Chicks Heart Fights

- Rashad Evans’ next fight will be against Forrest Griffin. My educated guess is that this could be the main event of the New Year’s Eve-ish fight.

- I wrote about my hopes for Chuck’s future at Ladies…

- Much has been made of Dan Henderson’s takedown defense against Palhares. Of course Palhares would have a hard time taking down an Olympic level wrestler, right? Here’s what I found interesting. Hendo wrestled Greco-Roman, the discipline that does not allow leg attacks. Palhares, accordingly, spent much of the fight going after Hendo’s legs, and Hendo still stuffed him. I guess they teach a little takedown defense at Arizona State?

- During Saturday night’s broadcast, it was announced that Wednesday night’s WEC event will be postponed to November 10 because of Hurricane Ike. It was probably a little premature, but I agree that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Rashad Evans shocked the hell out of everyone tonight, including Chuck Liddell. His overhand left right was timed perfectly so that Chuck was moving forward into the punch, causing the force of Evans fist to be even greater. (See that? I was paying attention in physics!) Evans has definitely moved up the ladder and should be close to a title shot. As for Chuck, who knows. He has sounded punch-drunk at times, and tonight’s knockout certainly won’t help, as he was out for quite a while.

Rich Franklin showed that he belonged in the 205 lb. weight class. He looked strong and agile. Matt Hamill gave him a test, but that kick to the abdomen that finished off Matt Hamill was textbook. Franklin showed again after the fight why the UFC is better off with him fighting, no matter the weight class. He is pure class, and not Donald Trump classy, actually classy.

The UFC goes south with a stop in Atlanta for UFC 88. I’m putting the over/under in guys wearing sleeveless shirts at 13,245, and I’m taking the over. Actually, with Georgia near the top of the NCAA rankings, the Falcons not looking gawdawful, and the UFC in town, Atlanta may just explode in happiness. This time, Sherman can’t be blamed.

I’m done making southern jokes - onto the fights. I’ll be honest. I’m not over the moon about these fights, but, quite often, the fights that get all the hype turn out to be the most boring. Chuck Liddell is hoping that a win would give him a title fight against Forrest, and who doesn’t want to see that fight? No promise of a title fight awaits Evans, but it should move him up in the crowded light heavyweight division. My pick is Liddell, TKO by strikes in the second round. More on Chuck here and the fights here and here.

Speaking of the light heavyweight division, Rich Franklin is getting his first chance at the bigger weight class with Matt Hamill. Moving up was a smart move for Franklin when it became clear that Silva was an immovable force. Hamill is hardly a tuna can, and he will give Franklin trouble. Still, I think Ace will take advantage of the extra weight and win by decision. More on Franklin here.

Dan Henderson will also return to the Octagon after two losses in a row. Of course, those two losses add were to Anderson Silva and Rampage, so that doesn’t say much. I think the UFC wants Hendo to win more than anyone, as he will be fighting Rousimar Palhares, a fighter with one UFC win over Ivan Salaverry. But just like you shouldn’t go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, you shouldn’t count out a Brazilian on ground. Hendo, in three. A little more on Hendo is here .

It’s 6:40, and my couch is so comfy. Alas. I do have to go to work, but before I head in, I wanted to share some links with you.

• Jason Bryant of Intermat has moved his blog to a free site. Check it out for daily musings on the wrestling world.
• U.S. Senior Nationals are this weekend in Vegas, and they will have a bearing on the Olympic Trials. The Mat provides a preview of freestyle.
• Sadly, my man Mike Zadick did not qualify the US for the Olympics at 60 kg. He has one more chance on the first weekend of May.
• Chuck Liddell has been forced to drop out of UFC 85 due to a hamstring injury. Dana White is going to have to do some fast wheeling and dealing, because without Liddell-Evans, that card is pretty weak.
• Kalib Starnes was cut from the UFC yesterday. This is hardly a surprise, considering Starnes’ embarrassing performance at UFC 83 this weekend. In a sport where almost anything goes, the one thing that does not go is ducking a fight. I doubt any other large fighting organization will sign him. It will be interesting to see where he lands.
• Dana White says that Serra-Hughes is still a possibility.
• Finally, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an excellent profile of the Cornell wrestler who is fighting cancer, Adam Frey.

Wow. I am in a good mood. Good fights, good friends, good beer. Tonight, we saw the vindication of a legend, the validation of the “next big thing,” and a CVS bag. More, after the jump:

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… and I’m pretty darn excited about this line-up.

Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard

Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palalei

YAY! Sure, these aren’t the fights we were expecting, and Silva vs. Liddell is about a year too late. Nonetheless, this promises to be a great night of fighting. My thoughts, and what writers around the web are saying, after the jump. Continue Reading »

You got no fear of the underdog, that’s why you will not survive! - Spoon, the Underdog

If there was any theme for last night’s fights, it was the triumph of the underdog. My man Forrest came into the fight against Shogun more ready than he has ever been. Shogun looked like he was not expecting the fight to go into the third round, and he had clearly not trained for all three rounds. Granted, he sustained a pretty bad cut, but so did Forrest. He looked exhausted for most of the third round. As for Liddell and Jardine, though Chuck is an excellent striker, he does have a better ground game than Jardine. Why not try to get him on the ground? Raise your hand if you think Chuck is done? Yeah, me too. Since he is such a striker, he takes more blows to the head than your average MMA-er. Strikers walk on the edge, and one punch too many can be catastrophic. I hope that he hasn’t fallen off the edge, and that he knows when to walk away. Kudos to Jardine for a well-fought match. After the jump, what is being said around the Web. Continue Reading »

I have caught the last two pay-per-view fights at a bar not too far from my home. It’s your regular, neighborhood sports bar. Because of various circumstances, I usually go to watch the fights by myself. I sit with the bouncers or at the bar, watch the fights, have a few beers, and come home and post here. Generally, the women at this bar are with boyfriends/husbands. A few of these women are fight fans, but most of them are just tagging along for the drinks. For those women, I write this post. Next time you ladies go with your boyfriends/husbands to watch a fight at the bar, keep these simple rules in mind:

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So, that was an interesting night… I clearly couldn’t pick a fight to save my life. Winners: Fitch, Forrest, Jardine. Some thoughts for the evening: Continue Reading »