Todd Martin

Wanderlei Silva did a session with the media sponsored by Xyience, talking about his fight with Rich Franklin. He said that his normal weight is 208, so 195 pounds at UFC 99 works well for him as he prepares for the 185 pound weight class. He is getting into Germany five days early. He views Rich Franklin as a complete fighter and a good opportunity for him. He fights because he loves to fight, and loves to hear the crowd roar when something big happens. He dislikes hearing the boos. He thinks he mad a mistake against Quinton Jackson going in to get the crowd going and got caught. He wants to use technique more, but says that it gets personal for him when he gets hit. He wants to mix aggression with technique, and cites Georges St. Pierre along those lines. He said he tries to train for his chin, but recognizes that it is hard to do. He isn’t sure that it does become easier to get knocked out once you have been already a few times. He is training right now with bigger guys to mimic Rich Franklin, and his partners include Gilbert Yvel, Mike Whitehead, Fabricio Werdum, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar and Demian Maia. He has different people coming in and out. He likes Rich Franklin but says he won’t after the first punch is thrown.

I spoke with Dennis Siver backstage about his fight at UFC 99. Here is what he had to say. Thanks to Oliver Copp for translating.

TM: What does it mean to you to fight in Germany at UFC 99?

DS: I’m honored to have the UFC come to Germany and to be on the card. It’s an honor and pleasure to fight in front of my home country.

TM: What are you expecting the crowd to be like compared to other places UFC goes?

DS: I’m expecting it to be comparable to Las Vegas. Die hard UFC fans and people from all different countries will be attending so it should b a great event.

TM: What do you expect from your opponent Dale Hartt?

DS: Primarily I expect him to strike and kick but once he realizes he won’t beat me there he will go for takedowns. It’s a run of the mill fight.

TM: What did you think of your last fight against Nate Mohr?

DS: I thought it was one of my best fights so far. The finish was great and the start was great, although the second round wasn’t so great. All in all it was a tremendous fight.

TM: Who are you training with for this fight?

DS: In the United States, I am training with Xtreme Couture and some with Wanderlei Silva. In Germany I train with Kibju.

TM: How does your training differ in the United States versus in Germany?

DS: Training’s a lot more intense over here. The competition is better. But a challenge for me is the weather, because it is so hot.

Matt Serra and Matt Hughes both received mixed reactions, with louder cheers for Hughes. Lyoto Machida received a more positive reaction than Rashad Evans, but both got more cheers than boos. The attendance for the weigh-in was strong given the lack of a star on the level of Chuck Liddell or Georges St. Pierre.

Everything is set for tomorrow night's UFC 98 pay-per-view, and we're in Vegas to cover all the action tomorrow night. Mike Pyle is a late minute replacement for Chris Wilson. Here are the official weights:

Light Heavyweight Title: Rashad Evans (205) vs. Lyoto Machida (204)
Matt Hughes (170) vs. Matt Serra (171)
Chael Sonnen (186) vs. Dan Miller (185)
Sean Sherk (156) vs. Frank Edgar (155)
Drew McFedries (185) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (186)
Brock Larson (171) vs. Mike Pyle (172)
Pat Barry (237) vs. Tim Hague (263)
Andre Gusmao (206) vs. Krzystof Sosynski (206)
Yoshiyki Yoshida (171) vs. Brandon Wolff (170)
Dave Kaplan (156) vs. George Roop (154)

Sellout, gate of $4.3M.

Lyoto Machida said that he switched up his training some for the fight as far as nutrition and training partners, but didn't indicate there was a significant change in his approach to fighting.

Dana White said that he will wait for the Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine fight before announcing the next title contender for Rashad Evans, so Lyoto Machida won't necessarily be getting a title shot in his next fight. Dana did say he will get one within the year, however.

BJ Penn was taken to the hospital and isn't at the press conference.

2 fights of the night: John Howard vs. Chris Wilson (odd choice, in my opinion) and Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida. Lyoto Machida wins KO of the night. No submission of the night, obviously, since there were no submissions. $65,000 were the rewards.

Dana said Kid Yamamoto has 2 fights left on his Dream contract and he would like to bring him in. Dana also indicated interest in Caol Uno and Ishii and going to Japan.

GSP said he knew he broke BJ Penn after the first round. He noted that BJ always comes out strong in the first round, and GSP wanted to wear him out.

GSP said his primary motivation for fighting is for himself: the satisfaction and challenge of winning. It's always important to find new challenges.

GSP notes that everything that goes up must come down, and thus he enjoys every moment of his career that he has this level of success. He said one day he'll come down too, but hopefully it will be under the terms he wants.

Round 1. The crowd is insane. They clinch. Loud GSP chants. Both men use knees from the clinch. GSP goes for the takedown. BJ defends. GSP keeps looking for the takedown, while BJ throws punches. They break. They trade punches, with GSP landing the best of the exchange. They go back to the clinch. GSP keeps going for the takedown but BJ blocks all attempts. Remember GSP was able to take down Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, champion wrestlers and bigger than BJ, constantly. GSP is using his jab to get the better of the standup exchanges. BJ looks a little frustrated. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Round 2. BJ lunges in and GSP counters with a punch. GSP is mixing up shots to the head and body. GSP again clinches, which draws some boos. BJ throws some punches to the side of the head and defends the takedown. But GSP gets it one minute into the round. BJ works the rubber guard. GSP lands a hard elbow. GSP postures up and drops bombs into BJ's guard. GSP gains side control and throws a series of punches to the head. BJ works back into butterfly guard, which gets a big cheer from his fans. GSP is now in the guard, but is throwing hard punches and elbows. GSP continues to punish BJ with punches and elbows. He gains side control momentarily but BJ reacquires guard. Loud GSP chants. GSP continues to hammer BJ at the end of the round. BJ is bloody but all things considered looks okay. 10-8 St. Pierre. This could be a long night for BJ Penn.

Round 3. GSP moves in with low kicks and a superman punch. He's mixing up punches high and low and looks a lot faster than BJ now. BJ is bleeding badly from the nose. GSP scores the takedown, again one minute into the round. BJ is using butterfly guard as GSP throws down punches. BJ hasn't been able to threaten from the bottom thus far. GSP with hard punches and hammerfists but BJ gets up and goes for a takedown of his own. GSP blocks and takes BJ back down. GSP continues to pound BJ as the round comes to an end. 10-9 St. Pierre, and that wasn't outside the realm of another 10-8 round, either. This is starting to become reminiscent of GSP vs. Jon Fitch.

Round 4. GSP picking BJ apart with punches and low kicks. GSP goes for a double leg and this time the takedown is easy. GSP is raining down elbows right here in front of the press. GSP has BJ's arms trapped just like Hughes/Penn II and is throwing unanswered punches but BJ is able to escape that position and secure half guard. GSP works back into side control and again starts throwing unanswered punches. Herb Dean looks to be considering stopping the fight, but BJ Penn as champion does deserve every benefit of the doubt. GSP looks to mount but BJ is able to stop that. A big cheer erupts from his fans, but GSP quickly works back into side control. GSP drops a very hard elbow and is pounding BJ into the mat with punches. GSP is looking to finish the fight and BJ is covering up. With just seconds remaining in the round GSP is pouring it on looking for the finish but he doesn't get it. 10-7 St. Pierre. What can you even say at this point?

The fight is called off. That's the right decision by the doctor. GSP wins in utterly dominant fashion, destroying BJ Penn like nobody else has ever even come close. He's at an incredible level right now to the point it's going to be hard to sell anyone as viable opposition outside of Anderson Silva, and at this point I would strongly favor GSP to win that fight.

Round 1. Machida comes in with a punch and backs off. He lands a leg kick, and comes in with a knee. Machida with a hard kick to the body. He's always moving around. They clinch and Silva gets a knee low. Silva has a moment to recover, and they start back up. Machida with a trip takedown and is on top. Silva grabs for a leg lock but Machida gets back up. Machida with a knee and an uppercut that floors Silva. Machida goes down to finish but when he realizes he can't he gets up. He throws some kicks to the legs of the downed Thiago. Machida then goes back into his guard. Machida lets Silva up. Machida then lands a head kick. Machida with a left/right combination that drops Silva again. Machida moves into side control. Machida takes mount. Machida and Silva get back up. They clinch, but Machida throws Silva down at the end of the round and follows to the ground where he knocks Silva out with two punches.

Tremendous performance by Machida. He looked incredibly dominant. Silva, an undefeated fighter, had no answers whatsoever for him. And it was an exciting fight to boot. That was the sort of fight Machida needed to get to the next level, and the sort of fight UFC needed at this moment on the card. It looks very likely he'll face Rashad Evans for the light heavyweight title soon. Machida asks the crowd if he deserves a title shot and they loudly cheer in the affirmative.

Round 1. Both Bonnar and Jones throw some kicks. They tie up, and Jones takes Bonnar down with a judo throw. Bonnar stands back up. Jones with a trip takedown, but Bonnar gets back up again. Jones gives him a knee for his troubles. They clinch again. Jones with a spinning back elbow that knocks Bonnar down and then a hard knee. Jones takes him down at the end. 10-9 Jones. I could see 10-8. Jones looks fantastic here.

Round 2. Bonnar opens up with some punches and a kick. Jones with a back kick of his own. Both men look tired, and they have gone hard. Bonnar with a hard leg kick but Jones uses the opportunity to take him down. Jones gets into side mount but Bonnar is able to work back up. Jones with a nice straight right. They clinch and Bonnar throws some nice elbows on the inside. Jones with a throw that drops Bonnar right on his head with 20 seconds left, but Bonnar gets back up again. Bonnar with a takedown at the end. Very close round but I've got it 10-9 Jones.

Mauricio Shogun Rua is shown in the crowd and gets boos from people who apparently weren't impressed with his fight against Mark Coleman.

Round 3. They clinch. Bonnar seems to stun Jones with some punches but Jones answers with a knee. Bonnar lands a pair more of punches. Bonnar goes for the takedown, but ends up on the bottom. Bonnar gets back up. He has shown a lot of heart in this fight. Bonnar presses the action in the final minute, moving in with punches. Jones isn't as active as he was earlier in the fight. 10-9 Bonnar, so that's 29-28 Jones. This could be another split decision conceivably.

When you consider Jones' age and level of experience, and then look at the skills he already possesses, this is a guy who could be a top flight guy in a few years. He still has work to be done, but he's got an incredible foundation already.

30-27, 29-28, 29-28 Jones.