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Round One: The “Dragon†Has Been Sho-Gunned Down
Many months back at UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun, Lyoto Machida won a very controversial decision over Mauricio Rua. For many months following the fight, many MMA fans and even UFC VP Dana White had felt that Mauricio Rua was screwed in the fight with Lyoto Machida. However, at UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun II, there was no worry about any type of screw job because it only took a little over three minutes for Mauricio Rua to defeat the previously undefeated Lyoto Machida. Many MMA insiders felt that Mauricio Rua couldn’t implore the same strategy he used in the first fight against Lyoto Machida in the second encounter. Those folks would be correct, because Mauricio Rua escaped two separate takedowns to recover and knock out Lyoto Machida with nine straight unanswered strikes. Joe Rogan deemed that the “Machida Era†had begun when UFC 98 closed with Lyoto Machida winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, but a new era began on Saturday Night, as the “Shogun Era†has begun in the UFC.
Next Round For Mauricio Rua: The winner of the upcoming Quinton Jackson/Rashad Evans fight.
Next Round For Lyoto Machida: The loser of the upcoming Quinton Jackson/Rashad Evans fight.
Round Two: “Fake Knee Strikes And Illegal Post Fight Strikes: The Josh Koscheck/Paul Daley Storyâ€
While the two opponents in the UFC Welterweight Title top contenders have a major dislike for each other, nobody had expected what would occur in the fifteen plus minutes Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley were in the famed octagon. In the fights opening round, Paul Daley nailed Josh Koscheck with what looked like and illegal knee strike. However, when the replay had aired, it was clear to everybody watching the fight and officiating the fight that Josh Koscheck was simply preparing for his Oscar nomination, because the supposed knee strike has missed his head completely. However, the real fireworks occurred after the final bell sounded in the third round, because an angry Paul Daley leveled Josh Koscheck with an uppercut that caught the victorious fight right near the eye. The clearly dubious action immediately drew the ire of both fight referee Dan Miragliotta and UFC VP Dana White. Also, to cap off an eventful fight, Josh Koscheck heeled the Montreal crowd by telling them the Pittsburgh Penguins would defeat the hometown Montreal Canadians and how he would defeat hometown hero Georges St. Pierre in their upcoming fight. After all the noise had settled down, UFC VP Dana White announced that Paul Daley was never going to fight in the UFC again.
Next Round For Josh Koscheck: A well earned UFC Welterweight Title fight with Georges St. Pierre.
Next Round For Paul Daley: Strikeforce in the USA or Cage Rage in the UK.
Round Three: The “Slice†Just Doesn’t Cut It
Kimbo Slice entered the UFC as a contestant on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 10 following a stint as the headlining fighter for the Elite XC promotion. UFC honcho Dana White once stated that Kimbo Slice would never step inside the coveted octagon, but he would eventually eat those words. Following a defeat to Roy Nelson in the opening round of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 10, Kimbo Slice would defeat Houston Alexander at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. Kimbo Slice then made his UFC pay-per-view debut against former NFL star Matt Mitrione at UFC 113, but was stopped in the second round after severe leg kicks and a viscous ground and pound attack put the street fighter to rest inside the octagon. Following the event at the UFC 113 post fight press conference, UFC VP Dana White announced that Kimbo Slice would be cut from the promotion after the defeat.
Next Round For Matt Mitrione: Fellow TUF10 competitor Brendan Schaub or Stefan Struve.
Next Round For Kimbo Slice: Strikeforce or a backyard near you.
Round Four: The Predator Didn’t Catch His Prey
UFC 113 also featured the MMA return of Patrick Cote, who was returning from a serious knee injury suffered during a fight with current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at UFC 90. Patrick Cote had never lost in his home country of Canada, but that streak would come to an end at the hands of Alan Belcher. After taking Patrick Cote down with a slam that looked closer to an Awesome Kong “implant buster†than anything else I’ve ever seen, Alan Belcher forced Patrick Cote to tap out to a well applied rear naked choke hold. While this loss will give a setback to Patrick Cote, one cannot be impressed at the fact that Patrick Cote had made a successful recovery from his knee injury to make a return to the UFC.
Next Round For Alan Belcher: Damien Maia or Mark Munoz
Next Round For Patrick Cote: Slugging warfare with Nate Quarry or rematch with Kendall Grove
Round Five: Canadian MMA = 1 Win And 5 Losses
Patrick Cote, Sam Stout, Jason MacDonald, Tim Hague and Jonathan Goulet all have two things in common, as all of them are Canadian and all of them lost their UFC fights. The only Canadian fighter to walk away with a victory at UFC 113 was Joe Doerksen, who submitted Tom Lawlor in the second round of the evenings preliminary card. You got to wonder if the country pays for Georges St. Pierre’s yearly back surgery, because it seems like the UFC Welterweight Champion is carrying the companies legacy of MMA on his back. By the way, the benefactors of the five Canadian MMA fighters losses were John Salter, Joey Beltran, Jeremy Stephens, Marcus Davis and Alan Belcher.
Next Round For Canadian MMA: The continual prayer that Georges St. Pierre can carry the sport on his back for Canada.
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
