If I had super slick photoshop skills akin to the guys at Middle Easy I would have made a pic of Sagat with Shoguns head standing over the unconscious body of Machida in a sleeveless gi and a red headband. Or a photo of a knight walking away with a UFC belt with a slayed dragon in the background. Last nights title fight was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a fan of this sport. Seeing a fighter who I thought got robbed in his first title bout, to go and win the immediate rematch in such decisive and brutal fashion was a thing of beauty.

That and going 4 out of 5 picks didn’t hurt either. All in all here are my shortened thoughts of the event. I will do a more in depth write up after I let Machidas first loss marinate on instant replay loop for about an afternoon or so.

- Kos vs. Daley went just as expected sans submission finish. Paul can defend himself off his back but Koscheck is too good of a wrestler to let a dangerous but one dimensional fighter do anything but struggle off his back for the majority of a fight. This was also the second fight that had Kos getting let off the hook from a phantom knee grazing his fro. The cheap shot after the fight was inexcusable & cost Daley his UFC contract. Dude would only flounder as a gate keeper at best any & will be better served obliterating C level fighters in lower teir orgs anyway. Maybe the Iron Mike comparisons were a curse?

- Kimbo’s performance against Meathead Mitrione had its moments, namely the 1st round triangle attempts. But in the second Matt started laying the leg kicks on him and it was a wrap shortly after some of the worst full mount ground and pound I’ve ever seen. Slice also gets to join Daley in the cut by zuffa pool after his loss, wonder how fast Strikeforce is going to pick these guys up.

- Stephens and Stout put on a pretty damn good fight. I expected the long lay off to effect Stephens but he was getting the best of Stout on most of the exchanges thanks to Stouts lack of defense and head movement. Hands of Stone is a gamer but was clearly outclassed early on. Still wondering which round Stout won, but I guess hometown advantage gets you an instant 10-9 in the 1st.

- Cote damn near beat Alan Belcher, I was getting a bad vibe on my pick viewing all the footage from Cote’s training. Dude looked pretty good and motivated and was in the fight until the 2nd round DDT/faceplant variant and subsequent throttling. Good back and forth brawl either way.

Still very happy with the event and will now go back to watching the Machida bandwagon implode as I read multiple mma forums of fans desperately evacuate. Props to MMA Junkie for the photo of the new champ.

The early rumblings around the net for last weekends ppv debut of the WEC is looking good. Here from Heavy.com is the jist of the current speculation.

Last Saturday’s “Aldo vs. Faber” event was surrounded by many questions, with the most important being this: how would the event fare on pay per view? Even though viewers never once saw the World Extreme Cagefighting logo, this was, for all intents and purposes, the first WEC show on pay per view. How would viewers respond to the addition of traditional UFC elements like Dana White, Joe Rogan, Mike Goldberg and Bruce Buffer?

According to sources in the cable industry, early estimates indicate that the show did between 150,000 and 200,000 buys on pay per view, a number that has to be considered a resounding success internally…

This news coupled with the surprisingly good ratings for the prelims that aired on Spike. Its safe to assume that the ppv gambit played off. The only question left is weather Zuffa will keep to two orgs seperate or at least fold the feather & bantamweight divisions into the UFC.

I’m am primarily happy that the card was good and now that the smaller guys have the full force of the Zuffa hype machine behind them, things are only going to get better.

Over at MMA Junkie there was an article from physician and combat sports specialist Dr. Johnny Benjamin (official site) praising the Ohio State Athletic Commissions experimental cruiserweight division.

It is not unheard of for the monsters of the heavyweight division such as UFC champ Brock Lesnar to make the 265-pound weight limit and then enter the octagon at 280 pounds or heavier. Just for one moment, imagine being that smallish 220-pound heavyweight staring across the mat at a superbly skilled and conditioned athlete of that scale. It’s both frightening and potentially very dangerous.

Mr. Profato’s trial may also address the smaller heavyweights who attempt to cut to the 205-pound light-heavyweight limit. It creates a more natural weight class for them without the need for sometimes-dangerous weight-cutting.

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I view this well-conceived and intended experiment as a way to improve fighter safety much like the Massachusetts SAC’s trial of double weigh-ins. They are both progressive, pro-active attempts to improve safety without sacrificing the integrity of the sport.

While the new weight class is solely aimed at amateur fighters and smaller organizations, its still nice to see commissions looking out for fighters and just trying new things period.

I apologize for the downshift in my posting of late but now that the work week is over and with so much mid week news and events have ended. Let me be the first to throw my shoulder out of wack patting myself on the back for going 4 for 4 on the main card of Bellator XIII.

My Picks

The Results via MMA Junkie

Duarte continued to fade in the third, and Vanier unleashed a ferocious assault. Strikes landed frequently and soundly, and Duarte eventually found himself under an assault he couldn’t defend. The referee halted the contest with 46 seconds left in the final frame securing a result for Vanier that he appeared to have locked up either way.

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In the final frame, Huerta landed a few early punches before a slick transition into a knee-bar attempt that left Hinton with no choice but to tap at 0:56 of the third round.

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In featherweight tournament action, Joe Warren survived a first-round scare from opponent Eric Marriott and grinded out a unanimous-decision win.

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As the first round entered its final minute, Karakhanyan delivered a brutal knee to his foe’s chin, and Quach collapsed on the floor. Karakhanyan sealed his spot in the featherweight tournament semifinals with a few extra punches on the floor.

Karakhanyan’s finish is one of hopefully many hightlight reel finishes headed our way from Bellator this year. With a solid night of quality mma, Bellator’s 2nd season is off to a pretty good start.

From MMA Junkie

While the long-awaited rematch was expected to be a feature bout last month at UFC 111, Alves was forced off the card due to a failed CT scan and subsequent brain surgery.

UFC 115 takes place June 12 at GM Place, and Alves vs. Fitch II is all but guaranteed to be part of the pay-per-view main card.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported last week, Alves underwent surgery on March 31 to correct an on the left side of his brain. The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board first caught the problem during the fighter’s medicals for UFC 111 and pulled him from the card two days before the March 27 event.