SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Wladimir Klitschko vs. Anthony Joshua round-by-round scoring

Wladimir Klitschko takes on Anthony Joshua for the interim SportsRatings Heavyweight title, as well as the IBF and WBA belts, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

1996 Olympic gold medalist Klitschko (64-4, 53 KO), ranked #2 by SportsRatings currently, is a slight underdog to #5-ranked Joshua by the oddsmakers. Klitschko hasn't fought since losing his title to Tyson Fury in November of 2015, and hasn't won a fight since beating Bryant Jennings in April, 2015.

Joshua (18-0, 18 KO), the 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist, has won 4 times since Klitschko lost his belt, beating Dillian Whyte, Charles Martin, Dominic Breazeale, and Eric Molina. None are among the biggest names in the division, but note that 3 of the 4 were undefeated before facing Joshua.

Either 41-year-old Klitschko will make a huge comeback win and re-establish himself as the man to beat at heavyweight, or the torch will be passed to the 27-year-old Joshua, who most believe is the future of the division.

Klitschko weighed in at a relatively light 240 1/4 pounds, with Joshua tipping the scales at 250. Both fighters are giants, standing 6' 6" apiece.

The fight is set to begin sometime around 5pm eastern U.S. time. Both fighters have entered the ring. Arnold Schwarzeneggar is in the crowd. Vitali Klitschko's wife is the performer for the Ukranian national anthem. 

Round-by-round scoring follows:

• Round One: Klitschko jabbing hurredly at the start. Joshua gets a few decent right hands in. Wlad wary of Joshua's punches. Rare fight where Klitschko doesn't dwarf his opponent and have a huge reach advantage. Wlad jabbing less as the round goes on. Wlad finds his way in but clinches. Interesting first round with no clear winner but Joshua landed the only punches that mattered. Joshua 10-9.
• Round Two: BIG right from Klitshko to start round 2, Joshua takes it well and is using his jab more early. Joshua doing better controlling ring space in round 2. Fighters still testing each other. Not much else happening this round, less action as the round continues. If we gave Joshua r1 for bigger punches, we can give this to Wlad for that opening punch, as neither round was dominant. 10-9 Klitschko, 19-19.
• Round Three: A lot of action early in the round from both. Joshua pushing forward missing with big punches. Klitschko trying to hold a bit but isn't going to be able to do it. So far Klitschko hasn't folded from big pressure, and Joshua hasn't backed down from Wlad's jab at all. Ref is separating the clinch quickly. Both fighters having trouble with the other's style, lots of misses. We punt on this one. 10-10, 29-29. 
• Round Four: Another big right from Klitschko to start the round! Joshua takes it well again. Joshua connects with a not-as-big right hand. Clinch and Joshua warned for hitting on break, no big deal. Wlad whiffs as Joshua ducks. Good body shots by Joshua. Klitschko has been lighter on his feet as Joshua stays planted but Joshua moving more now. Jab by Joshua who probably did better in the 2nd half of the round but overall hard to score as Joshua missed on his biggest shots. Fuck it, 10-10, 39-39.
• Round Five:  Joshua explodes out of the gate with a flurry and puts Wlad down! Klitschko holding on with 2 minutes left in round and a bad cut. Now at midpoint of round Joshua is looking tired, as is Klitschko. Big shots from Klitschko but Joshua battling back too!! Joshua is dead tired and Klitschko is hitting him with everything he's got! Round ends, should be 10-8 for Joshua but did Klitschko battle back enough to make it just 10-9? Joshua never went down, so 10-8 Joshua, 49-47.
• Round Six: Cut on Wlad's eye is bad. Fighters start where they left off but not as exhausted. Pause while Joshua's mouthpiece is put in. Klitschko right puts Joshua down!! Now both are clinching and punching, Joshua is ducking low and is in trouble.  Klitschko keeps missing with crosses as Joshua ducks, but then landing uppercuts. Incredible fight. Klitschko 10-8; 57-57.
• Round Seven: Wow, here we go. Klitschko walking down Joshua, who looks uncertain but recovered mostly. Klitschko looks confident but still has that bad cut. Klitschko scoring but not threatening Joshua at this point, taking his time while Joshua is trying to rest and recover his confidence. Joshua is still TALKING to Klitschko, seems foolish at this point. Klitschko is being conservative, picking off jabs when possible. Wlad clinches and Joshua looks happy for the chance to rest, and he comes alive for this first time in the round with less than 30 seconds left. Round was all Klitschko, 10-9; 67-66.
• Round Eight: Joshua comes to the center early, looking more recovered now. Klitschko still confident. Joshua decent body shot with left hand. Huge right from Klitschko whiffs! Joshua throwing heat, for first time in 3 rounds. Klitschko jabbing well again, and moving well. Decent punches from both connect. Wlad clinches with 20 seconds left. Another close round, we'll keep it even: 10-10; Klitschko 77-76.
• Round Nine: Again both look to start fast, this is great. Joshua is fully recovered and Wlad's cut isn't an issue anymore. Wlad misses with a right while Joshua goes to the body. Two are tangled up. Joshua makes Wlad miss again, Wlad backs up to avoid body shot. Joshua connects with two shots with a minute left. Action pause as both tire a bit. Right hand from Joshua, and two quick body shots. Joshua 10-9; 86-86.
• Round Ten: Joshua jumps in quickly with 1-2, Klitschko bouncing, dancing away. Two collide jumping in, clinch, separate. Jab from Klitschko, Joshua answers. Again the action slows later in the round. Both fighters dodging the big shots well. Joshua clubbed with right hand late. Another close round. 10-10; 96-96. This is going to be a close decision assuming it makes it that far. Should be an amazing final 2 rounds.
• Round Eleven: Joshua hurts Wlad early with 3 big punches. Klitschko running away for his life in the 11th. Klitschko returns fire but eats another punch before clinching. A huge uppercut from Joshua how did Klitschko stay up! Now he's down!!! 1:30 left in round...now Joshua puts him down again and that might be it...no he's up with 1 minute left!!! Fight is stopped with 30 seconds left, ANTHONY JOSHUA WINS

That was the best heavyweight fight I've seen in a long time. The final stoppage was a bit quick I think, but after being down twice, there was no leeway to protest, and Klitschko has not protested.

Unlike Tyson Fury, who "beat" Klitschko by barely engaging, Anthony Joshua took it to him, almost suffered the consequences himself, but held on and came back with a huge 11th round.

Gold medalist Joshua really looks like the future of the heavyweight division, and tonight was the true passing of the torch, in epic fashion in one of the great heavyweight fights of all time. Wlad Klitschko has nothing to be ashamed of putting on this performance at age 41 after one of the great careers in boxing history. 

And, if there was ever a fight that was going to renew interest in heavyweight boxing, this was it. We shall see.

Belfort next in line for Anderson Silva?

One spin kick, and suddenly Vitor Belfort is in title contention again. Belfort downed Luke Rockhold at the UFC on FX 8 card in Brazil with a spinning back kick before finishing him Belfort-style with a flurry of punches.

After losing to Anderson Silva in 2011, then moving up to light heavyweight to challenge (and lose to) Jon Jones in 2012, Belfort is in line to challenge Anderson again in 2013. This assumes, of course, that Silva defeats Chris Weidman on July 6th.

Before the fight, we ranked Belfort #8 among middleweights, with Rockhold having reached #3 through a string of victories. But Brazilian fighters are particularly tough when they have home country advantage, and Belfort went in 3-0 and left 4-0 when fighting there.

So who should get the next shot at Silva? Here's how things will look to us at 185 at the end of the month (approximately):

May Rank	June Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	May Results
1	1	Anderson Silva	MW	87.46	30-4-0
8	2	Vitor Belfort	MW	30.76	22-10-0	Beat #3 Luke Rockhold
2	3	Chris Weidman	MW	30.52	5-0-0
7	4	Ronaldo Souza	MW	25.62	13-2-0	Beat #24 Chris Camozzi
4	5	Constantinos Philippou	MW	25.13	5-1-0
5	6	Yushin Okami	MW	24.76	19-6-0
6	7	Tarec Saffiedine	MW	23.94	4-1-0
9	8	Alexander Shlemenko	MW	21.76	13-2-0
10	9	Ronny Markes	MW	21.54	3-0-0
3	10	Luke Rockhold	MW	20.44	6-1-0	Lost to #8 Vitor Belfort

Though the undefeated Weidman (9-0-0 overall) has been pushed to #3, he'll have a chance to play spoiler for Belfort if a rematch with Silva for the title is his goal. If Belfort just wants the title, pure and simple, he might root for Weidman to pull off the upset, since the Silva rematch might be a hard sell—though viable opponents for Silva have been running out for a long time at this point.

Another potential storyline involves new #4, Ronaldo Souza, who beat Chris Camozzi last night. With three Brazilians among the top four, and the UFC doing more frequent promotions in Brazil, there is no shortage of potential matches that can be made that would be wildly popular there.

UFC 160: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva matches #1 and #2 heavyweights

Almost everyone would rank Cain Velasquez as the #1 heavyweight; in our rankings, it's Antonio Silva atop a logjam at #2, making next week's showdown at UFC 160 a 1 vs. 2 matchup in our book.

May Rank	June Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	May Results
1	1	Cain Velasquez	HW	63.51	8-1-0
2	2	Antonio Silva	HW	54.96	15-4-0
3	3	Fabricio Werdum	HW	53.77	15-5-1
4	4	Daniel Cormier	HW	53.15	9-0-0
5	5	Alistair Overeem	HW	45.70	29-12-0	last win -17 months.
6	6	Junior dos Santos	HW	43.90	9-1-0
7	7	Fedor Emelianenko	HW	35.50	27-4-0
8	8	Josh Barnett	HW	23.18	30-6-0	last win -20 months.
10	9	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	HW	20.77	32-7-1
11	10	Anthony Johnson	HW	20.61	12-5-0

For most, a 1 vs. 2 match would be Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos, who is #6 in a crowded top six. Also ahead of dos Santos are Fabricio Werdum, who has done enough to earn a title shot right now; he will have to get past #9 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and if successful he should get the Velasquez-Silva winner. #4 Daniel Cormier is talking about moving down to 205; and Alistair Overeem hasn't had a good year and a half since beating Brock Lesnar in December 2011.

dos Santos takes the first step toward regaining his title next week at UFC 160 when he faces Mark Hunt, who is on a decent winning streak himself and ranks #13 currently.

Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier - what next for the winner?

When the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament began, Strikeforce could reasonably claim a heavyweight division that was at least the equal of the UFC in terms of talent and competitiveness. Since the Zuffa buyout, major talents—Overeem, Werdum, Antonio Silva—have been promoted, and Fedor was dropped after his losses, leaving the UFC much stronger in the top weight class. But Strikeforce still has some great fighters, and two of them meet in the tournament final tonight: Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier.

Cormier at #4 and Barnett at #7 are now the only Strikeforce fighters left in our Heavyweight top ten. Logically the winner should advance to the UFC, but can that happen?

Cormier trains with #6 Cain Velasquez, meaning that a matchup between the two might be hard to arrange. And of course Josh Barnett has simply not been welcome at the UFC for some time, and winning this tournament would probably mean he holds the Strikeforce belt and has to defend it. Alistair Overeem's recent testing snafu probably ruined any remaining chance for Barnett, as the last thing Dana White wants to do is welcome a 3-time positive tester back into the fold.

So this fight might really be for the Strikeforce belt and only the Strikeforce belt. After all, the UFC can't take every fighter, since White has said the promotion is going to continue for some time and not be absorbed into the UFC wholly.

The fight won't change our rankings much, either; Cormier is a fairly distant #4 and wouldn't move up any spots by beating Barnett; Barnett would simply replace Cormier at #4 with a win. The loser will fall to near the bottom of the top ten.

May Heavyweight rankings - fights through April 30th

Feb Rank	May Rank	Fighter	WC	Rating	Rated Record	Feb-Apr Results
1	1	Alistair Overeem	HW	67.73	29-11-0
2	2	Junior dos Santos	HW	56.29	8-0-0
3	3	Fabricio Werdum	HW	53.07	14-5-1	Def Roy Nelson
4	4	Daniel Cormier	HW	42.79	6-0-0
5	5	Antonio Silva	HW	39.01	13-3-0	last win -14 months.
6	6	Cain Velasquez	HW	36.40	6-1-0	last win -18 months.
7	7	Josh Barnett	HW	35.73	30-5-0

Lightweight: #1 Melendez vs. #24 Thompson; Light heavy: #13 Kyle vs. #18 Cavalcante

The co-headline fight of the evening is Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thompson. Melendez is our #1 lightweight, outranking Benson Henderson by a decent margin. But he lacks strong competition in Strikeforce, and is taking on a fighter ranked just 25th in our book.

This lesser competition is why most rankings have Melendez 3rd or 4th behind Henderson and Frankie Edgar. That's where we'll have Melendez if he gets upset; he'd fall to #4, with Thompson moving up to #3, and Henderson at #1.

If Melendez wins as expected, he won't gain much in terms of points but he would avenge (for the 2nd time) one of the only two losses of his career. And the call for him to move to the UFC would increase, as he'd be on a 7-fight win streak.

The only other fight of interest in terms of our weight class rankings is Mike Kyle vs. Rafael Cavalcante in the light heavyweight division. While Strikeforce recently boasted great heavyweights and can still claim one of the very best light heavyweight fighers, the UFC clearly dominates the light heavyweight division. The winner of this fight will approach the top ten but won't quite reach it.

There is no current champ in that division for Strikeforce, which is reasonable since we rank no Strikeforce fighter in the top 7. Gegard Mousasi at #8 and Muhammad Lawal at #10 are the highest ranked for the promotion currently, and will remain so regardless of this fight's outcome.

Mitchell nears heavyweight boxing top ten; Pulev-Dimitrenko on May 5th

Seth Mitchell had a first-round scare against Chazz Witherspoon but righted the ship and put his opponent away in the 3rd, and he climbs from #18 to #11 in this month's SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 100.

Mitchell is now 25-0 with 19 stoppages, no losses, and just one draw—since avenged—to blemish his record. He's 11-0 against ranked fighters, and has moved from #37 six months ago due to a solid win (TKO 2) over Timur Ibragimov and the Witherspoon fight.

He also solidifies his status as one of the very top American heavyweights, ranking 4th behind #6 Chris Arreola, #7 Eddie Chambers, and #9 Tony Thompson. Witherspoon (30-3) again drops off the top 100, but he'll surely bounce back as he did after losses to Arreola and Thompson. Witherspoon is becoming a gatekeeper in the mode of #20 Monte Barrett; fighters who beat him have a title shot in their future, while those who lose, don't.

Top-ranked American Heavyweights (in bold) as of May 1, 2012:

-3 Yr	-1 Yr	-6 mos	Apr Rank	May Rank	Fighter	Rating	Rated Record	April results / May schedule
6	15	12	6	6	CHRIS ARREOLA	19.86	19-2-0
7	8	5	7	7	EDDIE CHAMBERS	19.63	14-2-0	last win -14 months.
2	5	9	10	8	RUSLAN CHAGAEV	19.05	15-2-0	KO 3 #155 BILLY ZUMBRUN
19	12	11	8	9	TONY THOMPSON	18.68	17-1-0
26	4	8	9	10	DAVID HAYE	18.33	5-1-0	last win -17 months.
--	37	37	18	11	SETH MITCHELL	18.17	11-0-0	TKO 3 #46 CHAZZ WITHERSPOON

Two top ten fighters were in action last month: #4 Tyson Fury put away Martin Rogan in the 5th, while Ruslan Chagaev needed just 3 rounds to KO Billy Zumbrun. Fury's win helped create a smidge of distance between he and #5 Robert Helenius, while Chagaev gained a couple of spots. Three years ago this month Chagaev was at #2, while Fury was very green at #93.

Denis Boytsov (31-0) moved up a spot to #15 by winning a wide unanimous decision over Domonick Guinn. Only one judge gave Guinn a single round, a patter that held in his previous two losses, both of which were also to undefeated fighters (Amir Mansour and Kubrat Pulev).

Yet another undefeated prospect, Alexander Ustinov (27-0) climbed a notch with a victory over Jason Gavern. Ustinov has been in a holding pattern for over a year as he schedules mostly stay-busy fights.

Kelvin Price moved up 9 spots to #36, beating Arron Lyons, while Kevin Johnson leaped back into the top 100 at #39 with an April 1st TKO of former #32 Alex Leapai in Australia. Juan Carlos Gomez paid back Darnell Wilson for his earlier upset loss, regaining a bit of lost ground to #45. Joe Hanks' first-round KO of journeyman Marcus Rhode was good enough to put Hanks just outside the top 50, while Rhode's first stint in our top 100 came to a quick end.

Upcoming: Pulev-Dimitrenko, Airich-Solis, Price-Sexton

Mitchell may have fallen just short of the top ten but either #12 Kubrat Pulev or #13 Alexander Dimitrenko will get there after their May 5th showdown. Dimitrenko (32-1) resided in the top ten before his only loss to Eddie Chambers, while undefeated Bulgarian Pulev (15-0) has been moving up the charts rapidly since his debut in September of 2009. That was 2 month after Dimitrenko's loss, meaning Pulev has fought 5 times as often as Dimitrenko lately. We favor Pulev to get the win and the top ten ranking. Also on that card is #14 Edmund Gerber (19-0) who has a much more manageable foe in current #148 Maurice Harris.

Odlanier Solis, ranked #42 after his loss to Vitali Klitschko and subsequent inactivity while recovering from his knee injury, begins his comeback on May 19 as he faces #17 Konstantin Airich. Airich (23-5-2), was barely holding on to a top 300 ranking before he upset Ondrej Pala and leapt into the top 20 last month. He has won six fights in a row, against reasonable competition, so he should provide a decent comeback test for olympic gold medalist Solis, who needs to re-establish himself as a force on the heavyweight scene and prove that the layoff hasn't eroded his skills—or added to his weight problem. We expect Solis to win but will be watching his conditioning.

Also on the 19th another olympic medalist, the UK's David Price, ranked #24, faces off against #34 Sam Sexton for the British heavyweight title that #4 Tyson Fury gave up rather than face Price. Many believe Price would defeat Fury given the opportunity, but there are questions about Price's chin lingering from his amateur days. Sexton's chin has its own weaknesses, and Price's accurate punching will most likely expose them; we pick Price in a late stoppage. The two are fairly well-matched skillwise, but Price's reach gives him a big advantage.

Klitscho-Chisora: First the Slap, now the Fight; Live Round by Round scoring

Vitali Klitschko, #2 in SportsRatings' Heavyweight Boxing rankings, and #87 Dereck Chisora fight on February 18 in Germany, a day after The Slap:

Will it hurt or help Chisora, who is of course a decided underdog after (officially) losing his last two bouts? The first was to #4 Tyson Fury when Chisora was terribly out of shape, and the subsequent bout to #5 Robert Helenius was a very controversial decision for Helenius.

"The Slap" is not likely to change the dynamic that much given the difference in talent and expectations, but in some ways shaking things up can't hurt Chisora. When the clear path ahead of you leads to defeat, anything you can do to disturb those conditions is better than simply being led down the path.

It's also questionable whether it was a strategic move by Chisora or just his hot head; remember, he actually bit Paul Butlin during their bout in 2009. If things go badly for Chisora in the early rounds, will he actually "pull out all the stops" including underhanded tactics? In that case it could make the fight interesting. It has certainly added interest, and the crowd in Munich is very anti-Chisora in addition to being pro-Klitschko as usual.

The was delayed for over 1/2 hour due to a "dispute" over Chisora's hand tape. Live round-by-round scoring will commence with the fight. There was some pushing and shoving in the ring before the national anthems (for which Chisora used America the Beautiful).

• Round One: Klitschko pawing and Chisora ducking a lot; some wrestling from Chisora. It's very much a scrap as opposed to a "sweet science" bout so far. Klitscho timing Chisora's entries with jabs. Chisora very active, but late in the round was already covering up more than he did early, his work rate slowing. Klitscho 10-9.
• Round Two: Chisora comes out lunging again, swinging wildly at times, backing Vitali up. Vitali responding methodically, Chisora using a cross guard. More tying up, wrestling. Vitali pummels Chisora with some hard shots, tied up again. Now Chisora is backing up when Vitali winds up, but he's still active, swinging harder than almost anyone has tried lately against Vitali. Vitali's guard is low and he's hitting Chisora with hard shots. Chisora again, late in the round, standing inactive in front of Klitschko. Klitschko 10-9, 20-18.
• Round Three: Chisora still moving forward, but not lunging in or swinging as much. Vitali dancing, backing up and countering well. He doesn't look concerned. Chisora keeps moving into range, and Klitschko backs up a bit and hits him. Still with the guard very low, luring his opponent in. Chisora is starting to look like every Klitschko opponent, inactive and standing in front, in range. Big shot at the end by Chisora whiffs as Vitali saw it all the way. Klitschko 10-9; 30-27.
• Round Four: Chisora doing better early on, taking direction from his corner to at least throw an entry jab instead of nothing. Moving his head more, too, like he did in round one. Ducking Klitschko's overhand rights. Still, nothing substantial coming from him offensively as Vitali ties him up when he gets too close. Chisora nearly catches Vitali with a big punch and Vitali stumbles a bit; another haymaker just misses. Vitali looking a bit tired for the first time in the fight. Lots of tying up late in the round as both fighters slowing a bit. 10-10; Klitschko 40-37. Judges call it 40-36, 40-37, and 39-37 at this point. First 3 rounds unanimous, I'm sure, and last round called three different ways.
• Round Five: Chisora still swinging for that one big shot, but none are connecting; he doesn't have the speed to surprise Vitali. Still moving forward, Klitschko backpedalling, throwing short punches. He blocks a Chisora punch with his glove. He's looking like the opposite of Kevin Johnson against Vitali—not much defense but very active on offense. Klitschko 10-9; 50-46.
• Round Six: Body punches by Chisora in the first minute; he even gets a tap in on VItali's chin in the tie-up. Vitali looks more annoyed than hurt. A strong right from Chisora was his best punch of the fight. Now Vitali looks tired, but not in trouble. Not much action in the last minute as Chisora slows down. Chisora barely won that round, barely. Chisora 10-9; Klitschko 59-56.
• Round Seven: Chisora starts off very active, not connecting much but putting Vitali back on his heels. Decent right connects, but Vitali battles back. Looking like a real brawl now in the middle of the seventh. Chisora slowing down a lot in the 2nd half of the round, though, looking quite tired. Klitschko scoring a bit in the last minute to the crowd's delight. Each fighter won half the round. 10-10; Klitschko 69-66.
• Round Eight: Once again, Chisora coming in strong to start. Both are trading punches in center ring, moving around each other, both a high work rate in the first minute, but both tired. Looping overhand to the head connects for Chisora, Vitali responds with straight right. More looping rights to the head connect for Chisora. Hell of a first two minutes. Chisora still fighting hard, Klitschko notably tired—so is Chisora but he's pushing forward. Chisora 10-9; Klitschko 78-76. Scorecards say: 79-74; 79-73; 79-73 so the judges aren't giving Chisora as much credit, and Vitali isn't in much danger of losing on the cards.
• Round Nine: The brawl continues where it left off. Not many solid shots but lots of partially connecting punches, slipped punches, and wrestling. Chisora seems to have lost his fear and isn't freezing like he did a few rounds ago. He's probably about as tired as he can get, so he keeps pressing on. Vitali is moving slower, too. Good right from Klitschko. Another punch to the face gets the crowd going. Klitschko 10-9; 88-85.
• Round Ten: Vitali seems strengthened by the scorecard numbers, which weren't revealed until after the ninth by mistake. He looks looser and is fighting more his fight in the ninth. Meanwhile Chisora may be running out of gas. Will he have enough to make the last few rounds interesting? He finishes will a good punch, but Klitschko takes the round 10-9; 98-94.
• Round Eleven: Chisora needs a knockout, obviously, and has two rounds to do it. Vitali wants a KO, too. Chisora back to his tired style, walking in slowly and trying a haymaker instead of jabbing and pressing. Uppercut by Chisora connects but isn't effective. Three strong jabs from Vitali and Chisora lunges in, tied up. Vitali feeling it now, dancing, jabbing and landing, while still tired. Chisora not giving up by a long shot, still has the strength for big haymaker attempts but none has connected. Klitschko 10-9; 108-103.
• Round Twelve: Fighters touch gloves before the round. Chisora starts off carefully rather than bulldozing like he has before. Looking for that one punch to change the fight. Vitali tying up Chisora when he gets inside. Jabs to the face by Klitschko. Last minute, but Chisora doesn't look as active this round. Picks it up a bit late but has can't get the big punch he needs. Good shot near the end but it's too little too late. 10-10; Klitschko 118-113.

All in all a very good effort by Chisora. He never quit, and was never in danger of being knocked out. He lost to a better fighter, mainly because of size and reach advantage rather than boxing prowess, though Vitali was generally more skilled of the two. Chisora did his best to mix things up and keep Klitschko off balance, and it worked at times, but the judges in Germany didn't give him very much credit for it based on the 8th round scores.

The final cards: 118-110, 118-110, 119-111 for Klitschko. Chisora still acting like an idiot after the fight, trying to start another one. Maybe angling for a fight with Wladimir? Or maybe he's just an idiot, like he proved again Paul Butlin. It's too bad, as he conducted himself well in the ring (well, while the fight was going on. He did spit water into Wladimir's face prior to the staredown, but Wladimir just smiled.)

Preview: Klitschko vs. Haye at 5:15 Eastern Time (USA) Saturday, June 2

After a luckluster June which saw the top 25 of the SportsRatings Top 100 Heavyweights change negligibly, the biggest fight of the year happens tomorrow, June 2, when #1 Wladimir Klitschko faces #4 David Haye in a bout that's been anticipated for years.

First, lets get this out of the way: The fight time. When events happen in Europe there's a lot of confusion in the U.S. as to when the bell will ring. In short, the fight—held in Hamburg, Germany— should start at or around 5:15 eastern time, with HBO beginning coverage at 4:30. Other times/dates around the world of interest to those watching the combatants:

United States
California (Pacific time): 2:15 PM
Denver, CO (Mountain): 3:15 PM
Chicago (Central): 4:15 PM
New York (Eastern): 5:15 PM

United Kingdom 10:15 PM

Germany: 11:15 PM

Ukraine: 12:15 AM June 3

Russia
Moscow: 1:15 AM June 3
Novosibirsk: 4:15 AM June 3
Vladivostok: 8:15 AM June 3

Japan: 6:15 am June 3

Australia (Sydney): 7:15 AM June 3

New Zealand: 9:15 AM June 3

Gives a good idea of Russia's size, doesn't it? Remember these times are for the approximate start of Round One. If you want to catch the staredown, referees' directions, and national anthems, start watching on the hour (15 minutes earlier). And if the walk-ins are important to you, tune in 15 minutes before the hour.

Tale of the Tape

Now, the fight. Klitschko of course has a huge size advantage, and he weighed in at 243 to Haye's 213. He's also about 4 inches taller and has a 3 inch reach advantage. Haye is 5 years younger at 30.

Fight Tactics

Most people expect Klitschko to follow the pattern that has led him to dominate for the last five years: jabbing his opponent to death while avoiding getting hit. Of his last several foes, only 6' 6" Tony Thompson was able to get in any decent shots, while even the likes of Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev, and Eddie Chambers were all pretty much shut out offensively. To avoid getting hit, Klitschko keeps a distance with his reach, uses backward movement when the opponent closes, and clinches if he managed to get inside. Lately, the jab has almost been enough on its own.

Can Haye break the spell and deliver any punishment? His reach and height disadvantage aren't as great as the others who fared poorly (Ibragimov, Chagaev, and Chambers all stand around 6' 1"), and he's probably the fastest fighter Wladimir has ever faced.

Some have suggested that Haye will fight Klitschko the way he fought Nicolay Valuev—staying at a distance, then closing quickly to deliver shots and backing out just as fast. This would be much harder to pull off against Klitschko than Valuev, it goes without saying. But standing at Wladimir's jab distance is suicide.

Though it might just be a mental tactic, Haye claims he intends to end the fight quickly by knockout, and in reality putting everything he's got into a few make-or-break rounds might not be a bad idea given Wladimir's complete dominance of later rounds against worn-down opponents. Klitschko has reiterated his long-held stance that he will batter Haye for "12 rounds of pizza face" before knocking him out.

Haye and the Hype

This is probably the most anticipated heavyweight title fight since Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson in 2002. While Lewis' fight with Vitali Klitschko is the most-remembered heavyweight title fight of this century, it wasn't preceded with a lot of hype as Vitali was a late replacement and wasn't expected to be a big challenge to Lewis. Since then, all the "real" title fights have involved a Klitschko (and have drawn less U.S. interest) or have been various alphabet belts that most observers consider secondary. Haye holds the WBA belt, meaning that the WBA, IBF, and WBO will be united after the fight, with Vitali Klitschko holding the WBC.

The hype of this fight can be attributed mostly to David Haye's mouth, and secondarily to his ring performance. Haye was a Cruiserweight champion known for his speed and his demolition of Enzo Macinarelli, which at the time was a rare occurrence. Since moving up to heavyweight he's dispatched Monte Barrett (TKO 5) in a short, fairly entertaining fight; Valuev (MD 12) in a very uneventful bout; John Ruiz (TKO 9) in perhaps Haye's best effort; and most recently, Audley Harrison (TKO 3) in a completely 1-sided joke.

Haye promised to "clean up" the heavyweight division, confronted Wladimir on an escalator to make the fight two years ago, wore t-shirts depicting both Klitschkos decapitated...then pulled out of the scheduled bout claiming a hand injury.

When Haye pulled out of the first fight, many assumed the injury was an excuse for either a) losing the tv sponsorship that would have made the fight lucrative for him, b) wanting better terms, ones that didn't include a rematch-clause involving Vitali, or c) he was scared and wanted out. The fact that he eventually made the fight suggests that he wasn't scared. He did get better terms for this fight, with no rematch clauses, probably due to the leverage from his WBA belt.

However, even though he broke off the first fight, the only reason it happened was due to his constant haranguing of the Klitschkos. At that time his heavyweight resume was weak. Now, despite few fights at this level, it's as strong as most of those the Klitschkos have been facing recently as they steamroll the division. And like him or not, he did "clean up" the division in the manner he promised: since losing to Haye, long-time boxing fan nemeses Valuev and Ruiz have yet to fight again, and Audley Harrison is at least a big step closer to retirement.

Will the fight live up to the hype? Will it be the most exciting heavyweight title fight since Lewis-Klitschko? Or will it be another uneventful, one-sided affair, with Haye unable to make any ground on the champion?

We think Haye has injected some much-needed energy into the heavyweight scene, and he does have good speed and unorthodox delivery, giving him a chance to be Wladimir most successful title challenger. But that doesn't say a lot, as no one has come close to beating Wlad in several years. We see Haye having some success a la Tony Thompson, but Wlad's jab and technique are still at their peak. If Haye plays it conservatively he will lose a wide decision. If he goes for broke, it will be an interesting first 6 rounds but Klitschko more than likely wins this scenario, too, by mid-to-late TKO.

Here's hoping Haye lays it all on the line, which gives him his only chance to actually win. Boxing needs an exciting heavyweight title fight, and more people will be watching this one than in a long time. 

Strikeforce HW Round 1.5 preview: Barnett vs. Rogers, Overeem vs. Werdum

Less than an hour away from the main events of the 2nd half (or "Phase 2") of Strikeforce heavyweight tournament bracket first round. In the other half of the bracket a few months ago, of course, Fedor Emelianenko lost to Antono Silva, while Sergei Kharitanov beat Andre Arlovski.

In tonight's half of the bracket, Josh Barnett takes on Brett Rogers while Alistair Overeem tackles Fabricio Werdum, the other man to beat Fedor recently.

One subplot of these fights is the question: just how many of these guys are on steroids? Overeem gained a huge amount of weight over his career; his defenders claim it was nothing unusual. But his body change looks akin to what Barry Bonds went through. Rogers is another physical freak, while Josh Barnett certainly has a checkered past in terms of PED use. Fabricio Werdum is probably the least suspect, but how many Brazilians were going around 250 pounds 20 years ago? Strikeforce has certainly been less concerned with stringent testing than the UFC in the past; now that they're owned by Zuffa, will that change?

The other subplot is: How do these guys line up against the best heavyweights in the UFC? Once a champion is crowned, how would he do against, say, the winner of Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez?

Barnett vs. Rogers

Josh Barnett (29-5) is ranked 7th in the SportsRatings Heavyweight MMA top 25, and 25th in the overall (pound-for-pound) Top 100. Barnett's career has had its ups and downs, largely due to testing positive for steroids twice three times. One of those results cancelled an entire event during which he was to fight Fedor Emelianenko.

Barnett looked a bit less bulky and less "cut" than normal at the weigh in. Is this what he looks like when not on steroids? Or has he just had to cycle down to pass the tests? Either way, it seems that any advantages he had before might be lessened.

Rogers (11-2) has lost twice after a 10-0 start during which he didn't beat many big names. As a result, he's no longer in our Top 25 among heavyweights. But his losses are to Emelianenko and Overeem, which is nothing to be ashamed of. We think Rogers has a great chance to get a win against a possibly beyond-his-peak Barnett, but he has to overcome the spectre of those two losses to do so.

Ultimately, Rogers might be too one-dimensional for the top rung of the MMA heavyweight division. He's similar to Shane Carwin, who stormed to a 10-0 record but has lost twice now when his punching didn't get the job done. And Carwin has a wrestling background, so he's much less 1-dimensional in theory than Rogers. Barnett in his prime might have been equal to a Junior Dos Santos but those days might be gone.

Overeem vs. Werdum

Alistair Overeem (34-11) is another enigma in terms of his recent career. He racked up many losses when he was a smaller fighter, but since "getting big" he's 9 match winning streak in four different promotions. But few of his opponents have been top names. He beat Rogers after Fedor did, but before that lost to Kharitonov and Werdum, two of the other fighters in the brackets.

He has looked impressive in winning, particularly against Rogers, whom he dominated from the start. In this tournament he will face world-class competition, and if he comes out the winner, he can claim as much as Cain Velasquez to be the world heavyweight champion. However, in our ratings he's only #10 right now.

Who is ranked #1? Believe it or not, it's Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1), who earned an outrageous amount of points due to being the first man in a decade to beat Fedor. Facing Overeem, who is the Strikeforce champ, Werdum will have to prove himself in a hurry. Overeem was considerably less bulky and strong when he lost to Werdum, but Werdum is a lot bigger now, too. Werdum is perhaps the opposite of Brett Rogers in that he has a great BJJ ground game but limited punching power despite his Muay Thai credentials.

We'll find out, basically, whether Werdum's win over Fedor was a fluke. Despite that win, and Werdum's preview win over Overeem, Overeem still has to be considered a favorite.

Strikeforce winner vs. UFC heavyweights

The two promotions' heavyweight rosters are pretty evenly matched. Barnett, Rogers, Werdum, Overeem, Silva, Kharitonov, and Emelianenko are all UFC worthy (only Arlovski, of the tournament competitors, is not anymore). A few years ago, it was probably superior, because of the top slot.

A few years ago, Fedor was still unstoppable, and the UFC didn't really have a great champion. Brock Lesnar was just waiting to be exposed; Shane Carwin is one-dimensional; Frank Mir isn't any better than the Strikeforce fighters; and while Junior Dos Santos is good, he wouldn't necessarily have a better than par chance in the Strikeforce tournament.

But since Cain Velasquez dominated Brock Lesnar, and Fedor lost twice, the top spot among heavyweights has to go to Cain. The tie among the equally-matched stables is broken by the top slot: Cain is the new Fedor.

So for now, Velasquez is the new gold standard for MMA heavyweights. But the Strikeforce winner might get a chance to face the UFC champ. But that fighter would go into the fight against Velasquez an underdog.

After pullouts, Perez, Sprott new Prizefighter favorites

While the rest of the boxing world is focused on Manny vs. Mosley, fans of the heavyweight division have another Prizefighter heavyweight tournament to look forwards to.

Though it's still the most loaded of the five heavyweight tourneys, it could have been great. The original lineup featured 8 fighters in the SportsRatings Top 250, and 3 in the Top 100. After pullouts by Juan Carlos Gomez, Kevin Johnson, and Fres Oquendo, there are still 6 in the top 250 and one top 100 fighter—the undefeated prospect Mike Perez.

Replacing Gomez is undefeated but unranked Lucien Bot (14-0-1); Johnson was replaced by #305 Evgeny Orlov (13-8-1); and Oquendo's replacement is #182 Kertson Manswell (20-1).

Manswell will face #41 Mike Perez (13-0-0). Though Manswell has just one loss, he doesn't really have more than a couple of notable wins, and has little experience against good fighters. Oquendo would have provided a seasoned test for Perez, who should beat Manswell without much difficulty. Manswell does stand 6' 4", 4 inches taller than Perez, his only advantage in the fight.

Orlov will face #128 Gregory Tony (14-1), whose resumé is similar to Manswell's—a loss against the only really good fighter (Robert Helenius) he faced. But that's better than Orlov's record, which includes many losses against both good and bad opponents. Again, Orlov's advantage is his size; he is 6' 9" and occasionally north of 300 pounds, and could give Tony problems in a 3-round fight.

The only matchup which stayed constant is probably the best of the first round, as #210 Michael Sprott (36-15-0) takes on #138 Tye Fields (45-3-0). Like Orlov, Fields is a giant (6' 8", 275 or so), he's a better fighter than Orlov. Still, his record is enormously padded and only roughly a dozen or so of his 45 wins are over 'name' fighters. He recently lost to Michael Grant, while Sprott has had mixed success lately: he won almost all of his fight against Audley Harrison before succumbing to a 1-punch knockout in the final seconds, but bounced back to win the last heavyweight Prizefighter tourney. In a 3-round fight, Sprott has a clear boxing advantage and just has to avoid Fields' big shots.

Finally, the undefeated Bot faces #245 Konstantine Airich (16-3-2). Airich is only 2-3-2 in rated wins and recently lost to the struggling Gbenga Oloukun, but Bot barely beat Pavel Dolgavs (now 8-14-1) in his last fight a year ago. This is the worst of the first round matches and the winner is very likely to fall in the second round anyway.

The favorite Perez may have to prove he can beat several tall fighters if things shape up a certain way. After beating Manswell, he could face Orlov and then Fields, a true valley of the giants with an average height of 6' 7" among the three. But more likely he will face Tony in round 2, and then Sprott. The aging Sprott won't be able to keep up with Perez, who is very active in the early rounds and is the fighter best suited to a 3-round format. Fields is usually agressive, too, so the format isn't bad for him, either. But he has little or no defense and if he somehow beats Sprott, then reaches the final, Perez will probably overwhelm him the way Monte Barrett did.

It's too bad Oquendo, Gomez, and Johnson pulled out, or we could have seen a number of very high-profile heavyweight fights. Perez would have had to defeat all three most likely to claim the title. He will probably earn the Prizefighter title today, but it will be a lot less impressive than if the original slate had remained, and rather than a likely Perez-Sprott clash we might have seen a Johnson-Gomez final.

The tournament is on Sky Sports 1 in the UK and on the internet at www.liveprizefighter.tv. The fights are scheduled to start at 10:00pm UK time, which is 5:00 Eastern time. Apparently it started at 4:00 eastern, whatever. 

August HW Boxing: Adamek-Grant, Ibragimov, Arreola, and Helenius in action

August offers a lot more than July did for heavyweight boxing fans, and if you count the July 31st fights as the kickoff it's pretty much a shutout.

August 13: #22 Chris Arreola (28-2) vs. #95 Manual Quezada (29-5)

The first big-time fight comes on the 13th, when #22 Chris Arreola mounts another comeback against #95 Manuel Quezada. Really both fighters are looking to bounce back: Arreola from his loss to Tomasz Adamek, and Quezada from his defeat by Jason Gavern. Additionally, the fight is being promoted as the "Mexican-American Heavyweight Title."

Arreola won't get back in the top ten by beating Quezada, but he can once again put himself in position. Still, it won't prove anything to his detractors; he's already demonstrated he can beat 2nd-tier fighters like Chazz Witherspoon and Brian Minto. He needs to prove he can beat a  real contender. Quezada had a long winning streak broken by Gavern, and he can make up for that loss with a win over Arreola. That would put him back near the top 25, similar to where he was before his loss, and would drop Arreola out of the top 50 and into the ranks of gatekeeper in most people's estimation.

August 21: #6 Tomasz Adamek (41-1) vs. #58 Michael Grant (46-3)

The man who recently beat Arreola, Tomasz Adamek, looks to prove he can beat an even bigger man when he takes on 6' 7" Michael Grant on August 21 for what is probably the Fight of the Month. Adamek, a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight, rose up the heavyweight rankings as fast as David Haye, who is only one spot ahead of him in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100.

Though a win would make a potential title fight—whoever it was with—more interesting, Adamek won't surpass Haye in our rankings by beating Grant. The latter has been inactive lately, beating unrated Kevin Burnett for his only fight in 2010, and not fighting at all in 2009. He hasn't lost since 2003, however, when he fell to Dominick Guinn, and his only other defeats are to Jameel McCline and Lennox Lewis. Grant's comeback attempt at age 37 may be unlikely, but he can still be dangerous and has a decided size advantage over Adamek. A win would put him knocking on the door of the top ten, and possibly put him next in line for a fight against one of the similarly-tall Klitschko brothers. If Shannon Briggs, why not Grant?

August 21: #23 Robert Helenius (12-0) vs. #50 Gregory Tony (12-0)

Finland's Helenius takes on France's Tony in a battle of undefeated European prospects. Helenius is 26 and thus far a bit more accomplished than the 32-year-old former K1 kickboxer Tony. Both are tall, at 6' 6" and 6'5" respectively.

Helenius is the better-known of the two, having defeated Lamon Brewster and Gbenga Oloukun most recently. Beating Tony would be another step toward an eventual title shot, but he'd still be outside the top 10 and needs a marquee win to separate himself from the crowded pack of young Euro contenders. It's definitely a bigger opportunity for Tony, who could get his name in the mix with an upset.

August 24: #16 Timur Ibragimov (28-2-1) vs. #104 Gucharan Singh (20-0)

Coming off his biggest win, a decision over aging legend Oliver McCall in June, Timur Ibragimov seeks to continue his momentum when he faces undefeated Singh on the 24th. For a fight that won't gain him much in prestige this seems like a bit of a risk. Singh has hardly faced the best competition as a pro (only one rated fighter, journeyman Colin Kenna) and has just 11 stoppages among his 20 wins. He competed in the Olympics in 2000 as a light heavy and was more or less a cruiserweight until the last couple of years. But any undefeated fighter is an unknown quantity, and Ibragimov can have trouble with just about anyone decent.

That said, Ibragimov's experience should help him continue his climb toward an unlikely title shot at age 35. Singh, who also goes by "Guru" Nagra, is India's #1 heavyweight fighter by way of New Jersey and clearly has a lot more to gain from this bout: a leap back into the top 100 and the cheers of a billion people if he pulls off the upset.

Preview & Analysis of UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

"ex"-UFC champ Brock Lesnar is ranked #3 by SportsRatings among heavyweights, interim champ Shane Carwin just 9th. But when they battle at UFC 116 tonight, for many it will determine the best Heavyweight MMA fighter in the world.

UFC 116 Main Card

#10 Brock Lesnar (#3 HW) vs. #38 Shane Carwin (#9 HW) (HW title fight)
#49 Yoshihiro Akiyama (#14 LH) vs. #167 Chris Leben (Light HW)
#213 Chris Lytle vs. #476 Matt Brown (Welterweight)
#614 Stephan Bonnar vs. #280 Krzysztof Soszynski (Light HW)
#111 George Sotiropoulos vs. #98 Kurt Pellegrino (Lightweight)

Heavyweight title fight

#10 Brock Lesnar (4-1; #3 HW) vs. #38 Shane Carwin (12-0, #9 HW)

Key points and questions regarding this fight:

• Has Lesnar recovered from his near-death experience? This is the main question of the fight. Lesnar needed an extended amount of time to recover from his ordeal, which has allowed his body to be fully recovered and trained, but it's been a while since he's been in the ring.
• Which is more important—competition level or experience? Lesnar's limited résumé (5 fights) lends to doubts as to whether he can survive a technical fight. That is, the longer the fight goes, the more unfamiliar situations he'll be in. Carwin, however, hasn't had that many more rounds (12 partial rounds, total) and the competition he's faced hasn't been as good overall. He has notched wins over Frank Mir and Gabriel Gonzaga, while in his short career Lesnar has faced Mir twice, Heath Herring, and Randy Couture.
  
• How much of a puncher's advantage does Carwin have? Carwin is mainly known for his punching, but Lesnar is no slouch in that area. Beyond his ground-and-pound, Lesnar caught Randy Couture with what was essentially a knockout punch. We also don't know who has a better chin, as neither has been extensively tested in that area. Both have eaten a few hard shots and come out unfazed.
• How much of a grappling advantage does Lesnar have? Like Lesnar, Carwin was a wrestler in college, but not nearly on the same level. How he'll do when the fight gets in the clinch or goes to the ground is key to his ability to win the fight, even if his grappling is just defensive.
• Who will win if stamina becomes an issue? Lesnar's overall health appears good, but again based on his bout with misdiagnosed diverticulosis and time off, his stamina may be an issue if the fight goes three rounds. On Carwin's part, he hasn't proven he can go for a second round, since he hasn't needed to yet. What happens in the later rounds is anyone's guess.
• Does size matter? Both fighters are huge; each is at least 6' 2", and both will weight about 265 for the fight. Lesnar has fought at around 280, and Carwin weighs about that "walking around." Both are very strong. One thing that might be settled is which fighter is actually taller; Lesnar claims 6' 3" and Carwin is sometimes listed at 6'4".
• Do we really know enough about either of these fighter to make a judgement? Everyone seems to have an opinion about who will win this fight, but with so few big matches between both of them, style differences, and issues regarding each's condition and stamina, I'm not sure any analysis can tell us what's going to happen with reasonable certainty. Overall I've never been impressed with Carwin, who overwhelms opponents offensively but doesn't have a lot of defense. Lesnar relies a lot on his size and power, too, but seems like he's trying to learn the complete game more.

Light Heavyweight bout: #49 Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1, #14 LH) vs. #167 Chris Leben (20-6)

Time off vs. staying busy: One thing that stands out in this fight is how active (or not) each fighter has been. Akiyama took nearly a year between beating Masanori Tonooka in Dream 6 and defeating Alan Belcher in UFC 100. Now it's been almost another year. Leben, in contrast, fought just a few weeks ago, beating Alan Simpson in Ultimate Fighter 11. If readiness vs. ring rust is a factor, Leben has a shot. Otherwise, Akiyama should be a heavy favorite to beat an already-tired competitor.

Welterweight bout: #213 Chris Lytle (28-17-5) vs. #476 Matt Brown (11-8)

Youth vs. Experience: Chris Lytle is almost 36 and has been through a lot of fights. Brown is 29 and has a lot fewer. If father time catches up with Lytle he could lose, but otherwise experience should win the day. While Lytle's entire career includes recognizable opponents, Brown has had just five (2 wins, 3 losses) higher-profile fights in his career, including a loss to Lytle in 2007.

Light Heavyweight bout: #614 Stephan Bonnar (11-7) vs. #280 Krzysztof Soszynski (21-9-1)

History repeats: If that's the case, Soszynski should control the fight and beat Bonnar easily, like he did when they fought in UFC 110. Although the referee stoppage was poor, the decision in the record books accurately reflected the likely outcome. If styles make fights, this one will go much like the last. It's up to Bonnar to throw a wrench in the works.

Lightweight bout: #111 George Sotiropoulos (12-2) vs. #98 Kurt Pellegrino (16-4)

2nd best matchup of the night: Or at least it is on paper, featuring two quality grapplers. Pellegrino is coming off a solid 4-match win streak, while Sotiropolous has been cleaning up lesser foes. But Sotiropoulos has been unstoppable lately, and even his last loss (Shinya Aoki in 2006) was due to disqualification from a leg kick to the groin after an odd, leg-locked first round. This bout sends the winner to higher ground in the lightweight division.

Undercard

#235 Brendan Schaub (5-1) vs. #619 Chris Tuchscherer (18-2)
Ricardo Romero (10-1) vs. #826 Seth Petruzelli (12-4)
#315 Kendall Grove (11-7) vs. #248 Goran Reljic (8-1)
Gerald Harris (16-2) vs. Dave Branch (6-0)
Daniel Roberts (9-1) vs. #554 Forrest Petz (17-7)
Jon Madsen (5-0) vs. Karlos Vemola (7-0)

While Schaub should be a strong favorite, most the rest of the ranked fighters are ranked low for a reason and facing up-and-coming opponents, making the task hard for Petruzelli and Petz. Two fights feature less experienced competitors, with undefeated Dave Branch in his seventh fight against tough Gerald Harris, and undefeated fighters Madsen and Vemola squaring off.

Perhaps the best undercard fight is Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic. Reljic suffered his first loss recently against C.B. Dollaway, and Grove lost to Mark Munoz in UFC 112. With both fighters coming off losses, the winner gets another chance at becoming a main card fighter while the loser sinks further into MMA oblivion.