MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

Another UFC event is in the books, and the world of MMA keeps getting more and more interesting with each passing day. UFC 76: Knockout was one of the best all-around night of fights that we have seen in while. With four of the five main card fights going to decision (and the Griffin vs Rua fight was about 20 seconds from going to decision) it seems that the event title of “Knockout” was a bit of a misnomer. In my opinion, the event should have been titled “UFC 76: Something to Prove - Nothing to Lose.” Now let’s take a look at the nights events.

• Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine - A very solid main event saw the UFC’s poster boy fall once again. If you remember from my UFC 76: Knockout Preview, I predicted that Jardine would try to work his leg kicks non-stop throughout the fight and try to break Liddell down from the outsite. While he didn’t take Liddell down in ground-and-pound, he did turn Liddell’s ribcage into what resembled a piece of Rocky Balboa’s meat factory punching bags. Props to Jardine for taking his fight to Liddell and not backing down even when he was staggered several times from Liddell’s blows. Jardine had something to prove and nothing to lose and made it happen for himself. Tough night from Liddell and an even tougher outlook for his future.
• Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio Rua - Forrest Griffin was another guy with something to prove and nothing to lose and he made the former PrideFC superstar looks foolish in a three round battle. Early on it looked like Shogun would be able work his ground game and get the victory over Forrest. However, Forrest has been around the block long enough and learned how to work through struggles on the ground (see the Tito Ortiz fight for that). In the second round Shogun really started to tire and gas and Forrest capitalized and easily controlled the fight from there. All the old PrideFC is better than UFC fanboys must be climbing as far back into their caves as possible today.
• Jon Fitch vs Diego Sanchez - This fight was everything I thought it would be. Both fighters brought their “A” game and both fighters should be proud of their performance. Jon Fitch just is that good of a fighter, pure and simple; no knock on Diego, just Fitch is that much better. After the fights, Diego said he was contemplating a move to lightweight; personally, I hope he stays at 170lb. The lightweight division is already packed with talent and I would like to see Diego work through this down-swing and get back on track at welterweight.
• Tyson Griffin vs Thiago Tavares - Another solid, fast-paced fight from the start. I had Tavares winning this fight 29-28 on points, but I can’t complain with the judges giving the decision to Griffin knowing how UFC judges score fights. If you like BJJ and grappling then this was your fight of the night.
• Ryoto Machida looked very strong in his fight and was actually fun to watch in this match. As I predicted, Machida worked his way to another judges decision, but I have no problem with his aggressiveness or attempts at finishing in this fight.
• Chute Boxe and Wanderlei Silva had to be the biggest losers of the night. Shogun Rua got worked over by Forrest Griffin and Wanderlei Silva got worked over by Dana White and the UFC. The UFC once again made themself look foolish by announcing and hyping the “possible” Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva matchup in December. Here’s and idea Dana - don’t announce a Chuck vs Wandi fight until the contracts are signed! Haven’t you learned your lesson the past 3 times? Personally, I think the Liddell vs Wandi fight should take place as scheduled. There is no reason for it not to at this point. While still intriguing, the fight holds nowhere near the luster it once did to long-time MMA fans at this point. So continue with the fight as scheduled so that we can at least see this fight happen before both fighters retire.
• Mike Goldberg continues to prove that practice doesn’t quite make perfect. “Goldie” always provides quite a few comment gems during any UFC event and last night was know exception. Within the first 5 minutes of the broadcast Goldie came out with this nugget when talking about the possible Chuck Liddel vs Wanderlei Silva fight in December.: “…the long awaited fight that we have all been waiting a long time for.” I guess what he was trying to say is that he has been waiting for this fight for a long time, so long that he needed to tell us twice. Also, he announced how great it was to see David Spade back at a UFC event. Really? It was great to see him back? WHO CARES. I can only imagine how juiced Goldie will be if Michael Clark Duncan ever shows his face at an event again.