While Ortiz- Liddell is getting more attention than any fight in the history of sport in North America, UFC has actually been on a roll with their past few shows. September's UFC 63 featured a match consider by many the fight of the year, as Matt Hughes powered his way to a stirring third-round comeback win over B.J. Penn after looking down and out in the second. UFC 64 featured Anderson Silva's stunning coronation as middleweight champ with his quick takeout of Rich Franklin, and Ken Florian's valiant performance in a losing effort dropping a five-round lightweight title match against Sean Sherk. UFC 65 featured the changing of the guard at welterweight, as Georges St. Pierre took out Hughes via second-round TKO.
*The biggest rumor in Las Vegas this weekend is that PRIDE standout Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic is in town. The Croatian standout, who won PRIDE's 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix tournament, isn't just a fighter, he's also a member of Croatia's parliament. If you don't follow PRIDE Fighting, consider this being something like David Ortiz of the Red Sox suddenly showing up with the Yankees. All that said, no one has actually seen him yet, so if he's here, they're doing a hell of a job hiding him.
*The International Fight League held their big show Friday night in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Renzo Gracie beat Carlos Newton in the Superfight main event via split decision, a reversal of the result last time they fought, on a PRIDE show in 2003. Also, Pat Miletich's Quad City Silverbacks won the finals of the world team championships tournament by taking four out of five matches from Matt Lindland's Portland Wolfpack. A two-hour special of the show's highlights airs Sunday on FOX Sports Net, check your local listings for exact time in your market. For more on last night's show, check out sherdog.com
*I just want to take a minute to say thanks to some good people who have helped me along the way this year. These are folks who have been involved in MMA media a long time and could have resented the big mainstream media guy invading their turf, but were nothing but courteous to me at every turn: Dave Meltzer, Eddie Malone, Doug Jeffrey, Josh Gross, R.J. Clifford, Zach Arnold, Jeff Thaler, and others I might be forgetting. Likewise to some real hardcore fans with whom I've exchanged some rather spirited emails debating the sport, you guys and gals know who you are. Thanks.
This is FOXSports.com 's official mixed martial arts blog, maintained by FOXSports.com editor Dave Doyle, the first reporter to cover MMA on a regular basis for a mainstream national sports media site.
