UFC 88: The Rest of the Story

There was excitement in the air in the Phillips arena in Atlanta, Georgia on the evening of September 6.

Although watching from home I began to get excited as soon as I heard "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," it was not just because I have a young cousin (39 is young to me), who played in the Charlie Daniel's Band. It was the fights to come.

Matt Brown had grown so much in his abilities to fight off Dong Hyun Kim, the young Korean's, submission attempts that I was amazed to see the difference. He fought with such determination that I was saddened that his fight was not at least declared a draw.

It left me wondering if Amir Sadollah could have pulled off a win with his ability to get submissions and ride out the storm, as he did with Matt on the TUF 7 show.

When Nate Marquardt put Martin Kampmann away I was amazed at how quickly he was able to overpower the "Hitman" and take advantage of the situation. A very masterful demonstration.

Kampmann never really hit his stride before being knocked off balance to be dispatched by a flurry of hits as he slumped to the mat in defeat.

I expected Rousimar Palhares to grind away at Dan Henderson and manage to get him in a winning submission, but in spite of one heel hook that seemed to temporarily phase Hendo, he didn't get the chance. Henderson showed his experience and superior escapes as well as his tremendous stand-up ability.

Hendo looked great and was awarded a much needed win. When I heard the song "Lunatic Fringe" from Vision Quest as Henderson entered the arena, I flashed back to the movie, and I knew it was going to be a memorable fight. It takes a lot of nerve to come out to that song.

So much for my prediction of a Palhares' victory, although I don't really mind that much--Hendo is still the man in my book.

Tim Boetsh beat first timer Michael Patt with a first round knockout welcoming Patt to the hard knock school that is the UFC.

Rich Franklin lost some blood from cuts on either sides of his face by his eyes in his battle with Matt Hamill. I am sure because Franklin "showed the most damage" from the fight that the BJ Penn crowd would claim that my guy, Matt Hamill should have won.

The kick to Hamill's liver had to hurt like hell and although Joe and Goldie kept remarking on how well Hamill ignored any pain that Rich was inflicting on him, there was no way to ignore the devastation of that kick!

So now, although Rich says he intends to gain more weight, Franklin is firmly established in the Light Heavyweight division.

I wonder if he could be the next man up to fight with Rashad Evans in view of his  victory over Liddell?

I have covered how Rashad X'd out the Iceman in another article, so I will just repeat: "What an amazing knockout!"; and leave it at that.

The final fight of the night initially appeared to be a repeat of the choke out Damian Maia submitted Jason "the Athlete"; MacDonald, as Jason Lambert sunk the choke in deep.

As MacDonald stated, after turning the situation around in the second round and winning, "I knew I could hold my breath for six seconds"; and he did make it to the bell to return with a vengeance in the next round.

The Athlete is another one of my favorites (on my Canadian fighter list), so I am thrilled that he was able to pull off a win so soon after his fight with Maia.

Being an old woman who worries a lot, I thought it was too soon for him to be taking another fight; I am so glad that he was right and I was wrong.

So I missed most of my predictions--I usually do because I use my heart, not my head to make my picks, but I must say I was very satisfied by the results of these fights.

Boy am I glad that the "Devil" and the "Lunatic Fringe" met down in Georgia. What a Hell of a night!