|
UFC 98 not
only holds the championship bout for the light
heavy-weight title, but either “Sugar” Rashad Evans or
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will walk away with the first
loss of his MMA career.
Machida has shown
that he is comfortable on the ground or standing up,
where he normally forces his opponents to follow his
game and attacks them off guard. Although the
majority if Machida’s fights have gone the distance
and came down to judges decision, he has showed
great improvement in his stand up and his ability to
capitalize on any given opportunity, as he
demonstrated in his match-up against Thiago Silva.
Light heavy-weight champion Rashad Evans has shown
tremendous improvement in his stand up, finishing
four of his last six fights via TKO or KO. In his
championship title match against former light
heavy-weight champion Forrest Griffin, Rashad
displayed his ground and pound, which put Forrest
away with brutal blows to the head and face.
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson of Irvine became the No. 1
contender for Evans after he defeated Keith Jardine
at UFC 96. Jackson, who will undergo arthroscopic
surgery to repair ligament damage in his jaw, will
face the Evans-Machida winner at a date to be
determined
In the UFC 98 co-feature, former UFC welterweight
champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will finally
meet in a highly-anticipated grudge match. This has
been a feud years in the maing, one that escalated
when Hughes and Serra were featured as rival coaches
on “The Ultimate Fighter 6.” The Matt Hughes and
Matt Serra fight was originally supposed to happen
in December of 2007, but an injury to Serra forced
the fight to be postponed.
Also, there will be a middleweight bout between top
contender Yushin Okami (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and Dan
Miller (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC). So, too, is a
lightweight bout between former champ Sean Sherk
(33-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and contender Frankie Edgar
(9-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
MAIN CARD (televised)
* Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida
* Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
* Dan Miller vs. Yushin Okami
* Frank Edgar vs. Sean Sherk
* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Wilson
PRELIMINARY CARD (un-televised)
* James Irvin vs. Drew McFedries
* Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover
* Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
* Houston Alexander vs. Andre Gusmao
* Brandon Wolff vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
* David Kaplan vs. George Roop |
