Ultimate Chaos Star: Gilbert Yvel

Ultimate Chaos: Bobby Lashley vs. Bob Sapp was quite possibly the worst MMA show I've ever seen. The production quality of the pay-per-view broadcast was lousy, the undercard fighters weren't ready for prime time, Sapp laid an egg in the main event and Lashley didn't do anything impressive. But I do want to say some nice things about one fighter on Saturday night's card: Gilbert Yvel.

I've been highly critical of Yvel in the past. He's been disqualified three times (for biting, eye gouging and hitting a ref), and I thought Affliction was wrong to put him in the co-main event of its Day of Reckoning show, where he lost to Josh Barnett.

After watching him knock out Pedro Rizzo Saturday night, however, I don't feel the need to be so critical of Yvel anymore. Yes, what those disqualifications are still unacceptable, but those are in his past, and he now seems like a changed man -- a genuine sportsman, who showed class both before and after knocking Rizzo out.

And make no mistake: Yvel can fight. He now has a pro record of 36-13-1, with 31 wins by knockout or technical knockout. MMA doesn't have official records like some sports do, but to the best of my knowledge, Yvel's 31 (T)KOs are the most in the history of MMA.

Yvel is not a Top 10 heavyweight, and he's probably not even Top 20. It was silly that the Ultimate Chaos announcers referred to him afterward as "Fedor-esque." But at the end of that trainwreck of a pay-per-view show on Saturday night, Yvel was the one fighter who I felt had put on a performance that was worth the money. He'll be back on August 1 to take on Paul Buentello at Affliction: Trilogy, and that's a fight I look forward to seeing.