Strikeforce Challengers Series
Tulsa, Oklahoma
September 25, 2009
This is the third Strikeforce Challengers Series event on Showtime. Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros and Pat Miletich are the announcers for tonight’s event. Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.
Heavyweight Fight- Daniel Cormier (0-0) vs. Gary Frazier (0-0)
This is the MMA debut for both fighters. Cormier was an Olympic wrestler and Frazier has a background in football and track. Frazier is listed as a boxer/wrestler. Cormier is training under Bob Cook at the American Kickboxing Academy (Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cain Velasquez, Josh Thomson). Muhammed Lawal is in Cormier’s corner and is one of the reasons that Cormier got his start in MMA. Frazier has a 5.5” reach and 3” height advantage.
R1- Cormier took the center of the cage and Frazier seems to be content to back off and try to look for an opening but not really any action in the first minute of the fight. Cormier landed the first strikes of the fight and then stuffed a take down attempt. Frazier runs away from Cormier then tries to dive at him but Cormier jumps on top of him and hits him with some Ground and Pound as Frazier is turtled up. Cormier was able to switch position and took side control and landed some punches. Frazier gets back up and runs away from Cormier and then throws some strikes that back off Cormier. Good round for Cormier as he easily took this round. It was a borderline 10-8 round.
R2- Cormier tried for a single leg and Frazier avoided it by grabbing onto the cage on three separated instances. He should have had a point deducted because he clearly did it twice more after he was warned and was able to avoid a take down due to an illegal activity. Cormier landed some strikes about half way through the round. Frazier went for a knee but missed and slipped and Cormier jumped on top and landed some hammer fists. Cormier passed guard to the mount and landed some more Ground and Pound. Frazier gave up his back and Cormier landed some punches on his ears and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Good debut by Cormier. Frazier was clearly out of his league in this fight.
Winner: Daniel Cormer by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:39
Catchweight Fight- Thomas Longacre (5-0) vs. Travis Calanoc (4-0)
Colanoc is from Tulsa and is listed as a boxer/jiu jitsu fighter. Longacre is from Tyler, Texas and is listed as a kickboxer. Longacre is the XFL (whatever that is) Featherweight Champion. Longacre has a 3.5” reach advantage in this fight. Longacre is listed at 148 lbs and Calanoc is listed at 146.5 so not sure if both guys missed weight for this fight or what.
R1- Longacre landed a combo in the first minute that knocked Calanoc back to the cage but couldn’t tell if it was a punch or a slip to avoid a punch. Longacre is throwing a lot of strikes and has taken the center of the cage. Longacre looked really good early but he went for a head kick and Calanoc blocked it and landed a knee and then a punch that hurt Longacre. Longacre was able to clinch so that he had some time to recover. Calanoc was able to trip Longacre and tried to pull guard with a guillotine but he slipped right off and Longacre sat down in his guard but he couldn’t hold the position. Really good first round with some twists and turns. Longacre looked really good early but Calanoc came closer to stopping the fight. This round could have gone either way.
R2- Longacre takes the center of the octagon like he did in the first half of last round. Fairly even round with Longacre being more aggressive and looking more confident. Longacre landed a really good combo at the four minute mark. Calanoc pulled guard and grabbed a guillotine but he couldn’t hold it and Longacre quickly got back to his feet. Longacre took this round.
R3- Longacre got a take down about a minute into the fight and quickly took side control but he gave up the position. Longacre is again winning the stand up battle in this round. Calanoc tries to pull guard with a guillotine choke but Longacre quickly slips out and ends in Calanoc’s guard. Calanoc went for an arm bar but Longacre avoided it and got back to his feet. Both guys throw in the last ten seconds trying to land the punch that ends the fight. Longacre is going to win this round and will win the fight. Good fight.
Judges score cards say: All three judges score the fight 30-27
Winner: Thomas Longacre by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Tyron Woodley (3-0) vs. Zack Light (6-8)
Woodley is a two-time All-American wrestler from Missouri and Zack Light is also a college wrestler. Zack Light is also the wrestling coach at the Wolfslair (Michael Bisping, Rampage Jackson, Cheick Kongo, Paul Kelly) in the UK. All 3 of Woodley’s wins have come by submission and he trains with American Top Team (Denis Kang, JZ Calvancante, Jorge Santiago, Thiago Silva, Mike Brown, Luis Cane).
R1- Woodley has some quick strikes. Woodley got a slam on Light about one and a half minutes into the fight. Woodley was able to get mount and land some strikes and then clamped in an arm triangle. Woodley couldn’t finish Light and went back to full mount. Good round by Woodley, he looked solid.
R2- Light came in for a punch and Woodley caught him with a knee. Then Woodley landed a right hand that floored Light. Light quickly got up but Woodley got a fast take down. Woodley again went for the arm triangle but gave it up in favor of the full mount and some Ground and Pound. Woodley again went for the arm triangle. The fighters went back to their feet with two minutes left in the round and Woodley got another take down and mounted. Light pushed off the cage and Woodley clamped in an arm bar and Light tapped. Great counter by Woodley. Woodley looked really good, can’t wait to see him fight again.
Winner: Tyron Woodley by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 3:38
Heavyweight Fight- Ray Sefo (1-0) vs. Kevin Jordan (11-7)
Jordan played football at Memphis and is listed as a boxer/jiu jitsu fighter. Sefo is a 6-time World Champion Kickboxer. Sefo has the highest knockout ratio in K-1. Sefo has not fought in MMA since 2005. Jordan has a 3.5” height and 3” reach advantage. Sefo has been training at Xtreme Couture. Shawn Thompkins is in Sefo’s corner for the fight.
R1- Sefo lands a couple of kicks and Jordan goes for a take down but Sefo rolls over on top. Sefo tried to pass and he got reversed and Jordan took side control. Jordan went for a key lock but Sefo held on to his arm and avoid the submission. Jordan transitioned to full mount and lands some punches. Sefo is able to survive the round but Jordan definitely takes round one.
R2- Jordan went for a take down right off the bat and got stuffed. Jordan looked like he hurt his leg or his knee and didn’t get up. Sefo seized the opportunity and jumped down on Jordan and then Jordan pushed him off but couldn’t stand up and tapped out. Well that was a freak injury. Sefo was lucky to get out of here with a win. He definitely needs to work on his ground game if he wants to continue in MMA.
Winner: Ray Sefo by TKO (Knee Injury) R2 0:24
Middleweight Fight- Tim Kennedy (10-2) vs. Zak Cummings (10-0)
Kennedy is 1-0 in Strikeforce while Cummings is making his Strikeforce debut. Kennedy beat Nick Thompson in his last fight for Strikeforce. Zak Cummings is listed as a jiu jitsu fighter. Kennedy is listed as a kickboxer. Kennedy is a Green Beret trained in Special Forces.
R1- Kennedy went for a take down and landed it within the first 30 seconds of the fight. Cummings gave up his back and Kennedy landed some strikes and Cummings moved back to his back. Kennedy is landed some good strikes on Cummings. Kennedy is just all over Cummings. Kennedy took this round 10-8. Cummings has a good size mouse on his eye and looks like he has a cut right above his right eye.
R2- Kennedy went for a choke about two minutes into the round but couldn’t lock it in. Cummings went for a take down but Kennedy sprawled out and clamped on a north/south choke and Cummings tapped out. Great fight for Kennedy.
Winner: Tim Kennedy by Submission (North/South Choke) R2 2:43
Saturday, September 26, 2009
UFC 103 "Franklin vs. Belfort" Re-Cap
UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort
9/19/09
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center
Vitor Belfort makes his return tonight against Rich Franklin in a 195 pound catch weight fight. Junior dos Santos will fight Mirko Cro Cop in an important fight in the Heavyweight Division. Josh Koscheck greats Frank Trigg in his return to the Octagon and top Welterweight contender Martin Kampmann will be in action.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (13-2) vs. Hermes Franca (20-7)
Tyson Griffin is coming off of a Unanimous Decision win over Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 18. Hermes Franca comes out to the same music Chipper Jones does when he comes to bat (Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne). Franca came in over weight at 159 lbs. Griffin agreed to go ahead with the fight. Tyson Griffin comes out to the theme from Rocky, but it has nowhere near the impact of when Matt Serra used it in his fight against Matt Hughes (although Serra would go on to lose a close decision). Tyson Griffin has had “Fight of the Night” in 5 of his 8 UFC fights, that’s a pretty impressive statistic.
R1- Griffin is landing some strikes early. Griffin got Franca off his feet but he popped right back up. Franca really hasn’t brought any offense in this first round. Griffin wins this round with a comfortable 10-9 but Franca doesn’t look like he’s been hurt. Not sure why he didn’t make weight but he looks lethargic.
R2- Hermes comes out firing wildly to start the second round. Franca grabbed Griffin’s leg on a kick but Griffin was able to strike his way out. Just as I was thinking that Franca looked slow tonight Griffin popped him with a straight right hand. Franca hit the floor and Griffin jumped on top. Griffin landed a bunch of punches and Hermes hung in there for a while but Griffin ended up over powering him for the TKO victory. Good win by Griffin tonight as he came ready to fight and I’m not sure Hermes did.
Winner: Tyson Griffin by TKO (Punches) R1 3:26
Jon Fitch is in attendance at the fights tonight.
UFC 104 is Lyoto Machida defending the UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Shogun Rua on October 24th in Los Angeles. Ben Rothwell will also take on undefeated Cain Velasquez on the under card.
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (14-4) vs. Frank Trigg (19-6)
Koscheck is in need of a win after falling to Paulo Thiago in an upset and is only 1-2 in his last 3 fights. This is Trigg’s first fight since his return to the UFC. Trigg is fighting out of Xtreme Couture. Trigg comes out to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Koscheck counters with “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Koscheck has had some time off since his last loss as he has been nursing a broken foot.
R1- Trigg landed a good right early but Josh absorbed the blow nicely. Koscheck caught Trigg with a looping right hand that looked like it may have caught him behind the ear and it knocked Trigg forward. Trigg then stood up and leaned on the cage and Koscheck blasted him with a right hand. Koscheck then started wailing on Trigg against the cage and the ref stopped the fight. Nice showing by Koscheck. Trigg was upset about the stoppage but he looked like he was getting tagged.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by TKO (strikes) R1 1:25
Post-Fight Koscheck says he would like to fight Matt Hughes.
Tito Ortiz is in the crowd.
Welterweight Fight- Martin Kampmann (15-2) vs. Paul Daley (21-8-2)
This fight was originally Kampmann versus Mike Swick but Swick got injured and Daley is filling in. Kampmann won a war at UFC Fight Night 18 in a close decision win versus Carlos Condit. If Kampmann wins he is the most likely next contender to the thrown of GSP. Kampmann is 2-0 in the Welterweight Division. The last time I saw Paul Daley fight was on an Elite XC CBS Show where he tapped out to Jake Shields. Kampmann has a 3” height advantage while Daley has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Both guys are swinging a lot early and it looked like Daley connected on a couple of his. Kampmann went for a take down but was denied. Daley is looking pretty good so far. Kampmann presses Daley up against the cage and landed a nice knee. Daley landed a nice left and it staggered Kampmann. Daley got Kampmann up against the cage and landed some shots. Kampmann didn’t go down but Yves Lavigne stopped the fight as Kampmann looked like he was out on his feet. Very impressive showing by Daley. Kampmann really needed to get the fight to the ground and he never did. I guess Daley saved Kampmann from a worse beating at the hands of GSP. Looking at the re-play Rogan says that Lavigne should have probably let the fight go for another punch or two but it was a close call.
Winner: Paul Daley by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:31
Mike Swick is in the crowd. The door is open for him now in the Welterweight Division with Kampmann’s loss.
Lightweight Fight- Robert Emerson vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
R1- This fight starts off pretty even in the first round. Dos Anjos went for several take downs but Emerson was able to keep the fight standing until the very send of the round. Dos Anjos took this round 10-9 but it was close.
R2- Dos Anjos is landing some good leg kicks. Emerson is starting to land some punches. Dos Anjos got a take down about half way through the round but Emerson got right up. Dos Anjos continues to land kicks and Emerson is limping from the shots. Dos Anjos is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Dos Anjos landed a good leg kick to start the round and then got a take down. Good fight by Dos Anjos as I’ve got him taking the fight 30-27.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards.
Winner: Rafael Dos Anjos by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (25-6-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (8-1)
dos Santos UFC debut was an upset of Fabricio Werdum that knocked Werdum out of the UFC. I’ve got dos Santos as a Top 10 Heavyweight right now and Cro Cop on the outside looking in. I’m confident in saying that the winner of this fight is a tried and true Top 10 Heavyweight and would be a win away from a potential shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Now I’m doubting myself as to the theme song that Tyson Griffin came out to because dos Santos is coming out to one of the Rocky themes. dos Santos is a Jiu Jitsu purple belt, with good chins that has most of his wins by KO- at least that’s what the UFC graphic tells me. Cro Cop comes out to some Duran Duran. My sister loved that band back in the 80s. I wonder if Cro Cop was a Wild Boy like Simon LeBon when he was younger? dos Santos has a 10 lb and 4” reach advantage on Cro Cop. Cro Cop got the best ovation of the night so far when he was introduced.
R1- dos Santos quickly charged at Cro Cop but Cro Cop clinched him against the cage to avoid damage. Cro Cop threw a high kick but it was blocked. dos Santos landed some punches up against the cage but Cro Cop was able to get out of trouble. dos Santos ran Cro Cop down but Cro Cop clinched him again. dos Santos has sustained a couple of cuts over his eyes. dos Santos takes the first round 10-9 as he was much more aggressive but Cro Cop is definitely still in this fight. I think the longer this fight goes on the more it swings to Cro Cop.
R2- Cro Cop swings a high kick but it’s avoided. dos Santos went in with a flurry and both guys landed strikes during the exchange. Cro Cop missed with another head kick. dos Santos is landing some strikes. Cro Cop nailed dos Santos with a low blow. dos Santos landed a couple of good shots and opened up a cut over Cro Cop’s eye. I’ve got dos Santos up 20-18 after two rounds. This is dos Santos’s first fight that’s been over one round so I think Cro Cop still has a shot at this he just has to finish the fight if he wants to win.
R3- Cro Cop opened up the round more aggressive and landed a solid right hand. dos Santos landed some knees. Cro Cop slipped and dos Santos swung with a left and it might have grazed Cro Cop because he looked a little wobbly after the punch and dos Santos followed with a knee. dos Santos then hit another knee and a punch. dos Santos starting to take over this fight. dos Santos with a big knee and then a left and Cro Cop is in big trouble with three minutes left in the round. dos Santos is hitting knees at will. Cro Cops says he can’t see as his face and eyes are all red and this fight is over. Kind of an anti-climatic finish but a great win for dos Santos over a respected veteran. On the re-play dos Santos hit Cro Cop with a big punch to his eye and that was when Cro Cop verbally submitted.
dos Santos is probably one fight away from a title shot. He’s got victories know over Cro Cop and Fabricio Werdum and both of those guys are legit heavyweights.
Winner: Junior dos Santos by Submission (Verbal) R3 2:00
Catch weight Fight (195 lbs)- Rich Franklin (27-4) vs. Vitor Belfort (18-8)
Franklin is coming off of a close win over Wanderlei Silva in the Main Event of UFC 99. I actually had Wanderlei taking the fight by decision but what do I know as the decision was unanimous in favor of Franklin. Prior to that fight Franklin lost a split decision to Dan Henderson. Franklin is Main Eventing his 3rd event in a row which is very impressive for a guy without a belt. The last two fights of Belfort’s that I saw were both for Affliction. The first was a TKO over Terry Martin and the second was a quick destruction of Matt Lindland back in January. Franklin has landed the 2nd most strikes in UFC history behind GSP. Franklin also succeeds in 71% of his takedown attempts. Belfort won his first 3 UFC fights in under 3 minutes. He has also out struck his opponents 62-23 in his last 4 fights. Belfort has been training at Xtreme Couture and has Shawn Thompkins in his corner for the fight. This is Belfort’s first fight since 2005 when he lost a split decision to Tito Ortiz.
R1- Long feeling out process to start out the fight. So far two minutes gone and not much action. Franklin is trying to push the action but is being very cautious and Vitor is content to counter punch to start. Vitor hit Franklin with a big left uppercut after a right jab and Franklin hit the floor. Belfort jumped on top but the ref stopped the fight and Franklin was not quick to get back to his feet. Vitor made Franklin look really bad in that fight. I’m guessing Dana White is salivating over making a Belfort versus Anderson Silva fight.
Looking at the re-play Vitor actually missed with the big left uppercut and it looked like he hit Franklin on the top of the head with a punch afterwards. He really didn’t look like he connected solidly he just hit Franklin in the right spot.
Winner: Vitor Belfort by KO R1 3:02
Lightweight Fight- Nik Lentz vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Lentz is a training partner of Sean Sherk and this is his UFC debut.
R1- Oliveira went for a take down and Lentz tried for a guillotine but could not lock it in. Lentz quickly got back to his feet. Oliveira landed a goof right hand and then rushed in but Lentz grabbed a guillotine. Oliveira slammed him and Lentz lost the submission on the ground. Both guys threw some leather and then Oliveira got a big slam to take down Lentz. They went back to their feet and Lentz landed some good shots and hurt Oliveira but he survived. Lentz got a take down right at the end of the round. Good first round and Lentz may have stole the round with his performance in the last minute.
R2- Lentz grabbed another guillotine but let hit go. Oliveira spent the second part of the round on top of Lentz. Not a lot of action in this round as Oliveira has really tired since the first round. Looks like we could have a 19-19 fight going into the third round.
R3- Oliveira starts out this round much like he ended the last round by taking the top position. Lentz got a take down about half way through the round. Lentz stays on top and lands some Ground and Pound and rides this one out in top position. I’ve got Lentz as the 29-28 winner in this fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for Nick Lentz
Winner: Nick Lentz by Decision (Unanimous)
9/19/09
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center
Vitor Belfort makes his return tonight against Rich Franklin in a 195 pound catch weight fight. Junior dos Santos will fight Mirko Cro Cop in an important fight in the Heavyweight Division. Josh Koscheck greats Frank Trigg in his return to the Octagon and top Welterweight contender Martin Kampmann will be in action.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (13-2) vs. Hermes Franca (20-7)
Tyson Griffin is coming off of a Unanimous Decision win over Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 18. Hermes Franca comes out to the same music Chipper Jones does when he comes to bat (Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne). Franca came in over weight at 159 lbs. Griffin agreed to go ahead with the fight. Tyson Griffin comes out to the theme from Rocky, but it has nowhere near the impact of when Matt Serra used it in his fight against Matt Hughes (although Serra would go on to lose a close decision). Tyson Griffin has had “Fight of the Night” in 5 of his 8 UFC fights, that’s a pretty impressive statistic.
R1- Griffin is landing some strikes early. Griffin got Franca off his feet but he popped right back up. Franca really hasn’t brought any offense in this first round. Griffin wins this round with a comfortable 10-9 but Franca doesn’t look like he’s been hurt. Not sure why he didn’t make weight but he looks lethargic.
R2- Hermes comes out firing wildly to start the second round. Franca grabbed Griffin’s leg on a kick but Griffin was able to strike his way out. Just as I was thinking that Franca looked slow tonight Griffin popped him with a straight right hand. Franca hit the floor and Griffin jumped on top. Griffin landed a bunch of punches and Hermes hung in there for a while but Griffin ended up over powering him for the TKO victory. Good win by Griffin tonight as he came ready to fight and I’m not sure Hermes did.
Winner: Tyson Griffin by TKO (Punches) R1 3:26
Jon Fitch is in attendance at the fights tonight.
UFC 104 is Lyoto Machida defending the UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Shogun Rua on October 24th in Los Angeles. Ben Rothwell will also take on undefeated Cain Velasquez on the under card.
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (14-4) vs. Frank Trigg (19-6)
Koscheck is in need of a win after falling to Paulo Thiago in an upset and is only 1-2 in his last 3 fights. This is Trigg’s first fight since his return to the UFC. Trigg is fighting out of Xtreme Couture. Trigg comes out to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Koscheck counters with “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Koscheck has had some time off since his last loss as he has been nursing a broken foot.
R1- Trigg landed a good right early but Josh absorbed the blow nicely. Koscheck caught Trigg with a looping right hand that looked like it may have caught him behind the ear and it knocked Trigg forward. Trigg then stood up and leaned on the cage and Koscheck blasted him with a right hand. Koscheck then started wailing on Trigg against the cage and the ref stopped the fight. Nice showing by Koscheck. Trigg was upset about the stoppage but he looked like he was getting tagged.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by TKO (strikes) R1 1:25
Post-Fight Koscheck says he would like to fight Matt Hughes.
Tito Ortiz is in the crowd.
Welterweight Fight- Martin Kampmann (15-2) vs. Paul Daley (21-8-2)
This fight was originally Kampmann versus Mike Swick but Swick got injured and Daley is filling in. Kampmann won a war at UFC Fight Night 18 in a close decision win versus Carlos Condit. If Kampmann wins he is the most likely next contender to the thrown of GSP. Kampmann is 2-0 in the Welterweight Division. The last time I saw Paul Daley fight was on an Elite XC CBS Show where he tapped out to Jake Shields. Kampmann has a 3” height advantage while Daley has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Both guys are swinging a lot early and it looked like Daley connected on a couple of his. Kampmann went for a take down but was denied. Daley is looking pretty good so far. Kampmann presses Daley up against the cage and landed a nice knee. Daley landed a nice left and it staggered Kampmann. Daley got Kampmann up against the cage and landed some shots. Kampmann didn’t go down but Yves Lavigne stopped the fight as Kampmann looked like he was out on his feet. Very impressive showing by Daley. Kampmann really needed to get the fight to the ground and he never did. I guess Daley saved Kampmann from a worse beating at the hands of GSP. Looking at the re-play Rogan says that Lavigne should have probably let the fight go for another punch or two but it was a close call.
Winner: Paul Daley by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:31
Mike Swick is in the crowd. The door is open for him now in the Welterweight Division with Kampmann’s loss.
Lightweight Fight- Robert Emerson vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
R1- This fight starts off pretty even in the first round. Dos Anjos went for several take downs but Emerson was able to keep the fight standing until the very send of the round. Dos Anjos took this round 10-9 but it was close.
R2- Dos Anjos is landing some good leg kicks. Emerson is starting to land some punches. Dos Anjos got a take down about half way through the round but Emerson got right up. Dos Anjos continues to land kicks and Emerson is limping from the shots. Dos Anjos is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Dos Anjos landed a good leg kick to start the round and then got a take down. Good fight by Dos Anjos as I’ve got him taking the fight 30-27.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards.
Winner: Rafael Dos Anjos by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (25-6-2) vs. Junior dos Santos (8-1)
dos Santos UFC debut was an upset of Fabricio Werdum that knocked Werdum out of the UFC. I’ve got dos Santos as a Top 10 Heavyweight right now and Cro Cop on the outside looking in. I’m confident in saying that the winner of this fight is a tried and true Top 10 Heavyweight and would be a win away from a potential shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Now I’m doubting myself as to the theme song that Tyson Griffin came out to because dos Santos is coming out to one of the Rocky themes. dos Santos is a Jiu Jitsu purple belt, with good chins that has most of his wins by KO- at least that’s what the UFC graphic tells me. Cro Cop comes out to some Duran Duran. My sister loved that band back in the 80s. I wonder if Cro Cop was a Wild Boy like Simon LeBon when he was younger? dos Santos has a 10 lb and 4” reach advantage on Cro Cop. Cro Cop got the best ovation of the night so far when he was introduced.
R1- dos Santos quickly charged at Cro Cop but Cro Cop clinched him against the cage to avoid damage. Cro Cop threw a high kick but it was blocked. dos Santos landed some punches up against the cage but Cro Cop was able to get out of trouble. dos Santos ran Cro Cop down but Cro Cop clinched him again. dos Santos has sustained a couple of cuts over his eyes. dos Santos takes the first round 10-9 as he was much more aggressive but Cro Cop is definitely still in this fight. I think the longer this fight goes on the more it swings to Cro Cop.
R2- Cro Cop swings a high kick but it’s avoided. dos Santos went in with a flurry and both guys landed strikes during the exchange. Cro Cop missed with another head kick. dos Santos is landing some strikes. Cro Cop nailed dos Santos with a low blow. dos Santos landed a couple of good shots and opened up a cut over Cro Cop’s eye. I’ve got dos Santos up 20-18 after two rounds. This is dos Santos’s first fight that’s been over one round so I think Cro Cop still has a shot at this he just has to finish the fight if he wants to win.
R3- Cro Cop opened up the round more aggressive and landed a solid right hand. dos Santos landed some knees. Cro Cop slipped and dos Santos swung with a left and it might have grazed Cro Cop because he looked a little wobbly after the punch and dos Santos followed with a knee. dos Santos then hit another knee and a punch. dos Santos starting to take over this fight. dos Santos with a big knee and then a left and Cro Cop is in big trouble with three minutes left in the round. dos Santos is hitting knees at will. Cro Cops says he can’t see as his face and eyes are all red and this fight is over. Kind of an anti-climatic finish but a great win for dos Santos over a respected veteran. On the re-play dos Santos hit Cro Cop with a big punch to his eye and that was when Cro Cop verbally submitted.
dos Santos is probably one fight away from a title shot. He’s got victories know over Cro Cop and Fabricio Werdum and both of those guys are legit heavyweights.
Winner: Junior dos Santos by Submission (Verbal) R3 2:00
Catch weight Fight (195 lbs)- Rich Franklin (27-4) vs. Vitor Belfort (18-8)
Franklin is coming off of a close win over Wanderlei Silva in the Main Event of UFC 99. I actually had Wanderlei taking the fight by decision but what do I know as the decision was unanimous in favor of Franklin. Prior to that fight Franklin lost a split decision to Dan Henderson. Franklin is Main Eventing his 3rd event in a row which is very impressive for a guy without a belt. The last two fights of Belfort’s that I saw were both for Affliction. The first was a TKO over Terry Martin and the second was a quick destruction of Matt Lindland back in January. Franklin has landed the 2nd most strikes in UFC history behind GSP. Franklin also succeeds in 71% of his takedown attempts. Belfort won his first 3 UFC fights in under 3 minutes. He has also out struck his opponents 62-23 in his last 4 fights. Belfort has been training at Xtreme Couture and has Shawn Thompkins in his corner for the fight. This is Belfort’s first fight since 2005 when he lost a split decision to Tito Ortiz.
R1- Long feeling out process to start out the fight. So far two minutes gone and not much action. Franklin is trying to push the action but is being very cautious and Vitor is content to counter punch to start. Vitor hit Franklin with a big left uppercut after a right jab and Franklin hit the floor. Belfort jumped on top but the ref stopped the fight and Franklin was not quick to get back to his feet. Vitor made Franklin look really bad in that fight. I’m guessing Dana White is salivating over making a Belfort versus Anderson Silva fight.
Looking at the re-play Vitor actually missed with the big left uppercut and it looked like he hit Franklin on the top of the head with a punch afterwards. He really didn’t look like he connected solidly he just hit Franklin in the right spot.
Winner: Vitor Belfort by KO R1 3:02
Lightweight Fight- Nik Lentz vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Lentz is a training partner of Sean Sherk and this is his UFC debut.
R1- Oliveira went for a take down and Lentz tried for a guillotine but could not lock it in. Lentz quickly got back to his feet. Oliveira landed a goof right hand and then rushed in but Lentz grabbed a guillotine. Oliveira slammed him and Lentz lost the submission on the ground. Both guys threw some leather and then Oliveira got a big slam to take down Lentz. They went back to their feet and Lentz landed some good shots and hurt Oliveira but he survived. Lentz got a take down right at the end of the round. Good first round and Lentz may have stole the round with his performance in the last minute.
R2- Lentz grabbed another guillotine but let hit go. Oliveira spent the second part of the round on top of Lentz. Not a lot of action in this round as Oliveira has really tired since the first round. Looks like we could have a 19-19 fight going into the third round.
R3- Oliveira starts out this round much like he ended the last round by taking the top position. Lentz got a take down about half way through the round. Lentz stays on top and lands some Ground and Pound and rides this one out in top position. I’ve got Lentz as the 29-28 winner in this fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for Nick Lentz
Winner: Nick Lentz by Decision (Unanimous)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Two Re-Cap
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Two
“All About Survival”
In week one we saw Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson jawing at each other, Kimbo Slice introduced, a bloody first match in which Jon Madsen was easily victorious and we saw what looks to be a much better team drafted by Rashad.
At the start of the show Rampage brings in a specialist and they show Kimbo working on his ground game during the Team Rampage training session. In the Team Rashad training session Roy Nelson was being a little bit of a pain by not following his coaching and Rashad and one of his coaches have some conversations with Roy.
At the fight announcements Rampage asks Roy Nelson what his name is. Rampage picks James McSweeney versus Wes Shivers. Rampage says he wants to get Rashad’s first pick out. Rashad says he feels his guy is going to walk all over Rampage’s guy.
Team Rashad runs 5 minutes late in their training and Rampage and Rashad have a little back and forth with one another.
Wes Shivers (2-0) vs. James McSweeney (3-3)
Shivers is the bigger fighter as he has a 3” height and 6.5” reach advantage. McSweeney was Rashad’s first round pick and trains with Rashad at Greg Jackson’s camp.
R1- Shivers does not touch gloves to start. Shivers lands some strikes early as McSweeney retreats. Shivers clinches and sweeps McSweeney to the ground. Shivers went for a kimura but could not clamp it in and McSweeney got to his feet. McSwinney lands some kicks and then Shivers kicks him in the balls. Shivers lands some strikes and McSwinney is trying anything he can to fight back. Shivers looks like he’s running out of gas towards the end of the round. Wes took this first round as the only thing that McSwinney really had going for him was the fact that Wes got tired. McSwinney landed some leg kicks but that was really his only offense. Still anybody’s fight since Wes Shivers seems to have hit the wall.
R2- McSwinney went for a head kick and missed and Shivers briefly took him down but couldn’t hold him. McSwinney is starting to land more strikes but Shivers grabs a leg kick and takes him down. Shivers moves to the mount position and lands some Ground and Pound. McSwinney gives up his back and Shivers tries for a Rear Naked but can’t clamp it in and McSwinney flipped him over and took his guard but then quickly got back to his feet. Shivers is really tired and I think McSwinney is right behind him. McSwinney really hasn’t landed anything substantial this round. Just as I say that McSwinney lands a punch and then a kick and then pulls guard on a guillotine which is probably enough to take this round. Shivers pulls out of the guillotine as the round ends. Close round, I think McSwinney might have stolen this round with the punch/kick combo. Both guys are totally exhausted.
The ref says they have a decision. There is no way McSwinney took the first round so I’m thinking that Shivers is going to be the winner. He must have eeked out that second round.
Judges score cards say: 19-19, 20-18, 20-18 in favor of McSwinney. Wow, I don’t know how McSwinney won that first round.
Winner: James McSwinney by Decision (Majority)
Fight Announcement: The ball is now in Rashad’s court and he is up 2-0. Rashad picks Roy Nelson against Kimbo Slice. Wow. Dana says Roy has better all-around skills than Kimbo but that Kimbo is explosive and has the ability to knock Roy out. Dana says this is the true test for Kimbo Slice.
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rampage #1: Kimbo Slice
Team Rashad #2: Brandon Schaub
Team Rampage #2: Abe Wagner
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rampage #3: Demico Rogers
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
Team Rampage #4: Wes Sims
Team Rashad #5: Roy Nelson
Team Rampage #5: Scott Junk
Team Rashad #6: Darrill Schoonover
Team Rashad #7: Matt Mitrione
Team Rampage #7: Marcus Jones
Team Rashad #8: Mike Wessel
Team Rampage #8: Zak Jensen
Eliminated:
Abe Wagner defeated by Jon Madsen- Episode One
Wes Shivers defeated by James McSweeney- Episode Two
“All About Survival”
In week one we saw Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson jawing at each other, Kimbo Slice introduced, a bloody first match in which Jon Madsen was easily victorious and we saw what looks to be a much better team drafted by Rashad.
At the start of the show Rampage brings in a specialist and they show Kimbo working on his ground game during the Team Rampage training session. In the Team Rashad training session Roy Nelson was being a little bit of a pain by not following his coaching and Rashad and one of his coaches have some conversations with Roy.
At the fight announcements Rampage asks Roy Nelson what his name is. Rampage picks James McSweeney versus Wes Shivers. Rampage says he wants to get Rashad’s first pick out. Rashad says he feels his guy is going to walk all over Rampage’s guy.
Team Rashad runs 5 minutes late in their training and Rampage and Rashad have a little back and forth with one another.
Wes Shivers (2-0) vs. James McSweeney (3-3)
Shivers is the bigger fighter as he has a 3” height and 6.5” reach advantage. McSweeney was Rashad’s first round pick and trains with Rashad at Greg Jackson’s camp.
R1- Shivers does not touch gloves to start. Shivers lands some strikes early as McSweeney retreats. Shivers clinches and sweeps McSweeney to the ground. Shivers went for a kimura but could not clamp it in and McSweeney got to his feet. McSwinney lands some kicks and then Shivers kicks him in the balls. Shivers lands some strikes and McSwinney is trying anything he can to fight back. Shivers looks like he’s running out of gas towards the end of the round. Wes took this first round as the only thing that McSwinney really had going for him was the fact that Wes got tired. McSwinney landed some leg kicks but that was really his only offense. Still anybody’s fight since Wes Shivers seems to have hit the wall.
R2- McSwinney went for a head kick and missed and Shivers briefly took him down but couldn’t hold him. McSwinney is starting to land more strikes but Shivers grabs a leg kick and takes him down. Shivers moves to the mount position and lands some Ground and Pound. McSwinney gives up his back and Shivers tries for a Rear Naked but can’t clamp it in and McSwinney flipped him over and took his guard but then quickly got back to his feet. Shivers is really tired and I think McSwinney is right behind him. McSwinney really hasn’t landed anything substantial this round. Just as I say that McSwinney lands a punch and then a kick and then pulls guard on a guillotine which is probably enough to take this round. Shivers pulls out of the guillotine as the round ends. Close round, I think McSwinney might have stolen this round with the punch/kick combo. Both guys are totally exhausted.
The ref says they have a decision. There is no way McSwinney took the first round so I’m thinking that Shivers is going to be the winner. He must have eeked out that second round.
Judges score cards say: 19-19, 20-18, 20-18 in favor of McSwinney. Wow, I don’t know how McSwinney won that first round.
Winner: James McSwinney by Decision (Majority)
Fight Announcement: The ball is now in Rashad’s court and he is up 2-0. Rashad picks Roy Nelson against Kimbo Slice. Wow. Dana says Roy has better all-around skills than Kimbo but that Kimbo is explosive and has the ability to knock Roy out. Dana says this is the true test for Kimbo Slice.
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rampage #1: Kimbo Slice
Team Rashad #2: Brandon Schaub
Team Rampage #2: Abe Wagner
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rampage #3: Demico Rogers
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
Team Rampage #4: Wes Sims
Team Rashad #5: Roy Nelson
Team Rampage #5: Scott Junk
Team Rashad #6: Darrill Schoonover
Team Rashad #7: Matt Mitrione
Team Rampage #7: Marcus Jones
Team Rashad #8: Mike Wessel
Team Rampage #8: Zak Jensen
Eliminated:
Abe Wagner defeated by Jon Madsen- Episode One
Wes Shivers defeated by James McSweeney- Episode Two
Sunday, September 20, 2009
UFC 103: Preliminaries on Spike TV Re-Cap
UFC 103: Preliminaries
9/19/09
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center
These fights are on being brought to us on Spike TV before the UFC 103 PPV.
Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (8-5) vs. Tomasz Drwal (16-2)
Drwal fought at the TUF 9 Finale and got a first round Ground and Pound TKO of Mike Ciesnolevicz. McFedries fought last on UFC 98 and beat Xavier Foupa- Pokam in 37 seconds. Don’t blink this one could end quickly. Drwal has a 4” reach advantage. McFedries has to be the most exciting 8-5 fighter on the planet, which is why he’s still employed by the UFC. In his two previous fights in the UFC Drwal fought at Light Heavyweight.
R1- And there are some technical difficulties early in the first fight so we miss the first 45-50 seconds of the fight. If the fight goes this long McFedries usually comes up on the short end. McFedries had a couple of cuts on his face early into the fight. Drwal gets a take down about two minutes into the fight but McFedries got back to his feet and Drwal landed some nice knees. Both guys stood toe to toe and exchanged punches. Drwal hit a good right hand and McFedries looks to be tiring. Drwal gets McFedries down again and is landing some Ground and Pound and he mounts McFedries but there is only 10 seconds left in the round and McFedries will make it to the second round. Drwal is up 10-9 after round one. Both guys have cuts on their face.
R2- Drwal landed a nice punch right out of the gate and pushed forward and clinched McFedries and took him down. Drwal moved quickly to side control and then mounted and clamped on a choke and got the win. Nice showing by Tomasz Drwal.
Winner: Tomasz Drwal by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:03
Welterweight Fight- Rick Story vs. Brian Foster
Story last fought at UFC 99 and lost a unanimous decision to John Hathaway (I had it scored 29-28).
R1- Both guys are just swinging for the fences in the opening minute. Just throwing wild punches. Foster hit him with a big gut punch and then hit him with a judo throw and clamped in a guillotine but Story popped his head out. Story ended up in Foster’s guard and passed his guard and then took his back. Story’s nose is busted open and he’s bleeding a lot but he’s keeping top position. Foster got back to his feet and both guys started swinging for the fences again. Good first round that went to Story due to his control of the round.
R2- They come out and go after each other again and Story gets a take down. Story grabbed an arm triangle and Foster tapped out. Nice finish by Story. Rogan says it’s the first time he’s seen a guy finished from an arm triangle while inside the guard which shows the strength of Story.
Winner: Rick Story by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 1:09
Joe Rogan interviews Rich Franklin backstage. Franklin says he’s tired because he hasn’t taken his pre-fight nap yet. Franklin says he’s worked a little with Robbie Lawler because he has a similar style to Belfort.
Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero (12-0) vs. Cole Miller (15-3)
Escudero was the TUF 9 winner and this is his first fight since winning TUF. Miller has recent wins over Jorge Gurgel and Junie Browning. Miller is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and Efrain has a strong wrestling background. Miller has a 4” height and 2” reach advantage. Based on those stats Escudero should have a strength advantage. Joe says that Escudero struggled to make weight yesterday at the weigh-ins.
R1- Both guys being very tentative early in the fight. Escudero got a sweep of Miller on a kick but let him back up. Miller is started to get more confident and is pushing the action and landing some strikes and really looks like he has more than a 2” reach advantage. Escudero finally caught Miller and slammed him hard to the mat but Miller got back to his feet. Escudero is starting to push the action now and he just leveled Miller with a big right hand that floored him. Escudero jumped on top and hit three punches on the floor and that’s it. Really impressive finish by Escudero.
Winner: Efrain Escudero by TKO (Punches) R1 3:36
Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez
Jim Miller is coming off of a big decision win over Mac Danzig at UFC 100. Miller’s only losses have come to Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, both of which I have ranked in the World Top 10 Lightweights.
R1- They open up by both throwing strikes. Miller hit a good right that briefly floored Lopez. Miller landed some good leg kicks. Miller landed a really good left and then jumped all over Lopez but Lopez grabbed the guard and survived the onslaught. Lopez got back to his feet but Miller grabbed a front guillotine choke. Lopez slipped out and Miller pounded him with some Ground and Pound and then took Lopez’s back and then Lopez got him back to full guard. Miller took that round 10-9 and is in control of the fight.
R2- Lopez hurt his shoulder in the second round and you could see the bone popped out of place and he had to verbally submit.
Winner: Jim Miller by TKO R2 0:48
Joe Rogan interviews Vitor Belfort backstage and they talk about the fight tonight. Joe tries to bait him into talking about a possible Anderson Silva fight in the future but Vitor says he’s just taking it one fight at a time right now.
Joe is now with Dana White backstage and hype up the fights tonight to close out the show.
9/19/09
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center
These fights are on being brought to us on Spike TV before the UFC 103 PPV.
Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (8-5) vs. Tomasz Drwal (16-2)
Drwal fought at the TUF 9 Finale and got a first round Ground and Pound TKO of Mike Ciesnolevicz. McFedries fought last on UFC 98 and beat Xavier Foupa- Pokam in 37 seconds. Don’t blink this one could end quickly. Drwal has a 4” reach advantage. McFedries has to be the most exciting 8-5 fighter on the planet, which is why he’s still employed by the UFC. In his two previous fights in the UFC Drwal fought at Light Heavyweight.
R1- And there are some technical difficulties early in the first fight so we miss the first 45-50 seconds of the fight. If the fight goes this long McFedries usually comes up on the short end. McFedries had a couple of cuts on his face early into the fight. Drwal gets a take down about two minutes into the fight but McFedries got back to his feet and Drwal landed some nice knees. Both guys stood toe to toe and exchanged punches. Drwal hit a good right hand and McFedries looks to be tiring. Drwal gets McFedries down again and is landing some Ground and Pound and he mounts McFedries but there is only 10 seconds left in the round and McFedries will make it to the second round. Drwal is up 10-9 after round one. Both guys have cuts on their face.
R2- Drwal landed a nice punch right out of the gate and pushed forward and clinched McFedries and took him down. Drwal moved quickly to side control and then mounted and clamped on a choke and got the win. Nice showing by Tomasz Drwal.
Winner: Tomasz Drwal by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:03
Welterweight Fight- Rick Story vs. Brian Foster
Story last fought at UFC 99 and lost a unanimous decision to John Hathaway (I had it scored 29-28).
R1- Both guys are just swinging for the fences in the opening minute. Just throwing wild punches. Foster hit him with a big gut punch and then hit him with a judo throw and clamped in a guillotine but Story popped his head out. Story ended up in Foster’s guard and passed his guard and then took his back. Story’s nose is busted open and he’s bleeding a lot but he’s keeping top position. Foster got back to his feet and both guys started swinging for the fences again. Good first round that went to Story due to his control of the round.
R2- They come out and go after each other again and Story gets a take down. Story grabbed an arm triangle and Foster tapped out. Nice finish by Story. Rogan says it’s the first time he’s seen a guy finished from an arm triangle while inside the guard which shows the strength of Story.
Winner: Rick Story by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 1:09
Joe Rogan interviews Rich Franklin backstage. Franklin says he’s tired because he hasn’t taken his pre-fight nap yet. Franklin says he’s worked a little with Robbie Lawler because he has a similar style to Belfort.
Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero (12-0) vs. Cole Miller (15-3)
Escudero was the TUF 9 winner and this is his first fight since winning TUF. Miller has recent wins over Jorge Gurgel and Junie Browning. Miller is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and Efrain has a strong wrestling background. Miller has a 4” height and 2” reach advantage. Based on those stats Escudero should have a strength advantage. Joe says that Escudero struggled to make weight yesterday at the weigh-ins.
R1- Both guys being very tentative early in the fight. Escudero got a sweep of Miller on a kick but let him back up. Miller is started to get more confident and is pushing the action and landing some strikes and really looks like he has more than a 2” reach advantage. Escudero finally caught Miller and slammed him hard to the mat but Miller got back to his feet. Escudero is starting to push the action now and he just leveled Miller with a big right hand that floored him. Escudero jumped on top and hit three punches on the floor and that’s it. Really impressive finish by Escudero.
Winner: Efrain Escudero by TKO (Punches) R1 3:36
Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez
Jim Miller is coming off of a big decision win over Mac Danzig at UFC 100. Miller’s only losses have come to Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, both of which I have ranked in the World Top 10 Lightweights.
R1- They open up by both throwing strikes. Miller hit a good right that briefly floored Lopez. Miller landed some good leg kicks. Miller landed a really good left and then jumped all over Lopez but Lopez grabbed the guard and survived the onslaught. Lopez got back to his feet but Miller grabbed a front guillotine choke. Lopez slipped out and Miller pounded him with some Ground and Pound and then took Lopez’s back and then Lopez got him back to full guard. Miller took that round 10-9 and is in control of the fight.
R2- Lopez hurt his shoulder in the second round and you could see the bone popped out of place and he had to verbally submit.
Winner: Jim Miller by TKO R2 0:48
Joe Rogan interviews Vitor Belfort backstage and they talk about the fight tonight. Joe tries to bait him into talking about a possible Anderson Silva fight in the future but Vitor says he’s just taking it one fight at a time right now.
Joe is now with Dana White backstage and hype up the fights tonight to close out the show.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode 1 Re-Cap
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode One
“Size Does Matter”
This season features Heavyweights. The coaches are Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans. We have a couple of high profile fighters in Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson. They start off with Rampage and Rashad sitting on a bench and talking trash to each other. Dana comes in and tells Rampage and Rashad not to get into a fight as they have 5 minutes. Dana rounds the guys up and tells them that 15 guys are there and they have 1 more guy coming in. Dana says he knows for a fact that this next guy is a fighter but says the question is if he is a Mixed Martial Artist. Rampage says “Who is it Tank Abbott?” And in walks Kimbo Slice. Rampage says “he’s on my team”. A couple of guys react negatively to him when he comes in but not openly towards him. Brendan Schaub compares it to a sheep entering the room with a bunch of wolves.
“When the fighters started walking in I was like damn. These guys are big as hell.”- Rampage Jackson
“I think there’s gonna be millions of fans that tune in to this show to see me eat some crow and want Kimbo to prove me wrong. So here we go, we’re gonna find out”- Dana White
Dana tells the guys that they are going to get their gear on and divide up into teams and train for two hours and then they will pick teams after the coaches evaluate them and then they will move into the house tonight. Rampage adds “And I’ve got Kimbo Slice.”
“As soon as he seen Kimbo, he’s said Kimbo’s on my team. And I’m thinking cool…..Nothing against Kimbo, but I’m thinking there are probably a few other fighters that are more well rounded then Kimbo.”- Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans has Greg Jackson helping him out to do evaluations. Yoda! Now that’s a HUGE advantage. Rashad has two training partners on this edition of TUF, Brendan Schaub and James McSweeney. Tiki Ghosn is one of Rampage’s assistant coaches. A couple of the football players talk about how this training camp is harder than the NFL’s training camps.
Dana flips a coin for the right to choose who picks first. Dana says that the winner of the coin flip can choose to pick the first fighter or the first two fights. Then, the team has to win both fights in order to keep control of choosing the fights. Rashad wins and decides to pick the first fighter.
Draft Picks:
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rampage #1: Kimbo Slice
Team Rashad #2: Brandon Schaub
Team Rampage #2: Abe Wagner
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rampage #3: Demico Rogers
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
Team Rampage #4: Wes Sims
Team Rashad #5: Roy Nelson
Team Rampage #5: Scott Junk
Team Rashad #6: Darrill Schoonover
Team Rampage #6: Wes Shivers
Team Rashad #7: Matt Mitrione
Team Rampage #7: Marcus Jones
Team Rashad #8: Mike Wessel
Team Rampage #8: Zak Jensen
“My team is bigger. And size does matter.”- Rampage
Rampage gets to pick the first two fights. The first fight Rampage chooses is Jon Madsen from Team Rashad against Abe Wagner. Rashad says Madsen is his number one wrestler. Madsen is a college wrestler who has worked with Robbie Lawler and Matt Hughes. He’s an undersized Heavyweight compared to a lot of the guys on this show. Rampage says that Abe has good stand up and good jiu jitsu.
“Abe is the toughest computer geek I’ve ever met” – Wes Sims
Abe Wagner (6-1) vs. Jon Madsen (1-0)
Wagner has a 4” height and 5” reach advantage.
R1- Madsen gets a quick take down and got some Ground and Pound and was able to maintain top position and opened up Abe with some strikes. Abe lost a ton of blood and was laying in a pool of his blood by the end of the round. Abe got beaten up but he got up pretty quickly after the round was over and went right back to his corner. That was a 10-8 round in favor of Madsen on my score card.
R2- Madsen pulled a really poor sportsmanship move at the beginning of this round as he faked going for a touch of the gloves and instead went for an immediate take down on Abe. The ref stands them up after a minute due to inactivity. Madsen quickly takes down Abe again and gets him pinned against the cage. Madsen looks really tired as he is in great position but isn’t doing anything and the ref stands them up again half way through the round. Madsen gets yet another take down. Madsen controlled this fight and was dominate in the first round but didn’t show the ability to finish or have the proper stamina needed that will hurt him in the next round.
Judges score cards say: 20-16, 20-17 and 20-17
Winner: Jon Madsen by Decision (Unanimous)
Eliminated:
Abe Wagner defeated by Jon Madsen- Episode One
“Size Does Matter”
This season features Heavyweights. The coaches are Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans. We have a couple of high profile fighters in Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson. They start off with Rampage and Rashad sitting on a bench and talking trash to each other. Dana comes in and tells Rampage and Rashad not to get into a fight as they have 5 minutes. Dana rounds the guys up and tells them that 15 guys are there and they have 1 more guy coming in. Dana says he knows for a fact that this next guy is a fighter but says the question is if he is a Mixed Martial Artist. Rampage says “Who is it Tank Abbott?” And in walks Kimbo Slice. Rampage says “he’s on my team”. A couple of guys react negatively to him when he comes in but not openly towards him. Brendan Schaub compares it to a sheep entering the room with a bunch of wolves.
“When the fighters started walking in I was like damn. These guys are big as hell.”- Rampage Jackson
“I think there’s gonna be millions of fans that tune in to this show to see me eat some crow and want Kimbo to prove me wrong. So here we go, we’re gonna find out”- Dana White
Dana tells the guys that they are going to get their gear on and divide up into teams and train for two hours and then they will pick teams after the coaches evaluate them and then they will move into the house tonight. Rampage adds “And I’ve got Kimbo Slice.”
“As soon as he seen Kimbo, he’s said Kimbo’s on my team. And I’m thinking cool…..Nothing against Kimbo, but I’m thinking there are probably a few other fighters that are more well rounded then Kimbo.”- Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans has Greg Jackson helping him out to do evaluations. Yoda! Now that’s a HUGE advantage. Rashad has two training partners on this edition of TUF, Brendan Schaub and James McSweeney. Tiki Ghosn is one of Rampage’s assistant coaches. A couple of the football players talk about how this training camp is harder than the NFL’s training camps.
Dana flips a coin for the right to choose who picks first. Dana says that the winner of the coin flip can choose to pick the first fighter or the first two fights. Then, the team has to win both fights in order to keep control of choosing the fights. Rashad wins and decides to pick the first fighter.
Draft Picks:
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rampage #1: Kimbo Slice
Team Rashad #2: Brandon Schaub
Team Rampage #2: Abe Wagner
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rampage #3: Demico Rogers
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
Team Rampage #4: Wes Sims
Team Rashad #5: Roy Nelson
Team Rampage #5: Scott Junk
Team Rashad #6: Darrill Schoonover
Team Rampage #6: Wes Shivers
Team Rashad #7: Matt Mitrione
Team Rampage #7: Marcus Jones
Team Rashad #8: Mike Wessel
Team Rampage #8: Zak Jensen
“My team is bigger. And size does matter.”- Rampage
Rampage gets to pick the first two fights. The first fight Rampage chooses is Jon Madsen from Team Rashad against Abe Wagner. Rashad says Madsen is his number one wrestler. Madsen is a college wrestler who has worked with Robbie Lawler and Matt Hughes. He’s an undersized Heavyweight compared to a lot of the guys on this show. Rampage says that Abe has good stand up and good jiu jitsu.
“Abe is the toughest computer geek I’ve ever met” – Wes Sims
Abe Wagner (6-1) vs. Jon Madsen (1-0)
Wagner has a 4” height and 5” reach advantage.
R1- Madsen gets a quick take down and got some Ground and Pound and was able to maintain top position and opened up Abe with some strikes. Abe lost a ton of blood and was laying in a pool of his blood by the end of the round. Abe got beaten up but he got up pretty quickly after the round was over and went right back to his corner. That was a 10-8 round in favor of Madsen on my score card.
R2- Madsen pulled a really poor sportsmanship move at the beginning of this round as he faked going for a touch of the gloves and instead went for an immediate take down on Abe. The ref stands them up after a minute due to inactivity. Madsen quickly takes down Abe again and gets him pinned against the cage. Madsen looks really tired as he is in great position but isn’t doing anything and the ref stands them up again half way through the round. Madsen gets yet another take down. Madsen controlled this fight and was dominate in the first round but didn’t show the ability to finish or have the proper stamina needed that will hurt him in the next round.
Judges score cards say: 20-16, 20-17 and 20-17
Winner: Jon Madsen by Decision (Unanimous)
Eliminated:
Abe Wagner defeated by Jon Madsen- Episode One
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
UFC Fight Night 19 (9/16/09) Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 19
Tulsa, OK (Cox Convention Center)
9/16/09
No Joe Rogan tonight so Kenny Florian will be replacing him on Color Commentary. Gray Maynard will take a big step tonight towards a Lightweight Title Fight if he can beat Roger Huerta. This is a risky fight for the UFC as Huerta plans on going Hollywood after the fight. Former WEC Champion Carlos Condit tries to get his first UFC win after a razor think loss to Martin Kampmann in his debut. TUF fighters fight it out tonight as Nate Diaz/Melvin Guillard and Nate Quarry/Tim Credeur collide. Hopefully Steve Cantwell/Brian Stann will make the main show and/or we can see Brock Larson/Mike Pierce. Phillipe Nover was pulled from his undercard fight with Sam Stout tonight when he suffered a seizure.
Middleweight Fight- Nate Quarry (17-3) vs. Tim Credeur (13-4)
Credeur is coming off a second round guillotine submission of Nick Catone at Fight Night 18. Credeur is 3-0 in the UFC and has really improved since his TUF days. Credeur has a 3” height and 2.5” reach advantage. Quarry has to be the favorite coming into this fight. Quarry’s only losses in the UFC have come to Rich Franklin and Demain Maia.
R1- Credeur is out striking Quarry early but doesn’t seem to be hurting him. Credeur caught Quarry with a solid left hand at the 1:20 mark and Quarry went down. Credeur jumped on top and grabbed a Rear Naked Choke with over a minute left in the round but Quarry rolled over and survived. Really great action. Credeur closed the round with some strikes and has bloodied Quarry’s nose. Impressive first round for Credeur as he’s up 10-9.
R2- Credeur opens up the round with strikes and has Quarry on the run early but he got popped by Quarry. Both guys go toe to toe swinging for the fences and Credeur went down. Credeur definitely doesn’t want to get into a shot for shot against Quarry. Quarry lands on top of Credeur and takes his guard. Quarry has done a good job of weathering the storm so far and turned the tide quickly in this round to tie it up 19-19 going into the third and final round.
R3- Credeur opens up this round landing some good strikes but Quarry unloaded on Credeur with a huge right hand. The punch looked so violent that Herb Dean rushed in and almost stopped the fight but Credeur was able to survive the strike. Quarry took Credeur’s guard. They get back to their feet but Credeur looks like he’s still really feeling the effects of that one punch. Credeur is taking some big shots and finally goes down with Quarry following him and taking his guard. Quarry takes this round and will take the fight 29-28. Good fight, Credeur showed a lot of heart but Quarry was just too big and too strong for him. Quarry finished the fight with a big mouse under his right eye.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28 in favor of Quarry
Winner: Nate Quarry by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Carlos Condit (23-5) vs. Jake Ellenberger (21-4)
This is Jake Ellenberger’s debut in the UFC as he is filling in for the injured Chris Lytle. Condit is a former WEC Welterweight Champion who lost in his debut to Martin Kampmann in a very close split decision. Condit has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage.
R1- Ellenberger grabbed a Condit kick early and punched him and took him down. Condit does a really good job in his guard and got back to his feet without taking any damage. Ellenberger again counters a kick with a punch and just drills Condit up against the cage and Condit goes down. Ellenberger jumps on top and Condit is in deep trouble. Ellenberger went for a choke but Condit was able to escape and get back to his feet. Condit hit Ellenberger with a big knee to the chin. Ellenberger absorbed two more knees and then fired a Hail Mary punch and looked like he grazed Condit right in the temple and Condit just crumpled. I thought for sure that was the end of the fight as Ellenberger jumped on top and reigned punches to the back of Condit’s head but Condit took Ellenberger down and took half guard. There is still two minutes left in this fight and so far it has been CRAZY. Condit was able to move to mount but Ellenberger kicked him off. Ellenberger grabbed a guillotine but Condit rolled out and ended up with Ellenberger in his guard. Condit has a very active guard and is hitting some elbows. Condit went for a triangle but Ellenberger slipped out quickly before it was even close and they stood back up. Ellenberger landed a head kick but it looked like it was just a glancing blow. Holy Crap, what a first round. Ellenberger is no joke and I can’t believe that Condit survived that first round. Condit clearly has to get this fight on the ground if he wants to win. You have to give that first round to Ellenberger 10-9.
R2- Ellenberger is swinging for the fences early but missed two big haymakers. Ellenberger got a double leg take down. Condit landed some elbows. Ellenberger is getting very little offense in despite being in an advantageous position. Condit got a kimura but could not submit Ellenberger because Ellenberger was holding onto the fence. Condit did however roll over Ellenberger and took mount. Condit was able to get in some shots but was moved to half guard. Condit re-mounts and tries to take Ellenberger’s back but he slips and Ellenberger takes his guard. Condit once again is active from his guard and Ellenberger is not really trying to improve his position. Back to their feet with 15 seconds left. Condit landed a couple of strikes before the land ended. Ellenberger got a take down and laid on top of Condit for a while but really didn’t get in any offense in this round. Condit had a near submission and was able to mount and score points from his guard. I think that’s enough as Condit controlled the striking and landed many more shots in this round than did Ellenberger. It will be interesting to see how judges score this round and I think many will give it to Ellenberger just for kind of laying on Condit and getting the take down. I’ve got it Condit 10-9 and that evens up the fight 19-19 on my score card.
R3- Condit threw a leg kick early but it was mostly deflected. Ellenberger got an early take down. Condit again worked strikes from the guard position. Ellenberger landed a big elbow but shortly thereafter Condit was able to slide out of his grasp and they stood back up with three and a half minutes remaining in the fight. Ellenberger threw a kick but it landed on Condit’s arm. Condit got a take down and Ellenberger grabbed a guillotine but Condit easily slipped out and moved to half guard. Condit controlled from the top and landed some good strikes. Condit went to take Ellenberger’s back and landed some more good strikes. Ellenberger spins out as Condit went for a submission and took Condit’s guard. Condit kicked him off and they stood back up. Ellenberger went for a single leg but Condit. The ref keeps warning Condit for striking to the back of Ellenberger’s head but I haven’t seen it as Carlos is not hitting him directly to the back of his head. Condit stuffed the take down and took Ellenberger’s back and flattened him out and continued to land strikes. I’ve got Condit taking this round 10-9 which gives him the fight 29-28 in a really good fight. I don’t know how Condit survived the first round but he really weathered that storm and wore out Ellenberger. It will be interesting to see how judges score this fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Condit, 29-28 Ellenberger and 29-28 Condit
So that’s 2 split decisions in his first two fights for Condit in the UFC. Ellenberger looked very game in the first round.
Winner: Carlos Condit by Decision (Split)
Mike Goldberg interviews Rich Franklin via Satellite.
Gray Maynard (8-0) vs. Roger Huerta (22-2-1)
Huerta is coming off of a lackluster loss to Kenny Florian by decision (30-27) back at UFC 87. Gray Maynard is coming off an impressive win over Jim Miller at UFC 96. Maynard is undefeated and is quickly moving up the Lightweight ladder. With another impressive win or two he could find himself as the #1 Contender to B.J. Penn. Huerta could be taking off to Hollywood after this fight so it will be interesting to see how prepared he is for this fight.
R1- Maynard came in at early and landed some good strikes. Huerta came in and Maynard landed a good counter punch that knocked Huerta off center. Maynard looks really quick so far early in this fight. Huerta got Maynard up against the fence and was able to land several strikes. Maynard was able to retreat and when Huerta came in again Maynard was able to pop him with a jab. Maynard went for a single leg but Huerta was able to sprawl out of the take down. Good first round that was pretty even. Huerta had the one flurry but overall Maynard landed more strikes and controlled more of the round. Maynard 10-9 after one round. Florian gave this round to Huerta.
R2- Maynard countered a Huerta kick with a good right hand and Huerta ducked and moved and slid in the Octagon to gain his balance and avoid Maynard. Maynard hit a good right that knocked Huerta off-balance and then Maynard landed another left but it appeared to just be a glancing blow. Huerta charged at Maynard and threw like 7 or 8 shots but Maynard ducked all of them and then Maynard landed a jab that took Huerta briefly off his feet as he lost his balance. Maynard is far from dominating this fight but he’s doing enough to win the rounds. I’ve got Maynard up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Maynard landed a couple of strikes early. Maynard rushed in and took Huerta down. Huerta got back to his feet briefly but Maynard pulled him back down. Maynard’s nose is bleeding from a shot earlier in the fight. Maynard has a funky looking kimura locked in on Huerta and Maynard eventually let it go as Huerta was not going to tap and was able to twist out of the move. Huerta was briefly on top but then Maynard was able to grind him back down. Maynard takes this round and I’ve got him winning 30-27 on my score card. It was a close fight but I had Maynard winning all of the rounds. The only one that really seemed debatable was the first round. Maynard needs another quality win and then he could be a contender for the Lightweight Title.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Huerta, 30-27 Maynard and 30-27 Maynard.
29-28 Huerta? What was Chris Lee smoking?
Winner: Gray Maynard by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-4) vs. Melvin Guillard (41-8-3)
In his last fight Melvin won a Split Decision over Gleison Tibau at the Ultimate Fight 9 Finale. I actually had the fight scored in favor of Tibau 29-28. On the same show Nate lost a close fight to Joe Stevenson by 29-28 decision on all score cards. Diaz has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage.
R1- Diaz threw a loopy right hand and Guillard stuck him with a quick right that knocked him down but Guillard let him back up. Diaz locked him up and got a take down but Guillard got back to his feet and hit Diaz with a judo throw and then let Diaz back to his feet. Diaz again got Guillard down but Guillard again quickly got to his feet without taking any damage. Diaz has some blood coming from near his eye. Fairly close round but Diaz really didn’t do anything to hurt Guillard and Guillard opened up a cut on Diaz and knocked him down early in the round. I’ve got Guillard taking a close round 10 to 9.
R2- Guillard went for another judo throw and was able to get Diaz down on the mat but he let Diaz back to his feet. Diaz is starting to land some strikes. Guillard fakes being hurt but then gets caught by Diaz as Diaz pulled guard and locked in a choke and Guillard submitted. What a huge mistake by Guillard and Diaz capitalized beautifully.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Guillotine Choke R2 2:13
Really good night of fights.
Tulsa, OK (Cox Convention Center)
9/16/09
No Joe Rogan tonight so Kenny Florian will be replacing him on Color Commentary. Gray Maynard will take a big step tonight towards a Lightweight Title Fight if he can beat Roger Huerta. This is a risky fight for the UFC as Huerta plans on going Hollywood after the fight. Former WEC Champion Carlos Condit tries to get his first UFC win after a razor think loss to Martin Kampmann in his debut. TUF fighters fight it out tonight as Nate Diaz/Melvin Guillard and Nate Quarry/Tim Credeur collide. Hopefully Steve Cantwell/Brian Stann will make the main show and/or we can see Brock Larson/Mike Pierce. Phillipe Nover was pulled from his undercard fight with Sam Stout tonight when he suffered a seizure.
Middleweight Fight- Nate Quarry (17-3) vs. Tim Credeur (13-4)
Credeur is coming off a second round guillotine submission of Nick Catone at Fight Night 18. Credeur is 3-0 in the UFC and has really improved since his TUF days. Credeur has a 3” height and 2.5” reach advantage. Quarry has to be the favorite coming into this fight. Quarry’s only losses in the UFC have come to Rich Franklin and Demain Maia.
R1- Credeur is out striking Quarry early but doesn’t seem to be hurting him. Credeur caught Quarry with a solid left hand at the 1:20 mark and Quarry went down. Credeur jumped on top and grabbed a Rear Naked Choke with over a minute left in the round but Quarry rolled over and survived. Really great action. Credeur closed the round with some strikes and has bloodied Quarry’s nose. Impressive first round for Credeur as he’s up 10-9.
R2- Credeur opens up the round with strikes and has Quarry on the run early but he got popped by Quarry. Both guys go toe to toe swinging for the fences and Credeur went down. Credeur definitely doesn’t want to get into a shot for shot against Quarry. Quarry lands on top of Credeur and takes his guard. Quarry has done a good job of weathering the storm so far and turned the tide quickly in this round to tie it up 19-19 going into the third and final round.
R3- Credeur opens up this round landing some good strikes but Quarry unloaded on Credeur with a huge right hand. The punch looked so violent that Herb Dean rushed in and almost stopped the fight but Credeur was able to survive the strike. Quarry took Credeur’s guard. They get back to their feet but Credeur looks like he’s still really feeling the effects of that one punch. Credeur is taking some big shots and finally goes down with Quarry following him and taking his guard. Quarry takes this round and will take the fight 29-28. Good fight, Credeur showed a lot of heart but Quarry was just too big and too strong for him. Quarry finished the fight with a big mouse under his right eye.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28 in favor of Quarry
Winner: Nate Quarry by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Carlos Condit (23-5) vs. Jake Ellenberger (21-4)
This is Jake Ellenberger’s debut in the UFC as he is filling in for the injured Chris Lytle. Condit is a former WEC Welterweight Champion who lost in his debut to Martin Kampmann in a very close split decision. Condit has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage.
R1- Ellenberger grabbed a Condit kick early and punched him and took him down. Condit does a really good job in his guard and got back to his feet without taking any damage. Ellenberger again counters a kick with a punch and just drills Condit up against the cage and Condit goes down. Ellenberger jumps on top and Condit is in deep trouble. Ellenberger went for a choke but Condit was able to escape and get back to his feet. Condit hit Ellenberger with a big knee to the chin. Ellenberger absorbed two more knees and then fired a Hail Mary punch and looked like he grazed Condit right in the temple and Condit just crumpled. I thought for sure that was the end of the fight as Ellenberger jumped on top and reigned punches to the back of Condit’s head but Condit took Ellenberger down and took half guard. There is still two minutes left in this fight and so far it has been CRAZY. Condit was able to move to mount but Ellenberger kicked him off. Ellenberger grabbed a guillotine but Condit rolled out and ended up with Ellenberger in his guard. Condit has a very active guard and is hitting some elbows. Condit went for a triangle but Ellenberger slipped out quickly before it was even close and they stood back up. Ellenberger landed a head kick but it looked like it was just a glancing blow. Holy Crap, what a first round. Ellenberger is no joke and I can’t believe that Condit survived that first round. Condit clearly has to get this fight on the ground if he wants to win. You have to give that first round to Ellenberger 10-9.
R2- Ellenberger is swinging for the fences early but missed two big haymakers. Ellenberger got a double leg take down. Condit landed some elbows. Ellenberger is getting very little offense in despite being in an advantageous position. Condit got a kimura but could not submit Ellenberger because Ellenberger was holding onto the fence. Condit did however roll over Ellenberger and took mount. Condit was able to get in some shots but was moved to half guard. Condit re-mounts and tries to take Ellenberger’s back but he slips and Ellenberger takes his guard. Condit once again is active from his guard and Ellenberger is not really trying to improve his position. Back to their feet with 15 seconds left. Condit landed a couple of strikes before the land ended. Ellenberger got a take down and laid on top of Condit for a while but really didn’t get in any offense in this round. Condit had a near submission and was able to mount and score points from his guard. I think that’s enough as Condit controlled the striking and landed many more shots in this round than did Ellenberger. It will be interesting to see how judges score this round and I think many will give it to Ellenberger just for kind of laying on Condit and getting the take down. I’ve got it Condit 10-9 and that evens up the fight 19-19 on my score card.
R3- Condit threw a leg kick early but it was mostly deflected. Ellenberger got an early take down. Condit again worked strikes from the guard position. Ellenberger landed a big elbow but shortly thereafter Condit was able to slide out of his grasp and they stood back up with three and a half minutes remaining in the fight. Ellenberger threw a kick but it landed on Condit’s arm. Condit got a take down and Ellenberger grabbed a guillotine but Condit easily slipped out and moved to half guard. Condit controlled from the top and landed some good strikes. Condit went to take Ellenberger’s back and landed some more good strikes. Ellenberger spins out as Condit went for a submission and took Condit’s guard. Condit kicked him off and they stood back up. Ellenberger went for a single leg but Condit. The ref keeps warning Condit for striking to the back of Ellenberger’s head but I haven’t seen it as Carlos is not hitting him directly to the back of his head. Condit stuffed the take down and took Ellenberger’s back and flattened him out and continued to land strikes. I’ve got Condit taking this round 10-9 which gives him the fight 29-28 in a really good fight. I don’t know how Condit survived the first round but he really weathered that storm and wore out Ellenberger. It will be interesting to see how judges score this fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Condit, 29-28 Ellenberger and 29-28 Condit
So that’s 2 split decisions in his first two fights for Condit in the UFC. Ellenberger looked very game in the first round.
Winner: Carlos Condit by Decision (Split)
Mike Goldberg interviews Rich Franklin via Satellite.
Gray Maynard (8-0) vs. Roger Huerta (22-2-1)
Huerta is coming off of a lackluster loss to Kenny Florian by decision (30-27) back at UFC 87. Gray Maynard is coming off an impressive win over Jim Miller at UFC 96. Maynard is undefeated and is quickly moving up the Lightweight ladder. With another impressive win or two he could find himself as the #1 Contender to B.J. Penn. Huerta could be taking off to Hollywood after this fight so it will be interesting to see how prepared he is for this fight.
R1- Maynard came in at early and landed some good strikes. Huerta came in and Maynard landed a good counter punch that knocked Huerta off center. Maynard looks really quick so far early in this fight. Huerta got Maynard up against the fence and was able to land several strikes. Maynard was able to retreat and when Huerta came in again Maynard was able to pop him with a jab. Maynard went for a single leg but Huerta was able to sprawl out of the take down. Good first round that was pretty even. Huerta had the one flurry but overall Maynard landed more strikes and controlled more of the round. Maynard 10-9 after one round. Florian gave this round to Huerta.
R2- Maynard countered a Huerta kick with a good right hand and Huerta ducked and moved and slid in the Octagon to gain his balance and avoid Maynard. Maynard hit a good right that knocked Huerta off-balance and then Maynard landed another left but it appeared to just be a glancing blow. Huerta charged at Maynard and threw like 7 or 8 shots but Maynard ducked all of them and then Maynard landed a jab that took Huerta briefly off his feet as he lost his balance. Maynard is far from dominating this fight but he’s doing enough to win the rounds. I’ve got Maynard up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Maynard landed a couple of strikes early. Maynard rushed in and took Huerta down. Huerta got back to his feet briefly but Maynard pulled him back down. Maynard’s nose is bleeding from a shot earlier in the fight. Maynard has a funky looking kimura locked in on Huerta and Maynard eventually let it go as Huerta was not going to tap and was able to twist out of the move. Huerta was briefly on top but then Maynard was able to grind him back down. Maynard takes this round and I’ve got him winning 30-27 on my score card. It was a close fight but I had Maynard winning all of the rounds. The only one that really seemed debatable was the first round. Maynard needs another quality win and then he could be a contender for the Lightweight Title.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Huerta, 30-27 Maynard and 30-27 Maynard.
29-28 Huerta? What was Chris Lee smoking?
Winner: Gray Maynard by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-4) vs. Melvin Guillard (41-8-3)
In his last fight Melvin won a Split Decision over Gleison Tibau at the Ultimate Fight 9 Finale. I actually had the fight scored in favor of Tibau 29-28. On the same show Nate lost a close fight to Joe Stevenson by 29-28 decision on all score cards. Diaz has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage.
R1- Diaz threw a loopy right hand and Guillard stuck him with a quick right that knocked him down but Guillard let him back up. Diaz locked him up and got a take down but Guillard got back to his feet and hit Diaz with a judo throw and then let Diaz back to his feet. Diaz again got Guillard down but Guillard again quickly got to his feet without taking any damage. Diaz has some blood coming from near his eye. Fairly close round but Diaz really didn’t do anything to hurt Guillard and Guillard opened up a cut on Diaz and knocked him down early in the round. I’ve got Guillard taking a close round 10 to 9.
R2- Guillard went for another judo throw and was able to get Diaz down on the mat but he let Diaz back to his feet. Diaz is starting to land some strikes. Guillard fakes being hurt but then gets caught by Diaz as Diaz pulled guard and locked in a choke and Guillard submitted. What a huge mistake by Guillard and Diaz capitalized beautifully.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Guillotine Choke R2 2:13
Really good night of fights.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera Re-Cap
UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera
8/30/09
Rose Garden Arena
Portland, Or
Light Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (10-3) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1)
Krzysztof has looked very good since leaving his season of TUF. He beat Andre Gusmao in the first round of his last fight at UFC 98 and before that he defeated Brian Stann at UFC 97. Vera handled Mike Patt at UFC 96 in his last fight but lost a close fight previous to that to Keith Jardine in which both guys looked awful and neither deserved to win. Vera has a slight height and reach advantage.
R1- Vera hit some counter strikes early that backed Krzysztof off early. Lots of clinching in the first round as both guys struggled to get position on the other guy. Krzysztof got stuffed at the end of the round and Vera landed a couple of elbows. Close round that I give to Vera 10-9.
R2- Krzysztof had a tough time in this round catching up to Vera. Vera once again did a good job of countering Krzysztof’s attacks. Krzysztof’s only real offense was clinching and leaning on Vera. Krzysztof got a take down at the one minute mark but could hold it or do anything with it. Neither guy really did anything to win this round but Vera hit more strikes. I’ve got Vera up 20-18.
R3- Krzysztof clinched Vera and Vera nearly got a kimura but couldn’t lock it in. Vera landed some good knees in the clinch and then took down Krzysztof and landed some shots before Krzysztof got back to his feet. Krzysztof got really tired at the end of the round. Vera is going to take this fight 30-27 in my book. Not an exciting fight but Vera continues to improve at Light Heavyweight. Krzysztof was just outmatched in this fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Post-fight Vera wore an Affliction T-shirt. It’s been a while since one of those has been in the Octagon.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Decision (Unanimous)
Rashad Evans is in attendance and he gets a round of boos from the crowd.
Middleweight Fight- Demian Maia (11-0) vs. Nate Marquardt (31-8-2)
This fight is for a shot at Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Marquardt has been impressive lately in his fight at UFC 88 with Martin Kampmann and his victory over Wilson Gouveia. Maia is undefeated and has recently submitted Nate Quarry and Jason MacDonald. Both of these guys are easily Top 10 Middleweights in the World Rankings and borderline Top 5 guys right now. The winner of this fight is a Top 5 World Middleweight. Maia is a BJJ Black Belt who has been working on his striking with Wanderlei Silva and Marquardt is part of Greg Jackson’s training camp.
R1- Maia came in with a kick and Marquardt just blasted him with a big time right hand and Maia hit the mat like a ton of bricks. Maia was not out but the ref stopped the fight. I’m not crazy about the stoppage. Marquardt would have probably finished the fight but he didn’t jump right on Maia and I think that influenced the decision. Either way that was a great punch by Marquardt.
Looks like Marquardt has earned his re-match with Anderson Silva and honestly that match can happen ASAP as neither Marquardt nor Anderson Silva got hurt in the slightest in their fights.
Winner: Nate Marquardt by KO R1 0:21
Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (18-5) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-1)
Chris Leben’s last fight was a loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 89. After that fight Leben served a suspension for failing a drug test. Rosholt got submitted quickly by Dan Miller in his last fight. This fight is in Leben’s hometown. Rosholt has a 2” height and 4” reach advantage.
R1- Not much action in the first couple of minutes. Rosholt jumped in and Leben got a take down that almost looked like Rosholt pulled guard. Leben gave up his position to try and get a good shot but he didn’t and both fighters got back to their feet. Rosholt got a take down with a minute left in the round and landed some strikes. Leben took some wild shots at the end of the round and landed some. Leben looked like he got hurt by some of those Rosholt strikes. I give the first round to Rosholt as he did more damage but it was close.
R2- Rosholt went for a kick but Leben countered with a left hand and it dropped Rosholt as he was caught in the air and Leben jumped on top. The ref stood the fight back up due to lack of action by Leben. Leben had a leg kick blocked but landed a good punch and then clinched Rosholt up against the cage. Rosholt broke free and landed a punch and got a take down. Leben looks really tired right now. Rosholt landed some good strikes towards the end of the round but let Leben up. I’ve got Leben taking this round although it was very close so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Rosholt got an early take down in the first 30 seconds of the round. Rosholt got an arm triangle and it looked like Leben was going to tap but he ended up passing out in the submission. Good showing by Rosholt. Leben had a tough time with his conditioning in this fight.
Winner: Jake Rosholt by Submission (Arm Triangle) R3 1:30
Heavyweight Fight- Tim Hague (10-1) vs. Todd Duffee (5-0)
This is a pre-show fight. The Heavyweight Division in UFC is all of the sudden pretty stacked. The winner of this fight will move up the ladder.
R1- Todd Duffee almost immediately knocked Hague down and then just destroyed him on the mat for a very quick finish. He hit a big left hand right off that bat when Hague left his chin wide open.
7 seconds is officially the fastest knockout in UFC history and Duffee got it in his UFC debut.
Winner: Todd Duffee by TKO (Punches) R1 0:07
UFC 103 is advertised. Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort. Mirko Crop Cop vs Junior dos Santos and Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick. September 19th!
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-6-1) vs. Thiago Silva (13-1)
Both of these fighters are coming off losses to two of the top Light Heavyweight fighters in the world. Jardine lost to Rampage Jackson and Silva got mauled by Lyoto Machida. Both fighters are borderline Top 10 World Light Heavyweights. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Co-Main Event of the evening.
R1- Jardine hit a body kick but Silva took him down to the mat about 30 seconds into the fight but Jardine got back to his feet without taking any damage. Jardine came in with a flurry but Silva stuck Jardine with a punch and he went down. Silva landed some big shots on Jardine while he was on the mat and the ref jumped in and stopped the fight. Good stoppage as Jardine went limp after Silva hit two shots on the ground.
Winner: Thiago Silva by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:35
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson
This is our second re-show fight. Mike Goldberg drops the interesting trivia that Aaron Simpson and his wife competed together on American Gladiators.
R1- Both guys throw leather early into the fight. Simpson shot in and got a take down. Herman quickly got back to his feet but Simpson slammed him back down. Herman is trying some weird type of soccer style bicycle kick while Simpson is standing hovering above him. Herman hit a couple of up kicks and backed Simpson off. Herman got to his feet and hit a knee but Simpson tossed him to the mat. Very entertaining fight so far. Simpson hit a good combo and then hit a punch that floored Herman. Simpson jumped on top but Herman did a good job of defending. Herman got up but Simpson took him back down and got some Ground and Pound. Good first round that Simpson took 10-9. Herman limps back to his corner as it looks like his knee is hurt.
R2- Herman came out and tried a kick but Simpson grabbed it and took him down and Herman hurt his leg again and the ref stopped the fight. Herman showed a lot of heart in this fight and Simpson looks like he’s going to be a good fighter in the Middleweight division.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R2 0:17
Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira (31-5-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-9)
The UFC tells us that Nogueira’s average fight length is 12:18, he lands 75% of strikes thrown when standing up and he leads Pride & UFC in Submission Attempts. The fans have this fight pegged at 77% in favor of Couture. Rogan says Big Nog had a meniscus tear and a bad staph infection going into the Frank Mir fight where he was hospitalized five weeks before the fight. Couture, fighting in his home town, gets a huge reaction at introductions.
Brock Lesnar is at this show for the fight and he gets some boos when he is shown.
R1- Both guys throw some leather early and Big Nog tries to pull guard but Randy avoids it. Big Nog hurt Randy about 2 minutes into the fight and followed him to the ground. Big Nog locked in a choke and Randy somehow was able to get out of the move and get back to his fight. Both guys exchange some leather a couple of times and pop the crowd. Both guys just slug it out at about the one minute mark left in the round with both guys landing good shots. Really good first round that I’ve got Big Nog taking 10-9.
R2- Big Nog hit some good strikes early and tried to pull guard on a guillotine but Randy slipped out and took Big Nog’s guard. Randy controlled but Big Nog flipped him over and mounted Randy. Big Nog went for an arm triangle and punched Randy to try to get a better position with the submission but Randy got free. Randy got back to his feet with one minute left in the round. Both guys throw leather with Randy backing down first. Randy rocked Big Nog with a big left hand but Big Nog took it and stayed on his feet. Randy hit him with a follow-up left jab but Big Nog absorbed it. Another good round. I’ve got Big Nog up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Randy started out the round with a good combo. Big Nog came next with a combo of his own and then dropped Randy and got on top and hit some hammer punches with Randy fighting through and hanging on. Big Nog passed guard and took side control. Randy was able to flip Big Nog over. Goldberg says Lesnar is next to them shouting instructions at Couture. Randy lands some elbows from the top. Big Nog reversed Randy right at the end of the fight. Really good fight. I’ve got Big Nog taking all three rounds and redeeming himself after the Frank Mir fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Big Nog.
Winner: Antonio Minotauro Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Evan Dunham vs. Marcus Aurelio
This is our third pre-show fight. Aurelio took this fight on short notice.
R1- Dunham got in a punch at the half way point of round one that knocked down Aurelio and Dunham followed him to the ground and got some good Ground and Pound but could not finish the fight. They went back to their feet and Dunham continued to win the round. Dunham took this round 10-9 and was really in control from the mid-point to the end of the round.
Dunham is an Xtreme Couture fighter and they show Shawn Thompkins giving him advice in the corner during the rest between rounds.
R2- Aurelio tries several times to get Dunham in the first minute and finally got him down after about a minute was gone from the round. Dunham was able to get back to his feet without taking much damage but Aurelio looks a lot more confident in this round. This was a fairly even round that will go to Aurelio due to the take down so it’s 19-19 going into the third and final round.
R3- Aurelio got a take down right off the bat in the final round. Aurelio got an Anaconda Choke submission attempt but Dunham was able to slip out. Dunham got a take down but did nothing with it as Aurelio quickly got back to his feet. The final minute of this fight sees Dunham trying to make this into a slugfest and Aurelio trying to take Dunham down. Really close round as they go toe to toe at the end of the round but I’ve got it for Aurelio due to the take down and submission attempt. So I’ve got Aurelio winning 29-28 in a very close fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Aurelio, 29-28 Dunham, 30-27 Dunham
30-27? Really?
Winner: Evan Dunham by Decision (Split)
8/30/09
Rose Garden Arena
Portland, Or
Light Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (10-3) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1)
Krzysztof has looked very good since leaving his season of TUF. He beat Andre Gusmao in the first round of his last fight at UFC 98 and before that he defeated Brian Stann at UFC 97. Vera handled Mike Patt at UFC 96 in his last fight but lost a close fight previous to that to Keith Jardine in which both guys looked awful and neither deserved to win. Vera has a slight height and reach advantage.
R1- Vera hit some counter strikes early that backed Krzysztof off early. Lots of clinching in the first round as both guys struggled to get position on the other guy. Krzysztof got stuffed at the end of the round and Vera landed a couple of elbows. Close round that I give to Vera 10-9.
R2- Krzysztof had a tough time in this round catching up to Vera. Vera once again did a good job of countering Krzysztof’s attacks. Krzysztof’s only real offense was clinching and leaning on Vera. Krzysztof got a take down at the one minute mark but could hold it or do anything with it. Neither guy really did anything to win this round but Vera hit more strikes. I’ve got Vera up 20-18.
R3- Krzysztof clinched Vera and Vera nearly got a kimura but couldn’t lock it in. Vera landed some good knees in the clinch and then took down Krzysztof and landed some shots before Krzysztof got back to his feet. Krzysztof got really tired at the end of the round. Vera is going to take this fight 30-27 in my book. Not an exciting fight but Vera continues to improve at Light Heavyweight. Krzysztof was just outmatched in this fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Post-fight Vera wore an Affliction T-shirt. It’s been a while since one of those has been in the Octagon.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Decision (Unanimous)
Rashad Evans is in attendance and he gets a round of boos from the crowd.
Middleweight Fight- Demian Maia (11-0) vs. Nate Marquardt (31-8-2)
This fight is for a shot at Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Marquardt has been impressive lately in his fight at UFC 88 with Martin Kampmann and his victory over Wilson Gouveia. Maia is undefeated and has recently submitted Nate Quarry and Jason MacDonald. Both of these guys are easily Top 10 Middleweights in the World Rankings and borderline Top 5 guys right now. The winner of this fight is a Top 5 World Middleweight. Maia is a BJJ Black Belt who has been working on his striking with Wanderlei Silva and Marquardt is part of Greg Jackson’s training camp.
R1- Maia came in with a kick and Marquardt just blasted him with a big time right hand and Maia hit the mat like a ton of bricks. Maia was not out but the ref stopped the fight. I’m not crazy about the stoppage. Marquardt would have probably finished the fight but he didn’t jump right on Maia and I think that influenced the decision. Either way that was a great punch by Marquardt.
Looks like Marquardt has earned his re-match with Anderson Silva and honestly that match can happen ASAP as neither Marquardt nor Anderson Silva got hurt in the slightest in their fights.
Winner: Nate Marquardt by KO R1 0:21
Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (18-5) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-1)
Chris Leben’s last fight was a loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 89. After that fight Leben served a suspension for failing a drug test. Rosholt got submitted quickly by Dan Miller in his last fight. This fight is in Leben’s hometown. Rosholt has a 2” height and 4” reach advantage.
R1- Not much action in the first couple of minutes. Rosholt jumped in and Leben got a take down that almost looked like Rosholt pulled guard. Leben gave up his position to try and get a good shot but he didn’t and both fighters got back to their feet. Rosholt got a take down with a minute left in the round and landed some strikes. Leben took some wild shots at the end of the round and landed some. Leben looked like he got hurt by some of those Rosholt strikes. I give the first round to Rosholt as he did more damage but it was close.
R2- Rosholt went for a kick but Leben countered with a left hand and it dropped Rosholt as he was caught in the air and Leben jumped on top. The ref stood the fight back up due to lack of action by Leben. Leben had a leg kick blocked but landed a good punch and then clinched Rosholt up against the cage. Rosholt broke free and landed a punch and got a take down. Leben looks really tired right now. Rosholt landed some good strikes towards the end of the round but let Leben up. I’ve got Leben taking this round although it was very close so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Rosholt got an early take down in the first 30 seconds of the round. Rosholt got an arm triangle and it looked like Leben was going to tap but he ended up passing out in the submission. Good showing by Rosholt. Leben had a tough time with his conditioning in this fight.
Winner: Jake Rosholt by Submission (Arm Triangle) R3 1:30
Heavyweight Fight- Tim Hague (10-1) vs. Todd Duffee (5-0)
This is a pre-show fight. The Heavyweight Division in UFC is all of the sudden pretty stacked. The winner of this fight will move up the ladder.
R1- Todd Duffee almost immediately knocked Hague down and then just destroyed him on the mat for a very quick finish. He hit a big left hand right off that bat when Hague left his chin wide open.
7 seconds is officially the fastest knockout in UFC history and Duffee got it in his UFC debut.
Winner: Todd Duffee by TKO (Punches) R1 0:07
UFC 103 is advertised. Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort. Mirko Crop Cop vs Junior dos Santos and Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick. September 19th!
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-6-1) vs. Thiago Silva (13-1)
Both of these fighters are coming off losses to two of the top Light Heavyweight fighters in the world. Jardine lost to Rampage Jackson and Silva got mauled by Lyoto Machida. Both fighters are borderline Top 10 World Light Heavyweights. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Co-Main Event of the evening.
R1- Jardine hit a body kick but Silva took him down to the mat about 30 seconds into the fight but Jardine got back to his feet without taking any damage. Jardine came in with a flurry but Silva stuck Jardine with a punch and he went down. Silva landed some big shots on Jardine while he was on the mat and the ref jumped in and stopped the fight. Good stoppage as Jardine went limp after Silva hit two shots on the ground.
Winner: Thiago Silva by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:35
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson
This is our second re-show fight. Mike Goldberg drops the interesting trivia that Aaron Simpson and his wife competed together on American Gladiators.
R1- Both guys throw leather early into the fight. Simpson shot in and got a take down. Herman quickly got back to his feet but Simpson slammed him back down. Herman is trying some weird type of soccer style bicycle kick while Simpson is standing hovering above him. Herman hit a couple of up kicks and backed Simpson off. Herman got to his feet and hit a knee but Simpson tossed him to the mat. Very entertaining fight so far. Simpson hit a good combo and then hit a punch that floored Herman. Simpson jumped on top but Herman did a good job of defending. Herman got up but Simpson took him back down and got some Ground and Pound. Good first round that Simpson took 10-9. Herman limps back to his corner as it looks like his knee is hurt.
R2- Herman came out and tried a kick but Simpson grabbed it and took him down and Herman hurt his leg again and the ref stopped the fight. Herman showed a lot of heart in this fight and Simpson looks like he’s going to be a good fighter in the Middleweight division.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R2 0:17
Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira (31-5-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-9)
The UFC tells us that Nogueira’s average fight length is 12:18, he lands 75% of strikes thrown when standing up and he leads Pride & UFC in Submission Attempts. The fans have this fight pegged at 77% in favor of Couture. Rogan says Big Nog had a meniscus tear and a bad staph infection going into the Frank Mir fight where he was hospitalized five weeks before the fight. Couture, fighting in his home town, gets a huge reaction at introductions.
Brock Lesnar is at this show for the fight and he gets some boos when he is shown.
R1- Both guys throw some leather early and Big Nog tries to pull guard but Randy avoids it. Big Nog hurt Randy about 2 minutes into the fight and followed him to the ground. Big Nog locked in a choke and Randy somehow was able to get out of the move and get back to his fight. Both guys exchange some leather a couple of times and pop the crowd. Both guys just slug it out at about the one minute mark left in the round with both guys landing good shots. Really good first round that I’ve got Big Nog taking 10-9.
R2- Big Nog hit some good strikes early and tried to pull guard on a guillotine but Randy slipped out and took Big Nog’s guard. Randy controlled but Big Nog flipped him over and mounted Randy. Big Nog went for an arm triangle and punched Randy to try to get a better position with the submission but Randy got free. Randy got back to his feet with one minute left in the round. Both guys throw leather with Randy backing down first. Randy rocked Big Nog with a big left hand but Big Nog took it and stayed on his feet. Randy hit him with a follow-up left jab but Big Nog absorbed it. Another good round. I’ve got Big Nog up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Randy started out the round with a good combo. Big Nog came next with a combo of his own and then dropped Randy and got on top and hit some hammer punches with Randy fighting through and hanging on. Big Nog passed guard and took side control. Randy was able to flip Big Nog over. Goldberg says Lesnar is next to them shouting instructions at Couture. Randy lands some elbows from the top. Big Nog reversed Randy right at the end of the fight. Really good fight. I’ve got Big Nog taking all three rounds and redeeming himself after the Frank Mir fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Big Nog.
Winner: Antonio Minotauro Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Evan Dunham vs. Marcus Aurelio
This is our third pre-show fight. Aurelio took this fight on short notice.
R1- Dunham got in a punch at the half way point of round one that knocked down Aurelio and Dunham followed him to the ground and got some good Ground and Pound but could not finish the fight. They went back to their feet and Dunham continued to win the round. Dunham took this round 10-9 and was really in control from the mid-point to the end of the round.
Dunham is an Xtreme Couture fighter and they show Shawn Thompkins giving him advice in the corner during the rest between rounds.
R2- Aurelio tries several times to get Dunham in the first minute and finally got him down after about a minute was gone from the round. Dunham was able to get back to his feet without taking much damage but Aurelio looks a lot more confident in this round. This was a fairly even round that will go to Aurelio due to the take down so it’s 19-19 going into the third and final round.
R3- Aurelio got a take down right off the bat in the final round. Aurelio got an Anaconda Choke submission attempt but Dunham was able to slip out. Dunham got a take down but did nothing with it as Aurelio quickly got back to his feet. The final minute of this fight sees Dunham trying to make this into a slugfest and Aurelio trying to take Dunham down. Really close round as they go toe to toe at the end of the round but I’ve got it for Aurelio due to the take down and submission attempt. So I’ve got Aurelio winning 29-28 in a very close fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Aurelio, 29-28 Dunham, 30-27 Dunham
30-27? Really?
Winner: Evan Dunham by Decision (Split)
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