In addition to my feature on Chuck Liddell’s win over Wanderlei Silva during UFC 79, I also wanted to provide my full breakdown of the card.

1. Mark Bocek defeats Doug Evans via unanimous decision

I arrived at the show a few minutes late and didn’t see Bocek vs. Evans in its entirety. What I did see, I was not impressed with.

All three judges scored it 29-28.

2. Roan Carneiro defeats Tony DeSouza via TKO (referee’s stoppage) at 3:32 of round 2

The match started off pretty slow but Carneiro’s MMA skills were just too much for DeSouza. The fight ended when the referee stepped in after Carneiro was on the ground with DeSouza and reigning down unanswered blows to the back of his head.

After the fight, Carneiro got on the mic and pleaded for the UFC to give him more fights. With this win and a solid showing in a losing effort to Jon Fitch, I think he’ll get it. It’s a shame that Carneiro and Thiago Alves are both affiliated with American Top Team because that would be one hell of a match.

3. Dean Lister defeats Jordan Radev via unanimous decision.

This was really one-sided and it showed in the scoring of the judges, as Lister won 30-27 on all three scorecards.

While Lister didn’t look like a prolific striker in this bout, he did look more comfortable throwing kicks and punches out of his stance than I’ve ever seen him.

You would have thought that Radev would have attempted some takedowns but he didn’t. He might be an Olympic-caliber wrestler, but he wanted no part of Lister’s guard. Lister missed a few takedowns and tripped a few times and ended up on his back. Aside from one exchange where Radev threw some kicks to Lister’s thighs, he made no attempt to go after Lister when he was on his back and allowed him to get up.

I think even Lister was a little surprised too, as he did not commit to his kicks of punches early. After he realized that Radev didn’t want to go to the ground and risked getting submitted, he turned up the heat a little bit.

I’m really unsure why Radev competes at 185 pounds. He’s not tall enough for the division. It seems like he'd be a better fit at welterweight. As a wrestler, he should be able to handle the cut. However, after this performance, I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see him fight in the UFC again, but who knows for sure?

4. Manny Gamburyan defeats Nate Mohr via submission (ankle lock) at 1:31 of round 1

Not much to analyze here because it ended so quickly. I did notice that Gamburyan attacked Mohr’s legs as opposed to trying to go for body locks like he normally does. Perhaps he was respecting Mohr’s punching power and didn’t want to give him a chance to dirty box by locking his arms around Mohr’s waist and having Mohr throw punches over top?

Part of me wishes Gamburyan would drop to 145 lbs. and go to the WEC because he’d be a beast there. But if he keeps winning at 155 lbs. then there’s no reason for him to drop down. Maybe he’ll never hold the lightweight title in the UFC, but because of his tenacious style, he’s a bad matchup for a lot of lightweights and is going to cause a lot of upsets against some major names.

5. James Irvin defeats Luiz Cane via first-round disqualification (illegal knee)

This fight ended early and it was a damn shame too because it started out great.

Cane had Irvin down against the cage and it appeared that Irvin picked one knee up with the other knee still grounded. At that point, Cane threw a vicious knee right to the center of Irvin’s face and Irvin collapsed like a ton of bricks.

Steve Mazzagatti deducted a point from Cane and started to give Irvin his five minutes. But he was laying crumpled up against the cage and nobody came to his immediate aid. Finally, Irvin tried to get up but stumbled back down and the ringside physician entered to take a look at him.

Irvin finally got to his feet but was really out of it. It seemed like he was being very verbal in wanting to continue and I could be wrong, but it looked like the doctor was considering letting him continue. However, and I could be wrong again, Mazzagatti saw Irvin stumble again and put a stop to the fight.

Irvin walked back to the locking room with assistance and got a large ovation. I don’t know why, but at one point Cane strutted around the Octagon and looked at the crowd and held his hand up while being booed. I don’t know if that was him trying to acknowledge that he screwed up or if he was trying to posture as if he was the real winner.

I was disappointed that Cane wasn’t interviewed by Rogan after the fight because I would have liked to have heard why he was holding him own arm up as if he had just won?

I feel bad for Irvin because it’s been a tough year for him after injured his knee earlier in the year and then having a fight stopped early after receiving an illegal knee.

6. Rich Clementi defeats Melvin Guillard via first round submission

Did Clementi take things a step too far when he stood over a defeated Guillard? Yes. However, Clementi is a class act and for him to go to that level, Guillard really went out of his way to disrespect the guy. It’s not like he left a choke in too long. This was a grudge match and he wanted to add an exclamation point to the fact that he won and Guillard lost.

Guillard’s antics after his loss to Clementi were comical. Is he dense or something? He had his chance to fight Clementi, and once again he came up small. What, was he saving his best skills for a street-style brawl? The time to leave everything on the table is during the fight, Melvin.

Personally, I don’t see why people are fascinated with the guy. Is he a great athlete? Absolutely. But he really has no place in the UFC’s rebuilt 155 lbs. division. He’s really better suited for smaller shows and at the very least has no business being promoted in televised bouts. He got choked vs. Joe Stevenson in a UFC Fight Night main event and got flattened and choked by Clementi in the opening match of one of the UFC’s biggest PPVs of the year.

I think Clementi’s waving goodbye after the match should be symbolic of Guillard’s career in the UFC.

7. Lyoto Machida defeats Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via submission (arm triangle) at 4:20 of round 1

I’ve already read a few Sokoudjou and Houston Alexander comparisons and I must say, I think they are a complete joke.

First, Alexander lost to a strong light heavyweight prospect in Thiago Silva while Sokoudjou lost to a legit top ten light heavyweight in Machida. That’s a big difference in caliber of opposition.

Second, Alexander failed to display even the most basic of fundamentals in ground defense. Hey, I’m a Houston fan but I’ve got to call it like I see it. Sokoudjou was at least able to execute some basic defensive tactics when Machida had top position the first time. He was able to lock his body at first in order to prevent Machida from having a lot of space to reign down blows. Sokoudjou even executed some wrist control. He was able to use full guard and half guard. When they were on the ground the first time, Machida did very little damage to Sokoudjou.

Now, when they were on the ground the second time, it was a different story. But Machida is a black belt so I’m not buying this nonsense that Sokoudjou has been “exposed.” The guy is legit. He trains with Team Quest and works hard on his ground game.

You may not have seen it last night, but Sokoudjou does indeed have a ground game. I’ve seen training footage of him rolling with Dan Henderson and while Henderson got the best of him, Sokoudjou pulled off several sweeps and a few transitions. He overpowered Henderson a few times and Henderson had to rely on technique.

Speaking of technique, give Machida some damn credit! Sokoudjou is legit, he’s just not on Machida’s level (not yet). When people say Sokoudjou is a fraud they are really taking away from Machida’s ability.

I won’t say I have new found respect for Machida because I’ve always respected him even though I’ve felt he was a boring fighter. But now I see him in a completely different light. He’s not just good, he’s great. I mean, I think he’s not just a top ten light heavyweight, we’re talking top five at this point.

I really didn’t expect him to be a threat to finish Sokoudjou, but he did. I was really surprised when he rocked him. I’ve always considered Machida more of a middleweight and not someone who has a lot of power. But he rocked Sokoudjou and Adam Morgan reminded me that he once floored Rich Franklin.

I didn’t really have a full appreciation of just how good Machida was until last night. I know I will take heat for this, but I really think he’s the number two light heavyweight in the world right now behind Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. I’m also not totally convinced that if the two fought tomorrow that Jackson would beat him.

While the latter statement may sound crazy to some, it shouldn’t. You need to really think about it. Jackson would be favored, no doubt. But are you completely convinced that if the two fought that Jackson would defeat Machida? I’m not asking whether you’re relatively sure, I’m asking if you’re completely convinced.

For those of you already writing Sokoudjou off, you really need to get a clue. He’s freakishly strong, has legit credentials with his Judo background, is a very heavy-handed striker, a tireless worker, and comes from a great camp. He needs to refine his technique on the ground but he’s only 23 and is getting world class training so he’s only going to get better.

8. Eddie Sanchez defeats Soa Palelei via TKO (strikes) at 3:24 of round 3

Wow, what an underwhelming debut from Palelei. I had heard so many good things about this guy too. Maybe this was not the appropriate venue for him to make his UFC debut? Perhaps he would have been bettered served fighting in a non-televised match on a smaller UFC show?

9. Chuck Liddell defeats Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision

The Wanderlei Silva I saw last night was a lot more controlled and measured then the crazy savage I saw at times while in PRIDE. I think he showed a lot of respect for Liddell’s punching power and knew better to walk into a big overhand right. The reach was just a killer because when Wanderlei wanted to close the distance to throw a shot at Liddell, he had to be resigned to the fact that he was going to have to eat a shot in order to do so.

The one question I have that I haven’t been able to get an answer to is why Wanderlei didn’t pounce on Chuck when he knocked him down in the second round? I mean, how many times have we’ve seen Wanderlei just go ape shit and go for the kill when he smelled blood? Was he surprised Chuck went down? Did he expect the ref to call the fight at that point? Can someone explain why Wanderlei didn’t go in for the kill?

The takedowns from Chuck surprised me a little because I haven’t seen them from him in a long time, most likely because he hasn’t needed them in awhile. And maybe he’s thrown a back fist before, but I have no recollection of him ever throwing one.

I don’t want to take anything away from his performance, but I’m not ready to say Liddell is “back” after this win. He displayed a limited playbook but stuck to it and fought a smart fight. Liddell had the reach advantage and matched up much better with Silva than I expected. Stylistically, things worked out for Liddell here but does that suddenly make a possible third match with Rampage more favorable?

As for Wanderlei, hardcore fans have seen him lose three times but they have to respect him after his performance. For casual fans, this was their first time seeing Silva in action and they have to have come away with his heart. In other words, I don’t think this loss kills Silva. While the crowd at the weigh-ins was pro Silva, the crowd at the actual show was overwhelmingly behind Liddell (although Silva had his supporters). After it was over, Silva got a lot of applause from a lot of the people who were chanting “Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!” just two minutes into the match.

If I was the UFC, I’d book Silva’s next match against Tito Ortiz. Liddell was able to eat Wanderlei’s shots but we all know Tito dislikes getting hit in the face. Yes, Ortiz won the first matchup between the two in ’99 but I think the outcome would be different this time around.

10. Georges St. Pierre defeats Matt Hughes via submission (armbar) at 4:54 of round 2

St. Pierre was absolutely sick last night. He was relentless in his attack and precise in everything that he threw at Hughes. Hughes had absolutely no time to react or think in there. Despite a shorter training camp, GSP was more dominant over Hughes last night than he was in the second encounter. I mean, Hughes had no answers for him last night.

The UFC’s welterweight division might be the deepest division in all of MMA yet there isn’t a fighter in it that can touch Georges St. Pierre. I’ve been critical of St. Pierre in the past but I’ve only questioned his mental approach. NEVER have I questioned his fighting ability. As of today, the only man in the world at 170 lbs. that can defeat Georges St. Pierre is St. Pierre himself. When he defeated Hughes the first time I felt he was set up for a long title reign. And while he rejected the interim title, I once again feel it’s going to be a long time before we see him lose again.

I have no idea where Hughes goes from here and he likely doesn’t either. Hughes finds himself in almost the exact same position Rich Franklin currently finds himself in. Hughes was right to take the wait and see approach when asked by Joe what he plans to do next. Does he need to retire? No. Hughes is by no means a shot fighter and he still has to be considered the number two welterweight in the world until someone other than GSP beats him.

But should he retire? Perhaps. It’s not my place to tell a fighter when he should retire but Hughes is the one who says he doesn’t fight for the money and only has a few fights left in him. Who are those few fights going to be against? Hey, I’d pay money to see Hughes vs. Jon Fitch or Hughes vs. Karo Parisyan. But while those matches interest me and possibly other, do they interest Hughes? After all, he’s the one who has to train for them.

His best bet would be to take some time off and see what happens if GSP vs. Serra II happens in Montreal in April. If by some change Serra pulls off another miracle, maybe Hughes can step in for Serra’s next bout. And in the likelihood that Serra will lose, perhaps the UFC could still promote a Hughes vs. Serra match with the “Bad Blood” moniker behind it.

By the way, I will be changing my pound-for-pound rankings soon and when I do, GSP will be number one.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com

It was a fight billed as six years in the making but the wait for it felt like a lifetime. After being teased with the prospect of a dream match between Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell so many times only to see it unravel at the seams, I, like many others, began to wonder if it would ever really happened.

And once it was finally signed and sealed, I began to have questions about the delivery. Could a fight that had been built up so big in the minds of diehard fans come anywhere close to matching the hype?

Well, last night in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay the MMA world received its answer and unless you have terrible taste in fights, the answer was a resounding yes.

I made a promise to myself a long time ago that if Liddell vs. Silva ever happened that I would do whatever it took to make sure I was there to see it in person. I had been a fan of both fighters for years. In the States, Liddell was considered the be all end all when it came to light heavyweights. But to more worldly MMA fans, Silva was Liddell’s equal and in the minds of some, his superior.

I never got caught up in the petty PRIDE vs. UFC nonsense. Over the last year I’ve been accused of being a PRIDE “nut hugger” by some while also biased towards the UFC by others. I think I’ve been subjected to that contradiction of opinion because even though I’ve followed the sport a long time, I’ve only covered it as a journalist for slightly over a year. People are new to my writing and my opinions so they read one thing and they make a grand assumption.

I never bothered weighed-in on the PRIDE vs. UFC debate because as a fight fan, I enjoyed both. To me, they were equal yet very different. And I enjoyed the differences. I saw no need to pick a side. I’m a fight fan and I’ll support good fights regardless of what initials are associated with it.

The PRIDE vs. UFC debate extended to a debate as to whether Liddell or Silva was the more dominant fighter at 205 pounds. I never got caught up in that debate either because I enjoyed both fighters. I also didn’t understand why fans were left to make a judgment. This is a sport, let the fighters compete against each other and let’s see who really is the best.

But business politics and also unforeseen circumstances (i.e. Quinton Jackson taking out Liddell in the second round of the PRIDE Grand Prix) deprived fans of receiving a conclusive answer. That was, until last night.

Granted, Silva and Liddell no longer reign supreme at the top of the PRIDE and UFC light heavyweight divisions, but if you asked anyone in the sold out crowd last night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, I think they couldn’t have cared less. The anticipation for the match from the weigh-ins all the way through the pre-fight announcements carried an energy that made it easy to forget that each fighter was coming off two consecutive losses. The energy in the building made it easy for your mind to go to a place two years ago when Liddell and Silva seemed immortal.

But the question remained; could the fight live up to the six-year buildup? For me, the fight proved to be more than I could imagine. Truth be told, I didn’t expect the fight to make it out of the first round. Not with the way these two fight. I had seen each fighter demolish too many opponents over the years and had trouble comprehending these two being able to go the distance.

This was Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin I, except with two icons. Watching the match made me slightly angry though. If only this had happened two years ago. How much more could last night’s performance done for the sport if Liddell and Silva had met at the apex of their careers? Sadly, we’ll never get an answer to that question, but who really cares? We’re fight fans, not Wall Street analysts. While I find the business aspect of the sport interesting, if that’s your primary interest in MMA then you’re not really a fight fan.

Furthermore, the performances turned in by both Liddell and Silva last night were not indicative of two guys supposedly past their peak. From my vantage point, they looked like they were on the top of their games. They stood toe-to-toe and gave one another everything they had and took everything the other man gave them. It was an epic performance and something I wonder if we’ll ever get to see again in our lifetime?

Perhaps I’m overselling the whole experience. But that’s the difference between watching a fight live and watching it on television. On television, you get better angles and can really get a better feel for what’s truly going on in a fight. But there’s no way to replicate the live atmosphere of a mega event. Standing there last night in the events center, I felt like I was at the epicenter of the world.

In the end, Liddell was the unquestioned winner. During the weigh-ins, I read his body language as being less confident as he had been in his previous fights. Who knows if I’m right? I’m not in the guy’s head. I’m simply making observations that may or may not be valid. But many in the MMA world had built up Liddell to be invincible and for a long time, it seemed as though he believed it. By getting caught vs. Rampage for a second time and then losing a decision to Jardine, perhaps staring in the face of a man many perceived to be his equal left some questions in his mind.

Regardless, once the fight started and Liddell found his range early and realized his reach advantage, he seemed a lot more confident. His eyes almost lit up and as he realized that he could play the role of predator while Silva was left to play the role of the prey.

For Silva, it was an inspiring performance even in a losing effort. After brutal knockouts against Mirko Cro Cop and Dan Henderson, many of us were left with questions about his chin. How could a guy have his lights turned out so quickly against Henderson yet absorb Liddell’s myriad jackhammer blows? There’s no way to know for sure but perhaps the will to win took Silva to a new level of consciousness.

Liddell threw everything he had at Silva and while often dazed and at times looking confused, Silva maintained. Liddell’s unexpected takedowns almost appeared as if they came out of frustration; as if he was saying “What the fuck do I have to do to put this guy away?”

But the unsung hero of this fight had to be Herb Dean, a referee who has earned a reputation for early stoppages. To be honest, I kind of cringed when I saw that he was going to be the official. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Dean’s style. Fighter safety should be the number one priority in this sport. However, and I realize it sounds inhumane, there was a part of me that didn’t care about safety last night. I had waited too long for this fight. I wanted to see a conclusive winner with no air of controversy surrounding the outcome.

Dean did an amazing job in understanding the magnitude of this match. He gave both men a tremendous amount of leeway. Both Silva and Liddell helped Dean’s cause though by trying to fight their way out of trouble whenever they were in peril. But without Dean giving each man the proper respect they deserved in having the opportunity to fight through adversity, the fight could have ended very, very early.

You’ve heard it time and time again to the point where it’s now cliché, which is that styles make fights. Many have said that the styles of Liddell and Silva were tailored made for each other and never has a more accurate statement in MMA been coined. As I stated earlier, I’m not sure how soon we’ll get to see again what we saw last night. At the very least, we know we at least got to see it once in our lifetime.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com