UFC Fight Night 17 2/7/09 Re-Cap

UFC Fight Night 17
February 7th, 2009
USF Sun Dome - Tampa, FL

No major drawing cards on the show tonight but the last time UFC ran a show similar to this (Fight for the Troops) they had a really good show. On paper we’ve got some interesting fights in Lauzon/Stephens, Neer/Danzig, Johnson/Fioravanti and Pellegrino/Emerson.

Welterweight Fight- Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4)

Anthony Johnson is coming off of a big Third Round KO of Kevin Burns in their re-match at the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Fioravanti is the home town guy in this fight as he’s from Florida. Johnson is a JUCO wrestler and a feared striker. This is a big fight for both guys. Johnson has a big 8” reach advantage and a 6” height advantage. Cung Le is in Anthony Johnson’s corner for the fight as Johnson has been training with Le and Strikeforce Lightweight Champ Josh Thomson. Fioravanti has won 3 of his last 4 fights with the loss coming at the hands of Diego Sanchez.

R1- Johnson scored mostly in this round with leg kicks and then caught Luigi towards the end of the round with a punch and then laid it on and got the Ground and Pound victory. Very impressive victory by Johnson as it took Diego Sanchez 3 rounds to get a TKO win over Luigi.

I’m looking forward to Johnson stepping up in competition for his next fight in the Welterweight Division. Post-fight Johnson says he’s disappointed with his performance so that’s a good sign that this guy is going to work really hard to continue to improve.

Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:39

Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (24-7-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-5-1)

Danzig is coming off of a September loss to Clay Guida in which he was really controlled by Guida’s wrestling. Neer fought on the same show and lost a split decision to Nate Diaz. Both guys are in a need to win situation as they don’t want to start racking up multiple losses in a row. Danzig won TUF Season 6 in 2007. Neer has a 3” height advantage and a 2” reach advantage.

R1- Danzig got caught early when he went for a head kick but weathered the storm. Danzig hit a good combo about a minute in a half in to even the fight back out. Danzig caught Neer coming in with a minute and half left and then took his guard. Neer grabbed a triangle but Danzig spun out and survived. Neer unloaded in the corner. Neer showboated towards the end of the round. Neer ended the round on an upswing. Very good and very close first round. Neer controlled early, Danzig took the middle part of the round with a knock down and Neer came on strong at the end. Danzig also opened up a cut on Neer’s face.

R2- Danzig got a take down stuffed and Neer unloaded with some good elbows. Neer tried to take his back but slipped off and Danzig took guard. Neer got another triangle with a minute and a half left in the round and Danzig had to tap.

Really good fight and a good showing by both guys as it was very competitive.

Winner: Josh Neer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 3:36

Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (12-1)

Velasquez is an up and coming Heavyweight prospect and this is Stojnic’s first fight in the UFC. Cain has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Stojnic is from Amsterdam and his nickname is “Denis the Menace.”

R1- Velasquez just dominated this round. Stojnic showed a good chin but wasn’t able to get in any offense. Velasquez 10-8. Velasquez showed really good technique throughout the fight and did a good job mixing in strikes, kicks and knees.

R2- Velasquez took Stojnic down and Ground and Pound him over and over. The ref stopped the fight a little early but there was no question that Velasquez was just dominating this fight. Good showing by Velasquez, the only thing that was missing was a dominant finish.

Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:34

Lightweight Fight- Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach

This is a pre-show fight. Veach took this fight on short notice and has Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler in his corner.

R1- Veach really pushed the pace early and got a take down. Grice caught Veach in an Anaconda Choke but Veach quickly got out of it. Grice caught Veach with an uppercut and then got on top of him with some Ground and Pound and tried to finish. Grice looked like he punched himself out when he was going for the finish. Grice went for a guillotine and Veach took his guard. Veach was looking very tired and taking some shots and he landed a good shot on Grice and took him down and got the finish. Looked like an early ref stoppage but it was a really good fight.

Winner: Matt Veach by TKO R1 4:34

Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (16-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-3)

Stephens is coming off of a win at UFC 91 over Rafael Dos Anjos. Lauzon’s last fight was a win over Kyle Bradley. Previous to that he had won 6 straight fights before losing to Top Contender Kenny Florian. Hermes Franca was originally supposed to fight Lauzon. Stephens trains with Franca. Lauzon was on Season 5 of the Ultimate Fighter and was BJ Penn’s team.

R1- Lauzon did a good job early in the round in working his strategy and keeping Stephens close to him and on the mat. Stephens came on late in the round with some Ground and Pound and a big slam. Close first round, very competitive.

R2- Lauzon again controlled the first part of this round and got some light Ground and Pound. At about one and a half minutes left in the round Stephens flipped it over and opened up a cut on Lauzon. Lauzon reverses but he’s bleeding pretty good. Lauzon caught Stephens in an arm bar and got a tap out as the round was ending. Really good job by Lauzon quickly getting a finish after he started to lose blood as the fight could have been ended if the round ended depending on where the cut was.

Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:43

Middleweight Fight- Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt

This is our second pre-show fight.

R1- Rosholt got a quick take down but got reversed. Miller caught Rosholt in a guillotine and he got caught and tapped. His corner was yelling for him to watch for it but apparently he didn’t hear them.

Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:03


Overall, I was very satisfied with this show. Anthony Johnson and Cain Velasquez both looked really good. Grice/Veach and Lauzon/Stephens were both good fights and I thought Danzig/Neer was a really good fight. Danzig/Neer is probably the best fight I’ve seen so far this year although it’s only February.