I was excited to see Vitor and Anderson fight, but I would also like to see Chael Sonnen fight Anderson, and I actually think Chael might be a tougher fight for him than Vitor would be right now.

TITO. He’ll be fighting Mark Coleman sometime in the near future.

Kendall Grove almost broke Ricardo Almeidas arm.. who woulda thought. Ricardo Almeida still won a decision.

Referee Dan Miragliotta still sucks.

LOL @ Forrest Griffin running out of the cage… and why does it seem like Anderson Silva’s punches hurt everyone so much worse than other people? I remember a straight right hand that sent James Irvin to the mat holding his face and curled in the fetal position. This one on Forrest was a backpeddling right jab that sent him down…WTF?

I felt embarrassed for Forrest.

BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian was a good fight, as I expected. Penn choked Florian into a tapout with a rear-naked choke. Penn is still dominant at 155lbs, because I believe Florian was the legit #1 contender.

Dana White wants to have a UFC event at Fenway Park in Boston sometime in the future.

George Roop over George Sotiropoulos (seriously?)
Alessio Sakara over Thales Leites
Tamdan McCrory over John Howard
Aaron Riley over Shane Nelson by KO
Kurt Pellegrino over Josh Need by decision
Ricardo Almeida over Kendall Grove by submission
Amir Sadollah
Forrest Griffin over Anderson Silva (what!?)
Kenny Florian over BJ Penn.. by doctors stoppage.

Well, Chuck Liddell got KTFO again. Damn. Get well soon, Chuck. I wish he’d get back on a winning streak, somehow.

Anderson Silva was semi-impressive, in the fact that he didn’t get punched nearly at all, in five rounds of fighting. He won a unanimous decision over Thales Leites. Was Silva trying to finish the fight? Or is he just happy to get a decision?

Other results from UFC 97 are:
Sam Stout defeated Matt Wiman (robbery decision, imo)
TJ Grant defeated Ryo Chonan by decision
Mark Bocek defeated David Bielkheden by choke in round 1
Ed Herman defeated David Loiseau by decision
Nate Quarry defeated Jason MacDonald by TKO in round one
Denis Kang defeated Xavier Foupa-Pokam by decision
Eliot Marshall defeated Vinicius Magalhaes by decision
Luiz Cane defeated Steve Cantwell by decision
Cheick Kongo defeated Antoni Hardonk by TKO in round 2
Krzysztof Soszynski defeated Brian Stann by Kimura in round 1
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua defeated Chuck Liddell by TKO in round 1
Anderson Silva defeated Thales Leites by decision

Watt Wiman over Sam Stout
Ryo Chonan over TJ Grant
Mark Bocek over David Bielkheden
Ed Herman over David Loiseau
Nate Quarry over Jason MacDonald
Denis Kang over the Savate Kickboxing dude
Eliot Marshall over Vinicius Magalhaes
Steve Cantwell over Luiz Cane
Antoni Hardonk over Cheick Kongo
Brian Stann over Krzysztof Soszynski
Chuck Liddell over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Anderson Silva over Thales Leites

i have a bad habit of picking who i want to win, and not who will probably win.. oh well.. how long can Anderson Silva’s winning streak stay intact?

At a press conference for UFC 94 (Bj Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre), Dana White was asked about the winner getting a shot at Anderson Silva, to which he replied “I think if Georges St. Pierre wins this fight, he’ll get Anderson Silva.” — Video is below, speed up to the 6:18 mark of the video to hear the reporters question and Dana White answer.

Disappointment. The fight was interesting, and Patrick Cote lasted longer with Anderson Silva than anyone else in the UFC so far. It didn’t seem like Silva was as offensive as he usually is, he was constantly backing up and letting Cote force the pressure, however, Silva still connected with precision and was winning the fight up until Patrick Cote injured his knee and couldn’t continue.

I predict we’ll see Anderson Silva fight again very soon, probably within just a couple of months, as UFC Matchmakers will want to make up to fans for tonights disappointment.

PROPS TO JOE ROGAN FOR HIS EVAN TANNER TRIBUTE BEARD.

Other results from UFC 90 are:
Pete Sell beat Josh Burkman by unanimous decision
Hermes Franca beat Marcus Aurelio by unanimous decision
Dan Miller beat Matt Horwich by unanimous decision
Spencer Fisher beat Shannon Gugerty by third-round submission (triangle choke)
Thales Leites beat Drew McFedries by first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Sean Sherk beat Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision
Junior “Cigano” dos Santos defeated Fabricio Werdum by first-round KO
Gray Maynard beats Rich Clementi by unanimous decision
Thiago Alves beat Josh Koscheck by unanimous decision

Anderson sure knows how to deliver an ass whooping.

InTheGuard.tv is reporting that Anderson Silva was recently interviewed by Brazilian TV station SporTV and said he would retire next year. This comes as a surprise, but we do know he has expressed a lot of interest in squaring of with Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match, and Dana White told him he wouldn’t allow it to happen. We also know Anderson Silva has said he wouldn’t fight his friend, Paulo Filho, the 185-lb champion of Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting.

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® HITS CHICAGO FOR UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE

ANDERSON “THE SPIDER” SILVA vs. PATRICK “THE PREDATOR” COTE
UFC® WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY, OCT. 25, 2008
LIVE FROM ALLSTATE ARENA
Tickets on Sale Monday, August 18 – 10am CT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Sports fans in Chicago unite! The UFC® is coming to town and it is bringing the world’s greatest pound for pound fighter, Anderson “The Spider” Silva, for a middleweight title fight against his number one contender, Patrick “The Predator” Cote. The UFC will make its historic first trip to Chicago this fall when it presents UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE live from Allstate Arena on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008.

“Anderson Silva once again showed why he’s the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world when he moved up to light heavyweight and destroyed James “The Sandman” Irvin,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Now he drops back down to middleweight to defend his world title against Patrick Cote, a fighter on a four-fight win streak with a style that guarantees an incredible fight, wherever it goes. There is no better way to introduce Chicago to the UFC than with the championship fight Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote.”

Tickets for UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE will go on sale Monday, August 18 at 10am CT starting at $50. Tickets will be available at Allstate Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, Charge-By-Phone at (312) 559-1212 or online at ticketmaster.com.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Friday, August 15 at 10am CT via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Sunday, August 17 starting at 10am CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com.

UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

It took Silva (22-4) just 61 seconds to defeat his last opponent, James “The Sandman” Irvin at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas July 19, but that is par for the course for “The Spider”, who burst on to the UFC scene two years ago. His list of victims started with a devastating knockout of Chris Leben in June 2006. He followed that up with two TKOs over Rich Franklin, a submission win over Travis Lutter, a TKO over Nate Marquardt and a second round submission over PRIDE 183-pound champion Dan Henderson. Silva, considered by most to be the most dominant force the UFC middleweight division has ever seen, now faces number one middleweight contender Patrick “The Predator” Cote.

“It’s an honor to be fighting Patrick Cote in the first UFC event ever in Chicago,” said Silva. “I’m excited to take on Cote, but I am taking him very seriously; he is a dangerous striker and he likes to stand and trade with his opponents. That’s the kind of fight fans like to see, and that’s definitely the fight we’re going to give them Oct. 25.”

Cote, (14-4) fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is on a four fight win streak in the Octagonâ„¢, beginning his string of excellence back in February of 2007 with a decision win over Scott Smith at UFC 67. Six months later, he TKO’d Kendall Grove in the first round at UFC 74, and followed that up with a first round TKO over and Drew McFedries at UFC Fight Night in January 2008. But it was his most recent victory, a pivotal win over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86 on July 5th that propelled him to number one contender status. Now Cote has the opportunity to join countryman Georges St-Pierre as the UFC’s second current Canadian titleholder by taking out reigning champion Silva at UFC 90.

“Everybody that fought Anderson Silva was scared of him; I’m not scared of him one bit,” said Cote. “It’s gonna take him 10 straight punches to take me down – I only need one punch to take him down. I’m Patrick Cote, I win against grapplers and I knock strikers out. I can’t wait to go to Chicago and take the belt home to Montreal.”

The remaining bouts for UFC 90 will be announced in the near future. All bouts live and subject to change. For further information on the UFC visit ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or ufcespanol.com.

It took just over 1 minute for Anderson Silva to dispose of James Irvin in brutal fashion. The rest of the 205lb division should be on high alert. Irvin did what he said he was going to do, he didn’t back down from Silva and tried to see what he could do. Irvin through some decent leg kicks, but that is what ultimately led to his demise. Anderson Silva caught one of Irvins leg kicks and immediately delivered a right hand to Irvins chin, putting him on the mat. Spider Silva pounced on him and landed a flurry of right hand punches straight down on Irvins dome, sneaking one through that left a huge cut under Irvin’s right eye. Referee stops the fight at 1:01 of the first round. Who’s next for Silva?

CB Dollaway caught Jesse Taylor in a “Peruvian neck tie” submission at 3:58 of the first round.

Tim Credeur TKO’d Cale Yarbrough at 1:54 of the first round.

Shannon Gugerty submitted Dale Hartt in round 1.

Brad Blackburn TKO’d James Giboo in round 2.

Nate Loughran submitted Johnny Rees in round 1 (Triangle Choke).

Rory Markham was getting tagged in the head by Brodie Farber and came back with a HEAVY kick upside Farbers head that put him unconscious immediately.

Kevin Burns was awarded a TKO victory over Anthony Johnson, although the end was due to an eypoke from Burns. He had already been warned by the referee for an earlier poke in Anthony Johnsons eye, but in the final round he got a better one that sent Anthony Johnson screaming and falling to the canvas.

Cain Velasquez defeated Jake O’Brien by TKO in round 1.

Frankie Edgar defeated Hermes Franca by unanimous decision.

Brandon Vera bored us through to a unanimous decision victory over Reese Andy. Brandon Vera still thinks he is going to hold both the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight championships in the future.

(Phoenix, AZ) – MTX Audio, the leader in high performance mobile audio products, is growing its MMA presence by supporting three MMA fighters on three different fight cards all on the same evening. On July 19th, MTX Fight Team member, C.B. Dollaway (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), will return to the UFC octagon for the second time in two months to battle former TUF 7 alumnus, Jesse Taylor (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), on UFC Fight Night live from Las Vegas which will be broadcast free on Spike TV. Dollaway is looking to get his first UFC win and to prove he belongs in the UFC against a determined fighter in Taylor who is looking for redemption in the eyes of the world. Also on July 19th, MTX will be supporting Ray Lizama (5-5-0) on Affliction’s first ever fight card to be broadcast on PPV. Lizama will be looking to advance in the ranks by defeating Justin Levens (9-8-0) at the Affliction: Banned event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. On Monday, July 21st, HDNet Fights will broadcast the conclusion of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament from Osaka, Japan where MTX MMA fighter, Joachim Hansen (17-7-1) will go toe-to-toe with Kultar Gill (9-7).

UFC Fight Night 14 features a main event between the UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, and James Irvin in a light heavyweight battle. This step up to 205lbs will be the first for Silva in his UFC career. On the same card, C.B. Dollaway, an MTX MMA Fight Team member and TUF 7 finalist, will fight against Jesse Taylor who used his ground and pound to get into the TUF 7 finals before he was formally removed from the show by UFC President Dana White for inappropriate behavior outside the cage.

The Affliction: Banned event features a heavyweight bout between Russian Fedor Emelianenko and American Tim Sylvia. During that night MTX MMA Fighter, Ray “Lights Out” Lizama, is set to match up against Jesse Levins, an aggressive fighter who has built a cult following for himself in the central valley of California and who recently gained attention with his quick defeat of Tony Lopez at WEC 15 on May 19th of this year.

Finally, MTX MMA Fighter, Joachim Hansen, fresh off one of the best MMA fights of the year despite his loss to Eddie Alvarez, will go to battle with Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill. The DREAM 5 event in Osaka, Japan will be broadcast live on HDNet Fights, Monday, July 21st at 2:00AM ET and there will be a rebroadcast at 10:00PM ET.

With three different event cards in three different organizations all in one weekend, MTX is front and center in the face of MMA fans worldwide. MMA fans have some big decisions to make when July 19th rolls around and will have Tivo’s working overtime. Rest assured, no matter which event you choose, MTX is going to be there!

MTX is taking the audio industry by storm by setting the standard for all others to follow with reaching all corners of the automotive industry. Visit www.mtx.com for up-to-date information regarding the new MTX Mobile Audio products and news.

THE TAPOUT CREW CONTINUES THEIR SEARCH TO FIND THE NEXT MMA SUPERSTARS
Season Two of TapouT to Premiere July 24 on VERSUS on Demand;
Network Debut Scheduled for July 30 at 10 P.M. ET

New York (July 9, 2008) – VERSUS, the network that celebrates real competition, will debut the second season of the hit reality series TapouT on Thursday, July 24, on VERSUS on Demand and on Wednesday, July 30, at 10 p.m. ET on VERSUS. The second season includes 10 one-hour episodes that follow Mask, Punkass and Skyskrape—the crew behind the premier mixed martial arts clothing and gear line TapouT—on their cross country travels in search of the next MMA superstar. TapouT is produced by Pilgrim Films, of American Chopper and Dirty Jobs fame.

Traveling around the country in a tricked out tour bus, the crew is on the hunt to discover a fighter who has what it takes to represent the TapouT label; but before these up-and-comers fight their way out of the cage, they have to fight their way in with the TapouT crew. The crew bonds with their fighter as they test out his personality and, in between the usual TapouT mayhem, makes sure their new protégé gets the proper training before the big fight. In each episode, it’s all on the line as each fighter gets one shot to impress the crew and show off his skills in the cage.

“Since its debut a year ago, more than 40 million viewers have tuned in to see TapouT and we’re optimistic that the second season will have even greater success,” said Marc Fein, Executive Vice President of Programming, Production and Business Operations for the VERSUS. “This hugely popular original reality series, in conjunction with the monumental growth we’ve seen with our live World Extreme Cagefighting telecasts, solidifies VERSUS as one of the premier television destinations in the MMA category.”

In the season two premiere, the TapouT crew travels to San Luis Obispo, Calif. to ‘The PIT’ to see one of John Hackleman’s up-and-coming MMA fighters, Scott Lighty. Scott is accompanied by his best friend and training partner, Glover Teixeira and the crew quickly realizes the potential Glover has, and decides to sponsor both Scott and Glover who are fighting on the same card. UFC legend Chuck Liddell, who is both Scott and Glover’s trainer, makes a special guest appearance.

“MMA has exploded, and our Crew has been there since the beginning finding and supporting fighters,” said TapouT Founder Mask. “TapouT shows viewers what goes down on the road and lets fans be a part of the action. There are unbelievable fighters with incredible stories, as well as TapouT friends old and new, including MMA superstar Chuck Liddell and UFC President Dana White.”

New episodes of TapouT featuring the bad boys of MMA will premiere on VERSUS each Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET from July 30 through September 24. The full-length episodes will be available on VERSUS on Demand the Thursday prior to the network debut. For more information, including complete episode descriptions and complete schedule information, visit VERSUS.com.

VERSUS celebrates real competition across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 73 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can’t find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

An independently operated and owned mixed martial arts lifestyle company, TapouT boasts a sought-after clothing line for MMA enthusiasts, sponsors the best MMA Fighters (Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva), and stars in a hit TV reality show on VERSUS. Their passion for the sport has turned into a full-on underground culture, as owners Mask, Punkass and Skyskrape extend the growing popularity of MMA through their presence at the most extreme events, supporting fighters and offering the hottest, edgiest apparel for men and women. TapouT most recently was named the first-ever exclusive apparel sponsor for season seven of “The Ultimate Fighter,” on Spike TV. Their distinctive logo graces everything from hats, tees and car windows, to their special limited edition 2007 Toyota Tundra TapouT truck. The TapouT logo has become so noteworthy that its most devoted fans are tattooing it on their bodies, demonstrating the ultimate in commitment.

Since the Affliction mega-card was announced a few months ago featuring a cast of big names, headlined by Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia, the UFC has tried to battle against Affliction by putting on a free event of SpikeTV featuring a main event bout with Anderson Silva going against James Irvin.

Former UFC referee Big John McCarthy is even part of the announce team for the Affliction: Banned event, and is quoted as saying the Affliction event will be “the best heavyweight card ever put together” according to a promotional flier put out by Affliction. On the same flier, they even quote Dana White and other UFC personalities (photo below – thanks to MMAmadness.com).

So to counter Dana White and his spur-of-the-moment FREE show to steal viewers from Affliction, they’ve announced that FSN will show two Affliction fights for free also, at 8pm EST July 19th. Viewers will get to see Aleksander Emelianenko fight Paul Buentello, and Vitor Belfort fight Terry Martin, for free on FSN.

What will you be watching on July 19th?

Wow, this is a great match to counter the Affliction: Banned MMA show on the same night. Which one will most fans be watching LIVE? Dave Meltzer broke the news earlier today that Anderson Silva would be fighting James Irvin in the main event on July 19th. This fight will be a 205lb (light heavyweight) fight, and will be Anderson Silva’s first fight at 205lbs.

This could actually be a dangerous fight for Anderson Silva, if the fight stays standing, Silva could get his chin tested by Irvin. However, regardless of the outcome, Anderson Silva will retain his UFC middleweight championship, as no titles are on the line July 19th.

Great show, and going into the night, I was conflicted about who I wanted to win for some fights. I’m a Lyoto Machida fan, and while I’ve never really been a Tito Ortiz fan, part of me was hoping to see him win just for the controversy it could’ve caused with Dana White. However, I also didn’t really want to see Machida lose, but anyway. That fight went about how I expected it would. I got excited when it looked like Tito was going to get that triangle choke in the 3rd round, but Machida escaped perfectly. I’ve also heard people comparing Lyoto Machida’s performance to Kalib Starnes. WTF? In no way was that a Starnes. Machida is ninja, whether he’s exciting or not. (No, it wasn’t an exciting fight overall). Maybe Tito can go to EliteXC now and fight Frank Shamrock, that would be nice.

Wanderlei Silva destroyed Keith Jardine. Damn. The Axe Murderer is back. Who’s next? Will we see a Silva/Liddell rematch? Will Silva ever fight Rampage again? or will Wanderlei drop to 185lbs as a lot of people suspect he will do? That is the match-up that should happen. Wanderlei vs. Anderson Silva. I’d pay double to see that fight.

BJ Penn was able to get the daily requirement of blood in his diet from Sean Sherk. BJ kicked Sherk’s ass throughout the whole fight, and afterwards ran over to wipe blood from Sherks face, then licked his hand. The winner of Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta needs to fight Sean Sherk next.

In the main event, Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship. Silva submitted Dan Henderson with a rear-naked choke in round 2. Anderson Silva controlled the stand-up game, but Henderson was able to take Silva to the ground in round 1 and possibly won that round, but had nothing going in round two on the ground.

Evan Tanner is not a contender for the 185lb championship. He  didn’t look like he could find his range against Yushin Okami, and was ultimately knocked out with a knee. If he were fighting Anderson Silva, it would have happened much earlier in the fight.

Heath Herring looked good against Cheick Kongo, and wona split decision. It should’ve been a unanimous decision for Heath Herring.

Chris Leben KO’d Allesio Sakara in round one.

Jorge Gurgel won a decision over John Halverson

Diego Sanchez punched David Bielkheden into submission

Josh Koscheck and Dustin Hazelett fought a good fight, both got rocked throughout the slugfest, and Dustin Hazelett was TKO’d by Koscheck.

Luke Cummo lost a decision to Luigi Fioravanti

Andre Arlovski TKO’d Jake O’Brien

Jon Fitch won a decision over Chris Wilson