Jeff Cain of HeavyMMA.com writes that Evan Dunham has put the controversial UFC 119 loss to Sean Sherk behind him and is focused solely on Melvin Guillard.

The spectators in attendance at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sept. 25 for UFC 119 were treated to a great lightweight fight between Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk that ended in a bad decision.

Most had Dunham winning the fight, including UFC president Dana White, who has commented that Dunham got “screwed” by the judges.

“The way I look at Evan Dunham right now is this kid’s undefeated. He got screwed,” said UFC president Dana white about Dunham and the split decision loss to Sherk. “I think Evan Dunham won that fight. So, you know, on his record he’s 11-1, but this kid’s one of the most talented, up and coming kids in the division.”

Dunham felt he won the fight as the scorecards were being read that night, but knows why “don’t leave it in the hands of the judges” is a too commonly uttered phase in mixed martial arts.

“I thought I had won it. My corner men had thought I won it but, you know, in MMA we all know that, you know, stuff happens that are out of your control, especially when it comes to the judges,” said 29-year old fighter.

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Jeremy Botter of HeavyMMA.com fills everyone in on the news of Kenny Florian’s big bout with Evan Dunham at UFC 127.

Florian revealed the news during last night’s episode of ESPN’s “MMA Live.” Heavy.com confirmed that bout agreements are expected to be signed shortly.

“We’ve verbally agreed to fight Evan Dunham, which is great news,” Florian said. “Phenomenal opponent, which I’m very excited about, and it looks like it may happen on Super Bowl weekend.”

UFC 127 is expected to take place Feb. 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

Florian and Dunham are both seeking to rebound from tough losses.

Dunham battered Sean Sherk in a meeting at UFC 119, but the judges inexplicably awarded the bout to Sherk via split decision. It was the first defeat of Dunham’s career, but he impressed the UFC brass and fans with his performance that night.

Florian lost a one-sided battle to Gray Maynard at UFC 118.

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UFC 119 takes place tonight from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The card doesn’t have a major fight that will have an impact on the landscape of the organization but each of the five main card bouts should be competitive and entertaining contests. Here are my picks for the show.

UFC Heavyweight Bout – Frank Mir (13-5) vs. Mirko Cro Cop (27-7-2) – Cro Cop took this fight on somewhat short notice as this was originally supposed to be a rematch of Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. On top of that, Cro Cop is not 100 percent coming into the fight as he is dealing with an eye injury. Cro Cop is a step slower than he was in his prime while Mir has improved his striking while still being one of the best submission fighters in all of MMA. I see Mir landing a big punch in the second round before jumping on Cro Cop and finishing with a choke.

UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (19-3) vs. Ryan Bader (12-0) – This fight is a big contest for both as each needs the win to really get into the title picture in this division. The key to the bout will be Bader’s wrestling, as his explosiveness should win out against Nogueira. If Bader can avoid the big hit and close the distance in the fight, he should be able to win a decision by grinding out the fight on top with ground and pound.

UFC Welterweight Bout – Matt Serra (17-6) vs. Chris Lytle (29-17-4) – I see this fight going similarly to the first. Lytle is an entertaining and experienced fighter, but he never has been able to get that marquee win in his career. Serra really just has the win over Georges St. Pierre to go bye, but he has always been a tough guy to beat as well. In this fight I see Serra controlling the fight with his grappling. The only way I don’t see him winning by decision is if he gets too confident in his striking.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Sean Sherk (37-4-1) vs. Evan Dunham (11-0) – Sherk used to dominate the division with his strength and wrestling, but recently his opponents have been able to avoid his takedowns with their strength and they have been faster with their striking, which has caused Sherk to lose two of his last three bouts. Dunham has that same style to beat Sherk. Sherk will struggle to get the fight to the ground and Dunham will be a little quicker to the punch. I like Dunham to win this fight by decision.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Melvin Guillard (43-9-3) vs. Jeremy Stephens (18-5) – This fight should be explosive as both have big power and like to swing with everything they have in each punch. The key in this bout will be Guillard’s inability to fight off his back as Stephens trains with Hermes Franca and has some grappling skills that many haven’t seen yet. I see Stephens getting takedowns late to set up for some ground and pound and a TKO finish in the third.

Heavy.com confirms that Sean Sherk will take on Evan Dunham in UFC 119.

Lightweight up-and-comer Evan Dunham withstood his most difficult test to date at UFC 115, defeating Tyson Griffin. Now, the fast-rising lightweight is set up against another top lightweight, as his match up with Sean Sherk at UFC 119 is now official.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced the match up earlier this afternoon.

Sherk has been battling through injuries as of late and has not had a fight since his unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 98. His last win came against Tyson Griffin at UFC 90, which was his follow-up to the technical knockout loss he received against BJ Penn at UFC 84. The former lightweight champion is looking for a resurgence towards another title shot in the 155-pound division.

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