Irish Whip Fighting

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

UFC 79 Analysis

The UFC 79 card was definitely exciting, but what exactly does it mean for the UFC and its fighters? Ben Zeidler examines the subject.

Liddell is back!

Chuck Liddell is back in full force, utterly dominating Wanderlei Silva for three straight rounds. Sure, he didn't knock The Axe Murderer out cold, but the performance was solid enough to declare The Iceman officially on the rebound from his Rampage loss earlier this year.

St. Pierre takes the crown

Georges St. Pierre beat Hughes with the very move he was beaten by more than two years ago. In doing this, he established himself as the clear top Welterweight and looks to be steamrolling towards avenging the Serra loss.

Sokoudjou NOT the real deal, Machida is though...

The aura surrounding Sokoudjou's two quick knockouts earlier this year was dispelled as Machida showed the extent of his ability in a dominant submission victory. Sokoudjou goes back to the drawing board, Machida goes to the top 4 of the division.

Sylvia-Nogueira for interim belt

It's been long rumored, but it's now confirmed that Tim Sylvia will get a shot as his old belt, but he'll have to go through top 3 HW Nogueira first. This will be the second of three interim titles which will be awarded between December and March.

Dan Henderson To Stay At Middleweight

In a short phone conversation last night, PRIDE FC Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson told IWF's Ben Zeidler that no matter whether he wins or loses in his UFC 82 bout with Anderson Silva, he will remain at Middleweight for "quite some time."

Many felt that if Henderson lost, he would surely leave the UFC's Middleweight ranks, for which he previously expressed displeasure. But after talking with Dana White and considering the division on his own, he decided to make the jump.

If he wins, the belt, Henderson would obviously stay in the lower weight division in order to defend his new crown. The new news is that even if he loses, he will stay around 185 in order to challenge the best that the division has to offer -- and hopefully get a second crack at Silva.