Evans Wins Boring Decision Over Rampage

I thought this fight would lack lustre and it did. Evans won a boring decision over Rampage in a fight that had only a few shining moments. Rampage looked like he needed a warm up fight and that the layoff impacted him. Rashad looked good and used his takedowns wisely. Probably need a rematch to make this one certain. I just felt like Rampage had his number and could have pushed the pace to take Rashad out at any time but just couldn't for some reason. Anyways, who knows what to expect now. We could have a rematch or Rashad might get Shogun (probably a mistake in my opinion). I think they should give someone else a shot at Shogun right now (maybe little Nog?) and let Rampage and Evans clear any doubt lingering from this fight.

Rampage and Rashad Finally at UFC 114

UFC 114 is being hyped entirely off of what many think will be a hugely popular fight in Rampage Jackson against Rashad Evans. It's not that big for me because both guys have suffered tough losses recently (Rashad to Lyoto Machida and Rampage to Forrest Griffin). Machida was destroyed by Shogun Rua and Forrest Griffin was destroyed (x2) by Anderson Silva. I'm not really sure where that leaves these two but I don't think I want to see them fight for a title soon. There's not much else on this card that is of any interest but quite frankly what business man would bother spending any money on the rest of this card. Rashad and Rampage will carry it. Enjoy!

Amir Khan Dominates Paulie Malignaggi for 11th Round Stoppage

Amir Khan had the most dominant victory of his career against a top 5 ranked junior welterweight in Paulie Malignaggi. Khan systematically dominated Malignaggi in one of the most incredible displays of technical boxing skills this year. Khan's victory shows that he has grown significantly since his only loss to Breidis Prescott. This is a new Khan. Anyone fighting around junior welterweight will need to be weary of Khan. Although Malignaggi didn't have the tools to test Khan's chin, he really didn't have many opportunities to break through even if he had the power. Khan is a different fighter now and his chin may no longer be a major concern. His boxing skills may be good enough to shut out anyone in his division. He is a far superior boxer than Marcos Maidana who is technically not in Khan's league. However, Maidana has power and could be the guy to test Khan's chin. Malignaggi is considered one of the best boxers in the sport today but was thoroughly outclassed by Khan. Timothy Bradley versus Khan seems to be the most interesting fight in the division but I would like to see Bradley take out Maidana first. Assuming Maidana isn't scared to fight Bradley and genuinely injured then that fight could happen once Maidana's back is better. Nonetheless, there are a lot of possibilities in the most competitive weight division in boxing.

Overeem Dominates Brett Rogers

Brett Rogers seemed tentative and unwilling to exchange with Alistair Overeem who eventually took Rogers down and ground and pounded him into submission. In what was a very dominant performance Overeem defeated Rogers in much more efficient fashion than Fedor Emelianenko had. The victory clearly sets up a super fight between Overeem and Emelianenko assuming Strikeforce and M1 global can make it happen. Emelianenko needs a fight against a top heavyweight and Overeem is the best out there. The fight between quite possibly the two best heavyweights in the world would certainly be the largest for Strikeforce Lets hope it happens later this year.

In other action, Andrei Arlovski lost to Antonio Silva who looked great in the fight. For Arlovski, it was his third loss in a row but this fight was much closer than his other losses. He may end up getting a rematch with Brett Rogers next.

White Kicks Daley out of UFC for Life

In another confusing and perplexing move, UFC president Dana White has decided to kick Paul Daley out of the UFC for life. After doing nothing to Brock Lesnar and signing Gilbert Yvel, this seems like a rushed moronic decision. Don't get me wrong, Paul Daley was the ultimate moron for what he did and there absolutely no place in the sport for that kind of thing. However, given that Brock Lesnar got nothing for a similar outbreak (albeit less so because he didn't throw a punch just a lot of bad gestures) and Gilbert Yvel was recently signed despite having a history of several displays of poor judgement this decision just baffles me. White is a genius having brought the UFC to where it is but it seems like he is bending to everyone around him now and changing fundamentally what his organization represented. The UFC was the anti-mainstream organization that every fight fan loved. Now it's becoming the ultimate mainstream organization. I understand that money dictates and it's time to change tunes and become mainstream but at least be consistent. The Daley move was way over the top. Not even another mainstream organization has issued a lifetime ban despite having experienced incidents that were far worse. Anybody remember Todd Bertuzzi? Well, he's playing in the NHL playoffs right now. I mean this seems a bit insane to me to suspend someone for life despite the terrible nature of this act.

Machida Pummeled by Shogun in Rematch

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua knocked out Lyoto Machida in the first round with some great striking. Machida looked similarly over matched as he did in the original horrendous blown judges decision. The only difference was that this time Shogun was far more aggressive and eventually knocked out Machida. You have to wonder if Gegard Mousasi and King Mohammad Lawal were watching. I'd give either of those two a decent shot against Shogun. However, it looks like Quentin Jackson or Rashad Evans will get the next shot. In other action, Josh Kosheck defeated Paul Daley and will fight GSP in what is another waste of time fight since GSP has already defeated him. It would be nice to see GSP fight someone else but other than Anderson Silva or Jake Shields (and maybe Nick Diaz) there are no other interesting fights. Silva needs to handle business at middleweight while Shields and Diaz are still in Strikeforce.

Overall, the Machida vs Rua fight was a lot more interesting then I expected and the quick knockout was a big surprise given the close fight the first time. In the end, Shogun always seemed to be a little bit better and when he pushed the pace the fight was over.

Kimbo Slice Struggles Against Matt Mittrione

With his biggest opportunity to take a step up in the UFC heavyweight division Kimbo Slice was unable to take out Matt Mittrione. He showed great courage and heart in surviving two submission attempts and a furious ground and pound. He also displayed some huge power bombs against a guy much bigger than him that got the crowd excited. However, he didn't have the technical ability to defeat Matt Mittrione who eventually got the referee stoppage in the fight. It's a real shame since Kimbo was training with the best team out there at AKA and is phenomenally popular. He's the most popular MMA fighter in the world but lacks the technical grounding in the sport to be a top tier guy. If he had started earlier in his career I think he would have been a real contender at 205. It's too late now for him to cut to that weight so he sticks to being a lighter heavyweight.

UFC 113 Could be Major Snooze-fest

After the Anderson Silva and BJ Penn debacle at the last UFC event, I'm very concerned that the Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua fight will be another snooze-fest blown call of a fight. We already know UFC judges probably don't have to pass grade 2 to get their jobs but to make matters worse this fight is as lackluster as it gets. The fight just doesn't get me excited strangely enough. However, I do expect more fireworks than the first yawn fest. The more interesting fight will be Kimbo Slice taking on a decent heavyweight in Matt Mittrione. How the smaller Kimbo handles the true heavyweight Mittrione will be interesting to see. The card also has some other boring welterweight fight that somehow is now to determine the number one contender to GSP. Here's hoping Jake Shields joins the UFC just to give GSP a reason to get up in the morning, however, that seems unlikely given the recent news about GSP's number one contender.

Talks Turn to a Mayweather and Pacquiao Mega Fight

It was totally expected but after now that Floyd Mayweather has beaten Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao beat Joshua Clottey talk of a super fight is back on. Floyd and Manny will have to (gulp) start negotiations again once Pacquiao is done dabbling in politics back in his homeland of the Philippines. Issues? Drug testing of course. Money split? For sure after Mayweather gets a huge pay per view with for his last fight despite having far greater opportunities for promotion. Both are huge draws so I would consider that issue a wash unless Mayweather becomes stubborn about it. I expect Pacquiao to back off and find common ground on the drug testing issue. If those issues can be resolved we should be clear. Hopefully, Mayweather doesn't invent a new issue for us to worry about and we can finally see one of the biggest fights ever.

Floyd Wins Convincingly by Unanimous Decision

Floyd Mayweather handled Shane Mosley easily after round 2 in their fight last night and won by decision. Shane rocked Floyd in the first couple of rounds and thought he might be able to knock him out. Floyd recovered and went on to shut out Mosley. Mayweather couldn't finish him but didn't seem to be trying too hard given his strong defensive focus. This likely spells the end of the line for Mosley and once again sets up talk of a mega showdown between Mayweather and pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao is a supreme closer who finishes opponents efficiently while Mayweather is a defensive standout who wins decisions with his great defense. Drug testing is still at the heart of the issue in making that fight as Floyd wants Olympic style testing whereas Pacquiao wants to stick with mandated rules but will follow any rules the commission sets out.

Mayweather has recently made claims of being the best fighter ever but is only the second best fighter of his generation (Pacquaio being the undisputed king). The evidence of Pacquiao's greatness has been delivered by Mayweather himself who has hinted Pacquiao might be using PEDs to achieve his phenomenal results. Pacquaio, of course, has never tested positive for anything in his life or had any evidence of drug use whatsoever.

Regardless of the childish talk, this fight will be huge and both fighters have been clean and will be for the fight so we can all sit back and enjoy it when it happens.

Floyd Mayweather Finally takes Opportunity to Extend Legacy at Welterweight

Floyd Mayweather was forced to accept the challenge from Shane Mosley after backing out of the Manny Pacquiao fight due to a failed attempt to modify drug testing rules. That will give him his first real test at welterweight. Oscar De La Hoya included (he actually fought Oscar at 154), Floyd is the best welterweight Mayweather has ever fought. The fight should be competitive if Shane brings his best tonight. I expect Mayweather to win because of Shane's speed and skill limitations when compared to the better Mayweather. Shane's power will only be a factor if he can land which will be very difficult against Floyd. This is definitely an interesting fight that has made people forget about the Pacquiao fiasco at least for the time being. Expect a huge pay per view given the significant amounts of interest in this fight and given that there are two well known Americans in the ring. Boxing at the top levels is untouchable right now and the very top is Manny and Floyd.