Strikeforce on NBC 2/22/09
This is the Josh Thomson edition of Strikeforce on NBC. Josh Thomson is the current
Lightweight Fight- Ashe Bowman (9-4) vs. Josh Thomson (16-2)
This is from the Strikeforce show at the Playboy Mansion from 9/20/08. Thomson is the Strikeforce Lightweight champion. I’m pretty sure this was a non-title fight although after the fight Lon MacEachern calls this a successful title defense.
R1- Josh goes for a high kick early but it's blocked. Thomson lands some punches and takes down Ashe and quickly finishes. Great showing by Thomson against an over matched fighter.
Winner: Josh Thomson by TKO (strikes) R1 1:14
Lightweight Fight- Josh Thomson (11-2) vs. Nick Gonzalez (11-4)
This fight is from June of 2007. Thomson has a 4” height advantage for this fight. Both guys were riding win streaks coming into the fight. This fight was originally shown on NBC last April.
R1- Thomson connects lightly with a lighting quick kick and then takes down Gonzales. Thomson’s got his back and is going for a choke. Thomson controlling early. Thomson taps Gonzales quickly. Thomson looked awesome in this fight.
Winner: Josh Thomson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:42
Lightweight Fight- Josh Thomson (12-2) vs. Adam Lynn (11-7)
This fight is from September 2007. It was on Strikeforce’s first show at the Playboy Mansion.
R1- The fight is joined in progress about half way through the first round. Thomson just kind of all the sudden came alive. He jumped in and hit a right hand and tripped his opponent up and then jumped on top and finished him with Ground and Pound.
Winner: Josh Thomson by TKO (Strikes) R1
Strikeforce Lightweight Title Fight- Gilbert Melendez © (14-1) vs. Josh Thomson (14-2)
This fight is from June 2008. This was a five round fight and they showed highlights of the early part of the fight with Thomson controlling.
R5- They joined this fight in progress at the beginning of the 5th round. At this stage of the fight I had Thomson up on my score card 40-36 as he won the first 4 rounds of the fight. Towards the end of the round both guys open it up and are going at each other with some really good exchanges. The first half of the round was kind of blah but they had a big explosion for about a minute and it ends with a close round. I had Thomson taking this round and winning the fight 50-45. All 3 judges scored the fight 50-45.
Winner and new Strikeforce Lightweight Champion: Josh Thomson by Decision (Unanimous)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Retro Re-Cap: UFC Fight Night 8 1/25/07
UFC Fight Night 8 1/25/07
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (20-2) vs. Hermes Franca (17-5)
Franca is sporting some sweet bright purple hair for this fight.
R1- Franca got a take down about a minute and a half into the round. Franca went for a leg lock but Spencer got out without any damage. Pretty even stand up throughout the round and then Franca got another take down with about a minute and a half left in the round. Franca got some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round to secure a 10-9 round.
R2- Franca grabbed a leg and took Spencer’s guard in the first minute of the round. They stood back up and Franca seemed to be getting a little bit tired. Franca got some good stand up in late in the round and Spencer didn’t go down but the ref stopped the fight. Franca was throwing some loopy haymakers and he happened to hit Spencer with one and that was what really hurt Spencer.
Winner: Hermes Franca TKO (Strikes) R2 4:03
Heavyweight Fight- Heath Herring (26-11) vs. Jake O’Brien (9-0)
This is Heath Herring’s UFC debut. O’Brien was a D1 wrestler at Purdue. Herring has 15 pounds on O’Brien.
R1- Herring hit a left hand and knocked O’Brien down at the two minute mark but O’Brien turned the tables on his and took his guard. O’Brien ended the round in Herring’s half guard. Not much action in the first round and not much damage done. O’Brien 10-9.
R2- O’Brien shot and got a take down about one minute into the round but can’t really get anything despite mounting and taking Herring’s back. O’Brien got Heath down again and opened up a cut on Herring. Heath got a brief take down at the end of the round but O’Brien easily rolled him over. O’Brien 20-18 so far.
R3- O’Brien really controlled but didn’t inflict any offense. They stood up with about a minute left and Herring landed a bunch but then got taken down again. Really poor showing by Herring and O’Brien fought a smart fight he just didn’t do anything to put Herring away.
Judges say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of O’Brien
Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman (13-4) vs. Chris Price (8-1)
Price comes in at 192 pounds and did not make the 185 weight limit. Herman agreed to the fight anyway. That’s a large amount to miss weight.
R1- Herman got a take down and Price got a kimura but couldn’t keep it. Harman got an arm bar and tapped out Price. Good showing by Herman.
Winner: Ed Herman by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 2:58
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rashad Evans (14-0) vs. Sean Salmon (9-1)
R1- Salmon goes for a Karate Kid type move early that looks hilarious. Not much contact in the first minute. Neither guy really looks like they want to fight early. Evans is content to counter punch. They tie up 2 minutes in and Salmon takes Evans down and gets half guard. Salmon got side control but Evans quickly got to his feet. Salmon gets a couple of punches in on the cage. Salmon grabs a leg and takes down Evans again. Salmon is landing some blows on Evans. Round 1 easily goes to Salmon as Rashad didn’t really do anything and got taken down twice and sustained more damage.
R2- Salmon comes in and slips and Evans hits a knee and then attacks and gets his first advantage of the fight. After this Evans looks like the aggressor as he’s started to take control of the ring and then he just DESTROYS Salmon with a kick to the head. Awesome finish to the fight after a very poor first round by Evans. Evans started really slow, seemed very nervous but after he got that one knee his demeanor kind of changed and then he just nailed the finish.
Winner: Rashad Evans via KO (kick) R2
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (20-2) vs. Hermes Franca (17-5)
Franca is sporting some sweet bright purple hair for this fight.
R1- Franca got a take down about a minute and a half into the round. Franca went for a leg lock but Spencer got out without any damage. Pretty even stand up throughout the round and then Franca got another take down with about a minute and a half left in the round. Franca got some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round to secure a 10-9 round.
R2- Franca grabbed a leg and took Spencer’s guard in the first minute of the round. They stood back up and Franca seemed to be getting a little bit tired. Franca got some good stand up in late in the round and Spencer didn’t go down but the ref stopped the fight. Franca was throwing some loopy haymakers and he happened to hit Spencer with one and that was what really hurt Spencer.
Winner: Hermes Franca TKO (Strikes) R2 4:03
Heavyweight Fight- Heath Herring (26-11) vs. Jake O’Brien (9-0)
This is Heath Herring’s UFC debut. O’Brien was a D1 wrestler at Purdue. Herring has 15 pounds on O’Brien.
R1- Herring hit a left hand and knocked O’Brien down at the two minute mark but O’Brien turned the tables on his and took his guard. O’Brien ended the round in Herring’s half guard. Not much action in the first round and not much damage done. O’Brien 10-9.
R2- O’Brien shot and got a take down about one minute into the round but can’t really get anything despite mounting and taking Herring’s back. O’Brien got Heath down again and opened up a cut on Herring. Heath got a brief take down at the end of the round but O’Brien easily rolled him over. O’Brien 20-18 so far.
R3- O’Brien really controlled but didn’t inflict any offense. They stood up with about a minute left and Herring landed a bunch but then got taken down again. Really poor showing by Herring and O’Brien fought a smart fight he just didn’t do anything to put Herring away.
Judges say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of O’Brien
Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman (13-4) vs. Chris Price (8-1)
Price comes in at 192 pounds and did not make the 185 weight limit. Herman agreed to the fight anyway. That’s a large amount to miss weight.
R1- Herman got a take down and Price got a kimura but couldn’t keep it. Harman got an arm bar and tapped out Price. Good showing by Herman.
Winner: Ed Herman by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 2:58
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rashad Evans (14-0) vs. Sean Salmon (9-1)
R1- Salmon goes for a Karate Kid type move early that looks hilarious. Not much contact in the first minute. Neither guy really looks like they want to fight early. Evans is content to counter punch. They tie up 2 minutes in and Salmon takes Evans down and gets half guard. Salmon got side control but Evans quickly got to his feet. Salmon gets a couple of punches in on the cage. Salmon grabs a leg and takes down Evans again. Salmon is landing some blows on Evans. Round 1 easily goes to Salmon as Rashad didn’t really do anything and got taken down twice and sustained more damage.
R2- Salmon comes in and slips and Evans hits a knee and then attacks and gets his first advantage of the fight. After this Evans looks like the aggressor as he’s started to take control of the ring and then he just DESTROYS Salmon with a kick to the head. Awesome finish to the fight after a very poor first round by Evans. Evans started really slow, seemed very nervous but after he got that one knee his demeanor kind of changed and then he just nailed the finish.
Winner: Rashad Evans via KO (kick) R2
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
UFC Fight Night 17 2/7/09 Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 17
February 7th, 2009
USF Sun Dome - Tampa, FL
No major drawing cards on the show tonight but the last time UFC ran a show similar to this (Fight for the Troops) they had a really good show. On paper we’ve got some interesting fights in Lauzon/Stephens, Neer/Danzig, Johnson/Fioravanti and Pellegrino/Emerson.
Welterweight Fight- Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4)
Anthony Johnson is coming off of a big Third Round KO of Kevin Burns in their re-match at the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Fioravanti is the home town guy in this fight as he’s from Florida. Johnson is a JUCO wrestler and a feared striker. This is a big fight for both guys. Johnson has a big 8” reach advantage and a 6” height advantage. Cung Le is in Anthony Johnson’s corner for the fight as Johnson has been training with Le and Strikeforce Lightweight Champ Josh Thomson. Fioravanti has won 3 of his last 4 fights with the loss coming at the hands of Diego Sanchez.
R1- Johnson scored mostly in this round with leg kicks and then caught Luigi towards the end of the round with a punch and then laid it on and got the Ground and Pound victory. Very impressive victory by Johnson as it took Diego Sanchez 3 rounds to get a TKO win over Luigi.
I’m looking forward to Johnson stepping up in competition for his next fight in the Welterweight Division. Post-fight Johnson says he’s disappointed with his performance so that’s a good sign that this guy is going to work really hard to continue to improve.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:39
Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (24-7-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-5-1)
Danzig is coming off of a September loss to Clay Guida in which he was really controlled by Guida’s wrestling. Neer fought on the same show and lost a split decision to Nate Diaz. Both guys are in a need to win situation as they don’t want to start racking up multiple losses in a row. Danzig won TUF Season 6 in 2007. Neer has a 3” height advantage and a 2” reach advantage.
R1- Danzig got caught early when he went for a head kick but weathered the storm. Danzig hit a good combo about a minute in a half in to even the fight back out. Danzig caught Neer coming in with a minute and half left and then took his guard. Neer grabbed a triangle but Danzig spun out and survived. Neer unloaded in the corner. Neer showboated towards the end of the round. Neer ended the round on an upswing. Very good and very close first round. Neer controlled early, Danzig took the middle part of the round with a knock down and Neer came on strong at the end. Danzig also opened up a cut on Neer’s face.
R2- Danzig got a take down stuffed and Neer unloaded with some good elbows. Neer tried to take his back but slipped off and Danzig took guard. Neer got another triangle with a minute and a half left in the round and Danzig had to tap.
Really good fight and a good showing by both guys as it was very competitive.
Winner: Josh Neer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 3:36
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (12-1)
Velasquez is an up and coming Heavyweight prospect and this is Stojnic’s first fight in the UFC. Cain has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Stojnic is from Amsterdam and his nickname is “Denis the Menace.”
R1- Velasquez just dominated this round. Stojnic showed a good chin but wasn’t able to get in any offense. Velasquez 10-8. Velasquez showed really good technique throughout the fight and did a good job mixing in strikes, kicks and knees.
R2- Velasquez took Stojnic down and Ground and Pound him over and over. The ref stopped the fight a little early but there was no question that Velasquez was just dominating this fight. Good showing by Velasquez, the only thing that was missing was a dominant finish.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:34
Lightweight Fight- Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach
This is a pre-show fight. Veach took this fight on short notice and has Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler in his corner.
R1- Veach really pushed the pace early and got a take down. Grice caught Veach in an Anaconda Choke but Veach quickly got out of it. Grice caught Veach with an uppercut and then got on top of him with some Ground and Pound and tried to finish. Grice looked like he punched himself out when he was going for the finish. Grice went for a guillotine and Veach took his guard. Veach was looking very tired and taking some shots and he landed a good shot on Grice and took him down and got the finish. Looked like an early ref stoppage but it was a really good fight.
Winner: Matt Veach by TKO R1 4:34
Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (16-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-3)
Stephens is coming off of a win at UFC 91 over Rafael Dos Anjos. Lauzon’s last fight was a win over Kyle Bradley. Previous to that he had won 6 straight fights before losing to Top Contender Kenny Florian. Hermes Franca was originally supposed to fight Lauzon. Stephens trains with Franca. Lauzon was on Season 5 of the Ultimate Fighter and was BJ Penn’s team.
R1- Lauzon did a good job early in the round in working his strategy and keeping Stephens close to him and on the mat. Stephens came on late in the round with some Ground and Pound and a big slam. Close first round, very competitive.
R2- Lauzon again controlled the first part of this round and got some light Ground and Pound. At about one and a half minutes left in the round Stephens flipped it over and opened up a cut on Lauzon. Lauzon reverses but he’s bleeding pretty good. Lauzon caught Stephens in an arm bar and got a tap out as the round was ending. Really good job by Lauzon quickly getting a finish after he started to lose blood as the fight could have been ended if the round ended depending on where the cut was.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:43
Middleweight Fight- Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt
This is our second pre-show fight.
R1- Rosholt got a quick take down but got reversed. Miller caught Rosholt in a guillotine and he got caught and tapped. His corner was yelling for him to watch for it but apparently he didn’t hear them.
Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:03
Overall, I was very satisfied with this show. Anthony Johnson and Cain Velasquez both looked really good. Grice/Veach and Lauzon/Stephens were both good fights and I thought Danzig/Neer was a really good fight. Danzig/Neer is probably the best fight I’ve seen so far this year although it’s only February.
February 7th, 2009
USF Sun Dome - Tampa, FL
No major drawing cards on the show tonight but the last time UFC ran a show similar to this (Fight for the Troops) they had a really good show. On paper we’ve got some interesting fights in Lauzon/Stephens, Neer/Danzig, Johnson/Fioravanti and Pellegrino/Emerson.
Welterweight Fight- Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4)
Anthony Johnson is coming off of a big Third Round KO of Kevin Burns in their re-match at the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Fioravanti is the home town guy in this fight as he’s from Florida. Johnson is a JUCO wrestler and a feared striker. This is a big fight for both guys. Johnson has a big 8” reach advantage and a 6” height advantage. Cung Le is in Anthony Johnson’s corner for the fight as Johnson has been training with Le and Strikeforce Lightweight Champ Josh Thomson. Fioravanti has won 3 of his last 4 fights with the loss coming at the hands of Diego Sanchez.
R1- Johnson scored mostly in this round with leg kicks and then caught Luigi towards the end of the round with a punch and then laid it on and got the Ground and Pound victory. Very impressive victory by Johnson as it took Diego Sanchez 3 rounds to get a TKO win over Luigi.
I’m looking forward to Johnson stepping up in competition for his next fight in the Welterweight Division. Post-fight Johnson says he’s disappointed with his performance so that’s a good sign that this guy is going to work really hard to continue to improve.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:39
Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (24-7-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-5-1)
Danzig is coming off of a September loss to Clay Guida in which he was really controlled by Guida’s wrestling. Neer fought on the same show and lost a split decision to Nate Diaz. Both guys are in a need to win situation as they don’t want to start racking up multiple losses in a row. Danzig won TUF Season 6 in 2007. Neer has a 3” height advantage and a 2” reach advantage.
R1- Danzig got caught early when he went for a head kick but weathered the storm. Danzig hit a good combo about a minute in a half in to even the fight back out. Danzig caught Neer coming in with a minute and half left and then took his guard. Neer grabbed a triangle but Danzig spun out and survived. Neer unloaded in the corner. Neer showboated towards the end of the round. Neer ended the round on an upswing. Very good and very close first round. Neer controlled early, Danzig took the middle part of the round with a knock down and Neer came on strong at the end. Danzig also opened up a cut on Neer’s face.
R2- Danzig got a take down stuffed and Neer unloaded with some good elbows. Neer tried to take his back but slipped off and Danzig took guard. Neer got another triangle with a minute and a half left in the round and Danzig had to tap.
Really good fight and a good showing by both guys as it was very competitive.
Winner: Josh Neer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 3:36
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (12-1)
Velasquez is an up and coming Heavyweight prospect and this is Stojnic’s first fight in the UFC. Cain has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Stojnic is from Amsterdam and his nickname is “Denis the Menace.”
R1- Velasquez just dominated this round. Stojnic showed a good chin but wasn’t able to get in any offense. Velasquez 10-8. Velasquez showed really good technique throughout the fight and did a good job mixing in strikes, kicks and knees.
R2- Velasquez took Stojnic down and Ground and Pound him over and over. The ref stopped the fight a little early but there was no question that Velasquez was just dominating this fight. Good showing by Velasquez, the only thing that was missing was a dominant finish.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:34
Lightweight Fight- Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach
This is a pre-show fight. Veach took this fight on short notice and has Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler in his corner.
R1- Veach really pushed the pace early and got a take down. Grice caught Veach in an Anaconda Choke but Veach quickly got out of it. Grice caught Veach with an uppercut and then got on top of him with some Ground and Pound and tried to finish. Grice looked like he punched himself out when he was going for the finish. Grice went for a guillotine and Veach took his guard. Veach was looking very tired and taking some shots and he landed a good shot on Grice and took him down and got the finish. Looked like an early ref stoppage but it was a really good fight.
Winner: Matt Veach by TKO R1 4:34
Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (16-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-3)
Stephens is coming off of a win at UFC 91 over Rafael Dos Anjos. Lauzon’s last fight was a win over Kyle Bradley. Previous to that he had won 6 straight fights before losing to Top Contender Kenny Florian. Hermes Franca was originally supposed to fight Lauzon. Stephens trains with Franca. Lauzon was on Season 5 of the Ultimate Fighter and was BJ Penn’s team.
R1- Lauzon did a good job early in the round in working his strategy and keeping Stephens close to him and on the mat. Stephens came on late in the round with some Ground and Pound and a big slam. Close first round, very competitive.
R2- Lauzon again controlled the first part of this round and got some light Ground and Pound. At about one and a half minutes left in the round Stephens flipped it over and opened up a cut on Lauzon. Lauzon reverses but he’s bleeding pretty good. Lauzon caught Stephens in an arm bar and got a tap out as the round was ending. Really good job by Lauzon quickly getting a finish after he started to lose blood as the fight could have been ended if the round ended depending on where the cut was.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:43
Middleweight Fight- Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt
This is our second pre-show fight.
R1- Rosholt got a quick take down but got reversed. Miller caught Rosholt in a guillotine and he got caught and tapped. His corner was yelling for him to watch for it but apparently he didn’t hear them.
Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:03
Overall, I was very satisfied with this show. Anthony Johnson and Cain Velasquez both looked really good. Grice/Veach and Lauzon/Stephens were both good fights and I thought Danzig/Neer was a really good fight. Danzig/Neer is probably the best fight I’ve seen so far this year although it’s only February.
Retro Re-Cap: UFC Fight Night 6 8/17/06 Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 6 8/17/06
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (8-1) vs. Jonathon Goulet (16-6)
R1- Koscheck hit a big right hand early that stunned Goulet. Koscheck got some Ground and Pound and started to manhandle Goulet towards the end of the round and finally got a TKO ref stoppage. Nice performance from Koscheck.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:10
Middleweight Fight- Dean Lister (8-4) vs. Yuki Sasaki (20-12-1)
This is Sasaki’s UFC debut. This is Lister’s first fight in UFC as a middleweight. Lister is a black belt in jiu jitsu.
R1- Lister really controls round one as he took Sasaki’s back and pretty much rode him the entire round but couldn’t get any submissions clamped on. Lister 10-9.
R2- Sasaki falls into Lister’s guard and Lister controls Sasaki as he has a near triangle. Sasaki slips out but Lister then takes his back and Sasaki slips out again. Sasaki lands some punches at the end of the round. I’ve got Lister 20-18 but Lister looked like he was running out of steam during the stand up at the end of the round.
R3- Sasaki is winning this round and Lister is really tired and trying to get Sasaki to the mat. This fight whimpers to the end. I’ve got Lister 29-28 as both guys ran out of steam in this fight. Lister looked real good in the first two rounds but not so much after that.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards
Winner: Dean Lister by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (15-2) vs. Jorge Santiago (11-5)
Santiago is the current Sengoku Middleweight Champion.
R1- Leben took Santiago down for the first half of Round One but couldn’t get anything solid. Santiago got a take down with about a minute left in the round. Really close round, neither guy did any damage.
R2- Leben caught Santiago in the second round and knocked him out early in the round. Santiago went in for a strike and left himself open and he got tagged.
Winner: Chris Leben by KO R2 0:35
Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (17-0) vs. Karo Parisyan (23-3)
R1- Diego got an early take down and took Karo’s back. Karo gets loose and takes Diego down. Karo has a cut under his eye. Karo hit an amazing judo throw but couldn’t keep Diego down. Karo got another judo throw and this time took Diego’s guard. Really good and close first round. I’ve got Karo 10-9 but could have gone either way.
R2- Karo started out the round with some good stand up and then got a take down but couldn’t land anything substantial. Diego got a take down and took Karo’s guard. This was another close round with this one going to Sanchez. I’ve got it 19-19 but could see a case being made for either guy being up 20-18 although Diego has definitely done more damage so far.
R3- Some good back and forth dirty boxing starts off the round and then Karo got a take down. Diego switched it up and took Karo’s back and then started hitting some Ground and Pound. Back to their feet and Diego is getting the better. Karo gets a judo throw but Diego ends up in Karo’s guard. Diego ends the round and the fight throwing some good Ground and Pound down on Karo. Diego takes this round and wins the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in favor of Sanchez.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (8-1) vs. Jonathon Goulet (16-6)
R1- Koscheck hit a big right hand early that stunned Goulet. Koscheck got some Ground and Pound and started to manhandle Goulet towards the end of the round and finally got a TKO ref stoppage. Nice performance from Koscheck.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:10
Middleweight Fight- Dean Lister (8-4) vs. Yuki Sasaki (20-12-1)
This is Sasaki’s UFC debut. This is Lister’s first fight in UFC as a middleweight. Lister is a black belt in jiu jitsu.
R1- Lister really controls round one as he took Sasaki’s back and pretty much rode him the entire round but couldn’t get any submissions clamped on. Lister 10-9.
R2- Sasaki falls into Lister’s guard and Lister controls Sasaki as he has a near triangle. Sasaki slips out but Lister then takes his back and Sasaki slips out again. Sasaki lands some punches at the end of the round. I’ve got Lister 20-18 but Lister looked like he was running out of steam during the stand up at the end of the round.
R3- Sasaki is winning this round and Lister is really tired and trying to get Sasaki to the mat. This fight whimpers to the end. I’ve got Lister 29-28 as both guys ran out of steam in this fight. Lister looked real good in the first two rounds but not so much after that.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards
Winner: Dean Lister by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (15-2) vs. Jorge Santiago (11-5)
Santiago is the current Sengoku Middleweight Champion.
R1- Leben took Santiago down for the first half of Round One but couldn’t get anything solid. Santiago got a take down with about a minute left in the round. Really close round, neither guy did any damage.
R2- Leben caught Santiago in the second round and knocked him out early in the round. Santiago went in for a strike and left himself open and he got tagged.
Winner: Chris Leben by KO R2 0:35
Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (17-0) vs. Karo Parisyan (23-3)
R1- Diego got an early take down and took Karo’s back. Karo gets loose and takes Diego down. Karo has a cut under his eye. Karo hit an amazing judo throw but couldn’t keep Diego down. Karo got another judo throw and this time took Diego’s guard. Really good and close first round. I’ve got Karo 10-9 but could have gone either way.
R2- Karo started out the round with some good stand up and then got a take down but couldn’t land anything substantial. Diego got a take down and took Karo’s guard. This was another close round with this one going to Sanchez. I’ve got it 19-19 but could see a case being made for either guy being up 20-18 although Diego has definitely done more damage so far.
R3- Some good back and forth dirty boxing starts off the round and then Karo got a take down. Diego switched it up and took Karo’s back and then started hitting some Ground and Pound. Back to their feet and Diego is getting the better. Karo gets a judo throw but Diego ends up in Karo’s guard. Diego ends the round and the fight throwing some good Ground and Pound down on Karo. Diego takes this round and wins the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in favor of Sanchez.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Unanimous)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Strikeforce on NBC 2/15/09 Re-Cap
Strikeforce on NBC 2/15/09
Tonight’s fights are from the Strikeforce “Destruction” show that was taped on November 21st.
Middleweight Fight- Tony Johnson (4-0) vs. Eric Lawson (7-2)
R1- Lawson got a good punch and take down about a minute into the round. Johnson made his way back to his feet but Lawson caught him in a Rear Naked Choke and took him down and submitted him.
Winner: Eric Lawson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:28
Middleweight Fight- Josh Neal (3-6) vs. Kurt Osiander (3-1)
Osiander is 43 years old, Neal is 24. Neal has fought and lost to Eric Lawson (who was in the first fight of tonight’s show).
R1- Both guys just started swinging after a couple of minutes and Osiander got the better of it and landed two left hands, a right hand and then got a ref stoppage due to Ground and Pound.
Winner: Kurt Osiander by TKO (punches) R1 2:16
Strike Force Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Bobby Southworth © (9-5-1) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7)
Southworth's strategy in every fight I've ever seen him in is to simply grab his opponent and lean on them for 5 rounds. Babalu has won 13 of his last 15 fights.
R1- Southworth gets a quick take down and lays on Babalu. Babalu gets up and they clinch against the cage. Three and a half minutes gone in the fight and little to no action so far. Babalu hits an elbow and Southworth's nose is busted open. McCarthy pauses the fight to take a look at the cut. The announcers are surprised that the fight is continuing. Southworth pushes Babalu to the ground and jumps on top as the bell rings to end the round. I think you have to give this round to Babalu due to damage inflicted on Southworth.
During the intermission they stop the fight due to the cut (it was actually over his eye) and give Babalu the TKO victory.
Winner and new champion: Babalu Sobral TKO (cut) R1 5:00
Tonight’s fights are from the Strikeforce “Destruction” show that was taped on November 21st.
Middleweight Fight- Tony Johnson (4-0) vs. Eric Lawson (7-2)
R1- Lawson got a good punch and take down about a minute into the round. Johnson made his way back to his feet but Lawson caught him in a Rear Naked Choke and took him down and submitted him.
Winner: Eric Lawson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:28
Middleweight Fight- Josh Neal (3-6) vs. Kurt Osiander (3-1)
Osiander is 43 years old, Neal is 24. Neal has fought and lost to Eric Lawson (who was in the first fight of tonight’s show).
R1- Both guys just started swinging after a couple of minutes and Osiander got the better of it and landed two left hands, a right hand and then got a ref stoppage due to Ground and Pound.
Winner: Kurt Osiander by TKO (punches) R1 2:16
Strike Force Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Bobby Southworth © (9-5-1) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7)
Southworth's strategy in every fight I've ever seen him in is to simply grab his opponent and lean on them for 5 rounds. Babalu has won 13 of his last 15 fights.
R1- Southworth gets a quick take down and lays on Babalu. Babalu gets up and they clinch against the cage. Three and a half minutes gone in the fight and little to no action so far. Babalu hits an elbow and Southworth's nose is busted open. McCarthy pauses the fight to take a look at the cut. The announcers are surprised that the fight is continuing. Southworth pushes Babalu to the ground and jumps on top as the bell rings to end the round. I think you have to give this round to Babalu due to damage inflicted on Southworth.
During the intermission they stop the fight due to the cut (it was actually over his eye) and give Babalu the TKO victory.
Winner and new champion: Babalu Sobral TKO (cut) R1 5:00
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Retro Re-Cap: Pride "Total Elimination" 2003
Pride “Total Elimination” 2003
UFC clashes with Pride on this show as it features a tournament between 8 Middleweight Fighters (moving to the Final 4 in November).
Middleweight Tournament Fights
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Alistair Overeem vs. Chuck Liddell
Heavyweight Fights
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Heavyweight Fight- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Fedor is in the opener for this show! Fedor just came out firing at the beginning of this fight. Fedor quickly got Goodridge down and gave him some G&P and some kicks and this one was over. Phenomenal showing by Fedor as this was before he was a “big name” and he dispatched of Goodridge just like he would dispatch of Tim Sylvia last year.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:09
Next up they spent some time profiling Chuck Liddell and why he was fighting in the tournament for UFC.
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem
Talk about a stacked card. We’ve got Fedor in the first fight and Chuck Liddell in the second fight! Dana White joins the announce team on commentary for this fight. This was a pretty good fight while it lasted. For the first part of the fight it was pretty even with both fighters getting in offense. Then it looked like Alistair either got hurt or gassed and Liddell just took him apart.
Winner: Chuck Liddell by KO (Punches) R1 3:09
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Ricardo Arona was supposed to fight Jackson but he hurt his leg so Bustamante stepped in to take the fight. Bustamante clamped on a quick arm bar and then a triangle choke but Rampage hit a slam to get out of the submission. Bustamante then went for a guillotine choke but Rampage survived. Pretty even fight after the first round with Bustamante coming close to getting the finish with a few different submissions. Second round was controlled by Rampage with Bustamante continually trying to take the fight to the mat. Third round was pretty much the same as the first. Rampage will get this win in this one but not a particularly decisive victory. Very difficult match-up stylistically for Rampage in this fight.
Winner: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by Decision (Split)
Heavyweight Fight- Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
This actually put me to sleep when I watching it. Ricco controlled the first two rounds and really just stayed on top and smothered Big Nog throughout the fight. The announcers pretty much give the fight to Ricco without a doubt and Big Nog gets a unanimous decision. Definitely a surprising win.
In reading an explanation from Matt Hume it seems that Pride weighed “effort to finish by KO or submission” as their number one criteria in judging a fight and Big Nog did have the advantage in that category and thus he got the unanimous decision as Ricco totally controlled the fight but didn’t do any more damage than Nog did and seems to try to finish the fight less than Nog did.
Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Crop Cop has a large height advantage in this fight. Cro Cop hit a vicious kick about one minute into the fight and this was a highlight reel knockout! This is what Cro Cop use to be like when he was awesome. Now, he just gets kicked around by the likes of Alistair Overeem.
Winner: Cro Cop by KO (Kick)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
This was an exciting fight. It looked like Tamura was going to take it based on the early action but Yoshida came on strong and got the choke victory.
Winner: Hidehiko Yoshida by Submission (Choke)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rampage joins the booth to commentate this fight. This was a pretty exciting fight with Wanderlei swinging away a lot and then got the highlight reel KO about 5 minutes into the round.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
This really seems like a “Who’s Who” of MMA type show. Tons of big names from then and now like Fedor, Cro Cop, Liddell, Rampage, Wanderlei, Sakuraba and Big Nog under one roof. This was a fun show as it was really interesting seeing Dana and Chuck in Pride and it was nice to see Fedor before he became the monster that he is and Cro Cop when he was at the top of his game. the 4 Middleweights who survived this round of the tournament and will fight in the semis are Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Hidehiko Yoshida and Wanderlei Silva.
UFC clashes with Pride on this show as it features a tournament between 8 Middleweight Fighters (moving to the Final 4 in November).
Middleweight Tournament Fights
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Alistair Overeem vs. Chuck Liddell
Heavyweight Fights
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Heavyweight Fight- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Fedor is in the opener for this show! Fedor just came out firing at the beginning of this fight. Fedor quickly got Goodridge down and gave him some G&P and some kicks and this one was over. Phenomenal showing by Fedor as this was before he was a “big name” and he dispatched of Goodridge just like he would dispatch of Tim Sylvia last year.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:09
Next up they spent some time profiling Chuck Liddell and why he was fighting in the tournament for UFC.
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem
Talk about a stacked card. We’ve got Fedor in the first fight and Chuck Liddell in the second fight! Dana White joins the announce team on commentary for this fight. This was a pretty good fight while it lasted. For the first part of the fight it was pretty even with both fighters getting in offense. Then it looked like Alistair either got hurt or gassed and Liddell just took him apart.
Winner: Chuck Liddell by KO (Punches) R1 3:09
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Ricardo Arona was supposed to fight Jackson but he hurt his leg so Bustamante stepped in to take the fight. Bustamante clamped on a quick arm bar and then a triangle choke but Rampage hit a slam to get out of the submission. Bustamante then went for a guillotine choke but Rampage survived. Pretty even fight after the first round with Bustamante coming close to getting the finish with a few different submissions. Second round was controlled by Rampage with Bustamante continually trying to take the fight to the mat. Third round was pretty much the same as the first. Rampage will get this win in this one but not a particularly decisive victory. Very difficult match-up stylistically for Rampage in this fight.
Winner: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by Decision (Split)
Heavyweight Fight- Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
This actually put me to sleep when I watching it. Ricco controlled the first two rounds and really just stayed on top and smothered Big Nog throughout the fight. The announcers pretty much give the fight to Ricco without a doubt and Big Nog gets a unanimous decision. Definitely a surprising win.
In reading an explanation from Matt Hume it seems that Pride weighed “effort to finish by KO or submission” as their number one criteria in judging a fight and Big Nog did have the advantage in that category and thus he got the unanimous decision as Ricco totally controlled the fight but didn’t do any more damage than Nog did and seems to try to finish the fight less than Nog did.
Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Crop Cop has a large height advantage in this fight. Cro Cop hit a vicious kick about one minute into the fight and this was a highlight reel knockout! This is what Cro Cop use to be like when he was awesome. Now, he just gets kicked around by the likes of Alistair Overeem.
Winner: Cro Cop by KO (Kick)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
This was an exciting fight. It looked like Tamura was going to take it based on the early action but Yoshida came on strong and got the choke victory.
Winner: Hidehiko Yoshida by Submission (Choke)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rampage joins the booth to commentate this fight. This was a pretty exciting fight with Wanderlei swinging away a lot and then got the highlight reel KO about 5 minutes into the round.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
This really seems like a “Who’s Who” of MMA type show. Tons of big names from then and now like Fedor, Cro Cop, Liddell, Rampage, Wanderlei, Sakuraba and Big Nog under one roof. This was a fun show as it was really interesting seeing Dana and Chuck in Pride and it was nice to see Fedor before he became the monster that he is and Cro Cop when he was at the top of his game. the 4 Middleweights who survived this round of the tournament and will fight in the semis are Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Hidehiko Yoshida and Wanderlei Silva.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
UFC 94: "St-Pierre vs. Penn 2" Re-Cap
UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2
January 31st, 2009
MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV
This is one of the most anticipated and hyped shows for UFC. The Penn/St Pierre champion vs. champion re-match is the main draw. We also have what is basically a #1 Contenders fight between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. A potential FOTN on any card is the lightweight fight between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-2) vs. Clay Guida (24-6)
Clay Guida comes out to “Hero” by the Foo Fighters. Jason Guida is in Clay’s corner and Nick Diaz is in Nate’s corner. Maybe we can make this a 4-way brawl! Diaz has a big 5” height advantage and a huge 8” reach advantage. Diaz is undefeated in the UFC.
R1- Nate is doing a good job early with light jabs and keeping Guida at bay. Nate pulled guard and Clay put him in a full nelson after he took his back. Clay really controlled the second half of the round. Diaz stood up and landed a couple of shots as the round ended. About as even a round as there is but probably went to Guida.
“That might be the first full nelson in UFC history”- Joe Rogan
R2- Guida basically just clinched and held Diaz a lot in this round while trying to get better position. Not much damage done in this round. Diaz tried a triangle at the end of the round but couldn’t get it. I’ve got Guida up 20-18 although he’s done very little damage to Diaz at this point. Realistically this fight is either 20-18 Guida or 19-19 at this point. It smells like a split decision to me unless Diaz can get a submission.
R3- Diaz starts this round like the first round by picking apart Guida with jabs. Diaz is hitting some good shots in this round and is mocking Guida. Guida got a clinch and tries to hold on for a win. Diaz definitely won this round.
This was a close fight. If you are judging based on an entire fight (which UFC doesn’t) then Diaz won this fight. But if you are judging each round separately then I think Guida squeaks this one out 29-28.
The judges score the fight: 29-28 Diaz, 29-28 Guida and 29-28 Guida.
Winner: Clay Guida by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1)
Both guys are Black Belts in Judo. Parisyan has been battling a panic disorder, a hamstring injury and a back injury. Parisyan has Greg Jackson in his corner and that’s a good thing. Parisyan is coming off a loss to Top Contender Thiago Alves and Kim’s last fight was at UFC 88 where he won a split decision against Matt Brown. Kim has a 3” height advantage and a 4” reach advantage. Frank Mir is in Kim’s corner.
R1- Kim got an early take down and then took Karo’s back. Karo flipped and tried to knock him off but Kim is just latched on like Shinya Aoki. Kim went for an arm bar but Karo slipped out. Karo then almost got caught in a triangle. Kim took this round 10-9. He didn’t do a lot of damage but he really controlled and wore down Karo.
R2- Kim got an early take down and Karo got a kimura on Kim but couldn’t finish. Karo hit a beautiful judo throw half through the round and landed in side control. Karo’s mouthpiece has come out twice and the ref warns him that if it happens again that he is deducting a point. Karo lands strikes towards the end of the round. Karo wins this round and we are at 19-19 after two rounds. Karo still seems like he is having a lot of trouble with the mouth piece.
“Dude, you are kicking his ass now”- Karo’s corner after Round Two
R3- Kim gets an early take down and Karo pushes him off and the ref warns him about up kicks to the face. A minute and a half left in the fight and this is anybody’s fight. Really tough finally round to judge. It was very even. This one is a toss up.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Karo, 29-28 Kim and 29-28 Karo.
Winner: Karo Parisyan by Decision (Split)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar (14-4) vs. Jon Jones (7-0)
Jones is undefeated and looked good in his only UFC fight and win against Andre Gusmao at UFC 87. Bonnar’s last fight was a win against Eric Schaefer at UFC 77. Jones is a JUCO National Wrestling Champion but has most of his wins by KO. On paper this should be a fun fight. Bonnar has moved his camp to Vegas and is now training with Forrest Griffin. Jones has a 4.5” reach advantage. Jones is the 3rd youngest fighter in the UFC.
R1- Jones got a good judo throw take down early in the round but couldn’t hold position. Jones got another take down and Bonnar again got to his feet. Jones hit Bonnar with a belly to back suplex and when Bonnar got up he hit him with a spinning back fist and then jumped on top of Bonnar. Bonnar is cut on his forehead. Jones landed a good knee. Jones ended the round with a take down. Jones looked great in this round. 10-9 in favor of Jones.
R2- This round was a lot closer but Jones landed 3 take downs and the stand up was relatively even. Jones 20-18.
R3- Bonnar is the aggressor in this round and Jones looks to be tiring. Bonnar tried for a take down and got it reversed. Jones almost got caught in a triangle. Bonnar took this round but Jones will win this fight 29-28. The 3rd decision of the night but the first unanimous one. Jones definitely has a lot of talent, I look forward to his next fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Jones.
Winner: Jon Jones by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (13-0) vs. Thiago Silva (13-0)
If Machida wins this he is next in line for a shot at Rashad Evans. If Silva wins then he probably needs 1 more quality win to get a shot. Machida was last seen taking apart Tito Ortiz in a unanimous decision victory and Silva got a Round One TKO victory over Antonio Mendes. Both fights were at UFC 84. Silva has finished all but one of his opponents. Silva looks like he came to fight. Machida is called the “most elusive fighter in UFC history.”
R1- Machida hits some strikes early then they clinch and Machida hits a low blow. Machida got a quick take down after they re-started but he gave up his spot. Lyoto hit a big left hand and Silva went down. Lyoto caught Silva with a big right and knocked him down again. Great counter punching so far for Machida. In the closing seconds of the round Machida pushes Silva down and then jumps on top of him very quickly for a couple of strikes and the bell rings for time and then Silva just lays there and doesn’t get up to go back to his corner. It looked like the first punch from Machida knocked his head back into the canvas and knocked him out. Looks like he was knocked out more from the punch then from his head hitting the mat.
Machida looked great in this fight. He just earned himself a shot at Rashad Evans. Who would have thought that we would have 3 decisions and 1 KO so far and the KO would be for Machida?
Post-match Joe Rogan introduces Machida and his interpreter and then Machida speaks in English for his interview.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by KO R1 4:59
Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St Pierre © (17-2) vs. BJ Penn (13-4-1)
Champion versus Champion. UFC stats say Penn has never been knocked down and that he lands 61% of his lead jabs (UFC average is around 30%). GSP lands 75% of his take down attempts (UFC average is 45%) and he defends 85% of his opponents take downs (UFC average is 55%). BJ is looking to be the first UFC fighter to hold belts at the same time in different weight divisions. Penn gets a big reaction from the crowd as he comes to the ring. GSP gets more of a mixed reaction from the crowd. GSP won their first match-up by Decision after getting dominated in the first round by BJ Penn. GSP has a 6” reach advantage.
R1- Very even as GSP works the first couple of minutes trying to get a take down but BJ continues to deny him. GSP takes the first round by controlling where the fight went and landing a few more strikes. 10-9 GSP but not much damage done on either guy.
R2- Penn hit a good left hand in the first 30 seconds of round two. GSP finally got a take down one minute into the round after struggling the entire first round to try and get one but failing. GSP lands some Ground and Pound and passes guard and lands some more G&P. GSP is hitting some good elbows and the crowd rewards him with a “GSP” chant. GSP dominated this round and is up 20-18 so far.
R3- GSP lands some strikes to start the round and BJs nose is bloodied. GSP powers through another take down. BJ took some offense and some hammer fists and then got back to his feet but GSP got another take down. GSP lands some good strikes towards the end of the round. GSP is in control at 30-27. Penn is going to need a knockout or submission if he wants to win this one.
R4- GSP landed some early strikes and then got another take down. Starting in the second round GSP has done what he wanted to do. GSP is landing some good Ground and Pound. GSP was just all over BJ in this round. This was a 10-8 round for GSP. I’ve got GSP up 40-35 right now with one round left. Herb Dean wants the doctor to look at BJ and Dean stops the fight. It looks like in the replay that BJ’s corner stopped the fight.
What a dominate performance by GSP. This victory quickly catapults GSP into same stratosphere as Fedor and Anderson as the top Pound for Pound fighters in the world right now.
Winner and still Welterweight Champion: Georges St Pierre by TKO R4
Post-fight they interview GSP and bring in Thiago Alves and interview him as well.
The show started out kind of surprisingly with 3 straight decisions but 2 of them were entertaining fights in Diaz/Guida and Jones/Bonner. Lyoto and GSP both looked fantastic. Rashad vs. Lyoto and GSP vs. Alves should both be really good fights. Good show by UFC.
January 31st, 2009
MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV
This is one of the most anticipated and hyped shows for UFC. The Penn/St Pierre champion vs. champion re-match is the main draw. We also have what is basically a #1 Contenders fight between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. A potential FOTN on any card is the lightweight fight between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-2) vs. Clay Guida (24-6)
Clay Guida comes out to “Hero” by the Foo Fighters. Jason Guida is in Clay’s corner and Nick Diaz is in Nate’s corner. Maybe we can make this a 4-way brawl! Diaz has a big 5” height advantage and a huge 8” reach advantage. Diaz is undefeated in the UFC.
R1- Nate is doing a good job early with light jabs and keeping Guida at bay. Nate pulled guard and Clay put him in a full nelson after he took his back. Clay really controlled the second half of the round. Diaz stood up and landed a couple of shots as the round ended. About as even a round as there is but probably went to Guida.
“That might be the first full nelson in UFC history”- Joe Rogan
R2- Guida basically just clinched and held Diaz a lot in this round while trying to get better position. Not much damage done in this round. Diaz tried a triangle at the end of the round but couldn’t get it. I’ve got Guida up 20-18 although he’s done very little damage to Diaz at this point. Realistically this fight is either 20-18 Guida or 19-19 at this point. It smells like a split decision to me unless Diaz can get a submission.
R3- Diaz starts this round like the first round by picking apart Guida with jabs. Diaz is hitting some good shots in this round and is mocking Guida. Guida got a clinch and tries to hold on for a win. Diaz definitely won this round.
This was a close fight. If you are judging based on an entire fight (which UFC doesn’t) then Diaz won this fight. But if you are judging each round separately then I think Guida squeaks this one out 29-28.
The judges score the fight: 29-28 Diaz, 29-28 Guida and 29-28 Guida.
Winner: Clay Guida by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1)
Both guys are Black Belts in Judo. Parisyan has been battling a panic disorder, a hamstring injury and a back injury. Parisyan has Greg Jackson in his corner and that’s a good thing. Parisyan is coming off a loss to Top Contender Thiago Alves and Kim’s last fight was at UFC 88 where he won a split decision against Matt Brown. Kim has a 3” height advantage and a 4” reach advantage. Frank Mir is in Kim’s corner.
R1- Kim got an early take down and then took Karo’s back. Karo flipped and tried to knock him off but Kim is just latched on like Shinya Aoki. Kim went for an arm bar but Karo slipped out. Karo then almost got caught in a triangle. Kim took this round 10-9. He didn’t do a lot of damage but he really controlled and wore down Karo.
R2- Kim got an early take down and Karo got a kimura on Kim but couldn’t finish. Karo hit a beautiful judo throw half through the round and landed in side control. Karo’s mouthpiece has come out twice and the ref warns him that if it happens again that he is deducting a point. Karo lands strikes towards the end of the round. Karo wins this round and we are at 19-19 after two rounds. Karo still seems like he is having a lot of trouble with the mouth piece.
“Dude, you are kicking his ass now”- Karo’s corner after Round Two
R3- Kim gets an early take down and Karo pushes him off and the ref warns him about up kicks to the face. A minute and a half left in the fight and this is anybody’s fight. Really tough finally round to judge. It was very even. This one is a toss up.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Karo, 29-28 Kim and 29-28 Karo.
Winner: Karo Parisyan by Decision (Split)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar (14-4) vs. Jon Jones (7-0)
Jones is undefeated and looked good in his only UFC fight and win against Andre Gusmao at UFC 87. Bonnar’s last fight was a win against Eric Schaefer at UFC 77. Jones is a JUCO National Wrestling Champion but has most of his wins by KO. On paper this should be a fun fight. Bonnar has moved his camp to Vegas and is now training with Forrest Griffin. Jones has a 4.5” reach advantage. Jones is the 3rd youngest fighter in the UFC.
R1- Jones got a good judo throw take down early in the round but couldn’t hold position. Jones got another take down and Bonnar again got to his feet. Jones hit Bonnar with a belly to back suplex and when Bonnar got up he hit him with a spinning back fist and then jumped on top of Bonnar. Bonnar is cut on his forehead. Jones landed a good knee. Jones ended the round with a take down. Jones looked great in this round. 10-9 in favor of Jones.
R2- This round was a lot closer but Jones landed 3 take downs and the stand up was relatively even. Jones 20-18.
R3- Bonnar is the aggressor in this round and Jones looks to be tiring. Bonnar tried for a take down and got it reversed. Jones almost got caught in a triangle. Bonnar took this round but Jones will win this fight 29-28. The 3rd decision of the night but the first unanimous one. Jones definitely has a lot of talent, I look forward to his next fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Jones.
Winner: Jon Jones by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (13-0) vs. Thiago Silva (13-0)
If Machida wins this he is next in line for a shot at Rashad Evans. If Silva wins then he probably needs 1 more quality win to get a shot. Machida was last seen taking apart Tito Ortiz in a unanimous decision victory and Silva got a Round One TKO victory over Antonio Mendes. Both fights were at UFC 84. Silva has finished all but one of his opponents. Silva looks like he came to fight. Machida is called the “most elusive fighter in UFC history.”
R1- Machida hits some strikes early then they clinch and Machida hits a low blow. Machida got a quick take down after they re-started but he gave up his spot. Lyoto hit a big left hand and Silva went down. Lyoto caught Silva with a big right and knocked him down again. Great counter punching so far for Machida. In the closing seconds of the round Machida pushes Silva down and then jumps on top of him very quickly for a couple of strikes and the bell rings for time and then Silva just lays there and doesn’t get up to go back to his corner. It looked like the first punch from Machida knocked his head back into the canvas and knocked him out. Looks like he was knocked out more from the punch then from his head hitting the mat.
Machida looked great in this fight. He just earned himself a shot at Rashad Evans. Who would have thought that we would have 3 decisions and 1 KO so far and the KO would be for Machida?
Post-match Joe Rogan introduces Machida and his interpreter and then Machida speaks in English for his interview.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by KO R1 4:59
Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St Pierre © (17-2) vs. BJ Penn (13-4-1)
Champion versus Champion. UFC stats say Penn has never been knocked down and that he lands 61% of his lead jabs (UFC average is around 30%). GSP lands 75% of his take down attempts (UFC average is 45%) and he defends 85% of his opponents take downs (UFC average is 55%). BJ is looking to be the first UFC fighter to hold belts at the same time in different weight divisions. Penn gets a big reaction from the crowd as he comes to the ring. GSP gets more of a mixed reaction from the crowd. GSP won their first match-up by Decision after getting dominated in the first round by BJ Penn. GSP has a 6” reach advantage.
R1- Very even as GSP works the first couple of minutes trying to get a take down but BJ continues to deny him. GSP takes the first round by controlling where the fight went and landing a few more strikes. 10-9 GSP but not much damage done on either guy.
R2- Penn hit a good left hand in the first 30 seconds of round two. GSP finally got a take down one minute into the round after struggling the entire first round to try and get one but failing. GSP lands some Ground and Pound and passes guard and lands some more G&P. GSP is hitting some good elbows and the crowd rewards him with a “GSP” chant. GSP dominated this round and is up 20-18 so far.
R3- GSP lands some strikes to start the round and BJs nose is bloodied. GSP powers through another take down. BJ took some offense and some hammer fists and then got back to his feet but GSP got another take down. GSP lands some good strikes towards the end of the round. GSP is in control at 30-27. Penn is going to need a knockout or submission if he wants to win this one.
R4- GSP landed some early strikes and then got another take down. Starting in the second round GSP has done what he wanted to do. GSP is landing some good Ground and Pound. GSP was just all over BJ in this round. This was a 10-8 round for GSP. I’ve got GSP up 40-35 right now with one round left. Herb Dean wants the doctor to look at BJ and Dean stops the fight. It looks like in the replay that BJ’s corner stopped the fight.
What a dominate performance by GSP. This victory quickly catapults GSP into same stratosphere as Fedor and Anderson as the top Pound for Pound fighters in the world right now.
Winner and still Welterweight Champion: Georges St Pierre by TKO R4
Post-fight they interview GSP and bring in Thiago Alves and interview him as well.
The show started out kind of surprisingly with 3 straight decisions but 2 of them were entertaining fights in Diaz/Guida and Jones/Bonner. Lyoto and GSP both looked fantastic. Rashad vs. Lyoto and GSP vs. Alves should both be really good fights. Good show by UFC.
UFC 94 Preliminary Fights Re-Cap
UFC 94: Penn vs. St Pierre 2 Prelims
Welterweight Fight- Matt Arroyo (3-2) vs. Dan Cramer (0-0)
Dan Cramer has a 3.5” reach advantage. This is Cramer’s professional MMA debut and is coming off of a Collarbone injury. Daniel Cramer was in TUF 7 but I don’t remember him. Apparently he beat Luke Zachrich and then lost to Tim Credeur in a fight that he was winning before he got caught and subbed in the first round. Cramer was a member of Team Rampage. Arroyo was a cast member of TUF6. Arroyo bowed out of a semi-final fight against Mac Danzig with a rib injury.
R1- Not a very exciting first round. Arroyo pulled guard early and Cramer got some light Ground and Pound.
R2- This round was more of the same. It’s probably 19-19 but neither guy has done anything to distance himself as the favorite going into the third round.
R3- Arroyo took Cramer’s back and looked like he was going to win via Rear Naked Choke but Cramer got out of the move but Arroyo still had his back. Cramer landed some Ground and Pound toward the end of the round.
This was a pretty tough fight to watch. Based on this fight if either guy is asked back to UFC it will definitely be against someone they are picked to lose against. Neither guy did anything to deserve to win this fight more than the other guy. Arroyo will probably get the win but I smell a split.
Judges: 29-28 Cramer, 29-28 Arroyo and 29-28 Cramer
Winner: Dan Cramer by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- John Howard (10-4) vs. Chris Wilson (13-4)
Wilson has a 6” height advantage and a 3” reach advantage. At UFC 87 Wilson decisioned Steve Bruno 30-27 on all cards. At UFC 82 Chris Wilson lost a decision to top contender Jon Fitch. This is Howard’s UFC debut and has won his last 3 fights. Wilson has won 5 of his last 6 with his only loss being to Fitch, he took that fight on short notice.
R1- Pretty even fight through the first half of the round with Howard catching Wilson on the nose and causing some blood loss. Wilson hit a good combo right after this and took control. This was a close round with pretty good action. I give the slight edge to Wilson.
R2- Howard opened up more at the beginning of the round and the tired out and Wilson came on at the end. I’ve got the fight 19-19 right now with the advantage going to Wilson for the final round.
R3- Howard took Wilson’s back at the beginning of the round. Howard goes for a Rear Naked Choke about two minutes into the round but he couldn’t finish. Howard continues to maintain a triangle on Wilson and has his back. Wilson was able to get out and take guard but Howard went for a leg lock and both guys stand up with 50 seconds left. Howard got a take down and took guard with 30 seconds left but is just resting at this point. Howard limped to the finish but he won this round and thus in my opinion he wins the fight.
This was a good win for Howard as it was his UFC debut and Wilson is a tough opponent.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Howard, 29-28 Wilson and 29-28 Howard.
Winner: John Howard by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Thiago Tavares (17-3) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (10-4)
Tavares has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Gamburyan got rocked at UFC 87 by a big Rob Emerson punch and lost in 12 seconds.
R1- Tavares got a take down but Manvel almost got a kimura submission. Tavares controlled the round and got a slam with one minute left. Tavares 10-9 after round one.
R2- This round was a snoozer. Thiago came on at the end of the round but this one is a toss up.
R3- They mostly stand up and strike in this round. Tavares lands a good punch and a good knee in the middle of the round.
Judges scores are all 29-28 in favor of Tavares. Another kind of blah under card fight.
Winner: Thiago Tavares by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Jake O’Brien (10-2) vs. Christian Wellisch (9-3)
O’Brien is dropping down from Heavyweight for this fight.
R1- O’Brien hit a good punch about 20 seconds into the fight but Wellisch fought through it. Wellisch seemed like he really wanted to take this to the ground but O’Brien remained in control of the fight through the first round. O’Brien 10-9.
R2- O’Brien continuted to control this round by bloodying Christian’s nose and getting two take downs. O’Brien 20-18.
R3- Wellisch looked better in this round as O’Brien began to fade. O’Brien got a couple of take downs but got in little offense.
I’ve got O’Brien 29-28 in this fight. Not an exciting fight.
Judges score the fight 29-28 Wellisch, 29-28 O’Brien and 29-28 O’Brien.
Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Akihiro Gono (28-13-7) vs. Jon Fitch (21-3)
Fitch has a 6” reach advantage and a 4” height advantage. Fitch is coming off of a lopsided loss to one of the top P4P fighters in the world GSP in which he showed a lot of heart by going 5 full rounds with the champ.
R1- Fitch controlled this round and took Gono’s back at the end of the round but couldn’t get into a good enough position to go for a finish. Fitch 10-9.
R2- Fitch dominated this round. Almost a 10-8 round but I don’t think Fitch did enough damage. Fitch went for a late arm bar but Gono survived. Fitch 20-18.
R3- Gono showed some life in this round but Fitch does what he does which is smother his opponents in a boring fashion.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 in favor of Fitch.
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
This has got to take the cake as the most boring and pedestrian UFC under card that there has ever been. Five decisions on the under card and while they were competitive none of them were anywhere near exciting fights.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Arroyo (3-2) vs. Dan Cramer (0-0)
Dan Cramer has a 3.5” reach advantage. This is Cramer’s professional MMA debut and is coming off of a Collarbone injury. Daniel Cramer was in TUF 7 but I don’t remember him. Apparently he beat Luke Zachrich and then lost to Tim Credeur in a fight that he was winning before he got caught and subbed in the first round. Cramer was a member of Team Rampage. Arroyo was a cast member of TUF6. Arroyo bowed out of a semi-final fight against Mac Danzig with a rib injury.
R1- Not a very exciting first round. Arroyo pulled guard early and Cramer got some light Ground and Pound.
R2- This round was more of the same. It’s probably 19-19 but neither guy has done anything to distance himself as the favorite going into the third round.
R3- Arroyo took Cramer’s back and looked like he was going to win via Rear Naked Choke but Cramer got out of the move but Arroyo still had his back. Cramer landed some Ground and Pound toward the end of the round.
This was a pretty tough fight to watch. Based on this fight if either guy is asked back to UFC it will definitely be against someone they are picked to lose against. Neither guy did anything to deserve to win this fight more than the other guy. Arroyo will probably get the win but I smell a split.
Judges: 29-28 Cramer, 29-28 Arroyo and 29-28 Cramer
Winner: Dan Cramer by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- John Howard (10-4) vs. Chris Wilson (13-4)
Wilson has a 6” height advantage and a 3” reach advantage. At UFC 87 Wilson decisioned Steve Bruno 30-27 on all cards. At UFC 82 Chris Wilson lost a decision to top contender Jon Fitch. This is Howard’s UFC debut and has won his last 3 fights. Wilson has won 5 of his last 6 with his only loss being to Fitch, he took that fight on short notice.
R1- Pretty even fight through the first half of the round with Howard catching Wilson on the nose and causing some blood loss. Wilson hit a good combo right after this and took control. This was a close round with pretty good action. I give the slight edge to Wilson.
R2- Howard opened up more at the beginning of the round and the tired out and Wilson came on at the end. I’ve got the fight 19-19 right now with the advantage going to Wilson for the final round.
R3- Howard took Wilson’s back at the beginning of the round. Howard goes for a Rear Naked Choke about two minutes into the round but he couldn’t finish. Howard continues to maintain a triangle on Wilson and has his back. Wilson was able to get out and take guard but Howard went for a leg lock and both guys stand up with 50 seconds left. Howard got a take down and took guard with 30 seconds left but is just resting at this point. Howard limped to the finish but he won this round and thus in my opinion he wins the fight.
This was a good win for Howard as it was his UFC debut and Wilson is a tough opponent.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Howard, 29-28 Wilson and 29-28 Howard.
Winner: John Howard by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Thiago Tavares (17-3) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (10-4)
Tavares has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Gamburyan got rocked at UFC 87 by a big Rob Emerson punch and lost in 12 seconds.
R1- Tavares got a take down but Manvel almost got a kimura submission. Tavares controlled the round and got a slam with one minute left. Tavares 10-9 after round one.
R2- This round was a snoozer. Thiago came on at the end of the round but this one is a toss up.
R3- They mostly stand up and strike in this round. Tavares lands a good punch and a good knee in the middle of the round.
Judges scores are all 29-28 in favor of Tavares. Another kind of blah under card fight.
Winner: Thiago Tavares by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Jake O’Brien (10-2) vs. Christian Wellisch (9-3)
O’Brien is dropping down from Heavyweight for this fight.
R1- O’Brien hit a good punch about 20 seconds into the fight but Wellisch fought through it. Wellisch seemed like he really wanted to take this to the ground but O’Brien remained in control of the fight through the first round. O’Brien 10-9.
R2- O’Brien continuted to control this round by bloodying Christian’s nose and getting two take downs. O’Brien 20-18.
R3- Wellisch looked better in this round as O’Brien began to fade. O’Brien got a couple of take downs but got in little offense.
I’ve got O’Brien 29-28 in this fight. Not an exciting fight.
Judges score the fight 29-28 Wellisch, 29-28 O’Brien and 29-28 O’Brien.
Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Akihiro Gono (28-13-7) vs. Jon Fitch (21-3)
Fitch has a 6” reach advantage and a 4” height advantage. Fitch is coming off of a lopsided loss to one of the top P4P fighters in the world GSP in which he showed a lot of heart by going 5 full rounds with the champ.
R1- Fitch controlled this round and took Gono’s back at the end of the round but couldn’t get into a good enough position to go for a finish. Fitch 10-9.
R2- Fitch dominated this round. Almost a 10-8 round but I don’t think Fitch did enough damage. Fitch went for a late arm bar but Gono survived. Fitch 20-18.
R3- Gono showed some life in this round but Fitch does what he does which is smother his opponents in a boring fashion.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 in favor of Fitch.
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
This has got to take the cake as the most boring and pedestrian UFC under card that there has ever been. Five decisions on the under card and while they were competitive none of them were anywhere near exciting fights.
Monday, February 02, 2009
WEC 38: "Varner vs. Cerrone" 1/25/09 Re-Cap
WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone (1/25/09) – San Diego, CA (San Diego Sports Arena)
Craig Hummer joins Frank Mir in the broadcast booth, so that’s a change from their normal duo.
Featherweight Fight- José Aldo (12-1) vs. Rolando Perez (4-1-1)
Aldo is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and a very aggressive striker. Perez leans more towards the stand up game but can also submit his opponents and was a high school wrestler. This is the debut for Perez in WEC. Perez is the hometown guy in this fight as he is from San Diego. Perez has advantages in both height and reach.
R1- Really good first round with Aldo with a slight advantage in the stand up at the beginning of the round. Perez started to land some combinations in the middle but the Aldo came on strong in the last two minutes landing several good strikes and drawing blood. Perez came in with a punch and Aldo hit a great counter knee strike that just floored Perez and then Aldo just had to give him a shoot or two before the ref stepped in.
Good one round fight.
Winner: Jose Aldo by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:15
Mike Brown and Leonard Garcia are at ringside and interviewed about their March 1st fight for the WEC Featherweight Title. The TapouT guys are at ringside as are Brock Larson and Rashad Evans.
Welterweight Fight- Danillo Villefort (8-2) vs. Mike Campbell (6-0)
Villefort has a 4” height advantage and a big 6” reach advantage. Campbell has been training recently with Mark Delegrati. This is the WEC debut for Campbell.
R1- Campbell grabbed a leg kick and got a take down. Villefort went for a triangle but Campbell fought it off and picked him up and slammed him. Villefort went for a leg lock and Campbell tried to roll out and eventually did. Villefort looks very comfortable on the ground. Villefort got a take down with about two minutes left and started working some elbows. Campbell gave up his back and Villefort continued to pound on his ears and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. Villefort looked good in this fight. He looks like he has some really good jiu jitsu skills.
Winner: Danillo Villefort by TKO (strikes) R1 3:53
Villefort drops the F bomb in the post-fight interview (live on Versus!) and says he is here to fight for the belt.
Bantamweight Fight- Scott Jorgensen (5-2) vs. Frank Gomez (6-0)
Due to the first two fights getting finished in the 1st round we get a fight from the pre-show. Gomez has a large 6” height advantage and 3” reach advantage. Gomez is only 22 years old and is a jiu jitsu and Muy Thai fighter and is making his WEC debut.
R1- Jorgensen got a take down about 30 seconds into the round and went for a guillotine but couldn’t lock it in. Jorgensen caught him with what Mir called a “Power Guillotine” or “Power Choke” and described it as an upside Rear Naked Choke. Very impressive fight and finish by Jorgensen.
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:09
Featherweight Fight- Urijah Faber (21-2) vs. Jens Pulver (22-10-1)
This is a re-match from a 5 round draw they had last year that was a FOTY candidate even tough Faber won every round. Pulver hung tough in the fight and had Faber on the ropes a couple of times. It was the #2 voted FOTY last year for WEC. Both guys are wounded coming off of losses. Faber lost the belt in his last fight to Mike Brown in which he made a mistake and got caught and lost despite cracking one of Brown’s ribs. Pulver got handled easily by Leonard Garcia in his last fight. This is a must win fight for both guys. Pulver has been dealing with a lot of personal issues recently (both good and bad) and asked for the fight to be moved to the March show but it was not.
R1- Faber hurt Pulver with a punch about a minute in and then tracked down Pulver took him down and submitted him. Very impressive victory for Faber and you have to think that this is the end of the road for Pulver in WEC as he’s lost 3 in a row.
Winner: Urijah Faber by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:34
Jens Pulver drops the F bomb in a post-fight interview. They actually asked him if he was “still relevant in the Featherweight Division.”
WEC Lightweight Championship: Jamie Varner © (15-2) vs. Donald Cerrone (9-0)
Cerrone is undefeated in MMA (has 1 no contest) and was also 25-0 as an amateur kick boxer. Mir says that Cerrone also has some very good submission from the guard position. Cerrone has won 8 of 9 fights by submission. He is training with Greg Jackson and also has been training with GSP.
Varner has been training with the Arizona Combat Club (Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero also train there). He is a well rounded fighter, was an all-American wrestler and has boxing experience.
R1- Varner hit a good combo about one and a half minutes into the fight as he landed a big left and then got a take down. Cerrone grabs a rubber guard type move that nullifies Varner’s offense and Mir says that he might have a slight choke in. Varner sits up and lands some big Ground and Pound. Cerrone has a big bump on his forehead. Varner slipped and Cerrone was able to get back to his feet and actually get some offense in. Varner up 10-9 after one round. Varner looked very impressive in Ground and Pound and Cerrone showed the ability to take a large amount of punishment. Really good first round.
R1- Cerrone lands some kicks but then gets taken down and Cerrone escapes nicely after a few strikes. Cerrone was winning the stand up but then Varner got the take down. Varner lands some good Ground and Pound and Cerrone escapes again. Cerrone really stalking Varner in this round. Varner got another take down to end the round but Cerrone grabbed Varner’s arm for a near arm bar. This was a very even round. Varner got 3 take downs but did little with 2 of them and when the fight was on their feet he was constantly back pedaling and moving away from Cerrone. Very debatable round but I’ve got it for Cerrone. So that makes it 19-19 right now. If conditioning becomes a factor I believe Cerrone is going to have the advantage.
R3- Varner got some good shots in on Cerrone and then took him down around the two minute mark of the round. Cerrone has a cut on his eye. Varner goes for a guillotine and Cerrone reverses and they go back to their feet. Cerrone is definitely having some issues with his eye. Varner lands some good shots. Varner gets a take down with 30 seconds left in the round. Varner took this round by a good margin. I’ve got Varner up 29-28.
R4- Varner landed a good roundhouse left kick but Cerrone absorbed the shot. Varner backing up a lot in this round. Varner got a take down a little after the two minute mark. Cerrone gets out after very little punishment. Varner got another take down at the one minute mark of the round.
Cerrone is landing more from his guard than Varner is giving him. This was another really close round. I could see giving this to Cerrone but I don’t think he did enough damage so I think Varner takes it with the take downs. Varner 39-37.
R5- Varner gets an early take down. Cerrone escapes with a nice kick off move. Cerrone got the next take down. As Varner was getting up Cerrone grazed him with a knee to the head and Varner stayed down. Varner had risen up and then went back down to his knees and got grazed by the knee. Varner says he can’t see and the ref is going to stop the fight. It is called an unintentional foul and they are going to score all 5 rounds. I’ve got Cerrone taking this round and the fight going to Varner 48-47.
This was a really good fight that unfortunately ended poorly.
Judges score cards say 49-46 Varner, 48-47 Cerrone and 49-46 Varner.
Winner: Jamie Varner by Decision (Unanimous)
Varner says he broke his hand in the 2nd or 3rd round. The fans are booing him and he tells them to “Fing boo him”. Varner says that as soon as he gets cleared to fight that he’ll grant the re-match to Cerrone.
Overall, another strong show from the WEC on Versus.
Craig Hummer joins Frank Mir in the broadcast booth, so that’s a change from their normal duo.
Featherweight Fight- José Aldo (12-1) vs. Rolando Perez (4-1-1)
Aldo is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and a very aggressive striker. Perez leans more towards the stand up game but can also submit his opponents and was a high school wrestler. This is the debut for Perez in WEC. Perez is the hometown guy in this fight as he is from San Diego. Perez has advantages in both height and reach.
R1- Really good first round with Aldo with a slight advantage in the stand up at the beginning of the round. Perez started to land some combinations in the middle but the Aldo came on strong in the last two minutes landing several good strikes and drawing blood. Perez came in with a punch and Aldo hit a great counter knee strike that just floored Perez and then Aldo just had to give him a shoot or two before the ref stepped in.
Good one round fight.
Winner: Jose Aldo by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:15
Mike Brown and Leonard Garcia are at ringside and interviewed about their March 1st fight for the WEC Featherweight Title. The TapouT guys are at ringside as are Brock Larson and Rashad Evans.
Welterweight Fight- Danillo Villefort (8-2) vs. Mike Campbell (6-0)
Villefort has a 4” height advantage and a big 6” reach advantage. Campbell has been training recently with Mark Delegrati. This is the WEC debut for Campbell.
R1- Campbell grabbed a leg kick and got a take down. Villefort went for a triangle but Campbell fought it off and picked him up and slammed him. Villefort went for a leg lock and Campbell tried to roll out and eventually did. Villefort looks very comfortable on the ground. Villefort got a take down with about two minutes left and started working some elbows. Campbell gave up his back and Villefort continued to pound on his ears and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. Villefort looked good in this fight. He looks like he has some really good jiu jitsu skills.
Winner: Danillo Villefort by TKO (strikes) R1 3:53
Villefort drops the F bomb in the post-fight interview (live on Versus!) and says he is here to fight for the belt.
Bantamweight Fight- Scott Jorgensen (5-2) vs. Frank Gomez (6-0)
Due to the first two fights getting finished in the 1st round we get a fight from the pre-show. Gomez has a large 6” height advantage and 3” reach advantage. Gomez is only 22 years old and is a jiu jitsu and Muy Thai fighter and is making his WEC debut.
R1- Jorgensen got a take down about 30 seconds into the round and went for a guillotine but couldn’t lock it in. Jorgensen caught him with what Mir called a “Power Guillotine” or “Power Choke” and described it as an upside Rear Naked Choke. Very impressive fight and finish by Jorgensen.
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:09
Featherweight Fight- Urijah Faber (21-2) vs. Jens Pulver (22-10-1)
This is a re-match from a 5 round draw they had last year that was a FOTY candidate even tough Faber won every round. Pulver hung tough in the fight and had Faber on the ropes a couple of times. It was the #2 voted FOTY last year for WEC. Both guys are wounded coming off of losses. Faber lost the belt in his last fight to Mike Brown in which he made a mistake and got caught and lost despite cracking one of Brown’s ribs. Pulver got handled easily by Leonard Garcia in his last fight. This is a must win fight for both guys. Pulver has been dealing with a lot of personal issues recently (both good and bad) and asked for the fight to be moved to the March show but it was not.
R1- Faber hurt Pulver with a punch about a minute in and then tracked down Pulver took him down and submitted him. Very impressive victory for Faber and you have to think that this is the end of the road for Pulver in WEC as he’s lost 3 in a row.
Winner: Urijah Faber by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:34
Jens Pulver drops the F bomb in a post-fight interview. They actually asked him if he was “still relevant in the Featherweight Division.”
WEC Lightweight Championship: Jamie Varner © (15-2) vs. Donald Cerrone (9-0)
Cerrone is undefeated in MMA (has 1 no contest) and was also 25-0 as an amateur kick boxer. Mir says that Cerrone also has some very good submission from the guard position. Cerrone has won 8 of 9 fights by submission. He is training with Greg Jackson and also has been training with GSP.
Varner has been training with the Arizona Combat Club (Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero also train there). He is a well rounded fighter, was an all-American wrestler and has boxing experience.
R1- Varner hit a good combo about one and a half minutes into the fight as he landed a big left and then got a take down. Cerrone grabs a rubber guard type move that nullifies Varner’s offense and Mir says that he might have a slight choke in. Varner sits up and lands some big Ground and Pound. Cerrone has a big bump on his forehead. Varner slipped and Cerrone was able to get back to his feet and actually get some offense in. Varner up 10-9 after one round. Varner looked very impressive in Ground and Pound and Cerrone showed the ability to take a large amount of punishment. Really good first round.
R1- Cerrone lands some kicks but then gets taken down and Cerrone escapes nicely after a few strikes. Cerrone was winning the stand up but then Varner got the take down. Varner lands some good Ground and Pound and Cerrone escapes again. Cerrone really stalking Varner in this round. Varner got another take down to end the round but Cerrone grabbed Varner’s arm for a near arm bar. This was a very even round. Varner got 3 take downs but did little with 2 of them and when the fight was on their feet he was constantly back pedaling and moving away from Cerrone. Very debatable round but I’ve got it for Cerrone. So that makes it 19-19 right now. If conditioning becomes a factor I believe Cerrone is going to have the advantage.
R3- Varner got some good shots in on Cerrone and then took him down around the two minute mark of the round. Cerrone has a cut on his eye. Varner goes for a guillotine and Cerrone reverses and they go back to their feet. Cerrone is definitely having some issues with his eye. Varner lands some good shots. Varner gets a take down with 30 seconds left in the round. Varner took this round by a good margin. I’ve got Varner up 29-28.
R4- Varner landed a good roundhouse left kick but Cerrone absorbed the shot. Varner backing up a lot in this round. Varner got a take down a little after the two minute mark. Cerrone gets out after very little punishment. Varner got another take down at the one minute mark of the round.
Cerrone is landing more from his guard than Varner is giving him. This was another really close round. I could see giving this to Cerrone but I don’t think he did enough damage so I think Varner takes it with the take downs. Varner 39-37.
R5- Varner gets an early take down. Cerrone escapes with a nice kick off move. Cerrone got the next take down. As Varner was getting up Cerrone grazed him with a knee to the head and Varner stayed down. Varner had risen up and then went back down to his knees and got grazed by the knee. Varner says he can’t see and the ref is going to stop the fight. It is called an unintentional foul and they are going to score all 5 rounds. I’ve got Cerrone taking this round and the fight going to Varner 48-47.
This was a really good fight that unfortunately ended poorly.
Judges score cards say 49-46 Varner, 48-47 Cerrone and 49-46 Varner.
Winner: Jamie Varner by Decision (Unanimous)
Varner says he broke his hand in the 2nd or 3rd round. The fans are booing him and he tells them to “Fing boo him”. Varner says that as soon as he gets cleared to fight that he’ll grant the re-match to Cerrone.
Overall, another strong show from the WEC on Versus.
Affliction "Day of Reckoning" 1/24/09- Re-Cap
Affliction: Day of Reckoning (1/24/09) – Anaheim, CA (Honda Center)
Lightweight Fight- Dan Lauzon (11-2) vs. Bobby Green (7-1)
Bobby Green is fighting on short notice as he replaced Chris Horodecki. Lauzon is a wrestler and jiu jitsu fighter. Green describes his fighting style as “hood”.
R1- Green really took it to Lauzon in the first round. Green hit Lauzon with two low blows and we get two five minute rest periods and two warnings for Green. Green is winning the fight but can’t keep his knee off of Lauzon’s jock. They start back and Green hits him with another low blow although it was a glancing blow. Lauzon looks like he sold this one more than the others. Green got a point deducted for this. Green should just stop throwing kicks at this point unless he’s kicking him in the low part of the legs. Lauzon went for a heel hook but Green survived. Lauzon then quickly took Greens back and tapped him out with only about 10 seconds left in the round.
This would have been a good fight if we didn’t have 15 minutes worth of waiting due to the three low blows. Edit those out and it was a good one round fight.
Winner: Dan Lauzon by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:55
Heavyweight Fight- Paul Buentello (29-10) vs. Kiril Sidelnikov (5-2)
Kiril is Fedor’s protégé and he is nicknamed “Baby Fedor”. No pressure there at all. That’s like dubbing some poor Quarterback as the next “Joe Montana”. Buentello has a 3” height advantage, a 6” reach advantage and a 15 pound weight advantage.
R1- Decent first round as Buentello opened up a cut under Kiril’s eye. Buentello takes the first round 10-9.
R2- The first half of this round was more of the same but Kiril got a good flurry into the corner before Buentello wrapped him up. Buentello started landing some good shots towards the end of the round. Buentello took this round as he controlled with the exception of the flurry by Kiril. Buentello 20-18.
R3- Buentello just picked Kiril apart in this round. Kiril lost his mouthpiece twice and the second time the doctor at ringside stopped the fight. Buentello looked solid in this fight and Kiril didn’t show much of looking like Fedor except in his ability to take a punch. The strikes landed in the first round were about the same and by the end of the fight Buentello had landed twice as many strikes as Kiril.
Winner: Paul Buentello by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R3 4:18
Light Heavyweight Fight- Renato Sobral (31-7) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-3)
Sokoudjou was last seen gassing in about two minutes in UFC and then getting taken apart by Luiz Cane. Prior to that he got a TKO victory in Round One against Kazuhiro Nakamura and prior to that he got submitted by Lyoto Machida. Sokoudjou needs to finish in the first round if he is going to win this fight. Babalu fought on the November Strikeforce card and beat Bobby Southworth for their Light Heavyweight Title. Babalu got a decision victory over Mike Whitehead at the first Affliction show.
R1- Not a great first round as neither guy really got going. Sokoudjou had good take down defense and landed a couple of shots in Ground and Pound. Sokoudjou up 10-9 in a very even round.
R2- Babalu got a quick take down at the beginning of the round and landed some Ground and Pound. Babalu got the Anaconda choke clamped in and finished the fight. Sokoudjou once again gets foiled after the first round. Babalu looked good and I think we just need to comes to terms that Sokoudjou isn’t a very good MMA fighter.
Winner: Renato Sobral by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R2 2:36
Middleweight Fight- Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
Lindland looked very out of shape in his fight back in July for Affliction so it will be interesting to see if he has cardio in this fight if it goes for a while. Belfort looked good in his win over Terry Martin back in July.
R1- Belfort stuck Lindland early and floored him and then just destroyed him. Utter dominance by Belfort. I guess we won’t have to worry about Lindland’s cardio. Lindland has been very unimpressive in his last two fights.
Winner: Vitor Belfort by KO R1 0:37
Post-match Tito Ortiz says he sees Vitor taking apart Anderson Silva. Lindland and Terry Martin probably weren’t even in the Top 25 Middleweights much less among the top P4P fighters in the world. Impressive victory by Vitor but let’s see him beat a Top 5 or Top 10 Middleweight before jumping to Anderson Silva.
Heavyweight Fight- Josh Barnett (23-5) vs. Gilbert Yvel (42-12)
Barnett beat Pedro Rizzo in somewhat of a snoozer at the last Affliction show. Barnett is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and New Japan Professional Wrestler. Yvel is a Muy Thai fighter and Kick Boxer. He has 37 Knockouts in his career.
R1- Barnett got a take down and controlled the round and really poured on some Ground and Pound at the end of the round but Yvel held on and showed a tremendous ability to take punishment. Possibly a 10-8 round.
R2- Barnett dominated this round as he got an early take down and got some Ground and Pound but didn’t inflict the punishment that he did in the last round. Yvel got in some offense in the last 20 seconds. Barnett 20-17 so far.
Scott Farrell should not be on my television. He has a face for radio. Ditto for Chuck Zito.
R3- Barnett got another takedown and hit more Ground and Pound until Yvel tapped out to punches. Good showing from Barnett.
Winner: Josh Barnett by Submission (Strikes) R3 3:05
WAMMA Heavyweight Championship: Fedor Emelianenko © (28-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (15-5)
R1- This was a weird fight. They fought evenly for about the first two and a half minutes. Arlovski started to push forward and take a brief lead and then Fedor hit a shot that looked like it barely hit and Arlovski dropped like a ton of bricks. I’ve watched this replay several times and it barely looks like it hit. I guess it hit in the right spot.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by KO R1 (3:14)
Overall, this was a solid show. I thought it was clearly above and beyond their first show. They did a good job improving the pacing of the show. Fedor and Belfort both had good knockout showings and Babalu and Barnett looked good. No above average fights on the show but no stinkers like Negao/Lindland from last show and no issues with the ring ropes. The announcing was adequate but left a lot to be desired when you compare it to the UFC. I think Tito Ortiz was the weak link in the booth as he didn’t come anywhere close to providing the type of analysis and insight that you get from guys like Joe Rogan, Frank Shamrock and Bas Rutten. They need to just stop with the backstage announcing as it just didn’t feel right- probably due to the guys they had doing it and the fact that they went backstage in between fights when they would be better served showing the corners (UFC had some great moments from Phil Baroni and Rich Franklin during corners at the last show). Good performance from Affliction and an upgrade from their first show.
Lightweight Fight- Dan Lauzon (11-2) vs. Bobby Green (7-1)
Bobby Green is fighting on short notice as he replaced Chris Horodecki. Lauzon is a wrestler and jiu jitsu fighter. Green describes his fighting style as “hood”.
R1- Green really took it to Lauzon in the first round. Green hit Lauzon with two low blows and we get two five minute rest periods and two warnings for Green. Green is winning the fight but can’t keep his knee off of Lauzon’s jock. They start back and Green hits him with another low blow although it was a glancing blow. Lauzon looks like he sold this one more than the others. Green got a point deducted for this. Green should just stop throwing kicks at this point unless he’s kicking him in the low part of the legs. Lauzon went for a heel hook but Green survived. Lauzon then quickly took Greens back and tapped him out with only about 10 seconds left in the round.
This would have been a good fight if we didn’t have 15 minutes worth of waiting due to the three low blows. Edit those out and it was a good one round fight.
Winner: Dan Lauzon by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:55
Heavyweight Fight- Paul Buentello (29-10) vs. Kiril Sidelnikov (5-2)
Kiril is Fedor’s protégé and he is nicknamed “Baby Fedor”. No pressure there at all. That’s like dubbing some poor Quarterback as the next “Joe Montana”. Buentello has a 3” height advantage, a 6” reach advantage and a 15 pound weight advantage.
R1- Decent first round as Buentello opened up a cut under Kiril’s eye. Buentello takes the first round 10-9.
R2- The first half of this round was more of the same but Kiril got a good flurry into the corner before Buentello wrapped him up. Buentello started landing some good shots towards the end of the round. Buentello took this round as he controlled with the exception of the flurry by Kiril. Buentello 20-18.
R3- Buentello just picked Kiril apart in this round. Kiril lost his mouthpiece twice and the second time the doctor at ringside stopped the fight. Buentello looked solid in this fight and Kiril didn’t show much of looking like Fedor except in his ability to take a punch. The strikes landed in the first round were about the same and by the end of the fight Buentello had landed twice as many strikes as Kiril.
Winner: Paul Buentello by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R3 4:18
Light Heavyweight Fight- Renato Sobral (31-7) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-3)
Sokoudjou was last seen gassing in about two minutes in UFC and then getting taken apart by Luiz Cane. Prior to that he got a TKO victory in Round One against Kazuhiro Nakamura and prior to that he got submitted by Lyoto Machida. Sokoudjou needs to finish in the first round if he is going to win this fight. Babalu fought on the November Strikeforce card and beat Bobby Southworth for their Light Heavyweight Title. Babalu got a decision victory over Mike Whitehead at the first Affliction show.
R1- Not a great first round as neither guy really got going. Sokoudjou had good take down defense and landed a couple of shots in Ground and Pound. Sokoudjou up 10-9 in a very even round.
R2- Babalu got a quick take down at the beginning of the round and landed some Ground and Pound. Babalu got the Anaconda choke clamped in and finished the fight. Sokoudjou once again gets foiled after the first round. Babalu looked good and I think we just need to comes to terms that Sokoudjou isn’t a very good MMA fighter.
Winner: Renato Sobral by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R2 2:36
Middleweight Fight- Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
Lindland looked very out of shape in his fight back in July for Affliction so it will be interesting to see if he has cardio in this fight if it goes for a while. Belfort looked good in his win over Terry Martin back in July.
R1- Belfort stuck Lindland early and floored him and then just destroyed him. Utter dominance by Belfort. I guess we won’t have to worry about Lindland’s cardio. Lindland has been very unimpressive in his last two fights.
Winner: Vitor Belfort by KO R1 0:37
Post-match Tito Ortiz says he sees Vitor taking apart Anderson Silva. Lindland and Terry Martin probably weren’t even in the Top 25 Middleweights much less among the top P4P fighters in the world. Impressive victory by Vitor but let’s see him beat a Top 5 or Top 10 Middleweight before jumping to Anderson Silva.
Heavyweight Fight- Josh Barnett (23-5) vs. Gilbert Yvel (42-12)
Barnett beat Pedro Rizzo in somewhat of a snoozer at the last Affliction show. Barnett is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and New Japan Professional Wrestler. Yvel is a Muy Thai fighter and Kick Boxer. He has 37 Knockouts in his career.
R1- Barnett got a take down and controlled the round and really poured on some Ground and Pound at the end of the round but Yvel held on and showed a tremendous ability to take punishment. Possibly a 10-8 round.
R2- Barnett dominated this round as he got an early take down and got some Ground and Pound but didn’t inflict the punishment that he did in the last round. Yvel got in some offense in the last 20 seconds. Barnett 20-17 so far.
Scott Farrell should not be on my television. He has a face for radio. Ditto for Chuck Zito.
R3- Barnett got another takedown and hit more Ground and Pound until Yvel tapped out to punches. Good showing from Barnett.
Winner: Josh Barnett by Submission (Strikes) R3 3:05
WAMMA Heavyweight Championship: Fedor Emelianenko © (28-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (15-5)
R1- This was a weird fight. They fought evenly for about the first two and a half minutes. Arlovski started to push forward and take a brief lead and then Fedor hit a shot that looked like it barely hit and Arlovski dropped like a ton of bricks. I’ve watched this replay several times and it barely looks like it hit. I guess it hit in the right spot.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by KO R1 (3:14)
Overall, this was a solid show. I thought it was clearly above and beyond their first show. They did a good job improving the pacing of the show. Fedor and Belfort both had good knockout showings and Babalu and Barnett looked good. No above average fights on the show but no stinkers like Negao/Lindland from last show and no issues with the ring ropes. The announcing was adequate but left a lot to be desired when you compare it to the UFC. I think Tito Ortiz was the weak link in the booth as he didn’t come anywhere close to providing the type of analysis and insight that you get from guys like Joe Rogan, Frank Shamrock and Bas Rutten. They need to just stop with the backstage announcing as it just didn’t feel right- probably due to the guys they had doing it and the fact that they went backstage in between fights when they would be better served showing the corners (UFC had some great moments from Phil Baroni and Rich Franklin during corners at the last show). Good performance from Affliction and an upgrade from their first show.
Mainstream MMA- "New Era" 4/5/08 Re-Cap
Mainstream MMA - New Era
Mainstream MMA
April 5, 2008
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
This was from the Fight Zone show on Sport South. The announcers for the show were Jay Adams and Justin Brown. Razak Al-Hassan (debuted for UFC at Fight For The Troops against WEC Veteran Steve Cantwell) was also on this show but his fight was not shown as only the final 4 fights from this show made the cut for TV.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rashad Brooks (3-3) vs. Derek Mehman (0-0)
Mehman is 6'4" and has a 6" height advantage. The winner of this is going to get a title shot at the next show. The announcers said Mehman was 1-0 going into this fight but Sherdog does not have record of that fight.
R1- Brooks tried a weird flipping kick and instead got his back taken and got tagged with some punches. Mehman got another take down and landed some Ground and Pound. Mehman put him in a half nelson and it did nothing. Mehman then flattened him out and hit lots of punches to the side of the head until the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Derek Mehman by TKO (strikes) R1
Welterweight Fight- Luke Gwaltney (12-10-1) vs. Eric Wisely (1-1)(20-2)
Luke has a 5" height advantage and also looks to have a good reach advantage in this fight. Wisely has a 1-1 record according to Sherdog but the announcers made reference to him being something like 20-2 in boxing. Sherdog has Luke at 12-10-1 going into the fight, the announcers said he is 23-10. He is only 22 years old so either way that's a bunch of fights.
R1- Wisely hit some good leg kicks and they briefly threw in the corner. Not a lot of strikes landed and a long feeling out process. Give the round to Wisely 10-9.
R2- Wisely got a take down and some Ground and Pound. Gwaltney kicked out but came up with a blood nose. Wisely got another take down, hit some Ground and Pound and got a full mount. Gwaltney kicked off the cage to get up but got taken down again. Wisely up 20-18 so far.
R3- Gwaltney got the take down and Wisely hit some punches from the bottom and the ref stepped in as Gwaltney was very bloody. Apparently when he made the take down he landed on his head (possibly on the bottom of the cage) and sustained a big gash that opened up really quickly. Fight was stopped due to blood, Wisely was up on points at this point anyway and had looked good in the fight.
Winner: Eric Wisely by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R3
Middleweight Title Fight- Brian Monaghan (2-2) vs. Tom Grubb (4-0)
This is for the vacant Middleweight Title. The announcers have Grubb at 8-0 going into the fight and they have Monaghan at 5-2. Monaghan has fought Drew McFedries but came up on the short end of that one. This fight is 4 5-minute rounds with a 1 round Sudden Victory if the score cards are even after 4 rounds.
R1-Grubb pulled guard but landed in full mount. He was able to quickly turn it over and controlled the round from there. Grubb 10-9.
R2- Monaghan got a take down but Grubb reversed it and controlled the round again. Grubb 20-18 but not much damage inflicted.
R3- Grubb got a take down, they were stood up and so he got another take down. Really superior wrestling by Grubb.
R4- Grubb got a take down, went for a crucifix, then got a full mount and trapped Monaghan in a side choke and got the submission victory.
Good showing by Grubb. Not a very excited fight but he had superior wrestling and ended it with a good submission.
Winner and new Middleweight Champ: Tom Grubb by Submission (Choke) R4
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Pearson (c) (26-10-1) vs. Erik Koch (2-0)
This is the Main Event. Pearson is a Militech fighter. Peason has a fought and lost to Miguel Torres in 2006, beat Yoshiro Maeda in 2006 in Pride Buchido, and lost to Urijah Faber in WEC in 2007 (I'm pretty sure I've seen that fight). Koch has a victory over Eric Wisely by decision from the last MMA Mainstream show. Koch has a 7 pound weight advantage in this fight.
R1- Koch hits a quick kick that is caught by Pearson and Pearson takes him down but Koch immediately maneuvers into a triangle choke. Pearson tries to fight it off and toughs it out for about 30 seconds but he has to tap. Very explosive start to the fight and a great finish.
Winner and new champion: Erik Koch by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 0:47
This show definitely seemed to have some more refined fighters than the RFC show had on it. I would be interested in seeing Koch, Grubb and Wisely fight again to see how they progress.
Mainstream MMA
April 5, 2008
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
This was from the Fight Zone show on Sport South. The announcers for the show were Jay Adams and Justin Brown. Razak Al-Hassan (debuted for UFC at Fight For The Troops against WEC Veteran Steve Cantwell) was also on this show but his fight was not shown as only the final 4 fights from this show made the cut for TV.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rashad Brooks (3-3) vs. Derek Mehman (0-0)
Mehman is 6'4" and has a 6" height advantage. The winner of this is going to get a title shot at the next show. The announcers said Mehman was 1-0 going into this fight but Sherdog does not have record of that fight.
R1- Brooks tried a weird flipping kick and instead got his back taken and got tagged with some punches. Mehman got another take down and landed some Ground and Pound. Mehman put him in a half nelson and it did nothing. Mehman then flattened him out and hit lots of punches to the side of the head until the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Derek Mehman by TKO (strikes) R1
Welterweight Fight- Luke Gwaltney (12-10-1) vs. Eric Wisely (1-1)(20-2)
Luke has a 5" height advantage and also looks to have a good reach advantage in this fight. Wisely has a 1-1 record according to Sherdog but the announcers made reference to him being something like 20-2 in boxing. Sherdog has Luke at 12-10-1 going into the fight, the announcers said he is 23-10. He is only 22 years old so either way that's a bunch of fights.
R1- Wisely hit some good leg kicks and they briefly threw in the corner. Not a lot of strikes landed and a long feeling out process. Give the round to Wisely 10-9.
R2- Wisely got a take down and some Ground and Pound. Gwaltney kicked out but came up with a blood nose. Wisely got another take down, hit some Ground and Pound and got a full mount. Gwaltney kicked off the cage to get up but got taken down again. Wisely up 20-18 so far.
R3- Gwaltney got the take down and Wisely hit some punches from the bottom and the ref stepped in as Gwaltney was very bloody. Apparently when he made the take down he landed on his head (possibly on the bottom of the cage) and sustained a big gash that opened up really quickly. Fight was stopped due to blood, Wisely was up on points at this point anyway and had looked good in the fight.
Winner: Eric Wisely by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R3
Middleweight Title Fight- Brian Monaghan (2-2) vs. Tom Grubb (4-0)
This is for the vacant Middleweight Title. The announcers have Grubb at 8-0 going into the fight and they have Monaghan at 5-2. Monaghan has fought Drew McFedries but came up on the short end of that one. This fight is 4 5-minute rounds with a 1 round Sudden Victory if the score cards are even after 4 rounds.
R1-Grubb pulled guard but landed in full mount. He was able to quickly turn it over and controlled the round from there. Grubb 10-9.
R2- Monaghan got a take down but Grubb reversed it and controlled the round again. Grubb 20-18 but not much damage inflicted.
R3- Grubb got a take down, they were stood up and so he got another take down. Really superior wrestling by Grubb.
R4- Grubb got a take down, went for a crucifix, then got a full mount and trapped Monaghan in a side choke and got the submission victory.
Good showing by Grubb. Not a very excited fight but he had superior wrestling and ended it with a good submission.
Winner and new Middleweight Champ: Tom Grubb by Submission (Choke) R4
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Pearson (c) (26-10-1) vs. Erik Koch (2-0)
This is the Main Event. Pearson is a Militech fighter. Peason has a fought and lost to Miguel Torres in 2006, beat Yoshiro Maeda in 2006 in Pride Buchido, and lost to Urijah Faber in WEC in 2007 (I'm pretty sure I've seen that fight). Koch has a victory over Eric Wisely by decision from the last MMA Mainstream show. Koch has a 7 pound weight advantage in this fight.
R1- Koch hits a quick kick that is caught by Pearson and Pearson takes him down but Koch immediately maneuvers into a triangle choke. Pearson tries to fight it off and toughs it out for about 30 seconds but he has to tap. Very explosive start to the fight and a great finish.
Winner and new champion: Erik Koch by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 0:47
This show definitely seemed to have some more refined fighters than the RFC show had on it. I would be interested in seeing Koch, Grubb and Wisely fight again to see how they progress.
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