Fight night craziness

Saturday night, we had the privilege of hosting our monthly fight night, UFC 76. The night was sure to be a fan's delight with fights between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio Rua, Diego Sanchez and Jon Fitch, and Chuck Liddell and Keith Jardine. All were great fights, with Griffin pulling off the upset win over Rua, who brought a damaging Pride reputation into the octagon. Griffin submitted Rua in the third round by rear-naked choke.

Sanchez and Fitch was definitely a crowd pleaser. Fitch, in short, manhandled Sanchez. Not allowing the young grappler to get in rhythmn and dominate on the ground as Sanchez is accustomed to. Fitch won by split-decision, which brings up questions as to what fight one of the judges was watching. It was clear to everyone, that Fitch deserved a unanimous victory.

The main event, Liddell versus Jardine, proved contrary to the excitement and expectations of UFC fans. My husband stated, Liddell looked like a "one-trick pony." Jardine went toe-to-toe with the heavy handed Liddell and dominated. Liddell won the first round with smart boxing. However, after getting comfortable and confident, Jardine hammered 'The Iceman' with great combinations and devastating kicks. In the end, Jardine's hand was raised. A noticeably bruised Liddell, body as well as confidence, left with back-to-back losses. His prior loss going to Quinton Jackson just months before.

UFC fans now raise the question about Liddell's future. In fact, Yahoo Sports reported today that Dana White, UFC president, is thinking the same thing. Time will tell.

On a side note: Our UFC fight night brought the largest group to date. We've been hosting UFC events to just a few people for just over a year now. Saturday night, we had over 20 adults and their kids. If this continues, we'll have to find a different venue.