UFC 98 took place in Las Vegas and featured a lightheavyweight title bout with two undefeated fighters: challenger Lyoto Machida and the champion Rashad Evans. The undercard was highlighted by a long-overdue ‘grudge match’ between former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Here’s how it went down:
Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar (155 lbs)
Round 1: In the opening round of the televised broadcast, Sherk chose to stand and trade strikes with Edgar, despite a clear reach disadvantage. Sherk stalked Edgar but most of his strikes didn’t find their target while Edgar circled away and landed counters. Sherk shrugged off Edgar’s takedown attempts, until Edgar caught a leg kick and attempted a guillotine. Sherk escaped to finish the round on his feet. Round 10-9 Edgar
Round 2: Sherk continued to stalk Edgar and had some success with his punches early on. Eventually Edgar picked up his rhythm and began scoring with jabs, kicks, and combinations while evading Sherk’s strikes. Round 10-9 Edgar
Round 3: Sherk finally changed his strategy and quickly took Edgar down, but Edgar escaped and successfully defended all subsequent takedown attempts. In the final seconds of the round, Sherk shot for another takedown and was caught in a tight guillotine as the time ran out. Round 10-9 Edgar
Frankie Edgar wins the unanimous decision, 30-27 on all scorecards.
Fight Grade: 2.5/5
Aftermath: With no clear-cut challenger for the winner of an upcoming lightweight title bout between champion BJ Penn and Kenny Florian, Frankie Edgar positioned himself as one of the top contenders. Sherk’s decision to be a kickboxer has cost him this fight, and he needs to go back to his roots as a ground-and-pound wrestler if he wants to contend for the title again.
Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen (185 lbs)
Round 1: Sonnen gets a quick takedown and immediately is caught in a guillotine. After a brief struggle, Sonnen escapes and begins pounding on Miller. Miller works for submissions from the bottom but nothing comes close and Dan is unable to sweep or escape. Round 10-9 Sonnen
Round 2: Another early takedown from Sonnen and another fruitless guillotine attempt from Miller. Miller attempts an armbar; Sonnen works through all of Miller’s submission attempts and continues picking at Miller with elbows and punches from guard. Both fighters slow down a lot towards the end of the round. Round 10-9 Sonnen
Round 3: Miller throws a few strikes to start the final round but quickly finds himself on his back again. Both fighters are tired and neither one is doing much at this point. Miller has a few futile submission attempts as Sonnen maintains top control without doing much damage. Round 10-9 Sonnen
Chael Sonnen wins the unanimous decision, 30-27 on all scorecards.
Fight Grade: 2/5
Aftermath: Boring fight, but a passable performance from Sonnen considering he took this fight on a short notice. He should face Yushin Okami next (Okami was scheduled to be Miller’s original opponent, before pulling out with an injury). Dan Miller follows in his brother Jim’s footsteps with the first UFC loss on his record.
Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Drew McFedries (185 lbs)
Round 1: McFedries drops Xavier with a huge hook as soon as the fight begins. Foupa-Pokam gets back to his feet and is dropped again. McFedries chases Xavier around the Octagon, throwing bombs. Xavier falls again and referee Yves Lavigne steps in to stop the bout. Foupa-Pokam protests but he is clearly out of it.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Aftermath: After back-to-back losses, a spectacular KO win assures that McFedries will remain in the UFC for the time being, though he yet has to demonstrate some ability to hang with a more well-rounded fighter. He should face Dan Miller next. Foupa-Pokam falls to 0-2 in the UFC, but will likely be given another chance as he also took this fight on short notice.
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao (205 lbs)
Round 1: The fighters exchange on the feet, and Gusmao seems to have a speed advantage. Gusmao catches Soszynski off-balance and momentarily drops him. Soszynski lands an unintentional low blow. The action restarts and Soszynsk’s punches begin to find their target; they continue trading until Soszynski catches Gusmao on the chin, knocking him out cold.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Aftermath: A great performance by Soszynski, showing that he has more than just a kimura in his arsenal. I’d like to see him fight Luiz Cane next. Gusmao is in the same boat as Foupa-Pokam: 0-2 in the UFC but will likely be brought back once more as a reward for being a short-notice substitution.
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra (170 lbs)
Round 1: After some circling, the fighters clinch and Serra’s head collides with Hughes’ chin. Hughes is stunned and Serra drops him with a hook to the back of his head. Hughes is hurt badly; Serra tries to finish but Hughes holds on and works his way back to clinch. Hughes recovers and takes Serra down, quickly taking his back and looking for the choke. Serra stands up and shakes Hughes off his back as the round ends. Round 10-9 Serra
Round 2: Hughes takes Serra down and controls him for most of the round, landing elbows and punches. Serra defends well but is not able to get anything going off his back. The fighters are stood up for inactivity late in the round, finishing on the feet Round 10-9 Hughes
Round 3: Serra’s face shows some damage from the punishment taken in the previous round. Hughes shoots for a takedown and eventually gets it. Serra attempts rubber guard, then a triangle but nothing comes close. Hughes works occasional ground-and-pound; eventually the fight is stood up again. Serra slams Hughes down with a minute left in the fight; Serra lands several punches but Hughes gets back to his feet. Round 10-9 Hughes
Matt Hughes wins a split decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: This was a fight long in the making, and its nice to have it over with even if it’s years too late. There were rumors of retirement from both fighters’ camps prior to the bout; however Hughes and Serra both remained non-committal about their futures after the fight. I have a hard time envisioning a place for either man in the UFC’s ultra-competitive welterweight division of today.
Champion Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida (205 lbs)
Round 1: As expected, this fight starts out very slow, with only 2 body kicks landed by Machida and one by Rashad halfway through the first round. Finally they exchange, and Machida drops Evans with a body kick immediately followed by a pushing jab. Machida dives in for the finish but Evans survives and works his way back to the feet. Round 10-9 Machida
Round 2: Both fighters are once again slow and cautious, with very little action to start off the second round. Eventually Machida flurries, catching Evans with several straight punches. Evans responds with right hooks, causing Machida to back up. Another exchange, and a combination from Lyoto drops Evans. Machida smells blood and swarms in; Rashad makes his way back up and tries to fight back with his back to the fence, but Machida lands strike after strike until Evans crumples and falls down. Machida is the winner by knockout and the new lightheavyweight champion!
Fight Grade: 5/5
Aftermath: Lyoto is now 7-0 in the UFC, taking the title in an impressive fashion. His first defense will most likely be against Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. As for Rashad Evans, I believe Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua would make for an ideal next matchup.
Brock Larson vs. Mike Pyle (170 lbs)
Round 1: Larson takes Pyle down right away. Pyle attempts an armbar, then a leg lock, then a triangle. Larson escapes and looks for a choke of his own. After a scramble Larson ends up on top and works for an arm triangle choke. Larson secures the choke and moves to side control, forcing Pyle to tap out.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Aftermath: A great fight with a back-and-forth string of submission attempts and a beautiful finish. Very impressive showing for Larson in his first televised fight, and a good performance from Pyle in his UFC debut, considering he took this fight literally on one day’s notice. Both fighters should be back soon – and I am looking forward to their return.
Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague (HW)
Round 1: Barry rocks Hague with a punch then follows it up with a glancing high kick. Hague is hurt badly and clinches to recover, then drags Barry down. Once on the ground, Hague’s size advantage allowed him to completely smother Barry, eventually locking in a guillotine and forcing a tapout.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Aftermath: Great Octagon debut for Hague – the UFC can always use more heavyweight up-and-comers. Barry is dealt his first loss; it will be interesting to see if he manages to overcome the challenges presented by his size and inexperience.
Despite a very slow start, UFC 98 delivered the goods with an amazing main event, not to mention four other highlight-real knockouts and submission, making it the best UFC card this year to date.