The 3 judges agree - Mike Swick wins via unanimous decision. I thought this fight had "fight of the night" written all over it, but it was pretty disappointing. Not a whole lot of action and neither fighter had the other in any real danger.
I can't prove it yet, but I really believe Jon Kitna and Michael Bisping are related somehow. Anyway, Bisping looks much better at 185 than he did at 205, that's for sure.
Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day
Round 1 - Leg kick by Day. Both exchanging punches, nothing really landing. Clinch against the fence. Bisping puts Day on his back, starts landing some big punches while Day's on his back. Bisping has side-control. Day rolls out, gets back to his feet -- and gets taken down again. Bisping gets the mount, takes Day's back. Starts landing shots at will. Day keeps giving his back, then rolling back over. And Bisping keeps hitting him regardless. Finally the ref steps in and stops the fight. Day couldn't do anything except cover up, so the ref calls it.
Solid performance by Bisping.
And now the main event. Joe and Mike discuss Thiago's failure to make weight. Joe talks about the need for a weight class between 170-185. And now the fighters are making their way to the octagon. Bruce Buffer is weird. That's all I'm gonna say about that.
Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
Round 1 - Hughes comes out standing lefty. Shoots in, but Thiago stuffs it. Shoots again, drives Alves to the fence, then pulls guard. Alves lands a BIG right as he postures up. Gets back to the feet, but Hughes grabs a leg and gets the takedown. Hughes works from Alves's half-guard. Not much happening now, ref threatens to stand the fight up. More non-action. Thiago tries to stand, but Hughes holds on to a leg. Thiago spins out, then puts Hughes on his back. Thiago then lands a couple of shots as the round comes to a close. Judges probably gave it to Hughes for control, but I saw it for Thiago because he actually was more effective in attacking.
Round 2 - Hughes shoots in, Thiago lands a knee. Hughes falls to his back, bleeding from his face. Alves stands up with Hughes keeping his head down, charging for the takedown. Thiago lands another flying knee, then lands some huge shots to Matt's head. Herb Dean steps in and calls the fight, and Hughes looks out of it.
The replay shows Matt's knee buckled underneath him, bent at a strange angle. So a damaged knee to go along with a battered and bloodied face for Matt Hughes. Alves asks Dana for a title shot in the interview.