***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[ACCBiggz]

Credit: Sherdog.com

Drew Fickett d. Kurt Pellegrino in Round 3 via Rear Naked Choke

Again Pellegrino starts a round with a takedown, where he quickly passed to side-control. Kurt working for the side choke. Fickett escapes and quickly jumps on his opponent's back. Drew Fickett wins via rear naked choke at 1:20 of the third stage.

Cheick Kongo d. Gilbert Aldana in Round 1 by Doctor Stoppage (cut)

Aldana with a takedown to start the fight. Lack of action forces a ref standup with 3:20 to go in the round. Aldana with another takedown. Kongo reverses the postion and ends up in Aldana's guard. Aldana escapes to his feet, where he is roughed up bad by several right hands and knees to the body. After a doctor intervened to check a cut sustained in the standup exchange, he called a stop to the contest at 4:13 of the first stanza due to the laceration. Impresive Octagon debut by Cheick Kongo, who picks up the upset victory.

Jeff Monson d. Anthony Perosh in Round 1 via KO

Monson enters the cage to the Beatles' "Imagine." First period starts with a takedown for Monson. Both fighters back standing. Monson working knees from the Thai-clinch. Monson then lands several uppercuts in a row then a right cross that ends the fight at 2:22 of the first.

Hermes Franca d. Joe Jordan in Round 3 by Triangle Choke

After a fast takedown, Hermes moved quickly to a high mount where he finishes the fight with a triangle from the top position. Franca wins in his return to the Octagon at :47 into the third stanza.

Joe Stevenson d. Yves Edwards inbetween rounds 2 and 3 via Doctor Stoppage (cut)

Crisp boxing from Yves to start the second round. Joe opens up with some strikes then scores a single-leg takedown. Joe now working some ground and pound against the cage from Yves' closed guard. Edwards bleeding very badly now. Referee stops the fight to have the cut checked. The cut is severe but is high on the scalp so they continue the fight. Stevenson dominating now with more elbows. Round two ends with both fighters fighting in a puddle of blood like the Octagon has possibly never seen. 10-9 for Stevenson.

Before the third period were to begin, the doctors halt the contest due to the cut on Edwards' head.

Frank Mir d. Dan Christison via Unanimous Decision

R1

Mir starts with a hard kick to Christison's groin. Some knees to the body against the fence from the clinch from Mir. Nice takedown from Frank. Mir moves quickly to mount. Frank spins for an armbar but he couldn't secure the position. Frank now in Christison's closed guard. The Las Vegas native seems content to stay in his opponent's guard. Christison goes for an armbar from his back that bends Mir's arm back horribly. Mir escapes then rises to his feet shortly after. Frank goes back to knees to the body. Christison lands a right hand before the round ends. Sherdog.com scores the close round 10-9 for Mir.

R2

Christison lands a nice combo then pushes Mir against the cage. Frank looking tired. The pace slows as Mir scores a slow single-leg takedown. Christison goes for another armbar but Mir defends. Christison now looking for a triangle. The ref restarts them at the 40 second mark. Big left hand scores for Christison. Dan lands a jumping knee to the body just before the second period ends to a chorus of boos. 10-9 Christison.

R3

Nice left hand then a knee to his opponent's body to kick off the final period for Mir. Frank sweeps against the cage and is now working from half-guard. Mir starting to pound away with punches. Christison now bleeding. Mir going for a straight armbar from side-control. At the two minute mark, Christison is able to get full guard. Mir now posturing up and throwing punches from Christison's guard. With 45 seconds to go, the referee restarts the action. Mir shoots in for a double but Dan stuffs it. Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Mir (29-28 Mir).

Tito Ortiz d. Ken Shamrock in Round 1 by Ref Stoppage (Elbows)

The crowd goes nuts as Tito enters the cage to a thumping Eminem track. Ken comes rushing out with a barrage of punches. Tito answers with a knee. Big slam from Tito into Ken's closed guard. About 5 unanswered elbows stops the fight very prematurely. Ken charges towards Tito as Ortiz duplicates his ditch digger celebration from UFC 30. After review of the replay, Tito landed a few very solid elbows with no answer from Ken, but he did not seem to be hurt other than a wince.

DANA WHITE ANNOUNCES CHUCK LIDDEL V. WANDERLEI SILVA IN NOVEMBER

Edited July 9, 2006 by ACCBiggz

[Guest SixThreeSuperman]

My personal belief was that the Shamrock/Ortiz fight's ending was horseshit.

The last 3 elbows were more like light forearms when they hit Ken. Tito knew it too, that's why the mouth running was kept to a minimum.

If Tito hits 3 or 4 more hard, hard shots, then end it. But don't end a marquee fight and show the loser jumping to his feet in record speed to contest the stoppage.

Then again, this is Herb Dean's calling card.

[ACCBiggz]

Josh Burkman d. Josh Neer via Unanimous Decision

R1

The fighters touch gloves to start the swing bout. Heavy leather being thrown early with Neer looking more refined but his opponent seems more explosive. Nice body shot from Burkman. Big right elbow from Burkman finds its target. Burkman shoots and scores the first takedown of the bout at the 2:30 mark. Burkman landing some punches from within Neer's guard. Neer sweeps and gets back to his feet. Burkman drops Neer with a right hand and takes his back then goes for an armbar. Neer escapes and lands a big elbow from the top position. Sherdog.com scores the first for Burkman, 10-9.

R2

Burkman starts the second stanza with a glancing high kick. Neer scores a takedown into Burkman's butterfly guard. Both fighters back to their feet with Neer looking for a front choke. Big right and a left from Burkman. Neer drops his hands and taunts. Burkman scoring with knees to the body from a clinch against the fence. Burkman looking for a Kimura but Neer escapes. Nice slam from Burkman puts Neer back on the mat. 10-9 Burkman.

R3

Burkman continues to score with big right hands and standing elbows as the final stage starts. Another takedown from Burkman. Neer almost scores a triangle but Burkman slams his way out of it. Neer now bleeding over his left eye. Neer staying busy from the bottom with elbows and an offensive, open guard. Neer rolls for a kneebar but Burkman defends and returns to his opponent's guard. The fight ends with Burkman back in control. 10-9 Burkman (30-27).

[Docpepper]

Yeah the Ortiz vs Shamrock finish seems messed up. I figure they'll eventually have another match down the line

[ACCBiggz]

Tim Sylvia d. Andrei Arlovski via Unanimous Decision

Arlovski starts with a lowkick while Tim answers with a wild one-two. Big right hand lands for the former champ. Sylvia staggers Arlovski with a punch but is unable to finish. Big leather being traded in the main event. Arlovski lands a big right while Tim attempts a knee. Tim lands a knee to the midsection against the cage. "Big John" restarts the fight in the center of the cage. Spinning back kick lands below the belft for Sylvia. Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Sylvia.

R2

Arlovski lands a right hand again while Tim goes for a knee. Andrei starting to fade a bit with his hand speed. Arlovski now bleeding over his left eye after a Sylvia right hand. Right straight to the body scores for the former champ. Tim scores with a straight right after a front kick misses its target. Close fight as the athletes complete the second stage, scored 10-9 Arlovski.

R3

The pace slows as the third round begins. Andrei cirlces as Tim takes the center of the cage. Stiff jab from Tim is answered with a big punch from Arlovski. Double jab from Arlovski finds its mark followed by a right hand. The crowd grows restless as what once was a war has turned into a chess match. Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 Arlovski.

R4

Arlovski continues to work the right hand to the body as the championship rounds begin. Tim catches the former champ with a right hand. Andrei eats another big punch as the fighters trade combos. Andrei bleeding over both eyes now after Sylvia glances a left straight. The fourth round ends to a chrous of boos as the fighters energy fades. 10-9 Sylvia.

R5

Tim lands a few punches to kick off the final round. Arlovski works from his jab as he circles the cage and mixes lowkicks in. Tim continues to score from the outside with a strong jab and right hand lead. Two minutes remain in a lackluster fight that Sherdog.com has scored even through four. "Big" John McCarthy urges the fighters to get busy and don't let the judges decide the winner. The fights ends with a shower of jeers from the crowd. 10-9 Sylvia.

[Javs]

I felt the Shamrock-Ortiz fight was ended early as well. If the shots were that hard, Ken would have been a bloody mess. or at least had a couple scratches. Arvloski/Silvia was one of the worst fights I've ever seen. Arvloski fought like a pussy cause he knew his chin was shit. Silvia only pressed once. Neither fighter ever hit the ground. We left Hooters before the the fifth round cause none of us didn't even give a shit who wins anymore.

The only moment of the night that meant anything to me was the Silva-Liddell moment. I knew Silva was going to be there, didn't think anything of it. When Dana called him up I was thinking WTF? I'm not expecting Chuck to lose to Babalu anyway, but now Chuck BETTER fucking win.

Overall, worst UFC show in recent memory. No fights stuck out.

Edited July 9, 2006 by Javs

[B-Rad]

No question, the best match of the night was Stevenson vs. Edwards. The group I was with was going crazy, and with how good that opening match was, it made the rest of the show seem as a little bit of a let down. The amount of blood that Edwards lost was fucking CRAZY!

The battle of the Josh's was a pretty good fight, too. I was getting a little pissed about how the announcers seemed to be pimping the shit out of Neer when Burkman was dominating him. And Neer's little throwing the arms out and saying "come on" was getting EXTREMELY annoying, especially since Burkman WOULD come on and Neer did NOTHING at all in retaliation.

Mir vs. Christison started out looking promising, but both guys got tired so quickly that it just started to go downhill. You can tell Mir is a shell of the man he was when he was champion. This match was competitive, but something about the slow motion pace, ESPECIALLY following after Stevenson vs. Edwards, just didn't really do it for me.

Ortiz vs. Shamrock ended exactly 12 seconds before I thought it would. I knew something like that would happen. While I knew that when Ortiz had Shamrock down in the corner, he had the match won, I think they MAY have stopped the match a little early. But, if you consider all things, stopping Ortiz before he nails 3 or 4 more elbows on Shamrock may be a good thing, so there are no injuries. Shamrock just wasn't blocking, and came out WAYYYY too quick at the opening leaving himself completely open for that finish. But 1:18?!? Ugh, horrible.

Arlovski vs. Sylvia put me to sleep, literally. Someone had to wake me up, because I fell asleep during the fourth round. Not the match I was expecting to see, and just overall a disappointing match.

Overall, a little disappointing, it was the first UFC PPV that any of the group of us had ever ordered, and only 2 of the 5 matches I would give a "good match" grade to. I hope this doesn't push us away from ever ordering a UFC PPV again, but knowing my friends, I fear it may be the first and last one we ever order...

[Numbahs]

I think Liddell could lose to Sobral, so I have no clue why they would announce the Liddell/Silva "if Liddell wins". That just leads me to believe that it will happen no matter what. If they have Silva for three fights as they said, they'll totally make that happen with or without the belt.

Also, I agreed with everything that happened last night. Tito was about to murder Ken. I think it was stopped a tad early, but was Ken really about to stop 3-4 more elbows from being plowed into his grill? No.

But, this(or Ken winning) is the best thing possible to happen for the UFC. They get Tito/Shamrock III at some point, and it will make money....More money than anything involving Rich Franklin, Tim Sylvia, or whoever takes the Lightweight crown.

Also, since this is a wrestling message board....what does everyone think Yves was on the Muta scale?

Edited July 9, 2006 by Numbahs

[ACCBiggz]

I don't think it was announced "If Liddel Wins" was it... it doesn't matter though because he is pounds on Babalu like Ricky Ricardo.

[Numbahs]

I'm pretty sure White said something about it happening if he wins.

From MMAWeekly.com

The UFC has announced that Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva will finally be fighting each other at a UFC event in November, provided that Liddell is able to successfully defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Renato "Babalu" Sobral on August 26th at UFC 62.

Though the rankings vary, Liddell and Silva are widely regarded as two of the top three 205-pound fighters in any MMA organization in the world, along with Silva's teammate and fellow Pride star Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who won a 16-man Grand Prix tournament of 205-pound fighters in Pride last year.

When asked during the post-UFC 61 press conference whether the Liddell-Silva fight will be a title fight, UFC president Dana White reportedly said, "It will be for the title." When asked by another reporter whether Silva is signed for a certain number of fights in the UFC, White reportedly said, "Yeah, three [fights]. We're probably going to have him for three." When asked by another reporter whether there will be more Pride stars fighting on future UFC cards, White reportedly said, "Possibly. Every year, we try to take it to another level."

Though it wasn't specifically mentioned by the UFC, a few other things will also have to happen (or not happen) in order for Silva vs. Liddell to take place in November. Liddell will need to not only beat Sobral on August 26th, but he will also have to beat Sobral without sustaining any injuries in the process if he is going to fight Silva in November. Liddell has been out of action since February due to foot surgery.

In addition, Wanderlei Silva will have to escape unscathed from his fight (or fights) on the "Pride Final Conflict Absolute" card on September 10th in Japan, which is just two months before his scheduled fight against Liddell in November. Silva will be fighting on the Pride card in the final four of Pride's 16-man Open Weight Grand Prix, in which the other three semi-finalists are highly ranked heavyweights Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Cro Cop, and Josh Barnett.

The semi-finals and finals of Pride's Open Weight Grand Prix will both take place on September 10th, so Silva will be fighting twice in one night if he wins in the semi-finals. While Silva's fight against Liddell in the UFC would not be dependent on whether Silva wins or loses in the Pride Grand Prix, Silva would certainly have to emerge from the event injury-free, win or lose, in order to be able to fight Liddell in the UFC two months later.

It has not been announced whether Liddell will also be fighting Silva in a Pride ring (under Pride rules) in Japan at any time in the future.

Another factor that has not been addressed by the UFC or Pride is how the Silva-Liddell match-up will affect each fighter's potential title defenses against fighters from their own companies. Prior to the Silva-Liddell announcement, Tito Ortiz was believed to be #1 contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title (after the Liddell vs. Sobral fight in August), while the top contenders for Silva's 205-pound title in Pride are believed to be Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

One also has to wonder what exactly is going to happen if Silva manages to beat Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. One would certainly think that the UFC would not sign a Silva-Liddell fight without having a contractual guarantee that Liddell gets a rematch if he loses to Silva, but that is pure conjecture and is just one of the many questions that MMA fans are pondering right now.

In the big picture, though, it all boils down to the fact that it looks like Chuck Liddell is going to be fighting Wanderlei Silva in the near future, and that's something that hardcore MMA fans have been waiting to hear for years.

[ACCBiggz]

Of course it is barring injury, thats common sense. But I don't think it matters if he loses or not, just it depends on the title, which is pretty much a non-issue as I don't see Babalu winning.

[Cole]

It was the first UFC Pay-Per-View that I ordered...I was a little disapointed with the result of Tito/Shamrock in the way and time it ended.

Other then that, I wasn't overly impressed by anything, the first fight was a good start.

I dunno...I guess with "real" fighting, it's the risk you take when ordering pay-per-views.

[Numbahs]

100% true, although I think the only reason people should be disappointed with Tito/Shamrock is because Tito did exactly what everyone and their mother knew was gonna happen. Nothing strange occured.

[Enter Blue Guy]

I skipped the show last night. More interesting shit came up. I'll probably get of the show eventually, but I dunno. It doesn't sound worthwhile. Especially compared to Pride's Critical Countdown PPV last week, which as of right now splits the title of best PPV I've seen in a long while along with the first OWGP show, Total Elimination.

But when I heard potential of a Silva vs. Liddel fight, I came my pants. Holy. Fucking. Shit. That is the best MMA news I've heard all year. Fucking amazing. Forget Barnett vs. Fedor, THIS is the the only fight that matters to me right now. And the fact that we get two of them is double sweet as it will either end the debate of who is the top 205'er in the world OR it could only make salivate us even more for a potential rubber match if they spilt the two fights a win a piece.

And a possibly two additional fights in the UFC? How about the Natural takes the trunks out of the closet for one last fight against Silva? That's another dream match. Maybe even Tito vs. Silva. Hey, if UFC can get a hold of Vitor Belfort, Silva vs. Belfort II would be nice match up too!

I don't even want to thinking about at the negative outcomes or criticisms right now, all I know is that with the possibilties are orgasmic.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Enter Blue Guy

[Numbahs]

I'd even settle for the UFC newbie dream match of Griffin/Silva.

After you finish laughing, realize that it's probably gonna happen with the way they handle things.

Edited July 10, 2006 by Numbahs

[ACCBiggz]

I'd even settle for the UFC newbie dream match of Griffin/Silva.

After you finish laughing, realize that it's probably gonna happen with the way they handle things.

[Fitzy]

That was one shitty PPV. I don't see why people want to pay to see Tito vs. Shamrock at all. There is no way they can get people to pay for a third one like this. Maybe put it on as a special on Spike TV? BUt people who would pay for a third fight between these two are morons.

Also, I laughed when Silva said "I want to fuck..." and thinks about what he just said and quickly changes it to "...I want to fight." That's up there with Rogan's "I like Shaft" comment.

[ACCBiggz]

BUt people who would pay for a third fight between these two are morons.

[JoeMimic]

God did I ever hate the ending to that fight. I wouldn't put it past Dana who is MORE then known in the MMA world of some shady dealings to have told Herb Dean beforehand if Ken or either fighter for that matters looks to be in danger early don't be afraid to step in and call it so we can have a rematch and make more money.

Silva coming to fight is huge; no doubt about it. Now if we could just get some Pride HWs over here to bring Silvia back to reality.

Word is Tito Ortiz wants Forrest Griffin again.

I'm interested in WFA's PPV coming up later on this month. There's been rumors they might even get it onto Showtime. I'd much rather pay for a month of Showtime then $34.95 for one PPV.

[ACCBiggz]

God did I ever hate the ending to that fight. I wouldn't put it past Dana who is MORE then known in the MMA world of some shady dealings to have told Herb Dean beforehand if Ken or either fighter for that matters looks to be in danger early don't be afraid to step in and call it so we can have a rematch and make more money.

Silva coming to fight is huge; no doubt about it. Now if we could just get some Pride HWs over here to bring Silvia back to reality.

Word is Tito Ortiz wants Forrest Griffin again.

I'm interested in WFA's PPV coming up later on this month. There's been rumors they might even get it onto Showtime. I'd much rather pay for a month of Showtime then $34.95 for one PPV.