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KELLER’S UFC 79 PPV LIVE BLOG: Virtual time coverage of Liddell vs. Silva, Hughes vs. GSP
By Wade Keller, MMATorch editor
Dec 29, 2007, 23:57
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-Joe Rogan made a case during the pregame show that Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva is more intriguing with both fighters having lost their last two fights than it would have been had they come in with winning streaks. His point is that both fighters have so much more on the line because the loser becomes 0-3 in their last three fights. I see that, but I think that’s more of an argument why this fight is still super-intriguing, but not a strong enough enough situation to overcome the letdown compared to if both guys were still considered tied for no. 1 in their weight division.
-After weeks of trash-talking, usually in UFC the winner and loser hug and shake hands out of respect and trade fight notes with smiles. Not in this opening match. After Rich Clementi beat Melvin Guillard in a deeply personal grudge match, Clementi stood over Guillard after forcing him to tapout to a choke and did the NWO-style crotch-chop. Guillard had to be held back by the ref from going after him; I think he would have jumped him from behind if the ref hadn't stepped in. Clementi trash-talked Guillard afterward, saying he hadn't learned and to get out of the ring. As much as I'm a fan of sportsmanship, it's actually refreshing in a strange way to see two fighters not become pals right after a fight after weeks of ripping on each other. I'd pay to see a rematch between those two in part because the grudge remains. (**)
-In the second fight, the highly-touted Sokoudjou loses his UFC premiere and gets dominated through nearly two complete two rounds by top contender Lyoto Machida. Machida said he wanted a title shot if he won. He deserves it after this win. It was interesting to hear Rogan talk about how Machida's karate style throws of opponents who are more used to the Muay Thai brawling style. Sokoudjou looked lost, if not startled and disoriented, once Machida got him onto his back and totally controlled him in the first round. The second round was more of the same, with Sokoudjou looking mentally defeated and physically winded already. Fun fight given the intrigue of Sokoudjou's hype and Machida's impressive wins headed into this. This is the type of fight that's smart for UFC to book on the undercard of a show featuring a main event with the same weight division. (**+)
-Fans are picking Hughes slightly over GSP 52-48 in live text message voting tonight. My pick is GSP by decision after five rounds (a hopeful pick as much as a prediction). Fans are picking Liddell over Silva 60-40; I'm picking Silva in round two. I'm picking Silva, despite the curse of the Octogon for people moving into UFC after fighting primarily in Pride, in part because Liddell was the exception in losing to a Pride-guy already. But it's a tough call no matter what and anyone who says they know who's going to win doesn't really know.
-Eddie Sanchez wins a listless heavyweight contender fight over Sao Palelei late in the third round. They spent a lot of time leaning on each other. Sanchez actually looked defeated before the fight, and then immediately gained confidence. Palelei looked blah - winded and uninspired. Sanchez was gracious afterward. (*+)
-The Jan. 19 line-up from a marquee standpoint is weak (Joe Stevenso vs. B.J. Penn), but the following month's line-up with Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir and Noguiera vs. Tim Sylvia is strong, as is the March show with Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson.
-"He had a lot better chin than I thought he did," said Chuck Liddell in his post-victory interview, just a minute after getting the unanimous judges decision: 29-28, 30-27, 30-27. Can't argue with that scoring. I'd have given the first round to Silva, but for sure the last two to Chuck. That fight lived up to its billing. The regret is that Chuck wasn't champion so they could have gone two more rounds or fought long enough for a knockout. Both fighters showed they can punch and take each other's punches. A lot of fighters have gone down after one-third the punches from Liddell that Silva took. Liddell, though, redeemed himself, especially after years of people wondering whether he could stand in there with Silva given Silva's stretch of impressive wins in Japan. Liddell was very smart to take down Silva twice in the final round - once to score some all-important points in case it was a close slugfest otherwise, and later at the end of the third round to prevent Silva from a final flurry that could have reversed the finish either via KO or brought forth doubt in the judging. Historic fight that lived up to the hype and anticipation. (****+)
-GSP beats Matt Hughes soundly. Hughes said the only thing he could, which is "Georges is the better fighter." That was a dominant, passing of the torch type performance by GSP over Hughes. My thinking is that Dana White is confident that GSP will beat Matt Serra in a rematch, so that will come before Hughes vs. Serra. Then, Serra and Hughes - each fresh off of losses to GSP - can have their grudge fight late next year. There's not much else for Hughes to do that will be motivating, but a late-career win over Serra would be as satisfying to him as beating GSP tonight probably would have been. It's tough to see Hughes getting a title shot against GSP anytime next year. Hughes at this point would need two solid wins over Serra and another top name with no other contenders rising in the division in the mean time.
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