UFC 101 Impressions, WEC 42, Pound 4 Pound List

If there was any doubt that Anderson Silva was the best pound for pound fighter out there, they were certainly put to rest that night. Moving backwards, Silva basically did a fallaway jab knocking Forrest Griffin out. This fight pretty much went as expected, but I didn't know the finish would be that impressive. Anderson looked like Neo in the Matrix. After the fight, Griffin high tailed it out of there. I figured he didn't want to cry in the middle of the ring. However, reports indicate he had to get checked out with his jaw and he couldn't hear out of one ear. Who's next for Anderson? It seems that Dana is more interested in putting together a Lyoto match up rather than one with GSP. Everyone knows Blackhouse guys don't fight each other, but Dana feels confident he can make it happen. Silva didn't seem like he wanted a piece of Machida at all during the post fight conference, but who knows. Also, anybody notice the new ref? Kevin Mulhall was pretty decent. Nice job.

Penn/Florian went as expected as well. It's a damn shame I get caught up with the value bets since Florian had a nice line, and he is also one of my favorite fighters. Ended up losing some money, even though I did predict Penn would win by rear naked choke or ground and pound. Once he gets your back, he is a master. Heel to the rib is really distracting. Florian knew what Penn was doing, trying to get him to lower his arm so he could sink in the choke. It's just a natural body reaction and Florian kind of flinched, but it was just enough movement for Penn to get his forearm around his throat. What's next for BJ? Well it seems it will be Diego Sanchez. Diego certainly has the size to match up with BJ and wear him out like GSP did, so it should be interesting. However, I think Sanchez would be more inclined to trade with him with his new and improved striking. Diego hasn't tried to wrestle anyone since he fought Jon Fitch, arguably a better wrestler then him.

Overall, I was happy with the two headliners. Most of the other fights were stale mates. Kurt Pellegrino grinded his way to a decision like I predicted in my preview. Howard had too much strength for Tamdan as I thought. It really was a night for the upsets outside of the main event. Almeida actually beat Kendall, so I lost money there. Leites dropped a decision to Sakara. I actually wrote something pretty interesting about that fight. I said to stay away from betting on it. It was the biggest upset betting wise for the night. Looking back on it, I should have bet on Sakara. I did say he wasn't as bad a fighter as everyone was making him out to be. Oh well. Also, I wish they showed the Riddle/Cramer fight and I felt that Amir got screwed with that stoppage.

On to WEC 42. They say all good things must come to an end. Well, Miguel Torres saw his 17 fight win streak come to an end. Brian Bowles has some nice power in his hands. We also saw some nice upkicks by Torres, he was very content with being on his back and attacking from there. Bowles was having none of it. When they stood up again, an exchange occured. It looked like Torres was going off, but Bowles came out of nowhere with a lethal right hand. A short, but exciting fight.

An interesting decision by the judges regarding the Javier Vazquez/L.C. Davis bout. Most believe Vazquez won. I guess I'm in the minority on this one as I was okay with the decision. Would have to watch it again.

Speaking of decisions, most of the fights went to one. Cruz/Benavidez, Curran/Mizugaki,Garcia/Massouh. Overall, I wasn't too happy with the card. The crowd seemed to boo on some of the decisions as well.

Top 5 Pound 4 Pound Rankings

1. Anderson Silva - After his performance against Forrest, he's number one again. That's a former champ that he made look, to put it bluntly...stupid. One of the most embarassing knock outs you will ever see.

2. George St. Pierre - Another dominant performance turned in against a top fighter in his division. Really, him and Anderson should just fight already. Do we really need to see what Mike Swick can do? He's pretty much cleaned out the division.

3. Fedor Emelianenko - The newly signed Strike Force fighter is looking at an October match up with...well no one knows. Probably Overeem. But really, he needed that Barnett fight. Beating Josh Barnett would have kept him at the top spot in my opinion. I mean, Arlovski and Tim Sylvia aren't top notch heavyweights anymore. He needs to fight someone relevant.

4. Lyoto Machida - Doesn't seem like anybody is beating this guy anytime soon. He's destroyed everyone in his path. Next up is a match up with Shogun.

5. BJ Penn - A win over a high level fighter like Florian puts him in good graces once again. He seems a lot more humble nowadays, though I guess GSP's fist will do that to you. He had no problem with Florian, and shouldn't have any problem with anybody at 155. Diego should give him a nice go. That will be a match up for the ages.