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