This was the best show on paper UFC has presented since PRIDE started buying all the talent up. It was disappointing based on the potential because there were no great or even excellent matches. However, the early matches were evenly contested quality matches and the final had an exciting surprise finish. Even though Tank Abbott would probably need them to bring in Clifford Etienne for him to get a win at this point, I can't say I didn't enjoy seeing him embarrassed in a whopping 46 seconds. Thus, the only true negative was Paintovermate Lisa Dergan attempting to do interviews even though she couldn't pass generic interviewing 001.

They didn't cater to Rizzo as they usually do in non-title matches by picking an opponent that will have to strike with him. Matyushenko is capable of striking, but he wasn't going to give Rizzo that advantage. When it was in standup, Matyushenko didn't initiate striking and allow Rizzo to do his counterpunch thing. He only tried for takedowns, which Rizzo was unable to make him pay for. Once again, Rizzo always seemed to be waiting, which is frustrating because you'd think he'd eventually catch on and expand his game so he could win when the situation wasn't ideal.

Matyushenko won the 1st round due to two takedowns. Matyushenko didn't do much damage with ground and pound, but that's partially because all Rizzo does when he's on his back is tie his opponent up as much as possible and pray for the standup. He was effective enough with the second takedown because that one was into side mount, but he didn't flurry.

I liked Matyushenko's 2nd round opening where he faked a shoot and snuck a left hand in. Matyushenko was cut on the nose from a collision, with heavy bleeding running into his eye sockets. Matyushenko had Rizzo's back at the end of the round and threw some good punches from the side, but the round only had 10 seconds left.

Rizzo finally threw a low kick at the start of round three, but Matyushenko tied his arms and eventually got him down. What Rizzo really needed to do was try some high kicks because when Matyushenko shot he always dropped his hands and never went low. Either way, a striker eventually has to throw to open things up. I think it's fair to give Rizzo 3rd round because Matyushenko basically shut it down knowing he'd get the decision. Rizzo did a lot of standing around and waiting, of course, but when he did throw he scored with kicks. A decent match that could have ended at any time if Rizzo ever got going, but the quality of Rizzo's fights goes hand in hand with his performances, so this was disappointing. Matyushenko won a unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, & 29-28.

3R

 

Matt Lindland vs. Phil Baroni

Lindland had the quote of the night saying, "It's irritating to me to see that somebody so disrespectful and such a jackass can get attention that way." He also had the last laugh, once again beating Baroni, though I'm sure the Hip Hop Inferno will figure out a reason why this win also doesn't count. Lindland mainly won because he's in better condition. Baroni showed a lot of heart, digging deep for flurries just when you thought he was both mentally spent and totally blown up, but it's still inexcusable to be burnt out early in the 2nd round.

Lindland's wrestling was, of course, superb. He took Baroni down several times, and these were some powerful takedowns that gave him an advantageous position on the mat. The rules hurt Lindland because knees to the head would be his best weapon on the mat. Early on he had a perfect position to bring them, but had to go to the body, where he couldn't get anything on them because that angle was no good. Without the knees, Lindland's ground and pound is pretty weak because he doesn't hit hard. He's kind of like an early Couture except he throws a lot more often. Where Lindland was fairly effective was from the side mount, particularly when he was able to pin Baroni's arm under his leg so he could punch freely.

Baroni does hit hard, and he was throwing any time he could. Even though Lindland would take him down, Baroni would at least give him trouble and even do a little damage by hitting him repeatedly while he was trying. Baroni made Lindland burn a ton of energy at the beginning of round 1, but once Lindland got the takedown he would regain his energy because Baroni couldn't get off his back or keep Lindland struggling.

Baroni made his comeback with 20 seconds left in round 2. He slipped out of a rear naked choke and landed a flurry of punches. I still gave Lindland the round because he controlled the rest, seemingly demoralizing Baroni, and had the near rear naked choke.

My problem with Lindland is he was willing to stand with Baroni at the start of round 3. As Baroni at best needed a big round and had only just regained some confidence, I would have put everything into a takedown because I think that would have iced it. What made the takedown even more important is Baroni had yet to show he could do anything other than strike. Instead, even though he took Baroni down once he got hit a few times, Baroni's moral probably rose because it was clear that the potential to do damage was still there.

My problem with John McCarthy is he gave Baroni a chance even though Lindland was absolutely active in his ground and pound. It's true that active and effective weren't necessarily coinciding, but a weakness in your offense is certainly not equal to stalling. With 2 1/2 minutes left in a fight you are clearly winning, I don't think it's fair to ask a fighter to improve his position when the fighter, though in the opponent's guard, has his opponent pinned against the fence and is elbowing him in the face. When McCarthy called for the standup with 1:42 remaining, Mike Goldberg assumed they were stopping it to check Baroni's cut. Anyway, this time Lindland was also tired and he couldn't get the takedown. Baroni was gaining on Lindland. He got him with a good knee, prompting Lindland to bend over for a double leg, but Baroni leaned over and Lindland wound up down into the mat with his head stuck between Baroni's legs. Not wanting to be prone for a big blow to the head while trying to sneak out, Lindland just stayed there for the duration figuring Baroni didn't have enough left to take him out with punches to the body. If Baroni had more energy he might have got a stoppage from a flurry simply because Lindland wasn't defending himself, but Lindland knew how little time was left and how dead they both were, so it was a gutsy smart move. I initially thought Baroni was so tired he couldn't punch any more, but I think what happened is he stopped because time expired, with it just looking weird because the horn was considerably late.

Baroni clearly won the final round with the late flurry because his good portion was 1 1/2 minutes, and he also had some success early. Lindland still won the best fight of the night via unanimous 29-28 decision though. His wrestling was just too good, and barring one lucky shot a good striker with greatly inferior stamina isn't going to beat a good wrestler. Baroni was more powerful, but since the tank wasn't there he was unable to utilize that advantage, resulting in Lindland muscling him for most of the first 13:30. Baroni actually shook Lindland's hand after the match.

3R

It's weird how two guys can seem so evenly matched only to have one win in a few seconds. What's weirder is when that happens then they have a rematch and it's so even the judges can't even call it.

Uno fought a smart fight here. He wouldn't stand in front of Penn, instead hopping and bouncing in an invisible half circle around Penn so B.J. couldn't set his feet to deliver the bomb. I thought the striking was pretty even in this match. Penn hits a lot harder and cut Uno over the eye in the 4th, but Uno landed more and all those leg kicks were clearly bothering Penn in the later rounds.

Penn fought the same way he's been fighting. These days he's more frustrating than Rizzo because he is a well rounded fighter that can adjust and used to be aggressive, but it's like he's so concerned with staying calm that he's forgotten how to pounce.

This was a fight with a very low success rate. They constantly transitioned to the point that when someone had an advantage you were surprised their opponent hadn't countered yet. The same few things kept happening because they could exploit a single technique and/or advantage, but there wasn't enough of an advantage to get to the second or third set. Uno would take Penn down with a sweep, but Penn would be back on his feet before Uno could do anything. Penn would take Uno down and go for a rear naked choke, but Uno would keep at least one of Penn's arms under his until he could turn out into the top position.

I gave round 1 to Penn. He did an impressive slam when Uno had him in front facelock position. He also had a takedown that led to him getting side mount, and had a couple of the soon to be requisite rear naked attempts. Penn stepped in and hit a big right at the start of round 2, but this was Uno's round with the low kicks and leg sweep takedowns. Uno seemed to be building momentum. He took the third round, again scoring with leg kicks and this time finishing strongly with punches on the ground after slipping out of a potential triangle.

Uno looked good at the beginning of the 4th round, but Penn got a crucial takedown after a minute and opened up the aforementioned cut with his punches. Penn was much more aggressive once he busted Uno open. He did a wicked fast and hard takedown and tried to get the hooks in, but Uno snuck out and stood up. He even charged in and got a takedown at the end of the round.

I thought the difference in this fight was how active Uno had to be in order to neutralize Penn's standup. That kept him even through 4 rounds, but despite his awesome stamina, anytime you have a nonstop match where you expend 5 times as much energy as your opponent, especially a stronger one like Penn, it's going to catch up to you at some point. Uno might not technically have been more tired, but fatigue took him out of his angling game in standup. Penn still didn't get many punches in, but this was a match where something was precious and Uno looked a lot worse with a swollen cut eye and now a bleeding nose. Penn took Uno down mid round, leading to another failed choke attempt. Though it was hardly a big round for Penn, considering he snuck punches in both in the clinches and from the top, he got the only takedown, and he had the same old submission attempt, you have to give it to him. It was an even match in that they were both so good they couldn't do much to each other, but I don't believe in scoring a round even unless absolutely nothing happens. The first judge had my 48-47 score, but the second had a nutty 48-46 Uno, and the third had it 48-48. Well, at least this means we should get another very even match...unless it's instead a count the seconds on your fingers KO. Very good fight.

5R

Frank Mir vs. Tank Abbott

Abbott was in better shape than I expected, but he was so conditioned that his breasts were bouncing all over the place. Mir was going to press Abbott and keep transitioning until he either caught him or Tank had a heart attack. Mir went from a shoulder lock to a toe hold, with Abbott not being able to roll through because his arm was still trapped from the former. The submission was much more fun than a KO would have been because the bully had to cry uncle. The fans didn't like Mir bragging, but then cheered Abbott like a big hero because he was able to walk out (Mir predicted he'd be carted off to the hospital) and they'd be able to join him in the bar tonight. Abbott is now 8-8 in UFC, but tune in next month for his "legend" series PPV.

1R 0:46

UFC Heavyweight Championship: Ricco Rodriguez vs. Tim Sylvia

I was groaning when I heard Sylvia was getting the title shot because, aside from Couture, Ricco has faced some pretty weak opposition. More importantly, the belt is worthless if all you have to do to get a shot is beat a Cabbage patch punching bag. That Sylvia took the title might make me reconsider the former, but the any given Sunday deal doesn't mean you should throw anyone out there for the big match.

Sylvia is another of those guys that's mainly there because he's so tall, but unlike Semmy Schilt he actually used his size to his advantage. The way he threw Rodriguez off and tossed him aside when he saw his shoots coming was so impressive because it's something you only see in worked wrestling or the movies. He was even able to use his size to his advantage in avoiding a submission.

The main thing Sylvia had going for him, of course, was Pat Miletich. Rodriguez is always the bigger guy, so going against Sylvia put him out of his regular game plan to begin with. Sylvia not only knew exactly what Rodriguez would have to try against him, but he was so prepared he almost seemed to know when it was coming like Rodriguez was tipping it off.

Rodriguez wasn't active enough in standup, which didn't take long to cost him. You just can't stand in front of a striker with a big reach advantage unless there's a big threat of the takedown. Sylvia caught Ricco on the chin with a straight right when he was backing out of a low kick. Rodriguez was at least close to out from this, but in any case Sylvia threw a few big punches from the top before McCarthy stopped it.

1R 3:09

Clementi began fighting at 218 pounds, but has now dropped down to 155. That should give him certain advantages, but when Edwards proved to be the stronger fighter you knew he was done. Clementi claimed his striking was equal to Edwards, but that quickly proved to be a joke. What was funny is how Clementi had so little confidence that he'd make the move in, but wouldn't throw anything and Edwards would hit him before he could decide to actually throw something or to back away.

Clementi was down to going for takedowns, but his takedowns didn't seem too good and Edwards has too good a sprawl. Edwards was also too quick with too much experience. Clementi had one good chance when Edwards tried for the KO because he smelled blood, but after 2 good shots Clementi took Edwards down and trapped his arm behind his back like a form of the hammerlock. Of course, Clementi didn't barely struck with his other arm. To make things worse, Edwards reversed and exploded with a flurry in the last 10 seconds of the round.

Clementi tried to jump into guard, but Edwards just hit him a few times then stood back up. Clementi had a chance when he caught Edwards knee, but this Dragon screw kinda takedown he tried backfired and Edwards wound up on top with the mount. From here it was just a matter of time, as Edwards got Clementi's back and threw punches around his body then sunk the rear naked choke for the win. A decent fight because Edwards is entertaining, but Clementi was too outgunned to bring out the best in Yves.

3R 4:06