UFC 98 Recap

Courtesy of Killa Kev of AngryMarks.com:

10:00 PM - It's Time! It's Time! Bring the pain, UFC 98 live tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada! Mike Goldberg introduces us to the show and introduces his co-host Joe Rogan.

Rogan gives a plug for the new UFC 2009 Undisputed video game. We show highlights of some of the knockouts of Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida, both men who are undefeated. You can vote online at UFC.com or sext your vote to 88222 to decide who is going to win! Our hosts run down the Hughes vs. Serra and Sonnen vs. Miller.

"The Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (37-3-1, 156 lbs) vs. Frankie "the Answer" Edgar (9-1-0, 155 lbs)

Edgar is described as a "small 155", but not to be taken lightly even against the veteran Sherk. Herb Dean is our referee for the evening as Michael Buffer gives us the official introduction. Edgar starts off with a head kick and moves around the ring quickly. Sherk is looking in better physical shape than ever. 4:00 left, Sherk puts Edgar up on the cage, but Edgar quickly escapes, they trade punches in the middle of the ring. 3:00 left they're still boxing for the most part, not much connecting everybody finding their footing.

Edgar starts throwing some inside leg kicks at 2:30. Edgar gets a takedown at 1:38 left, moves into a Guillotine Choke on Sherk's head. Sherk fights it, Edgar is holding on after nearly 40 seconds, but Sherk finally shrugs it off with just a minute left in the round. 10 seconds left and Edgar throws some great kicks to end the round, I'm sure Edgar won this one 10-9.

10:20 PM - Round Two starts with Sherk throwing the first punches, but Edgar comes out fast as well. Sherk throwing more uppercuts and pushing Edgar more towards the cage. Edgar scores with a nick body kick at 3:50, followed by a takedown attempt. Rogan is surprised that Sherk hasn't tried for a takedown himself yet. Instead Sherk seems to be happy holding the center of the ring and letting Edgar move all around him. 2:25 Sherk starts throwing some kicks after setting up with the punches, but Edgar is still coming around in all directions with the punches and occsionally switching it up with the kicks.

Edgar pressing forward now with 90 seconds left, scores a nice combo of punches to the face and them moves out of the way to avoid all of Sherk's punches. Sherk finally gets in a few connecting punches with 45 seconds left. Edgar goes for a takedown at 25 seconds, Sherk punches his way out of it but Edgar is looking more fresh. Last 10 seconds Edgar with kicks to the head and jabs. I'm calling it 10-9 Edgar again.

10:27 - Round Three starts with Edgar again coming out firing off punches and doding just about everything Sherk's throwing at him. Rogan is very surprised that Sherk is not wrestling or putting Edgar up on the cage. Sherk FINALLY explodes witha double-leg takedown at 4:10, reverse waistlock, but Edgar escapes. Sherk's cut open over his left eye, but it's not bleeding. 1:55 Sherk tries for another takedown, Edgar slips right out. Sherk throws some left hooks, but Edgar is still looking strong. 10 seconds left Edgar EXPLODES and jumps on Sherk with another Guillotine Choke, it wasn't a good set-up but it still looks VERY strong to end the fight, we're goign to a decision.

YOUR WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION, 30-27... FRANKIE EDGAR! Rogan with the interview tells Edgar this was his toughest opponent and best fight in his career. I'd agree, but this was more about Sherk NOT performing in my opinion. BJ Penn is in the crowd, and once his mug goes up on the video screens in the arena the boos reign down on him. LOL.

Dan Miller (11-1-1, 185 lbs.) vs. Chael Sonnen (22-10-1, 186 lbs.)

10:45 PM - Yves Levigne is the refere in charge and he is drawing TONS of boos over his bad fight stoppage on the undercard. Miller and Sonnen trade inside leg kicks, Sonnen goes for a double-leg takedown which allows Miller to immediately lock in a Guillotine Choke, wraps the legs around the body, Sonnen is turning red... but slips out! Sonnen is nw in position to drop some fists on Miller and just sits down right in the middle of his guard, having him in the corner. And that's where we stay for the next 4 minutes and 30 seconds, all Sonnen throwing bombs from above and Miller trying to block.

10:52 PM - Round Two starts with Sonnen again going for the takedown, Miller tries for the Guillotine Choke, Sonnen tries to counter with a big slam but Miller holds on and locks it in deep, but is wearig himself out. He eventually has to break it after almost a minute. Sonnen stays right on top throwing punches and elbows. Miller tries to slip in an armbar at 1:55 but Sonnen is able to easily escape. Miller looks very winded with a minute left in the round, mouth wide open gasping for air. He still tries to go for the rubber guard, fans are now starting to get restless as Sonnen grinds away on Miller, stands up with 15 seconds to throw a big left in the face.

10:57 PM - During the break you hear Miller say, "I think something is wrong with me." Round three, Miller comes out swinging and throws a high kick, throws some combinations that makes Sonnen back up. Sonnen again with the take-down, Miller tries for that Guillotine Choke again, but can't lock it in. Miller slips into rubber guard but isn't able to hold it. Sonnen has full control and Miller now looks nearly completely gassed. Lavigne warns them at 3:15 to start working more or risk getting stood up.

Rogan: "Dan Miller has got to go for broke, Mike. He's got to go for broke, I don't know what's going through his mind." Miller tries to kick Sonnen off, but to no avail. Sonnen stands up and waits it out before diving right back in and grinding his elbow into Miller's face. 1:45 left Miller is scrambling, Sonnen gets into his half guard for a moment but Miller is able to move it back to full guard... not that it matters, he's pinned up against the cage, no where to go, no way to escape. Rogan finishes, "Unless Chael Sonnen has a stroke, he's going to win this fight." We get the horn, the fans boo.

YOUR WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION 30-27, CHAEL SONNEN. Rogan isn't even going to waste time with an interview, the fans wern't happy, I don't think anybody was happy with this one.

Drew "The Massacare" McFedries (7-5-0, 185 lbs.) vs. "Professor X" Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10-0, 185 lbs.)

Foupa-Pokam comes to the ring dancing and grooving to the beat. One, two, three and to da four, Drew McFedries is knockin' on yo muthafuckin' door! Thirty seconds into the fight McFederies witha HUGE left on Foupa-Pokam that sends him reeling into the cage, McFedries jumps right on him with bombs, Foupa-Pokam tries holding onto the legs but he's clearly rocked, Yves Levigne has to throw himself between the two men to stop the fight, McFedries is trying to swing away, unaware of the stoppage, Foupa-Pokam still clutching the leg for dear life.

YOUR WINNER AT 37 SECONDS OF ROUND ONE BY TKO, DREW MCFEDRIES! Rogan & Goldberg hyped up McFedries' striking power, saying that most of his training partners won't even spar with him because he fights heavy handed and full-power. HOLY FUCK!

Andre Gusmao (5-2-0, 205 lbs.) vs. Krzysztof "the Polish Experiment" Soszynski (18-8-1, 205 lbs.)

This was a preliminary fight earlier in the night, and thank goodness we have these fights to fill in when we have spectacularly short matches! Other than an accidental kick to the groin there's nothing happening in the first two minutes of the match, Gusamo takes an accidental kick to the groin, recovers, counters with good kicks of his own. Soszynski starts scoring with some lefts and rights at 1:50 left in the fight, but then pours it on and just DROPS Gusmao on the side of the cage.

YOUR WINNER AT 3:17 OF ROUND ONE BY KNOCKOUT, Krzysztof Soszynski! We replay the end of the fight, Soszynski hits an overhand right that catches Gusamo on the chin, Gusamo blocks a half dozen othe rpunches, but then gets caught with a left hook and a right underhook, both on the chin. Mike Tyson is shown sitting in the crowd watching the action.

Matt Hughes (43-7-0, 170 lbs.) vs. Matt "the Terror" Serra (16-5-0, 171 lbs.)

This might not be the last match of the night, but it is the co-main event and possibly be the most looked-forward to fight for the last year, both of these men talking smack to each other any chance they can get! Matt Serra comes out to the "Rocky" theme, as Joe Rogan said, "OH NO HE DIDN'T!" and gets a mix of cheers and boos.

Hughes comes out to the classic Hank Williams, Jr. song "A Country Boy Can Survive" and also gets a mix of cheers and boos. A win for Hughes tonight allows him to tie Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell for 16 consecutive wins). Referee Steve Mazzagatti is the referee in charge. Mazzagatti reads off the rules and tells them "Now hook 'em up!", both men refuse to touch gloves.

11:38 PM - Round One starts with both men trying to make each other flinch. Serra with a southpaw strike first, but doesn't come close to connecting. But 4:12 Serra connects with a right that puts Hughes down, he gets to his feet, Serra pours on more rights, but Hughes latches on to a leg, Serra with hammer fists limping around the ring, Hughes puts him up on the fence.

Goldberg says that it was a headbutt that rocked Hughes and put him down on the mat. 3:00 left in the round Hughes has the body lock and throwing knees, he looks pretty well recovered. Serra escapes with 2:30 left, back to the middle of the ring. Serra throws a left that makes Serra back up a little, but Serra is grinning.

Serra with an inside leg kick, Hughes responds with some jabs. Hughes throws a kick that misses, then rushes in and gets a body lock, throws Serra to the mat and goes right into side control, 1:30 left. Huges gets Serra's back, goes into the Rear Naked Choke, Serra fights it, Hughes throws the punches to the head and the ribs, Serra grinding his head into Hughes' chest and finds an escape, both men quickly on their feet, 30 seconds left. We end the round with a few more spars and some kicks from Serra, Serra goes for a big overhand right just as the horn sounds.

11:44 PM - Round Two starts off a little slower, Hughes throws a left jab, Serra side steps it, Serra comes back with a few punches and Hughes backs off. Serra with a left that just barely glances off Hughes. Serra tries for a few more jabs and walks into a body lock from Hughes and gets thrown into the ground, Hughes tries to go for side control, Serra is able to block it but gives Hughes the half-guard. Halfway through the round Hughes continues to dominate the ground 'n pound from the top, Serra trying to find openings to escape but doesn't appear too phased by the punches to the body.

Hughes is able to get several good, clean shots to the chin, Serra isn't appearing to fight back much at all. Referee warns them at 40 seconds left to start being more active, and stands them back up at 15 seconds. Serra goes for a big head kick, but Hughes ducks him and ties him up with another body hold until the horn. Serra's cornerman tries to convince him, "Everytime you touch him you're hurting him!" Uh, I don't think that's the case.

11:50 PM - Hughes comes out with the jabs first, Serra backs off, tries a few kicks that get blocked, followed by right hands that just whiff. Serra with a big right that drives Serra back to the cage, Hughes trying for the take down and gets it, Serra fought it all the way down though and ends up set up for the Ulmaplatta if he can finish it. Hughes re-positions himself to get free shots to the ribs, and gets back to full guard.

Serra tries again, Hughes scoots the two of them into the corner. Hughes tries to go for side control, Serra tries for a triangle or an armbar, Hughes pulls out easily. 2:00 left and the fans start booing, Serra holding on trying to tell the ref to stand them up, Hughes is throwing elbows to the side of the head and the ribs, but referee stands them up. 1:30 left in the fight, Serra throws a few rights, Hughes deflects them.

Serra is looking at the clock then back at Hughes, then sticks out his chin and dares Hughes to strike him! Hughes knows better than to fall for that. Serra with a kick to the head that misses, Hughes moves in for a thorw, but Serra reverses it with a throw of his own and Serra is now on top for the first time! 32 seconds left he doesn't have much time, Serra starts throwing some bombs, Huges goes for a takedown, Serra blocks it and throws a few more punches to the face, he's got a Kimora but we're out of time! Both men step back, hug, and then raise each other's arms.

YOUR WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION, 29-28... MATT HUGHES! Rogan complements Hughes on the two of them leaving the bad blood between them right in the ring. Rogan asks about the headbutt and Hughes asking what hit him. Hughes jokes and says that Rogan wasn't supposed to hear that comment, but he just wasn't sure what hit him. Rogan asks Hughes if he's motivated to continue to fight after this. "Definitely, I am motivated to fight and I love to compete.

I'm a free agent now, but Dana and I will talk about it, but I'm not going anywhere else!" Rogan moves over to Serra for his thoughts on the fight and the first round, Serra says he wanted to keep cool and finish him but Hughes is too tough and experienced. Rogan asks if the bad blood is over now, Serra says he holds Hughes in high regard and just used this to motivate himself to train. Rogan asks him about the future plans of moving weight classes, Serra says that he wants to focus more on having fun fights.

UFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: champion "Sugar" Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto "the Dragon" Machida

Neither man has ever been defeated, but Machida has never lost a round in UFC, and this is the first time two undefeated fighters have ever faced each other for a UFC title. The UFC.com/text message poll results show that 64% think Machida will win. We play video packages for the fight.

12:17 AM - We spend most of Round One with both men just circling the ring and trading small punches, I spent most of the round trying to fix my stream! Thirty seconds left Machida takes down Evans, but Evans escapes. Still it was a kick to the body followed by a straight left hand that drops Evans to the mat and allowed Machida to get on top. You really didn't miss anything through.

12:23 AM - Round Two we're back to more circling the ring, fans starting a "MA-CHI-DA! MA-CHI-DA!" chant. machida throws a knee at 4:05 that sends Evans into the cage, but Evans rebounds back easily. machida throws a kick, then throws some lefts and rights that pushes Evans back, Evans responds with a flurry of his own punches that sends Machida retreating for a moment. 3:05 left, Machida throws a few more kicks that Evans avoids.

But that's all we get for the next two minutes, more pussy-footing around for the most part. Machida finds an open shot that drops Evans, Evans is fighting back but Machida is continuing to throw punches, Evans gets to his feet, Machida backs him up to the corner, EVANS GOES DOWN IT IS ALL OVER! LYOTO MACHIDA IS THE NEW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

On the replay, we see a straight right that originally dropped Evans and rocked him, followed through to Evans recovering and backing up to the cage, Machida starts getting open shots to the chin and it's a pair of right hooks that nails him, a left that hits the side of the head finishes him off. Michael Buffer wit the official announcement.

"Ladies and gentle, referee Mario Yamasaki has called for an end to this content, which came at 3 minutes and 57 seconds of round number two by way of knockout. Your winner AND NEWWWWWW Light Heavyweight Champion of the world LYYYOOOODOOOO THE DRAGON MAAAACHIDAAA!!!"

Joe Rogan with the interview, Machida says, "I have been training all of my life to be a champion, and now I have done it. I want to keep this belt for a long time!" Rogan has Machida take us through the punches and then the final thoughts for Machida. "Machida karate! Machida karate is back! If you have a dream, go for it, because anything is possible!!! Look at me!!"

Rogan interviews Rashad for his thoughts on how he feels. Evans says he still feels dizzy, it was a good fight, Machida is a difficult man to figure out. Rogan asked about Evans' strategy, Evans said that he wanted to try to make Machida strike first, but his timing is too quick and Evans wasn't sharp enough. Evans says that this is his first-ever loss and first-ever knockout, all he can do is just move forward.

Brock Larson vs. Mike Pyle

Another preliminary fight, Pyle makes his debut in the UFC. Pyle starts off with a few kicks and a few sparse punches. Larson backs Pyle into the corner at 4:00 and Pyle tries for a guillotine choke. Larson escapes and tries for a slam, Pyle grabs the leg and gets a leglock, Larson escapes and Pyle gets a toe-hold, Pyle rolls and Larson takes his back, then rolls him over to keep guard. Referee warns Pyle not to kick Larson when he's on his knees. Larson moves around for a choke, Pyle rolls in to try for a leglock, but Larson instead goes for half-guard, Larson moves his body up and gets an arm triangle, gets his leg free and Pyle taps out.

Your winner, Brock Larson at 3:06 of Round One by submission (arm triangle). Rogan asks about the win, Larson says he feels great, he just had to take his time and knew things would happen. Larson is 3-1 back in UFC, 27-2 overall with 18 submission, and that's your TapouT Submission of the Night.

Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague

Hague charges in early, Barry counters with a high kick to the head and some jabs. Hauge is fighting with his hands down, and that allows Barry to nail a big kick to the head, land some jabs, tries for another leg kick that Hague ducks and then jams at Barry, driving him to the mat. Hague's nose is bleeding, but gets Barry's back, slides around as he's trying for a guillotine choke, flips Barry over and it's tapout city!

Your winner at 1:42 of Round One by submission, Tim Hague. Hague says that his opponents will never see him quit, his opponents can "turn my face to mashed potatoes first". Hague thanks his wife, his children, and Dana White for giving him his first UFC fight.

That's our show for the night, thanks for reading the recap and thanks for joining us in the chat room!

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