Fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, (and around the world) witnessed the battle of the undefeated cream of the light heavyweight division, plus the long awaited grudge match between the “Matts”, Hughes and Serra, not to mention a few other highlights along the way.

Sean Sherk Vs. Frank Edgar
With “The Muscle Shark” looking to get his way back into a title showdown and “The Answer” wanting to prove he belongs in the title mix, the fight was pretty much non-stop right from the opening bell. Sherk pressed forward (as we’ve come to expect) and Edgar showed good movement and evasiveness. Sean has continued to improve his striking, although he does lack real knockout power. Edgar was probably just outscored in the first round but quickly found some rhythm in the second stanza, picking away at his sculpted opponent with good combinations and speed.

It was now very much a kickboxing match – to the detriment of Sherk. For some reason he has decided to stand and strike with everyone, instead of doing what he does best, taking down his opponent and over powering them. Sherk finally secured a double leg in the last round, but by this time Frankie had all the answers and promptly got back to his feet and went right on frustrating Sean until the bell sounded the end. Edgar really is improving and is making a nice pathway for himself in the LW division. Sherk on the other hand maybe needs to switch training camps or something, otherwise he could find himself slipping further down the ladder in the future. Frank Edgar by unanimous points decision.

Dan Miller Vs. Chael Sonnen
This was a one sided affair for Team Quest fighter Sonnen. Apart from a fairly tight guillotine early on from Miller, it was all Sonnen as he dominated from top position and ground and pounded his way to a convincing points decision win, erasing memories of his last UFC fight only a couple of months ago against Demian Maia.

Drew McFedries Vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Excitement machine Drew McFedries destroyed “Professor X” in just thirty seven seconds! “The Massacre” showed his usual gung ho style coming forward with intent and releasing his rock hands in the direction of Foupa-Pokam. More of them hit than missed and Xavier was stopped. One thing is certain don’t look away when Drew fights, because win or lose it’s going to be exciting. McFedries via TKO round one.

Matt Hughes Vs. Matt Serra
The co-main event and long awaited grudge match that started some time ago during season four of TUF and then escalated substantially when they were both coaches on season six. Finally the bad blood would get put to rest.

Serra, who has heavy hands, had the better of the early going while both were on their feet. An accidental head clash stunned Hughes and Serra went for the kill. Hughes recovered well and it was pretty even for the rest of the round. “The Terror” did plenty of smiling in the second round and looked very relaxed and confident, even when Matt Hughes got him to the ground. Hughes didn’t do much damage although he was starting to score some good points and was controlling position with some effect. With seconds left in round two, Serra got back to his feet and was full of juice but time ran out.

The last round saw Hughes take Serra down again and he was just too strong, Serra was trying to set up submissions throughout the round but to no avail. Matt Hughes returned to the winners’ circle with the win, although I don’t think that he was overly impressed with his own performance. As for Serra I would love to see him drop down to the lightweight division where I think he could really make some waves. Matt Hughes wins via unanimous decision.

Rashad Evans Vs. Lyoto Machida
Both undefeated in their careers this fight was a highly anticipated match up. Did the Greg Jackson trained Evans have the game plan to deal with the enigmatic style of “The Dragon”? The answer simply was… No!

Much of the first round was spent finding range, with barely any leather thrown in anger, apart from a couple of distance kicks. There was lots of faking and moving from each man then Machida thrust forward with a flurry and the LHW title fight was underway. Lyoto caught Rashad near the end of the round and pounced to finish, “Sugar” recovered and gets back to his feet. Round one goes to the challenger.

Round two starts with a little more zip, as they clinch momentarily. Machida throws a couple of his kicks that connect with the body and the legs. Rashad throws a couple of his own kicks but with a lot less confidence. Then “The Dragon” drives forward with an uppercut, stunning the champion, he then surges through with a relentless combination of strikes, eventually buckling and putting a gallant Evans to sleep. Lyoto Machida wins by knock out with just over a minute remaining in round two.

This could very well be the dawning of a new era as we watch to see if anyone can come up with an answer to the style of Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida.

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