by Kurt Hall of MMA-Underground.com
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn vs. Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk
I predicted this fight to be a unanimous decision victory for Sean Sherk. I was very wrong. BJ Penn was declared the victor in the third round of the fight due to referee stoppage. Sean Sherk started the fight going with a single leg takedown but BJ defended it well. The rest of the round was basically a standup battle. Penn did rock Sherk in the middle of the round but Sherk recovered quickly. The combination delivered by Penn opened up a cut under Sherk's eye but didn't seem to affect Sherk too much. The second round was fairly similar to the first. Penn was taking control of the fight with his jab but Sherk was holding his own with small, quick flurries. This was probably the closest round of the fight. Sherk could have easily stolen this round by getting a takedown. The third round was really where Penn took over the fight completely. Both fighters continued to use their jabs to give their opponents trouble. Sherk looked like he broke his right hand in the round. He was shaking his right hand after each exchange. However he continued to throw punches with the right hand. Penn ended the fight with hard right knee under the chin of Sherk and the referee stepped in as the bell sounded for the end of the round. Mario Yamasaki decided Sherk was unable to continue. Sean Sherk had a bad strategy in the fight and seemed to give up on trying to takedown BJ Penn. Sherk was unable to find his range standing up and BJ Penn dominated standing. BJ Penn will probably move up to fight Georges St. Pierre in a rematch of a highly contested split decision victory for St. Pierre. I would expect Sean Sherk to take on a middle of the road fighter in the lightweight division. It will most likely be a guy like Kurt Pelligrino or Rich Clementi.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva vs. Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine
Wanderlei Silva knocked Keith Jardine out cold in just 36 seconds. Jardine started out the fight throwing a right kick and Silva countered with a hard right hook. The right hook knocked Keith Jardine down to the canvas and Silva went down and finished the fight with right hands. Jardine was out and noticably staring at the ceiling as the referee stepped in to save Jardine. Jardine was reported to have a CAT scan after the fight and everything turned out fine. Wanderlei Silva showed his old school fighting style and finish. He showed flashes of how he looked before he went on his losing streak. I would expect to Silva fight someone in the caliber of Thiago Silva or Matt Hamill. Jardine lost for the second time via brutal knockout such as in his fight with Houston Alexander. He seems to have a lot of trouble with strikers that push the pace. I would expect him to fight a potential UFC newcomer or a bottom of the ladder fighter such as Stephen Bonnar.
Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic
Goran Reljic took this fight via KO in the second round. The first round started out by Reljic kicking the legs of Gouveia and landing a nice straight left. Reljic did a really good job of mixing up kicks to the leg and body of Wilson Gouveia. Just as soon as Goran Reljic was starting to get comfortable, Gouveia landed a hard right to the body of Reljic. The right hand affected Reljic and the round ended with Reljic pulling guard to recover from the body shot. The second round started out with Gouveia landing a strong left and right hand that dropped Goran Reljic. The fight ended up getting back to the feet and Reljic knocked Gouveia down to the canvas by hitting Gouveia in the temple. Referee Herb Dean was forced to save Gouveia 3:15 into the second round. I think Gouveia drops back into the middle of the pack in the light heavyweight division. Reljic looked really good and I am interested in seeing him fight in the future.
"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida
Lyoto Machida took this fight via unanimous decision. The first round started out with low leg kicks on Ortiz's lead leg. Tito later shot in for a takedown from a long distance and Machida stuffed the takedown fairly easily. Lyoto Machida used his fine foot movement to stay away from Tito to frustrate him. Machida ended the round by slamming Ortiz down to the canvas and establishing side control. The second round started out with Machida landing a left body kick and straight left. Machida continued to use his smooth foot movement to move away from Ortiz's strikes. The round ended with Tito shooting for a takedown but was forced to end up in full guard. The third round bell sounded and the round started out with referee Yves Lavigne slipping and falling onto the canvas. Tito Ortiz shot in for another single leg takedown but Machida defended the takedown once again. Later in the round Tito was knocked down to the canvas by a hard knee to his liver. Machida hurried down to the ground to try to finish the fight but he failed and fell into Tito's full guard. Tito locked in a triangle with about 30 seconds left in the fight but Lyoto rolled out of the triangle and survived to win a unanimous decision. Tito Ortiz is expected to leave the UFC and sign with either Elite XC or Affliction. Lyoto Machida is expected to get the next title shot against the winner of Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin.
Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes
Thiago Silva took this fight via TKO in the first round. The round started with Antonio Mendes landing a head kick on Silva that knocked him to the canvas. Silva recovered quickly and clinched up with Mendes. Silva took down Mendes and quickly transitioned to the mount. Thiago continues to throw punches as the referee stopped the fight just 2:24 into the round. Thiago Silva is climbing up the ladder in the light heavyweight division and is just a couple wins away from a title shot. Mendes looked like he had a lot of trouble on the ground. He can definitely strike but he needs to train obtaining guard.
Ivan Salaverry vs. Rousimar Palhares
Rousimar Palhares took this fight via armbar in the first round. The round started out with Palhares getting a body lock takedown and obtaining the full mount quickly into the round. Ivan Salaverry ended up giving up his back and fighting off a rear naked choke for more than a minute. As Salaverry attempted to get out of the body lock. Palhares quickly transitioned into a smooth armbar. Salaverry was forced to tap out just 2:36 into the fight. Rousimar Palhares looked very good in his UFC debut and looks like a good young up-and-comer in the middleweight division.
"The African Assassin" Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Sokoudjou took this fight via TKO in the first round. The first round started out with Sokoudjou landing a hard leg kick on Nakamura. Sokoudjou followed the kick with two more leg kicks and a hard kick to Nakamura's ribs. Nakamura missed badly with two hard right hands. Nakamura had trouble getting a takedown and had very stale and predictable striking. With a few seconds left in the fight, Sokoudjou landed a tough right kick to the body and a stiff right jab to Nakamura's chin. Nakamura clearly injured his right knee and might be out for a while. In the post fight interview Sokoudjou called out Shogun. However I would be surprised if he gets the Shogun fight that he wants. The fight really doesn't make any sense right now.
Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Yoshiyuki Yoshida took this fight via anaconda choke in the first round. The fight began with the two fighters clinching up and Yoshida performing a beautiful judo throw. As Koppenhaver tries to scramble he gets caught in a tight guillotine choke. Yoshida rolled over the tight guillotine and turned the choke into an anaconda choke. The choke put "War Machine" completely out and and Herb Dean was forced to end it just 56 seconds into the fight.
"The Hungarian Nightmare" Christian Wellisch vs. Shane Carwin
Shane Carwin took his UFC debut via KO on the first round. The round started out with Carwin throwing a lot of aggressive punches. Shane landed a tough right hook to Wellisch's face. Wellisch was out cold and his mouth piece was knocked out of his mouth. Yves Lavigne was forced to stop the fight just 44 seconds into the fight.
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