Interesting co-main event this coming Saturday on UFC 97. If Silva defeats Leites he would be hold the record for the most successful title defenses in the UFC. Liddell vs. Rua will be a war as both fighters have a lot to prove after recent disappointing performance.


Here are my picks and as usual watch and enjoy:

Main Card:
Middleweight Championship Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites - Silva by KO (round 2)
Light Heavyweight Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio Rua - Rua by KO (round 3)
Light Heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski vs Brian Stann - Stann by KO (round 1)
Heavyweight Cheick Kongo vs Antoni Hardonk - Kongo by KO (round 1)
Light Heavyweight Steve Cantwell vs Luiz Cane - Cane by KO (round 1)


Preliminary Card:
Light Heavyweight Eliot Marshall vs Vininius Magalhaes - Marshall by Sub (round 1)
Middleweight Denis Kang vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam - Kang by Sub (round 1)
Middleweight Jason MacDonald vs Nate Quarry - Quarry by KO (round 3)
Middleweight David Loiseau vs Ed Herman - Herman by Dec
Lightweight Mark Bocek vs David Bielkheden - Bocek by Sub (round 3)
Welterweight Ryo Chonan vs TJ Grant - Chonan by KO (round 3)
Lightweight Sam Stout vs Matt Wiman - Wiman by Dec

I just read that Dana White has recanted his decision to force-retire Liddell if he loses on Saturday.

Just another case of Dana's remorse after opening his big mouth...

If Lidell loses, I think White will set him up with one more fight...against some patsy. Then Chuck will retire. No doubt Lidell wishes he was 5-8 years younger as the money gets bigger and bigger in MMA.

I'm hoping Jason McDonald wins. He's a good fighter but will probably be released by the UFC if he loses again.

I'll be picking Stout over Wiman. I'll be rooting for Stann because Krystof (sp?) was so high and might on TUF.

Well the results are in...

I guess the big story is shared by Liddell's defeat and Anderson Silva's underwhelming victory. Rua show the domination in this fight that was absent in his last fight. Liddell was caught several times by Rua's right and taken down a few times before the round of hammerfists that ended the fight. I don't know what's next for Rua but Liddell is probably done. He looked old and slow. If Liddell does retire this will be the end of an era.

On the other main fight of the night Anderson Silva, although looking comfortable, was unable to finish Leites. The lack of aggressiveness from both fighters made this match a boring real disappointment. I guess I was expecting to see the dominant Anderson Silva that puts it all on the line and finishes fights in the first round; instead we got the safe, calculating, playing Silva that seems concerned about losing his record and belt. I would like to give Leites some credit for the result but he's lack of engagement was also less than stellar. I guess this performance by Silva ends the debate and confirms GSP emergence as the real pound for pound king of MMA.

Here are the results:

Main Card
Middleweight Championship Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites - Silva by Dec
Light Heavyweight Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio Rua - Rua by TKO (round 1)
Light Heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski vs Brian Stann - Soszynski by Sub (round 1)
Heavyweight Cheick Kongo vs Antoni Hardonk - Kongo by TKO (round 2)
Light Heavyweight Steve Cantwell vs Luiz Cane - Cane by Dec

Preliminary Card
Light Heavyweight Eliot Marshall vs Vininius Magalhaes - Marshall by Dec
Middleweight Denis Kang vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam - Kang by Dec
Middleweight Jason MacDonald vs Nate Quarry - Quarry by TKO (round 1)
Middleweight David Loiseau vs Ed Herman - Herman by Dec
Lightweight Mark Bocek vs David Bielkheden - Bocek by Sub (round 1)
Welterweight Ryo Chonan vs TJ Grant - Grant by S-Dec
Lightweight Sam Stout vs Matt Wiman - Stout by Dec

Not having seen the Silva fight nor his previous fight against Cote, I can't really judge him for "lackluster" fights. Lousy fights do suck as do lopsided basketball games, boring tennis matches, etc. I thought the criticism leveled against Silva in the Cote fight was unwarranted. It's his job to WIN fights, not make them entertaining. Entertaining victories are what everyone wants but I don't think Silva has anything to apologize for. From what I've read so far, GSP comes out smelling like a rose and now they are referring to him as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.