UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (22-4-1) vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-3)
This is Turk's debut in UFC. He was born in Beruit, Lebanon and is fighting out of London, England. Turk is a jiu jitsu based fighter. If Kongo can win this fight he puts himself in position to be a possible title contender later in 2009 due to the soft UFC Heavyweight Division. Kongo has a 4 and a half inch reach advantage which could be huge since he's a better striker.
"This is a battle of the cool names"- Joe Rogan
R1- They exchange low blows in the first round. Kongo came on really strong in the last minute of the round and knocked Turk down and started hitting a ton of strikes and busted him open and reigned down elbows and hammer fists. Great finish by Kongo. He really took it to Turk once he got him down. This is as good as I've seen Kongo look. Rogan described it well by saying he was "completely relentless."
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:37
Randy and Kim Couture are in attendance tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
What a stacked card when you can bring out Rampage/Wanderlei for the second fight on the show. This should be FOTN and has the ability to be one of the most exciting fights this year. This is the third match-up between the two fighters with Silva winning the first two. Winner of this fight steps up in line (with Lyoto Machida) to face the winner of Griffin/Evans for the Light Heavyweight Strap. Rogan calls Silva the most consistently exciting fighter in MMA history. This should be a Main Event on any show for any organization. Very mixed reaction for Rampage from the crowd. The fighters don't touch gloves prior to the fight. This is a GRUDGE match!
R1- Rampage hit a big knockout punch towards the end of the round and then continued to pound on Silva as the ref tried to pull him off. Big knockout punch by Rampage. Big left hook by Rampage. They cut to Chuck Liddell after the knockout and he looked less than thrilled with the finish. Great comeback for Rampage after the Forrest fight and he looks to step right back up in line for a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Fight.
Winner: Rampage Jackson by KO (left hook) R1 3:21
In the post-fight interview Rampage says he's back.
Heavyweight Fight- Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry
This is from the pre-show. Barry is hyped as a big-time striker. Evenson lost to Kongo at the UFC 87 show at the end of the first round by TKO. This is Barry's debut in the UFC.
R1- Barry looked decent and it looked like Evensen tweaked something (due to Barry's leg kicks) and could not continue.
Winner: Patrick Barry by TKO (Leg Kick) R1 2:36
Middleweight Fight- CB Dollaway (8-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)
Both guys are college wrestlers with Massenzio's only loss coming on an upset at the hands of Dollaway. Dollaway has a 2 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Massenzio got some shots in and knocked CB down and then grabbed a guillotine but CB survived. CB mounts him and then takes his back and starts to hit him with punches on both sides of the head and Massenzio does nothing to get out of the strikes and the ref stops the fight. Not much damage done by CB but Massenzio did nothing to defend himself. Questionable finish but Massenzio didn't help himself out. Big win for CB.
Winner: CB Dollaway by TKO (strikes) R1 3:01
Light Heavyweight FIght- Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Hamill is coming off a loss to Rich Franklin and Andy is coming off a loss to Brandon Vera. This is a pre-show fight.
R1- They stand up for the round and trade strikes. Hamill got a cut under his eye but pushed forward for the majority of the round. The guy in Matt Hamill's corner drops the f bomb about 50 times as Hamill reads his lips for instruction.
R2- Andy looked for some take downs but Hamill stuffed them and then hit some good strikes on Andy. Andy just slumped down to his knees and basically looked like he gave up as Hamill started to hit him with strikes. The ref finally stops it. Great second round by Hamill.
Winner: Matt Hamill by TKO (strikes) R2 2:15
Brock Lesnar joins Mike and Joe between the fights. Basically says he's not the champ yet until he beats the winner of Mir/Big Nog.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Title Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira © (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
Mir's average fight lasts 3:38 according to Mike Goldberg. Big Nog comes out to the Rolling Stones.
R1- Mir hit a good jab early. Mir is looking good early and gets a take down but gives it up to stand back up. Mir knocked down Big Nog at the 3 minute mark but again lets Big Nog up. Big Nog got in a good combo against the cage at the end of the round. Mir looked really good in this first round and got another knock down at the end of the first round. Mir won this round. Possibly 10-8. The announcers say it's 10-8, Big Nog got in some shots but Mir knocked Big Nog down 3 times.
R2- Mir hits Big Nog with two big punches and knocks him down and then jumps on top with some punches and Herb Dean stops the fight. Surprising finish and I think the stoppage was early considering how much punishment Big Nog takes but Mir was definitely owning this fight.
Post-fight Mir basically stares down Lesnar.
Winner and new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) R2 1:54
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Forrest Griffin © (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (17-0-1)
The battle of the winners of TUF Season 1 and Season 2. And they are Main Eventing a show with Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Frank Mir and Rampage Jackson. Forrest has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. I have a feeling that Rashad is going to win this fight but I've got to pull for Forrest since he's from Athens.
R1- Huge "Forrest" chant at the beginning of the round. Rashad laying back early like he did in the Liddell fight. Forrest took Round One 10-9. Rashad looked like he definitely has the quickness factor but he's laying back more and Forrest is pushing forward. If this fight stays on it's feet I can see Rashad getting a big punch in and ending this.
R2- Forrest hit a big right hand about a minute into the fight and they really mixed it up against the cage and then Rashad smiled at him and kind of gave him that "you can't hurt me" look. Forrest is doing a really good job with his kicks in this fight. Forrest took this round as well and is up 20-18 on my score card. His leg kicks seem to be taking their toll and Rashad is having trouble so far with Forrest's reach advantage. Still anybody's fight but Forrest is the aggressor so far and is out striking Rashad. Rashad has more power though so he's far from out with 3 rounds left. Neither guy looks to have sustained significant damage.
R3- Rashad grabs a Forrest leg kick and takes him down and is delivering hammer fists to Forrest. Forrest was in trouble but took him to full guard. Rashad hits some nice elbows while in Forrest's guard. Rashad delivering lots of punches from the top and the ref stops the fight. Big time round from Rashad. Forrest shows a lot of class and immediately congratulates Rashad once he gets up.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Rashad Evans by TKO (strikes) R3 2:46
Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
This is a pre-show fight. This is Wessell's UFC debut.
R1- Wessell overpowers him early and gets him to the ground. Back to their feet. Wessell is thick. Hardonk hits some good knees. Wessell gets Hardonk down again and Hardonk goes for a triangle but can't get it. Wessell gets full mount right at the buzzer. Wessell is bloodied up from the knees to his face. Good first round.
R2- Hardonk takes Wessell's back and gets the hooks in on him. Hardonk finishes him with strikes.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO (strikes) R2 2:09
Overall a strong show with a good Main Event in Evans/Griffin. Mir/Big Nog was a surprisingly one-sided fight and Silva/Jackson had a big KO. FOTN was Evans/Griffin.
UFC awarded Evans/Griffin the "Fight of the Night" 60K bonus and Rampage got the 60K "KO of the Night" bonus. No submission bonus was given as no fight ended by submission.
Where do we go from here?
Light Heavyweight Division- Looks like we are set up with Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Championship with the winner taking on Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva winner. Forrest versus Chuck Liddell would be an interesting fight for Forrest's next fight.
Heavyweight Division- Obviously we have the Lesnar/Mir re-match. It will be interesting to see where they go with Big Nog. Maybe a fight with Randy Couture?
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale 12/13/08 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale 12/13/08 Re-Cap
Lightweight Fight- Junie Browning (2-1) vs. Dave Kaplan (3-1)
Since leaving the house Junie has been training at Xtreme Couture and working on his stand up game and his ability to be a civil person. Kaplan is a former Division 1 wrestler. Kaplan comes out wearing sunglasses and a gold chain and dancing to some pop tune. He gets a laugh out of Joe Rogan. Junie Browning fittingly picks an Eminem song for his entrance. "Without You" is a better song to hype up a fighter but he goes with a song that is more fitting to his personality. Junie has a 3 inch reach and height advantage in this fight.
R1- Junie shows good stand up and Kaplan gets cut early. Kaplan shows a good chin in the first round. Junie takes round one with his stand up and is up 10-9.
R2- Junie got a take down and an arm bar and finished Kaplan pretty quickly in Round Two. Junie looked good in this fight.
Winner: Junie Browning by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 1:32
Light Heavyweight Fight- Eliot Marshall vs. Jules Bruchez
R1- Marshall just imposed his will on Jules in this fight and dominated.
Winner: Eliot Marshall by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:27
Middleweight Fight- Jason MacDonald (22-10) vs. Wilson Gouveia (11-5)
MacDonald has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. Gouveia failed to make weight in this fight as he came in 3 pounds over the acceptable threshold. MacDonald chose to take the fight anyway.
R1- Gouveia caught MacDonald coming in early and then hit a ton of elbows, cut MacDonald and finished him.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by Submission (Strikes) R1 2:18
Welterweight Fight- Kevin Burns (8-1) vs. Anthony Johnson (5-2)
This is a re-match from early this year from a fight that Burns continually poked Johnson in the eye and finally finished him off with a big eye poke and was given the victory. It was one of the worst decision's I've ever seen in MMA. This is the re-match and a chance for Johnson to get his win back. The win was not overturned on the early fight basically because Vegas had already paid out the bets for the Burns win by the time the appeal was heard. AJ trains with Cung Le and Josh Thomson and has a 3 inch height and 4 inch reach advantage in this fight. AJ is a former JUCO wrestler and Burns is a jiu jitsu fighter and taekwondo black belt.
R1- This was a close first round with the stand up being pretty even. AJ got 2 take downs and Burns had 1 submission attempt. AJ took this round 10-9.
R2- AJ got a take down in this round and controlled the action. AJ 20-18.
R3- AJ hit a HUGE big left kick for the KO. Wow! They had just talked about him training with Cung Le and then he Cung Le'd Burns.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by KO (High Kick) R3 0:28
Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir are interviewed and they talk about UFC 92 and the Spike TV Video Game Awards.
Light Heavyweight TUF 8 Finale: Ryan Bader (8-0) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (3-2)
Bader is a two-time All American College wrestler and beat Kingsbury, Lawlor and Eliot Marshall (who won impressively earlier) to get to the finals. Bader is training with CB Dollaway. We'll see if CB can teach him how to avoid an arm bar. Vinny is a 4 time Jiu Jitsu World Champion and a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. He beat Lance Evans (Rashad's brother), Bruchez (who got destroyed earlier) and Krzysztof Soszynski (who I thought would make the finals) in order to get to the finals. Forrest Griffin has been training with Vinny lately.
R1- Pretty even fight in the first couple of minutes. Bader hit a big right hand shot that put Vinny down. The shot was partially deflected but it put Vinny down and then Bader jumped on top with hammer fists and Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Winner and TUF 8 Light Heavyweight Winner: Ryan Bader by KO R1 2:18
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Shane Primm
Dan Henderson is in Krzysztof's corner.
R1- Good first round. Krzysztof controlled as he was the superior striker in the round but Primm did a good job trying take downs and staying close to Krzysztof to avoid a lot of striking opportunities. 10-9 Krzysztof after one round.
R2- Krzysztof got a kimura half way through the round and tapped him out.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) R2 3:27
Lightweight TUF 8 Finale: Phillipe Nover (6-0-1) vs. Efrain Escudero (11-0)
Nover was a relative unknown coming into this season of TUF but has developed into the favorite to win the fight. He defeated Joe Duarte, Kaplan and George Roop to make the finals. Nover has just recently received his jiu jitsu black belt. He is a nurse from Brooklyn. Efrain defeated Pariente, Shane Nelson and Junie Browning to make the finals. He is a former high school and JUCO wrestler and is described as a "free style" fighter.
R1- Escudero got a good shot in on Phillipe early as he was getting up from a take down. Efrain got Phillipe's back and then later got in some good Ground and Pound. Really good first round that was controlled by Efrain to the tune of 10-9. Nover had a couple of near submission attempts.
R2- Efrain controlled this round with his wrestling and goes up 20-18. The round ended with a bang as Nover came at Efrain and hit a kick but Efrain absorbed it and slammed Phillipe to the mat.
R3- Nover's stand up looked better at the beginning of this round but he still got taken down. Nover worked his way into an Omaplata attempt in this round and nearly got it locked in. Phillipe stole this round by working that submission attempt for about two minutes at the end of the round. Efrain wins the fight 29-28 on my score card.
Judges all score the fight 29-28 in favor of Efrain.
Winner and TUF 8 Lightweight Winner: Efrain Escudero by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Junie Browning (2-1) vs. Dave Kaplan (3-1)
Since leaving the house Junie has been training at Xtreme Couture and working on his stand up game and his ability to be a civil person. Kaplan is a former Division 1 wrestler. Kaplan comes out wearing sunglasses and a gold chain and dancing to some pop tune. He gets a laugh out of Joe Rogan. Junie Browning fittingly picks an Eminem song for his entrance. "Without You" is a better song to hype up a fighter but he goes with a song that is more fitting to his personality. Junie has a 3 inch reach and height advantage in this fight.
R1- Junie shows good stand up and Kaplan gets cut early. Kaplan shows a good chin in the first round. Junie takes round one with his stand up and is up 10-9.
R2- Junie got a take down and an arm bar and finished Kaplan pretty quickly in Round Two. Junie looked good in this fight.
Winner: Junie Browning by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 1:32
Light Heavyweight Fight- Eliot Marshall vs. Jules Bruchez
R1- Marshall just imposed his will on Jules in this fight and dominated.
Winner: Eliot Marshall by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:27
Middleweight Fight- Jason MacDonald (22-10) vs. Wilson Gouveia (11-5)
MacDonald has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. Gouveia failed to make weight in this fight as he came in 3 pounds over the acceptable threshold. MacDonald chose to take the fight anyway.
R1- Gouveia caught MacDonald coming in early and then hit a ton of elbows, cut MacDonald and finished him.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by Submission (Strikes) R1 2:18
Welterweight Fight- Kevin Burns (8-1) vs. Anthony Johnson (5-2)
This is a re-match from early this year from a fight that Burns continually poked Johnson in the eye and finally finished him off with a big eye poke and was given the victory. It was one of the worst decision's I've ever seen in MMA. This is the re-match and a chance for Johnson to get his win back. The win was not overturned on the early fight basically because Vegas had already paid out the bets for the Burns win by the time the appeal was heard. AJ trains with Cung Le and Josh Thomson and has a 3 inch height and 4 inch reach advantage in this fight. AJ is a former JUCO wrestler and Burns is a jiu jitsu fighter and taekwondo black belt.
R1- This was a close first round with the stand up being pretty even. AJ got 2 take downs and Burns had 1 submission attempt. AJ took this round 10-9.
R2- AJ got a take down in this round and controlled the action. AJ 20-18.
R3- AJ hit a HUGE big left kick for the KO. Wow! They had just talked about him training with Cung Le and then he Cung Le'd Burns.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by KO (High Kick) R3 0:28
Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir are interviewed and they talk about UFC 92 and the Spike TV Video Game Awards.
Light Heavyweight TUF 8 Finale: Ryan Bader (8-0) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (3-2)
Bader is a two-time All American College wrestler and beat Kingsbury, Lawlor and Eliot Marshall (who won impressively earlier) to get to the finals. Bader is training with CB Dollaway. We'll see if CB can teach him how to avoid an arm bar. Vinny is a 4 time Jiu Jitsu World Champion and a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. He beat Lance Evans (Rashad's brother), Bruchez (who got destroyed earlier) and Krzysztof Soszynski (who I thought would make the finals) in order to get to the finals. Forrest Griffin has been training with Vinny lately.
R1- Pretty even fight in the first couple of minutes. Bader hit a big right hand shot that put Vinny down. The shot was partially deflected but it put Vinny down and then Bader jumped on top with hammer fists and Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Winner and TUF 8 Light Heavyweight Winner: Ryan Bader by KO R1 2:18
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Shane Primm
Dan Henderson is in Krzysztof's corner.
R1- Good first round. Krzysztof controlled as he was the superior striker in the round but Primm did a good job trying take downs and staying close to Krzysztof to avoid a lot of striking opportunities. 10-9 Krzysztof after one round.
R2- Krzysztof got a kimura half way through the round and tapped him out.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) R2 3:27
Lightweight TUF 8 Finale: Phillipe Nover (6-0-1) vs. Efrain Escudero (11-0)
Nover was a relative unknown coming into this season of TUF but has developed into the favorite to win the fight. He defeated Joe Duarte, Kaplan and George Roop to make the finals. Nover has just recently received his jiu jitsu black belt. He is a nurse from Brooklyn. Efrain defeated Pariente, Shane Nelson and Junie Browning to make the finals. He is a former high school and JUCO wrestler and is described as a "free style" fighter.
R1- Escudero got a good shot in on Phillipe early as he was getting up from a take down. Efrain got Phillipe's back and then later got in some good Ground and Pound. Really good first round that was controlled by Efrain to the tune of 10-9. Nover had a couple of near submission attempts.
R2- Efrain controlled this round with his wrestling and goes up 20-18. The round ended with a bang as Nover came at Efrain and hit a kick but Efrain absorbed it and slammed Phillipe to the mat.
R3- Nover's stand up looked better at the beginning of this round but he still got taken down. Nover worked his way into an Omaplata attempt in this round and nearly got it locked in. Phillipe stole this round by working that submission attempt for about two minutes at the end of the round. Efrain wins the fight 29-28 on my score card.
Judges all score the fight 29-28 in favor of Efrain.
Winner and TUF 8 Lightweight Winner: Efrain Escudero by Decision (Unanimous)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
UFC: Fight For The Troops 12/10/08 Re-Cap
UFC Fight for the Troops 12/10/08
On paper this looked like a show that could be easily skipped. But when it played out it was one of the most exciting nights of UFC fights this year. A fantastic knockout from Josh Koscheck, a dominate performance from Ben Saunders, a nasty submission from Steve Cantwell and another great performance from Mike Swick. A big night for TUF alums as not only Saunders, Swick and Koscheck got big wins but Tim Credeur looked really good.
Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller (12-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-3)
Wiman came in on a 4 fight win streak and Miller came in on a 7 fight win streak. Miller took the fight on one week notice. Wiman had a 2 inch height advantage but Miller had a 4 inch reach advantage.
R1- Good first round with Miller winning it 10-9. Miller got an early guillotine and almost got the submission victory early.
R2- Miller took this round as well and is now up 20-18. He is really controlling the fight through two rounds.
R3- Wiman started out this round strong but Miller got a quick take down and ultimately won the fight 30-27 in my book.
The judges scored the fight: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 in favor of Miller
Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)
They show celebrity testimonials when they come back from commercial to solicit donations to the troops. Some of the celebs included Charlie Sheen, Jack Black, Chris O'Donnell, Samuel L Jackson, Mick Foley, 50 Cent, Laura Prepon and James Gandolfini.
Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (11-4) vs. Nate Loughran (9-0)
Nate is a jiu jitsu fighter who trains with David Terrell. Rich Clementi is in Tim's corner. Tim has been training a lot at Xtreme Couture since TUF.
R1- Credeur's striking is superior in Round One and he takes the first round 10-9.
R2- Nate gets his eye busted open early in the second round. Tim controls on the ground early and in the stand up game late. This round was all Tim.
The fight was stopped after two rounds. Tim dominated Nate in this fight and looked one thousand times better than he did during any of his TUF fights.
Winner: Tim Credeur by TKO (verbal submission between rounds) R2
Light Heavyweight- Steve Cantwell (6-1) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (7-0)
Razak comes into the fight undefeated and has a huge five and a half inch reach advantage. Cantwell was last seen on WEC as their Light Heavyweight Champion but they disbanded the division so now he is in UFC.
R1- This was a good fight with pretty even stand up to start. Cantwell got an arm bar and Razak would not tap and Cantwell just destroyed Razak's arm and the ref stopped the fight. What a sick move and a great debut for Cantwell. Cantwell took much joy in his snapping his opponent's arm during the post-match interview.
Winner: Steve Cantwell by TKO (ref stoppage) R1 4:04
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (12-2) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-4)
Swick has a three and a half inch reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Swick got a quick take down and just pounded Goulet on his knees until the ref stopped the fight. Wow! Swick looked awesome here.
Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:33
Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolfe
This was from the pre-show. Thanks to Mike Swick for his quick finish, so we get another fight.
R1- Saunders hits big knees in the Muy Thai clinch. Saunders just with a barrage of knees and kicks and this one is over fairly quickly. Another awesome performance by a TUF alum.
Winner: Ben Saunders by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:49
Welterweight: Josh Koscheck (13-3) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2)
Yoshida has a 3 fight win streak and is a judo black belt. Koscheck has a three inch reach advantage. Koscheck just fought 45 days ago in a loss to Thiago Alves. I really disliked Koscheck when he was on TUF. Not only did he come off as an arrogant prick but he was also a very boring fighter. Koscheck has really changed my mind this year with his performances against Dustin Hazlett and Chris Lytle and stepping up to fight Thiago Alves on short notice and continuing to stay booked for this fight. It's hard not to like him based on what he has done this year.
R1- About two minutes into the fight Koscheck hit Yoshi with a punch that hurt him. Yoshi was stunned and could not defend and Koscheck just leveled him with a huge KO to win the fight. Great KO for Koscheck.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by KO R1 2:15
Welterweight Fight- Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees
This pre-show fight is brought to you by Josh Koscheck's quick KO in the Main Event.
R1- Very even first round that got some boos from the crowd.
R2- Bruno took Rees back several times and finally clamped in a Rear Naked and got the submission victory.
Winner: Steve Bruno by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 3:44
On paper this looked like a show that could be easily skipped. But when it played out it was one of the most exciting nights of UFC fights this year. A fantastic knockout from Josh Koscheck, a dominate performance from Ben Saunders, a nasty submission from Steve Cantwell and another great performance from Mike Swick. A big night for TUF alums as not only Saunders, Swick and Koscheck got big wins but Tim Credeur looked really good.
Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller (12-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-3)
Wiman came in on a 4 fight win streak and Miller came in on a 7 fight win streak. Miller took the fight on one week notice. Wiman had a 2 inch height advantage but Miller had a 4 inch reach advantage.
R1- Good first round with Miller winning it 10-9. Miller got an early guillotine and almost got the submission victory early.
R2- Miller took this round as well and is now up 20-18. He is really controlling the fight through two rounds.
R3- Wiman started out this round strong but Miller got a quick take down and ultimately won the fight 30-27 in my book.
The judges scored the fight: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 in favor of Miller
Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)
They show celebrity testimonials when they come back from commercial to solicit donations to the troops. Some of the celebs included Charlie Sheen, Jack Black, Chris O'Donnell, Samuel L Jackson, Mick Foley, 50 Cent, Laura Prepon and James Gandolfini.
Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (11-4) vs. Nate Loughran (9-0)
Nate is a jiu jitsu fighter who trains with David Terrell. Rich Clementi is in Tim's corner. Tim has been training a lot at Xtreme Couture since TUF.
R1- Credeur's striking is superior in Round One and he takes the first round 10-9.
R2- Nate gets his eye busted open early in the second round. Tim controls on the ground early and in the stand up game late. This round was all Tim.
The fight was stopped after two rounds. Tim dominated Nate in this fight and looked one thousand times better than he did during any of his TUF fights.
Winner: Tim Credeur by TKO (verbal submission between rounds) R2
Light Heavyweight- Steve Cantwell (6-1) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (7-0)
Razak comes into the fight undefeated and has a huge five and a half inch reach advantage. Cantwell was last seen on WEC as their Light Heavyweight Champion but they disbanded the division so now he is in UFC.
R1- This was a good fight with pretty even stand up to start. Cantwell got an arm bar and Razak would not tap and Cantwell just destroyed Razak's arm and the ref stopped the fight. What a sick move and a great debut for Cantwell. Cantwell took much joy in his snapping his opponent's arm during the post-match interview.
Winner: Steve Cantwell by TKO (ref stoppage) R1 4:04
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (12-2) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-4)
Swick has a three and a half inch reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Swick got a quick take down and just pounded Goulet on his knees until the ref stopped the fight. Wow! Swick looked awesome here.
Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:33
Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolfe
This was from the pre-show. Thanks to Mike Swick for his quick finish, so we get another fight.
R1- Saunders hits big knees in the Muy Thai clinch. Saunders just with a barrage of knees and kicks and this one is over fairly quickly. Another awesome performance by a TUF alum.
Winner: Ben Saunders by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:49
Welterweight: Josh Koscheck (13-3) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2)
Yoshida has a 3 fight win streak and is a judo black belt. Koscheck has a three inch reach advantage. Koscheck just fought 45 days ago in a loss to Thiago Alves. I really disliked Koscheck when he was on TUF. Not only did he come off as an arrogant prick but he was also a very boring fighter. Koscheck has really changed my mind this year with his performances against Dustin Hazlett and Chris Lytle and stepping up to fight Thiago Alves on short notice and continuing to stay booked for this fight. It's hard not to like him based on what he has done this year.
R1- About two minutes into the fight Koscheck hit Yoshi with a punch that hurt him. Yoshi was stunned and could not defend and Koscheck just leveled him with a huge KO to win the fight. Great KO for Koscheck.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by KO R1 2:15
Welterweight Fight- Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees
This pre-show fight is brought to you by Josh Koscheck's quick KO in the Main Event.
R1- Very even first round that got some boos from the crowd.
R2- Bruno took Rees back several times and finally clamped in a Rear Naked and got the submission victory.
Winner: Steve Bruno by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 3:44
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Episode 12 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter 8- Episode 12 Re-Cap
Team Noguiera vs. Team Mir
The fights on today’s show are:
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero vs. Junie Browning
Vinny and Krzysztof are not only team members with Team Mir but also with Team Quest. I think this should be a very good fight with probably the Top 2 Light Heavyweights in the house.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Vinny Magalhaes
R1- Vinny pulls guard about one minute into the fight and is delivering elbows and strikes to the top of Krzysztof’s head. Vinny has Krzysztof in a rubber guard type move but Krzysztof gets out of it. Krzysztof hits several leg kicks. Vinny comes forward but slips a couple of times and then pulls guard again on Krzysztof and goes for the arm bar and Krzysztof taps. Really strong finish for Vinny and I think he’s the favorite to take down a much more inexperienced Bader in the finals.
Winner: Vinny Magalhaes by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
The next segment is all about Junie Browning’s pity party. He’s saying that he doesn’t want to fight and that he hasn’t had any good training since he’s been in the house. Back at the house Junie over reacts and throws something at Shane Primm when some guys are having a conversation outside. What a hot head. Dana comes into the house later on to talk to Junie. Dana talks to Junie and then talks to the other fighters. Dana basically tells the guys to keep Junie in the house so that they can beat him off the show. They agree with Dana.
Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero vs. Junie Browning
R1- Junie starts off with an advantage in the stand up game so Efrain takes him down. The rest of the round was pretty even but I think Efrain got more quality strikes in. This round could have gone either way. I give a slight edge to Efrain.
R2- Junie went for a take down early but was denied. Junie definitely played the aggressor in the opening part of this round. Efrain got a take down about two minutes into the round. Efrain caught Junie in a submission that didn’t look that dangerous and Junie tapped. Junie immediately left the ring and went back to the dressing room.
Winner: Efrain Escudero by Submission (Choke)
“There was a part of me that enjoyed seeing Junie get choked out”- Frank Mir
“Justice was served”- Dana White
Big Nog and Frank Mir had a side bet and it ended in Frank Mir getting his head shaved.
So the finals are:
Light Heavyweight Fight: Vinny Magalhaes vs. Ryan Bader
Lightweight Fight: Phillipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero
The finals will be held on December 13th live on Spike TV.
Light Heavyweight Rankings:
1. Vinny Magalhaes
2. Ryan Bader
Lightweight Rankings:
1. Phillipe Nover
2. Efrain Escudero
Eliminations:
Tom Lawlor (ranked #2 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Two)
Shane Nelson (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by Efrain Escudero (Round Two)
Shane Primm (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Eliot Marshall (Round Two)
Roli Delgado (ranked #7 LW) eliminated by Junie Browning (Round Two)
Jules Brunchez (ranked #3 LH) eliminated by Vinny Magalhaes (Round Two)
Dave Kaplan (ranked #1 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Two)
Kyle Kingsbury (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Krzysztof Soszynski (Round Two)
John Polakowski (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by George Roop (Round Two)
Eliot Marshall (ranked #4 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Three)
George Roop (ranked #4 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Three)
Junie Browning (ranked #3 LW) eliminated by Efrain Escudero (Round Three)
Team Noguiera vs. Team Mir
The fights on today’s show are:
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Vinny Magalhaes
Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero vs. Junie Browning
Vinny and Krzysztof are not only team members with Team Mir but also with Team Quest. I think this should be a very good fight with probably the Top 2 Light Heavyweights in the house.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Vinny Magalhaes
R1- Vinny pulls guard about one minute into the fight and is delivering elbows and strikes to the top of Krzysztof’s head. Vinny has Krzysztof in a rubber guard type move but Krzysztof gets out of it. Krzysztof hits several leg kicks. Vinny comes forward but slips a couple of times and then pulls guard again on Krzysztof and goes for the arm bar and Krzysztof taps. Really strong finish for Vinny and I think he’s the favorite to take down a much more inexperienced Bader in the finals.
Winner: Vinny Magalhaes by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
The next segment is all about Junie Browning’s pity party. He’s saying that he doesn’t want to fight and that he hasn’t had any good training since he’s been in the house. Back at the house Junie over reacts and throws something at Shane Primm when some guys are having a conversation outside. What a hot head. Dana comes into the house later on to talk to Junie. Dana talks to Junie and then talks to the other fighters. Dana basically tells the guys to keep Junie in the house so that they can beat him off the show. They agree with Dana.
Lightweight Fight- Efrain Escudero vs. Junie Browning
R1- Junie starts off with an advantage in the stand up game so Efrain takes him down. The rest of the round was pretty even but I think Efrain got more quality strikes in. This round could have gone either way. I give a slight edge to Efrain.
R2- Junie went for a take down early but was denied. Junie definitely played the aggressor in the opening part of this round. Efrain got a take down about two minutes into the round. Efrain caught Junie in a submission that didn’t look that dangerous and Junie tapped. Junie immediately left the ring and went back to the dressing room.
Winner: Efrain Escudero by Submission (Choke)
“There was a part of me that enjoyed seeing Junie get choked out”- Frank Mir
“Justice was served”- Dana White
Big Nog and Frank Mir had a side bet and it ended in Frank Mir getting his head shaved.
So the finals are:
Light Heavyweight Fight: Vinny Magalhaes vs. Ryan Bader
Lightweight Fight: Phillipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero
The finals will be held on December 13th live on Spike TV.
Light Heavyweight Rankings:
1. Vinny Magalhaes
2. Ryan Bader
Lightweight Rankings:
1. Phillipe Nover
2. Efrain Escudero
Eliminations:
Tom Lawlor (ranked #2 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Two)
Shane Nelson (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by Efrain Escudero (Round Two)
Shane Primm (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Eliot Marshall (Round Two)
Roli Delgado (ranked #7 LW) eliminated by Junie Browning (Round Two)
Jules Brunchez (ranked #3 LH) eliminated by Vinny Magalhaes (Round Two)
Dave Kaplan (ranked #1 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Two)
Kyle Kingsbury (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Krzysztof Soszynski (Round Two)
John Polakowski (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by George Roop (Round Two)
Eliot Marshall (ranked #4 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Three)
George Roop (ranked #4 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Three)
Junie Browning (ranked #3 LW) eliminated by Efrain Escudero (Round Three)
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Episode 11 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter 8- Episode 11 Re-Cap
Team Noguiera vs. Team Mir
The fights on today’s show are:
Light Heavyweight Fight- Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall
Lightweight Fight- Phillipe Nover vs. George Roop
Light Heavyweight Fight- Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall
They are focusing on Marshall’s jiu jitsu as his chance to upset Bader. Marshall has a 4 inch reach advantage in this fight. The winner will move on to fight in the finals. I like Bader in this fight.
R1- Pretty even first half to the first round. Bader catches one of Eliot’s kicks and takes him down right in front of Big Nog in the corner. Bader pinned Marshall up against the fence and delivered some decent shots on him. Bader takes round 1 10-9 due to the take down.
R2- Bader catches another Marshall kick and get an early take down. Bader stays on top of Marshall for the majority of the round and they are stood up at the one and a half minute mark. Bader almost immediately takes down Marshall again. So far Bader is just showing that he is a superior wrestler to Marshall and Marshall hasn’t done much on his back to show his jiu jitsu skills that he and Mir were talking up. Bader is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Marshall goes in and gets taken down by Bader almost immediately. Bader is just dominating this fight from a wrestling perspective. He’s not doing much damage once he gets him down but he’s controlling him. Very reminiscent of Josh Koscheck from season one. He would dominate guys on the ground but couldn’t finish them. The ref stands up the fight right after Bader lands an elbow. About five seconds after they are on their feet Bader gets another take down. Marshall goes for a kimura but Bader slams him and then hits him with a forearm. The ref stands them up again with one minute left in the fight. Marshall goes for a high kick and Bader ducks it and gets yet another take down. Bader takes this fight 30-27. He just dominated Marshall from a wrestling perspective and Marshall juts didn’t show any of his jiu jitsu and got in very little offense.
Judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Bader.
Winner: Ryan Bader by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Phillipe Nover vs. George Roop
I think Phillipe has to be the favorite in this fight. Roop has a 4 inch height advantage but the reach is even.
R1- Nover immediately gets two shots in on Roop and gets a take down. Roop pushes off the cage to reverse positions. Nover fights hard for a kimura and gets it and Roop taps. Really impressive showing by Nover. He really made a statement to me that he is the #1 lightweight on the show and he is the guy to beat.
Winner: Phillipe Nover by Submission (Kimura) R1
Light Heavyweight Rankings:
1. Krzysztof Soszynski
2. Ryan Bader
3. Vinny Magalhaes
Lightweight Rankings:
1. Phillipe Nover
2. Efrain Escudero
3. Junie Browning
Eliminations:
Tom Lawlor (ranked #2 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Two)
Shane Nelson (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by Efrain Escudero (Round Two)
Shane Primm (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Eliot Marshall (Round Two)
Roli Delgado (ranked #7 LW) eliminated by Junie Browning (Round Two)
Jules Brunchez (ranked #3 LH) eliminated by Vinny Magalhaes (Round Two)
Dave Kaplan (ranked #1 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Two)
Kyle Kingsbury (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Krzysztof Soszynski (Round Two)
John Polakowski (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by George Roop (Round Two)
Eliot Marshall (ranked #4 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Three)
George Roop (ranked #4 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Three)
Team Noguiera vs. Team Mir
The fights on today’s show are:
Light Heavyweight Fight- Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall
Lightweight Fight- Phillipe Nover vs. George Roop
Light Heavyweight Fight- Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall
They are focusing on Marshall’s jiu jitsu as his chance to upset Bader. Marshall has a 4 inch reach advantage in this fight. The winner will move on to fight in the finals. I like Bader in this fight.
R1- Pretty even first half to the first round. Bader catches one of Eliot’s kicks and takes him down right in front of Big Nog in the corner. Bader pinned Marshall up against the fence and delivered some decent shots on him. Bader takes round 1 10-9 due to the take down.
R2- Bader catches another Marshall kick and get an early take down. Bader stays on top of Marshall for the majority of the round and they are stood up at the one and a half minute mark. Bader almost immediately takes down Marshall again. So far Bader is just showing that he is a superior wrestler to Marshall and Marshall hasn’t done much on his back to show his jiu jitsu skills that he and Mir were talking up. Bader is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Marshall goes in and gets taken down by Bader almost immediately. Bader is just dominating this fight from a wrestling perspective. He’s not doing much damage once he gets him down but he’s controlling him. Very reminiscent of Josh Koscheck from season one. He would dominate guys on the ground but couldn’t finish them. The ref stands up the fight right after Bader lands an elbow. About five seconds after they are on their feet Bader gets another take down. Marshall goes for a kimura but Bader slams him and then hits him with a forearm. The ref stands them up again with one minute left in the fight. Marshall goes for a high kick and Bader ducks it and gets yet another take down. Bader takes this fight 30-27. He just dominated Marshall from a wrestling perspective and Marshall juts didn’t show any of his jiu jitsu and got in very little offense.
Judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Bader.
Winner: Ryan Bader by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Phillipe Nover vs. George Roop
I think Phillipe has to be the favorite in this fight. Roop has a 4 inch height advantage but the reach is even.
R1- Nover immediately gets two shots in on Roop and gets a take down. Roop pushes off the cage to reverse positions. Nover fights hard for a kimura and gets it and Roop taps. Really impressive showing by Nover. He really made a statement to me that he is the #1 lightweight on the show and he is the guy to beat.
Winner: Phillipe Nover by Submission (Kimura) R1
Light Heavyweight Rankings:
1. Krzysztof Soszynski
2. Ryan Bader
3. Vinny Magalhaes
Lightweight Rankings:
1. Phillipe Nover
2. Efrain Escudero
3. Junie Browning
Eliminations:
Tom Lawlor (ranked #2 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Two)
Shane Nelson (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by Efrain Escudero (Round Two)
Shane Primm (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Eliot Marshall (Round Two)
Roli Delgado (ranked #7 LW) eliminated by Junie Browning (Round Two)
Jules Brunchez (ranked #3 LH) eliminated by Vinny Magalhaes (Round Two)
Dave Kaplan (ranked #1 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Two)
Kyle Kingsbury (ranked #5 LH) eliminated by Krzysztof Soszynski (Round Two)
John Polakowski (ranked #5 LW) eliminated by George Roop (Round Two)
Eliot Marshall (ranked #4 LH) eliminated by Ryan Bader (Round Three)
George Roop (ranked #4 LW) eliminated by Phillipe Nover (Round Three)
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia 12/3/08 Re-Cap
WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia 12/3/08
Bantamweight Fight- Joseph Benavidez (8-0) vs. Danny Martinez (12-2)
Benavidez was last seen in DREAM in July and got a submission victory in Round One against Junya “Kodo” Kudo. This is the WEC debut for both fighters. Kim Winslow is the ref (just thought I’d point that out as I’ve never seen a woman ref for a MMA fight before- not that there is anything wrong with that!). Benavidez trains with former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.
R1- Benavidez connects with some early strikes. Martinez came in and Benavidez hit him with some nice shots before Martinez was able to lock him up. Martinez is looking good early with quick strikes and combinations. Benavidez hit a good roundhouse to the body that looked like it hurt Martinez. Martinez backs Benavidez up against the cage and gets a take down but Benavidez gives up his back and gets to his feet and Martinez has him in a clinch but Benavidez gets out of it. Martinez went for a take down but Benavidez took him down with a Judo Throw and finished the round in a dominant position. Benavidez definitely looked like the better fighter in round one as he took it 10-9.
R2- Benavidez seems to be the quicker fighter and is looking more for his offense. Benavidez is getting in quick strikes on Martinez whenever Martinez comes in for strikes. Benavidez hit a knee but Martinez shrugged it off. Benavidez getting more aggressive as the round is coming down to the one minute mark. Martinez went for a take down and got it but Benavidez got back to his feet with no damage. Benavidez takes this round so he’s up 20-18.
R3- Benavidez using a lot of leg kicks to keep Martinez at bay early in this round despite Martinez being more aggressive than in the first two rounds. Benavidez hit a flying knee and then a nice kick to Martinez but Martinez is staying on his feet. Benavidez is looking good. The only thing he seems to be lacking is knockout power. Martinez got in some offense under the one minute mark. This round was closer but I’ve still got Benavidez winning it and taking the fight 30-27. Very impressive showing for Benavidez. He showed that he was a very versatile fighter and looks to only lack knockout power. Martinez showed heart and a good chin but ultimately was not a match for Benavidez.
All judges score the fight 30-27.
Winner: Joseph Benavidez by Decision (Unanimous)
WEC 38 will take place on January 25th and will have a re-match of Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver as well as a Light Heavyweight title fight between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone. It will be live on Versus.
They interview Jamie Varner and Urijah Faber at ringside between fights.
The TapouT crew is in the house. So are Chuck Liddell, Carlos Condit and Stephan Bonnar.
Bantamweight Fight- Brian Bowles (6-0) vs. Will Ribeiro (9-1)
Riberio was an Olympic Boxer for Brazil but also has good Muy Thai and Jiu Jitsu. Bowles fights out of Athens, Ga and is more of a wrestler with good submissions. Bowles has heavy hands and good conditioning. This is hyped as a contender’s match with both guys looking towards a title shot down the road, possibly against the winner of Torres/Tapia. Riberio is coming off of a split decision against Chase Beebe.
R1- Bowles charges in for the first action of the fight and lands a good combination. Ribeiro clinches him to stop the onslaught. Ribeiro hit a good spinning side kick. Bowles regroups and hits some strikes. Pretty even fight so far. Ribeiro goes for a take down but Bowles grabs a guillotine and rolls him over. He gives up the hold and takes Ribeiro’s back. Bowles takes Ribeiro’s guard. Bowles takes this round due to the take down reversal and submission attempt at the end of the round. Bowles is up 10-9 after one round.
R2- Ribeiro hits a kick but Bowles grabbed it. Ribeiro ends up on top but gets hit with an up kick. Ribeiro briefly gets guard but then lets Bowles up. Bowles shot in and got a take down. Bowles has him in half guard but isn’t getting in much damage. The ref stands them up with half a minute left in the round. Both guys throw some punches and then Bowles gets another take down. Close round but Bowles got two take downs. Bowles is up 20-18 so far through two rounds.
R3- Bowles hit a good counter punch after Ribeiro hit a kick. Ribeiro went for a take down but Bowles again landed a guillotine and Ribeiro tapped out. Nice finish by Bowles. Bowles looked really good in this fight.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R3 1:11
Featherweight Fight- Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (10-1)
Tamura is from Osaka, Japan and is a very well rounded fighter. Fabiano comes out to the theme to Rocky! He is a BJJ Black Belt. This is the WEC debut for both Tamura and Fabiano.
R1- Fabiano quickly goes for a take down and gets it. Fabiano tries to pass but Tamura is doing a good job denying him. Fabiano passes guard into the mount. Fabiano lands a couple of light elbows and Tamura puts him back in half guard. Fabiano gets a couple elbows towards the end of the round. This was a very technical ground battle. Fabiano takes the round 10-9 but didn’t inflict much damage on Tamura.
R2- Tamura lands a knee to open up the round and then Fabiano hits some strikes and then gets a take down about 20 seconds into the round. Tamura puts Fabiano into the rubber guard but Fabiano fights through and takes half guard. Fabiano hits decent some strikes and lands a good elbow. Mazzagatti stands them up with one and a quarter minutes left. Fabiano gets another take down with about a minute left in the round and has side guard. Fabiano got in some strikes and went for an arm bar but the bell rang. Fabiano took this round and is up 20-18. This has been a very technical fight so far with not a lot of action.
R3- Tamura pulls guard and had a guillotine. Fabiano uses his legs to walk up the cage and relieve some of the pressure from the hold and ended up in side control. Fabiano moves into a mount position and then takes side control on the other side of Tamura. Fabiano has opened up a cut on Tamura’s forehead. Fabiano gets an arm choke and gets a submission victory with about 20 seconds left in the fight.
Not a very exciting fight but Fabiano’s BJJ was very impressive. As Frank Mir said, Fabiano is definitely going to need to open up his arsenal and be “more exciting” if he wants to move up the ladder. Fabiano did show great BJJ and control of his opponent.
Winner: Wagnney Fabiano by Submission (Arm Choke) R3 4:48
WEC Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Torres © (34-1) vs. Manny Tapia (10-0-1)
Tapia is very durable, has heavy hands and is well versed in submissions. Both guys come out to Mariachi music. Torres is a BJJ Black Belt who can finish from any position. Torres has a large 9 inch reach advantage and a 4 inch height advantage.
R1- Torres catches Tapia off balance early with a jab. Torres hits a lightning quick kick on Tapia. They go back and forth during the middle of the round with Tapia gaining more confidence. Torres goes for a rolling front kick (see: Jushin Thunder Liger) but misses. Tapia gets a flurry in at the end of the round. Close first round but I’ve got to give it to the champ as he seemed to hit on more strikes and effectively used his jab throughout the round.
R2- Both guys land some shots early in the round. Torres charges and connects with a spinning back fist. Torres connects with a big right hand about half way through the round and Tapia goes down. Torres jumps on top and Tapia takes a defensive posture. Tapia gets back to his feet. Torres lands a lightning quick left and then a right and jumps on to of Tapia and looks to finish and he does finish. That was a great flurry by Torres to win this fight. Torres looked really good in this fight.
Winner and still champion: Miguel Torres by TKO (strikes) R2 3:04
Another good show from WEC. Torres looked fantastic as the defending champ. I’m interested to see more Wagnney Fabiano and see if he can mix it up with some of the better Featherweights in WEC. Bowles had a great showing and Benavides looked really good as well.
Bantamweight Fight- Joseph Benavidez (8-0) vs. Danny Martinez (12-2)
Benavidez was last seen in DREAM in July and got a submission victory in Round One against Junya “Kodo” Kudo. This is the WEC debut for both fighters. Kim Winslow is the ref (just thought I’d point that out as I’ve never seen a woman ref for a MMA fight before- not that there is anything wrong with that!). Benavidez trains with former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.
R1- Benavidez connects with some early strikes. Martinez came in and Benavidez hit him with some nice shots before Martinez was able to lock him up. Martinez is looking good early with quick strikes and combinations. Benavidez hit a good roundhouse to the body that looked like it hurt Martinez. Martinez backs Benavidez up against the cage and gets a take down but Benavidez gives up his back and gets to his feet and Martinez has him in a clinch but Benavidez gets out of it. Martinez went for a take down but Benavidez took him down with a Judo Throw and finished the round in a dominant position. Benavidez definitely looked like the better fighter in round one as he took it 10-9.
R2- Benavidez seems to be the quicker fighter and is looking more for his offense. Benavidez is getting in quick strikes on Martinez whenever Martinez comes in for strikes. Benavidez hit a knee but Martinez shrugged it off. Benavidez getting more aggressive as the round is coming down to the one minute mark. Martinez went for a take down and got it but Benavidez got back to his feet with no damage. Benavidez takes this round so he’s up 20-18.
R3- Benavidez using a lot of leg kicks to keep Martinez at bay early in this round despite Martinez being more aggressive than in the first two rounds. Benavidez hit a flying knee and then a nice kick to Martinez but Martinez is staying on his feet. Benavidez is looking good. The only thing he seems to be lacking is knockout power. Martinez got in some offense under the one minute mark. This round was closer but I’ve still got Benavidez winning it and taking the fight 30-27. Very impressive showing for Benavidez. He showed that he was a very versatile fighter and looks to only lack knockout power. Martinez showed heart and a good chin but ultimately was not a match for Benavidez.
All judges score the fight 30-27.
Winner: Joseph Benavidez by Decision (Unanimous)
WEC 38 will take place on January 25th and will have a re-match of Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver as well as a Light Heavyweight title fight between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone. It will be live on Versus.
They interview Jamie Varner and Urijah Faber at ringside between fights.
The TapouT crew is in the house. So are Chuck Liddell, Carlos Condit and Stephan Bonnar.
Bantamweight Fight- Brian Bowles (6-0) vs. Will Ribeiro (9-1)
Riberio was an Olympic Boxer for Brazil but also has good Muy Thai and Jiu Jitsu. Bowles fights out of Athens, Ga and is more of a wrestler with good submissions. Bowles has heavy hands and good conditioning. This is hyped as a contender’s match with both guys looking towards a title shot down the road, possibly against the winner of Torres/Tapia. Riberio is coming off of a split decision against Chase Beebe.
R1- Bowles charges in for the first action of the fight and lands a good combination. Ribeiro clinches him to stop the onslaught. Ribeiro hit a good spinning side kick. Bowles regroups and hits some strikes. Pretty even fight so far. Ribeiro goes for a take down but Bowles grabs a guillotine and rolls him over. He gives up the hold and takes Ribeiro’s back. Bowles takes Ribeiro’s guard. Bowles takes this round due to the take down reversal and submission attempt at the end of the round. Bowles is up 10-9 after one round.
R2- Ribeiro hits a kick but Bowles grabbed it. Ribeiro ends up on top but gets hit with an up kick. Ribeiro briefly gets guard but then lets Bowles up. Bowles shot in and got a take down. Bowles has him in half guard but isn’t getting in much damage. The ref stands them up with half a minute left in the round. Both guys throw some punches and then Bowles gets another take down. Close round but Bowles got two take downs. Bowles is up 20-18 so far through two rounds.
R3- Bowles hit a good counter punch after Ribeiro hit a kick. Ribeiro went for a take down but Bowles again landed a guillotine and Ribeiro tapped out. Nice finish by Bowles. Bowles looked really good in this fight.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R3 1:11
Featherweight Fight- Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (10-1)
Tamura is from Osaka, Japan and is a very well rounded fighter. Fabiano comes out to the theme to Rocky! He is a BJJ Black Belt. This is the WEC debut for both Tamura and Fabiano.
R1- Fabiano quickly goes for a take down and gets it. Fabiano tries to pass but Tamura is doing a good job denying him. Fabiano passes guard into the mount. Fabiano lands a couple of light elbows and Tamura puts him back in half guard. Fabiano gets a couple elbows towards the end of the round. This was a very technical ground battle. Fabiano takes the round 10-9 but didn’t inflict much damage on Tamura.
R2- Tamura lands a knee to open up the round and then Fabiano hits some strikes and then gets a take down about 20 seconds into the round. Tamura puts Fabiano into the rubber guard but Fabiano fights through and takes half guard. Fabiano hits decent some strikes and lands a good elbow. Mazzagatti stands them up with one and a quarter minutes left. Fabiano gets another take down with about a minute left in the round and has side guard. Fabiano got in some strikes and went for an arm bar but the bell rang. Fabiano took this round and is up 20-18. This has been a very technical fight so far with not a lot of action.
R3- Tamura pulls guard and had a guillotine. Fabiano uses his legs to walk up the cage and relieve some of the pressure from the hold and ended up in side control. Fabiano moves into a mount position and then takes side control on the other side of Tamura. Fabiano has opened up a cut on Tamura’s forehead. Fabiano gets an arm choke and gets a submission victory with about 20 seconds left in the fight.
Not a very exciting fight but Fabiano’s BJJ was very impressive. As Frank Mir said, Fabiano is definitely going to need to open up his arsenal and be “more exciting” if he wants to move up the ladder. Fabiano did show great BJJ and control of his opponent.
Winner: Wagnney Fabiano by Submission (Arm Choke) R3 4:48
WEC Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Torres © (34-1) vs. Manny Tapia (10-0-1)
Tapia is very durable, has heavy hands and is well versed in submissions. Both guys come out to Mariachi music. Torres is a BJJ Black Belt who can finish from any position. Torres has a large 9 inch reach advantage and a 4 inch height advantage.
R1- Torres catches Tapia off balance early with a jab. Torres hits a lightning quick kick on Tapia. They go back and forth during the middle of the round with Tapia gaining more confidence. Torres goes for a rolling front kick (see: Jushin Thunder Liger) but misses. Tapia gets a flurry in at the end of the round. Close first round but I’ve got to give it to the champ as he seemed to hit on more strikes and effectively used his jab throughout the round.
R2- Both guys land some shots early in the round. Torres charges and connects with a spinning back fist. Torres connects with a big right hand about half way through the round and Tapia goes down. Torres jumps on top and Tapia takes a defensive posture. Tapia gets back to his feet. Torres lands a lightning quick left and then a right and jumps on to of Tapia and looks to finish and he does finish. That was a great flurry by Torres to win this fight. Torres looked really good in this fight.
Winner and still champion: Miguel Torres by TKO (strikes) R2 3:04
Another good show from WEC. Torres looked fantastic as the defending champ. I’m interested to see more Wagnney Fabiano and see if he can mix it up with some of the better Featherweights in WEC. Bowles had a great showing and Benavides looked really good as well.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Retro Re-Cap: The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale 11/5/05
UFC: Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale 11/5/05
Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine vs. Kerry Schall
R1- Jardine just kind of picks his spots early and lands some good shots. Schall looks to be heavy. This is jus pretty much a straight stand up fight. Jardine wins the round and bloodies Schall’s nose.
R2- Not a very exciting fight so far through a round and a half. Jardine just picked apart Schall with leg kicks until he finally chopped him down like a tree and fight was ended.
Winner: Keith Jardine by TKO (leg kicks) R2 3:28
Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis vs. Melvin Guillard
This should be a fun fight.
R1- Guillard charges about a minute in and hits several good punches and then takes Davis down. Melvin got in a couple of good shots and then grabbed a guillotine on Marcus. Davis pops his head out after about a minute and is now in Davis’s guard. Melvin gets another take down with about 30 seconds left in the round and gets side control. Melvin takes round one 10 to 9.
R2- Melvin got another take down (that’s three so far) about one minute into the round. Melvin opened up a big cut on Marcus and the ref stops the ref to check the cut. Melvin caught him with an elbow above the eye and the doctor stops the fight.
Winner: Melvin Guillard by Ref Stoppage (Cut) R2 2:55
Welterweight Fight- Josh Burkman vs. Sam Morgan
R1- Burkman gets a quick take down and immediately beats Morgan. Wow. Burkman took him down and then just nailed him with a couple of shots that knocked Morgan out. It looked like when Burkman drove him into the mat the impact might have knocked Morgan out.
Winner: Josh Burkman by TKO (strikes) R1 0:21
Welterweight Fight- Kenny Florian vs. Kit Cope
Kit Cope is a Muy Thai fighter.
R1- Florian immediately clinches with him. Good action early as they clinch and battle. Florian caught a right hand going in for a take down but managed to clinch with Cope. Florian struggled but finally got a take down. Florian mounted but was quickly moved by Cope to full guard. Cope got to his feet but got taken down again. Florian took a mount and got lots of punches in. Florian then grabbed an arm bar but the bell rang before Cope would give up. Cope tapped but it was after the bell.
R2- Florian gets a quick take down and takes Cope’s back and quickly put on Rear Naked Choke and Cope tapped out again. Florian looked great in this fight.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 0:37
TUF Welterweight Finals Fight- Joe Stevenson vs. Luke Cuomo
Cuomo has a 5 inch height advantage and 4 inch reach advantage. When asked if the fighters have any questions Stevenson says “Luke I am your father.”
R1- Stevenson gets this fight to the ground within the first 30 seconds. Stevenson grabs an arm triangle but Luke gets out of it and moves Joe to full guard and then escaped back to his feet. Joe gets another take down half way through the round. Joe takes side control and lands some good elbows. Joe gets a bunch of elbows in on Luke and the fight was in danger of being stopped but Luke lasted until the bell range. Stevenson easily took round one.
R2- Luke hit a good clean right hand to start the round but Stevenson quickly recovered and good the take down. Stevenson went for an arm bar but Luke escaped. The exchanged some shots standing and then Luke got a take down but Joe grabbed Luke’s leg and moved to the top position. Joe hits some good elbows from the top. This was a close round and goes to Stevenson so he’s up 20-18. Good fight so far.
R3- Luke got in a punch to start the round and then Joe went for a take down but Luke reversed it on him. Luke’s conditioning is helping him out in this part of the fight. Luke got some shots in on Stevenson. Stevenson got up and quickly took down Luke. Luke went for a triangle but couldn’t get it. Joe went for a leg lock but abandoned it. They briefly got separated and Joe got in a slam to take Luke back down. This was a real good fight. I think Luke took round 3 but I’ve got Joe 29-28 for the fight.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Stevenson
TUF 2 Welterweight Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)
TUF Heavyweight Finals Fight- Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes
Imes has a huge 8 inch height advantage and a huge 6 inch reach advantage. Look for Rashad to take him to the mat quickly.
R1- Brad hit a couple of jabs early and then grabbed a Muy Thai clinch and tried some knees. Rashad answered with a good right and Imes again grabbed a clinch. Brad got a take down a little over a minute into the fight but couldn’t do anything with it. Brad hit a good elbow and then a left hand. Rashad came back with 3 punches but Brad keeps coming at Rashad. Rashad hit two big right hands and Brad tried to clinch but Rashad kept firing and knocked Brad down. Rashad jumped on top to try and finish but Brad hung in there. Rashad passed the guard but Brad rolled over to his knees and got to his feet. Brad is cut from those punches. This was a good first round. Brad was winning until Rashad hit that series of punches that knocked Brad down and almost finished him. Rashad 10-9 after one round.
R2- Even start to the round. Rashad starts to get the distance on his jab. Brad comes up with some good shots and tied to finish Rashad but Rashad weathered the storm and never left his feet. Brad got Rashad up against the fence and swung at him a bunch of times but Rashad showed good head movement and ducked the onslaught. Rashad got off the fence and hit some jabs. Both guys are really winded with about a minute and a half to go in the round. Rashad stuck Brad with two right hands. Rashad hit another right but Brad came back at the end of the round with some shots. Really good round. I think Brad took this round but it was close. I’ve got 19-19 after two rounds. Good fight so far.
R3- Rashad connects with some shots early in the round. Rashad caught Brad leaning in and nailed him with a left hand that staggered and then dropped Brad. Rashad jumps on top for the finish but Brad tries to wrap him up. Brad gets to his feet and tries to get some shots in on Rashad. Brad clinches and then gets a take down and gets half guard. Rashad got back to his feet after some elbows. 90 seconds left in the round. Both guys are really tired. They swing at the end but both guys are too tired to do any damage. Really close round and really close fight. I’ve got Rashad with a close victory 29-28. Good fight.
Judges score the fight- 29-28 Rashad, 29-28 Imes and 29-28 Rashad.
TUF 2 Heavyweight Winner: Rashad Evans by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez vs. Nick Diaz
They meet heads during the meeting at the beginning of the fight and John McCarthy pushes Diaz back to his corner. Looks like a lot of bad blood is brewing between these two guys.
R1- Diego quickly takes Nick’s back. Diaz spins around and Diego is in his guard but Diaz is very active. Diego lands some pretty decent shots but Diaz remains pretty active which is making him hard to hit. Nick reverses and gets Diego in side control but Diego quickly reverses back. Diego is surprisingly controlling Diaz on the ground. Diego looked really good in this round. Sanchez 10-9 in the first round.
R2- Diaz slips really early but luckily it doesn’t hurt him. Diego gets a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the round. Diego picks Nick up and slams him down and then gets some shots in on Nick. Diego moved Nick up against the cage and got some good Ground and Pound in on him. Diaz reversed a mount and got in Diego’s guard but Diego got out of it before the end of the round. Diaz has a cut near his eye. Diego got another take down at the end of the round. Sanchez is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Diaz starts out the round with a left hand and a jab. Nick is doing a good job at the start of the round avoiding take downs and hitting jabs but Diego gets a take down within the first minute of the round. Diego is bleeding and it’s dripping onto Diaz as Diego is in his guard. They got back to their feet but Diego quickly took Nick’s back. Diaz looks like he’s bleeding now. There is a good amount of blood flowing and it’s tough to see exactly who it is coming from. Diaz gets a take down with about two and a half minutes left. Both guys look to be cut badly. Diaz is on top but Diego grabs an arm bar. Diaz frees himself from the move. Diego slips out and they roll around a little bit and Diego ends up in Nick’s guard. This was a close round, probably went to Diaz. I’ve got Sanchez winning 29-28. Really good fight.
Judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Sanchez.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Unanimous)
This was a very enjoyable show with some good fights- Sanchez/Diaz, Imes/Evans, Stevenson/Cuomo and it also had some good performances from Florian, Jardine and Guillard.
Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine vs. Kerry Schall
R1- Jardine just kind of picks his spots early and lands some good shots. Schall looks to be heavy. This is jus pretty much a straight stand up fight. Jardine wins the round and bloodies Schall’s nose.
R2- Not a very exciting fight so far through a round and a half. Jardine just picked apart Schall with leg kicks until he finally chopped him down like a tree and fight was ended.
Winner: Keith Jardine by TKO (leg kicks) R2 3:28
Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis vs. Melvin Guillard
This should be a fun fight.
R1- Guillard charges about a minute in and hits several good punches and then takes Davis down. Melvin got in a couple of good shots and then grabbed a guillotine on Marcus. Davis pops his head out after about a minute and is now in Davis’s guard. Melvin gets another take down with about 30 seconds left in the round and gets side control. Melvin takes round one 10 to 9.
R2- Melvin got another take down (that’s three so far) about one minute into the round. Melvin opened up a big cut on Marcus and the ref stops the ref to check the cut. Melvin caught him with an elbow above the eye and the doctor stops the fight.
Winner: Melvin Guillard by Ref Stoppage (Cut) R2 2:55
Welterweight Fight- Josh Burkman vs. Sam Morgan
R1- Burkman gets a quick take down and immediately beats Morgan. Wow. Burkman took him down and then just nailed him with a couple of shots that knocked Morgan out. It looked like when Burkman drove him into the mat the impact might have knocked Morgan out.
Winner: Josh Burkman by TKO (strikes) R1 0:21
Welterweight Fight- Kenny Florian vs. Kit Cope
Kit Cope is a Muy Thai fighter.
R1- Florian immediately clinches with him. Good action early as they clinch and battle. Florian caught a right hand going in for a take down but managed to clinch with Cope. Florian struggled but finally got a take down. Florian mounted but was quickly moved by Cope to full guard. Cope got to his feet but got taken down again. Florian took a mount and got lots of punches in. Florian then grabbed an arm bar but the bell rang before Cope would give up. Cope tapped but it was after the bell.
R2- Florian gets a quick take down and takes Cope’s back and quickly put on Rear Naked Choke and Cope tapped out again. Florian looked great in this fight.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 0:37
TUF Welterweight Finals Fight- Joe Stevenson vs. Luke Cuomo
Cuomo has a 5 inch height advantage and 4 inch reach advantage. When asked if the fighters have any questions Stevenson says “Luke I am your father.”
R1- Stevenson gets this fight to the ground within the first 30 seconds. Stevenson grabs an arm triangle but Luke gets out of it and moves Joe to full guard and then escaped back to his feet. Joe gets another take down half way through the round. Joe takes side control and lands some good elbows. Joe gets a bunch of elbows in on Luke and the fight was in danger of being stopped but Luke lasted until the bell range. Stevenson easily took round one.
R2- Luke hit a good clean right hand to start the round but Stevenson quickly recovered and good the take down. Stevenson went for an arm bar but Luke escaped. The exchanged some shots standing and then Luke got a take down but Joe grabbed Luke’s leg and moved to the top position. Joe hits some good elbows from the top. This was a close round and goes to Stevenson so he’s up 20-18. Good fight so far.
R3- Luke got in a punch to start the round and then Joe went for a take down but Luke reversed it on him. Luke’s conditioning is helping him out in this part of the fight. Luke got some shots in on Stevenson. Stevenson got up and quickly took down Luke. Luke went for a triangle but couldn’t get it. Joe went for a leg lock but abandoned it. They briefly got separated and Joe got in a slam to take Luke back down. This was a real good fight. I think Luke took round 3 but I’ve got Joe 29-28 for the fight.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Stevenson
TUF 2 Welterweight Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)
TUF Heavyweight Finals Fight- Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes
Imes has a huge 8 inch height advantage and a huge 6 inch reach advantage. Look for Rashad to take him to the mat quickly.
R1- Brad hit a couple of jabs early and then grabbed a Muy Thai clinch and tried some knees. Rashad answered with a good right and Imes again grabbed a clinch. Brad got a take down a little over a minute into the fight but couldn’t do anything with it. Brad hit a good elbow and then a left hand. Rashad came back with 3 punches but Brad keeps coming at Rashad. Rashad hit two big right hands and Brad tried to clinch but Rashad kept firing and knocked Brad down. Rashad jumped on top to try and finish but Brad hung in there. Rashad passed the guard but Brad rolled over to his knees and got to his feet. Brad is cut from those punches. This was a good first round. Brad was winning until Rashad hit that series of punches that knocked Brad down and almost finished him. Rashad 10-9 after one round.
R2- Even start to the round. Rashad starts to get the distance on his jab. Brad comes up with some good shots and tied to finish Rashad but Rashad weathered the storm and never left his feet. Brad got Rashad up against the fence and swung at him a bunch of times but Rashad showed good head movement and ducked the onslaught. Rashad got off the fence and hit some jabs. Both guys are really winded with about a minute and a half to go in the round. Rashad stuck Brad with two right hands. Rashad hit another right but Brad came back at the end of the round with some shots. Really good round. I think Brad took this round but it was close. I’ve got 19-19 after two rounds. Good fight so far.
R3- Rashad connects with some shots early in the round. Rashad caught Brad leaning in and nailed him with a left hand that staggered and then dropped Brad. Rashad jumps on top for the finish but Brad tries to wrap him up. Brad gets to his feet and tries to get some shots in on Rashad. Brad clinches and then gets a take down and gets half guard. Rashad got back to his feet after some elbows. 90 seconds left in the round. Both guys are really tired. They swing at the end but both guys are too tired to do any damage. Really close round and really close fight. I’ve got Rashad with a close victory 29-28. Good fight.
Judges score the fight- 29-28 Rashad, 29-28 Imes and 29-28 Rashad.
TUF 2 Heavyweight Winner: Rashad Evans by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez vs. Nick Diaz
They meet heads during the meeting at the beginning of the fight and John McCarthy pushes Diaz back to his corner. Looks like a lot of bad blood is brewing between these two guys.
R1- Diego quickly takes Nick’s back. Diaz spins around and Diego is in his guard but Diaz is very active. Diego lands some pretty decent shots but Diaz remains pretty active which is making him hard to hit. Nick reverses and gets Diego in side control but Diego quickly reverses back. Diego is surprisingly controlling Diaz on the ground. Diego looked really good in this round. Sanchez 10-9 in the first round.
R2- Diaz slips really early but luckily it doesn’t hurt him. Diego gets a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the round. Diego picks Nick up and slams him down and then gets some shots in on Nick. Diego moved Nick up against the cage and got some good Ground and Pound in on him. Diaz reversed a mount and got in Diego’s guard but Diego got out of it before the end of the round. Diaz has a cut near his eye. Diego got another take down at the end of the round. Sanchez is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Diaz starts out the round with a left hand and a jab. Nick is doing a good job at the start of the round avoiding take downs and hitting jabs but Diego gets a take down within the first minute of the round. Diego is bleeding and it’s dripping onto Diaz as Diego is in his guard. They got back to their feet but Diego quickly took Nick’s back. Diaz looks like he’s bleeding now. There is a good amount of blood flowing and it’s tough to see exactly who it is coming from. Diaz gets a take down with about two and a half minutes left. Both guys look to be cut badly. Diaz is on top but Diego grabs an arm bar. Diaz frees himself from the move. Diego slips out and they roll around a little bit and Diego ends up in Nick’s guard. This was a close round, probably went to Diaz. I’ve got Sanchez winning 29-28. Really good fight.
Judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Sanchez.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Unanimous)
This was a very enjoyable show with some good fights- Sanchez/Diaz, Imes/Evans, Stevenson/Cuomo and it also had some good performances from Florian, Jardine and Guillard.
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