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Until the results come in, feel free to browse past events, other events, animated GIFs, and videos in the categories to your left. In addition, why not hop onto out forums and discuss MMA, Boxing, training, and off-topic stuff today? Also come back for any updates, as well as links for the Weigh-INs when they happen! Enjoy the UFC 93 video promo:

January 17, 2009 at The O2, Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. It will be the UFC’s first event in Dublin. 8pm GMT, 10pm ET / 7pm PT – or watch it live at 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 8pm GMT

UFC 93 Main Event:
205 lbs.: Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson wins by Split Decision!

Main Fight Card
205 lbs.: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Mark Coleman wins by TKO in RD3!
185 lbs.: Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcherwins by arm in guillotine in RD2!
185 lbs.: Rousimar Palhares vs. Jeremy Horn wins b Unanimous Decision!
170 lbs.: Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle wins by Split Decision!

Preliminary Fights
170 lbs.: Martin Kampmann vs. Alexandre Barros wins by TKO in RD2!
205 lbs.: Eric Schafer vs. Antonio Mendes wins by TKO in RD1!
205 lbs.: Ivan Serati vs. Tomasz Drwal wins by TKO in RD1!
170 lbs.: Thomas Egan vs. John Hathaway wins by TKO in RD1!
155 lbs.: Nate Mohr vs. Dennis Siver wins by TKO in RD3!

Event Summary
Italian fighter Ivan Serati is supposed to be a fighter to watch. 9 of his 12 fights have ended in the first round (win or lose) and only one fight has gone the distance. This translates to a guy that simply lets it all hang out and someone who is probably fun to watch. His greatest claim to fame is getting KOed by Vitor Belfort at ‘CR 21 – Judgment Day’ in April of 2007. He has fought at small shows and this is his first “big” show. At 6’1″ 225#s, he should be a big, strong 205er.

Antonio Mendes is coming off a TKO (RD1) loss to Thiago Silva who fights next week at UFC 84. He’s taking on fan favorite Eric “Red” Schafer. Schafer was off to a rocky start in the UFC with a win over Rob MacDonald (UFC 62) before getting TKOed by Michael Bisping (UFC 66) and Stephan Bonnar (UFC 77). he then went back to the “minor leagues” and put together 2 wins at Gladiator Fighting Series before being invited back at UFC fight night 15 to fight Alexander Houston in a fight where he was probably supposed to get annihilated, but made BLAF throw up in his mouf when he executed what was a gorgeous transition into a sweet arm triangle, but not before taking some serious knees and demonstrating a SOLID chin and will to win.

Outside of losses to Matt Hughes, Dave Strasser and Aaron Riley, Alexandre Barros has fought mainly Brazilian fighters at local Brazilian shows. So when he ventures outside of Brazil he seems to suffer. To his credit those losses were decision losses. In front of him is Martin Kampmann who I had high hopes for after seeing him in his memorable bout against Drew McFedries. He also has wins over Thales Leites and Jorge Rivera, but had a very disappointing outing against Nate Marquardt at UFC 88. I hope he gets back to his winning ways as he is exciting to watch.

What’s to say about the Lytle/Davis fight that isn’t obvious to just about everyone? FOTN/FOTY candidate! There is discussion about the gentleman’s agreement to keep this fight standing, but Lytle has alluded to the idea of taking the fight wherever need be to win.

Rousimar Palhares is coming off a decision loss to Dan Henderson in his last appearance at UFC 88. More pertinent and telling in this fight is Jeremy Horn‘s last few performances: Guillotine losses to Nate Marquardt and Dean Lister making him 6-7 in the UFC. This fight really is ‘do or die’.

For years fans having being calling for Denis Kang to get into the UFC and their dreams finally came true. Kang is an exciting fighter to watch, but is capable of being highly disappointing. In terms of recent performances he went from back to back losses, Akiyama and Mousasi in which there is absolutely no shame in losing to such giants, to a win over Jae Young Kim and dispatching Marvin Eastman in 48 seconds. Most notable losses: Joe Doerkson, Jason Miller, Misaki, Mousasi, and Akiyama. Most notable wins: Keith Rockel, Andrei Semenov, Mark Weir, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua, Amar Soloev, Gono and Eastman. His opponent Alan Belcher is a perfect first foray into the UFC. Belcher has an exciting KO win over Jorge Santiago at UFC fight night 7, a guillotine over Sean Salmon, a TKO over Kalib Starnes, and split decision win over Ed Herman at UFC FN15. This is the sleeper fight of the night.

After a poor performance and shocking loss to Forrest Griffin, ‘Shogun’ Rua is looking to get back on track and not only win, but start climbing that PFP list again. His first fight back is a rematch against legend and pioneer Mark Coleman who is coming down to 205#s. In their first match, Shogun was taking down and utilized an amazingly active guard, going for triangles, armbars, and leglocks in a flurry and had moments where he had very close subs, before getting up and taken down again with Coleman still pressuring the takedown. Shogun was taken down to the mat awkwardly and had his forearm broken in half bringing a far too quick end to what started out to be an exciting fight. Coleman is a wrestling legend and is not a newcomer to cutting weight, so I don’t see this as being an issue for him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is noticeably bigger than Shogun by fight time.

Mark Coleman vs. Shogun Rua I

Finally in what should be a complete WAR we have Dan Henderson fighting Rich “Ace” Franklin. Henderson lost 2 in a row to Rampage and Anderson Silva when he first came to the UFC, but got back on track with a win over Rousimar Palhares. Since 2004 Franklin only has losses to Anderson Silva. Everyone else he has faced since and in between he has beaten. Because his losses to Anderson, and in dramatic fashion people seem to think Franklin is not as dangerous or as much of a monster as he was. Franklin IS still that monster and one of the most dangerous men at 205#s.

This card is STACKED and should be exciting!

Croatian fighter Goran Reljic is injured and has pulled out of UFC 90, delaying any forward momentum he has gained in his 2nd round TKO against Wilson Gouveia in the octagon. He was scheduled to take on Thales Leites who most recently beat Nate Marquardt by decision. Thales, who is 4-1 in the UFC, having only lost a close decision to Martin Kampmann will most likely fight Drew McFedries.

While you wait check out out category to the left for previous UFC GIFs, videos, pic, and articles as well as other topics! I’ll add weigh info, animated GIFs, results and videos as well, so be sure to join the RSS feed, bookmark Spladdle, or come back!

UFC 88 ‘Breakthrough’ will take place on September 6, 2008 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Ga. Weigh-ins are on Friday.

Main Card
Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans wins by KO in RD2!
Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares wins by decision!
Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt wins by TKO in RD1!
Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill wins by liver kick in RD3!
Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Fight was canceled due to injury)

Preliminary Bouts
Thiago Tavares vs. Kurt Pellegrino wins by decision!
Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald wins by RNC in RD2!
Mike Patt vs. Tim Boetsch wins by TKO in RD1!
Roan Carneiro and Ryo Chonan wins by split decision!
Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim wins by split decision!

The Lowdown: Main Card
Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans will be a fight to determine whether Chuck’s training and fights have finally caught up with him. Is this the case of out with the old and in with the new? Chuck is starting to sound like Thomas Hearns and I can’t discern whether it’s because of NyQuil or years of physical abuse. My initial reaction to his fight is that Evans will finally get KOed, but his wrestling prowess and defense may help him make it all the way to losing a decision. I simply can’t imagine it in my little brain that Evans will KO or submit Chuck (LOL….kind of funny), so that leaves him with winning a decision. The only way to beat Chuck by decision is to outstrike him. That’s another funny.

However, there is the possibility that Evans ends up John Ruizing Chuck. Remote but a possibility.

Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares is a fight that kind of has me stumped. On the one hand you have a submission machine in Palhares, but his biggest win is against Ivan Salaverry. Now, on paper when you compare resumes it just looks awful. Like a complete mismatch and you say WTF are these two doing fighting one another? However, I am seeing a trend with NEW fighters with shallow records beating guys that have been in the sport for a long time. IMO that has to do with making their training resemble one style: MMA instead of a hodge podge of training…but that’s another article.

So while I am cringing and thinking that this X-factor is going to rear it’s ugly head in this fight, I think the safe bet is that Henderson has just way too much experience and is just too much of an animal. Dan’s conditioning, aggression, powerful right hand should lead him to a win.

Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt is a fight that I am pretty damn excited about and IMO has the makings to be fight of the night. I am keen on both fighters and there is something about Kampmann that I really like. He isn’t afraid to stand in the pocket and bang away and has heavy hands and lately demonstrated his submission game. Could this be upset of the night? Can Kampmann make a statement and explode on the scene by beating Nate? I think so. Nate is a tough dude and had some moments in the Silva fight. He is certainly capable of annihilating Kampmann and odds are on his side. Either way I think this fight should be a VERY technical one and don’t be surprised if this fight wins one or more of the bonuses.

Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill makes me feel blarg. Another fight where I like both fighters. Can’t Joe Silva make fights where I hate at least one of the fighters? I think this fight has a lot of similarities to the Evans/Liddell fight. Franklin will most likely work to keep this standing, and Hamill will probably mix some striking with takedowns. However, Franklin is VERY dangerous standing and has the ability to finish it on the ground. Hamill’s way to win this fight is to smother Franklin in the clinch or take him down repeatedly and G&P him, though being in Franklin’s guard may prove to be dangerous.

Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida is a fight that most people will give to Karo by popularity default as to the mainstream fan, little is known about Yoshida. So let me be the one to tell you, in case you aren’t aware: this fight is not a “gimme” fro Karo. ESPECIALLY considering his recent performances. Yoshida is a TOUGH fighter that can strike and grapple. Stylistically this should make for a good fight as both guys have similar styles. I don’t see this fight lasting long. I think Yoshida may pull out the “upset”.

The Lowdown: Preliminary Bouts
Thiago Tavares vs. Kurt Pellegrino is a case of 2 fighters who have the “big fight” curse fighting one another to see who’s curse will lose out. Do two negatives make a positive? Tavares will have a difficult time on the ground with Kurt and Kurt is dangerous pretty much everywhere. I figure Kurt’s moment is now and his aggression will be a big factor in this fight.

Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald is the 2nd fight on this card that may not only make FOTN, but may vene manage FOTY and win some of those bonuses BLAF has. As I mentioned in a previous article, these 2 are incapable of being in a boring fight even in losing. Once again, yet ANOTHER fight where I like both guys. If Lambert wasn’t coming down a weight class, I would say this fight is too close to call, but Lambert is a monster of a guy and has ridiculous strenf and power. Lambert will try to bully MacDonald around and it MAY backfire, but is the way to go to win this fight.

Mike Patt vs. Tim Boetsch is a fight that I simply don’t know much about. I’m going to go with the guy with two first names.

Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan…um, Ryo by flying heelhook? Please?!

Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim I LOVE Kim Chee, so I’m picking Dong in the hopes that he will send me a case.

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