It started with Kenny Florian (-145) beating Carlos Huerta by decision, winning every round 10-9 in a smart, technical display featuring some hard kicks and takedowns. Later in the evening, Brock Lesnar (-240) supplied the beatdown with another unanimous decision over Heath Herring. Lesnar was dominant, but patient, learning from his mistake in his UFC debut loss to Frank Mir.

The main event topped them all. Georges St. Pierre (-350) was never in danger against Jon Fitch, but the underdog showed a lot of heart and even had some good offense in the second and fourth rounds. In the end, St. Pierre remains the Welterweight champion by unanimous decision. Next up: a likely bout with Lightweight champ B.J. Penn.

Part of the reason for this slowdown is the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, in which interim Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and No. 1 contender Frank Mir are acting as coaches. They won’t meet until December, after the series is done airing. But Emelianenko’s refusal to sign with UFC, and Couture’s subsequent defection, have kept what should be the biggest money fight in MMA out of the Octagon.

Into the breach steps Brock Lesnar. He’s a –230 favorite over Heath Herring (+180) at Saturday’s UFC 87 event in his home state of Minnesota. He’s big, and he’s popular, but is he ready to lead?

I have much the same feeling about Brock Lesnar (–270). Yes, he is exactly the kind of person you do not want to find yourself in combat with. But we saw in his UFC debut against Frank Mir that Lesnar needs to work on his defense. It’s enough to make me lean toward Heath Herring (+210) in their heavyweight bout, if only from a value standpoint. Lesnar should still win.

One upset I predict will happen: Roger Huerta (+125) over Kenny Florian (–155). Huerta hasn’t lost an MMA bout in over four years.

Aug. 9 is a little over a week away, but it’s not too early to gaze into the crystal ball for UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. As long as the “Octagon Girls” are inside. Mercy.

Welterweight: Georges St. Pierre (champion) vs. Jon Fitch (challenger). St. Pierre is the best there is. Fitch is capable, but moving way up in class.
Prediction: St. Pierre Pick: Fitch (+235)

Lightweight: Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta: Huerta is 6-0 in UFC and battle-tested before that. Florian is the public favorite.
Prediction: Huerta Pick: Huerta (+125)

Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring: Lesnar was beating the tar out of Frank Mir before getting sucked into a kneebar. He needs to prove himself.
Prediction: Lesnar Pick: Herring (+210)

Lightweight: Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson: Odds were pending at press time. I like Gamburyan’s judo background and his attitude.

Middleweight: Jason MacDonald vs. Demian Maia: Maia’s impressive Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills should overcome the tough Nova Scotia veteran.

Emelianenko was the –350 favorite at press time; he’s 28-1-1 in MMA action, with the only loss coming at a RINGS event in 2000 due to a very controversial referee stoppage. Sylvia (+275) is 24-4, with all four losses against top competition while fighting for the UFC Heavyweight title.

That competition level might be the difference in Saturday’s fight. Emelianenko hasn’t really been tested since beating Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005. And this isn’t the first time Sylvia goes into combat as the underdog. He’s got all the betting value in this matchup, but if you ignore the odds, Fedor is the easy pick.

It would be even more shocking if we hadn’t seen it so many times before. Once again, an alumnus of The Ultimate Fighter series has pulled off a major MMA upset. Once again, a big-name fighter from PRIDE has lost in the UFC Octagon. But it’s still strange to see this: Forrest Griffin, Light Heavyweight champion.

Griffin had the fight of his life last Saturday at UFC 86 in Las Vegas, going to the wire with defending champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The fight could have gone either way; in the end, Griffin won a unanimous decision that did not sit well with many fans at Mandalay Bay. A rematch seems inevitable.

Patrick Cote scored an even narrower victory over Ricardo Almeida in Saturday’s second most important bout, winning by split decision. Cote improves to 12-4 in MMA action and moves one step closer to a fight with Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

We’ve missed you, Rampage.

Quinton Jackson will grace the octagon for the first time since September when he faces Forrest Griffin in the main event of UFC 86. Saturday’s big card at Mandalay Bay isn’t as hotly anticipated as you might expect, mainly because of the long layoff that allowed Jackson and Griffin to participate as a coaches in The Ultimate Fighter 7 series.

It also doesn’t help that Griffin is a +215 underdog. Although he upset Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 76, Griffin is expected to have his head handed to him by the indomitable Rampage. It isn’t that Griffin can’t stand up with the best of them – this is all about Jackson. His victories over Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson showed the value of Jackson’s training with Juanito Ibarra. Any concerns about Jackson’s work ethic are ancient history now.

Griffin may still be the value pick, but Jackson isn’t likely to lose the Light Heavyweight strap this Saturday.

This fight was originally supposed to take place at UFC 85. Liddell and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were going to meet, but Evans stepped in for the injured Rua, and then Liddell tore a hamstring. UFC officials scrapped the whole fight at that point.

If things go as planned this time, this will be the first fight of 2008 for both men. Odds had yet to be posted at press time; the popular Liddell figures to be the favorite, but Evans has yet to lose a fight in his MMA career. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 series is 11-0-1 with a win over Michael Bisping and a draw against Tito Ortiz.

UFC will serve up Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove in the main event. Tanner is a heavy –200 chalk even though he hasn’t won a fight since 2006. The former Middleweight champion came out of semi-retirement to sign a four-bout deal with UFC; his return in March was a losing proposition at the hands (and knees) of Yushin Okami. Grove is also trying to get back into the win column after consecutive losses to Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera.

Every athlete’s career has a beginning, a middle and an end. Tito Ortiz looks like he’s close to the end now.

Ortiz was the biggest name in MMA as recently as two years ago. Then he lost a chance to regain the light heavyweight championship versus Chuck Liddell, drew Rashad Evans, and lost to Lyoto Machida last month at UFC 84. By press time, Ortiz had fallen out of the Top 10 light heavyweights in the world according to the Sherdog rankings.

The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” still has plenty of fight in him at age 33. But you can read the future on the T-shirts Ortiz wears to the octagon; against Machida, the shirt read “I Did It My Way.” This past week, Ortiz claimed in an interview with Maxim that UFC prez Dana White “made the biggest mistake of his career” by letting Ortiz “get away.” Then again, White’s career has yet to peak.

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