In case you were one of the few MMA fans on the planet that didn’t catch last night’s UFC event, fellow MMA fanatic Michael Hans has provided some guest commentary for The Punch. His thoughts on UFC 84 (FYI, I wholeheartedly agree with points number 1 and 4):

1) Loved the Penn fight. He dominated and I would like to see him rule the lightweights for years to come. I know why he wants to fight GSP, but that’s for personal not professional reasons. He wants to beat the one guy who is a true challenge for him and avenge his lost to George. If he stopped and looked at it from a professional stand point. He should stay at 155 and have three to four title defenses a year. He could be the Matt Hughes of the lightweights and rule the weight class for the next five years. If he goes up and fights GSP what does it do for the sport? If he loses, it devalues the lightweight belt, if he wins, is he going to just stay up and fight at middle weight? The UFC needs marketable champions at every weight class. Dominant fighters that they can bring in multiple guys in to challenge and get their asses handed to them. That’s what made watch Hughes’ title run so fun. I say, let GSP and Penn defend their belts for as long as possible.

2) Jardine went down like I thought that he would. I like the guy, but his chin doesn’t match up well with an aggressive heavy hitter like Silva or Houston Alexander. The only reason he was able to beat Liddell was because Liddell is a counter puncher. He was not aggressive and let Jardine control the fight. If you are fighting Jardine, you need to come at him hard and take a chance, hit him right and you will knock him out.

3) Keep your eyes on Goran Reljic. This Croatian sensation has it and I expect him to be a top contender in a few years. His over 80″ reach is off the charts. He has dynamic power in his kicks and just the right look and fighting style that fans pay to see. Granted he almost got KO’ed last night, but you could also say that he kept his his composer, fought back and had a entertaining fight for his first time in the UFC. How many fighters over the years have you had to hear that fighters have to get use to the lime light and that it takes a couple fights under the pay-per-view lights to get their bearings. This 24 year old kid looked good, and he could have a belt some day.

4) Shocker. Lyoto is boring. My buddy, Backdoor, says, “Lyoto is a strategic fighter.” I say, people pay good money to see a fight not a track meet. Engage or go home! If Machida fought with Silva’s passion he would be a hell of a fighter, but he doesn’t and never will. This guy needs to only fight aggressive risk takers. His next fight, if he even gets one, should be against Silva and then we’ll see if he will engage or run. My bet is that Machida will bring his track shoes.

5) Palhares looks good. Real good. Glad to see Sokoudjou get a TKO. I like the guy and he needs to string some wins together.

6) Shocked to read this morning that Heavyweight, Shane Carwin, was a division II National Wrestling Champion. You throw in his punching power, with what I can only assume is dominate ground game, and you got the makings of a great fighter.

In another installment of MMA Fix on Raw Vegas.tv, Dave Farra catches up with former Pride champ Wanderlei Silva during a training session for his upcoming fight at UFC 84. There is some good footage of Wandi doing some endurance training with his nose taped shut and breathing through only a snorkel. Now that Silva is off the roid, he needs to step up the intensity naturally. I give him points for originality and resourcefulness.

Wanderlei also covers his thought on his match against Keith Jardie as well as reflects on his fight with Chuck Liddell.

Here we go, the saga continues. All of this back and forth will soon come to a halt after UFC 84, but for now UFC fighter Tito Ortiz and UFC president Dana White continue to show how little respect they have for one another. Here is 9 minutes of Tito speaking his mind, 100% without fear of any UFC backlash. I can’t imagine that after this kind of tirade that Ortiz will ever step into the octagon again after UFC 84. At least he’s going out swinging.

Headlining UFC 164…Sean Sherk’s kid. This photo is total random I know, but I think it’s somewhat interesting to get a look into the personal lives of mma fighters, particular some of the big name UFC guys.

Dave Meltzer over at Yahoo! Sports posted an article yesterday saying that Tito Ortiz will end his 11-year career with the Ultimate Fighting Champpionship after UFC 84. This isn’t too surprising, but what was surprising is that Dana White claims Tito made almost $6 million in 2006. I’m not sure how he came up with that number, maybe Ortiz is a large stakes holder in his girlfriend’s company, Vivid Video?

Also of interest (as always) is what Dana White had to say about Oritz as their business relationship finally winds down. A sample of Dana’s thoughts on the matter:

“He’s one of the most dishonest human beings I’ve ever met. I put up with him when he was a good fighter. He’s not anymore. He’s done. I’m no longer in the Tito Ortiz business.

There’s not going to be any bidding war, Gary Shaw (promoter at Elite XC) should offer him $30 a fight, because we’re not going to match it.

This guy went on Howard Stern and said he was getting $200,000 a fight. That was such a lie. Tito made $5.8 million in 2006. He only fought once in 2007. He made $710,000 for that fight (with Rashad Evans) and that was the third match from the top (on the card). He goes around saying we made $231 million last year. He’s a moron. This guy talks about what a businessman he is, and he was on ‘The Apprentice’ and he doesn’t know the difference between revenue and profit.”

Tough words as always from the UFC president. To see Tito’s thoughts, check out the full article on Yahoo! Sports

AskMen.com sent me an email the other day letting me know they posted a “pageant” of the UFC Octagon Girls. Of course I couldn’t resist checking it out. Right now Rachelle Leah is leading the pack of three. Check it out and cast your vote. Click image below to be taken to AskMen.com’s UFC Octagon Girls page.