UFC 104: Preliminaries
10/24/09
Los Angeles, Ca
Staples Center
This is live on Spike TV before the UFC 104 PPV. Lyoto Machida makes his first defense of his Light Heavyweight Title tonight against Shogun Rua. Cain Velasquez will try to stay undefeated when he takes on Ben Rothwell. We will have two live fights on the preliminary show. TUF Champ Ryan Bader will take on Eric Schafer and in a Heavyweight Fight we will see Antoni Hardonk versus Pat Barry.
Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk (8-5) vs. Pat Barry (4-1)
These guys are former training partners. Hardonk has a 5” height, 3.5” reach and 12 lb weight advantage.
R1- Hardonk doesn’t want to touch gloves to start out. Barry lands some strikes to start the fight. Hardonk lands some leg kicks. Lots of striking from both guys. Hardonk poked Barry in the eye a couple of times. Hardonk went for a take down and got stuffed and Barry jumped on top but Hardonk got up without taking any real damage. Hardonk’s nose has been bloodied. Good first round. I’ve got Barry taking it 10-9.
R2- Barry hit a good combo to start the round and then landed another good punch. Barry hits another punch and hits a leg kick and Hardonk briefly went down. Hardonk went for a take down but got stuffed. Barry is landing some really good strikes in this round and Hardonk looks to be fading. Barry landed a big right hand and Hardonk went down. Barry followed him to the canvas and quickly finished him. Really good showing by Pat Barry.
Winner: Pat Barry by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:30
Pat Barry gets a little choked up in his post-fight interview and then ends the interview with a back flip.
Heavyweight Fight- Chase Gormley vs. Stefan Struve
The broadcast kind of awkwardly moves into this fight as they were talking about Bader and Schafer and all of a sudden this fight (which was taped previously) is starting on my TV.
R1- Struve is 6’11” and has a huge height advantage. Gormley got a take down and landed some Ground and Pound. Struve went for a leg lock and Gormley grabbed an ankle lock. Struve rolled over and went for a heel hook. Struve is able to turn Gormley over and takes his guard. Struve landed some good Ground and Pound. Struve got a triangle choke and Gormley tapped out. Good fight and finish from Struve.
Winner: Stefan Struve by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 4:04
Light Heavyweight Fight-Ryan Bader (10-0) vs. Eric Schafer (13-3-2)
Schafer is a BJJ Black Belt and will be Bader’s toughest fight to date. Bader is coming off of some leg injuries from his last fight. CB Dollaway is in Bader’s corner. Hopefully he hasn’t been helping him with submission defense. Bader was the winner of TUF 8.
R1- Bader couldn’t quite find the range for the first half of the round but was swinging with bad intentions on a lot of his punches. Bader connected solidly with a big right hand and Schafer went down and Bader connected with a couple of punches on the way down and followed Schafer to the mat. Schafer tried to catch Bader in his guard but Bader picked him up and slammed him and then landed some punches from behind. They got to their feet and Bader continued to land some good shots and Schafer went down again. Schaefer recovered well and went for a kimura but could not get it and Bader took his guard. Schafer grabbed another submission but couldn’t clamp it in. Very impressive first round for Bader but he would be wise to stay off the ground with Schafer. Borderline 10-8 round but Schafer did pull off a couple of submission attempts.
R2- Bader looks like he expended a lot of energy in the first round and Schafer has his wits back. Schafer is landing some punches and could take this round. Close round, Schafer probably took this round.
R3- Bader hit a big right hand about half way through the first minute. Bader jumped on top and tried to finish but Schafer clinched him up in his guard. Bader gets out and gets back to his feet. Schafer has blood running down his face and the ref stops to have the doc look at the cut. Bader got a take down with about a minute left in the fight. Bader takes this round and will take the fight 29-28 in my book. Good fight. Bader is very explosive but definitely needs to work on expanding his offense past just the overhand right.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-26 and 30-27. 29-26 is a really interesting score. That means that judge gave Bader two 10-8 rounds.
Winner: Ryan Bader by Decision (Unanimous)
Joe Rogan and Dana White talk about the PPV tonight to close out the show.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
TUF 10: Heavyweights "16 Sharks" Episode Six Re-Cap
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Six “16 Sharks”
Team Rashad is up 5-0 on Team Rampage and looks to continue their domination after Justin Wren submitted veteran Wes Sims last week.
Rashad Evans has a special treat for his team as he brought in one of the guys who trains GSP to work with his team (Phil Nurse). Rashad has to have a sit down with Darrill Schoonover about his drinking. Rashad says it’s affecting his conditioning. Rampage and Schoonover get into a little bit of a verbal sparring session which ends up with Schoonover saying he wants to drop down to 205 and take on Rampage.
Team Rashad maintains the control of the fights and Rashad picks Schoonover against Zak Jensen. Rampage keeps riding Rampage and they have another verbal altercation which almost escalates to more. Rashad made sure that he stepped in for his guy.
Zak Jensen seems to be catching a lot of flack from the rest of the house members. Zak got cut during a sparring session and Kimbo was shown doing a fist bump in the back and was excited about possibly getting another shot. Jensen’s mans up and doesn’t let the cut affect him.
Heavyweight Fight- Darrill Schoonover (10-0) vs. Zak Jensen (7-2)
Jensen has a 2” height and 4” reach advantage.
R1- Darrill started to land some good knees and then landed several punches but Jensen was able to clinch him and then Darrill pulled guard and went for a triangle. Jensen hit several hammer fists. Darrill went back to the triangle choke but he didn’t have a good angle and Jensen landed some punches but Darrill was able to get a better grip on the submission and finished the fight. This was one of the better fights on the show so far even though it wasn’t very long.
Winner: Darrill Schoonover by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1
Only Scott Junk and Marcus Jones are left for Team Rampage. Scott Junk seems like the guy they’ve been talking about on Team Rampage that might be able to end Team Rashad’s run of terror on Team Rampage.
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rashad #2: Brendan Schaub
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
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
Eliminated:
Abe Wagner defeated by Jon Madsen- Episode One
Wes Shivers defeated by James McSweeney- Episode Two
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
Demico Rogers defeated by Brendan Schaub- Episode Four
Wes Sims defeated by Justin Wren- Episode Five
Zak Jensen defeated by Darrill Schoonover- Episode Six
Team Rashad is up 5-0 on Team Rampage and looks to continue their domination after Justin Wren submitted veteran Wes Sims last week.
Rashad Evans has a special treat for his team as he brought in one of the guys who trains GSP to work with his team (Phil Nurse). Rashad has to have a sit down with Darrill Schoonover about his drinking. Rashad says it’s affecting his conditioning. Rampage and Schoonover get into a little bit of a verbal sparring session which ends up with Schoonover saying he wants to drop down to 205 and take on Rampage.
Team Rashad maintains the control of the fights and Rashad picks Schoonover against Zak Jensen. Rampage keeps riding Rampage and they have another verbal altercation which almost escalates to more. Rashad made sure that he stepped in for his guy.
Zak Jensen seems to be catching a lot of flack from the rest of the house members. Zak got cut during a sparring session and Kimbo was shown doing a fist bump in the back and was excited about possibly getting another shot. Jensen’s mans up and doesn’t let the cut affect him.
Heavyweight Fight- Darrill Schoonover (10-0) vs. Zak Jensen (7-2)
Jensen has a 2” height and 4” reach advantage.
R1- Darrill started to land some good knees and then landed several punches but Jensen was able to clinch him and then Darrill pulled guard and went for a triangle. Jensen hit several hammer fists. Darrill went back to the triangle choke but he didn’t have a good angle and Jensen landed some punches but Darrill was able to get a better grip on the submission and finished the fight. This was one of the better fights on the show so far even though it wasn’t very long.
Winner: Darrill Schoonover by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1
Only Scott Junk and Marcus Jones are left for Team Rampage. Scott Junk seems like the guy they’ve been talking about on Team Rampage that might be able to end Team Rashad’s run of terror on Team Rampage.
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rashad #2: Brendan Schaub
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
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
Eliminated:
Abe Wagner defeated by Jon Madsen- Episode One
Wes Shivers defeated by James McSweeney- Episode Two
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
Demico Rogers defeated by Brendan Schaub- Episode Four
Wes Sims defeated by Justin Wren- Episode Five
Zak Jensen defeated by Darrill Schoonover- Episode Six
Monday, October 19, 2009
WEC 43 "Cerrone vs. Henderson" 10/10/09 Re-Cap
WEC 43 “Cerrone vs. Henderson”
AT&T Center
San Antonio, Tx
October 10, 2009
Todd Harris and Frank Mir are the announcers tonight. Tonight we will see the Interim Lightweight Title on the line as Donald Cerrone takes on Ben Henderson. Jamie Varner is still the champ but is hurt so he will be fighting the winner of this fight.
Bantamweight Fight- Damacio Page (11-4) vs. Will Campuzano (6-0)
At WEC 39 Page won by KO in 18 seconds. Campuzano has a 4” reach and 3” height advantage. Campuzano is making his WEC debut and is from Dallas, Tx.
R1- Page went right after him and both guys swung wildly and Page got a take down. Page almost got caught in a triangle but quickly slipped out and took Campuzano’s back and submitted him with a Rear Naked Choke. Another really strong showing by Page.
Winner: Damacio Page by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:02
Todd Harris is joined ringside by WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown. They talk about his upcoming title defense against Jose Aldo.
WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner is ringside to check out the Henderson/Cerrone fight. Nate Marquardt is ringside with a cutie. The TapouT crew is in the house and Chuck Liddell is at the show with his Dancing with the Stars partner Anna Trebunskaya. Miguel Angel Torres is also at this event. Urijah Faber joins Harris and Mir in the announce booth and says he’s ready for a possible January return.
Featherweight Fight- Raphael Assuncao (13-1) vs. Yves Jabouin (14-4)
Assuncao is a BJJ Black Belt who is on a 5 fight win streak. Jabouin will be making his WEC debut and is on a 4 fight win streak. Yves trains with GSP and David Louiseau.
R1- Yves is a really quick fighter but Assuncao is sitting in the pocket and letting Yves come to him early. Assuncao got a body kick caught and Yves took him down and took his guard. Assuncao quickly got back to his feet. Assuncao is landing some good punches and he shot in but Yves stuffed him and took his guard again. Yves stood up again and let Assuncao up. Yves went for a kick but got briefly caught and almost taken down. Both guys are throwing really good shots at each other. Really good and close first round. Yves probably took the first round due to the take downs.
R2- Both guys are landing some strikes in the early part of the round. Assuncao chopped Yves down with a leg kick and Yves was going for a strike. Yves threw a back kick and Assuncao slipped but he clinched Yves. Assuncao went for a take down and pulled guard on a guillotine but Yves was able to pop his head out. Looks like we’ve probably got a 19-19 fight going into the third round.
R3- Assuncao tripped up Yves early but could not capitalize. Assuncao clinched and fought hard for a take down. Assuncao got him down and took his back. Yves got back to his feet but took a knee as he was getting up. Yves hit a spinning back fist but Assuncao did not flinch. The fight ended with Assuncao on Yves back. I’ve got Assuncao taking the decision in a very close and competitive fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 Assuncao, 30-27 Jabouin and 29-28 Assuncao. Wow, you rarely see a fight scored 30-27 in two different directions.
Winner: Raphael Assuncao by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Fight- Wagnney Fabiano vs. Mackens Semerzier
Fabiano is probably the next contender to Mike Brown if he can continue to get wins. This is Semerzier’s WEC debut and Fabiano is a Top 5 World Featherweight. Miguel Torres is in Mackens corner.
R1- Fabiano hit a left hand and then got a double leg take down. Fabiano got caught in a triangle and he tapped out. Huge upset by Mackens Semerzier!
Winner: Mackens Semerzier by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 2:14
Lightweight Fight- Rich Crunkilton (18-2) vs. Dave Jansen (10-0)
This is the WEC debut for Dave Jansen. Crunkilton last fought in WEC in 2006. Jansen is from Team Quest
R1- Some pretty good wrestling exchanges by both guys early on in the fight. Jansen spent a lot of the first round on the top and they exchanged Anacoda and North/South choke exchanges. Crunkilton landed some good punches and hurt Jansen towards the end of the first round but he was able to weather the storm.
R2- Jansen was able to get a take down in the first minute of the round. When they are on their feet Crunkilton is definitely winning the stand up game. Jansen has probably done enough so far to be up 20-18 going into the third round.
R3- Crunkilton landed some early strikes but Jansen once again got a take down. Crunkilton grabbed a choke but couldn’t finish the fight. Crunkilton is continuing to hurt Jansen with strikes but Jansen again got a take down. Jansen went for a kimura but could not finish with the submission. Looks like Jansen by decision from where I’m sitting.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Winner: Dave Jansen by Decision (Unanimous)
1:03
Bantamweight Fight- Scott Jorgensen vs. Noah Thomas
This was a pre-show fight. Jorgensen usually has really fun fights. Thomas has a 5” height and 2” reach advantage. Jorgensen has colored the top of his hair red and is wearing some sweet colorful tights.
R1- Jorgensen landed an early right that buckled Thomas’s legs just a bit. Jorgensen got a take down but wasn’t able to do much with it. Jorgensen lands some good punches and Thomas falls down. Jorgensen follows him down and lands some punches but Thomas wraps him up. Jorgensen landed some good elbows and the ref moved in and stopped the fight. Really good showing by Jorgensen.
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:13
Interim Lightweight Title Fight- Donald Cerrone (10-1) vs. Ben Henderson (9-1)
Cerrone lost a close decision to current champ Jamie Varner when the fight was stopped early due to an incidental but illegal strike by Cerrone. I had Varner winning the fight 48-47 when it was stopped and the judges awarded Varner a Unanimous Decision win. That was in January of this year and Jamie Varner has not fought since due to injuries sustained in the fight. Cerrone won his last fight against previously undefeated James Krause by a Rear Naked Choke Submission near the end of the first round. Henderson won his last fight against Shane Roller by TKO in the first round. Henderson got caught at the beginning of the fight and almost got submitted but quickly recovered to win the fight in under two minutes. Cerrone has Greg “Yoda” Jackson in his corner for the fight. Cerrone has a 3” height and 3” reach advantage.
R1- Cerrone immediately missed a kick and slipped and Henderson charged in and got caught in a guillotine. Cerrone got him down but Henderson slipped out but then got caught in a triangle choke. Henderson got a take down with 2 minutes left in the round. Henderson got in some shots from the top but I’ve got to give the round to Cerrone as he almost finished the fight with the early submissions. Cerrone 10 Henderson 9.
R2- Henderson got a take down but Cerrone quickly reversed him and took his back and Henderson reversed him and took his guard. Cerrone landed an up kick and went for a kimura and then briefly got an arm bar but Henderson quickly got out and took Cerrone’s guard again. Really great round so far. Henderson lands some good punches. Henderson really took over this round at the end and did more damage then he did in the first round. I’ve got the fight even at 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Henderson went for an early take down and got it. Cerrone got back to his feet at the mid point of the round without taking any significant damage. Henderson got a brief take down but couldn’t hold it and then completed a take down with a slam but again couldn’t hold Cerrone down. Henderson takes this round and he’s up 29-28 after three rounds.
R4- Cerrone went for a take down and got Henderson in another guillotine. Henderson slipped out after being in the choke for about a minute. Cerrone stuffed two take downs and landed a good uppercut at the end of the second one. Henderson shot again and Cerrone again stuffed him and landed another good punch. Cerrone chopped Henderson down to the mat with a late leg kick. Cerrone easily took this round and I’ve got it scored 38-38 with one round left. Jamie Varner is showed in the crowd and he’s booed.
R5- I’ve got the fight scored 38-38 so this is the Championship Round. Henderson went for an early take down and fought for it but Cerrone denied him. Cerrone landed two good punches. Cerrone went for a punch for looked like he more pushed Henderson down at the three minute mark and then Cerrone followed him to the ground. Cerrone went for an omaplata but couldn’t not clamp it on. Cerrone went for a triangle but Henderson slipped out his head out although Cerrone still had his arm in a kimura type move. Henderson landed a couple of shots from up top but Cerrone got back to his feet with less than a minute left. Henderson got Cerrone down but Cerrone landed an up kick and then trapped Henderson’s arm in a wicked submission but Henderson rolled out of it. Really good fight. I’ve got Cerrone taking the final round and winning the fight 48-47.
Judges score cards say: 48-47 all in favor of Ben Henderson.
Winner and new WEC Interim Lightweight Champion: Ben Henderson by Decision (Unanimous)
AT&T Center
San Antonio, Tx
October 10, 2009
Todd Harris and Frank Mir are the announcers tonight. Tonight we will see the Interim Lightweight Title on the line as Donald Cerrone takes on Ben Henderson. Jamie Varner is still the champ but is hurt so he will be fighting the winner of this fight.
Bantamweight Fight- Damacio Page (11-4) vs. Will Campuzano (6-0)
At WEC 39 Page won by KO in 18 seconds. Campuzano has a 4” reach and 3” height advantage. Campuzano is making his WEC debut and is from Dallas, Tx.
R1- Page went right after him and both guys swung wildly and Page got a take down. Page almost got caught in a triangle but quickly slipped out and took Campuzano’s back and submitted him with a Rear Naked Choke. Another really strong showing by Page.
Winner: Damacio Page by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:02
Todd Harris is joined ringside by WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown. They talk about his upcoming title defense against Jose Aldo.
WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner is ringside to check out the Henderson/Cerrone fight. Nate Marquardt is ringside with a cutie. The TapouT crew is in the house and Chuck Liddell is at the show with his Dancing with the Stars partner Anna Trebunskaya. Miguel Angel Torres is also at this event. Urijah Faber joins Harris and Mir in the announce booth and says he’s ready for a possible January return.
Featherweight Fight- Raphael Assuncao (13-1) vs. Yves Jabouin (14-4)
Assuncao is a BJJ Black Belt who is on a 5 fight win streak. Jabouin will be making his WEC debut and is on a 4 fight win streak. Yves trains with GSP and David Louiseau.
R1- Yves is a really quick fighter but Assuncao is sitting in the pocket and letting Yves come to him early. Assuncao got a body kick caught and Yves took him down and took his guard. Assuncao quickly got back to his feet. Assuncao is landing some good punches and he shot in but Yves stuffed him and took his guard again. Yves stood up again and let Assuncao up. Yves went for a kick but got briefly caught and almost taken down. Both guys are throwing really good shots at each other. Really good and close first round. Yves probably took the first round due to the take downs.
R2- Both guys are landing some strikes in the early part of the round. Assuncao chopped Yves down with a leg kick and Yves was going for a strike. Yves threw a back kick and Assuncao slipped but he clinched Yves. Assuncao went for a take down and pulled guard on a guillotine but Yves was able to pop his head out. Looks like we’ve probably got a 19-19 fight going into the third round.
R3- Assuncao tripped up Yves early but could not capitalize. Assuncao clinched and fought hard for a take down. Assuncao got him down and took his back. Yves got back to his feet but took a knee as he was getting up. Yves hit a spinning back fist but Assuncao did not flinch. The fight ended with Assuncao on Yves back. I’ve got Assuncao taking the decision in a very close and competitive fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 Assuncao, 30-27 Jabouin and 29-28 Assuncao. Wow, you rarely see a fight scored 30-27 in two different directions.
Winner: Raphael Assuncao by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Fight- Wagnney Fabiano vs. Mackens Semerzier
Fabiano is probably the next contender to Mike Brown if he can continue to get wins. This is Semerzier’s WEC debut and Fabiano is a Top 5 World Featherweight. Miguel Torres is in Mackens corner.
R1- Fabiano hit a left hand and then got a double leg take down. Fabiano got caught in a triangle and he tapped out. Huge upset by Mackens Semerzier!
Winner: Mackens Semerzier by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 2:14
Lightweight Fight- Rich Crunkilton (18-2) vs. Dave Jansen (10-0)
This is the WEC debut for Dave Jansen. Crunkilton last fought in WEC in 2006. Jansen is from Team Quest
R1- Some pretty good wrestling exchanges by both guys early on in the fight. Jansen spent a lot of the first round on the top and they exchanged Anacoda and North/South choke exchanges. Crunkilton landed some good punches and hurt Jansen towards the end of the first round but he was able to weather the storm.
R2- Jansen was able to get a take down in the first minute of the round. When they are on their feet Crunkilton is definitely winning the stand up game. Jansen has probably done enough so far to be up 20-18 going into the third round.
R3- Crunkilton landed some early strikes but Jansen once again got a take down. Crunkilton grabbed a choke but couldn’t finish the fight. Crunkilton is continuing to hurt Jansen with strikes but Jansen again got a take down. Jansen went for a kimura but could not finish with the submission. Looks like Jansen by decision from where I’m sitting.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Winner: Dave Jansen by Decision (Unanimous)
1:03
Bantamweight Fight- Scott Jorgensen vs. Noah Thomas
This was a pre-show fight. Jorgensen usually has really fun fights. Thomas has a 5” height and 2” reach advantage. Jorgensen has colored the top of his hair red and is wearing some sweet colorful tights.
R1- Jorgensen landed an early right that buckled Thomas’s legs just a bit. Jorgensen got a take down but wasn’t able to do much with it. Jorgensen lands some good punches and Thomas falls down. Jorgensen follows him down and lands some punches but Thomas wraps him up. Jorgensen landed some good elbows and the ref moved in and stopped the fight. Really good showing by Jorgensen.
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:13
Interim Lightweight Title Fight- Donald Cerrone (10-1) vs. Ben Henderson (9-1)
Cerrone lost a close decision to current champ Jamie Varner when the fight was stopped early due to an incidental but illegal strike by Cerrone. I had Varner winning the fight 48-47 when it was stopped and the judges awarded Varner a Unanimous Decision win. That was in January of this year and Jamie Varner has not fought since due to injuries sustained in the fight. Cerrone won his last fight against previously undefeated James Krause by a Rear Naked Choke Submission near the end of the first round. Henderson won his last fight against Shane Roller by TKO in the first round. Henderson got caught at the beginning of the fight and almost got submitted but quickly recovered to win the fight in under two minutes. Cerrone has Greg “Yoda” Jackson in his corner for the fight. Cerrone has a 3” height and 3” reach advantage.
R1- Cerrone immediately missed a kick and slipped and Henderson charged in and got caught in a guillotine. Cerrone got him down but Henderson slipped out but then got caught in a triangle choke. Henderson got a take down with 2 minutes left in the round. Henderson got in some shots from the top but I’ve got to give the round to Cerrone as he almost finished the fight with the early submissions. Cerrone 10 Henderson 9.
R2- Henderson got a take down but Cerrone quickly reversed him and took his back and Henderson reversed him and took his guard. Cerrone landed an up kick and went for a kimura and then briefly got an arm bar but Henderson quickly got out and took Cerrone’s guard again. Really great round so far. Henderson lands some good punches. Henderson really took over this round at the end and did more damage then he did in the first round. I’ve got the fight even at 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Henderson went for an early take down and got it. Cerrone got back to his feet at the mid point of the round without taking any significant damage. Henderson got a brief take down but couldn’t hold it and then completed a take down with a slam but again couldn’t hold Cerrone down. Henderson takes this round and he’s up 29-28 after three rounds.
R4- Cerrone went for a take down and got Henderson in another guillotine. Henderson slipped out after being in the choke for about a minute. Cerrone stuffed two take downs and landed a good uppercut at the end of the second one. Henderson shot again and Cerrone again stuffed him and landed another good punch. Cerrone chopped Henderson down to the mat with a late leg kick. Cerrone easily took this round and I’ve got it scored 38-38 with one round left. Jamie Varner is showed in the crowd and he’s booed.
R5- I’ve got the fight scored 38-38 so this is the Championship Round. Henderson went for an early take down and fought for it but Cerrone denied him. Cerrone landed two good punches. Cerrone went for a punch for looked like he more pushed Henderson down at the three minute mark and then Cerrone followed him to the ground. Cerrone went for an omaplata but couldn’t not clamp it on. Cerrone went for a triangle but Henderson slipped out his head out although Cerrone still had his arm in a kimura type move. Henderson landed a couple of shots from up top but Cerrone got back to his feet with less than a minute left. Henderson got Cerrone down but Cerrone landed an up kick and then trapped Henderson’s arm in a wicked submission but Henderson rolled out of it. Really good fight. I’ve got Cerrone taking the final round and winning the fight 48-47.
Judges score cards say: 48-47 all in favor of Ben Henderson.
Winner and new WEC Interim Lightweight Champion: Ben Henderson by Decision (Unanimous)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Five Re-Cap
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Five
Team Rashad is up 4-0 on Team Rampage and looking to inflict more damage this week.
Wes Sims is not happy because he stepped on man juice in the shower. He blames Zak Jensen. Later on Sims and Zak were training and they just showed Jensen passed out and insinuated that Sims had submitted him. Coincidence or psychic phenomenon.
Matt Mitrione hurt his shoulder and wants to get a cortisone shot but Rashad says no. They tape his shoulder down during practice so he doesn’t hurt it more. Mike Wessel thinks he’s faking it so that he can fight less and avoid some of the harder guys.
Fight Announcement: Rashad picks Justin Wren to fight Wes Sims. Rashad says that Sims has more experience but Rashad feels that Wren is better in everything else. Wren fights under Travis Lutter when he’s not doing TUF. Sims trains with Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Dana gives the advantage to Sims because he’s built more like a heavyweight.
Heavyweight Fight- Wes Sims (22-12-1) vs. Justin Wren (8-1)
Sims has a 7” height and 6” reach advantage.
R1- Wren went for a quick take down and clinched Sims against the cage but Sims got loose. Wren grabbed a clinch and got a take down. Wren passed the guard to mount and locked in a choke and the ref had to stop the fight as Sims passed out in the hold. Team Rampage is just horrible. I don’t know how with the great cornering that Rampage is giving. “Get up Wes, get up, get out Wes, get out of there”- Rampage
Winner: Justin Wren by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1
Dana comes away from the fight very impressed with Justin Wren. Says he doesn’t know what the hell happened to Wes Sims since he left the UFC but he got choked out quickly. Team Rashad is 5-0 with 3 first round fights left. Rampage’s first 4 picks have all been eliminated.
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rashad #2: Brendan Schaub
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
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
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
Demico Rogers defeated by Brendan Schaub- Episode Four
Wes Sims defeated by Justin Wren- Episode Five
Team Rashad is up 4-0 on Team Rampage and looking to inflict more damage this week.
Wes Sims is not happy because he stepped on man juice in the shower. He blames Zak Jensen. Later on Sims and Zak were training and they just showed Jensen passed out and insinuated that Sims had submitted him. Coincidence or psychic phenomenon.
Matt Mitrione hurt his shoulder and wants to get a cortisone shot but Rashad says no. They tape his shoulder down during practice so he doesn’t hurt it more. Mike Wessel thinks he’s faking it so that he can fight less and avoid some of the harder guys.
Fight Announcement: Rashad picks Justin Wren to fight Wes Sims. Rashad says that Sims has more experience but Rashad feels that Wren is better in everything else. Wren fights under Travis Lutter when he’s not doing TUF. Sims trains with Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. Dana gives the advantage to Sims because he’s built more like a heavyweight.
Heavyweight Fight- Wes Sims (22-12-1) vs. Justin Wren (8-1)
Sims has a 7” height and 6” reach advantage.
R1- Wren went for a quick take down and clinched Sims against the cage but Sims got loose. Wren grabbed a clinch and got a take down. Wren passed the guard to mount and locked in a choke and the ref had to stop the fight as Sims passed out in the hold. Team Rampage is just horrible. I don’t know how with the great cornering that Rampage is giving. “Get up Wes, get up, get out Wes, get out of there”- Rampage
Winner: Justin Wren by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1
Dana comes away from the fight very impressed with Justin Wren. Says he doesn’t know what the hell happened to Wes Sims since he left the UFC but he got choked out quickly. Team Rashad is 5-0 with 3 first round fights left. Rampage’s first 4 picks have all been eliminated.
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rashad #2: Brendan Schaub
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
Team Rashad #4: Jon Madsen
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
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
Demico Rogers defeated by Brendan Schaub- Episode Four
Wes Sims defeated by Justin Wren- Episode Five
Sunday, October 11, 2009
DREAM 11 10/5/09 Re-Cap
HEIWA DREAM.11 Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Final Round (10/5/09) – Yokohama Arena
Michael Schiavello and Guy Mezger are the announcers for the show. Tonight we will see the Semi-Finals and Finals of the Featherweight Grand Prix, Joachim Hansen will defend against Shinya Aoki and the Super Hulk Tournament continues!
Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Fight- Daiki Hata (5-3) vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (7-7)
Miyata comes out to Bon Jovi. Hata beat semi-finalist Hideo Tokoro by Unanimous Decision in the first round of the Featherweight Grand Prix but could not continue to the next round due to injury. Now he is better so he gets a spot in the reserve match. Michael Schiavello is in lust with Miyata’s body and has dubbed him “Sexy Miyata”.
R1- Miyata quickly takes Hata’s back and controlled him for a couple of minutes but couldn’t deliver any damage and the ref calls for a stand up with 6:30 left in the first round and delivers a yellow card to Hata. Miyata got a double leg take down with about 4 minutes left in the round. Miyata is able to take mount position with about 45 seconds left in the round and lands some Ground and Pound. Miyata is really controlling this fight so far but in DREAM the fight is judged on an overall basis and not by round.
R2- Miyata got a quick take down in the first half minute of the final round. Hata got up but Miyata slammed him back down with 3 minutes left in the round. Hata got back up and hit a couple of leg kicks and then Miyata went to take him down and Hata grabbed a guillotine choke and tried hard for the submission but Miyata hung in there and slipped out. Miyata got another take down in the final minute of the fight. Miyata controlled this fight for almost all of the fight but Hata came closer to finishing the fight. I’ve got Miyata taking this one.
Winner: Kazuyuki Miyata by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Fight- Hideo Tokoro (22-16-1) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (11-6-1)
Tokoro has reached the semi-finals by beating Abel Cullum via Rear Naked Choke in the second round. In the first round Tokoro actually lost to Daiki Hata by Unanimous Decision but Hata was injured so Tokoro took his place in the 2nd round. Takaya has advanced to the semi-finals by beating Jong Won-Kim by 2nd round TKO and by defeating Yoshiro Maeda by TKO in the second round. Takaya likes to “smack people in the face.”
R1- Takaya landed a couple of strikes at the two and a half minute mark of the fight. Tokoro tried a jumping high kick but missed and Takaya gave him a nice strike for his troubles but let him back up. Tokoro went for a take down but got stuffed and ate some kicks to his legs. Takaya is really controlling this fight and caught Tokoro with a combo but Tokoro clinched and pulled guard. Tokoro tried a knee and then hit a good right hand that buckled Takaya’s legs. Tokoro hit another strike and tried to pull guard on a triangle but Tokoro took his guard. Takaya wakes up and delivers some great Ground and Pound shots and it looked like the ref stopped the fight right after the bell but I think he was just calling for the end of the round. Takaya was dangerously close to finishing the fight. Really good first round.
R2- Takaya got Tokoro down and quickly finished him with some Ground and Pound. Looks like Takaya really hurt Tokoro at the end of the last round and just finished it here at the beginning of this round. Really good fight.
Winner: Hiroyuki Takaya by TKO (Punches) R2
Featherweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Fight- Bibiano Fernandes (5-3) vs. Joe Warren (2-0)
Fernandes is a 5-time world jiu jitsu champion. Fernandes advance to this point by defeating Masakazu Imanari and Takafumi Otsuka by decision. Joe Warren is a decorated wrestler who has defeated tournament favorite Kid Yamamoto and Chase Beebe in this tournament (these were his first two MMA fights).
R1- They clinched early and Warren almost got a take down but couldn’t hold it and then got a slam and landed in Bibiano’s guard. Bibiano locked in an arm bar and Joe Warren tapped Bibiano’s leg and submitted.
Post-fight Warren looks confused like he didn’t tap and the Bibiano comes at Warren and points at him (possibly flipping him the bird) and then takes off out of the ring and on the ramp again points at him. Really strange happenings after this fight finished. Looks like Bibiano has to be the favorite for the finals due to the time of this fight versus the time of the other semi-final.
Winner: Bibiano Fernandes by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
Super Hulk Tournament Semi-Final- Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Hong-Man Choi
Minowa beat Bob Sapp in the first round to advance and Hong-Man Choi defeated Jose Canseco. Yes, that Jose Canseco. Choi is 7’2” and 355 lbs. Minowa is 5’9” and 201 lbs.
R1- Minowa looks like he’s half the size of Choi. Minowa tried for a take down and got stuffed and Choi was briefly on top but then stood up. Minowa landed an over hand right but Choi answered with a knee. Minowa went for a take down and fought and got it with about 6 minutes left in the round. Minowa is landing some knees to Choi’s side but really isn’t doing much and the ref stands them up at 3 minutes left in the round and gives Choi a yellow card. Choi got top position on Minowa and landed some strikes but then stood back up. Not a real exciting round. Both guys look pretty tired.
R2-Minowa went for a take down and didn’t initially get it but he twisted around and got on top and tried for a leg lock and he got it and tapped out Choi. Good showing by Minowa just because of the huge size dis-advantage that he had.
Winner: Ikuhisa Minowa by Submission (leg lock) R2
Super Hulk Tournament Semi-Final- Bob Sapp vs. Sokoudjou
Bob Sapp lost in the first round to Minowa but is filling in for Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi was pretty vocal in saying that he didn’t want to fight Sokoudjou because he thought he was on the gas. Sokoudjou beat Jan Nortje in the first round to advance.
R1- Sapp missed a wild right hand and got taken down. Sokoudjou put his knee on Sapp’s stomach and landed some Ground and Pound and eventually the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Sokoudjou by TKO (Punches) R1
Lightweight Fight- Tatsuya Kawajiri (24-5-2) vs. Melchor Barracuda (2-3)
Kawajiri last fought at DREAM 9 where he beat JZ Calvacante by Unanimous Decision.
R1- Barracuda swung wildly to start but was clinched by Kawajiri. Kawajiri got him to the ground and took his guard. Kawajiri was able to move to the mount position. Kawajiri landed some good Ground and Pound and Barracuda’s corner stepped in and the ref stopped the fight. Very one-sided fight as was expected in this one. Kawajiri should be in line to face the winner of Hansen/Aoki.
Winner: Tatsuya Kawajiri by TKO (Punches) R1
Middleweight Fight- Kazushi Sakuraba (24-12-1) vs. Rubin Williams
Is a pro boxer who is 29-8-1 as a boxer with 16 knockouts but has lost his last 6 fights as a boxer. He’s been training in MMA for one year. This fight was added to the show late to spur attendance due to the drawing power of Sakuraba. Sakuraba was last seen losing to Kiyoshi Tamura and Melvin Manhoef so he’s on a 2 fight losing streak coming into this fight.
R1- Sakuraba starts out with some leg kicks and you can tell Williams doesn’t like them. Sakuraba shoots in and Williams tries to clinch him on the ground to minimize damage. Sakuraba lands some strikes and tries to set up for an arm bar or a kimura. Williams taps out to a kimura. Sakuraba made quick work of Williams.
Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba by Submission (Kimura) R1
DREAM Lightweight Title Fight- Joachim Hansen © (19-7-1) vs. Shinya Aoki (21-4)
Joachim Hansen actually lost to Eddie Alvarez in the 2nd round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix but came back as a replacement for Alvarez when Alvarez won his semi-final fight but then could not continue to the finals due to an injury. Hansen won his reserve fight so he moved on to the finals and defeated Shinya Aoki by TKO (Strikes) in the first round in a pretty short fight. Since then Hansen has not fought but Aoki has gone on to fight a bunch of fights. At DREAM 6 Aoki beat Todd Moore by Rear Naked Choke in the first round, at the DREAM/K-1 Show he beat Eddie Alvarez for the WAMMA Lightweight Championship by Heel Hook Submission, at DREAM 7 he beat David Gardner by Rear Naked Choke Submission, at DREAM 8 he lost a Welterweight fight to Hayato Sakari by first round TKO (punches) in 27 seconds and at DREAM 10 he defeated Vitor Ribeiro by Unanimous Decision. Aoki is a consensus Top 5 Lightweight. He’s ranked by most as the #2 Lightweight fighter in the world behind BJ Penn.
R1- Hansen went for a big uppercut but missed and Aoki clinched him and got him to the ground. Hansen got back to his feet momentarily but Aoki wrestled him back down. Hansen kicked Aoki with two upkicks. One while he was standing and one while he had one knee on the ground. The ref calls for time. The announcers are saying that this is legal but that Aoki may have been hit with a shot to the groin. All the attention in the corner is being paid to Aoki’s eye and his vision and not his groin. Hansen’s corner is wondering what is going on. If this is for a groin kick then Aoki is milking this for everything it’s worth because he was about to get finished after those upkicks that badly damaged him. They re-start the fight with Aoki on top of Hansen. Hansen has an active guard and is landing some strikes on Aoki but nothing damaging. Hansen went for an arm bar and almost had it but Aoki countered nicely with some kicks and then a leg lock. Hansen countered back with some good elbows to the thigh area of Aoki. Aoki tried to lock on a reverse body triangle but Hansen escaped and got to his feet and briefly took Aoki’s back and then landed some strikes. Aoki got a double leg take down with about a minute forty left. Aoki is really not doing much while on top in this fight. This was a close round. Aoki spent most of the round on top but Hansen has come closer to finishing the fight. I’m not sure how they will score the upkicks that caused the stoppage.
R2- Hansen hit a couple strikes but then got clinched and taken down. Aoki is not doing anything on top so the fight is being stood up and the ref gives both fighters a yellow card. Hansen came close to hitting a kick or knee to the head but Aoki got a take down. The ref moved the fighters to the center of the ring and Aoki quickly took mount position. Aoki goes for an arm bar with 45 seconds left as Hansen is blocking the move and checking with his corner to see how much time is left. Hansen rolled the wrong way and got caught with about 3 seconds left in the round and he tapped out. Wow, talk about a huge mistake by Hansen. All he had to do was hold on for about 3 seconds in the position that he was in instead of rolling over.
Winner and new champion: Shinya Aoki by Submission (Arm Bar) R2
Featherweight Grand Prix Finals: Bibiano Fernandes (6-3)vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (12-6-1)
R1- Takaya landed an early strike and then went for a knee and got taken down. Fernandes went for a quick arm bar but came up empty and Takaya got on top. Fernandes quickly went for a leg lock but Takaya got out and quickly got back to his feet. Fernandes got a take down after he landed a strike. Fernandes stood them back up and jumped on Takaya’s back to try and get a Rear Naked Choke. The ref breaks the fighters and they re-start. Takaya landed a good right hand. Both guys are standing and landing some strikes as Fernandes continues to look for the take down. Fernandes got a take down with about two and a half minutes left in the round. Takaya put his back against the ropes and used the ropes to get back to his feet and then freed himself from Fernandes. Takaya swung with some good punches but Fernandes was able to push him off but he did sustain a cut near his eye during that exchange. Really good first round. Takaya looked like he hurt Fernandes at the end of the round.
R2- Fernandes countered a Takaya strike and knocked Takaya down. Takaya quickly got back up but Fernandez quickly got a take down. Fernandes quickly landed some punches and took Takaya’s back and Takaya stood up and moved Fernandes back to the corner and the referee broke the hold. Both guys throw some leather but neither is able to land anything solid. Takaya has some blood coming from his mouth and his left eye is swelling. Takaya landed some nice punches but Fernandes hung in there. Both guys are just swinging for the fences to try to win this fight. Awesome fight. This one is a toss up. I would probably have to give the fight to Fernandes because he came closer to finishing the fight and also scored a knock down in the second round. Really close round and one of the fights of the year.
Judges score the fight: Fernandes, Takaya and Fernandes
Winner and new champion: Bibiano Fernandes by Decision (Split)
Michael Schiavello and Guy Mezger are the announcers for the show. Tonight we will see the Semi-Finals and Finals of the Featherweight Grand Prix, Joachim Hansen will defend against Shinya Aoki and the Super Hulk Tournament continues!
Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Fight- Daiki Hata (5-3) vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (7-7)
Miyata comes out to Bon Jovi. Hata beat semi-finalist Hideo Tokoro by Unanimous Decision in the first round of the Featherweight Grand Prix but could not continue to the next round due to injury. Now he is better so he gets a spot in the reserve match. Michael Schiavello is in lust with Miyata’s body and has dubbed him “Sexy Miyata”.
R1- Miyata quickly takes Hata’s back and controlled him for a couple of minutes but couldn’t deliver any damage and the ref calls for a stand up with 6:30 left in the first round and delivers a yellow card to Hata. Miyata got a double leg take down with about 4 minutes left in the round. Miyata is able to take mount position with about 45 seconds left in the round and lands some Ground and Pound. Miyata is really controlling this fight so far but in DREAM the fight is judged on an overall basis and not by round.
R2- Miyata got a quick take down in the first half minute of the final round. Hata got up but Miyata slammed him back down with 3 minutes left in the round. Hata got back up and hit a couple of leg kicks and then Miyata went to take him down and Hata grabbed a guillotine choke and tried hard for the submission but Miyata hung in there and slipped out. Miyata got another take down in the final minute of the fight. Miyata controlled this fight for almost all of the fight but Hata came closer to finishing the fight. I’ve got Miyata taking this one.
Winner: Kazuyuki Miyata by Decision (Unanimous)
Featherweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Fight- Hideo Tokoro (22-16-1) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (11-6-1)
Tokoro has reached the semi-finals by beating Abel Cullum via Rear Naked Choke in the second round. In the first round Tokoro actually lost to Daiki Hata by Unanimous Decision but Hata was injured so Tokoro took his place in the 2nd round. Takaya has advanced to the semi-finals by beating Jong Won-Kim by 2nd round TKO and by defeating Yoshiro Maeda by TKO in the second round. Takaya likes to “smack people in the face.”
R1- Takaya landed a couple of strikes at the two and a half minute mark of the fight. Tokoro tried a jumping high kick but missed and Takaya gave him a nice strike for his troubles but let him back up. Tokoro went for a take down but got stuffed and ate some kicks to his legs. Takaya is really controlling this fight and caught Tokoro with a combo but Tokoro clinched and pulled guard. Tokoro tried a knee and then hit a good right hand that buckled Takaya’s legs. Tokoro hit another strike and tried to pull guard on a triangle but Tokoro took his guard. Takaya wakes up and delivers some great Ground and Pound shots and it looked like the ref stopped the fight right after the bell but I think he was just calling for the end of the round. Takaya was dangerously close to finishing the fight. Really good first round.
R2- Takaya got Tokoro down and quickly finished him with some Ground and Pound. Looks like Takaya really hurt Tokoro at the end of the last round and just finished it here at the beginning of this round. Really good fight.
Winner: Hiroyuki Takaya by TKO (Punches) R2
Featherweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Fight- Bibiano Fernandes (5-3) vs. Joe Warren (2-0)
Fernandes is a 5-time world jiu jitsu champion. Fernandes advance to this point by defeating Masakazu Imanari and Takafumi Otsuka by decision. Joe Warren is a decorated wrestler who has defeated tournament favorite Kid Yamamoto and Chase Beebe in this tournament (these were his first two MMA fights).
R1- They clinched early and Warren almost got a take down but couldn’t hold it and then got a slam and landed in Bibiano’s guard. Bibiano locked in an arm bar and Joe Warren tapped Bibiano’s leg and submitted.
Post-fight Warren looks confused like he didn’t tap and the Bibiano comes at Warren and points at him (possibly flipping him the bird) and then takes off out of the ring and on the ramp again points at him. Really strange happenings after this fight finished. Looks like Bibiano has to be the favorite for the finals due to the time of this fight versus the time of the other semi-final.
Winner: Bibiano Fernandes by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
Super Hulk Tournament Semi-Final- Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Hong-Man Choi
Minowa beat Bob Sapp in the first round to advance and Hong-Man Choi defeated Jose Canseco. Yes, that Jose Canseco. Choi is 7’2” and 355 lbs. Minowa is 5’9” and 201 lbs.
R1- Minowa looks like he’s half the size of Choi. Minowa tried for a take down and got stuffed and Choi was briefly on top but then stood up. Minowa landed an over hand right but Choi answered with a knee. Minowa went for a take down and fought and got it with about 6 minutes left in the round. Minowa is landing some knees to Choi’s side but really isn’t doing much and the ref stands them up at 3 minutes left in the round and gives Choi a yellow card. Choi got top position on Minowa and landed some strikes but then stood back up. Not a real exciting round. Both guys look pretty tired.
R2-Minowa went for a take down and didn’t initially get it but he twisted around and got on top and tried for a leg lock and he got it and tapped out Choi. Good showing by Minowa just because of the huge size dis-advantage that he had.
Winner: Ikuhisa Minowa by Submission (leg lock) R2
Super Hulk Tournament Semi-Final- Bob Sapp vs. Sokoudjou
Bob Sapp lost in the first round to Minowa but is filling in for Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi was pretty vocal in saying that he didn’t want to fight Sokoudjou because he thought he was on the gas. Sokoudjou beat Jan Nortje in the first round to advance.
R1- Sapp missed a wild right hand and got taken down. Sokoudjou put his knee on Sapp’s stomach and landed some Ground and Pound and eventually the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Sokoudjou by TKO (Punches) R1
Lightweight Fight- Tatsuya Kawajiri (24-5-2) vs. Melchor Barracuda (2-3)
Kawajiri last fought at DREAM 9 where he beat JZ Calvacante by Unanimous Decision.
R1- Barracuda swung wildly to start but was clinched by Kawajiri. Kawajiri got him to the ground and took his guard. Kawajiri was able to move to the mount position. Kawajiri landed some good Ground and Pound and Barracuda’s corner stepped in and the ref stopped the fight. Very one-sided fight as was expected in this one. Kawajiri should be in line to face the winner of Hansen/Aoki.
Winner: Tatsuya Kawajiri by TKO (Punches) R1
Middleweight Fight- Kazushi Sakuraba (24-12-1) vs. Rubin Williams
Is a pro boxer who is 29-8-1 as a boxer with 16 knockouts but has lost his last 6 fights as a boxer. He’s been training in MMA for one year. This fight was added to the show late to spur attendance due to the drawing power of Sakuraba. Sakuraba was last seen losing to Kiyoshi Tamura and Melvin Manhoef so he’s on a 2 fight losing streak coming into this fight.
R1- Sakuraba starts out with some leg kicks and you can tell Williams doesn’t like them. Sakuraba shoots in and Williams tries to clinch him on the ground to minimize damage. Sakuraba lands some strikes and tries to set up for an arm bar or a kimura. Williams taps out to a kimura. Sakuraba made quick work of Williams.
Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba by Submission (Kimura) R1
DREAM Lightweight Title Fight- Joachim Hansen © (19-7-1) vs. Shinya Aoki (21-4)
Joachim Hansen actually lost to Eddie Alvarez in the 2nd round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix but came back as a replacement for Alvarez when Alvarez won his semi-final fight but then could not continue to the finals due to an injury. Hansen won his reserve fight so he moved on to the finals and defeated Shinya Aoki by TKO (Strikes) in the first round in a pretty short fight. Since then Hansen has not fought but Aoki has gone on to fight a bunch of fights. At DREAM 6 Aoki beat Todd Moore by Rear Naked Choke in the first round, at the DREAM/K-1 Show he beat Eddie Alvarez for the WAMMA Lightweight Championship by Heel Hook Submission, at DREAM 7 he beat David Gardner by Rear Naked Choke Submission, at DREAM 8 he lost a Welterweight fight to Hayato Sakari by first round TKO (punches) in 27 seconds and at DREAM 10 he defeated Vitor Ribeiro by Unanimous Decision. Aoki is a consensus Top 5 Lightweight. He’s ranked by most as the #2 Lightweight fighter in the world behind BJ Penn.
R1- Hansen went for a big uppercut but missed and Aoki clinched him and got him to the ground. Hansen got back to his feet momentarily but Aoki wrestled him back down. Hansen kicked Aoki with two upkicks. One while he was standing and one while he had one knee on the ground. The ref calls for time. The announcers are saying that this is legal but that Aoki may have been hit with a shot to the groin. All the attention in the corner is being paid to Aoki’s eye and his vision and not his groin. Hansen’s corner is wondering what is going on. If this is for a groin kick then Aoki is milking this for everything it’s worth because he was about to get finished after those upkicks that badly damaged him. They re-start the fight with Aoki on top of Hansen. Hansen has an active guard and is landing some strikes on Aoki but nothing damaging. Hansen went for an arm bar and almost had it but Aoki countered nicely with some kicks and then a leg lock. Hansen countered back with some good elbows to the thigh area of Aoki. Aoki tried to lock on a reverse body triangle but Hansen escaped and got to his feet and briefly took Aoki’s back and then landed some strikes. Aoki got a double leg take down with about a minute forty left. Aoki is really not doing much while on top in this fight. This was a close round. Aoki spent most of the round on top but Hansen has come closer to finishing the fight. I’m not sure how they will score the upkicks that caused the stoppage.
R2- Hansen hit a couple strikes but then got clinched and taken down. Aoki is not doing anything on top so the fight is being stood up and the ref gives both fighters a yellow card. Hansen came close to hitting a kick or knee to the head but Aoki got a take down. The ref moved the fighters to the center of the ring and Aoki quickly took mount position. Aoki goes for an arm bar with 45 seconds left as Hansen is blocking the move and checking with his corner to see how much time is left. Hansen rolled the wrong way and got caught with about 3 seconds left in the round and he tapped out. Wow, talk about a huge mistake by Hansen. All he had to do was hold on for about 3 seconds in the position that he was in instead of rolling over.
Winner and new champion: Shinya Aoki by Submission (Arm Bar) R2
Featherweight Grand Prix Finals: Bibiano Fernandes (6-3)vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (12-6-1)
R1- Takaya landed an early strike and then went for a knee and got taken down. Fernandes went for a quick arm bar but came up empty and Takaya got on top. Fernandes quickly went for a leg lock but Takaya got out and quickly got back to his feet. Fernandes got a take down after he landed a strike. Fernandes stood them back up and jumped on Takaya’s back to try and get a Rear Naked Choke. The ref breaks the fighters and they re-start. Takaya landed a good right hand. Both guys are standing and landing some strikes as Fernandes continues to look for the take down. Fernandes got a take down with about two and a half minutes left in the round. Takaya put his back against the ropes and used the ropes to get back to his feet and then freed himself from Fernandes. Takaya swung with some good punches but Fernandes was able to push him off but he did sustain a cut near his eye during that exchange. Really good first round. Takaya looked like he hurt Fernandes at the end of the round.
R2- Fernandes countered a Takaya strike and knocked Takaya down. Takaya quickly got back up but Fernandez quickly got a take down. Fernandes quickly landed some punches and took Takaya’s back and Takaya stood up and moved Fernandes back to the corner and the referee broke the hold. Both guys throw some leather but neither is able to land anything solid. Takaya has some blood coming from his mouth and his left eye is swelling. Takaya landed some nice punches but Fernandes hung in there. Both guys are just swinging for the fences to try to win this fight. Awesome fight. This one is a toss up. I would probably have to give the fight to Fernandes because he came closer to finishing the fight and also scored a knock down in the second round. Really close round and one of the fights of the year.
Judges score the fight: Fernandes, Takaya and Fernandes
Winner and new champion: Bibiano Fernandes by Decision (Split)
Thursday, October 08, 2009
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Four Re-Cap
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Four
Last week we saw Roy Nelson beat Kimbo Slice and Team Rashad is now up 3 fights to 0. Roy said something to Rampage after the fight and Rampage pushed him but Roy kept walking.
Marcus Jones is bent over in the middle of the hall wet with sweat. Kimbo thinks he just came out of the shower but Jones says that he didn’t.
Team Rashad has begged Demico Rogers and Scott Junk as the top guys on Team Rampage and are plotting who to match them up against. Looks like they will set up Justin Wren against Scott Junk, Brendan Schaub against Demico, Matt Mitrione against Marcus Jones. They want to set it up so they have the top 4 guys at the finals. Wren says that he doesn’t want to fight Junk because they are best friends. The coaches told the guys not to say anything and Matt Mitrione spilled the beans to Team Rampage.
“I need a win like fish need water”- Rampage Jackson
Fight Announcement: Rashad picks Brendan Schaub vs. Demico Rogers.
Brendan Schaub (4-0) vs. Demico Rogers (4-0)
Before the fight they show Rashad’s coaches warming up Schaub and then they show Rampage’s guys just sitting around because Rampage and his coaches went out to get some food. Both guys are 6’4” with Demico having a 3” reach advantage.
R1- Demico went for a bad looking take down and Schaub easily blocked it. Both guys throw some leather and Demico got a take down. Demico was able to land some punches before Schaub pushed him out of the guard but then Demico was able to jump back into the guard. Demico passed the guard to side control and landed some elbows but Schaub slipped out and took Demico’s guard with 2 minutes left in the round. Schaub was able to catch Demico in a choke and Demico tapped. Demico was lying on his stomach and Rampage told him to get on his knees and then Schaub tapped him out.
Winner: Brendan Schaub by Submission (Choke) R1
Demico was just sitting by himself in the ring after the fight and Rashad came up and gave him some encouragement. Team Rashad is up 4-0 and Team Rampage is not looking like they are going to rebound anytime soon.
“We kickin’ Rampage’s ass”- Rashad Evans
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rashad #2: Brendan Schaub
Team Rampage #2: Abe Wagner
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
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
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
Demico Rogers defeated by Brendan Schaub- Episode Four
Last week we saw Roy Nelson beat Kimbo Slice and Team Rashad is now up 3 fights to 0. Roy said something to Rampage after the fight and Rampage pushed him but Roy kept walking.
Marcus Jones is bent over in the middle of the hall wet with sweat. Kimbo thinks he just came out of the shower but Jones says that he didn’t.
Team Rashad has begged Demico Rogers and Scott Junk as the top guys on Team Rampage and are plotting who to match them up against. Looks like they will set up Justin Wren against Scott Junk, Brendan Schaub against Demico, Matt Mitrione against Marcus Jones. They want to set it up so they have the top 4 guys at the finals. Wren says that he doesn’t want to fight Junk because they are best friends. The coaches told the guys not to say anything and Matt Mitrione spilled the beans to Team Rampage.
“I need a win like fish need water”- Rampage Jackson
Fight Announcement: Rashad picks Brendan Schaub vs. Demico Rogers.
Brendan Schaub (4-0) vs. Demico Rogers (4-0)
Before the fight they show Rashad’s coaches warming up Schaub and then they show Rampage’s guys just sitting around because Rampage and his coaches went out to get some food. Both guys are 6’4” with Demico having a 3” reach advantage.
R1- Demico went for a bad looking take down and Schaub easily blocked it. Both guys throw some leather and Demico got a take down. Demico was able to land some punches before Schaub pushed him out of the guard but then Demico was able to jump back into the guard. Demico passed the guard to side control and landed some elbows but Schaub slipped out and took Demico’s guard with 2 minutes left in the round. Schaub was able to catch Demico in a choke and Demico tapped. Demico was lying on his stomach and Rampage told him to get on his knees and then Schaub tapped him out.
Winner: Brendan Schaub by Submission (Choke) R1
Demico was just sitting by himself in the ring after the fight and Rashad came up and gave him some encouragement. Team Rashad is up 4-0 and Team Rampage is not looking like they are going to rebound anytime soon.
“We kickin’ Rampage’s ass”- Rashad Evans
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
Team Rashad #2: Brendan Schaub
Team Rampage #2: Abe Wagner
Team Rashad #3: Justin Wren
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
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
Demico Rogers defeated by Brendan Schaub- Episode Four
Monday, October 05, 2009
MFC 22 "Payoff" 10/2/09 Re-Cap (HDNet)
Maximum Fighting Championship: Payoff
River Cree Casino
Enoch, Albert
October 2, 2009
Michael Schiavello and Guy Mezger are the announcers for this show. This is MFC 22 and we have a bunch of recognizable names on this card. This show is being broadcast live on HDNet. Jason Gregor is the backstage interviewer and he is joined backstage by Jason MacDonald and they discuss his Main Event fight tonight with Travis Lutter.
Lightweight Fight- Pete Spratt (19-13) vs. Nathan Gunn (7-0)
Spratt is a Muy Thai fighter and Gunn is a freestyle fighter.
R1- Gunn gets Spratt down immediately and controls the early part of the round. Spratt got back to his feet but then got taken right back down. Spratt got to his feet again but Gunn again took him down. Gunn is controlling but hasn’t done anything to hurt Spratt yet. Gunn took this round 10-9 and took Spratt down at will even though he didn’t inflict any damage.
R2- Spratt hit a big right hand to start off the round and followed it up with a kick and then a knee. Spratt was all over Gunn at the beginning of the round. Gunn instinctively clinched Spratt and was able to survive the onslaught. Gunn got a take down after he recovered some in the clinch and continued to recover after the take down. Spratt used the ropes to get out of a bad position and got a warning from the ref. Spratt went for a high kick but it was blocked. Out of nowhere Spratt loaded up a big right handed uppercut and knocked out Gunn. Gunn fell straight forward and Spratt knew he had the knockout and just walked away. Great finish by Spratt.
Winner: Pete Spratt by KO R2 4:19
Jason Gregor interviews MFC Lightweight Champion Antonio McKee. He will be fighting Carlo Prater tonight but the belt is not on the line as Prater did not make weight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Marvin Eastman (16-10) vs. Ryan Jimmo (10-1)
Eastman is a wrestler and Muy Thai fighter and a former UFC fighter and holds a victory over Rampage Jackson. Eastman is coming off a loss to Ricardo Arona. Jimmo is a karate specialist from Edmonton. Jimmo has a 5” height advantage and has not been defeated since his pro debut.
R1- Not a lot of action early on as Eastman is the aggressor as he is kind of stalking Jimmo but Jimmo is picking his shots and throwing more strikes. Eastman clinched Jimmo but Jimmo gets the better of the clinch by landing knees. Jimmo takes the first round 10-9. Jimmo out struck Eastman 27 to 9 in the first round.
R2- They clinched early in the round and then Eastman finally got a take down about half way through the round. Not a very good round from a fans stand point but I have Eastman taking it and tying up the fight 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Jimmo wins the early part of the fight by landing strikes in the clinch. Eastman got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Ref stands the fight up with 40 seconds and they clinched again. This one is a virtual toss-up. It will be interesting to see how this fight is scored. Eastman probably got the final round by getting the take down and controlling for a good majority of the round. I’m going to guess Eastman by Split Decision. Jimmo landed 65 strikes to Eastman’s 46. Jimmo has some pretty big swelling going on in the corner of his eye.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Jimmo, 29-28 Eastman, 29-28 Jimmo
Winner: Ryan Jimmo by Decision (Split)
Jason Gregor is backstage with Travis Lutter and they talk about his Main Event fight tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- David Heath (12-5) vs. Mike Nickels (7-2)
Both of these guys have fought for UFC. The only fight I saw of Nickels was his 2007 loss to Stephan Bonnar. Nickels has a 2” reach and 5” height advantage.
R1- Heath lands a couple of jabs early and you can already see the redness on the cheek of Nickels. Both guys are landing some decent strikes about mid-way through the round as they had a good exchange. Heath has opened up a cut on Nickels face. Heath took this first round as he landed better shots on Nickels and did more damage.
R2- Nickels opens up the round with a good punch and then clinches Heath and lands some elbows. Nickels is really pouring it on and Heath is just throwing wild punches to try and survive. Heath is hurt but he gets a minute to recover because his mouthpiece came out. Both guys are slugging it out. Nickels seems to be running out of gas a bit as he had some wide open punches on Death but didn’t have enough to put Heath out. Heath losses his mouthpiece again and Nickels punches him in the face as Heath looked down at it. The ref warns Heath that if it comes out again he will lose a point. This was a really good round, Nickels won this due to his performance in the first half of the round. Heath came back towards the end but couldn’t steal the round. It’s a 19-19 fight going into the final round.
So far Nickels has landed 90 punches to Heath’s 69 through 2 rounds.
R3- Heath losses his mouth piece again and he loses a point. Nickels lands several good punches about half way through the round that really has Heath rocked. Nickels went for a take down but got stuffed but then Heath got thrown down in the corner and Nickels jumped on him and took his back and tried to get a Rear Naked Choke and got the tap out. Both guys lost a lot of steam in the second round but this was still a fun fight.
Winner: Mike Nickels by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 4:02
Welterweight Fight- Luigi Fioravanti (15-5) vs. John Alessio (25-13)
Both of these guys have fought in the UFC. Luigi is a Kickboxer/BBJ fighter who trains with ATT. Alessio is a kickboxer/jiu jitsu specialist who trains at Xtreme Couture. The last I saw Luigi he lost to Anthony Johnson by TKO back in February in the UFC. John Alessio was in the DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix this year but lost in the first round to Andre Galvao by submission in the first round.
R1- Pretty even fight through the first round. Almost looked straight up even, it was very close. Luigi landed 12 strikes in round one and Alessio landed 11. That’s a 10-10 round if it’s allowed to be scored that way.
R2- Luigi seems to be pushing the action a little more at the beginning of this round. This was another really close round. Luigi pressed the action but Alessio also hit a couple of nice punches towards the end of the round. This is about an even of a fight as you could have after two rounds. After two rounds Luigi has landed 36 strikes and Alessio has landed 27 so that means that Luigi out struck Alessio by 8 punches in the second round.
R3- Alessio shoots in for a quick take down but Luigi clinches and doesn’t go down. Alessio hit a SHOCKING knockout punch out of nowhere at the 3:30 mark of the round and this one is over. That one came out of nowhere. What a finish!
Winner: John Alessio by KO R3 1:34
Catch weight Fight (158 lbs) Antonio McKee (25-3-2) vs. Carlo Prater (24-6)
Prater says he’s extremely focused and trained hard for the fight but he didn’t make weight so I’m confused. McKee is a wrestling specialist. This was going to be a title fight for McKee’s title but Prater did not make weight. McKee has gone 11-0-1 since a decision loss to Karo Parisyan in 2003. McKee has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- McKee got a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the fight. McKee has landed some good strikes and has busted Prater open. At the mid-way point of the round HDNet puts up a graphic that shows McKee has landed 17 strikes to 0 for Prater. This was pretty much a 10-8 round because I don’t think Prater even landed a strike.
R2- McKee shot in at the one minute mark and got another take down. McKee is landing some punches but nothing that is putting the fight in jeopardy. The ref stops the fight to have Prater’s eye checked out. The ref tries to start the fight back on their feet but McKee reminds him he had Prater on the ground so the ref puts McKee back in Prater’s guard. The ref stands the fight back up with one minute left in the round. McKee gets another take down about 15 seconds after the stand up but Prater grabs a choke on the way down but could not lock it in. McKee takes this round 10-9 and is up 20-17 going into the third and final round.
R3- Prater keeps from getting taken down in this round and is able to land some punches to McKee’s side and back but McKee fought through and got a brief take down and then got a slam to get Prater down in the last thirty seconds of the fight. Not a very exciting third round but McKee definitely wins this fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of McKee
Winner: Antonio McKee by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Travis Lutter (9-5) vs. Jason MacDonald (21-12)
Both guys are BJJ fighters and are former UFC fighters. MacDonald is from Calgary and gets a good ovation from the crowd on his entrance. MacDonald is only 3-5 in his last 8 fighters. His best wins have come against Chris Leben and Ed Herman. Out of his 21 wins he has won 17 of them by submission. MacDonald has a large 3” height and 6” reach advantage.
R1- Lutter got a take down with a minute and a half gone from the round. Lutter worked and got the mount at the mid-way point of the round. MacDonald tried to slip out but Lutter took MacDonald’s back. Lutter almost got a Rear Naked Choke but MacDonald was able to maneuver out of the submission and survive the round. Lutter up 10-9 after one round.
R2- Lutter got a take down within the first minute of the round and quickly took side control. Lutter is strictly trying to pass guard and is not looking to strike. Lutter is finally able to get the mount with about 1:45 left in the second round. McDonald gave up his back to get out of the mount and Lutter took his back but was not able to do anything with it as the round ended. Lutter has really controlled this fight and is up 20-18. While Lutter has dominated he hasn’t inflicted any damage on MacDonald so far in the fight.
R3- MacDonald is able to turn the tables on Lutter and get a takedown within the first minute of the round. MacDonald is able to hit some short elbows. MacDonald clearly won this round but didn’t win it decisively enough to make it 10-8. Lutter will win this fight 29-28.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Lutter
Winner: Travis Lutter by Decision (Unanimous)
River Cree Casino
Enoch, Albert
October 2, 2009
Michael Schiavello and Guy Mezger are the announcers for this show. This is MFC 22 and we have a bunch of recognizable names on this card. This show is being broadcast live on HDNet. Jason Gregor is the backstage interviewer and he is joined backstage by Jason MacDonald and they discuss his Main Event fight tonight with Travis Lutter.
Lightweight Fight- Pete Spratt (19-13) vs. Nathan Gunn (7-0)
Spratt is a Muy Thai fighter and Gunn is a freestyle fighter.
R1- Gunn gets Spratt down immediately and controls the early part of the round. Spratt got back to his feet but then got taken right back down. Spratt got to his feet again but Gunn again took him down. Gunn is controlling but hasn’t done anything to hurt Spratt yet. Gunn took this round 10-9 and took Spratt down at will even though he didn’t inflict any damage.
R2- Spratt hit a big right hand to start off the round and followed it up with a kick and then a knee. Spratt was all over Gunn at the beginning of the round. Gunn instinctively clinched Spratt and was able to survive the onslaught. Gunn got a take down after he recovered some in the clinch and continued to recover after the take down. Spratt used the ropes to get out of a bad position and got a warning from the ref. Spratt went for a high kick but it was blocked. Out of nowhere Spratt loaded up a big right handed uppercut and knocked out Gunn. Gunn fell straight forward and Spratt knew he had the knockout and just walked away. Great finish by Spratt.
Winner: Pete Spratt by KO R2 4:19
Jason Gregor interviews MFC Lightweight Champion Antonio McKee. He will be fighting Carlo Prater tonight but the belt is not on the line as Prater did not make weight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Marvin Eastman (16-10) vs. Ryan Jimmo (10-1)
Eastman is a wrestler and Muy Thai fighter and a former UFC fighter and holds a victory over Rampage Jackson. Eastman is coming off a loss to Ricardo Arona. Jimmo is a karate specialist from Edmonton. Jimmo has a 5” height advantage and has not been defeated since his pro debut.
R1- Not a lot of action early on as Eastman is the aggressor as he is kind of stalking Jimmo but Jimmo is picking his shots and throwing more strikes. Eastman clinched Jimmo but Jimmo gets the better of the clinch by landing knees. Jimmo takes the first round 10-9. Jimmo out struck Eastman 27 to 9 in the first round.
R2- They clinched early in the round and then Eastman finally got a take down about half way through the round. Not a very good round from a fans stand point but I have Eastman taking it and tying up the fight 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Jimmo wins the early part of the fight by landing strikes in the clinch. Eastman got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Ref stands the fight up with 40 seconds and they clinched again. This one is a virtual toss-up. It will be interesting to see how this fight is scored. Eastman probably got the final round by getting the take down and controlling for a good majority of the round. I’m going to guess Eastman by Split Decision. Jimmo landed 65 strikes to Eastman’s 46. Jimmo has some pretty big swelling going on in the corner of his eye.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Jimmo, 29-28 Eastman, 29-28 Jimmo
Winner: Ryan Jimmo by Decision (Split)
Jason Gregor is backstage with Travis Lutter and they talk about his Main Event fight tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- David Heath (12-5) vs. Mike Nickels (7-2)
Both of these guys have fought for UFC. The only fight I saw of Nickels was his 2007 loss to Stephan Bonnar. Nickels has a 2” reach and 5” height advantage.
R1- Heath lands a couple of jabs early and you can already see the redness on the cheek of Nickels. Both guys are landing some decent strikes about mid-way through the round as they had a good exchange. Heath has opened up a cut on Nickels face. Heath took this first round as he landed better shots on Nickels and did more damage.
R2- Nickels opens up the round with a good punch and then clinches Heath and lands some elbows. Nickels is really pouring it on and Heath is just throwing wild punches to try and survive. Heath is hurt but he gets a minute to recover because his mouthpiece came out. Both guys are slugging it out. Nickels seems to be running out of gas a bit as he had some wide open punches on Death but didn’t have enough to put Heath out. Heath losses his mouthpiece again and Nickels punches him in the face as Heath looked down at it. The ref warns Heath that if it comes out again he will lose a point. This was a really good round, Nickels won this due to his performance in the first half of the round. Heath came back towards the end but couldn’t steal the round. It’s a 19-19 fight going into the final round.
So far Nickels has landed 90 punches to Heath’s 69 through 2 rounds.
R3- Heath losses his mouth piece again and he loses a point. Nickels lands several good punches about half way through the round that really has Heath rocked. Nickels went for a take down but got stuffed but then Heath got thrown down in the corner and Nickels jumped on him and took his back and tried to get a Rear Naked Choke and got the tap out. Both guys lost a lot of steam in the second round but this was still a fun fight.
Winner: Mike Nickels by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 4:02
Welterweight Fight- Luigi Fioravanti (15-5) vs. John Alessio (25-13)
Both of these guys have fought in the UFC. Luigi is a Kickboxer/BBJ fighter who trains with ATT. Alessio is a kickboxer/jiu jitsu specialist who trains at Xtreme Couture. The last I saw Luigi he lost to Anthony Johnson by TKO back in February in the UFC. John Alessio was in the DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix this year but lost in the first round to Andre Galvao by submission in the first round.
R1- Pretty even fight through the first round. Almost looked straight up even, it was very close. Luigi landed 12 strikes in round one and Alessio landed 11. That’s a 10-10 round if it’s allowed to be scored that way.
R2- Luigi seems to be pushing the action a little more at the beginning of this round. This was another really close round. Luigi pressed the action but Alessio also hit a couple of nice punches towards the end of the round. This is about an even of a fight as you could have after two rounds. After two rounds Luigi has landed 36 strikes and Alessio has landed 27 so that means that Luigi out struck Alessio by 8 punches in the second round.
R3- Alessio shoots in for a quick take down but Luigi clinches and doesn’t go down. Alessio hit a SHOCKING knockout punch out of nowhere at the 3:30 mark of the round and this one is over. That one came out of nowhere. What a finish!
Winner: John Alessio by KO R3 1:34
Catch weight Fight (158 lbs) Antonio McKee (25-3-2) vs. Carlo Prater (24-6)
Prater says he’s extremely focused and trained hard for the fight but he didn’t make weight so I’m confused. McKee is a wrestling specialist. This was going to be a title fight for McKee’s title but Prater did not make weight. McKee has gone 11-0-1 since a decision loss to Karo Parisyan in 2003. McKee has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- McKee got a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the fight. McKee has landed some good strikes and has busted Prater open. At the mid-way point of the round HDNet puts up a graphic that shows McKee has landed 17 strikes to 0 for Prater. This was pretty much a 10-8 round because I don’t think Prater even landed a strike.
R2- McKee shot in at the one minute mark and got another take down. McKee is landing some punches but nothing that is putting the fight in jeopardy. The ref stops the fight to have Prater’s eye checked out. The ref tries to start the fight back on their feet but McKee reminds him he had Prater on the ground so the ref puts McKee back in Prater’s guard. The ref stands the fight back up with one minute left in the round. McKee gets another take down about 15 seconds after the stand up but Prater grabs a choke on the way down but could not lock it in. McKee takes this round 10-9 and is up 20-17 going into the third and final round.
R3- Prater keeps from getting taken down in this round and is able to land some punches to McKee’s side and back but McKee fought through and got a brief take down and then got a slam to get Prater down in the last thirty seconds of the fight. Not a very exciting third round but McKee definitely wins this fight.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of McKee
Winner: Antonio McKee by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Travis Lutter (9-5) vs. Jason MacDonald (21-12)
Both guys are BJJ fighters and are former UFC fighters. MacDonald is from Calgary and gets a good ovation from the crowd on his entrance. MacDonald is only 3-5 in his last 8 fighters. His best wins have come against Chris Leben and Ed Herman. Out of his 21 wins he has won 17 of them by submission. MacDonald has a large 3” height and 6” reach advantage.
R1- Lutter got a take down with a minute and a half gone from the round. Lutter worked and got the mount at the mid-way point of the round. MacDonald tried to slip out but Lutter took MacDonald’s back. Lutter almost got a Rear Naked Choke but MacDonald was able to maneuver out of the submission and survive the round. Lutter up 10-9 after one round.
R2- Lutter got a take down within the first minute of the round and quickly took side control. Lutter is strictly trying to pass guard and is not looking to strike. Lutter is finally able to get the mount with about 1:45 left in the second round. McDonald gave up his back to get out of the mount and Lutter took his back but was not able to do anything with it as the round ended. Lutter has really controlled this fight and is up 20-18. While Lutter has dominated he hasn’t inflicted any damage on MacDonald so far in the fight.
R3- MacDonald is able to turn the tables on Lutter and get a takedown within the first minute of the round. MacDonald is able to hit some short elbows. MacDonald clearly won this round but didn’t win it decisively enough to make it 10-8. Lutter will win this fight 29-28.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Lutter
Winner: Travis Lutter by Decision (Unanimous)
Thursday, October 01, 2009
TUF 10 Heavyweights Episode Three Re-Cap
TUF 10: Heavyweights Episode Three
“The Enemy”
In the first two weeks we’ve seen Team Rashad take the first two fights and Rashad has picked Roy Nelson to take on Kimbo Slice on tonight’s show. This will most likely be the highest rating in the history of TUF (which was already previously set this season).
The guys are sitting around a table talking about how this fight could have been the Main Event of a big card with Kimbo netting around $500K and Roy getting around $100K. Rashad thinks Roy has enough experience to step into the cage with Kimbo whereas some of the other guys may not have.
Keith Jardine (from TUF season 2 and a current UFC fighter) drops by Team Rashad’s training session. Jardine and Rashad currently train together at Greg Jackson’s camp. Rashad and Rampage predictably get into a war of words and James McSweeney and Rampage get into a small back and forth as well.
Team Rampage is mostly working with Kimbo on take down defense and getting up off his back when he’s on the ground.
“That’s a big belly. Biggest belly I’ve ever seen. I wonder if his feet get wet when he takes a shower. I bet he hasn’t seen his little friend in years.”- Rampage on Roy Nelson (when discussing Kimbo’s ability to get up if Roy was on top of him in his guard)
During training Marcus Jones seems to be having some trouble with one of his knees. Marcus wants to fight next and Rampage tells him to get his knee better first. Marcus likes flowers, comic books and dungeons & dragons.
Heavyweight Fight- Roy Nelson (13-4) vs. Kimbo Slice (3-1)
Kimbo has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Roy has the obvious advantage in weight and experience.
R1- Both guys are a little tentative early not wanting to step in too aggressively and make a big mistake. Kimbo lands the first meaningful punches of the fight and starts to really swing at Roy on the fence and Roy clinches him. Kimbo did a good job of avoiding the take down for a while but then Roy pulled him from the cage and swept his leg and got him down and quickly mounted Kimbo with about a minute and a half left in the round. Roy moved from mount to side control and landed some punches. Roy got him in a crucifix position and Roy landed a bunch of punches but Kimbo got saved by the bell and fairly quickly got to his feet. Round One is scored in favor of Roy Nelson.
R2- Kimbo swings to start the round and connected with some shots but Roy was able to get a take down. Roy again took side control and went for the crucifix again. Roy was able to land some punches in the crucifix position and Kimbo was unable to get out of that position and the ref stopped the fight.
Dana White was critical of the stoppage and said that Roy’s punches were not hard enough to warrant stopping the fight. Dana says that Kimbo did step up and that he needs to use the rest of his time on the show to learn and he will becoming a better fighter. Dana also says that Kimbo could fight again if there is an injury or someone has to leave.
Winner: Roy Nelson by TKO (Punches) R2
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
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
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
“The Enemy”
In the first two weeks we’ve seen Team Rashad take the first two fights and Rashad has picked Roy Nelson to take on Kimbo Slice on tonight’s show. This will most likely be the highest rating in the history of TUF (which was already previously set this season).
The guys are sitting around a table talking about how this fight could have been the Main Event of a big card with Kimbo netting around $500K and Roy getting around $100K. Rashad thinks Roy has enough experience to step into the cage with Kimbo whereas some of the other guys may not have.
Keith Jardine (from TUF season 2 and a current UFC fighter) drops by Team Rashad’s training session. Jardine and Rashad currently train together at Greg Jackson’s camp. Rashad and Rampage predictably get into a war of words and James McSweeney and Rampage get into a small back and forth as well.
Team Rampage is mostly working with Kimbo on take down defense and getting up off his back when he’s on the ground.
“That’s a big belly. Biggest belly I’ve ever seen. I wonder if his feet get wet when he takes a shower. I bet he hasn’t seen his little friend in years.”- Rampage on Roy Nelson (when discussing Kimbo’s ability to get up if Roy was on top of him in his guard)
During training Marcus Jones seems to be having some trouble with one of his knees. Marcus wants to fight next and Rampage tells him to get his knee better first. Marcus likes flowers, comic books and dungeons & dragons.
Heavyweight Fight- Roy Nelson (13-4) vs. Kimbo Slice (3-1)
Kimbo has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Roy has the obvious advantage in weight and experience.
R1- Both guys are a little tentative early not wanting to step in too aggressively and make a big mistake. Kimbo lands the first meaningful punches of the fight and starts to really swing at Roy on the fence and Roy clinches him. Kimbo did a good job of avoiding the take down for a while but then Roy pulled him from the cage and swept his leg and got him down and quickly mounted Kimbo with about a minute and a half left in the round. Roy moved from mount to side control and landed some punches. Roy got him in a crucifix position and Roy landed a bunch of punches but Kimbo got saved by the bell and fairly quickly got to his feet. Round One is scored in favor of Roy Nelson.
R2- Kimbo swings to start the round and connected with some shots but Roy was able to get a take down. Roy again took side control and went for the crucifix again. Roy was able to land some punches in the crucifix position and Kimbo was unable to get out of that position and the ref stopped the fight.
Dana White was critical of the stoppage and said that Roy’s punches were not hard enough to warrant stopping the fight. Dana says that Kimbo did step up and that he needs to use the rest of his time on the show to learn and he will becoming a better fighter. Dana also says that Kimbo could fight again if there is an injury or someone has to leave.
Winner: Roy Nelson by TKO (Punches) R2
Fighters Remaining
Team Rashad #1: James McSweeney
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
Kimbo Slice defeated by Roy Nelson- Episode Three
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