Machida vs. Evans

I was pumped that Lyoto was going to get his shitle tot against Rashad Evans. I still couldn't believe Evans took the belt from Griffin a few months ago. I was SO happy with how things went down on Saturday night.

The glimpses into the locker rooms before the main event were telling: Evans with his headphones on, jumping around constantly, while Machida sat relaxed, yet focused, finally warming up (stretching a little) right before the fight. I don't know how many times Lyoto got hit, but it wasn't much. He folded Rashad like a dishrag in round 2. I was thrilled that traditional martial arts were so well represented, and that such a humble, respectful fighter won. We've been hearing about the weaknesses of TMAs since oh, around 1993. Hopefully the Dragon's victory proved that it's more about the fighter than the art, and that the arts that have been around for a century or more still have something of value to offer us.

Bonus Video - The Dragon

Since I was late posting this week's Friday Night Video, here's a bonus: After I saw him for the first time on last week's UFC, Lyoto Machida is one of my favorite fighters. Check out this highlight video. He actually pulls off a gedanate at 01:19 or so.

Thoughts on UFC 92

I had a group of my buddies over Saturday night to watch UFC 92. It was a great time! Some random thoughts about the fights:

I've only been following UFC for a few months now...the first fight I saw was Quinten Jackson vs. Dan Henderson. Jackson's cocky comments after he beat Henderson made me kind of not like him. However, he did gain some points with me after this weekend. His reaction to Wanderlei Silva's schoolyard shove during the weigh-in spoke of a maturity the Axe Murderer apparently left at home. Rampage just smiled and laughed at Silva...that was great. In the cage on Saturday, 'Page was all business, and laid Silva out twitching. By the way, could there be a more melodramatic nickname than "Axe Murderer"? Give me a break.

I was, on one hand, disappointed in Forrest Griffin's defeat, but on the other hand, I just like the guy more and more. As Joe Rogan said, Griffin is always gracious in both victory and defeat. I like Forrest because he just doesn't seem to have as much ego riding on his fights as a lot of the other guys do. It just is what it is with him. If he loses, he learns, he gets back to training. He's probably now tied for my favorite fighter with Anderson Silva, because he has so much class. Rashad Evans earned his win over Griffin, but his cockiness in the ring (the laugh and "kiss" move after an exchange of blows) made me dislike him a little. After the fight though, he was respectful of Griffin, so I guess I can live with his win.

Frank Mir has got to be crazy calling out Lesner like he did after defeating Minotauro. I mean, I wish him the best, but I don't like his chances against Brock. I can't wait to see that fight. I hope he does take the belt from Lesner, but only because I'm not a huge Lesner fan. I'm not big on Mir, and was surprised he won Saturday.

I'm SO excited for January 31 - Penn vs. St. Pierre. That's gonna be great!