News and notes from around the MMA world …

- Dave Meltzer charts former Pride fighters and how they’ve done in the UFC and also says that neither company came out the winner.

- Now Tim Sylvia is teasing that he might be unhappy.

- While we’re talking about Tim, did he use lotion to make his skin slippery against Big Nog?

- Diego Sanchez says he wants Josh Koscheck in a rematch.

- Referee Steve Mazzagatti says that he warned Lesnar, but Lesnar might not have heard him before docking him a point for hitting Frank Mir in the back of the head.

- Frankie Edgar thinks his fight with Gray Maynard at the next UFC Fight Night could end up at every position.

- Strikeforce At The Dome will be broadcast on HDNet.

- Don Frye to fight Oleg Taktarov at YAMMA’s first PPV?

Talking Points

Tim Sylvia doesn’t have the same kind of drawing power that Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz do. When a fighter talks about leaving the UFC because of money reasons, the idea that they can go to another company and increase their worth to the MMA buying audience is preposterous. Randy Couture could make a lot of money for one or two fights, but in no way are those fights going to reach the same kind of PPV audience that a UFC show could. Tito Ortiz has one possible fight with Frank Shamrock that could do decent business outside of the UFC. But Tim Sylvia? He’s not a draw like both of those men are. Even if he were to go to M-1 to fight Fedor Emelianenko, that fight doesn’t draw to a non-hardcore audience. He’s upset that Brock Lesnar made more money than he did, but he has to understand that Lesnar and Mir drew the PPV buyrate and the house. Sylvia is a decent fighter when it comes to a semi-main event spot, like the last PPV (even though they fought last, Lesnar/Mir drew the house), but he’s not going to command the kind of money Couture or Ortiz would because of his history as someone who doesn’t sell fights.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- I wrote a review on Matt Hughes’ new biography and let’s just say that it’s lacking.

- If you missed UFC 81 (and if you did, you need to check out the replay) we blogged it live while it was happening.

- Fox Sports has photos from UFC 81.

- Dave Meltzer thinks Brock Lesnar showed superstar potential in his loss to Frank Mir.

- The lineups are official for the next two UFC cards.

- Dana White doesn’t think Kimbo Slice would fare well in the UFC. He also thinks they could have their own ranking system sometime in the future.

- It looks like Chuck Liddell vs. Shogun Rua is happening at UFC 85.

- Todd Martin says that Minotauro Nogueira is never far from victory.

Talking Points

I was definitely wrong about both outcomes of the double main event at UFC 81. More importantly, I was also wrong about how exciting of a card it would be. UFC 81 was definitely one of the better UFC cards of late, and if it’s true that there were more first time PPV buyers for this show than ever, those folks got to see what makes MMA an action packed sport. I myself was watching the show at my parents’ house with a few non-hardcore fans. My father used to enjoy watching boxing and with some great hype, my mom can get into it too. Both seemed to be entertained and my dad stated the thing he didn’t like most about the sport was that you could take a beating and then pull off a submission and still win. I guess he wasn’t too fond of Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira pulling wins out with submissions. I may have also hyped Brock Lesnar up too much because after he tapped out, there was a bit of a deflated feel in the room. But the feeling was still that he was a monster.

While it would’ve been better for Mir had Tim Sylvia won the belt, I still think that coming out of this fight, he has the most buzz of possible heavyweight contenders not named Randy Couture. While Fabricio Werdum had a nice victory in January over Gabriel Gonzaga, Nogueira has already beat him and really, can you market Fabricio Werdum as your heavyweight champion if he is able to pull off an upset? I think Mir needs to be thrown in there immediately as a contender for the heavyweight championship. Nogueira isn’t going to be a big draw on his own, but if Mir is the new “pro wrestling killer”, act on him now. I think people would pay to see Mir fight Nogueira. And if Mir were to win, you could always do the rematch between he and Silvia.

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are the announcers.

The first fight is Nate Quarry, on the comeback trail, against Pete Sell.

1. Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell

Both men come out swinging. Quarry looks a tad slow and seems to be willing to eat a few punches in order to land one. Let’s just say that these guys aren’t missing many punches. Sell gets the first.

Sell knocks Quarry down, but Quarry gets right back up. It is more of the same, but Quarry is getting some leg kicks in. Sell is just taking them. Sell wins the second because of the knock down.

Quarry needs to stop him to win the fight. And he did. He hits a short counter right and Sell drops like a sack of potatoes. The fight is over.

Winner: Nate Quarry by way of third round TKO.

2. Nate Diaz vs. Junior Assuncao

Nate goes for the arm early on and sticks with it until he knocks down Assuncao. Assuncao falls into a guillotine and after Nate sinks it in even further by wrapping his leg around Assuncao’s back and shoulder, Assuncao taps.

Winner: Nate Diaz by way of first round submission.

3. Terry Martin vs. Chris Leben

Leben seems to be fighting a smart fight. He’s using leg kicks and his reach advantage. But Martin is a bulldog. He’s getting inside and landing. He gets Leben up for a slam, but Leben holds onto the cage and gets a point deducted. He goes down anyway. Probably Martin’s round and with the point deduction, it’s 10-8.

Leben is fighting a much better second round. He’s connecting with knees and when they clinch, foot stomps. Martin takes him down, but Leben locks in a triangle. Martin is saved by the bell. That was Leben’s round all the way.

Both guys are exhausted. Leben looks ripe for getting knocked out. Martin throws a huge right and rocks Leben, but doesn’t follow up on it. He gives Leben a chance to bounce back, but hits him again. Leben throws a desperation left hook that knocks Martin out and it’s all over. Leben knocks him out.

Winner: Chris Leben by way of third round TKO.

4. Din Thomas vs. Kenny Florian

Florian is going for high kicks, but Thomas is blocking them. He slips throwing one and Thomas pounces. But he doesn’t want any part of the elbows coming from Florian’s guard and gets back up. Florian shoots in and takes Thomas down not once, but twice. Thomas shoots in and Florian stuffs the take down and starts to hammer him while he turtles up. He gets his back and gets both hooks in and sinks in a rear naked choke. Thomas taps out.

Winner: Kenny Florian by way of first round submission.

There were two sloppy boxing matches that ended in knockouts and there were two fights that ended in first round submissions. It was an average show, but if you were a fan of The Ultimate Fighter guys, all four won. Chris Leben, Nate Quarry, and Kenny Florian were all from season one and Nate Diaz was in the last one.

1. Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau

Really good first round. Griffin and Tibau were simply standing and trading punches. Griffin was getting the better of it standing, utilizing both straight rights and overhand rights. Tibau shot in and took him down, but they were both back up in the middle. Griffin was tagging him near the end of the first and it’s his round.

The second round wasn’t quite as fast paced as the first. Griffin was still winning the stand up game, but Tibau was able to take him down a few times. But he couldn’t keep him down. Even with the shorter reach, Griffin is still landing from the outside at will.

The third round was very much like the second. Tibau was able to take him down, but not do anything with him. Griffin was landing overhand rights pretty much at will. The fight ended with Griffin pushing Tibau up against the cage and foot stomping him.

Winner: Tyson Griffin by way of unanimous decision.

2. Ricardo Almeida vs. Rob Yundt

Almeida got a takedown and locked in a guillotine. Yundt tried to get up and fall forward on Almeida, but momentum took them completely over and they ended up in the exact same position. Yundt tapped.

Winner: Ricardo Almeida by way of first round submission.

3. Nate Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn

Marquardt was landing some good shots and then took Horn down twice by underhooking him and taking him down with one arm. He was able to throw some bombs from the top, but Horn controlled him after that. Horn tries to get a shoulder lock near the end, but Marquardt gets out of it right before the end of the round.

Marquardt slipped early in the round and Horn got on top of him. They got back up and Horn shot in and pushed him up against the cage. Marquardt locked him in a guillotine and Horn tried to slip out by going to the mat, but Marquardt blocked him and cranked on the neck at the same time. Horn had to tap or risk his head being detached from his neck.

Winner: Nate Marquardt by way of second round submission.

4. Tim Boetsch vs. David Heath (taped from earlier in the night)

Boetsch simply owned him for the fight. Heath was able to land some punches in a flurry, but other than that, front kicks, knees, and overhand rights were landed at will by Boetsch. Late in the round, he threw him into the cage and Heath landed on top of his head and a few punches later, it was over.

Winner: Tim Boetsch by way of first round TKO.

5. Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar came out and immediately took him down. He was on top and throwing hammer punches from the top position. Mir turned his head and Lesnar hit him on the back of the head. The referee came between them and took a point away from Lesnar for hitting him in the back of the head. Back in the middle, Lesnar landed a punch and Mir pulled guard. Lesnar was on top again and landing. Mir was already bloody. Mir grabbed Lesnar’s leg and Lesnar turned into the knee bar and had to tap out. Great fight for what it was.

Winner: Frank Mir by way of first round submission.

6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia

Sylvia knocked Nogueira down early in the round and blanketed him. He let him back up and snapped his head back again. Nogueira went for a half-assed shot, but Sylvia ended up on top again. He let him up and then let him catch his breath. Nogueira ended up catching his breath and taking Sylvia down at the end of the round. But it was all Sylvia. Maybe even 10-8.

The second round was a boxing match. Rather than go after Nogueira, he let him get his breath back and it’s back to a striking match. Nog went for a single leg and didn’t get it. Nog landed a short left hook, but it was still Sylvia’s round.

In the third, Nogueira finally got the takedown, but Sylvia ended up on top. He swept Sylvia and immediately his guard into his half guard. Sylvia tried to get out, but got caught in a guillotine and immediately tapped.

Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria by way of third round submission.

7. Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley

Lytle came out swinging and landing. Bradley was so out of it that when the referee stopped it, Bradley pulled guard on the referee.

Winner: Chris Lytle by way of first round TKO.

8. Rob Emerson vs. Keita Nakamura

Emerson pretty much had his way with Nakamura by using good boxing and following up with counterpunches. Nakamura scored with a big knee that knocked Emerson down near the end of the round.

Second round was much of the same. Both guys landed many punches, but Nakamura got a takedown late in the second. But he’s also bleeding from an inadvertant elbow.

The guys were tired, but didn’t stop throwing punches. Nakamura got a takedown near the end of the round and ended up on top of Emerson when the fight was over.

Winner: Rob Emerson by way of split decision.

News and notes from around the MMA world …

- There are a ton of UFC 81 articles out there, most of which surround Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar wants to fight for the competition.
Both Lesnar and the UFC have a lot riding on UFC 81.
Mir’s comeback trail leads to Lesnar.
Dana White compares Frank Mir to B.J. Penn.
Mike Coughlin previews Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar.
Dave Meltzer has last minute weigh in notes.

- Shogun says he’s fighting Chuck Liddell next.

- Dana White asks Randy Couture to be a man.

- Mark Cuban thinks the The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000 will have to be adhered to by the UFC eventually.

Talking Points

Is Brock Lesnar the real deal? That question will be answered tomorrow evening when he does battle with Frank Mir. As you can tell by the links I posted above, most of the publicity surrounding this battle have to do with Lesnar and whether he can hang or not. If my prediction is right, then he will show that he’s the real deal. Frank Mir himself has stated in the past that he believes that if it lasts the full three rounds, he won’t be able win the decision. But he does think that he will get the better of the stand-up as well as be able to beat Lesnar on the ground. On the Countdown To UFC 81 show, there were highlights of Mir putting on sick submissions. If Lesnar’s strength is going to be his wrestling, wouldn’t taking Mir down mean that he’ll be set up for submissions? I think it comes down to a matter of who is in shape. Lesnar is going to be much stronger than Mir and Mir’s shot is to tire out Lesnar, weaken his defense, and get a submission locked on. If Lesnar outlasts him from a stamina standpoint, Mir is most likely going to tire out and his submissions will be far weaker. And if Lesnar outlasts him, I see Lesnar simply laying on top of him and pounding him. I think the first round will be important from Lesnar’s perspective in that it will be his first five minutes in the big time. He’ll be wide eyed and finally in the octagon for real. If he lasts the first five minutes, I think he’ll win the fight. Mir’s chance is to weaken Lesnar enough to be able to put him in a hold. Lesnar’s a big man and won’t be easy to maneuver.

There is an interim championship match, but it’s not the focus of the show. Tim Sylvia is facing Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Both men are battle tested, but one would think Sylvia’s size would be too much for Nogueira. That’s definitely going to be an issue, but Sylvia’s style is going to be a bigger issue. Randy Couture laid out the blue print in how to beat Sylvia. Get in close, use your inside strikes, take him down, be quicker and don’t be afraid to take a punch to land a punch. Nogueira’s wrestling isn’t as strong as Couture’s and he may not be as crafty a boxer as Couture either. So it’s going to come down to whether or not he’ll be able to frustrate Sylvia enough to where he’ll be able to use quickness to take him down. On the ground is his best bet, but Sylvia doesn’t go down easily. Sylvia also has good ground defense and utilizes his size to keep his foe away from him as far as possible. I don’t think Sylvia will be able to knock him out. But I do think he’ll be able to fight his fight and beat Nogueira by decision after five rounds. And if that’s the case, it’s going to be a boring match.