UFC 98 Review by Tom Anderson

Well, UFC 98 is in the books and what a main event Evans vs. Machida turned out to be. Or should I say, what a solid display Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida gave the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and the millions of UFC fans watching on PPV.

Many saw Machida as the underdog in this fight, and boy did he prove his critics wrong. Machida dominated Rashad Evans for nearly nine minutes and won the fight with a vicious knock out at 3:57 in the second round to become the new undisputed UFC light heavyweight champion of the world. But, as a matter of fact, Machida did way more than that this fight.

He did something that nobody in the UFC has been able to do. He showed the vunerable side of "Sugar" Rashad Evans. As early as the first two minutes of the first round, you could see the change in Evans' psyche.

Pre-fight, Rashad was predicted by many to knock out  Machida in the first few minutes of the first round. When Rashad realized that he wasn't going to be able to dominate Machida, like past opponents, we saw a look of confusion and shock in his eyes. Evans is not as versatile of a fighter as some make him out to be, and it was proven on Saturday night.

Evans has only one way to win fights, and that is a quick KO, which Machida didn't give him even one opportunity on saturday. Machida proved that he is indeed a force to be reckoned with in the 205 lb division for years to come. I personally don't see Rampage Jackson being able to pull off the win against Machida, when they square off later this year.

The fight that I would like to see, as an MMA fan, would be Wanderlie Silva vs. Lyoto Machida for the title. But, only time will tell if the UFCwill be kind enough to give us, the spectators, that electrifying fight.

Also that night we finally saw the long awaited grudge match between two former welterweight champions in the Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes showdown.

This fight though, lacked the potential it should have had. Also, the unanimous decision in favor of Matt Hughes was very questionable. Matt Hughes did not inflict nearly as much damage to Serra as Serra inflicted upon Hughes. Also, why did it take so long for referee Steve Mazzagati to stand both of the fighters up when hughes wasn't doing anything to Serra on the ground?

Poor officiating is what gave Matt Hughes this victory. The way the rules in American MMA work give wrestlers a very unfair edge in fights like this.

Also, Hughes wasn't himself in this fight. He really didnt strike Serra that much. Serra truly won the striking game, in my opinion. When Hughes took Serra down and was unable to do anything in his ground game, both men should have been stood back up. But at the end of the day, as a fighter, you can never leave a fight in the hands of the judges. I truly see a rematch as a good idea in this situation.

So in conclusion, on a scale from one to 10, I give UFC 98 a seven. I will be back here for UFC 99: Wanderlie "The Axe Murderer" Silva vs. Rich "ACE" Franklin. So until then, thank you very much!

UFC 98 complete results

Lyoto Machida beats Rashad Evana via KO 3:57 in the 2nd round.

Matt Hughes wins a razor thin unanimous decision over Matt Serra 5:00 in the 3rd round.

Drew Mcfeddries defeats Xavier Foupa-PokamviaTKO (strikes) 0:37 in the 1st round.

Chael Sonnan defeats Dan Miller via unanimous decision 5:00 round 3.

Frank Edger defeated Sean Sherk in a unanimous decision 5:00 round 3.

The three preliminary fights that were aired on ppv

Brock Larson defeated Mike Pyle via submission (choke) at 3:06 in the 1st round.

Krystoff Soszynski def Andre Gusmao via TKO at 3:17 in the 1st round.

Tim Hague def Pat Barry via guillotine choke at 1:42 in the 1st round.