Mike Goldberg is Still the Greatest

Faithful readers of this blog (both of you) know that the only thing I enjoy more than the action in the cage is the artful discourse offered up by Mike Goldberg. The shallow knowledge base, the limited command of his own native language, the irregular cadence of his speech...there's just one Goldie, kids.

Here are some gems from Saturday's UFC 79. Keep in mind that the following were said with complete seriousness and great conviction:

"Harley DAVID-son...the only motorcycles worthy of being in the octagon!" -- Never have I seen a motorcycle in the octagon. Ever.

"Catches a quick jab..."

(Rogan): "That was a straight left."

"Yeah, it was. Pardon me." -- I almost made pudding in my pants when I heard this one.

"For their entire lives, they've been as dangerous as any fighter alive!" -- Beautiful hyperbole.

"He (Wanderlei Silva) defines...cagefighter!" -- Even though he built his legacy in a ring...

"I spoke to John Hackelman last night, Joe, and he said that Chuck IS...ready!" -- You never spoke to Hackelman.

"David Spade...amongst the MEGA-celebrities who've come out for the UFC." -- David Spade is a little lesbian who is by no means a mega-celebrity.

GSP Replaces Serra for UFC 79

That's right. Apparently, Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes III will be for an interim welterweight title. The UFC sure does love them some interim titles. Why they don't just say that GSP and Hughes, or BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson, will be fighting for top contender status I'll never know. Read more from UFC.com.

As you can see, UFC 79 is looking real good these days:

GSP-Matt Hughes

Chuck Liddell-Wanderlei Silva

Lyoto Machida - Thierry Sokoudjou

Injured Matt Serra Scratched from UFC 79

UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra suffered a herniated disc while training on Monday and is no longer scheduled to defend his belt against Matt Hughes at UFC 79 on December 29. Serra was quoted with the following:

"This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off of the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – all I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”

Read more from UFC.com.

Wanderlei vs. Chuck

It's on - for real this time - for UFC 79 on December 29.

Have You Seen This DirecTV Ad?

I'll say it again: until it's confirmed by the UFC, it's all just speculation to me.

Chuck and Wanderlei Agree on December 29 Fight

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer is reporting that Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 79 on December 29 in Las Vegas. Until I hear the UFC confirm that this fight is a go, I'm not going to get too excited.

Pit Boss Hackleman Says Chuck vs. Wanderlei Will Happen in December

John Hackleman, The Pit taskmaster and Chuck Liddell’s trainer, suggested in a recent interview that the UFC is going ahead with a December 29th fight between Chuck and Wanderlei Silva. I’ve been burned before with such promises, so I'm not buying it just yet.

Click here for the full interview. Hackleman mentions the fight at the very end.

BJ Penn on UFC 79 Card

And all the while I've been waiting to see whom The Prodigy would be facing in November at UFC 78.

Now it seems that between the ongoing Sean Sherk juice circus and the UFC determining a top contender at 155 - and one who'll be healthy and cleared to go - BJ will be fighting on a UFC 79 card (December 29) that also features, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Cheick Kongo, Rodrigo Nogueira, and Wanderlei Silva.

And the odds are that I'll be away on vacation and will miss this card. Fuck me.