UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez Re-Cap

UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez
Acer Arena
Sydney, Australia
2/20/2010

This is the debut of the UFC in Australia and we get a big Heavyweight Title Contender fight when Antonio Minotauro Nogueira takes on up and comer Cain Velasquez. There is also a big Middlweight fight with Wanderlei Silva taking on Michael Bisping.

Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (25-7-2) vs. Anthony Perosh (10-5)

Perosh is fighting in his home country but took this fight on short notice. Mirko has been a real disappointment since he came back to the UFC but he still should be able to win a fight when his opponent is an unknown fighting on short notice. Perosh comes out to some Motley Crue “Kick Start My Heart” and a big ovation. Mirko counters with some “Wild Boys” from Duran Duran. We are about to have an 80s hair band throw down! This could get crazy. Perosh is only 216 pounds so he is outweighed by around 20 pounds in this fight.

R1- Cro Cop is the aggressor early. Perosh tried for a take down but Cro Cop did a good just denying him. Cro Cop hit a good left that hurt Perosh but he couldn’t follow up. Perosh has a bloody nose. Cro Cop hit Perosh with another good left. Cro Cop is finding a home for the left whenever he wants it. Cro Cop 10-9.

R2- This round consisted of Perosh continually going for take downs and getting stuffed. Cro Cop landed a big elbow from full guard that busted open Perosh. Cro Cop 20-18 after two rounds.

The doctor’s stop the fight after the second round due to the cut over Perosh’s eye. Perosh tried to hang in there he just didn’t seem like he was a UFC caliber Heavyweight at this point of his career. Good win by Cro Cop as he was dominant. I don’t think he’s as good as the majority of UFC Heavyweights but with this win he’s still a marketable fighter for them at this point of his career. They should try to put him against another young guy or a big name for his next fight.

Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R2 5:00

Randy Couture is at the show and is sitting next to a blonde with large cleavage. Rashad Evans is in the crowd cheering on Jardine. Can’t wait to see him and Rampage hook it up since their fight is back on.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-7-1) vs. Ryan Bader (11-0)

R1- Bader got a big take down two minutes into the round. Jardine has a cut on the top of his head. Bader got some shots in but nothing big and the ref stood them up with thirty seconds left in the round. Bader 10-9.

R2- Jardine stuffed three Bader take downs and Bader looks like he’s starting to wear down a little bit. Bader hit a kick towards the end of the round that caught Jardine off balanced and briefly knocked him down and then Bader got a brief take down. Jardine won the majority of this round except the last thirty seconds and I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.

R3- Bader caught Jardine coming in with a jab at the two minute mark and then followed it up with a flying knee and then a blow that knocked Jardine into the fence on the floor and the ref stopped the fight. Bader hit a big left against the cage and Jardine’s legs gave out and he slumped to the mat. Good stoppage. Really good win by Bader against a quality opponent in Jardine.

Winner: Ryan Bader by TKO (Strikes) R3 2:10

Welterweight Fight- Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster

This is from the pre-show.

R1- Foster got a quick take down but couldn’t keep Lytle down. Foster hit a spinning heel kick to the head but it was mostly blocked. Lytle grabbed a rolling knee bar and Foster tapped out. Really nice move by Lytle as Foster looked like he was winning the fight when Lytle went for that move.

Winner: Chris Lytle by Submission (Knee Bar) R1 1:41

Lightweight Fight- Joe Stevenson (36-10) vs. George Sotiropoulos (11-2)

Sotiropoulos is fighting in his home country so he should have a big home field advantage in this fight. Sotiropoulos comes out to “Iron Man” but doesn’t have any spiked shoulder pads on. Stevenson comes out to some really crappy electronica music that he seems to enjoy. Sotiropoulos is on a 5 fight win streak.

R1- George went for a single but Joe blocked it and then looked like he pulled guard. Joe briefly got an arm triangle from the bottom but couldn’t hold it. George mounted and then took Joe’s back and then took north/south position and went for an arm bar but couldn’t lock it in. George really dominated positioning in the first round but really didn’t inflict much damage. George 10-9. Fans chanted during the break between rounds and continued chanting into the second round.

R2- George hit a strike and Joe briefly went down to a knee but popped back up ready to fight. George landed some good jabs and then Stevenson got a take down. George used an omaplata to escape and take top position. Joe quickly got back on top. Joe went for an ankle lock at the end of the round but George scrambled out of it and grabbed a choke at the end of the round. Really close round. I’ve got George up 20-18 but the last round could have gone either way. George was really active off his back and got 2 different sub attempts off his back.

R3- Joe tried to grab a guillotine and pull guard but George slipped out. Back and forth round. Joe took top position with a minute and a half left in the round. They stand back up with 40 seconds left in the fight and Joe gets another take down. I’ve got Joe taking this round but George taking the fight 29-28. This could be a split decision.

Judges scored cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Crowd goes nuts at decision. Big win for Sotiropoulos.

Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Decision (Unanimous)

Royce Gracie is at the show tonight.

Middleweight Fight- Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs. Michael Bisping (19-2)

Bisping comes out to his usual Rock N Jock “WOO HOO” theme. This is a big fight for Bisping. Bisping got KTFO by Dan Henderson but then rebounded by beating up Denis Kang.

R1- Bisping got a take down one minute into the round but Wanderlei quickly gets back up swinging. Really even round, Wanderlei had a flurry at the end of the round that might have stole the round for him as he was the aggressor in the second half of the round after Bisping got two take downs.

R2- Wanderlei caught a Bisping kick and kicked his other leg out from under him and took top position on Bisping. Bisping got a take down with two minutes left in the round but Wanderlei got back to his feet quickly. Bisping got a take down at the end of the round but Wanderlei grabbed a guillotine and Bisping looked like he was going to tap but he held on until the end of the round. Wanderlei took this round so depending on how round one was scored he’s up 20-18 or it’s tied at 19-19.

R3- Wanderlei is starting to land some strikes about half way through the round. Bisping’s most effective offense in this round so far has been a low blow and an eye poke. Wanderlei landed a right hand and started to swing for the fence. Wanderlei grabbed another Bisping kick and swept his leg out from under him again. Wanderlei hit a big right in the closing moments and it looked like the ref was about to stop the fight but he let it go to the bell. Wanderlei definitely took the final two rounds so I’ve got him winning this fight. He didn’t seem as aggressive as usual but definitely picked up the pace at the end of all of the rounds.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Wanderlei Silva by Decision (Unanimous)

Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Noguiera (32-5-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0)

The UFC tells us that Nogueira has 53 Submission Attempts which is the most in UFC/Pride history, he has a 67% arm bar success rate and his average fight time is 12 minutes and 14 seconds. Cain has a 63% striking accuracy (2nd in UFC), lands 70% of take down attempts and has never been taken down. The winner of this fight should be in line to face Brock Lesnar either before or after the winner of Shane Carwin/Frank Mir. Minotauro comes out to the Stones.

R1- Cain looks good early as he hits some combos and Big Nog absorbs them. Cain hit some wicked shots just after the two minute mark that knocked Big Nog down and then jumped on top and quickly finished the fight. Big Nog came in with a right and Cain countered with a left and then clocked him with a big right uppercut and then floored him with a big left hand. Cain then got on top and immediately struck a big right hand to the chin that ended the fight and before Herb Dean could get in there to break it up Cain landed a couple more shots. Amazing performance by Velasquez.

Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:20

Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

This was from the pre-show. Bonnar needs a win badly.

R1- Soszynski bull rushes at the beginning and they clinched against the cage. Soszynski looks good early and has bloodied Bonnar’s nose. Bonnar grabbed a kick and got a take down but couldn’t do anything with it. Bonnar looked like he started getting more comfortable towards the end of the round but I’ve got Soszynski taking the round 10-9.

R2- Close round. Joe Rogan pointed out that it looked like Soszynski landed the stronger shots but Bonnar landed more shots and I think that’s pretty much how the round went. That was a tough round to judge. Soszynski landed some good shots towards the end of the round that may have stolen the round for him.

R3- Soszynski landed a shot very early that briefly knocked Bonnar to his knees and the shot cut Bonnar. Bonnar has blood all over him. Here is what Joe Rogan had to say about it “Oh My God. He is pouring blood out of his head…This is Crazy…It’s literally leaking out of his head”. The ref stops the fight to look at the cut. The ref stops the fight. In looking at the replays it looked like the cut was caused by a headbutt and that’s why after the cut happened Bonnar looked at the ref.

Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R3 1:04