Back on the couch for another Tuesday night. 11 pm and it’s Bodog time. Hey, do you think all those clowns in the field were raving all night and the Russians don’t take kindly to that? Must suck to miss your ride home. I was hoping the intro had changed since last week, but no such luck. Bizarre stuff. Anyway, on to the show.

We’re getting a pair of fights tonight and plenty of hype for Saturday’s PPV. First up, we have the women. Amanda Buckner takes on Shayna Baszler. Winner makes the PPV. We’re here in the land of Trump, Atlantic City. Paul Lazenby takes on the hosting duties as Lon McEachern must be on the job at a poker event somewhere in the country.

1 - AMANDA BUCKNER (8-3) vs. SHAYNA BASZLER (5-2)

ROUND 1 – Buckner leads out with a right hand and they go to the mat in Baszler’s guard. Baszler has an active guard and Buckner can’t seem to get much offense going. Buckner changes gears and stands in guard. Baszler is hanging on and Buckner postures up and lifts her off the canvas. It gets a little loose and Buckner gets to half-guard with what appears to be a modified D’Arce choke on Baszler. Baszler is unfazed and gives the ref a thumbs up to indicate her well-being. Baszler breaks the hold and catches Buckner backing up in her guard. Baszler grabs Buckner’s left arm and has a nasty armbar set in. Baszler cranks and it looks like Buckner is done for as her arm twists into abnormal anatomic positions. But, Baszler can’t hang on and Buckner spins over the top back into Baszler’s guard. Buckner pokes away with rights as the round ends. Fun round to watch with lots of action. I’d give a slight edge to Buckner, but it was very close.

ROUND 2 – Lazenby has been surprisingly good on play-by-play. He actually has personality. Who woulda thunk it? The fighters clinch and Baszler starts tossing knees with reckless abandon. Buckner shoots, but gets stuffed and Baszler continues the kneeing. Buckner finally takes Baszler down into Baszler’s guard. Baszler defends well, but Buckner’s right hands are starting to get through. The ref stands them up and Baszler continues to get the better striking down in tight with her knee. A little slower pace, but not much. Baszler is looking a little gassed, but Buckner has been putting the pressure on when they go to the ground. I thought a little better round for Baszler, but again, a close round.

ROUND 3 – Buckner again leads with a right hand that connects. They go back into Baszler’s guard and Buckner lands two big right hands. Baszler decides its time to change strategy and she sweeps to the top position and tries to pass. She gets to half guard when Buckner gets a one armed guillotine and reverses position. Baszler gets loose, but Buckner gets mount position and is really starting to find the target. Baszler gives up her back and Buckner decides to give her left hand a workout and pistons four or five shots into Baszler’s face. Baszler looks out cold and the ref stops the fight.

RESULT: Amanda Buckner by TKO (strikes) at 3:03 of round three.

STAR RATING: (***) Another really good women’s fight. I have yet to see a stinker. Buckner is tough. She just looks physically stronger than her opponents and she clearly has heavy hands. I was very impressed when she took out Julie Kedzie and this was no less impressive. Baszler really fought well. She had some very good Muay Thai and actually forced Buckner to go to the ground and pound. She very nearly had the win in the first round with the armbar. It was really sunk in deep, but she couldn’t hold on. All in all, a very good fight.

We then get twenty minutes of hype for the PPV. They are really trying to build up Lindland as a threat to Fedor and, you know, why the hell can’t he win? 2007 seems to be the year of the upset. But, if Lindland pulls it off, it will be tough for anyone else to top it for the rest of the year.

2 - EDDIE ALVAREZ vs. DERRICK NOBLE – Welterweight Championship Fight

ROUND 1 – The fighters circle and Alvarez leads in with a combination. Noble backpedals and Alvarez follows him throwing punches the whole way. Noble tries to cover, but it’s no use. Alvarez is relentless and unloads an 11 punch combination that crumples Noble in the corner. The ref steps in and that’s that. A very impressive performance by Alvarez.

RESULT – Eddie Alvarez by TKO (strikes) at 1:01 of round one.

STAR RATING (**) – Alvarez looked very good. It should be a pretty good matchup with Nick Thompson on Saturday. A very impressive TKO, albeit very one-sided.

And, there you have it. Two pretty good fights and a load of hype. But, it’s on free TV and they can hype all they want. They actually did a nice job of profiling the fighters on the main card and I recommend checking it out on Bodogfight.com if you are going to see the show on Saturday night,

So far, six fights are listed on the site for the PPV.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Lindland

Aleks Emelianenko vs. Erik Pele

Eddie Alvarez vs. Nick Thompson

Roman Zentsov vs. Bobby Southworth

Amanda Buckner vs. Hitomi Akano

Andrei Semenov vs. Jorge Santiago

Look for a preview from your favorite newb later this week. As always, comments or complex mathematical equations are always welcome.

You can contact me at drscruf@hughes.net.