After much wrangling since the demise of Setanta Sports, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has finally found a new home on British television with ESPN, who began their coverage with UFC 101: Declaration, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning, with Anderson Silva taking on Forrest Griffin, and Kenny Florian challenging B.J. Penn for the Lightweight title. As always, commentary is handled by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan.

The broadcast began with Josh Neer facing Kurt Pellegrino in the lightweight division. A very good fight to begin the show with. Fought mainly on the ground, both men showed some good work throughout. Pellegrino spent most of the fight on top, although Neer was able to put up a good fight from the bottom, going for a few submissions. However, as the fight went on, it looked like Pellegrino was getting the upper hand, especially as Neer only got on top in the last thirty seconds of the third round. The judges decision - all in favour of Pellegrino.

The action continued in the middleweight division, with Kendall Grove taking on Ricardo Almeida. The second good fight in a row gave us a good performance from Almeida, who dominated for the most part, especially in the first two rounds, as he was able to take Grove down at will. The only thing of note Grove really did in those rounds as an arm bar attempt. Grove came back a little in the third as Almeida began to visibly tire, but another take down once again showed how dominant he was. The judges saw it that way as well, with Almeida getting the unanimous decision.

Fight three went down a division to welterweight, with Amir Sadollah and Johny Hendricks. The blink and you'll miss it affair. Both guys swung early, and a series on left uppercuts on the inside sent Sadollah down. The referee stepped in immediately, giving Hendricks the TKO win, although some would say that the stoppage came in a little too early, and having seen the replays, I would have to agree.

Then it was back down to the lightweight division, with Shane Nelson going up against Aaron Riley. A dominating performance from Riley saw him outfight Nelson in every department, in the stand-up game, in the clinch and on the ground. Nelson just seemed happy to hang in there, and although this was a good enough fight, it's a shame that a few morons in the crowd decided to try and ruin things by starting a fight of their own. Thankfully this didn't distract Riley and Nelson as they went the distance, with Riley getting the unanimous decision in what was a very enjoyable fight.

Main event time #1, the fight I was really looking forward to, with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva stepping up to light heavyweight to take on Forrest Griffin. Silva needed a big victory going into this one, especially given his last two highly criticised performances. He certainly got it with this fight. For the first time in ages, Silva looked highly aggressive, and after being rocked twice in quick succession, Griffin began to look like a beaten men. Then, with what Joe Rogan described as a "walking away right hand", Silva floored Griffin for a third time. Griffin was out, and Silva had his second win at light heavyweight with a tremendous performance, with Griffin running out of the octagon as soon as he was able to.

Main event time #2, with Kenny Florian challenging B.J. Penn for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Like SIlva before him, Penn was another fighter who needed a big win, following his loss to Georges St-Pierre in the Welterweight title fight. This proved to be a very interesting fight, certainly worthy of it's main event status, between two evenly matched fighters. Some good work from both men here, with Florian trying to take Penn down several times, and Penn showing some great take down defence. Then, in the fourth round, Penn took control, scoring with a take down and going for the ground and pound. As Florian tried to escape, Penn took his back and synched in a rear naked choke. Florian tapped moments later, retaining his title and ending a good performance. One couldn't help but feel sorry for Florian though, one of the best and hardest working fighters in the UFC right now.

With a few minutes left to spare, some filler material, further action from the lightweight division as George Sotiropoulos faced George Roop. A very good fight to end the show with. Sotiropoulos put in a tremendous performance. Whenever the fight went to the ground the Australian fighter was able to transition at will, and after dominating the first round, he did exactly the same in the second, and it wasn't long before he'd locked in a kimura for the submission win. This is one fighter I'd like to see again.

In conclusion - another tremendous show from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, once again proving that they're the best they are at what they do. The two marquee matches certainly delivered, with the under card fights proving to be more than able support features. Which makes me think, who needs that Russian guy everyone's talking about at the moment?

As for ESPN's handling of the show, well, that was a little disappointing. While I can understand why they'd want to sell advertising during the show, they often cut away while messrs Goldberg and Rogan were in mid-sentence, and often cut back in precisely the same manner. It made the overall broadcast look a little messy at times, and one can hope that perhaps they'll take a look at the way Sky Sports handle WWE pay-per-views, and leave things how they are in the future.

With UFC 101 just a few days away, I thought it would be a good idea to once again delve into their past, following up my reviews of UFC 1 & 2 with UFC 3: The American Dream. Held in September 1994, this was the show that was meant to feature the re-match between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, but things didn't exactly go to plan.

For the third tournament the powers that be returned to their original format, an eight man single elimination tournament.

The quarter-finals began with sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarbrough facing kempo karate fighter Keith Hackney. Yarbrough had a massive 416 pound weight advantage. This was actually better than I thought it would be. Hackney knocked the big man down early with a right hand, but Yarbrough quickly came back with some good strikes, and his attack soon sent Hackney crashing through the cage. When the fight re-started, Hackney began to stick and move, and it wasn't long before Yarbrough was on the ground again, and as Hackney went in for the kill, Yarbrough gave up.

Then it was on to the returning Ken Shamrock, taking on judoka Christophe Leininger. As was expected, this one went to the ground early, and Leininger did a good job of controlling Shamrock from his back, but it wasn't long before Shamrock exerted his control, taking Leininger's back, before taking the mount, and after delivering a couple of blows, the judo man tapped out. The announcers said before hand that this was going to be good, and they were right.

Next up, muay thai kick boxer Roland Payne against karate fighter Harold Howard. The proverbial blink and you'll miss it affair. A couple of shots were thrown, a brief bit of grappling on the ground, before Howard connected with a right, with Payne falling to the ground like a sack of spuds. The time, just forty six seconds, and it certainly was an action packed forty six seconds.

The final quarter-final saw defending champion Royce Gracie face tae kwon do fighter Kimo Leopoldo. Kimo's entrance was extraordinary, as he came to the octagon carrying a giant crucifix. This was by far Gracie's toughest UFC fight at the time, and the best fight of the quarter finals. Kimo took it to him from the start, using his power advantage to stop Gracie from using his skills, and he did a good job of it, but eventually Gracie began to win through, and near the five minute mark Gracie locked on an arm bar for the submission win, although after the fight it was Gracie who looked like the beaten man.

On to the semi-finals, beginning with Ken Shamrock against shao-lin kung fu fighter Felix Lee Mitchell, replacing the injured Keith Hackney. Given his credentials, Shamrock was expected to breeze through this one, and although he controlled the majority of the fight, he didn't have it all his own way, because Mitchell had one thing on his mind - survival. But once it went down to the ground at the four minute mark, it wasn't long before Shamrock took Mitchell's back and synched in a rear naked choke, with Mitchell tapping out almost immediately. Unfortunately for Shamrock, like Royce Gracie before him, he didn't look too healthy afterwards as he began limping badly straight away.

The second semi-final didn't actually happen. Although both Harold Howard and Royce Gracie came to the octagon, Gracie looked like a beaten man already. The introductions were made, but Gracie's corner quickly threw the towel in, and Howard was declared the winner. Then, in an extraordinary scene, Kimo came back out, and claimed victory after Gracie's withdrawal.

So after the drama with Gracie, it was soon announced that Ken Shamrock was also withdrawing because of injury, meaning that the final would now be contested by Harold Howard and the second alternate, ninjitsu fighter Steve Jennum. This certainly gave the tournament an interesting ending. Howard almost got the submission with a guillotine choke, but Jennum managed to escape, and it wasn't long before they were back on the ground, and after a couple of blows from the mount, Howard tapped, giving the win to the alternate.

In conclusion - boy, was this a crazy show. It was full of good fights, but the withdrawals of both Gracie and Shamrock, and to a lesser extent Keith Hackney certainly shook things up. So was Steve Jennum a deserving champion? My answer would have to be no, but if things had been better organised, then perhaps Harold Howard would have stood a better chance if Jennum had already fought earlier in the evening.

In November 1995, while the Ultimate Fighting Championship was still in it’s infancy, a new mixed martial arts promotion held their first show. The company, known as Extreme Fighting, only held four events. With the popularity of MMA growing in the last few years, the four volumes that were previously released on VHS were later released in a one disc DVD set, at a very reasonable price. So, having had this for quite a while now, and having recently looked back at a couple of old UFC shows, I thought it would be a good idea to finally give this a look-see.

EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 1
The show begins with one of the many Gracie brothers, Ralph, taking on Makoto Muraoko (although there’s actually no introduction for him). This was a quick one. It quickly went to the ground, where Gracie quickly took control, taking Muraoko’s back, and synching in a rear naked choke. The Japanese fighter didn’t tap, and the referee stopped the fight when he saw that Muraoko was unconscious. Well, it’s the sort of thing you expect from the Gracies, isn’t it?

Next up was Igor Zinoviev against Harold German. Another quick fight saw Zinoviev knock German down early, going in for the kill first with a knee bar attempt, which German managed to escape from, and then with a relentless ground and pound, which German soon tapped out to. So far there’s been just eighty-six seconds of fight action.

Then it was on to Gary Myers against Tom Glanville. This one lasted longer than the first two fights combined, and saw a dominating performance from Myers. After escaping from a triangle attempt early on, Myers quickly got back on top, putting his elbow on the side of Glanville’s head. That particular move almost won him the match, but it was only when Myers rained in a few head butts that Glanville tapped out. A very good performance from Myers.

Gracie student Mario Sperry was next, facing Rudyard Moncayo. You could see that Sperry was a Gracie student from the opening bell, as he quickly used a leg trip to take Moncayo down to the mat. He immediately went for an arm lock, but it wasn’t long before Moncayo reversed positions and took Sperry’s guard - for about three seconds. Sperry was soon back on top, and after a brief flurry of punches Moncayo was tapping. Nice stuff by Perry, but I had the feeling that as soon as they said he was a Gracie student that he was going to win.

The next fight saw Conan Silveira facing Russian fighter Victor Tatarkin, also in this unknown tournament. More Brazilian domination saw Silveira take Tatarkin down early on, and from there he transitioned at will, almost getting a rear naked choke, before taking the back again and unleashing with the ground and pound, with the Russian’s corner throwing the towel in to end the onslaught. This one looked absolutely brutal.

Silveira then made a quick return, facing Gary Myers, making me think that this was actually a part of a tournament, which wasn’t actually announced on this DVD. This was the most even fight on the show so far. It soon went to the ground, and for the first time a Brazilian was on the defensive with Myers taking the guard and going to work. The fight was stopped briefly so the doctors could check on the cuts that the fighters had sustained. This gave Conan the chance he needed to recover, as he soon locked in a standing guillotine choke, with Myers quickly tapping out. We then saw an official give Silveira a title belt, so I guess this was a tournament after all.

And as it turns out, there were actually two tournaments in this show, with Igor Zinoviev and Mario Sperry returning to action in a middleweight final. The Brazilian dominance of the show ended with this fight. Sperry did well again here, and looked great in the mount, but Zinoviev did what nobody expected he would do, and escaped Sperry’s mount. The Russian was soon back on his back, but this time he went for a guillotine choke, which ultimately was unsuccessful. Sperry regained control, and once again looked like he was going to dominate again, until Zinoviev reversed the positions again. Both fighters then got to their feet, with Zinoviev holding on to the cage while Sperry tried to work. After a few moments of this, the fight went back to the ground, and a Zinoviev knee opened up a nasty cut above Sperry’s left eye. The doctor had no choice but to stop the fight, giving the fight and title to the Russian. Definitely the best fight of the first show.

EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 2
This one began with Jean Riviere facing future UFC star Carlos Newton. Newton was giving away a massive seventy five pound weight advantage, fighting at 205, a lot more than his title winning weight in the UFC. Newton actually did very well here, but in the end Riviere’s weight advantage was too much. While Newton showed some good jiu-jitsu moves, Riviere spent much of the time on top of Newton’s back, firing in the occasional knee. Then, about seven minutes in, Newton had had enough. Fatigue set in, and he tapped out. Good stuff here, very interesting.

Then it was on to the Heavyweight title fight, with Conan Silveira taking on Carl Franks. This one exploded into life after a minute or so, when Conan unleashed with a torrent of blows that rocked Franks, with the referee quickly stepping in and stopping the bout, much to the annoyance of Franks, although I could see why the referee stepped in. Quick stuff, and another example of how the jiu-jitsu guys were kind of dominant back then.

Next up, we skip forward to Extreme Fighting’s third show, with Eric Paulson against Matt Hume. By this time all fights were contested over three five minute rounds, or “phases” as they were called, instead of a straight fifteen minute fight. A very good and enjoyable fight. The first phase was fought mainly on the ground, with both men having opportunities to finish it via submission. The second phase saw both fighters using the stand up game, with both fighters getting in some good shots. The third phase lasted just over a minute. Paulson quickly sustained a deep cut right in the middle of his forehead, with the doctor stopping the fight. A very good fight, but a shame it had to stop in the way it did.

The next fight saw Ali Mihoubi challenging Lightweight Champion Ralph Gracie. As is the Gracie custom, this one went to the ground early. Gracie quickly went for the ground and pound, before locking in the ground and pound. Another dominating performance, and I couldn’t help but feel that Mihoubi didn’t really stand a chance.

After that quick fight, it was on to Anthony Macias against Allan Goes. Goes was unable to keep up the Brazilian tradition of instant take downs, although he was able to get past Macias’ defence soon afterwards. Goes then went for the ground and pound, and he would have probably got the win had he not gone for a head butt or a fish hook, both of which had been outlawed after the first show. Goes soon reasserted his control, taking Macias down again, but then we got a somewhat confusing ending. After Goes used another head butt, Macias verbally submitted just as the referee was about to warn Goes again. Macias thought the referee had disqualified Goes, and those in attendance weren’t exactly too happy with Goes’ conduct, and I can see why, especially as Goes and his entourage celebrated like he’d won a world title.

EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 3
Only three fights on this particular volume, all from their third show, beginning with John Lober challenging Igor Zinoviev for the Middleweight Championship. The first fight on the collection to go the distance saw a very good first two rounds, with both guys looking good, but as the fight went on Zinoviev showed his superior ground game, simply smothering Lober, using a tactic that would have seen the referee stand the fighters up a few years later. By the time the third round started both fighters looked exhausted, and they spent the last five minutes exchanging combinations, although they spent a great deal of time just squaring up to each other. So with no judges, the fight was declared a draw, which meant that Zinoviev retained his title. A very solid technical fight, and very enjoyable as well.

Next up, Murakami Kazunari against Bart Vale. Vale had a near thirty pound weight advantage in this one, but it didn’t count for much as Kazunari dominated for the most part. Vale’s only real offence was a straight armbar attempt, countering Kazunari’s standing rear waist lock. The Japanese fighter soon took the fight to the ground, taking Vale’s back, going for a rear naked choke, as well as getting off a few strikes. Vale was soon able to stand up though, and got off a couple of blows before Kazunari exploded with some shots of his own, knocking Vale down with a big left, and following him down for the ground and pound, and with Vale unable to defend himself, the referee stepped in. A very impressive performance from Kazunari here.

Then it was on to Maurice Smith challenging Conan Silviera for the Heavyweight Championship. Conan had had it pretty much his own way in his previous two fights, but came up against a very strong opponent in Smith here. The first round saw Conan on top on the ground, but Smith was soon able to reverse things, taking the mount and putting in some good work, although he received a warning from the referee for head butting. Smith’s kick boxing pedigree came out in the second as he out punched and out kicked Conan, although the Brazilian did manage to tie him up in a clinch against the cage a couple of times. Round three didn’t last that long. After another brief clinch against the cage, Smith rolled off a couple of leg kicks, but a high right kick hit Conan hard on the side of his head. The Brazilian staggered, and the referee quickly stepped in and stopped the fight, revealing a few seconds later that Conan was virtually unconscious. Smith was awarded the knockout win, and the Heavyweight title in a very good fight.

EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 4
As with Volume 3, this features just three fights, beginning with Todd Bjornthun going up against Allan Goes. The proverbial blink and you’ll miss it affair. Bjornthun went for a left jab, the fight went down to the mat, and Goes quickly locked in a triangle choke for the submission win. Definitely a lot better than Goes’ last performance, and he certainly got a better reception from the crowd here.

Next up, Paul Jones versus Erik Paulson. A very good fight between two evenly matched men, a back and forth affair. Jones began the fight strongly, using a suplex to take Paulson down, and spending the remainder of the first round in the guard. The second round was a little more even. Jones again showed some good grappling while controlling the fight on the ground, although Paulson went for a couple of submissions, and looked like he was going to succeed a couple of times as well. It was the same in the third round as it was in the second, only with the roles reversed as Paulson seemed to have the edge as far as submission attempts were concerned. But with the fight going the distance, and no judges, the fight was declared a draw. If it had been held today, then Jones may have just edged it.

The final fight of the collection saw John Lober taking on Kevin Jackson. They definitely saved the best for last here. Jackson, the former Olympic wrestler making his MMA debut, took Lober down early and dominated him throughout the round. In fact he punched Lober so hard that he damaged his right glove, so there was an even longer gap between the rounds while his corner men went back to the dressing room to get a replacement. The extra rest didn’t do Lober any good. Jackson began the second round in the way that he’d begun the first, taking Lober down to the ground, and locking in an arm choke for the submission win a minute or so later. An outstanding performance from Jackson here, and as I said this was definitely the best fight on the DVD.

In conclusion - this certainly is a very interesting release. Fight wise it really can’t be faulted. There’s some good action on this DVD, and it’s also a good way to see just how much the sport has changed in the fourteen years since Extreme Fighting had their short run.

Production wise, it’s more polished than the old UFC shows I reviewed recently. From the beginning the announcers knew what they were talking about, unlike their counterparts in UFC 1. However, some of the editing was awful. For instance, in Volume 1 there were a couple of fights where the introductions were cut completely. I actually had to look in the results section of Clyde Gentry’s No Holds Barred book to find out who some of these guys were. I also found out from his book that there actually was a four man tournament to crown the first heavyweight champion, but it was difficult to tell this, given the way that Volume 1 was edited. Also, in Volume 2, there’s an interview with a fighter whose fight isn’t even shown. Thankfully, the editing gets a lot better with Volumes 3 and 4.

So in all, if you’re willing to put up with these problems, then you may want to get a copy of this release. It’s available from most of the online stores such as Amazon and Play, and for a very reasonable price. It’s a valuable piece of MMA history from an all but forgotten promotion, and who knows, perhaps one day they’ll eventually release these shows unedited. I’d definitely be interested in getting them!

They’re back! After an prolonged absence, Dave O’Donnell and his band of merry man returned to British television screens as his mixed martial arts promotion, Ultimate Challenge UK, made their Sky Sports debut with Heat, held at The Troxy in London and broadcast on a three day delay. Dave himself acted as host, along with O.J. Borg, with Malcolm Martin and Rob Nutley handling commentary duties.

The first two fights were fought under K1 rules, beginning with Jake Bostwick challenging Alex Reid for the UCUK UK1 Middleweight title. This was the proverbial blink and you’ll miss it affair. Bostwick came out swinging, but none of these blows were actually landing. Halfway through the round, Reid connected with a right knee to the head in the clinch, and Bostwick went down, unable to answer the referee’s ten count, giving Reid the TKO win. The commentators described it as a loss, but for me it was a case of Bostwick going in like a bull in a china shop.

The next fight saw Richard Griffin facing Scott Jansen for the UCUK UK1 Welterweight title. A fight that went the three round distance, this proved to be a very entertaining contest. Both guys put in a good account for themselves, although in the third round Griffin seemed to take his foot off the pedal a little. Although he was moving forward, he wasn’t throwing much, with Jansen throwing a lot more, and it was because of this that Jansen took the judges decision. Good stuff.

Then it was on to the MMA action, beginning with Michael Brown taking on Dyson Roberts in the welterweight division. A fantastic fight saw both men go all out in the first round. It began when Roberts scored with a tremendous takedown, going for a guillotine. Brown soon escaped, and from there both men had their moments. The second round began with both men looking tired, and a missed kick from Brown caused him to fall to the ground, giving Roberts the opportunity he was looking for. It wasn’t long before Roberts was going all out with the ground and pound, and as the onslaught continued, I kept wondering why the referee didn’t step in. Eventually he did, giving Roberts the win in a great fight.

The welterweight action continued with Nigel Whitear and Jamaine Facey. The second blink and you’ll miss it affair. Both guys began to swing for the trees early on, and after Facey connected with a left knee to the ribs, Whitear went down, with Facey following with the ground and pound, and unlike the last fight, the referee quickly stepped in, giving Facey the win in a quick and exciting bout.

Then it was up to the light heavyweight division, with Earl Brown facing Rafik Benziada. Although this one began quite slowly, you could say that it was another one of those blink and you’ll miss it kind of matches. They began slowly, trading kicks as they felt each other out, before a slip saw Brown got down onto his back, and Rafik quickly pouncing with the ground and pound. Brown showed no defence, and the referee stepped in and stopped the action, literally plying Rafik away from Brown. Not bad, but you could tell that both of these guys were in the early stages of their careers, and it’s kind of weird saying that when you consider that Brown’s 42!

The final two fights were in the featherweight division, the first one with Max Henchy against Giorgio Andrews. A dominating performance saw Andrews take the fight to the ground early on, and although Henchy went for a guillotine, Andrews quickly escaped and took control, transitioning well and going for the ground and pound throughout, twice taking Henchy’s back and synching in a rear naked choke for the submission victory. An excellent performance from Andrews here.

Main event time, with Brad Wheeler taking on Dino Gambetesa. Wheeler did the old Wanderlei Silva hand thing before the fight, but sadly he showed none of the Axe Murderer’s skills. A right quickly sent him down, with Dino going for the ground and pound. The relentless right hand soon knocked Wheeler out. Wheeler stood absolutely no chance here in yet another blink and…..well, you know what I mean.

In conclusion - this was a more than welcome return to British screens for Dave O’Donnell and his team. Having morphed Cage Rage into Ultimate Challenge UK after the EliteXC fiasco, he’s now come back with a promotion that no longer relies on washed up foreign imports and freak shows for main events. Instead he’s now combining the K1 kickboxing format with mixed martial arts and putting on a hell of a show, once again proving that British MMA is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, and with his old buddy Andy Geer and his BAMMA promotion also doing the business, MMA fans in Britain will certainly have some interesting viewing in the coming months.

It’s taken them sixteen years, and they’ve had to overcome many obstacles, but the Ultimate Fighting Championship has reached it’s hundredth major show with UFC 100: Making History, shown live here in Britain on Racing World (yep, a horse racing channel - well we Brits had to watch it somehow!) in the early hours of this past Sunday morning. As usual, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handling the commentary duties for this one.

The broadcast begins with action from the middleweight division, and the debuting Yoshihiro Akiyama taking on Alan Belcher. An event of this magnitude demanded a great fight to begin the broadcast with, and it got it with Akiyama and Belcher. Both fighters put in good performances here. Belcher knocked Akiyama down in the first with a big left, just a few moments after he caught him with an inadvertent low blow. From there both fighters worked well on the ground, but it was in the stand up game that Belcher really excelled, especially with his leg kicks. Akiyama was clearly limping by the time the third round started, and his left eye was starting to close as well. But despite these setbacks, Akiyama was still in the fight, although it seemed that, as time went on, Belcher was slowing getting the upper hand. Sadly, the judges didn’t see it that way, with Akiyama getting the split decision. One of the judges even gave every round to Akiyama, leaving this writer scratching his head. To be blunt, Belcher was robbed.

Up next, more action from the middleweights, and the fight I was really looking forward to, the battle of The Ultimate Fighter coaches, Dan Henderson against Michael Bisping. I think you can guess who I was rooting for in this one. Sadly, things didn’t go to plan. Henderson put in a great performance, out boxing Bisping completely in the first round, and even though the Brit came back a little in the second, it just wasn’t enough to stop Henderson, who connected with a big right that sent Bisping crashing to the mat. Bisping was out before he hit the ground. Henderson went down for a final right before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. A tremendous performance from the legend in waiting, and kind of sad that Bisping couldn’t follow up Team UK’s dominance of The Ultimate Fighter with a victory here.

Main event time #1, with Thiago Alves challenging Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title. If you ever needed an example of just how good a fighter GSP is, then this is it. From the first minute of the first to the last minute of the fifth, St-Pierre dominated in almost every aspect. He was able to take Alves down at will, nine times in all, and along the way he cut Alves above the eye and bloodied his nose, and he accomplished this in the last two rounds with a groin injury. Credit to Alves though for hanging in with GSP, even though he was clearly out fought throughout. All three judges gave every round to St-Pierre, and rightfully so. A tremendous fight for the Canadian, but I’m left to wonder just what is there left for him in the welterweight division.

Main event time #2, with UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar looking to unify the titles. Once again Lesnar showed just how much he’s improved as a fighter over the past year or so. It was a dominating performance from the former WWE superstar, using his wrestling ability to take Mir down, and using his power to pound away on his face, opening him up in the first round. Although Mir got in some good shots in the second, it was pretty much the same story later on. Lesnar took him down, pounded away on his face with his right, and soon knocked him out. An excellent performance from Lesnar. As for the post fight interview, well, you can take the wrestler out of WWE, but you can’t take WWE out of the wrestler.

The final fight of the night saw Jon Fitch facing Paulo Thiago in the welterweight division. A technically sound battle fought mainly on the ground saw both fighters have their moments as they sought to end the fight with a submission, with variations of the choke the chosen move, and with the fight going the three round distance, it went down to the judges to render the decision, with all three giving the fight to Fitch. A good fight, but it suffered from it’s position on the card.

In conclusion - the UFC’s 100th show really needed to deliver, and it did. There were five great matches on this card, and they delivered the full gamut of emotions, from Akiyama’s controversial win in the opener, to Henderson’s knockout of Bisping, GSP’s continued dominance of the welterweight division, and Lesnar’s continuing heel performance, this show had it all. For me, mixed martial arts really is becoming a great alternative not just to boxing, but to professional wrestling as well. So in short - great show, and thanks to everyone who has ever worked for the UFC since the beginning.