Rashad uses wrestling to settle the score

Rashad Evans defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on Saturday night at UFC 114 earning himself a coveted shot at newly crowned champion Shogun Rua. Although the fight didn't come close to living up to the hype surrounding it, Sugar Rashad put on a spectacular performance in which he utilized a brilliant game-plan aimed to stifle the knockout power of Rampage. Evans, who vowed to knock out Jackson during the extended period of pre-fight trash talk, returned to his wrestling roots, pressing Jackson against the fence and even taking him to the mat on occasion. Evans also used his superior footwork and quickness to make Jackson miss with most of his power punches. The former champion was only in trouble briefly during the third round when a uppercut staggered him to his knees and Jackson pounced looking for the finish. Yet, Evans was able to quickly reverse the position and proceeded to dump Rampage on his head once again. Humble in defeat, Jackson gave credit to Rashad for fighting a smart, tactical fight. Although he was disappointed in his performance, Jackson vowed to be back in the octagon as soon as possible.

UFC 114 Preview

Rampage/Evans winner will get title shot

It has been announced that the winner of the highly anticipated matchup between bitter rivals Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans will get the first title shot against new champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. It has been speculated that Randy Couture was in the discussion for the next title shot but these rumors have been put to rest. Many insiders also believed that perhaps Anderson Silva would move up to challenge for the light heavyweight title. However, these thoughts were squashed after Silva's bizarre performance against Demian Maia at UFC 112. Silva must first face gritty wrestler Chael Sonnen. If he defeats Sonnen, Vitor Belfort is set to get the next crack at the belt. Jackson and Evans have a long, tumultuous relationship since coaching against each other on the Ultimate Fighter reality show. They simply hate each other. Rampage was annoyed by Evans constant yapping during the show, made worst by the fact that Evan's team won EVERY fight. It was apparent almost immediately that Evans was a much better coach then Rampage, and Evans took every opportunity to remind anyone who would listen. Skill-wise it is an intriguing fight. I would certainly give the advantage to Jackson in almost every area except wrestling. But this is MMA. Anything can happen. Regardless of the outcome, Shogun will be a tough match-up for either man.

Shogun slays the Dragon

Shogun Rua claimed the light heavyweight title on Saturday night with a stirring first round knockout of Lyoto Machida. Although many people believed that Rua clearly won the first fight, Rua remained respectful and rather then dwelling on the past, used his long layoff to devise a ingenious gameplan meant to exploit tiny wrinkle in Machida's game. Shogun and his coaches noted that when Machida attempted to block Rua's kicks he lowered his guard slightly. In order to exploit Machida's incorrect hand positioning, Rua practiced countering with overhand rights, " In my first fight against Machida, I tried to exploit kicks a lot ", Rua exclaimed. "I noticed that every time he would try to attack by timing my kicks, he was attacking without his guard in the proper place. He attacked with his face exposed...this time I worked a lot not only on kicks, but also on a high overhand right punch to surprise him as he was trying to move in from my kicks...". Rua dropped Lyoto with a perfectly timed overhand right behind the ear and finished the dazed champion with vicious strikes from the mount. Referee Yves Lavigne was forced to end the fight at 3:35 of the first round.

With his stunning knockout victory, Rua has done what no man before him was able to accomplish. He found a weakness in Machida's game and exploited it. As predicted, Rua was much more aggressive then in the first fight. He knew that in order to beat a smart elusive foe like Machida calculated risks had to be taken. Machida prepared himself for a five round war, he was most likely training to endure sustained punishment rather then defend against explosive attacks. Shogun wasn't content to let the judges decide his fate. He proved that with the proper gamplan, patience, resilience, and hard work any dream can be accomplished no matter how long the odds. Congratulations to Shogun for a superb performance. He is once again the top 205lb fighter on the planet.

Koscheck dominates Daley

Josh Koscheck earned a title shot against champion George St. Pierre with a dominate victory over Brit Paul Daley. Using his wrestling to dictate the action, Koscheck avoided Daley's dangerous striking with quick powerful takedowns. It was apparent that Daley spent significant time fighting off of his back during training camp, yet he was unable to threaten Koscheck from any position. After the final bell sounded, a frustrated Daley lashed out at Koscheck hitting him with a sucker punch before the referee could intervene. Ironically, the sucker punch was the only significant blow Semtex landed all night. Despite his impressive performance, Koscheck was booed heavily the entire fight, and did nothing to improve his image by claiming that the Pittsburgh Penguins would easily beat the beloved Montreal Canadians in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yes, Koscheck is certainly an a hole. But he can fight. Bottom line.

In other action, former NFL defensive lineman Matt Mitrione brutalized crowd favorite Kimbo Slice with chopping leg kicks and crisp punches to win by second round T/ko. Also, Marcus Davis bounced backed from back to back losses with a second round knockout of hometown hero Jonathan Goulet.

Semtex highlights

Here is a great video of some Paul Daley highlights:

Semtex plans to explode on Koscheck

Semtex is described as a plastic explosive,"...especially suited for explosive demolition..." a powerful force that tends to be, "...significantly more explosive than other materials that perform just as well in that field...". Two ufc wins, two knockouts. British welterweight slugger Paul "Semtex" Daley has certainly lived up to his nickname and plans to demolish bitter rival Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 in Montreal, Canada. Much like his teammate and best friend Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy, Daley is a brash, charismatic trash talker who relishes the role of villain. He also shares Hardy's willingness to engage in full fledged psychological warfare with opponents. Against Marcus Davis, Hardy's relentless mockery and stinging insults served as an invaluable weapon prompting Davis to fight with his emotions instead of his brain. As a result, Davis abandoned his game-plan, fought an angry fight, and suffered a painful loss, a loss that Davis has yet to recovered from. Daley's constant references to Koscheck as "The Fraggle" (I'm not sure what that means) and blatant disgust for his "mini fro" while hilarious and probably justified, is both an ingenious strategy and a way to draw attention . Koscheck isn't well liked by MMA fans mostly due to his cockiness, irritatingly loud personality and superiority complex. By putting a voice to the general public's' hatred of Koscheck, Daley has attracted a legion of new fans while introducing his dynamic fighting style to MMA masses.

Nonetheless, when the cage doors close the talking stops. Semtex will definitely have his hands full against Koscheck. No one can deny that Josh Koscheck has come a long way since his stint as a pure wrestler on the Utimate Fighter reality show. He is no longer "just a wrestler" but a truly elite mixed martial artists with a vast arsenal of deadly weapons at his disposal. Not only does Kos have world class division 1 All-American wrestling, but he has vicious knockout power in both fists. On top of improved striking skills, Koscheck has ridiculous endurance and freakish natural athletic ability rivaled by few in the UFC. Koscheck's last two fights have showcased his well rounded abilities as he smashed crafty veteran Frank Trigg and submitted explosive contender Anthony "Rumble" Johnson. Johnson is also a freakishly athletic fighter, who as a welterweight is a absolutely massive physical presence walking around at about 220 pounds.

Perhaps Koscheck's biggest weakness is his ego. Against Paulo Thiago, Koscheck showed no respect for the Brazilian's power and suffered a shocking knockout. Daley's trash talk might prompt Koscheck to stand and trade. That would be a horrible mistake. He doesn't consider Daley a "real" mixed martial artists and refuses to believe the hype surrounding the Brit. If Koscheck got knocked out by Paulo Thiago, he will certainly get knocked out by Daley. Semtex has one punch knockout power and isn't afraid to use it.

Coming soon...preview of UFC 113