UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 Re-Cap

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008

Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (22-4-1) vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-3)

This is Turk's debut in UFC. He was born in Beruit, Lebanon and is fighting out of London, England. Turk is a jiu jitsu based fighter. If Kongo can win this fight he puts himself in position to be a possible title contender later in 2009 due to the soft UFC Heavyweight Division. Kongo has a 4 and a half inch reach advantage which could be huge since he's a better striker.

"This is a battle of the cool names"- Joe Rogan

R1- They exchange low blows in the first round. Kongo came on really strong in the last minute of the round and knocked Turk down and started hitting a ton of strikes and busted him open and reigned down elbows and hammer fists. Great finish by Kongo. He really took it to Turk once he got him down. This is as good as I've seen Kongo look. Rogan described it well by saying he was "completely relentless."

Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:37

Randy and Kim Couture are in attendance tonight.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)

What a stacked card when you can bring out Rampage/Wanderlei for the second fight on the show. This should be FOTN and has the ability to be one of the most exciting fights this year. This is the third match-up between the two fighters with Silva winning the first two. Winner of this fight steps up in line (with Lyoto Machida) to face the winner of Griffin/Evans for the Light Heavyweight Strap. Rogan calls Silva the most consistently exciting fighter in MMA history. This should be a Main Event on any show for any organization. Very mixed reaction for Rampage from the crowd. The fighters don't touch gloves prior to the fight. This is a GRUDGE match!

R1- Rampage hit a big knockout punch towards the end of the round and then continued to pound on Silva as the ref tried to pull him off. Big knockout punch by Rampage. Big left hook by Rampage. They cut to Chuck Liddell after the knockout and he looked less than thrilled with the finish. Great comeback for Rampage after the Forrest fight and he looks to step right back up in line for a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Fight.

Winner: Rampage Jackson by KO (left hook) R1 3:21

In the post-fight interview Rampage says he's back.

Heavyweight Fight- Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry

This is from the pre-show. Barry is hyped as a big-time striker. Evenson lost to Kongo at the UFC 87 show at the end of the first round by TKO. This is Barry's debut in the UFC.

R1- Barry looked decent and it looked like Evensen tweaked something (due to Barry's leg kicks) and could not continue.

Winner: Patrick Barry by TKO (Leg Kick) R1 2:36

Middleweight Fight- CB Dollaway (8-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)

Both guys are college wrestlers with Massenzio's only loss coming on an upset at the hands of Dollaway. Dollaway has a 2 and a half inch reach advantage.

R1- Massenzio got some shots in and knocked CB down and then grabbed a guillotine but CB survived. CB mounts him and then takes his back and starts to hit him with punches on both sides of the head and Massenzio does nothing to get out of the strikes and the ref stops the fight. Not much damage done by CB but Massenzio did nothing to defend himself. Questionable finish but Massenzio didn't help himself out. Big win for CB.

Winner: CB Dollaway by TKO (strikes) R1 3:01

Light Heavyweight FIght- Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy

Hamill is coming off a loss to Rich Franklin and Andy is coming off a loss to Brandon Vera. This is a pre-show fight.

R1- They stand up for the round and trade strikes. Hamill got a cut under his eye but pushed forward for the majority of the round. The guy in Matt Hamill's corner drops the f bomb about 50 times as Hamill reads his lips for instruction.

R2- Andy looked for some take downs but Hamill stuffed them and then hit some good strikes on Andy. Andy just slumped down to his knees and basically looked like he gave up as Hamill started to hit him with strikes. The ref finally stops it. Great second round by Hamill.

Winner: Matt Hamill by TKO (strikes) R2 2:15

Brock Lesnar joins Mike and Joe between the fights. Basically says he's not the champ yet until he beats the winner of Mir/Big Nog.

UFC Interim Heavyweight Title Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira © (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)

Mir's average fight lasts 3:38 according to Mike Goldberg. Big Nog comes out to the Rolling Stones.

R1- Mir hit a good jab early. Mir is looking good early and gets a take down but gives it up to stand back up. Mir knocked down Big Nog at the 3 minute mark but again lets Big Nog up. Big Nog got in a good combo against the cage at the end of the round. Mir looked really good in this first round and got another knock down at the end of the first round. Mir won this round. Possibly 10-8. The announcers say it's 10-8, Big Nog got in some shots but Mir knocked Big Nog down 3 times.

R2- Mir hits Big Nog with two big punches and knocks him down and then jumps on top with some punches and Herb Dean stops the fight. Surprising finish and I think the stoppage was early considering how much punishment Big Nog takes but Mir was definitely owning this fight.

Post-fight Mir basically stares down Lesnar.

Winner and new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) R2 1:54

Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Forrest Griffin © (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (17-0-1)

The battle of the winners of TUF Season 1 and Season 2. And they are Main Eventing a show with Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Frank Mir and Rampage Jackson. Forrest has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. I have a feeling that Rashad is going to win this fight but I've got to pull for Forrest since he's from Athens.

R1- Huge "Forrest" chant at the beginning of the round. Rashad laying back early like he did in the Liddell fight. Forrest took Round One 10-9. Rashad looked like he definitely has the quickness factor but he's laying back more and Forrest is pushing forward. If this fight stays on it's feet I can see Rashad getting a big punch in and ending this.

R2- Forrest hit a big right hand about a minute into the fight and they really mixed it up against the cage and then Rashad smiled at him and kind of gave him that "you can't hurt me" look. Forrest is doing a really good job with his kicks in this fight. Forrest took this round as well and is up 20-18 on my score card. His leg kicks seem to be taking their toll and Rashad is having trouble so far with Forrest's reach advantage. Still anybody's fight but Forrest is the aggressor so far and is out striking Rashad. Rashad has more power though so he's far from out with 3 rounds left. Neither guy looks to have sustained significant damage.

R3- Rashad grabs a Forrest leg kick and takes him down and is delivering hammer fists to Forrest. Forrest was in trouble but took him to full guard. Rashad hits some nice elbows while in Forrest's guard. Rashad delivering lots of punches from the top and the ref stops the fight. Big time round from Rashad. Forrest shows a lot of class and immediately congratulates Rashad once he gets up.

Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Rashad Evans by TKO (strikes) R3 2:46

Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel

This is a pre-show fight. This is Wessell's UFC debut.

R1- Wessell overpowers him early and gets him to the ground. Back to their feet. Wessell is thick. Hardonk hits some good knees. Wessell gets Hardonk down again and Hardonk goes for a triangle but can't get it. Wessell gets full mount right at the buzzer. Wessell is bloodied up from the knees to his face. Good first round.

R2- Hardonk takes Wessell's back and gets the hooks in on him. Hardonk finishes him with strikes.

Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO (strikes) R2 2:09


Overall a strong show with a good Main Event in Evans/Griffin. Mir/Big Nog was a surprisingly one-sided fight and Silva/Jackson had a big KO. FOTN was Evans/Griffin.

UFC awarded Evans/Griffin the "Fight of the Night" 60K bonus and Rampage got the 60K "KO of the Night" bonus. No submission bonus was given as no fight ended by submission.

Where do we go from here?

Light Heavyweight Division- Looks like we are set up with Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Championship with the winner taking on Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva winner. Forrest versus Chuck Liddell would be an interesting fight for Forrest's next fight.

Heavyweight Division- Obviously we have the Lesnar/Mir re-match. It will be interesting to see where they go with Big Nog. Maybe a fight with Randy Couture?