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A few observations from UFC on FX: “Guillard vs. Miller”:

-Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov wrecked Kamal Shalorus something fierce. Which is a pity, because his name is exceedingly hard to spell, and now we’re going to see that badass fight lots more and guys like me have to write about it. Why can’t guys with names like “Joe Smith” fight?

-Thank you, Jorge Rivera, for a long and fruitful career in the cage. You may not have won any UFC titles, but you kicked ass more often than not and always entertained.

-Not since Andre Roberts KO’d Harry Moskowitz at UFC 17 have we seen standing elbows used like that. Welcome to the Octagon, Nick Denis. You shall make a fine addition to the bantamweight roster.

-Ah what the heck, if Pat Barry can deliver those colorful knockouts every now and then, I say keep him. Christian Morecraft, on the other, has got to go.

-Mike Easton: scrapping hard like it ain’t no thang.

-In case you were wondering, that guillotine Josh Neer employed is dubbed a “C-otine”, which was the work product of Miletich-trained Mike Ciesnolevicz from years ago. If you thought TUF washout Cody McKenzie invented it, please punch yourself in the groin now.

-I don’t fault Melvin Guillard for getting swiftly handled once he went to the ground. No, all credit goes to Jim Miller and his ace jiu-jitsu skills on that. WAR MILLER!

Rundown of UFC on FX 1 post-fight news and notes…

— 7,728 UFC fans attended UFC on FX 1 in Nashville for a $334,860 live gate

— Nick Denis picked up the $45,000 KO of the Night bonus for pounding Jospeh Sandoval into unconsciousness with a series of short standing elbows. Jim Miller earned the submission bonus for choking out Melvin Guillard. And Pat Barry and Christian Morecraft were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus for their brief but thrilling match.

— Jim Miller had to weather one hell of a storm before he was able to choke out Melvin Guillard for the win Friday night. Miller said the finish came purely on instinct.

“I really don’t remember much of it, to be honest,” said Miller, who earned a first-round submission victory at Bridgestone Arena after surviving some hard shots. “It just kind of went into work mode and doing what I’m comfortable doing at that point. Those punches, you don’t feel them.

“That first overhand, I’m pretty sure he had to break his hand on my head. My head still hurts. With the one he dropped me with, I didn’t really feel.”

“I don’t know how I took his back,” Miller said with a shrug. “I just knew I wanted to squeeze as hard as I could once I had it.”

The comeback win puts Miller back “in the mix” at lightweight, according to UFC president Dana White. Some have suggested Miller fight Nate Diaz next. The fight makes sense, but it would be a tough one for Miller stylistically with Diaz’s reach and BJJ.

— It was certainly a disappointing loss for Melvin Guillard, but not as crushing as the loss to Joe Lauzon, explained Guillard at the post-fight press conference.

“To lose to a guy like Jim, I wasn’t emotional about this loss like I was for the Lauzon fight because I really feel in my heart the Lauzon fight was a fluke,” he said. “I had Jim hurt, and my thing was I wanted to be patient. I just backed off when I probably could have swung. It could have been a different result.

“But I don’t regret anything I did tonight. I think I went in and implemented my game. I fought one of the best guys in this division, and I think I sent a message to a lot of guys. But I also understand now everyone’s going to want to take my back. Two fights in a row, two good guys took my back.”

Despite losing back-to-back fights after being one win away from a title shot, Guillard is still optimistic about the future, especially in regards to his ground game.

Now I have to go home, back to Florida, and grind it out with the Blackzillions, man. I have ‘JZ’ Cavalcante, I have Jorge Santiago, I have a lot of great jiu-jitsu partners now that I didn’t have before. Give me about a year, man. Just be patient with me, I’ll submit someone.”

Melvin has had some setbacks recently, yes, but it’s clear that he is maturing as a person and a fighter. If Guillard ever shores up his ground game, he’s going to be one tough guy to beat.

— Pat Barry showed marked improvement in his ground game last night when he escaped two submission attempts before knocking out Christian Morecraft. Barry credited Team DeathClutch for the evolution of his ground game.

“I think that was the first time I was the smallest guy in the room, when I was rolling around with the big guys at Death Clutch. Wrestling is the most tiring thing in the world,” said Barry. “I never knew I was claustrophobic until I had these guys lying on top of me. Now it’s becoming a little more second nature, being on the ground and [reacting] to being in trouble instead of just panicking.”

“It’s the evolution of the sport. I’m not as bad as people think. I just haven’t done it a lot. This is like third or fourth time I’ve done live groundwork [in a fight],” Barry said. “I’m going to throw heat at anybody, no matter who it is. I fought [Mirko] ‘Cro Cop’ [Filipovic], [Cheick] Kongo and Stefan Struve. Morecraft was a bigger fight to me than all of those, because every fight is the next big fight.”

Barry still has a ways to go before he’s ready to take on the top tier of the heavyweight division, but last night was an important first step in getting there.

— Like Jim Miller, Josh Neer faced a little adversity before eventually pulling off the submission victory against Duane “Bang” Ludwig last night. Neer explained at the post-fight press conference that his back-up plan was to take Ludwig down and submit him if he couldn’t keep up with Bang’s kickboxing.

“He hurt me with a couple of shots,” Neer said at the evening’s post-fight press conference, which took place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. “I went in with a gameplan that if he started winning the exchanges, I was going to take it to the ground and try and submit him, try and beat him up there. That’s what I did.”

Neer hopes to get back in the cage sooner than later.

— Jorge Rivera didn’t change his mind about retirement after picking up the final victory of his career against Eric Schafer last night. Rivera told reporters he made up his mind when he started camp.

“It was the start of the camp,” he said of his decision. “I had a school opening up, and I was cutting time between training and the school. I saw the future and what I wanted to do and how I wanted to go about it, and I had had enough.”

“It wasn’t hard a decision at all,” he said. “I see some of these guys like (UFC on FX 1 headliners) Melvin (Guillard) and Jim (Miller), and they’re young, man. They’re no joke. My reflexes are slowing down. I’ve got a family to take care of, and I don’t want to suffer a serious injury that might complicate that.

“I’m very happy with what I’ve done here, and I’m very happy with what it gave back to me, and it’s time to go. I’m happy to be going with a W.”

Rivera isn’t walking away from the sport a millionaire like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture or Brock Lesnar, but that’s okay. Rivera says he’s “content” with the way things worked out.

— I saw some mixed reactions to Jon Anik and Kenny Florian’s UFC commentary debuts last night. I thought they actually did a pretty damn good job, but I’m not the type that nitpicks at every little thing a commentator does wrong. As long they’re not so bad it becomes distracting, you won’t hear me complain.

Image via Tracy Lee for Yahoo! Sports

If you’re a Jorge Rivera fan, you might want to find a way to watch the UFC on FX 1 prelims on FUEL TV tonight because it’s going to be the last time you see him fight.

Reason being Rivera announced on MMA Junkie radio today that he is retiring tonight whether he wins or loses to Eric Schaefer on the UFC on FX 1 preliminary card.

“I’ve thought about this for a long time,” Rivera said. “If I would have won my last fight, I would have walked away. But that’s not how it worked out, and I just told myself I would leave no matter what happens.

“It’s time to go. I’m starting to feel like that old man in the club trying to pick up chicks. It gets a little creepy after a while.”

“I’ve had a great time,” he said. “I absolutely love the fans. I love everything about this job. It’s going to be hard to be away from it. And I hope to be back cornering somebody else, but this will be the last time I fight.”

Sadly, Rivera says he does have a lot of regrets about his UFC career. He wishes he would have took his training more seriously and never realized the opportunity he had in front of him until it was too late. Nevertheless, Rivera has the chance to go out with a win tonight, a rare occurrence in professional sports, and taste the sweet thrill of victory one last time.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Update: In case you missed it, Jorge Rivera finished out his career with a win over Eric Schafer at UFC on FX 1. Here’s Rivera talking about the victory and retirement at the post-fight press conference via MMA Weekly.

Jorge Rivera isn’t retiring just yet.

MMA Junkie is reporting that Rivera will face off against Eric “Red” Schafer on Jan. 20 at UFC on FX 1.

Sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that middleweights Jorge Rivera (19-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) and Eric Schafer (12-6-2 MMA, 3-5 UFC) have verbally agreed to meet at UFC on FX 1. Contracts are expected shortly.

Rivera is coming off back-to-back losses against Michael Bisping and Constantinos Philippou while Schafer is winless in his last three UFC fights. It definitely looks like a must-win fight for both fighters.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

A few observations from UFC 133:

-There are two types of fighters in the 145-pound division right now: those who would get killed by Jose Aldo, and those who would merely be gravely wounded when defeated by him.  The Chad Mendes we saw last night would be the former.

-Matt Hamill is not the first wrestler to forgo what he’s good at and instead fight outside of his comfort zone, but c’mon, if you’re going to play the striking game at least throw some strikes.  The dude looked like a light-heavyweight punching bag.

-Rory MacDonald: the vanguard of the next generation of elite mixed martial artists.  After him, the next evolution of fighters will have cybernetic enhancements and mutant superpowers.

-For someone so close to the cusp of retirement, Jorge Rivera did well for himself.  And Costa Philippou is no slouch.

-All the people giving Dennis Hallman grief for his (admittedly regrettable) choice of shorts are forgetting the time early UFC competitor Joe Son wore a thong to a fight. 

-With his epic beard – and I truly mean epic – Johny Hendricks looked like a cross between a prime Andrei Arlovski and badger.  Too bad he fights like neither.

-Nick Pace did enough to win.  Unless, of course, the value of a close rear naked choke and an eye-smashing knee has decreased when scorecards are tallied and no one told me.

-If you think you can take a punch, Vitor Belfort will prove you wrong.  And if your fighting style is such that you usually take a few lumps to give a few, he will be there to shake your hand when the cageside doctors revive you.

-Okay, Rashad Evans secured himself a title shot… is it me, or are the same handful of light-heavyweights competing for the belt over and over again?

UFC 133 took place either this evening at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event aired live on pay-per-view at 9pm ET/6pm PT. The pay-per-view broadcast was preceded by prelim specials on Spike TV at 8pm ET/5pm PT and Facebook at 5:45pm ET/2:45pm PT.

In the main event, Tito Ortiz stepped in on short notice to take on Rashad Evans.

In the co-main event, Vitor Belfort looked to rebound from his loss to Anderson Silva against Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Brian Ebersole took on Dennis Hallman in a welterweight bout.

Constantinos Philippou met Jorge Rivera in a middleweight bout.

Mike Pyle took on Rory MacDonald in a welterweight match-up.

Results, recap and bonuses after the jump.

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The UFC 133 weigh-ins took place earlier this afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

All fighters made weight with the exception of Ivan Menjivar who came in two pounds over his 136 lbs. target. He was given an hour to drop the extra weight.

Update: Ivan Menjivar and Nick Pace agreed to fight at a 138 lbs. catchweight.

The weigh-in results:

• Rashad Evans (204.4) vs. Tito Ortiz (205.8)
• Vitor Belfort (185.4) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (184.6)
• Brian Ebersole (170.6) vs. Dennis Hallman (170.8)
• Jorge Rivera (184.6) vs. Constantinos Philippou (185.2)
• Rory MacDonald (170.6) vs. Mike Pyle (170.8)
• Alexander Gustafsson (204.4) vs. Matt Hamill (206)
• Chad Mendes (145.8) vs. Rani Yahya (145.2)
• Ivan Menjivar (138) vs. Nick Pace (135.8)
• Johny Hendricks (170.8) vs. Mike Pierce (171)
• Mike Brown (146) vs. Nam Phan (145)
• Paul Bradley (185.2) vs. Rafael “Sapo” Natal (184.5)

Fighters in non-title fights are allowed to weigh in one pound over the weight class limit.

UFC 133 “Evans vs. Ortiz 2″ will take place tomorrow, August 6, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and will air live on pay-per-view at 9pm ET/6pm PT.

More UFC 133 weigh-in pics at CombatLifestyle.com

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On this week’s edition of Pro MMA Radio, Jorge Rivera joined Larry Pepe to talk about his upcoming fight against Costantinos Philippou this weekend. Mike Straka also stopped by to help Larry preview UFC 133.

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MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani caught up with Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Rivera and Costantinos Philippou at the UFC 133 open workouts to talk about their fights this weekend. Ariel also spoke with boxing’s Bernard Hopkins and kickboxing’s Tyrone Spong.

UFC 133 open workout highlights above courtesy of Heavy.com.

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All this talk of fighters at the ends of their careers and the looming specter of inevitable retirement is bringing me down.  Yes, the shelf life of an MMA competitor is short, and the fact that they’ve endeared themselves to us with years of hard-fought battles only makes the pill of their newfound failings all the more bitter.  But why must we harp on it?  At UFC 133, Jorge Rivera, a.k.a. the “Conquistador” returns to the Octagon for the fifteenth time in a fighting career that spans twelve years (eight of which have been in the UFC).  Nowadays, talk of retirement – from Rivera’s mouth and from others – follows him wherever he goes, with each successive win seemingly staving off the end while each loss brings it closer and closer. 

I don’t want to think in those terms when I think of Rivera.  I’d rather remember the stone-cold striker I first met years ago.  Instead of pondering whether these are Rivera’s last days, I prefer to celebrate the killer from that night at in Lowell, Massachusetts, back in 2002, when, before an audience of countless cheering fans (that included Dana White and Chuck Liddell), the Conquistador survived Travis Lutter’s worst to return the favor and kick ass.

The promotion was Ring of Fury, and it was the biggest thing going inNew Englandin terms of “grand affairs”.  Four months before, at ROF 1, Rivera needed only 52 seconds to clobber his foe in the co-main event, so of course he was headlining the organization’s second installment.  And this time his opponent was tougher, an aggressive jiu-jitsu guy who trained out of theTexasbranch of the Lion’s Den, flown in especially for the task.  “Travis has got some surprises for Jorge,” one of Lutter’s coaches assured me as everyone migrated from the hotel to the Tsongas Arena.  By now, the scuttlebutt was that no one could stand with Rivera.  He was simply too much on the feet.  But the big question mark was how well the local star could handle himself in the grappling department, and Lutter was for sure going to test him.

The town ofLowellturned out en masse,Lowella big boxing town (Mickey Ward, anyone?) yet keen on this “new” sport where dudes kept punching even when they fell to the ground.  And the UFC’s big cheese was there, a guest of honor with “that crazy Mohawk guy” in tow.  White and Liddell had come by to watch some fights and maybe catch a glimpse of future Octagon talent (note: six of the eighteen fighters on that card would end up fighting in the UFC at some point), and maybe their presence ratcheted up the stakes.  Maybe not, though.  Maybe it was the legion of fans chanting for Rivera that turned the place into Arkham Asylum.

The Conquistador made his way to the ring wearing his usual “conquistador” garb, which was a chainmail headdress, and as he removed it, handed it to a corner man and climbed through the ropes, it was as if everyone inhaled and held their collective breath.  Lutter bounced from foot to foot in his corner, ready, and when the referee gave the signal, the Texan wasted no time with those promised “surprises” – smooth takedowns and a suffocating top game. 

Round 1 saw Rivera struggling to avoid every submission Lutter attempted, and Round 2 was more of the same, with each dangerous position drawing gasps from the crowd.  But the jiu-jitsu fighter was tiring, and the frequency with which Rivera returned to his feet began to increase.  Finally, in the third round, Rivera’s fists started finding their mark, and at the 3:46 mark Lutter was laid out on the canvas, stunned and out of breath. 

Rivera earned a championship title for his efforts that night, and White was invited into the ring so he could strap the promotion’s belt on Rivera himself.  In a year, the Conquistador was fighting in the UFC, the first of many Octagon appearances, and his career would include a stint on TUF 4 and a slew of seemingly improbable wins (really, they were only improbable if you didn’t know him and what he’s capable of). 

Some, when they watch Rivera fight now, see only someone at the end of their run, with each subsequent trip into combat pure folly.  But that’s not what I choose to see.  I still picture Rivera from that 2002 night in Lowell, a man who would not let himself be submitted and whose right hand could not miss.  Retired or not, to me, that’s who he’ll always be.