Well my attempt to beat the jinx was not entirely effective but it was still a very enjoyable night of fights.
Tyson Griffin vs Thiago Tavares
This was a great fight! Griffin really showed guts in taking the fight to the ground repeatedly — much ballsier than Clay Guida’s recent sprawl and stall approach to BJJ fighter Marcus Aurelio. Of course, Tavares has more effective stand up than Aurelio — great knee to Griffin’s face! The transitions and escapes in this fight were just breakthtaking — Tyson Griffin is like a magical troll who can just get out of anything. I scored the second round for Tavares but definitely agree with the judges on giving the fight to Griffin. I think if Tavares had worked on landing more strikes on the ground his submissions might have been set up better. Griffin is definitely going to be in line for a title shot after B.J. fights Joe Stevenson for the vacant belt. Tavares looked great as well and I expect him to remain in contention as well. He should fight the loser of the Frankie Edgar vs Spencer Fisher match that’s coming up although I’ve heard some distressing rumors that Fisher might be heading back to Iraq in a couple months.
Lyoto Machida vs Kazuhiro Nakamura
Like I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for the technicians. Machida is just smooth as silk and he lands a lot of effective strikes and has good ground work. Nakamura really looked bad — part of that comes from fighting the elusive Machida but there was probably also a degree of Octagon shock. I was amused at his pre-fight antics, but you’ve really got to bring it in the fight and he really didn’t show much. I’d love to see Machida fight Houston Alexander — am very interested in seeing how he would deal with Alexander’s aggression and power.
Diego Sanchez vs Jon Fitch
Sanchez’ strategy was a little weak in this fight — he spent way too much energy trying to force a takedown and did very little to take Fitch out of his game. Fitch is definitely cruising towards a title shot. I think he could beat Matt Hughes but not GSP. The idea of Diego at 155 is probably already giving Kenny Florian nightmares.
Forrest Griffin vs Mauricio Shogun Rua
Another dud UFC debut from a PRIDE superstar. Shogun looked small and out of shape, he did pretty well in round one, but really gassed later on. I bet Rampage enjoyed this fight a great deal. Forrest is cruising towards a title shot now.
Keith Jardine vs Chuck Liddell
Jardine has a great standup style for Liddell — those kicks really took Chuck out of his game. I hope they go ahead and book Liddell vs Wanderlei anyhow. Sam Caplan agrees.