Fight Talk

Mike Swick won last night’s Ultimate Fight Night over Josh Burkman in a battle of welterweights. The crowd booed after a bout that didn’t live up to expectations from an action standpoint.

Swick improved his record to 11-2, while Burkman dropped to 9-5.

Nate Diaz, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5, defeated Alvin Robinson in Round 1 with a triangle choke.

In other bouts, Patrick Cote knocked off Drew McFedries by TKO in the first round; and Thiago Tavares defeated Michihiro Omigawa by unanimous decision.

B.J. Penn captured the vacant UFC lightweight title with a win over Joe Stevenson at UFC 80: Rapid Fire in Newcastle, England.

Penn clobbered Stevenson early, almost winning the bout in the opening seconds. Penn opened up Stevenson’s forehead before putting him away with a rear naked choke late in the first round.

Penn, a former welterweight champion, became the second man to win UFC titles in different weight divisions. Randy Couture was the first (light heavyweight and heavyweight).

Sean Sherk did commentary at ringside. He lost the lightweight title after testing positive for a banned substance. Sherk will battle Penn at a future pay-per-view to determine the undisputed king of the lightweight (155-pound) division.

In the heavyweight division, Fabricio Werdum upset fellow Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO with a flurry of punches late in Round 2.

In other bouts:

– Marcus Davis beat Jess Liaudin with a very quick knockout.
– Jorge Rivera upset Kendall Grove with a first-round knockout.
– Wilson Gouveia took an early beating but came back to knock out Jason Lambert in Round 2.
– Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor, a pair of British fighters, opened their fight with a wild slugfest. The bout went the distance with Kelly winning a unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship will present its 80th big show, Rapid Fire, live on pay-per-view on Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. Eastern from Newcastle, England.

“The Prodigy” B.J. Penn will headline the event, as he will battle Joe Stevenson for the vacant UFC lightweight title. Previous champion Sean Sherk was stripped of the belt late last year after testing positive for a banned substance.

Penn’s last fight took place six month ago, when he choked out Jens Pulver at the Ultimate Fighter 5 finale. Penn has a record of 11-4-1 and is a former UFC welterweight champion.

Stevenson (28-7) has slugged his way into contention with four wins in a row, most recently a unanimous decision over Kurt Pellegrino in August.

The second-to-top match will be a battle between Brazilian heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabricio Werdum.

Gonzaga put himself on the map when he knocked out Mirko Cro Cop last April. That win earned him a shot at UFC heavyweight champion Randy “The Natural” Couture, who defeated him on a TKO in August.

Werdum is 9-3-1 but lost his only UFC fight to Andrei Arlovski by unanimous decision last April.

This show will show how big UFC’s core fan base is, since it’s last big show from the U.K. aired on a tape delay on prime-time TV. This time, UFC is hoping its fans will pay for the show and watch it live on a Saturday afternoon.

The rest of the undercard includes Jess Jiaudin vs. Marcus Davis (welterweights); Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert (light heavyweights); and Jorge Rivera vs. Kendall Grove (middleweights).

The first big MMA show of 2008 will be “UFC 80: Rapid Fire” from Newcastle, England on Jan. 19. After the suspension of lightweight champion Sean Sherk, B.J. Penn will battle Joe Stevenson for the interim lightweight title.

In a battle of heavyweights, Gabriel Gonzaga will take on Fabricio Werdum. Other bouts include Marcus Davis vs. Jess Liaudin; Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert; and Kendall Grove vs. Jorge Rivera.

Brock Lesnar’s debut against Frank Mir will take place at “UFC 81:Breaking Point” in Las Vegas on Feb. 2. Also, Tim Sylvia will face Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera in a heavyweight fight.

The first Elite XC show of the year will air on Showtime on Jan. 25 from Atlantic City, N.J. Bellaton “Eurothrash” Frederick will battle Kala Kolohe Hose, while Kyle Bradley will fight Yves Edwards.

In women’s action, Julie Kedzie will take on Tonya Evinger.

Elite XC will come right back to Showtime again on Feb. 16 as Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson takes on UFC legend Tank Abbott. The show will take place in Miami.

Scott Smith will fight Kyle Noke on the show, while James “Colossus” Thompson and Antonio Silva will also fight on the show.