Fightin' Words

By Joe Fernandez

Now only after the UFC's latest and most impressive acquisition to date, can the best of the UFC face the best of Pride without worrying about a snag in negotiations.

The owners of the UFC, Frank J. Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo Fertitta, have announced the purchasing of Japan's Pride Fighting Championship on March 27.

Even though both organizations will remain separate entities and Pride will now operate under UFC-owned Pride FC Worldwide Holdings, LLC, two of the top names in mixed martial arts are now one. Remember that Wanderlei Silva/Chuck Liddell fight that never happened? It would be interesting to see if the UFC will make that happen if Chuck holds onto his belt against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 71 on May 26.

And another impressive acquisition could be on the horizon for the UFC. In a conference call Tuesday morning, UFC President Dana White said the UFC is working with Fedor Emelianenko, looking to sign the former Pride champion to either the UFC or Pride. Emelianenko, who is currently with Bodogfight, will face Matt Lindland during Bodogfight's Clash of the Nations on April 14 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

By Joe Fernandez

Here are the matches I'd like to see if these welterweight fighters win their next matches at UFC 69.

If Georges St. Pierre defeats Matt Serra

The easy one is St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes Part III -- Return of the Hughes. It would be a classic match, no doubt about it, but I'd like to see someone else vs. St. Pierre. All depending on if he wins his match against Josh Koscheck, but I'd like to see St. Pierre fight Diego Sanchez. They are both very well-rounded fighters, who can succeed on the ground as well as their feet. Sanchez, who has been working out with Oscar de la Hoya in Puerto Rico for the Koscheck fight, knocked out Joe Riggs in his last fight and St. Pierre scored that impressive TKO win against Hughes in his last fight. They both have excellent cardio, it would be a classic 25 minutes.

If Matt Serra defeats Georges St. Pierre

If Serra is able to stop St. Pierre then a Serra/Hughes fight would be outstanding. Some people would say that Hughes would take Serra down and that would be that. But what about Serra's Brazilian jiu-jitsu ability? The guy IS a black belt, and if you remember Hughes' last match against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt (BJ Penn), he had a very tough first two rounds and Penn almost caught him with a couple of submissions. Since both fighters are better on the ground, it would be interesting to see if both of them felt comfortable enough to keep the fight standing. Plus, the two looked like they weren't the best of friends on the fourth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Even though Matt Hughes is Matt Hughes, don't count out the tough guy from East Meadow.

If Josh Koscheck defeats Diego Sanchez

With presently four consecutive UFC wins and then a victory against the 19-0 Diego Sanchez, it's difficult to not put Josh Koscheck in the mix of top contenders in the welterweight division. If Koscheck does defeat Sanchez, I would like to see him fight Karo Parisyan. In my opinion, Parisyan is always in that mix of top welterweight contenders. The guy fights as calm as I've seen any UFC figher fight. His judo background provides us with at least three memorable takedowns a fight, and his only two UFC defeats were decision losses against Sanchez and St. Pierre -- Nothing to be upset about. Would Parisyan be able to take down the former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion?

What other UFC matches would be classics?

Once again, thanks for reading.

By Joe Fernandez

Just a reminder.

IFL will have its "Countdown to Battleground" show tonight at 8 p.m. ET on MyNetworkTV.

The show will preview the "IFL Battleground" series, which starts at 8 p.m. Monday, March 12 on MyNetworkTV. According to MyNetworkTV's website, the show will air on WWOR-9 on Long Island.

Also at 11 p.m. on Saturday, Fox Sports Net will run its "IFL Fight Night: Scorpions vs. Sabres." The show will feature the card from Feb. 2 in Houston.

By Joe Fernandez

The fight left UFC commentator Joe Rogan "speechless", but Randy Couture managed to say a few words for the fans in Columbus, Ohio.

"Not bad for an old man," the 43-year-old said after the fight.

The former light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion controlled the 6-8, 263-pound Sylvia for five rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory during the main event Saturday night at UFC 68.

Couture, with his best Rocky-type performance, outwrestled, outboxed and outlasted the former champ in one of the greatest UFC performances of all time. The 6-foot-2 Couture (15-8, 12-5 UFC), who was 40 1/2 pounds lighter than Sylvia at the time of weigh-ins on Friday, landed his first punch of the fight, an overhand right, to the side of Sylvia's face and knocked him down. Couture scrambled after Sylvia (25-3, 8-3) and eventually got his back, but Sylvia protected himself from the choke attempts and lasted the round. The sequence of Couture landing more effective punches and then using his takedowns would become the theme of the night.

Sylvia never really attempted to use his kicks, one of his best weapons. With Couture being a world-class wrestler, attempting a kick could've possibly made Sylvia more susceptible to a takedown, but either way, that didn't stop Couture, who seemed to have a flawless game-plan.

"When I thought he was going to stand with me he shot," Sylvia said. "When I thought he was going to shoot he threw hands. He kept me off balance all night."

Couture, who retired in 2006 after his second loss to Chuck Liddell at light-heavyweight, agreed to take the fight after being called by UFC President Dana White.

"I think in the underdog spot I tend to flourish," Couture said. "This was no different. Unfortunately at 43, I think I'm going to be the underdog for the rest of my career, so I'd better watch out."

Other fights:

Rich Franklin's relentless offensive led to Jason MacDonald and his corner stopping the fight after the second round.

Matt Hughes went back to his ground-and-pound/wrestling style and controlled Chris Lytle for three rounds, earning the unanimous decision victory.

Martin Kampmann withstood an early barrage of punches from Drew McFedries and earned a submission victory via an arm triangle in the first round.

Jason Lambert scored a TKO victory against Renato "Babalu" Sobral in the second round after Sobral controlled the first round on the ground.