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Monday, July 28, 2008
Best Referee List
Saturday, July 26, 2008
EliteXC - Unfinished Business
EliteXC: Unfinished Business was held by EliteXC on July 26, 2008 at Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA.
The show was officially announced during the Showtime broadcast of EliteXC: Return of the King and the main event featured a rematch between Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, whose match on the initial EliteXC: Primetime broadcast was stopped due to an unintentional eye poke. This event was the second EliteXC event to air on CBS. In addition, the events preliminary bouts aired on Showtime at 8pm EST, one hour before the 9pm EST start time on CBS.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Method | Round | Time |
| 1 | Drew Montgomery | Brandon Tarns | TKO (Doctor's Stoppage- Cut) | 3 | 4:23 |
| 2 | Carl Seumanutafa | Mike Cook | KO (Slam) | 1 | 1:21 |
| 3 | Wilson Reis | Bryan Caraway | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| 4 | Rafael Cavalcante | Travis Galbraith | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 3:01 |
| 5 | Antonio Silva | Justin Eilers | TKO (Knees and Punches) | 2 | 0:19 |
| 6 | Cristiane Santos | Shayna Baszler | TKO (Punches) | 2 | 2:48 |
| 7 | Jake Shields | Nick Thompson | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | 1 | 1:03 |
| 8 | Nick Diaz | Thomas Denny | TKO (Punches) | 2 | 0:30 |
| 9 | Robbie Lawler | Scott Smith | TKO (Kicks and Punches) | 2 | 2:35 |
| 10 | David Douglas | Marlon Matias | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 0:12 |
| 11 | Anthony Ruiz | Jeremy Freitag | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 11. Anthony Ruiz vs. Jeremy Freitag
Light Heavyweight Bout: Anthony Ruiz defeated Jeremy Freitag via unanimous decision. All three judges score the fight 29-28.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 10. David Douglas vs. Marlon Matias
Lightweight (160 lbs.) Bout (swing bout; not aired): David Douglas defeated Marlon Matias via TKO (Punches) at 0:12 round 1.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 9. Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith
Middleweight Championship bout (aired on CBS): Robbie Lawler defeated Scott Smith via TKO at 2:35 of round 2.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 8. Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny
Lightweight (160 lbs.) bout (aired on CBS): Nick Diaz defeated Thomas Denny via TKO (strikes) at 0:30 of round 2.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 7. Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson
Welterweight Championship bout (aired on CBS): Jake Shields defeated Nick Thompson via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:03 of round 1.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 6. Cristiane Santos vs. Shayna Baszler
Women's Bantamweight (140 lbs.) bout (aired on CBS): Cristiane Santos defeated Shayna Baszler via TKO (strikes) at 2:48 of round 2.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 5. Antonio Silva vs. Justin Eilers
Heavyweight Championship bout (aired on Showtime): Antonio Silva (257.5 lbs.) defeated Justin Eilers (218 lbs.) via TKO (strikes) at 0:19 of round 2 to win the EliteXC Heavyweight Championship.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 4. Rafael Cavalcante vs. Travis Galbraith
Light Heavyweight bout (aired on Showtime): Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante defeated Travis Galbraith via TKO (strikes) at 3:00 of round 1.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 3. Wilson Reis vs. Bryan Caraway
Featherweight (140 lbs.) bout (aired on Showtime): Wilson Reis defeated Bryan Caraway via unanimous decision. All three judges score the fight 30-27.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 2. Carl Seumanutafa vs. Mike Cook
Heavyweight Bout: Carl Seumanutafa (255.5 lbs.) defeated Mike Cook (232.5 lbs.) via TKO (strikes) at 3:39 of round 1.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business - 1. Drew Montgomery vs. Brandon Tarns
Heavyweight Bout: Drew Montgomery (224 lbs.) defeated Brandon Tarns (252 lbs.) via TKO (Cut) at 4:22 of round 3.
Read More......EliteXC - Unfinished Business (Predictions)
Click the stars to rate how good you think it will be.
EliteXC: Unfinished Business will be held on July 26, 2008 in Stockton, CA at Stockton Arena.
The show was officially announced during the Showtime broadcast of EliteXC: Return of the King and the main event will feature a rematch between Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, whose match on the initial EliteXC: Primetime broadcast was stopped due to an unintentional eye poke. This event will be the second EliteXC event to air on CBS. In addition, it was announced that the events preliminary bouts will air on Showtime at 8pm EST, one hour before the 9pm EST start time on CBS.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Weekend of MMA Affliction, Confliction and Dreams
By Eric Kamander (erickamander@mmaratings.net)
Last weekend was a big one for MMA. On Saturday night was Affliction: Banned, and though this was Affliction’s debut event, it was the best heavy lineup ever seen on a single event. The UFC decided to try and offset Affliction’s viewership by putting on their own event at the exact same time. On Sunday was Dream’s Light Weight Grand Prix finale.
I rented the Affliction PPV and overall the card was solid, though I did feel that at times it was carried by the reputation of the fighters and not necessarily the quality of the fights themselves. Many of the fights were slow and the fighters were tentative, including Nogueira
In the main event Fedor Emelianenko quickly smashed and choked out Tim Sylvia, who many, including myself, though might be able to fend him off with jabs for a while.
Interestingly, Affliction could mix up the same roster of fighters for their second event. If they did, these would be the matches I would want to see:
Fedor / Arlovski 
Sylvia / Barnett
Rothwell / Buentello
Rizzo / Goodridge
Nogueira / Sobral
Lindland / Belfort
Once the Affliction card was over I started watching the UFC replay. All I had caught so far was whatever was on during Megadeth intermissions. I tuned in time for Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns, who were putting on quite a show. I thought how, with the exception of Fedor, the Heavyweights seem so slow in comparison.
In an unbelievable injustice, Kevin Burns defeated Anthony Johnson by poking him in the eye. I don't understand how Burns was not DQ'd, or at least the fight declared a No Contest.
Cain Velasquez, a heavyweight, put a quick finish to Jake O'Brien, and Brandon Vera, fighting at light heavyweight for the first time, defeated Reese Andy in a snooze fest. So maybe I should retract my "heavyweights are slow" generalization. Frankie Edgar and Hermes Franca had to be the best fight of the card. I was happy to see Edgar win. He's a talented, well rounded fighter, and I would hate to see him get caught with one of Franca's head down haymakers.
In the main event, Anderson Silva demolished James Irvin with his first punch. The fight may have taken twice as long as Fedor/Sylvia, but if you take out the time spent circling, it was over much quicker.
On Sunday was Dream 5, the Lightweight Grand Prix 
from Japan. Little did I know that this was going to be the best card of the whole year with the best fight of the year so far. Shinya Aoki defeated Caol Uno as most people expected, but it was a good fight. Eddie Alvarez's battle with Tatsuya Kawajiri was amazing. The fight after that was a reserve bout between Joachim Hansen and Kultar Gill. As soon as I saw it I was thinking that either Shinya or Alvarez were not going to be able to continue and Joachim was going to win the tournament even though he lost to Eddie Alvarez earlier. Sure enough that's exactly what happened. I certainly felt like, in some way, Alvarez was the winner as he beat Hansen and could have very likely did the same thing to Aoki that Hansen did.
Since then I've heard a lot of people calling for a rematch between Aoki and Hansen, but what I want to see is Aoki vs. Alvarez.
All in all in was a great weekend to be an MMA fan!
Dream 5 - Heiwa
DREAM.5 Light Weight Grandprix 2008 Final Round was promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion Dream. The event took place on Monday July 21, 2008 at the Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan and hosted the final round of the promotion's Lightweight tournament.
The DREAM.5 attracted a crowd of 11,986 to the Osaka Jo Hall and was broadcast live in Japan on the TBS network and SkyPerfect and on HDNet Fights in the United States.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Method | Round | Time |
| 1 | Daisuke Nakamura | Andy Ologun | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 3:41 |
| 2 | Shinya Aoki | Caol Uno | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 |
| 3 | Eddie Alvarez | Tatsuya Kawajiri | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 7:35 |
| 4 | Joachim Hansen | Kultar Gill | Submission (Armbar) | 1 | 2:33 |
| 5 | Joseph Benavidez | Junya Kudo | Submission (Guillotine choke) | 1 | 2:42 |
| 6 | Kuniyoshi Hironaka | Motoki Miyazawa | TKO (Cut) | 1 | 8:57 |
| 7 | Hideo Tokoro | Takeshi Yamazaki | Decision (Unanimous) | 2 | 5:00 |
| 8 | Yoshihiro Akiyama | Katsuyori Shibata | Submission (Gi choke) | 1 | 6:34 |
| 9 | Alistair Overeem | Mark Hunt | Submission (Keylock) | 1 | 1:11 |
| 10 | Joachim Hansen | Shinya Aoki | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 4:19 |
Dream 5 - Heiwa - 10. Joachim Hansen vs. Shinya Aoki
Lightweight Championship bout: Joachim Hansen* defeated Shinya Aok via TKO at 4:19 round 1 to become the first DREAM Lightweight Champion.
* Hansen replaced Alvarez due to a cut received in his fight with Kawajiri.
Dream 5 - Heiwa - 9. Alistair Overeem vs. Mark Hunt
Heavyweight bout: Alistair Overeem defeated Mark Hunt via submission (armbar) at 1:11 of round 1.
Read More......Dream 5 - Heiwa - 8. Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Middleweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama defeated Katsuyori Shibata via submission (Ezekiel Choke) at 6:34 of round 1.
Read More......Dream 5 - Heiwa - 7. Hideo Tokoro vs. Takeshi Yamazaki
Featherweight bout: Hideo Tokoro defeated Takeshi Yamazaki via unanimous decision (3-0) at the end of round 2.
Read More......Dream 5 - Heiwa - 6. Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Motoki Miyazawa
Welterweight bout: Kuniyoshi Hironaka defeated Motoki Miyazawa via TKO (medical stoppage due to cut) at 8:57 of round 1.
Read More......Dream 5 - Heiwa - 5. Joseph Benavidez vs. Junya Kudo
Featherweight bout: Joseph Benavidez defeated Junya Kudo via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:42 of round 1.
Read More......Dream 5 - Heiwa - 4. Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gill
Lightweight Grand Prix reserve bout: Joachim Hansen defeated Kultar Gill via submission (armbar) at 2:33 of round 1.
* Hansen replaced Alvarez due to a cut received in his fight with Kawajiri.
Dream 5 - Heiwa - 3. Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Lightweight Grand Prix bout: Eddie Alvarez defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (referee stoppage) at 7:35 of round 1.
Eddie Alvarez was replaced by Joachim Hansen in the tournament final due to a cut near the American’s right eye.
Dream 5 - Heiwa - 2. Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno
Lightweight Grand Prix bout: Shinya Aoki defeated Caol Uno via unanimous decision (3-0) at 5:00 of round 2.
Dream 5 - Heiwa - 1. Daisuke Nakamura vs. Andy Ologun
Lightweight bout: Daisuke Nakamura defeated Andy Ologun via submission (armbar) at 3:41 of round 1.
Read More......Dream 5 - Heiwa (Predictions)
Click the stars to rate how good you think it will be.
Light Weight Grandprix 2008 Final Round promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group. The Lightweight Champion will be crowned at the closing of the event.
Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic was originally scheduled to face Jerome LeBanner, and later Mighty Mo Siligia, Mirko had to pull out due to a recovering shoulder injury and minor impending knee surgery. Mirko expressed interest in fighting at DREAM.6 in September. After his bout with Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic was scraped, Jerome LeBanner was scheduled to fight Mark Hunt. However, LeBanner had to pull out late due to injury.
The bout between Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto and Joseph Benavidez has been canceled due to a knee injury Yamamoto suffered in training.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Affliction - Banned
Affliction: Banned was co-promoted by Affliction Clothing and Adrenaline MMA. It took place on July 19, 2008 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The evening's main event featured the last undefeated Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko against former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia for the newly-created WAMMA heavyweight championship. The one hour undercard was broadcast on Fox Sports Network and The Fight Network while the main fight card was broadcast live on pay-per-view. Also appearing at the event was heavy metal band Megadeth who performed live. The announcer was Michael Buffer. There was also one swing bout between Justin Levens and Ray Lazama that was set to take place after the main event, but the time left and the ring condition prevented it.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Method | Round | Time |
| 1 | Paul Buentello | Gary Goodridge | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| 2 | Vitor Belfort | Terry Martin | KO (Punches) | 2 | 3:12 |
| 3 | Mike Pyle | JJ Ambrose | Submission (Rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:51 |
| 4 | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira | Edwin Dewees | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 4:06 |
| 5 | Matt Lindland | Fabio Negao | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| 6 | Renato Sobral | Mike Whitehead | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| 7 | Mark Hominick | Trenell Young | Submission (Armbar) | 2 | 4:25 |
| 8 | Josh Barnett | Pedro Rizzo | KO (Punch) | 2 | 1:44 |
| 9 | Andrei Arlovski | Ben Rothwell | KO (Punches) | 3 | 1:13 |
| 10 | Fedor Emelianenko | Tim Sylvia | Submission (Rear-naked choke) | 1 | 0:36 |
Affliction - Banned - 10. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
WAMMA Heavyweight Championship bout: Fedor Emelianenko (230 lbs.) defeated Tim Sylvia (263 lbs.) via submission (rear naked choke) at 0:36 of Round 1.
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 9. Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell
Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski (241 lbs.) defeated Ben Rothwell (264 lbs.) via KO at 2:35 in Round 2.
Affliction - Banned - 8. Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Heavyweight bout: Josh Barnett (256 lbs) defeated Pedro Rizzo (242 lbs) via KO at 1:44 in Round 2.
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 7. Mark Hominick vs. Trenell Young
Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick defeated Trenell "Savant" Young via submission (Armbar) at 4:25 of Round 2.
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 6. Renato Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Light Heavyweight bout: Renato "Babalu" Sobral defeated Mike Whitehead via decision (30-27).
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 5. Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
Middleweight bout: Matt Lindland defeated Fabio Negao via decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27).
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 4. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Edwin Dewees
Light Heavyweight bout: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeated Edwin Dewees at 4:06 in Round 1 via TKO (strikes - combinations).
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 3. Mike Pyle vs. JJ Ambrose
Welterweight bout: Mike Pyle defeated JJ Ambrose at 2:55 in Round 1 via rear naked choke.
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 2. Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin
Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort defeated Terry Martin via TKO (Strikes) at 4:06 of Round 1.
Read More......Affliction - Banned - 1. Paul Buentello vs. Gary Goodridge
Heavyweight bout: Paul Buentello defeated Gary Goodridgevia unanimous decision (30-27, 29-29, 30-27).
Gary Goodridge was a replacement for Aleksander Emelianenko, who was denied licensure by the California State Athletic Commission at Friday’s weigh-ins because he “did not meet his licensing requirements.”
Affliction - Banned (Predictions)
Click the stars to rate how good you think it will be. Click here for the official line-up.
Affliction: Banned is co-promoted by Affliction Clothing and Adrenaline MMA. The main event will feature the last undefeated Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko who is considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world against former 2-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia for the newly-created WAMMA heavyweight championship. The one hour undercard will be broadcast on the Fox Sports Network and the main fight card will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.
UFC Fight Night - Silva vs. Irvin
UFC: Silva vs. Irvin referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 14 was held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 19, 2008 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main event marked Anderson "The Spider" Silva's debut at Light Heavyweight against James "The Sandman" Irvin. As this card was put together on an unusually short notice, it is speculated that it was an attempt to compete with rival promotion Affliction's PPV premiere. It was broadcast in the U.S. and Canada on Spike, and in the UK on Setanta Sports 2.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Method | Round | Time |
| 1 | Shannon Gugerty | Dale Hartt | Submission (Rear-naked choke) | 1 | 3:33 |
| 2 | Brad Blackburn | James Giboo | TKO (Strikes) | 2 | 2:29 |
| 3 | Nate Loughran | Johnny Rees | Submission (Triangle choke) | 1 | 4:21 |
| 4 | Rory Markham | Brodie Farber | KO (Head kick) | 1 | 1:37 |
| 5 | Timothy Credeur | Cale Yarbrough | TKO (Punches) | 1 | 1:54 |
| 6 | CB Dollaway | Jesse Taylor | Submission (Peruvian neck tie) | 1 | 3:58 |
| 7 | Kevin Burns | Anthony Johnson | TKO | 3 | 3:35 |
| 8 | Cain Velasquez | Jake O'Brien | TKO (Strikes) | 1 | 2:02 |
| 9 | Frank Edgar | Hermes Franca | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| 10 | Brandon Vera | Reese Andy | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| 11 | Anderson Silva | James Irvin | KO (Punches) | 1 | 1:01 |
UFC Fight Night - Silva vs. Irvin - 11. Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin
Light Heavyweight bout: Anderson Silva (206 lbs) defeated James Irvin (206 lbs)* via KO at 1:01 of round 1.
* James Irvin missed the light heavyweight limit on his first try, stepping on the scales at 207.5 pounds. However, according to UFC.com, the native of Sacramento, Calif., made weight on his second attempt an hour later.
UFC Fight Night - Silva vs. Irvin - 10. Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy
Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera (204 lbs.) defeated Reese Andy (206 lbs.) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).