I am going to re-cap from a live perspective. If you want to use some of it, go right ahead and I can answer any questions you might have. Some of the premil stuff might be hazy as I have been up about 19 hours at this point. I had 11th row tix, and it was worth every penny. I have to disagree with your assessment of the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira intro. Live he got a huge ovation, even after the announcement. I was shocked that anyone knew who he was, maybe it came off flat on the telecast, but live it was thunderous. I have no idea if people knew who he was or if they just figured it was the spot when they needed to cheer or what, but he got a hell of an ovation.

Josh Haynes (7-7) vs. Luke Cummo (4-4)

I had just watched Haynes/Brisping before my day started and I figured he would get his ass kicked and he did. It was such a long beatdown. Haynes did enough to stay in there until he got ROCKED, but the result was pretty much obvious throughout. Josh going after the ref was priceless. Hate to say it, but that might have ended his UFC career.

Marcus Davis (10-3) vs. Pete Spratt (15-7)

I don't think you guys saw this one. Spratt was lying down the stand up on Davis, Davis was totally getting beatdown. Smartly he kept going to shoots and Spratt seemed to have no idea how to sprawl, so he got taken down over and over again. Spratt was using his legs to keep Davis away and denying the guard, but Davis got smart and grabbed a foot, and made Davis submit to a knee bar, I think. Either that or an ankle lock, either way, Spratt was limping on his way out.

Thales Leites (9-1) vs. Pete Sell (7-2)

This was similiar to the last bout in that when it was standup, Sell had the advantage but Leites whopped his ass when on the ground. The decision was obvious, but this was a bit of a yawner.

Brad Imes (5-2) vs. Heath Herring (26-12)

Let me tell everyone something. Against any other Heavyweight, Herring would have won with a KO in the first round. But Imes chin has to be made of granite. I can't wait for you guys to see the DVD of this PPV and see the beating Imes took. Herring's stand-up was back to his Pride levels but Imes just would NOT go down. Herring would whop Imes ass, Imes would fall, then Herring would get on top of Imes and do little damage. Herring probably should have just stayed standing up so the ref would make Imes stand as well, but that wasn't the case. Herring hopefully got back in Dana's good graces with this performance but Imes just was not going to get KO'd no matter how bad he got beat.

Main Card fights:

Alan Belcher (9-2) vs. Kendall Grove (7-3)

Amazing fight with Kendall getting the submission. It was the opener and looking back on it, it was the match of the night. Kendall is so active, so aggressive it was just a fun fight for everyone in the arena except for Alan. Those knees to the head and ribs were incredible. Seeing them in person was impressive. I wasn't too cool with Kendall's celebration as the EMTs were tending to Alan while Kendall had a fake burial, but I see Kendall being a HUGE star.

Yushin Okami (19-3) vs. Mike Swick (10-1)

The crowd was juiced for this one. A hometown boy comes back to Houston to fight at the first UFC PPV in Texas and he didn't do a damned thing. From where I sat, Mike was so scared to get caught, he didn't do anything. Okami never hurt Swick, but Swick didn't do much of anything except at the end of rounds. When Mike was aggressive, he was on his game, he had the advantage, but that fear of getting caught made him do nothing for most of the fight. Very disappointing.

Roger Huerta (16-1-1) vs. Leonard Garcia (9-1)

This was one of the best fights I have ever seen. Total action, the crowd was into it big time. After the Swick defeat, it took about half the first round for the crowd to get into it, but once they did, people were on the edge of their seats. It was awesome. I could look at these two go at it every PPV. Huerta was the crowd fav and he delivered. It was cool because everyone appreciated the show these two put on. Everyone near me was pleased.

Diego Sanchez (17-0) vs. Josh Koshchek (8-1)

Now, after the weigh-in shove and all the shit-talking you would have thought this would be a war. But this was a Bore. OMG, people actually bought tickets to this show just for this match. It was a total dud. Koz tried to engage Sanchez, but Sanchez was freaking scared. Sanchez should NEVER get on PPV again. I hate his matches and this was the pinnacle of bad right here. The crowd hated the match and it was a literal buzz kill. I had people behind me who were hitting the liquor hard, but by the end of the 2nd round they were totally sober and pissed off. Koz deserved the win, but only because Diego didn't do anything. A terrible match live. Maybe he translated better on TV, but we hated this match. Not sure how you get billed as the semi-main event and fail to deliver. But they did it. I hope neither get a title shot after this. During the fight you could tell Dana was very upset.

UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT

Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (13-1) vs. Matt Serra (8-4)

After the Sanchez/Koz match, anything would have been better. But OMG when Serra rocked GSP for the first time, we went wild. Then rocked him again, then GSP to the ground and getting slaughtered. Seeing a title change live almost made up for the Koz/Sanchez fight, but not really. We cheered, we were happy we saw history and seeing the underdog win was great.

Overall, it was a hell of a day/night. So much excitement, anticipation as you have no idea how each fight would turn out. I mean, I thought Sanchez/Koz would steal the show, but it was the complete dud of the night. If you guys get a chance, go to a UFC show. It was a ton of fun. Now I am looking to go to Liddell/Jackson. That should be a hell of a night as well.

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