Thoughts:
Rashad Evans Vs. Lyoto Machida - This fight was pretty fun to watch. It started slow, but really you could see how these two really talented fighters were trying to feel each other out. The only real action of note in the first round was Machida's head kicks I think there were 3 of them, soit looked like he might have saw a gap there. Machida took the first round, but it wasn't like he did a ton of damage. The second round had more action in it, and the exchange the guys had where Machida let a combination loose that was really good, only to be followed immediately by a combo unleashed by Evans that was furious. That exchange really showed how talented these two are. After that Machida caught Evans and dropped him. Evans did a good job at trying to hang around, but Machida kept on him and eventually landed a shot that put Evans down for good.
Machida looked really good in this fight, and before this fight the only thing that I was worried about with Machida is because of his style if the fans started getting on him for being "boring" that he would step up his pace and make a mistake. After the fight I don't worry about that much because it really seemed that the crowd was behind him in the arena, and they definetly were where I was watching the fight.
I was also more impressed with Evans in this fight than I have been in his others. He actually had a good approach I thought to getting Machida and if another fight happened I bet he would feel like he could put up a good fight. Most guys in the UFC will have a tough time with Machida because over-aggression plays into his style, but his defeat of Evans shows that's not all he is. I'm looking forward now to Rampage and Machida, because Rampage's strength might be a trump card for Machida's style.
Matt Hughes Vs. Matt Serra - Basically Serra caught Hughes once with a punch (looked like to the back of the head) but besides that Hughes dominated this fight. You could see that Hughes is no where near as powerful as he used to be, but this form of Hughes is more than enough to beat Serra. Again Serra showed his "respect" after this fight to Hughes, but for me, I am sick of Serra talking trash about how good he is and how much of a bum everyone else is, then when he gets beat he acts like he's being respectful.
Drew McFedries Vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam - This fight was awesome, especially since it came after Miller and Sonnen which was not that entertaining. Everybody knew this was going to end quick, and it did. Drew is a beast, it would be nice if he could put together a couple fights, but I think he is probably no more than a gate keeper. Pokam is disappointing. He has a ton of talent, but you have to win your fights, no body is going to give you wins based on potential.
Dan Miller Vs. Chael Sonnen - Not much to report here, it was a blowout. My only issue is that Lavigne didn't stand them up a couple times.
Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar - I'm serious when I say this, Sherk needs to try and shed some of his muscle, especially on his arms. His biceps are so big that it stops him from being able to fully extend his arm for a punch. If you get in close to him, he is powerful, it reminds me of Jax's piston punch in Mortal Kombat. Edgar stayed outside for the most part, moved well, and was better. There is no excuse for a guy with Sherk's talent to not be winning these fights.
Krzysztof Soszynski Vs. Andre Gusmao - Another win for K-Sos. He will prove to be the best fighter from last season's TUF. His stand-up is very, gasp, Liddell-esque in the sense that his arms are kind of spread out instead of being up and tight. With more training he can become a very good fighter.
