UFC Fantasy Tournament: Light-Heavyweight Division, Semifinals

The very first round of the UFC Fantasy Tournament in the light-heavyweight division had some of the most interesting fights so far. Here are the results of the first round fights:

Before they fight at UFC 114, Rampage and Rashad fought in my tournament. Quinton Jackson earned six of the 10 votes over Rashad and therefore advances.

The battle of the Brazilians was won by Mauricio ''Shogun'' Rua over Thiago Silva by a unanimous 10-0 vote.

Rogerio Nogueira advances with a solid 8-2 vote over his UFC 114 opponent Forrest Griffin.

Jon Jones eliminated the Hall of Famer Randy Couture by a close 6-4 vote.

Now that the results have been revealed, the semi-finals are about to begin and they should prove to be as exciting as the first round.

Semifinals fight 1: Rampage Jackson vs Shogun Rua

Quinton ''Rampage'' Jackson and Mauricio ''Shogun'' Rua have been legends of the sport in both PRIDE and in the UFC. They have fought once in the past at PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 where Rua defeated Jackson in the first round.

Alot has changed since their first encounter. Quinton Jackson is possibly in the best shape of his life and is getting great training at the Wolfslair. He still has heavy hands and a solid chin and can still deliver a beating with the best of 'em.

Rua had a shaky start to his UFC career, but now it seems that he's back on track with impressive performances against Chuck Liddell and champion Lyoto Machida. He is still a feared Muay Thai and BJJ fighter that has suffered only two decisive losses out of the four in his career.

The first fight ended with soccer kicks in the first round. Soccer kicks are now illegal in the UFC, so in a rematch between these two today ''Rampage'' is a much better version of his former self, while Rua is good but maybe not quite as good as he used to be. With that said, Rua has more tools in his arsenal then Jackson.

Who makes it to the finals?

Semifinals fight 2: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Jon Jones

To say this fight would be explosive would be an understatement.

Rogerio Nogueira has made a career of beating some of the best fighters in the world such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem, and Dan Henderson. In his first UFC fight, he dominated a tough, rising star in Luiz Cane. Add to that the fact that Nogueira is a black belt in BJJ and has only been finished once and you have a man to be feared.

Talking about men to be feared, Jon ''Bones'' Jones is exactly that. Since coming to the UFC, he has been totally unstoppable. His most recent win over Brandon Vera is a good example of what Jones is all about. With good Greco-Roman skills and great striking with an 84'' reach, Jones went from rising star to contender.

Nobody has even come close to posing a threat to Jones so far, but if any man gives him a run for his money, it could be Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Both men have great strikes and seem unstoppable. Could Little Nog get a submission win if ''Bones'' takes him down or would Jones overwhelm Nogueira like he has done against his past opponents?

Who fights the winner of the Jackson/Rua fight?

Two tough decisions to make as far as choosing winners for these two semifinal fights. Be sure to check in next week to see who has advanced to fight in the finals of the tournament.