The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 4
Last week we found out that Dan Henderson gets to pick the first fight for Team USA. The UK fighters have had two weeks off from fighting and some of the US fighters have only had days off. It will be interesting how that affects the US squad in the first few fights.
We start off with Team UK and Michael Bisping introduces his two assistant coaches: Mario Sukata (wrestling and submissions) and Dave Jackson (tae boxing coach). Bisping says that these are his coaches in “real life.” Dan Henderson’s assistant coaches are Gustavo Pugliese (boxing and footwork), Ricardo Feliciano (jiu jitsu) and Cyrille Diabate (Muy Thai, knees and elbows) and Heath Sims (2000 Olympic team member for Greco-Roman wrestling). You may recognize Diabata as he’s a former Pride fighter and also fought on one of the Elite XC/ShoXC shows. His most high profile fights have been losses to Shogun Rua and Babalu Sobral. His most recent fight was a win over TUF Alumni Lodune Sincaid in January of this year.
Dan Henderson picks Mark Miller to fight Nick Osipczak in a Welterweight Fight. Henderson made the decision on who wanted to fight and who could make weight the easiest. I wasn’t particularly impressed with either of these guys in their first fight. They both showed some good skills but neither really stood out in their wins.
Bisping missed the Team USA elimination fights so he and his team go over the tape of Mark Miller’s fight. Then Bisping is shown working with Osipczak on a strategy for the Miller fight. Both fighters make weight. Based on the pose after making weight Osipczak has a clear height advantage which probably also equates to a reach advantage. Later on in the show Bisping talks to his fighter about some videos he watch on Youtube and further explains the strategy to Osipczak.
The US team writes on a Team UK shirt that is left in the house and on some Team UK wrestling shoes that are left at the practice facility.
Welterweight Fight- Nick Osipczak (Team UK) (3-0)vs. Mark Miller (Team USA) (10-4)
Osipczak has a 4” height and 5” reach advantage for this fight.
R1- Nick got a quick take down but couldn’t do anything with it and Miller flipped him over and took his guard and then they went back to their feet. Miller was able to throw Nick down during a flury of punches by both guys but didn’t hurt him. Nick got another take down with about 2 minutes left in the round. Nick couldn’t really do anything and Miller got back to his feet but then Nick grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard and nearly got a submission. Pretty even first round that I score to Osipczak 10-9 as he came closer to finishing the fight.
R2- Miller went for a guillotine early but Nick easily got out of it and had side control but put himself into half guard and Miller grabbed a guillotine attempt again. Nick hit a big right high kick out of nowhere and ended the fight by KO. Not a very impressive showing for either guy. I really can’t see Nick getting past his next opponent but I’ve been wrong before.
Winner: Nick Osipczak by KO (High Kick) R2
Post-match Michael Bisping talks about how he is being a “tactical dick” by bragging about his guy after the fight.
Remaining Fighters:
Lightweight Fighters:
UK- Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
UK- Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
UK- Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
UK- Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
US- Richie Whitson (defeated Paul Bird)
US- Santino Defranco (defeated Waylon Lowe)
US- Cameron Dollar (defeated Hayden)
US- Jason Dent (defeated Rob Browning)
Welterweight Fighters:
UK- James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
UK- Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire, Mark Miller)
UK- Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
UK- David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
US- Damarques Johnson (defeated Ray Elbe)
US- Jason Pierce (defeated Berger)
US- Frank Lester (defeated Kiel Reid)
My favorites so far are:
Lightweight: Richie Whitson (USA) and Martin Stapleton (UK)
Welterweight: Damarques Johnson (USA) and David Faulkner (UK)
Eliminated:
Mark Miller defeated by Nick Osipczak (Episode 4)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
UFC Fight Night 18 4/1/09 Preliminary Fights Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 18 Prelims
April 1, 2009
Nashville, Tn
Middleweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (9-3) vs. Matt Horwich (24-10-1)
R1- Kind of a blah first round until the end when Almeida took Horwich down with a guillotine and then Horwich came up with a heel hook. Pretty close first round.
R2- Almeida really dominates the first part of this round by taking Horwich’s guard and then getting in some good Ground and Pound. Almeida really dominated this entire round.
R3- Almeida gets two take downs in the first part of this round and continued to dominate Horwich in this round. Almedia wins this fight via unanimous decision.
All 3 judges scored the fight 30-27.
Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (12-4) vs. Nick Catone (7-0)
Credeur has a 2.5” reach and 3” height advantage in this fight. Tim looked really good in his dismantling of undefeated Nate Loughran at the Fight for the Troops back in December. Let’s see if he can beat his second undefeated fighter in a row.
R1- Catone got a take down early but Credeur grabbed an arm bar from the bottom but couldn’t fully lock it in and Catone returned to Credeur’s guard. Credeur grabs a heel hook but couldn’t hold on to that one either. Credeur also got a near kimura. Catone has had octagon control in this round but Credeur has almost finished the fight several times so far and landed another near arm bar towards the end of the round. Credeur 10-9.
R2- Catone got a take down and Credeur again looked for submissions and ended with a guillotine victory. Credeur looked really good for the second straight fight.
Winner: Tim Credeur by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 3:45
Middleweight Fight- Rob Kimmons (21-4) vs. Joe Vedepo (9-2)
R1- Lots of action early and Kimmons connected with a couple of punches. Both guys have been opened up. Kimmons catches Vedepo in a guillotine choke and Vedepo passes out in the submission.
Winner: Rob Kimmons by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:54
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Jesse Sanders (21-4)
Sanders has a 4” reach advantage. Brock Larson most recently fought for WEC and just destroyed Carlo Prater in their fight back in August of 2008.
R1- Larson got a take down within the first minute of the fight and then took Sanders back. Larson hit some good shots to the side of the head of Sanders. Larson is just destroying Sanders and locks in the Rear Naked Choke and submits him.
Larson looked awesome in this fight. It was his first UFC appearance since 2006 and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him in UFC. He has really looked good in his last two fights.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:01
Middleweight Fight- Tim McKenzie (12-5) vs. Aaron Simpson (4-0)
Simpson is another guy that is coming over from WEC. In Simpson’s last fight in WEC in November of 2008 he decimated David Avellan in 18 seconds with a right handed knockout reel punch. McKenzie has a green Mohawk. Simpson trains at Arizona Combat Sports.
R1- Lots of action early in this one as Simpson grabbed a clinch and hit a couple of shot and then took McKenzie down. Simpson got in a couple of shots before McKenzie got up. Simpson hit McKenzie with a good shot and he went down and then Simpson landed some Ground and Pound. Mario Yamazaki stepped in and stopped the fight earlier then he should have but Simpson looked great.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (punches) R1 1:40
Middleweight Fight- Jorge Rivera (15-7) vs. Nissen Osterneck (5-1)
It looks like it’s WEC night tonight as Osterneck is another WEC fighter debuting on this show. He last fought on WEC 36 and lost to Jake Rosholt by second round TKO but put on a good fight. This is Rivera’s first fight since the loss of his daughter.
R1- Osterneck got a take down to start the fight but Jorge swept him over and they stood back up. Rivera got a take down and almost fell victim to a triangle but maintained the dominant position and landed some punches but Nissen got back to his feet. Pretty even first round.
R2- Lots of clinching and pretty even fight until Rivera nailed a big right hand near the one minute mark and fell into Nissen’s guard. Rivera takes this round.
R3- Both guys are really tired in this round. Not a real exciting round
Judges score cards are: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28- split decision for Rivera.
Winner: Jorge Rivera by Decision (Split)
Catchweight Fight- Gleison Tibau (28-5) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-4)
This should have been a lightweight fight but both guys missed weight with Tibau weighing in at 156.5 and Stephens at 158. Hermes Franca is in Stephens’ corner.
R1- Tibau fought for a take down the entire first round and finally got one with a minute and a half left. Tibau then went for an arm triangle but couldn’t clamp it on. Tibau 10-9 after one round.
R2- Tibau got a take down about a minute and a half into this round. With about a minute left Tibau went for the arm triangle again but couldn’t get it. He ended up getting it clinched it but not tight enough to tap Stephens as he held on until the bell sounded. Tibau 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Tibau got a take down about half way through the round after avoiding some bombs from Stephens. Stephens grabbed a clinch in the last minute and tried some jumping knees but got take down again. Tibau will win this fight 30-27.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
April 1, 2009
Nashville, Tn
Middleweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (9-3) vs. Matt Horwich (24-10-1)
R1- Kind of a blah first round until the end when Almeida took Horwich down with a guillotine and then Horwich came up with a heel hook. Pretty close first round.
R2- Almeida really dominates the first part of this round by taking Horwich’s guard and then getting in some good Ground and Pound. Almeida really dominated this entire round.
R3- Almeida gets two take downs in the first part of this round and continued to dominate Horwich in this round. Almedia wins this fight via unanimous decision.
All 3 judges scored the fight 30-27.
Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (12-4) vs. Nick Catone (7-0)
Credeur has a 2.5” reach and 3” height advantage in this fight. Tim looked really good in his dismantling of undefeated Nate Loughran at the Fight for the Troops back in December. Let’s see if he can beat his second undefeated fighter in a row.
R1- Catone got a take down early but Credeur grabbed an arm bar from the bottom but couldn’t fully lock it in and Catone returned to Credeur’s guard. Credeur grabs a heel hook but couldn’t hold on to that one either. Credeur also got a near kimura. Catone has had octagon control in this round but Credeur has almost finished the fight several times so far and landed another near arm bar towards the end of the round. Credeur 10-9.
R2- Catone got a take down and Credeur again looked for submissions and ended with a guillotine victory. Credeur looked really good for the second straight fight.
Winner: Tim Credeur by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 3:45
Middleweight Fight- Rob Kimmons (21-4) vs. Joe Vedepo (9-2)
R1- Lots of action early and Kimmons connected with a couple of punches. Both guys have been opened up. Kimmons catches Vedepo in a guillotine choke and Vedepo passes out in the submission.
Winner: Rob Kimmons by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:54
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Jesse Sanders (21-4)
Sanders has a 4” reach advantage. Brock Larson most recently fought for WEC and just destroyed Carlo Prater in their fight back in August of 2008.
R1- Larson got a take down within the first minute of the fight and then took Sanders back. Larson hit some good shots to the side of the head of Sanders. Larson is just destroying Sanders and locks in the Rear Naked Choke and submits him.
Larson looked awesome in this fight. It was his first UFC appearance since 2006 and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him in UFC. He has really looked good in his last two fights.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:01
Middleweight Fight- Tim McKenzie (12-5) vs. Aaron Simpson (4-0)
Simpson is another guy that is coming over from WEC. In Simpson’s last fight in WEC in November of 2008 he decimated David Avellan in 18 seconds with a right handed knockout reel punch. McKenzie has a green Mohawk. Simpson trains at Arizona Combat Sports.
R1- Lots of action early in this one as Simpson grabbed a clinch and hit a couple of shot and then took McKenzie down. Simpson got in a couple of shots before McKenzie got up. Simpson hit McKenzie with a good shot and he went down and then Simpson landed some Ground and Pound. Mario Yamazaki stepped in and stopped the fight earlier then he should have but Simpson looked great.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (punches) R1 1:40
Middleweight Fight- Jorge Rivera (15-7) vs. Nissen Osterneck (5-1)
It looks like it’s WEC night tonight as Osterneck is another WEC fighter debuting on this show. He last fought on WEC 36 and lost to Jake Rosholt by second round TKO but put on a good fight. This is Rivera’s first fight since the loss of his daughter.
R1- Osterneck got a take down to start the fight but Jorge swept him over and they stood back up. Rivera got a take down and almost fell victim to a triangle but maintained the dominant position and landed some punches but Nissen got back to his feet. Pretty even first round.
R2- Lots of clinching and pretty even fight until Rivera nailed a big right hand near the one minute mark and fell into Nissen’s guard. Rivera takes this round.
R3- Both guys are really tired in this round. Not a real exciting round
Judges score cards are: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28- split decision for Rivera.
Winner: Jorge Rivera by Decision (Split)
Catchweight Fight- Gleison Tibau (28-5) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-4)
This should have been a lightweight fight but both guys missed weight with Tibau weighing in at 156.5 and Stephens at 158. Hermes Franca is in Stephens’ corner.
R1- Tibau fought for a take down the entire first round and finally got one with a minute and a half left. Tibau then went for an arm triangle but couldn’t clamp it on. Tibau 10-9 after one round.
R2- Tibau got a take down about a minute and a half into this round. With about a minute left Tibau went for the arm triangle again but couldn’t get it. He ended up getting it clinched it but not tight enough to tap Stephens as he held on until the bell sounded. Tibau 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Tibau got a take down about half way through the round after avoiding some bombs from Stephens. Stephens grabbed a clinch in the last minute and tried some jumping knees but got take down again. Tibau will win this fight 30-27.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
Monday, April 20, 2009
UFC 97: "Redemption" Re-Cap
UFC 97: Redemption
4/18/09
This show is highlighted by Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defending against Thales Leites and Chuck Liddell taking on Shogun Rua. The Shogun/Liddell fight will be particularly interesting because whoever losses that fight is pretty much finished in the Light Heavyweight Division for the near future. Silva is looking to break the tie for most consecutive wins inside the Octagon (he is currently sitting at 8 straight wins). Cheick Kongo will also fight Antoni Hardonk in Heavyweight Fight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Steve Cantwell (7-1) vs. Luiz Cane (10-1)
Cantwell is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. Cantwell fought on the “Fight for the Troops” show in November and destroyed Razak Al-Hassan. His previous fight was an August 2008 win over Brian Stann by TKO for the WEC Title. Cane is coming off a win over Sokoudjou in which Sokoudjou gassed and then Cane finished him off. Both of these guys are borderline Top 10 Light Heavyweight Fighters. Cane is a Muay Thai specialist and Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Cantwell is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt with Kick Boxing experience. This should be an explosive fight.
R1- Cane looks good early as he landing some strikes and stalking Cantwell early. As the round went on Cantwell seemed to become more confident but Cane definitely looks like the stronger fighter in this fight. Cane is leading 10-9 after one round on my score card.
R2- Cane controlled the early part of the round but Cantwell really started to score points in the middle of the round. Really close round that I’m giving to Cantwell so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Cane landed a good combo in the first minute. Cane hit another good combo around the 4 minute mark of the round. Cane takes round three in a fairly close fight 29-28. Not a great fight for either guy, both guys fought hard and looked pretty good but both will really need to elevate their games to get up to the next level in UFC.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of Cane.
Winner: Luiz Cane by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (23-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
Kongo is coming off of an impressive first round win over Mostapha Al Turk at UFC 92. Hardonk also fought at UFC 92 and won in the second round against Mike Wessel and is currently on a 3 fight win streak. Ernesto Hoost is in Hardonk’s corner for the fight. Kongo has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Kongo grabbed Hardonk’s leg and pushed him down halfway through the round but the fight was stood back up. After they stood back up Kongo got in some good shots and then got a take down with about a minute left in the round. Kongo is up 10 to 9 after the first round.
R2- Kongo got Hardonk down quickly in this round and jumped on top for some Ground and Pound. Hardonk is bloodied up and the ref steps in to stop the fight. Really good showing by Kongo. It took him a while to get started but he looked impressive after he got the fight to the ground just like he did in his last outing.
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:29
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski (17-9-1) vs. Brian Stann (6-1)
Stann is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He lost the belt to Steven Cantwell in August of 2008. Soszynski is from TUF Season 8. These guys are former training partners at Team Quest. Stann is currently training with Greg Jackson. If I was a betting man I would put my money on Stann in this fight. Soszynski has a 3.5” reach advantage.
R1- Soszynski got a take down at the two minute mark of the round. Soszynski laid on top of Stann for a minute and a half. Stann got up and Soszynski got another take down. Soszynski went for a kimura and couldn’t get it but went for it again and got it and Stann tapped out. And this is why I’m not a betting man. Nice win for Soszynski. Stann obviously needs some work on his ground game.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) R1 3:53
Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-6) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (17-3)
This is a feast or famine fight for these guys. The winner is in line for a title shot with another victory and the loser is all but done in the UFC as a legit title contender. Shogun is coming off a lackluster victory over Mark Coleman in what may have been the worst fight of the year. Chuck is coming off of a KO at the hands of current Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Chuck Liddell is 39 years old, is this one of the last times we see him in the Octagon?
R1- Shogun got a take down about two and a half minutes into the round and went for a leg lock but couldn’t lock in the submission. Chuck got a take down with a minute left but immediately stood back up. Shogun landed a left hand and jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight! Shogun is back. Chuck looked really old in this fight as once Shogun hit a couple of leg kicks Chuck’s mobility looked slower and more limited. Maybe one more “money” fight for Chuck but besides that I don’t really think he should be fighting anymore.
Winner: Shogun Rua by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:28
Lightweight Fight- Sam Stout (14-5-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-4)
Wiman is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Jim Miller in December. Stout has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Wiman starts off by landing some good strikes and then gets a take down but can’t land anything on the ground. Both guys are swinging freely in this fight. Wiman grabbed a guillotine and tried to pull guard but Stout slipped out and landed in Wiman’s guard. Wiman went for a take down with 30 seconds left in the round but Stout flipped him over. Good first round that was very close.
R2- Wiman tried to take Stout’s back but Stout was able to move into Wiman’s guard. Stout hurt Wiman towards the end of the round but Stout could not finish him and Wiman almost landed an arm bar. Stout really started to pull away here and took this round. I’ve got the fight 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Wiman took Stout’s back and got him down onto the ground just a minute and a half into the round. Stout eventually rolls out of it and into Wiman’s guard with half the round remaining and Stout lands some Ground and Pound. They stood up and Wiman got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Wiman drew some blood, got another take down and then both guys ended up swinging on their feet. This one is a toss up. I think Wiman’s going to take it as he looked better in the 1st and 2nd. Stout looked better overall but the fight is judges round by round not on the fight as a whole.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards in favor of Sam Stout.
I can’t say that I disagree with the decision but it was a very close fight.
Winner: Sam Stout by Decision (Unanimous)
Channing Tatum and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le join Mike Goldberg to hype their movie “Fighting”.
UFC Middleweight Title Fight: Anderson Silva © (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
Thales is the next contender to try and take away Anderson’s belt. Thales has earned the title shot by winning a controversial decision over Nate Marquardt and by stopping Drew McFedries a little over a minute into the first round on the under card of Silva/Cote. Leites has won 5 straight fights and has won 27% of his fights by arm triangle. Leites is a Jiu Jitsu black belt. Anderson has 8 straight wins which is tied for the most in UFC history but is coming off of a disappointing fight against Patrick Cote. In UFC Anderson has landed 80% of his strikes. Leites comes out to “Welcome to the Jungle”. You have to like that.
R1- One minute into the fight and neither guy has thrown a strike. Two minutes into the fight and not much is going on. Anderson tries to stalk Leites down but he’s more comfortable staying away from Anderson. Leites throws a high kick at the two minute mark that is blocked. Anderson sweeps Leites to the ground with a leg kick. Leites tries to take Anderson down but he’s denied and they clinch. Really slow first round. Anderson takes it 10-9 to the boos of the crowd as he landed the best two shots of the round. Both guys are fighting more of a counter style. Anderson finally started to stalk Leites towards the end of the round when it became apparent that Leites was not going to let Anderson be the counter puncher in this fight.
R2- Leites got a take down early into the round. Anderson got back to his feet at the two minute mark without really taking any damage from Leites. They basically stand around and do nothing for a minute as Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet. Anderson basically chases Leites around the ring and lands a couple of strikes. Leites got a take down but didn’t do anything with it. Anderson at least landed some strikes. I’ve got Anderson up 20-18 in a very unimpressive fight so far. Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet and Anderson is being very wary of Leites.
R3- Anderson caught a Leites leg kick early in the round and then avoided a take down. Anderson stuffed another take down and then Leites laid on his back. Fans chant “GSP” during the fight. Anderson starts to land some strikes and Leites dives onto the ground to avoid them. Anderson landed a good side kick. Anderson went for a punch and Leites dove onto the ground again to avoid him. Anderson starts to work Leites over with some jabs. Anderson takes this round so he’s up 30-27. Unless Leites somehow wins this fight he might be dropped by UFC after this performance. He’s almost going out of his way to be “unexciting”.
R4- Anderson is landing some front kicks and leg kicks to start this round. Anderson is dancing around this round since Leites doesn’t want to exchange with him. Leites went for a take down and got stuffed. Anderson is winning this fight 40-36. I think Leites would just lay on the ground and sleep if the ref would let him.
R5- Leites actually comes out to fight in this round and Anderson gets on top and gets in a couple of shots. Leites has blood coming from his nose. Anderson hits a couple of strikes and Leites dives to the ground to avoid Anderson. Fans chant “GSP” again during this round. This is probably the most boring title fight I’ve ever seen. Leites just did not want any part of Anderson Silva in this fight. Anderson wins this fight 50-45 in a boring, dominant route. I would be surprised if Thales Leites fights for UFC again after this debacle.
Judges score cards say: 49-46, 48-47 and 50-46 in favor of Anderson.
Winner and still Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva by Decision (Unanimous)
Not a real good show from UFC. The under card was pretty decent but the Main Event just flat out did not deliver.
4/18/09
This show is highlighted by Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defending against Thales Leites and Chuck Liddell taking on Shogun Rua. The Shogun/Liddell fight will be particularly interesting because whoever losses that fight is pretty much finished in the Light Heavyweight Division for the near future. Silva is looking to break the tie for most consecutive wins inside the Octagon (he is currently sitting at 8 straight wins). Cheick Kongo will also fight Antoni Hardonk in Heavyweight Fight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Steve Cantwell (7-1) vs. Luiz Cane (10-1)
Cantwell is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. Cantwell fought on the “Fight for the Troops” show in November and destroyed Razak Al-Hassan. His previous fight was an August 2008 win over Brian Stann by TKO for the WEC Title. Cane is coming off a win over Sokoudjou in which Sokoudjou gassed and then Cane finished him off. Both of these guys are borderline Top 10 Light Heavyweight Fighters. Cane is a Muay Thai specialist and Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Cantwell is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt with Kick Boxing experience. This should be an explosive fight.
R1- Cane looks good early as he landing some strikes and stalking Cantwell early. As the round went on Cantwell seemed to become more confident but Cane definitely looks like the stronger fighter in this fight. Cane is leading 10-9 after one round on my score card.
R2- Cane controlled the early part of the round but Cantwell really started to score points in the middle of the round. Really close round that I’m giving to Cantwell so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Cane landed a good combo in the first minute. Cane hit another good combo around the 4 minute mark of the round. Cane takes round three in a fairly close fight 29-28. Not a great fight for either guy, both guys fought hard and looked pretty good but both will really need to elevate their games to get up to the next level in UFC.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of Cane.
Winner: Luiz Cane by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (23-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
Kongo is coming off of an impressive first round win over Mostapha Al Turk at UFC 92. Hardonk also fought at UFC 92 and won in the second round against Mike Wessel and is currently on a 3 fight win streak. Ernesto Hoost is in Hardonk’s corner for the fight. Kongo has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Kongo grabbed Hardonk’s leg and pushed him down halfway through the round but the fight was stood back up. After they stood back up Kongo got in some good shots and then got a take down with about a minute left in the round. Kongo is up 10 to 9 after the first round.
R2- Kongo got Hardonk down quickly in this round and jumped on top for some Ground and Pound. Hardonk is bloodied up and the ref steps in to stop the fight. Really good showing by Kongo. It took him a while to get started but he looked impressive after he got the fight to the ground just like he did in his last outing.
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:29
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski (17-9-1) vs. Brian Stann (6-1)
Stann is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He lost the belt to Steven Cantwell in August of 2008. Soszynski is from TUF Season 8. These guys are former training partners at Team Quest. Stann is currently training with Greg Jackson. If I was a betting man I would put my money on Stann in this fight. Soszynski has a 3.5” reach advantage.
R1- Soszynski got a take down at the two minute mark of the round. Soszynski laid on top of Stann for a minute and a half. Stann got up and Soszynski got another take down. Soszynski went for a kimura and couldn’t get it but went for it again and got it and Stann tapped out. And this is why I’m not a betting man. Nice win for Soszynski. Stann obviously needs some work on his ground game.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) R1 3:53
Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-6) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (17-3)
This is a feast or famine fight for these guys. The winner is in line for a title shot with another victory and the loser is all but done in the UFC as a legit title contender. Shogun is coming off a lackluster victory over Mark Coleman in what may have been the worst fight of the year. Chuck is coming off of a KO at the hands of current Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Chuck Liddell is 39 years old, is this one of the last times we see him in the Octagon?
R1- Shogun got a take down about two and a half minutes into the round and went for a leg lock but couldn’t lock in the submission. Chuck got a take down with a minute left but immediately stood back up. Shogun landed a left hand and jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight! Shogun is back. Chuck looked really old in this fight as once Shogun hit a couple of leg kicks Chuck’s mobility looked slower and more limited. Maybe one more “money” fight for Chuck but besides that I don’t really think he should be fighting anymore.
Winner: Shogun Rua by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:28
Lightweight Fight- Sam Stout (14-5-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-4)
Wiman is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Jim Miller in December. Stout has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Wiman starts off by landing some good strikes and then gets a take down but can’t land anything on the ground. Both guys are swinging freely in this fight. Wiman grabbed a guillotine and tried to pull guard but Stout slipped out and landed in Wiman’s guard. Wiman went for a take down with 30 seconds left in the round but Stout flipped him over. Good first round that was very close.
R2- Wiman tried to take Stout’s back but Stout was able to move into Wiman’s guard. Stout hurt Wiman towards the end of the round but Stout could not finish him and Wiman almost landed an arm bar. Stout really started to pull away here and took this round. I’ve got the fight 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Wiman took Stout’s back and got him down onto the ground just a minute and a half into the round. Stout eventually rolls out of it and into Wiman’s guard with half the round remaining and Stout lands some Ground and Pound. They stood up and Wiman got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Wiman drew some blood, got another take down and then both guys ended up swinging on their feet. This one is a toss up. I think Wiman’s going to take it as he looked better in the 1st and 2nd. Stout looked better overall but the fight is judges round by round not on the fight as a whole.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards in favor of Sam Stout.
I can’t say that I disagree with the decision but it was a very close fight.
Winner: Sam Stout by Decision (Unanimous)
Channing Tatum and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le join Mike Goldberg to hype their movie “Fighting”.
UFC Middleweight Title Fight: Anderson Silva © (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
Thales is the next contender to try and take away Anderson’s belt. Thales has earned the title shot by winning a controversial decision over Nate Marquardt and by stopping Drew McFedries a little over a minute into the first round on the under card of Silva/Cote. Leites has won 5 straight fights and has won 27% of his fights by arm triangle. Leites is a Jiu Jitsu black belt. Anderson has 8 straight wins which is tied for the most in UFC history but is coming off of a disappointing fight against Patrick Cote. In UFC Anderson has landed 80% of his strikes. Leites comes out to “Welcome to the Jungle”. You have to like that.
R1- One minute into the fight and neither guy has thrown a strike. Two minutes into the fight and not much is going on. Anderson tries to stalk Leites down but he’s more comfortable staying away from Anderson. Leites throws a high kick at the two minute mark that is blocked. Anderson sweeps Leites to the ground with a leg kick. Leites tries to take Anderson down but he’s denied and they clinch. Really slow first round. Anderson takes it 10-9 to the boos of the crowd as he landed the best two shots of the round. Both guys are fighting more of a counter style. Anderson finally started to stalk Leites towards the end of the round when it became apparent that Leites was not going to let Anderson be the counter puncher in this fight.
R2- Leites got a take down early into the round. Anderson got back to his feet at the two minute mark without really taking any damage from Leites. They basically stand around and do nothing for a minute as Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet. Anderson basically chases Leites around the ring and lands a couple of strikes. Leites got a take down but didn’t do anything with it. Anderson at least landed some strikes. I’ve got Anderson up 20-18 in a very unimpressive fight so far. Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet and Anderson is being very wary of Leites.
R3- Anderson caught a Leites leg kick early in the round and then avoided a take down. Anderson stuffed another take down and then Leites laid on his back. Fans chant “GSP” during the fight. Anderson starts to land some strikes and Leites dives onto the ground to avoid them. Anderson landed a good side kick. Anderson went for a punch and Leites dove onto the ground again to avoid him. Anderson starts to work Leites over with some jabs. Anderson takes this round so he’s up 30-27. Unless Leites somehow wins this fight he might be dropped by UFC after this performance. He’s almost going out of his way to be “unexciting”.
R4- Anderson is landing some front kicks and leg kicks to start this round. Anderson is dancing around this round since Leites doesn’t want to exchange with him. Leites went for a take down and got stuffed. Anderson is winning this fight 40-36. I think Leites would just lay on the ground and sleep if the ref would let him.
R5- Leites actually comes out to fight in this round and Anderson gets on top and gets in a couple of shots. Leites has blood coming from his nose. Anderson hits a couple of strikes and Leites dives to the ground to avoid Anderson. Fans chant “GSP” again during this round. This is probably the most boring title fight I’ve ever seen. Leites just did not want any part of Anderson Silva in this fight. Anderson wins this fight 50-45 in a boring, dominant route. I would be surprised if Thales Leites fights for UFC again after this debacle.
Judges score cards say: 49-46, 48-47 and 50-46 in favor of Anderson.
Winner and still Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva by Decision (Unanimous)
Not a real good show from UFC. The under card was pretty decent but the Main Event just flat out did not deliver.
Friday, April 17, 2009
TUF Season 9 Episode 3 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 3
Last week on the debut of the “UK vs. USA” TUF there were 6 fights that decided which US fighters would be in the house and fighting for Dan Henderson. Due to various factors there will be two fights this week to decide who will be the last US fighters in the house. This week we have Jason Dent fighting Rob Browning (Junie’s younger brother) and Kyle Reed fighting Frank Lester for the final spots in the house.
They start off the show with the fighters getting in the house for the first time and seeing UK and USA painted on the walls. Rob Browning immediately starts downing shots of something. Later on the guys are on the basketball court and Browning starts pelting eggs onto the basketball court. Browning is basically just taking up where Junie left off last season.
Dan Henderson holds the first day of training for the US team including the 4 guys that will fight to get in the house. He’s starting with wrestling, Ground and Pound and clinch work. Says that the UK guys don’t know wrestling very well and that wrestling in the UK is almost non-existent so he thinks he can get some of the US guys to out-wrestle the UK guys pretty easily. Bisping comes in and talks some smack to a couple of the US guys.
Bisping’s training session is shown next. Looks like they are going at each other pretty good during the training session.
Welterweight Fight- Kiel Reid (8-1) vs. Frank Lester (3-2)
R1- Reid is known as a wrestler so Lester shows some really poor take down defense and basically lies down before Reid even hits him and allows Reid to take his guard. Reid tries a guillotine and Lester is able to get to his feet. Lester went for a kimura and Reid tried to slam him and looked knocked himself out so Lester gets the win.
Winner: Frank Lester by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R1
Lightweight- Jason Dent (18-9) vs. Rob Browning (4-0)
R1- Browning is landing the most shots in the first round. He has kind of an annoying showboat style but is making nice use of a front kick. Dent stuffed Browning on a takedown and got in some good shots. Browning looked like he hurt himself going for the take down. Dent went in for some Ground and Pound and Browning just wasn’t doing anything besides covering up and the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Jason Dent by TKO (Strikes) R1
I have to say that I am not very impressed by the two fighters that won their fights on this show. Hopefully they will do something this season to prove me wrong.
Dana does the coin flip and Team USA gets the first pick. Bisping talks some smack after the coin flip.
Here is a list of the guys that made the final 16:
Lightweight Fighters:
UK- Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
UK- Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
UK- Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
UK- Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
US- Richie Whitson (defeated Paul Bird)
US- Santino Defranco (defeated Waylon Lowe)
US- Cameron Dollar (defeated Hayden)
US- Jason Dent (defeated Rob Browning)
Welterweight Fighters:
UK- James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
UK- Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire)
UK- Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
UK- David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
US- Damarques Johnson (defeated Ray Elbe)
US- Mark Miller (defeated Kevin Knabjian)
US- Jason Pierce (defeated Berger)
US- Frank Lester (defeated Kiel Reid)
My favorites so far are:
Lightweight: Richie Whitson (USA) and Martin Stapleton (UK)
Welterweight: Damarques Johnson (USA) and David Faulkner (UK)
Last week on the debut of the “UK vs. USA” TUF there were 6 fights that decided which US fighters would be in the house and fighting for Dan Henderson. Due to various factors there will be two fights this week to decide who will be the last US fighters in the house. This week we have Jason Dent fighting Rob Browning (Junie’s younger brother) and Kyle Reed fighting Frank Lester for the final spots in the house.
They start off the show with the fighters getting in the house for the first time and seeing UK and USA painted on the walls. Rob Browning immediately starts downing shots of something. Later on the guys are on the basketball court and Browning starts pelting eggs onto the basketball court. Browning is basically just taking up where Junie left off last season.
Dan Henderson holds the first day of training for the US team including the 4 guys that will fight to get in the house. He’s starting with wrestling, Ground and Pound and clinch work. Says that the UK guys don’t know wrestling very well and that wrestling in the UK is almost non-existent so he thinks he can get some of the US guys to out-wrestle the UK guys pretty easily. Bisping comes in and talks some smack to a couple of the US guys.
Bisping’s training session is shown next. Looks like they are going at each other pretty good during the training session.
Welterweight Fight- Kiel Reid (8-1) vs. Frank Lester (3-2)
R1- Reid is known as a wrestler so Lester shows some really poor take down defense and basically lies down before Reid even hits him and allows Reid to take his guard. Reid tries a guillotine and Lester is able to get to his feet. Lester went for a kimura and Reid tried to slam him and looked knocked himself out so Lester gets the win.
Winner: Frank Lester by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R1
Lightweight- Jason Dent (18-9) vs. Rob Browning (4-0)
R1- Browning is landing the most shots in the first round. He has kind of an annoying showboat style but is making nice use of a front kick. Dent stuffed Browning on a takedown and got in some good shots. Browning looked like he hurt himself going for the take down. Dent went in for some Ground and Pound and Browning just wasn’t doing anything besides covering up and the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Jason Dent by TKO (Strikes) R1
I have to say that I am not very impressed by the two fighters that won their fights on this show. Hopefully they will do something this season to prove me wrong.
Dana does the coin flip and Team USA gets the first pick. Bisping talks some smack after the coin flip.
Here is a list of the guys that made the final 16:
Lightweight Fighters:
UK- Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
UK- Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
UK- Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
UK- Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
US- Richie Whitson (defeated Paul Bird)
US- Santino Defranco (defeated Waylon Lowe)
US- Cameron Dollar (defeated Hayden)
US- Jason Dent (defeated Rob Browning)
Welterweight Fighters:
UK- James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
UK- Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire)
UK- Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
UK- David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
US- Damarques Johnson (defeated Ray Elbe)
US- Mark Miller (defeated Kevin Knabjian)
US- Jason Pierce (defeated Berger)
US- Frank Lester (defeated Kiel Reid)
My favorites so far are:
Lightweight: Richie Whitson (USA) and Martin Stapleton (UK)
Welterweight: Damarques Johnson (USA) and David Faulkner (UK)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Strikeforce 4/11/09 Re-Cap
Strikeforce on Showtime 4/11/09
San Jose, California
This is the debut show for Strikeforce on Showtime as they are taking Elite XC’s spot. The Main Event is Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz. Gus Johnson is the lead announcer (Yes!). Gus is joined by Mauro Ranallo (former Pride and Elite XC announcer). Mauro gives us a history lesson and tells us that Strikeforce began in 2006 (Scott Coker the owner has been in MMA for 15 years). The Main Event of the first Strikeforce show (which was held in the same building as tonight’s show) was Frank Shamrock destroying Cesar Gracie in just 21 seconds. Gracie is Nick Diaz’s mentor. Nice touch of history given to the Main Event. Gina Carano, Tito Ortiz, Andrei Arlovski, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Babalu Sobral, former Elite XC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields, former Elite XC Middleweight Champ Robbie Lawler, Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le are all in attendance tonight. They mention that Shields will fight Lawler on June 6th, they also tease Overeem for a possible fight on June 6th. Gus Johnson introduces the third member of the broadcast team, Pat Miletich. Really strong opening from Strikeforce.
Heavyweight Title Fight- Brett Rogers (9-0) vs. Abongo Humphrey (5-0)
I’ve been impressed with Rogers the first two times that I’ve seen him. Rogers has a large 5’ height, 8.5’ reach and 23 pound advantage in this fight. Humphrey is a Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing fighter while Rogers is a freestyle fighter. Humphrey has won all 5 of his fights by KO. He is BET’s Iron Ring Heavyweight Champion. Rogers has 8 wins by KO and 1 by submission. I don’t think we will be seeing a decision in this fight.
R1- Good first round as both fighters were very active. Rogers started to take over at the half way point of the round and landed some good strikes towards the end of the round. Herb Dean took a point away from Rogers for grabbing Humphrey’s hair after he had given him two warnings. With the point deduction I’ve got the first round at 9-9 (Rogers getting the 10 but losing a point on referee deduction).
Mickey Rourke is at the show and Kevin Randleman is also shown in the same picture.
R2- Rogers got Humphrey on the cage and just nailed him with a bunch of shots. Humphrey finally hit the canvas after he’d been bloodied and this one was over. Rogers really started to take over at the end of the first round and just destroyed him with some big shots early in round two. Great showing for Rogers, I’m eager to see him step up in competition soon and see how he does.
Winner: Brett Rogers by KO R2 1:38
Woman’s 150lb Fight- Cris Cyborg (6-1) vs. Hitomi Akano (14-5)
This should be an interesting fight as Cyborg came in around 7 pounds overweight for the fight and it was much publicized on the web. Cyborg has a 3.5” height, 6.5” weight and 6” reach advantage. Cyborg is a Muay Thai and BJJ fighter and Akano is a grappler and judo fighter. Akano has won 11 of her 15 fights by submission.
R1- Very active first round with Cyborg really taking the fight to Akano and knocking her down several times in the round. 10-9 round for Cyborg.
R2- Another big round for Cyborg. Akano went for a flying arm bar and Cyborg drove her to the ground and laid in some good punches on her. Cyborg is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Cyborg really lays into Akano at the beginning of the round and the ref steps in to call the fight. Cyborg’s size advantage was really just too much for Akano.
They heavily pimp Cyborg vs. Gina Carano throughout this fight.
Winner: Cris Cyborg by TKO (Strikes) R3 0:35
They preview the next Strikeforce show on June 6th on Showtime. Robbie Lawler will take on Jake Shields. Babalu Sobral will defend the Light Heavyweight Belt against Rafael Feijao.
Middleweight Fight- Scott Smith (16-5) vs. Benji Radach (19-4)
Scott Smith is coming off a fight against Terry Martin in November for Strikeforce in which he finished Martin in less than 30 seconds. Radach was last seen defeating Ninja Rua in a October in a good fight. This should be a stand-up war.
R1- Both guys landed shots for the first part of the round. Smith landed some good shots and chased Benji around the cage but Benji fought back and hit a punch that hurt Smith. Benji then jumped to the offensive and landed some good offense. Benji went for a take down at the end of the round and got it and landed a couple of shots. I’ve got Radach up 10-9 after a good first round.
R2- Radach landed some good shots in the middle of the round and then grabbed a guillotine but Smith slipped out. Smith is busted open. Radach is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Smith’s got a bloody face but he battles and gets some shots in on Benji. Benji shoots and Smith grabs a guillotine but Benji dumps him to the mat. Smith continues to push forward and lands a nice jab and bloodies Benji. Two minutes left in the fight and Smith needed a knockout and Smith landed a big right hand and got the Knockout punch and then jumped on top with a punch and the ref stopped the fight. Great comeback win for Smith. Good fight.
Winner: Scott Smith by KO R3 3:24
Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Fight- Gilbert Melendez (14-2) vs. Rodrigo Damm (8-2)
Damm is taking this fight on short notice due to Josh Thomson sustaining an injury and having to drop out. Since Thomson is unavailable to defend his Lightweight title this fight is for the interim title. This is a 5-round fight due to it being for the interim title. Melendez is a former Strikeforce Lightweight champion having lost the title to Josh Thomson last year.
R1- Melendez caught a Damm kick early and took him down and really controlled Damm all round long. Melendez 10-9.
R2- Melendez hit a big right hand about two minutes into the round and this one is over. Melendez just dominated an inferior opponent who took the fight on short notice in this fight. Good fight from Melendez as he really needed a win after losing to Thomson and Ishida.
Winner and new Interim Lightweight Champion: Gilbert Melendez by KO R2 2:02
Cung Le is interviewed ringside about his new movie “Fighting.”
180 lb Catchweight Fight- Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) vs. Nick Diaz (18-7)
This should be a good fight based on all the trash talking and the history surrounding the fight. I think both guys will want to stand up and trade. Diaz is generally a pretty good jab guy but he also tends to be a slow starter and Shamrock has a lot more power than most of the guys Diaz faces since Diaz is moving up in weight for this fight. Diaz is coming off of wins against Thomas Denny, Mushin Corbbrey and Katsuya Inoue but Shamrock is definitely a step up in caliber than those guys. Shamrock is coming off a loss in his last fight against Cung Le in which Shamrock sustained a broken arm. Diaz has a 3’ height and 2’ reach advantage.
R1- Diaz caught a kick and got a take down in the first minute. Diaz easily passed guard but Shamrock slipped out before Diaz did any damage. Shamrock slipped and Diaz jumped on top and mounted Shamrock and got in a lot of punches but Shamrock was able to block a lot of them. First round goes to Diaz. It was pretty even with Diaz getting two take downs. Diaz did not take advantage of the first take down but did get some damage in on the second one. Diaz up 10-9 after one round.
R2- Diaz is talking trash all through out this fight and is doing a good job using his reach advantage to keep Shamrock at bay. Diaz is landing some good jabs in this round and he’s just picking Shamrock apart and Shamrock is down in the corner and Diaz lays in some good Ground and Pound until John McCarthy stops the fight. Diaz showed some good sportsmanship in helping up Shamrock after the fight.
Really good showing by Diaz. Diaz looked really motivated in this fight and looked better than he has in his last 3 fights. I think this fight shows what Diaz can do when he’s motivated. Diaz landed 129 punches in this fight (78 standing arm strikes, 44 ground strikes and 7 standing leg strikes).
Winner: Nick Diaz by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:57
Strong show from Strikeforce on the debut on Showtime. All 5 fights were entertaining tonight. I look forward to seeing more live Strikeforce shows in the future.
San Jose, California
This is the debut show for Strikeforce on Showtime as they are taking Elite XC’s spot. The Main Event is Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz. Gus Johnson is the lead announcer (Yes!). Gus is joined by Mauro Ranallo (former Pride and Elite XC announcer). Mauro gives us a history lesson and tells us that Strikeforce began in 2006 (Scott Coker the owner has been in MMA for 15 years). The Main Event of the first Strikeforce show (which was held in the same building as tonight’s show) was Frank Shamrock destroying Cesar Gracie in just 21 seconds. Gracie is Nick Diaz’s mentor. Nice touch of history given to the Main Event. Gina Carano, Tito Ortiz, Andrei Arlovski, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Babalu Sobral, former Elite XC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields, former Elite XC Middleweight Champ Robbie Lawler, Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le are all in attendance tonight. They mention that Shields will fight Lawler on June 6th, they also tease Overeem for a possible fight on June 6th. Gus Johnson introduces the third member of the broadcast team, Pat Miletich. Really strong opening from Strikeforce.
Heavyweight Title Fight- Brett Rogers (9-0) vs. Abongo Humphrey (5-0)
I’ve been impressed with Rogers the first two times that I’ve seen him. Rogers has a large 5’ height, 8.5’ reach and 23 pound advantage in this fight. Humphrey is a Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing fighter while Rogers is a freestyle fighter. Humphrey has won all 5 of his fights by KO. He is BET’s Iron Ring Heavyweight Champion. Rogers has 8 wins by KO and 1 by submission. I don’t think we will be seeing a decision in this fight.
R1- Good first round as both fighters were very active. Rogers started to take over at the half way point of the round and landed some good strikes towards the end of the round. Herb Dean took a point away from Rogers for grabbing Humphrey’s hair after he had given him two warnings. With the point deduction I’ve got the first round at 9-9 (Rogers getting the 10 but losing a point on referee deduction).
Mickey Rourke is at the show and Kevin Randleman is also shown in the same picture.
R2- Rogers got Humphrey on the cage and just nailed him with a bunch of shots. Humphrey finally hit the canvas after he’d been bloodied and this one was over. Rogers really started to take over at the end of the first round and just destroyed him with some big shots early in round two. Great showing for Rogers, I’m eager to see him step up in competition soon and see how he does.
Winner: Brett Rogers by KO R2 1:38
Woman’s 150lb Fight- Cris Cyborg (6-1) vs. Hitomi Akano (14-5)
This should be an interesting fight as Cyborg came in around 7 pounds overweight for the fight and it was much publicized on the web. Cyborg has a 3.5” height, 6.5” weight and 6” reach advantage. Cyborg is a Muay Thai and BJJ fighter and Akano is a grappler and judo fighter. Akano has won 11 of her 15 fights by submission.
R1- Very active first round with Cyborg really taking the fight to Akano and knocking her down several times in the round. 10-9 round for Cyborg.
R2- Another big round for Cyborg. Akano went for a flying arm bar and Cyborg drove her to the ground and laid in some good punches on her. Cyborg is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Cyborg really lays into Akano at the beginning of the round and the ref steps in to call the fight. Cyborg’s size advantage was really just too much for Akano.
They heavily pimp Cyborg vs. Gina Carano throughout this fight.
Winner: Cris Cyborg by TKO (Strikes) R3 0:35
They preview the next Strikeforce show on June 6th on Showtime. Robbie Lawler will take on Jake Shields. Babalu Sobral will defend the Light Heavyweight Belt against Rafael Feijao.
Middleweight Fight- Scott Smith (16-5) vs. Benji Radach (19-4)
Scott Smith is coming off a fight against Terry Martin in November for Strikeforce in which he finished Martin in less than 30 seconds. Radach was last seen defeating Ninja Rua in a October in a good fight. This should be a stand-up war.
R1- Both guys landed shots for the first part of the round. Smith landed some good shots and chased Benji around the cage but Benji fought back and hit a punch that hurt Smith. Benji then jumped to the offensive and landed some good offense. Benji went for a take down at the end of the round and got it and landed a couple of shots. I’ve got Radach up 10-9 after a good first round.
R2- Radach landed some good shots in the middle of the round and then grabbed a guillotine but Smith slipped out. Smith is busted open. Radach is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Smith’s got a bloody face but he battles and gets some shots in on Benji. Benji shoots and Smith grabs a guillotine but Benji dumps him to the mat. Smith continues to push forward and lands a nice jab and bloodies Benji. Two minutes left in the fight and Smith needed a knockout and Smith landed a big right hand and got the Knockout punch and then jumped on top with a punch and the ref stopped the fight. Great comeback win for Smith. Good fight.
Winner: Scott Smith by KO R3 3:24
Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Fight- Gilbert Melendez (14-2) vs. Rodrigo Damm (8-2)
Damm is taking this fight on short notice due to Josh Thomson sustaining an injury and having to drop out. Since Thomson is unavailable to defend his Lightweight title this fight is for the interim title. This is a 5-round fight due to it being for the interim title. Melendez is a former Strikeforce Lightweight champion having lost the title to Josh Thomson last year.
R1- Melendez caught a Damm kick early and took him down and really controlled Damm all round long. Melendez 10-9.
R2- Melendez hit a big right hand about two minutes into the round and this one is over. Melendez just dominated an inferior opponent who took the fight on short notice in this fight. Good fight from Melendez as he really needed a win after losing to Thomson and Ishida.
Winner and new Interim Lightweight Champion: Gilbert Melendez by KO R2 2:02
Cung Le is interviewed ringside about his new movie “Fighting.”
180 lb Catchweight Fight- Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) vs. Nick Diaz (18-7)
This should be a good fight based on all the trash talking and the history surrounding the fight. I think both guys will want to stand up and trade. Diaz is generally a pretty good jab guy but he also tends to be a slow starter and Shamrock has a lot more power than most of the guys Diaz faces since Diaz is moving up in weight for this fight. Diaz is coming off of wins against Thomas Denny, Mushin Corbbrey and Katsuya Inoue but Shamrock is definitely a step up in caliber than those guys. Shamrock is coming off a loss in his last fight against Cung Le in which Shamrock sustained a broken arm. Diaz has a 3’ height and 2’ reach advantage.
R1- Diaz caught a kick and got a take down in the first minute. Diaz easily passed guard but Shamrock slipped out before Diaz did any damage. Shamrock slipped and Diaz jumped on top and mounted Shamrock and got in a lot of punches but Shamrock was able to block a lot of them. First round goes to Diaz. It was pretty even with Diaz getting two take downs. Diaz did not take advantage of the first take down but did get some damage in on the second one. Diaz up 10-9 after one round.
R2- Diaz is talking trash all through out this fight and is doing a good job using his reach advantage to keep Shamrock at bay. Diaz is landing some good jabs in this round and he’s just picking Shamrock apart and Shamrock is down in the corner and Diaz lays in some good Ground and Pound until John McCarthy stops the fight. Diaz showed some good sportsmanship in helping up Shamrock after the fight.
Really good showing by Diaz. Diaz looked really motivated in this fight and looked better than he has in his last 3 fights. I think this fight shows what Diaz can do when he’s motivated. Diaz landed 129 punches in this fight (78 standing arm strikes, 44 ground strikes and 7 standing leg strikes).
Winner: Nick Diaz by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:57
Strong show from Strikeforce on the debut on Showtime. All 5 fights were entertaining tonight. I look forward to seeing more live Strikeforce shows in the future.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 2
The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 2
Last week on the debut of the “UK vs. USA” TUF there were 8 fights that decided which UK fighters would be in the house and fighting for Michael Bisping. This week we will get to see the US guys mix it up. This week Dan Henderson is named as the coach of Team USA (since he beat Rich Franklin. Both guys were at the UK prelims last week since they had not fought yet). Just like last year a fighter (Jason Pierce) passed out at the beginning during Dana’s speech. Before the fights they found a herpes sore on a guys head and another guy showed up off weight. So we’ve got issues with 3 of the 16 fighters so far for the US (the herpes guy was sent home). The guy who showed up off weight “quit” so we are down to 14 fighters without a fight happening yet.
Welterweight Fight- Mark Miller (10-4) vs. Kevin Knabjian (10-3-1)
These guys are training partners with each other.
R1- Miller has good hands. He’s not really doing anything else but he looks like the dominate boxer in this fight. Kevin is using more combos of kicks and punches but Miller is ahead after round one.
R2- Kevin landed a couple of punches and Miller went down and Kevin got on top for some Ground and Pound but then went for a leg lock and Miller slipped out. Miller lands some good punches in the middle part of this round and Kevin is trying to hang in there but Mazzagatti stops the fight.
Pretty decent fight. Miller did a good job surviving when he got popped and then did a good job coming back. Miller showed good stand up. I think spending some time with Dan Henderson to help complete his game could make him a tough fighter to beat on this season.
Winner: Mark Miller by TKO (strikes) R2
Lightweight- Richie Whitson (4-0) vs. Paul Bird (4-1)
Whitson trains at Henderson’s gym.
R1- Bird got a quick take down but couldn’t do anything with it. Whitson got in some good strikes and sprawled a couple of times to stop take downs and landed on top and got in some good Ground and Pound. Whitson took his back and got the tapout. Whitson looked pretty sharp in this fight and looks like he has a good overall game.
Winner: Richie Whitson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Lightweight Fight- Waylon Lowe (5-2) vs. Santino Defranco (13-4)
Dana says before the fight that Defranco made the Season Two roster but during the medicals he was found to have a Brain Aneurysm so he could not be on the show. He had the surgery to repair it and has fought back to be on this years show.
R1- Lowe shot in and got a quick take down. Lowe landed some good Ground and Pound as Santino covered up. Santino pretty much just laid in the fetal position all round long and was slow to get up at the end of the round (think Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring).
R2- Santino landed a good knee to start the round and got a take down and then got in position for a Rear Naked Choke and got the tap. GREAT come back by Defranco after getting destroyed in the first round.
Winner: Santino Defranco by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Welterweights- Jason Pierce vs. Berger
Pierce is the guy who feinted due to having trouble making weight. Only highlights are shown of this fight. Dana calls this fight “unimpressive”. I don’t believe Berger was ever given a first name.
Winner: Jason Pierce by Unanimous Decision
Lightweight Fight- Dollar vs. Hayden
Only highlights are shown of this fight. Hayden took him down and got his back and got in some good offense in the first round. More of the same in the second round until Dollar got a Rear Naked Choke and won the fight much like the Defranco fight.
Winner: Cameron Dollar by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Welterweight Fight- Damarques Johnson (13-6) vs. Ray Elbe (20-11)
R1- Both guys seem like they have good stand up. Elbe is working in more of a combo of kicks and punches. Johnson gets a take down and mounts quickly. It takes Johnson a while but he gets some good Ground and Pound shot in on Elbe. The ref finally stops the fight. Great showing by Damarques as he looks head and shoulders above the other fighters on today’s show.
Winner: Damarques Johnson by TKO (strikes) R1
There are two more fighters that have to fight in order to get into the house. They will not fight this week due to the two fighters dropping out. Frankie Lester and Rob Browning (Junie’s brother) have been made replacements
“One of them was Junie Browning’s brother. Which was concerning.”- Dan Henderson
Next week we have:
Jason Dent vs. Rob Browning
Kyle Reed vs. Frank Lester
Here is a list of the guys that have already made the show:
Lightweight Fighters:
UK- Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
UK- Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
UK- Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
UK- Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
US- Richie Whitson (defeated Paul Bird)
US- Santino Defranco (defeated Waylon Lowe)
US- Cameron Dollar (defeated Hayden)
Welterweight Fighters:
UK- James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
UK- Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire)
UK- Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
UK- David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
US- Damarques Johnson (defeated Ray Elbe)
US- Mark Miller (defeated Kevin Knabjian)
US- Jason Pierce (defeated Berger)
I liked Martin Stapleton and David Faulkner to most from Team UK and so far I like Damarques Johnson and Richie Whitson from Team USA.
Last week on the debut of the “UK vs. USA” TUF there were 8 fights that decided which UK fighters would be in the house and fighting for Michael Bisping. This week we will get to see the US guys mix it up. This week Dan Henderson is named as the coach of Team USA (since he beat Rich Franklin. Both guys were at the UK prelims last week since they had not fought yet). Just like last year a fighter (Jason Pierce) passed out at the beginning during Dana’s speech. Before the fights they found a herpes sore on a guys head and another guy showed up off weight. So we’ve got issues with 3 of the 16 fighters so far for the US (the herpes guy was sent home). The guy who showed up off weight “quit” so we are down to 14 fighters without a fight happening yet.
Welterweight Fight- Mark Miller (10-4) vs. Kevin Knabjian (10-3-1)
These guys are training partners with each other.
R1- Miller has good hands. He’s not really doing anything else but he looks like the dominate boxer in this fight. Kevin is using more combos of kicks and punches but Miller is ahead after round one.
R2- Kevin landed a couple of punches and Miller went down and Kevin got on top for some Ground and Pound but then went for a leg lock and Miller slipped out. Miller lands some good punches in the middle part of this round and Kevin is trying to hang in there but Mazzagatti stops the fight.
Pretty decent fight. Miller did a good job surviving when he got popped and then did a good job coming back. Miller showed good stand up. I think spending some time with Dan Henderson to help complete his game could make him a tough fighter to beat on this season.
Winner: Mark Miller by TKO (strikes) R2
Lightweight- Richie Whitson (4-0) vs. Paul Bird (4-1)
Whitson trains at Henderson’s gym.
R1- Bird got a quick take down but couldn’t do anything with it. Whitson got in some good strikes and sprawled a couple of times to stop take downs and landed on top and got in some good Ground and Pound. Whitson took his back and got the tapout. Whitson looked pretty sharp in this fight and looks like he has a good overall game.
Winner: Richie Whitson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Lightweight Fight- Waylon Lowe (5-2) vs. Santino Defranco (13-4)
Dana says before the fight that Defranco made the Season Two roster but during the medicals he was found to have a Brain Aneurysm so he could not be on the show. He had the surgery to repair it and has fought back to be on this years show.
R1- Lowe shot in and got a quick take down. Lowe landed some good Ground and Pound as Santino covered up. Santino pretty much just laid in the fetal position all round long and was slow to get up at the end of the round (think Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring).
R2- Santino landed a good knee to start the round and got a take down and then got in position for a Rear Naked Choke and got the tap. GREAT come back by Defranco after getting destroyed in the first round.
Winner: Santino Defranco by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Welterweights- Jason Pierce vs. Berger
Pierce is the guy who feinted due to having trouble making weight. Only highlights are shown of this fight. Dana calls this fight “unimpressive”. I don’t believe Berger was ever given a first name.
Winner: Jason Pierce by Unanimous Decision
Lightweight Fight- Dollar vs. Hayden
Only highlights are shown of this fight. Hayden took him down and got his back and got in some good offense in the first round. More of the same in the second round until Dollar got a Rear Naked Choke and won the fight much like the Defranco fight.
Winner: Cameron Dollar by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Welterweight Fight- Damarques Johnson (13-6) vs. Ray Elbe (20-11)
R1- Both guys seem like they have good stand up. Elbe is working in more of a combo of kicks and punches. Johnson gets a take down and mounts quickly. It takes Johnson a while but he gets some good Ground and Pound shot in on Elbe. The ref finally stops the fight. Great showing by Damarques as he looks head and shoulders above the other fighters on today’s show.
Winner: Damarques Johnson by TKO (strikes) R1
There are two more fighters that have to fight in order to get into the house. They will not fight this week due to the two fighters dropping out. Frankie Lester and Rob Browning (Junie’s brother) have been made replacements
“One of them was Junie Browning’s brother. Which was concerning.”- Dan Henderson
Next week we have:
Jason Dent vs. Rob Browning
Kyle Reed vs. Frank Lester
Here is a list of the guys that have already made the show:
Lightweight Fighters:
UK- Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
UK- Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
UK- Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
UK- Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
US- Richie Whitson (defeated Paul Bird)
US- Santino Defranco (defeated Waylon Lowe)
US- Cameron Dollar (defeated Hayden)
Welterweight Fighters:
UK- James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
UK- Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire)
UK- Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
UK- David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
US- Damarques Johnson (defeated Ray Elbe)
US- Mark Miller (defeated Kevin Knabjian)
US- Jason Pierce (defeated Berger)
I liked Martin Stapleton and David Faulkner to most from Team UK and so far I like Damarques Johnson and Richie Whitson from Team USA.
Friday, April 03, 2009
TUF Season 9 Episode 1 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 1
Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson are the coaches for this years TUF. This season we will see a UK versus USA theme. Episode 1 features 16 UK fighters fighting it out to see which 8 guys end up in the house. Dana White meets up with Michael Bisping at the Wolfslair and it looks like that is where this season of TUF starts off. This season will feature Lightweight and Welterweight fighters. Both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are at the fights. This is prior to their fight to see who would be the TUF coach so Dana has flown them both in to observe.
Lighweight Fight- Gary Kelly (2-1-1) vs. Andre Winner (9-2-1)
Kelly trains at Wolfslair with Bisping.
R1- Winner looks like a much bigger Lightweight than Kelly. Winner hit a big knee to the head at the two minute mark to win the fight. Neither guys looked particularly good up until that point but Winner hit the big shot and advances.
Winner: Andre Winner by KO (Knee) R1
Lightweight Fight- Jeff Lawson (13-2) vs. James Bryan (3-1)
R1- Lawson showed some jiu jitsu and got a tap out victory with an armbar.
Winner: Jeff Lawson by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
Welterweight Fight- Che Mills (7-2) vs. James Wilks (5-2)
R1- Mills rushed in and took Wilks down but quickly found himself in a heel hook and tapped.
Winner: James Wilks by Submission (Heel Hook) R1
Lightweight- Martin Stapleton (5-1) vs. Dan James (3-0)
R1- Stapleton got a take down to start the fight. Stapleton got some Ground and Pound and landed a Rear Naked Choke and got the tap. So far Stapleton looked like the most complete fighter based on what has been shown.
Lightweight- A.J. Wenn (7-2) vs. Ross Pearson (9-3)
R1- Lots of clinching early. Pearson got a sweep to get Wenn down but Wenn popped right back up and they clinched some more. Pearson got a take down at the two minute mark but again couldn’t hold Wenn down. Pearson hit some knees at the end of the round and Wenn got saved by the bell.
R2- Pearson hit a big shot to open the round and then finished off Wenn with some Ground and Pound.
Winner: Ross Pearson by TKO (strikes) R2
Welterweight Fight- Tommy Maguire (5-2) vs. Nick Osipczak (3-0)
R1- Maguire got Nick down early in the round. Maguire grabbed a guillotine when they stood up and then pulled guard with it but Nick broke the hold but let Maguire up. Nick is really thin but took advantage of Maguire and controlled the stand up and finished off Osipczak.
Winner: Nick Osipczak by KO R1
Welterweight Fight- Alex Reid (10-9-1) vs. Dean Amasinger (4-1)
Not a great record but Reid shows some fire in his ring entrance.
Only highlights are shown of this fight. Dean looked like he controlled the fight. Alex caught him in a triangle but Dean survived. This is the first fight that goes to the third round. Seemed like Alex was more worried about showboating then winning the fight but he did end up with Dean in a triangle when the bell rung. Dean looks like he has some good skills, he just looked really green.
Winner: Dean Amasinger by Decision
Welterweight Fight- James Bateman (2-1) vs. David Faulkner (2-1)
Faulkner is a Wolfslair fighter.
R1- Both of these guys looked like they knew what they were doing in the cage. Faulkner was able to get a leg lock on Bateman and tapped him.
Winner: David Faulkner by Submission (Heel Hook) R1
Lightweight Fighters:
Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
Welterweight Fighters:
James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire)
Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
If I had to pick one fighter from each division as “guys to watch” I would pick Martin Stapleton and David Faulkner.
Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson are the coaches for this years TUF. This season we will see a UK versus USA theme. Episode 1 features 16 UK fighters fighting it out to see which 8 guys end up in the house. Dana White meets up with Michael Bisping at the Wolfslair and it looks like that is where this season of TUF starts off. This season will feature Lightweight and Welterweight fighters. Both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are at the fights. This is prior to their fight to see who would be the TUF coach so Dana has flown them both in to observe.
Lighweight Fight- Gary Kelly (2-1-1) vs. Andre Winner (9-2-1)
Kelly trains at Wolfslair with Bisping.
R1- Winner looks like a much bigger Lightweight than Kelly. Winner hit a big knee to the head at the two minute mark to win the fight. Neither guys looked particularly good up until that point but Winner hit the big shot and advances.
Winner: Andre Winner by KO (Knee) R1
Lightweight Fight- Jeff Lawson (13-2) vs. James Bryan (3-1)
R1- Lawson showed some jiu jitsu and got a tap out victory with an armbar.
Winner: Jeff Lawson by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
Welterweight Fight- Che Mills (7-2) vs. James Wilks (5-2)
R1- Mills rushed in and took Wilks down but quickly found himself in a heel hook and tapped.
Winner: James Wilks by Submission (Heel Hook) R1
Lightweight- Martin Stapleton (5-1) vs. Dan James (3-0)
R1- Stapleton got a take down to start the fight. Stapleton got some Ground and Pound and landed a Rear Naked Choke and got the tap. So far Stapleton looked like the most complete fighter based on what has been shown.
Lightweight- A.J. Wenn (7-2) vs. Ross Pearson (9-3)
R1- Lots of clinching early. Pearson got a sweep to get Wenn down but Wenn popped right back up and they clinched some more. Pearson got a take down at the two minute mark but again couldn’t hold Wenn down. Pearson hit some knees at the end of the round and Wenn got saved by the bell.
R2- Pearson hit a big shot to open the round and then finished off Wenn with some Ground and Pound.
Winner: Ross Pearson by TKO (strikes) R2
Welterweight Fight- Tommy Maguire (5-2) vs. Nick Osipczak (3-0)
R1- Maguire got Nick down early in the round. Maguire grabbed a guillotine when they stood up and then pulled guard with it but Nick broke the hold but let Maguire up. Nick is really thin but took advantage of Maguire and controlled the stand up and finished off Osipczak.
Winner: Nick Osipczak by KO R1
Welterweight Fight- Alex Reid (10-9-1) vs. Dean Amasinger (4-1)
Not a great record but Reid shows some fire in his ring entrance.
Only highlights are shown of this fight. Dean looked like he controlled the fight. Alex caught him in a triangle but Dean survived. This is the first fight that goes to the third round. Seemed like Alex was more worried about showboating then winning the fight but he did end up with Dean in a triangle when the bell rung. Dean looks like he has some good skills, he just looked really green.
Winner: Dean Amasinger by Decision
Welterweight Fight- James Bateman (2-1) vs. David Faulkner (2-1)
Faulkner is a Wolfslair fighter.
R1- Both of these guys looked like they knew what they were doing in the cage. Faulkner was able to get a leg lock on Bateman and tapped him.
Winner: David Faulkner by Submission (Heel Hook) R1
Lightweight Fighters:
Andre Winner (defeated Gary Kelly)
Jeff Lawson (defeated James Bryan)
Martin Stapleton (defeated Dan James)
Ross Pearson (defeated A.J. Wenn)
Welterweight Fighters:
James Wilks (defeated Che Mills)
Nick Osipczak (defeated Tommy Maguire)
Dean Amasinger (defeated Alex Reid)
David Faulkner (defeated James Bateman)
If I had to pick one fighter from each division as “guys to watch” I would pick Martin Stapleton and David Faulkner.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Sengoku 7 Re-Cap
World Victory Road: Sengoku 7
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Tokyo, Japan
Sengoku is back for their second effort this year. The first show of the year had Jorge Santiago winning the Middleweight Title, Satoru Kitaoka beating Takanori Gomi for the Lightweight Title, King Mo, and former Elite XC Heavyweights Dave Herman and Antonio Silva. This show features King Mo and the first round of the Featherweight Tournament. This should be interesting as DREAM started their Featherweight tournament on their last show so it will be interesting to compare and contrast the two divisions as they progress in their respective tournaments. Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten are our HDNet TV announcers.
The fighters featured at the beginning of the telecast are Hatsu Hioki, L.C. Davis, Nam Phan, and Marlon Sandro. So those are the four guys to watch on tonight’s show. James Thompson and Mo Lawal will also fight tonight, but not against each other.
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Nick Denis (6-0) vs. Seiya Kawahara (6-1)
Denis is the King of the Cage Canadian Bantamweight Champion. All of his fights have been won by KO or Submission with 5 Kos. Kawahara has finished 5 of his 6 wins by KO or Submission with 4 Kos so it looks like we are going to see someone finished in this fight. Kawahara is the 2nd youngest fighter in this tournament at 21 years of age. Denis has a degree in BioChemistry.
R1- Denis hit a high kick early that knocked Kawahara down and followed with some knees. Denis knocked him down again with n exchange later in the round and followed it up as some Ground and Pound and as the ref was moving to stop the fight Kawahara’s corner threw in the towel. Good start to the tournament and while both guys looked green, Denis showed some good striking and remains undefeated.
Winner: Nick Denis by TKO (Strikes) R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Ronnie Mann (16-1-1) vs. Tetsuya Yamada (3-0)
Mann’s only loss was by unanimous decision by in July of 2007. He was 3-0 in 2008. Yamada is the youngest participant in this tournament. He is only 18 and actually just finished high school at the beginning of this month. All 3 of his victories have come in the 1st round. Yamada has a 4” height advantage in this fight.
R1- Mann is the aggressor early in the fight but Yamada rushes in and gets a take down but Mann is able to sweep him over and get on top. Mann gets a body triangle on Yamada as he takes his back and looks for a submission. Mann gets rolled back over but he’s in full mount. Yamada slips out the back and grabs a heel hook but doesn’t seem to have it clamped in too well and gives it up and instead ends up in the rubber guard that Mann breaks. Very active fight on the ground so far as Yamada goes for a triangle but is denied. Yamada went for a jumping knee bar and ended up with a toe hold but couldn’t hold it and Mann stood up. Really good fight so far that is somewhat even. Mann has be in control of the fight more but Yamada is really fighting for submissions.
R2- Mann spends the first part of this round on top in a dominant position but hasn’t really done any damage. Yamada is actively trying to keep this fight on the ground even if he’s in guard. Mann gets a slam near the end of the round. Mann was more decisive in this round as he’s winning the fight so far.
R3- Yamada hit a good head kick early but Mann fought it off and got a take down. Yamada rolled him over and looked for subs but Mann fought through it. Mann hit a good body shot and then got Yamada down again. Yamada has definitely slowed down in this round but he did hit a good kick before Mann took him down again. Mann grabs a toe hold and Yamada tries to counter with a knee bar but Mann releases the move. Yamada jumps on top to end the fight. I’ve got Mann winning this fight.
Winner: Ronnie Mann by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Chan Sung Jung (2-0) vs. Shintaro Ishiwatari (6-1-3)
Jung’s last fight was a 17 second knockout victory. Ishiwatari’s only loss came in his pro debut in 2006.
R1- These guys are standing up at the beginning of the fight and throwing leather. Jung hitting a good combo and landed a good left that floored Ishiwatari as he was backing into the corner. Jung landed side control and got some brief Ground and Pound in before Ishiwatari got back to his feet with half a round left. Ishiwatari connected on a high kick but Jung fought it off. Both guys are really throwing at one another. Jung came in with a combo and then took Ishiwatari’s back and locked in a Rear Naked Choke and won the fight. Really fun fight.
Winner: Chan Sung Jung by Rear Naked Choke R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Masanori Kanehara (11-5-5) vs. Jong Man Kim (3-5-3)
Kim is winless in his last 5 fights (0-3-2) so my guess is that he will not be the favorite to win this one. Expert analysis by Bas Rutten on his record “That’s not that good” (I kid because I actually really like Bas as a color commentator). However, he does hold a victory over one of the favorites in this tournament (Hatsu Hioki). Kanehara has finished 10 of his 11 wins by KO or Submission). Kim is a wrestler and BJJ fighter. Kanehara is a jiu jitsu fighter.
R1- The jiu jitsu guys stay on their feet with the fight being pretty even until Kanehara gets in a couple of shots that floors Kim with about a minute left in the round. Kim’s face looks like he has some bruises after the first round.
R2- Kanehara gets a take down and tried to get a submission with an arm triangle but Kim broke free. After two rounds Kanehara is winning this fight. Kim is going to need to finish to get the win in this one.
R3- Final round was pretty even with Kanehara getting a take down in the final minute. I’ve got Kanehara winning this fight.
Winner: Masanori Kanehara by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Matt Jaggers (9-4) vs. Marlon Sandro (12-0)
Marlon Sandro is the Featherweight King of Pancrase. He trains with Thales Leites, Jose Aldo and Wagnney Fabiano. He has only finished 5 of his 12 fights but is undefeated. Jaggers has a wrestling background. According to the odds-makers Sandro is a 5.5 to 1 favorite and is the biggest favorite of any of the tournament fights tonight. Sandro is a Muay Thai and BJJ fighter.
R1- Sandro got a take down about 30 seconds into the fight. Jaggers got up swinging. Sandro got another take down about half way through the round. Jaggers is able to roll Sandro over but Sandro rolls him back over. Sandro gets some punches in but then Jaggers flips him back over. Slight edge to Sandro in the first round for the take downs but hasn’t really done any damage.
R2- Sandro nipped Jaggers in the mid-section with a spinning back kick and then got another take down. Sandro looks like he’s working for an arm triangle and Jaggers gets to his feet but Sandro finishes him off with the arm triangle.
Winner: Marlon Sandro by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- L.C. Davis (13-1) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (4-7-2)
L.C. Davis has only 1 professional loss which was to WEC fighter Wagnney Fabiano in an IFL fight. Davis is a 4 to 1 favorite in this fight and has won 4 straight fights. Omigawa is 0-3-1 in his last four fights. He has a Judo background.
R1- Omigawa got Davis to the ground about a minute and a half into the fight and then laid on top of him doing nothing for a while. Omigawa mounts at the two minute mark but hasn’t done any damage yet. LC gives up his back trying to get out but Omigawa is just hugging him at the point. Omigawa is doing a good job with the wrestling but not much in terms of finishing the fight. Omigawa did grab an arm bar near the end of the round but Davis was able to hold on until the bell. Omigawa definitely up after one round.
R2- Omigawa once again is able to get Davis to the ground after about a minute and a half of stand-up that Davis was winning but not decisively. Davis is able to get up fairly quickly this time. This round was even so Omigawa has the advantage going into the final round. A strong round by either guy here could take this fight.
R3- Omigawa gets a takedown at the one minute mark of the round and seems content to lay on Davis until the bell rings in four minutes. Omigawa gets a guillotine but can’t finish with the submission. This was definitely my least favorite of the Featherweights so far. Omigawa gets the upset as he controlled the fight in unspectacular fashion.
30-28, 30-28 and 30-27 in favor of Omigawa on the score cards.
Winner: Michihiro Omigawa by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Jim York (9-2) vs. James Thompson (14-9)
York has finished all of his 9 victories but he’s only fought twice in the last 31 months. Thompson is 2-7 in his last 9 fights. Thompson has a 4” height advantage and a 7 lb advantage.
R1- Thompson charges in and misses. This is a slugfest early! York grabbed a standing guillotine but couldn’t finish with it. Pretty even stand up with Thompson starting to pull away but he got caught and floored and the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Jim York by TKO (Strikes) R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Nam Phan (14-5) vs. Hideki Kadowaki (13-8-2)
Nam Phan is a guy who has fought for Strikeforce in the past and recently lost a close split decision to Billy Evangelista in a Lightweight fight at the June 2008 show (I actually had the fight scored a draw with a 10-8 round to Evangelista and two 10-9 rounds to Phan). He trains with Caol Uno. Phan is a 3 to 1 favorite to win this fight but has lost 3 of his last 5 fights. Kadowaki is a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. He has defeated Bao Quach, Akitoshi Tamura (twice) and Rumina Sato and has losses to Kid Yamamoto, Hatsu Hioki and Takeshi Inoue.
R1- Lots of stand up early in this fight. Phan caught him with a right hand that floored him and the ref stopped the fight. Fun fight and good finish by Phan.
Winner: Nam Phan by TKO (Strikes) R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Hatsu Hioki (17-3-2) vs. Chris Manuel (6-0-2)
Hatsu Hioki has beat Mark Hominick twice and Jeff Curran once. He is undefeated outside of Shooto (5-0 in those fights). Hioki was 4-0-1 in 2008. He’s ranked as Inside MMA’s #8 Featherweight. Hioki is a 3.5 to 1 favorite. Manuel fights out of American Top Team and is a BJJ Black Belt.
R1- Hioki gets a quick take down. Hioki gets takes his back and attempts an arm bar but Manuel escapes. Hioki gets him down again. Hioki is looking really strong on the mat. Hioki now getting some Ground and Pound. Hioki went for an arm bar and settled for a triangle choke and hit some Ground and Pound. Hioki gets the win, he was by far the best looking fighter tonight in the tournament.
Winner: Hatsu Hioki by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight- Muhammed Lawal (3-0) vs. Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2)
Lawal comes to the ring with some dancing Japanese girls with a cape and crown. Ryo is the King of Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion. Lawal is a 5 to 1 favorite.
R1- King Mo gets a quick take down early but Ryo gets back up. Lawal hits some strikes and gets Ryo down again. Lawal is dominating early and getting in strikes up against the ropes on Ryo. Lawal is just manhandling Ryo and continues to take him down time after time. Borderline 10-8 round for Lawal.
R2- Lawal gets a yellow card in this round as he hit Ryo with two eye pokes in the early going. Lawal hit a good jumping knee. Lawal took Ryo’s back and got him to the ground. Lawal is getting take downs at will in this fight. I’ve got Lawal up 20-17 so far going into the third round.
R3- Lawal begins this round by smothering Ryo again. Once King Mo learns some submissions he’s going to be a very dangerous fighter. Mo drops Ryo on the back of his neck and hits some good Ground and Pound in the last minute of the fight. Ryo is basically just trying to hold on to get a decision but then finally fights back and gets taken down by Mo as the bell rings. Dominate win by Lawal, he just didn’t finish him. Ryo looks pretty jacked up after the fight and King Mo looks fresh.
30-24, 20-27 and 30-27 on the score cards.
Winner: Mohammed Lawal by Decision (Unanimous)
This was a pretty good show. I liked it more than the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix first round show. Next round match-ups look like this in the Sengoku Featherweight Tournament:
Hatsu Hioki vs Ronnie Mann
Michihiro Omigawa vs Nam Phan
Masanori Kanehara vs Chang Sung Jung
Marlon Sandro vs Nick Denis
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Tokyo, Japan
Sengoku is back for their second effort this year. The first show of the year had Jorge Santiago winning the Middleweight Title, Satoru Kitaoka beating Takanori Gomi for the Lightweight Title, King Mo, and former Elite XC Heavyweights Dave Herman and Antonio Silva. This show features King Mo and the first round of the Featherweight Tournament. This should be interesting as DREAM started their Featherweight tournament on their last show so it will be interesting to compare and contrast the two divisions as they progress in their respective tournaments. Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten are our HDNet TV announcers.
The fighters featured at the beginning of the telecast are Hatsu Hioki, L.C. Davis, Nam Phan, and Marlon Sandro. So those are the four guys to watch on tonight’s show. James Thompson and Mo Lawal will also fight tonight, but not against each other.
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Nick Denis (6-0) vs. Seiya Kawahara (6-1)
Denis is the King of the Cage Canadian Bantamweight Champion. All of his fights have been won by KO or Submission with 5 Kos. Kawahara has finished 5 of his 6 wins by KO or Submission with 4 Kos so it looks like we are going to see someone finished in this fight. Kawahara is the 2nd youngest fighter in this tournament at 21 years of age. Denis has a degree in BioChemistry.
R1- Denis hit a high kick early that knocked Kawahara down and followed with some knees. Denis knocked him down again with n exchange later in the round and followed it up as some Ground and Pound and as the ref was moving to stop the fight Kawahara’s corner threw in the towel. Good start to the tournament and while both guys looked green, Denis showed some good striking and remains undefeated.
Winner: Nick Denis by TKO (Strikes) R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Ronnie Mann (16-1-1) vs. Tetsuya Yamada (3-0)
Mann’s only loss was by unanimous decision by in July of 2007. He was 3-0 in 2008. Yamada is the youngest participant in this tournament. He is only 18 and actually just finished high school at the beginning of this month. All 3 of his victories have come in the 1st round. Yamada has a 4” height advantage in this fight.
R1- Mann is the aggressor early in the fight but Yamada rushes in and gets a take down but Mann is able to sweep him over and get on top. Mann gets a body triangle on Yamada as he takes his back and looks for a submission. Mann gets rolled back over but he’s in full mount. Yamada slips out the back and grabs a heel hook but doesn’t seem to have it clamped in too well and gives it up and instead ends up in the rubber guard that Mann breaks. Very active fight on the ground so far as Yamada goes for a triangle but is denied. Yamada went for a jumping knee bar and ended up with a toe hold but couldn’t hold it and Mann stood up. Really good fight so far that is somewhat even. Mann has be in control of the fight more but Yamada is really fighting for submissions.
R2- Mann spends the first part of this round on top in a dominant position but hasn’t really done any damage. Yamada is actively trying to keep this fight on the ground even if he’s in guard. Mann gets a slam near the end of the round. Mann was more decisive in this round as he’s winning the fight so far.
R3- Yamada hit a good head kick early but Mann fought it off and got a take down. Yamada rolled him over and looked for subs but Mann fought through it. Mann hit a good body shot and then got Yamada down again. Yamada has definitely slowed down in this round but he did hit a good kick before Mann took him down again. Mann grabs a toe hold and Yamada tries to counter with a knee bar but Mann releases the move. Yamada jumps on top to end the fight. I’ve got Mann winning this fight.
Winner: Ronnie Mann by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Chan Sung Jung (2-0) vs. Shintaro Ishiwatari (6-1-3)
Jung’s last fight was a 17 second knockout victory. Ishiwatari’s only loss came in his pro debut in 2006.
R1- These guys are standing up at the beginning of the fight and throwing leather. Jung hitting a good combo and landed a good left that floored Ishiwatari as he was backing into the corner. Jung landed side control and got some brief Ground and Pound in before Ishiwatari got back to his feet with half a round left. Ishiwatari connected on a high kick but Jung fought it off. Both guys are really throwing at one another. Jung came in with a combo and then took Ishiwatari’s back and locked in a Rear Naked Choke and won the fight. Really fun fight.
Winner: Chan Sung Jung by Rear Naked Choke R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Masanori Kanehara (11-5-5) vs. Jong Man Kim (3-5-3)
Kim is winless in his last 5 fights (0-3-2) so my guess is that he will not be the favorite to win this one. Expert analysis by Bas Rutten on his record “That’s not that good” (I kid because I actually really like Bas as a color commentator). However, he does hold a victory over one of the favorites in this tournament (Hatsu Hioki). Kanehara has finished 10 of his 11 wins by KO or Submission). Kim is a wrestler and BJJ fighter. Kanehara is a jiu jitsu fighter.
R1- The jiu jitsu guys stay on their feet with the fight being pretty even until Kanehara gets in a couple of shots that floors Kim with about a minute left in the round. Kim’s face looks like he has some bruises after the first round.
R2- Kanehara gets a take down and tried to get a submission with an arm triangle but Kim broke free. After two rounds Kanehara is winning this fight. Kim is going to need to finish to get the win in this one.
R3- Final round was pretty even with Kanehara getting a take down in the final minute. I’ve got Kanehara winning this fight.
Winner: Masanori Kanehara by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Matt Jaggers (9-4) vs. Marlon Sandro (12-0)
Marlon Sandro is the Featherweight King of Pancrase. He trains with Thales Leites, Jose Aldo and Wagnney Fabiano. He has only finished 5 of his 12 fights but is undefeated. Jaggers has a wrestling background. According to the odds-makers Sandro is a 5.5 to 1 favorite and is the biggest favorite of any of the tournament fights tonight. Sandro is a Muay Thai and BJJ fighter.
R1- Sandro got a take down about 30 seconds into the fight. Jaggers got up swinging. Sandro got another take down about half way through the round. Jaggers is able to roll Sandro over but Sandro rolls him back over. Sandro gets some punches in but then Jaggers flips him back over. Slight edge to Sandro in the first round for the take downs but hasn’t really done any damage.
R2- Sandro nipped Jaggers in the mid-section with a spinning back kick and then got another take down. Sandro looks like he’s working for an arm triangle and Jaggers gets to his feet but Sandro finishes him off with the arm triangle.
Winner: Marlon Sandro by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- L.C. Davis (13-1) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (4-7-2)
L.C. Davis has only 1 professional loss which was to WEC fighter Wagnney Fabiano in an IFL fight. Davis is a 4 to 1 favorite in this fight and has won 4 straight fights. Omigawa is 0-3-1 in his last four fights. He has a Judo background.
R1- Omigawa got Davis to the ground about a minute and a half into the fight and then laid on top of him doing nothing for a while. Omigawa mounts at the two minute mark but hasn’t done any damage yet. LC gives up his back trying to get out but Omigawa is just hugging him at the point. Omigawa is doing a good job with the wrestling but not much in terms of finishing the fight. Omigawa did grab an arm bar near the end of the round but Davis was able to hold on until the bell. Omigawa definitely up after one round.
R2- Omigawa once again is able to get Davis to the ground after about a minute and a half of stand-up that Davis was winning but not decisively. Davis is able to get up fairly quickly this time. This round was even so Omigawa has the advantage going into the final round. A strong round by either guy here could take this fight.
R3- Omigawa gets a takedown at the one minute mark of the round and seems content to lay on Davis until the bell rings in four minutes. Omigawa gets a guillotine but can’t finish with the submission. This was definitely my least favorite of the Featherweights so far. Omigawa gets the upset as he controlled the fight in unspectacular fashion.
30-28, 30-28 and 30-27 in favor of Omigawa on the score cards.
Winner: Michihiro Omigawa by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Jim York (9-2) vs. James Thompson (14-9)
York has finished all of his 9 victories but he’s only fought twice in the last 31 months. Thompson is 2-7 in his last 9 fights. Thompson has a 4” height advantage and a 7 lb advantage.
R1- Thompson charges in and misses. This is a slugfest early! York grabbed a standing guillotine but couldn’t finish with it. Pretty even stand up with Thompson starting to pull away but he got caught and floored and the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Jim York by TKO (Strikes) R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Nam Phan (14-5) vs. Hideki Kadowaki (13-8-2)
Nam Phan is a guy who has fought for Strikeforce in the past and recently lost a close split decision to Billy Evangelista in a Lightweight fight at the June 2008 show (I actually had the fight scored a draw with a 10-8 round to Evangelista and two 10-9 rounds to Phan). He trains with Caol Uno. Phan is a 3 to 1 favorite to win this fight but has lost 3 of his last 5 fights. Kadowaki is a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. He has defeated Bao Quach, Akitoshi Tamura (twice) and Rumina Sato and has losses to Kid Yamamoto, Hatsu Hioki and Takeshi Inoue.
R1- Lots of stand up early in this fight. Phan caught him with a right hand that floored him and the ref stopped the fight. Fun fight and good finish by Phan.
Winner: Nam Phan by TKO (Strikes) R1
Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Tournament Fight- Hatsu Hioki (17-3-2) vs. Chris Manuel (6-0-2)
Hatsu Hioki has beat Mark Hominick twice and Jeff Curran once. He is undefeated outside of Shooto (5-0 in those fights). Hioki was 4-0-1 in 2008. He’s ranked as Inside MMA’s #8 Featherweight. Hioki is a 3.5 to 1 favorite. Manuel fights out of American Top Team and is a BJJ Black Belt.
R1- Hioki gets a quick take down. Hioki gets takes his back and attempts an arm bar but Manuel escapes. Hioki gets him down again. Hioki is looking really strong on the mat. Hioki now getting some Ground and Pound. Hioki went for an arm bar and settled for a triangle choke and hit some Ground and Pound. Hioki gets the win, he was by far the best looking fighter tonight in the tournament.
Winner: Hatsu Hioki by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight- Muhammed Lawal (3-0) vs. Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2)
Lawal comes to the ring with some dancing Japanese girls with a cape and crown. Ryo is the King of Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion. Lawal is a 5 to 1 favorite.
R1- King Mo gets a quick take down early but Ryo gets back up. Lawal hits some strikes and gets Ryo down again. Lawal is dominating early and getting in strikes up against the ropes on Ryo. Lawal is just manhandling Ryo and continues to take him down time after time. Borderline 10-8 round for Lawal.
R2- Lawal gets a yellow card in this round as he hit Ryo with two eye pokes in the early going. Lawal hit a good jumping knee. Lawal took Ryo’s back and got him to the ground. Lawal is getting take downs at will in this fight. I’ve got Lawal up 20-17 so far going into the third round.
R3- Lawal begins this round by smothering Ryo again. Once King Mo learns some submissions he’s going to be a very dangerous fighter. Mo drops Ryo on the back of his neck and hits some good Ground and Pound in the last minute of the fight. Ryo is basically just trying to hold on to get a decision but then finally fights back and gets taken down by Mo as the bell rings. Dominate win by Lawal, he just didn’t finish him. Ryo looks pretty jacked up after the fight and King Mo looks fresh.
30-24, 20-27 and 30-27 on the score cards.
Winner: Mohammed Lawal by Decision (Unanimous)
This was a pretty good show. I liked it more than the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix first round show. Next round match-ups look like this in the Sengoku Featherweight Tournament:
Hatsu Hioki vs Ronnie Mann
Michihiro Omigawa vs Nam Phan
Masanori Kanehara vs Chang Sung Jung
Marlon Sandro vs Nick Denis
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