Penn vs Sherk UFC 84

Watch this space for live coverage of UFC 84: Ill Will - Penn vs Sherk

Fight Main Card

Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes

Mendez makes his debut and is on an 11 fight win streak and is one of the top contenders in the 205 division. He is looking to make a huge first impression by taking out the dangerous Thiago Silva.

Thiago Silva comes in to the fight with a record of 12-0 with 11 knockouts. Thiago Silva trains with the ATT and is a BJJ black belt with impressive striking.

We are now ready to rock!
Mendez has a two inch height advantage. The first round starts with Mendez with a south paw stance. Mendez with a huge high kick. Silva is in trouble with Mendez bringing him down again with a middle kick. Both fighters get back on their feet and Silva takes Mendez to the cage. Mendez looks for a judo throw, slips and has Silva in his full mount. Silva with strikes from full mount. Silva with an excellent controlling mount, pounds on Mendez and gets the Tapout submission victory.

Winner: Thiago Silva by violent Ground and Pound Tapout in the first round.

We are shown a calm, relaxed BJ Penn and a contrasting Sean Sherk who looks really pumped up and ready to go.

Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz

This is a make or break fight for Tito Ortiz as far as his marketability post UFC is concerned. Tito looks like he has come totally prepared. For Machida, this is the fight that can get him that title shot. This is the make-famous fight for Lyoto Machida and that makes this fight a must-win for both fighters.
A very emotional Tito Ortiz makes his entrance with a totally different entrance song. This looks like a new Tito Ortiz coming into the octagon for the last time. Lyoto comes in looking calm and ready and confident. Looks like a man with a plan! As Goldie just said, We Are Under Way!

Yves Lavigne starts the bout and the first round is under way. Machida with a low kick to start the bout. The crowd cheers for Tito. Machida going for the low kicks and then tries for a high kick. Tito with a few attempts at strikes. Tito goes for a shoot but Machida sees it coming. Tito with a few short punches gets Machida running back. Tito gets a hold on Machida but Machida shrugs him off. Half way through the fight and both men are still trying to feel each other out. Machida elusive as ever, moves away from Tito’s range continuously. Machida with a high kick and then a low kick. Tito tries to get a hold on Machida and fails again. Machida with a switch-high kick. Almost done with the first round and Machida probably has more points in the end. Machida takes Tito down and into side control with some punches from there as the round comes to an end.

Round two starts the same exact way with Machida being strangely elusive. Tito seems confused about how to get Machida down. Tito tries to get Machida to the cage but Machida moves away and gets a kick in. Machida with a nice straight kick and moves again. Tito seems frustrated with not being able to get Machida down. Machida fakes with a low kick and gets a beautiful high kick. Tito is at sea against Machida. Tito with a glancing blow on Machida. Tito looks for a shoot, Machida sprawls and Tito pulls guard. Both men get back on their feet. The second round is almost done and Machida gets a good knee to Tito’s head. Ten seconds left and Tito is really frustrated. The round ends with another one for Machida on points and aggression and control!

Final round and Tito has a cut on the left eye. Ortiz is frustrated and it shows. Yves Lavigne slips and shows some athletic recovery. Ortiz gets in the clinch but doesn’t get any damage done. Machida with a straight left on Tito. Tito tries for a shot again and doesn’t get it. Tito with a knee in a split second clinch on Machida. Machida and Tito exchange blows on the cage. Tito still not able to take Machida down. Tito goes for a single leg but Machida shows great takedown defence. Tito looks at the clock at 2:15 left. Lyoto is basically controlling the fight, warding off Tito and getting strikes in. The referee breaks them from the cage. Machida with a big knee to the body. Tito goes down and Machida gets strikes in. Machida in full guard and Tito closes the guard. Ortiz looks hurt! Less than a minute left and Tito gets an arm bar and almost gets a triangle arm-bar submission but Machida gets away. The fight is over and Machida gets the victory by decision.

Tito is really upset! He goes out trying but Lyoto wins by an impressive show!

Winner: Lyoto Machida by Unanimous Decision

Machida is asked how close that arm-bar was and he says that he was thinking that “I am gonna die, but I won’t tap”. Machida has worked on his english :)

Tito with Rogan now. Tito gives props to Machida and talks about the triangle saying Machida slipped through. Tito is definitely here for a lot more years and goes out by thanking the Fertitas and gives a shout out to his fans, talks about his book and finishes off with a big Send off from the fans. Rogan was the first to interview him after his first fight and does so for his last fight in the UFC.

Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic

Goran Reljic comes into the fight focused and determined to win and preserve his undefeated status. He trains with Crocop and Roger Gracie for his standup and BJJ respectively. This is his first UFC and has been working out at Extreme Couture with Griffin, Silva and others of that high calibre. Wilson Gouveia comes into this fight with a hot win over Jason Lambert and is on a 4-fight win streak. This is a fight between possibly two major players in the future of the light-heavyweight division in the UFC.

The fight is under way. Herb Dean is the official in charge. Wilson with a low kick and another. Reljic looks for a roundhouse kick. Gouveia looks really compact. Reljic with a huge high kick. Gouveia keeps Reljic moving back. Reljic with two-three high kicks that resound through the arena. Both fighters exchange punches. Reljic with a good left straight. Gouveia has a red mark on his shoulder from Reljic’s kicks. Reljic with another high kick. Gouveia with some good right straights. Wilson seems to have a little more respect but goes for a body shot only to get a body kick. Goran with another couple of kicks. Gouveia’s arm is red and he tries to get a few huge punches in on Reljic. Reljic was getting worn out but Reljic pulls a flying guard. Gouveia not able to get too much on Reljic. Goran looking for an omaplata as the round ends.

Sean Thompkins tells Reljic to set up those beautiful kicks and get more out of them. The second round starts with Gouveia looking a little more relaxed and aggressive. Gouveia has the superior boxing but Goran has amazing kicks. Reljic with a big kick. Wilson looking for a big punch. Wilson gets Reljic down with a big punch, gets him on the fence and rains down elbows and strikes. Reljic looking to survive but Wilson is a BJJ black belt. Reljic with an active guard and good defence. Both men back on their feet and Goran looks the worst for wear. Wilson goes down with a big left. WIlson is down and Reljic looks to stop the fight with strikes. Goran unrelenting with strikes on a downed Gouveie as Herb Dean stops the fight.

Winner: Goran Reljic by TKO round two.

Its now time for the two biggest fights on the card. I can’t wait. We are taken into BJ Penn’s locker room and it seems like BJ is getting in the zone. Sherk doing some last minute warm-ups.

But before that we are taken back to the prelim fight between Shane Carwin and Christian Wellisch.

Shane Carwin vs Christian Wellisch

The match gets started as the debutant Carwin gets some nice punches in on Wellisch. Carwin moves away from Christian’s punch and fires back. Carwin with a right straight and knocks out Wellisch. Carwin has never had a fight go out of the first round.

Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO :44 in the first round.

Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva

This is a fight not only between two extremely exciting fighters but also between two fighters who have the best nicknames in the sport as Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine takes on Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

Jardine looks for the victory to get his place in the history books and Silva says that he needs the victory and that he can’t stop.

Keith Jardine, walking in with his coach Greg Jackson, is a very unorthodox fighter who is well rounded and always goes in with a plan to win. Jardine looks really big and really well prepared. The lights go out and the crowd explodes as Wanderlei Silva makes his entrance in to the octagon. This is a tough fight for Silva as every advantage seems to be with Keith Jardine except maybe experience and that makes this an even fight that can go either way.

Mazzagatti starts the fight after a great staredown. Jardine takes the middle immediately. Jardine with a big overhand. Silva with a big right hand. Jardine goes down and Silva pounces on him. Silva with unrelenting strikes and gets the KO!! Silva is Back!!

Jardine is still down and flat out.

Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO in the first minute of the first round!
Ivan Salaverry vs Rousimar Palhares

In another preliminary bout, veteran Ivan Salaverry goes up against newcomer Rousimar Palhares.

The fight starts with Salaverry looking to get a big high kick but is immediately taken down by Palhares and immediately into side control. Rousimar looks really good as gets into a full mount on Ivan. Salaverry turns and Palhares tries to get a rear naked. Salaverry struggling to get out but Palhares is really strong. Salaverry seems to be getting tired already by the effort of getting out of the guard. Salaverry trying to bridge out. Salaverry tries to get out but gets caught in an arm-bar.

Winner: Rousimar Palhares by arm-bar submission - Round 1

The online voting for the main event shows that BJ Penn is a 56% favorite against Sean Sherk. Urijah faber is with Rogan as they talk about BJ’s training camp and the WEC title bout versus Jens Pulver. Pulver is also there and they talk about the big matchup as well. We go to a great package hyping the fight between Pulver and Faber.

It is finally here! The main event of the evening!! BJ Penn vs Sean Sherk!! Will it be BJ keeping the title and proving that he is here to stay and go down in the history books as one of the best ever or will it be Sean Sherk, who never really lost the belt, and wants to prove that he should never have had to fight to regain the belt in the first place and that he deserves to be at the top of the food chain at lightweight in the UFC.

B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk

The lights go out and we hear the music from “jaws” as “the Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk walks down to the octagon. Sherk looks determined and absolutely ready. Sherk looks focused and ripped!! The crowd boos. The question is still - Has BJ gotten into Sherk’s mind enough to make him lose focus on his game plan? The lights go out, we here Hawaiin music and it is time for the champ to come out! BJ Penn looking calm and focused. For Penn, the question remains, can he withstand Sherk’s relentless barrage and get a victory in the first two rounds? Can he take on Sean Sherk for 5 full rounds and come out victorious?

We are ready and here we go! First round starts with Sherk looking for a single leg that BJ defends. Both exchange blows. The crowd is all for BJ. BJ using his range and height to stay away from Sherk’s strikes. Sherk with a good shot. Both fighters looking for a mistake by the other and still staying aggressive. Sherk in a clinch gets an elbow on. BJ counters with a punch. Both seperate. Sherk’s boxing looks crisp. Half-way through the first round. Both men connect with jabs. The clinch is seperated again with BJ getting a parting shot on Sherk. BJ looks for a straight, gets it but Sherk counters with a low kick. Sherk is doing a lot of good with his left hook. Both men exchange again. BJ with a big right. BJ seems to be winning a boxing match by points here. BJ ducks under a right and gets a body shot. The first round ends in an interesting way promising a lot more in rounds to come.

Round two starts and both fighters are back in the middle. This round starts out exactly like the first. Sherk looking to get in on Penn. Penn gets a good combination again. Sherk gets a good number of punches on Penn when BJ went to the clinch. Penn with a nice straight. Sherk getting quicker jabs in. Penn with a few nice strikes from outside. Penn landing a lot more. Sherk jabbing away everytime BJ gets within range. BJ consistently peppering Sherk with jabs. Sherk missing a lot of the punches he tries to land. Sherk finally lands one. 1 minute left and BJ still peppering Sherk. Sherk with a left kick but gets a right pretty straight. Sherk is bleeding from his left cheek. Penn with a right low kick. Penn gets some nice shots in. Sherk looking for a single but BJ shrugs it off.

Round three to start now. BJ looks a little tired but not enough to give Sherk any advantage. Sherk has cuts under both eyes. No chance of stoppage due to those.

Round three starts the exact same way. Sherk looking for jabs again. Sherk caught BJ with a overhand left. BJ with a couple of good jabs that land. This fight can still go either way. BJ shoots in, doesn’t get it but lands a good couple of strikes. Back to the centre. Sherk trying to answer BJ’s strikes with wild strikes. BJ with a right low kick. Sherk with a nice inside right low kick. BJ lands a right hand again. BJ keeping Sherk away with the jabs. Sherk landing more leg kicks. Seems like Sherk is trying to tire BJ and get some strikes in on his legs to make BJ slower. BJ with some more jabs to close out the third round. Sherk goes down with strikes from BJ. BJ gets a huge knee in. Sherk goes down. BJ lands huge strikes. The round ends but so does the match!

Winner: BJ Penn by TKO round three

it was a left hand, right upper as Sherk went back to the cage. BJ caught him with a right knee and teeing off on Sherk. Sherk looked out. No controversy here. Sherk and BJ hug and it seems mutual.

BJ Penn is on top, the champion and moving forward to new challenges in the lightweight division. Buffer announces that the fight was stopped because Sherk was unable to continue. BJ Penn ends it with class and thanks Sherk for a good fight.

Excellent event! Hope you had fun!! Lights out. We’re done.

Preliminary action
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs Jon Koppenhaver

Yoshida is on a 8 fight win streak coming in to this one. The first round starts as Jon looks for a leg kick. Jon moving in on Yoshida but Yoshida with a really cool judo throw. Yoshida with a anaconda choke and is cranking it up on Koppenhaver. Koppenhaver is out cold!! Yoshida chokes Jon out!!

Winner: Yoshiyuki Yoshida by submission: Anaconda Choke - Round 1

Rameau Sokoudjou vs Kazuhiro Nakamura

The first round starts with Sokoudjou taking the centre and starting with a low kick. Nakamura tries to rush Sokoudjou but does not succeed. Sokoudjou with a lot of body kicks. Nakamura counters with a punch. Sokoudjou with some nice punch kick combos. Nakamura looks for a body punch. Soko with a nice low kick. Sokoudjou with a punch kick combo. Follows up with a superman punch. Nakamura tries for a left but misses. Sokoudjou faking a kick. Nakamura looks for a knee. Sokoudjou with a nice right hand on Nakamura. Sokoudjou with a high kick. Both fighters exchange. Soko with a knee to the body. Nakamura looks for a looping left. With five seconds left in round one, Soko gets Nakamura down with a left low kick followed up with a right hand. Nakamura can’t walk, it seems. The referee stops the fight in between rounds as Nakamura cannot continue. Sokoudjou’s kicks took everything out of Nakamura’s leg.

Winner: Remeau Sokoudjou by TKO (Nakamura unable to continue)

Submission of the night: Rousimar Palhares.