This weekend Dana White and the Zuffa brass brought us UFC 108 from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV.  Many fans and media outlets voiced that the card was lacking the “star power” a New Years show should have, but once again the fighters showed up and provided some highlight reel finishes with both striking and submissions throughout the night.

One of the few decisions on the card came in the main event as ex-Michigan State wrestler “Sugar” Rashad Evans edged out tough contender Thiago Silva.  The “W” should set Sugar onto a collision course with his greatest nemesis and fellow TUF 10 coach, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, in a fight that was supposed to go down last month in Memphis at UFC 107.

Evans controlled the first two rounds of the fight against Silva with his wrestling and take-downs, as well as grinding the Brazilian against the fence.  In the third round tides turned as Silva rocked the Big Ten product with a hard combination that resulted in Evans being visibly out on his feet.  Rashad did the stanky-leg dance for the next minute or so but Silva was unable to finish, citing in the post-fight press conference that he had become exhausted from the wrestling in the first two rounds.

Sugar got the “win” but undoubtedly suffered the worse of the punishment.  Don’t worry Rashad, Dana won’t let em’ show that shit in the lead up to your super-fight…  Just like that fish your dad caught gets bigger every time he tells the story, contenders’ past performances become suddenly more impressive when a pay-per-view’s around the corner.

In the co-main event of the evening the UK’s Paul “Semtex” Daley knocked the shit out of ju jitsu specialist Dustin Hazelett.  The brutal finish seemed inevitable right from the start as Hazelett began the fight with a cartwheel heel-attack…  Yikes.  Daley has set his career on the fast track after finishing two of the best in the welterweight division by knockout in the first round.  Hazelett has some of the finest submission finishes in the UFC and hopefully will bounce back from the loss and thrust himself into contender talk once again.

Rest of the Pack:

- Sam Stout pulled out a unanimous decision win against Joe Lazon after the two banged it out for 15 minutes in a “fight of the night” performance that earned each fighter a $50,000 bonus

- Junior dos Santos spoiled Pride veteran Gilbert Yvel’s UFC debut knocking him out at 2:07 of the first round after the two exchanged heavy blows throughout the opening minutes

- Martin Kampmann managed to get back in the win column finishing the gritty Jacob Volkmann by guillotine choke at 4:03 of first round

This weekend MMA fans are in for a treat as one of the game’s greatest champions BJ “The Prodigy” Penn attempts to defend his belt against hungry number-one-contender Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez. Penn is a living legend in the sport and hasn’t lost at 155 lbs in nearly 8 years. Sanchez is a cardio machine that won’t stop moving forward after the first bell sounds. The bout is almost enough to help us forget that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was supposed to be fighting in his hometown against “Sugar” Rashad Evans, but ‘Page went Hollywood on us instead.

The card also features ex-heavyweight champion Frank Mir in a clash of styles against French striker Cheick Kongo. Mir has spent most of the build up to the fight talking about having a third fight with Brock Lesnar, who’s set to face Shane Carwin as soon as doctors give him the green light. The few times Mir has acknowledged Kongo to the media it’s been to insult his ground game and English speaking abilities.

Kongo was last beaten by unanimous decision against Cain Velasquez, though he took that fight on short notice and was promised a title shot had he won the bout. He dropped Velasquez several times in the match but was unable to keep the fight off the mat against the ex-Arizona State wrestler. The winner of tomorrow nights match is immediately thrown in with the top contenders in the division.

The third fight from the top will be Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian against Clay “The Carpenter” Guida.  Sometimes you wonder if Kenny is so pretentious that his eye brows are stuck the way they are, making it appear as if everything he stares at is inadequate. None the less Ken Flo and the Carpenter are two technical fighters with great gas tanks so it should be another great scrap.

Click into the article to see the full list of fights this Saturday from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Main card (Televised):

**Main Event**  UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez

265 lbs.: Frank Mir (12-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (14-5-1)

155 lbs.: Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian (11-4) vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida (25-10)

170 lbs.: Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce

265 lbs.: Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve

Under card (May not be broadcast):

185 lbs.: Wilson Gouveia (12-6) vs. Alan Belcher (14-6)

155 lbs.: Matt Wiman vs. Shane Nelson

170 lbs.: Ricardo Funch (7-0) vs. Johny Hendricks (6-0)

185 lbs.: Rousimar Palhares vs. Lucio Linhares

170 lbs.: DaMarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia

170 lbs.: Kevin Burns (7-3) vs. TJ Grant (14-3)