Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was highest paid fighter for the night as he won unanimous decision against Keith Jardine. Jackson earned $385,000 which included a win bonus of $100,000 and a $60,000 bonus for “Fight of the Night.”

Jardine received $55,000 which would have doubled had he been victorious. However, he did received an extra $60,000 as the other half of the “Fight of the Night”  bonus.

Total fighter payroll for UFC 96 came out to $762,000, not including a total of $120,000 in “Fight Night” bonuses handed out to Jackson, Jardine, and Matt Hamill for “Knockout of the Night.”

Next up on the list was Brandon Vera, who earned $60,000 in his impressive win over Mike Patt. The Lloyd Irvin jiu-jitsu brown belt earned $30,000 to show and an additional $30,000 to win.

Complete salary totals are listed below. Please not that as a disclaimer that the published figures do not include undisclosed payments such as signing bonuses, locker room bonuses, pay-per-view bonuses, sponsorship earnings and any other forms of compensation to fighters that are not disclosed to the commission as matter of public record:

1. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: $385,000 ($200,000,$125,000 to win, $60,000 “Fight of the Night  bonus)
2. Keith Jardine: $115,000 ($55,000 to show plus $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus. Would have earned an additional $55,000 had he won)
3. Matt Hamill: $100,000 ($20,000 to show plus $20,000 to win. Earned an additional $60,000 for “knockout of the Night” Bonus)
4. Brandon Vera: $60,000 ($30,000 to show plus an additional $30,000 to win)
5. Gabriel Gonzaga: $60,000 ($60,000 to show. Would have earned an additional $60,000 had he won)
6. Kendall Grove: $44,000 ($22,000 to show plus $22,000 to win)
7. Shane Carwin: $32,000 ($16,000 to show plus an additional $16,000 to win)
8. Gray Maynard: $20,000 ($10,000 to show plus $10,000 to win)
9. Tamdan McCrory: $20,000 ($10,000 to show plus $10,000 to win)
10. Matt Brown: $16,000 ($8,000 to show plus $8,000 to win)
11. Shane Nelson: $16,000 ($8,000 to show plus $8,000 to win)
12. Pete Sell: $12,000 (Would have earned an additional $12,000 if he had won)
13. Tim Boetsch: $12,000 (Would have earned an additional $12,000 if he had won)
14. Mark Munoz: $12,000 (Would have earned an additional $12,000 if he had won)
15. Jason Brilz: $10,000 ($5,000 to show plus an additional $5,000 for his win)
16. Jim Miller: $9,000 (Would have earned an additional $9,000 if he had won)
17. Aaron Riley: $6,000 (Would have earned an additional $6,000 if he had won)
18. Mike Patt: $5,000 (Would have earned an additional $5,000 if he had won)
19. Jason Day: $5,000 (Would have earned an additional $5,000 if he had won)
20. Ryan Madigan: $3,000 (Would have earned an additional $3,000 if he had won)

That’s the vibe I felt I was getting from some folks about UFC 96 in the week leading up to the event.

Skepticism.

Because Quinton Jackson versus Keith Jardine wasn’t the main event some folks wanted to see right now.

Skepticism.

Because some folks felt that a majority of the undercard was rather underwhelming.

Skepticism.

Which got me thinking: entering Saturday night, what would the UFC have to do to appease those skeptics? Skeptics who were planning on shelling out nearly $50 to watch a show that they perceived as lacking star power?

The solutions are simple ones that are often stated in this very column and executed very well by the UFC: sell, sell and sell the fights and then hope for the best. Tell the viewers the story of a particular fight. Are we seeing an unproven up and comer versus a former title challenger? A battle of wrestlers who also have submission skills? A glorified gatekeeper versus a former champion?

Then there are the solutions that are largely ignored: dig deeper into the stories of these fighters. Provide viewers with features that go more in-depth, beyond the typical, choreographed sound bites that we’re used to hearing.

At this moment, the UFC, and in particular Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, do a very good job at conveying a fight’s storylines to the viewers during its television shows. But there’s still something missing in shows like UFC 96 – which is, getting to know the fighters beyond the octagon; something that, if done correctly, gives a human side to these men and makes viewers want to invest more time (and possibly money) into watching them fight.

Sure, we’ve gotten to know some of the superstars of the UFC: the Chuck Liddells, the B.J. Penns, the Georges St. Pierres, the Anderson Silvas, to name a few.

But what about the Keith Jardines? We know Jardine is not a gatekeeper, yet he’s not sitting at elite status either. But what else do we know about the man behind that scary noggin? For those of you who watched Countdown to UFC 96 on Spike TV, you got to know him a bit more than the aforementioned description.

However, not everyone who watched UFC 96 also watched Countdown to UFC 96. So why not take a page from the Countdown shows and produce short, Countdown-like packages for each planned televised fight on every pay per view? Honestly, at this point, I can almost predict what each fighter is going to say in the generic pre-fight packages that the UFC currently produces.

Sure, it might cost more to produce these enhanced packages, but investing in the production of them is a long-term investment. You pay now, but reap the rewards later by adding more of an attractive, human element to the fighters. And believe this – if the television side of mixed martial arts was all about the fights, then a show like The Ultimate Fighter wouldn’t exist. The same goes for boxing’s version of that show, The Contender. Characters drive television shows, end of story.

The reality is, the Countdown-style package request is all wishful thinking right now, because the UFC is going to do what the UFC wants to do, when they want to do it and how they want to do it. So, while they continue to fail at selling more of their individual fighters, we’ll break down one area where they excelled at during UFC 96, which is selling the individual fights.

Below is analysis of the five live fights that we saw, with the pre-fight storylines coming in and how the fight was sold during the live telecast.

GRAY MAYNARD VS. JIM MILLER -

Pre-fight Storylines: In this fight, you have two men who are both good wrestlers and submission specialists. Miller has the edge in submissions, while Maynard has the edge in wrestling; otherwise, this is as even as it gets. Plenty of folks believe that these two fighters have tremendous futures ahead of them in the UFC. Who will get closer to that elite status in the lightweight division?

Selling The Fight: The generic pre-fight package immediately sold this fight as one featuring two of the most promising lightweights in the UFC. During both men’s octagon walks, we’re sold on the fact that both men are excellent wrestlers. However, during round one of the fight, Rogan says that Maynard may want to keep the fight standing because of his great right hand. Thirty seconds later, Maynard lands a solid right and leaves Miller with a battered face by the end of the round. Rogan summed up the fight perfectly when he said, “This has mostly been a boxing match with takedown defense for Maynard.” Maynard goes on to win a unanimous decision.

MATT HAMILL VS. MARK MUNOZ -

Pre-fight Storylines: Two outstanding wrestlers – one (Munoz), a former WEC fighter being thrown into the fire in his UFC debut – and the other (Hamill), who better be ON fire in order to keep his UFC career going in the right direction. Of course, you also can’t discount the amazing story of Hamill, who fights at this level while being completely deaf.

Selling The Fight: Both Golbderg and Rogan talked about the fact that both men are decorated wrestlers, which is repeated again in the pre-fight package. Also reiterated in the package is the fact that Munoz is making his UFC debut against Hamill. And of course, Goldberg mentioned during the fight that a movie is being made about Hamill’s inspirational story. This is, of course, about as much as Goldberg and Rogan could get in before Hamill shocked everyone with his head kick/KO of Munoz in the first round. Hamill is the poster boy for P.C.F.T.C’s theory on how fighters help further sell the UFC product. You can never get enough of his story, as long as he’s competitive at this level.  Matter of fact, if the UFC were smart, they should produce a documentary on Hamill themselves before this movie is ever released.

MATT BROWN VS. PETE SELL -

Pre-fight Storylines: Many expect this fight to be a war. The Matt Serra-trained Sell can punch. Brown can do the same, but he also has the more solid all-around game. Brown also trains down the road from Columbus, with Team Jorge Gurgel in Cincinnati,

Selling The Fight: The “war” aspect of this matchup was immediately sold, as Goldberg described both men as having “go for broke” fighting styles. Goldberg also reminded the viewers of Brown’s affiliation with The Buckeye State. Unfortunately, this was a short fight where the story quickly turned to the abysmal refereeing of Yves Lavigne. However, Sell is another fighter that could have benefited from a Countdown-style profile package. The package could have sold his likable (or not, depending on where you’re from) New York personality, which was a stark contrast to Brown’s more laid back, Ohio-like approach to life. And getting to know Sell in a package could have somewhat neutralized his awkward, if not embarrassing post-fight turn on the microphone. Note to all MMA trainers: do not let your fighters get on a microphone after they’ve been TKO’d.

GABRIEL GONZAGA VS. SHANE CARWIN -

Pre-fight Storylines: Carwin is a 34 year old, untested, undefeated (10-0) former college wrestler and football player who is an absolute beast of a physical specimen. Will he make Gonzaga, a former challenger to the UFC heavyweight title, a thing of the past? Or will Carwin not live up to the hype?

Selling The Fight: Rogan quickly sold this fight as “Carwin’s coming out party.” On the plus side, we also saw a pre-fight package that was lifted from the Countdown to UFC 96 show, which was a good thing. In that package, Dana White made it clear that the winner will be at “the top of the heap (in the heavyweight division).” Goldberg and Rogan also note during Carwin’s walk to the Octagon how quickly he finishes fights and the hype that comes with that. Said Rogan: “He’s got a massive amount of potential and a lot of questions are going to be answered tonight.” As for Gonzaga, both men covered his road traveled to this fight, with Goldberg adding, “(Gonzaga) is good at everything.” During the fight itself, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to say much after Carwin appeared to be in trouble early on. Rogan said the most prolific comment on this storyline after Carwin’s first-round KO: “That is a huge, huge victory for Shane Carwin.”

QUINTON JACKSON VS. KEITH JARDINE -

Pre-fight Storylines: Five Ounces of Pain founder and publisher Sam Caplan recently wrote, “Quinton Jackson must defeat Keith Jardine in order to advance to July 11’s UFC 100 where it is believed that Rashad Evans and the UFC light heavyweight title awaits.” In addition, could Jardine pull off what would be considered another upset over a high-caliber opponent? If he does, will he eventually have to fight his friend and training partner in Evans? And which “Rampage” will we see: the focused one we saw demolish Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92? Or the one that lost his light heavyweight title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86?

Selling The Fight: Before the fight, Goldberg, Rogan and yes, Evans himself, reiterated how Jackson is one victory away at getting a shot at the title. They also played up Jardine’s strengths, which are his leg kicks; something that Jackson had trouble defending when he lost his title to Griffin. Rogan also mentioned something that Countdown to UFC 96 did not: Jackson’s highly publicized personal problems. The pre-fight package is once again lifted from the Countdown show. During the fight, all three men, especially Evans, acknowledged how Jardine’s leg kicks came into play and whether Jackson could survive them. Fortunately enough for Jackson, he appeared focused enough to work through them and secure his title shot with Evans.

A small sample size indeed, but the UFC production team, as well as Goldberg and Rogan themselves, deserve credit for being prepared and constantly reminding those watching at home what the storylines were all about.

ALSO WORTH MENTIONING…

– Was anyone else a bit surprised to see Maynard versus Miller start the televised portion of the card? It ended up being a solid, three-round fight, but going in, it certainly had the potential to be an all out, grinding war on the ground; which, for some fans, isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing of fights to watch. Beginning the show with Brown versus Sell, especially with Brown being an Ohio native, would have been a safer and more action packed way to kick things off.

– Showing Matt Hughes and Ohio State’s own Chris “Beanie” Wells in attendance, plus Jackson-Jardine and Carwin-Gonzaga getting ready for their fights, all were nice little touches to the pacing of the telecast. But the production crew really picked up the pacing by doing two things: 1) adding a “news-like” element to the show by having Frank Mir explain why his injury will delay his rematch versus Brock Lesnar and 2) Bringing in Evans (after Mir) to share his thoughts on his future potential opponents. You couldn’t get a more articulate source than Mir to explain the situation – and if Evans was in-house, why not utilize him with the storylines going on? Good stuff.

– As mentioned above, Goldberg and Rogan did a very nice job on hammering home each fight’s storylines. Both men also did a very nice job at incorporating Evans into the call of the main event. They not only allowed Evans adequate time to give his insight, but also bluntly asked him if he’d ever fight Jardine, to which he replied he wouldn’t. Evans was especially insightful when commenting on Jardine’s effective leg kicks, saying: “Rampage is on ice right now,” which was a reference to Jackson’s wobbly legs.

– Rogan Line of the Night: (On Bayshore, New York’s own, Pete Sell): “He even looks like his accent.”

– Did anyone notice the UFC’s new graphics look? It appears as if they have ditched the red-themed graphics for a slick, gold-themed look. The gold gives the overall graphics presentation a grander, richer feel. Meanwhile, eliminating the red not only gets rid of a darker, duller style, but also disassociates the connection some folks may make between red and blood. And as we all know, the UFC does not want mixed martial arts to be known as a blood sport.

– If you take for granted just how outstanding the audio is on UFC shows, then go back and watch any Affliction or HDNet live cards. There’s no one who does it better. And it’s not just the clear audio coming from fighter’s corner men. Other examples of stellar audio came in the Maynard-Miller fight. In round two, Miller had just received his final warning for low kicks. Seconds after the warning, he nearly landed another one. Angry with himself, you clearly heard Miller shout, “Ahh!” as if he were expecting to get a point deducted. In the final round, Miller screamed “Ahhhh” again as he strained to pull guard on Maynard. And finally, the live audio of Hamill’s amazing head kick was so good that they even replayed it in real time seconds later.

THE FINAL WORD -

Was UFC 96 a sign that the company is looking to turn it up a notch with their televised shows? The new graphics look certainly is a positive thing. And their being open to enhancing storylines by bringing in a Rashad Evans is certainly a good sign.

Is the enhancement of their pre-fight packages next? Will the producers continue to be open to incorporating fighters such as Evans into the broadcasts of future shows?

Only time will tell, but if they do, UFC 96 was a good way to start.

While I won’t go as far as to say that Hamill is the next Rashad Evans, there was something eerily familiar between Hamill’s vicious knockout of Mark Munoz last night and Evans brutal knockout of Sean Salmon at UFC Fight Night 8. At the time of the Salmon knockout, Evans was generally viewed as a tremendous wrestler with decent striking ability. Even though Evans previous fight was a vicious ground and pound stoppage of Jason Lambert, his three previous bouts for the UFC had ended in uneventful decisions.

While Hamill is normally fairly exciting to watch, his stand up game has never been his greatest strength. Even though his greatest strength will never be his striking arsenal, Hamill showed last night, a lot like Evans did in his bout with Salmon, that he is far from a one trick pony. The three time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling just gave his future opponents something else to worry about in the octagon, outside of defending the takedown.

I’m not saying that I am completely sold on Hamill being the next UFC light heavyweight champion by any means, but I am saying that the fashion of his victory last night sure peaked my interest, a lot like Josh Koscheck‘s knockout of Dustin Hazelett and Evans knockout of Salmon had previously forced me to pay attention to what I had considered to mainly be pure wrestlers at the time. With the contrasts that Koscheck and Evans’ careers have taken since the previously mentioned fights, it will be interesting to see how it unfolds for “The Hammer” as time goes on.

For the first time ever, I am genuinely excited to see Hamill’s next appearance in the cage.

Kendall Grove’s Inspector Gadget punch

I could have swore I heard Grove say “Go, go gadget arm”, right before he threw the jaw jarring punch that deposited Jason Day onto the canvas. It was a perfect display of how a vertically advantaged fighter should ‘fight tall’.

At 6′ 6″ tall, Grove presents some very unique challenges to anyone that stands across from him in the UFC’s middleweight division. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that “Da Spyder” has a good chance of dethroning “The Spider” anytime in the near future, but I will say this, if Grove can continue to use his lengthy frame and reach to his advantage the way he did against Day at UFC 96, he very well may have finally tapped into something that could keep him in the UFC for many fights in the future.

The light heavyweight division has a new shark in the waters

UFC’s light heavyweight division is notoriously stacked but the ultra loaded division just got one contender deeper after Jason Brilz‘ impressive victory over the extremely powerful and dangerous Tim Boetsch. Boetsch won the first round of the pairs match up but Brilz was able to utilize superior wrestling in the second and third rounds to guarantee himself the unanimous decision victory in his second appearance in the octagon.

With a 2-0 record in the UFC, Brilz has not suffered a loss in mixed martial arts in his last thirteen outings. To put Brilz’ win streak in a different perspective, he hasn’t lost a fight since 2001. It’s going to be interesting to see how the former University of Nebraska wrestler will do in his next couple of bouts with the UFC.

Can Gray Maynard please have the respect he deserves?

I know he’s only had a total of eight professional bouts in MMA but what does Maynard have to do, or who does he have to beat, to break into the top ten of the MMA’s lightweight rankings?

The main knock on Maynard from many of his detractors is the same knock long shared by top light heavyweight, Lyoto Machida, he doesn’t finish fights. You know what, who cares? Maynard is winning fights and most impressively, he’s winning them against beasts.

I’m sorry, but since when has finishing off guys like Frankie Edgar or Jim Miller been an easy task? Miller has beaten very capable lightweights Bart Palaszewski, David Baron and Matt Wiman throughout the course of his career, with his sole loss coming at the hands of Frankie Edgar. A man who Maynard holds the sole defeat over, Edgar has toppled top lightweights Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek, Spencer Fisher and Hermes Franca during his time in MMA. Both Miller and Edgar are two of the most capable and elite competitors in the games lightweight division, and the fact that Maynard holds victories over the pair demands that the former Michigan State University wrestling stand out turned mixed martial artist is finally given his due respect, and hopefully a consensus top ten ranking in the lightweight division.

One of the worst stoppages ever

Let me make one thing clear before I get into this. I have never had a problem with Yves Lavigne, and I actually think that he is one of the better referees in the sport. I also feel like referees in mixed martial arts generally take way too much heat for what I consider to be an extremely difficult and under appreciated job.

With that said, there was absolutely no reason for Pete Sell to take the kind of prolonged beating that he took at the hands of Matt Brown last night. People will boo perceived early stoppages, and post on forums about how fighter A should have been allowed to punch fighter B a few more times all they want, but they are not the ones that have the potential to receive brain damage while participating in the sport they love.

There was more than one mistake with Lavigne’s performance as a referee last night, the first being the initial early stoppage. He should have at least taken the time to assess Sell’s condition after he hit the canvas. When Lavigne jumped in to separate the fighters, that should have been it. When he stopped Brown from further attacking Sell, he prevented the finish from happening, that was inevitably two or three strikes away. Not only did he prevent Brown from doing his job and finishing what he had started, the choice to allow the fighters to continue after he had already basically called a halt to the contest, resulted in Sell taking an astonishing amount of abuse that he never should have been subjected to.

When Sell first dropped to the ground, it was a flash knockout. Something in his brain temporarily shutdown, causing his legs to go limp. I’m no doctor but I do know this, getting knocked out, waking back up and being beaten about the head repeatedly does very bad things to the human brain. Many of the serious injuries that have come in the sport of boxing are due primarily to the fact that the combatants are allowed to be knocked down, given a count, only to have their heads traumatized for as long as they can put up with it. Toward the end of the bout, which was basically over when it began, Sell was visibly out on his feet.

Even Brown admitted in his post fight interview with Joe Rogan that he knew that Sell having a lot of trouble, and that he was vulnerable to just being pushed over because his balance was so bad. Lavigne couldn’t see how badly Sell was hurt from being that close to the action? He didn’t think that maybe when Sell fell down on his own free will that it may be a good point to call an end to the unnecessary beating? I guess not because after Sell dropped to the canvas from nothing other than no longer being able to keep himself upright, Lavigne saw it necessary that Brown plant a few more concussive blows on Sell’s defenseless chin.

Like I said before, Lavigne is generally a very good referee, last night he made a mistake, a mistake that could have proved costly to the health of a man that put his well being in the referee’s hands. I would rather see a hundred fights stopped early before I see one fight stopped fatally too late in this sport. There is no replacing brain cells once they are gone.

Shane Carwin may not have answered all the questions hanging over his head, but he sure answered one

Carwin is a real fighter, no doubt about it. He was rocked badly early on by a powerful right cross from Gabriel Gonzaga, and instead of turtling up, or running away, Carwin fought back. He composed himself, gathered his senses and did what he had to do to get back onto his feet and put Gonzaga on his back for the victory.

Does the fact that he wasn’t knocked out by Gonzaga mean that Carwin has a great chin? Not Necessarily. The fact that he was wobbled so early on raises more questions about the massive Colorado native’s jaw than it did answers. Were we able to figure out if Carwin’s gas tank was up to par, absolutely not.

One thing that is for sure about Carwin, a lot like George Foreman, he just has that big man punching strength. The kind of strength in his punch where it really isn’t going to take a super hard shot to knock out his opponent. Really, all Carwin needs is to place his enormous fist on his opponents jaw and it’s going to be a problem, for anybody, horses and elephants included.

We saw that if Carwin is put on his back by a dangerous ground fighter, he has the ability to get back up, but most importantly we learned that Carwin has the heart and determination that it takes to bounce back from the brink of defeat, and this has always been the most tell tale sign of a champion.

Jackson vs. Jardine was a lot more competitive than most people thought it was going to be, but let’s talk Jackson vs. Evans

I could talk about how much better Keith Jardine did in his bout with Quinton Jackson than most people thought he would but I’d much rather use this space to discuss the next light heavyweight championship match.

Jardine doesn’t want to fight his friend and training partner, Rashad Evans, but I wonder if the shoe was on the other foot, and Jardine was in Evans’ way for a title shot, would he not be jumping at the opportunity? I doubt it. However, luckily we don’t have to worry about that type of dilemma, as Jackson will have no problem getting into the cage and attempting to tear Evans apart limb from limb.

I wonder what the odds are going to start out at, and where they will settle before the bout between Evans and Jackson. I’m thinking that they’re going to start out pretty even and they will end up pretty even. I have been going back and forth on a bout between the two since Evans won the light heavyweight championship, and I’ll tell you what, this is no easy fight to pick.

Both men are explosive in all aspects of their game. Both have tremendous wrestling capability, devastating punching power and freakish strength for 205 pounds. Stylistically, the two are almost mirror images of each other. One thing is for certain, both men will be up against one of the toughest, if not the toughest tests of their careers.

1. Yves Lavigne channels his best Mazzagatti:

It didn’t change the outcome of the bout, but referee Yves Lavigne’s decision to intervene in the Matt Brown-Pete Sell fight was truly a head scratcher. Brown had Sell reeling when Lavigne jumped in and corralled him. Fight over right? Not so fast: Yves took a second look at Sell and decided the fight could go on. After he had already physically restrained Brown! Yes, the stoppage would have drawn fire from many of MMA’s blood thirstiest fans. But you can’t go back once you tell a fighter to stop or put your hands on him. There are no do-overs. Can you imagine if that had happened in a fight that was actually important? Unacceptable, but hardly surprising. While the fighters get better and better, MMA officiating just gets worse and worse.

2. UFC channels its best WWE:

In the 1980′s and 1990′s it was a fairly common business practice for professional wrestling companies to sell tickets for shows by advertising stars who wouldn’t be on the card. Stars that they knew wouldn’t be on the card because they were injured, they were on vacation, or they weren’t with the company any more. Despite the pro wrestling overtones of UFC’s promotional strategy, despite Dana White’s bombastic public persona, despite the trash talking and backstage shenanigans, I’ve always held Zuffa to a higher standard than the WWE. Not anymore.

If Frank Mir is telling the truth, and there is no reason to believe he isn’t, Zuffa put tickets on sale for Mir-Lesnar II knowing full well that the fight wouldn’t happen at UFC 98. I understand they were put in a tough spot, but there is only one word for that kind of bait and switch: unacceptable.

3. Shane Carwin Wins; Fails to Impress:

Last week, I was tough on Shane Carwin. He was a prospect of unknown potential, thrust too early into a semi-main event fight. This despite never even appearing on the main card before! It seems strange to say, but after knocking out the impressive Gabriel Gonzaga, Carwin still has plenty of questions left to answer.
His knockout of Gonzaga was great, but let’s not forget that Gonzaga was steamrolling him right until the final punch landed. Carwin looked bad, getting knocked down and even taken down. For a prospect, he looks awfully old and slow. I remember being told backstage about the UFC’s plan to replace Randy Couture with three young wrestlers: Velasquez, Lesnar, and Carwin. After seeing them all fight, it’s clear that Carwin is the least of the three. But, we learned last night, he’s sure got a puncher’s chance.

4. Quinton Jackson Doesn’t Come Ready to Rumble:

I didn’t like Quinton Jackson-Keith Jardine as a PPV main event. It would be fine for a free television show, but for a show they’re asking $50 for, it seemed a little weak. A semi-main featuring a relative unknown just made matters worse. In this situation, you’d expect Rampage and Jardine to come in with something to prove. Instead, it was clear fairly early in that we weren’t getting either man’s best.

There’s no excuse, none, for a professional fighter in the main event of a pay per view broadcast to get tired before the second round is even over. But there were Rampage and Jardine, right before our very eyes, gasping for air and even putting their hands on their knees, in the second round. After an opening round that hardly set the world on fire. We got the hard sell from Goldberg and Rogan that we were watching a great fight. We weren’t. These were two great fighters, but two great fighters that didn’t come to fight. If that Jackson shows up in May, Evans is going to kill him.

5. Quinton and Rashad Take it to the Streets:

It wasn’t all bad news. Assuming that they actually run with Jackson-Evans, the promotion for the fight is off to a great start. The stare down in the cage after Rampage disposed of Rashad’s teammate Jardine was the night’s most memorable moment. Nose to nose, the two spit fire back and forth. The crowd remains cold to Evans, booing him anytime he’s on the big screen. Maybe this will finally be the fight that lets the fans embrace Rampage and give him the love he so desperately wants. Assuming Rampage even takes the fight.

UFC 96 drew a sold out crowd of 17,033 fans earning the organization a live gate $1.8 million, according to UFC president Dana White. This was the third consecutive year that the UFC held an event on the same weekend as the Arnold Sports Festival which is a three day sports and fitness show held in Columbus.

During the post fight press conference White said he had heard that between the UFC event and the sorts festival Columbus had an influx of $41 million to their economy this weekend. White also mentioned that he had plans on bringing another UFC event to the area.

Randy Couture coming out of retirement to defeat Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 68 was the organization’s first trip into Ohio back in 2007. That event drew 19,049 fans with a live gate of over $3 million.

The UFC made its way back to Ohio with a hometown hero Rich Franklin looking to reclaim his middleweight title from Anderson Silva at UFC 77 in October of 2007. Although Franklin was unsuccessful, the show delivered at the box office with 16,064 fans packing the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati for a live gate of just over $2.5 million.

Silva made a second appearance in Ohio at UFC 82 as he took on PRIDE middleweight champion in a title unification bout. Once again Silva walked out of Ohio victorious as did the UFC. That event drew a shade over 16,000 fans for a live gate of $2.2 million.

White went on to say that the UFC loves Ohio and touted how successful all of the shows there have been. It appears the love is mutual as Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato presented White with a lifetime matchmaker’s license this past week.

However, when it was all said and done, I came away thoroughly entertained by last night’s pay-per-view telecast.

The telecast first scored points with me thanks in part to a new graphics package that really helped begin to tear down the dated look of the UFC’s PPV broadcasts. We’ll really be cooking with gas once they scrap the late-90′s rap-metal sound beds by Stemm and get rid of the old WCW “Halloween Havoc” theme used for the tale of the tape graphics.

Aside from Yves Lavigne’s poor performance during the welterweight fight between Matt Brown and Pete Sell, there was very little negative that can be associated with UFC 96. Brown’s quick decimation of the affable Sell was a jaw dropping moment.

One thing I would like to ask is why do so many people insist that Sell is so great on the ground? Yes, he’s a black belt under Matt Serra but the two are very close. I’ve never seen Sell roll in person or watch him in a grappling competition, so if people tell me his submissions are legit, I will take their word for it.

However, Sell’s grappling prowess has never translated to the UFC. He’s primarily been a brawler while competing in the Octagon. While he recorded two submission wins back in the day while competing for Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat, Sell has just one submission in seven career UFC fights. In a fight promotion filled with world class jiu-jitsu players such as Demian Maia and Vinny Magalhaes, does it really make sense to drool over Sell’s submission ability?

But back to Lavinge: what was he thinking!? I mean, after Sell was knocked down the first time and he stepped in and put his hands on Brown, the fight should have been stopped for better or for worse. Sorry if you had second thoughts Yves but an umpire can’t signal for a walk after he’s just called a third strike no matter how outside the pitch was.

Even more entertaining that Brown’s romp over Sell was Shane Carwin’s quick comeback vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. I know it was less than a minute, but Gonzaga looked very composed while Carwin appeared pretty shaky to me. He wasn’t protecting his chin and Gonzaga took total advantage. I thought that was it. But like Carwin said after the fight, he’s got a thick head. He recovered and put Gonzaga down.

I’ve been touting Carwin before he even entered the UFC but I have to admit, we still don’t know a lot about him. Yes, he deserves a ton of credit for knocking out a top ten heavyweight but you can only learn so much about a fighter during 11 first round stoppages in 11 fights.

Matt Hamill’s devastating high kick on Mark Munoz was another site to behold. However, it was another shining example of how the UFC needs to do a better job of treating injuries the same way CBS, NBC, FOX, and ESPN does during an NFL telecast. Hire a backstage reporter or have a stringer pass a note and issue an update on a fallen fighter’s condition during a telecast.

The UFC tries to downplay serious injuries as a way not to call too much attention to the inherently violent nature of the sport but I think it’s much worse to try and act like a fighter isn’t human by trying to ignore such an obvious situation.

Munoz’s loss also made me realize that the UFC desperately needs a minor league system or some sort of developmental contract. The UFC said from the start that the WEC is not a minor league and they’ve made good on that promise. But in keeping that promise, a major void still exists.

A fighter such as Munoz is a tremendous talent but after only five MMA fights, he’s not ready for the UFC. With the depth in all of the UFC’s divisions only increasing, it’s becoming more and more diffcult to spoon feed a fighter until he’s ready to take a major step up. For the most part, the UFC can afford to let fighters work their way up the regional ladder until they are UFC ready, but in the cases of Munoz, Jake Rosholt, and Satoshi Ishii, you don’t want to let talents such as those swing in the wind so that your competition can sign them.

The UFC needs a mechanism where it can look blue chip prospects up contractually and maintain their rights while they compete outside the organization until they are 100 percent ready. If the UFC doesn’t want to spend the money to develop a true minor league promotion, then they should at least sign guys to split contracts in which the UFC pays them to compete for smaller organizations while still holding their rights.

Another major issue I have with the UFC is how they are sending out mixed signals. During the telecast, interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir told play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg that he informed the UFC last week about his knee surgery.

So why in the world did they officially announce Lesnar vs. Mir II this past Monday? And why oh why did Dana White tell Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole on Friday that he was unaware of an injury to Mir and that if there was an injury, it would be something he’d know about. Could someone please explain this?

And despite Mir claiming that the Lesnar fight would be re-scheduled for UFC 100, the UFC’s decision to put Rashad Evans in the broadcast booth during the main event, and then the move to allow Evans into the cage after Jackson won, White did all he could during the post-fight presser to make it clear that neither matchup was officially scheduled. Sounds a lot like having your cake and trying to eat it too.

If a contingent deal for Evans and Jackson to fight then why put him on mic during the fight? I understand why they did it but to be honest, I felt Evans was put in a no-win position and added very little to the fight. And in some ways, he hurt the commentary from Goldberg and Rogan who I felt were clearly put in a compromising position of having to call a fighter with a good friend of one of the fighters sitting next to them. How about we have Jardine parents sit next to Goldberg and Rogan the next time he fights?

Evans’ commentary was overly-biased towards Jardine, which I completely understand. I didn’t expect anything different but if the UFC is going to sacrifice the quality of the commentary then we should be assured that it’s because Evans vs. Jackson is a done deal. Even Vince McMahon doesn’t put a wrestler on commentary during another wrestler’s fight if it’s not 100 percent that the two are going to fight each other.

The UFC’s marketing department also needs to put their foot down with some of their sponsors. The play on words for Crank II’s catch phrase was unbelievably juvenile. I get that “Chet Chelios wants to keep his heart on” but that’s not the way it sounds and that’s intentional. Yes, I get it that the UFC wants to make some money but they undermine the credibility of Mike Goldberg and Bruce Buffer when they force them to spew such a stupid tag line. Do you think HBO would ever ask Jim Lampley or Michael Buffer to say something like that?

Another point I’d like to riff on: Dana White’s pre-UFC 96 hard line stance about friends fighting friends. I agree with a lot of things that Dana says but when I disagree with something, I usually tend to feel pretty passionate about the opposite position he’s taken.

Dana says he’s an MMA guy and that he understands fighters and if that’s truly the case, he will back off his game that MMA is not a team sport. Once upon a time, I felt the same way he did. I didn’t really understand why we’d never see a Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hughes catchweight fight at 180 pounds at the conclusion of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. Sure, both had trained at Miletich Fighting Systems but Franklin wasn’t based out of the camp full-time.

My opinion about inter-camp matchups began to change as I became more exposed to the jiu-jitsu culture. While being dragged to myriad jiu-jitsu tournaments that my wife competed in the past few years I always thought it was silly about fighters in the pro division from the same school would accept a draw in the finals and semifinals and split the winnings. I mean, the two guys probably roll with each other every day and tap each other out at practice so why wouldn’t they just do the same thing for money?

Things would get really crazy sometimes when fighters who weren’t even at the same school would bow out because of some loose affiliation such as one guy’s trainer having trained with the other guy’s trainer back in the day.

But I stopped questioning it because I realized I was new to the jiu-jitsu culture and that things have been done that way long before I was even born. Jiu-jitsu is a big part of MMA and there’s an unwritten code of honor that runs deep in traditional camps: loyalty should never be compromised for money. I don’t believe Dana ever spent an extended period of time training in a traditional martial art so he doesn’t understand the honor code that exists within certain disciplines.

Dana should understand all of the above. MMA is not boxing. In boxing, everyone is a freelancer. There’s no American Top Team or American Kickboxing Academy in boxing. A fighter signs up at a gym and pays his fees and from then it’s every man for himself. If a bigger name boxer wants to conduct a proper training camp, his sparring partners become paid employees. In MMA, paying for sparring partners is the exception and not the rule.

If Dana had trained MMA for an extended period of time he’d understand that MMA is a team sport. In MMA, a fight doesn’t begin when the bell rings — it begins the moment a fight has been agreed upon and a fighter begins to prepare. The 6-12 weeks that precede a fight is truly a competition to see who can get themselves more prepared and a fighter can’t prepare himself properly on his own.

If Jardine and Evans don’t want to punch each other in the face in public, they shouldn’t have to. Sure, they beat on each other for free but that’s in private and it isn’t for money. For someone who is loyal as Dana, he should appreciate the bond that exists between Jardine and Evans instead of getting all hot and bothered every time a reporter broaches the subject of the two refusing to fight each other.

We get it Dana: you run the UFC and you’re the man. But this isn’t like that old episode of Star Trek where aliens from another world force Capt. Kirk and Spock to fight each other to the death in order to avoid both being killed. If Evans and Jardine don’t want to fight there is nothing legally that says they have to. Sure, the UFC can take a punitive approach towards Jardine but they might want to be careful about that considering there is truly a viable alternative for fighters in light of Strikeforce’s new relationship with Showtime and CBS.

Despite a UFC 96 pay-per-view telecast that clearly promoted matchups between UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 98 and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir at UFC 100, neither fight is official.

During last night’s post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White and Jackson backed off the proposed title fight vs. Evans that was so heavily pushed during the PPV.

“… We’ve still got to make sure Quinton is 100 percent,” White began. “It’s not a done deal (vs. Evans at UFC 98 on May 23). Quinton has got to go and check something checked out and make sure he’s 100 percent healthy. If he is, that will be the fight. If he’s not, it will be (Evans vs.) Lyoto Machida.”

Jackson immediately added to the uncertainty in responding to the very next question.

“I want my belt back BUT I got to talk to my manager and everything and see if everything’s cool,” Jackson started to answer in response to a question regarding his feelings about a fight with Evans. “I’ll probably tell Dana what’s up in a couple of days.”

White was almost as equally tentative when speaking about a possible rescheduled date for Lesnar vs. Mir II at UFC 100.

“Off the top of my head, I don’t know, but it’ll be the summer,” White stated during the post-fight presser despite an on-camera interview during the PPV by Mir in which he seemed certain the fight was on for July 11.

Official announces by the UFC regarding the main events for UFCs 98 and 100 could come as early as next week.

Jackson and Jardine both shared the award for “Fight of the Night” in recognition of their action-packed three round battle that featured several momentum changes and near-finishes. In the end, Jackson was declared the winner of the bout thanks in large part to two knockdowns of Jardine that he was responsible for.

Hamill received the award for “Knockout of the Night” in response to his devastating first round KO over former NCAA wrestling champion Mark Munoz at 3:53 of round 1.

Utilizing a quick sprawl that prevented Munoz from taking the fight to the floor, the more experienced Hamill was able to keep the fight standing where he was able to utilize his more polishedstandup. The end came when Hamill connected with a right head kick that immediately knocked Munoz unconscious.

The UFC also typically designates a “Submission of the Night” bonus but without a single submission finish on the 10-bout card, no fighters were eligible to receive the award.

On Saturday night during UFC 96 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Jackson clinched a title shot against current 205 pound champion Rashad Evans after outpointing Jardine for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Displaying head-jerking punching power and several successful takedown attempts, Jackson bested Jardine by scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 on the judges’ scorecards.

Jardine kept things close in the first, controlling the distance between the two combatants while also displaying the better command of the Octagon. However, the fight opened up in the second round. While Jardine appeared to have Jackson rocked at one point, Jackson still took the round in decisive fashion by scoring the first knockdown of the fight.

The two fighters then employed a stick-and-move philosophy to open the third round with Jackson missing on a combination. However, Jackson began to gain momentum following a successful double leg takedown attempt.

Soon after the takedown, Jardine was able to get to his feet and land several leg kicks with the two fighters clinching up and exchanging positions against the cage while met with a chorus of boos.

After referee Yves Lavigne separated the two fighters, Jackson dazed Jardine with a combination and then put an exclamation point on the round by knocking Jardine down for the second time in the fight just seconds before the final bell.

With the win, Jackson is now expected to challenge Evans at UFC 98 on May 23. While the UFC has yet to officially announce the matchup, Evans did reveal during the broadcast that his first title defense had been moved up to UFC 98 in place of the previously scheduled main event between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg confirmed that Evans’ opponent would be Lyoto Machida if Jardine won but that Jackson would get the shot if he was able to secure a victory over Jardine.

During his post-fight interview, Jackson yelled “I want my belt back!” with Evans entering the cage at that point. The two engaged in a staredown and an extended verbal exchange between the two was caught on mic.

Despite the intense words between the two, Jackson and Evans shook hands before Jackson walked away. However, Jackson issued one parting salvo by promising that there would be “black-on-black crime” at UFC 98.

In the night’s co-main event, former NCAA Division II wrestling and football All-American Shane Carwin improved to 11-0 with his knockout of former UFC heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga just 1:09 into the fight.

Despite the quick defeat, Gonzaga began the fight in a composed manner and even rocked Carwin. Despite being in obvious trouble, Carwin fought through adversity and recorded the eleventh first round stoppage of his career.

Former NCAA champion Mark Munoz was not as successful as Carwin, as he was defeated by hometown favorite and season three veteran of The Ultimate Fighter Matt Hamill.

Looking very raw with his striking ability and unable to take Hamill down, Munoz was knocked out cold following a head kick from Hamill that forced a stop to the bout at 3:53 of round 1.

Replays clearly showed that Hamill’s shin slammed into the temple of Munoz head, leaving him unconscious before he even hit the ground. According to color announcer Joe Rogan, Munoz was out for several minutes.
During Hamill’s post-fight interview, medical personnel could be seen entering the ring with a stretcher. The UFC issued no further updates on Munoz’s condition during the telecast.

In the card’s two other televised bouts, Gray Maynard moved to 7-0 following a unanimous decision victory over Jim Miller while Matt Brown obliterated Pete Sell with strikes, forcing a stop to their contest just 1:32 into their fight.

On the undercard, chronic underachievers Brandon Vera and Kendall Grove both turned in outstanding performances en route to stoppage victories.

Matched up against jiu-jitsu black belt Mike Patt, Vera decimated the Jorge Gurgel team member with myriad leg kicks. Patt was knocked down several times during the course of the fight as a result of the kicks and the fight was finally stopped at 1:27 of round 2.

Grove, who was put on notice last week by UFC President Dana White, wasted little time in TKO’ing Canadian middleweight Jason Day at 1:32 of round 1.

Additional undercard results saw Jason Brilz defeat Tim Boetsch via unanimous decision, Tamdan McCrory TKO Ryan Madigan at 3:35 of round 1, and Shane Nelson beat Aaron Riley via TKO just 44 seconds into their fight in a decision that many pundits considered a premature stoppage.

During an interview with play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg, Mir confirmed a story first reported by FiveOuncesOfPain.com that revealed the interim UFC heavyweight champion was forced to withdraw from the May 23 rematch with Lesnar due to injury.

Mir informed Goldberg that he began to experience continued problems with a chronic right knee injury and elected to go surgery last week. According to Mir, he informed UFC officials of the development right after undergoing the procedure.

Mir said that while he can begin rehabilitation exercises immediately, doctors have advised him that it will likely be four to six weeks before he can resume full training activities. Such a timetable would leave Mir with only five full weeks to prepare for Lesnar, a scenario that he was not agreeable to.

The title heavyweight title unification match between Lesnar and Mir is now scheduled to take place on July 11 at UFC 100 in Las Vegas. After Mir made the revelation, Goldberg then transitioned to an on-camera interview with current UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.

Evans informed Goldberg that his scheduled first title defense has been moved up from UFC 100 to UFC 98 in place of the previously announced main event of Lesnar vs. Mir. At the time of the interview, it was unclear who Evans’ opponent would be, as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had yet to fight Evans’ training partner Keith Jardine in the night’s main event.

Jackson defeated Jardine via unanimous decision, clearing the way for him to move into a light heavyweight title match against Evans. Had Jackson been unsuccessful, the title shot would have been awarded to undefeated Brazilian sensation Lyoto Machida.

Televised Main Card -

• Quinton “Rampage” Jackson def. Keith Jardine via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Shane Carwin def. Gabriel Gonzaga via knockout (punch) at 1:09 round 1
• Matt Brown def. Pete Sell via TKO (strikes) at 1:32 of round 1
• Matt Hamill def. Mark Munoz via knockout (head kick) at 3:53 of round 1
• Gray Maynard def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card -

• Tamdan McCrory def. Ryan Madigan via TKO (strikes) at 3:35 of round 1
• Kendall Grove def. Jason Day via TKO (strikes) at 1:32 of round 1
• Jason Brilz def. Tim Boetsch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Brandon Vera def. Mike Patt via TKO (leg kicks) at 1:27 of round 2
• Shane Nelson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (strikes) at 0:44 of round 1

Aaron Riley (27-10-1) vs. Shane Nelson (11-3)

Despite a pedigree that includes training under B.J. Penn, Nelson is hardly a blue chip prospect. Having develop a reputation on the Hawaiian MMA scene for being less than an exciting fighter, Nelson still got a shot to be a part of the cast for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Despite winning in the qualifying round and make it into the house, Nelson was eliminated from competition early against eventual-lightweight winner Efrain Escudero. Despite the loss, he showed enough to get a shot in a non-televised match at the TUF 8 finale against George Roop.

While Nelson earned a split decision win over Riley, the UFC’s lightweight division is overstocked and native Hawaiian’s job security is less than certain.

Currently on his third tour of duty with the UFC, the rugged and experienced Riley earned his first win inside of the Octagon at UFC 91 this past November when he recorded a unanimous decision win over Jorge Gurgel that knocked Gurgel out of the UFC.

With previous UFC losses against Spencer Fisher and Robbie Lawler, the 28-year old journeyman will look to win his fourth consecutive fight and keep his spot in the UFC.

It’s hard to break down this matchup, as Nelson has the better jiu-jitsu yet Riley is stronger and more aggressive. In the end, I believe Riley’s experience and versatility will prove to be the difference.

Prediction: Riley over Nelson via second round TKO.

A lot of people are on the Boetsch bandwagon and believe he’s going to smash Brilz. As much respect as I have for Boetsch, I’m not exactly sure the fight is going to go down that way.

Tim Boetsch (8-2) vs. Jason Brilz (16-1-1)

Boetsch is a true warrior having once competed twice in six days. After submitting Brendan Barrett with a guillotine choke on a regional show in Orange, New Jersey, Boetsch then traveled up the turnpike to the Meadowlands six days later for a last-minute matchup against former IFL Vladimir Matyushenko.

The Lock Haven University wrestling walk-on gained additional fans when he smashed David Heath in his UFC debut at UFC 81 last February. The bout wasn’t televised live but was such an impressive performance that UFC officials showed it on a tape-delay basis. Soon after, Boetsch received a contract extension.

Boetsch looked less than stellar in a second round TKO loss to Matt Hamill last April at UFC Fight Night 13 but he bounced back in September with a win over Mike Patt at UFC 88. His opponent, Jason Brilz, also fought and defeated Patt.

The win over common opponents is an indicator that this matchup wasn’t signed to give Boetsch an easy victory. Wth wins over current UFC fighter Jason MacDonald and former UFC fighters Brad Morris and Alex Schoenauer, Brilz has proven he’s a tough competitor.

Boetsch will have the wrestling advantage but Brilz has better submissions. The standup might be a wash, because while Boetsch has tremendous power, his Jeet Kune Do background doesn’t always translate well to MMA.

Prediction: In a matchup that is almost too close to call, the pick here is Brilz by split decision.

Grove, the middleweight winner from the third season of The Ultimate Fighter is just 1-2 in his last three fights and likely needs a win tonight to remain employed by the UFC. Does he have a shot at winning? Continue reading our fight-by-fight preview of UFC 96 and find out what we think.

Kendall Grove (9-5) vs. Jason Day (17-7)

If the temptation of Vegas are so great and interferes with a fighter’s career, then why do so many fighters train there?

Alright, having been to Sin City nearly 20 times in my life, that’s an easy question to answer. Only being young once creates the conundrum for athlete: do I invest my time living the life, or do I fully commit to athletic excellence?

In MMA, there is a term known as “The MMA Lifestyle,” which consists of working hard but also playing hard. For Kendall Grove, he has publicly admitted that temptation got in the way of his career.

After winning becoming the middleweight winner of the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, Grove showed rapid signs of improvement every time he took to the cage. But then he suffered back-to-back upset first round knockouts against Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera and his career went spiraling out of control.

A split decision win in the main event of the TUF 7 finale this past June against the late Evan Tanner likely saved his UFC career, but Grove can ill-afford to drop the ball against Jason Day.

Soon after the win over Tanner, Grove requested an extended layoff from fighting in anticipation of the birth of his first child. Hopefully the live changing experience will keep Grove away from partying and keep him focused on fighting.

While not as good as Cote, Day is certainly better than Rivera and has the ability needed to reduce Grove’s record to 1-3 in his last four fights. However, Grove has significantly better submissions and his 6’6” height gives him a ridiculous reach advantage when it comes to the standup aspect of the fight.

Like Grove, Day has not fought since June due to injury. Currently sporting a lifetime record of 1-1 in the UFC, the Canadian fighter made a strong Octagon debut last April at UFC 83 after scoring a first round TKO over Alan Belcher. However, he looked completely overmatched against Michael Bisping at UFC 85, losing via first round TKO.

Day won’t be overmatched vs. Grove, however, if Grove brings his A-game, he should have little trouble walking away with his arm raised.

Prediction: Grove via unanimous decision.

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Tonight’s scheduled card from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio is as follows (with final weigh-in results in parenthesis):

MAIN CARD -

• Quinton Jackson def. Keith Jardine via unanimous decision
• Shane Carwin def. Gabriel Gonzaga via KO (punch)~1:09~Round 1 (257.5)
• Matt Brown def. Pete Sell via TKO~1:32~Round 1
• Matt Hamill def. Mark Munoz via knockout ~3:53~Round 1
  
• Gray Maynard def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision

PRELIMINARY CARD -

• Tamdan McCrory def. Ryan Madigan via TKO ~3:35~Round 1 (170)
• Kendall Grove def. Jason Day via TKO ~1:32~Round 1
• Jason Brilz def. Tim Boetsch via unanimous decision
• Brandon Vera def. Michael Patt via TKO~ 1:27~Round 2
• # Shane Nelson def. Aaron Riley via TKO ~ :44~Round 1
  

Brandon Vera (9-3) vs. Mike Patt (12-3)

Even though Vera will be competing under terms of a new contract with the UFC, it’s unlikely he will be retained if he loses this fight. In matching Vera up with Patt, the UFC is essentially giving the Lloyd Irvin brown belt a chance to convert a layup.

Once a rising star, Vera’s stock has plummeted almost as badly as the stock market. The 31-year old is just 1-3 in his last four fights and his lone win, a unanimous decision victory over Reese Andy at UFC Fight Night 14, proved to be a more effective sleep aid than Ambien.

In addition to once being a rising star, Vera at one time was one of the most entertaining fighters in all of MMA. This is a guy who began his UFC career 4-0 and fought like his hair was on fire (even though he doesn’t have any) when he demolished current interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in one minute and nine seconds at UFC 65.

The problem with Vera is that he began to fight like someone with a lot to lose. And while his job is at stake, his disappointing split decision loss against Keith Jardine at UFC 89 may have brought him down to rock bottom.

Vera will look to begin his comeback campaign against Patt, a member of Kerry Schall’s Meat Truck Inc., Patt, a native of nearby Dayton, also finds himself in a must-win situation, as he’ll be dropped from the UFC roster if he falls to 0-2.

Patt is a credible veteran but he will be no match for Vera’s strong kickboxing skills and won’t be able to match his underrated jiu-jitsu and wrestling ability. The only fighter that can beat Vera in this match is Vera himself.

Prediction: Brandon Vera via second round TKO.

Matt Brown (8-7) vs. Pete Sell (8-4)

There are those that raised eyebrows upon the revelation that Brown vs. Sell was slated for the pay-per-view portion of UFC 96 at the expense of matches involving Brandon Vera and Kendall Grove. But instead of questioning UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva, they should be thanking him

Vera and Grove offer great name recognition value but their recent performances in the Octagon have been less than stellar. In their place, the UFC is providing a matchup that could contend for “Fight of the Night.”

Would you rather your hometown team start a struggling veteran quarterback at the expense of a more efficient backup for no other reason than the starter is making $8 million a year?

This is a crucial fight for Sell, who is just 2-4 in a UFC career that has been off-and-on dating back to 2004. A former middleweight, the Matt Serra-trained fighter delivered in a win or go home fight against Josh Burkman at UFC 90 this past October. Sell, a veteran from the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback, recorded a unanimous decision over Burkman, a veteran from the season season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Despite training under Serra, Sell is not very slick on the ground with his greatest attribute being his punching power. Considered a heavy hitter at 185, he is one of the heaviest hitters in the world at 170.

The knockout artist will be looking to take out Brown, who is great at nothing but good at everything. One of the most well-rounded and grittiest fighters in the sport, Brown will look to improve his UFC record to 3-2 on the heels of his second round submission victory over Ryan Thomas this past November at UFC 91.

Training out of Team Jorge Gurgel, Brown will have the hometown crowd behind him. Getting strong reactions for all of his offensive maneuvers could be a difference maker with the judges in a matchup that appears to be evenly contested on paper.

In addition to having the crowd behind him, I believe that Brown’s versatility will also prove the difference in allowing him to walk away the winner.

Prediction: Unanimous decision.

Gray Maynard (6-0) vs. Jim Miller (13-1)

This fight is not an easy one to predict.

You have a fighter in Miller with tremendous submissions and good wrestling who is matched up against a fighter in Maynard who is a tremendous wrestler with good submissions.

I’ve long contended that Miller will eventually emerge as a top ten lightweight. The Jersey-based fighter is 2-0 since coming over to the UFC from the IFL and has recorded notable wins in the Octagon over David Baron at UFC 89 and against Matt Wiman on one week’s notice this past December at “UFC Fight for the Troops.”

But as big of a supporter as I am of Miller, Gray Maynard is simply a bad matchup. He’s not just a bad matchup for Miller, he’s apparently a bad matchup for everyone as the UFC has a great deal of trouble trying to secure opponents for him.

I think Miller is one of the best kept secrets in MMA but the world may not get to see that on Saturday. I can’t help but wonder whether Miller will suffer the same fate as Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 13.

At UFN 13, Edgar was simply no match physically for Maynard. Despite being a top ten-caliber lightweight, Edgar was unable to compensate for the difference in size and strength. While Miller is a little bigger than Edgar, the difference in size is very slight.

In reality, we’re going to be watching an average sized lightweight in Miller trying to hold off a small welterweight in Maynard. Unless Miller catches Xtreme Couture product in a triangle or catches him on the chin, I just think Maynard’s size and strength will prove too much.

Prediction: Maynard via unanimous decision.

Quinton Jackson (29-7) vs. Keith Jardine (14-4-1)

Jardine has played the spoiler well role in the past few years, spoiling potential title shots for Forrest Griffin at UFC 66 and Chuck Liddell at UFC 76.

With each victory, Jardine moved himself into title contender status but proceeded each dramatic upset victory with first round (T)KO losses.

At UFC 71, Jardine was ambushed by then-newcomer Houston Alexander, who gave him a prison-style beatdown and finished him just 48 seconds into the fight. Then, at UFC 84, Jardine was steam rolled by Wanderlei Silva and was knocked out just 36 seconds into the fight.

Jardine is a counter fighter who apparently has trouble with fighters who employ a blitzkrieg style. Jackson can be aggressive at times, but he is not reckless and isn’t going to jump on Jardine from the outset.

Jackson looked outstanding in knocking out Silva at 3:21 of round 1 this past December at UFC 92. The former UFC light heavyweight champ not only redeemed himself after two previous TKO losses to Silva, but the win came at a crucial time as he was coming off a title loss to Griffin as well as felony charges this past summer for reckless driving.

While it’s hard to say for certain after just one fight, Jackson certainly appeared to be back on track. Leaving Juanito Ibarra and his LA-based training camps for the Wolfslair Academy in the cold U.K. appears to have done wonders for his career. With his career and life moving forward again, Jackson is just one win away from a title shot against current champion Rashad Evans this July at UFC 100.

However, I question the logic of this matchup. Jackson was impressive enough at UFC 92 to warrant an immediate title shot. He would have gotten that shot had Evans been ready. As bad as the UFC needed a main event for this show, they are risking a great deal of long-term money in favor of a quick fix.

If Jackson loses, the proposed UFC 100 matchup is off and if Jardine wins, he will be caught in a holding pattern, as he will not fight his friend and training partner, Evans.

A loss for Jackson is not out of the question, as both fighters complement each other well. I expect a lot of give and take between the two with several momentum shifts. The biggest concern here has to be Jardine’s trainer, Greg Jackson, who is a master strategist. He will give Jardine a gameplan that will allow him to go out and cause problems for Jackson.

Look for Jardine to use his brutal leg kicks to exploit Jackson’s lack of diversified striking. While Jackson has tremendous power in his hands, he does not have good Muay Thai skills. When it comes to kicks, Jackson does not employ many offensively and is terrible when he comes to defending them.

If the fight goes to a decision, I believe Jardine will once again shock the world. However, I think that so long as Jackson was focused for his training camp leading up to this fight that he will eventually catch Jardine on the chin and knock him out.

Prediction: Jackson by second round knockout.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson:

Keith Jardine: