Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

LAS VEGAS - Hang around UFC President Dana White long enough, and you will quickly understand that there is nothing he hates more than a boring match.

He wants to see his customers entertained and always wanting, needing more. He wants MMA – no, UFC – to be an action addiction that always requires another fix.

Win or lose, Chris Lytle is a fighter who exemplifies White’s fan-friendly desires. The UFC welterweight certainly has had his share of good fortune and bad during his career. But boring fights? Almost never.

Which is why despite a 4-7 mark in the octagon (25-15-5 overall), the UFC keeps matching the veteran against some of the best in the world.

On Saturday night, Lytle takes on highly regarded contender Josh Koscheck in a UFC 86 featured bout.

“One of my goals is to always be a ‘Fight of the Night’,” Lytle said. “If it’s up to me, I’m going to push the pace. If he takes me down, I’m going to try to get to my feet and get the fans back up on their feet.”

Lytle has put on a show in each of his last four bouts. With a 3-1 record in those fights (losing only because of a cut he suffered against top-five welterweight Thiago Alves), he has won the Submission of the Night Award twice, Knockout of the Night once, and Fight of the Night once. As we said, he is never boring.

Part of the reason for that is that Lytle is more well-rounded than most realize. While he’s known for his powerful hands, Lytle’s ground game brings an element of danger with it as well. The majority of his victories – 18 of his 25 – have come via submission.

That undervalued asset could play dividends against Koscheck, who is very capable of putting the fight on the ground.

Koscheck entered the UFC as a former NCAA champion wrestler with raw talent but unpolished MMA skills, but recent fights have shown the evolution of his game. A loss to Georges St. Pierre briefly sidetracked him, but he got back to his winning ways with a second-round TKO over Dustin Hazelett in March.

Shortly thereafter, Koscheck signed a new contract with UFC, and it is still believed by many that Koscheck has the physical tools to one day challenge for the title. Improved striking is paramount to that rise, but Lytle thinks testing those skills against him may prove to be a mistake.

“I’m expecting him to come out and want to stand up at the beginning, and I’m going to come out aggressive,” he said. “And then he’ll realize, ‘this isn’t the place for me,’ and he’ll want to take me down.

When Koscheck does shoot in for the takedown, the importance of hours Lytle spent training with UFC heavyweight Jake O’Brien will be a factor. O’Brien was a former Purdue wrestler and spent extra time drilling defense with Lytle.

But even if Koscheck gets Lytle to the mat, Lytle has some tools in his belt to pull out the win. Despite his 25 victories, he is yet to pull of a signature win against a top-10 level fighter (a win over Japanese fighter Kazuo Misaki is arguably his biggest to date). Lytle turns 34 years old next month, and a win over Koscheck could be the jumpstart he needs to get into title contention.

He loves to be exciting, but he is also burning to win this one.

“The way I look at Josh, he’s really only been beaten once,” Lytle said. “He lost once in the last seconds after dominating the fight (to Drew Fickett back in 2005), and his loss is to Georges St. Pierre, so beating a guy like him puts me a lot closer to the top of the division.”

UFC 86 notes
Much is often made about Forrest Griffin’s work ethic, and he showed it off again today.

On the Wednesday of a fight week, the UFC usually holds short open workouts for a few fighters, who usually perform a light routine without breaking a sweat before fielding a few questions from the press. It’s all very informal and some fighters don’t do more than a quick stretch.

Griffin, on the other hand, came in at his scheduled 1:30 pm session and proceeded to work out for the next hour, doing jump-rope for cardio and following that up with striking work in timed rounds.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, meanwhile, strolled in, did a few interviews and then held court with the assembled media. Different fighters, different approaches.

Life at the top
Jackson talked about how his life has changed since knocking out Chuck Liddell and becoming the champ last May.

“Sometimes I just want to go to the grocery store and get something to eat,” he said. “I live in Orange County (California) and I’m kind of in the minority, so I just used to go about my business. I used to feel kind of shy and timid, but now, I want to be invisible. I have people coming up to me all the time, saying, ‘I know your license plate on your car; I know your address.’ Sometimes, I just want to be a regular guy.’”

Jackson also mentioned that he was in the running for the role of B.A. Baracus (Mr. T’s former role) in a big-screen adaptation of The A-Team.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “Hopefully after this fight, I’ll find out. It’s top secret. It’s so top secret that even the guy who might be in the movie doesn’t know.”

Edgar’s decision
Lightweight Frankie Edgar, who will make his return to the octagon against former No. 1 contender Hermes Franca on July 19, said he never had any plans to move down to the WEC’s 145-pound class after losing a decision to Gray Maynard.

Edgar naturally walks around at around 155, and usually doesn’t have to cut weight to make the lightweight minimum, but his training partner, Ricardo Almeida, who is fighting Patrick Cote on Saturday, mentioned part of Edgar’s strategy is gaining size.

“Frankie’s putting on size and muscle,” he said. “He’s getting bigger and stronger, and his game is getting better. His jiu-jitsu is very improved and he has a bright future.”

MORE FROM MMA

MMA Section Front

EliteXC champ Silva tests positive for steroids UFC 90 tickets fly as card begins to take shape   UFC rookie Jones makes big impression Couture's next time in the cage is set ... sort of   Gilbert Melendez: 'I am a Fighter' Fletcher happy for shot in the limelight Babalu to face Southworth at Strikeforce show B.J. Penn sets GSP in his crosshairs UFC 87: Seek & Destroy photo gallery St. Pierre routs Fitch in title match at UFC 87 MMA Section Front   Add MMA headlines to your news reader: