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Another spectacular UFC exhibition featured a stable of largely undefeated fighters meeting to validate their positions as the undisputed warriors of MMA.

We lost our usual venue of a downtown penthouse since my buddy had to move out, so I decided to hold the UFC get-together at my place this time. I have to admit it was nice not having to drive to and from downtown, not to mention it gave me a reason to clean my place up

A disappointing match-up was Ryo “Piranha” Chonan Vs. Karo “The Heat” Parisyan. Although holding an unspectacular 14-7-0 record, Chonan is credited with previously defeating current middleweight champ Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Considering what a phenomenal fighter Silva is I had grand expectations for Chonan. After seeing Parisyan bully his way around the set of The Ultimate Fighter, I had grown to dislike his arrogance and unprofessional behavior. Real champs and accomplished athletes shouldn’t stoop to the level of bar room brawling, especially amongst their peers. I digress, although Parisyan looked like he was losing gas quickly by the third round, his superior jiu jitsu and take-down skills won him a unanimous decision.

Another disappointing performance was Thiago Silva Vs. Houston “The Assassin” Alexander. Houston is an amazing striker, with a physique that I even I can’t help but gawk at. Not to mention that he’s father to 6 sons. I wonder if they’re all from the same mother? Unfortunately for Alexander, he has no take-down defense and he’s clueless on the ground. I’ve seen starfish more animated, Houston was properly mounted and owned by Silva with blow after blow. I do believe Houston lost consciousness briefly but luckily the twittering of the little yellow birds circling his head brought him back from Sleepy Land.

The main event of The Ultimate Fighter seasons 2 and 3 champs was a much anticipated match between two bitter rivals. Michael “The Count” Bisping and Rashad “Sugar” Evans shoved each other and almost came to blows during the weigh-in and they spared no breath in bad mouthing each other during interviews leading up to UFC 78. Both Bisping and Evans went into the fight with 15 UFC victories each and zero losses. Evans had one draw against Tito Ortiz. Many had expected there to be an Ortiz Vs. Evans rematch first but who knows where Ortiz disappeared to. Both combatants came out pretty evenly matched and it was hard to tell who would reign supreme. A satellite problem made us miss half of the first round and half of the second but it appeared as if Bisping showed some life in the second round, being the aggressor and making a couple of good take-downs, despite receiving a nasty cut to his right forehead. Evans looked very gassed by the third but both fighters were standing in the end. Another controversial split-decision was awarded, this time to Evans. I detest these split decisions, I wish they would just go to a sudden death round. However, it’s a good thing for the UFC as it adds another potential rematch to its roster. Thus adding more more dollars into the pile for UFC president and owner Dana White to swan dive into.

The special “WTF!?” fight of the night was between 38 year old Jason Reinhardt and Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (don’t get me started on his ridiculous nickname). Reinhardt has a very impressive 18-0-0 record but I think his last fight was over ten years ago. At 1:20 in the first round, Reinhardt was submitted with a rear-naked choke. It almost looked like Reinhardt was deciding on whether to tap out or let himself go to bed early, pretty comical really. Thanks for the laughs UFC! An easy victory for Lauzon, who won’t be bragging about this fight.

Here are the full results for UFC 78 – Validation:

Posted on November 18th, 2007 by Leo
Filed under: Lucid Thoughts