10. Kurt Pellegrino is never in a boring fight, you gotta love "Batman" he gives it his all every time out. Anytime he fights, no matter the opponent, its worth tuning in.
9. I thought the judges called the Dong Hyun Kim vs Matt Brown the right way. It was close, but I thought Kim won rounds 1 and 3.
8. Rousimar Palhares' jiu-jitsu is surely world class, you could sense the danger for Henderson every time it went to the ground, it reminded me of Nogueira's early Pride fights, except Nogueira always found a way to lock in the submission. Palhares still has to learn the "Mixed" in Mixed Martial Arts. Some are complaining that he actually won the fight, are you kidding me, how can you win a fight if all you're doing is going for takedown after takedown with most being stuffed by Hendo?
7. Dan Henderson had a game plan and stuck to it completely. A classic example of a great wrestler using his skills in reverse.
6. Nate Marquardt suprised me alot. I was really high on Kampmann winning this fight to the point that I put some money on him. I would love to see Marquardt get a rematch with Anderson Silva, but I would still pick against him.
5. Matt Hamill was disappointing. I really thought he would make this a great fight with Franklin, but he had a bad game plan and he gassed.
4. Rich Franklin looked as good as ever and he immediately becomes a top 5 light heavyweight in my opinion. If Anderson stays at Middleweight now, he has a real chance to make some noise in the division. Somewhere Bas Rutten was watching this fight and screaming at the television in joy after that brutal Liver kick by "Ace".
3. Rashad Evans will fight Forrest Griffin in December for the title, its been all but confirmed by Dana White and company and he will win the title against Forrest. Before this fight I re watched Evans' last 2 fights against Bisping and Ortiz and you could tell he had some heavy hands, but it was the speed that was too much for the Iceman.
2. Chuck Liddell needs a new approach to fighting. His hands low, chin too high approach is catching up to him. I just don't understand why he went into this fight thinking it was a boxing match or something. I mean the guy has lethal legs and he didn't even try any kind of kick. A new camp and a new mindset and Chuck will be just fine.
1. Lyoto Machida will be your light heavyweight champion in 2009. If he gets a shot at Rashad or Forrest he will win decisively.
