UFC 92 12/27

[Guest]

Easily the best card of the year with 3 main event caliber fights.
If there was one PPV to purchase, this is the one. You can thank me later.

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
Date: Dec 27, 2008

Location: Las Vegas
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena
Broadcast: Pay Per View

MAIN CARD
Champ Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans (for UFC light heavyweight title)
Champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir (for interim UFC heavyweight title)
C.B. Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio
Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
Mustafa Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo

PRELIMINARY CARD
Dean Lister vs. Yushin Okami
Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
Reese Andy vs. Matt Hamill
Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonan
Pat Berry vs. Dan Evensen

[XUDawg]

I cannot wait for this lineup tomorrow.

The Axe Murderer has been my favorite fighter for years. And I was convinced the guy wasn't completely healthy/right for the Lidell fight, so this will be a good chance to see if he's still up to the caliber his fans expect.

The Nogueria/Mir HW fight is going to be a joke. Mir is one-dimensional, and Nogueria is better at Mir's one dimmension, BJJ. You add Nogueria's heart, conditioning, stand-up, and this spells a no-doubt TKO or submission in favor of the Brazilian.

Griffin/Evans will be interesting. I have never found either of these guys very interesting, but it will be cool to see who the winner of the Silva/Jackson fight will be up against next time for the LHW title.

Look out for Lyoto Machida if he wins his fight against Thiago Silva this winter. His elusive style and patience will give fits to any of the four light heavyweights fighting Saturday.

[Guest]

I love Mir's game and think he beats Big Nog. Why do you think it will be a joke? It should be a tactical fight between two of the top ground fighters in the world. I think it might be the best fight on the card.

Silva vs Jackson will be a war and it's going to be fun to watch.

I really like both Rashad and Forrest also, going to be interesting to say the least. A chess match might break out.

I think Machida's style is boring and Silva beats him down. Both guys are very solid but Silva will be too much. I can't wait for the throat slash as he ends Machida's run.

By reading your thoughts and Wanderlei being your favorite fighter, you must love the standup game? There is nothing wrong with that, I love it too. That being said, two heavyweights that are great ground fighters interests me very much.

It's going to be a great night, that we can agree on.

[XUDawg]

You've got me wrong. I love Wanderlei because of his heart. No light heavyweight's track record compares to his.
I like excellence. And Silva is/was that. I'm interested to see if he can get some of that back. His rep got unfairly tarnished after he re-entered the UFC against Liddell, a man who made his name fighting inferior talent while Silva was duking it out against Rampage, Dan Henderson, Cro Cop, Sakuraba, et. al.

I like Nogueria for the same reason. You can put him up against anybody, any style, and as long as that anybody's first name isn't Fedor, he's going to win.

Interesting that you think Mir/Nog will be a good fight. I can't see it being that. There will probably be a lot of back and forth on the ground early on, but Nogueira's known for stretching the fight out, and winning the conditioning battle. Because of the interim title, this is going to be a five round fight, and I don't see anyway that Mir lasts for the duration. I know Mir has an excellent grappling game, but I'm not sure it stacks up to Nogueira's. And his conditioning definitely doesn't. I hope you're right, because the more good fights the better.

[bustedknuckles]

Looking forward to your preview Dr. This event has something for everybody and it should be a showcase night for the UFC. In fact, I believe this is a first for the UFC with multiple titles on the line in the same card.

With that said here are my thoughts/predictions:

Griffin/Evans-I'll take Forrest here. He keeps improving with every fight and I think Evans is still a little raw with stand up (even with the perfect KO of the Iceman) and won't be able to do enough on the ground to frustrate Forrest. Plus, with this being his first title defense I except him to come out guns blazing.

Nog/Mir-I'm with XU on this one, although I don't see it being a joke. Mir has already proven that he can beat anyone and take on punishment in doing so. I imagine Nogueria's conditioning will be a factor though and he will eventually wear Mir down, but by no means do I anticipate a blowout.

Jackson/Silva-I think Jackson will win, but I would like to see Silva win and set up a dream match with Forrest Griffin. However, I think Vandy has taken too much punishment in the last couple of years and his best days are behind him. If, and it's a pretty big if, Rampage's personal problems are resolved and he's honed in on this fight I think he KOs Vandy in Round 1 of a very exciting, but brief fight.

Dolloway/Massenzio-I'll take the Ohio HS wrestling champ, all Dolloway.
Al Turk/Kongo-Cheick in this one.
Lister/Okami-I'll go with the Boogeyman by submission.
Hardonk/Wessel-Toss up, Wessel.
Andy/Hammill-Hammill by KO.
Blackburn/Chonan-Chonan.
Berry/Evensen-Berry.

[Guest]

Wanderlei is still is one bad ass mofo in my opinion. He has the killer instinct like nobody else in the fight game.
I think the loss to Chuck has re-energized him and he'll beat Rampage again. I'm expecting the best of him tomorrow night.
Mir has a lot to prove and he seems to be in great shape. He knows what's in store for him with Noguirea and might just shock a lot of people.
I have huge expectations for the card altogether and have a feeling we won't be let down.

[bustedknuckles]

I hope you're right about Vandy, but I don't see it. Rampage's striking is on entire different level than it was during their PRIDE contests and he's so much more of a refined fighter now that I think Silva will need to be at his absolute best to beat him (unless Rampage pulls an Oliver McCall).

[Guest]

One thing we can agree on, it's going to be an electric evening and must see.

[Doc]

Man, I've been waiting for this fight all week. It's gonna be a classic, IMO. 3 main event caliber fights.

Griffin/Evans should be fun. Griffin coming off beating Rampage, and Evans coming off knocking out Liddell. Both are hot, and it's for the hottest title in MMA, the light heavyweight title. I think Griffin wins this one. Griffin won't be as sloppy as Liddell, and I think there's a chance it goes the distance. But, I think Griffin keeps the gold.

Mir/Noguiera should be awesome. But, better than that, the winner gets Lesnar. I think a Mir/Lesnar match would be OK, but I think Brock beats him know. So, I'm hoping Noguiera wins (and I think he will, via submission in the 3/4 round), because Noguiera vs. Lesnar sounds like a very, very good matchup. If Lesnar can beat Couture and Noguiera, I don't see anyone else in the heavies who could stack up to him. He could be looking at a long title run.

Silva/Rampage is gonna be awesome. The weigh in was intense, and I think it's gonna be a brawl. Wanderlei is a scary dude, and he doesn't quit. Rampage has to prove that he still has it, and also is 0-2 vs. Silva. Gonna be a lot of offense in this one.

I think the other heavyweight match with Congo and Al Turk should be solid. Congo is pretty good, but that other dude looks tough.

Finally, I'm hate CB Dolloway...but I'm hoping he finds a way to use the Peruvian Neck Tie. Love that move.

The non-televised undercard looks good, and I'm hoping that the Chonan and Okami fights make it on to the PPV card. Ditto Reese Andy vs. Matt Hamill.

[Guest]

Great night of fights as we all thought.
Mir looked awesome and Rashad is the man.
What a KO by Rampage.
Man I love the UFC.

[Doc]

Ugh. Stupid Cox Cable.

I got nothing last night. Order the fight, it starts at 10:00. At approximately 10:02, I lose all cable and television service. I'm on hold with Cox for about an hour. Finally talk to some guy, they're aware of the problem, and has no clue when its gonna come back on.

I get the beginning of round 2 of Mir/Noguiera. So, I saw Mir floor Minotaur, which was awesome. I think I saw the first round of Griffin/Evans, but then it quit for good.

Figures. And from what I've read, it was a very good show.

[Guest]

That sucks Doc, sorry to hear about that.
There are many places to watch it online for future reference.
JustinTV is the best usually.

[est blues]

not to take away from mir, he is one of my favorite fighters in the ufc, but i was surprised that the ref stopped the fight when he did despite the fact that nog is known for his ability to "recover from big hits to pull out victory." this fact was even pointed out and emphasized by rogan, white and mir in preview interviews.
i mean taking the big hit is one of the risks that a BJJ expert must concede in order to be able to get in close for a submission.
so i ask why not let it go a little longer? (rhetorical)
anyway, if/when mir beats lesnar it sets up the rematch with nog.

[Guest]

Let it go longer? Are you crazy?
Didn't you see Noguiera wobble to his feet 30 seconds after the fight was over? He was out cold.
He was in lala land.
In the past he was rocked and beat up but never asleep like he was last night.
There was no stop in sight to the beating Mir was giving him.

[est blues]

like i said, it was rhetorical. i was being sarcastic.
mir controlled the entire fight. nog looked like he was trying to figure mir out but never did.
mir got off first on nearly every exchange. mir controlled the tempo. mir knocked nog down flat to his back several times.
end result...mir gets his shot to get his belt back and lesnar gets his shot to avenge his loss to mir.
maybe nog fights couture?

[XUDawg]

Well, I have to say Mir shocked the hell out of me. I think Nog's gameplan must have been to let Mir swing at him the first couple rounds to wear him down. He must not have anticipated Mir's swings being uppercuts continually connecting on his chin and HURTING him.

Also, Wanderlei let me down last night. He walked right into one. That's what happens, I guess with two aggressive fighters.

The only fight I bet on, however, I won. Thanks, Sugar!

[bustedknuckles]

50/50 with my predictions...so I hope nobody bet the farm based on my insight...I know I wouldn't.

The biggest surprise for me was the overall performance by Rashad Evans. He has doubters out there (like me) that he continues to make look like nitwits. I think Dr already brought it up, but with him fighting out of one the top MMA camps and the strides he's already made in striking he is going to be a beast in LHW division for a long time.

I nailed the Rampage/Vandy fight, although I lost some respect for Rampage with his BS after the fight was stopped...no place for it and that stuff usually comes back around. I guess his head still isn't right. IMO Silva needs to think about his future. I don't know if I'm the only one seeing it, but his reflexes are eroding and he of all people can't afford that with the gaps in his technique. His aggressive style magnifies this and is only going to work against him going forward.

Frank Mir = HW version of BJ Penn. Seems like a cliche, but when his body and training are solid he is clearly the most talented fighter in that division.