UFC 109: Relentless 2/6/10 Re-Cap

UFC 109: Relentless
2/6/10
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

Welterweight Fight- Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg

Serra has not fought since he lost a close decision to Matt Hughes. Trigg lost in his last fight at UFC 103 to Josh Koscheck by TKO early in the first round. If Trigg losses this fight he could be out of the UFC. Trigg comes out to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Serra comes out to the Rocky theme.

R1- About half way through the first round Serra landed a good combo and Trigg went down and got finished. Great showing by Serra. Serra landed 3 big time uncontested shots once Trigg was down on the mat.

Winner: Matt Serra by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:23

Middleweight Fight- Demian Miller (11-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-2)

Miller comes out to CCR’s “Run Through the Jungle”. At UFC 98 Miller lost a unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen. So this is a match-up of the guys who lost to the fighters in another fight later tonight (Sonnen vs. Marquardt). Both guys are in a need of a win here to get back on the radar in terms of contenders. Maia last fought at UFC 102 and got clipped by Nate Marquardt via knockout in 21 seconds.

R1- Maia clinched Miller up against the cage trying for a take down but was denied. Maia tried again for a take down and was successful but Miller got back to his feet and got hit with a low blow but the ref didn’t step in and Miller absorbed several punches until Mazzagatti stopped for a break. Maia pushed Miller down again towards the end of the round but Miller popped back up. Maia 10-9.

R2- Maia hit a good left hand about two minutes in to the round. Not a ton of action in this round but Maia landed more strikes. Maia 20-18.

R3- Miller briefly got Maia down when he stuffed a take down but Maia immediately countered and got a take down. Maia landed some light Ground and Pound but Miller got back to his feet with three minutes left in the round. Maia got another take down after Miller initially stuffed him. Not a very exciting fight but Maia is going to take this one by unanimous decision.

Judges score cards: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 Demian Maia

Winner: Demian Maia by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Brian Stann vs. Phil Davis

Stann has recently started training with Greg Jackson and is 2-0 since joining his camp. Davis trains with Brandon Vera.

R1- After Maia’s interview in the cage with Joe Rogan we immediately cut to this fight as the bell rings and we are off. Davis got a take down with about two minutes left in the round. Davis kept switching from back position to full mount as Stann tried to get him off. Davis landed some good Ground and Pound but couldn’t finish the fight. Davis 10-9.

R2- Davis got a good take down about a minute into the fight. Davis really just dominated Stann in this round and landed some really nice knees to the body up against cage. Looked like a borderline 10-8 round. Davis is up two rounds to zero so far, either 20-18 or 20-17.

R3- Davis got another take down about a minute in the final round. Davis grabbed an arm bar in the last couple of seconds but the bell rang. Davis is going to take this fight easily when the judges hand in their score cards. Really good debut by Davis.

Judges score cards: no scores announced

Winner: Phil Davis by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (14-3) vs. Paulo Thiago (12-1)

Swick is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Dan Hardy at UFC 105. Thiago is coming off of a Unanimous Decision win over Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106. Swick is filling in for injured teammate Josh Koscheck in this fight.

R1- Really close round. Swick got a take down in the last 30 seconds of the round which probably nets the round for him. Swick 10-9.

R2- Swick hit a good right hand but Thiago threw two wild defensive punches and one landed and floored Swick. Thiago jumped on top of Swick and grabbed a choke and Swick passed out in the move.

Winner: Paulo Thiago by Submission (Choke) R2 1:54

Middleweight Fight- Nate Marquardt (32-8-2) vs. Chael Sonnen (25-10-1)

Marquardt is next in line for a shot at Anderson Silva (after Vitor Belfort) if he can keep on winning fights. Marquardt quickly disposed of Demian Maia in his last fight. Sonnen last fought at UFC 104 where he defeated Yushin Okami by Unanimous Decision. Sonnen comes out to some horrible music and has Matt Lindland in his corner.

R1- Marquardt pulled guard in the first minute with a guillotine but couldn’t hold it and Sonnen ended up in his guard. Sonnen landed some good Ground and Pound. Marquardt got to his feet and tried a flying knee but got taken down. Sonnen takes this round.

R2- Sonnen goes in and immediately gets a take down. Marquardt went for a kimura but could not get it. Lots of blood in this fight as Sonnen is on top and doing damage but Marquardt caught Sonnen with an elbow which opened up Sonnen. Sonnen is up 20-18 in this fight going into the third round.

R3- Sonnen got an immediate take down to start the final round. Sonnen is just all on over Marquardt in this fight. Marquardt got back to his feet and hit a knee and then Sonnen went for a take down and Marquardt clamped in a deep guillotine but couldn’t quite finish Sonnen off. Marquardt rolled Sonnen over and is on top with one minute left in the fight. Marquardt finished strong and could have stolen this round but he definitely lost the first two and Sonnen scores the upset victory in this one.

Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27

Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Randy Couture (17-10) vs. Mark Coleman (16-9)

This is the battle of two of the oldest and decorated fighters in UFC history. Couture is coming off of a close 29-28 Unanimous Decision victory over Brandon Vera. Mark Coleman is coming off a UFC 100 29-28 Unanimous Decision victory over Stephan Bonnar. Both men are UFC Hall of Famers and former UFC Heavyweight Champions. Couture has also held the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

R1- Randy is landing some good jabs at the opening of the round. Randy landed a good right and then a knee and then clinched Coleman up against the cage two minutes into the round. Randy is landing some good shots in the clinch. Randy lands some really good uppercuts. Couture 10-9.

R2- Randy backed Coleman into the fence and landed some good shots and then got a take down. Randy mounted and landed some Ground and Pound. Coleman gave up his back and Randy clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and Coleman passed out in the hold. Really good dominant showing by Couture.

Winner: Randy Couture by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:09

Post Fight Mark Coleman is being interviewed Joe Rogan and Tito Ortiz yells out something and Coleman says “F You Tito, Anytime”.

Heavyweight Fight- Rolles Gracie vs. Joey Beltran

This is Gracie’s UFC debut.

R1- Gracie got a take down a little over a minute into the fight. Beltran finished the round strong by stuffing a take down and then getting some shots to the side of Gracie’s head. Both guys looked pretty inexperienced out there when they were on their feet.

R2- Beltran got Gracie down and landed some shots and then left him there as he wanted to stand up. Gracie looks really tired. He’s dove at Beltran feet and whiffed . Beltran is landing some shots and Gracie just looks like he’s given up and Herb Dean finally stops the fight. What a pathetic display by Gracie. He’s going to be cut from UFC after one fight after this performance. Gracie looked worse then some of the TUF guys that can barely go a round and gas.

Winner: Joey Beltran by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:31