With that amount of trash-talk and hype, it was inevitable. So much build up could only guarantee disappointment.

Much like a beautiful woman telling you how you’re about to be the greatest lover she’s ever had might leave you feeling somewhat deflated, the fight between Rampage and Rashad left us feeling awkward and uncomfortable, wondering, should we try to explain, or rationalize? Perhaps it was best to sit in awkward silence.

Rashad Evans took control of the fight early, landing an overhand right and sending Rampage reeling off-balance into the Octagon fence. From there things stalled. The fighters remained locked in a clinch game for nearly all of the fifteen minutes of action. And I use the term “action” in its loosest possible interpretation.

The only noise came in the third when Rampage appeared to nearly finish Evans following an uppercut from the clinch. After the shot, Rampage swarmed on Evans and threw bombs – unfortunately they all missed their target, allowing Evans to regain composure and keep Rampage from creating space to strike. After the two separated, Rampage appeared too tired to go in for the kill on a wobbly Evans. He recovered, and sealed the deal with another takedown of Rampage and some rarely-seen offense on the ground.

Nobody got Paul Daley’d after the fight, and the two feuding fighters even showed each other respect. Rampage stated his interest in a rematch without the affliction of a fifteen month layoff.

Mike Bisping took a unanimous decision win over Dan Miller in the co-main event. The striking game went down exactly as you would imagine it would – Bisping was able to work Miller over for the most part. Miller again showed no semblance of game plan as he was content to try to strike with Bisping, not trying to initiate the clinch or take the Brit down. Miller was fighting with so many personal and family issues going into this fight – I hope the UFC take care of him and make sure he gets another shot. I also hope Miller and his camp start working on strategy a little more, and understanding that making the fight as hard as possible on yourself isn’t some kind of badge of honor in MMA – it’s a disaster.

What is Love? A Knee to the Face, Evidently

Diego Sanchez got smashed in his return to welterweight. Underdog and still unbeaten John “Haddaway” Hathaway blasted Diego with a knee early on and dominated him over the course of the fight. UFC president Dana White’s message to Sanchez was clear following the fight: Go back to lightweight.

White may have a point – Sanchez looked positively miniature against Hathaway. Moreover, I think the issue for Diego may be a matter of pride, rather than one of weight-cutting. After getting absolutely carved up by BJ Penn in their championship bout, Sanchez may have felt more comfortable with the field of contenders at the welterweight level. It’s time to re-evaluate that decision.

Hathaway is now 4-0 in the UFC and 13-0 overall. What’s next for him? Tests at the second tier of the division in the form of fights with wrestlers would prove the most illustrative. Hathaway is big for the division, and if he can deal with dominant wrestlers who are just as big as he is, we’ll get a much better ideal of his potential. After this fight, it looks nearly as fantastic as a club hit with a great hook and serious pop sensibilities. “I give you my looove, but you don’t caaare.”

Greatest Moment of the Night

Mike Russow successfully employing Kid Presentable and Homer Simpson’s famed strategy: Tire your opponent out by letting him punch you in the face, then, when he’s exhausted from over-punching, NUDGE HIM. Todd Duffee got nudged by Russow in an event apparently so glorious to witness in person that Joe Rogan nearly exploded with ecstasy in trying to make the call.

Other Thoughts

Jason Brilz got robbed in his fight with Rogerio Nogueira. It wasn’t as one-sided as many are claiming, but Brilz won two out of the three rounds on most people’s score cards, and impressed fans with his control and tenacity. Nogueira looked great for his part, executing beautiful sweeps and working to frame submissions.

Why doesn’t Luis Banha Cane know how to fight southpaws? After getting absolutely blasted into outer-space by Rogerio Nogueira in his last fight, you would think that working on defense against left-handed fighters might be on the list of things to learn at camp Cane. If Banha wants to keep his already plummeting stock from depleting any further, he’s got to work on shoring up some fundamental deficiencies.

Evidently someone taught Mike Goldberg the word “epic”. Unfortunately he still has not learned the definition of the word “ironic”.

Former UFC competitor and OSU Wrestler Jake Rosholt will return to MMA in a bout against Rudy Lindsey on March 6th at the XFL’s March Badness event. Rosholt was released by the UFC in November following losing two of three during his tenure in the octagon. Rosholt dropped fights to Kendall Grove and Dan Miller. Sandwiched in between those losses was a submission win over Chris Leben at UFC 102 in August of last year.

Rudy Lindsey is 11-9 and is coming off back-to-back losses to Tim Boetsch and Edgar Santos. Read more details here.

Nightmare of Battle is reporting here that Japanese sensation Akihiro Gono is training stateside at the famed American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. A.K.A. is home to UFC stalwarts Jon Fitch, Josh Koshcheck, Mike Swick and Cain Velasquez, as well as former Strikeforce lightweight champ, Josh Thompson.

Gono is coming off a big win at the Sengoku vs. Dream show from new year’s eve. The former UFC competitor defeated Hyato “Mach” Saukrai via armbar in the second round of their fight. That makes two wins in a row for Gono following his devastating highlight-reel knockout loss to Dan Hornbuckle in Sengoku last year.

Gono is currently gearing up for his next match in Sengoku against 12-1 Swedish fighter Diego Gonzalez. Gonzalez’s sole defeat came at the hands of current UFC welterweight challenger, Dan Hardy – a fighter who bested Gono in the UFC in late 2008.

Nightmare of Battle is also reporting Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao is fighting American sumo wrestler Henry “Sentoryu” Miller, a veteran of the PRIDE Fighting Championships, DEEP, Pancrase, and HEAT promotions. The show will take place on March 7th, 2010 from the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.

Greg Savage from Sherdog.com is reporting that Couture vs. Franklin is being looked at as a possibility for UFC 115 in June. The show marks the fight promoter’s first show in Canada outside Montreal – the show will be staged at Vancouver’s GM Place.

Couture confirmed to Savage that he has been approached about the bout, but is currently noncommittal due to possible conflicts with acting work.

Check out the full story at Sherdog.com, here.

Tatame is reporting here that Vitor Belfort has a shoulder injury which may necessitate the postponement of his fight against UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.

The report appears to be based on statements attributed to Belfort’s karate instructor, Jayme Sandall. When Tatame contacted Anderson Silva for comment, neither he nor his camp confirmed knowledge of any injury. If the reports prove true, it will mark the second time this bout has been delayed.

Look for more details to surface from Brazil in the coming days.

Updated, 6:33pm EST: Dana White indeed confirmed that Vitor is out and the fight is off via a message on his twitter on Thursday afternoon.

After their recent war of words, it appears as though former Chute Box teammates Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva have put aside any differences they may have had.

A report from Tatame quotes Anderson as saying:

Wanderlei is crazy (laughs), he’s crazy, but it’s ok, we’re ok… He knows all my critics [sic] are positive, that I know his talent… We’re together, Wanderlei is amazing.

…And I think to myself, what a wonderful world…

Source: Tatame.

Ortiz gets the Dr. of Triggonomic’s thoughts on his upcoming bout with Josh Koshcheck at UFC 103. Trigg also weighs in on the upcoming Coleman/Ortiz bout. Good times had by all.

From Sportsnet.ca.

Tito Ortiz talks to Vitor Belfort about his return to the UFC, as well as his upcoming fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 103.

From Sportsnet.ca.

The UFC’s Joe Rogan makes a brief appearance in Alex Jones’ feature, The Obama Deception.

KRS One also appears, as does a weathered Professor Griff. Mike Goldberg, however, is nowhere to be found.

Worth a watch if you’re into that kind of thing, or just very open minded. The film’s thesis is essentially that a ruling banking elite control the federal reserve and ultimately control the president, who serves as a puppet or figurehead. Obama is owned by bankers (as has been every president in recent years). Lots could be said or written about this, but I’ll just present the link, and let you do with it what you will.

After a link was posted to this video by Eddie Bravo on the Underground, Rogan explained his participation in a forum post:

First of all I had no idea I was going to be in this video. We were having a conversation about politics in the green room of a comedy club in austin and Alex used the video for his film.
Alex is a friend of mine, and has been for 10 years. He’s a great guy, fun to hang around with, and almost completely nuts.
Although I’m greatly skeptical of almost all politicians and their motives, Alex goes way over the deep end way past me, deep into crazy town.
It doesn’t mean he’s not right about a lot of disturbing things – because he is – but the dude is off his rocker. I don’t buy into all his theories, but he’s a fun guy to hang out with and I enjoy talking to him.

You can view the original thread on the UG here. Alex Jones runs the websites Infowars and PrisonPlanet.