Author: By Thomas Gerbasi

This is Dan Hardy at 29. Still “The Outlaw,” still alive in the UFC welterweight division, yet still wondering how to right his ship after three consecutive losses. These days, fighters can get cut after three losses; some get released after two defeats, and there are even those who are one and done in the Octagon.

But there’s something about this young man from Nottingham, England, a spark, a charisma, an idea that there’s more to him than his 4-3 UFC record. And these were no slouches that handed him a trio of setbacks over the last 17 months – welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, top contender Carlos Condit, and rising star Anthony Johnson.

A loss is a loss though, and the oft-repeated storyline for his Sunday main event bout against Chris Lytle is that a loss may be disastrous for Hardy’s future in the UFC. He’s not shying away from it, stating that “this is definitely a back against the wall situation.” Yet at the same time, he’s not letting it cripple him mentally in the time leading up to the opening bell.

“I did feel the pressure in the last fight (against Johnson in March), but I’m not feeling it so much now,” he admits. “I’m kinda past that point, and I’ve just got to get in there and do what I do and everything else will take care of itself. I think in the last fight I kinda burned myself out concerning myself with it. Coming off the title fight (with St-Pierre) I went into the Condit fight thinking that this was my first step on the road back to the title. And after that I got caught and I was like ‘hang on a minute, what happened there? That wasn’t supposed to happen. And then I put a little bit of pressure on myself for the Johnson fight and I think it burned me out a little bit.”

Following a 4-0 sprint to begin his UFC career, Hardy was matched up with St-Pierre in March of 2010, and though he lost a lopsided five round decision, he was rightfully praised for his grace and heart under pressure that included some painful submission attempts by the champion. When it was over, Hardy dropped a fight, but little else in terms of public sentiment. Even today, he says “with the GSP fight, there was no pressure because I was counted out from the start.”

There was more on the line in terms of pressure when he returned home to England to face Condit at UFC 120 last October. In that bout, a trade of hooks in which he was a split second slower on the draw allowed Condit to score a memorable first round knockout.

Now 0 for 2, Hardy got the fight he wanted in March against knockout artist Anthony Johnson. Convinced that a slugfest with “Rumble” would put him back on track, Hardy told the world that he was going to come out swinging. Johnson said the same thing. But only Hardy was telling the truth, and in a brilliant display of gamesmanship and disciplined adherence to a gameplan, Johnson – a former national junior college wrestling champion – took Hardy down and kept him there, winning a unanimous decision in the process.

It almost wasn’t a loss for Hardy in the eyes of the public considering that he never really got a chance to fight, and even in a chat with “The Outlaw” in Vegas a couple months back, he still shook his head when talking about the loss – to Condit, not Johnson. Those feelings haven’t changed much.

“I was more annoyed about the Condit fight because it was my own fault,” he said. “That was my arrogance that got the better of me. I caught him with a good shot and I thought, this is it, and I started chasing after him. And it was ego and confidence that got the better of me in that one. I’ve never let that happen before and I never thought I would ever let that happen to myself, and it did, and that’s why it’s still with me. It was my fault that I lost the fight and he feels like he’s a better man and I know he’s not.”

As for his most recent defeat, Hardy says, “The Johnson fight taught me one thing – it was that opponents can be unreliable.”

He laughs, and then elaborates.

“Sometimes when you’re in a fight you make a mistake and it costs you the fight, and sometimes, you just don’t win. “And that was really the case in the Johnson fight. I went in there, felt like I was ready, and when I got in there it just didn’t go my way. I can’t take anything away from him. Obviously I was expecting a different type of fight from him, but it went down the way it did and I really don’t have excuses for it. I know there are things in my game I need to work on, and I think he highlighted that. He played a smart gameplan and he got his win bonus and he’s in a little bit more comfortable position in his career. The fans weren’t too happy about it, but that’s on his conscience and not mine, I guess.”

What did stick in the mind of Hardy was the fact that his inability to stop Johnson’s takedowns or get back to his feet when taken to the mat cost him that fight. So in addition to his usual work in Nottingham early on in camp, he also set up a base in Las Vegas to work with heavyweight contender Roy Nelson and his team, the Country Club.

To many people, that would seem like a major upheaval, but to Hardy, traveling and seeing different things aren’t just perks of the job, they’re passions he’s had for as long as he’s been able to get around on his own. In the process, he’s done a lot of living in just 29 years, more than most, and it’s made him who he is.

“I’m very appreciative and I’ve got a family behind me that have always encouraged me to just go out and experience things,” said Hardy. “For me, it’s traveling, getting out there and meeting people that you wouldn’t normally meet and putting yourself in circumstances where you have to adapt a little bit. I’ve got a little bit more of a mature head because of that I think. I’ve traveled a lot on my own and I’ve been in situations where I’ve got no money and I’m staying in hostels and stuff just to get some training sessions with some guys I look up to, and I look back now and I think that the reason I’m where I’m at now is because I’ve put that time in and taken those risks and kinda lived a little bit rough and on the edge. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and look back and go ‘I should have done that and should have done that.’ I want to feel like if at any time it’s taken away from me, I’ve made the most of it.”

That’s Dan Hardy at 29. So what’s Dan Hardy at 50 going to be like?

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” he laughs. “The Dan Hardy at 50, I’d like to be a lot more educated than I am now, I’d like to be very well read, and a bit more of an English gentleman, maybe. I’ll still be rocking the Mohawk but maybe with a tux at the same time.”

Sounds like a plan. But then again, the best part of Hardy’s life has been not having a plan, just winging it and seeing where life takes him. He’s got his ‘to do’ list. Whether he finishes it is just part of the fun.

“I was having this discussion with my coach the other day, and I don’t think I have enough years in my life to do all the things I want to do,” he said. “But that’s exciting for me because I feel a certain haste to kinda fit it all in and get things done.”

The first thing on that list is to get back in the win column this Sunday against Lytle and revive his quest for another shot at the welterweight title. And whether Lytle stands and trades with him or takes him to the canvas, Hardy insists that you will see a fighter ready for whatever happens when the bell rings.

“I’m not allowing myself to come in unprepared this time,” he said. “One of the reasons why I came out to Vegas was so I can be fully prepared for the fight in every range, and I feel like I am. I feel like it doesn’t matter what Chris comes in to do now, I can beat him wherever the fight goes. And that gives me the confidence to know that it really doesn’t matter what happens in the fight now. I can win it wherever we end up. I’m pretty sure Chris is gonna come in and make an exciting fight for the fans and try to beat me on the feet and get that win. But either way I’m ready for him. It doesn’t really matter what he does this time.”

As for all the other stuff…

“I’m quite relaxed about it,” said Hardy. “Obviously my career’s important to me and my job with the UFC is important to me, but it’s just a case of I’ve just got to do what I can, and as long as I give it everything I’ve got, I can’t do any better for myself than that. I’m confident that I’m in a good place now, I’m relaxed, and I’m ready for this fight. This is the start of the upward swing.”

UFC Live, which is headlined by the welterweight bout between Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle, and the lightweight showdown between Jim Miller and Ben Henderson, airs live on VERSUS from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin beginning at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. Fans who “like” the UFC on Facebook can see the entire slate of UFC Live prelim bouts at 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.

Main Event
Chris Lytle (170.5) VS Dan Hardy (*170)

Ben Henderson (156) VS Jim Miller (155.5)
Donald Cerrone (156) VS Charles Oliveira (155)
Duane Ludwig (170.5) VS Amir Sadollah (170)

Jared Hamman (185) VS CB Dollaway (186)
Eddie Wineland (136) vs Joseph Benavidez (135.5)
Kyle Noke (185) VS Ed Herman (186)
Ronny Markes (205) VS Karlos Vemola (205.5)
Alex Caceres (146) vs Jimy Hettes (145.5)
TJ O’Brien (155.5) VS Cole Miller (155.5)
Danny Castillo (156) VS Jacob Volkmann (156)
Jason Reinhardt (135) VS Edwin Figueroa (136)

* Hardy made weight on his second try after initially weighing in at 171.5

At this level of mixed martial arts, every fight is important, and every win even more so. But Duane Ludwig’s UFC 122 bout against Nick Osipczak had even more hanging on the outcome.

Back from a series of injuries that kept him sidelined for eight months, Ludwig was testing his body out on the sport’s biggest stage, returning to welterweight, and doing it while trying to snap a two fight losing streak. But there was more, as his son, Duane Jr., was born just days before he stepped into the Octagon in Oberhausen, Germany.

If that’s not enough to cause you to crumble mentally, if not physically, I don’t know what is. But that’s why we leave the fighting to guys like Ludwig, and with the pressure on, he came up big, winning a hard-fought split decision over Osipczak to resurrect his career and go home with a story he and his son will get a kick out of one day.

“The last fight was a big fight for me,” said Ludwig, now 28-11. “Obviously coming off the injury and moving up to ’70 and just getting the win. My wife had to stay home because she was pregnant and she gave birth to our little boy days before the fight, so it was special to me to make sure I won. It’s tough to tell your kid I was gone when you were born, but if I would have lost my fight, that would have sucked. (Laughs) So I was definitely happy as can be when I won the fight. It was a special moment.”

It won’t be the last for Ludwig, who also has a daughter with his wife Jessica. And even if he did lose to Osipczak, you get the idea that little “Bang” wouldn’t be too upset considering that dad does have one of the coolest action figure collections around. Yes, Ludwig is a collector.

“I’ve been collecting about nine years, when I first went to Japan in 2002,” he said. “I went to the PRIDE when Don Frye fought Ken Shamrock (PRIDE 19) and they had a bunch of toys. They had action figures of people I actually know, so I just started collecting them then.”

Fans who follow Ludwig on Twitter @DUANEBANGCOM have seen some of his collection over the last few months, including the “Rampage” Jackson figure he got signed at the recent UFC 135 press conference in his home city of Denver. But the crown jewel of the collection?

“Probably my signed Fedor (Emelianenko) HAO toy,” he said. “It’s either that or my (Mirko) Cro Cop one, which I got signed too. But Fedor’s definitely a rare one.”

It’s actually a cool thing to hear that one of the sport’s top fighters is still a fan, willing to not only collect merchandise but to get it autographed as well. Just don’t tell him to open his figures.

“Don’t open them,” he admonishes. “That’s a sin.”

Ludwig’s collecting shows off his love of the game, but that’s something that’s been evident to anyone who has known him over the years.

“It’s in the blood for sure,” said the 33-year old, who began training in Thai boxing at the age of 15 and hasn’t stopped since. “I’ve wanted to be a fighter since I was a child, and every day is a learning process to help find out who you are while presenting yourself with different challenges and having fun. It’s definitely an exciting thing. There were a few times when I wanted to step away from fighting, and when I did, it wasn’t a good life for me. So I definitely need fighting, I need to teach, and it gives me life, for sure.”

That’s not to say it’s all been smooth sailing. An accomplished kickboxer, Ludwig also competed in MMA from 2000 on, and he’s had his share of ups and downs in the win-loss column like any fighter. But in 2009, his body started fighting back after years of training; either that or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“These last two years have been rough,” said Ludwig in a huge understatement. “Before I fought (Darren) Elkins (in March of 2010), I actually completely broke my jaw in training before I got back into the UFC. I broke it in September and I fought in December (against Ryan Roberts). I wasn’t supposed to, but I fought anyway and I lucked out because I didn’t really get hit. Then the UFC called for me to fight Jim Miller and my jaw still wasn’t healed, so I was advised not to fight, but I took the fight any way to get back in the UFC. Then I broke my ankle (against Elkins), so it was definitely a challenging time – mentally, physically, financially, everything. But like I said, this gives me life. I learned a lot of lessons from it, and I got to spend a lot of time with my family, which was nice even though I wasn’t a hundred percent healthy, and everything worked out for the better. Part of that also was fighting at 155. I was always breaking my body down and always training, so my body was always getting injured pretty easily. Once I went up to 170, I felt a lot better. I could eat what I want and when I trained, I felt strong.”

He wasn’t done hitting the injured reserve though. In the Osipczak fight he broke his right thumb, and when that was done healing he injured his sternum in what he calls a “freak accident” that forced him out of a March 2011 bout with Amir Sadollah.

“It was three weeks before the fight,” said Ludwig. “I was ready to go and I was in shape and everything was good, but the injury I had, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t pick anything up or run or do any kind of physical activity. That was the most hindering injury I ever had. Even when my leg was broken I could still lift weights and do other activities. But the injury I had, I couldn’t do anything.”

So it was back to the sidelines. But today – knock wood – Ludwig is healthy, he’s in Milwaukee, and he’s gearing up for the better late than never meeting with Sadollah this Sunday. It’s a fight he can’t wait for.

“I’ve had a lot of time to prepare mentally and physically for him,” he said. “It’s a good fight and I feel like I have a good gameplan lined up for sure. Amir is a very good kickboxer who’s good off his back. He’s not worried about getting taken down because he’s good with armbars and triangles. He’s very confident with his kicks, punches, and knees and he doesn’t hesitate because, again, he doesn’t worry about being on his back. I’ve been watching him since Day One on The Ultimate Fighter and in his fights in two ways – one as an opponent and one as a style to emulate. So I’ve been watching him for a while and I’m a fan of Amir. If had an action figure I’d have that one too. (Laughs) It’s gonna be a good fight, I think we match up well, and I’m happy it’s happening.”

After everything that has happened since the Osipczak fight, he’s probably happy any fight is happening. Then again, that’s the way Ludwig always feels when he gets a chance to perform his art.

The word on the street when it comes to Sunday’s UFC Live bout between lightweight contenders Jim Miller and Ben Henderson is that, given the styles of both men, this might be not just a Fight of the Night candidate, but a choice for best fight of 2011. New Jersey’s Miller is cool with that if it happens, but he’s not training for that possibility.

“A lot of guys say they’re looking for a war and a Fight of the Night. I don’t train for wars; I train for massacres,” said Miller, 20-2 with a seven fight UFC winning streak. “I’m looking to make this where my first punch that lands is the end of his night or pounce on him in the first couple seconds and sub him out. And if that doesn’t work, then I’m just using it to set up the finish. Knowing that he’s a tough opponent doesn’t really change my attitude or my outlook on the fight. I’ve been in tough fights, I’ve gone 15 minutes hard, so I know I can do it. I don’t need to go into the gym and beat myself up and try to build that confidence. I’d rather just train to get better, knowing in the back of my head that if it goes 15 minutes, I’ve got it.”

In a world where many athletes are content to say what they think you want to hear, or at least what looks good in print, Miller is, to steal the UFC’s tagline, “as real as it gets.” If the first thing you think of when you hear New Jersey is Bruce Springsteen and not Snooki, Miller’s your guy, and he’s no nonsense to the core. So when you hear him field question after question about getting a possible title shot at the winner of the third bout between 155-pound boss Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard, you can almost hear him cringe. Is it getting a little crazy for him when it comes to that topic?

“A little bit,” he chuckles.

At the same time though, Miller takes each query with grace, and his answer is what would come out of the mouth of any fighter with a major bout coming up BEFORE any serious title discussion can take place. And in Miller’s case, he really means it.

“I take every fight like it’s the biggest fight because it is,” he said. “Every fight has implications on your career. I’ve got nine wins in the UFC and every one of them has been important, so if I lost one of those fights, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So I just focus on the fight in front of me, knowing that anybody that I step in there against has the potential to beat me if I make mistakes. I focus on not making any mistakes and coming out the winner.”

The hype train for Miller and a world title shot has been picking up steam with each passing bout, with his last two victories (both finishes) over Charles Oliveira and Kamal Shalorus really getting the fight world in his corner. Yet while the questions about facing the champ (and the first man to beat him, back in 2006) have been multiplying, the Sparta native hasn’t blinked an eye in the spotlight, primarily because he’s had the same attitude on fighting that’s been with him since he turned pro in 2005.

“I want to win, I want to dominate my opponents, and you can’t take anybody lightly,” said Miller. “This sport is so exciting for me because you haven’t won until you’ve won and you haven’t lost until you’ve lost. The fight can end at any time. You can be technically beating somebody and get hit with a punch and it’s lights out and the fight’s over, you lose. So I think it’s weird that somebody would step in there and take another guy lightly and not look at it like it’s a huge fight, because they’re all big and everybody’s dangerous, and anything can happen. I train for everybody to be the absolute best in the world at every aspect of the fight, and if they can’t live up to those expectations, then I capitalize on it.”

For a 27-year old prizefighter who specializes in being understated, that may be an even bigger understatement because capitalizing on an opponent’s mistakes doesn’t seem to explain the way Miller finished Oliveira and Shalorus sufficiently. If you’ve been around this game long enough, you can usually see when a submission is being worked for, or when a fighter dropping his left too many times is going to get put to sleep by a right hand. But when Miller took care of his last two foes, there was no such luxury. In a split second, he saw openings and then ended the fights. The speed and finality of Miller’s attack was something to see.

“That’s something I guess I’ve been lucky enough to have,” he said. “Even growing up wrestling, I just attack. You can feel that the opportunity’s just about here and there’s a bolt of energy and you just pounce on it. I like to finish guys. I genuinely, genuinely enjoy it, and if there’s an opportunity, I’m gonna explode on it and try to take it.”

That must take plenty of tape study though, right?

“Honestly, I don’t really study anybody,” Miller admits. “I train to make myself dangerous and that’s what I focus on, just getting better and making them deal with me. I knew against Oliveira that he’s a tough, dangerous kid, but he’s small and not very strong at all, especially compared to the other ’55 pounders I fought in the UFC. So I knew once I got my hands on him that I would have the strength advantage. Shalorus, the way it went was that I was able to wear him down and I knew pretty much that after the beginning of the third round that he had enough. Sometimes you know it and you can feel that the end is near, and it’s coming. That was definitely one of those fights where I knew the finish was coming in that round.”

When you hear Miller talk about fights, you can tell that it’s just not a paycheck for him. It’s his passion and a way of life. And while we all know that this is a sport, complete with all the rules and safeguards that go along with it, Miller also remembers that it’s a fight, and that mentality gives him a substantial edge when it’s time for him to pull the trigger on a finishing blow or submission.

“There are some guys that seem to take it like it’s a sparring session, and don’t seem to take it very seriously,” he said. “I’m in there to win, and there’s a lot riding on each fight. I think what has helped me is that I understand the psychological aspect of the sport, the mental game, a little bit more than some of my peers. I kinda just figured how to turn it on and how to show up for a fight. We don’t have the opportunity to say ‘oh, I had a bad night.’ We only get a couple opportunities a year. We’re thoroughbreds, we’re horses. You get one shot every now and then, and if you don’t show up and step up, that’s your career right there. I’ve been able to focus in and turn that switch on in my head that this is for all the marbles.”

It’s heavy stuff, finishing opponents, fighting for all the marbles, and the kind of things that make this sport an intriguing, yet mysterious one to people outside of the fight community. So while those in and around the Miller clan don’t find anything out of the ordinary with how quiet Jim approaches his sport of choice, that’s not always the case with newbies he runs into. He’s okay with that though.

“To other people, like people you just meet, they still get kinda freaked out about it, like ‘oh my God, that’s gotta be dangerous, isn’t it?’” he laughs. “Not really, it’s just another guy. He’s about your same size and what are they gonna do to you? It’s a lot safer than a lot of other things.”

It’s safe to say he’s never fought Jim Miller.

He was the unlikeliest of sports heroes, but the idea of “can’t” just spurred Matt Hamill on.

What resulted was an impressive run in both amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts, but even more importantly, Hamill – who retired from MMA at the age of 34 Monday following his UFC 133 loss to Alexander Gustafsson last Saturday – was an inspiration to thousands of deaf people who looked to him as an example of what hard work and determination can do. But after years of wear and tear, the Utica, New York resident has decided to move on.

“Today is a sad day for me,” wrote Hamill in a statement on his website, matthamill.com. “After six years and 13 fights in the UFC I’m ready to hang up my gloves and retire from this amazing sport. The UFC has been extremely good to me and given me an opportunity to make a great living. That exposure has allowed me options outside the Octagon as well. I just don’t have it in me to fight anymore and my last two performances have shown that.”

A lifelong wrestler, Loveland, Ohio native Hamill won three National titles while at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and also excelled at the Deaflympics. He soon turned to mixed martial arts, really making a splash on the world scene during his stint on season three of The Ultimate Fighter, where he set the stage to become the first deaf fighter in the UFC. It was a monumental achievement.

“I had a lot of e-mails and letters from parents who thought their own deaf children would never be equal to the “hearing” world,” said Hamill in 2006.  “I hope that I have showed them and others that you can rise to the best of your ability and even strive past that. It takes hard work and determination, but it can be done.”

Following his appearance on TUF3, Hamill entered the UFC in 2006 with raw talent but little experience. He made up for what he didn’t know with a relentless drive, and he won his first three Octagon bouts before a highly controversial decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 75.

The loss seemed to do even more to boost the popularity of “The Hammer,” and after splitting his next two bouts, defeating Tim Boetsch and losing to Rich Franklin, Hamill won his next five fights. Of course, a 2009 win over current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was a controversial disqualification victory, but Hamill showed his class whenever he was asked about the fight.

“I made a lot of mistakes against Jon Jones and I know he won that fight, no question,” said Hamill earlier this year, but what came after that bout is what mattered, as he won a three round war with Keith Jardine in June of last year, and then decisioned his former coach on TUF3, Tito Ortiz, last October.

But the rigors of the fight game were beginning to catch up with Hamill, and after a UFC 130 loss to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in May, he considered retirement.

“I was ready to make this decision (to retire) after UFC 130 but my friends, family coaches and most importantly my daughter encouraged me to give it one last chance,” wrote Hamill in Monday’s statement. “My career has been plagued by injuries starting with The Ultimate Fighter and disrupted my training ever since. There hasn’t been even one training camp where I’ve been able to train without training around an injury. I have not been kind to my body and it has nothing left after 28 years of non-stop competition. It’s time to finally give it a rest.”

Last Saturday, Hamill looked sluggish in his late-notice bout against Alexander Gustafsson, which saw him stopped in the second round.

“I can’t continue to fight without having the hunger and desire to do so,” wrote Hamill. “I can’t let my performances reflect on my coaches, who are the best in the world and the reason I’ve made it this far.”

With today’s announcement, Hamill leaves the sport as an active competitor with a record of 11-4. But his impact has gone far beyond what happened in the Octagon.

“I think he’s a hero to everybody, whether they’re hearing or deaf, disabled, or anything,” said Hamill’s longtime trainer, manager, and friend, Duff Holmes. “He’s a guy who everybody with a disability has looked up to and said ‘look what this guy’s done,’ and he’s given everybody hope. In Philly, he saw a young kid in a wheelchair and he looks at me and goes ‘go over there, I want to meet that kid.’ Usually it’s the other way around and kids want to meet these professional athletes, but Matt wants to meet these kids. The kid had his jaw to the floor, finding out who Matt is. It’s been so special for me to be around situations like that and see what he’s done for people. I personally could not be prouder than to have been allowed to take this journey with him.”

And thankfully, Hamill is far from done with mixed martial arts.

“I have fallen in love with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and I will continue to coach at our gym Mohawk Valley MMA alongside my teammates and help the next generation of fighters make it to the UFC,” wrote Hamill. “I also look forward to continuing my business ventures outside the UFC including ‘Hamill’ the movie based on my life story set to be released this fall.”

“I want to thank Dana White, Joe Silva Lorenzo Fertitta and everyone at the UFC for the opportunity to make something special out of my life. Thank you to Duff Holmes, Bruno Tostes, Dave Kingwater, Renzo Gracie, Tim Greene, Daniel Gracie, Pat Popolizio, Ron Gross, Doug Blubaugh and Mark Dellagrotte. Thank you to all my training partners who have shared their blood sweat and tears with me along the way. Thank you to all my friends and family for their unconditional support and most of all thank you to my fans! It’s the fans that have made this the truly special experience it has been. The UFC has become family to me and I hope to be involved with the number one mixed martial arts organization in the world as a coach, ambassador and fan for a long time to come.”

PHILADELPHIA, August 6 – After a furious barrage of blazing lefts and rights, it wasn’t 2011 Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center, it was 1997, as middleweight contender Vitor Belfort showed off the speed and power that first made his name back in the early days of the UFC as he hurt and finished Yoshihiro Akiyama in devastating fashion in the UFC 133 co-main event.

“I feel great,” said Belfort, who was making his first start since he was knocked out by an Anderson Silva front kick in their February title fight. “I feel like if that kick didn’t land, that’s what would have happened to him (Silva).”

After a tentative opening by both as they got acclimated to the bout, Belfort caught Akiyama with a shot to the head and staggered him. “The Phenom” then went into finishing mode with a ferocious series of punches. Akiyama appeared to be weathering the attack, but as soon as he rose to his feet, Belfort sent him back down, with referee Mario Yamasaki stopping the bout moments later at 1:52 of the round.

“I’m back.” said Belfort.

With the win, Belfort improves to 20-9; Akiyama falls to 13-4 with 2 NC. The Brazilian also received $70,000 for his KO of the Night.

EBERSOLE vs. HALLMAN

The first talking points in the clash of welterweight veterans Brian Ebersole and Dennis Hallman centered on the arrow shaved in Ebersole’s chest and the speedos worn by Hallman, but as soon as the bell rang, the compelling action in the Octagon took over, and after a rough start, it was Ebersole who moved to 2-0 in the UFC with a first round TKO win.

Hallman rushed from his corner at the opening bell and took Ebersole to the mat, immediately taking his back. Ebersole wouldn’t give up his neck though, eventually bettering his position. This time though, Hallman sunk in a guillotine choke, which Ebersole powered his way out of, leaving him open to pound away with strikes from the top position. Hallman looked to pull off a submission from the bottom, but Ebersole’s attack was relentless, eventually rocking and bloodying Hallman and prompting referee Kevin Mulhall to stop the fight at the 4:28 mark.

With the win, Ebersole improves to 48-14-1 with 1 NC; Hallman falls to 66-14-2 with 1 NC. In a clear UFC first, Dana White announced afterward that Ebersole would receive a $70,000 “Thanks for getting those horrifying shorts off TV as soon as possible” bonus.

PHILIPPOU vs. RIVERA

The expected brawl between middleweight strikers Costa Philippou and Jorge Rivera didn’t materialize, but Philippou did win the three round war of attrition, scoring a three round split decision to earn his first UFC victory.

29-28 twice and 28-29 for Philippou, who improves to 8-2 with 1 NC; Rivera falls to 18-9.

Rivera started his offense off quick, landing with kicks from long range. Surprisingly, Philippou closed the gap, and after a brief tie-up he took Rivera down. Philippou was able to land some punches to the face before Rivera rose to his feet, and the Long Islander kept Rivera pinned to the fence until referee Mario Yamasaki restarted the bout. The visibly heavier Philippou bulled Rivera into the fence a second time, drawing boos from the crowd, but they got back into it when “El Conquistador” got loose and scored with a hard right hand in the final minute.

After boos ended the first round, they quickly turned to cheers in the second as the two middleweights began throwing haymakers. A Philippou right hand hit paydirt and hurt Rivera, and the veteran New Englander looked to be on the verge of being stopped after taking a series of unanswered shots. Remarkably, Rivera not only survived, he reversed position and being landing ground strikes of his own before getting back to his feet. After this burst of activity, Philippou again pushed matters to the fence before going to the mat in an attempt for a submission, but it was not to be.

Rivera pressed the action as the third frame opened, but the tiring Philippou stayed out of trouble and took Rivera to the mat. Rivera attempted a triangle choke from the bottom position, but Philippou easily pulled out of it and the two rose to their feet. With fatigue an obvious issue, the fighters continued to grapple against the fence, with Rivera doing the bulk of the work thanks to some strikes to the head. It wasn’t enough though, and boos filled the arena as the bout ended.

MacDONALD vs. PYLE

In the lead-up to their bout, Mike Pyle made no secret of his belief that 22-year old welterweight phenom Rory MacDonald wasn’t ready for prime time yet. But the Canadian prospect let his fists do the talking as he delivered a dominant first round TKO win over the seasoned vet in the main card opener.

MacDonald drew first blood early in the opening round, dropping Pyle with a quick right hand. Pyle, unhurt, got back to his feet and scored a takedown on his opponent, but MacDonald found his feet just as fast. Pyle stayed close though, scoring another takedown before MacDonald found some distance and landed a quick combination. An ensuing Pyle takedown attempt saw him almost get caught in a choke, but the veteran spun out of danger. MacDonald wasn’t about to be denied though, and as he sent ground strikes in Pyle’s direction, the speed and intensity of each shot increased. Soon, Pyle was on his stomach and covering up, and after a series of unanswered blows, referee Kevin Mulhall was forced to halt the bout at the 3:54 mark.

With the win, MacDonald improves to 12-1; Pyle falls to 21-8-1.