K-1 World GP 2010 in Yokohama
Yokohama Arena
Yokohama, Japan
April 2, 2010
Reigning Grand Prix Champion Semmy Schilt defends his Super Heavyweight Title against Errol Zimmerman, Kyotaro puts his K-1 Heavyweight Title up against three-time GP Peter Aerts battles Kyotaro. Badr Hari and absentee Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem are also on the card as Hari is in the Main Event against Alexey Ignashov. Michael Schiavello and Mike Kogan are the announcers for this show.
K-1 World GP Fight #1- Sergii Lashchenko vs. Takumi Sato
Sergii is the favorite in this fight.
R1- This felt like kind of a feeling out round. Both guys got in decent shots. Kogan calls it a 10-10 round.
R2- Sergii starts to land some good combinations early in this round. Sato has a small cut on his head but keeps moving forward and was coming on towards the end of the round.
R3- Both guys are tired. Sergii doesn't look like he has much left behind his punches. Sergii did finish strong after a weak round for both guys so that should help with the judges. Kogan says he thinks Sergii did enough to win but is concerned with his stamina.
Winner: Sergii Lashchenko by Decision (Unanimous)
K-1 World GP Fight #2- Gokhan Saki vs. Singh "Heart" Jaideep
Jaideep has a big 5" height advantage. Schiavello tells us that this match has even betting odds.
R1- Saki is working on the legs early. Saki hit a nice spinning back kick to the mid-section. Saki looked good in the first round.
R2- Jaideep is more aggressive in this round but Saki picked up where he left off after Jaideep's initial onslaught. Saki has busted up Jaideep's nose. Jaideep needs a knockout to win this fight. Two judges scored this round a draw.
R3- Saki landed some good shots and briefly rocked Jaideep but couldn't knock him down. Saki going for spinning hook kicks and spinning back fists in the final round. Really good showing by Saki.
Winner: Gokhan Saki by Decision (Unanimous)
K-1 World GP Fight #3- Jerome Le Banner vs. Tyrone Spong
Le Banner is coming off of a loss to Sammy Schilt in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix last year when he lost in less than two minutes. Spong is the favorite in this fight according to the bookmakers.
R1- Both guys are throwing good punches early. Spong got too close and got floored with what almost looked like a push. Le Banner got Spong up against the ropes and landed some good shots. Le Banner is really opening up on Spong towards the end of this round.
R2- Spong throwing a lot of kicks to start this round. Spong landed a jumping knee that knocked Le Banner down but it wasn't ruled a knock down and Le Banner got right back up unfazed. This was a much more even round than the first one.
R3- Spong hit a good knee about half way through the round. Spong took this round but it's not going to be enough to take the fight.
Winner: Jerome Le Banner by Decision (Unanimous)
K-1 World GP Fight #4- Alistair Overeem vs. Dzevad Poturak
Overeem is the favorite in this fight. Schiavello says that in the press conference Overeem said that Poturak was nothing but a snack and he was going to eat him up and then fly to America and brutalize Brett Rodgers.
R1- Overeem just looks huge compared to Poturak. Overeem floored Poturak with about a minute left in the round and then hit him with a good right and then a leg sweep after he got up. Overeem starting to batter Poturak. BIG knee to the jaw and Poturak cannot answer the bell.
"The size of the back of Overeem. You could screen Avatar in 3D on his back. It's enormous"- Michael Schiavello
"Wow"- Mike Kogan
Winner: Alistair Overeem by KO R1
K-1 Heavyweight Title Fight- Kyotaro (c) vs. Peter Aerts
Aerts is the challenger but is actually the favorite in this fight according to Schiavello.
R1- Pretty even first round but Kyotaro came on strong at the end of the round. Kytaro rocked Aerts and he went down in the corner and got a standing 8 count with about 10 seconds left in the round. Kyotaro threw a couple of strikes after the bell and knocked Aerts down again but it was after the bell rang.
R2- Kyotaro is continuing his onslaught at the beginning of this round. Kyotaro landed a big right hand on Aerts with one minute left and just floored Aerts and he was not getting up from that.
Winner: Kyotaro by KO R2
K-1 Super Heavyweight Title Fight- Semmy Schilt (c) vs. Errol Zimmerman
Schiavello tells us that Schilt is the only champion to hold a perfect 12-0 record for the K-1 Grand Prix and held the longest win streak in K-1 history (14 fights) before he lost to Peter Aerts in 2008.
R1- Schilt has a noticeable height and reach advantage. Zimmerman hit a good combination early but Schilt came back with a good barrage against the ropes that almost knocked Zimmerman down. Good first round. Two judges go 10-9 in favor of Schilt and 1 judge went 10-10. I wish the UFC would publicize the judges score cards after each round.
R2- Schilt is landing the majority of strikes in this round. Zimmerman came back with a couple of shots near the end of the round but not enough to get the round back.
R3- Schilt has worn down Zimmerman and is peppering him with strikes. Schilt is going to win this one via decision.
"You can see that jab stiffer than a box of Viagra"- Schiavello
Winner: Semmy Schilt by Decision (Unanimous)
K-1 World GP Fight #7- Badr Hari vs. Alexey Ignashov
Ignashov came in 3rd place at the 2001 K-1 World GP. Hari was the first K-1 Heavyweight Champion as well as a 2009 K-1 World GP Finalist.
R1- Hari looks good early throwing strikes and pushing the action. Hari landed a good two punch combination up against the ropes half way through the round. Hari landed a good kick to the gut with only 30 seconds left in the round. Hari landed several shots right at the end of the round. Hari 10-9.
R2- Hari landed some strikes and then threw Alexey to the mat after they briefly clinched. Hari came in and hit a big right hand that sent Alexey back into the ropes and wobbled him a bit. Hari landed a good combination that was difficult to see because of the crappy camera work but Alexey went down and got a standing 8 count. Hari hit a front kick right at the end of the round. Hari took this round so he's up two rounds to 0. It's 20-17 on all three judges score cards.
R3- Hari knocked Alexey to the ground with a front kick. Hari swung for the fences at the one minute mark of the round but only landed one of the punches. Hari started landed some shots and Alexey brushed him off with a front kick and Hari was off balanced and briefly went to the ground but was not hurt. Hari and Alexey yell at each other in the last 10 seconds but don't go after each other. Really strange finish. Hari easily wins this.
Judges score cards: 30-26, 30-26, 30-26
Winner: Badr Hari by Decision (Unanimous)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
TUF Season 11 Episode 5 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Episode 5 Re-Cap
"If It Breathes, It Bleeds"
Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
Last week we had two fights with Jamie Yager and Rich Attonito both advancing. Team Ortiz finally got a win and is trailing 3-1 but now has the opportunity to pick the next fight. Tito gets to pick his first fight of the competition and picks Kris McCray to fight Josh Bryant. Looks like a good pick by Tito in my book.
Clayton McKinney had surgery so he won't be coming back to fight in the wildcard spot. Tito apologizes to Clayton McKinney for saying that he lacked heart when he was really injured. Clayton flicks him off when Tito turns his back. Dana says Josh has knockout power in both hands and has great wrestling. Chuck has to leave again and is leaving John Hackleman in charge.
"I'll be taking over the reigns but in reality he'll be calling the shots like John Gotti did when he was in prison"- John Hackleman
"Don't turn the channel. Don't get up for a coffee or soda or popcorn. It's not gonna last that long"- Kris McCray
Middleweight Fight- Kris McCray (5-0) (Team Ortiz) vs. Josh Bryant (10-0) (Team Liddell)
R1- McCray landed strikes early and then got a take down. McCray took Bryant's back and tried to go for an arm bar but lost his position. McCray briefly worked a clinch and then got a take down but couldn't hold it. McCray got another take down but couldn't complete it and Bryant picked McCray up and dumped him on his back. Bryant tried for a really sloppy Rear Naked Choke and quickly lost it and gave up position to McCray. Neither guy dominated but McCray took the round 10-9.
R2- McCray looked really tired when the round started and Bryant hit a couple of strikes early. Bryant landed a couple more really good clean strikes. McCray hit a knee but got taken down. Bryant tried to work a kimura but the fight went back to their feet where Bryant landed a couple more shots. McCray showing a good chin. McCray landed another knee and then ate a slam. McCray got a take down with a minute and a half left in the fight but was not able to do much from the top because of his conditioning. Bryant stayed busy on the bottom and while he didn't land anything substantial he did stay busy. Bryant took this round to even up the fight 19-19 on my score card.
R3- They clinch and both guys just look exhausted. This is a frustrating round. These guys knew they were going to be on TUF. Unless they just had a huge adrenaline dump why didn't they come into the house in shape with this opportunity that they have? Three and a half minutes into the round and neither guy has done anything to win the fight. Still clinching against the cage and both guys resting/struggling for a take down. Bryant shows some sign of life after Herb Dean splits them up and he lands some strikes. McCray went for a really weak take down and basically gave top position to Bryant with less than a minute left in the fight. Bryant went for the mount and McCray gave up his back. Bryant went for a Rear Naked Choke but again didn't have good position. Bryant clearly won this fight as he just had more in his gas tank than McCray did.
Winner: Josh Bryant by Decision
"McCray comes out after the first round and looks completely gassed. Completely gassed"- Tito Ortiz
"I was like Damn I'm tired"- Kris McCray
Team Liddell goes up 4-1 and takes back control of choosing the fights.
Here are my way too early rankings based only on the first three TUF shows. Rankings will change drastically after the first round of fights I am sure.
Middleweight Rankings:
1. Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz Pick #4)- defeated Charles Blanchard (TKO (Strikes) R1)
2. Kyle Noke (Team Liddell Pick #1)- defeated Clayton McKinney (Triangle Choke R1)
3. Nick Ring (Team Ortiz Pick #1)
4. Brad Tavares (Team Liddell Pick #5)- defeated James Hammortree (Decision)
5. Court McGee (Team Liddell Pick #6)
6. Rich Attonito (Team Liddell Pick #2)- defeated Kyacey Uscola (DQ- Illegal Knees)
7. Joe Henle (Team Liddell Pick #7)
8. Josh Bryant (Team Liddell Pick #4)- defeated Kris McCray (Decision)
9. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz Replacement)
Eliminated:
Clayton McKinney by Kyle Noke (First Round)
Chris Camozzi- left due to injury
James Hammortree by Brad Tavares (First Round)
Kyacey Uscola by Rich Attonito (First Round- DQ'd Illegal Knees)
Charles Blanchard by Jamie Yager (First Round)
Kris McCray by Josh Bryant (Frist Round)
"If It Breathes, It Bleeds"
Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
Last week we had two fights with Jamie Yager and Rich Attonito both advancing. Team Ortiz finally got a win and is trailing 3-1 but now has the opportunity to pick the next fight. Tito gets to pick his first fight of the competition and picks Kris McCray to fight Josh Bryant. Looks like a good pick by Tito in my book.
Clayton McKinney had surgery so he won't be coming back to fight in the wildcard spot. Tito apologizes to Clayton McKinney for saying that he lacked heart when he was really injured. Clayton flicks him off when Tito turns his back. Dana says Josh has knockout power in both hands and has great wrestling. Chuck has to leave again and is leaving John Hackleman in charge.
"I'll be taking over the reigns but in reality he'll be calling the shots like John Gotti did when he was in prison"- John Hackleman
"Don't turn the channel. Don't get up for a coffee or soda or popcorn. It's not gonna last that long"- Kris McCray
Middleweight Fight- Kris McCray (5-0) (Team Ortiz) vs. Josh Bryant (10-0) (Team Liddell)
R1- McCray landed strikes early and then got a take down. McCray took Bryant's back and tried to go for an arm bar but lost his position. McCray briefly worked a clinch and then got a take down but couldn't hold it. McCray got another take down but couldn't complete it and Bryant picked McCray up and dumped him on his back. Bryant tried for a really sloppy Rear Naked Choke and quickly lost it and gave up position to McCray. Neither guy dominated but McCray took the round 10-9.
R2- McCray looked really tired when the round started and Bryant hit a couple of strikes early. Bryant landed a couple more really good clean strikes. McCray hit a knee but got taken down. Bryant tried to work a kimura but the fight went back to their feet where Bryant landed a couple more shots. McCray showing a good chin. McCray landed another knee and then ate a slam. McCray got a take down with a minute and a half left in the fight but was not able to do much from the top because of his conditioning. Bryant stayed busy on the bottom and while he didn't land anything substantial he did stay busy. Bryant took this round to even up the fight 19-19 on my score card.
R3- They clinch and both guys just look exhausted. This is a frustrating round. These guys knew they were going to be on TUF. Unless they just had a huge adrenaline dump why didn't they come into the house in shape with this opportunity that they have? Three and a half minutes into the round and neither guy has done anything to win the fight. Still clinching against the cage and both guys resting/struggling for a take down. Bryant shows some sign of life after Herb Dean splits them up and he lands some strikes. McCray went for a really weak take down and basically gave top position to Bryant with less than a minute left in the fight. Bryant went for the mount and McCray gave up his back. Bryant went for a Rear Naked Choke but again didn't have good position. Bryant clearly won this fight as he just had more in his gas tank than McCray did.
Winner: Josh Bryant by Decision
"McCray comes out after the first round and looks completely gassed. Completely gassed"- Tito Ortiz
"I was like Damn I'm tired"- Kris McCray
Team Liddell goes up 4-1 and takes back control of choosing the fights.
Here are my way too early rankings based only on the first three TUF shows. Rankings will change drastically after the first round of fights I am sure.
Middleweight Rankings:
1. Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz Pick #4)- defeated Charles Blanchard (TKO (Strikes) R1)
2. Kyle Noke (Team Liddell Pick #1)- defeated Clayton McKinney (Triangle Choke R1)
3. Nick Ring (Team Ortiz Pick #1)
4. Brad Tavares (Team Liddell Pick #5)- defeated James Hammortree (Decision)
5. Court McGee (Team Liddell Pick #6)
6. Rich Attonito (Team Liddell Pick #2)- defeated Kyacey Uscola (DQ- Illegal Knees)
7. Joe Henle (Team Liddell Pick #7)
8. Josh Bryant (Team Liddell Pick #4)- defeated Kris McCray (Decision)
9. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz Replacement)
Eliminated:
Clayton McKinney by Kyle Noke (First Round)
Chris Camozzi- left due to injury
James Hammortree by Brad Tavares (First Round)
Kyacey Uscola by Rich Attonito (First Round- DQ'd Illegal Knees)
Charles Blanchard by Jamie Yager (First Round)
Kris McCray by Josh Bryant (Frist Round)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Bellator 15 4/22 Re-Cap
Bellator 15
Bellator Fighting Championships
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, CT
April 22, 2010
Fox Sports South
This is the third week of the second season of the Bellator Fighting Championships. This week we will be seeing the final fights in the Featherweight and Welterweight Quarterfinals. Ryan Thomas lost last week by a controversial stoppage but this week he gets a chance to step back in due to a travel issue for another fighter. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Will Romero (5-0) vs. Patricio Pitbull (12-0)
This is the US debut for both fighters. Romero is Canadian and Pitbull is Brazilian. Romero has 4 stoppages in his 5 wins (2 KO and 2 Submissions). Pitbull has finished 9 of his 12 fights (6 by submission and 3 by KO). Pitbull trains with the Team Nogueira. The winner of this fight will face Wilson Reis in the semi-finals of the Featherweight tournament.
R1- Pitbull got a take down in the first minute after landing some strikes. Pitbull went for an ankle lock and then grabbed a heel hook and Romero tapped out. Very impressive showing for Pitbulls. I'm definitely looking forward to his fight with Wilson Reis.
Winner: Patricio Pitbull by Submission (Heel Hook) R1 2:01
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Ryan Thomas (10-4) vs. Jacob McClintock (6-0)
For some reason McClintock chooses "Wild Boys" from Duran Duran as his theme music. I'm guessing he's a huge Cro Cop fan because there is no other reasonable excuse (besides losing a drunken bet) for choosing that music. Thomas is getting a second chance in this tournament after he was a victim of a poor referee stoppage last week. McClintock has finished all of his fights (6 KO and 2 Submissions) and fights out of Arizona Combat Sports. Thomas has also had stoppages in all of his wins (3 KO and 7 submissions). Dan Mirgliatta is the referee so we could see another early stoppage.
R1- McClintock comes in hard early and landed some strikes. McClintock used a kimura to get a take down and then took his back. Thomas was able to turn McClintock over and take his guard. Thomas lands some good Ground and Pound. Thomas gets a partial crucifix and lands some good shots to McClintock's face and bloodies him up. McClintock tried to grab a triangle but is getting hurt with the Ground and Pound and the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner: Ryan Thomas by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:11
Post-fight Ryan Thomas calls out Ben Askren and says he didn't beat him and everybody knows he didn't beat him.
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Tyler Stinson (17-5) vs. Dan Hornbuckle (19-2)
Stinson beat out 78 other pro MMA fighters in last months open tryouts to get this chance. Hornbuckle has wins over Akihiro Gono and Nick Thompson in Sengoku. Stinson has 16 finishes in his 17 wins (12 being by KO). Hornbuckle has finished 16 of his 19 wins (9 by KO and 7 by submission). Hornbuckle looks like a huge favorite on paper.
R1- Stinson looked decent on his feet and then stuffed a take down but got caught in a triangle once Stinson took the fight to the ground. Stinson tried to hold on but had to tap out. Really good showing by Hornbuckle as he went to the finish as soon as the fight went to the ground.
Winner: Dan Hornbuckle by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 2:03
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Steve Carl (12-1) vs. Brett Cooper (12-5)
This is the final Welterweight Quarterfinal fight. Cooper is 10-2 in his last 12 fights. Carl has 8 submissions and 2 KOs out of his 12 wins. Carl is 7-0 since returning from a serious car accident that he had in 2006.
R1- Cooper got an early slam in the first thirty seconds of the fight. Carl was able to scramble out of the position and ended up getting a take down of his own. Back to their feet and Carl landed some strikes before clinching against the cage. Cooper briefly got a take down but Carl quickly got back to his feet and then got a take down. Carl 10-9.
R2- First half of the round was even and mostly uneventful. Carl got a take down with a minute and a half left in the round. Carl went for a triangle and Cooper slipped out and into side control but Carl quickly got back to his feet. Close round, this is one I would put at 10-10 if it was allowed in the scoring. Otherwise I go 10-9 Carl due to the take down and submission attempt and the strikes he landed towards the end of the round. Neither guy really did any damage in this round.
R3- Carl landed a couple of kicks early and then Cooper had a take down reversed. Cooper popped right back up and was able to land some strikes. Cooper got a take down only a minute and a half into the final round. Cooper briefly got mount but Carl quickly got back to his feet. Carl lands some kicks. Cooper got a take down with about a minute left in the fight. Cooper landed some Ground and Pound from full guard. Cooper landed a couple of really good shots and looked like he could have finished but didn't. Cooper takes this round but I've got Carl 29-28. I smell a split decision. Very close fight. Cooper did more damage but I think Carl took rounds one and two.
Judges score cards: 29-28 Cooper, 29-28 Carl, 29-28 Carl
Winner: Steve Carl by Decision (Split)
From what I've seen in the Welterweight division I'd have to say Dan Hornbuckle looks like the odds-on favorite with Ben Askren as my runner-up.
Featherweight Fight- Brylan Vanartsdalen vs. Rich De los Reyes
Due to time being left on the broadcast this fight is joined in progress going into round two. It is a fight from the preliminaries of this show. This is the pro debut for Vanartsdalen.
R1- Vanartsdalen went for a throw but got mounted instead and then De los Reyes took his back and went for a choke. Vanartsdalen got to his feet and De los Reyes clamped in the choke and Vanartsdalen slammed him to briefly break up the submission. De los Reyes rolled him back over and clamped in the Rear Naked and got the victory.
Winner: Rich De los Reyes by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:03
Bellator Fighting Championships
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, CT
April 22, 2010
Fox Sports South
This is the third week of the second season of the Bellator Fighting Championships. This week we will be seeing the final fights in the Featherweight and Welterweight Quarterfinals. Ryan Thomas lost last week by a controversial stoppage but this week he gets a chance to step back in due to a travel issue for another fighter. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Will Romero (5-0) vs. Patricio Pitbull (12-0)
This is the US debut for both fighters. Romero is Canadian and Pitbull is Brazilian. Romero has 4 stoppages in his 5 wins (2 KO and 2 Submissions). Pitbull has finished 9 of his 12 fights (6 by submission and 3 by KO). Pitbull trains with the Team Nogueira. The winner of this fight will face Wilson Reis in the semi-finals of the Featherweight tournament.
R1- Pitbull got a take down in the first minute after landing some strikes. Pitbull went for an ankle lock and then grabbed a heel hook and Romero tapped out. Very impressive showing for Pitbulls. I'm definitely looking forward to his fight with Wilson Reis.
Winner: Patricio Pitbull by Submission (Heel Hook) R1 2:01
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Ryan Thomas (10-4) vs. Jacob McClintock (6-0)
For some reason McClintock chooses "Wild Boys" from Duran Duran as his theme music. I'm guessing he's a huge Cro Cop fan because there is no other reasonable excuse (besides losing a drunken bet) for choosing that music. Thomas is getting a second chance in this tournament after he was a victim of a poor referee stoppage last week. McClintock has finished all of his fights (6 KO and 2 Submissions) and fights out of Arizona Combat Sports. Thomas has also had stoppages in all of his wins (3 KO and 7 submissions). Dan Mirgliatta is the referee so we could see another early stoppage.
R1- McClintock comes in hard early and landed some strikes. McClintock used a kimura to get a take down and then took his back. Thomas was able to turn McClintock over and take his guard. Thomas lands some good Ground and Pound. Thomas gets a partial crucifix and lands some good shots to McClintock's face and bloodies him up. McClintock tried to grab a triangle but is getting hurt with the Ground and Pound and the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner: Ryan Thomas by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:11
Post-fight Ryan Thomas calls out Ben Askren and says he didn't beat him and everybody knows he didn't beat him.
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Tyler Stinson (17-5) vs. Dan Hornbuckle (19-2)
Stinson beat out 78 other pro MMA fighters in last months open tryouts to get this chance. Hornbuckle has wins over Akihiro Gono and Nick Thompson in Sengoku. Stinson has 16 finishes in his 17 wins (12 being by KO). Hornbuckle has finished 16 of his 19 wins (9 by KO and 7 by submission). Hornbuckle looks like a huge favorite on paper.
R1- Stinson looked decent on his feet and then stuffed a take down but got caught in a triangle once Stinson took the fight to the ground. Stinson tried to hold on but had to tap out. Really good showing by Hornbuckle as he went to the finish as soon as the fight went to the ground.
Winner: Dan Hornbuckle by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 2:03
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Steve Carl (12-1) vs. Brett Cooper (12-5)
This is the final Welterweight Quarterfinal fight. Cooper is 10-2 in his last 12 fights. Carl has 8 submissions and 2 KOs out of his 12 wins. Carl is 7-0 since returning from a serious car accident that he had in 2006.
R1- Cooper got an early slam in the first thirty seconds of the fight. Carl was able to scramble out of the position and ended up getting a take down of his own. Back to their feet and Carl landed some strikes before clinching against the cage. Cooper briefly got a take down but Carl quickly got back to his feet and then got a take down. Carl 10-9.
R2- First half of the round was even and mostly uneventful. Carl got a take down with a minute and a half left in the round. Carl went for a triangle and Cooper slipped out and into side control but Carl quickly got back to his feet. Close round, this is one I would put at 10-10 if it was allowed in the scoring. Otherwise I go 10-9 Carl due to the take down and submission attempt and the strikes he landed towards the end of the round. Neither guy really did any damage in this round.
R3- Carl landed a couple of kicks early and then Cooper had a take down reversed. Cooper popped right back up and was able to land some strikes. Cooper got a take down only a minute and a half into the final round. Cooper briefly got mount but Carl quickly got back to his feet. Carl lands some kicks. Cooper got a take down with about a minute left in the fight. Cooper landed some Ground and Pound from full guard. Cooper landed a couple of really good shots and looked like he could have finished but didn't. Cooper takes this round but I've got Carl 29-28. I smell a split decision. Very close fight. Cooper did more damage but I think Carl took rounds one and two.
Judges score cards: 29-28 Cooper, 29-28 Carl, 29-28 Carl
Winner: Steve Carl by Decision (Split)
From what I've seen in the Welterweight division I'd have to say Dan Hornbuckle looks like the odds-on favorite with Ben Askren as my runner-up.
Featherweight Fight- Brylan Vanartsdalen vs. Rich De los Reyes
Due to time being left on the broadcast this fight is joined in progress going into round two. It is a fight from the preliminaries of this show. This is the pro debut for Vanartsdalen.
R1- Vanartsdalen went for a throw but got mounted instead and then De los Reyes took his back and went for a choke. Vanartsdalen got to his feet and De los Reyes clamped in the choke and Vanartsdalen slammed him to briefly break up the submission. De los Reyes rolled him back over and clamped in the Rear Naked and got the victory.
Winner: Rich De los Reyes by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:03
Sunday, April 25, 2010
WEC: Aldo vs. Faber PPV Re-Cap
WEC: Aldo vs. Faber PPV
Arco Arena
Sacramento, California
April 24, 2010
Tonight is the "biggest fight in Featherweight history" between current champion Jose Aldo and former champion Urijah Faber. Also on the card is a Lightweight title re-match between current champion Ben Henderson and top contender Donald Cerrone. The UFC has taken over the WEC duties as Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are the announcers for this show. Bruce Buffer is also doing the ring announcing tonight. Rogan describes Faber/Aldo as the MMA version of Sugar Ray Leonard versus Roberto Duran.
Bantamweight Fight- Antonio Banuelos (18-5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (9-3)
This is a re-match from WEC 41 in June of 2009 in what I thought was a Fight of the Year contender. Banuelos won the fight by split decision. I had Jorgensen taking the fight 29-28 on my score card. Banuelos trains with Chuck Liddell and John Hackleman. Jorgensen has a 3" reach advantage.
R1- Pretty even fight early with Jorgensen taking the center of the octagon but Banuelos doing a decent job counter punching. Banuelos landed a left hook and Jorgensen went down. Banuelos jumped on top but Jorgensen was able to pull him into his guard and avoid the finish. Jorgensen went for an arm bar and then kicked him way back to his feet. Banuelos takes the first round with the knock down 10-9.
R2- Jorgensen lands some strikes in the first minute to open this round. Jorgensen is finding a home for his jab. Jorgensen has busted open Banuelos nose and Rogan says it might be broken. Jorgensen is really picking apart Banuelos in this round. Jorgensen landed a right hand that floored Banuelos with one minute left in the round. Jorgensen easily took this round and evens the fight up at 19-19 going into the final stanza.
"Banuelos is bleeding like a stuck pig"- Joe Rogan
R3- Jorgensen opened up the round with a good combination and once again opened up the nose of Banuelos. Jorgensen hit a right hand about half way through the round and Banuelos hit the deck. Jorgensen followed in and Banuelos tried to cover up. Jorgensen took his back and tried for a Rear Naked Choke but Banuelos spun out of it. Jorgensen remaining on the back of Banuelos and continues to land strikes from the back and then clamped on another Rear Naked Choke but couldn't lock it in. Good fight. Jorgensen will get his revenge as he takes this 29-28 (same score I had the last fight scored). This puts Jorgensen at the top of the WEC featherweight contenders right behind Joseph Benavidez.
"Joe Silva's got blood on his notebook"- Joe Rogan
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all three score cards.
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Anthony Njokuani (13-2) vs. Shane Roller (7-2)
Roller is a former D1 wrestler. Njokuani is on a 3-fight win streak and is coming off of a quick victory over Chris Horodecki at WEC 45. Roller fought at WEC 44 and defeated Danny Castillo via Rear Naked Choke in the third round. Both fighters have losses on their record to current Lightweight kingpin Ben Henderson. Njokuani has a 3.5" reach advantage.
R1- Roller immediately went for a take down and after about thirty seconds was able to get Anthony down but Anthony popped right back up. Roller got him down again at the one minute mark of the round. Roller briefly mounted but was pushed off and then Roller took Anthony's back and looked for a Rear Naked. Roller finally was able to clamp in the Rear Naked after working for it for a while and finished the fight. Not a highlight reel win but a very effective one as Roller really executed his game plan to perfection and beat a very dangerous opponent.
Winner: Shane Roller by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 3:07
Jake Shields is ringside and Dana White is right next to him with a huge smile on his face. Wow. What a sight.
The Joe Rogan/Kimbo Slice interview from the Spike TV prelim show is shown again.
Featherweight Fight- Mike Brown (23-5) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (12-5)
Mike Brown is the former Featherweight champion who holds two victories over Urijah Faber. Brown lost to Aldo at WEC 44 and then jumped right back into the cage at WEC 46 to defeat Anthony Morrison. Gamburyan also fought at WEC 44 winning a unanimous decision over Leonard Garcia (Brown also fought Garcia recently finishing him in less than 2 minutes). Gamburyan is 2-0 in WEC since dropping down in weight. This is a top contender fight. Brown has a 3" reach advantage.
R1- Brown came in about half way through the round and got caught by Manny. Manny then jumped on top with a bunch of hammer fists and the ref quickly stepped in. Very impressive finish by Manny. He hit him with a right hand and Brown just fell to the mat as his leg buckled. Good stoppage. Looks like Manny is next in line for Jose Aldo...errr the winner of Aldo and Urijah Faber.
Winner: Manvel Gamburyan by TKO (Strikes) 2:22
Bantamweight Fight- Brad Pickett vs. Demetrious Johnson
This is from the pre-show.
R1- Pickett hit a good left hand early. Pickett got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Johnson got back to his feet but immediately got taken back down. Johnson came at Pickett with a flying knee but instead ate a slam. Pickett trapped him in a crucifix but lost the position. Johnson hit a flurry at the end of the round but overall the round went to Pickett. Pickett seems a lot stronger than Johnson.
R2- Pickett is doing a good job timing Johnson's kicks and is doing a good job grabbing his leg whenever he throws a kick. Pickett got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Pickett picked up Johnson and slammed him hard with fifteen seconds left in the round. Pickett 20-18.
"I think Johnson might be the fastest fighter I've ever commentated"- Joe Rogan
R3- Johnson got a take down right off the bat. Pickett got back to his feet but Johnson landed several knees. Pickett got a take down with four minutes left in the round. Johnson got a take down half way through the round. Johnson got another take down but Pickett flipped him over. This round is all about the take downs. This was a really close round and Pickett might have stolen it from the judges due to controlling for the last minute or two. I've got Johnson taking the round but Pickett winning the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 in favor of Pickett
Winner: Brad Pickett by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Title Fight- Ben Henderson (c) (11-1) vs. Donald Cerrone (11-2)
Ben Henderson is coming off of a third round Guillotine Choke victory over former champion Jamie Varner in January. Cerrone is coming off of a Rear Naked Choke submission victory over Ed Ratcliff in December. These two fighters fought for the interim Lightweight Title in October and all three judges scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Ben Henderson. I had the fight even at 38-38 going into the final round and I gave the final round to Cerrone and thought he won the fight 48-47. It was a really close fight. Cerrone has a 3" height and 3" reach advantage.
R1- Cerrone stuffed an early take down but Henderson took him to the cage and delivered some good knees and then completed the take down two minutes into the round. Henderson landed some Ground and Pound and then switched positions and shockingly pulled guard and tapped out Donald Cerrone with a guillotine choke. Ben SMOOTH Henderson with a fantastic fight. Cerrone has a huge bump on his right temple from a knee that Henderson landed. Very impressive performance by Henderson. He really served notice to the MMA world with this victory.
Winner: Ben Henderson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:57
Featherweight Fight- Brandon Visher (13-0) vs. Tyler Toner (10-1)
This pre-show fight is brought to you by Ben SMOOTH Henderson and his early finish of Cowboy Cerrone. I've only seen Visher fight once, at WEC 45, where he KO'd Courtney Buck at the end of the first round. Tyler Toner I've also only seen once and it was on a Strikeforce on NBC 30-minute show where he beat Ricky Johnson by TKO in the 2nd round. Visher is undefeated.
R1- Toner landed a good combination that included a big left hand half way through the round that floored Visher. Toner landed some elbows to the side of the face and the ref stopped the fight. Not a great stoppage as Visher was still in the fight but on the other hand Toner was doing a lot of damage to Visher.
Winner: Tyler Toner by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R1 2:36
The Chad Mendes/Anthony Morrison fight from the Spike TV pre-show is re-shown.
Featherweight Title Fight- Jose Aldo (c) (16-1) vs. Urijah Faber (23-3)
Aldo's last fight was in November when he defeated Mike Brown in the second round by TKO. Aldo has not lost in 5 years and his last six fights have been finished by KO/TKO. Faber's last fight was a Rear Naked Choke victory over Raphael Assuncao. Urijah comes out to a big reaction from his hometown crowd. It was almost difficult to hear Bruce Buffer over the fans applause for Faber during the introductions. This is going to be a tough fight for Faber and I just don't see him winning this fight.
"I think this is the biggest ovation I've ever seen"- Joe Rogan
R1- Aldo threw a leg kick that tripped up Faber at the one and a half minute mark of the round. Aldo landed a good body punch. Not a ton of action as Faber is bouncing around and trying to close on Aldo but not having much luck. Faber jumped in twice and landed a couple of combinations. Faber went to the well one too many times and Aldo met him with a knee that briefly floored Faber as it caught him off-balance. Aldo landed a couple of kicks to close the round. Aldo 10-9 but fairly close as both guys are feeling each other out and Aldo really just letting the fight come to him.
R2- Aldo is landing some good leg kicks. Faber noticeably limps after an Aldo leg kick late in the round. Not a lot of action in this round but Aldo has hurt Faber's leg and put him at a disadvantage going into the next round. Aldo 20-18.
R3- Aldo continues the onslaught on Faber's legs early in this round. Aldo hit a good body kick. Aldo threw a kick and Faber tripped him up but Aldo quickly got to his feet. Aldo hit a good high kick and then started opening up on Faber with strikes and then backed off after Faber covered up and came out swinging. Aldo hit a good body punch at the end of the round and then chopped Faber down with a leg kick but didn't have enough time to go for the finish. As the round ended Faber had trouble getting to his feet and you could see one of his corner men pick him up to carry him back to the corner as the camera cut away. Faber is showing a lot of heart but Aldo is just picking him apart. Aldo 30-27.
R4- Aldo just continues to pepper Faber's legs and Faber goes down and almost invites Aldo to the ground so he doesn't have to take any more leg kicks. Aldo gets full mount and then takes Faber's back. Faber was able to spin out of the position and get back to his feet with three minutes left in the round. Aldo landed another leg kick and Faber went down and Aldo landed a couple of strikes before Faber clinched onto him on the ground. Aldo passed guard into a mounted crucifix position and landed some good punches and elbows to the face. Aldo just continually landing elbows to Faber's face. That's a 10-8 round for Aldo and I've got him up 40-35. Faber showing a ton of heart but Aldo is just on another level than Faber.
"If you look at Urijah's left knee it is unnaturally swollen"- Joe Rogan
R5- Aldo not even looking to strike in the first minute and a half of the final round as Urijah is the aggressor. Urijah went for a take down but was stuffed. Aldo landed a good body shot with about a minute left in the fight. Really tough round to score as neither guy really did anything but the score for this round is a moot point as Aldo dominated Faber tonight and wins this one in a runaway. Very impressive performance from Aldo. The only possible weakness is that he didn't do much in the 5th round so was he tired or just cautious due to him having a huge lead and his opponent being broken down from the leg kicks.
Judges score cards: 49-45, 49-45, 50-45 in favor of Aldo.
Winner: Jose Aldo by Decision (Unanimous)
The Leonard Garcia/Chan Sung Jung fight from the SpikeTV pre-show is shown next due to time left on the PPV.
Arco Arena
Sacramento, California
April 24, 2010
Tonight is the "biggest fight in Featherweight history" between current champion Jose Aldo and former champion Urijah Faber. Also on the card is a Lightweight title re-match between current champion Ben Henderson and top contender Donald Cerrone. The UFC has taken over the WEC duties as Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are the announcers for this show. Bruce Buffer is also doing the ring announcing tonight. Rogan describes Faber/Aldo as the MMA version of Sugar Ray Leonard versus Roberto Duran.
Bantamweight Fight- Antonio Banuelos (18-5) vs. Scott Jorgensen (9-3)
This is a re-match from WEC 41 in June of 2009 in what I thought was a Fight of the Year contender. Banuelos won the fight by split decision. I had Jorgensen taking the fight 29-28 on my score card. Banuelos trains with Chuck Liddell and John Hackleman. Jorgensen has a 3" reach advantage.
R1- Pretty even fight early with Jorgensen taking the center of the octagon but Banuelos doing a decent job counter punching. Banuelos landed a left hook and Jorgensen went down. Banuelos jumped on top but Jorgensen was able to pull him into his guard and avoid the finish. Jorgensen went for an arm bar and then kicked him way back to his feet. Banuelos takes the first round with the knock down 10-9.
R2- Jorgensen lands some strikes in the first minute to open this round. Jorgensen is finding a home for his jab. Jorgensen has busted open Banuelos nose and Rogan says it might be broken. Jorgensen is really picking apart Banuelos in this round. Jorgensen landed a right hand that floored Banuelos with one minute left in the round. Jorgensen easily took this round and evens the fight up at 19-19 going into the final stanza.
"Banuelos is bleeding like a stuck pig"- Joe Rogan
R3- Jorgensen opened up the round with a good combination and once again opened up the nose of Banuelos. Jorgensen hit a right hand about half way through the round and Banuelos hit the deck. Jorgensen followed in and Banuelos tried to cover up. Jorgensen took his back and tried for a Rear Naked Choke but Banuelos spun out of it. Jorgensen remaining on the back of Banuelos and continues to land strikes from the back and then clamped on another Rear Naked Choke but couldn't lock it in. Good fight. Jorgensen will get his revenge as he takes this 29-28 (same score I had the last fight scored). This puts Jorgensen at the top of the WEC featherweight contenders right behind Joseph Benavidez.
"Joe Silva's got blood on his notebook"- Joe Rogan
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all three score cards.
Winner: Scott Jorgensen by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Anthony Njokuani (13-2) vs. Shane Roller (7-2)
Roller is a former D1 wrestler. Njokuani is on a 3-fight win streak and is coming off of a quick victory over Chris Horodecki at WEC 45. Roller fought at WEC 44 and defeated Danny Castillo via Rear Naked Choke in the third round. Both fighters have losses on their record to current Lightweight kingpin Ben Henderson. Njokuani has a 3.5" reach advantage.
R1- Roller immediately went for a take down and after about thirty seconds was able to get Anthony down but Anthony popped right back up. Roller got him down again at the one minute mark of the round. Roller briefly mounted but was pushed off and then Roller took Anthony's back and looked for a Rear Naked. Roller finally was able to clamp in the Rear Naked after working for it for a while and finished the fight. Not a highlight reel win but a very effective one as Roller really executed his game plan to perfection and beat a very dangerous opponent.
Winner: Shane Roller by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 3:07
Jake Shields is ringside and Dana White is right next to him with a huge smile on his face. Wow. What a sight.
The Joe Rogan/Kimbo Slice interview from the Spike TV prelim show is shown again.
Featherweight Fight- Mike Brown (23-5) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (12-5)
Mike Brown is the former Featherweight champion who holds two victories over Urijah Faber. Brown lost to Aldo at WEC 44 and then jumped right back into the cage at WEC 46 to defeat Anthony Morrison. Gamburyan also fought at WEC 44 winning a unanimous decision over Leonard Garcia (Brown also fought Garcia recently finishing him in less than 2 minutes). Gamburyan is 2-0 in WEC since dropping down in weight. This is a top contender fight. Brown has a 3" reach advantage.
R1- Brown came in about half way through the round and got caught by Manny. Manny then jumped on top with a bunch of hammer fists and the ref quickly stepped in. Very impressive finish by Manny. He hit him with a right hand and Brown just fell to the mat as his leg buckled. Good stoppage. Looks like Manny is next in line for Jose Aldo...errr the winner of Aldo and Urijah Faber.
Winner: Manvel Gamburyan by TKO (Strikes) 2:22
Bantamweight Fight- Brad Pickett vs. Demetrious Johnson
This is from the pre-show.
R1- Pickett hit a good left hand early. Pickett got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Johnson got back to his feet but immediately got taken back down. Johnson came at Pickett with a flying knee but instead ate a slam. Pickett trapped him in a crucifix but lost the position. Johnson hit a flurry at the end of the round but overall the round went to Pickett. Pickett seems a lot stronger than Johnson.
R2- Pickett is doing a good job timing Johnson's kicks and is doing a good job grabbing his leg whenever he throws a kick. Pickett got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Pickett picked up Johnson and slammed him hard with fifteen seconds left in the round. Pickett 20-18.
"I think Johnson might be the fastest fighter I've ever commentated"- Joe Rogan
R3- Johnson got a take down right off the bat. Pickett got back to his feet but Johnson landed several knees. Pickett got a take down with four minutes left in the round. Johnson got a take down half way through the round. Johnson got another take down but Pickett flipped him over. This round is all about the take downs. This was a really close round and Pickett might have stolen it from the judges due to controlling for the last minute or two. I've got Johnson taking the round but Pickett winning the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 in favor of Pickett
Winner: Brad Pickett by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Title Fight- Ben Henderson (c) (11-1) vs. Donald Cerrone (11-2)
Ben Henderson is coming off of a third round Guillotine Choke victory over former champion Jamie Varner in January. Cerrone is coming off of a Rear Naked Choke submission victory over Ed Ratcliff in December. These two fighters fought for the interim Lightweight Title in October and all three judges scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Ben Henderson. I had the fight even at 38-38 going into the final round and I gave the final round to Cerrone and thought he won the fight 48-47. It was a really close fight. Cerrone has a 3" height and 3" reach advantage.
R1- Cerrone stuffed an early take down but Henderson took him to the cage and delivered some good knees and then completed the take down two minutes into the round. Henderson landed some Ground and Pound and then switched positions and shockingly pulled guard and tapped out Donald Cerrone with a guillotine choke. Ben SMOOTH Henderson with a fantastic fight. Cerrone has a huge bump on his right temple from a knee that Henderson landed. Very impressive performance by Henderson. He really served notice to the MMA world with this victory.
Winner: Ben Henderson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:57
Featherweight Fight- Brandon Visher (13-0) vs. Tyler Toner (10-1)
This pre-show fight is brought to you by Ben SMOOTH Henderson and his early finish of Cowboy Cerrone. I've only seen Visher fight once, at WEC 45, where he KO'd Courtney Buck at the end of the first round. Tyler Toner I've also only seen once and it was on a Strikeforce on NBC 30-minute show where he beat Ricky Johnson by TKO in the 2nd round. Visher is undefeated.
R1- Toner landed a good combination that included a big left hand half way through the round that floored Visher. Toner landed some elbows to the side of the face and the ref stopped the fight. Not a great stoppage as Visher was still in the fight but on the other hand Toner was doing a lot of damage to Visher.
Winner: Tyler Toner by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R1 2:36
The Chad Mendes/Anthony Morrison fight from the Spike TV pre-show is re-shown.
Featherweight Title Fight- Jose Aldo (c) (16-1) vs. Urijah Faber (23-3)
Aldo's last fight was in November when he defeated Mike Brown in the second round by TKO. Aldo has not lost in 5 years and his last six fights have been finished by KO/TKO. Faber's last fight was a Rear Naked Choke victory over Raphael Assuncao. Urijah comes out to a big reaction from his hometown crowd. It was almost difficult to hear Bruce Buffer over the fans applause for Faber during the introductions. This is going to be a tough fight for Faber and I just don't see him winning this fight.
"I think this is the biggest ovation I've ever seen"- Joe Rogan
R1- Aldo threw a leg kick that tripped up Faber at the one and a half minute mark of the round. Aldo landed a good body punch. Not a ton of action as Faber is bouncing around and trying to close on Aldo but not having much luck. Faber jumped in twice and landed a couple of combinations. Faber went to the well one too many times and Aldo met him with a knee that briefly floored Faber as it caught him off-balance. Aldo landed a couple of kicks to close the round. Aldo 10-9 but fairly close as both guys are feeling each other out and Aldo really just letting the fight come to him.
R2- Aldo is landing some good leg kicks. Faber noticeably limps after an Aldo leg kick late in the round. Not a lot of action in this round but Aldo has hurt Faber's leg and put him at a disadvantage going into the next round. Aldo 20-18.
R3- Aldo continues the onslaught on Faber's legs early in this round. Aldo hit a good body kick. Aldo threw a kick and Faber tripped him up but Aldo quickly got to his feet. Aldo hit a good high kick and then started opening up on Faber with strikes and then backed off after Faber covered up and came out swinging. Aldo hit a good body punch at the end of the round and then chopped Faber down with a leg kick but didn't have enough time to go for the finish. As the round ended Faber had trouble getting to his feet and you could see one of his corner men pick him up to carry him back to the corner as the camera cut away. Faber is showing a lot of heart but Aldo is just picking him apart. Aldo 30-27.
R4- Aldo just continues to pepper Faber's legs and Faber goes down and almost invites Aldo to the ground so he doesn't have to take any more leg kicks. Aldo gets full mount and then takes Faber's back. Faber was able to spin out of the position and get back to his feet with three minutes left in the round. Aldo landed another leg kick and Faber went down and Aldo landed a couple of strikes before Faber clinched onto him on the ground. Aldo passed guard into a mounted crucifix position and landed some good punches and elbows to the face. Aldo just continually landing elbows to Faber's face. That's a 10-8 round for Aldo and I've got him up 40-35. Faber showing a ton of heart but Aldo is just on another level than Faber.
"If you look at Urijah's left knee it is unnaturally swollen"- Joe Rogan
R5- Aldo not even looking to strike in the first minute and a half of the final round as Urijah is the aggressor. Urijah went for a take down but was stuffed. Aldo landed a good body shot with about a minute left in the fight. Really tough round to score as neither guy really did anything but the score for this round is a moot point as Aldo dominated Faber tonight and wins this one in a runaway. Very impressive performance from Aldo. The only possible weakness is that he didn't do much in the 5th round so was he tired or just cautious due to him having a huge lead and his opponent being broken down from the leg kicks.
Judges score cards: 49-45, 49-45, 50-45 in favor of Aldo.
Winner: Jose Aldo by Decision (Unanimous)
The Leonard Garcia/Chan Sung Jung fight from the SpikeTV pre-show is shown next due to time left on the PPV.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
WEC: Aldo vs. Faber Prelims Re-Cap
WEC: Aldo vs. Faber Prelims
Arco Arena
Sacramento, California
April 24, 2010
Spike TV
Tonight is the "biggest fight in Featherweight history" between current champion Jose Aldo and former champion Urijah Faber and to hype the first ever WEC PPV we get a free hour of fights on Spike TV! The UFC has taken over the WEC airwaves as Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are the announcers for this show. Bruce Buffer is also doing the ring announcing tonight. Leonard Garcia of UFC fame and Alex Karalexis from TUF 1 will be on the prelims.
Lightweight Fight- Alexis Karalexis (10-4) vs. Anthony Pettis (8-1)
Pettis has a huge 6" reach advantage and also has a 2" height advantage.
R1- Pettis hit an incredible kick early and Karalexis clinched to survive. It almost looked like a Superman Kick (Rogan later called it a Switch Kick). In March of 2009 Pettis hit a highlight reel head kick to beat Danny Castillo. Pettis is big time with his feet. Karalexis caught a kick and took Pettis down but Pettis got back to his feet mid-way through the round. Pettis caught a Karalexis leg kick and landed a good straight right. Pettis is the much better striker in this fight. Karalexis looking to brawl and get the fight to the ground. Pettis just landed a couple of really nice leg kicks and Karalexis looks like he's favoring them a bit. Pettis continues to land kicks and Karalexis has to change his stance. Pettis 10-9.
R2- Karalexis rushed in and got an early take down but Pettis quickly got back to his feet. Karalexis completed another take down one minute into the round. Pettis has a very active guard and he trapped Karalexis in a triangle and landed a couple of strikes and Karalexis tapped out. Good showing by Pettis, he showed tonight that he was a superior striker to his opponent and also showed the ability to finish the fight once it went to the ground and even better showed the ability to finish from the bottom.
Winner: Anthony Pettis by Submission (Triangle Choke) R2 1:35
Featherweight Fight- Chad Mendes (6-0) vs. Anthony Morrison
This one pops on without any Bruce Buffer so it was taped earlier. Goldberg says Mendes is the hometown kid and has lots of hype behind him. Mendes has a background has a college wrestler.
R1- Mendes came in early with some strikes and landed a few. Mendes shot in and got a take down at the two minute mark of the round. Mendes grabbed a guillotine and Morrison tapped out. Impressive showing by Mendes.
Winner: Chad Mendes by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 2:13
Joe Rogan interviews Kimbo Slice via Satelitte about his May 8th fight against Matt Mitrione. Kimbo = Ratings.
Featherweight Fight- Leonard Garcia (17-5-1) vs. Chan Sung Jung (10-1)
Chan Sung Jung fought in the Sengoku Featherweight tournament where he beat Shintaro Ishiwatari by Rear Naked Choke in the first round and then lost to Masanori Kanehara in the second round in a close decision loss. If you are a fan of MMA then you should know who Leonard Garcia is, if you don't then go run and google his fight with Roger Huerta and then come back and read the rest of this re-cap. Garcia last fought at WEC 44 where he lost a close decision to Manvel Gamburyan and before that he beat Jameel Massouh by split decision at WEC 42. Jung has a 2.5" reach but Garcia has a 3" height advantage. Jung's nickname is the "Korean Zombie". Garcia has Yoda in his corner for the fight.
R1- GREAT exchange around the one minute mark of this fight with both guys just throwing bombs and crazy haymakers.
Crowd going nuts. Jung throwing some good knees. Jung landed a good left hand that floored Garcia. Jung on top with some short elbows but Garcia clinches onto him looking for a submission but Jung fought him off and landed some more Ground and Pound. Garcia got back to his feet with one minute left in the round. Garcia still throwing haymakers but coming up empty and Jung is landing some jabs. Jung landed a head kick but didn't have anything behind it and Garcia smiled and wagged his tongue at Jung and then landed a right hand. Jung continues to land punches and knees. Great first round, one of the best first rounds of this year. Jung 10-9. This fight is a great way to sell a Pay-Per View.
"This place is going bananas"- Joe Rogan
"This just chaos"- Joe Rogan
"Every punch Garcia throws is like a 90 mile per hour fast ball"- Joe Rogan
R2- Jung lands another head kick to start off the round and then landed some strikes. Both guys throwing BOMBS again and Garcia finally finds a home for one of his and Jung went down to his knees. Garcia hit him with another right as he was getting back to his feet. Garcia missed a spinning back fist and then Jung tried one and missed as well. REALLY FUN fight right now. A ton of action so far in this round and we are only a minute into this round. Crowd is going nuts for this prelim bout just wait til Faber hits the cage. Garcia tried a back kick and left himself open and Jung landed some good strikes. Jung jumped on Garcia's back and took him down. Looks like he's looking for a Rear Naked Choke. Jung locked in a body triangle but Garcia was able to break that and get back onto his feet with two minutes still left in the round. Really good defense by Garcia. Jung lands some good knees and gets Garcia up against the cage and is just pelting him with strikes. Garcia lost his mouthpiece but they quickly picked it up and he put it back in with no rinse and they are back at it. Garcia hit a good right uppercut. They show Urijah in the back cheering as he watches the fight. To me this was a 10-10 round but you have to go one way or the other so I'll give it to Jung because he landed more strikes and had Garcia in more dangerous positions. So i've got it Jung 20-18.
"This is a Rocky movie"- Joe Rogan
"This place is deafening"- Joe Rogan
"This might be the craziest fight we've ever seen"- Joe Rogan
R3- Garcia lands some early leg kicks. Both guys have slowed down a bit. Garcia misses with a spinning back kick. Jung missed with a spinning back fist but got Garcia off balance and landed some strikes. Jung got Garcia with his back to the cage and landed several good strikes. Garcia just showing an iron chin tonight. Garcia missed a kick and Jung looked at Garcia and yelled a Korean War Cry at him and charged forward. Man this is a great fight. Both guys swing for the fences at the end but nobody connects. GREAT FIGHT. I've got Jung 30-27.
Judges score cards: 29-28 Garcia, 29-28 Jung, 29-28 Garcia
One of the best fights of the year so far but a poor decision by the judges. Let me go know and delete Jung's name from the winner list and replace it with Garcia before you get down that far to read it.
Winner: Leonard Garcia by Decision (Split)
Joe Rogan and Dana White sell the PPV as we go off the air and head to PPV.
Arco Arena
Sacramento, California
April 24, 2010
Spike TV
Tonight is the "biggest fight in Featherweight history" between current champion Jose Aldo and former champion Urijah Faber and to hype the first ever WEC PPV we get a free hour of fights on Spike TV! The UFC has taken over the WEC airwaves as Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are the announcers for this show. Bruce Buffer is also doing the ring announcing tonight. Leonard Garcia of UFC fame and Alex Karalexis from TUF 1 will be on the prelims.
Lightweight Fight- Alexis Karalexis (10-4) vs. Anthony Pettis (8-1)
Pettis has a huge 6" reach advantage and also has a 2" height advantage.
R1- Pettis hit an incredible kick early and Karalexis clinched to survive. It almost looked like a Superman Kick (Rogan later called it a Switch Kick). In March of 2009 Pettis hit a highlight reel head kick to beat Danny Castillo. Pettis is big time with his feet. Karalexis caught a kick and took Pettis down but Pettis got back to his feet mid-way through the round. Pettis caught a Karalexis leg kick and landed a good straight right. Pettis is the much better striker in this fight. Karalexis looking to brawl and get the fight to the ground. Pettis just landed a couple of really nice leg kicks and Karalexis looks like he's favoring them a bit. Pettis continues to land kicks and Karalexis has to change his stance. Pettis 10-9.
R2- Karalexis rushed in and got an early take down but Pettis quickly got back to his feet. Karalexis completed another take down one minute into the round. Pettis has a very active guard and he trapped Karalexis in a triangle and landed a couple of strikes and Karalexis tapped out. Good showing by Pettis, he showed tonight that he was a superior striker to his opponent and also showed the ability to finish the fight once it went to the ground and even better showed the ability to finish from the bottom.
Winner: Anthony Pettis by Submission (Triangle Choke) R2 1:35
Featherweight Fight- Chad Mendes (6-0) vs. Anthony Morrison
This one pops on without any Bruce Buffer so it was taped earlier. Goldberg says Mendes is the hometown kid and has lots of hype behind him. Mendes has a background has a college wrestler.
R1- Mendes came in early with some strikes and landed a few. Mendes shot in and got a take down at the two minute mark of the round. Mendes grabbed a guillotine and Morrison tapped out. Impressive showing by Mendes.
Winner: Chad Mendes by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 2:13
Joe Rogan interviews Kimbo Slice via Satelitte about his May 8th fight against Matt Mitrione. Kimbo = Ratings.
Featherweight Fight- Leonard Garcia (17-5-1) vs. Chan Sung Jung (10-1)
Chan Sung Jung fought in the Sengoku Featherweight tournament where he beat Shintaro Ishiwatari by Rear Naked Choke in the first round and then lost to Masanori Kanehara in the second round in a close decision loss. If you are a fan of MMA then you should know who Leonard Garcia is, if you don't then go run and google his fight with Roger Huerta and then come back and read the rest of this re-cap. Garcia last fought at WEC 44 where he lost a close decision to Manvel Gamburyan and before that he beat Jameel Massouh by split decision at WEC 42. Jung has a 2.5" reach but Garcia has a 3" height advantage. Jung's nickname is the "Korean Zombie". Garcia has Yoda in his corner for the fight.
R1- GREAT exchange around the one minute mark of this fight with both guys just throwing bombs and crazy haymakers.
Crowd going nuts. Jung throwing some good knees. Jung landed a good left hand that floored Garcia. Jung on top with some short elbows but Garcia clinches onto him looking for a submission but Jung fought him off and landed some more Ground and Pound. Garcia got back to his feet with one minute left in the round. Garcia still throwing haymakers but coming up empty and Jung is landing some jabs. Jung landed a head kick but didn't have anything behind it and Garcia smiled and wagged his tongue at Jung and then landed a right hand. Jung continues to land punches and knees. Great first round, one of the best first rounds of this year. Jung 10-9. This fight is a great way to sell a Pay-Per View.
"This place is going bananas"- Joe Rogan
"This just chaos"- Joe Rogan
"Every punch Garcia throws is like a 90 mile per hour fast ball"- Joe Rogan
R2- Jung lands another head kick to start off the round and then landed some strikes. Both guys throwing BOMBS again and Garcia finally finds a home for one of his and Jung went down to his knees. Garcia hit him with another right as he was getting back to his feet. Garcia missed a spinning back fist and then Jung tried one and missed as well. REALLY FUN fight right now. A ton of action so far in this round and we are only a minute into this round. Crowd is going nuts for this prelim bout just wait til Faber hits the cage. Garcia tried a back kick and left himself open and Jung landed some good strikes. Jung jumped on Garcia's back and took him down. Looks like he's looking for a Rear Naked Choke. Jung locked in a body triangle but Garcia was able to break that and get back onto his feet with two minutes still left in the round. Really good defense by Garcia. Jung lands some good knees and gets Garcia up against the cage and is just pelting him with strikes. Garcia lost his mouthpiece but they quickly picked it up and he put it back in with no rinse and they are back at it. Garcia hit a good right uppercut. They show Urijah in the back cheering as he watches the fight. To me this was a 10-10 round but you have to go one way or the other so I'll give it to Jung because he landed more strikes and had Garcia in more dangerous positions. So i've got it Jung 20-18.
"This is a Rocky movie"- Joe Rogan
"This place is deafening"- Joe Rogan
"This might be the craziest fight we've ever seen"- Joe Rogan
R3- Garcia lands some early leg kicks. Both guys have slowed down a bit. Garcia misses with a spinning back kick. Jung missed with a spinning back fist but got Garcia off balance and landed some strikes. Jung got Garcia with his back to the cage and landed several good strikes. Garcia just showing an iron chin tonight. Garcia missed a kick and Jung looked at Garcia and yelled a Korean War Cry at him and charged forward. Man this is a great fight. Both guys swing for the fences at the end but nobody connects. GREAT FIGHT. I've got Jung 30-27.
Judges score cards: 29-28 Garcia, 29-28 Jung, 29-28 Garcia
One of the best fights of the year so far but a poor decision by the judges. Let me go know and delete Jung's name from the winner list and replace it with Garcia before you get down that far to read it.
Winner: Leonard Garcia by Decision (Split)
Joe Rogan and Dana White sell the PPV as we go off the air and head to PPV.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
TUF Season 11 Episode 4 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Episode 4 Re-Cap
"Clown Box"
Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
Last week on TUF we saw Brad Tavares defeated James Hammortree by Decision and put Team Liddell up 2-0. We also saw Chris Camozzi leave the house due to an injury and Seth Baczynski brought into the house. Chuck still has control of picking the fights and he picks Rich Attonito to fight Kyacey Uscola.
Kyacey has a child on the way and he says that it will be born half way through the TUF taping so he will miss the birth. Tito believes in Kyacey's take downs, take down defense, submissions and his hands. Tito wants him to strike, defend the take down and get back up if he gets taken down. Kyacey feels he is a better wrestler than Rich, says he hits harder, is more experienced and says he's hungrier.
John Hackleman calls Rich one of the top guys on the show skill and experience wise. Says he's a world class fighter that trains at a world class gym (American Top Team) and says he could be the best guy on the show. Chuck says he's a good wrestler, has good shots and take downs and Chuck says he's been told Kyacey has trouble getting off his back so Rich should be able to take him down and Ground and Pound him. Chuck had previous commitments and has to be gone for 3 days so he will miss Rich's fight against Kyacey.
Kyacey gets upset with Yager when he finds a jacket of his in Yager's closet. Kris McCray says he was the one that picked it up. Kyacey and Yager walk down the stairs together and threaten each other the entire way and continue to jaw at each other in the van on the way to training with a ton of bleeps. They continue to jaw at each other in the locker room with Tito sitting in between them.
"Jaime Yager, he's a clown box. I just don't want to hit the guy. I'm trying to be calm and keep my head in the game and focus on what I need to do to win this thing"- Kyacey Uscola
"Kyacey...I'm gonna break him, take his heart, I'm gonna take his will and after that I'm gonna get the victory. He's gonna fold like a lawn chair and that's gonna be all she wrote"- Rich Attonito
Middleweight Fight- Rich Attonito (Team Liddell) (7-3) vs. Kyacey Uscola (Team Ortiz) (18-15)
R1- They exchanged right hands early. Rich hit a good combo that floored Kyacey one minute into the fight. Rich jumped on top and threw some wild Ground and Pound. Kyacey got to his feet but Rich picked him up and turned him upside down and slammed him onto the back of his neck. Kyacey grabs Rich in a kimura and uses it to take side control. Kyacey threw a wild knee as Rich was getting up and connected with Rich's head. I couldn't tell from the angle of the camera if Rich was still on the ground or not. Right before the knee was thrown Rich's knee was definitely down but it looked like he was starting to lift up off the mat. At this point they cut to commercial. The ref sees it as an illegal blow and calls it a DQ. Kyacey calls for Rich to get up and fight and yells about seeing the re-play. Dana says the ref made the right call. Says that Rich was dominating the fight until Rich got hit with the illegal knees. At minimum this is a good set up for Kyacey to come back as one of the fighters at the end of the first round who fight their way back onto the show. Post-fight Tito goes all Rampage on one of the flimsy UFC Training Center doors.
Winner: Rich Attonito by DQ (Illegal Knee Strike) R1
Post-fight in the locker room Rich says he thinks he broke his hand and says that he won't be fighting any more on the show. Team Liddell is up 3-0 and Chuck picks Charles Blanchard to fight Jamie Yager. Liddell says he thinks Blanchard matches up well with Yager.
"If he slips on a banana peel walking into the cage...that's the only way he's going to lose. That's how much belief I have in Yager. I think he'll do well. It's time to take control. If we lose this fight I'm literally going to shoot myself."- Tito Ortiz
Chuck says Blanchard's strengths will give Yager problems. Chuck says he has great take downs, he mixes his strikes up well, and he has a solid top game. Tito sees parallels in his life and that of Yager in that they came from a troubled past. Tito says Yager has the talent, he works hard and he puts his time in and that's what it's all about. Tito says Yager needs to continually move his feet to win the fight and defend the take down.
"Our team hasn't won yet so I definitely feel like the weights on my shoulder to get the win and I definitely think I'm the one that's going to change the events as far as whats been going on in the fights. I'm the chosen one. It's time to do work."- Jamie Yager
Middleweight Fight- Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz) (2-1) vs. Charles Blanchard (Team Liddell) (7-2)
R1- Yager has a big height advantage although it could just be the hair. Blanchard went for a take down, ate a punch and kept working for it but Yager did a good job of sprawling out. Yager hit a big-time Superman Punch right-hand and then jumped on top and finished the fight. Impressive showing for Yager.
Winner: Jamie Yager by TKO (Strikes) R1
"Yager sucked the desire right out of that kid. Put it to him, hit him with some big shots and he basically just laid down and turtled up and got punched into submission"- Dana White
Here are my way too early rankings based only on the first three TUF shows. Rankings will change drastically after the first round of fights I am sure.
Middleweight Rankings:
1. Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz Pick #4)- defeated Charles Blanchard (TKO (Strikes) R1)
2. Kyle Noke (Team Liddell Pick #1)- defeated Clayton McKinney (Triangle Choke R1)
3. Nick Ring (Team Ortiz Pick #1)
4. Kris McCray (Team Ortiz Pick #3)
5. Brad Tavares (Team Liddell Pick #5)- defeated James Hammortree (Decision)
6. Court McGee (Team Liddell Pick #6)
7. Rich Attonito (Team Liddell Pick #2)- defeated Kyacey Uscola (DQ- Illegal Knees)
8. Joe Henle (Team Liddell Pick #7)
9. Josh Bryant (Team Liddell Pick #4)
10. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz Replacement)
Eliminated:
Clayton McKinney by Kyle Noke (First Round)
Chris Camozzi- left due to injury
James Hammortree by Brad Tavares (First Round)
Kyacey Uscola by Rich Attonito (First Round- DQ'd Illegal Knees)
Charles Blanchard by Jamie Yager (First Round)
"Clown Box"
Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
Last week on TUF we saw Brad Tavares defeated James Hammortree by Decision and put Team Liddell up 2-0. We also saw Chris Camozzi leave the house due to an injury and Seth Baczynski brought into the house. Chuck still has control of picking the fights and he picks Rich Attonito to fight Kyacey Uscola.
Kyacey has a child on the way and he says that it will be born half way through the TUF taping so he will miss the birth. Tito believes in Kyacey's take downs, take down defense, submissions and his hands. Tito wants him to strike, defend the take down and get back up if he gets taken down. Kyacey feels he is a better wrestler than Rich, says he hits harder, is more experienced and says he's hungrier.
John Hackleman calls Rich one of the top guys on the show skill and experience wise. Says he's a world class fighter that trains at a world class gym (American Top Team) and says he could be the best guy on the show. Chuck says he's a good wrestler, has good shots and take downs and Chuck says he's been told Kyacey has trouble getting off his back so Rich should be able to take him down and Ground and Pound him. Chuck had previous commitments and has to be gone for 3 days so he will miss Rich's fight against Kyacey.
Kyacey gets upset with Yager when he finds a jacket of his in Yager's closet. Kris McCray says he was the one that picked it up. Kyacey and Yager walk down the stairs together and threaten each other the entire way and continue to jaw at each other in the van on the way to training with a ton of bleeps. They continue to jaw at each other in the locker room with Tito sitting in between them.
"Jaime Yager, he's a clown box. I just don't want to hit the guy. I'm trying to be calm and keep my head in the game and focus on what I need to do to win this thing"- Kyacey Uscola
"Kyacey...I'm gonna break him, take his heart, I'm gonna take his will and after that I'm gonna get the victory. He's gonna fold like a lawn chair and that's gonna be all she wrote"- Rich Attonito
Middleweight Fight- Rich Attonito (Team Liddell) (7-3) vs. Kyacey Uscola (Team Ortiz) (18-15)
R1- They exchanged right hands early. Rich hit a good combo that floored Kyacey one minute into the fight. Rich jumped on top and threw some wild Ground and Pound. Kyacey got to his feet but Rich picked him up and turned him upside down and slammed him onto the back of his neck. Kyacey grabs Rich in a kimura and uses it to take side control. Kyacey threw a wild knee as Rich was getting up and connected with Rich's head. I couldn't tell from the angle of the camera if Rich was still on the ground or not. Right before the knee was thrown Rich's knee was definitely down but it looked like he was starting to lift up off the mat. At this point they cut to commercial. The ref sees it as an illegal blow and calls it a DQ. Kyacey calls for Rich to get up and fight and yells about seeing the re-play. Dana says the ref made the right call. Says that Rich was dominating the fight until Rich got hit with the illegal knees. At minimum this is a good set up for Kyacey to come back as one of the fighters at the end of the first round who fight their way back onto the show. Post-fight Tito goes all Rampage on one of the flimsy UFC Training Center doors.
Winner: Rich Attonito by DQ (Illegal Knee Strike) R1
Post-fight in the locker room Rich says he thinks he broke his hand and says that he won't be fighting any more on the show. Team Liddell is up 3-0 and Chuck picks Charles Blanchard to fight Jamie Yager. Liddell says he thinks Blanchard matches up well with Yager.
"If he slips on a banana peel walking into the cage...that's the only way he's going to lose. That's how much belief I have in Yager. I think he'll do well. It's time to take control. If we lose this fight I'm literally going to shoot myself."- Tito Ortiz
Chuck says Blanchard's strengths will give Yager problems. Chuck says he has great take downs, he mixes his strikes up well, and he has a solid top game. Tito sees parallels in his life and that of Yager in that they came from a troubled past. Tito says Yager has the talent, he works hard and he puts his time in and that's what it's all about. Tito says Yager needs to continually move his feet to win the fight and defend the take down.
"Our team hasn't won yet so I definitely feel like the weights on my shoulder to get the win and I definitely think I'm the one that's going to change the events as far as whats been going on in the fights. I'm the chosen one. It's time to do work."- Jamie Yager
Middleweight Fight- Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz) (2-1) vs. Charles Blanchard (Team Liddell) (7-2)
R1- Yager has a big height advantage although it could just be the hair. Blanchard went for a take down, ate a punch and kept working for it but Yager did a good job of sprawling out. Yager hit a big-time Superman Punch right-hand and then jumped on top and finished the fight. Impressive showing for Yager.
Winner: Jamie Yager by TKO (Strikes) R1
"Yager sucked the desire right out of that kid. Put it to him, hit him with some big shots and he basically just laid down and turtled up and got punched into submission"- Dana White
Here are my way too early rankings based only on the first three TUF shows. Rankings will change drastically after the first round of fights I am sure.
Middleweight Rankings:
1. Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz Pick #4)- defeated Charles Blanchard (TKO (Strikes) R1)
2. Kyle Noke (Team Liddell Pick #1)- defeated Clayton McKinney (Triangle Choke R1)
3. Nick Ring (Team Ortiz Pick #1)
4. Kris McCray (Team Ortiz Pick #3)
5. Brad Tavares (Team Liddell Pick #5)- defeated James Hammortree (Decision)
6. Court McGee (Team Liddell Pick #6)
7. Rich Attonito (Team Liddell Pick #2)- defeated Kyacey Uscola (DQ- Illegal Knees)
8. Joe Henle (Team Liddell Pick #7)
9. Josh Bryant (Team Liddell Pick #4)
10. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz Replacement)
Eliminated:
Clayton McKinney by Kyle Noke (First Round)
Chris Camozzi- left due to injury
James Hammortree by Brad Tavares (First Round)
Kyacey Uscola by Rich Attonito (First Round- DQ'd Illegal Knees)
Charles Blanchard by Jamie Yager (First Round)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Bellator 14 4/15 Re-Cap
Bellator 14
Bellator Fighting Championships
Chicago Theatre
Chicago, Illinois
April 15, 2010
Fox Sports South
Last week was the start of season 2 of the Bellator Fighting Championships and we saw opening round action in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. Toby Imada, Wilson Reis, Pat Curran and Ben Askren highlight the fights tonight as we have fights in the lightweight, featherweight, and welterweight divisions. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.
Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- Mike Ricci (5-0) vs. Pat Curran (9-3)
Ricci trains with Georges St-Pierre and is currently undefeated. Ricci has finished 4 of his 5 fights with 3 of the wins coming by KO. Pat Curran is the cousin of MMA veteran Jeff Curran.
R1- Really boring first half of the first round and then just as they were lulling me to sleep Pat Curran hit a right hand that just stopped Ricci and then landed four big Ground and Pound strikes and this one is in the record books. Wow. Fantastic finish by Curran.
Winner: Pat Curran by KO R1 3:01
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2)
Reis was undefeated until he lost to Joe Soto in the semi-finals of last years Bellator tournament. Lierley is a wrestler who is currently training with Roger Huerta. Reis is a former jiu jitsu world champion.
R1- Both guys start at a pretty frantic pace and when the fight didn't go to the ground both guys started throwing wild haymakers. Reis got a take down a minute and a half into the fight. Lierley was able to get to his feet and then get a take down but Reis quickly reversed positions and took Lierley's back. Lierley got out and Reis went for an arm bar but Lierley again slipped out. Reis ended the round with a take down. Reis 10-9.
R2- Reis fought to get top position early in this round but wasn't able to do anything with it. Reis got another take down with three minutes left in the round. This one has turned into a snoozer so of course the announcers call these guys cerebral fighters. Which I don't disagree with I just liked their cerebralness more last round. Reis 10-9 and seems to be in control of this fight right now.
R3- Reis got a take down in the first thirty seconds of this round. Reis landed some Ground and Pound and then surprisingly finished the fight. Good showing by Reis and I was definitely surprised he finished the fight as he looked like he was going to Jon Fitch this one out.
Winner: Wilson Reis by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 3:33
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Ben Askren (3-0) vs. Ryan Thomas (10-3)
Askren is a former Olympic wrestler and former NCAA wrestling champion. Thomas has a background in wrestling and Muay Thai and has UFC experience. He has also finished all of his 10 victories (7 by submission and 3 by knockout). Askren has finished all 3 of his opponents in the first round and is currently training out of the Lions Den. Askren just got married last week and they show her at ringside and the announcers mention that this is their honeymoon.
"Let's see how good he can wrestle with my fist in his mouth and my foot up his ass"- Ryan Thomas
R1- Thomas hit a quick punch and tried to egg Askren on but Askren immediately got a take down. Thomas went for a triangle and Askren slipped out of the submission attempt. Askren went for a choke but gave up position. Thomas took top position for about five seconds before Askren rolled him back over. Askren clamped on a guillotine and the ref stopped the fight despite Thomas not tapping out and him not being choked out. Horrible stoppage. Askren looked good. Not his fault. Just really bad referring.
Winner: Ben Askren by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:40
Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- James Krause (11-2) vs. Toby Imada (25-13)
The announcers say Krause cut from 190 to 155 over the last week. Krause is replacing a French Olympian that I would butcher his name if I tried to type. Krause has finished all 11 of his wins (9 submissions and 2 knockouts) Imada upset Jorge Masvidal last year in Bellator when he finished him with a sick inverted triangle that took home many submission of the year awards. Imada has 15 submission wins and 9 knockouts in his 25 wins. Imada lost to Eddie Alvarez in the Lightweight Finals of last years Bellator tournament. Krause has a big height advantage.
R1- Imada got a take down about a minute and a half into the fight. Imada went for an omaplata but Krause slipped out and took top position with a minute and a half left in the round. Close round. I've got Imada 10-9.
R2- Imada quickly got top position on Krause. Krause got the fight back to the feet but Imada got another take down at around the three minute mark. Imada went for an arm bar and Krause quickly tapped out. Good showing for Imada.
Winner: Toby Imada by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 2:44
Bellator Fighting Championships
Chicago Theatre
Chicago, Illinois
April 15, 2010
Fox Sports South
Last week was the start of season 2 of the Bellator Fighting Championships and we saw opening round action in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. Toby Imada, Wilson Reis, Pat Curran and Ben Askren highlight the fights tonight as we have fights in the lightweight, featherweight, and welterweight divisions. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.
Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- Mike Ricci (5-0) vs. Pat Curran (9-3)
Ricci trains with Georges St-Pierre and is currently undefeated. Ricci has finished 4 of his 5 fights with 3 of the wins coming by KO. Pat Curran is the cousin of MMA veteran Jeff Curran.
R1- Really boring first half of the first round and then just as they were lulling me to sleep Pat Curran hit a right hand that just stopped Ricci and then landed four big Ground and Pound strikes and this one is in the record books. Wow. Fantastic finish by Curran.
Winner: Pat Curran by KO R1 3:01
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2)
Reis was undefeated until he lost to Joe Soto in the semi-finals of last years Bellator tournament. Lierley is a wrestler who is currently training with Roger Huerta. Reis is a former jiu jitsu world champion.
R1- Both guys start at a pretty frantic pace and when the fight didn't go to the ground both guys started throwing wild haymakers. Reis got a take down a minute and a half into the fight. Lierley was able to get to his feet and then get a take down but Reis quickly reversed positions and took Lierley's back. Lierley got out and Reis went for an arm bar but Lierley again slipped out. Reis ended the round with a take down. Reis 10-9.
R2- Reis fought to get top position early in this round but wasn't able to do anything with it. Reis got another take down with three minutes left in the round. This one has turned into a snoozer so of course the announcers call these guys cerebral fighters. Which I don't disagree with I just liked their cerebralness more last round. Reis 10-9 and seems to be in control of this fight right now.
R3- Reis got a take down in the first thirty seconds of this round. Reis landed some Ground and Pound and then surprisingly finished the fight. Good showing by Reis and I was definitely surprised he finished the fight as he looked like he was going to Jon Fitch this one out.
Winner: Wilson Reis by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 3:33
Welterweight Quarterfinal Fight- Ben Askren (3-0) vs. Ryan Thomas (10-3)
Askren is a former Olympic wrestler and former NCAA wrestling champion. Thomas has a background in wrestling and Muay Thai and has UFC experience. He has also finished all of his 10 victories (7 by submission and 3 by knockout). Askren has finished all 3 of his opponents in the first round and is currently training out of the Lions Den. Askren just got married last week and they show her at ringside and the announcers mention that this is their honeymoon.
"Let's see how good he can wrestle with my fist in his mouth and my foot up his ass"- Ryan Thomas
R1- Thomas hit a quick punch and tried to egg Askren on but Askren immediately got a take down. Thomas went for a triangle and Askren slipped out of the submission attempt. Askren went for a choke but gave up position. Thomas took top position for about five seconds before Askren rolled him back over. Askren clamped on a guillotine and the ref stopped the fight despite Thomas not tapping out and him not being choked out. Horrible stoppage. Askren looked good. Not his fault. Just really bad referring.
Winner: Ben Askren by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:40
Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- James Krause (11-2) vs. Toby Imada (25-13)
The announcers say Krause cut from 190 to 155 over the last week. Krause is replacing a French Olympian that I would butcher his name if I tried to type. Krause has finished all 11 of his wins (9 submissions and 2 knockouts) Imada upset Jorge Masvidal last year in Bellator when he finished him with a sick inverted triangle that took home many submission of the year awards. Imada has 15 submission wins and 9 knockouts in his 25 wins. Imada lost to Eddie Alvarez in the Lightweight Finals of last years Bellator tournament. Krause has a big height advantage.
R1- Imada got a take down about a minute and a half into the fight. Imada went for an omaplata but Krause slipped out and took top position with a minute and a half left in the round. Close round. I've got Imada 10-9.
R2- Imada quickly got top position on Krause. Krause got the fight back to the feet but Imada got another take down at around the three minute mark. Imada went for an arm bar and Krause quickly tapped out. Good showing for Imada.
Winner: Toby Imada by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 2:44
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights 4/17 Re-Cap
Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights
Bridgestone Arena
Saturday, April 17
Nashville, Tennessee
CBS
Strikeforce has an all-star card for the hardcore MMA fans with Dan Henderson/Jake Shields, Gegard Mousasi/King Mo Lawal, and Gilbert Melendez/Shinya Aoki. In my predictions I put out earlier this week I picked Henderson, Mousasi and Melendez. I honestly think all 3 fights could go either way so it will be interesting to see how they fall. Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock are the announcers and Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi (c) (28-2-1) vs. Mo Lawal (6-0)
Mousasi introduced himself to Strikeforce fans by decimating their champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral in just one minute. Fans of the DREAM promotion in Japan were not surprised at all as they had already seen Mousasi beat Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Jacare Souza. Mousasi is on a 15 fight win streak and has not lost since 2006 (submitted by Akihiro Gono via arm bar in Pride). Mousasi’s strength is his standup and lightning quick hands but he also is decent on the ground and has a good bottom game (just ask Jacare about that!). King Mo Lawal is one of the most charismatic fighters in MMA and he’s a guy that I think could really help put Strikeforce on the map as he’s much more marketable than Mousasi and guys like Dan Henderson and Jake Shields. Mo has a decorated past in wrestling. Just check Wikipedia, he was a stud. Mo is still very young in the MMA game. He’s beat guys like Travis Wiuff, Mike Whitehead and Mark Kerr. So he’s faced some veterans but he’s been relatively untested and has certainly not faced anyone with the type of skill that Mousasi has. Mo has finished 5 of his 6 wins by TKO.
R1- Mo went for a take down and ate a bunch of punches but completed the take down. Mousasi has a very active guard and he's keeping this round even despite fighting from the bottom. Mo is landing some strikes from the top but isn't landing anything cleanly. Mousasi got to his feet with one minute left in the round. Mousasi stuffed a take down and landed some knees. Mo got a take down with under a minute left. King Mo looks a bit tired and Mousasi easily got to his feet. Really close round that could have gone either way probably went to Mo due to dominating the position of the fight for the majority of the round. Shamrock gave the round to Mo 10-9.
R2- Mo got a quick take down in the first twenty seconds of the round. Mousasi landing strikes from his back. Mo is really exposing his head trying to get better position on the ground and is taking shots. Mousasi looked really good fighting off of his back and it looked like Mo just let him up so he wouldn't take anymore of Mousasi's strikes. Mousasi hit a good left up against the cage and then Mo immediately took him down. Mousasi landed some more shots from the bottom and then got to his feet with a minute left in the round. Mo got another take down but he's just eating strikes. Mousasi went for a submission but couldn't get it. Mousasi had Mo on his knees for a minute and landed some shots and then took his back but didn't have enough time to hook in a submission. That round goes to Mousasi making it 19-19.
R3- Mo keeping his hands down in this round and Mousasi landing some strikes. King Mo swinging for the fences but not hitting and then getting a take down. Mo is controlling this round and is starting to land some strikes from the top position. Mo took this round and he's up 29-28 going into the Championship Rounds.
R4- Mo got a take down about thirty seconds into the round. John McCarthy stands them up at the mid-point way of the round as Mo wasn't doing much from the top. Mo went for a take down and ate some strikes but completed the take down. Not a lot of action in this round but I've got Mo taking it and taking a 39-37 advantage in the final round. I think Mousasi has to finish if he wants to keep his championship.
R5- Mo shot in and got a take down thirty seconds into the round. The fight is stopped for an illegal up kick by Mousasi with two minutes left in the round. Mo's left eye is swelling shut. John McCarthy took a point away from Mousasi for kicking to the head of a grounded fighter. Mousasi landed some good shots when they were put back in play. Mousasi got back to his feet with under two minutes left. Mousasi threw some strikes but Mo took Mousasi back down with one minute left in the round. They are stood back up with twenty-five seconds left. Mo landed a take down with seven seconds left in the round and this one is over. Mo didn't do much in this round besides the take downs. I've got the fight scored 48-46 for Mo with Mousasi losing one point due to an illegal blow.
Not a sexy performance by King Mo but he showed his dominant wrestling tonight and while his stamina wasn't top-notch it was enough to win the fight over a very good fighter in Gegard Mousasi.
Judges score cards: 49-45 on all judges score cards
Winner and new champion: King Mo Lawal by Decision (Unanimous)
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez (c) (17-2) vs. Shinya Aoki (23-4)
Shinya Aoki is the challenger in this fight and in my book he has to be considered the favorite. Aoki has developed over the last few years into someone I thought of as a boring fighter to someone who starting snapping opponents arms and not thinking twice about it. Aoki has always been a gifted jiu jitsu practitioner but now that he has the attitude to go with it he is going to be trouble for anybody he’s fighting. Aoki has won his last 3 fights since he tried moving up in weight and got destroyed by Hayato Sakari at DREAM 8. Over the last two years Aoki has beaten a who’s who of MMA lightweights in Eddie Alvarez, Gesias Calvalcante, Joachim Hansen, Vitor Ribeiro, Caol Uno and Mizuto Hirota. Aoki has finished 5 of his last 6 wins and 4 of those have been by submission. Aoki has a 60% submission rate in his wins. Gilbert Melendez started his career by winning 13 straight fights including wins over Clay Guida and Tasuya Kawajiri. Melendez then dropped 2 of his next 3 fights as he fell to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. Melendez’s last two victories have been over the only two men who have defeated him. Now that’s impressive, not many MMA fighters can boast that they have came back and re-claimed victories against the only men who defeated them. Without inside knowledge of Melendez it looked like he just got unfocused for a while and after watching his last 3 fights it seems like he is re-focused and back on track.
R1- Long feeling out process and the crowd is growing restless. Aoki continues his heeldom from the New Years Eve show and gives Melendez and eye poke. Aoki grabbed an arm and latched onto it and brought the fight to the ground but Melendez was able to escape without any damage. Melendez stuff an Aoki take down and then jumped in Aoki's guard to try to deliver some damage. Melendez landed some good shots but Aoki got back to his feet. Aoki landed a knee but Melendez absorbed it and landed a couple of strikes. Melendez 10-9.
R2- Aoki shot in and Melendez stopped him and Aoki ended up on his back but that's a position that he's comfortable with. Melendez has busted up Aoki's lip. Aoki landed a good left hand to Melendez chin. Melendez got Aoki up against the cage and threw a barrage of strikes but didn't land anything substantial. Aoki went for a take down and was stuffed and then tried to pull guard. Aoki shot in again and Melendez stopped it with a fist and ended the round on top of Aoki. Melendez 20-18. Strikeforce is in danger of going way over tonight, especially since Dan Henderson loves to go to decisions.
R3- Aoki went for a take down early and really fought for it but Melendez spun out and then jumped into Aoki's guard. Aoki keeps going to his back in this round and is drawing the ire of the Nashville crowd. Melendez landing some good shots on the ground. Aoki landed a knee but Melendez answered with some strikes. Melendez 30-27. So far I've enjoyed both fights but if I was a fan casually interested in MMA I don't know if I would. I think Strikeforce should book more guys that like to stand and bang in addition to it's great arsenal of wrestlers. I think they need more variety on the show.
R4- Aoki went in again and Melendez fought off the take down and took top position but gave it up. Melendez landed a good right hand that stopped Aoki from coming in for a take down. Melendez landed a good knee to Aoki's chest when Aoki tried another take down. The ref was trying to stop the fight to stand up the fighters and Melendez landed 3 good shots to Aoki and thought the ref was stopping the fight in his favor. Aoki tried for a take down and Melendez took his guard and landed some good strikes. Melendez 40-36.
R5- Ranallo says Melendez has landed 102 strikes to Aoki's 15 at this point in the contest. Aoki goes in for a take down and complains of an eye poke. Aoki pulled guard and went for a rubber guard or triangle and Melendez mashed him up against the cage. Melendez landed some good Ground and Pound half way through the round. Aoki pulled guard again with a minute left in the round but Melendez got free and stood up. Melendez lands some good strikes and lands a flurry to end the round. Melendez soundly wins this decision 50-45. Melendez has looked very impressive since he lost the decision to Josh Thomson. I'm thinking Josh Thomson or possibly KJ Noons would be the next fighter for Melendez unless they bring in somebody else from Japan like a Kawajiri or JZ.
Judges score cards: 50-45 on all three score cards
Winner: Gilbert Melendez by Decision (Unanimous)
Former NFL Player Eddie George, Bobby Lashley, Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Scott Smith, Herschel Walker, and Brett Rogers are shown in attendance.
Highlights are shown of Jason "Mayhem" Miller versus Tim Stout, which happened early this evening, were shown. Mayhem was shown completing a take down and then landed some Ground and Pound and the ref stopped the fight as Stout turtled up. Ranallo says Jason Miller will fight Robbie Lawler on June 16th in Los Angeles.
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship: Jake Shields (c) (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
Former Pride champion Dan Henderson is the man that CBS and Strikeforce are marketing this night of fights around as he’s the most experienced and well known fighter fighting on this card. That being said, I really don’t see Dan as being very marketable. I like Dan Henderson as much as the next guy but his highest profile win in the last 2 years was against Michael Bisping (yes he beat Rich Franklin but that was a split decision and nobody remembers it). If Dan Henderson was that marketable the UFC would have kept him. That being said, Dan Henderson is still a very good fighter with his biggest strength being his wrestling as well as his punching power (at least that’s what Michael Bisping tells me). Jake Shields is a skilled jiu jitsu fighter who has an uncanny ability to control his opponents. He frustrated Mayhem Miller on his way to a decision victory at the last CBS show. Shields is on a 13 fight winning streak that includes Mayhem, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Yushin Okami, Toby Imada and Carlos Condit but Dan Henderson is clearly the top fighter that Shields has faced.
They show some of the "simulated" fight between Henderson and Shields using the upcoming MMA game from EA. Definitely looks like a step down from the UFC Undisputed series.
R1- Henderson landed a big right hand 19 seconds into the fight and Shields went down hard. Henderson jumped on top and Sheilds grabbed Dan to survive and then grabbed on a leg lock but Hendo was able to slip out at the one minute mark of the fight. Hendo hit a right hand to the body that drove Shields back. Hendo definitely looks a lot bigger than Shields. Henderson landed some good strikes and Shields looked like he purposely fell to his back to invite Hendo to the ground and give himself an opportunity to recover. Hendo landed a good right hand and Shields is just trying to survive and we are only half way through the round. Shields shot in for a take down and looked like he got it but Hendo fought back and got the clinch back to their feet against the cage. Henderson looked really good and brought the striking that the first two fights did not. Hendo 10-8 in the first round and so far Shields is looking like he would be a better fit back at Welterweight.
R2- Shields shot in early and tried for a single leg and almost got caught in a Rear Naked but Shields ended up in Hendo's guard. Shields quickly passed Hendo's guard and took full mount. Shields lands some strikes from full mount. Shields landed some strikes and then tried an arm triangle but couldn't get it. Shields is landing some really good Ground and Pound. Shields landed some more Ground and Pound and then expertly grabbed onto the cage to hold position as Hendo bucked and the ref didn't even notice it. Borderline 10-8 round but I don't think Shields came close to finishing so I gave it 10-9 which makes it Hendo 19-18 so far. Great come back round by Shields in that round.
R3- Shields dove in for a single leg but Hendo sprawled and kept the fight standing. Sheilds went for another take down and got it with three minutes left in the round. Shields passed Hendo's guard and took side control with half the round remaining. Shields got full mount with a minute left in the round and briefly tried a guillotine but couldn't get it clamped in fully and released it. Shields landed some light Ground and Pound and then tried for an arm bar but couldn't get it before the bell rang. Shields took this round 10-9 and I've got the fight 28-28 right now.
Props to Gilbert Melendez who just finished his fight and is now cornering Jake Shields in this fight (along with Nick Diaz).
R4- Shields immediately went for a take down but Hendo scrambled out of it. Shields grabbed onto another single leg take down and Hendo locked Shields down temporarily before Shields completed the take down. Shields got full mount with one minute left in the round. Shields grinding out this fight even though the fans aren't too happy about it. Shields is up 38-37 on my score card.
R5- Shields got a take down with four minutes left in the round. Shields got full mount with three and a half minutes left in the fight. Shields landing some decent strikes from full mount. Shields went for an arm triangle but couldn't get in the right position to execute the submission. Shields tried for an arm bar in the last thirty seconds of the fight and then grabbed a knee bar but couldn't finish and the bell rung to finish the fight. Shields wins this 48-46 on my score card.
Judges score cards: 49-46, 49-45, 48-45
Winner: Jake Shields by Decision (Unanimous)
Decent night of fights but Strikeforce definitely didn't create any new stars or gain any new fans tonight with three five round decisions. They really needed some electricity tonight and Hendo provided that in the first round but couldn't out last Shields. Hopefully Strikeforce learns from this and we don't get 3 championship fights on one card featuring wrestlers on the same show.
Post-Fight Mayhem Miller shows that he's a jackass and interrupts Jake Shields interview and a brawl ensues. That was straight out of Elite XC. I was asking for some more excitement but that's a little ridiculous. I love me some Pro Wrestling (well I use to until Vince McMahon took over) but you have to have respect for your opponents and Mayhem Miller showed his ass again here.
Bridgestone Arena
Saturday, April 17
Nashville, Tennessee
CBS
Strikeforce has an all-star card for the hardcore MMA fans with Dan Henderson/Jake Shields, Gegard Mousasi/King Mo Lawal, and Gilbert Melendez/Shinya Aoki. In my predictions I put out earlier this week I picked Henderson, Mousasi and Melendez. I honestly think all 3 fights could go either way so it will be interesting to see how they fall. Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock are the announcers and Jimmy Lennon Jr is the ring announcer.
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi (c) (28-2-1) vs. Mo Lawal (6-0)
Mousasi introduced himself to Strikeforce fans by decimating their champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral in just one minute. Fans of the DREAM promotion in Japan were not surprised at all as they had already seen Mousasi beat Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Jacare Souza. Mousasi is on a 15 fight win streak and has not lost since 2006 (submitted by Akihiro Gono via arm bar in Pride). Mousasi’s strength is his standup and lightning quick hands but he also is decent on the ground and has a good bottom game (just ask Jacare about that!). King Mo Lawal is one of the most charismatic fighters in MMA and he’s a guy that I think could really help put Strikeforce on the map as he’s much more marketable than Mousasi and guys like Dan Henderson and Jake Shields. Mo has a decorated past in wrestling. Just check Wikipedia, he was a stud. Mo is still very young in the MMA game. He’s beat guys like Travis Wiuff, Mike Whitehead and Mark Kerr. So he’s faced some veterans but he’s been relatively untested and has certainly not faced anyone with the type of skill that Mousasi has. Mo has finished 5 of his 6 wins by TKO.
R1- Mo went for a take down and ate a bunch of punches but completed the take down. Mousasi has a very active guard and he's keeping this round even despite fighting from the bottom. Mo is landing some strikes from the top but isn't landing anything cleanly. Mousasi got to his feet with one minute left in the round. Mousasi stuffed a take down and landed some knees. Mo got a take down with under a minute left. King Mo looks a bit tired and Mousasi easily got to his feet. Really close round that could have gone either way probably went to Mo due to dominating the position of the fight for the majority of the round. Shamrock gave the round to Mo 10-9.
R2- Mo got a quick take down in the first twenty seconds of the round. Mousasi landing strikes from his back. Mo is really exposing his head trying to get better position on the ground and is taking shots. Mousasi looked really good fighting off of his back and it looked like Mo just let him up so he wouldn't take anymore of Mousasi's strikes. Mousasi hit a good left up against the cage and then Mo immediately took him down. Mousasi landed some more shots from the bottom and then got to his feet with a minute left in the round. Mo got another take down but he's just eating strikes. Mousasi went for a submission but couldn't get it. Mousasi had Mo on his knees for a minute and landed some shots and then took his back but didn't have enough time to hook in a submission. That round goes to Mousasi making it 19-19.
R3- Mo keeping his hands down in this round and Mousasi landing some strikes. King Mo swinging for the fences but not hitting and then getting a take down. Mo is controlling this round and is starting to land some strikes from the top position. Mo took this round and he's up 29-28 going into the Championship Rounds.
R4- Mo got a take down about thirty seconds into the round. John McCarthy stands them up at the mid-point way of the round as Mo wasn't doing much from the top. Mo went for a take down and ate some strikes but completed the take down. Not a lot of action in this round but I've got Mo taking it and taking a 39-37 advantage in the final round. I think Mousasi has to finish if he wants to keep his championship.
R5- Mo shot in and got a take down thirty seconds into the round. The fight is stopped for an illegal up kick by Mousasi with two minutes left in the round. Mo's left eye is swelling shut. John McCarthy took a point away from Mousasi for kicking to the head of a grounded fighter. Mousasi landed some good shots when they were put back in play. Mousasi got back to his feet with under two minutes left. Mousasi threw some strikes but Mo took Mousasi back down with one minute left in the round. They are stood back up with twenty-five seconds left. Mo landed a take down with seven seconds left in the round and this one is over. Mo didn't do much in this round besides the take downs. I've got the fight scored 48-46 for Mo with Mousasi losing one point due to an illegal blow.
Not a sexy performance by King Mo but he showed his dominant wrestling tonight and while his stamina wasn't top-notch it was enough to win the fight over a very good fighter in Gegard Mousasi.
Judges score cards: 49-45 on all judges score cards
Winner and new champion: King Mo Lawal by Decision (Unanimous)
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez (c) (17-2) vs. Shinya Aoki (23-4)
Shinya Aoki is the challenger in this fight and in my book he has to be considered the favorite. Aoki has developed over the last few years into someone I thought of as a boring fighter to someone who starting snapping opponents arms and not thinking twice about it. Aoki has always been a gifted jiu jitsu practitioner but now that he has the attitude to go with it he is going to be trouble for anybody he’s fighting. Aoki has won his last 3 fights since he tried moving up in weight and got destroyed by Hayato Sakari at DREAM 8. Over the last two years Aoki has beaten a who’s who of MMA lightweights in Eddie Alvarez, Gesias Calvalcante, Joachim Hansen, Vitor Ribeiro, Caol Uno and Mizuto Hirota. Aoki has finished 5 of his last 6 wins and 4 of those have been by submission. Aoki has a 60% submission rate in his wins. Gilbert Melendez started his career by winning 13 straight fights including wins over Clay Guida and Tasuya Kawajiri. Melendez then dropped 2 of his next 3 fights as he fell to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. Melendez’s last two victories have been over the only two men who have defeated him. Now that’s impressive, not many MMA fighters can boast that they have came back and re-claimed victories against the only men who defeated them. Without inside knowledge of Melendez it looked like he just got unfocused for a while and after watching his last 3 fights it seems like he is re-focused and back on track.
R1- Long feeling out process and the crowd is growing restless. Aoki continues his heeldom from the New Years Eve show and gives Melendez and eye poke. Aoki grabbed an arm and latched onto it and brought the fight to the ground but Melendez was able to escape without any damage. Melendez stuff an Aoki take down and then jumped in Aoki's guard to try to deliver some damage. Melendez landed some good shots but Aoki got back to his feet. Aoki landed a knee but Melendez absorbed it and landed a couple of strikes. Melendez 10-9.
R2- Aoki shot in and Melendez stopped him and Aoki ended up on his back but that's a position that he's comfortable with. Melendez has busted up Aoki's lip. Aoki landed a good left hand to Melendez chin. Melendez got Aoki up against the cage and threw a barrage of strikes but didn't land anything substantial. Aoki went for a take down and was stuffed and then tried to pull guard. Aoki shot in again and Melendez stopped it with a fist and ended the round on top of Aoki. Melendez 20-18. Strikeforce is in danger of going way over tonight, especially since Dan Henderson loves to go to decisions.
R3- Aoki went for a take down early and really fought for it but Melendez spun out and then jumped into Aoki's guard. Aoki keeps going to his back in this round and is drawing the ire of the Nashville crowd. Melendez landing some good shots on the ground. Aoki landed a knee but Melendez answered with some strikes. Melendez 30-27. So far I've enjoyed both fights but if I was a fan casually interested in MMA I don't know if I would. I think Strikeforce should book more guys that like to stand and bang in addition to it's great arsenal of wrestlers. I think they need more variety on the show.
R4- Aoki went in again and Melendez fought off the take down and took top position but gave it up. Melendez landed a good right hand that stopped Aoki from coming in for a take down. Melendez landed a good knee to Aoki's chest when Aoki tried another take down. The ref was trying to stop the fight to stand up the fighters and Melendez landed 3 good shots to Aoki and thought the ref was stopping the fight in his favor. Aoki tried for a take down and Melendez took his guard and landed some good strikes. Melendez 40-36.
R5- Ranallo says Melendez has landed 102 strikes to Aoki's 15 at this point in the contest. Aoki goes in for a take down and complains of an eye poke. Aoki pulled guard and went for a rubber guard or triangle and Melendez mashed him up against the cage. Melendez landed some good Ground and Pound half way through the round. Aoki pulled guard again with a minute left in the round but Melendez got free and stood up. Melendez lands some good strikes and lands a flurry to end the round. Melendez soundly wins this decision 50-45. Melendez has looked very impressive since he lost the decision to Josh Thomson. I'm thinking Josh Thomson or possibly KJ Noons would be the next fighter for Melendez unless they bring in somebody else from Japan like a Kawajiri or JZ.
Judges score cards: 50-45 on all three score cards
Winner: Gilbert Melendez by Decision (Unanimous)
Former NFL Player Eddie George, Bobby Lashley, Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Scott Smith, Herschel Walker, and Brett Rogers are shown in attendance.
Highlights are shown of Jason "Mayhem" Miller versus Tim Stout, which happened early this evening, were shown. Mayhem was shown completing a take down and then landed some Ground and Pound and the ref stopped the fight as Stout turtled up. Ranallo says Jason Miller will fight Robbie Lawler on June 16th in Los Angeles.
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship: Jake Shields (c) (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
Former Pride champion Dan Henderson is the man that CBS and Strikeforce are marketing this night of fights around as he’s the most experienced and well known fighter fighting on this card. That being said, I really don’t see Dan as being very marketable. I like Dan Henderson as much as the next guy but his highest profile win in the last 2 years was against Michael Bisping (yes he beat Rich Franklin but that was a split decision and nobody remembers it). If Dan Henderson was that marketable the UFC would have kept him. That being said, Dan Henderson is still a very good fighter with his biggest strength being his wrestling as well as his punching power (at least that’s what Michael Bisping tells me). Jake Shields is a skilled jiu jitsu fighter who has an uncanny ability to control his opponents. He frustrated Mayhem Miller on his way to a decision victory at the last CBS show. Shields is on a 13 fight winning streak that includes Mayhem, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Yushin Okami, Toby Imada and Carlos Condit but Dan Henderson is clearly the top fighter that Shields has faced.
They show some of the "simulated" fight between Henderson and Shields using the upcoming MMA game from EA. Definitely looks like a step down from the UFC Undisputed series.
R1- Henderson landed a big right hand 19 seconds into the fight and Shields went down hard. Henderson jumped on top and Sheilds grabbed Dan to survive and then grabbed on a leg lock but Hendo was able to slip out at the one minute mark of the fight. Hendo hit a right hand to the body that drove Shields back. Hendo definitely looks a lot bigger than Shields. Henderson landed some good strikes and Shields looked like he purposely fell to his back to invite Hendo to the ground and give himself an opportunity to recover. Hendo landed a good right hand and Shields is just trying to survive and we are only half way through the round. Shields shot in for a take down and looked like he got it but Hendo fought back and got the clinch back to their feet against the cage. Henderson looked really good and brought the striking that the first two fights did not. Hendo 10-8 in the first round and so far Shields is looking like he would be a better fit back at Welterweight.
R2- Shields shot in early and tried for a single leg and almost got caught in a Rear Naked but Shields ended up in Hendo's guard. Shields quickly passed Hendo's guard and took full mount. Shields lands some strikes from full mount. Shields landed some strikes and then tried an arm triangle but couldn't get it. Shields is landing some really good Ground and Pound. Shields landed some more Ground and Pound and then expertly grabbed onto the cage to hold position as Hendo bucked and the ref didn't even notice it. Borderline 10-8 round but I don't think Shields came close to finishing so I gave it 10-9 which makes it Hendo 19-18 so far. Great come back round by Shields in that round.
R3- Shields dove in for a single leg but Hendo sprawled and kept the fight standing. Sheilds went for another take down and got it with three minutes left in the round. Shields passed Hendo's guard and took side control with half the round remaining. Shields got full mount with a minute left in the round and briefly tried a guillotine but couldn't get it clamped in fully and released it. Shields landed some light Ground and Pound and then tried for an arm bar but couldn't get it before the bell rang. Shields took this round 10-9 and I've got the fight 28-28 right now.
Props to Gilbert Melendez who just finished his fight and is now cornering Jake Shields in this fight (along with Nick Diaz).
R4- Shields immediately went for a take down but Hendo scrambled out of it. Shields grabbed onto another single leg take down and Hendo locked Shields down temporarily before Shields completed the take down. Shields got full mount with one minute left in the round. Shields grinding out this fight even though the fans aren't too happy about it. Shields is up 38-37 on my score card.
R5- Shields got a take down with four minutes left in the round. Shields got full mount with three and a half minutes left in the fight. Shields landing some decent strikes from full mount. Shields went for an arm triangle but couldn't get in the right position to execute the submission. Shields tried for an arm bar in the last thirty seconds of the fight and then grabbed a knee bar but couldn't finish and the bell rung to finish the fight. Shields wins this 48-46 on my score card.
Judges score cards: 49-46, 49-45, 48-45
Winner: Jake Shields by Decision (Unanimous)
Decent night of fights but Strikeforce definitely didn't create any new stars or gain any new fans tonight with three five round decisions. They really needed some electricity tonight and Hendo provided that in the first round but couldn't out last Shields. Hopefully Strikeforce learns from this and we don't get 3 championship fights on one card featuring wrestlers on the same show.
Post-Fight Mayhem Miller shows that he's a jackass and interrupts Jake Shields interview and a brawl ensues. That was straight out of Elite XC. I was asking for some more excitement but that's a little ridiculous. I love me some Pro Wrestling (well I use to until Vince McMahon took over) but you have to have respect for your opponents and Mayhem Miller showed his ass again here.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
King of the Cage: Bad Boys Too 4/16/10 Re-Cap
King of the Cage: Bad Boys Too
Cobo Arena
Detroit, Michigan
April 16, 2010
HDNet
This is the third installment of KOTC on HDNet and tonight in the Main Event former UFC fighter Joe Doerkson will take on Chad Herrick. Brad Burrick and Brandon Hunt will also fight for the Middleweight Title and David Shepherd will defend his lightweight title. Michael Schiavello and Frank Trigg are the announcers and former WWE diva Maria will handle backstage interviews. Jake Rosholt and Jeremy Horn were supposed to fight tonight but Jake had to pull out of the fight.
Middleweight Title Fight- Brad Burrick (c) (19-10) vs. Brandon Hunt (5-3)
These guys have already fought against each other twice with each guy holding one decision victory.
R1- Hunt went for a take down but ate a knee for his trouble. Burrick landed some good strikes and he's stuffing take down attempts so far. Burrick landed a good elbow that looked like it hurt Hunt. Schiavello makes a Nancy Kerrigan reference. Burrick landed a head kick but not with full impact. Hunt briefly got on top but Burrick flipped him over and got full mount and landed some good Ground and Pound and Hunt got saved by the bell. Borderline 10-8 round. CompuStrike stats tell us that Burrick landed 41 strikes to only 5 from Hunt in the first round.
R2- Holy Crap. Hunt comes out and tags Burrick and finishes this fight. That came out of nowhere.
Winner and new Middleweight Champion: Brandon Hunt by KO R2 0:59
165 lb Catchweight Fight- Steve Berger (21-18-3) vs. Waylon Lowe (7-2)
Berger has been fighting since 1998 and fought 3 times in the UFC. he's only 2-3 in his last 5 but he's fought some well known fighters like Rich Clementi, Shonnie Carter and Pete Spratt. Berger has finished 14 of his 21 wins by way of submission (67% submission ratio). Lowe has been training with two of the top lightweights in the world, Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez, for this fight. He is on a 5 fight win streak. He has a wrestling background and has been working on his boxing lately.
R1- Lowe hit a big left hand and immediately got a take down but could not keep it. Lowe hit a big left hand that stunned Berger and floored him. Lowe was a little stunned he hit it so well and didn't immediately follow up. He went down and got some Ground and Pound but then let Berger up. Lowe is tagging Berger and this one is over. Great showing by Lowe. Dominate performance. Lowe landed 17 strikes to only 1 for Berger. Berger comes to slowly after the fight and they go ahead and take Berger out on a stretcher for pre-cautionary measures.
"The right hand was simply icing on the burger"- Michael Schiavello
Winner: Waylon Lowe by KO R1 2:18
Schiavello mentions that the winner of Knockout of the Night wins a long-term contract with KOTC. Schiavello brings up that Trigg is currently training the Atlanta Falcons and he says it's not a bad gig. I just found out about that today and as a Falcons fan think it's very cool.
Middleweight Fight- Ben Lagman (6-1) vs. Angelo Popofski (14-7)
Lagman is 4-1 in his last 5 fights but is coming into this fight off of a submission loss. Lagman trained with Dan Henderson at Team Quest for this fight. Popofski has been fighting professionally since 1999. Popofski is 5-0 in his last 5 fights. Lagman has a 3" height and 5" reach advantage. Lagman was also in Season One of MTV's Bully Beatdown.
R1- Lagman tagged Popofski early and he went down but was able to revcover. Lagman caught Popofski again coming in. Lagman hit a good jumping knee. Lagman hit a big left and Popofski is down again but Lagman lets him up again. Lagman just dominating. Popofski tried for a single but Lagman just started pelting him with strikes and finally finished the fight. Lagman looked really good. Lagman landed 23 strikes to 1 for Popofski.
"Nice body shot...Bon Jovi style. Shot to the Heart"- Michael Schiavello
Winner: Ben Lagman by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:58
Welterweight Fight- Jason Holmes (6-1) vs. Daron Cruickshank (4-0)
Schiavello says Cruickshank is nasty. Holmes is taking this fight on only 2 weeks notice. Holmes is on a 2-fight win streak and is 4-1 in his last 5. Holmes has a 2" height and 6" reach advantage.
R1- Daron throwing out some highlight reel kicks but hasn't landed anything yet. Daron hit a good left but then a round kick was blocked. Daron hit a spinning back kick and then tried a jumping knee but Holmes fired back with some strikes. Good turning back kick by Daron to the chest. Good first round that was even although Daron was a lot more flashy so could have taken the round. Daron landed 14 strikes in the first round and Holmes landed 11.
R2- Not a lot of action in this round. Daron got a take down with one minute left in the round. Daron is going to take this round based on him gaining top position at the end of the round. In the second round Daron landed 14 strikes to 8 from Holmes.
R3- Both guys trade combinations but neither hits anything substantial and then Daron tried a flying knee but couldn't land it. Daron got a take down with about two minutes left in the fight but it quickly gets stood back up. Daron quickly got another take down and tried to take the back of Holmes. This one is going to go to the judges and I think Daron took rounds 2 and 3 so he's going to take the fight.
Judges scored cards: 29-28 Cruickshank, 29-28 Holmes, 30-27 Cruickshank
Winner: Daron Cruickshank by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Title Fight- David Shepherd (c) (3-1) vs. Dom O'Grady (9-2)
This is the first title defense for Shepherd. O'Grady's nickname is "I Hate You So Much". He is 4-1 in his last 5 fights. Shepherd has a background in wrestling but is called a self-taught mixed martial artist. All of Shepherd's wins have come by way of submission. O'Grady has a 6" reach advantage.
R1- O'Grady floored Shepherd early but allowed him to get back to his feet. Shepherd got a brief take down but O'Grady got back to his feet and hit a judo take down. Shepherd went for a triangle but couldn't get it. Shepherd went for a reverse arm bar but O'Grady rolled out of the submission attempt. Interesting round as Shepherd was very active from the bottom and might have stolen the round because of the submission attempts.
R2- O'Grady landed some good strikes to start the round and then landed another strike to get Shepherd to the ground. O'Grady jumped on top and started landing hammer fists but Shepherd grabbed him and then flipped him over and took top position. O'Grady went for a triangle off of his back. O'Grady tried to switch the triangle to an arm bar and lost the submission attempt. Shepherd re-took guard and landed some elbows. O'Grady went for another triangle and kept with it and finished quickly with what looked like an arm bar.
Winner and new champion: Dom O'Grady by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:18
Middleweight Fight- Joe Doerkson (43-12) vs. Chad Herrick (7-3)
Herrick was a trouble youth and ended up in prison in his early 20s and then found an outlet for his aggression in MMA. Herrick is on a 2 fight win streak and has won 4 of his last 5 fights. This is Herrick's first fight at Middleweight as he normally fights at Light Heavyweight. Doerkson is a former UFC fighter who has been fighting for 11 years. Most of Doerkson's victories have come by submission. Doerkson is on a 4 fight win streak and is a black belt in jiu jitsu with extensive training in Muay Thai. Doerkson has Jeremy Horn in his corner for the fight.
R1- Herrick landed a good body shot that floored Doerkson but Herrick let him back to his feet. Doerkson landed some good strikes in the final minute but Herrick clinched him. Doerkson got a take down and took side control in the last 30 seconds of the round but didn't have time to do anything. Trigg gives the round to Doerkson. Doerkson landed 18 strikes to 8 for Herrick.
R2- Doerkson worked really hard for a take down and finally picked Herrick up and planted him on the mat but Herrick stood up and shrugged Doerkson off. Doerkson sustained a cut above his eye during the scuffle. Doerkson got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Doerkson got on Herrick's back but Herrick was able to pull off the move when Doerkson went for an arm bar. Herrick landed a good right hand and floored Doerkson but Herrick let him back up and the round ended. Trigg gives Herrick the second round because of him landing the last punch of the round. Overall Doerkson landed 20 strikes to 9 for Herrick and Doerkson also had 2 take downs to Herrick's zero in the round.
R3- Doerkson went for an immediate take down and completed it but Herrick was able to quickly get to his feet. Doerkson hit a big combination that floored Herrick. Doerkson got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Doerkson took Herrick's back but couldn't finish him. Doerkson is going to get this one by decision. Trigg says we might be looking at a split decision. In the fight Doerkson landed 64 strikes to 24 for Herrick and Doerkson got 7 take downs.
Judges score cards: 29-28 Doerkson, 29-28 Herrick, 29-28 Doerkson
Winner: Joe Doerkson by Decision (Split)
Cobo Arena
Detroit, Michigan
April 16, 2010
HDNet
This is the third installment of KOTC on HDNet and tonight in the Main Event former UFC fighter Joe Doerkson will take on Chad Herrick. Brad Burrick and Brandon Hunt will also fight for the Middleweight Title and David Shepherd will defend his lightweight title. Michael Schiavello and Frank Trigg are the announcers and former WWE diva Maria will handle backstage interviews. Jake Rosholt and Jeremy Horn were supposed to fight tonight but Jake had to pull out of the fight.
Middleweight Title Fight- Brad Burrick (c) (19-10) vs. Brandon Hunt (5-3)
These guys have already fought against each other twice with each guy holding one decision victory.
R1- Hunt went for a take down but ate a knee for his trouble. Burrick landed some good strikes and he's stuffing take down attempts so far. Burrick landed a good elbow that looked like it hurt Hunt. Schiavello makes a Nancy Kerrigan reference. Burrick landed a head kick but not with full impact. Hunt briefly got on top but Burrick flipped him over and got full mount and landed some good Ground and Pound and Hunt got saved by the bell. Borderline 10-8 round. CompuStrike stats tell us that Burrick landed 41 strikes to only 5 from Hunt in the first round.
R2- Holy Crap. Hunt comes out and tags Burrick and finishes this fight. That came out of nowhere.
Winner and new Middleweight Champion: Brandon Hunt by KO R2 0:59
165 lb Catchweight Fight- Steve Berger (21-18-3) vs. Waylon Lowe (7-2)
Berger has been fighting since 1998 and fought 3 times in the UFC. he's only 2-3 in his last 5 but he's fought some well known fighters like Rich Clementi, Shonnie Carter and Pete Spratt. Berger has finished 14 of his 21 wins by way of submission (67% submission ratio). Lowe has been training with two of the top lightweights in the world, Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez, for this fight. He is on a 5 fight win streak. He has a wrestling background and has been working on his boxing lately.
R1- Lowe hit a big left hand and immediately got a take down but could not keep it. Lowe hit a big left hand that stunned Berger and floored him. Lowe was a little stunned he hit it so well and didn't immediately follow up. He went down and got some Ground and Pound but then let Berger up. Lowe is tagging Berger and this one is over. Great showing by Lowe. Dominate performance. Lowe landed 17 strikes to only 1 for Berger. Berger comes to slowly after the fight and they go ahead and take Berger out on a stretcher for pre-cautionary measures.
"The right hand was simply icing on the burger"- Michael Schiavello
Winner: Waylon Lowe by KO R1 2:18
Schiavello mentions that the winner of Knockout of the Night wins a long-term contract with KOTC. Schiavello brings up that Trigg is currently training the Atlanta Falcons and he says it's not a bad gig. I just found out about that today and as a Falcons fan think it's very cool.
Middleweight Fight- Ben Lagman (6-1) vs. Angelo Popofski (14-7)
Lagman is 4-1 in his last 5 fights but is coming into this fight off of a submission loss. Lagman trained with Dan Henderson at Team Quest for this fight. Popofski has been fighting professionally since 1999. Popofski is 5-0 in his last 5 fights. Lagman has a 3" height and 5" reach advantage. Lagman was also in Season One of MTV's Bully Beatdown.
R1- Lagman tagged Popofski early and he went down but was able to revcover. Lagman caught Popofski again coming in. Lagman hit a good jumping knee. Lagman hit a big left and Popofski is down again but Lagman lets him up again. Lagman just dominating. Popofski tried for a single but Lagman just started pelting him with strikes and finally finished the fight. Lagman looked really good. Lagman landed 23 strikes to 1 for Popofski.
"Nice body shot...Bon Jovi style. Shot to the Heart"- Michael Schiavello
Winner: Ben Lagman by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:58
Welterweight Fight- Jason Holmes (6-1) vs. Daron Cruickshank (4-0)
Schiavello says Cruickshank is nasty. Holmes is taking this fight on only 2 weeks notice. Holmes is on a 2-fight win streak and is 4-1 in his last 5. Holmes has a 2" height and 6" reach advantage.
R1- Daron throwing out some highlight reel kicks but hasn't landed anything yet. Daron hit a good left but then a round kick was blocked. Daron hit a spinning back kick and then tried a jumping knee but Holmes fired back with some strikes. Good turning back kick by Daron to the chest. Good first round that was even although Daron was a lot more flashy so could have taken the round. Daron landed 14 strikes in the first round and Holmes landed 11.
R2- Not a lot of action in this round. Daron got a take down with one minute left in the round. Daron is going to take this round based on him gaining top position at the end of the round. In the second round Daron landed 14 strikes to 8 from Holmes.
R3- Both guys trade combinations but neither hits anything substantial and then Daron tried a flying knee but couldn't land it. Daron got a take down with about two minutes left in the fight but it quickly gets stood back up. Daron quickly got another take down and tried to take the back of Holmes. This one is going to go to the judges and I think Daron took rounds 2 and 3 so he's going to take the fight.
Judges scored cards: 29-28 Cruickshank, 29-28 Holmes, 30-27 Cruickshank
Winner: Daron Cruickshank by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Title Fight- David Shepherd (c) (3-1) vs. Dom O'Grady (9-2)
This is the first title defense for Shepherd. O'Grady's nickname is "I Hate You So Much". He is 4-1 in his last 5 fights. Shepherd has a background in wrestling but is called a self-taught mixed martial artist. All of Shepherd's wins have come by way of submission. O'Grady has a 6" reach advantage.
R1- O'Grady floored Shepherd early but allowed him to get back to his feet. Shepherd got a brief take down but O'Grady got back to his feet and hit a judo take down. Shepherd went for a triangle but couldn't get it. Shepherd went for a reverse arm bar but O'Grady rolled out of the submission attempt. Interesting round as Shepherd was very active from the bottom and might have stolen the round because of the submission attempts.
R2- O'Grady landed some good strikes to start the round and then landed another strike to get Shepherd to the ground. O'Grady jumped on top and started landing hammer fists but Shepherd grabbed him and then flipped him over and took top position. O'Grady went for a triangle off of his back. O'Grady tried to switch the triangle to an arm bar and lost the submission attempt. Shepherd re-took guard and landed some elbows. O'Grady went for another triangle and kept with it and finished quickly with what looked like an arm bar.
Winner and new champion: Dom O'Grady by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:18
Middleweight Fight- Joe Doerkson (43-12) vs. Chad Herrick (7-3)
Herrick was a trouble youth and ended up in prison in his early 20s and then found an outlet for his aggression in MMA. Herrick is on a 2 fight win streak and has won 4 of his last 5 fights. This is Herrick's first fight at Middleweight as he normally fights at Light Heavyweight. Doerkson is a former UFC fighter who has been fighting for 11 years. Most of Doerkson's victories have come by submission. Doerkson is on a 4 fight win streak and is a black belt in jiu jitsu with extensive training in Muay Thai. Doerkson has Jeremy Horn in his corner for the fight.
R1- Herrick landed a good body shot that floored Doerkson but Herrick let him back to his feet. Doerkson landed some good strikes in the final minute but Herrick clinched him. Doerkson got a take down and took side control in the last 30 seconds of the round but didn't have time to do anything. Trigg gives the round to Doerkson. Doerkson landed 18 strikes to 8 for Herrick.
R2- Doerkson worked really hard for a take down and finally picked Herrick up and planted him on the mat but Herrick stood up and shrugged Doerkson off. Doerkson sustained a cut above his eye during the scuffle. Doerkson got a take down with three minutes left in the round. Doerkson got on Herrick's back but Herrick was able to pull off the move when Doerkson went for an arm bar. Herrick landed a good right hand and floored Doerkson but Herrick let him back up and the round ended. Trigg gives Herrick the second round because of him landing the last punch of the round. Overall Doerkson landed 20 strikes to 9 for Herrick and Doerkson also had 2 take downs to Herrick's zero in the round.
R3- Doerkson went for an immediate take down and completed it but Herrick was able to quickly get to his feet. Doerkson hit a big combination that floored Herrick. Doerkson got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Doerkson took Herrick's back but couldn't finish him. Doerkson is going to get this one by decision. Trigg says we might be looking at a split decision. In the fight Doerkson landed 64 strikes to 24 for Herrick and Doerkson got 7 take downs.
Judges score cards: 29-28 Doerkson, 29-28 Herrick, 29-28 Doerkson
Winner: Joe Doerkson by Decision (Split)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Episode 3 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Episode 3 Re-Cap
"A Lotta Heart"
Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
Last week on TUF we saw teams pick and we saw the first fight. Tito's team looked stronger on paper but Chuck's team got to pick the first fight and veteran Kyle Noke submitted Clayton McKinney fairly easily.
Dana brought everybody together at the beginning of this show and walked out with the coaches. Dana calls out Chris Camozzi and tells him to step forward. Dana tells him he has exactly what they are looking for but also tells him that he has a broken jaw. He was complaining about a toothache and had a cat scan done and it came back positive for a fracture in his jaw. Dana had a list of guys from the fights and highlighted 4 guys that are injury free and ready to come back and told Tito that he and his coaches needed to make a decision on who they wanted to bring in to replace Camozzi. Tito and his coaches chose to bring back Seth Baczynski. Tito says he brought him back because of the heart that he showed.
"It took me years get here and it took seconds to loose it"- Chris Camozzi
Team Liddell won the last fight so they stay in "control" of the fights. Chuck picks Brad Tavares from his team to fight James Hammortree from Team Ortiz. Tito calls this a must win fight for his team. Yager and Nick Ring get into a little spat in the ring. Ring said that Yager was calling him names while they were sparring.
Hackleman says Tavares is a little raw right now but is well rounded. Howard Davis says he has a lot of punching power and great striking but wishes he would throw his jab a little more. James Hammortree says they call him the "Sledge" because he has a Sledge Hammer built into his right hand. Hammortree says he holds the state of Florida record for fastest knockout, which he says is 5 seconds.
Middleweight Fight- Brad Tavares (4-0) vs. James Hammortree (5-1)
R1- Hammortree shot in for a take down at the one minute mark but Tavares fought him and hit a nice judo throw. Tavares tried to take Hammortree's back and went for a choke but didn't have good position and Hammortree flipped him over onto his back. Tavares got up and Hammortree tried to take him back down but slipped off and Tavares again got position on Hammortree's back. Hammortree got up and shook Tavares but then tried to pull guard with a guillotine and immediately lost it and Tavares again tried to take Hammortree's back and Hammortree spun over into half guard. Close round. Both guys fought hard and both made a lot of mistakes that they should be able to take advantage of in the future with more training. This is anybody's fight.
R2- Tavares got a take down after a struggle in the first minute of the round. Back on their feet Tavares went for a knee and missed and then went for a judo throw but Hammortree avoided it and tried to take Tavares' back. Hammortree ended up getting on top of Tavares and stayed there for the rest of the round. Since they only do two rounds in TUF fights I see this one going to a third "sudden victory" round but Hammortree definitely took this round and the first round was really close so who knows. Dana announces that the judges declared the fight a draw and that they are headed for sudden victory.
R3- Tavares landed a good strike but then Hammortree got a take down. Hammortree got full mount but Tavares easily got out of it and took top position and landed a couple of good strikes. Hammortree tried to power out but Tavares held him down in a strange position while he rested. Not a lot of action in the final minutes of this round but I've got to give the round to Tavares as he really controlled the last minutes and landed more strikes. Both guys have a lot of holes in their game but both guys look like they have some good strengths to build on in the future with the right training. All three judges scored the final round for Tavares.
Winner: Brad Tavares by Decision
Tito disagrees with the decision but I think it was just the pressure of losing two in a row talking. Team Ortiz is in a tough spot down 2-0 so they really need a win next week.
Here are my way too early rankings based only on the first three TUF shows. Rankings will change drastically after the first round of fights I am sure.
Middleweight Rankings:
1. Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz Pick #4)
2. Kyacey Uscola (Team Ortiz Pick #2)
3. Kyle Noke (Team Liddell Pick #1)- defeated Clayton McKinney (Triangle Choke R1)
4. Nick Ring (Team Ortiz Pick #1)
5. Kris McCray (Team Ortiz Pick #3)
6. Brad Tavares (Team Liddell Pick #5)- defeated James Hammortree (Decision)
7. Court McGee (Team Liddell Pick #6)
8. Charles Blancard (Team Liddell Pick #3)
9. Rich Attonito (Team Liddell Pick #2)
10. Joe Henle (Team Liddell Pick #7)
11. Josh Bryant (Team Liddell Pick #4)
12. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz Replacement)
Eliminated:
Clayton McKinney by Kyle Noke (First Round)
Chris Camozzi- left due to injury
James Hammortree by Brad Tavares (First Round)
You can got to Ultimatefighter.com to watch fights from tonight's episode plus every season and every fight from all 10 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter for free. Add me on twitter @ugakev if you enjoy talking and hearing about sports, mma, music, movies, games and tv.
"A Lotta Heart"
Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
Last week on TUF we saw teams pick and we saw the first fight. Tito's team looked stronger on paper but Chuck's team got to pick the first fight and veteran Kyle Noke submitted Clayton McKinney fairly easily.
Dana brought everybody together at the beginning of this show and walked out with the coaches. Dana calls out Chris Camozzi and tells him to step forward. Dana tells him he has exactly what they are looking for but also tells him that he has a broken jaw. He was complaining about a toothache and had a cat scan done and it came back positive for a fracture in his jaw. Dana had a list of guys from the fights and highlighted 4 guys that are injury free and ready to come back and told Tito that he and his coaches needed to make a decision on who they wanted to bring in to replace Camozzi. Tito and his coaches chose to bring back Seth Baczynski. Tito says he brought him back because of the heart that he showed.
"It took me years get here and it took seconds to loose it"- Chris Camozzi
Team Liddell won the last fight so they stay in "control" of the fights. Chuck picks Brad Tavares from his team to fight James Hammortree from Team Ortiz. Tito calls this a must win fight for his team. Yager and Nick Ring get into a little spat in the ring. Ring said that Yager was calling him names while they were sparring.
Hackleman says Tavares is a little raw right now but is well rounded. Howard Davis says he has a lot of punching power and great striking but wishes he would throw his jab a little more. James Hammortree says they call him the "Sledge" because he has a Sledge Hammer built into his right hand. Hammortree says he holds the state of Florida record for fastest knockout, which he says is 5 seconds.
Middleweight Fight- Brad Tavares (4-0) vs. James Hammortree (5-1)
R1- Hammortree shot in for a take down at the one minute mark but Tavares fought him and hit a nice judo throw. Tavares tried to take Hammortree's back and went for a choke but didn't have good position and Hammortree flipped him over onto his back. Tavares got up and Hammortree tried to take him back down but slipped off and Tavares again got position on Hammortree's back. Hammortree got up and shook Tavares but then tried to pull guard with a guillotine and immediately lost it and Tavares again tried to take Hammortree's back and Hammortree spun over into half guard. Close round. Both guys fought hard and both made a lot of mistakes that they should be able to take advantage of in the future with more training. This is anybody's fight.
R2- Tavares got a take down after a struggle in the first minute of the round. Back on their feet Tavares went for a knee and missed and then went for a judo throw but Hammortree avoided it and tried to take Tavares' back. Hammortree ended up getting on top of Tavares and stayed there for the rest of the round. Since they only do two rounds in TUF fights I see this one going to a third "sudden victory" round but Hammortree definitely took this round and the first round was really close so who knows. Dana announces that the judges declared the fight a draw and that they are headed for sudden victory.
R3- Tavares landed a good strike but then Hammortree got a take down. Hammortree got full mount but Tavares easily got out of it and took top position and landed a couple of good strikes. Hammortree tried to power out but Tavares held him down in a strange position while he rested. Not a lot of action in the final minutes of this round but I've got to give the round to Tavares as he really controlled the last minutes and landed more strikes. Both guys have a lot of holes in their game but both guys look like they have some good strengths to build on in the future with the right training. All three judges scored the final round for Tavares.
Winner: Brad Tavares by Decision
Tito disagrees with the decision but I think it was just the pressure of losing two in a row talking. Team Ortiz is in a tough spot down 2-0 so they really need a win next week.
Here are my way too early rankings based only on the first three TUF shows. Rankings will change drastically after the first round of fights I am sure.
Middleweight Rankings:
1. Jamie Yager (Team Ortiz Pick #4)
2. Kyacey Uscola (Team Ortiz Pick #2)
3. Kyle Noke (Team Liddell Pick #1)- defeated Clayton McKinney (Triangle Choke R1)
4. Nick Ring (Team Ortiz Pick #1)
5. Kris McCray (Team Ortiz Pick #3)
6. Brad Tavares (Team Liddell Pick #5)- defeated James Hammortree (Decision)
7. Court McGee (Team Liddell Pick #6)
8. Charles Blancard (Team Liddell Pick #3)
9. Rich Attonito (Team Liddell Pick #2)
10. Joe Henle (Team Liddell Pick #7)
11. Josh Bryant (Team Liddell Pick #4)
12. Seth Baczynski (Team Ortiz Replacement)
Eliminated:
Clayton McKinney by Kyle Noke (First Round)
Chris Camozzi- left due to injury
James Hammortree by Brad Tavares (First Round)
You can got to Ultimatefighter.com to watch fights from tonight's episode plus every season and every fight from all 10 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter for free. Add me on twitter @ugakev if you enjoy talking and hearing about sports, mma, music, movies, games and tv.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Bellator 13 4/8/10 Re-Cap
Bellator 13
Bellator Fighting Championships
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
April 8, 2010
Fox Sports South
Tonight is the debut of Season Two of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Tonight we will see fights from both the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. Bellator is an interesting promotion as they are running 8-fighter tournaments in 4 different weight divisions (featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight) this year. The biggest names tonight are former UFC fighter Roger Huerta and up and coming Featherweight Joe Warren. These tournaments will run from April 8-June 24. The tournament champions will win $100,000 and the right to fight for the Bellator World Championship in their weight division. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show. The Bellator fights will be three five minute rounds with no elbows to the head and no kicking or kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1)
R1- Quach got Georgi down early with a push and jumped on top of him but Georgi got back to his feet. Georgi tried to unload on Quach but didn't look like he hit anything too damaging. Both guys really going after it. Georgi landed a flying knee but Quach pulled guard with a guillotine attempt and then dropped that and attempted to take Georgi's back. Georgi hit a devastating knee on Quach and Quach just slumped to the mat and this one is finished. Great opening fight for Bellator!
Winner: Georgi Karakhanyan by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:05
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2)
Marriott has won 9 consecutive fights. Warren only has 3 fights but one was a victory over Kid Yamamoto and his only loss was to current DREAM champion Bibiano Fernandes.
R1- Warren immediately went for and completed a take down and held Marriott down for the first two minutes of the fight. Warren got a take down slam with about two minutes left in the round. Marriott tried to get an arm bar but Warren picked him up and slammed him onto his back to break the hold. Marriott tried for a triangle and clamped it in pretty good but he couldn't finish as time ran out and the hold became unhooked. Really close round. Even though Warren dominated, Marriott came closer to finish the fight so I've got him 10-9.
R2- Warren got a take down in the first thirty seconds of the round. Warren stayed on top and briefly went for a choke with two minutes left in the round but quickly abandoned the submission. Warren easily took this round as he controlled the entire round. I've got it 19-19 going into the final frame.
R3- Warren again quickly started the round with a take down. Marriott tried another arm bar half way through the round and Warren slammed him down quickly again. Warren just grinded out a win in this fight. Warren wins on my score card 29-28.
Judges score cards: 30-27 on all three score cards
Winner: Joe Warren by Decision (Unanimous)
Mickey Rourke and Jeremy Shockey are in the audience and are being interviewed next to a bunch of empty seats. Jeremy looks like he's loaded.
Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- Roger Huerta (20-3-1) vs. Chad Hinton (6-0)
Hinton is a 38 year old fighter who first fought at the age of 35.
R1- Lots of clinching against the cage early in the fight. Hinton missed a kick and Huerta hit a push kick and jumped on top of Hinton but couldn’t do anything with him. Hinton caught Huerta in a clinch and landed some knees. Huerta hit some good solid punches to escape the clinch and Hinton looked momentarily stunned. Hinton shot in and got a take down but didn’t do anything with hit and Huerta quickly got back to his feet. Huerta landed a couple of good shots and Hinton got another take down. Hinton tried to take Huerta’s back and went for a choke but didn’t have good position and Huerta flipped him over and started landing some Ground and Pound. Good and surprisingly even first round.
R2- Hinton tried a leg kick and hit it but without anything behind it. Then both guys slugged it out wildly. Huerta landed and got a take down. Huerta landed some good strikes from the top. Hinton looks like he’s gassed out and Huerta is landing shots and controlling this round. Huerta clearly won this round and he be able to finish Hinton in the final round.
R3- Huerta grabbed Hinton’s leg and then landed a couple punches. Hinton grabbed Huerta’s back and Huerta did a crazy somersault to the ground to escape and take top position. Huerta grabbed a knee bar and Hinton tapped out.
Winner: Roger Huerta by Submission (Knee Bar) R3 0:56
Lightweight Quarterfinal Final- Joe Duarte (5-1) vs. Carey Vanier (7-2)
Duarte found out last week that he was taking this fight so he’s taking it on 5 days notice. They also mention he cut 15 pounds in 48 hours.
R1- Vanier got a take down about two minutes into the round. Duarte got up but was taken down again with a minute and a half left in the round. Vanier 10-9, not much damage done by either fighter in the first round.
R2- Not a lot of action in the beginning of this round. Duarte briefly got a take down but Vanier immediately got back up. Vanier landed some punches to the gut against the cage and Duarte answered with a knee. Vanier got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Duarte went for a kimura from the bottom but let it go right before the bell as he couldn’t get leverage on it. That round was a lot closer but I’ve got Vanier 20-18.
R3- Vanier landed a good combination to start the round and then quickly got a take down. Vanier landing some good shots from the top. Vanier landing good shots to the head of Duarte. Duarte tried to grab a guillotine but couldn’t hold it as Vanier slipped out. Vanier had position on Duarte’s back and landed a bunch of punches to the side of Duarte’s head and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Carey Vanier by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:14
Fight of the Night: Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Bao Quach
Bellator Fighting Championships
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
April 8, 2010
Fox Sports South
Tonight is the debut of Season Two of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Tonight we will see fights from both the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. Bellator is an interesting promotion as they are running 8-fighter tournaments in 4 different weight divisions (featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight) this year. The biggest names tonight are former UFC fighter Roger Huerta and up and coming Featherweight Joe Warren. These tournaments will run from April 8-June 24. The tournament champions will win $100,000 and the right to fight for the Bellator World Championship in their weight division. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show. The Bellator fights will be three five minute rounds with no elbows to the head and no kicking or kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1)
R1- Quach got Georgi down early with a push and jumped on top of him but Georgi got back to his feet. Georgi tried to unload on Quach but didn't look like he hit anything too damaging. Both guys really going after it. Georgi landed a flying knee but Quach pulled guard with a guillotine attempt and then dropped that and attempted to take Georgi's back. Georgi hit a devastating knee on Quach and Quach just slumped to the mat and this one is finished. Great opening fight for Bellator!
Winner: Georgi Karakhanyan by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:05
Featherweight Quarterfinal Fight- Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2)
Marriott has won 9 consecutive fights. Warren only has 3 fights but one was a victory over Kid Yamamoto and his only loss was to current DREAM champion Bibiano Fernandes.
R1- Warren immediately went for and completed a take down and held Marriott down for the first two minutes of the fight. Warren got a take down slam with about two minutes left in the round. Marriott tried to get an arm bar but Warren picked him up and slammed him onto his back to break the hold. Marriott tried for a triangle and clamped it in pretty good but he couldn't finish as time ran out and the hold became unhooked. Really close round. Even though Warren dominated, Marriott came closer to finish the fight so I've got him 10-9.
R2- Warren got a take down in the first thirty seconds of the round. Warren stayed on top and briefly went for a choke with two minutes left in the round but quickly abandoned the submission. Warren easily took this round as he controlled the entire round. I've got it 19-19 going into the final frame.
R3- Warren again quickly started the round with a take down. Marriott tried another arm bar half way through the round and Warren slammed him down quickly again. Warren just grinded out a win in this fight. Warren wins on my score card 29-28.
Judges score cards: 30-27 on all three score cards
Winner: Joe Warren by Decision (Unanimous)
Mickey Rourke and Jeremy Shockey are in the audience and are being interviewed next to a bunch of empty seats. Jeremy looks like he's loaded.
Lightweight Quarterfinal Fight- Roger Huerta (20-3-1) vs. Chad Hinton (6-0)
Hinton is a 38 year old fighter who first fought at the age of 35.
R1- Lots of clinching against the cage early in the fight. Hinton missed a kick and Huerta hit a push kick and jumped on top of Hinton but couldn’t do anything with him. Hinton caught Huerta in a clinch and landed some knees. Huerta hit some good solid punches to escape the clinch and Hinton looked momentarily stunned. Hinton shot in and got a take down but didn’t do anything with hit and Huerta quickly got back to his feet. Huerta landed a couple of good shots and Hinton got another take down. Hinton tried to take Huerta’s back and went for a choke but didn’t have good position and Huerta flipped him over and started landing some Ground and Pound. Good and surprisingly even first round.
R2- Hinton tried a leg kick and hit it but without anything behind it. Then both guys slugged it out wildly. Huerta landed and got a take down. Huerta landed some good strikes from the top. Hinton looks like he’s gassed out and Huerta is landing shots and controlling this round. Huerta clearly won this round and he be able to finish Hinton in the final round.
R3- Huerta grabbed Hinton’s leg and then landed a couple punches. Hinton grabbed Huerta’s back and Huerta did a crazy somersault to the ground to escape and take top position. Huerta grabbed a knee bar and Hinton tapped out.
Winner: Roger Huerta by Submission (Knee Bar) R3 0:56
Lightweight Quarterfinal Final- Joe Duarte (5-1) vs. Carey Vanier (7-2)
Duarte found out last week that he was taking this fight so he’s taking it on 5 days notice. They also mention he cut 15 pounds in 48 hours.
R1- Vanier got a take down about two minutes into the round. Duarte got up but was taken down again with a minute and a half left in the round. Vanier 10-9, not much damage done by either fighter in the first round.
R2- Not a lot of action in the beginning of this round. Duarte briefly got a take down but Vanier immediately got back up. Vanier landed some punches to the gut against the cage and Duarte answered with a knee. Vanier got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Duarte went for a kimura from the bottom but let it go right before the bell as he couldn’t get leverage on it. That round was a lot closer but I’ve got Vanier 20-18.
R3- Vanier landed a good combination to start the round and then quickly got a take down. Vanier landing some good shots from the top. Vanier landing good shots to the head of Duarte. Duarte tried to grab a guillotine but couldn’t hold it as Vanier slipped out. Vanier had position on Duarte’s back and landed a bunch of punches to the side of Duarte’s head and the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Carey Vanier by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:14
Fight of the Night: Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Bao Quach
Sunday, April 11, 2010
CBS Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights 4/17 Preview
CBS Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights
Saturday, April 17
Nashville, Tennessee
I was looking at my DVR this week and was shocked at just how much MMA is scheduled for this week. On Wednesday Spike TV has the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter and a new Pride show, on Thursday Bellator is on Fox Sports (or one of those channels in the 640s of my DirecTV), on Friday HDNet brings us the latest King of the Cage with Ray Mercer and Jeremy Horn and on Saturday is the big Strikeforce show on CBS. The last time Strikeforce was on CBS was the Fedor/Brett Rogers show and Fedor went over big and even had ESPN anchors name dropping him when discussing football highlights. It will be interesting to see how they do this time without Fedor or a non-traditional draw like a Herschel Walker or Bobby Lashley that were both rumored for this card at one point or another. Strikeforce has an all-star card for the hardcore MMA fans with Dan Henderson/Jake Shields, Gegard Mousasi/King Mo Lawal, and Gilbert Melendez/Shinya Aoki. Jason “Mayhem” Miller of MTVs Bully Beatdown has been added to the under card in a fight that should be shown on the show but with 3 title fights scheduled for five five minute rounds you never know how much time they will have left on the broadcast. I think the best thing about this card is that I can look at the top 3 fights and I can see all 6 fighters winning and I’m truly interested in seeing all 3 of these fights. It should be a really good night of fights. Let’s take a look at the top 3 fights on this card.
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez (17-2) vs. Shinya Aoki (23-4)
Shinya Aoki is the challenger in this fight and in my book he has to be considered the favorite. Aoki has developed over the last few years into someone I thought of as a boring fighter to someone who starting snapping opponents arms and not thinking twice about it. Aoki has always been a gifted jiu jitsu practitioner but now that he has the attitude to go with it he is going to be trouble for anybody he’s fighting. Aoki has won his last 3 fights since he tried moving up in weight and got destroyed by Hayato Sakari at DREAM 8. Over the last two years Aoki has beaten a who’s who of MMA lightweights in Eddie Alvarez, Gesias Calvalcante, Joachim Hansen, Vitor Ribeiro, Caol Uno and Mizuto Hirota. Aoki has finished 5 of his last 6 wins and 4 of those have been by submission. Aoki has a 60% submission rate in his wins.
Gilbert Melendez started his career by winning 13 straight fights including wins over Clay Guida and Tasuya Kawajiri. Melendez then dropped 2 of his next 3 fights as he fell to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. Melendez’s last two victories have been over the only two men who have defeated him. Now that’s impressive, not many MMA fighters can boast that they have came back and re-claimed victories against the only men who defeated them. Without inside knowledge of Melendez it looked like he just got unfocused for a while and after watching his last 3 fights it seems like he is re-focused and back on track.
Melendez has a huge advantage in the stand-up game and Melendez also has a strong wrestling base. Aoki’s only shot in this fight is to get this fight to the ground and take over with his superior jiu jitsu or come up with some amazing flying submission. Based on that I have to go with Melendez on this fight. I see Melendez keeping this fight standing and finishing Aoki by TKO. Although I must admit that it feels funny typing that I’m confident that Melendez is going to finish the #1 Lightweight in the world (Aoki was pretty much thought of as #2 to B.J. Penn and now that Penn has been beaten due to controversial decision I have to think Aoki jumps up to the #1 spot). Styles make fights and this one figures to be a chess match. Melendez desperate to keep the fight standing and Aoki desperate to get into positions to use his jiu jitsu.
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi (c) (28-2-1) vs. Mo Lawal (6-0)
Mousasi introduced himself to Strikeforce fans by decimating their champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral in just one minute. Fans of the DREAM promotion in Japan were not surprised at all as they had already seen Mousasi beat Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Jacare Souza. Mousasi is on a 15 fight win streak and has not lost since 2006 (submitted by Akihiro Gono via arm bar in Pride). Mousasi’s strength is his standup and lightning quick hands but he also is decent on the ground and has a good bottom game (just ask Jacare about that!).
King Mo Lawal is one of the most charismatic fighters in MMA and he’s a guy that I think could really help put Strikeforce on the map as he’s much more marketable than Mousasi and guys like Dan Henderson and Jake Shields. Mo has a decorated past in wrestling. Just check Wikipedia, he was a stud. Mo is still very young in the MMA game. He’s beat guys like Travis Wiuff, Mike Whitehead and Mark Kerr. So he’s faced some veterans but he’s been relatively untested and has certainly not faced anyone with the type of skill that Mousasi has. Mo has finished 5 of his 6 wins by TKO.
Mousasi has the advantage standing in this fight but Mo is a superior wrestler and I think that’s the weak spot in Mousasi’s game if he has one. I really like both of these young fighters so I’m going to be cheering for a great competitive fight but I just think that Mousasi has too much skill right now for Mo to handle. Mo’s biggest opportunity to win this fight is to get Mousasi to the ground and ground him out but I see Mousasi being able to catch Mo and land a barrage of his quick strikes to seal the deal in this one. Give Lawal another year or two and he’ll be too much for Mousasi to handle. Really good match-up as I put these two guys up there with Jon “Bones” Jones of the UFC as Light Heavyweights that will be making their mark in this sport for a long time.
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship: Jake Shields (c) (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
Former Pride champion Dan Henderson is the man that CBS and Strikeforce are marketing this night of fights around as he’s the most experienced and well known fighter fighting on this card. That being said, I really don’t see Dan as being very marketable. I like Dan Henderson as much as the next guy but his highest profile win in the last 2 years was against Michael Bisping (yes he beat Rich Franklin but that was a split decision and nobody remembers it). If Dan Henderson was that marketable the UFC would have kept him. That being said, Dan Henderson is still a very good fighter with his biggest strength being his wrestling as well as his punching power (at least that’s what Michael Bisping tells me).
Jake Shields is a skilled jiu jitsu fighter who has an uncanny ability to control his opponents. He frustrated Mayhem Miller on his way to a decision victory at the last CBS show. Shields is on a 13 fight winning streak that includes Mayhem, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Yushin Okami, Toby Imada and Carlos Condit but Dan Henderson is clearly the top fighter that Shields has faced.
In 5 of his last 7 wins Henderson has won by decision. Shields has finished 8 of his last 9 fights but they’ve all been against fighters of a lesser caliber than Henderson. Henderson has the better boxing in this match-up (but Robbie Lawler had the advantage here against Shields and that didn’t help him) and has the better wrestling so he should have the ability to stop Shields take downs. If I was a betting man I would go with Henderson here by decision but would not be surprised to see Shields pull this one out.
Saturday, April 17
Nashville, Tennessee
I was looking at my DVR this week and was shocked at just how much MMA is scheduled for this week. On Wednesday Spike TV has the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter and a new Pride show, on Thursday Bellator is on Fox Sports (or one of those channels in the 640s of my DirecTV), on Friday HDNet brings us the latest King of the Cage with Ray Mercer and Jeremy Horn and on Saturday is the big Strikeforce show on CBS. The last time Strikeforce was on CBS was the Fedor/Brett Rogers show and Fedor went over big and even had ESPN anchors name dropping him when discussing football highlights. It will be interesting to see how they do this time without Fedor or a non-traditional draw like a Herschel Walker or Bobby Lashley that were both rumored for this card at one point or another. Strikeforce has an all-star card for the hardcore MMA fans with Dan Henderson/Jake Shields, Gegard Mousasi/King Mo Lawal, and Gilbert Melendez/Shinya Aoki. Jason “Mayhem” Miller of MTVs Bully Beatdown has been added to the under card in a fight that should be shown on the show but with 3 title fights scheduled for five five minute rounds you never know how much time they will have left on the broadcast. I think the best thing about this card is that I can look at the top 3 fights and I can see all 6 fighters winning and I’m truly interested in seeing all 3 of these fights. It should be a really good night of fights. Let’s take a look at the top 3 fights on this card.
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Gilbert Melendez (17-2) vs. Shinya Aoki (23-4)
Shinya Aoki is the challenger in this fight and in my book he has to be considered the favorite. Aoki has developed over the last few years into someone I thought of as a boring fighter to someone who starting snapping opponents arms and not thinking twice about it. Aoki has always been a gifted jiu jitsu practitioner but now that he has the attitude to go with it he is going to be trouble for anybody he’s fighting. Aoki has won his last 3 fights since he tried moving up in weight and got destroyed by Hayato Sakari at DREAM 8. Over the last two years Aoki has beaten a who’s who of MMA lightweights in Eddie Alvarez, Gesias Calvalcante, Joachim Hansen, Vitor Ribeiro, Caol Uno and Mizuto Hirota. Aoki has finished 5 of his last 6 wins and 4 of those have been by submission. Aoki has a 60% submission rate in his wins.
Gilbert Melendez started his career by winning 13 straight fights including wins over Clay Guida and Tasuya Kawajiri. Melendez then dropped 2 of his next 3 fights as he fell to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. Melendez’s last two victories have been over the only two men who have defeated him. Now that’s impressive, not many MMA fighters can boast that they have came back and re-claimed victories against the only men who defeated them. Without inside knowledge of Melendez it looked like he just got unfocused for a while and after watching his last 3 fights it seems like he is re-focused and back on track.
Melendez has a huge advantage in the stand-up game and Melendez also has a strong wrestling base. Aoki’s only shot in this fight is to get this fight to the ground and take over with his superior jiu jitsu or come up with some amazing flying submission. Based on that I have to go with Melendez on this fight. I see Melendez keeping this fight standing and finishing Aoki by TKO. Although I must admit that it feels funny typing that I’m confident that Melendez is going to finish the #1 Lightweight in the world (Aoki was pretty much thought of as #2 to B.J. Penn and now that Penn has been beaten due to controversial decision I have to think Aoki jumps up to the #1 spot). Styles make fights and this one figures to be a chess match. Melendez desperate to keep the fight standing and Aoki desperate to get into positions to use his jiu jitsu.
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship: Gegard Mousasi (c) (28-2-1) vs. Mo Lawal (6-0)
Mousasi introduced himself to Strikeforce fans by decimating their champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral in just one minute. Fans of the DREAM promotion in Japan were not surprised at all as they had already seen Mousasi beat Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Jacare Souza. Mousasi is on a 15 fight win streak and has not lost since 2006 (submitted by Akihiro Gono via arm bar in Pride). Mousasi’s strength is his standup and lightning quick hands but he also is decent on the ground and has a good bottom game (just ask Jacare about that!).
King Mo Lawal is one of the most charismatic fighters in MMA and he’s a guy that I think could really help put Strikeforce on the map as he’s much more marketable than Mousasi and guys like Dan Henderson and Jake Shields. Mo has a decorated past in wrestling. Just check Wikipedia, he was a stud. Mo is still very young in the MMA game. He’s beat guys like Travis Wiuff, Mike Whitehead and Mark Kerr. So he’s faced some veterans but he’s been relatively untested and has certainly not faced anyone with the type of skill that Mousasi has. Mo has finished 5 of his 6 wins by TKO.
Mousasi has the advantage standing in this fight but Mo is a superior wrestler and I think that’s the weak spot in Mousasi’s game if he has one. I really like both of these young fighters so I’m going to be cheering for a great competitive fight but I just think that Mousasi has too much skill right now for Mo to handle. Mo’s biggest opportunity to win this fight is to get Mousasi to the ground and ground him out but I see Mousasi being able to catch Mo and land a barrage of his quick strikes to seal the deal in this one. Give Lawal another year or two and he’ll be too much for Mousasi to handle. Really good match-up as I put these two guys up there with Jon “Bones” Jones of the UFC as Light Heavyweights that will be making their mark in this sport for a long time.
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship: Jake Shields (c) (24-4-1) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7)
Former Pride champion Dan Henderson is the man that CBS and Strikeforce are marketing this night of fights around as he’s the most experienced and well known fighter fighting on this card. That being said, I really don’t see Dan as being very marketable. I like Dan Henderson as much as the next guy but his highest profile win in the last 2 years was against Michael Bisping (yes he beat Rich Franklin but that was a split decision and nobody remembers it). If Dan Henderson was that marketable the UFC would have kept him. That being said, Dan Henderson is still a very good fighter with his biggest strength being his wrestling as well as his punching power (at least that’s what Michael Bisping tells me).
Jake Shields is a skilled jiu jitsu fighter who has an uncanny ability to control his opponents. He frustrated Mayhem Miller on his way to a decision victory at the last CBS show. Shields is on a 13 fight winning streak that includes Mayhem, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Yushin Okami, Toby Imada and Carlos Condit but Dan Henderson is clearly the top fighter that Shields has faced.
In 5 of his last 7 wins Henderson has won by decision. Shields has finished 8 of his last 9 fights but they’ve all been against fighters of a lesser caliber than Henderson. Henderson has the better boxing in this match-up (but Robbie Lawler had the advantage here against Shields and that didn’t help him) and has the better wrestling so he should have the ability to stop Shields take downs. If I was a betting man I would go with Henderson here by decision but would not be surprised to see Shields pull this one out.
UFC 112 "Invincible" Re-Cap
UFC 112: Invincible
Yas Island
Abu Dhabi
April 10, 2010
This show is highlighted by two of the top Pound for Pound fighters, Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn, defending their titles. Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar have a shot tonight to shock the world with major upsets. Matt Hughes takes on Renzo Gracie in the other feature fight on this show. As always Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are your announcers for the show. At the outset of the show Rogan calls Anderson Silva the greatest fighter to ever fight in MMA and BJ Penn the greatest lightweight to ever walk the face of the earth. This show is outdoors!
Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (13-6) vs. Mark Munoz (7-1)
Grove has won 3 of his last 4 and had an impressive submission victory over Jake Rosholt at UFC 106. Munoz is still very young in this sport but was in WEC before he entered the octagon. Munoz was welcomed to the UFC by a Matt Hamill head kick but since has rallied to win two in a row. Munoz is considered the betting favorite in this fight. Grove has a 6″ height and 8″ reach advantage. I would be surprised if Munoz wasn’t significantly stronger.
R1- Munoz got a quick take down about half way through the round but Grove was able to get back to his feet. Grove caught Munoz coming in with a right and briefly floored him. Munoz clamped onto a leg to recover and Grove landed some strikes. Munoz went for a take down and Grove sprawled and briefly got a choke but lost it. Munoz landed a couple of strikes but then got taken down in a guillotine attempt and Munoz slipped out. Grove grabbed another guillotine towards the end of the round but couldn’t hold it. Good first round. Grove 10-9.
R2- Munoz ate a knee coming in for a take down and Kendall tried to get an arm bar but Munoz slipped out and took top position. Munoz lands some good strikes from the guard. Munoz opened up with a barrage of Ground and Pound strikes on Grove and got the ref stoppage. Really good come back by Munoz.
Winner: Mark Munoz by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:50
Lightweight Fight- Terry Etim (14-2) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (13-4)
Etim is on a 4-fight win streak but doesn’t have any wins that really stand out. dos Anjos is on a 2-fight win streak and also doesn’t have any big wins that stand out. The winner of this will be looking at a big step up in competition for their next fight. dos Anjos lost to Tyson Griffin and Jeremy Stephens when he stepped up in competition and since then has 2 decision victories over lesser opponents. Etim has finished 3 of his last 4 fights. Terry Etim is the favorite to win this fight. Etim has a 4″ height and 2″ reach advantage.
R1- Etim grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard on a take down attempt. Etim kept the move on for about two minutes but dos Anjos was able to get out of the submission. The referee warns dos Anjos for striking Etim in the spine and stands them up. Etim 10-9.
R2- Etim caught dos Anjos with a knee but dos Anjos got a quick take down. dos Anjos just controlled this round from the top position. dos Anjos worked hard and got an arm bar submission to win the fight. Good finish and win for dos Anjos.
Winner: Rafael dos Anjos by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:30
Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustafsson
This is from the pre-show. Davis is wearing some sweet neon pink trunks. Rogan says Davis looks like “a giant GSP”.
R1- Lots of grappling in this first round. Davis finally got a take down with about a minute left in the round and dropped some elbows. Davis was able to grab a choke and finished the fight as the first round was coming to an end. Nice showing by Davis.
Winner: Phil Davis by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1 4:55
Georges St-Pierre is at the show tonight and Rogan says GSP has an interesting eye on the Main Event because Anderson Silva has talked about dropping down to 170.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (44-7) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
Hughes was last in the octagon in May of 2009 and struggled to a decision victory over Matt Serra. Before that he posted back-to-back losses to GSP and Thiago Alves but those are 2 of the top 3 guys in the division and Hughes took the Alves fight despite Alves missing weight by a wide margin. The last I saw of Renzo Gracie was a DQ victory against Frank Shamrock in a controversial fight.
R1- Renzo landed some strikes early. Surprising first round, not a ton of action and the entire round was spend standing. I’d give that round to Renzo 10-9.
R2- Hughes got double under hooks and tried a take down but Renzo denied it. Hughes is finding a home for some leg kicks. Hughes was more aggressive in this round and finished strong. After two rounds I’ve got the fight scored 19-19.
R3- Hughes grabbed Renzo in a Muay Thai clinch and then released and landed some good shots. Hughes backed off but when they came back together he landed some more shots that wobbled Renzo. Hughes kicks Renzo’s leg out from under him twice. Hughes is continuing to pepper the leg and lands a couple good strikes as well and then floors Renzo with another strike. Hughes just goes to town on Renzo at the end of the round and finishes the fight. Renzo showed heart but he was just no match for Hughes once the fight got into the final round.
Winner: Matt Hughes by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:40
UFC Lightweight Championship Fight: B.J. Penn (c) (15-5-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
B.J. Penn recently dispatched of the #2 guy in the division (Kenny Florian) and also decimated Diego Sanchez in short order. Edgar’s signature win was over former champion Sean Sherk. His last win was over Matt Veach. Penn has a 3″ height advantage and Edgar has a 2″ reach advantage.
R1- Edgar is doing a good job moving around early. Edgar went for a take down and ate a couple of strikes. BJ started to find the range towards the end of the round. Fairly even first round. I’ve got Penn 10-9. Edgar opened a small cut under one of BJ’s eyes.
R2- Edgar continued to bounce around the cage as Penn took the middle. Edgar was able to get Penn to the ground for like half a second before Penn got up. Close round but Penn seemed to have landed more strikes. I’ve got Penn 20-18 but both have been close rounds.
R3- Penn landed a good combination early in the round when Edgar came in for a strike. Edgar still bouncing around just as much as he did in the first round. Really close round. I’ve got Penn up 30-27 but by the slimmest of margins. Penn’s corner tells him it’s “about 2 to 1″.
R4- Edgar pushed Penn back to the cage and landed a couple of strikes toward the end of the round. Another difficult round to score for the judges. This was probably Edgar’s best round as Penn looks to be tiring a bit. I’ve got it 39-37 Penn through 4 rounds. I wish the UFC used CompuStrike for fights like this that look so close.
R5- Edgar got a take down in the first thirty seconds of the round but Penn got up very quickly. Penn had not been taken down at Lightweight in over 6 years before that. Frankie landed a good right half way through the round. Penn stuffed a couple of take down attempts. Frankie’s cardio really helping him out in this round as he’s still bouncing around Penn. BJ came on with some strikes at the end of the fight. Good fight but neither guy came close to finishing. I’ve got Penn taking the fight in a close one 48 to 47. Really impressive performance by Frankie Edgar as he did much better than anybody anticipated.
Judges score cards: 50-45, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of Frankie Edgar
Wow! Now that was a shocking decision. But I guess that’s why you don’t leave it in the judges hands. I’m partial to the saying “you have to beat the man to be the man” so on razor close rounds I tend to favor the champion. I guess these judges didn’t see it that way. 50-45 is more than a little shocking of a score card. Congrats to Frankie Edgar he definitely defied the odds. Now that B.J. is not the champ anymore I bet Gray Maynard starts campaigning for a title fight.
Winner and new champion: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
UFC Middleweight Championship Fight: Anderson Silva (c) (25-4) vs. Demian Maia (12-1)
Anderson Silva has certainly not wowed anybody with his last two title fights (Thales Leites and Patrick Cote) but he was amazing in his last fight against Forrest Griffin. Despite posting a record of 6-1 inside the Octagon there is no question that Demian Maia backed his way into this title fight. Maia is one of the best submission fighters on the planet but his stand-up game was brutally exposed when he lost to Nate Marquardt in 21 seconds in UFC 102 and his wrestling is nowhere near the level of his jiu jitsu. Maia is only getting this title fight because Marquardt was manhandled by Chael Sonnen (although Maia did easily beat Sonnen) at UFC 109 and Vitor Belfort is on the shelf recovering from an injury. Rogan says Anderson Silva was wearing a shirt today that said “Trust Me, I’m a Jedi”. Silva has a 2″ height and 5.5″ reach advantage. They show GSP while Silva is being introduced and he waves to the camera.
R1- Anderson just dancing around and throwing a strike here or there and basically daring Maia to come at him. Anderson is just playing with Maia and clowning with him. Anderson lands a flying knee and Maia stays on his back for a while. Anderson 10-9. It really seemed like Maia only survived that round because Anderson wanted him to.
R2- Anderson is coming at Maia with some crazy stances. Maia tries for a few take downs and gets swatted off. Anderson stands in the middle of the ring half way through the round and motions for Maia to “bring it”. Anderson looks like he is getting mad and talking trash to Maia. Anderson is landing strikes at will when he wants to. Anderson 20-18.
“This must be terrifying for Demian Maia”- Joe Rogan
R3- Maia’s face is busted up going into the round. Not much going on in this round. Anderson has one sequence where he really went after Maia. Other than that it was a bunch of leg kicks and Anderson waiting for Maia to engage. Anderson 30-27.
R4- The crowd is growing a little restless of Anderson’s antics as they have a small “Maia” chant and a bigger “GSP” chant. Anderson doing a lot of dancing around and landing an occasional strike. Big chant for “Maia” towards the end of the round. Maia holds up his hands questioning Silva at the end of the round. Rogan points out that Dana White walked up to Silva’s manager at the end of this round “upset”. Rogan laso points out that Maia’s left eye is almost completely shut. He says sometimes this can happen if you have a broken nose and you blow your nose. Interesting. Anderson 40-36.
“This is the kind of stuff that drives Dana White nuts”- Joe Rogan
R5- Maia came in and threw some strikes and got a huge pop from the crowd. Maia is swinging for the fences. Crowd is chanting “Maia”. Maia grabbed a hold of Anderson up against the cage but couldn’t hold onto him when he tried to get him to the mat. Dan Mirgliatta calls time and tells Anderson Silva that if he keeps running around that he will take a point away from him. Fans boo after the bell rings. Maia might have taken that round but it’s a no brainer as to who won the fight. The fans turned on Anderson in this fight and even chanted “Maia” after the fight. That’s one of the strangest fights you will see.
Judges score card: scores are not announced but it is announced as a unanimous decision for Anderson Silva.
Yas Island
Abu Dhabi
April 10, 2010
This show is highlighted by two of the top Pound for Pound fighters, Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn, defending their titles. Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar have a shot tonight to shock the world with major upsets. Matt Hughes takes on Renzo Gracie in the other feature fight on this show. As always Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are your announcers for the show. At the outset of the show Rogan calls Anderson Silva the greatest fighter to ever fight in MMA and BJ Penn the greatest lightweight to ever walk the face of the earth. This show is outdoors!
Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (13-6) vs. Mark Munoz (7-1)
Grove has won 3 of his last 4 and had an impressive submission victory over Jake Rosholt at UFC 106. Munoz is still very young in this sport but was in WEC before he entered the octagon. Munoz was welcomed to the UFC by a Matt Hamill head kick but since has rallied to win two in a row. Munoz is considered the betting favorite in this fight. Grove has a 6″ height and 8″ reach advantage. I would be surprised if Munoz wasn’t significantly stronger.
R1- Munoz got a quick take down about half way through the round but Grove was able to get back to his feet. Grove caught Munoz coming in with a right and briefly floored him. Munoz clamped onto a leg to recover and Grove landed some strikes. Munoz went for a take down and Grove sprawled and briefly got a choke but lost it. Munoz landed a couple of strikes but then got taken down in a guillotine attempt and Munoz slipped out. Grove grabbed another guillotine towards the end of the round but couldn’t hold it. Good first round. Grove 10-9.
R2- Munoz ate a knee coming in for a take down and Kendall tried to get an arm bar but Munoz slipped out and took top position. Munoz lands some good strikes from the guard. Munoz opened up with a barrage of Ground and Pound strikes on Grove and got the ref stoppage. Really good come back by Munoz.
Winner: Mark Munoz by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:50
Lightweight Fight- Terry Etim (14-2) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (13-4)
Etim is on a 4-fight win streak but doesn’t have any wins that really stand out. dos Anjos is on a 2-fight win streak and also doesn’t have any big wins that stand out. The winner of this will be looking at a big step up in competition for their next fight. dos Anjos lost to Tyson Griffin and Jeremy Stephens when he stepped up in competition and since then has 2 decision victories over lesser opponents. Etim has finished 3 of his last 4 fights. Terry Etim is the favorite to win this fight. Etim has a 4″ height and 2″ reach advantage.
R1- Etim grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard on a take down attempt. Etim kept the move on for about two minutes but dos Anjos was able to get out of the submission. The referee warns dos Anjos for striking Etim in the spine and stands them up. Etim 10-9.
R2- Etim caught dos Anjos with a knee but dos Anjos got a quick take down. dos Anjos just controlled this round from the top position. dos Anjos worked hard and got an arm bar submission to win the fight. Good finish and win for dos Anjos.
Winner: Rafael dos Anjos by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:30
Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustafsson
This is from the pre-show. Davis is wearing some sweet neon pink trunks. Rogan says Davis looks like “a giant GSP”.
R1- Lots of grappling in this first round. Davis finally got a take down with about a minute left in the round and dropped some elbows. Davis was able to grab a choke and finished the fight as the first round was coming to an end. Nice showing by Davis.
Winner: Phil Davis by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1 4:55
Georges St-Pierre is at the show tonight and Rogan says GSP has an interesting eye on the Main Event because Anderson Silva has talked about dropping down to 170.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (44-7) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
Hughes was last in the octagon in May of 2009 and struggled to a decision victory over Matt Serra. Before that he posted back-to-back losses to GSP and Thiago Alves but those are 2 of the top 3 guys in the division and Hughes took the Alves fight despite Alves missing weight by a wide margin. The last I saw of Renzo Gracie was a DQ victory against Frank Shamrock in a controversial fight.
R1- Renzo landed some strikes early. Surprising first round, not a ton of action and the entire round was spend standing. I’d give that round to Renzo 10-9.
R2- Hughes got double under hooks and tried a take down but Renzo denied it. Hughes is finding a home for some leg kicks. Hughes was more aggressive in this round and finished strong. After two rounds I’ve got the fight scored 19-19.
R3- Hughes grabbed Renzo in a Muay Thai clinch and then released and landed some good shots. Hughes backed off but when they came back together he landed some more shots that wobbled Renzo. Hughes kicks Renzo’s leg out from under him twice. Hughes is continuing to pepper the leg and lands a couple good strikes as well and then floors Renzo with another strike. Hughes just goes to town on Renzo at the end of the round and finishes the fight. Renzo showed heart but he was just no match for Hughes once the fight got into the final round.
Winner: Matt Hughes by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:40
UFC Lightweight Championship Fight: B.J. Penn (c) (15-5-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
B.J. Penn recently dispatched of the #2 guy in the division (Kenny Florian) and also decimated Diego Sanchez in short order. Edgar’s signature win was over former champion Sean Sherk. His last win was over Matt Veach. Penn has a 3″ height advantage and Edgar has a 2″ reach advantage.
R1- Edgar is doing a good job moving around early. Edgar went for a take down and ate a couple of strikes. BJ started to find the range towards the end of the round. Fairly even first round. I’ve got Penn 10-9. Edgar opened a small cut under one of BJ’s eyes.
R2- Edgar continued to bounce around the cage as Penn took the middle. Edgar was able to get Penn to the ground for like half a second before Penn got up. Close round but Penn seemed to have landed more strikes. I’ve got Penn 20-18 but both have been close rounds.
R3- Penn landed a good combination early in the round when Edgar came in for a strike. Edgar still bouncing around just as much as he did in the first round. Really close round. I’ve got Penn up 30-27 but by the slimmest of margins. Penn’s corner tells him it’s “about 2 to 1″.
R4- Edgar pushed Penn back to the cage and landed a couple of strikes toward the end of the round. Another difficult round to score for the judges. This was probably Edgar’s best round as Penn looks to be tiring a bit. I’ve got it 39-37 Penn through 4 rounds. I wish the UFC used CompuStrike for fights like this that look so close.
R5- Edgar got a take down in the first thirty seconds of the round but Penn got up very quickly. Penn had not been taken down at Lightweight in over 6 years before that. Frankie landed a good right half way through the round. Penn stuffed a couple of take down attempts. Frankie’s cardio really helping him out in this round as he’s still bouncing around Penn. BJ came on with some strikes at the end of the fight. Good fight but neither guy came close to finishing. I’ve got Penn taking the fight in a close one 48 to 47. Really impressive performance by Frankie Edgar as he did much better than anybody anticipated.
Judges score cards: 50-45, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of Frankie Edgar
Wow! Now that was a shocking decision. But I guess that’s why you don’t leave it in the judges hands. I’m partial to the saying “you have to beat the man to be the man” so on razor close rounds I tend to favor the champion. I guess these judges didn’t see it that way. 50-45 is more than a little shocking of a score card. Congrats to Frankie Edgar he definitely defied the odds. Now that B.J. is not the champ anymore I bet Gray Maynard starts campaigning for a title fight.
Winner and new champion: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
UFC Middleweight Championship Fight: Anderson Silva (c) (25-4) vs. Demian Maia (12-1)
Anderson Silva has certainly not wowed anybody with his last two title fights (Thales Leites and Patrick Cote) but he was amazing in his last fight against Forrest Griffin. Despite posting a record of 6-1 inside the Octagon there is no question that Demian Maia backed his way into this title fight. Maia is one of the best submission fighters on the planet but his stand-up game was brutally exposed when he lost to Nate Marquardt in 21 seconds in UFC 102 and his wrestling is nowhere near the level of his jiu jitsu. Maia is only getting this title fight because Marquardt was manhandled by Chael Sonnen (although Maia did easily beat Sonnen) at UFC 109 and Vitor Belfort is on the shelf recovering from an injury. Rogan says Anderson Silva was wearing a shirt today that said “Trust Me, I’m a Jedi”. Silva has a 2″ height and 5.5″ reach advantage. They show GSP while Silva is being introduced and he waves to the camera.
R1- Anderson just dancing around and throwing a strike here or there and basically daring Maia to come at him. Anderson is just playing with Maia and clowning with him. Anderson lands a flying knee and Maia stays on his back for a while. Anderson 10-9. It really seemed like Maia only survived that round because Anderson wanted him to.
R2- Anderson is coming at Maia with some crazy stances. Maia tries for a few take downs and gets swatted off. Anderson stands in the middle of the ring half way through the round and motions for Maia to “bring it”. Anderson looks like he is getting mad and talking trash to Maia. Anderson is landing strikes at will when he wants to. Anderson 20-18.
“This must be terrifying for Demian Maia”- Joe Rogan
R3- Maia’s face is busted up going into the round. Not much going on in this round. Anderson has one sequence where he really went after Maia. Other than that it was a bunch of leg kicks and Anderson waiting for Maia to engage. Anderson 30-27.
R4- The crowd is growing a little restless of Anderson’s antics as they have a small “Maia” chant and a bigger “GSP” chant. Anderson doing a lot of dancing around and landing an occasional strike. Big chant for “Maia” towards the end of the round. Maia holds up his hands questioning Silva at the end of the round. Rogan points out that Dana White walked up to Silva’s manager at the end of this round “upset”. Rogan laso points out that Maia’s left eye is almost completely shut. He says sometimes this can happen if you have a broken nose and you blow your nose. Interesting. Anderson 40-36.
“This is the kind of stuff that drives Dana White nuts”- Joe Rogan
R5- Maia came in and threw some strikes and got a huge pop from the crowd. Maia is swinging for the fences. Crowd is chanting “Maia”. Maia grabbed a hold of Anderson up against the cage but couldn’t hold onto him when he tried to get him to the mat. Dan Mirgliatta calls time and tells Anderson Silva that if he keeps running around that he will take a point away from him. Fans boo after the bell rings. Maia might have taken that round but it’s a no brainer as to who won the fight. The fans turned on Anderson in this fight and even chanted “Maia” after the fight. That’s one of the strangest fights you will see.
Judges score card: scores are not announced but it is announced as a unanimous decision for Anderson Silva.
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