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                                         UFC 73:Stacked Review

(Photo Credit by UFC.com)

The 73rd card of the UFC was deemed as a card that was "Stacked" on paper. But did it live up to the hype?From people that I have I have spoken to said that was it was good to disappointing. My opinion that was it was a solid card but very slow at times. I mean starting off the card with Noguiera vs Herring was a bit disappointing for me, I felt that Florian and Robinson should've gotten the night started.

But for what it was worth, the third meeting between the two was just as entertaining as their previous encounters. They cannot have a bad fight. Noguiera looked impressive during the early stages of the first round and easily dominated it from the strking and grappling perspective until...a head kick. I mean it is just me or the left or right high kick becoming a MUST in everyone's arsenal when fighting. Cro Cop is just going to have to trademark that move or something, make some cash from it. Just kidding but it's no joke that the head kick is becoming a very popular move right now.

Heath Herring, I'm sorry but this is why you will never become a champion for any organization. I love the guy and his heart, but the fact of the matter is he didn't pounce on Nogueira like he was supposed to. My friend Danny felt that as soon as Herring was on top the referee shouldn't stop the fight. In my opinion, that should've been the end of the fight. Herring just chokes, I mean how could he just let Nogueira get up and get rest between rounds. Had that been Fedor or even Gabriel Gonzaga, they would not have allowed that to happen. You have to have that killer instinct, and when you do Heath, that instinct divides the boys from the men. Tough break for Herring as he lost to Noguiera by decision.

From there the UFC Lightweight Title was next between Sean Sherk against Hermes Franca. My prediction was on the money as I predicted it to go five rounds....and Sean Sherk would dominate for the decision. I hate to brag and all, but Sean just dominated the entire fight and literally broke Franca's will throughout the fight. His transitions and constant activity on the ground helped Sherk. People booed Sherk everytime he took Franca down for the GNP but hey I enjoyed the fight I mean it was a back and forth when it did hit the ground. Now, I can't leave out Franca on this one because he literally had Sherk hurt with a knee to start off the second round and even the choke in the beginning of the first round from a knee. Basically, the knees were the only thing that was effective in the fight for Franca. For Sherk, it's on to a potential title defense against BJ Penn which would be something to watch but on the other hand, everyone at 155 can see one glaring weakness that has be addressed. Sherk is suspect to knees.

The card went on with the highly anitcipated meeting between Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans. The fight was entertaining but also controversal. I felt Tito would've won the fight if he didn't get deducted the one point for holding onto the fence. At the same time, Rashad basically gave those first two rounds away. I mean he looked tentative throughout the fight. I was basically screaming for Rashad to just let his hands go because he had the superior edge on the feet. He could have easily win at least one of those first two rounds to win the fight. That second round made the difference of the entire fight, as Evans was almost caught in a choke from Ortiz towards the end of the round. One thing that surprised me the most throughout the night was simply that Ortiz ran out of gas that last round. A man with great conditioning, Tito was just drained it seemed and allowed Evans to steal the round. I wasn't disappointed with the draw because it'll make the rematch a must see later in the year. But Ortiz lost a fan in my girlfriend because she highly pissed off at the fight and the performance of Ortiz.

I'm going to skip the Florian-Robinson fight because it should've started the evening.

Now I can enjoy hyping up the fight I wanted to see the most. Anderson Silva's first official title defense against Nathan Marquardt. This matchup was so intriguing for me because it was a toss 'em fight. People felt that Marquardt was a dangerous opponent for Silva. By the end of the first round, looks like Silva was the only person that didn't feel that way. Marquardt did exactly what I thought he would do which was to stand with Silva until he can get the takedown. Although the takedown was of because of Silva's flying kick. Yet Silva was effective in keeping Marquardt in his guard that allowed him to turnover on Marquardt. And from there, Silva dominated on the fight on the feet. Once he got on top of Marquardt, his effective and accurate strikes just hurt Marquardt which caused him to turnover and allowed Silva to just rain punches to stop the fight.  Right now Anderson Silva the best middleweight in any organization right now.

I mean with Dan Henderson's intent to stay at 205 to fight the big boys, other than Rich Franklin and Paulo Filho, no one else is a serious threat to Anderson's reign as champion. By now it has already been confirmed that Franklin-Silva II will take place at UFC 77 on October 20th. After the performance that SIlva had against Marquardt, I really can't see the rematch being much different. I love Rich but Anderson is on a roll, but it will be a great fight.

Overall, a solid card with a few disappointments but all in all a good night. Now it's on to UFC 74:Respect. Until then this is Rampage23 signing OUT!!!