I'd been looking forward to this one for ages, especially for the Liddell/Silva and Hughes/St Pierre fights. Instead, a heated rivalry took my attention, more so because there was no "after fight making up" and just for once in mixed martial arts, no respect was shown at all!
So, the first match pitted long-time rivals Melvin Guillard and Rich Clementi and the fight did not last long, as Clementi secured a rear naked choke that forces Guillard to tap. Fighters usually call truce once the fight was over, but not this one. After the fight, the two are still jarring at each other, Clementi accused his oppenent of talking shit and not backing it up.
The second fight is between Lyoto Machida and Sokoudjou, notorious for his victories over two top 5 ranked LHWs in the world, both under 2 minutes. This fight has become Machida’s breakout party, as he dominated in every aspect of the fight, and even winning in spectacular fashion via Arm triangle choke.
Then a big one! Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. Heading into the fight, both fighters were on losing streaks, which means one of them was going to win.
It looked initially that Liddell seemed a little scared to get hit. Despite winning the fight via unanimous decision, he really didn't go after Silva as much as he could, but he still got the job done. He was blazing at times, especially in the second round and even took Silva down twice but backed off near the end, almost running down the clock.
Silva almost looked as though he were in shock after realizing he actually lost the fight to Liddell. I was able to catch Silva's training schedule on SpikeTV. No wonder he goes by the moniker "The Axe Murderer" Silva works out with a snorkel on so he can't breathe through his nose.
Obviously, neither fighter brought his A game, but someone had to prevail.
Last but not least, it’s the battle between GSP and Hughes for the UFC interim welterweight title, a title unable to be defended by Matt Serra who has a back injury. Right from the start, GSP showed utter domination of Hughes, and he even beats him at his own game, wrestling.
Eventually, Hughes succumbed to a flawlessly executed series of submission transitions. What started as a kimura and a possible triangle choke attempt then transitioned into an armbar that saw Hughes verbally submitting, and once again, GSP tasted UFC gold.
Afterwards during the interview with Joe Rogan, Hughes seemed to be suggesting that may be it for him as he was so well beaten.
It certainly was one of the best cards the UFC has offered for some time, and no doubt this will be remembered for a long time.
Villa Out In Round Three Again
It may be unpopular, I don't care - this was boring. It was boring from the minute the teams were drawn together yet again.
This isn't the magic of the FA Cup. That belongs to teams like Chasetown, Havant & Waterlooville and so on. Why BBC seemed so determined to cover it was beyond me - it was probably the dullest game of the round and from our point of view just another reminder of the gap that still exists.
I don't think United particularly deserved to win at all, but I spent most of the game wondering when one error by a Villa player would cost us.
When the ball was played up to Gabby and Ashley their defenders were always tight and gave them nothing, yet when United played it forward we seemed intent on giving them a three yard gap and thus room to play.
I wasn't even gutted - just bored by the whole thing. Despite how well we've done over Christmas, I knew we'd lose - it's just that mindset we seem to have. Here we are again, beaten by United.
I'm much more looking forward to seeing how we get on against Blackburn and Newcastle at Villa Park. The top four is desperately boring, protected by referees, constantly dribbled over by Sky and BBC - It's desperately dull. I think I know how fans who don't follow Rangers or Celtic have felt for the last 20 years in the SPL.
Same time next year for the Cup draw again? Aston Villa...will play.....
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