that loss and that draw in the process. He has speed and heart and resilience but I just can’t see it being enough to get past Henderson who has all of those things and simply a larger frame. Of course I can’t imagine Henderson being crafty or aggessive enough to pull off a stoppage (I’m willing to go so far as to say that after round 1 of Edgar/Maynard 2 I’d bet that Edgar will never be finished in his career). He never was a guy you could count on to score a knockout so unless Edgar inexplicably, accidentally sticks his neck where it doesn’t belong watch for this fight to go the distance with Henderson squeaking by on the scroecards.
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It’s common knowledge to those of us who follow the sport that UFC matchmakers don’t like to repeat themselves if at all possible. It bores the average fan or so they tell us and I’m not even saying that I disagree with it as a general premise to follow. It only becomes a problem when somebody as dominant of Georges St-Pierre steps into the picture and effectively cleans out the division. But with him out of the picture for the next year or so and the UFC on the verge of crowning an interim champion those who have fallen to the pound for pound king may be ready for a shot at redemption. The first name that popped into my head was, of course, Jon Fitch. Here was a man who before his last fight had also more or less cleaned out the division with one major exception: the unanimous decision defeat at the hands of GSP. But then Johny Hendricks only took 12 seconds to smash those dreams thus forcing us to consider who else is primed for a comeback and the choice is rather clear, Josh Koscheck.

Koscheck, the ever self aware frat boy heel, has two GSP losses to his record and most recently in his December 2010 title fight we saw him do little else besides sustain an eye injury that kept him out for most of 2011. When he return however he massacred Matt Hughes and was set to take on Carlos Condit before he got plucked from that contest and placed in the main event. His record or the quality of his wins are not spectacular but his skills are undeniable as is his marketability. And thanks to the shuffling of the deck at this card he has been thrown something of a softball in Mike Pierce. Koscheck comes in as a -245 favorite and despite Pierce’s 13-4 record it is hard to envision any sort of scenario in which he is not able to secure a victory here.

Pierce meanwhile is no push over himself having won every fight in the Octagon thus far except for the times he had to battle Fitch and Hendricks. Both of those guys are wrestling based and like to play on the mat and while Koscheck also excels at that game he is better than either of them at striking. Pierce doesn’t get taken down easy though I still expect Koscheck to take one or two attempts to do so. If that doesn’t fly then he’ll be happy to stand and bang where he should find a lot more fortune. Pierce has never been finished so the real question will be whether or not he’ll keep that streak alive or if Koscheck will score another knockout of the night on him. Obviously if he were able to manhandle Pierce the same way he did Hughes then it would do wonders for his chances of returning to the top of the division. As mentioned earlier he has already been beaten soundly by GSP twice but since we don’t have a firm timetable on his return a win for him at UFC 143 could open the door for a matchup against the winner of the Condit/Diaz tilt.

Koscheck knows that at 34 the clock is kind of ticking on him and I expect that to play into his strategy. He needs a win and he needs it to be sexy so look for him to go full court press on Pierce. Pierce will probably be able to survive for a round simply by slowing the action and neutralizing his opponent but by the second round look for the always crafty Koscheck to figure out his line of defense and then bust right on through it.
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