The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a great card in store for mixed martial arts fans. The event will be the first ever UFC to take place in the city of Boston. UFC President Dana White is returning home and he has put together what I seeing as the best event in 2010.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding this card because of the co-feature fight. It is being billed as MMA versus boxing. Former UFC title holder Randy Couture will take James Toney, who is the first true boxer to step into the octagon. Neither guy is at the top of the mountain in their respective sport, but it is an interesting fight.

In the weeks leading up to this match, James Toney has run his mouth to no end. He is a fat old man that hasn’t been relevant in boxing for a few years now. He claims to be the heavyweight champion and the most feared fighter which is a joke.  The main reason I have to see this is because I want Randy Couture to beat his ass, plain and simple.

While I have never been a huge Randy Couture supporter, I respect everything that he has done for the sport of mixed martial arts. He should be a nightmare matchup for James Toney because of his wrestling pedigree.

If the fight doesn’t go to the ground within 30 seconds, Couture might be in some trouble. James Toney does have heavy hands and with small gloves could easily put Couture to sleep with one punch.  Expect Randy to shoot in for a takedown as soon as the bell rings and work his ground and pound. I would like to see a quick finish by Couture but then I would also to see him beat on Toney for a full fifteen minutes.

The main event is a rematch for the 155 pound title. Current champion Frankie Edgar looks to defend the belt he just took from BJ Penn a few months ago.

Frankie Edgar won the first fight on a close decision in a fight that was very uneventful. BJ Penn didn’t look the same to me that evening and I expect a totally different fighter when the octagon door closes tonight. Edgar is a scrappy tough fighter but I give the edge to Penn in every aspect of this matchup.

When Penn is motivated, which doesn’t always seem to be the case, he destroys people. BJ is looking for revenge and I have a feeling we will see the ultra aggressive Penn and he will win this rematch rather easily. Look for an early knockout or submission from Penn as he gets his belt back.

Before the Penn Edgar match, we will know who is next in line for a title shot in that same weight class. Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard are going to go toe to toe in the number one contender’s match.

Florian has been to the top of the mountain and has come up short in two tries to win the belt. He has lost to Sean Sherk and BJ Penn with the gold on the line. Kenny is a fighter that continues to get better every time out and might be the smartest guy in the game.  He also has an extremely fan friendly style and is never in a dull fight.

Gray Maynard is an undefeated fighter who still doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Many people question his skills because he relies heavily on his wrestling. Maynard wins fights but unfortunately the majority of his wins have come via decision. He does use his standup a lot to set up his takedowns and once he gets his opponent down, they rarely get up off their backs.

Florian and Maynard are easily two of my favorite fighters. I’m excited for this fight. I think Florian’s skill set is better and more diverse than Maynard’s. That being said, I’m picking Gray Maynard to have his hand raised. Florian has had some trouble with wrestlers in the past and there aren’t too many better at that aspect than Gray “The Bully” Maynard.

Full fight card:

Champ Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn (for lightweight title)

Randy Couture vs. James Toney

Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda

Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard

Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz

Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger

Nik Lentz vs. Andre Winner

Dan Miller vs. John Salter

Nick Osipczak vs. Greg Soto

Amilcar Alves vs. Mike Pierce

I love this fight card and all of these matchups. UFC 117 was kind of a dud and I fully expect 118 to eliminate the bad taste out of my mouth that is still there from that event. We should see some action packed fights and some great mixed martial arts.

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Last night in Oakland, the Ultimate Fighting Championship set up what had the makings of an outstanding card. Outside of the main event, it was a real letdown.

Before we get to the recap of the event, it has to be said, Bruce Buffer’s act is getting way too old and he needs to realize nobody in the crowd is there to see him. His octagon antics announcing the fighters is annoying and takes away from the fighters as he tries to steal the spotlight.

What wasn’t annoying was the way title contender Chael Sonnen badmouthed champion Anderson Silva leading up to their fight. Silva had looked average in his last few fights and Sonnen told anyone who would listen all about it.

Sonnen also told Silva and everyone for that matter what he going to do when they stepped into the octagon. He said he would take him down and beat him and also make him fight. That game plan worked perfectly for 23 of the fight’s 24 minutes.

Sonnen dominated every aspect of the fight until he made a fatal mistake with two minutes left in the fifth and final round. After pound Silva and manhandling him like nobody has ever done, Sonnen left open his neck for a beautiful triangle choke. “The Spider” took advantage like the true champion he is and ended the fight via submission.

Sonnen was literally two minutes away from being the new middleweight champion and Silva snatched victory away from him to retain his belt. It was a great performance wasted by Sonnen and hopefully he can get a rematch. He earned that much in my eyes.

The rest of the card was a dud and there were some strange and boring endings.

Jon Fitch continues to be the most boring fighter in the game. He is almost unwatchable yet he keeps winning. He took down Thiago Alves at will and layed on him and landed some punches. With the easy unanimous decision he earned a title shot. That will set up another destruction courtesy of Georges St. Pierre.

Matt Hughes landed a huge shot on the chin of Ricardo Almeida that set up a submission victory. Almeida, called one of the best grapplers and submission fighters in the UFC, was put to sleep and looked like an amateur.

Future superstar Johny Hendrick won yet again via 2^nd round TKO.  He dismantled Charlie Breeneman forty seconds into the second frame. Keep an eye on Hendricks and he will continue to make waves.

Full fight card:

Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen via submission (triangle choke) - Round 5, 3:10

Jon Fitch def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Clay Guida def. Rafael dos Anjos via submission (injury) - Round 3, 1:51

Matt Hughes def. Ricardo Almeida via submission (modified arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 3:15

Junior Dos Santos def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Rick Story def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 1:15 (retains middleweight title)

Phil Davis def. Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Johny Hendricks def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 0:40

Tim Boetsch def. Todd Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Stefan Struve def. Christian Morecraft via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:22

Dennis Hallman def. Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

It takes a lot for me to criticize a fight card and the UFC but I thought UFC 117 was extremely boring. When a card like UFC 117 has eleven fights that have great potential, and they are average, it’s hard not to be let down.

UFC 118 is only three week away and is loaded. It won’t take long for the bad taste to be removed from my mouth.

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Tonight in Oakland, California, mixed martial arts fans are in for another treat. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has put together another great card that should have no problem living up to the hype surrounding it.

UFC 117 has a main event where the title holder’s job could be on the line, two number one contenders matches, and a hall of famer in action. Add that all up and you have yourself one hell of a fight card.

Anderson Silva is the current middleweight champion but has looked well below average his last few fights. The last time he stepped into the octagon he made a fool of himself and disgraced the sport. UFC President Dana White was more than upset and said the thought of releasing Silva crossed his mind.

“The Spider” gets a chance to redeem himself against a fighter that has been running his mouth like nobody before him. Chael Sonnen is the number one contender and rightfully so. He just might be biting off a little more than he can chew.

I still believe Anderson Silva is the best striker I have ever seen in mixed martial arts. He has pin point accuracy with both his hands and feet. We just haven’t seen it that much in his last few disappointing performances, all wins by the way. Sonnen’s smack talk just might be what the doctor ordered to get Silva out of his funk and win back the fans.

Sonnen is coming off of a great win over a very solid fighter in Nate Marquardt. He used his top level wrestling skills and his ground and pound to become next in line for the 185 pound title. He has all the tools to get Silva all he can handle.

I like the upset here. Sonnen talks a huge game but normally backs it up. His grappling and takedowns will be the biggest tools in his belt tonight and he will use them with precision. If the Silva of old steps foot into the cage however, Sonnen might be in for a world of hurting. I expect this fight to be off the charts.

A rematch a few years in the making will finally go down as Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves meet again. Fitch won the first time around doing what he normally does, use his wrestling and beat up his opponents. Alves is the better striker and has had a tough time making weight recently to go with some medical problems. Thiago had a mysterious head/brain injury that delayed this fight on more than one occasion. I’m going with Alves here as Fitch to me is a pretty boring guy to watch normally. If this turns into a standup fight, it could be the highlight of the evening. The winner of this one is all but guaranteed a title shot in their next fight.

The other number one contender’s match is in the heavyweight division. Roy “Big County” Nelson will take his big belly into battle with Junior Dos Santos.

Don’t let Nelson physique fool you, this tubby can fight. He is extremely well rounded and is on a roll since winning the Ultimate Fighter show. Dos Santos is a huge step up in competition and is shocking people all over with both his ground game and striking ability. This fight is my sleeper for fight of the night.

Hall of Famer Matt Hughes is taking on Ricardo Almeida which many are predicting will be a snooze fest. I disagree and look forward to a very technical fast paced ground battle. Two of the smartest guys in the game going at it in what will be a chess match.

Keep an eye on Johny Hendricks also who I think is a future superstar, he takes on Charlie Brenneman on the undercard.

Full fight card:

Champ Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)

Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Clay Guida

Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Hughes

Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson

Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story

Phil Davis vs. Rodney Wallace

Tim Boetsch vs. Todd Brown

Charlie Brenneman vs. Johny Hendricks

Christian Morecraft vs. Stefan Struve

Dennis Hallman vs. Ben Saunders

Damn. When I look at that I see a loaded card with a ton of candidates for fight of the night. UFC 116 was one of the best cards I can remember. Will 117 follow that up with a great night of fights or will it be a dud? I truly expect a wonderful night of exciting matches courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Tune in.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter. Twitter.com/ScottSwerbinsky

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UFC 116 has come and gone but it will be a card that is remembered for quite some time. I told anyone who would listen it was going to be a great card, and I was right on the money. It was an action packed card that lived up to the hype, highlighted by a main event that you had to see to believe.

What was being billed as the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history ended in a way I never thought could have happened. Brock Lesnar defended his heavyweight title against Shane Carwin. Lesnar came out on top by submission. You read that right, Lesnar made Carwin tap out from an arm triangle choke.

Shane Carwin was seconds from winning the title but punched himself out and simply ran out of gas. He landed a few huge shots that had Lesnar falling and covering up. Carwin pounced in for the kill, cut Lesnar up, but couldn’t finish the show in the first round. With a minute left in round 1, you could see the tank was on empty for Carwin.

At the start of round two, Lesnar looked to have regained his wits and immediately took Carwin down. It was the beginning of the end as Carwin couldn’t move from both exhaustion and having a 265 pound mountain of a man laying on top of him. Lesnar landed some hammer fists and then sunk in a nice arm triangle choke to seal the deal.

Of all the ways for this fight to end, I never would have picked by submission for either fighter. Lesnar showed a ton of heart and Carwin showed a huge hole in his game. Another thing I have been telling people for awhile is that Cain Velasquez is the best heavyweight fighter in the world. He is going to get a chance to prove me right as he is next in line for Lesnar’s title. That’s another fight that I can’t wait for.

This fight card was so good that the UFC handed out extra bonus checks for fight of the night. Normally two fighters are awarded bonuses for that honor, but four guys got a little extra cash for that this time around.

The two fights that stole the show were Stephan Bonnar versus Krzysztof Soszynski along with Chris Leben versus Yoshihiro Akiyama . Both fights were high energy back and forth battles that had the crowd on their feet chanting and screaming.

Chris Leben , who just fought two weeks ago, stepped up and won the biggest fight in his UFC career. He beat a very game Akiyama with a beautiful triangle choke in the third round with just 20 seconds remaining.

Stephan Bonnar gained some revenge over Soszynski with a brutal beating and ended it in the second round by TKO. The first round of this one was a toss up but Bonnar looked great in the second and pounded out the win.

Knockout of the night went to Gerald Harris. The fight ended in the third round when Harris brutually slammed David Branch to the canvas and put his lights out. It was a huge power display by the former Cleveland State wrestling star. It was one of the better knockouts I have seen in awhile. The fight was very uneventful until Harris rammed his head and back down with all of his mite.

Full results:

• Champ Brock Lesnar def. interim champ Shane Carwin via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 2, 2:19 (becomes unified champ)
• Chris Leben def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via (triangle choke) - Round 3, 4:40
• Chris Lytle def. Matt Brown via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 2:02
• Stephan Bonnar def. Krzysztof Soszynski via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 3:08
• George Sotiropoulos def. Kurt Pellegrino via decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Brendan Schuab def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:07
• Ricardo Romero def. Seth Petruzelli via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 3:05
• Kendall Grove def. Goran Reljic via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Gerald Harris def. David Branch via knockout (slam) - Round 3, 2:35
• Daniel Roberts def. Forrest Petz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jon Madsen def. Karlos Vemola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

UFC 116 was easily the best card we have seen so far in 2010. The heavyweight king impressed a lot of people and so did all of the other fights on the card. I hope everyone out there took my advice and tuned in. It was well worth it and hopefully the rest of the events this year will be as entertaining.

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