411's UFC 79: Nemesis Report 12.29.07

Posted by Michael Huckaby on 12.30.2007

St. Pierre proves his dominance in the division as Liddell and Wanderlei live up to their expectations...

Melvin Guillard vs Rich Clementi

Guillard, entering the ring second, walks up to Clementi and they have to be briefly separated. For anyone unaware, these two are both from Louisiana, briefly were training partners, and have had years of words with one another, including a physical altercation or two outside of the cage.

Round 1: They circle briefly to start until Melvin throws a wild right which doesn't connect. One minute in and only a couple of strikes have been thrown with nothing connecting outside of a Clementi legkick. Nice combination by Guillard is responded to with two nice legkicks by Clementi. Wild combination by Guillard is again ineffective as Guillard takes center position in the cage with Rich circling. Clementi gets a bodylock on Guillard and slams him to the ground, securing Guillard's back. Melvin looks calm in the bad situation as Clementi gets the hooks in. Clementi looks to go for a full nelson and Guillard gets back to his feet only to fall back on Clementi with top position. They pop right back up to the feet and Melvin finally lands a big punch which leads to a takedown of his own. Clementi gets an omaplata and uses it to get top position and land some body punches. Clementi looks for the back again and gets a hook before flattening him out and going with a body triangle. Guillard defends and taps with only 20 seconds remaining in the round.

Winner: Rich Clementi, submission (RNC), Round 1

After the fight Guillard gets up as if to attack Clementi, who is celebrating, and is held back by the referee.

During his post-fight interview, Clementi says he put Guillard in his place and there is nothing worse than a man that "talks shit" and doesn't back it up. This leads to Guillard rushing him again, proving Clementi's point.

Lyoto Machida vs Sokoudjou

Sokoudjou comes out to the cage with a Predator mask on. It's fantastic.

Round 1: Machida with a straight left and we're at a calm pace to start until Sokoudjou hits a nice punch, clinches, and takes him down. Machida reverses and gets top position, controlling Sokoudjou down and working for a kimura. Machida gets closer and closer to the kimura as Sokoudjou looks to his Team Quest corner for instruction. Little action on the ground as Machida works to get out of Sokoudjou's half guard as the crowd begins to boo. Yamasaki stops the action and decides to stand the fighters back up. Body kick by Machida leads to Sokoudjou clinching and taking Machida down in the corner. Machida is back up at the ten second mark and we clinch against the cage until the round ends. Very close round to score, 411mania.com gives it to Machida 10-9.

Round 2: Nice high kick by Machida but Sokoudjou's hands stay up. Leg kick by Machida and this is the exact style and pace Lyoto would have wanted. Some kicks are exchanged and very little is happening 90 seconds into the round. Sokoudjou walks right into a straight left by Machida and drops to the ground. Machida hops on top and lands punches working into half guard. That came out of nowhere. Sokoudjou looks to have recovered but Machida is looking to work over into an arm triangle and gets into full mount with two minutes remaining in the round. From his mount, Machida looks for the arm triangle again but Sokoudjou powers out and remains in bottom position. Excellent elbow by Machida and he works to the side again for the arm triangle and he taps.

Winner: Lyoto Machida, submission (arm triangle choke), Rd2

I would say Machida could make the Tasmanian Devil look plodding but atleast he finished the fight so I won't.

And Lyoto's nickname is apparently "The Dragon" now, just so you know.

Eddie Sanchez vs Soa Palelei

A mindblowing 10-inch reach advantage for Palelei. It's actually wingspan, not reach, but whatever MMA and boxing want to say it is I suppose they have the right.

Round 1: They touch gloves and Sanchez IMMEDIATELY goes into punch mode from there. They clinch and Soa gets the best position against the cage. Palelei with a half trip takedown, struggling to get Sanchez down. Palelei tries to flatten out the legs but Sanchez's top half is still resting against the cage as Soa struggles with his legs. Palelei gives up and we're back on the feet where the ref stops action accusing Sanchez of an accidental low blow. When restarted they both throw a huge punch at the same time before clinching again. Sanchez now has the clinching advantage against the cage and lands smaller shots. Nice knee to the gut by Palelei as he takes dominant clinch position against the cage as the crowd boos and Yamasaki restarts them in the center. Palelei throws a ridiculous punch and put so much on it that when he missed he fell to the ground. He's back up and they're feeling each other out in the center of the cage again. We're clinched and Sanchez has position against the cage. Nice uppercut by Sanchez ends the first round. 411mania scores it 10-9 for Eddie Sanchez.

Round 2: With these two throwing ridiculous punches and missing I think it's just a matter of time until one lands and the fight is over. Palelei has position in the clinch on the cage as they exchange short punches. Again they're restarted in the center via boredom. Sanchez starts to land the left jab as Soa just seems to be sitting back. Nice right hand by Palelei as he clinches Sanchez again against the cage. They're stopped a third time to be restarted in the center. Again we're against the cage, Palelei with position, until Sanchez gets a takedown against the cage. Nice pushoff by Soa and we're again on the feet. They exchange jabs until Soa misses another wild right hand and we're clinched on the cage. Great uppercut by Sanchez might have just won him the round, Soa's knees buckled a bit but he stayed up. Sanchez is the only one throwing now but he also has his hands down and he's acting way too cocky. 411mania scores it 10-9 for Eddie Sanchez.

Greg Maddux and Rob from "Rob & Big" on MTV are here tonight. They mentioned it so I thought I would.

Round 3: Sanchez starts by throwing several strikes and then clinches him against the cage and gets reversed. Soa again isn't throwing much and Eddie is landing a few punches here and there and bloodying Palelei up. Palelei's blood is all over Eddie's back and shoulders and hair, he's not throwing much at all and just letting Sanchez throw a ton of punches. The crowd is booing with two minutes left as Sanchez is holding Palelei against the cage and throws punches. After a couple of punches the fight is stopped via TKO apparently due to Soa's eye.

Winner: Eddie Sanchez, TKO (punches), Rd3

Eddie Sanchez screams and yells at him after the fight for no apparent reason.

- Goldberg passingly said during the fight that Big Nog and Tim Sylvia will meet for the Heavyweight Title on Super Bowl weekend. So much for a big announcement.

Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva

Herb Dean is your referee.

Round 1: No glove touch and we're underway. They both start out cautious and circle in the center of the cage. After seeing Chuck backing away, Wanderlei drops his hands and walks backwards. Both men showing respect for the other 80 seconds in with nothing major occurring. Chuck misses a big right and Wandy lands a leg kick. Wanderlei looks to fake being hurt to land a big shot on Liddell and then they have a massive exchange and both men end it standing. Liddell, much like the Jardine fight, looks to be looking for a big knockout shot instead of solid shots. More massive punches are exchanged and missed and Liddell has taken the center of the cage. Wanderlei eats a couple of shots and then they exchange wild misses again. Both men look as though they're scared to throw non-knockout punches as if they'll eat something if they don't end it with their own. And we end the first round with circling. Good round, if I had to pick Chuck Liddell takes it 10-9.

Round 2: Wandy comes out more aggressive with a big combo but nothing lands flush. Liddell is still playing the cautious counter-puncher and they're both throwing leather. Wanderlei lands a couple but no damage looks to be done, Wanderlei is certainly more aggressive in round two. Chuck slips but regains his footing but now Wanderlei has taken center position in the Octagon. Wandy landing alot of body kicks and hitting more punches in this round. Wanderlei looks to land on Chuck, briefly dropping him to the mat, but he's back up. They exchange big shots and Silva is the only one throwing kicks. We clinch for the first time and Chuck lands multiple shots and opens a big gash on Wandy's face. They exchange a massive flurry and they're still standing in the center, great round. Wanderlei opens up a cut on Chuck with thirty seconds left but Chuck stumbles Wandy and lands a couple more shots. Chuck Liddell with a takedown! Absolutely insane round. Chuck might have won it late but Wanderlei won it early. No idea who took the round, but probably 10-9 for Wanderlei Silva.

Round 3: Chuck Liddell with a takedown to the start the round! Wandy immediately gets back to his feet and lands a jab. These last four minutes will probably determine the winner. A Liddell spinning back fist staggers Wanderlei and now they exchange massively on the cage with Chuck getting the better of it. Both men look to be tired with two minutes left, Liddell is currently winning the round. Liddell keeps looking at the clock (1:30) but Wanderlei hasn't landing anything devastating in the round. Liddell is doing a nice job of jabbing when Wanderlei looks to be pulling his punch back. With thirty seconds left Wanderlei really needs to press and land but both men are tired and Liddell takes Silva down for a third time in the fight and that is where we end. 411mania scores the round 10-9 for Chuck Liddell, and the fight 29-28 for Liddell.

Winner: Chuck Liddell, unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Interim Welterweight Title: Matt Hughes vs Georges St. Pierre

Somewhat surprisingly, Matt Hughes is introduced first.

Round 1: They touch gloves and we're underway. Hughes attempts the first takedown and doesn't get close, again if you haven't heard GSP is going out for the Canadian Olympic wrestling team. Leg kick by GSP as Hughes takes center position in the Octagon. GSP misses a couple of kicks as Hughes goes for the takedown but GSP defends it brilliantly and we're clinched in the center. GSP takes Hughes down from that clinch as Hughes looks to throw elbows from the bottom. I believe GSP has replaced Cro Cop and maybe even Liddell for the best takedown defense in MMA. GSP still on top as he shoves Hughes against the cage and throws strikes in the Hughes half guard. Hughes very active from the bottom looking for submissions but GSP continues to land punches from the top as the fact of Matt Hughes is bright red. GSP moves to full mount and slams Hughes's head into the mat, he's completely dominating position. GSP has been warned three times about hitting in the back of the head. GSP moves to the back of Matt Hughes as the round ends. 411mania easily scores round one for Georges St. Pierre, complete domination.

Round 2: GSP starts by missing a couple of kicks. They clinch again and again GSP takes Hughes down. GSP hops from full guard to half guard, continually working to improve his position. Nice elbow by GSP but Hughes is doing a better job this round at defending the ground-and-pound. GSP works to full mount for a second time in the fight and he again takes the back of Hughes. GSP puts in the hooks and looks for the RNC but Hughes spins out and we're in north-south position. Hughes tries to stand but GSP stuffs him back up against the cage. Hughes goes for the legs and grabs them against the cage, looking for his own takedown. GSP's takedown defense is unbelievable as he fights back and again slams Hughes down, this time into side control. GSP works for an arm, grabs it, and Matt Hughes verbally submits and the fight is stopped.

Winner: Georges St. Pierre, submission (verbal), Rd2

Complete and utter domination by Georges St. Pierre, it wasn't even close. Replay shows Hughes yell "tap" four times to the official.

In victory, GSP states he doesn't want the interim belt and hands it off. He says the real champion is Matt Serra and he's ready to fight him for the real belt.

INSIDE THE CAGE: A FIGHTER'S EYE FOR THE FANS - UFC 79 VIDEO RECAP

Paul returns, this time with some friends, for the breakdown UFC 79: Nemesis. Check out Paul and crew as they analyze and discuss all of the nights fights and share what worked and why for the night's winners.

Inside The Cage: A Fighter's Eye for the Fans, only on 411mania.com!