UFC fighter Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was supposed to have surgery on his knee recently, but the doctor in charge postponed the operation as Johnson had some scabbing on said knee. Here’s a picture and the video of what went down:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A clash of similar wide-open, high-scoring styles produced
an exciting match between Liberty High Schools Anthony
Marino and Nico Megaludis of Franklin Regional in the
119-pound at the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships.
The combatants spent the first period feeling each other
out before Marino started a competitive second two minutes
with an escape. Megaludis then took the brief lead with a
takedown, Marino took a 3-2 edge with a reversal and
Megaludis tied it with an escape entering the final period.
The defending state champion controlled the action from
there with an escape and two takedowns to secure another
PIAA title.
He opened up, I opened up and it was a fun
match, said Megaludis, a junior who improved to 36-0.
He tries to score a lot and so do I. My best period is
the third so I was confident when it was 3-3. I went on the
attack.
Marino enjoyed an outstanding postseason after losing seven
times during the regular season. He dropped to 119 pounds
for the postseason after competing at 125 during the regular
season.
I left it all out on the mat tonight, said
Marino, who ended up 32-8. I wish it turned out
different, but hes really good.
Anthony was still right in it with a minute
left, Liberty coach Jody Karam said. He went so
hard for two and a half periods, he didnt have much
fuel left in the tank. He held nothing back.
Megaludis defeated Nazareths Zach Horan in the
112-pound final last season.
MICHAEL BLOUSE

HERSHEY, Pa. | If Liberty High School senior Anthony Marino
had one wish for his final day at the PIAA Class AAA
Wrestling Championships, it was to let it fly.
Marino did that in Saturdays night 119-pound
championship bout, matching Franklin Regional junior Nico
Megaludis point-for-point through the first two periods. It
was almost enough.
Anthony held nothing back, Liberty coach Jody
Karam said. I think he maybe got a little bit tired in
the third period because he went so hard in the first two
periods.
Megaludis took control with five points in the third and
went on to win his second consecutive state championship
with an 8-4 decision.
Marino joined Nazareth junior Zach Horan as the top two
finishers from The Express-Times region. Horan, who fell to
undefeated Bellefonte senior Mitchell Port in the 125 final,
won a state silver medal for the third consecutive year.
Blue Mountain senior Josh Kindig, who earned the 140-pound
title with an 8-3 decision over Pittsburgh Central
Catholics Lorenzo Thomas, was the only District 11
wrestler to win a PIAA Class AAA title for the second year
in a row.
Megaludis scored the first takedown against Marino but the
Hurricane reversed him in the second period and the two went
into the third tied at 3. Then Megaludis, who finished the
season at 36-0, seemed to find another gear.
We let it fly, Marino said. He was the
better wrestler tonight. I knew what he was coming in to
this. Im not going to run from anybody.
Marino ended his career at 128-22 overall a record that
includes a 2009 fifth-place medal at states. A District 11
and Northeast Regional champ this year, hes headed to
Bloomsburg.
I would say he progressed as the years and weeks went
by, Karam said. Thats all you can ask.
Hes a better wrestler than when he came in and
thats a credit to Libertys assistant coaches and
his partners in the room.
Coincidentally, Megaludis was the same wrestler who beat
Horan in overtime in last years 112 state final.
Horan has faced extremely tough competitors in the finals
ever since his freshman year when he ran into a senior
103-pounder, Council Rock Souths Mark Rappo. This
time, Horan took on Bellefonte senior Mitchell Port.
Horan took down Port 42 seconds into the first period but
Port escaped and added a takedown of his own with 10 seconds
left in the period. Port, who improved to 45-0 for the
season, added one last takedown at the edge of the mat with
four seconds remaining for a 6-3 decision.
Its just heartbreaking, Nazareth coach
Dave Crowell said. I just feel so bad for him. He puts
his life into it. But, like I told him, you are not defined
by the score of one wrestling match. Hes defined by
the person hes become.
Hes become a great team man. While we would
like to win every wrestling match, if its me, those
kinds of other things matter more.
In other Class AAA finals action, the Central Mountain
brother duo of Andrew Alton and Dylan Alton finished their
careers with a combined five state titles. Andrew, a
145-pounder, took his second title with a technical fall
over West Alleghenys Aaron McKinney. Dylan won his
third consecutive state gold medal with an 11-4 decision
over La Salles Shane Springer at 152.
Eleven other wrestlers from the Express-Times region earned
medals in Class AAA.
In the consolation rounds, Eastons Mark Hartenstine
and Northamptons Austin Sommer both closed their
careers with their best state finishes. Hartenstine, who
placed eighth last year, defeated Garnet Valleys
Joseph Marino 5-0 for the bronze medal at 140. Sommer, a
seventh-place finisher in 2009, beat Kiski Areas Zack
Shannon 5-2 for third at 152.
Nazareth 145-pounder Ryan Krecker won a fourth-place medal
for the second year in a row. Northampton senior Jordan
Glykas won his first state medal, a fourth at 125.
Easton sophomore Mitch Minotti, who decisioned Pleasant
Valleys Jordan Toledo in both the District 11 and
Northeast Regional finals, earned a 4-0 win over Toledo for
fifth at 130. Liberty junior Anthony Cabera beat
Eastons Evan DiSora 3-0 in the fifth-place match at
103; Cabrera defeated DiSora by that same score in both the
district and regional finals.
Libertys Devon Lotito (seventh at 112),
Parklands Tarik Haddad (eighth at 189) and Wade Rivera
(fifth at 160) and Whitehalls Taray Carey (sixth at
215) also claimed medals in Class AAA.
Beth Hudson can be reached at sports@express-times.com.

SOUTHEAST REGION

At Wilson HS

(Top five from each weight advance to PIAA Wrestling Championships)

Team Scoring: 1. Schuylkill Valley (SV) 151; 2. Pen Argyl (PA) 99; 3. Juniata (Jun) 93.5; 4. Saucon Valley (SaV) 75; 5. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 68; 6. Delone Catholic (DC) 64; 7. Northern Lehigh (NL) 62; 8. York Suburban (YS) 58.5; 9. Bermudian Springs (BeS) 55; 10. Boiling Springs (BoS) 54.5; 11. Wyomissing (Wyo) 48; 12. Pius X (PiX) 46; 13. Hamburg (Ham) 42.5; 14. Tamaqua (Tam) 40.5; 15. Tri-Valley (TV) 37.5; 16. (tie) Milton Hershey (MH) and Octorara (Oct) 31; 18. St. Pius X (SPX) 30; 19. (tie) Biglerville (Big) and Lehighton (Leh) 29; 21. Brandywine Heights (BH) 28.5; 22. Williams Valley (WV) 24; 23. (tie) Fairfield (Fa) and Pine Grove (PG) 23; 25. (tie) Annville-Cleona (AC) and Catasauqua (Cat) 21; 27. Notre Dame-Green Pond (ND) 20; 28. Oley Valley (OV) 17; 29. Northwestern Lehigh (NwL) 16; 30. (tie) Jim Thorpe (JT) and Fleetwood (Ftw) 14; 32. Panther Valley (PaV) 9; 33. Susquenita (Sus) and Pequea Valley (PV) 8.5; 35. (tie) Church Farm School (CFS) and Eastern York (EY) 7; 37. (tie) North Schuylkill (NS), Schuylkill Haven (SH) and Springfield Twp. (ST) 4; 40. (tie) Bishop McDevitt (BM), Harriton (Har) and Littlestown (Lit) 3; 43. Lower Moreland (LM) 2.5; 44. (tie) Mahanoy Area (MA) and Palmerton (Pal) 2; 47. (tie) Cardinal Dougherty (CaD) and New Hope (NH) 1; 49. (tie) Bristol Boro (BB), Columbia (Col), Delaware Christian School (DCS); Phil Mont Christian (PMC) and Plumstead Christian (PC) 0.

Semifinals

103: Joseph Byers DC d Baffour Atakora-Bediak CFS 7-2; Brad Farley BeS md Anthony Bilotta PiX 15-5. 112: Nick Lamoreaux MH d Jamie Welsh PA 3-2; Randy Cruz BC md Nate Giorgio SV 11-2. 119: Arty Walsh Jun tf Kody Rittenbaugh PG 18-3 (3:11); Peter Renda BH d Adam Phillippi SaV 4-2. 125: Tyler Small DC d Justin Mazza PiX 8-2; Laike Gardner Big d Zac Beitz Jun 8-4. 130: Joe Spisak BoS md Joshua Ruppert DC 13-1; Mikey Racciato PA d Derek Goodwin Ham 5-0. 135: Nick Hodgkins Wyo md Nikko Stevens NL 15-1; Mike Giorgio SV tf John Lynch SaV 18-2 (4:24). 140: Colin Shober SV md Dalton Anthony BeS 19-7; Dylan Killian AC d Seth Beitz Jun 5-3 OT.

145: Noah Horst SV d Elliot Riddick BC 5-4; Phillip Racciato PA p Sam Scheib TV 4:23. 152: Craemer Hedash NL d Guliano Caloiero SV 7-3; Kyle Dehaut BC d Kyle Flohr Fa 10-7. 160: Ryan Maurer SV d Bryn Bowman TV 9-8; Dylan Treaster Jun d John Blank ND 8-5. 171: Riccardo Plummer YS d Nick Edmonson SaV 3-2; Luke DeLuise PiX p Derec Sauve Sus 4:47. 189: Garth Lakitsky Tam p Matt Wolf BeS 2:40; Ian Gimbar SaV p Dylan Scheidt SV 5:48. 215: Josh Rogers SPX p Tyler Rank Wyo 4:56; Stan Williams YS d Dylan Ferguson Fa 7-2. 285: Tylor Unger BoS d Briar Stern Leh 3-2; Ben Ancheff WV d Dan Fultz Jun 2-1.

Fifth-place

103: Bilotta d Atakora-Bediak 6-2. 112: Dylan Long NwL md Ty Herzog NL 13-4. 119: Brandon Arnsberger Oct d Zane Heller NL 3-2. 125: Ty Shoffstall TV d Richard Cruz BC 8-7. 130: Dakota Davis SV d Ruppert 7-3. 135: Luciano Burriesci PA d Anthony Farole Leh 3-2. 140: Eisha Gaylor Wyo d Allen Daubert PG 13-6. 145: Scheib p Riddick 1:23. 152: Flohr d David Lucykanish Leh 6-2. 160: Bowman d Mitchell Ball PV 3-2. 171: Edmonson won by medical forfeit over Sauve. 189: Nate Ronan Oct d Wolf 4-2 3 OT. 215: Joseph Kreiner DC p Rank 1:57. 285: Chris Ramirez MH p Kenny Zurbano SaV :26.

Third-place

103: Robert Ritschard OV d Matt Williams PA 3-1. 112: Giorgio d Welsh 5-0. 119: Phillippi d Rittenbaugh 6-3. 125: Z. Beitz tf Mazza 17-2 (4:59). 130: Kolby Mashack Tam d Goodwin 7-5. 135: Stevens d Lynch 3-2. 140: Anthony md S. Beitz 11-3. 145: Jackson Stabile Ham d Dillon Smith JT 3-1. 152: Jordan Knaub YS d Caloiero 4-2. 160: Blank p Cody Breiner Ftw 2:41. 171: Colin Hedash NL d Glenn Miller Ham 5-3. 189: Scheidt p Tyler Horn PA 3:31. 215: Curtis Garner Cat d Ferguson 4-1. 285: Fultz d Stern 3-2.

Championships

103: Farley md Byers 12-1. 112: Cruz md Lamoreaux 14-2. 119: Walsh d Renda 4-3. 125: Small md Gardner 11-2. 130: Spisak d M. Racciato 7-3. 135: Hodgkins d Giorgio 7-0. 140: Shober tf Killian 18-3 (2:37). 145: P. Racciato md Horst 14-5. 152: Dehaut d C. Hedash 7-2 OT. 160: Maurer d Treaster 6-5. 171: Plummer d DeLuise 9-4. 189: Gimbar d Lakitsky 5-3. 215: Rogers p Williams 4:54. 285: Ancheff d Unger 6-2.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Feb. 27, 2010) – Before a sold out crowd of 2,322, former ballet dancer turned undefeated professional mixed martial arts (MMA) star Sarah Kaufman (11-0) became the first STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight (135 pounds) Champion in history by powering her way to a five-round unanimous decision over Japan’s Takayo Hashi (12-2) in the STRIKEFORCE Challengers main event at San Jose’s Civic Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 26, on SHOWTIME®.

Luke Rockhold (7-1) continued his climb up the middleweight (185 pounds) ladder with a stunning first-round (2:24) TKO over Paul Bradley (12-2).

A middleweight contest between former South African national wrestling champion Trevor Prangley (22-5-1) and France’s Karl Amoussou (11-2-2) ended prematurely after Prangley accidentally poked Amoussou in the eye, leading to a doctor stoppage and technical draw being declared.

From the outset, Kaufman pressed the action with a stiff jab and one-two punch combinations, but was unable to finish Hashi who repeatedly backpedaled her way out of trouble. Kaufman landed her best shots in the first round, dropping Hashi with a straight right hand.

In the third stanza, Kaufman sent Hashi reeling back and nearly put down the Japanese fighter for a second time in the bout with a straight right hand. After a Kaufman jab snapped Hashi’s head back, Hashi responded by shooting for a takedown that Kaufman stuffed.

A chess match ensued for the remainder of the bout. Kaufman continued to score with her hands and right leg kick while Hashi retreated to avoid imminent danger. All three judges scored all five rounds in favor of Kaufman.

In the first round of their much anticipated matchup, Rockhold dropped Bradley with a right hand to the side of the head. Bradley fought his way back to his feet, but Rockhold quickly went on the attack, scoring a head kick and following up with three straight knee strikes to the body.

Badly battered from the series of blows, Bradley turned his back, prompting the referee to immediately stop the action.

As expected, Amoussou came out of the gates firing punches at Prangley, who covered up and countered the Frenchman’s assault with his own hands. Prangley scored a takedown, but was unable to advance his position from half guard.

After the referee stood up the fighters, Prangley, with an open left hand, accidentally poked Amoussou in the right eye. The ringside physician immediately entered the cage and examined Amoussou, who was unable to open his eye, and declared the fighter unable to continue at the 4:14 mark of the first round (According to MMA rules in the state of California, the ringside physician has the discretion to stop a bout in the event that an accidental foul causes an injury).

In other action Yancy Medeiros (5-0) of Waianae, Hawaii dominated Raul Castillo (6-1) at middleweight with continuous flurries throughout the matchup between the unbeaten fighters.

Medeiros stuffed Castillo’s repeated takedown attempts and continued to pour on the punishment with both hands, putting Castillo on the canvas with a right hand in the third round. After an exchange of shots brought the bout to a close, all three judges awarded the fight to Medeiros.

Like Medeiros, Tarec Saffiedine (8-2) maintained an all-out stand up offensive in a welterweight (170 pounds) fight with James Terry (7-2) for three straight rounds, opening a cut on Terry’s lower lip and bringing about a welt under Terry’s left eye.

Terry repeatedly attempted to bring the fight to the mat, but Saffiedine defended the takedowns well and responded with more strikes. After three rounds, Saffiedine was declared a unanimous points winner.
Amongst those in attendance at Civic Auditorium, was MMA’s newest star, football legend Herschel Walker, as well as STRIKEFORCE World Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, and STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez.

During an interview with STRIKEFORCE Challengers host Mauro Ranallo, Walker said, “(MMA) is the toughest sport there is. To step in the cage and go mano-a-mano, there’s nothing like it. It is the toughest training I’ve ever done.”

Regarding his future in the sport, the 47-year-old Walker said, “I will leave that up to my team at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy, San Jose) when I get back in the gym. We’ll see if they say I am capable of going again. (If they do), we’ll do it again.”

Complete STRIKEFORCE Challengers Results:

Main Card:

Yancy Medeiros def. Raul Castillo – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Tarec Saffiedine def. James Terry – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Luke Rockhold def. Paul Bradley – TKO (knees to the body) – 1st Round (2:24)

Trevor Prangley – Technical Draw – Karl Amoussou (doctor stoppage after unintentional foul ) – 1st Round (4:14)

Sarah Kaufman def. Takayo Hashi – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds) (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Preliminary Card:

Ronald Carillo def. Anthony De Los Santos – submission (armbar) – 2nd Round (1:20)

Steve Dickie def. Alan Lummel – TKO (punches) –1st Round (:33)

Renee Robinson def. Lilia Salas – TKO (punches) – 1st Round (1:06)

Jesse Tobar def. Johnson Nguyen – Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – 2nd Round (1:24)

Tristan Arenal def. George Miller – TKO (punches) – 2nd Round (:30)

Samuel Bracamnonte def. Chris Stewart – TKO (punches) – 3rd Round (:59)

Wayne Phillips def. Eric Lawson – Submission (armbar) – 1st Round (4:27)

Below are complete results from the first round of the consolation bracket at today's District 3-AA wrestling championships at Hersheypark Arena. Please also see complete results from the championship brackets, which concluded earlier today.

CONSOLATION FIRST ROUND

103: Garcia d Varra 7-5; Fabo d Rini 7-5; Grifiths p Gordon 3:45; May d Fiorill 8-6 OT. 112: Smith d Kelley 9-3; Starner d Gonzalez 4-1; Yohe p Weidner 1:58; Lentz p Goshert 2:51. 119: Gonzalez md Renninger 9-1; Carroll d Phillips 2-0; Leiphart d Kocsis 12-5; Rank d Zercher 13-.9 125: Marshall d Young 8-5; Willi p Minnier 4:23; Maloney d Jackson 4-2; Shifflet md Brown 12-0.

130: Markley p Lehman 4:35; Arnold d Becker 1-0; Kemble p Cook 4:51; Ruppert p Christianson :16. 135: Rowles p Laratonda 2:25; Gardner d Weidenhammer 6-2; Ronca d Moretz 5-4; Emerich d Martinez 12-7. 140: Rhoads p Halter 2:33; Mackie p Danner 1:47; Anthony p DeLaCruz 4:15; Sheaman d Asper 7-3. 145: Mabius d Slonaker 1-0; Bobo d Law 9-3; Bond d Miller 8-1; Meszaros p Weinold 4:57.

152: Ball p Nichols 2:16; Shoop d Schmeck 7-5; Riddle p Martin 4:25; Escarraman p ray 4:06. 160: Rooney p Bloss 2:36; Murphy p Crawford 2:53; Maurer md Warner 11-2; Wood md Hartman 13-0. 171: Kauffman d Wolford 8-7; Mohn p Vaughn :53; Grove d Spence 9-5; Arredondo p Schmale :45. 189: Jackson p Eisenhower 1:36; Lee md Baba 14-3; Campbell d Deroba 7-2; Mitchell p Gibson 1:51. 215: Powell p Russell :50; Forney d Ferguson 2:33; Moll d Howell 3:11; Matter md Felus 15-2. 285: Sentz p Hoagland 1:21; Aguilar p Jimenez :52; Greene d Kline 9-4; Mosey p White 2:51.

Juniata's Zac Beitz shoots a single leg on Boiling Springs' Ean Starner in their 125-pound match at the District 3-AA Sectional at Susquenita High School.

-

(CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News)

Jeremy Elliott's District 3-AA wrestling predictions

Rod Frisco's District 3-AA wrestling predictions

While Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic managed to end up in the win column once again this past Saturday evening at UFC 110 with a doctor’s stoppage victory over journeyman Anthony Perosh in Australia, I personally remain far from convinced that the once widely feared Croatian is anything more than a shell of his former terrifying self.

It seemed apparent that Cro Cop was gun-shy in the bout with Perosh, as the vicious left high kick the Pride veteran is known for was nowhere in sight. However, according to Filipovic it had little to do with the commonly accepted belief that he lost something when he was kicked off-side the skull by Gabriel Gonzaga several years ago that he is likely never to get back, and everything to do with Mirko feeling “sorry” for his recent victim.

“I am very sorry that I had to hurt Perosh,” said Mirko in a recent conversation with Fighters Only. “I tried to fight with as much consideration for him as I could. I even avoided the ground because I am 7, 8 kilos heavier than he is.

“I just couldn’t do that to him when he was so bloody.”

These recent statements by Cro Cop are more than a little bothersome in my opinion. Mirko is “sorry” he had to hurt Perosh? He tried to fight with as much “consideration” as he could?

Does Filipovic remember that he’s in the BUSINESS of hurting people? There’s no use for words such as “sorry” or “consideration” in this sport. Or phrases such as, “I just couldn’t hurt him anymore when he was so bloody”.

Reality check: MMA is a brutal sport where people are going to get bloody. Believe it or not, fighters that have been bloodied up have come back to send their opponent to the emergency room on hundreds of occasions.

Now before everyone jumps in and tells me that Perosh is a fellow Croatian and has helped to train Mirko’s team mates in the past, let me tell you that I don’t care. Mirko and Anthony didn’t grow up together. They’re not drunk texting one another or catching up at the local night spots in Zagreb.

If Perosh had an opportunity to choke Cro Cop to an unconscious stupor, do you think Mirko’s Croatian bloodline would have held him back for one moment? I’d like to hope not, for his sake.

It’s always been my belief that the best way to respect and honor your opponent would be to try to finish him as quickly and violently as possible. If a man is going to suffer a defeat to another man in agreed battle, I’m sure the loser would like to know that the victor did everything he could to conquer him. Not that they “held back”.

Plus, if you’re convinced that you’re really THAT much better than your opponent – who you really, really respect – why not finish them as soon as possible as opposed to putting a prolongued, drawn out beating on your compadre?

Furthermore, to state that you basically took it easy on your opponent is an excuse for a lackluster performance. How exactly does Cro Cop stating that he didn’t want to hurt Perosh make Anthony look? It’s basically Mirko stating that he could have decimated Perosh if he felt like it. Don’t talk about it, be about it.

The fact of the matter is that this is far from the first time that Filipovic’s ability to pull the trigger like he used to has been drawn into question, and it’s for good reason, but to believe that Mirko COULD HAVE looked more impressive than he did is nothing but talk, and at the core, flat-out disrespectful.

To kick things off in the previous edition of “The Aftermath: UFC 109″ I listed a series of fighters which I fully expected to be released from the UFC such as Frank Trigg, Justin Buccholz and Phillipe Nover, all of which have since been let go, but when examining the rubble of UFC 110 and it’s unfortunate victims it seems that this event may have had an opposite effect on the careers of a few athletes with questionable futures under the promotion.

Two fighters that will most likely NOT be cut following UFC 110:

Stephan Bonnar: Bonnar’s performance in the most pivotal bout in UFC history has cemented his place with the promotion in an extremely unique way. Luckily Saturday’s bout with Krzysztof Soszynski ended via controversial headbutt so Bonnar’s career will undoubtedly continue in the UFC with little need for explanation from the promotion considering “The American Psycho” holds the unfortunate distinction of having suffered defeats in three consecutive bouts at this point.

Keith Jardine: The sad thing about Jardine’s defeat to Ryan Bader at UFC 109 was the fact that “The Dean of Mean” actually looked better than he had in recent memory before the end came. If Keith had mounted some offense in the final three minutes of the bout that Bader made sure we didn’t get to see, we could have been looking at a decision for the master of herk-jerky-fu. Sure, Jardine’s gone 2-5 in his last seven, but look at who he’s been fighting. A case could be made for his dismissal, but I feel an even stronger case could be made for Jardine’s spot on the UFC 205 pound roster to stay intact.

With a couple exceptions… Things aren’t looking great for Igor Pokrajac from here right now. I’d expect his release to be reported in the coming hours or days. I wouldn’t hold my breath for the future of Anthony Perosh in the UFC at this point either, but at least he can say he tried.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, I have a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu“. This must have been what ran through the head of Chris Lytle in the days leading up to the Indiana fireman’s UFC 110 Submission of the Night victory over Brian Foster. Lytle is a legitimately dangerous submission fighter with a black belt in BJJ, and Foster, well Foster isn’t. As a matter of fact, four of Foster’s five defeats to date have now come by way of tap out. Kudos to Lytle for doing the right thing in this bout, and still somehow managing to grab a bonus in the process.

Lytle cements his legacy as one of the most exciting fighters to watch… ever. With an unprecedented SEVEN fight of the night bonuses (1 Knockout, 2 Submission and 4 Fight of the Nights) in his last nine fights, you’d be hard pressed to argue against the fact that “Lights Out” is one of the most consistently exciting fighters not only in the UFC, but in the history of the sport. A fighter’s fighter. Well done Chris.

Could Jardine cut? This may sound completely crazy out of my mind, but seriously, does anyone think that Jardine could possibly make a drop to 185 pounds? And if so, do you think that would be a weight class where the Greg Jackson trained fighter could revitalize his career? I’m just saying…

A defeat inside of a victory for Cro Cop? I remain unconvinced that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic is anything more than financially relevant in the UFC’s current heavyweight division. One of my favorite fighters from about five years ago looked like a shell of his old self this past Saturday evening in victory over Anthony “A Few Hours Notice” Perosh. Where was the high kick that the man is known, and used to be feared for? It was non-existent. That’s where it was. And why? Is Perosh that much of a threat? Not to an “elite level striker” he shouldn’t have been. Just like the sad time when I realized that I would no longer have any additional knockouts to add to my Mike Tyson highlight reel, I have come to the grips with the fact that the only time I will be seeing the patented left “right leg hospital, left leg cemetery” from Cro Cop will be on my old Pride DVD’s. If he couldn’t get the job done against Anthony at UFC 110, then who’s it going to be? I’d love to Mirko prove me wrong, but it seems like the fire is gone. And once the fire is out for many fighters, it’s nearly impossible to rekindle that flame.

Smile now, cry later… again. I’ve said it before after Mike Swick was recently belted off-side his head and choked out at the hands of Paulo Thiago, and I’m going to say it again following Joe Stevenson’s recent defeat to George Sotiropoulos in Australia. Stevenson seemed to be a little overly happy and upbeat heading into his UFC 110 showdown with George, while Sotiropoulos looked as if Joe had just sent a personal insult in the direction of his mother. There was obviously more than just attitude and mindset to take into account this past Saturday evening in this lightweight match-up, but attitude and mindset are two factors in any form of professional athletic combat that refuse to be ignored.

George Sotiropoulos vs. Kenny Florian anyone? I couldn’t help but notice similarities between the two lightweights both standing and on the ground as Sotiropoulos methodically picked apart Joe Stevenson this past Saturday evening. Now that George has established himself as a top-flight contender in the lightweight division with a win over a fighter like Joe Daddy, a potential match-up between the two aggressive and well-rounded 155 pounders could spell a future title shot for either man in the future if Florian looks impressive in victory over Takanori Gomi at UFC Fight Night 21, which I fully expect he will.

A revitalized “Axe Murderer”. With a win over Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva has officially established himself as a legitimate contender in the UFC middleweight division. It appeared as if Wanderlei had a renewed sense of timing and hand speed this past Saturday evening at 185 pounds, although the importance of getting of the win obviously affected his overall performance in the bout. With that being said, there were absolutely points where we saw the old Wanderlei in action, particularly in the closing moments of each round. If Silva had chosen to let those brief flurries go in say, the middle of any given around, we very easily could have seen the knockout many had anticipated.

Velasquez erases all doubt. The one-sided beating dished out to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira absolutely solidified Cain’s place near the top of the UFC heavyweight mountain. Velasquez displayed the type of timing and explosiveness in his striking that is rarely seen by the majority of top-level wrestlers that make the decision to make the the transition to mixed martial arts. With the victory over Big Nog in Australia, Velasquez asserted himself as a bonafide top three heavyweight in the UFC due to the fact that it has been a years time since we have last seen Shane Carwin action.

SYDNEY, February 18 - Twenty-four hours ago Anthony Perosh was training at his gym in Sydney, with half an eye on a stopwatch and the other on the scales. Scaling a trim and fit 215-pounds at the time, Perosh was preparing friends and halfway through the process of cutting down to light heavyweight, the division he's campaigned in for his last seven bouts.