UFC 94 Preliminary Fights Re-Cap

UFC 94: Penn vs. St Pierre 2 Prelims

Welterweight Fight- Matt Arroyo (3-2) vs. Dan Cramer (0-0)

Dan Cramer has a 3.5” reach advantage. This is Cramer’s professional MMA debut and is coming off of a Collarbone injury. Daniel Cramer was in TUF 7 but I don’t remember him. Apparently he beat Luke Zachrich and then lost to Tim Credeur in a fight that he was winning before he got caught and subbed in the first round. Cramer was a member of Team Rampage. Arroyo was a cast member of TUF6. Arroyo bowed out of a semi-final fight against Mac Danzig with a rib injury.

R1- Not a very exciting first round. Arroyo pulled guard early and Cramer got some light Ground and Pound.

R2- This round was more of the same. It’s probably 19-19 but neither guy has done anything to distance himself as the favorite going into the third round.

R3- Arroyo took Cramer’s back and looked like he was going to win via Rear Naked Choke but Cramer got out of the move but Arroyo still had his back. Cramer landed some Ground and Pound toward the end of the round.

This was a pretty tough fight to watch. Based on this fight if either guy is asked back to UFC it will definitely be against someone they are picked to lose against. Neither guy did anything to deserve to win this fight more than the other guy. Arroyo will probably get the win but I smell a split.

Judges: 29-28 Cramer, 29-28 Arroyo and 29-28 Cramer

Winner: Dan Cramer by Decision (Split)

Welterweight Fight- John Howard (10-4) vs. Chris Wilson (13-4)

Wilson has a 6” height advantage and a 3” reach advantage. At UFC 87 Wilson decisioned Steve Bruno 30-27 on all cards. At UFC 82 Chris Wilson lost a decision to top contender Jon Fitch. This is Howard’s UFC debut and has won his last 3 fights. Wilson has won 5 of his last 6 with his only loss being to Fitch, he took that fight on short notice.

R1- Pretty even fight through the first half of the round with Howard catching Wilson on the nose and causing some blood loss. Wilson hit a good combo right after this and took control. This was a close round with pretty good action. I give the slight edge to Wilson.

R2- Howard opened up more at the beginning of the round and the tired out and Wilson came on at the end. I’ve got the fight 19-19 right now with the advantage going to Wilson for the final round.

R3- Howard took Wilson’s back at the beginning of the round. Howard goes for a Rear Naked Choke about two minutes into the round but he couldn’t finish. Howard continues to maintain a triangle on Wilson and has his back. Wilson was able to get out and take guard but Howard went for a leg lock and both guys stand up with 50 seconds left. Howard got a take down and took guard with 30 seconds left but is just resting at this point. Howard limped to the finish but he won this round and thus in my opinion he wins the fight.

This was a good win for Howard as it was his UFC debut and Wilson is a tough opponent.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 Howard, 29-28 Wilson and 29-28 Howard.

Winner: John Howard by Decision (Split)

Lightweight Fight- Thiago Tavares (17-3) vs. Manvel Gamburyan (10-4)

Tavares has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Gamburyan got rocked at UFC 87 by a big Rob Emerson punch and lost in 12 seconds.

R1- Tavares got a take down but Manvel almost got a kimura submission. Tavares controlled the round and got a slam with one minute left. Tavares 10-9 after round one.

R2- This round was a snoozer. Thiago came on at the end of the round but this one is a toss up.

R3- They mostly stand up and strike in this round. Tavares lands a good punch and a good knee in the middle of the round.

Judges scores are all 29-28 in favor of Tavares. Another kind of blah under card fight.

Winner: Thiago Tavares by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Jake O’Brien (10-2) vs. Christian Wellisch (9-3)

O’Brien is dropping down from Heavyweight for this fight.

R1- O’Brien hit a good punch about 20 seconds into the fight but Wellisch fought through it. Wellisch seemed like he really wanted to take this to the ground but O’Brien remained in control of the fight through the first round. O’Brien 10-9.

R2- O’Brien continuted to control this round by bloodying Christian’s nose and getting two take downs. O’Brien 20-18.

R3- Wellisch looked better in this round as O’Brien began to fade. O’Brien got a couple of take downs but got in little offense.

I’ve got O’Brien 29-28 in this fight. Not an exciting fight.

Judges score the fight 29-28 Wellisch, 29-28 O’Brien and 29-28 O’Brien.

Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Akihiro Gono (28-13-7) vs. Jon Fitch (21-3)

Fitch has a 6” reach advantage and a 4” height advantage. Fitch is coming off of a lopsided loss to one of the top P4P fighters in the world GSP in which he showed a lot of heart by going 5 full rounds with the champ.

R1- Fitch controlled this round and took Gono’s back at the end of the round but couldn’t get into a good enough position to go for a finish. Fitch 10-9.

R2- Fitch dominated this round. Almost a 10-8 round but I don’t think Fitch did enough damage. Fitch went for a late arm bar but Gono survived. Fitch 20-18.

R3- Gono showed some life in this round but Fitch does what he does which is smother his opponents in a boring fashion.

Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 in favor of Fitch.

Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)

This has got to take the cake as the most boring and pedestrian UFC under card that there has ever been. Five decisions on the under card and while they were competitive none of them were anywhere near exciting fights.