Hit refresh throughout the show for live coverage and analysis.  If you prefer a spoiler-free recommendation, I'll have that at the top of the page after the event is over.

RECOMMENDATION:  If you didn’t order this card for any reason other than financial, and you’re an MMA fan, I don’t know what to tell you.  But I’ll say that if you have any sense of history, and if you can afford it, buy it. 

*   *   *   *   *   *

It’s 10:00 eastern time on December 29, so let’s cue the horrible gladiator montage, rock the sepia intros, hear the generic opening theme, and listen to Matt Hughes get smarmy.  It’s time for UFC 79!

Goldberg and Rogan go through the hype and whatnot, and then Goldberg attempts to segue into the Sokoudjou hype, but the video leads into the Eddie Sanchez fight, followed by Sokoudjou-Machida.  Then after all that, the first fight is Clementi-Guillard.  Good times.

FIRST FIGHT:  RICH “NO LOVE” CLEMENTI vs. MELVIN “THE YOUNG ASSASSIN” GUILLARD (Lightweight)

I’ve got Clementi here by decision, but I’m already second-guessing myself for some reason.  I guess we’ll see.  Guillard has some nasty stand-up, but I wonder how he deals with Clementi on the ground. 

Clementi comes out focused and intense, while Guillard is all smiles, exchanging handshakes and hugs with the fans.  Goldberg mentions that Guillard is coming off of a suspension, but doesn’t utter the cocaine-word.  There’s a little bit of animosity between these guys, in case you haven’t heard, and they underline that before the intros, as Guillard gives Clementi the double-bird, while Clementi answers back with something I can only imagine ends with “deez nutz”.  The crowd seems a bit muted here, as in recent UFC events, and it’s hard to tell who they’re backing.  Herb Dean gets us started.

ROUND ONE:  They circle to start out, and Guillard comes with a haymaker.  Clementi throws a nasty inside leg kick, and Guillard acknowledges.  Right hand grazes the chin of Clementi.  Guillard comes in again with a combo, and Clementi throws high and low kicks.  Body kick by Clementi lands.  Low kick lands, and Clementi eats a couple of punches.  Another inside leg kick for Clementi, and Guilllard comes in.  Clementi gets a body lock, holds him for a second looking for a slam (causing Guillard to feign boredom), and gets the slam.  He takes Guillards back from the bottom and looks for a full nelson for some reason, and they work their way back to the feet.  Clementi takes Guillard down again, but they stand right back up.  Big right hand lands for Guillard, but Clementi weathers.  Clementi pulls guard and looks for an omoplata from the bottom, then rolls into side control.  Nice sequence.  Clementi gets Guillard’s back and takes a body triangle and a rear-naked choke, causing Guillard to tap with 20 seconds left in the round.  Clementi throws a crotch chop Guillard’s way as he stands up, and Guillard pursues Clementi across the cage, being restrained by Herb Dean. 

RESULT:  Clementi by submission at 4:40 of the Round 1.

STAR RATING:  (**+)  Good action, and a big win for Clementi

RAMIFICATIONS:  Clementi calls out Guillard in the post-fight interview, causing officials to restrain him again.  He’s not winning any new fans here, as he’s booed out of the building.  This ends a tough 2007 for Guillard, who really needs to improve his jiu-jitsu or anti-jiu-jitsu in order to get to the next level.  He can bang with the best of them, but he needs some work on the mat.  Clementi takes a step forward in the crowded lightweight division with an important win over a game opponent. 

We get a promo for UFC 80, with no mention of Sean Sherk having been stripped of the lightweight title.  There’s probably some confused people out there.  One wonders what they’ll say at the actual event.  Probably nothing, I suppose.

SECOND FIGHT:  LYOTO “RYOTO” MACHIDA vs. “THE AFRICAN ASSASSIN” REMEAU THIERRY SOKOUDJOU (Light Heavyweight)

Sokoudjou makes his way to the Octagon wearing a Predator mask.  Very cool.  He’s rolling with Dan Henderson, which isn’t bad company to have in your corner.  I’ve got Sokoudjou here if only because I didn’t want to pick against him, but Machida is so hard to catch that it’s hardly a given.  I’m really interested to see if Sokoudjou can find his range here.  With the way he throws leather, it might only take one big shot…I don’t know much about Machida’s chin, but I do know about the last two guys’ chins that Sokoudjou decimated, and they’re not made of glass.  By the way, Sokoudjou will henceforth be known as “Sok”, for speed-typing purposes.  (This blow-by-blow stuff ain’t easy with long names, folks.)  Sok gets a nice ovation after making his long voyage to the UFC, almost signing contracts with K-1 and EliteXC.  I think this is a more intriguing fight than either of those orgs could give him, though, outside a clash with Melvin Manhoef in K-1.

ROUND ONE:  They feel each other out and Machida tags him with a left. High kick glances for Sok, and a big right hand lands.  Sok gets the takedown, and Machida sweeps, getting into half guard.  Machida works to pass into side control, and looks for a kimura.  Sok does not panic and defends well.  This fight has already gone longer than both of his last two fights.  Machida lets the kimura go and postures up for some punches.  The crowd gets restless as Machida goes for short elbows.  Sok is not doing much other than trying to hold Machida down, and Rogan rightly wonders how much training he’s done from his back.  Yamasaki will stand them up, although Machida was active.  Straight left misses for Machida, and a body kick lands, followed by a leg kick.  Sok goes in and gets a trip takedown.  Machida gets back up and Sok looks to punish him, but misses largely.  Round one ends, and it’ll go to Machida.  Sok does not look very confident heading back to the corner.

ROUND TWO:  High kick slaps against the head of Sok, but he doesn’t budge.  Leg kick lands for Machida.  Sok charges in but misses with a punch.  He looks to counter Machida’s kicks unsuccessfully.  Sok misses a series of kicks, and the crowd starts getting restless again.  Sok continues to charge in occasionally, but he seems to be losing gas.  Front kick lands for Machida.  Sok charges in again, and Machida catches him and puts him down.  Machida lands some blows on the ground, and he’s in half guard again.  Machida looks for an arm triangle, but Sok escapes.  The bad news for him is that Machida takes the mount.  Machida doesn’t dole out much punishment and grabs another arm triangle, which Sok duly escapes once more.  Machida is in half guard again, and throws some elbows.  He looks for the am triangle again, and Sok won’t escape this one.  He taps out, giving Machida his first finish in the UFC.  What a bad pick for me.  Beautiful arm triangle for Machida.

RESULT:  Machida by submission at 4:20 of Round 2.

STAR RATING:  (**+)  Not the most fast-paced fight in the world, but the matchup was intriguing enough for me that I enjoyed it.

RAMIFICATIONS:  Well, that answered some questions.  Sokoudjou may still be for real, but Machida is a bad matchup for a lot of people.  Sokoudjou needs to work from his back a lot more, but I would imagine they’ll give him a more favorable matchup in his second fight to showcase him a bit more.  As for Machida, he’s probably a high profile win away from a title shot.  He says he’s ready now, and that may be true, but he still hasn’t really fought a top-tier opponent. 

In case we forgot since the last fight, we get the same promo for UFC 80.  Thanks. 

THIRD FIGHT:  EDDIE “THE MANIC HISPANIC” SANCHEZ vs. SOA “THE HULK” PALELEI (Heavyweight)

I haven’t seen much of Palelei (who will henceforth be known as “Soa” for typing purposes, even though I hate calling guys by their first names in this or a broadcast capacity), but I’m taking him here.  Just a hunch, even though it’s risky to take the Octagon rookie.  He enters the Octagon to the strains of Geto Boys, paying homage to the movie “Office Space”.  If you’ve seen it, you know the song I’m referring to.  Both men look pretty low-key here, and we see on the tale of the tape that Soa has a mammoth 10-inch reach advantage (along with being 30 pounds heavier, which means less than the reach). 

ROUND ONE:  Sanchez comes out swinging, and Soa manhandles him against the cage.  Knee inside lands for Soa, and he works to get Sanchez to the ground.  Sanchez defends the trip nicely, and they hit a stalemate in this position for a bit.  Soa stands and swings a little, and Sanchez lands a knee to the marbles, causing a timeout.  On second glance, however, it looks like the knee landed in the guts.  Rogan says he wouldn’t want to question the big man about it.  We get started again and Sanchez comes out exactly like he did before.  He lands some punches in the clinch, which look like they’re annoying Soa.  They clinch against the fence and exchange knees.  The crowd gets restless, and Yamasaki separates them.  Sanchez misses the right hand and they clinch again.  Soa lands a knee in the Thai clinch, and they separate.  Soa throws a huge haymaker and misses, falling down in the process.  Sanchez lands a few shots, and Soa taunts him.  Soa wings a big left hand, but he’s telegraphing these things enough that Sanchez is getting out of the way.  Sanchez lands a big uppercut, and Soa smiles as the round ends.  He can’t be too happy though, because he lost that round. 

ROUND TWO:  Sanchez comes out aggressively again and lands some shots.  Soa is very reactionary here, as Rogan astutely points out.  He’s not taking any initiative to set the pace.  Soa lands some knees to the body against the fence, and Sanchez answers in kind.  Yamasaki separates them again, and Sanchez continues to pick Soa apart.  Big right hand lands for Soa, but Sanchez laughs it off.  Sanchez is yelling happily.  This is a weird fight.  Soa throws a couple of huge haymakers that make him look very sloppy, as he keeps throwing himself off balance.  Sanchez gets a takedown from the clinch, but Soa stands back up.  Sanchez continues to pick, and Soa misses another big hook.  The crowd is annoyed with the fight.  Sanchez lands a couple of big shots.  They clinch, are separated, and Sanchez continues to land big punches.  If Soa didn’t have the chin that he does, he’d be unconscious.  Round two ends, and it’s all Sanchez.

ROUND THREE:  Sanchez walks him down a bit, and they clinch for some reason.  They separate and Sanchez drops bombs on Soa.  Soa’s nose is a mess right now, and Sanchez lands another uppercut and overhand right.  He lands another couple uppercuts.  There’s not much different to report in round three, as Sanchez continues to tee off.  Mike Goldberg mentions that Sylvia and Nogueira will fight for the heavyweight title on Super Bowl weekend, and so the mentions of the title without mentioning Couture have begun.  Sanchez lands a couple of uppercuts, and Yamasaki calls the fight.  Sanchez yells about something as if he’s mad, and Soa seems as if he can’t see.  And yet again I pick a UFC newcomer out of Team Quest that comes up short.  Bad night for me so far, though I don’t know what happened in the prelims. 

RESULT:  Sanchez by TKO at 3:24 of Round 3.

STAR RATING: (**-)  Not bad enough to warrant *+, but they certainly didn’t set the world on fire.  Soa was out of gas at the end there.

RAMIFICATIONS:  Sanchez picks up a nice win on the main card, and he’ll probably get a step up in competition in his next fight.  I wonder what would happen if he fought Cro Cop now instead of when he did, with what’s happened to both guys since that fight.  Sanchez probably wouldn’t look as shell-shocked as he did at that point.

We get a look inside the locker room of Silva and Liddell, and promos for upcoming events.

FOURTH FIGHT:  CHUCK “THE ICEMAN” LIDDELL vs. WANDERLEI “THE AXE MURDERER” SILVA (Light Heavyweight)

Let me just take a break while they take about a half hour to build this one up.  To be fair, you really can’t say enough about this fight, with it being something so many people (myself included) have waited for for so long.  Be that as it may, I think I’ll leave it at that.  I will ruminate, however, for an extra second on the fact that the UFC has 10 fights on this card, which is one more than usual.  I wonder why they bothered with that when the time slot for the PPV is still the same, and they’re still scheduling five fights for the main card.  In all likelihood, of course, the next two fights will join the first three in the fact that thy have not gone the distance, so we’ll probably see some more.  Still weird to me, though. 

Alright.  In the time it took to write that, they aired an excellent promo video for this fight.  No interviews, no trash talk.  Just fight clips.  And that said more than any more lip service could have.  That was a great way to preface this fight.  All that remains is the staredown, which is sure to be epic. 

Silva gets a nice ovation, but Liddell’s is thunderous (at least I assume, since the broadcast is so short on crowd noise.)  Liddell looks fantastic on his way to the Octagon, and Silva looks intense.  I’ve got Silva here, but nothing could surprise me in this fight outside a snoozefest.  They’re selling the point that this timing is better than when both guys were on top, because their backs are against the wall.  I would submit that they’re not.  I mean really, name me some fighters that could weather three straight losses and still be in the UFC, and see if these guys’ names don’t come up.  I’m just sayin.  But don’t let that give the impression that I’m not pumped for this fight, because I’m getting chills just writing about it.

We get a staredown for the ages with an unfortunately less than stellar camera angle, due to an official in the way.  But hey, let’s do this.

ROUND ONE:  Liddell ventures a low kick or two to start out.  They circle and feel each other out, and Silva drops his hands for a second.  Combo by Silva misses.  Liddell comes in and throws some strikes, which glance off of Silva.  The feeling out process continues, and Liddell lands a jab.  Liddell looks to use the reach advantage.  Silva lands a nice leg kick, and Liddell lands a nice shot.  Silva backs up, but he plays possum and cracks Liddell when he comes in.  Explosive exchange ends with a blocked high kick by Liddell.  Liddell lands a jab and misses an overhand right.  Leg kick lands for Silva.  Liddell is stalking Silva right now, and he throws a high kick that’s blocked.  Silva lands a hook, and Liddell answers in kind.  Front kick misses for Liddell.  They feel each other out for a second, and Liddell misses with a combo, but lands a one-two combo right after.  Silva answers with a  combo, and both men are loving this.  Silva misses a hook and lands a leg kick.  Jab misses for Liddell.  Straight right misses for Silva.  Liddell connects with some outside shots.  Silva lands a left, and Liddell lands a right to answer.  Inside leg kick lands for Liddell, and the round is over.  Liddell probably takes the slight edge here.  He’s doing a great job using his reach advantage. 

ROUND TWO:  Both men come out swinging to start, and Silva probably gets the better of the exchange.  Liddell looks to keep him at a distance, pawing his left hand out there.  Silva walks Liddell down a bit, and they exhange kicks.  Liddell initiates an exchange, and Silva counters.  Big left lands for Silva.  Leg kick by Liddell.  Body kick by Silva.  Straight right lands for Liddell.  Liddell throws a body kick and slips, but pops back up.  Body kick lands for Silva, followed by a nice left hand.  Liddell swings wildly but misses.  Good right hand lands for Liddell, and Silva drops him briefly with a right of his own.  Silva does not pursue, and Liddell pops back up again.  Left hook lands for Silva in response to a nice jab by Liddell.  Liddell initiates a clinch and lands a vicious left hand.  Silva is cut under the eye.  They clinch, and another explosive exchange ensues.  Elbow by Liddell, and they separate.  Right hand lands for Silva, followed by a big comination.  Huge right lands for Liddell, and Silva wobbles but comes back.  Liddell goes in for a leg and takes Silva down.  Round two was fantastic, and I’m giving it to Silva by a hair. 

ROUND THREE:  Liddell’s mouth is open and he’s bruised under the eyes.  He shoots in right away and takes Silva down.  Silva was not prepared for that at all.  They work back to the feet.  Liddell misses an uppercut.  Leg kick by Silva, and Liddell blocks a high kick.  One-two combo lands for Silva.  Overhand right lands for Liddell, but Silva doesn’t budge.  Leg kick by Silva, and a left hand.  Liddell lands some punches, but nothing significant.  Spinning backfist stuns Silva,a nd Liddell lands a combo.  Liddell pounces and lands some big shots, rocking Silva.  Silva weathers, though, and fights back.  They separate and both men are tired.  Liddell seems frustrated that he didn’t knock Silva out.  Big right lands for Liddell.  Liddell continues to tee off, but Silva comes back and lands a right hand.  Liddell is tired and looks at the clock.  He’s still moving well, though, and Silva comes forward.  Jab lands for Silva.  Left hand stuns Liddell briefly.  Liddell wisely gets the takedown with 20 seconds left, and round three will go to Liddell.  Great, great fight.

RESULT:  Liddell by unanimous decision.

STAR RATING:  (****+)  Fantastic fight.  It was expected to be a slugfest and it lived up to that expectation.  Liddell’s gameplan was very good, and he got takedowns at the exact right times.  Silva, for his part, took some shots that no one has taken and remained awake. 

RAMIFICATIONS:  This was more for legacy than anything else, to be quite honest.  Both of these guys are top-tier light heavyweights, and both will likely be in the title picture with a couple of wins.  Silva has had a rough go lately, but it’s been against Cro Cop, Henderson, and now Liddell.  Three top-flight fighters.  I’m excited to see what he does next as much as I am to see what happens next for Liddell.

We’ve still got the main event to go here. That last fight could have easily sat atop any card, though it would have been nice had it been five rounds.

MAIN EVENT

FIFTH FIGHT:  GEORGES “RUSH” ST. PIERRE vs. MATT HUGHES (Interim Welterweight Title)

Call me crazy, but I don’t think Hughes has a prayer here.  He keeps mentioning the armbar that he scored forever ago, but that means less than nothing.  For sure, Hughes won’t use the same strategy that he used last time, but it won’t matter.  I think GSP is stronger in all categories.  But that’s just me.  Hughes looks unflappable as always as he enters the Octagon, and GSP looks focused as he rocks the French-Canadian/English rap song on the way down.  The intros take a year, and here we go.

ROUND ONE:  Hughes shoots immediately, but GSP eludes.  High kick is blocked by Hughes.  We get the goofy “USA” chant, followed predictably by “GSP”.  Leg kick lands for GSP.  Hughes is looking to set up takedowns with jabs, but he’s telegraphing them.  GSP jumps in with a strike, and Hughes looks for the takedown.  GSP stuffs it and takes Hughes down.  Elbows from the guard by Hughes.  GSP looks to posture up, and he gets into half guard.  Hughes pulls him back into full guard.  GSP lands some elbows to the face.  GSP in half guard once again.  He lands some punches to the face of Hughes against the fence.  Hughes looks to hold GPS down, but GSP gets the mount.  He’s getting an interesting slam move here as Hughes continues to hold on to GSP.  Hughes rolls, and GSP takes his back.  GSP grabs an arm as the round ends, and GSP was absolutely dominant.

ROUND TWO:  Greg Jackson give GSP some advice between rounds about the southpaw stance that Hughes has been using.  They clinch to begin, and GSP gets another easy takedown.  He moves to half guard right away, and Hughes lands another elbow from the bottom.  GSP looks to pass, and gets into half guard.  He stays there briefly but moves back into full guard.  Hughes lands another elbow from the bottom.  GSP will have to watch those.  GSP lands a big elbow from the top.  Both men are active, and GSP looks to pass again, as Hughes closes the guard.  Hughes passes to half guard and lands some shots to the face as Hughes looks to control a wrist.  GSP transitions to mount, and Hughes rolls.  GSP has a body triangle, but Hughes breaks it and looks to get him back in the guard.  They roll, and Hughes gets a leg of GSP with about a minue left, but he can’t take GSP down.  Knees from the clinch by Hughes and GSP, and GSP gets a monster judo-esque throw to take Hughes down and move to side control.  He steps over into a triangle attempt, then attempts a kimura and transitions into an armbar.  It’s tight, ad Hughes has no recourse but to tap.  Beautiful sequence by GSP despite a huge show of strength by Hughes.

RESULT:  St. Pierre by submission at 4:54 of Round 2.

STAR RATING:  (****-)  I’m giving it more than I normally would just because of the monumental beatdown of one of the greatest welterweights ever.  We may very well be looking at the reawakening of a guy who will go down as the best welterweight ever. 

RAMIFICATIONS:  GSP immediately takes off the interim belt and says that he’s not the champion until he beats Serra.  Hughes, for his part, was very classy in defeat and said that Georges is the better fighter.  I’m seeing a beatdown of Serra by GSP, followed by a Hughes-Serra fight, which could be Hughes’ farewell (though Hughes teases retirement in his post-fight interview.)

SIXTH FIGHT (PRELIM):  NATE MOHR vs. MANVEL “THE ANVIL” GAMBURYAN (Lightweight)

ROUND ONE:  Gamburyan comes out firing and looks for the takedown.  Mohr shrugs him off and looks to strike.  Gamburyan shoots again, picks up Mohr and slams him.  Gamburyan looks to strike inside the guard.  He leans back and looks for a leglock, and Mohr attempts to defend.  Gamburyan cranks it and Mohr taps after screaming in pain.  I can’t tell what that was, but it could have been a heel hook from the way Mohr reacted, by grabbing his knee.

RESULT:  Gamburyan at 1:31 by submission.

STAR RATING:  (**)  Too short to amount to much, but a really impressive submission by Gamburyan.  They’re saying it was an ankle lock, and Gamburyan said in the post-fight that he thinks he broke Mohr’s leg.

RAMIFICATIONS:  Gamburyan gets back on the scene with an impressive win, and Mohr succumbs to another leg lock.  Gamburyan will likely be on the main card next time, while hopefully Mohr comes back at some point.

We get another promo for upcoming events, and I must have missed it the first time—Goldberg says that Sylvia-Nogueira is for the Interim Heavyweight Title.  Interesting.  Is the UFC still holding out for Couture to return?  I guess they just haven’t stripped him, though I thought he relinquished the belt.  We’ll see, I suppose.

I’d say the card was great all in all.  You can’t really knock it after the last two fights, even though the first three weren’t much to write home about.  It was well worth the price of the card.  And now, my DVR was kind enough to record the IFL Grand Prix Finale for me, so I’ll be tuning in there next.  It’s a long night for me, folks.  Look for a post-show analysis from at least Jerry Cattelane and myself soon.

 To contact me, Shawn Ennis, shoot me an email at ennistorch@sbcglobal.net or visit my zone on the forums.