Mark- He may be doomed to be a gatekeeper but there are worse ways to make a paycheck. Of course he should still be on UFC main cards. They give those slots mainly to guys who are a draw and guys who are up and comers but you need some Lytle’s there too just to keep things interesting. Dana White always tells fighters their futures are safe if they put on an entertaining show, so I would have to think Lytle qualifies at this point. If he had lost to a lot of nobodies then that’s one thing, but you make a good point in that he’s fought some top-caliber guys. He’s certainly not in a position to be climbing the ranks but he’s still a serviceable fighter, especially as a gatekeeper.

Switch Places-Mark goes first.

How much have injuries hurt the UFC 90 card?

Mark- I think the injuries have been devastating. Goran Reljic and Thales Leites was going to be a fantastic showdown and Diego Sanchez v. Thiago Alves had major implications to the future of the welterweight division. To casual fans, the UFC 90 card may have been lacking some pop and the flare that many shows have but those were two very intriguing and entertaining fights that have been lost. Alves v. Koscheck will still be decent but because we’ve seen Koschcek lose to St. Pierre this fight loses some luster. It hurts even more because the main event, Anderson Silva v. Patrick Cote, isn’t that great. I really don’t think Cote will be much of a challenge for Silva, which means the card relies on Silva’s star power (means little to casual fans unfortunately) and three solid undercard bouts. Two are changed now. Fortunately, we still have Sean Sherk v. Tyson Griffin but this card wasn’t nearly as intriguing as it would have been.

Kelly- Alves and Sanchez was going to be a throwdown that would have had soccer moms texting each other about behind their husbands backs. Squeamish MMA haters would have been traumatized by the blood and brutality for months as they wet their beds at night remembering that fight. I seriously thought it had fight of the year potential so I loudly proclaimed, "FUCK!" in the middle of my office when I learned it was scrapped, which scared half of my co-workers. Nothing the UFC does can make up for that one being taken off the card since the main event won’t go past the second round (I actually believe Cote will get through the first round-call me crazy). Alves faces a more dangerous opponent in Koscheck because "The Pitbull" is not a great wrestler and Kos will certainly want to take this one to the ground. What does that spell? B-O-R-I-N-G. The fight, or grappling match I should say, to watch is Matt Horwich versus Ricardo Almeida. That will be a display of top-level ground work and should deliver submission of the night.