Results  from tonights UFC 82 Pride of a Champion and our comments.

All in all this was a great UFC night with most of the under card fights as good as the main event.

Anderson Silva def Dan Henderson - submission - round 2
This was a great main event and one thing is clear… Silva is a bad bad man! I thought he would win and pretty much expected that the whole fight would go like the first round with a lot of back and forth. Anderson showed he has very good striking (nothing new there) but I found myself surprised at how effective Henderson was at the stand up in the first and I thought he started using the smart game plan in the end of the first by out wrestling Silva and grinding out punishment on the mat. The second round was all Anderson! It looked like Dan was outclassed at every turn  with knees, hand and kicks. Once again Silva worked his opponent to the ground and then in the final seconds of the round locked a body lock from Dans back and sunk in the rear naked choke. There wasn’t enough time for Hendo to wait it out and he had to tap or he was going out. Who is next for the tall Brazilian? I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yushin Okami up next for a rematch. There is drama to be played with the DQ loss on his record to Okami and the UFC is all about the drama!

Heath Herring def Cheick Kongo - split decision
I really thought this would be a perfect fight for a bathroom break but was pleasantly surprised at the pace. Heath herring unloaded right at the start, reminiscent of Randy Couture vs Big Tim, with a big right hand. Kongo was stunned a bit but recovered quickly. Herring looked in good shape and ready to trade leather all night but Kongo had different ideas and worked to show off his new ground skills. I agree with the decision and gave the first round to Kongo with rounds 2 and 3 going to Heath. Decent fight that showed Heath Herring is working back on track and that Kongo is good but just not at that top level.

 Chris Leben def Alessio Sakara - TKO - round 1
Can you say brawl? I can! These two swung for the fences and had us on our feet the whole fight up until Leben bounced Sakaras head of the canvas with punches. It is good to see Leben with a new attitude and working hard again.

Yushin Okami def Evan Tanner - KO - round 2
First let me say that I was very happy to see Evan Tanner in the octagon. I have been following his travels while he has been away on his blog http://www.evantanner.net/journal and it was good to see him back. It was a good fight with a lot of trades back and forth but ultimately I think the ring rust got the better of Tanner and he found out that Okami knees are hard enough to knock a person out. This brings me to Okami who is now 6 and 1 in the UFC (with his only loss to Rich Franklin) and seeming to be aiming for finishes instead of decisions. That, the lack of depth in the 185 lb division and the history with Anderson Silva makes me believe that he is the next title contender.

 Jon Fitch def Chris Wilson - decision
I never had any doubt in my mind that Fitch would win this one as I think he will get his first loss from George St Pierre.  What I didn’t expect was  that Chris Wilson would hold his own as well as he did. His performance tonight shows that he deserves to be in the crowded UFC 170lb division. Now if we could just see the match up of Fitch vs Karo Parisyan that HAS to happen to decide the title shot. Karo doesn’t want that fight until he has the belt and I think Fitch made a comment about that tonight saying “he doesn’t care about title shots or any of that stuff. Just give him the toughest fighters” What I heard was “I will fight anyone Karo! Why are you ducking me. If you want to be champ you gotta fight the best and that’s me.” .

Andrei Arlovski def Jake O’Brien - TKO - round 2
A dark match! Guess if you aren’t signing a new contract, it’s your last fight and you have been boring in your last few fights that is what happens. I was glad to see AA won against O’brien and I hope his strong finish in this fight helps the contract negotiations along and we see him back to his  old winning ways in the octagon soon. Maybe against Kongo or Herring.

Luigi Floravanti def Luke Cummo - decision
I had hoped to see this fight but when I read that Cummo pretty much got thrown around like a rag doll I was glad I didn’t. I like Luke Cummo and his strange ways.

Josh Koscheck def Dustin Hazelett - TKO - Round 2
Hazelett’s submission game is impressive and I expected this to be the deciding factor in this fight. I was wrong! The stand up was strong and fast as Dustin took the first round with strikes. KOS came back in the second with some great striking of his own including a head kick that stunned Hazelett long enough for Josh to pound out a TKO. This being the last fight on Koscheck’s contract made this an especially important fight for him. He has earned a good position for negotiations. I was impressed with his abilities tonight and I think we will see him keep improving.

Diego Sanchez def David Bielkheden - submission - Round 1
Jorge Gurgel def John Halverson - decision
Our picks for tonight were pretty good with 5 out of 6.
See how we do next time.

OUR PREFIGHT PICKS
**Silva def Hendo - round 3 TKO
–Kongo def Herring - Decision
**Leben def Sakara - round 2 TKO
**Okami def Tanner - decision
**Fitch def Wilson - round 2 sub
**Arlovski def Obrien - decision