T.B.

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Main Card Bouts:


[20-4-0] Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson [22-6-0] - UFC Middleweight Championship

Silva's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Rich Franklin (Win - TKO)
vs. Nate Marquardt (Win - TKO)
vs. Travis Lutter (Win - Verbal Submission)

Henderson's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Quinton Jackson (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Wanderlei Silva (Win - KO)
vs. Vitor Belfort (Win - Unanimous Decision)



[11-3-1] Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring [27-13-0]

Kongo's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Mirko Cro Cop (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Assuerio Silva (Win - Majority Decision)
vs. Carmelo Marrero (Loss - Split Decision)

Herring's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Brad Imes (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Jake O'Brien (Loss - Unanimous Decision)



[21-4-0] Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner [32-6-0]

Okami's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Jason MacDonald (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Rich Franklin (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Mike Swick (Win - Unanimous Decision)

Tanner's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Justin Levens (Win - Submission)
vs. David Loiseau (Loss - TKO)
vs. Rich Franklin (Loss - TKO)



[12-6-0] Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben [17-4-0]

Sakara's Last 3 Fights:
vs. James Lee (Win - TKO)
vs. Houston Alexander (Loss - TKO)
vs. Victor Valimaki (Win - TKO)

Lebens's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Terry Martin (Win - KO)
vs. Kalib Starnes (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Jason MacDonald (Loss - Submission)



[15-2-0] Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson [13-3-0]

Fitch's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Diego Sanchez (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Roan Carneiro (Win - Submission)
vs. Luigi Fioravanti (Win - Submission)

Wilson's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Derrick Noble (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Ray Steinbeiss (Win - Submission)
vs. Rory Markham (Win - TKO)


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Preliminary Bouts:


[11-5-0] Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien [10-0-0]

Arlovski's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Fabricio Werdum (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Marcio Cruz (Win - KO)
vs. Tim Sylvia (Loss - Unanimous Decision)

O'Brien's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Heath Herring (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Josh Shockman (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Kristof Midoux (Win - TKO)



[9-2-0] Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett [10-3-0]

Koscheck's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Georges St-Pierre (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Diego Sanchez (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Jeff Joslin (Win - Unanimous Decision)

Hazelett's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Jonathan Goulet (Win - Submission)
vs. Steven Lynch (Win - Submission)
vs. Diego Saraiva (Win - Unanimous Decision)



[17-2-0] Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden [12-5-0]

Sanchez's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Jon Fitch (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Josh Koscheck (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Joe Riggs (Win - KO)

Bielkheden's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Nikola Matic (Win - TKO)
vs. Lubormir Roumenov (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Loss - Unanimous Decision)



[11-3-0] Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson [16-5-0]

Gurgel's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Alvin Robinson (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Diego Saraiva (Win - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Danny Abbadi (Win - Unanimous Decision)

Halverson's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Bryce Teager (Win - Submission)
vs. Sam Jackson (Win - Submission)
vs. Tom Ahrens (Win - Submission)



[6-4-0] Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti [11-3-0]

Cummo's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Edilberto de Oliveira (Win - TKO)
vs. Josh Haynes (Win - KO)
vs. Jonathan Goulet (Loss - Unanimous Decision)

Fioravanti's Last 3 Fights:
vs. Frank Camacho (Win - TKO)
vs. Forrest Petz (Loss - Unanimous Decision)
vs. Jon Fitch (Loss - Submission)


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On Saturday, March 1st, the UFC returns to Columbus, Ohio & The Nationwide Arena for UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION!

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva clashes with PRIDE Middleweight Champion Dan Henderson, to unify the titles...and FINALLY answer the question: "Who is the best middleweight fighter on the planet?"

AND....in what promises to be a stand-up war, heavyweight wrecking machine Cheick Kongo, coming off the biggest win of his career against Mirko Cro Cop, must now battle the hard-hitting "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring!

Also on this card, the long-awaited return of one of the UFC's premier heavyweight competitors, as "The Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski returns to the octagon again undefeated "Irish" Jake O'Brien. Also on this card are big names: Jon Fitch, Chris Leben, the returning Evan Tanner & Yushin Okami.

Not to mention, Ultimate Fighter alums making their returns to action, as we'll see Josh Koscheck & Diego Sanchez back in the octagon! What a night it will be on February 2nd, for UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION!

kds13

Some Prelim Results: (Source: SHERDOG.com)

Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson

Round 1
Gurgel started the bout with plenty of low kicks with a few punches from the outside mixed in. Halverson looked to counter, and landed a decent combo halfway through the opening frame. Gurgel worked for a takedown against the fence, and Halverson reacted by pulling guard with a guillotine choke. Gurgel freed his head and pounded from the top position for the rest of the round. 10-9 for Gurgel.

Round 2
A head kick from Gurgel glanced off Halverson's head and glove but it got a nice pop from the crowd. Again, Halverson pulled guard with a guillotine, but Gurgel was free before the fighters hit the floor. From the top, Gurgel teed off and looked close to scoring a stoppage as referee Dan Miragliotta warned Halverson to defend better or get moving. After Gurgel seemingly punched himself out, the fatigued fighter moved to side-control and setup an armbar. Halverson cleared the legs and found himself on top with 15 seconds remaining in the round. He landed some decent shots but it was not enough to steal the round. 10-9 Gurgel.

Round 3
Halverson landed some good leather early in the third, backing Gurgel up with some stiff punches. Two minutes in the stanza, the fighters clinched and Gurgel took the top position after Halverson gave up an easy takedown. Gurgel controlled from the top without inflicting any damage, which prompted the referee to stand the fighters up. Halverson landed another decent punch on Gurgel before time expired. 10-9 Halverson.

The official judges scored the contest, 29-28 (twice) and 30-27, all for Jorge Gurgel.

Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden

Round 1
Diego Sanchez rushed out and got a fast takedown in the opening seconds of the bout. Sanchez worked from the top with punches and elbows, but Bielkheden defended well. Sanchez moved to half-guard and looked for a Kimura, then jumped to mount after his opponent defended. Sanchez started slow from the dominant position but turned it up with 30 seconds left in the round. After eating several hard punches, the Swede fighter tapped out due to punishment at the 4:43 mark of the first.

Mark Coleman was just inducted to the UFC Hall Of Fame.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck

Round 1
Fireworks right off the bat as Hazelett landed a head kick that backed Koscheck up to the fencing. Hazelett followed with a knee to the head that scored. Koscheck fired back and landed some good leather. Hazelett locked up a standing guillotine as Koscheck looked for a takedown. Koscheck escaped and threw some wild haymakers that glanced of Hazelett's head. Koscheck scooped up Hazelett and took him down, but was caught in a lose triangle as the round ended. Close round that goes to Koscheck, 10-9.

Round 2
A stiff left landed for Koscheck to get the second frame underway. Koscheck circled and dug to the body with hard punches. Koscheck then fired a head kick that hurt Hazelett and knocked him down. Koscheck, who stumbled throwing the kick, got up and finished Hazelett with a vicious right hand and a few more power shots. Referee Herb Dean stepped in to save Hazelett at 1:24 of the second round.

kds13

Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Round 1
Some sloppy standup is played out through the first minute of round one. Luigi got a body-lock takedown but was unable to hold Cummo down. Luigi dropped levels and scored a quick single-leg, but again he could not keep Cummo on the floor. Showing his huge power advantage, Fioravanti executed a beautiful belly-to-back suplex. In the final seconds of the round, Cummo got back to his feet but was taken back down with an inside trip. 10-9 Fioravanti.

Round 2
The second round is a carbon copy of the first, with Fioravanti scoring takedowns of all sorts; doubles and singles, trips and body-locks. Cummo refused to be held down, but was unable to mount offense of any sort, save for a brief moment spent in the top position after he swept Fioravanti during a trip attempt. 10-9 for Luigi Fioravanti.

Round 3
Just like the two previous rounds, Fioravanti continued to dominate with his wrestling. The final period saw Luigi score four takedowns without inflicting any damage or real offense through the course of the bout. Cummo had no answer for Fioravanti's strength, and the Sherdog.com scorecard reflected that with a 30-27 score.

All three official judges agreed with scores of 30-27 for Luigi Fioravanti.

kds13

Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Round 1
O'Brien shot right away for a single, which was stuffed By Arlovski. Three more times O'Brien dropped levels for a takedown, all of which were unsuccessful. On his fourth attempt, Arlovski stumbled while sprawling, which allowed O'Brien to hop on top. Arlvoski was active from the bottom, opening a cut on the forehead of O'Brien with a sharp elbow strike from his back. 10-9 Arlovski.

Round 2
O'Brien's early shots were stuffed in the second round, but he eventually got Arlovski to the canvas. The former heavyweight champion bounced back up and performed a body-lock takedown directly to the mount. From here, Arlvoski blasted away with punches until referee Mark Matheny stepped in to halt the contest at the 4:17 mark of round two.

kds13

Well fella's, I'll be your go-to guy tonight. If you can't watch the fight, let me be your eyes and ears and I'll try and do my best to give you a detailed recap of tonights event. We got some great fights lined up so it should be fun.

Conduct all discussion in the Official UFC 82 Discussion Thread OR the Official Fight Threads, of which there are one for each fight on the card.

As Big John would say, "Lets get it on!"

kds13

Alright, we're starting off the night with:

Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson

Chris Wilson plans on coming in as tonight's spoiler to Jon Fitch's Title Shot hopes. Fitch is coming off a big win over Diego Sanchez and he needs this win to put him over the top in his goal for the WW Belt.

UFCFAN33

If ya need a hand kds I'm hear man!!

__________________

kds13

Round 1

Bruce Buffer gets us underway for UFC and Referee Jerry Krysz gets this one going. The two fighters circle and Fitch lands a nice leg kick. They clinch up but then break away. Fitch appears to be having minor trouble getting a takedown locked up.

Wilson tags Fitch with a right hand after avoiding a TD. Wilson's stand up looks better with combo's, kicks, and knees.

Fitch gets the TD he was looking for 2 and 1/2 minutes into the fight. Wilson is working his hips out trying to stand up. The ref stands them up while Fitch is still working to keep him down...strange. Fitch looks more aggressive now standing.

Fitch secures a TD. Wilson is working for an omoplata, but then pulls guard. Fitch reigns down some minor shots, nothing substantive. The round comes to a close with Fitch sitting in Wilson's guard.



Overall: Close Round 1, two takedowns may make it go Fitch's way, 10-9, but Wilson was getting the better of the standup. Could honestly go either way.

kds13

Round 2

Fitch catches a leg kick but can't complete the takedown. Wilson is relentless in his second attempt and gets the fight to the ground. Wilson is in half guard, quickly gets back to full guard. Fitch is working Wilson's body over with punches.

Fitch scrambles quickly to side control as Wilson threw his legs up high going for a sub. Jon is taking his time looking to transition to mount, throwing some punches, elbows and knees to the body. He gets mount! Wow, great job by Wilson to get back to half guard immediately.

Fitch is smothering Wilson in this round, but damage wise, Wilson is doing ok by not incurring to much. The scramble on the mat and Fitch gets back into side control.

Overall: Fitch outworked Wilson in a grappling match. He was relentless in his TD attempts and moved positions fluidly. Wilson did good not sustaining damage, but he lost the round.

10-9 Jon Fitch.

kds13

Round 3

They come strong early. Fitch is throwing the leg kicks, Wilson works combo's. Fitch tags Wilson with a strong right/left. Wilson lands a nice body kick after feigning a punch. 2 minutes of standup fighting thus far.

Great kicks from Fitch. Fitch feigns a punch and gets a quick double leg. Wilson is breathing heavy while on his back. Fitch has him pinned against the fence and reigns down, body/body/head.

Nice strikes from the top by Jon. 1 minutes left in the fight, looks like Fitch is going to take this if Wilson doesn't do anything drastic. Wow, triangle attempt from Wilson...just as I say it. Its in, but only 15 seconds left. Fitch is looking to hang on. And he does. Fitch survives.

We're going to the judges scorecards.