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The UFC 86 Jackson versus Griffin event will air in just under a half hour. In addition to the main card, I am looking forward to watching the bouts with Joe Stevenson, Josh Koscheck, and Gabriel Gonzaga.

Both Joe “Daddy” Stevenson and Gabriel Gonzaga are returning to the ring after losses to Penn and Werdum respectively, so I expect them to come in and dominate for the wins.

Rampage and Koshcheck will win their matches by knockout. Melvin Guillard is back in the ring too, I like watching him fight but he is not very consistent. I want to believe that he will win by knockout, but would not bet on it.

Quick recap on picks:

• Rampage Jackson defeats Forrest Griffin (knockout)
• Joe “Daddy” Stevenson defeats Gleison Tibau (decision)
• Josh Koscheck defeats Chris Lytle (knockout)
• Gabriel Gonzaga defeats Justin McCully (knockout)
• Melvin Guillard defeats Dennis Siver (knockout)
• No comment on the other cards

I had plans to go to the movies on Saturday and completely forgot that UFC 85 Bedlam was on PPV. The only bout I was interested in seeing was Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves in the main event, so I am not too disappointed that I missed the event.

As predicted, Thiago Alves stopped Matt Hughes! Nice job. I watched the countdown to UFC 85 and tired of hearing Hughes talk smack, it is time for him to retire and move on to other aspects of mixed martial arts.

The only surprise of the night for me is Thiago Tavares’ loss to Matt Wiman. I thought Thiago was going to dominate Wiman for a win, but again the dynamics of the octagon and the sport had other plans for this bout. Boo!

I should have stayed home to watch UFC 85 and saved $50, because dinner and a movie was $94.50. When did a general admission movie ticket go up to $10 dollars? Gas prices are outrageous and others are gouging too, but that is another story.

First, I want to thank my friend Frank for hosting UFC 83 fight night at his house. I will host the BJ Penn vs. Sherk Monster fight night at my place next month. Now for the UFC 83 Serra vs. St-Pierre II fight results.

The winner of the much-anticipated Serra vs. St-Pierre II rematch is Georges St-Pierre of course. I do not know what the text poll participants were thinking giving Serra 45% chance of winning. Give me a break, the first win was a fluke. 

The undercards were unspectacular as usual! Are you listening Dana White? The worst fight of the night award goes to Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes in a one-sided run away match. Kalib ran away the entire fight, what the hell?

The fans in attendance and pay-per-view fans received a good laugh when Quarry high stepped it and literally ran after Kalib. It gets better; Nate Quarry executes a series of robot-like air punches in frustration to end the fight. Boring!

Main card results:

• Georges St-Pierre defeats Matt Serra (tko in round 2)
• Rich Franklin defeats Travis Lutter (tko in round 2)
• Michael Bisping defeats Charles McCarthy (tko in round 1)
• Nate Quarry defeats Kalib Starnes (unanimous decision)
• Mac Danzig defeats Mark Bocek (submission in round 3)
• Jonathan Goulet defeats Kuniyoshi Hironaka (tko in round 2)

First, the UFC 82 PPV event was $44.95 and not $39.95 as expected. Is UFC gouging the fans? I want to know why UFC PPV fees continue to rise, because there is no value add for the PPV audience.

As predicted, the results of the main event are Anderson Silva defeats Dan Henderson to retain the Middleweight title. Silva ended the fight in the second round with a rear naked choke. Henderson taps, enough said!

The undercards were boring. Fitch went to a decision, Leben and Herring are boring, and Evan Tanner needs to retire. The Josh Koscheck bout was televised and it was a fight from the first round. Nice way to end the event.

Main card results:

• Anderson Silva defeats Dan Henderson (rear naked choke in round 2)
• Heath Herring defeats Cheick Kongo (split decision)
• Yushin Okami defeats Evan Tanner (tko in round 2)
• Chris Leben defeats Alessio Sakara (tko in round 1)
• Jon Fitch defeats Chris Wilson (unanimous decision)
• Josh Koscheck defeats Dustin Hazelett (tko in round 2)

The highly anticipated bout between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson is days away. I did not order the previous UFC PPV event, because of the LAME cards. However, UFC 82 Pride of a Champion appears to be an event worthy of the $39.95 plus tax price.

Let me rephrase that another way. I am looking forward to seeing Anderson Silva beat Dan Henderson. I am not excited about the Herring and Kongo fight or seeing Tanner again. Tanner’s days are numbered and Herring is heading down the same path.

It is a shame that both the Koscheck and Diego Sanchez bouts are on the untelevised preliminary card. I would prefer to see the Koscheck and Diego bouts instead of the Herring, Tanner, or Chris Leben bouts. $39.95 does not sound like a deal now.

I did not pay to watch the b-o-r-i-n-g cards on UFC 81 Breaking Point. The past events had great cards, but this event looked like a loser when it was announced on the UFC website.

I saw Tim Sylvia dance around at Arco Arena and his performance was lame, that alone was a deal breaker. Also, bringing Brock Lesnar from the WWE was another hype to sell tickets to the event, whatever.

Tim Sylvia lost his bout, Brock Lesnar lost his bout, and I saved $39.95 … priceless!

KO! KO! KO! Paul versus Paul. The first hour and a half was action packed, which made most of the event worth its pay-per-view fees. The upset in the under card fight was not totally unexpected, but it was a much needed win for Werdum.

As predicted, the results of the main event are BJ Penn defeats Stevenson for the UFC lightweight championship. He cut Stevenson in the first round and ended the fight in the second round with a rear naked choke, nice.

Main card results:

• BJ Penn defeats Joe Stevenson (rear naked choke in round 2)
• Fabricio Werdum defeats Gabriel Gonzaga (tko in round 2)
• Paul Kelly defeats Paul Taylor (unanimous decision)
• Marcus Davis defeats Jess Liaudin (tko in round 1)
• Wilson Gouveia defeats Jason Lambert (tko in round 2)
• Jorge Rivera defeats Kendell Grove (tko in round 1)

I just ordered UFC 80 Rapid Fire on Pay-Per-View. The pre-show interviews start in less than 10 minutes. The fights start at 7:00 pm Pacific. I will post an update later tonight, hopefully Penn and Gonzaga will win their bouts. Be back in a couple of hours.

I was watching one item, but I did not bid because the bid amounts quickly surpassed my maximum. Specifically, I was watching Anderson Silva’s autographed gloves from UFC 77 Hostile Territory.

Anderson Silva is one of my favorite fighters and is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. So, when his gloves were listed for auction, I was interested in bidding on the item. Christmas just passed, so my maximum was only $1,000.

Well, in less than forty-eight hours the bid amount surpassed the one-thousand mark so I stopped watching the item. I considered bidding higher, but it was apparent the winning bid was going to be higher than what I wanted to pay.

Drum roll please … Anderson Silva’s autographed gloves sold for seven thousand one hundred fifty dollars! If that were not enough, the same winner won Silva’s matching autographed shorts too. Total $10, 650.00, not including shipping.

UFC 80 Rapid Fire is one week away, nice. The only fight I am interested in watching is the main card featuring BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson. The under card features Gonzaga and Werdum, both Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Champions, so it should be interesting too.

Both Penn and Stevenson have excellent submission skills, so the fighters may select a ground strategy to win by submission. However, I do not see either fighter submitting the other. I predict BJ Penn to win by decision.

The under card featuring the two Brazilian fighters is an opportunity for Gonzaga to reposition himself after the loss to Randy Couture at UFC 74. Fabricio Werdum lost his UFC debut to Andrei Arlovski, so he is in need of a win in the UFC.

Penn defeats Stevenson and Gonzaga defeats Werdum. The balance of the fight card is mediocre at best, so my advice to the fighters is to drop it likes it hot and leave it all in the octagon or your days may be numbered.