Evans steps up to fight Liddell at UFC 85

The Ultimate Fighter 2 winner Rashad Evans will take up the challenge of standing opposite former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 85.

Evans is stepping in for Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who was forced to withdraw from the UFC 85 bout due to a ruptured ACL in his left knee. Rua had undergone surgery on the same knee shortly after UFC 76 will once again have to go under the knife.

Evans (6-0-1 UFC, 11-0-1 overall) will enter the the O2 Arena undefeated in his eleven professional bouts. His only nonvictory was a draw to former champion Tito Ortiz.

Chuck Liddell (16-4 UFC, 21-5 overall) jumped back on track towards a shot at reclaiming his UFC belt when he won a unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79.

UFC 85 takes place Saturday, June 7 in London, England, two weeks after UFC 84 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Shogun Re-Injures Knee, Forced to Withdraw From UFC 85

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has re-injured his knee and has been scratched from a UFC 85 main event with Chuck Liddell (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC). The news comes from Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com.

According to the report, Rua ruptured the ACL in his left knee, which is the same injury that forced a surgery after a UFC 76 loss to Forrest Griffin.

UFC 85 takes place June 7 at the O2 Arena in London. The UFC will announce a replacement for Rua "shortly."

The 26-year-old made his octagon debut at UFC 76 and suffered an upset submission loss (via rear-naked choke) to Griffin. Prior to the bout, the Brazilian PRIDE veteran had won 12 of 13 fights. He recently underwent knee surgery but had returned to training earlier this year.

Rua will again go under the knife and there's no timetable for his return to the UFC.

Liddell, who won the UFC's light-heavyweight title at UFC 52, made four successful title defenses before a loss to Quinton Jackson this past May. He then dropped a split decision to Jardine in September for the first back-to-back losses of his career. However, he rebounded for a unanimous-decision victory over Wanderlei Silva in the co-main event of UFC 79 back in December.

There's still plenty of time to find an opponent that's more than just a journeyman. Certainly Liddell wants to get a revenge match against Jardine but he's scheduled to fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 84. The division is sort of thin at the moment. Had Lyoto Machida not been scheduled to fight Tito Ortiz he could have been a formidable opponent. They could have also plugged in Stephan Bonnar had he not had to have such an extensive rehab for his injured knee.

Nothing has even been discussed but this blogger thinks it could be Rashad Evans stepping in against Liddell.

Dana White: Randy Couture Offered to Fight Antonio Nogueira

Even though the court papers are flying regarding this situation, i.e. the UFC just filed an injuction against Xtreme Couture of the IFL preventing him from being affiliated with the event held in New Orleans on Friday night, thus having to name the team 'Team Tompkins', the UFC has offered Randy Couture a fight with interim heavyweight champion Antonio Nogueira. I'm not sure if he's sitting by the phone but White might be waiting for a long time to hear from Couture.

Ok that was a major run on sentence, but so is the Couture-UFC situation. This is one instance where I don't blame Dana White. Couture only wants to fight Fedor but seriously, do you think Randy Couture can defeat Fedor Emelianenko? Yeah I know, don't ever doubt 'Captain America' and what Couture has done is pretty remarkable but c'mon.

This is an easy one to figure out. Couture is probably a bit worried about his legacy (which he shouldn't be), that he probably knows that the other heavyweights would fare pretty well against him.

I don't think you can say that Couture is that invincible in the current UFC heavyweight division. I'm sure he has his doubts that, at his age, he can defeat Big Nog and in his mind, that would tarnish his legacy a bit. Not only that, throw Tim Sylvia against him again and I bet it's a different fight. Even Andrei Arlovski, in his timid ways, still has a chance against Couture.

At this point, Couture doesn't want to lose to mediocre talent. They're not mediocre talent but his reputation says they are.

Randy Couture has done some amazing things in his MMA career but defeating Fedor isn't going to be one of them. This fight, if it does happen, won't stand a chance in living up to the buildup simply because of the struggle it's going to take in order to put it together.

This is simply an opinion but if you feel different, please feel free to comment with your opinion. Even if you feel the same but for different reasons, let's hear your comments.

Can Anyone Beat Anderson Silva?

Once again, Anderson Silva proved that he's on another planet in terms of the middleweight division. It's basically Silva, then the rest of the division. They shouldn't have rankings in the UFC for that division because Silva should occupy the top 5 spots. They have to start with the number 6 ranked contender, that's how far ahead Silva is from the rest of the division.

The only way this guy is going to lose is by a fluke. There isn't a fighter on the planet, in any organization, that can hold a candle to Silva in the middleweight division. He just walked through a force in Dan Henderson, who, oh by the way, knocked out Wanderlei Silva just last year at 205.

We have Anderson Silva to blame for the lousy middleweight division. He's just too good. Without him, there really is talent in the division. Rich Franklin, Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami, Evan Tanner, Ed Herman, Chris Leben, these guys have some serious talent. Yet not one of them can even touch Silva.

So don't lose faith in the middleweight division even though I've been trashing it over the last couple months. There are plenty of exciting fighters who will step up and get thrashed by Silva. That doesn't go for just the UFC either. Silva will destroy anyone in this weight class no matter what organization it is. This could be Dana White's way of getting into some cross promoting because he can boast that his fighter is by far the best in the world.

UFC Hall of Famer Marc Coleman to Face Brock Lesnar

Mark Coleman’s (15-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) induction into the UFC Hall of Fame came with an interesting footnote: he’s returning to the UFC to fight Brock Lesnar (1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in August.

Just a few hours after the former Ohio State national wrestling champion and first-ever UFC heavyweight title-holder became the fifth fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, the 43-year-old fighter confirmed the bout to a sold-out crowd and pay-per-view audience.

Saturday’s UFC 82 event took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

No exact date or location has been announced for the looming heavyweight fight.

“He’s a beast; he’s an animal,” Coleman said. “But I plan to find a way to beat his — I promised my mom I wouldn’t cuss — to beat his butt."

Coleman, who was the tournament winner at UFC 10 and 11 before staking claim to the first-ever heavyweight title at UFC 12, hasn’t fought since an October 2006 submission loss to Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE 32. The Columbus native hasn’t fought in the octagon since UFC 18, which took place more than nine years ago.

Lesnar, a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and World Wrestling Entertainment performer, made his much-hyped UFC debut earlier this month at UFC 81. Although he’d batter his opponent for all but a few seconds of the fight, Lesnar ultimately suffered a first-round submission via kneebar to former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir.

Team Punishment’s Justin McCully had been a frontrunner to fight Lesnar in his next match and even went as far as stating that the UFC had “presented” him the fight. However, Coleman said he pleaded to UFC president Dana White for another fight, which likely prompted the scheduling change.

UFC 82 Preliminary Card

What could be Andrei Arlovski‘s final fight in the UFC began with a whimper but finished with a bang. After going on the defensive to stuff Jake O’Brien‘s takedown attempts, the former UFC heavyweight champion eventually scored his own takedown in the second. Arlovski immediately landed in full mount and unloaded a dizzying storm of ground and pound until the stoppage at 4:17. With his UFC contract fulfilled, Arlovski is now free to negotiate with rival organizations. However, he wasn’t about to get a free advertisement during Saturday’s event; Arlovski was the only fighter not awarded a post-fight interview.

After showing marked improvement during recent back-to-back victories, Luke Cummo came out flat in his fight with Luigi Fioravanti and was taken down with ease. Fioravanti scored a couple dozen takedowns to control the fight en route to a unanimous-decision victory. All three judges had it 30-27 in his favor.

Josh Koscheck, who fought the last fight of his current UFC contract, made his case for a pay raise with a come-from-behind victory over local fighter Dustin Hazelett. Although known as a grappler, Hazelett used his reach advantage to win a first-round stand-up war. However, when Koscheck did revert to his wrestling skills for a takedown, Hazelett nearly ended it with a triangle choke. In the second round, though, Koscheck connected on a head kick that sent Hazelett stumbling to the mat. A few follow-up punches on his dazed opponent was all it took for Koscheck to earn the TKO victory at the 1:24 mark of the second round.

Diego Sanchez looked — and fought — like a man possessed, dominating UFC newcomer David Bielkheden and overpowering him to take the mount position. The Swede initially kept his opponent tied up, but Sanchez postured up and rained down a fight-ending ground-and-pound barrage late in the first. Sanchez earned the submisson victory (via strikes) at 4:42 of the first round to snap a two-fight losing streak. The fighter, who publicly contemplated a move to lightweight in recent moves, said he’ll stay at welterweight for future fights.

In the night’s opening bout, local fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitu black belt Jorge Gurgel grinded his way to a unanimous-decision victory over Iowa fighter John Halverson. The judges had it 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in Gurgel’s favor.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Anderson Silva def. Dan Henderson via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 4:52
Heath Herring def. Cheick Kongo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Chris Leben def. Alessio Sakara via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 3:36
Yushin Okami def. Evan Tanner via KO (knee) — Round 2, 3:00
Jon Fitch def. Chris Wilson via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Andrei Arlovski def. Jake O’Brien via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:17
Luigi Fioravanti def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Josh Koscheck def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:24
Diego Sanchez def. David Bielkheden via submission (strikes) — Round 1, 4:42
Jorge Gurgel def. John Halverson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

UFC 82 Recap: Silva Dominates

He beat the best that the UFC could possibly throw at him, and Anderson Silva (21-4 MMA, 6-0 UFC) again made it look easy.

The UFC middleweight champion knocked off PRIDE 183-lb. title-holder Dan Henderson (22-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) to unify the belts and cement his standing as the most dominant and best pound-for-pound fighter anywhere in mixed martial arts.

The fight — one of the biggest and most significant in MMA history — capped off Saturday’s UFC 82 event, a 10-fight card that took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The event drew more than 16,000 spectators for a $2.2 million live gate.

Although Silva reigned supreme, Henderson took the first round and made it interesting. After securing a takedown, the two-time Olympian tagged Silva with the occasional punch and elbow. He got the openings by covering Silva’s mouth with a free hand — and then punishing him with the free one. The system worked for the final three minutes of the first round.

However, the tides would turn in the second round as Silva’s striking began landing with pinpoint accuracy. Henderson closed the distance only to find himself in Silva’s clinch — a horribly dangerous position. Silva partially connected on what otherwise would have been a bone-crushing knee to the face. However, the blow was enough to send Henderson to the ground, and he’d never get back up.

The end would come soon after when Silva took his opponent’s back, locked in a body triangle and secured the fight-ending rear-naked choke. The tap-out would come with just eight seconds remaining in the second round.

In the week leading up to his co-main-event clash, Heath Herring bragged of career-best conditioning. And it paid off. He didn't talk much of how his fights are simply boring and he's always apologizing to the fans afterwards.

While opponent Cheick Kongo first looked as though he would simply muscle his way to victory, Herring eventually used his opponent’s size to his advantage to score pivotal takedowns. Once there, he transitioned into sidemount — a position that had Kongo as unnatural as a fish out of water. Unable to escape the position, Kongo was tagged with repeated knees to the ribs and shoulder. The French kickboxer repeatedly looked to his corner for instruction, but Herring displayed just enough power and poise to keep his opponent pinned.

It’d prove the deciding factor as two of the night’s three judges awarded him the second and third rounds.

Herring earned his first big UFC victory and won over the fans in the process.

“I wanted this to be a stand-up battle,” Herring said. “I wanted to duke it out with this guy. I didn’t think he was going to take me down. I didn’t train ground (fighting) at all for this fight.“
Regardless, though, Herring pulled out the split-decision victory via scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

When is Heath Herring going to realize that this is Mixed Martial Arts? Every fight he says how he didn't want the other fighter to fight like they did. And that he didn't train the right way. Aren't you supposed to train for all aspects?

As far as strict entertainment value, a middleweight bout between Chris Leben and Alessio Sakara delivered. Neither fighter cared much for a ground game, and both appeared content to slug it out to determine the last man standing.

That man would turn out to be Leben, every MMA fan’s guilty pleasure. Both fighters connected on numerous big shots throughout the first round, yet neither ever seemed in real trouble. Punches would land flush, and they’d land with cracks and thuds, yet neither fighter seemed fazed.

However, that all changed late in the first round when Leben stunned Sakara with a knee to the head and followed with a left hook that dropped the Italian boxer. Leben swarmed in to finish him off before the referee called for the stoppage. Credit Leben with the TKO victory at 3:36 of the first round.

“When I came out, he actually hit a lot harder than I thought,” Leben said. “It takes a lot to hurt me, so more power to him, but I put him in the blender, took him into the deep end and said, ‘You want to swing? Let’s swing.’ That’s what these fans came to see."

The storybook return of former UFC middleweight champ Evan Tanner from a two-year absence hit a roadblock in Yushin Okami. Then again, things never really got off to a good start. After signing Tanner to a new four-fight deal with the organization in November, the UFC had a difficult time finding him an opponent. Tanner states that at least 4 fighters turned the fight down.

Okami eventually accepted the bout, and the test would prove too much too soon for the 37-year-old Tanner. After a competitive first round, Okami took over in the second, using the clinch to set up a knockout via knee. The bout was stopped as soon as Tanner hit the mat at the 3:00 mark.

The victory pushes Okami’s UFC record to 6-1 and could put him next in line for the title shot with Silva.

“It’s up to the UFC,” he said. “If they feel I am ready for a title shot, I’d be honored. If they want me to take on another tough opponent before getting a shot… then that’s what I’ll do."

Jon Fitch opened the night’s televised main card in familiar fashion: with a win. UFC newcomer and former IFL fighter Chris Wilson proved a game opponent, especially early on as he took the first round on one of the three judges’ scorecards. However, Fitch would run away with the next two rounds, closing the distance, and inflicting an increasing amount of damage as the fight wore on. In the end, he earned the unanimous decision with two scores of 30-27 and one of 29-28.

With a spotless 8-0 record in the octagon, Fitch wants just one fight.

“I’m ready for that strap,” he said. “I’m ready to fight for the title… Once you have the belt, then every fight you have is the toughest, so that’s where I want to be."