Quick results from UFC 92, Dynamite!! 2008 and also WVR: Sengoku no Ran 2009!

Happy New Year everyone!

Many apologies for the late update. Due to terrible internet connection throughout Malaysia over the last few weeks, it has been really tough for me to provide updates and also, in the case of UFC 92, be able to watch the event. Now that I have completed viewing them, I'm able to post quick results of both events.

First up is UFC 92, where fans were treated to a night filled with unexpected results and stunning upsets. Quinton Jackson was able to avenge his two losses with a devastating left hook that sent his opponent, Wanderlei Silva, to the mat real hard! Now training in the Wolfslair MMA Academy over in Widnes, England, Rampage is now invigorated and is looking to once again become a top player in the light heavyweight division. Over in the heavyweight division, Frank Mir scored a huge upset and possibly the biggest win of his career thus far when he made history by becoming the first man to stop the ever-so durable Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to capture the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title and a date with the UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar in a future bout sometime this year! Not even some of the more top-tier fighters like Mirko Filipovic, Josh Barnett and even Fedor Emelianenko were able to accomplish this feat, thus making Mir a strong force in the heavyweight division. Finally, a new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion was crown as Rashad Evans closed out what has been an amazing year for the Detroit native when he knocked out champion Forrest Griffin in a thrilling fight to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Title and remain undefeated! The UFC closed out the year with a huge bang, delivering an event that was well worth the watch and an event worth having in your UFC DVD collection. Highly recommend viewing.

Another fight that was quite an eye-opener was the opening bout on the PPV broadcast between heavyweight contenders Cheick Kongo and UFC newcomer Mustafa Al-Turk. After accidental low blows to one another during the fight, Kongo was able to pick up the win after a highly vicious and relentless ground and pound that left the Lebanese a bloody mess. I personally have never seen such a brutal TKO such as that since UFC 2 when Patrick Smith used a very brutal ground and pound on Scott Morris and that was before new rules were implemented and before the UFC was ever governed by an athletic state commission.

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Preliminary Bouts:

1. Heavyweight Bout
Pat Barry def. Dan Evensen via TKO (low kicks) - R1 (2:36)

2. Middleweight Bout
Brad Blackburn def. Ryo Chonan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Light Heavyweight Bout
Matt Hamill def. Reese Andy via TKO (punches) - R2 (2:19)

4. Heavyweight Bout
Antoni Hardonk def. Mike Wessel via TKO (punches) - R2 (2:09)

5. Middleweight Bout
Yushin Okami def. Dean Lister via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Pay-Per-View Bouts:

6. Heavyweight Bout
Cheick Kongo def. Mustafa Al-Turk via TKO - R1 (4:37)

7. Light Heavyweight Bout
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva via KO (left hook) - R1 (3:21)

8. Middleweight Bout
CB Dollaway def. Mike Massenzio via TKO (punches) - R1 (3:01)

9. UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship Bout
Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via TKO (strikes) - R2 (1:54)

10. UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Bout
Rashad Evans def. Forrest Griffin via TKO (punches) - R3 (2:46)

Up next was the New Year's Eve extravaganza, Dynamite!! 2008 produced by FEG! With a total of 17 bouts, the event had the makings of a classic and it did not disappoint. The main event saw two legendary Japanese fighters, Kazushi Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura, finally clashing for the very first time in their illustrious MMA career. A hard-fought battle between both men resulted in Tamura taking the unanimous decision win and in the process, succeeding his senior back in their UWF-I days! Elsewhere, Shinya Aoki made history by becoming the very first WAMMA Lightweight Champion with his submission victory over Eddie Alvarez, HIROYA taking home the K-1 KOSHIEN Title and the majority of DREAM fighters who participated in K-1 Rules fights picking up huge wins, including Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem and Tatsuya Kawajiri, proving that despite being MMA fighters, they can mix it up against even the best K-1 fighters out there.

FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

1. K-1 Koshien Reserve Bout (136.7 pounds)
Taishi Hiratsuka def. Daizo Sasaki via KO - R2

2. DREAM Open-Weight Bout
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa def. Errol Zimmerman via submission (toehold) - R1

3. K-1 Koshien Semifinal Bout (136.7 pounds)
Koya Urabe def. Tatsuya Kusakabe via TKO - R3

4. K-1 Koshien Semifinal Bout (136.7 pounds)
Hiroya def. Shota Shimada via unanimous decision

5. K-1 (156.5 pounds)
Artur Kyshenko def. Yoshihiro Sato via majority decision

6. DREAM (150 pounds)
Daisuke Nakamura def. Hideo Tokoro via submission (armbar) - R1

7. DREAM (165.3 pounds)
Andy Ologun def. Yukio Sakaguchi via KO - R1

8. K-1 Koshien Final (136.7 pounds)
Hiroya def. Koya Urabe via unanimous decision

9. DREAM Heavyweight Bout (DJ OZMA Produced Fight featuring Yudetamago)
Bob Sapp def. Kid Muscle via TKO - R1

10. DREAM Heavyweight Bout
Semmy Schilt def. Mighty Mo via submission (triangle choke) - R1

11. DREAM (176.4 pounds)
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai def. Katsuyori Shibata via TKO - R1

12. K-1 (154.3 pounds)
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kozo Takeda via TKO - R1

13. K-1 Heavyweight
Alistair Overeem def. Badr Hari via TKO - R1

14. DREAM Heavyweight
Mirko "Cro Cop" def. Hong Man Choi via TKO - R1

15. K-1
Gegard Mousasi def. Musashi via TKO - R1

16. DREAM Heavyweight
Melvin Manhoef def. Mark Hunt via KO - R1

17. DREAM Lightweight Bout/WAMMA Championship Bout
Shinya Aoki def. Eddie Alvarez via submission (heel hook) - R1

18. DREAM
Kiyoshi Tamura def. Kazushi Sakuraba via unanimous decision

Finally, we take a look at the very first major MMA event of the year, WVR's Sengoku no Ran 2009! Two new champions were crowned that night in matches to determine the first-ever Sengoku Middleweight and Sengoku Lightweight Champions. The Sengoku Middleweight Title was decided between Jorge Santiago and the controversial GRABAKA Hitman, Kazuo Misaki. Santiago proved to be the better fighter despite Misaki coming in as the huge favorite when Santiago made Misaki tap out with a rear naked choke. The Sengoku Lightweight Title was then decided between Satoru Kitaoka and former Number One ranked lightweight in the world, Takanori Gomi. Gomi's recent slump continued and the former PRIDE Welterweight Champion lost the match via submission to Kitaoka, who is now the top fighter in WVR at 155 lbs. Elsewhere, Hidehiko Yoshida lost a tough battle against Sanae Kikuta, which made Yoshida contemplate going into retirement in the near future, while former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Silva made his return to Japan by defeating Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao by TKO.

World Victory Road: Sengoku No Ran 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

1. Hidetaka Irie def. Minoru Kato via TKO (strikes) - R2 (4:21)
2. Maximo Blanco def. Seigo Inoue via KO - R1 (0:38)
3. Choi Mu Bae def. Dave "Pee Wee" Herman via TKO (strikes) - R2 (2:22)
4. Eiji Mitsuoka def. Sergey Golyaev via submission (armbar) - R1 (4:22)
5. Antonio Silva def. Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao via TKO (injury) - R1 (1:42)
6. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawel def. Yukiya Naito via TKO (strikes) - R1 (3:54)
7. Sanae Kikuta def. Hidehiko Yoshida via split decision
8. Sengoku Middleweight Title: Jorge Santiago def. Kazuo Misaki via submission (RNC) - R5 (3:26)
9. Sengoku Lightweight Title: Satoru Kitaoka def. Takanori Gomi via submission (achilles lock) - R1 (1:41)

Source: MMAFighting.com

UFC 92 weigh-ins, Anderson Silva headlines UFC 97, GSP wins award and UFC veteran shot dead over the weekend.

Apologies for the late updates as internet connection has been really terrible this month.

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 weigh-in results!

On Friday, the UFC held their weigh-ins for the impending UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 event scheduled to take place later tonight (tomorrow morning for Malaysians). During the weigh-ins for the showdown between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, there was a brief altercation between the two fighters when Silva stared down Jackson and Jackson replied with a sly smile. This resulted in Silva shoving Jackson with their bodyguards and security personnel breaking up the melee. Jackson finally had the last shot by taunting Silva with a throat-slash gesture followed by a thumbs down before unleashing his trademark howl.

These are the official results of the weigh-ins for all fights:

Pay-Per-View Bouts

* 205 lbs. | Forrest Griffin (205) vs. Rashad Evans (203)
* 265 lbs. | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (246) vs. Frank Mir (251)
* 205 lbs. | Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (206) vs. Wanderlei Silva (203)
* 265 lbs. | Cheick Kongo (233) vs. Mustafa Al-Turk (237)
* 185 lbs. | CB Dollaway (186) vs. Mike Massenzio (184)

Preliminary Bouts

* 185 lbs. | Yushin Okami (185) vs. Dean Lister (186)
* 265 lbs. | Antoni Hardonk (246) vs. Mike Wessel (260)
* 205 lbs. | Matt Hamill (205) vs. Reese Andy (206)
* 185 lbs. | Brad Blackburn (170) vs. Ryo Chonan (171)
* 265 lbs. | Dan Evensen (242) vs. Pat Barry (233)

Anderson Silva to headline UFC 97!

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will be headlining UFC 97, which is set to take place on April 18th in Montreal, Canada. The Spider will be defending his UFC Middleweight Title against Thales Leites in what would possibly be the main event of the evening. This will be Silva's first fight since his unsatisfying performance during his last title defense against Patrick Cote at UFC 90 back in October and thus would want to put on a stronger showing this time in his next bout. For Leites, he has a lot to prove that he can hang around with the top dogs of the UFC's Middleweight Division and a win over former King of Pancrase Champion Nathan Marquadt has in a way solidified his position as a top player and a rightful number one contender. As of now, the venue for this event has yet to be announced, but it is rumored to take place at the Bell Center, the sane venue where Georges St-Pierre dethroned Matt Serra back in April this year to capture his second UFC Welterweight Title.

Georges St-Pierre is named Sportsnet.ca's Canadian Athlete of the Year!

Speaking of Georges St-Pierre, congratulations go out to the UFC Welterweight Champion for being voted as Sportsnet.ca's Canadian Athlete of the Year!

"It's an honor for me to have this award and being the first MMA guy to receive something like this," remarked St-Pierre on the Sportsnet.ca's website. "I want to congratulate the other nominees because they have done an incredible job in their respective sports, making this an even more special honor."

The other nominees that GSP (also known as Rush) was able to beat included Calgary Flames’ Captain Jarome Iginla, Minnasota Twins’ All-Star Justin Morneau, Tennis Player Daniel Nestor and paralympian Chantal Petitclerc.

It has been an amazing year for St-Pierre in his MMA career. Coming into 2008 as the UFC Interim Welterweight Champion after defeating Matt Hughes back at UFC 79: Nemesis, St-Pierre found himself up against rival Matt Serra in a bout for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 83. The stakes could not have gotten any higher as the match took place in GSP's hometown of Montreal, Canada, the UFC's first foray into Canadian territory. St-Pierre was able to bring home the gold that night when he defeated Serra with a TKO victory, leading to a new champion being crowned. He then went on to Minneapolis, Minnesota for UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, where he made a very successful title defense against Jon Fitch in one of the most thrilling fights of the year. St-Pierre's next title defense will be a huge one when he faces UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn, who looks to become the first man to hold two UFC Titles in different weight divisions simultaneously, at UFC 94 on January 30th.

Justin Eilers shot dead.

Former UFC veteran Justin Eilers was recently shot dead in what was described as an apparent domestic disturbance at an acquaintance's home in Canyon County, Idaho, on Friday morning. He was 30 years old.

According to an autopsy report, Eilers, who was pronounced dead at the scene, received a single gunshot wound to the chest. Monte Cox, Eilers' longtime manager, said that the bullet punctured Eilers' lungs before exiting his body. Cox continued by saying that Eliers' gathered with his relatives for the holidays, but tensions started escalating due to the appearance of his ex-girlfriend, who also attended the function. When Eilers was asked to leave, the MMA fighter protested by throwing dishes and other objects in his bid to refuse leaving the residence. The owner of the home, identified as James Robert Malec, who is believed to be the boyfriend of Eilers' mother, pulled a gun on Eilers and shot him in the chest after a verbal confrontation between both men. Malec has since been arrested and charged with second degree murder in relation with the shooting.

Eilers was introduced to MMA by his close friend, former UFC Champion Jens Pulver. Eilers was a well-liked figure and was also athletic and after rising through the ranks, he was able to get a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title against then-champion, Andrei Arlovski, at UFC 53 whom he eventually lost to when Eilers incurred a knee injury during the first round of their fight. In the UFC, Eilers was able to finish with a record of 1-3. He then went over to EliteXC where he challenged EliteXC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Silva for the title last July and lost to the Brazilian during the second round. After the fight, Eilers had considered moving down to the light heavyweight division.

Eilers' overall record in MMA is 19-7-1.

Source: Sherdog and MMAFighting.com

UFC 92 Preview Part Three: Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans!

This is the final part in my three-part series of previews looking at this weekend's highly anticipated MMA event, UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008! Despite the big name talent that are a part of this huge event, two seasoned veterans and winners of the first two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter will clash for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship!

UFC Light Heavyweight Title: Forrest Griffin (c) (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (12-0)

Currently ranked the number one light heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog and MMAWeekly, Forrest Griffin is quite possibly one of the top light heavyweights the UFC has to offer. Starting out from humble beginnings, Griffin once took part in law enforcement, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia, serving as a law enforcement officer Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia and then went on to serve as a patrol officer with the University of Georgia Police. He then decided to embark on a career in mixed martial arts when he took part in the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter, under the persuasion of UFC President Dana White. It was in the finals where Griffin (trained by Chuck Liddell) met Stephan Bonnar (trained by Randy Couture). The match was regarded as one of the greatest and most important matches in UFC history and was known for being the match that helped the UFC attain mainstream appeal to the public. Griffin would eventually walk away from that match with a Scion car, a dirt bike, a watch and most importantly, a UFC contract. A year later, Griffin would compete against his toughest opponent since winning TUF, Tito Ortiz. At UFC 59, both men waged war but in the end, it was Ortiz who scored the win due to a controversial split decision, but it was the match that further boosted Griffin's popularity to an all-time high. After a second win over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 62, Griffin's momentum came to a halt when he lost to TUF 2 semi-finalist, Keith Jardine at UFC 66. Griffin was absolutely distraught over the loss, but promised that he would be back. Griffin was able to mount a huge comeback and scored a win over Hector Ramirez at UFC 72, then went on to score one of his biggest victories thus far, defeating at that time the number one ranked light heavyweight fighter in the world, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 76. Griffin went on to become a coach for TUF 7 where he went up against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who coached Griffin's opposing team. Griffin's chosen fighter, Amir Sadollah, was able to win that show's season, so he had a huge advantage going into his impending bout with Jackson over the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. Despite being billed as a major underdog going into their fight at UFC 86, it was Griffin who scored the win after a hard-fought battle and in the process, capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Title!

Meanwhile, Rashad Evans is proving to be a very tough opponent for Griffin. A prolific amateur wrestler back in his college days, Evans is truly a natural athlete for the sport of MMA. His defeat of wrestling legend, Greg Jones, is truly remarkable as only four men have been able to defeat him thus far, including Evans himself. Trained under the legendary Dan Severn, Evans competed in five MMA bouts in his early career and won all five of them. This led to him being chosen to compete in The Ultimate Fighter 2 where he was coached by former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. After a grueling season, Evans, who was 5'11" tall, was able to pick up a UFC contract after winning the tournament by defeating 6'7" Brad Imes in the finals. A natural heavyweight, Evans decided to shed some pounds by dropping down to the light heavyweight division where he competed against the likes of several TUF alumni, including Sam Hoger and Stephan Bonnar and accomplished MMA fighters, such as Jason Lambert and Sean Salmon. Next came a tough test at UFC 73: Stacked when Evans went up against the formidable Tito Ortiz. Despite a great effort by Evans and a point deducted to Ortiz for grabbing the fence, the match ended up going to a draw without a winner. Next up for Evans was a battle against the winner of TUF 3, Michael Bisping at UFC 78, where Evans continued his dominating ways by defeating the Englishman via split decision. His toughest test came at UFC 88 when he competed against Chuck Liddell. It all came down to luck and skill as an overhand right ounch took down The Ice Man and giving Evans his biggest win of his career thus far via KO!

The Ultimate Fighter winner vs. The Ultimate Fighter 2 winner!

It will be a huge, epic battle between two of the top light heavyweight fighters in the UFC today and something has got to give. Griffin has shown by facing tough competition that he is the real deal and truly deserving of being the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, not to mention being the number one ranked light heavyweight fighter in the world. Evans on the other hand has yet to be defeated with a perfect record of 12-0 and thus would prove to be a very tough challenger for Griffin. However...................

The winner of this bout will have a huge target on his back!

Depending on how you look at it, it might be the best time to be the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and it might be the worst time to be the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. The light heavyweight division has gotten very active and very heated as of late with many new challengers surfacing very now and then. Two of those fighters, Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, are competing against each other on the same card as Griffin vs. Jackson. If that isn't enough, take into consideration the impending bout at UFC 94 between undefeated Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva where one of these fighters, Machida especially, would love to make a mark and someday challenge for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

But one thing is for certain, fans will truly get their money's worth when Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans do battle for the first time and the stakes could not have gotten any higher with the UFC Light Heavyweight Title on the line. Which one of these two highly amazing fighters will walk out of Las Vegas with the gold?

UFC 92 Preview Part Two: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir!

In the second of a three-part series of previews leading up to this weekend's UFC 92 event, I will look at the first of two title matches scheduled for the event as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defends his UFC Interim Heavyweight Title against Frank Mir!

UFC Interim Heavyweight Title: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (c) (31-4) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)

Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is one of the toughest SOBs on the planet as far as being an MMA fighter goes. After all, this was the same man who, as a child, was run over by a truck while he was nine years old, went into a coma for 25 days and managed to survive the horrific accident where decades later, he would turn into one of the most accomplished heavyweight fighters in the sport's history. His durability level is at an all time high as he is one of the only fighters in the world to never be stopped in a fight. He has beaten and loss to a list of who's who in the world of MMA, beginning during his days in WEF and RINGS before making it over to PRIDE and becoming a top star. While in PRIDE, he fought two fights against current UFC fighter Heath Herring and defeated him twice, with their first battle seeing Minotauro become the first of only two fighters to hold the UFC Heavyweight Title! One of Nogueira's most memorable battles was at a one night only joint venture between K-1 and PRIDE. Under the PRIDE banner, the event was known as Shockwave, while under the K-1 banner, the event was known as Dynamite!!. Despite the two events being known to be held every New Year's Eve (with Shockwave's Japanese name being Otoko Matsuri, literally Man Festival), this particular event was held in August in 2002 and it was also held at the Tokyo National Stadium with a record-setting MMA attendance of 91,107 fans. On that hot summer night, Nogueira competed against the controversial Bob Sapp, who represented K-1 in their bout. During the match, Sapp piledrove Nogueira to the mat, which seemed like the match was over there and then. However, Nogueira failed to submit and after a hard fought battle, wore down The Beast and slapped on an armbar during the second round to pick up the huge win and gain even more fans after the fight was over. Nogueira also holds a win over three-time K-1 WORLD GP Champion Semmy Schilt, as well as a win over Dan Henderson, whom he suffered his first MMA loss to back in RINGS. It was then at PRIDE 25 where he made his first defense of his PRIDE Heavyweight Title against one of the greatest fighters of all time, Fedor Emelianenko. It was against Emelianenko where Nogueira suffered his second loss and also the loss of his title. The two men would face each other again two more times, with their second bout ending in a no contest after an accidental headbutt by Nogueira to Emelianenko's head and their third and up till now, final bout at PRIDE Shockwave 2004, where Nogueira once again lost to Fedor via unanimous decision. Throughout his career in PRIDE, Nogueira has also scored wins over some of the top fighters in the world, including Ricco Rodriguez, Mirko Filipovic, Sergei Kharitonov, Kiyoshi Tamura, Mark Coleman, Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett. After Zuffa bought out PRIDE, the UFC's parent company also purchased several PRIDE contracts and Nogueira was one of the few fighters to make the transition from the PRIDE ring into the Octagon. Nogueira's first match in the UFC was against his old rival, Heath Herring, and despite being taken down with a hard right kick to the head in the first round, Nogueira bounced back from the knockdown to earn a unanimous decision over Herring. Nogueira's second UFC fight saw the tough Brazilian go up against former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 81: Breaking Point where both men fought to determine who would be the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion in light of Randy Couture's shocking departure from the UFC back in 2007. In true Nogueira fashion against bigger fighters, Nogueira was able to stay focused and patient and in the third round, submitted The Maine-iac with a guillotine choke to earn the win and the title.

While not having a decorated career as his opponent, Frank Mir is still one of the more formidable fighters in the UFC's heavyweight division. Growing up in a martial arts family, it only seemed natural for Mir to someday compete as an MMA fighter. Making his debut at HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown with a win against Jerome Smith, Mir immediately gave notice to the UFC that he is one fighter that is worth signing and shortly after another bout at IFC, Mir made his UFC debut by defeating Roberto Travern at UFC 34: High Voltage. He also competed at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London, England for the UFC's very first PPV event in the United Kingdom, UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall, where he suffered a loss to Ian Freeman due to TKO after suffering a cut on his face which prompted the referee to stop the fight and award the bout to Freeman. In 2003, Mir also picked up a win at UFC 41: Onslaught against the infamous Tank Abbot. Things started picking up for Mir in 2004 when at UFC 48: Payback, Mir was able to win the vacant UFC Heavyweight Title by defeating Tim Sylvia 50 seconds in the first round with an armbar! The win also earned him a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt for his performance. Tragedy struck as Mir was involved in an accident where a car struck him while he was riding on his motorcycle. The accident caused Mir to break his femur and tore all his ligaments in his knee. Due to the injury he suffered, Mir was stripped off the title after not being able to defend it after 14 months. Mir would then return from his injury by facing Marcio Cruz at UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3, but was defeated by the newcomer in a major upset. After rocky back and forth years in 2006 and 2007, Mir was finally able to pick up a victory that made headlines back in February 2008. On the same night Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title by defeating Tim Sylvia, Mir would face the debuting Brock Lesnar in an anticipated bout. Mir was able to expose Lesnar's inexperience in MMA by attempting an armbar, but after managing to escape the armbar, Lesnar found himself locked in a kneebar by Mir, getting the submission victory and putting him high in the rankings amongst the UFC's top heavyweight fighters!

From The Ultimate Fighter 8 to the Octagon!

Prior to their anticipated showdown, both Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir were coaches for their respective teams on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Nogueira seemed to have the upper hand as both of his trained fighters were able to pick up UFC contracts at the season finale of the show. This of course would mean that Mir is also on the lookout for revenge aside from wanting the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title bout. Both Nogueira and Mir are accomplished BJJ practitioners, although Nogueira has a lot more technique and a vast knowledge of the art over Mir. Nonetheless, this would make for an interesting battle between these two amazing fighters.

A monster challenge awaits the winner!

While Nogueira and Mir were busy coaching and looking for potential UFC champions, Brock Lesnar was soaking up the spotlight as he pulled off his biggest victory in his young MMA career. The former three-time WWE Champion and IWGP Heavyweight Champion was able to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion after defeating Randy Couture in Couture's return match at UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar. It was Lesnar's third bout in the Octagon and thus, he is now the man to beat in the heavyweight division. The winner of the fight between Nogueira and Mir would then go on to face Lesnar to crown the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion in a future bout in 2009. Despite still being a rookie in the MMA world, Lesnar has ascended quickly up the ranks much like he did when he started out in the WWE, proving that despite the criticism, is as much a natural athlete as most of the top fighters in MMA. That being said, he will be a huge threat to whomever that wins this bout. Nogueira has faced many big men such as Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt and Tim Sylvia and knows how to overcome the odds while Mir has a win over Lesnar in Lesnar's debut and would definitely find a way to beat him again should they ever compete against each other once again.

But the real question is, who will it be? Who will be the number one contender to Lesnar's gold? Will it be the former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Nogueira or will it be the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mir? Can Nogueira successfully defend his UFC Interim Heavyweight Title or will we see a new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion crowned?

UFC 92 Preview Part One: Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva!

The UFC will cap off what has been a storied and amazing 2008 with a stacked card that could rival one of their 2007 PPV events, UFC 73: Stacked, which like UFC 92, also boasts a Triple Main Event! Two title fights will take place that night and one fight will be a bout to determine a potential light heavyweight title contender in the near future.

In the first of three parts of the preview of UFC 92, I will look at one of the most anticipated rematches between two top light heavyweight competitors, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva!

Quinton Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8)

One of the most popular fighters in the light heavyweight division today, Quinton Jackson is also one of the most entertaining. The 30-year old MMA fighter is a veteran of the ring with a career spanning in PRIDE and now the UFC. It was back in 2001 and Jackson could have not been there at a better time when MMA was beginning to gain a lot of steam en route to becoming one of the most popular sports in Japan. In his debut fight, he was matched up against a man whom during that time was considered the measuring stick for all middleweight fighters in that organization, Kazushi Sakuraba. The crafty Sakuraba was able to defeat Jackson, but the fight helped raised Jackson's stock, so much that he was matched up against fighters such as Masaaki Satake, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman and Mikhail Illoukhine. With powerful strikes, Jackson tried his hand out in K-1 fights, competing against French K-1 veteran Cyril Abidi and outmatching him in the two fights both men had against each other. He also scored some big victories over the likes of Ikuhisa Minowa and Ricardo Arona, in which in his bout with Arona, he used his pro-wrestling training to good use, winning the match via a devastating powerbomb while he was locked in a triangle choke. After a short stint in the World Fighting Alliance, Jackson signed with the UFC and gained success when in 2007, he defeated Chuck Liddell to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. It was Jackson's second victory over the MMA veteran as he had earlier gained a win over Liddell back when both men competed in PRIDE in 2003. It was at UFC 75 held in London, England where Jackson proved his superiority as one of the top light heavyweight fighters in the world when he defeated PRIDE veteran Dan Henderson to unify both the UFC Light Heavyweight Title and PRIDE Middleweight Title! Jackson would then be one of the two coaches for the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, going up against fellow light heavyweight, Forrest Griffin. As per tradition, both fighters would then square off against each other after the season has ended and in the end, it was Griffin who defeated Jackson at UFC 86 and captured the UFC Light Heavyweight Title from Jackson. Jackson went through a terrible slump after the match, firing his trainer and manager, Juanito Ibarra, then got involved in a terrible road rage incident which made headlines in the news when Jackson drove recklessly in his Ford F-350 and got into a chase with the cops. Jackson has since pleaded not guilty to his actions during a hearing in August, but nothing has since come out of his recent hearing last month.

Wanderlei Silva is known as The Axe Murderer for a very good reason. If he could be compared to a K-1 fighter, Jerome LeBanner would be the best guy to compare Silva with. Silva is known for his super aggressive fighting style and his brutal strikes which would lead to a tough knock or stoppage of his opponents as he is a Muay Thai specialist and also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Silva started out in the UFC when he got knocked out by Vitor Belfort in his debut UFC fight. He then went on to knock out Tony Petarra with his knees, then lost to Tito Ortiz in his first and unsuccessful challenge for Ortiz's UFC Middleweight Title. It was then when he moved to PRIDE in 1999 during PRIDE's early years and defeated Carl Malenko at PRIDE 7 in his debut fight there. From that point on, Silva racked up a huge eighteen-fight winning streak, beating the likes of Dan Henderson, Shungo Oyama, Kazushi Sakuraba, Guy Mezger, Kiyoshi Tamura, Ikuhisa Minowa and Hidehiko Yoshida. After a very very impressive run over in PRIDE, things started to change for The Axe Murderer. Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, bought out PRIDE after the promotion folded due to a controversial yakuza scandal which brought bad light to television networks that air PRIDE, including Fuji TV. After buying out PRIDE, Zuffa was able to purchase several contracts of whatever that's left of PRIDE and Silva was one of the fighters that would make the transition to the UFC, returning to the promotion after seven years. To make his return highly publicized, UFC President Dana White decided to match Silva up against one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time, Chuck Liddell, in a match which White had been dreaming of putting together for a very long time. After so many years, the match finally took place at UFC 79: Nemesis, where Liddell and Silva were co-headliners of the historic event (right below the UFC Interim Welterweight Title bout between Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes). It was a heated fight which saw the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada come to life with zero silence as a dream match took place right before their very eyes. Unfortunately, Silva's performance was sub-par as he was not as aggressive as he should have been in the fight and in the end, it was a decision loss for Silva as Liddell took the win. Silva's next fight was a redeemer of sorts as he was able to bounce back from the loss against Liddell with a win over Keith Jardine in 36 seconds into the first round at UFC 84: Ill Will!

It's retribution for one fighter and a chance to thrust back into the spotlight for the other!

Both Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva have crossed paths on two occasions while both men were competing in PRIDE. The first time both men clashed was at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 at the Tokyo Dome in the finals of the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight GP Tournament, which also featured Chuck Liddell and Hidehiko Yoshida. It was actually at this very event where promoters were hoping for Liddell to face Silva in the finals, but after Jackson bested Liddell in the semi-finals, it came down to Jackson vs. Silva. Using his superb Muay Thai clinch coupled with his aggressive strikes, Silva was able to land seventeen consecutive standing knee strikes to the head of Jackson, forcing a referee stoppage and declaring Silva the winner and tournament champion via TKO! Both men would then meet a year later, this time with the PRIDE Middleweight Title on the line. It was Silva the champion meeting Jackson the challenger and much like the first fight, the result saw Silva taking the win over Jackson again with a series of punches and standing knee strikes 3:26 into the second round and at the same time, successfully defend his title against Jackson. Silva owns a 2-0 record over Jackson and both men are gunning for a huge win.

For Jackson, it would mean retribution after losing to Silva twice in PRIDE and a win in the UFC would raise up his stock, especially after the road rage incident which had shed some bad light on him and a terrible loss to Forrest Griffin, which also saw his UFC Light Heavyweight Title being taken away from him. That being said, Jackson must win this fight at all costs if he would like to re-challenge for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title again.

Silva on the other hand had a pretty bad start to his UFC return. In fact, prior to his return to the UFC, Silva chalked up two pretty tough losses, one to Mirko Filipovic, which cost him a chance to compete in the finals of the PRIDE Openweight GP Tournament against Josh Barnett (who would lose to Filipovic in the finals) and another to Dan Henderson whom he lost his PRIDE Middleweight Title to. The loss to Chuck Liddell put a dent on his record, but the win over Keith Jardine meant that The Axe Murderer is still alive and well. For Silva, he must win this match in order to gain contention in what is a very competitive light heavyweight division in the UFC thus far.

Who will win in this highly-anticipated rematch between two tough fighters and who will go up in the rankings for contention to face the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, whomever it may be after the night is over, be it Forrest Griffin or Rashad Evans? Will Rampage take the victory or will The Axe Murderer once again stop him in his tracks?

Full lineup for UFC 92, Dana White invites Satoshi Ishii to UFC 92, GSP nominated for award and Cro Cop vs. Choi added to Dynamite!!

Full line-up for UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008!

The UFC has finally disclosed its full line-up for next Saturday's huge MMA spectacular, UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008! The card boasts a Triple Main Event, featuring two title matches and a grudge match to cap off what has been an amazing 2008 for the company! There will be a three-part preview coming very soon to build hype for this highly anticipated bout, so keep an eye out for the previews!

Pay-Per-View Card:

* 205 lbs. | Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans (Title)
* 265 lbs. | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir (Title)
* 185 lbs. | CB Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio
* 205 lbs. | Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
* 265 lbs. | Cheick Kongo vs. Mustafa Al-Turk

Undercard:

* 185 lbs. | Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister
* 265 lbs. | Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
* 205 lbs. | Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
* 185 lbs. | Ryo Chonan vs. Brad Blackburn
* 265 lbs. | Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry

Dana White invites Satoshi Ishii to UFC 92!

To add to the glamor and spectacle of the event, UFC President Dana White has decided to invite the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in Judo, Satoshi Ishii, to attend the event as a special guest! This was in light of Ishii's bold declaration that he has decided to head on to the UFC instead of DREAM where he believes that his status as Olympic Gold Medalist would bring him fame and fortune and in addition to that, help expand the UFC's Japanese market even further.

White released a statement through the Japanese PPV television network, WOWOW, which broadcasts UFC events from time to time. White believed that Ishii has a huge potential to become a great MMA fighter and applauded Ishii's decision of choosing the UFC over DREAM. It was through this statement that Ishii decided to extend his hand out to the talented judoka and invite him to Las Vegas to check out UFC 92 next Saturday.

Ishii has since accepted the invitation and will be jetting off to the United States in a few days time to attend UFC 92.

Georges St-Pierre nominated for Canadian Athlete of the Year!

Current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre has been nominated for Sportsnet.ca's award of Canadian Athlete of the Year! After what has been an amazing run in the UFC throughout 2008, including reclaiming the UFC Welterweight Title from rival Matt Serra in front of his hometown Montreal crowd and an amazing Match of the Year candidate bout between Jon Fitch and himself, it seems natural for the man known as Rush to be nominated for such an award.

GSP will be going up against some stiff competition as he will tackle the likes of Calgary Flames' Captain Jarome Iginla, Minnesota Twins' All-Star Justin Morneau, tennis player Daiel Nestor and paralympian Chantel Petitclerc.

To vote for GSP, visit http://www.sportsnet.ca/more/2008/12/11/2008_sportsnet_canadian_athlete_of_the_year/! Results will be announced this coming Monday, December 22nd (Tuesday, December 23rd for us Malaysians).

Cro Cop vs. Techno-Goliath at Dynamite!! 2008!

As it had been rumored for some time, Mirko Filipovic, known to Japanese fans as Mirko Cro Cop (Cro Cop being a term that derived from Filipovic's time as a police officer in his hometown of Croatia as a member of the most elite Croatian police's Anti-Terrorist Unit, ATJ Lucko) and Hong Man Choi (known as the Techno-Goliath due to his victory dance routine after his fights while he was a ssireum wrestler, not to mention standing 7'2" tall) will battle at FEG's New Year's Eve spectacular, Dynamite!! 2008 under DREAM Rules!

One of the most popular foreign fighters to ever grace the Japanese MMA world, Filipovic is known for his amazing stand-up, which consists of his trademark hard stiff kicks to the head. This showed as before his memorable run in PRIDE, Filipovic was an accomplished K-1 fighter, making it to the finals of the K-1 WORLD GP in 1999, losing to the four-time K-1 WORLD GP Champion Ernesto Hoost. Aside from PRIDE, Filipovic also dabbled in the UFC, but attained little success in the major company despite being pushed as a huge prospect, including his shocking knockout loss to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 and unanimous decision defeat to Cheick Kongo at UFC 75, both events taking place in England. Filipovic made his DREAM debut, easily defeating Tatsuya Mizuno at DREAM.1, before going to a controversial no contest against Alistair Overeem at DREAM.6 after two knees to the groin by Overeem. It had been rumored before that Filipovic and Overeem would get a rematch to settle the score at Dynamite!!, but unfortunately, as we see now, that will not be the case.

Hong Man Choi is the largest fighter in the world at 7'2" and weighing 330 lbs. Despite his towering size and improved stand-up game, Choi has not been doing very well since returning from his compulsory military service back in Korea. This was shown after being pummeled by the former K-1 WORLD GP Heavyweight Champion Badr Hari in Seoul back in September and losing to Ray Sefo in Tokyo early this month. Successive losses adding up to lackluster performances in his past fights led to FEG Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa to move him into DREAM where he can hopefully improve his game in MMA fights rather than K-1 fights. Choi has had very poor experience going into this fight as an MMA fighter. He was able to defeat popular Nigerian comedian Bobby Ologun at K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!! in a squash, then a year later lost to the unstoppable Fedor Emelianenko at Yarennoka! in 2007. Both men will be gunning for a huge win, but only one will be able to walk out the victor.

DREAM Rules Matches
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen vs. Gesias Calvancante
Jerome LeBanner vs. Mark Hunt
Shinya Aoki vs. Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt vs. Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Mirko Filipovic vs. Hong Man Choi

K-1 Rules Matches
Musashi vs. Gegard Mousasi
Kozo Takeda vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
K-1 KOSHIEN Tournament Semi-Final: HIROYA vs. Shota Shimada
K-1 KOSHIEN Tournament Semi-Final: Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
K-1 KOSHIEN Tournament Final: Winner of HIROYA/Shota Shimada vs. Winner of Ryuya Kusakabe/Koya Urabe
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

Source: MMAFighting.com