DeMarques Johnson pulled that triangle out quick, he was getting hammered on too, that was nice to see. Edgar Garcia seems legit though.

I had Stefan Struve winning Round 1, and Paul Buentello winning Rounds 2 & 3…the judges obviously saw differently. Maybe I was biased, as I was hoping Paul would win it.

Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez need to fight @ 155lbs now. Diego gave Kenny a beatdown when they were both at 185lbs, I’m interested in see what happens at 155.

I honestly think Frank Mir has as good a chance as anyone at beating Fedor now. Yeah I know that’s probably an unpopular opinion, but I think he has the style to give Fedor a competitive fight.

BJ Penn just totally outclassed Diego Sanchez. That was brutal, and I’m a bigger Diego fan now. Who’s left for BJ Penn to fight at lightweight? Sure, there are many good fighters, but I think BJ is far ahead of the pack right now. I wouldn’t mind seeing a 3rd fight between BJ Penn and Matt Hughes.

Mixed martial arts is on the cusp of mainstream sports and although it is still illegal to compete in the state of New York, the MMA World Expo is positioned to prove just how large the MMA fan base truly is in NYC and why it is the world’s fastest growing sport. FightZone TV is proud to be a part of this MMA milestone event.

Excitement is growing as the MMA community is getting ready to convene in Midtown Manhattan this Saturday and Sunday, October 24th – 25th at the historic Jacob Javits Center in New York City. For the 1st time in NYC history an event dedicated exclusively to the sport of mixed martial arts will gather legions from the martial arts disciplines including: Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai and dozens more for business opportunities, networking and learning.

Autograph and Photo Signings:
On Saturday, October 24th meet world-famous UFC Fighter and former Pride Champion, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (Session 2) and former TUF cast members: Pete Spratt, Phillipe Nover and Pete Sell (Session 1). On Sunday, October 25th meet 9-time UFC World Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes (Session 4) and current TUF Season 10 members Darrill Schoonover and Justin Wren (Session 3). Autograph and photo sessions are $20/session and include headshot and photo op with each fighter. Other celebrity appearances include: Rich Celementi, Everlast booth # 211, Kit Cope, Leonard Garcia, Duane Ludwig and Scott Jorgensen, Bodybuilding.com booth # 200. More celebrity fighters TBA.

Live Presentations by Expert Athletes & Coaches
Martial arts masters from various disciplines will demonstrate their signature styles in front of an audience of fans and fellow athletes for 2 hours each exhibit day. Among the celebrity presenters will be Judo Legend, Jimmy Pedro; Jiu-Jitsu Phenom, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro; Muay Thai Master, Kru Phil Nurse; World-Renown BJJ Teacher & Competitor, Marcelo Garcia; Olympic Gold Medalist & American Top Team’s Head Boxing Coach, Howard Davis Jr.; UFC, World and Olympic Champ, Mark Schultz; Martial Arts Hall of Famer, Maurepaz Auguste; Contender Asia Coach, Thanongsak Sor. Plantalae; 3rd Degree Machado Black Belt, Marcos Santos; Internationally renowned Strength & Conditioning Coach and Judo Olympian, Dr. Rhadi Bullard Ferguson; 2-Time Olympian Judo Specialist, Taraje Williams-Murray; BJJ Black Belt and Pan American Super Heavy Champ, Fabio Clemente displaying world class skills on the center mats for all to watch.

Educational Sessions
Offering education about the sport, in fact, is one of the key goals of the MMA World Expo. On tap for the weekend event are educational sessions, which will appeal to a broad range of attendees-from those just discovering the sport’s excitement to experienced athletes. “We also hope state legislators will pay a visit to attend our classes -and come to realize that this is a healthy form of competition, enjoyed by a wide spectrum of state residents-and that the ban on competitions should be removed as quickly as possible,” said event founder and director, Paul Paone.

One of the educational highlights, in fact, is a panel discussion entitled, “The Future of MMA”, which will include the Chairwomen of the New York State Athletic Commission, Melvina Lathan, discussing the road to the sport’s legalization. Mixed martial arts training and business seminars will also be offered and will include topics on: “Nutrition for the MMA,” “Fighter Injuries: Prevention & Treatment,” “Preparing to Compete,” and “Business Round Table Discussion for MMA Business Owners.”

MMA Marketplace
Designed for both on-the-spot-sales and business-to-business interaction, the MMA World Expo will feature an exhibit hall filled with vendors representing virtually all aspects of martial arts products, supplies, services and schools. Business-only hours for wholesale buyers are scheduled for 9 am – 11 am of each day followed by 9 hours of consumer exhibit time. Meet with event sponsors: Bodybuilding.com, Zebra Mats, Princeton Brain & Spine Care, FightZone.TV

Exhibitors Include: Alliance BJJ NYC Inc., American Top Team, BAMF Mouthguards, Battle of the Coasts, Bioage, Combat Sports International, Everlast MMA, Defense Soap, Dr. Adam Silk DC, Dymatize, Elite Plus Fitness, Ferguson Marketing Systems, Fighter Warehouse NY, GlideBoxx, Knockout Athletics, KNP Marketing & Travel, KRU Training, Marcelo Garcia BJJ Academy, Martial Arts Development Corp., Merrill Lynch, MET-Rx, MMADogma, Modern Gladiator Fight Gear, Modern Martial Arts, Moriah Herbs Corp., NeuLion, New York Jiu Jitsu, NYBJJ Academy, PowerBlock Dumbbells, Pro Muay Thai Gear.com, Red Arme, Ring To Cage Fight Gear, Split Lip Gear, Take On Productions, The Vitamin Shoppe, Ind., 92.3 NOW, The WAT, US ARMY, US Grappling, USA Wrestling/Grappling, Warrior House, Woldorf USA Inc. and more TBA.

Affordable and Accessible
“We also designed the show to be as affordable and value-packed as possible”, said Paone. “With general admission ticket prices at just $25 per day, we are removing any financial barriers for our attendees. And locating the show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in midtown Manhattan means accessibility to millions by public transportation alone–not to mention, we are reachable within 30 minutes of 3 international airports for out-of-town guests.”
For more info on the Expo visit: www.mmaworldexpo.com
or visit www.FightZone.TV

Just got back from Nowhere, Georgia…but in time to catch UFC 98.

Sherk vs. Edgar goes to a decision…who would’ve guessed? Ummm, I think it was almost guaranteed to go a decision, I wouldn’t have guessed anything else. Frankie Edgar wins via decision. According to Dana White’s twitter, “Sean sherk ran out of the ring and out the doors and down the street in his fight shorts and no shirt”.. LOL.

Chael Sonnen vs. Dan Miller…Sonnen says he’s gonna punch a hole in Millers face. So far, it’s looking like he’s right. Round three and Sonnen is pretty much dominating the fight, except for a couple of good, but unsuccessful guillotine attempts by Miller. Chael Sonnen wins via judges decision.

Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam “Professor X”.. the audience boos when Referee Yves Lavigne isi ntroduced.. and shortly thereafter, Drew McFedries KO’s Xavier Foupa-Pokam, knocks him down, Xavier recovers, back to his feat momentarily, then KO’d again by McFedries, knocked around some more before the referee stops the fight. Foupa-Pokam protests the stoppage, but it was fair, in my opinion. Drew McFedries wins by KO at 37 seconds of round one.

Hey, there’s Holly Madison from Girls Next Door and Dancing With The Stars…but I want to know who the other blonde chick is beside her.

btw: WAR Machida.

Krysztof Soszynski vs Andre Gusmao – Gnarly knockout win for Krysztof Soszynski in round one. Gusmao took some good shots without seeming hurt, but finally dropped unconscious from a right cross.

IRON MIKE TYSON IN THE HOUSE.

Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra! -  I kinda want Hughes to win this, but I also like seeing underdogs win, and I think Serra is the underdog here. I just hope it’s an entertaining fight. Holy shit, Matt Serra using the Rocky entrance music. Awesome. I think I want him to win now…but of course, it’s hard to beat Bocephus music. Above average staredown between Hughes and Serra.

Round One: WOW Serra hurts Hughes badly! Has him rocked bad, but Joe Rogan says it was from a head-collision. Matt Hughes has Serra’s back now, this might be bad for Serra, Hughes has his hooks in, just under one minute left in round one. Serra escapes and their both back to their feet. Great fight so far. Round Two starts, and it’s spent mostly with Hughes in Serra’s half guard. Not much ground and pound from Hughes, and Serra was rolling his eyes at the lack of action. ROUND THREE, last round. Hughes takes Serra down, controls him, but Serra gets some good sub attempts, tries a triangle, omaplata, referee starts them back on their feet. SERRA THROWS HUGHES,  lands some good shots, controls, round over. Will it be enough for the win? Nope, judges give it a 29-28 unanimous decision victory for Matt Hughes.

Joe Rogan interviews Hughes after the fight, and Hughes mentions he is now a free agent and has no fights left with the UFC… he says he and Dana White will talk it over and see about one more fight in his hometown. Hughes also clearly says he won’t be fighting for any other organization.

LYOTO MACHIDA vs. RASHAD EVANS – I 100% want Machida to win this fight. I also hope the fight is entertaining, I hope Rashad brings it and doesn’t try to counter Machida’s counter.

Round One: How long will it take before they actually tough eachother? Machida throws the first strike, with a low leg kick that doesn’t land. So far one minute into the fight and nothing yet. There’s a kick from Rashad, it doesn’t land. Still no contact. I already hear boos in the audience. Machida is southpaw, and Evans is orthodox right now. NICE head kickfrom Machida, lands, but not enough to hurt Rashad yet. MACHIDA knocks Rashad down with a kick to the body. MACHIDA wins round one easily.

Round Two: THAT WAS AWESOME. Machida is unstoppable. He just left Rashad Evans unconscious laying against the fence. He probably broke Rashad’s nose, also.

I think I just heard Rogan say “Mixed Mortal Arts”..

BTW: Rashad Evans seems like a genuinely good dude. Good post-fight interview with Rogan, even under such disappointing circumstances for him.

PRELIM FIGHT RESULTS:

George Roop defeats Dave Kaplan via judges decision
Yoshiyuki Yoshida defeats Brandon Wolff via guillotine, round one
Kyle Bradley defeats Phillipe Nover by TKO, round one
Tim Hague defeats Pat Barry by Guillotine, round one
Brock Larson defeats Mike Pyle by arm-triangle choke, round one

**Rumor has it that two of the fighters’ mothers got into a fight in the audience? I need to hear more about this entertainment.

Ok I didn’t watch UFC 85 live, because I actually forgot it came on at like 2:00pm where I’m at. Oh well, I did watch it after the fact, and witnessed Matt Hughes catch another beatdown. Anyway, it’s 4:00am now, and I plan to watch Sengoku Live.

Fabio Silva vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
I hope Takahashi pwns. Good staredown where to bump foreheads, but I didn’t sense much animosity. Takahashi connected with a decent right hook, but Silva kicked him in the balls. Everybody is OK and they’re fighting again. Takahashi seems bigger, I think he just fell down for some reason. Oh he got another decent punch in but Silva hit back and put Takahashi on his ass, Takahashi recovered quickly, both fighters are on the ground and Takahashi is in Silva’s guard. A pause in the action so the ref can put the fighters back in the middle of the ring, also Silva has a string hanging from his glove, so the ref cuts it off. Fight restarts, Takahashi still in Silva’s guard, passes to side control, but both fighters get up and start slugging the hell out of each other, now clinched. Back on the ground with Silva in Takahashi’s half guard, the round is almost over.

Round 2 starts and both dudes come out firing again, Silva getting the best of it, landing good knees too, ouch, there is a KO, Takahashi is down, Silva stomps him for good measure. Fight is over.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Rodrigo Damm
This should be a good fight, I saw Jorge Masvidal fight in BoDog, then I saw him beat up one of Kimbo‘s homies in the back of some fried chicken restaurant or something in a Miami streetfight. Sweet. Florida, represent. Also, Jorge just said in his pre-fight interview that he will turn Takanori Gomi into sushi.

Round one starts, fighters touch gloves, Rodrigo throws a low leg kick that misses. Fighters are still feeling each other out, Rodrigo continues with a couple more low kicks, nothing too major so far. Rodrigo fakes a few kicks and doesn’t follow through, still circling, bam Masvidal connects with a punch and knocks Rodrigo down. Rodrigo Damm recovers quick, gets a double leg, they end up in the ropes and for some reason I didn’t see the ref stands them back up on their feet. More circling, good high kick from Jorge Masvidal, but it didn’t hurt Rodgrigo Damm. One minute left in round one. Rodrigo Damm throws a decent looking high kick towards the end of the round, followed by a few strikes, but the round ends and Masvidal seems fine.

Round two starts, will probably be more of the same. I’ll predict now that this fight goes the distance. Ok, I was wrong. Jorge Masvidal just got knocked on his ass and the referee stopped the fight. An early stoppage if you ask me. This seems to be happening a lot lately, but regardless, Rodrigo Damm put a right hand upside Masvidal’s chin and knocked him down. Probably a flash KO, Masvidal is upset the fight was stopped (of course), and he did look like he was going to pull guard or something, anyway, I don’t think he’ll be turning Gomi into sushi anytime soon.

Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz vs. Mu Bae Choi
Choi’s nickname is “Iron Fist Fever”, which may possibly be the greatest nickname of ever. However, I think he’s going to get seriously subbed by Pe De Pano.

Round one starts, fighters clinch, and Marcio Cruz punches Choi’s ribcage over and over again. That won’t feel good. Fighters fall to the ground still clinched, Cruz continues to land body shots. Fighters are back up, clinched again, Cruz throws a knee that doesn’t do much, pushed Choi against the ropes, back to the ground and both guys are trying to get control, Choi gives up his back, Cruz is twisting Chois head around in a rear naked choke attempt. He has his hooks in but gave up on the choke and instead decides to punch Choi in the head repeatedly to soften him up. Choi is doing nothing but covering up, he’s still getting drilled with punches to the side of his head though. This sucks for him. Marci Cruz slides up for an armbar now, to triangle, or armbar again? I think Choi tapped but I didn’t see it. The fight is over, Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz is the winner.

Damn I’m getting sleepy. 5:19am.

Chris Rice vs. Sanae Kikuta
Chris Rice has an awesome entrance. I left to go get a snack (Frito’s) I came back and the fighters are on the ground, Kikuta is in Rice’s half guard, now full mount. Rice is doing a good job of defending, gets out of full mount but leaves his arm in there for Kikuta to work with., Kikuta trying for an armbar, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to straighten the arm out. Rice is still defending well, holding his arm bent. Uh oh, Kikuta gets it out, the arm is straightened and Rice is forced to submit. Sanae Kukuta winner, round one.

Michael Costa vs. Nick Thompson
Ok, Michael Costa also has a great entrance, coming oubut Nick Thompson’s Fu Manchu-esque mustache/sideburn thing will prevail.

Round one starts and Michael Costa shoots for a takedown and gets it, Nick Thompson holds onto an arm though, looking for a kimura, could possibly take Costa’s back now, no,going for an armbar, Costa defending well but it should only be a matter of time if Nick Thompson handles this right. Costa is in trouble. Nick Thompson gave up on the armbar attempt, now has full guard. Two minutes left in the round. Ref stands the fighters up, no same position, just moving them away from the ropes. Thompson still has full guard, using his hips well, doing a good job of nutralizing any offense from Costa. That’s the end of the round.

Round two starts, good stand up action so far, but dude this has to be my last fight, I’m getting sleepy as hell and not being able to keep up. Costa just connected and rocked Nick Thompson, sent him to the mat and follows up with some ground and pound. Thompson has guard again and is still working well off his back, but is also still getting GNP’d. Nick Thompson is able to get an ankle and reverse position, he’s on top now, in side control, oh shit he might have just broke michale Costa’s arm with a keylock, that looked rough, and Costa tapped quick, but I think he is ok now. Nick Thompson wastes no time going to his corner and putting on some awesome early 1990′s style zebra-striped Zubaz pants. These are especially awesome with his mustache. Also, I have no idea whats goins on now. There is some small Japanese guy in the ring laughing about something. But I might be hallucinating. I’m going to bed. I’ll watch the rest later.

Kazuo Misaki vs. Logan Clark
Kaz Misaki wins via Unanimous Decision

Travis Wiuff vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Travis Wiuff wins via KO, round 1

Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Maurice Smith
Yoshida wins via submission (neck crank) in round 1

Who will be left to give him serious competition? Has Michael Bisping been given an opponent yet for his first middleweight fight? If so, I haven’t seen it. Although I imagine the UFC will set up Michael Bisping to fight the winner or loser of Silva/Henderson, but other than that, are there any other light heavyweights that could move down to 185lbs to fight Anderson Silva? Or are there any welterweights that could move up to middleweight to challenge him? I know in the past, Matt Hughes has expressed interest in fighting Silva, but I can’t see that happening at all, and I don’t see Matt Hughes having a chance at victory in a fight like that. I don’t see Bisping being able to compete on the level of either Silva or Dan Henderson yet, either. Maybe one day.

I’m of course interested in seeing how Evan Tanner performs Saturday night against Yushin Okami. Circa 2004, Evan Tanner would have beaten Anderson Silva.

I’m sure Rich Franklin still fits in the middleweight picture somewhere, but I don’t think a 3rd time would be a charm for him. However, I do think Travis Lutter deserves another fight with Silva.

What about other organizations? Are there any prospects the UFC could throw some money at and bring over to fight Anderson? Paulo Filho? Chael Sonnen?

In my opinion, if Dan Henderson doesn’t beat Anderson Silva, the best chance anybody would have is Matt Lindland (which won’t happen), or Jeremy Horn… yes, I said Jeremy Horn. I know he just got his ass kicked by Nate Marquardt, but I’m not using MMA math. Depending on how he performs Saturday night, I might include Evan Tanner.

UFC 79 was a great event. Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva was every bit as exciting as I expected, but whu would’ve thought it would go to a 3-round decision? Wanderlei’s chin is unpredictable, he got caught with some nasty shots and kept standing.

Matt Hughes was totally dominated by Georges St. Pierre. GSP scored takedowns at will and controlled the fight before finally catching hughes in a nasty armbar submission after going for a kimura. Matt Hughes verbally tapped out. No, Matt Hughes won’t retire on a loss. I don’t care what anyone says, I don’t think he’ll go out like that. I see Matt Serra healing up and fighting St. Pierre, Matt Serra will lose that fight and set up a “bad blood” match between Hughes and Serra sometime towards the end of 2008.

Lyoto Machida choked Sokoudjou to submission and remains undefeated.

Other results from UFC 79 are:

Rich Clementi defeated Melvin Guillard by Submission (Choke) round 1
Eddie Sanchez defeated Soa Palelei by Technical Knock Out round 3
James Irvin defeated Luiz Cane by Disqualification (illegal knee) round 1
Manny Gamburyan defeated Nate Mohr by Submission (Leg Lock) round 1
Dean Lister defeated Jordan Radev by Unanimous Decision
Roan Carneiro defeated Tony DeSouza by Technical Knock Out round 2
Mark Bocek defeated Doug Evans by Unanimous Decision round 3

Well, it’s the last episode anyway, then Saturday we will know who the overall winner is for this season.

Tonights episode of The Ultimate Fighter airs at 10pm EST and will include two semifinal matches featuring Mac Danzig vs. Matt Arroyo, and also Tommy Speer vs. George Sotiropoulos. Of course we found out last week that one of the fighters won’t be able to compete for some reason. Obviously from watching the previous episodes, it seems likely that Tommy Speers will be that fighter. He has sustained some beatings to his face, even though he won his fights on the show so far. It is rumored that John Kolosci will be the replacement fighter.

I gotta say, props to GSP for taking the fight on such short notice after finding out Matt Serra would not be fighting Matt Hughes in December. There is no doubt Georges St. Pierre is a great fighter, and I give him a good chance at beating Matt Hughes.

However, Matt Serra will definitely be cheering for Matt Hughes to win. On the UFC website, Matt Serra said “I can’t believe the position this puts me in, I’m actually rooting for Matt Hughes so I can beat his ass.”

This is a great outcome after the Serra/Hughes fight got canned because of Serra’s injury, and it’s the third fight in a Matt Hughes/Georges St. Pierre trilogy. Both St. Pierre and Hughes have defeated each other once.

I just seem to remember GSP making some excuses after Matt Serra knocked him out, but I think he took some criticism for it. Maybe this time, he’ll come away with a victory and won’t need to make excuses.

I’m also anxious to find out how badly Matt Serra is injured. I know Matt Hughes is talking about an interim welterweight title, and that if Serra can’t fight in a year that the winner of Hughes/GSP 3 be declared the UFC welterweight champ. So… is this injury possibly career-threatening to Matt Serra?

Don’t forget to check out our UFC Forum and start your own conversation!

That sucks. I was looking forward to this fight to see if Serra could retain his championship belt. I’ve become more of a Matt Serra fan during this season of The Ultimate Fighter. I (along with most people) didn’t really give Matt Serra a chance in his fight against Georges St. Pierre, but Serra knocked him out and I enjoyed watching it.

According to the UFC website, Matt Serra suffered a herniated disc in his lower back while training on Monday. Serra is quoted as saying ““This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off of the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”

UFC President Dana White said “This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other, unfortunately injuries happen and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly, and to getting him back into the Octagon.”

Fans have known about plans for the fight for awhile now, and Wanderlei himself confirmed a fight with Chuck Liddell earlier this week, although UFC representatives stayed hushed about it. The UFC website even had an advertisement up temporarily a couple days ago that listed the fight for UFC 79, but was almost immediately taken down. I suppose Dana White wanted to save the announcement for tonight’s “Scream” awards show on Spike TV.

This fight will not be the main event for UFC 79, as that place is held for the welterweight championsip fight between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

Taken from Matt Hughes’ own website and message boards at: http://z13.invisionfree.com/Matt_Hughes_Forum/index.php?showtopic=7754

Matt says “If Rich losses then I would move up and fight Anderson. I would never fight Rich. ”

Personally, I’d love to see it, but it’ll never happen. Matt Hughes said the same thing I believe after the first Franklin/Silva fight. Of course, it’s probably not Matt Hughes decision to make, I’m sure he’d like to fight Silva, I just don’t see it happening.