Anderson Silva MMA Fighter

Check out this trailer for the upcoming movie "Never Surrender," which features UFC stars Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Heath Herring, and Quinton Jackson. This film has the potential to go down in history as having the...

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, currently the most popular pick for the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, may not retire when he turns 35 after all.

Silva gave the MMA world a jolt when, during a September interview with a Brazilian cable channel, he said was planning to retire after he turns 35 and fulfills the terms of his current UFC contract.

Silva, who's expected to headline UFC 95 on Feb. 21, turns 35 on April 14, 2010. He has five fights remaining on his current UFC deal.

2009 is shaping up to be the biggest year yet for the UFC. Not only are we going to get to see BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre and Brock Lesnar vs. the winner of Frank Mir/Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro"...

1 Forrest Griffin 16~4 Athens, GA UFC Champion 2 Quinton Jackson 29~7 Irvine, CA 3 Lyoto Machida 13~0 Belem, Brazil 4 Rashad Evans 12~0~1 Albuquerque, NM 5 Chuck Liddell 21~6 San Luis Obispo, CA 6 Mauricio Rua 16~3 Curitiba, Brazil 7 Wanderlei Silva 32~8~1 Las Vegas, NV 8 Keith Jardine 14~4~1 Albuquerque, NM 9 Thiago Silva 13~0 Sao Paulo, Brazil 10 Luis Cane 9~1 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11 Dan Henderson 23~7 Temecula, CA 12 Rogerio Nogueira 14~3 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 13 Sokoudjou 5~3 Temecula, CA 14 Anderson Silva 22~4 Curitiba, Brazil 15 Renato Sobral 30~7 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 16 Tito Ortiz 15~6~1 Huntington Beach, CA 17 Stephan Bonnar 11~4 Chicago, IL 18 Goran Reljic 8~0 Zadar, Croatia 19 Rich Franklin 24~3 Cincinnatti, OH 20 Wilson Gouveia 11~5 Coconut Creek, FL 21 James Irvin 14~5 Sacramento, CA 22 Vladimir [...]

1 Anderson Silva 23~4 Curitiba, Brazil UFC Champion 2 Dan Henderson 23~7 Tecmecula, CA 3 Rich Franklin 24~3 Cincinnatti, OH 4 Robbie Lawler 18~4 Granite City, IL 5 Thales Leites 14~1 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 6 Nathan Marquardt 27~8~2 Denver, CO 7 Gegard Mousasi 24~2~1 Armenia DREAM GP Champion 8 Kazuo Misaki 21~8~2 Chiba, Japan 9 Yoshihiro Akiyama 12~1 Osaka, Japan 10 Yushin Okami 22~4 Kanagawa, Japan 11 Frank Trigg 18~6 Rochester, NY 12 Demian Maia 9~0 Sao Paulo, Brazil ADCC Champion 13 Ronaldo Souza 10~2 Manaus, Brazil 14 Michael Bisping 17~1 Manchester, England 15 Jason Miller 21~6 Las Vegas, NV 16 Jorge Santiago 20~7 Coconut Creek, FL Sengoku GP Champion 17 Patrick Cote 13~5 Quebec City, Canada 18 Chael Sonnen 21~9~1 West Linn, OR 19 Paulo Filho 16~1 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 20 Matt Lindland 21~5 Eagle [...]

The way Anderson Silva fought you would have thought Patrick Cote was one punch away from winning that fight. I only say this because Anderson danced a lot for three rounds and reacted badly when he was tagged with the overhead right hook. When Silva fired, he brought the howitzer with him and ripped Cote’s [...]

Main Card Anderson Silva wins via TKO over Patrick Cote due to Cote’s knee blowing out in the third round. Thiago Alves wins a unanimous decision over Josh Koscheck. However, Alves almost had Koscheck out at least 3-4 different times. Fabricio Werdum was KO’d in the opening seconds of round one by newcomer Junior Dos Santos via uppercut. Sean [...]

Pete Sell defeats Josh Burkman by Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 in RD 3
Hermes Franca defeats Marcus Aurelio by Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 in RD 3
Dan Miller defeats Matt Horwich by Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 in RD 3
Spencer Fisher defeats Shannon Gugherty by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:56 in RD 3
Thales Leites defeats Drew McFedries by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:18 in RD 1
Sean Sherk defeats Tyson Griffin by Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 in RD 3
Junior dos Santos defeats Fabricio Werdum by KO (Punches) at 1:21 in RD 1
Gray Maynard defeats Rich Clementi by Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 in RD 3
Thiago Alves defeats Josh Koscheck by Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00 in RD 3
Anderson Silva defeats Patrick Cote by TKO (Injury) at 0:39 in RD 3

Event Name: UFC 90 - Silva vs. Cote
Event Date: 10/25/2008
Event Location: Allstate Arena, Il, USA

Anderson Silva vs Patrick Cote Anderson Silva is arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the business. Some people think Fedor is, however, for my money it is Anderson Silva. The UFC is running out of options to throw at Silva and with Cote on a hot streak he was the logical choice. Since Cote started training [...]

Finally, I'm actually have some time to follow up on the quick picks I did for UFC 88. Time is definitely the most needed thing in my world. Anyways, I did pretty good with my picks this time and even the reasoning behind them. Sometimes I do know what I'm talking about.

Rashad Evans KO's Chuck Liddell (picked Liddell)- WOW.  What a nice KO for Rashad. Like I said in my picks for this UFC, the key for Rashad is to be confident in his abilities because he's entered the very top and will have to fight the very star fighters he used to watch on TV. I often compare his fight with Tito Ortiz to the very first Georges St. Pierre vs Matt Hughes fight where St. Pierre was a little more tentative for the sole reason of facing Matt Hughes. Rashad was very tentative against Tito and it almost cost his the fight. Everytime he'd exchange with Ortiz he never leaned in to actually reach for the giant bleached head to knock it out. So confidence was a huge part of Rashad's awesome KO of Chuck. You have to give him and Greg Jackson a lot of credit for being smart and working on his confidence to go with his top notch skills. He was very disciplined with making sure he didn't act on instinct to try to take Liddell down and most importantly not to follow Chuck and play into his strength. Rashad is right up there at light heavy and probably should be either fighting Forrest Griffin for the title or face Wanderlei Silva.

Rich Franklin TKO's Matt Hamill (picked Franklin) - It was a decent fight. The most interesting thing about it was how Rich Franklin would be doing at 205. He did just fine. Definitely a good move for him and he looked to have just as good conditioning, he was nearly fresh in the third! Matt Hamill did pretty good for facing a former champ, but his lack of experience certainly showed and his takedown attempts could have been better. He never really committed. I also found it funny that the UFC called it a "comeback fight of the night". Hamill cut Franklin by an off balance jab and the cut from that wasn't vision threatening. Even with that cut though Franklin was dominating the fight, how is that a comeback? I'm also wondering how far can Matt Hamill go with his disadvantage of not being able to hear his corner? So many top fighters credit their corner men to their success.

Dan Henderson Decisions Rousimar Palhares (picked Henderson) - Henderson did some pretty effective slip'n'slide striking that only he does in the first round and made Palhares look pretty bad. First round pretty much set the tone for the rest of the fight with Henderson being just more active, controlling more and doing more damage. Palhares did have a few takedowns, a decent looking kneebar attempt in the second, but Henderson had an answer for everything. Good win for Henderson to get back on track. May be have him fight Joe Doerkson for a guaranteed exciting fight or have him face Yushin Okami for a complete snoozer and finally retire the unwated Okami from the UFC. Then line him up for another go at Anderson Silva, cause he actually posed some problems for him in their first fight.

Nate "The Great" Marquardt TKO's Martin Kampmann (picked Marquardt) - just like thought and had a sneaking suspicion that the same Nate Marquardt that destroyed Jeremy Horn may show up and he did! He wasted no time and went after the tough Kampmann like he only had a minute and a half to do it. He looked sharp doing it with a variety of strikes and combinations. I guess it helps to have Greg Jackson for a trainer and the new lightheavy bright star Rashad Evans for a training partner. Oh and to have that ugly Keith Jardine around doesn't hurt either. Now that I think of it Marquardt should probably face Dan Henderson for a shot at Anderson Silva. Excellent fight for both.

Dong Hyun Kim decisions Matt Brown (picked Kim) - I loved this fight. Cool of UFC to book Dong Hyun Kim because he is a scrapper and because he bring something different to the table. That was the appeal of early days MMA - fights between different styles. Kim definitely brings an unorthodox MMA style and it was great to see, especially because he made it effective against a tough Matt Brown. Brown actually did sort of start fighting early on but let Kim hang out on his back for most of the first round. It could have gone either way, but I don't see the result being negative for Brown because the fight was very entertaining. Can't wait to see both of them back soon.

Kurt Pellegrino decisions Thiago Tavares (picked Pellegrino) - In my picks for this UFC I said Pellegrino would have weather the ground attack by Tavares first and then take over with improved striking. Turns out I was little too optimistic for Thiago Tavares. I have to say doing a few switch steps does show you did spend some time on footwork, but it seems that's all you did. Kurt Pellegrino came out striking, put Tavares down hard and continued punishing Tavares. Like in most fights, once a dominant pace is set by one fighter the other needs a huge effort to mount comeback. That's why comebacks are so exciting - they just don't happen that often. Pellegrino beating up Tavares while never really being in danger from him was just another example. He knocked him down, mounted him numerous times.  The little time when Tavares had Pellegrino on the the bottom, Pellegrino even managed to submit Tavares with an armbar. That's my opinion on that. Tavares tapped, Pellegrino let go, but because it happened somewhat quick the ref hesitated and Pellegrino just had to keep going. Too bad Tavares didn't have the dignity to stop and admit his defeat, especially because he was badly loosing. Pellegrino finished destroying Thiago Tavares's hype and got a great win. Hope to see him back soon.

Tim Boetsch TKO's Michael Patt (picked Boetsch) - I couldn't quite remember seeing Patt before, but when his awkward self came out I recognized him from Bodog and know "Redneck Judo" was going to get another good showing from Boetsch. "Amature night"-looking fight aside, Boetsch was effective in taking out Patt. Gotta say that "Redneck Judo" is a whole lot more fun when it's effective over a more polished opponent like it was over David Heath, so I hope they match him up against a regular tougher fighter and not another awkward crappy one. Boetsch deserved that.

Jason MacDonald submits Jason Lambert (picked MacDonald) - As I said earlier this trend in fighters to keep dropping weight cause of a few losses is one of the stupidest ones out there, especially dropping down two weight classes. What was Lambert thinking when he took this fight? MacDonald is a huge 185'er, so fighting him is like fighting a 205'er. Like I thought, he had no chance. MacDonald completely overwhelmed him on the ground and submitted him. Lambert should try in WEC for a while and may be come back. MacDonald should probably fight with Kendall Grove.

Ryo Chonan decisions Roan "Jucao" Carneiro (picked Carneiro) - Like many Japanese fighters that come to train with Matt Hume, Ryo Chonan is enjoying the benefits of Hume's training and tuning by being sharper and doing better. It was a complete surprise to me how good Chonan did against Carneiro. It was a close fight with both having good moments. I kind of agree with the judges that Chonan did just a bit more than Carneiro. Good win for Chonan, he should face whoever UFC puts infront of him to prove he'll continue to improve under Hume's tuning. Tough break for Carneiro, second loss in a row. There will lot of pressure for him to win and show the tough Roan Carneiro that gave all kinds of fits to Jon Fitch. Hope he recoveres from this.

Overall, this was a great UFC card with an upset and some nice beatings that turned out about as good as it was on paper.

It's that time again, less than two hours before the event and all I have time for now is just the very quick picks for UFC 88. It's another one of those UFC cards that on paper looks average, even with Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson on it, but as it often happens can turn out to be quite exciting.

Roan Carneiro Vs. Ryo Chonan - I really hope this one actually makes it on the PPV. Roan Jucao Carneiro was one of the very few fighters that had Jon Fitch in real trouble. Not an easy fit by any standards. Coming off an upset loss to Kevin Burns he should bounce back and beat Chonan by TKO. Ryo Chonan is a Japanese journeyman who's biggest accomplishment was catching the great Anderson Silva by a jumping scissors to a heelhook submission, but hey, at least is a great accomplishment.  Should be a good fight due to Chonan's resiliency.

Jason Lambert Vs. Jason MacDonald - this match up feels like a "retirement from UFC for a while" party for Jason Lambert who has now dropped down to 185. Probably in hopes of better luck. It's an annoying trend nowadays. Lose a few fights and blame it on the fact that other guys are just "too big and strong". Yep, forget the fact that they might have done a few more pushups than you and are just a bit more skilled than you in some areas. Lambert is doing exactly this. He got TKO'd in his losses, not taken down and held down by a bigger stronger fighter. Another loss in the new for him 185 category should teach him a good lesson hopefully. It's about skill stupid! Plus, according to Jason MacDonald pendulum record, he is due for a win. Picking MacDonald by submission quickly.

Tim Boetsch Vs. Michael Patt - Patt has had a few decent wins in Bodog event and is decent on the ground with 12 submissions. Tim Boetsch is the famous for introduction to the world of the very unique style of combat Judo, the brutal "Redneck Judo". He instantly won over a great deal of fans, me including. He was just so much fun to watch and he was kicking ass while at it. Even though Matt Hamill put a damper on his quest for championship, Tim is more focused than ever and I'm sure his "Redneck Judo" is a sharp and unrefined as ever. Picking Boetsch by a vicious throw on a head.

Thiago Tavares Vs. Kurt Pellegrino - Tavares burst on the scene with some of the smoothest jiu-jitsu around and the hype around him was quite strong for a while. But you could see chinks in his beautiful jiu-jitsu based game. Tyson Griffin beat him by a close decision, then a judoka Michihiro Omigawa gave him a good run for his money. Many said Tavares had an off night, but truth was that just beautiful jiu-jitsu may simply not be enough. Matt Wiman proved that, he wasn't afraid of it and KO'd Tavares. Kurt Pellegrino can eat a huge kick and still keep coming. His record isn't the most stellar but he's been in some tough fights. I'm picking Pellegrino to get through the ground assault by Tavares and use his improved striking to beat Tavares, just follow Wiman's blueprint.

Dong Hyun Kim Vs. Matt Brown - Matt Brown is certainly tough and can win fights and finish them, but he HAD to get better at starting to fight sooner in his fights. You can not take a bunch of damage and hope it doesn't affect you too much when you're finally ready to fight back. Kim is an unknown, but based on his record it sounds like he will too come out and hurt Matt Brown for a while and may be Matt Brown will fight back or may be he won't. Picking Kim to start out early and not give Brown a chance to be in a condition to fight back effectively.

Martin Kampmann Vs. Nate Marquardt - Martin Kampmann is cool, awesome combo of dutch striking with improving ground game. However I believe in Nate Marquardt. His destruction of Jeremy Horn made me believe a little longer in his dream to eventually get a crack at Anderson Silva again. Marquardt's loss to Thales Leites was due to questionable fouls. Picking Marquardt to finish Kampmann.

Dan Henderson Vs. Rousimar Palhares - Palhares is a little muscle tank with some very slick jiu-jitsu who in his UFC debut not only submitted a very slick himself Ivan Salaverry with an armbar from back mount but also made Joe Rogan cry on the broadcast with that move. I mean honestly, while not a common move in MMA to date, it is a very common and real simple move in grappling. I just wish Joe Rogan was the one commentating Shinya Aoki pulling off gogo plata from the mount to see and hear Rogan's reaction. He would have blown up from all the excitement. Dan Henderson coming off two tough losses to two super tough guys in Andreson Silva and Rampage Jackson. He's really due to bounce back as he usually does and once again make an example of his opponent. Palhares definitely poses danger to Henderson, but Henderson's experience should bring him victory. Picking Henderson

Rich Franklin Vs. Matt Hamill - Is this a 205 fight? I'm guessing 185 is a pointless division for Franklin to be in so for now he's just going to do fights. No real meaning or a goal. And why not? Beating Anderson Silva is out of question for a few years if ever. He should be just as successful at 205 as he was at 185. May be a good move. Hamill isn't exactly an easy fight to try moving up a category. Franklin should have no problem dealing with Hamill's strong wrestling and hard punching. Picking Franklin

Chuck Liddell Vs. Rashad Evans - I don't know why but I'm not excited about this fight at all. Rashad has amazing potential, but he himself is his only hinderance to being great.  He had nothing to be afraid of in his fight with Tito, for 2 rounds he stopped himself from beating Tito up exactly the same way he beat him up in the third. If he didn't get over the fact that he is now part of the more famous fighters and should not be afraid to punch them or take them down, he'll hurt his chances bad against Chuck Liddell. Because unlike Tito, Chuck will actually hurt him. Things are just not looking good for Rashad, he hasn't fought for almost a year, he's tentative with celebrities, his height disadvantage.  Picking Chuck Liddell by TKO by Chuck's own sprawl-and-counter (tm). He was sharp against Wanderlei Silva and looked excited again to be fighting. Just hope that is still there.

Time has been hard to come by as of late, but I've managed to fit some in-depth analysis in for some of the upcoming UFC events as we head into September. We start out the UFC's month with a fairly lackluster fight card in UFC 88: Breakthrough. Liddell vs. Evans, Franklin vs. Hamill, and Henderson vs. Palhares aren't blockbuster battles that casual fans will be clamoring over in the hours leading up to the event. Nonetheless, let's take a look at some of the battles we'll see on Saturday night.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans

Let's face it... this isn't a main event headlining fight to anyone who follows the UFC adamantly. Chuck Liddell holds wins over some of the best fighters in the world while Rashad Evans has decisioned himself to an 11-0-1 undefeated record. At 21-5, Liddell is arguably one of the top light heavyweights in the world, and he's the UFC's money making public icon to the sport. His status alone with the UFC gives him a shot at redeeming most of his key losses on the way back to the title. Could this fight be one of those redeeming wins that would jolt him back into the title picture? I wouldn't put it past the UFC no matter how much I disagree with it.

Striking is going to be the major difference in this matchup. Liddell is not only a seasoned veteran of the sport, but he's one of the most lethal strikers in the light heavyweight division. Using strafing movements and odd angles to land blows, he'll likely work a ranged striking game while keeping away from Rashad's strengths in the wrestling game.

Evans doesn't have anything to offer in this fight. He can't fight at range with Liddell. He lacks knockout power in the striking game. His wrestling abilities will likely be countered by Liddell's takedown defense, and he'll almost assuredly become mincemeat if he tries to shoot for a takedown with Liddell's sprawl. How can Rashad win this fight? Unless we see a vast improvement and much more dynamic mixture of his skills, Liddell should easily win this fight.

Leland's Prediction: Chuck Liddell via TKO/KO, Round 2

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill

Franklin's move to 205 could become an interesting battle on the ground if Hamill's power is as overwhelming as we've seen in some of his past battles. Hamill registers at 6'2” while Franklin comes in around 6'1”. Hamill should technically have the muscle and length to make this an interesting matchup. However, Hamill's striking game is still in a developing stage. Franklin, on the other hand, is seasoned in crushing opponents from the top position. It makes for some contemplating as to how this fight could work itself out.

Franklin's experience and power should help him prevail over a rather green Matt Hamill. Not only is his striking much more seasoned and powerful, but he still has an able ground game to counter Hamill. Franklin will be tough to overpower as well, but Hamill does have the strength to potentially do just that. I wouldn't count on it happening though.

Leland's Prediction: Rich Franklin via TKO/KO, Round 2

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares

I was a bit torn on this matchup when it was first announced to be occurring at UFC 88. Palhares has the potential to become the next Paulo Filho. A powerful submission fighter with improving standup and great transitioning skills, Palhares presents some problems for Henderson. Can he actually submit Henderson? Unless Palhares can prove that his jiu-jitsu is in the arena of the Nogueira brothers or Anderson Silva, I'm definitely leaning toward a “No” answer.

Henderson will have the advantage on his feet with some good striking skills coupled with fantastic power in his hands. Palhares will be looking to push this battle to the floor quickly to use his power grips to submit Henderson. If Henderson doesn't pay attention, he could potentially fall victim to a signature leglock from Palhares. I still expect Henderson to be careful and squeak out a decision win over Palhares.

Leland's Prediction: Dan Henderson via decision

Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt

This could potentially create some excitement for fans who have yet to really see what Martin Kampmann is capable of producing. While many fans don't quite remember Kampmann, they will inevitably keep an eye on this dynamic fighter after UFC 88. At one point in his career, he was well on his way to at least battling for a spot at contention until his knees began to fail. A few knee surgeries later, we saw Kampmann back in the Octagon after over a year layoff.  What can we expect from Kampmann in this fight?

Look out for his heavy and accurate striking abilities on the feet. A native of Holland, he's been bred in the kickboxing pedigree that so many Dutch fighters grew up with. He has excellent kicks and striking, but he's also picked up some formidable submission abilities along the way. Xtreme Couture's training regiment has likely given him a strong wrestling base from which to pull submissions off with as well.

Marquardt has never impressed me in the Octagon. I felt that the UFC catapulted him into a match with Anderson Silva for the pure enjoyment of fans seeing a destruction in the cage. Defeating some crafty ground veterans in Dean Lister, Joe Doerksen, and Ivan Salaverry is hardly a sign that you're ready for Anderson Silva. I'm also inclined to believe that Marquardt's abilities in the striking game will be his downfall here. Look for Marquardt to eat some strikes, go dizzy, and become submission bait.

Leland's Prediction: Martin “Hitman” Kampmann via submission, Round 1

Quick Picks
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares: Tough fight to pick... Pellegrino has the grit and determination to pound on Tavares for most of the fight, but Tavares definitely has the submission abilities to take out Pellegrino. I am smelling a potential upset here, so betting on Pellegrino might be a great idea. I'll still take the submission abilities in Tavares over Pellegrino's susceptibility on the ground. Tavares via submission, Round 2

Jason MacDonald vs. Jason Lambert: Lambert has been terrible as of late in the striking game, but MacDonald probably won't be bringing too much in the standup. This could be an even matchup with Lambert coming down in weight for the fight. He could potentially weight a lot more than MacDonald come fight time. MacDonald has only lost to some of the top tier Middleweights however, so I'll stick with him in this fight. MacDonald via submission, Round 2

Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan: Carneiro has been very lackluster compared to his jiu-jitsu credentials in the MMA world while Chonan has been a bit above average in his career. Chonan has some submission abilities, but shouldn't compare to what Carneiro potentially could dish out on the ground. Nonetheless, Chonan holds a 3rd round win over Carneiro at a DEEP event in 2005. Tough call, but I'll take Chonan by some kind of miracle. Chonan via decision

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown: Hyun Kim is coming out to a trance remix of “Heaven”. It's so terrible that it may scare Brown out of even coming out. Regardless, Kim has some great power, good cardio, and can be a pounding force in the cage. He's very well rounded, and Brown will have some massive problems hanging with him. Hyun Kim via KO, Round 1

Tim Boestch vs. Mike Patt: Potential for an upset? Hard to say, but Boestch's wrestling will be formidable for Patt to get through in order to submit Boestch. Boestch's cardio will also be the x-factor here. If he gases, Patt may have a shot. Nonetheless, I like Boestch here. Good wrestling, solid takedown defense, and he swings for the win. Boestch via TKO, Round 2

First off, let me issue another quick apology for not getting any articles up this week. Things have been especially crazy for Leland and I over the past few months, and things are finally settling down. I hope to continue posting on a semi-regular basis and hopefully we'll be back in full swing before long.

This weekend, UFC 88 heads to Atlanta, Georgia. I'm going to skip the usually fighter introductions because truthfully, those can be found anywhere on the net. Let's get to the real reason we write these articles, the predictions and analysis.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans

Chuck Liddell comes into this fight after winning a unanimous decision over former PRIDE middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva. Chuck and Wanderlei had an epic three round war that was nothing short of spectacular.

Rashad comes into this fight having won a controversial split-decision over Michael Bisping. He is the TUF 2 heavyweight winner and is undefeated in his career.

Simply put, Chuck destroys grapplers. It's really hard for me to find anyway for Rashad Evans to win this fight outside of a lucky punch or kick. Chuck has excellent takedown defense and is able to utilize good footwork and work angles to effectively counter punch his way to victory. Rashad has one benefit on his side. He trains with Greg Jackson and his teammate, Keith Jardine, was able to defeat Liddell. The problem for Rashad is that he doesn't possess the leg kicks needed to keep Chuck at bay. I believe this fight will look similar to Chuck and Tito's two fights with Rashad looking to shoot sporadically and getting pounded on the feet. 

Joe's Prediction: Chuck Liddell via T/KO round 2.

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill

Rich Franklin looks to make his return to the light heavyweight division against former TUF contestant Matt Hamill. Hamill is a Division III wrestler that has show good power inside the Octagon. I have went back and forth on this fight a little bit only because of Franklin's jump in weight. Hamill will be decidedly bigger and will most likely have the power advantage. Rich will want to keep this fight on the feet and try to take advantage of Hamill's sloppy stand up defense. Hamill has big power in his punches and pushes a relentless pace. He always comes forward, but the thing that scares me is that sometimes he drops his hands to his sides and swings looping punches. If Franklin can keep this fight on the feet and avoid Hammil's takedowns, which is no small task I might add, then he can definitely win this fight. Hamill needs to relentlessly push the pace and keep Rich on his heels. When he sees an opportunity, he needs to put Rich on his back. From there, Hamill must have improved on his top control to keep Rich neutralized. I don't think he'll be able to do it, and I think this will be a closer fight than most expect.

Joe's Prediction: Rich Franklin via Unanimous Decision.

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares

Dan Henderson comes into this fight after losing both of his PRIDE/UFC unification title bouts. He suffered a unanimous decision loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and was submitted in the second round by Anderson Silva. Rousimar Palhares was an unknown commodity heading into his first fight in the UFC. Palhares easily dispatched veteran Ivan Salaverry with an armbar in the very first round. Henderson has shown in the past that he's no easy feat to submit. He has been in there with both Noguiera brothers and had multiple submission escapes before they were both finally able to catch him with armbars.  Palhares has shown a great ground game in his fights and is a leg lock specialist. I expected the UFC to groom him a bit before he was forced to step up in competition but with the lack of competitors for Anderson Silva, it looks like they are moving him right along. Palhares is going to be at a disadvantage on the feet and will try to get Henderson to the ground. The problem there is that Henderson has a dynamite right hand, and is an Olympic caliber Greco Roman wrestler. It's going to be hard for Palhares to close the distance on Dan, and it's going to be even harder for him to get this fight to the mat. I think Palhares has a bright future in the UFC, I just don't think he's ready for a step up in competition yet. 

Joe's Prediction: Dan Henderson via Unanimous Decision

Martin Kampann vs. Nate Marquardt

Kampmann makes his long awaited return to the Octagon after suffering a serious knee injury. Marquardt returns from a disappointing decision loss to Thales Leites after Marquardt was deducted points for hitting Letites in the back of the head. Kampann is a good muay thai/kickboxer with a pretty underrated ground game. The problem for him is that Marquardt has better grappling and knows how to utilize his strikes to get the fight where he needs it to be. I like Kampmann, but I don't think he'll be ready for Marquardt's attack. Look for Marquardt to close the gap early and utilize his superior wrestling to get Kampmann to the mat. There, he will control Kampmann for the majority of the fight. In my eyes, this looks to be a snoozefest.

Joe's Prediction: Nate Marquardt via Unanimous Decision

Quick Hits

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown: Kim is a Korean superstar in the making and has all the tools to be a successful marketing tool for the UFC's expansion abroad. He is really leaps and bounds better than Matt Brown, and this will be a good fight for him to be introduced to the casual fan. Kim easily dispatched of Jason Tan in his last fight and Brown, while tough, will have no answer wherever this fight goes. Joe's Prediction: Dong Hyun Kim via T/KO round 1.

Thiago Tavares vs. Kurt Pellegrino: This is a tough fight for me to call, and I feel the current betting line is way off. Pellegrino comes into this fight after being submitted by Nate Diaz, while Tavares enters the cage coming off of his first knockout loss. Pellegrino is a good wrestler and has a black belt in BJJ. Pellegrino also has some decent striking. His problem recently has been his inability to keep the pace for an entire fight and to avoid making costly mistakes. Tavares looked promising in his first two fights in the UFC, but was set back with a knockout loss to Matt Wiman. I expect the training the Pellegrino has been doing with the Florian camp to have improved his cardio issues and he pulls off a huge (by the gambling books) upset. Joe's Prediction: Pellegrino via T/KO round 3.

Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Patt: Boetsch finally has the opportunity to go through an entire camp to prepare for a fight. His last two fights inside the Octagon were taken on short notice and Boetsch looked good in both of them. Although he lost to Hamill in his last fight, Boetsch will come out and show the UFC what he can do given the proper time to train. Joe's Prediction: Tim Boetsch via T/KO round 1.

Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald: Lambert is looking to rebound off of his back-to-back knockout losses to Luis Cane and Wilson Gouviea. You'd also have to go back to 2001 to find the last time Lambert was submitted. Although he is 1-3 in his last four fights and this is his debut at 185lbs., I believe he has a good chance for an upset here. MacDonald is taking this fight as a replacement and recently suffered a submission loss to Demian Maia.  The thing that bothers me about MacDonald is his lack of game plan. He always seems to take fights where you wouldn't want them. His last fight with Maia is a perfect example of this. He was the one who shot for a takedown on arguably one of the best BJJ players in MMA today. MacDonald doesn't have great wrestling and I think he loses this fight on the feet. Joe's Prediction: Jason Lambert via T/KO round 2.

Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro: Chonan is finally returning to the Octagon after a disappointing, and boring, decision loss to Karo Parisyan. This is a rematch of a previous fight in which Chonan won via doctor's stoppage due to cut. I think this is a pretty even match and I expect Chonan to pull off another victory. Joe's Prediction: Ryo Chona via Unanimous Decision.

This should be an exciting night of fights and what looks to be a couple of lose or go home matches. Drop your predictions off in the comments section and let me know what you think of our predictions. 

There are three people at the top of the MMA mountain: Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre. For now, thanks to his unanimous victory over Jon Fitch earlier this month at UFC 87, St. Pierre has muscled his counterparts out of the spotlight. Sherdog’s Jake Rossen has begrudgingly given St. Pierre the nod as [...]

After the explosive win by Anderson Silva at Ultimate Fight Night 14 and the unbelievable destruction of Tim Sylvia at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko at the inaugural Affliction event, the MMA community has once again buzzed at how the pound-for-pound rankings will look. Should Anderson Silva take the crown as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? Has Fedor propelled his status to the top after a convincing performance against what many fans wanted to see in "real" competition?

The one thing I've always wanted to explore is the criteria that most fans lay out on the table when it comes to categorizing these fighters and putting them into a ranking. What exactly pushes one fighter into the realm of being a pound-for-pound ranked fighter? For the most part, fans usually classify a dominating fighter with an exemplary record and dynamic skills onto the list. Most casual fans would likely push Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, and any number of fighters who hold titles within the UFC onto the list for the mere fact that their status in the organization has reached the top of the food chain.

With Anderson Silva moving up to Light Heavyweight and defeating James Irvin on Saturday night, many fans are clamoring for a #1 ranking on the pound-for-pound list due to the fact that he did have a dominating performance in an "unnatural" weight class. Other fighters could push this argument specifically B.J. Penn has fought admirably at other weight classes.

While I would take into consideration the suggestion that fighting and winning at different weight classes is a huge plus in the pound-for-pound rankings, I'm still torn as to how Fedor remains outside the conversation in many rankings. I've heard numerous outlets suggest his name in the top three and even at #1, but I haven't seen a solid argument. I don't have the most solid argument in the world to push him to #1, but I would like to offer some analysis as to why he potentially should be in that spot.

First and foremost, let's analyze the rest of the field. Names like Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre litter the top, and they should. Silva has dominated the UFC's middleweight division in stunning fashion with destructive wins over Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson. At this moment in his career, I'd definitely rank him #1 or #2 for the pure fact he crushed Franklin, a top 5 Middleweight, and amazingly defeated Henderson inside 2 rounds. The biggest problem I've had with recent talk in the P4P rankings is the fact that James Irvin's dismantling somehow affects his standing. To be brutally honest, I didn't see how Irvin stood a chance against Silva, and I still don't think it was even a remotely good fight with the only exchange resulting in Irvin eating his own words. Fans applaud Silva's efforts and I applaud him for taking the fight to excite the fanbase, but winning in another weight class against someone who has yet to prove to be a solid middle to upper tier fighter isn't a win that solidifies your standing.

St. Pierre has yet to convince the MMA community that he can effectively defend his title against a solid contender. Jon Fitch will likely be that test, but will he really be a test? I've heard the argument over the last few weeks that Fitch will be a monster against Georges St. Pierre. It hasn't convinced me yet. If he can defeat Fitch inside two rounds, which I believe will happen, look for the UFC to potentially setup a superfight between GSP and BJ Penn. That fight could potentially lift GSP into a #1 spot.

Then there was the "Last Emperor". While I don't believe he is the #1 P4P best fighter in the world right now, I only refrain from labeling him as that due to the amount of top competition fights he's had in the last few years. I do think that he has the credentials, tools, and fights left in him to easily obtain that moniker.

He not only destroyed an arguably top three heavyweight in 0:36 seconds, but he did so with a cloud of doubt from the MMA media as to whether he even had the same tenacity that he showed us in PRIDE. Are you one of those fans that are hanging onto the fact that Silva has still jumped weight classes? Fedor took on Hong Man Choi, while terrible on the ground, still weighs over 130 to 140 pounds more than the Russian. Want to argue that Choi wasn't able competition? Neither was James Irvin.

In the end, the pound for pound rankings come down to a fighter winning his fights against top ten competition. This is where Anderson Silva excels to the top spot. The question for the future is how impressive will his wins be compared to the destructive force that Fedor is showing once again. Is a :36  second trouncing of a huge heavyweight more impressive than a one punch KO of a non-ranked Light Heavyweight by a MW champion? In my mind, Fedor's win was much more impressive due to Fedor's inactivity, the doubt surrounding his abilities, and old UFC vs. PRIDE battle within the hardcore fanbase. As dead as the argument was, it still made this fight something all hardcore fans wanted to see.

If Fedor demolishes Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, and Randy Couture in quick fashion, he will undoubtedly be labeled the best P4P fighter this sport has ever seen. For me, it's not only about his wins and record, but his pure skills as a fighter. Transitions, speed, quickness, power, and his ability to escape danger seem to surprise even the most hardcore fans everytime Fedor steps into the ring. Hopefully, casual fans will begin to buy into what Affliction is doing and tune in for Fedor. For now though, the UFC has one of the best P4P fighters in the world in Anderson Silva, and he is a treat to watch.

Let me know what criteria your P4P rankings would use. How would you stack the top three?

(One of these men fought Anderson Silva on Saturday — can you tell which one? Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.) Affliction’s next show will maybe be held on November 8th, maybe in Atlantic City, and Aleksander Emelianenko maybe doesn’t have hepatitis. (MMA Junkie) Anthony Johnson’s agent Ken Pavia is going to formally appeal Rumble’s loss via eye-pokes. (Five [...]

The card that the UFC put together in order to push the PPV buys away from Affliction: Banned wasn't exactly the most star-studded lineup we've seen from the UFC this year, but it did feature one of the most dangerous strikers in the sport in Anderson Silva. Did it live up to the hype? For the most part, fans got what they came to see, but the rest of the card was rather lackluster from the perspective of this hardcore fan. Let's check out some of the action...

Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin

I want to say one thing before we break down the short amount of time this fight actually took place. James Irvin didn't have a chance that night, nor did he have a chance a few weeks ago when this fight was beginning to gain some steam from casual fans believing Irvin's power would be a factor. Plain and simple, Anderson Silva is one of the best range strikers in the sport, and James Irvin has huge problems gaining the inside track on rangey opponents.

Silva is one of the most powerful strikers in MMA today at range. Not only has he been able to display his striking prowess in nearly every matchup, but he's been able to accurately and deceptively throw his power shots with full extension onto his opponent's chins successfully. His movement in the cage is well-trained, and using that movement along with his range striking will be a nearly impossible feat for anyone to overcome. Irvin never had the toolkit to move inside on Silva, but he did have the explosive history to potentially put a devastating blow on Silva's chin. Unfortunately, trying to kick Silva while he's at range was a huge mistake.

Silva caught the kick and immediately connected with a punch that ended the fight after Silva pummeled him on the ground from the punch's knockdown. If you bet the farm on Irvin, you probably weren't alone, but styles make fights. It surely wasn't a smart bet to put Irvin down as a winner when Silva's dominance, range, and deceptive power continue to be unsolvable.

Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy

A huge disappointment for Brandon Vera, that's all we can really conclude from this fight. Joe Rogan pushed the theory that the weight cut had likely drained Vera's power during the fight, and Vera confirmed that the cut was somewhat of a problem. Andy definitely showed a powerful physique that could have been a problem to deal with, but the biggest flaw in Vera's game seemed to be his inability to pull the trigger in the standup.

Vera's reach and size to Andy's beefiness was unfathomable. Andy was lunging to land even the most simple jab while Vera clearly could have unloaded some choice shots at any moment. In the clinch, Vera was also dominating, but relenting at times. Hopefully, Vera can use the experience at the lower weight class to make his next cut to 205 a bit better for him.

Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca

While I had some doubts about Edgar going into this fight, I wasn't comfortable enough with Franca's standup to pick him to win this one. Franca showed some decent jiu-jitsu on the floor to put Edgar in danger at times, but Edgar's relentless onslaught from the top proved to be the deciding factor in an easy decision win for him. Franca is still a dangerous opponent in the division though, and look for him to bounce back with a win in his next performance.

Where will Edgar go? He should be beginning to look toward the upper echelon of the division, but his loss to Gray Maynard has definitely stopped his ability to move up quickly. It'll be interesting to see who Joe Silva finds for Edgar to fight next.

Cain Velasquez vs. Jake O'Brien

The most impressive part about Velasquez is that he has been so dominating while making it look so easy. Jake O'Brien is mainly known for being a boring lay n'pray fighter for most of his career, but he's had to use his wrestling pedigree to set those types of fights up. Cain used his superior wrestling abilities and some nice reversals to stop that from happening. Once he was on top of O'Brien, he was relentless in landing strikes and ending the fight in impressive fashion. I'm ready to see Velasquez move to the middle of the pack.

Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson

I don't have much to say here other than I believe Johnson was winning this battle until the eye poke occurred. To be perfectly honest, using palm strikes in an MMA fight is ridiculous even if you're protecting your hand. Granted, Burns was trying to win the fight any way he could with a bad hand, but palm strikes open up the potential for what happened to Anthony Johnson. Bas Rutten could probably teach you the correct palm strike technique pretty quickly... to the side of the head, not the eye.

Burns shouldn't get the win in this fight, and hopefully we'll see a rematch between these two in the future. My only worry is that Johnson looked gassed as we moved into the third round, and he needs to work on his cardio more. It's surprising considering he trains out of Colorado where high altitude training is considered normal.

CB Dolloway vs. Jesse Taylor

This fight went as expected with Dolloway not succumbing to Taylor's top control for very long. I didn't actually believe Taylor could work his lay n'pray on Dolloway like he had during the show due to the fact that Dolloway has some power and some good transitions on the floor to work with. At least this fight will allow Dolloway another chance in the UFC, and hopefully he will work hard to improve his skills enough to prove he can stay in this type of competition.

Other action...

Credeur over Yarbrough via TKO, Round 1
Markham over Farber via headkick, Round 1
Loughran over Ress via triangle choke, Round 1
Blackburn over Giboo via TKO, Round 2
Gugerty over Hartt via TKO, Round 2

Overall thoughts

It was the most lackluster card of the weekend for this writer, but it did show us some of the upcoming talent in the UFC. I like some of the acquisitions that the UFC made in terms of exciting the fanbase. Markham may not be the quintessential answer to the talent gap, but he's a damn exciting striker who never disappoints when it comes to knocking guys out. Blackburn was also another nice pickup from the IFL.

Kevin Burns is potentially making a name for himself in the UFC. Even with the controversial win that I believe he should have overturned, he lasted much longer than anyone really believed he could. He showed some promise, and with some solid training, he could become a decent middle of the road fighter in the UFC.

Velasquez is a monster, and it's only a matter of time before he gets matched up with a name people will recognize. If he can manage to win those key fights, his popularity and the UFC's aim to push the heavyweights could soon move into the spotlight. It's tough enough finding great heavyweight talent, and the UFC has landed on a potential goldmine in Velasquez.

The UFC doesn't have much lined up in the coming months, but Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch should be enough for some fans to fill the void. I'm not exactly amped about the matchup as I truly believe GSP will steamroll Jon Fitch, but hey, prove me wrong.

DREAM.5 could arguably have been the best card of the weekend in terms of action and great battles between top lightweights. While Affliction had some entertaining matchups and the UFC produced an Anderson Silva knockout, DREAM.5 pushed lightweight international stars into the spotlight with the final round of the Grand Prix. The most anticipated matchup of the evening pitted American Eddie Alvarez against T-Blood veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri, arguably a top 3 Lightweight. Undoubtedly, the winner would take on either Shinya Aoki or Caol Uno in the final. We'll break down the action...

Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

This was one of the best fights I've seen from two lightweights so far this year. It was an absolute barn-burner of a fight with both combatants tagging each other with flurries for most of the fight. Kawajiri's typical controlling style on the ground was nullified by Alvarez's sprawl and brawl tactics for most of the fight, but Kawajiri was still able to land some significant flurries to Alvarez's face.

At one point during the matchup, Alvarez sustained a heavy cut under his eye that required some attention. Alvarez was allowed to continue and pushed the pace as Kawajiri continued to throw huge flurries that barely missed their final destination. As the round progressed, the flurries of punches were reminiscent of a Rocky movie, as Bas Rutten put it. Alvarez finally connected flush with a round of punches, and finished off Kawajiri with a powerful shot to the chin. Alvarez made sure it was over as he pummeled Kawajiri with hammer fists and hooks on the ground to end the fight.

I've always believed Alvarez had the tools to make an impact, but not the kind of impact he is making in the top 10 rankings at this point in his career. He has solid wrestling skills, a good sprawl, and powerful striking that can be technical at times. He possesses the all-around skills to make a run at being a top lightweight in the world, and it showed against the powerful "Crusher" in this bout.

Alvarez's chin should get a trophy for its performance against Kawajiri. Many sites failed to mention during their play-by-plays the amount of damage that Alvarez was sustaining during some of the flurries, but he was being tagged relentlessly during some of the exchanges. Although bloody from his cut and those shots, Alvarez continued forward to launch his own attacks that landed much more cleanly and with more power. Determination and scrappiness have come a long way with Alvarez, and fans should want to see him fight regularly. Welcome to the top 5, Eddie Alvarez.

Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno

The matchup between Aoki and Uno got a lot of steam behind it after Uno's impressive performance against Mitsuhiro Ishida. Uno is a legend in the MMA scene from his stint in the UFC and numerous battles with top talent in Japan, but his legacy can only go so far as he ages. Aoki surprisingly defeated "JZ" Calvancante in a fight that I must admit, I found it impossible for Calvancante losing. We didn't see a dominating Caol Uno in this battle, but more of a defensive Uno trying to keep the monkey off his back for most of the fight.

Aoki showed his grappling prowess for most of the matchup, and Uno defended the submission for nearly the entire battle. Aoki had numerous opportunities to submit Uno, and even worked multiple transitions in which he had a number of choices as to which submission he could pull off. Uno isn't exactly green in the ground game, and he was able to stave off being submitted by the premier grappler. It was a dominating performance by Aoki nonetheless, but it did wear on Aoki's conditioning.

Once the final's matchup had been made between Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki, it became a question as to whether who was more tired or hurt. It was obvious that Alvarez's war with Kawajiri was going to be a factor, but Aoki was visibly tired after his decision over Uno. The decision to stop Alvarez from continuing was made later during the event due to doctors claiming Alvarez's cut was too severe to allow him to continue. Most of us called this a sham, and Alvarez was robbed of an opportunity to show the world that he belongs in the top 3. I imagine DREAM will give him the opportunity though in the future. After all, he did prove he can be an exciting fighter in front of the Japanese fans.

Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gill

Kultar Gill is an anomaly in this sport. An Alistair Overeem-like prospect at such a low weight class should be able to destroy much smaller opponents with his standup skills. Gill, however, has the unfortunate problem of having poor ground tactics and horrible submission defense. Hansen took advantage.

For the opening minutes of this bout, Gill used his range and knees to score some solid blows to Hansen. Hansen is known for being one of the scrappiest and grittiest fighters in the weight class, and a few choice shots from Gill didn't deter him from moving inside on Gill. Hansen ate a few more shots, but was able to obtain the clinch and eventually push the fight to the floor. Hansen displayed some slick transitioning from the armbar submission attempt to a triangle attempt and back to the armbar for the win. Although it didn't look good for Hansen early, his gameplan worked perfectly in exposing Gill's obvious weakness.

Gill could actually be a product in the future, but his jiu-jitsu needs to be improved dramatically. Even some work on his submission defense and sprawl would help immensely in helping him keep the fight on the feet where he is much more dangerous.

Hansen showed why he's still in contention for a top spot in the lightweight rankings. He has a well-rounded base in both the standup and ground game, and he's always active in trying to end the fight. Solid performance from Hansen.

Lightweight Grand Prix Final: Joachim Hansen vs. Shinya Aoki

As mentioned earlier, Hansen moved onto the final after Alvarez was not cleared to fight due the cut he sustained during the Kawajiri fight. I won't dwell on how unfair this was to Alvarez. We've learned over the years that things like this happen in nearly every promotion on the face of the Earth, so there really isn't any reason to argue over how ridiculous it was to stop Alvarez from fighting.

Aoki was the obvious favorite going into the final, but he had a much longer fight that Hansen while Hansen didn't have to work extremely hard to pull off the win in the reserve match. As expected, the battle hit the floor quickly with Hansen trying to work a strong top control game and punish Aoki.

I'll spare all the minor details and finish our analysis with this: Aoki is still susceptible to ground and pound, just like everyone else in mixed martial arts who tries to work a jiu-jitsu ground game. While Aoki has one of the most dynamic skillsets on the ground, Hansen was able to slip a huge right hand through his defense and knock him out. It wasn't the most exciting knockout we've seen, but it got the job done in handing Hansen the Lightweight Grand Prix belt.

Aoki isn't indestructible on the floor, and Hansen showed that this is mixed martial arts. Anything can happen. Hansen had a solid two fights during the event and remained fresh for the final after his first fight. I would have rather seen an Alvarez vs. Aoki matchup in the final, but I'm sure we'll see that pairing down the road in a future DREAM event.

Other action...

Daisuke Nakamura easily submitted Japanese comedian and K-1 fighter Andy Ologun in the first round. Very lopsided matchup with Ologun not even being a very good K-1 fighter let alone MMA fighter. Nakamura traded for a bit, but simply took the fight to the floor for the submission.

Yoshihiro Akiyama sported the gi for his fight, and easily picked his punches against pro-wrestling personality Katsuyori Shibata. Akiyama spent much of the round waiting for the right time to pounce. He eventually submitted Shibata on the floor with a gi choke at 6:34 of the first round. Uneventful battle for the most part, but Shibata might eventually be able to win some fights if DREAM actually wants to make some stars out of these guys who pull in wrestling fans.

Alistair Overeem made Mark Hunt look terrible by submitting him easily in only 1:11 of the first round. Both men came out striking with Hunt pushing Overeem to the floor quickly into the fight. Hunt went in for the kill, but Overeem was able to reverse the position and get a keylock sunk in on Hunt. Disappointing performance for Hunt. He needs to get back into shape after such a long layoff from the sport, and he needs to work on the ground a bit more if he wants to avoid being "clowned" in such a quick fight.

Overall Analysis

I wasn't able to check out the production of the event as I had hoped, but the fights were very entertaining. Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri is worth watching the event by itself. It was the perfect mixture of back and forth battling and sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for one man to falter.

The other matchups on the card definitely peaked my interest over the preceding week. Hansen being a reserve is always a nice addition, and even though Eddie Alvarez was robbed of his chance to solidify his mark on a top three ranking, Hansen was a nice fill-in. It obviously paid off huge for him, and it likely helped him redeem himself on some of his past losses.

Even with Aoki's loss in the final, his grappling is still some of the slickest we've seen from a lightweight. His ability to put an opponent in danger constantly on the ground is a valuable asset to have in avoiding damage, and he unfortunately wasn't able to control Hansen's wrists enough to stop the incoming barrage that ended the fight. It was controversial during his battle with Uno earlier because Aoki seems to be in love with grabbing his opponent's gloves instead of gaining wrist control. I'd love to see how the rules state that in the DREAM promotion.

Overall, I thought the event was a success and the most entertaining of the weekend action. Most of that is attributed to the lightweights being involved in the event, but as we all know, the faster action always prevails in the excitement factor. I look forward to the future events in DREAM.

Considered the best pound-for-pound athlete of the world, Anderson Silva dominated the UFC middleweight division and, at UFC Fight Night 14 show, did a great fight at light-weight category. Facing the tough James Irvin, that was coming from a huge eight seconds knockout, Silva showed why he's pointed as the best fighter of the MMA world.

"Funny, huh? I wasn't expecting such victory that fast and easy, but we train to do the work perfectly and I go to the octagon to do what I train. Thanks God everything was alright. The only bad thing is that he (Irvin) got hurt, cut the face, but it's part of the job", commented the middleweight champion, that is now thinking on his next title defense.

It seems that Dana White has a change of mind about Fedor after the performance he showed this weekend choking out Tim Sylvia in under 40 seconds. Here is what Dana Had to say about Fedor:

It does (change my opinion). Tim Sylvia was a real opponent. [But my opinion that Anderson Silva is still the world?s best fighter has not changed] Not at all. Do you even need to ask me after that?"

Now the big question who is to Face Fedor Next?