The Fringe: Herring stumbles, but two more stars debut Saturday

There are some big guns joining the UFC ranks in 2007. Let's hope their debut fights are a little more successful than that of the "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring.

Coming out of Ultimate Fight Night 8 on Jan. 25, the charismatic Herring finds himself going back to the drawing board, with an 0-1 UFC record, courtesy of the largely unheralded Jake O'Brien.

Herring's loss to O'Brien at UFN8 marked the first of three heavily promoted UFC debuts this year, the other two happening at Saturday's UFC 67 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. Herring, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound Texan with a lengthy MMA history from fighting in Pride FC and K-1 in Japan, lost to O'Brien via unanimous decision. Herring seemed unable to get his striking game going against O'Brien's stronger grappling skills.

Jake O'Brien (left) and "The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring duke it out. (UFC/Josh Hedges)

"Man, I apologize," Herring said at the post-fight press conference. "This was not the homecoming we were looking for. Jake, you did a good job, buddy. I wish it could have had a little more action in it. Damn it, this is not what I wanted at all. Hopefully (UFC president Dana White) will have me back."

White thought nerves might have come into play in Herring's loss.

"You know, he's been out for a while," White said. "Everybody who comes into the UFC for the first time has UFC jitters. They're a little nervous."

With Herring's inauspicious debut in the books, UFC looks to the debuts of two more fighters Saturday. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson enters UFC as the only man to defeat UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in an MMA fight who has not lost to Liddell in a rematch. And Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic needs no introduction to hardcore MMA fans. Cro Cop has one of the deadliest striking games in the sport, with excellent high kicks.

White said the influx of heavy hitters to UFC is the continuation of a goal to find out which fighters are the true kings of the MMA jungle. At one time, White said UFC tried to work with other promotions to settle the argument.

"There's only one way to find out, and that's to have them all fight," White said. "I've been trying to make that happen for years. I sent Chuck Liddell over (to Pride FC) three times, trying to get them over here, and they won't cooperate with us. So now, we're just going to have to take all of their guys and find out for ourselves."

In other marquee fights at UFN 8, lightweight Hermes Franca earned a big win over Spencer Fisher via TKO in Round 2, due to punches and knee strikes. In the main event, light heavyweight Rashad Evans landed a spectacular knockout, defeating Sean Salmon at 1:06 of Round 2 with a high kick.

UFC Octagon girls Ali Sonoma and Arianny Celeste with Hulk Hogan on Jan. 25. (UFC/Josh Hedges)

Fisher and Franca traded wild shots and grappled until Franca was able to stagger Fisher with a fist. Fisher never dropped to the canvas, but Franca unloaded with a barrage of unanswered strikes until the official stopped the fight.

Franca followed his big performance with an imitation of George St. Pierre, dropping to his knees in the Octagon and pleading for a (expletive deleted) title shot.

"Yes, Hermes will get a title shot," White said. "He's got to stop swearing on live TV, though."

UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk should be ready for his next title defense in July. White said that Franca would probably be Sherk's next challenger.

Evans' knockout win over Salmon resulted in a tense few moments after the fight. It took awhile for Salmon to regain consciousness, and he was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

Salmon came into the fight as something of a question mark. Everyone knew he had great amateur wrestling skills, but his ability in other facets of MMA was unknown. After holding his own in the first round, Salmon appeared to tire quickly in Round 2. Evans added another knockout to his record and took another step toward title contention.

"I couldn't have scripted it any better," Evans said. "Actually, I could have. I wouldn't have lost the first round."

Evans said he didn't expect the kick to have the impact that it did.

"I was surprised," Evans said. "I just threw it out there. I heard my corner yelling, 'Go for the head kick.' I tried to do it a couple of times, but he kind of stuffed it. But I knew he was kind of getting tired in the second round. I just threw it up. I didn't know it was going to end up like that."

Complete results from UFC's Ultimate Fight Night 8, Jan. 25 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla.:

1. Rich Clementi defeated Ross Pointon via tap out to a rear naked choke at 4:53 of Round 2.

2. Din Thomas defeated Clay Guida via unanimous decision after three rounds.

3. Ed Herman defeated Chris Price via tap out to an armbar at 2:56 of Round 2.

4. Josh Burkman defeated Chad Reiner via unanimous decision after three rounds.

5. Nathan Marquardt defeated Dean Lister via unanimous decision after three rounds.

6. Hermes Franca defeated Spencer Fisher via TKO due to punches and knee strikes at 4:03 of Round 2.

7. Jake O'Brien defeated Heath Herring via unanimous decision after three rounds.

8. Rashad Evans defeated Sean Salmon via KO from a right high kick at 1:06 of Round 2.