UFC Wired 5/25 Re-Cap

UFC Wired 5/25 Re-Cap

Heavyweight Fight: Gabriel Gonzaga (5-1) vs. Fabiano Scherner (5-2)- UFC 60- 5/27/06

Scherner has a 4.5” reach advantage and about 20 pounds on Gonzaga.

R1- Gonzaga takes him down pretty quickly but lets him up. Gonzaga takes him down again but Scherner reverses. Scherner throwing some strikes but Gonzaga takes him down. Scherner seems to want to stay in the guard position. Gonzaga with a kick and then gets another take down as he reverses a take down by Scherner. Gonzaga controlled the first round and Scherner has some cuts on his face, that being said it’s still anyone’s fight as Gonzaga wasn’t exactly dominate in the first round. Gonzaga 10 Scherner 9.

R2- Lots of action early in the round and Gonzaga gets in some shots and then it’s over. Gonzaga tagged him with a nice left jab and then a right hand.

Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO R2

Lightweight Fight: Joe Stevenson (32-7) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (16-2)- UFC 74- 8/25/07

Pellegrino is sporting purple hair for this fight.

R1- They mix it up pretty evenly until Pellegrino gets a take down. Pellgrino gets caught in a guillotine but gets out pretty quickly. Stevenson gets out without any damage and then takes Kurt’s back and then slams him down and grabs another guillotine until Kurt pops back out. Pellegrino got in some shots at the end of the round. This was a really close round. Nobody dominated but I think that even though Pellegrino spend the majority of the time on the top that Stevenson got more damage so I’ll go Stevenson 10-9 for a real close round one.

R2- They spend the first part of round two on their feet. Stevenson lands a nice knee and then gets in an overhand right. Kurt gets caught going for a take down and eats some punches. Pellegrino comes back with some shots. Stevenson knocks Pellegrino down and is in Kurt’s guard land a couple of punches. Kurt is cut open. Stevenson passes the guard and has Pellegrino’s back. Stevenson landing some punches. Pellegrino flips him over but gets caught in another guillotine. Kurt slips out and is in Joe’s guard. Kurt lands a good right hand. Kurt ends the round on a good note but I give this round to Stevenson as well which puts him up 20-18 on my score card.

R3- They start this round just like the last exchanging on their feet. Pellegrino scoops in and gets a take down. The ref stands them up as Pellegrino wasn’t active enough. Stevenson takes it right to Pellegrino but eats a guillotine. Stevenson gets out and is hitting Kurt with punches. Stevenson pins Pellegrino up against the cage and is hitting him with punches. Stevenson with a knee. Kurt throws a kick but can’t hit and Stevenson takes Pellegrino down again. Stevenson gets Pellegrino’s back at the end of the round and this one’s over. Stevenson takes round 3 and in my book it’s 30-27. Stevenson really came on in the 3rd round with superior conditioning. The judges give Stevenson the win with 2 30-27’s and 1 29-28.

Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Title Fight: Matt Hughes © (36-3) vs. BJ Penn (7-1-1)- UFC 46- 1/31/04

This is the sixth consecutive title defense for Hughes. BJ has moved up from the 155lb weight class to challenge Hughes.

R1- Hughes slips a little about 30 seconds in and BJ takes advantage. BJ gets Hughes’s back about a minute in and then goes back to the top. Hughes hits a nice elbow from the bottom. Penn moves into Hughes’s guard. Penn controlling this round. Penn lands a big right hand and mounts Hughes. Penn then takes his back. BJ grabs the Rear Naked Choke and Hughes taps.

Winner and new Welterweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1