UFC 98 Post Fight Analysis

 UFC 98: Evans vs Machida

Pre-fight: Going into Saturday Night Fights, there wasn't a lot of excitment built around this card. Many fight fans were more excited about the premier of the long awaited UFC 09 video game. The headliners featured Rashad Evans vs Lyoto Machida, and Matt Hughes vs Matt Sera. Although he was the defending champion, Rashad Evans was a significant underdog. Rashad is quick and elusive, as well as a strong wrestler. Lyoto Machida has a very unique style and is very seldom hit. Both of these fighters are counter punchers which makes for a potentially boring fight. Even Rashad Evans predicted a boring fight. Matt Hughes and Matt Sera have had bad blood building for years, and the grudge match is finally here. However, it lacks some of the excitement that it would have if it had taken place when originally scheduled when Sera was the champ and season 6 of Ultimate Fighter had just aired. We have two very good fighters who are unfortuantely beyond their prime and have been out of the spot light for over a year due to injuries. The remainder of the card has some potential for some fireworks but lacks the bigger names of other cards.

  Sean Sherk vs Frankie Edger

Both of these fighters were content with keeping this one standing up and making a kickboxing fight of it. This turned out to be a big mistake for Sean Sherk. Known for his strength and wrestling skills, and lacking the knockout power of a striker, Sherk would have been much better off taking Edger down for a little ground and pound. Frankie Edger proved to be very elusive and the much sharper striker. Although neither fighter really took any significant damage, this fight turned out to be a fun fight to watch, with Frankie Edger getting the unanimous decision 30-27 from all three judges.

  Chael Sommen vs Dan Miller

Chael Sommen returns to the UFC after a good run in the WEC. He is the more experienced fighter, however it is well known that Sommen is very susceptible to submissions, and this was the story of the fight. Dan had Chael in deep trouble with a guillotine choke at the very beginning of the fight. Chael managed to slowly work his way out, and this was the beginning of the end for Dan. Dan attempted submission after submission but Chael was never really in any danger, and he took advantage of the submission attempts to spend the last fourteen minutes of the fight punishing Dan from the top. The fight ended with a tired and beat up Dan Miller loosing an unanimous decision, 30-27 on all cards.

  Drew McFedries vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam

With two very powerful and explosive strikers, there was little hope of this one making it out of the first round, let alone make it to the end. No surprises here, these two came out swinging and it was Drew who landed a strong left hook, dropping Professor X to the ground. Although he did manage to make it back to his feat, McFedries jumped right back on him, and the fight had to be stopped after only 37 seconds.

  Krzystof Soszynski vs Andre Gusmao

  Krzstof is famous for his Kimora submissions, so it was a little surprising that he chose to keep this one standing. Both fighters moved around the ring, stopping briefly to clinch up and exchange blows. It was Krzstof who got the upper hand with an agressive combination that left Andre unconcious before he his the ground, and referee Herb Dean had to step in 3min 17seconds into the fight to protect the unconcious Gusmao from taking any more damage. A surprising tactic by Krzstof gave the fans an exciting fight.

    Matt Hughes vs Matt Sera

This fight was expected to produce fireworks after the years of bad blood, but Matt Hughes came out fighting south paw making it obvious that he wanted this fight on the ground and he had no intentions of trading punches with Matt Sera. In the first round, Sera's head colided with the chin of Hughes, and was followed with what appeared to be an unintentional blow to the back of Hughes' head. Barely aware of where he was, Hughes managed to somehow get Sera wrapped up and hold on until he regained some awareness. The head butt and blow to the back of the head left Hughes asking his corner what happened between rounds. Hughes came out in the second round and showed some old school Matt Hughes. He picked Sera up, slammed him to the ground and slowly worked him over. Sera appeared overwhelmed by Hughes superior strength and was able to do little in the way of a submission. Most of the third round resembled the second until the end. The ref stood the fight back up with just under 2 minutes left. Hughes eventually clinched back up with Sera, but as he shifted his weight for a takedown, it was Sera who managed to roll Hughes over and take the top. It was way too little, way too late, and Matt Hughes got the unanimous decision. Matt Hughes and Matt Sera embrased at the end of the fight and Hughes raised Sera's hand up out of respect. Even after all of the trash talk and bad blood, neither fighter had anything negative to say about the other. Both of these guys are good sportsmen and good examples of the integrity and professionalism that has made MMA one of the premier sports in the world. My hat goes off to both of them.

  Lyoto Machida vs Rashad Evans

This fight took several mintues before it really began. While the fans booed, they circled the cage shadowboxing so far away from each other that they had no chance of actually connecting with anything. It was Machida who finally engaged near the end of the first round. He came in with aggressive combinations and landed some good shots. The second round was much more exciting, but still one sided. Machida came in fluries, with Rashad seldom able to counter before Lyoto was too far out of reach. Just over half way through the second round, one of Machida's fluries rocked Evans, and as Lyoto smelled blood he went on a relentless attack that eventually left Rashad unconcious 3minutes 57seconds into the round. The NEW Light-Heavyweight champion, Lyoto "the Dragon" Machida.

  Brock Larson vs Mike Pyle   and

  Tim Hague vs Patrick Barry

Both of these preliminary fights ended in first round submissions with Brock Larson and Tim Hague coming out on top in their respective bouts. Both were excellent submissions, and Hague's submission came after Barry rocked him with a vicious leg kick.

Post Fight:  I wouldn't put this card near the top of any list, but it did end up being a splendid surprise. Much better than expected, Several fights ended dramtically, and with the exception of the first few minutes of the Evans and Machida fight, there wasn't much for fight fans to complain about. Now we look forward to UFC 99, when the UFC finally invades Germany on June 13th. Mirko Cro Crop will make his return to the cage, and the main event features my fellow Ohioan Rich 'Ace' Franklin as he takes on Wanderlei Silva at a catch weight of 195lbs. These are two of the toughest fighters in the UFC and I foresee a 15min brawl that will have you on the edge of your seat. Please check back as I break down the results of UFC 99.