Wrapping Up UFC 108: Analysis, Press Conference, What's Next

Saturday night may have not featured huge stars or had the mainstream appeal of other events, but UFC 108 turned out to be a solid card that was all about guys taking steps forward to embrace much larger opportunities, especially if your names are Rashad Evans, Paul Daley or Junior Dos Santos.

Evans dominated Thiago Silva for two rounds and then evaded the ensuing fog from a Silva punch in the third to take home a unanimous decision in the main event of the night.

Both Daley and Dos Santos pummeled their opponents to highlight an event that featured a ton of finishes and a ton of matches for the lucky PPV audience at home.

There was also plenty of news coming out of the post-event press conference, including the future of the heavyweight title and Brock Lesnar, Takanori Gomi's debut and when we'll finally see Rampage vs. Rashad. For the full event recap and more, read on!

Rashad Evans def. Thiago Silva via unanimous decision, gets Rampage Jackson in May

This stood out for several reasons. One was how much Evans is still disliked as the fans chanted "Sil-va...Sil-va!" repeatedly during the fight and didn't seem to like the decision either. I don't understand this...why don't people like Evans? At this point, he might as well just go full on bad guy, start ripping on the fans and make some more money off it.

Evans went back to his wrestling roots and controlled Silva for the first two rounds, taking him down at will and frustrating him. Through the fight's first 10 minutes, Evans used a lot of herky-jerky head movement and combinations of punches to set up the takedowns.

Was it the most entertaining style compared to what we've seen from him in the past? No, but as he would say later, he's a wrestler and he made some changes to his game plan that he's still figuring out.

Then, there was the third round in which Silva's irritation boiled over and he began to mock Evans in an attempt to get him to exchange—somewhat smart considering he was down on the cards, 2 rounds to 0. Silva eventually did catch Evans with a hard right hand that hurt him and attempted to finish him off but just didn't have the gas to do it.

However, he began to mock Evans again, instead of pressing on and going for the win. Post-fight, Evans said Silva was extremely tired but if you rewatch that round, it's hard to not wonder what Silva was thinking after connecting on that right hand. 

All three judges had it 29-28.

At the presser, White said it's likely that Jackson and Evans will go at it when the organization returns to Montreal in May, the eventual UFC 113. That event is also expected to feature the rematch between Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua.

Because of Evans' performance in that third round, there will be plenty who assume that he will struggle with Jackson's striking. But Evans said that he is continuing to implement some new changes in his approach and that before he would take another title fight, he thinks he needs another fight to fully put everything into place. Thus, it looks like Jackson will get to experience the difference. With the winner likely to be next in line for the winner of Machida/Rua, that is going to be a huge event.

With losses in two of his last three, Silva needs to rebound strong in his next fight. If we do get Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones in March, either guy would be an intriguing next one for Silva. A less likely opponent would be the winner of Randy Couture and Mark Coleman in February.

Paul Daley def. Dustin Hazelett via 1st round KO (2:24), earns $50k for Knockout Of The Night

When Bruce Buffer said, "This is the co-main event of the evening," I immediately recoiled in horror. Look, not every card has to have a co-main event. There were plenty of fans interested in this fight including myself, but Daley vs. Hazelett billed as the co-main event? No, it wasn't. I may be really old school, but there was no need to bill it as that. C'mon UFC...what's up with that?

Simply put, Daley brutalized Hazelett with his left hand, dropping him with a hook and then following with three hard lefts that turned out the lights. In honesty, that first one was probably enough as the ref couldn't stop this quick enough. That's where guys get hurt and I wouldn't be against a suggestion I heard today banning the "Henderson punch" to a grounded opponent.

Regardless, Daley is going to be a force this year as A) he hits hard and B) people seem to dislike him. He's confident/cocky, British and just wants to hurt people. Awesome! Seeing him at the post-fight presser gave me the impression of a guy that loves to KO guys and doesn't care what you think about it.

Next up? White wants to put him against either Josh Koscheck or Jon Fitch, but Daley also mentioned Thiago Alves. He said that he wants to show off his takedown defense, but can't because he keeps dropping guys standing up. I think I'm going to love Paul Daley quite a bit.

For Hazelett, he's still young but man, he got decimated here. At this stage of the career, his best chance is against another submission guy as his last two losses have come against dudes with superior striking skills in Daley and Josh Koscheck. How about Carlos Condit, Daley's originally scheduled opponent?

Sam Stout def. Joe Lauzon via unanimous decision in Fight Of The Night

You can't underestimate how much time it really takes a guy to come back after a major injury. Even with all the training in the world, it's often the second and third fights that really tell you what you got with a fighter coming back. Enter Joe Lauzon, coming off major knee surgery that has seen him out of action since February of last year.

Stout was picture-perfect in disassembling Lauzon, save for a first round elbow that opened up a nasty cut on Stout's forehead followed up seconds later by a rolling kimura. Lauzon's game early was to attempt takedowns but Stout had answers for him, making him pay with punches and knees when he tried.

By the thirrd, Lauzon looked exhausted and outside a final desperation takedown and submission attempt with two minutes left, Stout had his number all fight long.

This is Stout's second straight Fight Of The Night (he and Lauzon each earned $50k) and the fourth in his UFC career. This is also the fifth straight fight he's seen go to decision. Two judges had it 30-27, while another gave Stout a 10-8 round and 30-26 overall. I had 30-27.

Junior Dos Santos def. Gilbert Yvel via 1st round TKO (2:07)

Maybe Dos Santos does have a beef about being left out of the interim Heavyweight title conversation after a convincing first round destruction of Yvel. This short one featured plenty of exchanges between the two with Dos Santos getting the better of them. Dos Santos landed a left hand on Yvel's face that knocked him down and immediately went on the attack for the stoppage.

Yvel was upset post-fight at a perceived early stoppage, but he also asked referee Herb Dean if he was knocked out. That's not a good sign for your argument.

The fallout over what happens with Brock Lesnar this week will surely directly affect Dos Santos' next fight. He's ready for another top fight to prove he's ready for a title shot. There will be plenty of time for him, but he's making a case that he might be prepared now. Yvel will get another chance to prove himself and I think a slugfest against Cheick Kongo would be a great opportunity for both guys.

Jim Miller def. Duane Ludwig via 1st round submission (2:31)

 
So to say Miller was amped before this fight is an understatement. He looked outstanding in mixing up punch/kick combinations and staying away from the takedown early. He caught Ludwig with some grazing punches and then pounced into mount position, eventually working for the armbar and getting it for the submission.

Ludwig was an injury sub for Sean Sherk, but you can't take anything away from Miller who gets better with every fight. I also noticed some booing against Miller after the fight. Why?

Martin Kampmann def. Jacob Volkmann via 1st round submission (4:03)

After a bad loss to Daley, Kampmann got back on track by dominating Volkmann in a battle of guys that love the letter 'N' in their last names. Volkmann did press the action early with strikes, but Kampmann's punches are a lot harder. Volkmann came in to throw and Kampmann countered, dropping him. He landed several right hands and hammer fists from the standing position and then locked in a guillotine for the submission win.

Even though White would later say that no one is getting cut following the card, Volkmann has looked overmatched in his two UFC appearances thus far.

Cole Miller def. Dan Lauzon via 1st round submission (3:05)

It was not a good night for the Lauzon brothers. Miller showed some impressive striking early, but Lauzon was prepared and hit a left hand that stunned him. Miller showed great recovery and defended against any more damage.

Miller kept going for the clinch and was content in hitting knees to Lauzon's body. The end came when Lauzon had Miller's back, but Miller worked it into a kimura mixed with an inverted triangle choke for the win. Lauzon looked lost following the defeat.

Miller won $50k for Submission of The Night and is a terrific prospect for a huge 2010.

Mark Munoz def. Ryan Jensen via 1st round submission (2:30)

Munoz looked outstanding dispatching Jensen, who did put up a fight in throwing some fists on Munoz...but he then followed up with a takedown attempt. That probably was a mistake as Munoz is a great wrestler, who eventually got his own takedown and started landing unanswered punches that made a flattened Jensen tap out. The ref probably should have stopped this one a few punches earlier as it looked like Jensen was tapping but he missed it.

Jake Ellenberger def. Mike Pyle via 2nd round TKO (:22)

In the last televised fight on the PPV, Ellenberger looked good in defeating Pyle. I had Pyle winning the first round, even though Ellenberger finished strong by likely breaking Pyle's rib with a punch while the two were on the ground. As the seconnd round started, the preoccupied Pyle was protecting the rib and Ellenberger took advantage, hitting a knee to his good side of the rib cage that knocked him down and soon finished him with punches.

Additional Press Conference Notes

-13,255 was the live attendance with $2 million generated at the gate. Yahoo's Dave Meltzer said that the MGM Grand Garden Arena was filled, but that some of the upper bowl was curtained off. By comparison, November's Griffin/Ortiz II at the Mandalay Bay had 10,529 for just over $3 million in revenue.

-White was very happy at the post-fight press conference, saying he felt there was "more disrespect than ever" toward the fighters last week, responding to criticism about the quality of the event. "Real fight fans want to see real fights and that's what they got," White said. "I love when people underexpect and we overdeliver."

-White projected that PPV buys would fall between 400k-500k. 

-On Silva's power, Evans said that despite him knocking out Keith Jardine, "I didn't think he had one punch power. I wasn't afraid of his power and wanted to break him down with pressure." He said he got a bit tired in the third round and was disappointed in that the third was supposed to be the payoff for all the work he did in the first two rounds.

-White said he was going to talk to boxer James Toney later Saturday night as Toney has been making intimations that he wants to move into MMA. White joked that Toney has been "stalking him." If Toney was to come to the UFC and make his MMA debut, White can't be too critical of situations like Strikeforce giving Herschel Walker a shot. The potential of this story has a lot of interesting subplots that would spin out of it.

-On why Daley got a bonus despite missing weight (aka the Anthony Johnson situation), White didn't directly answer but essentially said he was too happy with how everyone fought, no one was getting cut and that "everyone's going to leave here happy as hell." It sounded like a lot of other bonuses were going to be given out. So much for a cursed card after all.

-On Lesnar, White said this was "the week." Lesnar is going to find out this week if he'll need surgery and if he does, he'll either have to retire or be out for a couple years in recovery. If he doesn't, we could be a few months away from seeing his return. He's simply not sure and is just hoping that Brock is alright. So I guess the interim heavyweight title match announcement for March 11th was premature?

-On potentially losing a major PPV draw in Lesnar, White said, "PPV buys...I could give a shit about that. I just hope he's OK."

-On Georges St. Pierre potentially leaving the UFC to pursue a spot on the Canadian Olympic wrestling team, White said, "If that's what he decides to do, I'm sure he'll come in, we'll sit down and figure out how to do it."

-They haven't decided on who new signing Takanori Gomi will face first (Side note: how awkward was the segment were they fixated on Gomi for what felt like five minutes?).

-White is "very confident" that the Abu Dhabi event will happen and essentially confirmed it's a go.

-On the televised event, they did a great push for future events—especially the January WEC show featuring Urjiah Faber who they showed in the crowd...even though he's not in the main event.