Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox
Round 1
The fighters trade kicks to the body and legs through the first part of the frame. The crowd is not appreciative of the bout and starts to shower the Octagon with boos. Lennox connects with a knee to the body and looks to score a takedown, but he doesn’t pull the trigger. Lennox starts to tee off but slips and Pyle pounds him. Lennox is on his back and Pyle locks up guillotine. Lennox escapes with about 15 seconds left and rides out the round. 10-9 Pyle.

Round 2
Lennox and Pyle scramble. Pyle goes to work on kimura as Lennox defends. Lennox gets free, but Pyle takes the top position. Pyle works some minor ground-and-pound before Lennox rises to get back to his feet. Pyle tries to put him back down, but Lennox scores a takedown of his own. Pyle tries to roll free and Lennox holds onto his back and the round comes to a close.

Round 3
Lennox is looking to score with big shots, but Pyle is content to circle away. Lennox lands a nice right but Pyle shrugs it off. Lennox bullies Pyle against the cage and blasts him with a left-hook, straight-right combo. Pyle shoves him off and takes the center of the cage and taunts him. Lennox then leaps in with a series of big punches that puts Pyle on the canvas. Pyle went right to work from his back and locks up a triangle choke that forces Lennox to tap out at 4:44 of the final round.

Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick
Round 1
Patrick clinches up to start things off and Funch momentarily staves him off before succumbing to the takedown. Funch tries to move his leg around Patrick’s head and clips him, drawing a warning from referee Tony Williamson. On the restart Patrick hammers Funch with a nice elbow. He postures back up and fires again. Patrick, standing in Funch’s guard, bounced his head off the canvas with a stiff left. Patrick locks up a guillotine with about 20 seconds left and passes to mount, but Funch wriggles free at the horn.

Round 2
Patrick goes right back to the clinch to open the second. Funch tries to fight him off for over a minute, but Patrick jumps to guard with a tight guillotine and elicits the tapout at 1:48 of the second frame.

James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta
Round 1
The fighters trade pawing shots before Sobotta puts Wilks on his back with a takedown. Wilks dodges some shots and hooks up an armbar that Sobotta barely escapes. Wilks gets back to his feet and clinches up with Sobotta, slowing things down a bit. He then pulls guard and nearly sinks a gogoplata, but Sobotta retreats from danger by standing up.

Round 2
Sobotta comes out firing in the second but Wilkes stymies him by clinching. Wilks gets off a good flurry and then knees to the inside of Sobotta’s thighs after they clinch back up. Wilks just pushes a weary Sobotta to the mat, landing in mount, but Sobotta re-applies his guard. Wilks and Sobotta both try for submissions, but it is Wilks who gets the better position after rolling Sobotta over with a guillotine. He couldn’t sink the choke and both fighters got back to their feet at the horn. Round two goes to Wilks 10-9.

Round 3
More sloppy trading to open the final round. Off of a scramble, Wilks takes top position and looks to work an armlock. Sobotta reverses and takes his back. Sobotta has a tight body triangle and is working for a rear-naked choke. Wilkes defends well and shakes the hooks loose and turns into Sobotta before settling into his guard with about one minute left. Wilks works some half-hearted ground-and-pound up to the final horn.

The official scores are 30-27, 30-28 and 30-27 for Wilks, who takes the unanimous decision.

David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda
Round 1
Miranda rushes out and grabs Loiseau around the waist and slams him to the mat from behind. Miranda sets up in half-guard and elbows “The Crow” until he can get full guard. Miranda picks up loiseau and shuffles him up against the cage. Loiseau, sporting a nice mouse under his right eye flips to his knees and gets back to his feet. Miranda clinches and knees to the midsection while Loiseau just holds on. After being broken due to a lack of action Miranda leaps in with a nice shot while Loiseau just clinches back up. The round closes with the two clinging along the cage.

Round 2
It looks like someone woke up Loiseau between rounds. He opens the second looking to trade. He catches Miranda with a couple shots, but the Matt Hume-trained fighter gets a takedown and starts to abuse Loiseau with punches from the top. Miranda passes to side control and then takes Loiseau’s back. He smashes him with strikes that open “The Crow” up. He is bleeding profusely as Miranda pounds away from his back. Miranda elbows and elbows and elbows a prone Loiseau until Williamson finally decides to intervene. Miranda takes home the TKO win at 4:07 of the second round.

Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
Round 1
Wiman starts the bout with a low kick and Danzig answers with a short punching flurry. Wiman throws his hands and a body kick is caught by Danzig, who drags him to the floor. Danzig steps out of a leg lock and begins to work from his opponent’s guard. Wiman locks on a guillotine and leans back to finish. Danzig scrambles and Wiman rolls him over and has the choke in mount. Wiman tells referee Yves Lavigne that his foe is out. Lavigne steps in to halt the bout and it’s a HUGE mistake. Danzig was still fighting the choke. The official time is 1:45 of round one.

Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham
Round 1
Dunham lands a left kick to the body. Griffin lowers his base and connects with a right and a left hook. Griffin goes to work on the lead leg of the southpaw. Dunham drops levels for a single and grabs hold of the left leg of his opponent. Griffin hops on one leg to defend while peppering the face of Dunham with right-handed uppercuts. Dunham lets go and grazes the top of Griffin’s head with a straight-left lead. Dunham is getting left-hand lead happy and Griffin times the next blow to sneak a right hand in. Dunham sets his next left hand up with a jab and gets results as it smacks the chin. Griffin is looking to counter punch, but he gets sucked in to far and Dunham trips him to the canvas. Dunham has Griffin’s back with a single hook. Dunham drags Griffin to the floor and secures his second hook. With a minute left in the round, Dunham works for a rear-naked choke and Griffin fights off the hands while punching backwards to the head. Dunham returns fire with his right hand and locks on a body triangle. Dunham lets it go only to secure it again at the bell.

Round 2
Griffin gets a little wild with his right hand and Dunham catches a single for a successful takedown. Griffin works a guillotine from the bottom as Dunham expertly defends and escapes. Dunham crossfaces from half guard and then transitions to a brabo choke. Griffin defends perfectly and holds on to the right arm whiles using it to stand. Griffin lands a right hand before being taken back down by Dunham. Dunham quickly moves to his prey’s back with both hooks. Dunham sinks the right arm under the chin and Griffin reacts by fighting off both hands. Dunham switches hands and goes for the choke with his left hand. Griffin explodes up and stands with Dunham still on his back with a body triangle. Griffin crashes downward and faceplants Dunham. Griffin stands again with Dunham on his back. Time expires before he is able to repeat the slam.

Round 3
Griffin knows he likely needs a finish to win or a 10-8 round to draw, so he comes out firing. Dunham accepts the challenge and answers back with a punching flurry. Neither man lands clean. Dunham fails on a shot and misses a jumping knee. Griffin drops for a single and Dunham sprawls and stuffs against the cage. Now back in the center of the Octagon, Griffin lands a stinging right hook. Dunham steps forward and lands two crisp kicks to the body. Griffin catches the second, and tries to trip Dunham down, but the undefeated fighter ends up on the Randy Couture-trained lightweight’s back again. Dunham is controlling tightly from the back with both hooks. The crowd grows restless as Dunham works for the rear-naked choke for 90 seconds. Griffin stands and Dunham is on his back with a body triangle. Dunham, unable to get the choke, squeezes the face with both hands as the crowd boos. Griffin tries to slam Dunham to the floor, but there’s no impact and Dunham is still on his back as the horn sounds.

Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
Round 1
MacDonald catches a kick at the bell and trips Condit to the canvas. MacDonald backs away and tells Condit to stand. The former WEC welterweight champion obliges, and stands to get clipped with a right hand. MacDonald drops levels and secures a powerful single-leg takedown in the center of the Octagon. Condit grabs his own left foot and works briefly from the rubber guard. MacDonald backs away from the position and gets hit with two elbows from Condit. MacDonald stands and Condit follows. Condit lands a right hand. MacDonald rocks his opponent with a right hand, as Condit stumbles back to the fence. Condit recovers and jumps for a flying knee at the same moment that MacDonald was attempting the same technique. Neither man lands. The fighters trade front kicks and Condit sneaks in a hard low kick to MacDonald’s right leg. Condit’s nose is bleeding at the 40-second mark. MacDonald catches a kick, but he can’t trips Condit down. MacDonald catches a nice single right before the horn as Condit closed in to punch with his right.

Round 2
MacDonald grazes Condit with a right-hook, left-hook combo. Condit clinches and MacDonald trips him to the canvas. Condit gets to his feet and lands a front kick to the midsection. Condit gets a takedown as MacDonald loses his balance, but he can’t keep the top position as MacDonald sweeps him. Condit gets to his feet only to be lit up by a MacDonald one two. Condit goes to the clinch and lands a knee to the belly. MacDonald answers with his hands and he clips the former champion with a right hand. Condit lands two kicks to the body and then gets careless: He throws a crane kick, a spinning back fist and a jumping knee and MacDonald planted him with a teep kick to the chest as time expires.

Round 3
MacDonald catches a low kick and roughs Condit up against the fencing with a knee and punches. MacDonald lands clean and Condit drills him with a right hand. MacDonald is hurt. He shoots for a single and Condit takes the top position on the floor. Elbows open up the face of MacDonald and he’s dripping blood the canvas from a cut near his left eye. Condit has taken all the momentum as he continues to land elbows from the top. There’s a huge mouse around MacDonald’s right eye, but he manages to stand. A standing elbow hurts MacDonald and again he shoots. Condit gets on top of the damaged fighter and mounts while throwing punches and elbows. MacDonald is now bleeding heavily from his nose with one minute remaining in the fight. Condit stands and kicks the legs. Condit dives in to engage his opponent on the floor. Condit brutalizes MacDonald with a right hand. Hammerfists rain down and referee Kevin Dornan steps in with under 10 seconds remaining. The crowd boos the timing of the stoppage. The official time is 4:53 of round three.

Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
Round 1
Rothwell jumps all over Yvel from the opening bell with a straight right. Rothwell backs the Dutch striker up against the fence and trips him to the canvas. Rothwell moves from side control to the mount after escaping a guillotine. Yvel immediately bucks him off and begins to punch from the top. Rothwell gets a double and drags Yvel back to the floor. Rothwell punches the head and mounts. Rothwell goes back to side control, where he goes to the Salaverry position. Rothwell lands a few elbows before Yvel explodes to his feet and lands a knee. Yvel lands another knee and misses several punches before the bell sounds.

Round 2
Yvel lands a low kick and Rothwell gets a trip takedown. Rothwell moves to side control, where he looks to isolate the right arm of his opponent to set up strikes. Rothwell punches the body with his left hand and Yvel uses the window to get to half guard. Rothwell lands lazy leather from the top and Yvel scrambles to his feet. Rothwell does not want to play that game, and he immediately shoots and gets a double. Yvel sweeps and absolutely unloads on the face with his right hand. Referee Yves Lavigne watches closely as Yvel lands scores of powerful right hands. Yvel’s assault slows as he tires and Rothwell is able to get enough space to drag Yvel to his back. Rothwell moves to the mount and lands a hard elbow before time runs out.

Round 3
Yvel shoots for a single to start round three and Rothwell sprawls and trips him to the floor. Yvel goes high with his hips in search of a triangle, and Rothwell uses the opening to pass to side control. Yvel shows good legwork in getting back to half. Rothwell postures and Yvel gets to full guard. Rothwell passes to side control and works a kimura on the right arm of the Dutch fighter. Rothwell lets it go to elbow the head with his right arm. Yvel’s left arm is now trapped as Rothwell gets to the Salaverry position. Rothwell gets in two elbows before Yvel is able to free his left arm to defend the blows. Rothwell continues to work his right elbow exclusively as he pins his opponent on the ground. Both fighters are spent, but it’s Yvel that’s punching from the bottom. Rothwell throws his right hand twice before the horn.

Official scores: 30-27 and 29-28 (twice) for Ben Rothwell, the winner by unanimous decision.

Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann
Round 1
Kampmann connects with a jab while Thiago stalks him around the cage. Kampmann continues to pump his jab, but it’s more of a defensive tool to keep Thiago at bay. Thiago steps forward and Kampmann lands a clean right-hand counter. Thiago throws a low kick and again Kampmann lands with a right hand. Kampmann sets up a straight right with a jab and Thiago swings for the fences. He glances a right hand off the forehead of his opponent. Kampmann throws a knee to the body and Thiago catches the leg, but is unable to drag him to the floor. With distance between the fighters again, Kampmann rushes forward and blasts the Brazilian with a right hand. Thiago ties him up and trips the European to the canvas. Kampmann locks on a guillotine from the bottom in half guard at the one-minute mark. Thiago slips out and Kampmann goes to his feet. Kampmann works a brabo against the cage and Thiago escapes. Kampmann looks for another guillotine as time runs out.

Round 2
Kampmann lands a jab and a low kick to Thiago’s lead leg. Kampmann throws another jab and both fighters swing for the fences as the counter, but neither man connects flush. They clinch and trade trip attempts. Thiago backs away and fails on a fast single. Kampmann sprawls and transitions directly to the Brazilian’s back. Kampmann continues to ride the back while looking to set up an arm triangle. Thiago feels it coming and goes for a kimura on the left arm of his opponent. Thaigo holds the kimura for several minutes and then uses the hold to sweep Kampmann to his back. Thiago works briefly from side control before standing, where both fighters scramble for position against the fence.

Round 3
Kampmann lands right hand just before they clinch. Kampmann drags Thiago down and starts ground and pounding then transitions to his back. Thiago manages to get to his feet briefly, but gets put back down while he was attempting a takedown. They get to their feet where Kampmann lands a knee then they’re quickly back on the mat with Kampmann in control from half guard. He moves to Thiago’s back and throws a few punches, but then they separate and are up to their feet. Thiago lands an overhad right, shoots the takedown, then gets put on hi sback again. Kampmann quickly transitions from side control to full mount then to Thiago back and back to mount as the final horn sounds.

Martin Kampmann def. Paulo Thiago by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Patrick Barry
Round 1
Barry aggressive from the outside, looking for right crosses, but can’t land. A hard low kick lands on Filipovic’s lead leg. Barry lands a short right hook that puts “Cro Cop” on his seat, but the former Pride star quickly jumps back up. Another low kick from Barry lands. A left-hand lead from Filipovic is blocked. The Croatian is noticeably slower than his opponent. Barry jumps in with another short right hook, which lands flush and again puts “Cro Cop” on the mat. Filipovic gets back up quickly, but has very little to offer Barry halfway through the first round. The left side of Filipovic’s face is swelling badly, possibly due to a broken jaw or cheekbone. A low kick from “Cro Cop” is checked by Barry. The pair come forward, and clinch up, and Filipovic attempts a lateral drop which Barry partially blocks. In a wild exchange, “Cro Cop” lands a short uppercut. The pair smile, and actually momentarily embrace in the center of the cage in the middle of the fight. Barry lands another low kick, “Cro Cop” returns with a jab. A Barry head kick at the horn is blocked.

Round 2
Two “Cro Cop” head kicks are blocked by Barry, but he lands a left kick to the body. Filipovic comes forward with a bevy of one-twos, but Barry blocks them all. The pair clinch into the fence, and “Cro Cop” throws hammerfists to Barry’s thigh. As more fruitless punches to the thighs land, referee Yves Lavigne separates the pair. “Cro Cop” lands a side kick, and Barry throws a head kick which is blocked. Filipovic pushes him to the floor, controlling the head, before pushing forward and rolling Barry onto his back, into half guard. Cro Cop lands two right hands from the top and then goes to the mount. Barry turns his back and the Croatian sinks in both hooks. Cro Cop hits the head with his right hand and then looks for a rear-naked choke. Barry defends and lands an elbow fired backwards at the head.

Round 3
Cro Cop grazes a left-footed head kick off the face of Barry. Cro Cop connects with a crowd-pleasing axe kick that smacks Barry in the face. Barry clinches with the kickboxing legend. The fighters step back and Barry kicks Cro Cop’s right leg out from under him while he was throwing a head kick. Barry allows Cro Cop to stand. Cro Cop. Steps forward with a right jab and a left straight, but Barry ducks under the violent combo. Barry scores with a left-hook lead on the jaw. An uppercut and a wide right hook land for Cro Cop as Barry backs up to the cage. Cro Cop pushes him against the fence and sneaks in a hard left uppercut. Cro Cop controls the position and lands a hard knee to the body. Referee Yves Lavigne separates the fighters and Cro Cop takes advantage. Cro Cop unleashes his hands and clips Barry with a right and a left. Uppercuts from both hands peeper Barry’s chin. Barry collapses and Mirko hops on his back. Cro Cop locks on a rear-naked choke with no hooks, and the gassed out and hurt Barry taps out at the 4:30 mark of round three.

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
Round 1
No touch of the gloves. Liddell lands the first big shot, a hard right hand, then a follow-up low kick. They clinch briefly and Franklin lands a couple punches on separation, but Liddell lands a high kick in return. Franklin lands a couple right hands, but takes a hard shot back from Liddell. Liddell then shoots in and picks the ankle, putting Franklin on his back. Franklin fight sup to the feet where they both swing and miss. The pace slows, both missing frequently. Franklin is firing low kicks, but eats that big overhand right and is hurt. Liddell senses it and pushes the pace briefly, but backs off as Franklin recovers. Liddell lands a head kick and moves in. He appears to be in control then out of nowhere Franklin fires back and with one punch drops Liddell. Fight over!

Rampage wrote on Twitter:

“I was like a kid today,I have not been happy this past week,but meeting my child hood heros,and making new friends was all I needed I’m back. I will tell y’all everything tomorrow,it’s late here,I’m still on tour,I will let y’all know what I’m doing so y’all can keep up,btw I want in.”

On Tuesday, he followed up with a lot more on his WWE RAW experience, including meeting WWE names like Vince McMahon, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, John Cena and more. He wrote:

“Everybody was cool! They r a bunch of big kids like me,doing what they love. Big Show was so funny! He showed me the choke slam. I want in!!! John Cena,was cool,but Ted is the man,I wanna do a movie wit him. Vince was cool as hell,Bret is my new home boy Pipper so down to Earth” The King is lade back,Mean Gene was pimp,everybody was damn cool,I would like 2 go back as Rampage and do the power bomb.”

Rampage then compared his experience at RAW with the WWE wrestlers and fans to MMA fans, who he says can be “full of crap.”

“Haters will hate that’s all they will ever be,im gonna give them mo stuff 2 hate on! we all will stay n business! I’m lovin my REAL fans mo. I was there 2 support them,so I talked good about them and told the truth about the mma fans,get mad if u want that means u r the 1s that I was talking about! Some mma fans r full of crap,like the ones that booed me when I KOed Chuck So like I said lighten up,or come whoop my ass. Didn’t meet any a holes.”

After being handcuffed and held hostage by Ted DiBiase Jr. and his man servant Virgil, Rampge broke free of the cuffs and laid out his captors. To those wondering if he really was handcuffed – he said, “the cuffs were real homie, I’m just that strong!!!

Josh Thomson was originally rumored to fight Lyle Beerbohm but that fight fell through after Beerbohm wasn’t cleared for action due to a shoulder injury. Healy is on a three fight win streak and recently picked up a unanimous decision victory over Bryan Travers at Strikeforce Challengers Series 8.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum takes place on June 26 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The show will air live on Showtime.

MAIN CARD

*Fedor Emelinanenko vs. Fabricio Werdum
*Strikeforce Womens Featherweight Title: Cristiane Santos (c) vs. Jan Finney
*Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
*Josh Thomson vs. Pat Healy

Here’s the video

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker would obviously like to keep Shields, but won’t break the bank to keep him. “To me, there’s going to be a value that we feel is fair, and that’s going to be it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s good business to go into [the bidding] business.”

If they are unable to reach an agreement, Coker said that Strikeforce is likely to hold an 8-man tournament to crown a new champion, possibly starting at the August 21 event in Houston.

“If it works out (with Shields), great,” Coker said. “If not, Strikeforce has a bunch of great middleweights, and we’ll go into the tournament business. We’re still fleshing out the details, but we’re leaning toward that.”

Strikeforce currently has the option to match all offers from other promotions. Shields has fulfilled his contracted number of fights with Strikeforce, and his manager and father Jack Shields opened the door to other companies this week.

“Jake’s a great fighter, and I consider him a friend,” Coker continued. “It’s something that we’re working on, but we have a lot of great middleweights on our roster, and we look forward to the future to see what happens.”

Ken Hershman, executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, also thinks that any deal with Jake Shields has to make good business sense. “If things don’t work out, we wish Jake and his team the best,” he said.

“I think Jake is a great champion and great proponent of mixed martial arts, and if he and Strikeforce can come to terms that make sense for everybody, then I’d be happy to see him back fighting on Showtime,” Hershman added. “But there is no single fighter that makes or breaks any division in Strikeforce.”

When asked what the future holds for Machida, Dana White mentioned a very interesting potential fight. What’s next for Machida? According to UFC president Dana White: “maybe Rampage.”

The UFC’s latest effort Saturday night was a hit from where I was sitting. Always the bottom line of any PPV investment is “Did I get my monies worth?” This answer is absolutely, as the event delivered including an overachieving under card.

Random, UFC thoughts:

The UK’s Hathaway is a 6′1″ welterweight who is young and destined to be tough to deal with as time marches on if he continues to mature. His ‘Hitman’ nickname also works for me. Welterweights with Hathaway’s reach and leverage are problematic for most in the weight class.

UFC had a significant upgrade in the graphics they utilized and their overall production values of the event Saturday night. The PPV looked slicker to me.

I do think that lead PXP announcer Mike Goldberg should not be voicing over the video packages that highlight the combatants. Sometimes it was Goldberg pitching to Goldberg which is generally considered a taboo. If Goldberg is reading copy prior to the show to build the packages then it would be easy for a ‘big voice guy’ to handle it and not overexpose their lead guy.

Goldberg and Rogan had a solid night and Rogan always enlightens and entertains me with his vast knowledge of the game and his legit passion for the genre in general.

During the fights themselves it is good to see the Octagon was the focal point and that the crowd not so lighted up as the focus should always be on what’s happening in the Octagon. I’d argue the same thing for pro wrestling but I would likely lose that one.

UFC did do a great job in showing off their many celebs in attendance which gave the event a ‘hip’ and ‘must see,’ appeal. There were many shots of ‘pretty’ women which never hurts an event of this nature.

‘Little Nog’ got a gift with a split decision victory over last minute replacement Brilz who came to fight and won the first two rounds without question. Brilz, a Cornhusker from Omaha, did make a name for himself in the controversial loss. Norgueira apologized after the fight and winning fighters should never say that they’re sorry.

One of the reasons that UFC is such a great spectator sport is its unpredictability. Heavyweight Russow’s shocking KO last night in the ‘bottom of the 9th with two outs’ was miraculous. Russow might never look great on a calendar but he’s got a helluva chin.

Don’t you love it that UFC generally always provides actual winers and losers. People pay to see such unlike in the entertainment presentation of pro wrestling where non finishes are often times overplayed.

Would love to know why Dan Miller decided to fight Michael Bisping standing up? One always assume that Fighter A will always attempt to attack Fighter B w/ A’s strength which in this case was Miller’s ground/submission game. Bisping has great charisma and Manchester toughness, without question. Bisping will likely always be booed somewhat in the USA but that would be the least of my worries as long as there is a butt every 18″ to see him fight. I’d like to see Bisping fight Anderson Silva in 6-8 months if it can be arranged. Bisping isn’t quite ready for that task just yet but he seems to be on track.

It was smart marketing for ‘The Expendables’ which will be in theaters in August to be all over the UFC PPV especially with UFC legend Randy Couture in the ensemble cast that also includes Stone Cold Steve Austin.

As a viewer, I did think that times that the in fight promotion of a variety of products and events was a little too much and made some of the bouts feel cluttered or ‘too busy.’

I had been an Evans’ lean all week and never backed away from my prediction and it came to fruition as Rashad won all three rounds and somewhat convincingly defeated Rampage Jackson. Jackson had his chance in the 3rd and final round to win, the only way that he could at that point, by knockout, but he missed at least three, big shots with Evans down and vulnerable that would have won it for the Memphis native. After that offensive flurry by Jackson, Rampage was never the same and looked gassed and unable to pursue Evans to attempt to finish Rashad.

It is tough for any athlete to report to camp in the 250 pound range and then have to pull weight and train down to weigh 205 the day before the fight at weigh in. That’s what Rampage allegedly did while Evens stays around 210 or so full time I am told.

Speed, conditioning, and better take down skills seemed to be the winning formula for Rashad Evans who now can turn his sights on Maurico ‘Shogun’ Rua the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

I’m happy that I bought my second UFC PPV in the month of May and look forward to being in Las Vegas in July for the Lesnar-Carwin fight which is going to be a slobber knocker as Carwin has never let any one survive outside of the first round in amassing an undefeated record. However, make no mistake about it, I’m a Brock Lesnar guy all the way.

Rashad Evans: $435,000 (includes $185,000 win bonus)
def. Quinton Jackson: $250,000

Michael Bisping: $190,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Dan Miller: $15,000

Mike Russow: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. Todd Duffee: $8,000

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $120,000 ($40,000 win bonus)
def. Jason Brilz: $11,000

John Hathaway: $22,000 ($11,000 win bonus)
def. Diego Sanchez: $50,000

Dong Hyun Kim: $64,000 ($32,000 win bonus)
def. Amir Sadollah: $15,000

Efrain Escudero: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Dan Lauzon: $15,000

Melvin Guillard: $38,000 ($19,000 win bonus)
def. Waylon Lowe: $6,000

Cyrille Diabate: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Luiz Cane: $19,000

Aaron Riley: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Joe Brammer: $5,000

Ryan Jensen: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Jesse Forbes: $6,000

Figures released do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes, nor do they include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter’s income.

According to f4wonlien.com, WWE is really hoping that they can get Rampage in the ring and do something physical.

UFC President Dana White recently commented how he had a good relationship with Vince McMahon and had no problem with Quinton appearing on RAW but if he were to do something physical, they would have to talk to him (UFC) first.

Since the show is to also feature SmackDown stars, it will be interesting to see if The Undertaker is there. Taker blew Jackson off years ago when Jackson tried to meet him. Quinton never forgot about the incident and it kind of soured him on the wrestling business.

Rampage was a huge wrestling fan growing up and an interesting fact not many people are aware of – the chain he wears around his neck to the cage are a tribute to his favorite wrestler as a child, the late Junkyard Dog.

UFC 114 Results

Main Card

• John Hathaway Defeated Diego Sanchez via Unaninmous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Antônio Rogério Nogueira Defeated Jason Brilz via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mike Russow Defeated Todd Duffee via Knock-Out (punches) at 2:53 in Round 3
• Michael Bisping Defeated Dan Miller via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)
• “Sugar” Rashad Evans Defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

• Ryan Jensen Defeated Jesse Forbes via Guillotine Choke at 1:06 of Round 1
• Aaron Riley Defeated Joe Brammer via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Cyrille Diabaté Defeated Luiz Kane via TKO (Strikes) at 2:13 of Round 1
• Melvin Guillard Defeated Waylon Lowe via TKO (Strikes) at 3:28 of Round 1
• Efrain Escudero Defeated Dan Lauzon via Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
• Dong Hyun Kim Defeated Amir Sadollah via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Notes

At the end of Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz there were a lot of boos directed at Nogueira. The crowd went on to chant “bullshit,” as Jason Brilz seemed to be the clear cut winner of the fight.

A surprising twist, in the main event the UFC fan base were mostly behind Rampage Jackson, and against Rashad Evans. The main event was a good bout with Rashad getting a good moving punch early in the first round to temporarily stun Jackson. Rashad’s speed and wrestling technique was the story on this night though. He managed to land a few takedowns and ultimately withstood Rampage as it stood after round 2. In round 3 however Rampage rattled Rashad with a hard shot, however was not able to capitalize on the opportunity. As Evans recovered he landed takedowns and used his wrestling ability to get past round three. The deciding factor in this fight was Rashad’s noticeably superior speed as opposed to Rampage’s pace. Good card and decent main event as UFC 114 raps up.

UFC 114 Weigh-Ins

Additional Notes
The weigh-ins had a crowd of about 4,500 people.

- The weigh-ins were pretty quiet, Rampage talked his game to Rashad and they had the big staredown. There was also a staredown between Luiz Cane and Cyrille Diabate.

- Diego Sanchez looked softer than usual.

- Aaron Riley and Amir Sadollah had to completely strip down to make their weight.

- Diego Sanchez and Amir Sadollah were the most popular of the undercard fighters.

- They played the Countdown shows before the weigh-ins, with the crowd cheering Rampage when he cut his promos.

- Spike officials expect that the one-hour prelim show tomorrow night will be the highest of any prelims show in history. They feel this way because UFC 114 is the biggest event that they have aired prelims for.

- Dana White stated that if the GSP vs. Josh Koscheck fight doesn’t take place in Canada, that they are looking into running the event in Pittsburgh. Koscheck is from Waynesburg, PA, which is about 60-miles from downtown Pittsburgh.

Alves underwent an angiogram this week and sources close to Alvez say the results were good.

Doctors will be sending a letter to the New Jersey Boxing Commission declaring him physically fit to fight. Alves has made it clear he wants to get back to training and fighting as soon as possible.

On March 21st, Alves underwent surgery for an arteriovenous fistula on the left side of his brain. This occurs when there is an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein and can be congenital, created by surgery, or caused by disease. O

nce Alves receives a clean bill of health from the New York-based neurointerventionalist, the results will be passed to NJSACB officials. They will then decide when he can return to active fighting status.

UFC 114: This Saturday Night

WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross, an avid MMA fan, posted a blog this week looking at Saturday night’s UFC 114 main event between former Light Heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans. Here’s what Ross said over at JRsBarBQ.com:

“Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson have talked themselves likely into a helluva pay day this Saturday in Vegas on yet another UFC PPV event. This upcoming fight is the epitome of a personal issue embellished in such a way as to monetize the dislike and ‘grudge’ element of the confrontation. Selected high road journalists may question the method to the verbal madness that has ensued between the two rivals but I’ve loved it. For some it was too old school, pro wresting. However, Evans and Jackson’s promos were real, organic, and from the heart albeit perhaps enhanced somewhat for our entertainment purposes. Nonetheless both men are dead serious about taking care of their business this weekend with the winner moving on to face Shogun Rua for yet another big money, Championship fight.”

Ross says that Rampage, who will be a guest host WWE’s Monday Night RAW on June 7, will likely be the fan favorite in this fight. “Some insiders always seem to question Jackson’s physical conditioning and how much weight he has to cut to make 205. Not knowing how Rampage’s training has gone, I’m a slight lean for Evans but reserve the right to change my mind if I hear otherwise before Saturday.”

“Losing Forrest Griffin to injury unquestionably hurt the under card for this PPV especially on a PPV crowded month of May but how does any MMA fan even consider not seeing Rampage vs. Evans live this Saturday night?”

“These two, gifted African American athletes have said some deeply personal things to each other in the build for this fight that only they could have said to the other. It sort of reminds me of way back in the day when villain Ernie Ladd used to talk trash to hero the Junkyard Dog as Ernie could get away with saying things that only another black man could say to another man of color. It made that issue very personal and the two of them sold lots of tickets throughout the Mid South Wrestling territory.”

With Jim Ross’ 13+ year relationship with WWE seemingly winding down in recent months, there’s been a lot of talk that Marc Cuban’s HDNet has reached out to Ross in hopes of signing the decorated broadcaster to call MMA fights on his network.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that suffered a knee injury in training.

After an impressive win over Wes Sims in his Strikeforce debut earlier this year, the former pro wrestler brought his professional MMA career to 5-0.

No word yet on how long Lashley will be out.

UFC 114: This Saturday Night

Bitter rivals Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Suga” Rashad Evans are set to headline UFC 114, presented by THQ’s “UFC Undisputed 2010” and live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 29 during the weekend of the UFC Fan Expo. Finally, these two former Ultimate Fighting Championship® light heavyweight champions get a chance to let their fists do the talking.

Main Card
Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller
Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway

Preliminary Card
Amir Sadollah vs. Dong-Hyun Kim
Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon
Melvin Guillard vs. Thiago Tavares
Luiz Cane vs. Cyrille Diabate
Aaron Riley vs. Joe Brammer
Jesse Forbes vs. Ryan Jensen

Here’s the video preview of the event:

WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross commented in his blog at JRsBarBQ.com about the news that Batista would be following in Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley’s footsteps. He wrote:

“I’ve heard some rumblings that when Batista gets healthy that he might try his hand in the MMA world. This rumor is FAR from official but I do know that Batista has been doing some MMA training and has a bona fide interest in the genre,” Ross said.

He added, “This would be a huge challenge for Batista if he indeed attempts to compete in MMA at a high level which, again, is not a done deal.”

Here is video of Dave Batista training at the Affliction Training Center:

On Things Working Out With The Delay: “You know it all did work out OK,” White said. “And actually I just did an interview the other day talking about – listen; I’m in the fight business. This is what we do, and especially coming off that season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ – the way these two hated each other and the way the stuff went – it was a huge blow (losing) the fight (with it) being in Memphis and everything else. But then everything worked out.”

On The Bad Blood Between The Fighters: “You know the reality is that these two really don’t like each other,” he said. “There’s a lot of bad blood between these two, and they really want to fight each other. I think you know when you get two of the best in the world fighting each other, it’s fun anyway. But when they don’t like each other this much it makes it a lot more fun.”

“Professor Rafael Cordeiro will coordinate and give directions to the sparrings to do the way it has to be done (trainings). Akiyama is tough, a good guy who has been an athlete throughout his life. He does well on the ground and is very strong. It’s going to be a very interesting fight, a great one for me because he’s a guy who fights and open the game, not a man who runs. I believe it’ll be a big show. I want to fight for more six years, at least until forty’s. This change of category was good. I had to re-educate myself on food matter and I’m feeling very well”.

“This time it is everything. This is going to be it man. This is my run to the title and I’m going to get it. I’m close. I’ve got to be focused. I’ve got to train and I’m coming out of this fight with a victory. I think the city of Pittsburgh needs something like that. I’m from the area and it would be great to come home and have the support of all of my fans that have been backing me all the way since I was in college wrestling all the way up to now fighting for the title… Pittsburgh would be a great, great city to have the UFC. Bringing the UFC to Pittsburgh would be awesome, but regardless where it is, it’s going to be a great event, and me and St. Pierre are going to put on a good show. Georges, you better work on your power, because I’m going to force you to stand up with me when we fight, and I’m going to knock you out.”

“I think everyone wants to fight Anderson Silva off the back of the Demian Maia fight — I want to fight him after that. If he tried that s**t with me he’d get a toe-punt right on the chin! I couldn’t understand it. I suppose it was a bit disrespectful to start with and, to be honest, I thought Demian Maia won the last two rounds. When it came to the decision I wasn’t sure, you’re never sure, Demian might have stolen it.”

“I’m not 100% a free agent yet, I have another month or so before that passes.”

“We need to sit down and see what Strikeforce has to offer and what they want to do. Obviously GSP and (Anderson) Silva are guys that I want to fight.”

“I think [Shields vs. GSP] it’s a great fight and it has me really excited. I’m hoping that’s a fight will come together sometime soon. I think we’re both tremendous wrestlers… I think my submission grappling is a little better, his stand-up game is a little better.”