With a nickname like "Da Spyder" you'd think fighters would be afraid to go anywhere near Kendall Grove. But that hadn't been the case in some recent fights against the likes of Jorge Rivera and Ricardo Almeida. Once those fights got into clinch situations, Grove was manhandled and easy to takedown. Last night at UFC 106, it looked like Grove turned the corner. In the opening minutes, he was being thrown around like a rag doll and taken down often by Jake Rosholt. The difference this time? Grove was actively looking to stand right back up and making Rosholt work hard to maintain position.

"I just gotta work with it. I can't freak out when I'm down there," Grove told Cagewriter shortly after the win. 

Rosholt, a three-time national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, is still learning the nuances of submission defense. Grove is pretty slick with his triangle and d'arce choke. The matchup worked in favor of the 6-foot-6 Hawaiian:

"Me and my jiu-jitsu coach Justin McCully right here, we just was working on that same exact triangle from that same position back in the lockerroom right before we went out."

Rosholt slipped for a split second and Grove locked on the choke. He said it was tight and there was no way for Rosholt to escape. Grove was a little emotional during the postfight while remembering his grandmother who passed away on Nov. 12.

Dana White couldn't say enough good things about Josh Koscheck and his dominating win over Anthony Johnson. He even matched his mouth with his money by giving both the Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses to Koscheck. That's a hefty $140,000 double-bonus check on top of his fight night salary of $106,000 ($53,000 to show and $53,000 to win). Koscheck likes the money but a title shot would be even nicer. That's a bonus White isn't willing to pony up. White confirmed there is no turning back now, Georges St. Pierre against Dan Hardy is etched in stone (2:45 mark).

Koscheck was resigned to towing the company line (2:10 mark):

"Thanks to the UFC. I love to fight. Hopefully in 2010, if I'm not fighting St. Pierre next, I'll fight every month. Dan Hardy's the next guy in line. We'll let him fight for the title and then we'll see what happens after that."

His tune, sober or not, was a bit different this morning.

White was floored by the performance especially since Koscheck had an excuse to bow out of the fight after being poked in the eye as Johnson threw an illegal knee:

"You've seen a million times where guys try to get out because they got poked in the eye. As soon as they continue [Koscheck] starts going right after him and starts dominating the rest of the round."

Koscheck thought all along that he could break Johnson:

"I kinda felt after I took him down the second time, I knew that he was going to give up. Obviously I thought the weight cut would affect him. My goal was to weather the storm in the first round, go into the second round and use a little more wrestling. [Then] get him down, drop some elbows, get him to roll over and choke him out."

Koscheck, 31, is now 14-4, that includes 16 fights in the UFC. Hardy, 27, is 23-6 and 4-0 in the UFC. GSP beat Koscheck in a non-title fight at UFC 74.  

Even after spending much of the UFC 106 postfight press conference complaining about how he got robbed in losing a split decision to Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz sent out one last tweet in the late Las Vegas night.

It may have been ring rust and fatigue that did in Ortiz in his comeback fight aftr 18 months away recovering from back surgery, but Tito still had his best tool, his mouth,  working in peak condition.

Watch Tito Ortiz in all his glory during the UFC 106 postfight press conference:

Ortiz said he got robbed at least 10 times during the postfight presser at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. He opened the conference by saying Dana White robbed of his Fight of the Night bonus:

"How the [expletive] are you giving him Fight of the Night," asked Ortiz when White announced the winners were Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson.

White responded, "Here we go again. We're back!"

Ortiz went to explain why he won the fight (1:50 mark):

"I thought I won the first round and I thought I won the second round. I got two takedowns you see the damage on his face. I got him good. In the third round I was gassed. After 18 months off, I want to see another fighter come in after back surgery and do what I did. And for me not getting Fight of the Night, I'm taken back by it."

Ortiz said the judge who scored it 30-27 for Griffin was blind. He said he was proud to make his comeback fight against a guy like Griffin. He admitted maybe he overstepped his limits a bit.

Ortiz was gracious in defeat for the most part. Although he wasn't about to admit defeat or even a tie in his other big fight, the one against White. Tito said he won in his fight for the other fighters (8:25 mark). The comment brought a smirk to White's face. 

It was another frustrating mixed martial arts main event to score at UFC 106. Forrest Griffin got a split decision win over Tito Ortiz 29-28, 30-27 and 28-29. Ortiz scored more takedowns and did some solid damage on the ground, including opening a nice cut over Griffin's left eye. Griffin threw more shots throughout the fight and was most effective in the final two minutes of the fight when he landed often. Before that, how many headshots did he actually land?

A look at the photo gallery provided by Getty Images shows an awful lot of blocked shots. Getty uploaded 11 photos of Griffin throwing a kick or punch at Ortiz' head. Tito is shown blocking 10 of them. This is only a small sample but it certainly proves the fight is worth another look.

UFC president Dana White said the 30-27 for Griffin was "crazy, outrageous and insane," and anyone who saw it that way was "out of their mind." Griffin asked Ortiz in the cage right after the fight if he had been on his back too often to win the fight.

Meanwhile over at Bloody Elbow, writer Mike Fagan suggested Glenn Trowbridge, the judge who scored it 29-28 for Ortiz, was incompetent:

Someone needs to take away Glenn Trowbridge's judging license. A card of 29-28 Ortiz is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I personally had the fight 30-26 Griffin (pictured on the right), though I find 30-27 and 29-28 Griffin acceptable as well. 

This makes it three straight main events where fans walked away split on a definitive winner. UFC 104 featured a close win by Lyoto Machida over Mauricio Rua (48-47 on all cards) and at UFC 105 Randy Couture edged Brandon Vera (29-28 on all cards).

It was a close decision but the UFC escaped fan outrage because they agreed with judges who sided with Forrest Griffin. It was a fight that could've gone either way but Tito Ortiz is still clearly a heel in the minds of many fight fans. He probably added to their dislike even more when he complained about multiple injuries as part of the reason he lost the fight. The fight was even on two judge's scorecards but the younger Griffin played target practice with Ortiz' face and won a split decision 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29 in a light heavyweight bout to close UFC 106 in Las Vegas. More than a few folks along press row scored it 29-28 for Ortiz.

During his postfight conversation with UFC color analyst Joe Rogan, Griffin mentioned that he broke his right foot (during training camp). That set off Ortiz. He initially gave credit to Griffin but mentioned that he couldn't spar before the fight suggesting that beyond a badly blackened eye, he also had a bulging disk in his back. That's bad news from a guy who just missed 17 months recovering from back surgery.

Attempting to shutup Ortiz, Griffin returned to grab the microphone and say all fighters get hurt in training camp.

Ortiz suffered the eye injury back on Nov. 9 when he was headbutted. That cut down on his sparring over the last 12 days and it showed in his conditioning. The fight went to the third round even on two scorecards but Ortiz had nothing left in the gas tank. Griffin, 30, regarded as a cardio machine, threw everything he could at Ortiz in that final stanza. Over the first three minutes, he landed some effective leg kicks but his punches mostly hit Ortiz' gloves. In the final two minutes with Ortiz taking deep breaths, the UFC legend got popped by plenty of clean shots sealing the deal for Griffin.

Tito's striking on the feet looked sluggish and slow from the get-go. He missed badly with both hands throughout the fight. He kept himself alive by scoring three takedowns on four attempts in the first and second rounds. He didn't deal out a whole lot of punishment until he landed a big elbow on Griffin's forehead midway through the second. That busted Griffin open just over his left eye.

It was a battle between former UFC light heavyweight champs. Griffin (17-6, 8-4 UFC) still has plenty of game in front of him. You have to question how much Ortiz (15-7, 14-7 UFC) has left in the tank. He returned after a nasty falling out with UFC president Dana White. Ortiz rejoined the promotion on a six-fight contract. If he has any shot of lasting through even half of that deal, he really needs to work on his conditioning.

The bizarre nature of the fight began in the first round. When Koscheck was down on both knees, Johnson threw a huge knee, sending Koscheck to the canvas. Johnson was immediately apologetic, as he knew that he had screwed up, but that didn't help as Johnson was deducted a point. After quite a few minutes and a check by the fight doctor, Koscheck returned to the fight to immediately take over the first round, and win the round using wrestling. 

The fight continued to get weird as Johnson, who was reported to be fighting at 200 lbs., was then on the receiving side of two unintentional eye pokes. Johnson is especially sensitive to eye pokes, as he was on the bad end of a terrible eye poke against Kevin Burns, and had to have surgery to correct eye problems.

When Johnson returned to fight, the two started the slugfest fans were expecting until Koscheck took Johnson down and started to ground and pound. He took Johnson's back, and sunk in a rear naked choke with just seconds left in the second round.

After the fight, Koscheck said that he did not believe that Dan Hardy had earned a welterweight title shot. 

"He aint fought nobody like me," Koscheck said after the fight, calling out Dan Hardy, who recently beat Koscheck's teammate, Mike Swick. "Koscheck-Hardy in March! That's the card that sells."

UFC 106 hit a little lull with that fight. You have to really appreciate ground work and scrambles to enjoy the battle between Jacob Volkmann and Paulo Thiago. Volkmann, a former wrestler at Minnesota, got outgrappled by Thiago losing a unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Thiago (12-1, 2-1 UFC) did land the best shot of the fight. As the horn sounded to close the first round, the Brazilian nailed Volkmann (9-1, 0-1 UFC) with a left and then a huge right. Volkmann's body locked up as he fell to the ground and then it appeared that the fall jarred back his consciousness. Two seconds later the round ended and Volkmann sprang to his feet.

"I should've kept the fight standing. I had him hurt in the first but unfortunately the round ended," said Thiago.

Volkmann had his opportunities but didn't seem to have a plan of what to do when he was in dominant position. He often got overanxious and lost the position. Meanwhile, Thiago stay composed and hit Volkmann with big shots from a standing position when the American was on his back.

"The UFC has given me top-notch wrestlers (Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch) to go up against," said Thiago. "They've been good matchups for me but I'd like to make sure to work my standup more."  

Judge Glenn Trowbridge gave the second round to Volkmann, that was the only round given to the Minnesotan. Thiago won as a minus-330 favorite. It's been a shaky night for the favorites going just 4-3.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had big shoes to fill when he made his UFC debut. After all, his twin brother Rodrigo was once the UFC heavyweight champion. "Little Nog" had no problem in his first time in the Octagon, though, as he won over Luis Cane at 1:56 in the first round by TKO.

Nogueira stalked Cane around the cage, landing strong lefts and clinching. He finished Cane off with a series of lefts in short order. That sort of quick ending puts Nogueira in good position to win the "Knockout of the Night" bonus.

"This was a big chance for my career," Nogueira said after the fight. "I love to be in the best promotion and to be here in America."

Though this was Nogueira's first time in the UFC, he has an impressive career with PRIDE and Affliction, where he put together a 17-3-0 record. Cane was viewed as an up-and-coming light heavyweight prospect, making Nog's win more impressive.

Phil Baroni made his return to the Octagon after four years away. He got a standing ovation at the completion of his battle against Amir Sadollah, but that was the only place he won the fight. Sadollah cruised to a unanimous decision victory 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Baroni, introducing himself to new set of UFC fans, was a bloody mess by the end of the fight.

It's the kind of fight fans love but it's hard to walk away thinking the "New York Bad Ass" belongs in the UFC at this stage of his career. His career-long bugaboo, conditioning, reared its ugly head early in the second round. Baroni (pictured) dropped his hands often throughout the final two rounds, proving to be target practice for Sadollah knees and kicks.

"I knew I'd have to weather the initial storm. The guy would not go down," said Sadollah. "My strategy was to set him up with body shots. It felt good to get back on the winning track."

It was a nice win but you also have to question Sadollah's finishing power. He nailed Baroni with at least 50 clean shots in 15 minutes. Maybe we should cut Sadollah a break, it was only his third professional fight.

Sadollah won as a minus-230 favorite. The season eight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" got a total of $30,000 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 to win). Baroni (13-12, 3-6 UFC) got $25,000. They may both get a Fight of the Night bonus in the 60-65k range (bonus of 70k went to Josh Koscheck/Anthony Johnson instead). Baroni is a longtime favorite of UFC president Dana White.

Marcus Davis (16-6-0) is known for wanting to stand up with his opponents, but they may have done him in at his UFC 106 bout with Ben Saunders (8-1-2), as Davis was knocked out by Ben Saunders at 3:24 in the first round. 

From the first bell, Saunders used the clinch to control Davis. He used his long legs and considerable size advantage to land brutal knees. Davis sustained a cut near his eye early in the fight, and at 3:24, Saunders landed the final knee to send Davis to the canvas.

In his postfight interview, Saunders apologized to the fans for losing his last fight, a TKO to Mike Swick. This win gets the tall, lanky Saunders back on track. This is Marcus Davis' second loss in a row, after losing a split decision to no. one welterweight contender, Dan Hardy.

Kendall Grove is a battler. He got tossed around the Octagon for three-plus minutes but when Jake Rosholt left an opening, the Hawaiian was johnny-on-spot. Rosholt, a three-time national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, repeatedly tossed the 6-foot-6 Grove to the ground. Rosholt actually had his back shortly before the end of the fight. Grove was able to escape, roll to his back where Rosholt stood up for a split second and put himself in a vulnerable position. You can't do that against a fighter with legs like Grove. He slapped on the triangle choke and Rosholt showed little resistance. He tapped immediately at 3:59 of the first round.

Grove (11-6, 6-3 UFC) dedicated the win to his grandmother who passed just nine days ago on his 27th birthday.

Brock Larson's got 26 wins so last thing you'd expect is the veteran fighter to tap via strikes. He simply couldn't withstand the Brian Foster onslaught anymore. Larson got into real trouble when he was slammed to the ground with 3:10 left in the second round. Foster drilled Larson with a left that slammed his head off the canvas. He worked over Larson with some ground and pound. The fight got back to the feet and Larson tried to shoot. He got drilled with a right uppercut and fell to his knees where Foster nailed him with four more shots. Larson tapped on the ground asking referee Yves Lavigne to show some mercy at 3:25 of the second. It was Foster's first win in the UFC. Larson (26-4, 2-2 UFC) drops his second straight fight and could be in jeopardy of being cut from the roster.  

Foster showed good killer instinct. Truth be told, after a wacky first round that he won 10-7, he could've run in the second and third, and still won the fight. For the second time of the night, a fighter got nailed with a illegal kick to the head on the ground. With Foster in Larson's guard, Larson kicked Foster off. But as Foster sat on his knees, Larson drilled him with another kick on the right side of his head. After a short stoppage, Larson then nailed Foster in the head with a knee as Foster was hunched over (pictured) in a three-point stance.

Foster pulled the upset as a plus-300 underdog. That was about as dominant as a dog can look.

Jason Dent was able to hang during season nine of "The Ultimate Fighter" and reach the semifinals but this was a whole different animal he was facing in the opening bout of UFC 106. George Sotiropoulos (pictured on top) is a high level grappler. After some spirited stand-up for much of the first round, the Australian took the fight to the ground and it was clear Dent was in big trouble. He was mounted with 53 seconds left in the first. Dent survived but found himself in the same position with 1:30 left in the second. Sotiropoulos worked for an armbar and finally freed Dent's arm with 28 seconds left. Referee Yves Lavigne stopped it immediately giving Sotiropoulos the win at 4:36 of the second.

"I showed my ground game a lot and that's what people expect from me, so I wanted to show my standup a bit," said Sotiropoulos. "But I let the fight take the natural course, and it eventually got there."

He was slick on the ground in setting up the finish:

"I went for the arm crush and I was holding the leg but he defended so I let go of the leg and went for the arm and got it."

Dent (19-10, 1-3 UFC) deserves another shot in the UFC. His standup was pretty solid and he walked through a few big shots from Sotiropoulos. In the second round, he actually dropped his hands and implored Sotiropoulos to fight. Sotiropoulos (11-2, 4-0 UFC) was the biggest favorite on the card at 5-to-1.

CAMOES ILLEGAL KICKS COST HIM A WIN AGAINST UNO 

A momentary lapse cost Fabricio Camoes his shot at opening his UFC career with a win. Camoes threw a few kicks from his back as Uno sat up on his knees in full guard with four minutes left in the second round. Referee Mario Yamasaki took away a point and that ultimately turned the fight into a majority draw 29-27 (Uno), 28-28, 28-28.

"I understand the game, they took a point there," said Camoes. "I was making my debut against a legend and I'm happy with my performance. I try to evolve in every aspect of the fight game."

Cagewriter had it 29-27 for Camoes (10-4-1, 0-0-1 UFC). The judges blew it overvalueing Uno's takedowns. The veteran fighter scored a takedown in each round but that was only after getting smashed repeatedly on the feet. All you had to do was look at the fighter's faces after the fight to see who won the fight. It was actually the second draw of Uno's UFC career. He scored a draw back at UFC 41 against B.J. Penn.

UFC 106 (Opening odds courtesy Venetian Resort Hotel Casino)
Recommended plays in BOLD  

Pay-Per-View Bouts:
Forrest Griffin (-130) v. Tito Ortiz (Even) - Light Heavyweight

Based on Tito's time off and little time to prep for a fight of this magnitude, Griffin should be a gigantic favorite. He's not and because he lacks finishing power. Anytime a wrestler, like Ortiz enters the cage and we're looking at a decision situation, he's got a shot. Ortiz can score often with takedowns. We've seen Griffin taken down in past fight and smashed out with elbows and punches by Rashad Evans. This should turn out to be a nasty fight with a close decision going to Ortiz.
PICK: ORTIZ EVEN

Josh Koscheck (+140) v. Anthony Johnson (-170) - Welterweight
Johnson, 25, is a great prospect but we still have plenty of questions about his takedown defense and what he can do from his back. His knockout power is awesome and he's a huge dude for the weight class, but he lacks the overall game of Koscheck. Koscheck seemed to indicate that when Johnson spent a brief time at his gym in San Jose, Amaiercan Kickboxing Academy, it was child's play. Johnson has certainly improved but if Koscheck fights a wise fight and gets it to the ground, he rolls to a win.
PICK: KOSCHECK +140

Paulo Thiago (-330) v. Jacob Volkmann (+250) -Welterweight
Volkmann is making his debut after a decorated wrestling career at Minnesota. Thiago got an impressive win via knockout against Koscheck but we haven't seen enough of him to tab him a favorite of this size. Jon Fitch took down Thiago whenever he wants and the jiu-jitsu never came close to pulling off a submission. Volkmann should be able to score multiple takedowns, it's just a matter of him staying out Thiago's clutches. There's too much value on the wrestler to pass.
PICK: VOLKMANN +250

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (-130) v. Luis Cane (Even) - Light heavyweight
This is going to be a slugfest. Little Nog piled up some good wins in Japan but the last two years he's fought less than sterling competition. He can win this fight if it goes to the ground but if stays on the feet Cane can hang with anyone in the UFC 205 division. Watch for Cane's kicks to set up a finish on the feet.
PICK: CANE EVEN 

Amir Sadollah (-180) v. Phil Baroni (+150) - Welterweight
There's still plenty of question about Sadollah and guy with two professional fights should not be able to compete with a veteran of 24 fights. But there's a lot of wear and tear on Baroni. He wasn't able to pull the trigger against Joe Riggs in June. What's going to be different here? If Sadollah avoids some big punches early, Baroni will wear down. Does Sadollah have finishing power? He's the pick but there's not enough of a track record to plunk down money.
PICK: SADOLLAH -180

Spike Television Preliminary Bouts:
Ben Saunders (+150) v. Marcus Davis (-180) - Welterweight
Saunders is dangerous for anybody. At 6-foot-3 you have to watch for his kicks and knees. But he's still a work in progress. He looked intimidated during his fight with Mike Swick. What's going to change here? Davis' should have a new attitude after a lackluster fight against Dan Hardy. Davis has the confidence and too many weapons to be taken out by Saunders. 
PICK: DAVIS -180

Kendall Grove (+130) v. Jake Rosholt (-160) - Middleweight
This is a nightmare matchup for Grove. Another grappler who can get low on his 6-6 frame. Grove simply doesn't move enough to stay out of Rosholt's clutches for 15 minutes. Rosholt would be an official play but he'll probably put himself in more dangerous positions than he needs to. Rosholt, a three-time national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, is trying to add all MMA elements to his game on the fly. The threat of a knee or guillotine from Grove is enough to keep me from officially putting money down on this one.
PICK: ROSHOLT -160

Non-Televised Preliminary Bouts:
Brock Larson (-400) v. Brian Foster (+300) -Welterweight
Larson can't afford another lackluster performance. He got taken down at will and laid on by Mike Pierce at Ultimate Fight Night 19. He drilled his wrestling heavily and knows he needs to win to stay in the UFC. Foster lost his UFC debut against Rick Story via arm-triangle choke. Larson is too dangerous on top, he'll do the same here and quickly.
PICK: LARSON -400

Caol Uno (-250) v. Fabricio Camoes (+200) - Lightweight
Camoes makes his UFC debut off three straight wins in Strikeforce and EliteXC. But the competition nowhere near the veteran Uno. This is a big step up. Uno should also be feeling a sense of urgency after lsoing a close decision to Spencer Fisher in what was a very boring fight. PICK: UNO -250

George Sotiropoulos (-500) v. Jason Dent (+350)- Lightweight
Dent has a decent showing on season nine of "The Ultimate Fighter" but now it's time for the big leagues. He's a well-rounded fighter but he doesn't belong at 155. Sotiropoulos looks like a real prospect after struggling for nearly two years with injuries. If Dent let's this go to the ground, he'll get ripped apart.
PICK: SOTIROPOULOS -500

Marcus Davis is on the comeback trail from a loss at UFC 99. Tonight he faces Ben Saunders at UFC 106 but that loss to Dan Hardy is still fresh in his mind. Davis got fired up before the fight and probably a little too jacked in the cage. Hardy moved on to beat Mike Swick and earn a title shot against Georges St. Pierre, but Davis told Cagewriter that Hardy is a fortunate guy: 

"I still think he's a douchebag. I still don't like the guy. GSP will end up taking him down and just smashing his face apart, and send him back my way."

Davis said Hardy's wrestling simply isn't up to snuff:

"Marcus Davis, who's never wrestled in his life, he can take Dan Hardy down as many times and as easy as I did. I magine what Georges St. Pierre is doing to do?"

Davis wonders why Hardy is even getting the shot: 

"Obviously he doesn't deserve a shot. Have you ever seen Mike swick look like that? I've never seen him look that bad. I don't think it's because Dan Hardy. I just think something happened with Swick getting over there. That was the worst mike swick I've ever seen."

Now the 6-foot-3 Saunders is standing in Davis' way. The 5-10 Davis said speed and footwork beats a reach and height advantage. He worked on a new hands speed drill for this fight and says his punch output has improved immensely. 

It's still hard to believe an accord was reached between the warring factions from UFC 84. Tito Ortiz is back making money from and for the UFC and president Dana White. He's in the main event of UFC 106 tomorrow night against Forrest Griffin.

Eighteen months ago he showed up at the weigh-in for his fight against Lyoto Machida wearing a t-shirt that said "Dana is my bitch." After the fight he was nearly removed from the MGM Grand by Las Vegas Metro Police when he and his wife Jenna Jameson pushed past MGM security into the postfight press conference. Ortiz fielded questions as the UFC P.R. staff repeatedly asked him to leave, and for the media to stop asking questions. Jameson barked about freedom of speech just a few feet away from the stage. And now White, Ortiz, Jameson and the UFC are one big, happy family. It was a wise move for all involved but you have to wonder if there's still some underlying animosity.

If Tito wears another t-shirt to the weigh-in, what will it say this afternoon? You can watch the UFC 106 weigh-in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 7 p.m. at UFC.com. 

"I don't know why I cuss so much. I'm around gyms all the time. Damn, dirty apes," Griffin told the gathered media at UFC 106 workout day.

He told the scribes that his bad language gave him an idea for his next book: 

"The preface of my new book is 'My mother told me when I was a kid that cussing is a sign of low intelligence and low vocabulary. Well, [expletive] her.' I don't care. Maybe I have low intelligence and low vocabulary."

The discussion turned to whether you can be a role model with a filthy mouth. Could Phil Baroni fill that role:

Griffin laughed and said, "I don't want to be like Phil Baroni. Would you want your kids to be like Phil Baroni? Maybe I should quit cussing."

Josh Koscheck is a promoter's dream. He'll fight anyone, anytime, even with less than eight weeks to prepare for a fight. When the UFC needed a major fight to fill the gap left by Brock Lesnar at UFC 106, matchmaker Joe Silva brainstormed and came up with an excellent fight featuring Koscheck against Anthony Johnson. Frankly, Kos should've said no unless he was guaranteed a UFC welterweight title shot with a win. But he didn't do that and he's taking all the risk against a guy who's biggest wins have come against Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Kevin Burns and Luigi Fioravanti.

Koscheck (13-4, 11-4 UFC) was originally scheduled to fight Michael Pierce at Ultimate Fight Night 20 in January. He took that fight which was even more of lose-lose situation but jumped at the chance to get on this card on pay-per-view.

"The 106 card was falling apart and pretty [expletive]. I told Bob [Cook, Koscheck's trainer/manager], 'you know Bob, call Joe Silva and see if there's a chance we can get on that card and fight anybody.'"

That was only five weeks away from the fight card. Koscheck said at anytime he's just three weeks of training from being ready to fight. Koscheck wants to test Johnson's heart. He has some doubts after seeing Johnson (8-2, 5-2 UFC) tap back in 2007 at UFC 76 against Rich Clementi, who is now fighting down at 155 pounds. 

If he gets the win, Koscheck says he deserves the title over Dan Hardy, who beat his teammate Mike Swick last week at UFC 105. He also said he's done talking about a potential Matt Hughes fight, saying the former champ "doesn't want to get his ass whipped by a kid."  

It's been a long road back to the UFC for Phil Baroni. The former light heavyweight is now down at welterweight. He served time for a steroid suspension back in 2007 and fought in organizations like EliteXC, Icon Sport, Cage Rage and Palace Fighting Championship. So when Baroni got an offer to return to the big leagues after five years away, he wasn't about quibble over his opponent. Fellow gym member Amir Sadollah from Xtreme Couture was offered up and Baroni jumped at the chance.

"You take what you can get. We're professionals. Fight first, friends later. I'll fight anybody, it doesn't matter. Anyone who can move my career in the right direction."

With Sadollah at Xtreme Couture, Baroni chose to leave his home base of Las Vegas and train in San Jose at American Kickboxing Academy. Baroni will be involved in same odd twist if Randy Couture fights Mark Coleman February. Coleman and Baroni are longtime buddies. Baroni said he got more sparring in at AKA and really needed to get back his attack dog mentality.

"I haven't been that way in my last couple fights but I'm going back to my old ways. I'm gonna blast him out of there. I'm going straight ahead. Bulls go forward, I'm coming with my horns."

He lost badly to Joe Riggs his last time in June at a Strikeforce event out so it was surprising Baroni was brought back to the UFC where he was 3-5 from 2001-2005. He does fight for knockouts and Sadollah is a pretty solid striker. It should make for a stand-up war. Sadollah, the winner of season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter," has a lot on the line against Baroni. He was stopped quickly at UFC 101 by Johny Hendricks and can't afford another loss.  

Josh Kosheck and Anthony Johnson stepped up on less than a month's notice to hep the UFC rebuild this card. There's a wild scenario right now at Las Vegas sports books. Some houses have Johnson as a healthy favorite while others have Koscheck tabbed as the guy. Which means, an astute gambler can get both fighters at a plus number.

Watch RawVegas' Dave Farra breakdown some of the top fights with Cagewriter and Ben Fowlkes from CagePotato: 

UFC 106 odds (Courtesy Venetian Resort Hotel Casino)

Recommended plays in BOLD

Pay-Per-View Bouts:
Forrest Griffin (-130) v. Tito Ortiz (Even) - Light Heavyweight

Based on Tito's time off and little time to prep for a fight of this magnitude, Griffin should be a gigantic favorite. He's not and because he lacks finishing power. Anytime a wrestler, like Ortiz enters the cage and we're looking at a decision situation, he's got a shot. Ortiz can score often with takedowns. We've seen Griffin taken down in past fight and smashed out with elbows and punches by Rashad Evans. This should turn out to be a nasty fight with a close decision going to Ortiz.
PICK: ORTIZ EVEN

Josh Koscheck (+140) v. Anthony Johnson (-170) - Welterweight
Johnson, 25, is a great prospect but we still have plenty of questions about his takedown defense and what he can do from his back. His knockout power is awesome and he's a huge dude for the weight class, but he lacks the overall game of Koscheck. Koscheck seemed to indicate that when Johnson spent a brief time at his gym in San Jose, Amaiercan Kickboxing Academy, it was child's play. Johnson has certainly improved but if Koscheck fights a wise fight and gets it to the ground, he rolls to a win.
PICK: KOSCHECK +140

Paulo Thiago (-330) v. Jacob Volkmann (+250) -Welterweight
Volkmann is making his debut after a decorated wrestling career at Minnesota. Thiago got an impressive win via knockout against Koscheck but we haven't seen enough of him to tab him a favorite of this size. Jon Fitch took down Thiago whenever he wants and the jiu-jitsu never came close to pulling off a submission. Volkmann should be able to score multiple takedowns, it's just a matter of him staying out Thiago's clutches. There's too much value on the wrestler to pass.
PICK: VOLKMANN +250

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (-130) v. Luis Cane (Even) - Light heavyweight
This is going to be a slugfest. Little Nog piled up some good wins in Japan but the last two years he's fought less than sterling competition. He can win this fight if it goes to the ground but if stays on the feet Cane can hang with anyone in the UFC 205 division. Watch for Cane's kicks to set up a finish on the feet.
PICK: CANE EVEN 

Amir Sadollah (-180) v. Phil Baroni (+150) - Welterweight
There's still plenty of question about Sadollah and guy with two professional fights should not be able to compete with a veteran of 24 fights. But there's a lot of wear and tear on Baroni. He wasn't able to pull the trigger against Joe Riggs in June. What's going to be different here? If Sadollah avoids some big punches early, Baroni will wear down. Does Sadollah have finishing power? He's the pick but there's not enough of a track record to plunk down money.
PICK: SADOLLAH -180

Spike Television Preliminary Bouts:
Ben Saunders (+150) v. Marcus Davis (-180) - Welterweight
Saunders is dangerous for anybody. At 6-foot-3 you have to watch for his kicks and knees. But he's still a work in progress. He looked intimidated during his fight with Mike Swick. What's going to change here? Davis' should have a new attitude after a lackluster fight against Dan Hardy. Davis has the confidence and too many weapons to be taken out by Saunders. 
PICK: DAVIS -180

Kendall Grove (+130) v. Jake Rosholt (-160) - Middleweight
This is a nightmare matchup for Grove. Another grappler who can get low on his 6-6 frame. Grove simply doesn't move enough to stay out of Rosholt's clutches for 15 minutes. Rosholt would be an official play but he'll probably put himself in more dangerous positions than he needs to. Rosholt, a three-time national champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, is trying to add all MMA elements to his game on the fly. The threat of a knee or guillotine from Grove is enough to keep me from officially putting money down on this one.
PICK: ROSHOLT -160

Non-Televised Preliminary Bouts:
Brock Larson (-400) v. Brian Foster (+300) -Welterweight
Larson can't afford another lackluster performance. He got taken down at will and laid on by Mike Pierce at Ultimate Fight Night 19. He drilled his wrestling heavily and knows he needs to win to stay in the UFC. Foster lost his UFC debut against Rick Story via arm-triangle choke. Larson is too dangerous on top, he'll do the same here and quickly.
PICK: LARSON -400

Caol Uno (-250) v. Fabricio Camoes (+200) - Lightweight
Camoes makes his UFC debut off three straight wins in Strikeforce and EliteX. But the competition nowhere near the veteran Uno. This is a big step up. Uno should also be feeling a sense of urgency after lsoing a close decision to Spencer Fisher in what was a very boring fight. PICK: UNO -250

George Sotiropoulos (-500) v. Jason Dent (+350)- Lightweight
Dent has a decent showing on season nine of "The Ultimate Fighter" but now it's time for the big leagues. He's a well-rounded fighter but he doesn't belong at 155. Sotiropoulos looks like a real prospect after struggling for nearly two years with injuries. If Dent let's this go to the ground, he'll get ripped apart.
PICK: SOTIROPOULOS -500

Shock was the word of the night at WEC 44. Jose Aldo Jr. came in with a lofty reputation and plenty of quick knockouts but the way he ripped the WEC featherweight belt from Mike Brown's clutches was shocking. Even Brown looked a bit shellshocked during the postfight press conference. The former champ tried to explain what just went down but because it happened so fast he was searching for answers:

"I should've opened up more. I think I was a little too conservative. Maybe more takedown attempts. I really have to see the tape." 

Brown, who likes moving forward, never found his rhythym:

"Maybe that was my fault. My coaches told me I was only throwing one punch at a time."

Aldo's kicks really put a dent in Brown's attack: 

"I said 'I don't want to get hit with too many of those or I'll have trouble walking later on'" Brown was thinking during the fight. A few of those nasty shots caused Brown to see flashes.

WEC 44 POSTFIGHT: JOSE ALDO JR. from Steve Cofield on Vimeo.

The mixed martial arts world isn't the place to be if you're worried about your looks. Between the scars, broken noses and cauliflower ears you're not going to find a bunch of runway model candidates donning the four-ounce gloves. There's been several cases during fight week where Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin have proudly showcased black eyes. But that's where Griffin is different than Tito Ortiz. Tito does have an image he wants to uphold.

Tito has gone with the Stevie Wonder look this week in Las Vegas. No matter how dark the room is, Tito's been wearing sunglasses. Why? He suffered a vicious black eye on Nov. 9 when he was head-butted in training camp. Ortiz talked about it a few days later during his Big Bear media day (VIDEO - 0:44 mark). He was wearing the  sunglasses that day but had to remove them to put on headgear before sparring.

Tito tried to hide the black eye even with headgear on but the Las Vegas Sun got a pretty good shot of the shiner. He said today during the UFC 106 prefight press conference that the eye has gone down significantly but it must be pretty nasty looking, because the glasses were still on this afternoon. Expect the shades to make another appearance at tomorrow's weigh-in.

If it's that nasty, it makes you wonder if Griffin will target the eye on Saturday night. 

Kendall Grove likes being above the fray in the life but it's not the easiest thing to deal with in the Octagon. At 6-foot-6, he's got to be the tallest middeweight fighters in the world. That length definitely gives him a striking advantage especially with his kicks but it can prove to be a nightmare when Grove faces a wrestler or grappler. He was visibly frustrated when facing jiu-jitsu ace Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101. Grove lost that fight because he couldn't stay out of Almeida's clinch and now he's got a three-time NCAA wrestling champ standing in front of him in Jake Rosholt at UFC 106.

"That's why I love this game. It's a gamble. You never know what fighter's going to show up that night," Grove told Cagewriter. "I'm just going to come out and do what I do best, be exciting and not worry about the takedowns so much."  

Grove drilled his wrestling heavily and changed his strength workouts. The Hawaiian took the advice of B.J. Penn and worked for four weeks with Marv Marinovich. The 28-year-old feels stronger but he may not be at the same athletic level as Penn or Rosholt yet. Both of those guys have the "famed YouTube pool jump" to their credit. Penn was the first MMA fighter to explode on the net (3.51 million views) with his leap from three feet of water. That's without the assistance of his hands. Rosholt topped Penn by doing it backwards.

This is a big fight for both guys. Rosholt (6-1, 2-1 UFC) needs to continue to show that he can handle good strikers and Grove (10-6, 5-3 UFC) really needs to shore up his takedown defense if he wants rise above being more than a card filler at 185 pounds.

White claimed he's 213 and Liddell's Dancing With the Stars body is a distant memory. The only guys in shape in the video are Tito Ortiz, who said he was 220 last night and Anthony Johnson who was 180.

All of the video is shot at The Palms, much of it in the aftermath of WEC 44. Cub Swanson is featured for a few seconds. The poor dude broke both hands. 

White also talks briefly about the new WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo Jr., who he compares to Anderson Silva. Unlike his exaggeration with Philippe Nover, Aldo is the real deal. 

Anthony Johnson has the gift of gab. He can trash talk with the best of them but he doesn't come across as a jerk. Even better he doesn't mind on the receiving end of criticism. The 25-year-old welterweight was skewered by fans and media at UFC 104 last month when he missed weight by six pounds. Johnson went on to destroy Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the fight with a 41 second knockout but knew enough to step up in the cage to apologize for not fulfilling all his job duties.

"I didn't have to apologize. I chose to apologize. The fans desevred it. The UFC deserved it," Johnson told Cagewriter.

Aside from not being able to fully enjoy a big win, Johnson also lost a chance at a $60,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night.

"I didn't deserve it. I didn't make the weight."

Pat Barry was beneficiary of Johnson's mistake. The heavyweight got the KO of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. It turned out Barry desperately needed the 120k. He had zero money in his pocket the week of the fight and was weeks away from being evicted from his apartment.

"He deserved it more than I did because I heard his story, and I was just like ' take it dude.' My hat goes off to Pat Barry. I'm glad that he got that bonus. Me? I'll get bonuses some other time. When the time is right, I'll get a bonus. He needed it so the time was right for him."

Now Johnson isn't Mr. Nice Guy all the time especially when it comes time to step into the Octagon. Johnson (8-2, 5-2 UFC) has been given a huge opportunity to take out a top five UFC welterweight in Josh Koscheck. That could mean a quick shot at the UFC 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre. This is one of those classic style matchups. Koscheck, a great collegiate wrestler, could probably get Johnson to the ground and grind out a decision win but he also likes striking. No one has been able to strike with Johnson in his seven UFC fights. He's got four first round knockouts and is huge for the weight class. 

Parisyan also pulled out at the last minute at UFC 88. He has struggled with panic attacks and anxiety disorder in the past. White's tired of hearing the excuses, valid or not:

White said Hazelett will get both his show and win money since he got screwed out of a fight after eight weeks of training.

Cagewriter spoke with the director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Keith Kizer, who was unaware of Parisyan dropping from the card around 1 p.m. PT.

He did point out that the commission never got the fine money from Parisyan. He was going to pay the state back with a portion of his show money at UFC 106.

Parisyan was due $40,000 to show and $40,000 to win this weekend. He's obviously getting nothing now that he's dropped out of UFC 106. He still owes Nevada $32,000 from the fine levied during the March hearing. Parisyan, 27, was given suspended for the use of two types of painkillers before his fight against Dong Hyun Kim.  

We've talked about MMA's best bromances before, but somehow left out the relationship top pound-for-pound fighter Anderson Silva has with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira his brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In this video, the Big Nog and Anderson talk about how they have shaped each other's career. Around the 1:05 mark, Silva discusses how both Nogueira brothers were responsible for Silva staying in the sport. You also get to hear Silva speak English, which he rarely does in public, when calling Big Nog the best fighter in the world.

Thanks, MMA Mania

Jose Aldo Jr. was the star of the night at WEC 44. He entered the cage with a calm demeanor and took apart Mike Brown in a one-sided battle. It wasn't so easy for Shane Roller in his lightweight fight against Danny Castillo. Roller was likely trailing going into the final two and a half minutes of the match when he pulled off a great submission.

"When I got on top there in the third, I knew I had to finish the fight," Roller told Cagewriter just after the fight. "I thought I was going to punch just like I did in the second, when I did his chin popped up and I sunk in the choke. Heard him kind of grunt a little bit so I just gave it all the squeeze I had and finished the fight."

Once the win was in hand, Roller was faced with another challenge. The dreaded postfight urine test. It's not easy to produce a sample after battling for 10-15 minutes.

"I downed four bottles of water in about five minutes back there. You have to make it past the line. I peed three times and finally made it past."

Roller said his trainer Marc Laimon even used mind tricks by turning on the shower.

Roller says he's ready to be in the WEC lightweight title mix. He'd love the winner of Ben Henderson and Jamie Varner.

This is not true in the case of Versus' Todd Harris, who calls World Extreme Cagefighting events along with UFC heavyweight Frank Mir. He is, quite simply, horrible at working fights, and for that, wins Cagewriter's facepalm of the week. A few examples from last night's broadcast of WEC 44:

-- In Shane Roller's win over Danny Castillo, Harris repeatedly called Roller's rear naked choke a guillotine. Look, in MMA, there are a lot of moves that can get mixed up, or that are named differently across regions. However, the only thing that rear naked chokes and guillotines have in common is that they are choking submissions. Knowing the difference between the two is MMA 101.

-- "Danny Castillo is gassed, and now he's going to tee off!" What? If he's gassed, how is he teeing off? 

-- In the first 10 seconds of the Darabedyan/McCullough bout, Harris wondered why McCullough wasn't starting off strong. He felt comfortable making that assessment in the first 10 seconds. 

-- "Both corners are talking about changing levels, Frank. Interpret."

If the man isn't willing to learn the basics of MMA, he should not be allowed to continue as a commentator of MMA. Harris has worked college football, the Winter Olympics, racing, bull riding and the X Games. With such a varied career, he shouldn't have a hard time finding other work. 

Antonio Banuelos has gotten Mustache of the Night on at least one occasion here on Cagewriter. He got a run for his money in the hair department tonight on the WEC 44 undercard from Kenji Osawa, who was sporting some sort of faux hawk/mullet that made him resemble a mini-horse head.

"It was kind of awesome. I can't dog his hair. It looked good for him," Banuelos, speaking with Cagewriter, gave Osawa props for the pompadour.

But he wasn't about to relinquish the title of best hair:

"My mustache was nice. Come on!"

Banuelos then went after Cagewriter's attempt at a goatee. Banuelos' buddy Chuck Liddell can be heard in the background dogging the reddish mess ( mark). 

Banuelos also went on the attack about a low blow he took in the first round. Osawa nailed him with a kick but it wasn't the fighter Banuelos got mad at: 

"It did hurt. I gotta get a new cup. I know why the [expletive], I gotta sue the company."

Banuelos only took about 60 seconds off to recover from the low blow which seemed odd since referee Kim Winslow is allowed to give the fighter up to five minutes: 

"I wanted to keep my momentum going. I was gong hard in that first round.. I didn't want to give him the chance for the momentum to get in his corner."

Banuelos took a unanimous decision from Osawa 29-28 on all three cards but it wasn't easy. He gave Osawa plenty of credit in the postfight press conference saying he hit the guy with some big shots but he just wouldn't stay down.

"He's a real tough guy. I popped him a few times, but he's a veteran fighter. I tried to knock him out."

That was win No. 18 for Banuelos, who is now 8-4 in WEC. Banuelos said he'd love for his next fight to be a shot at the bantamweight title. Realistically, he probably needs a few more wins to get a crack at Brian Bowles.

Shane Roller had the help of one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters tonight. Boba Fett was in Roller's corner when he beat Danny Castillo by rear naked choke this evening. Rumor has it that it was trainer Marc Laimon, but I prefer to believe that it was Fett and he arrived at the Pearl at the Palms by jetpack.

Thanks for the picture, Watch Kalib Run

What, you were too busy watching Jose Aldo become the new WEC featherweight champion, you forgot to set your DVR and you missed "The Ultimate Fighter?" No worries, dear reader. Cagewriter has you covered.

Last week, Roy Nelson won the quarterfinal fight with Justin Wren in a bout that really should have gone to the third round. Also, we got to hear Matt Mitrione hem and haw about whether his head was too "rattled" to fight. Will he actually fight? We'll find out ... maybe.

Mitrione comes into the gym and tells Rashad Evans and the other coaches a bunch of different stories about what is wrong with his head. He goes as far as saying that it's swelling of the brain, which Trevor Wittman rightly calls BS. The coaches still don't know what he's going to do, because they want him to want it. 

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson hears that Mitrione is back in, but is still preparing Kimbo Slice to get ready to fight. Slice hurt his knee, so the coaches try to prepare him to fight around the knee problem. The doctor came into see Kimbo and told him that the best option is a cortizone shot. However, Kimbo says that he doesn't want that big needle. 

COACHES' CHALLENGE!

If you're unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is the coaches' challenge, it's when we all get to watch the coaches play each other in a sport that they don't know how to play for a wad of cash. Hilarity almost always ensues. Tonight's coaches' challenge feature Rashad Mike Van Arsdale facing Rampage and Tiki Ghosn playing each other in beach volleyball. The winning coaches will get $10,000 and the winning coaches' team members will each get $1,500.

In something resembling the beach volleyball scene from Top Gun, Rashad and Mike Van Arsdale take off their shirts to play some volleyball. Team Rampage takes the first game, but Team Rashad comes back to win the second game. Dana White says that it turns into a really good volleyball game. I don't know if such a thing exists, Dana. Team Rashad wins the final game, taking the match from Rampage and Tiki. There is much joy in Team Rashadville.

After the game, Rashad shows off the money he just won, and tells Rampage that he should give some of his money to his fighters. I don't really understand the logic. Rampage asks his fighters if they would rather get money or see Rampage knock Rashad out? They answer that they want to see Rampage win. Since Rampage backed away from the fight, does that mean that he owes each of his fighters $1500?

After the game, the fighters coax Kimbo Slice into an ice bath. He's from Miami and hates the cold more than anything, so he is not pleased. It turns into quite the sight. 

Brendan Schaub is fighting Jon Madsen tonight, and Schaub is annoyed that Rashad isn't spending any time with him. "Jon and Rashad are wrestlers, and wrestlers stick together," Schaub says. That's true, but sulking about it won't help. 

Will he or won't he?

Mitrione has another talk with his coaches and doesn't really ever go out and say that he wants to fight. He says that he feels pressured to fight. In the confessional, Mitrione says that he just wants to go home and get back to his normal life. Rashad finally says enough and calls Dana White to tell him that Mitrione is out. Oooh, does that mean we get a Dana speech?

Yes! Dana gives them the "You're never 100% when you fight" speech. Mitrione says, "I think that it's maybe 90% directed towards me." Hmmm, maybe there is something wrong with his head, because that was completely directed at you, Meathead. 

Brendan Schaub vs. Jon Madsen

Round 1: After a minute of stand-up, Madsen gets the expected takedown of Schaub. He smothered Schaub for a little more than a minute until the referee stands them up. Schaub gets in clinch work and avoids Madsen's takedown until the final minute. Madsen keeps Schaub down until the bell rings.

Round 2: Madsen tries for the takedown early on, but isn't as successful this time around. Schaub shakes Madsen off and continues the stand-up. Fatigue is starting to set in, but Schaub finds enough in him to stalk down Madsen, land two rights in a row, and knock out Madsen. Schaub is the winner. He then takes a bow over his fallen teammate. I don't mind celebrating, but come on. That's your teammate. 

As if the euphoria from climbing to the top of the featherweight mountain wasn't enough, Jose Aldo Jr. also got Knockout of the Night and a $10,000 bonus. Technically Aldo's finish of Mike Brown was a TKO via strikes as the Brazilian flattened out the American Top Teamer and forced the stoppage from referee Steve Mazzagatti.

Cub Swanson, who broke his left hand and fractured his right index finger, got Fight of the Night along with his opponent John Franchi. Shane Roller got Submission of the Night for his rear-naked choke finish of Danny Castillo. All four award winners got $10,000. One other injury note included Diego Nunes, a loser against L.C. Davis., who was transported to a local hospital with what was described as an orbital injury.

There were plenty of good fights that could've nabbed awards. The Roller-Castillo fight was definitely in the running for Fight of the Night. But the fight that really got short-changed in that department was Karen Darabedyan versus Rob McCullough. That was one of the hardest hitting stand-up fights of 2009. 

On the betting front, favorites were 5-2.

Aldo and Manny Gamburyan cashed in pick'em situtations. The only two underdogs to win were Roller (+115) and L.C. Davis (+140). Cagewriter called the two wrestlers the best values on the board in the prefight. On the flip side, we also called for Brown to beat Aldo and that certainly did not happen.  

WEC 44 winners (in bold) with odds:

Mike Brown (-110) v. Jose Aldo (-110)
Leonard Garcia (-115) v. Manny Gamburyan (-115)
Rob McCullough v. Karen Darabedyan - Not booked
Danny Castillo (-145) vs. Shane Roller (+115)
Will Kerr (+150) v. Kamal Shalorus (-180)
L.C. Davis (+140) v. Diego Nunes (-170)
John Franchi (+230) v. Cub Swanson (-280)
Antonio Banuelos (-210) v. Kenji Osawa (+170)
Ricardo Lamas (-230) v. James Krause (+180)
Frank Gomez (-160) v. Seth Dikun (+130)

One of the main questions going into WEC 44's main event, a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and defending champ Mike Brown, was would Aldo's speed beat Brown's strength? As it turned out for Mike Brown, speed kills, as Aldo TKOed Brown for the featherweight championship at 1:20 in the second round in Las Vegas tonight. 

Though many expected Jose Aldo to come out fast and swinging as he has done in previous fights, he played a smart game, waiting for his opportunities to attack Aldo. Brown stayed neck and neck with Aldo, though, landing several knees into Aldo's thighs. 

But the Aldo we all know came alive in the second round. He took Brown's back and rained down a series of blows onto Brown's head. Brown stayed covered up but didn't do anything to get out of the bottom position, so Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight. 

Aldo was quite emotional and broke down in tears as the championship belt was placed around his waist. Through a translator -- fighter Pedro Rizzo -- Aldo called Brown a tough fighter. 

"He had a great fight and was landing punches that I wasn't," Brown said after the fights.

At just 23 years, Aldo still has the experience of 17 fights with only one loss. With few fighters possessing his sort of speed, he will pose a problem for every fighter on the WEC roster. 

Leonard Garcia looked like a giant in the cage facing little Manny Gamburyan. But having a huge height advantage isn't always the path to victory. The 5-foot-8 Garcia struggled all night finding range and more importantly Gamburyan's head. He never landed any shots of significance. Garcia's punches got wilder as the fight went along allowing the 5-4 Gamburyan to score several takedowns and pull out a unanimous decision win 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in a featherweight fight at WEC 44. 

Garcia fought from a distance the entire fight and never tried to put his punches together. Gamburyan had it figured out by the third round and actually dropped his hands, dancing in front of Garcia (13-5, 3-2 WEC). The Texan took the bait, was taken to the ground and controlled for the final two minutes securing the win for Gamburyan (10-4, 2-0 WEC).

Karen Darabedyan made his WEC debut against tonight against Rob McCullough, a WEC former champ. It was Darabedyan who looked like the seasoned pro, though, as Darabedyan won a split decision 30-27, 27-30, 29-28.

The first round was a stand-up war, with Darabedyan executing near-perfect striking. At one point, McCullough lowered his hands and asked for more. Darabedyan obliged, unloading a series of punches on McCullough's face. Darabedyan was less overwhelming in the second round, as McCullough was able to land more shots. Both fighter sustained cuts in this round.

McCullough used leg kicks in the final round to try to gain an advantage, but Darabedyan kept coming at McCullough with sharp striking and unceasing movement. As the round ended, McCullough dropped his hands again and told Darabedyan to keep throwing punches. That got a huge response out of the crowd, but didn't necessarily help McCullough's case with the judges. 

Quite often, in a battle of two wrestlers, the fight will turn into a stand-up war. That was not true in the lightweight bout between Danny Castillo (8-2-0) and Shane Roller (7-2-0), as they spent most of their bout on the ground.

Danny Castillo outwrestled Shane Roller, an All-American wrestler at powerhouse Oklahoma St. Castillo took down Roller down with ease and blocked any attempt Roller made at a takedown. Roller roared back in the second round, spending much of it on Castillo's back. He wasn't able to submit him at that point, but he did cause much damage by pounding on Castillo's ears.

In the third round, a seemingly exhausted Roller was able to take Castillo's back and wrench Castillo's neck in a vicious rear naked choke. Castillo tapped, making Roller the winner.

This is Roller's second win in a row, and his only WEC loss is to interim champion Ben Henderson. Castillo, a protege of WEC star Urijah Faber, toniight suffered his first loss in more than a year. 

L.C. Davis is a rough customer. If you can't stay off your back, you're in for a long night. Davis manhandled unbeaten Diego Nunes scoring a unanimous decision victory 30-26 on all cards in a featherweight fight. Nunes was docked a point in the final round for holding onto the fence.

Davis (15-2, 2-0 WEC) set the tone in the second round when he landed a big knee out of a Thai clinch and then five-punch combination. Nunes was rocked at that point. Davis eventually caught Nunes in a guillotine choke later in the round which he took to the ground. Davis let it go but Nunes was gassed and could barely stand at the end of the round. 

In the previous fight, WEC veteran Cub Swanson (14-3, 5-2 WEC) locked horns with youngster John Franchi. The 24-year-old gave him a run for his money but finally ran out of steam in the final 20 seconds of the fight. Swanson slapped on a guillotine choke. Swanson (pictured kicking) screamed in the air as he squeezed with all his might. Franchi (5-2, 1-2 WEC) held out for nearly 10 seconds but had to tape at 4:50 of third round.

"I want just wanted to go in there and fight, do whatever it took to get the win," said Gomez, who trains in Albuquerque at Jackson's Submission Fighting. "It gave me a lot of momentum training with all those tough guys. Greg's the best coach in the world."

Donald Cerrone, Joe Stevenson, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans and Nate Marquardt are some of the many fighters who train at Greg Jackson's gym in New Mexico.  

Dikun (7-4, 1-2 WEC) did a nice job from the bottom during the first round which got him the nod from judge Glen Trowbridge. Dikun used his legs well, at times working for an omoplata and triangle choke.

LAMAS PUTS KRAUSE ON HIS BACK TO POUND OUT A WIN

Ricardo Lamas bounced back from a tough knockout loss at WEC 42 to Danny Castillo by physically mauling James Krause. Lamas, with a strong collegiate background, came away with the advantage in each clinch situation.

Krause found himself on his back too often with Lamas raining down shots from a standing position. When the fight was standing Krause was a one-punch fighter while Lamas put together some nice combinations. Lamas (6-1, 2-1 WEC) got the unanimous decision win 30-27 on all cards in the lightweight battle.

Maybe it was announcer Joe Martinez, who spurred on Lamas. The veteran ring voice for WEC called him Ricardo "Lopez" before the bout.

BANUELOS OVERHAND RIGHT TOO MUCH FOR OSAWA

Kenji Osawa kept circling to the left and Antonio Banuelos was more than happy to greet the one-dimensional fighter with big rights. Banuelos floored Osawa in the first and opened a pre-existing cut in the second as he rolled to a unanimous deicision win 29-28 on all three cards, in the third fight of the night in a 135-pound fight.

Banuelos (18-5, 8-4 WEC) was the more accurate and active fighter throughout. Osawa scraped out the second round with some good body kicks. He landed a left body kick with 1:25 left in the second that seemed to cut down Banuelos' attack for the remainder of the round. 

KAMAL SHALORUS DEBUTS WITH QUICK KO

Both Kamal Shalorus (5-0-1) and Will Kerr (8-2-0) were making their WEC debut tonight in the lightweight divison, but it was Shalorus who made the lasting impression. He started throwing huge bombs from the bell, knocking down Kerr early on. Kerr relied on jiu-jitsu to try to avoid Shalorus' punches, but was unsuccessful. As soon as Kerr got back to his feet, Shalorus TKOed Kerr at 1:26 in the first round. After the fight, Shalorus, an Iranian, thanked America for the opportunity to fight. 

On the betting front, Mike Brown's 145-pound WEC title defense against Jose Aldo is catching the most action. Brown opened the day as a slight favorite at minus-125. Aldo money has turned the fight into a pick'em. Some Leonard Garcia action has also turned his fight against Manny Gamburyan into a pick'em. The biggest favorite on the card is Cub Swanson at minus-280 against John Franchi.

Cagewriter picked Brown in the WEC media poll. He's probably the best value on the board against the smaller Aldo. There's also some value on wrestlers Shane Roller (+115) and L.C. Davis (+140). Roller, a former Oklahoma State grappler, may be able to control the pace and steal minutes from Danny Castillo. Davis, a veteran of Affliction, Sengoku and IFL is fighting unbeaten Diego Nunes.  

WEC 44 ODDS (courtesy Palms Casino Resort at 6 p.m. ET):

Televised Bouts:
Mike Brown (-110) v. Jose Aldo (-110)
Leonard Garcia (-115) v. Manny Gamburyan (-115)
Rob McCullough v. Karen Darabedyan - Not booked
Danny Castillo (-145) vs. Shane Roller (+115)

Non-Televised Preliminary Bouts:
Will Kerr (+150) v. Kamal Shalorus (-180)
L.C. Davis (+140) v. Diego Nunes (-170)
John Franchi (+230) v. Cub Swanson (-280)
Antonio Banuelos (-210) v. Kenji Osawa (+170)
Ricardo Lamas (-230) v. James Krause (+180)
Frank Gomez (-160) v. Seth Dikun (+130)

With all the publicity the famed Brazilian camp American Top Team gets, you'd think that was the only American-based Brazilian team producing good fighters. Jose Aldo Jr. and his trainer Marcelo Mireiro think it's time their camp Nova Uniao gets a little attention. Mireiro points that many of the high level MMA fighters around the world got their initial training with Nova Uniao. That includes B.J. Penn, who got his black belt there. So when Aldo and Mireiro, heard that UFC welterweight contender and American Top Team teammate Thiago Alves was helping Mike Brown get ready for today's WEC main event, they scoffed:

"I don't see the problem about that," said Aldo through Mereiro. "In my camp, I have really good guys. Thiago is a good fighters but I'm not scared of who he trained with or didn't train with. I'm not impressed."

Aldo has a good jiu-jitsu base but he still prefers standing and striking. He's scored five wins in WEC all via strikes. Aldo says that what's the fans like, so that's what he likes. 

''There's that saying what don't kill you makes you stronger," Garcia told Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Man, I've almost been dead several times. From a stabbing to being shot to having criminal charges brought upon me, which is basically being dead if you're in prison. I faced all of these things and always come out on top and put them behind me.''

Garcia got a title shot earlier this year against WEC feathweight champ Mike Brown, but now says there's was too much going on at the time and he wasn't ready:

''I feel like I got a title shot early on and maybe since I lost, it was premature. 'If I won, I probably would have thought it was right on time. Now I feel like I've had a bunch of good fights here. I feel like I'm one of the fan favorites. I'm really happy with the way my career is going.''

''Having the feeling of big grief lifted (off) your shoulders helps a lot. It gives you a perspective on life, and being able to appreciate life is something some people never get to do. Now I can appreciate things. I look back and say, 'Man, how could I not have been living like this?' It turned out to be a great thing for me."

It was a long, hard journey to reach the top for WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown. He toiled in obscurity making little money for years. Now he's seeing the fruits of his labor. Brown is still the everyman from Maine, who's lucky enough to live in South Florida but gone is the old Ford Focus. Brown used to brag that even with him being on television dozens of times each year, he was keeping the old Focus. But now along with the WEC title strap he's rolling in a new whip, an Audi from a local dealership in North Miami (4:55 mark). 

"We got the blue tooth capability. We talk to the steering wheel, 'hey it's the champ driving now, what's up!'

Brown joked with Cagewriter that his ego is huge:

"Yep, don't talk to me, I can just hang up with my thumb."  

Brown said he's recognized in odd places now in South Florida. He's getting plenty of attention since his fights are often replayed on Versus. He deserves it, he twice took out the WEC's poster boy Urijah Faber. But now there's pressure of staying on top. It won't be easy with the roster of young 145-pounders on the way up. Brown defends his title for the third time against 23-year-old Jose Aldo tonight at WEC 44 in Las Vegas.

Brown, 33, talked about being one of the old guys and how the sport is now producing mixed martial artists. Brown, primarily a wrestler, took years to add all of the elements to his game. It's pretty obvious Brown should test Aldo's ability to stay off his back. But Brown also pointed out that you can't waste too much energy shooting for takedowns if they're not there. 

-- Silver Star Casting Company picked up Forrest Griffin, and designed his walkout shirt for UFC 106. Though their clothes are not my favorite -- this is the only design I like with skulls and flowers --  they have been impressive in picking up fighters. Their roster now includes Lyoto Machida, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Clay Guida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and even the world's best boxer, Manny Pacquaio. Their shirts also rarely cost more than $30, a nice change for MMA gear. Buy the Griffin shirt here for $26.

-- Ecko Unlimited has also made inroads in the world of MMA, sponsoring Miguel Torres, Michael Bisping, Frank Mir, and in the boxing world, Miguel Cotto. Ecko is already giving back to MMA. Torres and Mir both shot Ecko ads encouraging New York to make MMA legal. Of course, MMA in New York would help their bottom line, but that doesn't mean the ads aren't a good thing. Few other clothing companies have stepped up in this manner.

-- RVCA, who sponsors Fedor Emelianenko, and Clinch Gear, which is owned by Dan Henderson, have reportedly been banned from the Octagon. RVCA's only major UFC fighters are BJ Penn and Vitor Belfort, who are unlikely to have trouble finding new sponsors.

Clinch Gear, which was likely kicked out because of the UFC's contract dispute with Henderson and his rumored deal with Strikeforce, sponsors WEC fighters Scott Jorgensen and Chad Mendes and UFC fighter Krzysztof Soszynszki. Those are up-and-coming fighters who may not have the easiest time finding a new sponsor. Not only that, but Clinch makes some of the more wearable MMA shirts and shorts that quite often have a simpler, collegiate design. I love this red, hooded sweatshirt and navy t-shirt.

Fighters are an odd lot. Sometimes it seems like they have to be, to do what they do for a living. Forrest Griffin may take the cake. Sometimes Griffin is glib and funny. Other times he can be cantankerous and grumpy. The Las Vegas Sun did a great feature on trying to figure out what makes Griffin tick. Brett Okamoto describes the former UFC light heavyweight champs oddities perfectly by going back to prefight mood before UFC 94:

After becoming the UFC light heavyweight champ in July 2008, Griffin seemed more angry than proud, bullying through a moody camp before losing his first title defense to Rashad Evans

Griffin lost that via stoppage and then was embarrassed by Anderson Silva at UFC 101. Griffin snapped right after being knocked out and ran from the cage:

“I was definitely broken that day, no doubt about it. I was so stressed about that fight and I was really disappointed because I thought I was mentally stronger than that. I thought I could handle whatever there was. Now I'm just trying to stay positive and have fun. You know, enjoy that moment when you get in the cage."

Griffin has often missed out on enjoying the big moments in his career:

“When he won the UFC title against Rampage, he showed the belt to a few people then threw it in the closet,” said Griffin’s trainer, Jimmy Gifford. “You, me — we hang that on the mantle and show it to family and friends. He threw the UFC light heavyweight belt in his closet. That next camp he was pissed at the world because he was the champ. It’s a bit unusual, but it’s Forrest."

Griffin changed things up for this camp leaving Xtreme Couture to go work at Warrior Training Center. Much his work is now down with boxing trainer Jimmy Gifford. Frank Mir has also been a recent convert to Gifford on a close to full-time basis. Gifford has tried to simply things for Griffin. There are no worries about what fans and the promotion want, the focus is only on beating Tito Ortiz this Saturday.   

Leonard Garcia has his confidence back after a long battle and win over Jameel Massouh at WEC 42 in August. Now he wants another shot at theWEC featherweight title. He needs a few more wins to get back in the mix. Up next is Manny Gamburyan. When he spoke with Cagewriter, it didn't sound like he thought much Gamburyan's overall game. The 5-foot-8 Garcia fought three times in the UFC at 155 pounds, now that he's down at 145 he feels like a giant. Even more so against a guy like Gamburyan, who's a compact 5-4.

"It's definitely an advantage. I love it," Garcia told Cagewriter. "I like being considered one of the bigger guys. It makes me come in a little more confident. I know I'm going to be stronger than the other guys just because of leverage alone.

Garcia (13-4, 2-1 WEC) suggests Gamburyan is simply too small to strike with him:

"I feel like I can hold him with one arm and punch him with the other. I don't know if that'll happen during the fight, anything that'll work. Anything to use my reach is going to be utilized."

Thinking Gamburyan has to get the fight to the ground to stand a chance, Garcia drilled his wrestling and takedown defense heavily in training: 

"Why would he stand up with me? He's been knocked out before (UFC 87 versus Rob Emerson). I'm sure he questioned himself after that."

Garcia says Gamburyan is no different than a one-dimensional striker, who's always looking for that home run punch:

"Manny's looking for the takedown [so] he might get knocked out. I'm not looking for anything. All I ever try to do is hit the guy as many times as I can."

Garcia also gives his ideas on why he's a power puncher and others lack power. He uses boxer Manny Pacquiao as the example. In spite of jumping from 126 to 145 pounds over the last five years, Pacman has retained his power at the bigger weight. 

Jose Aldo Jr. much like other Brazilian fighter is living the dream fighting in America. Born into poverty in the Amazon, Aldo is thrilled to be making a living as a full-time fighter. During WEC 44 workout day, when the subject turned to his family, Aldo got emotional (5:38 mark).

"For everything that happen to me back in the days. For now it's a dream come true. I can't describe the possibilty to help my parents, my sisters and the community. It's a dream come true."

Just 23-years-old, Aldo has been through it all. That includes being tossed into a barbecue pit as a toddler. No, it wasn't some sort of torture. Aldo was in a playpen near a barbecue as a child when his older sisters, also under 10, decided it would be fun to flip their little bro into the fire. Aldo suffered minor injuries but it did leave a sizable scar on the left side of his face. 

Aldo had a difficult childhood. He began working along with his father on construction sites at six years old. The rough upbringing has led him to the brink of a world title with WEC. He challenges Mike Brown for the 145 pound title tomorrow night in Las Vegas. 

I am sure most of you know I am not the leader of the Lesnar Fan Club. That being said, antics or not, he is OUR UFC HWT Champion. He beat a future Hall of Famer to keep that belt and he NEEDS our prayers and good thoughts right now ... Brock has a wife, kid, and friends that depend on him to make their lives better. You do not have to support Brock and his antics but you should have respect for the human side of what is happening here.

Carwin went on to say that Lesnar shouldn't lose his championship belt because of sickness.

Talk of stripping a man of his title due to illness will set this sport back farther then anything Brock has ever said. We need our Champions healthy and defending. I know the show will go on but to be a Champion you must beat a Champion ... If you sit around bashing Brock or making fun of this because of his antics you might be the very same thing you despise. As an MMA fan, as a human be concerned that one of OUR OWN has fallen and needs our support.

Outside of Lesnar and his camp, Carwin has the most to lose from Lesnar being away from the sport. Carwin was training for a title shot when Lesnar pulled out of their planned bout. He now sits in limbo, waiting to see if Lesnar's health improves enough to fight or if he will have to take another fight in the meantime. 

Thanks, Fighters Only

Dan Hardy had a nice win this weekend over Mike Swick which gives him the opportunity to fight Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight belt. In case all of that doesn't work out, he still has a secure future as a pizza delivery guy. Check out more of Combat Lifestyle's pictures here, including a photo of Hardy and Swick's postfight reconciliation. Leave your best caption in the comments, and read on for winners of our last create-a-caption.

First place: You have to co-promote with this monkey!  -- mainevent

Second place: In Russia, this is how we negotiate. Unfortunately, Dana White didn't want to abide by my monkey's requests.  -- Clint

Third place: Look the monkey goes with my sweater now kiss it and show your loyalty. -- adamn fool

This is beyond a nightmare scenario for the UFC. Lesnar, who with only four fights won the championship belt, has been a marketing coup. As a former professional wrestler who was quite popular with WWE, he brought with him a built-in fanbase. Not only that, the UFC has been hit by a run of injuries and infections. Lesnar's frightening illness has been coupled with injuries to champions Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, as well as a staph infection to former champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Shane Carwin, who was supposed to face Lesnar at this weekend's UFC 106, has an MCL injury.

Beyond the business end of Lesnar's situation, it is a bizarre and sad thing to watch such an athlete be felled by sickness. Lesnar is a hulk of a man, standing 6-foot-3 and usually walking around at quite a bit more than his fighting weight of 265 lbs. At just 32 years old, he is the last person you would associate with the word unhealthy.

This may open the door for the UFC to offer an interim heavyweight championship belt while Lesnar recuperates, but they won't be in a rush to do that, as Carwin and Nogueira aren't available to fight right now. If the UFC decides to put up an interim belt, hopefully Lesnar won't be concerned with that, and he will be focused on getting healthy. 

Matt Gentry, an NCAA champion for Stanford University, represented Canada at the 2008 Olympics at 74 kg. Now an assistant coach at Stanford, Gentry plans to try for the Olympics again in 2012. He points out that having GSP in the mix could strengthen Canada's delegation, but it isn't easy to get there. 

"Evan McDonald is the number one guy in Canada at that weight. If St. Pierre comes in, there's going to be a lot of depth at that weight," Gentry told Cagewriter. "That kind of depth is only going to make our country better. It will make the representative who ends up competing more tested, and they'll have to work harder to earn that spot, which will pay off in the long run."

McDonald wrestled for Canada in the world championships this past September. If GSP were to try to wrestle in the Olympics, he would need to get through both Gentry and McDonald. With such little freestyle wrestling experience, it could be difficult.

"He does have good takedowns, he does have good blast doubles, but it's hard to make the comparison," Gentry said. "But [MMA fighters] stand upright. I've seen those blast doubles, and he's certainly a horse in terms of conditioning, but it is pretty different. It's such a technical sport."

Yes, St. Pierre is very adept at using wrestling during fights. However, there is a huge difference between taking down a striker like Thiago Alves at will and trying to do the same against Buvaisar Saitiev, the Russian gold medalist at GSP's weight class and one of the most dominant wrestlers of the past decade. 

Just qualifying your country's weight class for the Olympics is a difficult feat. It requires the wrestler to take a top eight placing at the 2011 World Championships, win their continental championship -- for GSP, it would be the Pan-American Championships -- or win one of the two qualifying tournaments. How hard is that? Only one country, Russia, qualified wrestlers in every weight class for Beijing. Out of eighteen weight classes, Canada qualified ten of them in 2008.

Making Canada's team is also a time-intensive feat. GSP would need to start with the Canadian national championships in 2011 to become part of the ladder of competitors for the Olympic Trials. After that, GSP would need to win the Canadian Olympic Trials, usually held in December of the year before the Olympics. This would tie up GSP for more than a year.

Still, Gentry isn't going to look past St. Pierre if he does try for the Olympics. 

"He's a competitor, I'm sure that he'll be tough to beat, no matter what he's competing in."

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Jose Aldo and Mike Brown for the WEC featherweight belt. So many questions will be answered in just one bout. Does Aldo have enough stamina to go five rounds? Will Brown be able to withstand Aldo's quick striking? Will we finally see Aldo's ground game? Is Brown one of the best featherweights of all time? We'll find that all out on Wednesday night. 

Sunday, on Twitter, Mayhem scored the first punch, saying, "Jake, the worst damage you did was give me staph, zit covered leg humper." Shields found Mayhem amusing and answered back, "Lol @mayhemmiller. You seem upset?" and then posted this picture:

Well, that's a trump card if I've ever seen one. Miller fired back, "@jakeshieldsajj hugged your way to all those? Let's do it again, I'll hold on after the bell this time." Shields continued, mentioning that he was onto bigger and better, but his best strike was the picture in the first round. Sorry, Mayhem, but I think Shields won this one, too. 

When I watched, I agreed that the fight could have gone either way, and I did score it for Vera. However, it was a close fight, and sometimes, in close fights, the judges don't agree with the fans and media. Why was there so much vitriol over this decision?

UFC color analyst Joe Rogan, of course. He swayed the popular thought with statements like, "Randy was really hurt to that kick to the body. He didn't show it, but he was." If he didn't show it, how do you know? Do you have a secret insight, and if so, will you please share it with the class? Rogan went on about Couture' power, strength and size throughout the fight, but then questioned the decision. Really? 

There's nothing wrong with Rogan disagreeing with the judges. It's actually a good thing that he voices his disagreements. Otherwise, he would turn into a shill like the guy he sits next to. But using that microphone to say that this was a bad decision when it was just a really close fight isn't a good use of the microphone.  With that said, let's get to the best quotes of the night.

"To be a legend, you must beat a legend, and tonight it's the greatest legend, Randy Couture." -- Goldberg. Apparently, Goldberg gets a bonus every time he says legend.

"And a couple of unnecessary shots at the end there." -- Rogan, after Andre Winner knocked out Roli Delgado. This, again, is Rogan using his microphone for the wrong things. Winner's job was to keep hitting Delgado until a referee stopped him. He's a fighter, not a doctor or a referee. 

"I've rolled with Dan Hardy. He's very hard to hold down." -- Rogan. Oh, really?

"For a shot at Georges St. Pierre." -- Goldberg. "Maybe it's better to lose." -- Rogan

"That was the right hand that had him on queer street." -- Rogan

"I think all referees should be required to talk in that accent." -- Rogan, about Marc Goddard. Agreed. British accents always make me happy. 

Brandon Vera thought he had done enough by landing the harder shots and exhibiting good takedown defense to pull out a huge win over the legendary Randy Couture. The judges disagreed. They gave a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) win to Couture. Cagewriter scored it 30-28 for Vera.

The disappointed Vera left the Octagon when he heard the decision, and sat cageside on the steps. After that, he handled things with class, immediately stepping back in to speak with UFC color analyst Joe Rogan.

"I still don't know. What the hell? Thanks judges," Vera said of the decision.

Vera didn't gripe too strongly beyond that. 

"I thought I won. I left it all out there. I gave it to Randy that best that I could. I don't know man, I don't know." 

Rogan said sternly that there have been quite a few problems with judging recently. There was also some outrage following the close fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua at UFC 104. Many viewers, media members, Rogan and UFC president Dana White thought Rua won the fight. The judges all scored it for the light heavyweight champ Machida. 

Even Couture didn't strongly defend the victory:

"I controlled the tempo of the fight. It probably wasn't the most exciting thing to watch."

Couture (17-10, 14-7 UFC) pointed out that sometime it's a mystery what the judges will come up with.

"You just never know. We've seen this in the past already. You just don't know what the judges are looking at and how they see the fight. And that's what ultimately, in a close fight like this, determines the decision."

With effective kicks, Vera (11-4, 7-4 UFC) landed the heavier shots in the second and third. He dropped Couture with a body kick on a delayed reaction with 2:06 left in the round. Vera crushed a left kick into the ribs of Couture, who stood for second and then retreated, turning his back and falling to the ground. 

"Brandon's dangerous. He kicked twice in the body in the second and third round. That hurt. He stung me with the body kick [in the second]. He did it again in the third round. He didn't get me quite as bad, but it was still bad."

But Vera didn't pounce on the opportunity in the second. The Filipino-American fell into Couture's guard and took a break for 45 seconds. Couture eventually got himself off the deck taking little damage. 

In the third, Couture controlled the first two minutes and forty seconds with some good dirty boxing. Couture landed some effective uppercuts and elbows while working along the cage. Vera was freed when referee Marc Goddard separated the fighters. That's when Vera landed some of his best strikes of the fight, including the kick Couture mentioned. From there, a tired Couture allowed himself to get backed up to the cage. That's where Vera scores his only takedown of the fight with 39 seconds left. He moved to mount but again failed to get off any damaging shots.

Couture was impressed with Vera's wrestling ability.

"Brandon's a helluva fighter. He had to dust off his wrestling skills and he definitely did a great job."

Cagewriter called the first round 10-10. Couture had outside position in the clinch along the cage throughout much of the round. He got a takedown with 2:41 left but Vera got to his feet in less than 10 seconds. Neither fighter really landed anything significant as far as punches or knees. Most judges would give that type of round to Couture. The second was a clear cut win for Vera and the third could've gone either way, which easily explains why Couture was given a 29-28 decision by the judges.

I'll say it again, as I did after non-title main events that went to decision at UFN 15 (Nate Diaz over Josh Neer), UFC 93 (Dan Henderson over Rich Franklin), UFC 95 (Diego Sanchez over Joe Stevenson) and UFC 99 (Rich Franklin over Wanderlei Silva), these main event fights need to be five rounds. Even without a title strap on the line, these fights are way too important to go just three rounds. It opens the door for too many disputed decisions. 

Hardy and Swick spent the majority of the first round in the clinch, with first Swick and then Hardy working for a takedown that never came. Both landed knees, but it was truly difficult to decide who was better in that round. Hardy clipped Swick to start the second round, but lost momentum with another takedown attempt. Swick was able to get off a few shots, but Hardy continued to push the action. His control continued through the end of the fight, as Swick sustained a ton of strikes both while standing and while on his back.

"Yeah, that was a tough fight. I can't take anything away from Mike," Hardy said. "I did what I could, England."

Hardy will now get the next shot at the welterweight belt and Georges St. Pierre. The champ came into the Octagon after the fight and congratulated Hardy for his win.

"Well, Dan proved that he is a great fighter and a big, big threat to my title," St. Pierre told the crowd. Unfortunately, GSP won't be able to fight until late in the winter, as he is still rehabilating from injuries. 

Kang, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, controlled the first round with decent ground work but then got a dose of his own medicine in the second. Bisping took Kang down three times and unloaded some vicious ground and pound, essentially making Kang quit. After the third takedown, Bisping poured it on. Kang laid against the cage and got kneed until referee Dan Miragliotta saved him at 4:24 of the second.

"I am absolutely over the moon. You have no idea how I felt after the last fight," Bisping said to UFC color analyst Joe Rogan.

Bisping (19-2, 8-2 UFC) is a bit of a trash talker but folks close to him will tell you he's a pretty sensitive guy:

"This is my life and I dedicate everything to it. And it really hurts me that people don't give me the respect I think I deserve."

Bisping took a big risk by fighting Kang (32-12, 1-2 UFC), a veteran who moved over from PRIDE where he was 6-2. A second straight loss would've meant a huge tumble down the middleweight ladder.

Kang outgrappled Bisping in the first but he didn't dominate. In fact, Bisping did a great job from the bottom as Kang constantly worked to improve his position, the Brit always found a way to get it back to full guard. Kang may have gassed himself trying to score the mount so often. He looked tired in the second as the fight turned when Bisping became the aggressor scoring his first takedown 1:49 into the round. Kang simply couldn't handle the onslaught.

Bisping was annoyed with certain members of the British media. After the Henderson loss, papers like The Sun clowned him pretty heavily. 

Wilks, the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" season nine, sustained a mouse under his eye early on in the fight. Brown's defense was impressive in the first round, avoiding Wilks' takedown attempts. The first round was close, but Brown started to take over the fight in the second round. Brown knocked Wilks down with a flying knee but Wilks survived and turned it into an opportunity to try for leg lock. After Brown got out of that, he continued to pressure Brown with strong stand-up work. Going into the final round, Wilks' faced battered and swollen. He looked exhausted, but was able to try a kimura on Brown. Once Brown was out of the sub attempt, he transitioned to a full mount and rained down punches until the fight was stopped.

"I was nervous, and a little jet lagged, but that's what champions are made of," Brown said after the fight. "I still have a lot of things to work on."

Back in June, Ross Pearson and Andre Winner hooked up in one of most boring Ultimate Fighter Finales in the reality show's history. There was way too much clinching along the cage and neither fighter looked comfortable letting loose on the feet. Pearson got "The Ultimate Fighter," season nine 155-lb. title but he didn't appear to be an elite prospect in the lightweight division. That changed today at UFC 105 in Manchester, England with his dominant win over veteran Aaron Riley. 

Riley entered the fight as a solid minus-220 favorite but too often looked like an easy mark thrown to the wolves. Pearson pushed forward the entire fight, controlling the action via the clinch and by grabbing Riley's head. That's where he dirty boxed, landing lots of elbows, punches and some good knees. Pearson won the first and was wearing down Riley in the second when with less than a minute left in the round, he jumped into a picture perfect knee from that clinch. It busted open Riley, who took three more punches before he was back out. Referee Kevin Mulhall called for the doctor at the Manchester Evening News Arena who said to stop it. Pearson picked up his second UFC win at 4:38 of the second round and sent the message that there are some serious British fighting prospects to emerge from TUF 9.

"This is my life now. This is what I do," Pearson told UFC color analyst Joe Rogan. "I love training and I love fighting. I'm just going to do this 100 percent."

Pearson (10-3, 2-0 UFC) was all that more impressive considering that he wasn't throw in against a guy who was a soft touch to pad his record. Riley, 28, already had 40 professional fights. 

"I know Aaron was a tough opponent for me first bout. So I went away and did 15 weeks, solid training camp. I just done nothing but think about Aaron and train for Aaron. Everything come together tonight. It come out perfect."

Riley (28-12-1, 2-3 UFC) was told by his trainer Greg Jackson to move forward more in the second but Pearson was too aggressive and strong for him. The TUF 9 alums are 3-0 on the night.