UFC 106 Preliminaries
11/21/09
Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, Nevada
Spike TV
Jake Rosholt against Kendall Grove and Marcus Davis against Ben Saunders highlight the Preliminary fights of UFC 106 tonight on Spike TV. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are your announcers.
Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (12-6) vs. Jake Rosholt (6-1)
Rosholt is coming off a submission victory over Chris Leben at UFC 102. Kendall Grove is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101. Grove has a 5” height and 5” reach advantage.
R1- Rosholt got a take down within the first minute of the fight. Kendall keeps getting up and then getting dragged back down by Rosholt. Kendall really using the cage out of the referee’s view to his advantage and he gets a take down. Rosholt landed a couple of strikes and a knee after getting back to his feet. Rosholt got another take down. Rosholt looked like he was going for an arm triangle but Kendall caught him in an arm bar and Rosholt tapped out.
Winner: Kendall Grove by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 3:59
Lightweight Fight- Jason Dent vs. George Sotiropoulos
R1- George got a take down with two minutes left in the round after both guys had been exchanging some light strikes for the first three minutes of the round. George fought and got the mount and landed some good punches. Dent barely survived to fight in the next round. George 10-9.
R2- George caught a kick and got a take down about one and a half minutes into the round. George went for an arm bar and fought hard and finally got it and Dent tapped out.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:36
Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (21-6) vs. Ben Saunders (7-1-2)
Davis has won 13 of his last 15 but is coming off of a split decision loss to Dan Hardy at UFC 99. Saunders has a 5” height and 7.5” reach advantage. Saunders is coming off of a TKO loss to Mike Swick, also at UFC 99.
R1- Davis landed some good strikes in the clinch but Saunders returned the favor with some good knees. Saunders bloodied up Davis with the knees. Saunders grabbed Davis in the clinch again and just destroyed him with knees and knocked him out. Really great showing by Saunders.
Winner: Ben Saunders by KO R1 3:24
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster
R1- A lot of action early which ended with a Larson take down. Half way through the round Foster reverses the position and lands some Ground and Pound. Both fighters were down and Larson kicked Foster in the face and the ref stepped in as it was an illegal blow. A point is deducted from Larson. Larson grabbed a guillotine at the end of the round and they called Larson for another illegal shot because Larson hit Foster when he had a hand down and Larson had him in a guillotine and he kneed him in the head. Another point is deducted from Foster. Foster takes this round 10-7 because of the two point deduction.
R2- Foster hit a good side kick and then got a take down and landed some Ground and Pound. Foster got caught by a big uppercut coming in for a take down and he got hurt badly and he tapped out as the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Brian Foster by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:25
Joe Rogan interviews Tito Ortiz about his return to UFC and his fight with Forrest Griffin later tonight.
Showing posts with label Brock Larson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brock Larson. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
UFC 98 "Evans vs. Machida" Re-Cap
UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida
5/23/09
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada
This show is highlighted by Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans defending against Lyoto Machida. This will be the first time two unbeaten fighters have fought for the belt. Also, on this card in a feature fight is Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra in what is a grudge match due to their dislike of each other.
Lightweight Fight- Sean Sherk (37-3-1) vs. Frank Edgar (9-1)
Edgar has not fought since last July when he defeated Hermes Franca. Sherk was last seen at UFC 90 when he defeated Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision. If Sherk wins this then he should be right at the top of the list to fight the winner of BJ Penn/Kenny Florian. Edgar is a Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt who trains with Ricardo Almeida, he also has a strong wrestling base and has fast hands. Sherk is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and has only lost to Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre. Edgar has a big 5” reach advantage.
R1- Lots of stand-up early with Frankie with a slight advantage as he landed a couple of nice combinations. Edgar caught a Sherk leg kick and got a take down about three minutes into the fight and held him down for a minute but didn’t inflict any damage. Good, close first round that I give to Edgar 10-9. Edgar looks like the quicker fighter. Sherk looks like he’s going to need to take this to the ground and grind it out.
R2- Sherk is more aggressive to start off the round. Frankie got a knee to the body and briefly knocked Sherk off his feet. Sherk took the first half of this round but Frankie really started to land some nice shots in the second half of the round. I’ve got Edgar taking this round to go up 20-18. Rogan made a great point in saying that Sherk just keeps doing the same thing and Edgar is doing a much better job of mixing things up and keeping Sherk unbalanced and not knowing what is coming next.
R3- Sherk got a big take down about 45 seconds into the round but Edgar got back to his feet within 20 seconds. Sherk has a small cut over his left eyebrow. Sherk went for a another take down with about 2 minutes left but got stuffed. Sherk went for a shoot right at the end of the round and Edgar grabbed him in a guillotine and pulled guard as the round ended. I think Edgar may have stolen this round. Regardless I’ve got Edgar as the clear winner in this fight although it wasn’t a dominate performance. Frankie fought a really good fight and showed some great conditioning. Big win by Frankie as I had Sherk as a Top 5 Lightweight prior to this fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Frank Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
They show BJ Penn in the crowd after the fight and hype his fight against Kenny Florian.
Middleweight Fight- Chael Sonnen (23-10-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-1)
Miller is 3-0 inside the Octagon and is coming off a February fight against Jake Rosholt that he won in a tad more than a minute by guillotine choke. Miller is a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and a submission specialist. Sonnen is taking this fight on short notice as he’s filling in for the injured Yushin Okami. Sonnen trains with Team Quest. Sonnen has lost 3 times in the UFC, all by submission, and most recently by Demien Maia.
R1- Sonnen went for a take down early and got caught in a tight guillotine. Sonnen was able to survive the early submission attempt. Sonnen is landing some good Ground and Pound and landed some really hard shots towards the end of the round. Sonnen takes round one 10-9.
R2- Sonnen got a slam but Miller grabbed a guillotine again but this one was not as tight as the first round and Sonnen ends up in his guard. Miller goes for an arm bar but could not clamp it in as Sonnen continues to get some Ground and Pound but nothing at the level of what he got in the first round. Sonnen takes this round and is up 20-18. Miller is going to need to finish this fight if he wants to win.
R3- Miller landed a good combo to start the round but then got taken down. Not a real exciting fight but Sonnen just continues to grind this fight out and is going to take it by decision.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)
After two draws the odds are very strong that we will have a KO or TKO in this fight. Xavier lost to Denis Kang by Decision in his last fight. He is taking this fight on short notice filling in for James Irvin. Xavier is known as “Professor X”. He is explosive, with KO ability and good knees. Drew comes out to some Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre “Nothin’ But a G Thing”. Professor X has a 3” reach advantage.
R1- McFedries caught Xavier with a big punch early and just lays it in and the ref stops the fight. Drew hit him with some good punches and Xavier was trying to hold on but he got hit with several good punches. Great showing by McFedries.
Winner: Drew McFedries by TKO (Punches) R1 0:37
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzystof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
This is a pre-show fight.
R1- Gusmao caught him with a kick early that knocked Krzystof down but he recovered. Soszynski got him up against the cage and landed some nice shots and hit a big right hand that knocked Gusmao out. Another great showing for Soszynski. I thought early on that he was the favorite to win the TUF season he was on but he just didn’t deliver in the big fight on that show. He’s been delivering big time since getting a shot in the UFC as he is now 3-0 in the Octagon.
Winner: Krzystof Soszynski by KO R1 3:17
Mike Tyson is shown in the crowd.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (43-7) vs. Matt Serra (16-5)
This is a fight that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Both guys really want to get in there and beat each other up. The only problem for the fans is that neither guy is a likeable character so you kind of want to see both guys get their asses kicked.
“Matt Hughes. He is a dick. He’s a very talented dick. I’m looking forward to the fight. I feel like a winner already just knowing that I get to hit him in his face.”- Matt Serra
Matt Serra comes out to the theme to Rocky. Alright, so maybe Serra is a little bit likeable. Hughes is coming into this fight on a two fight losing streak (Thiago Alves and GSP). Serra’s last fight was a loss to GSP in defense of his Welterweight Championship. Hughes has a big size advantage in this fight as he is 3” taller and has a reach advantage of 5”.
R1- Serra landed an overhand right on Hughes about a minute into the fight and jumped on top of him. Hughes got back to his feet but his legs looked wobbly and Hughes tried to get a take down and looked like he recovered a bit. Hughes got a take down with a minute thirty left in the round. Hughes took his back but Serra slipped out and didn’t take much damage. Good first round. Serra is up 10-9. Hughes started to go to the wrong corner after the end of the round. It sounded like Matt Hughes asked his corner men if Serra knocked him down in the first round (it sounded like he might have asked if Serra knocked him out). They showed the re-play of Serra’s over hand right and at the same time that Serra hit him with the right his head also connected with Hughes’ chin.
R2- Hughes got a take down about a minute into the round. Serra rolled his eyes while he was in half guard and Hughes was hitting him with some side punches. Hughes basically just smothered Serra in this round but it didn’t look like he hurt him at all. They stood them up at the end of the round due to lack of action. Right now I’ve got this at 19-19.
R3- Hughes rushed him early and got a take down about a minute into the round but Serra landed in a good spot for a possible submission but he wasn’t able to grab anything. Serra went for a triangle but couldn’t grab it. The ref stands them up with one and a half minutes left in the fight. Serra reversed a take down with about 50 seconds left in the fight. Serra hit a good punch on the ground and finished the fight on top. The third round was close. They embraced after the fight and Hughes raised Serra’s arm before the decision came in. I’m thinking Serra 20-19 as Serra did more to try and finish the fight in the final round and neither guy did a significant amount of damage.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards for Matt Hughes.
Winner: Matt Hughes by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event: Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Rashad Evans © (18-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
This should be an interesting fight as both guys tend to like to counter punch. Evans is coming off big wins against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin and he has Yoda in his corner (Greg Jackson). Machida has an unorthodox style and is coming off of a decisive win against Thiago Silva. Rashad has never been knocked out, lands 58% of his take down attempts and has yet to attempt a submission in the UFC. Machida is the most elusive fighter in UFC history, he has never lost a round in the UFC, lands 65% of all strikes and has an 84% takedown defense. Machida is actually a favorite in this fight and the fans also texted him in as a 64% favorite. Machida is also a Karate Black Belt. Goldberg says that Machida has never been knocked down and Rogan says that he hasn’t taken a power punch since he fought BJ Penn. Rashad is a great wrestler and also has great power in his punches. Rashad is the third TUF fighter to try and defend a title successfully in the UFC (both Forrest and Serra were unsuccessful in their first title defenses).
The winner of this fight probably gets Rampage Jackson (since he was originally offered this title fight with Rashad but couldn’t go due to the short time needed to rebound from his fight with Jardine). Rashad/Rampage is a big time fight on paper that the UFC could really get behind due to all the trash talking that those guys would put on each other. I also like Rampage/Machida on paper as I think Rampage could be a difficult match-up for Machida since Rampage has solid boxing skills.
R1- No action in the first minute as Machida takes the center of the cage and Rashad dances around him. This is what I thought would happen since we have two counter punchers and Rashad didn’t really bring the action in the Liddell fight until Liddell brought it to him. Machida hits the first shot as he threw a leg kick that Rashad deflected but it sent him back into the cage. Machida landed another kick this one to the side and then Rashad answered with a kick. Machida threw a quick kick and then two quick punches all in a flurry of a second or two and Rashad went down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad recovered to his feet and they stood back up. Machida was lightning quick in that sequence. Machida takes round one 10-9 and looked good but didn’t do much damage.
R2- Machida takes the center of the cage again at the start of the round and the crowd chants “Machida…Machida…Machida”. So much for him being a boring fighter like some have said. Machida clinched Rashad but he got saved by the cage and Machida couldn’t get him down. Rashad threw a punch and missed and Machida came in with a flurry of punches but Rashad fought out of it by throwing some punches of his own. Rashad hit a side kick. Rashad came in for a looping punch but Machida beat him with a quick jab and then Machida caught him with a left hand knocking him down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad got to his feet and Machida chased him to the cage. Machida is now landing some big punches up against the cage. Machida hits Rashad with a wicked left and Rashad just crumbles to the ground as his leg falls underneath him. FANTASTIC showing by Lyoto Machida tonight. He just looked awesome. Rashad never looked comfortable tonight and Machida really just picked him apart in this fight. Machida hit him with 3 or 4 good punches on the cage and finally closed the door with the big left hand. Dana White straps the belt on Lyoto as he is announced as the NEW champion.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Lyoto Machida by KO R2 3:57
“The Dragon is the champion”- Lyoto Machida
Bring on Lyoto versus Rampage.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson vs. Mike Pyle
This is a fight from the pre-show. I like Brock Larson a lot and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t come out on top in this fight. Pyle is taking this fight on short notice. This is Pyle’s UFC debut. Larson is a very explosive fighter.
R1- Larson took him down but Pyle countered with some submission attempts. Larson stays on top with some Ground and Pound and Larson goes for the arm triangle and gets the win. Good showing by Larson.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
This is the UFC debut for Tim Hague. This is another pre-show fight.
R1- Barry hit a big right head kick and then hit another but Hague took him down at the one minute mark of the round. Hague got a guillotine and pulled out the upset. Rogan says Barry had this fight won but he just got sloppy.
Winner: Tim Hague by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:42
5/23/09
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada
This show is highlighted by Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans defending against Lyoto Machida. This will be the first time two unbeaten fighters have fought for the belt. Also, on this card in a feature fight is Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra in what is a grudge match due to their dislike of each other.
Lightweight Fight- Sean Sherk (37-3-1) vs. Frank Edgar (9-1)
Edgar has not fought since last July when he defeated Hermes Franca. Sherk was last seen at UFC 90 when he defeated Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision. If Sherk wins this then he should be right at the top of the list to fight the winner of BJ Penn/Kenny Florian. Edgar is a Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt who trains with Ricardo Almeida, he also has a strong wrestling base and has fast hands. Sherk is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and has only lost to Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre. Edgar has a big 5” reach advantage.
R1- Lots of stand-up early with Frankie with a slight advantage as he landed a couple of nice combinations. Edgar caught a Sherk leg kick and got a take down about three minutes into the fight and held him down for a minute but didn’t inflict any damage. Good, close first round that I give to Edgar 10-9. Edgar looks like the quicker fighter. Sherk looks like he’s going to need to take this to the ground and grind it out.
R2- Sherk is more aggressive to start off the round. Frankie got a knee to the body and briefly knocked Sherk off his feet. Sherk took the first half of this round but Frankie really started to land some nice shots in the second half of the round. I’ve got Edgar taking this round to go up 20-18. Rogan made a great point in saying that Sherk just keeps doing the same thing and Edgar is doing a much better job of mixing things up and keeping Sherk unbalanced and not knowing what is coming next.
R3- Sherk got a big take down about 45 seconds into the round but Edgar got back to his feet within 20 seconds. Sherk has a small cut over his left eyebrow. Sherk went for a another take down with about 2 minutes left but got stuffed. Sherk went for a shoot right at the end of the round and Edgar grabbed him in a guillotine and pulled guard as the round ended. I think Edgar may have stolen this round. Regardless I’ve got Edgar as the clear winner in this fight although it wasn’t a dominate performance. Frankie fought a really good fight and showed some great conditioning. Big win by Frankie as I had Sherk as a Top 5 Lightweight prior to this fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Frank Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
They show BJ Penn in the crowd after the fight and hype his fight against Kenny Florian.
Middleweight Fight- Chael Sonnen (23-10-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-1)
Miller is 3-0 inside the Octagon and is coming off a February fight against Jake Rosholt that he won in a tad more than a minute by guillotine choke. Miller is a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and a submission specialist. Sonnen is taking this fight on short notice as he’s filling in for the injured Yushin Okami. Sonnen trains with Team Quest. Sonnen has lost 3 times in the UFC, all by submission, and most recently by Demien Maia.
R1- Sonnen went for a take down early and got caught in a tight guillotine. Sonnen was able to survive the early submission attempt. Sonnen is landing some good Ground and Pound and landed some really hard shots towards the end of the round. Sonnen takes round one 10-9.
R2- Sonnen got a slam but Miller grabbed a guillotine again but this one was not as tight as the first round and Sonnen ends up in his guard. Miller goes for an arm bar but could not clamp it in as Sonnen continues to get some Ground and Pound but nothing at the level of what he got in the first round. Sonnen takes this round and is up 20-18. Miller is going to need to finish this fight if he wants to win.
R3- Miller landed a good combo to start the round but then got taken down. Not a real exciting fight but Sonnen just continues to grind this fight out and is going to take it by decision.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)
After two draws the odds are very strong that we will have a KO or TKO in this fight. Xavier lost to Denis Kang by Decision in his last fight. He is taking this fight on short notice filling in for James Irvin. Xavier is known as “Professor X”. He is explosive, with KO ability and good knees. Drew comes out to some Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre “Nothin’ But a G Thing”. Professor X has a 3” reach advantage.
R1- McFedries caught Xavier with a big punch early and just lays it in and the ref stops the fight. Drew hit him with some good punches and Xavier was trying to hold on but he got hit with several good punches. Great showing by McFedries.
Winner: Drew McFedries by TKO (Punches) R1 0:37
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzystof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
This is a pre-show fight.
R1- Gusmao caught him with a kick early that knocked Krzystof down but he recovered. Soszynski got him up against the cage and landed some nice shots and hit a big right hand that knocked Gusmao out. Another great showing for Soszynski. I thought early on that he was the favorite to win the TUF season he was on but he just didn’t deliver in the big fight on that show. He’s been delivering big time since getting a shot in the UFC as he is now 3-0 in the Octagon.
Winner: Krzystof Soszynski by KO R1 3:17
Mike Tyson is shown in the crowd.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (43-7) vs. Matt Serra (16-5)
This is a fight that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Both guys really want to get in there and beat each other up. The only problem for the fans is that neither guy is a likeable character so you kind of want to see both guys get their asses kicked.
“Matt Hughes. He is a dick. He’s a very talented dick. I’m looking forward to the fight. I feel like a winner already just knowing that I get to hit him in his face.”- Matt Serra
Matt Serra comes out to the theme to Rocky. Alright, so maybe Serra is a little bit likeable. Hughes is coming into this fight on a two fight losing streak (Thiago Alves and GSP). Serra’s last fight was a loss to GSP in defense of his Welterweight Championship. Hughes has a big size advantage in this fight as he is 3” taller and has a reach advantage of 5”.
R1- Serra landed an overhand right on Hughes about a minute into the fight and jumped on top of him. Hughes got back to his feet but his legs looked wobbly and Hughes tried to get a take down and looked like he recovered a bit. Hughes got a take down with a minute thirty left in the round. Hughes took his back but Serra slipped out and didn’t take much damage. Good first round. Serra is up 10-9. Hughes started to go to the wrong corner after the end of the round. It sounded like Matt Hughes asked his corner men if Serra knocked him down in the first round (it sounded like he might have asked if Serra knocked him out). They showed the re-play of Serra’s over hand right and at the same time that Serra hit him with the right his head also connected with Hughes’ chin.
R2- Hughes got a take down about a minute into the round. Serra rolled his eyes while he was in half guard and Hughes was hitting him with some side punches. Hughes basically just smothered Serra in this round but it didn’t look like he hurt him at all. They stood them up at the end of the round due to lack of action. Right now I’ve got this at 19-19.
R3- Hughes rushed him early and got a take down about a minute into the round but Serra landed in a good spot for a possible submission but he wasn’t able to grab anything. Serra went for a triangle but couldn’t grab it. The ref stands them up with one and a half minutes left in the fight. Serra reversed a take down with about 50 seconds left in the fight. Serra hit a good punch on the ground and finished the fight on top. The third round was close. They embraced after the fight and Hughes raised Serra’s arm before the decision came in. I’m thinking Serra 20-19 as Serra did more to try and finish the fight in the final round and neither guy did a significant amount of damage.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards for Matt Hughes.
Winner: Matt Hughes by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event: Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Rashad Evans © (18-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
This should be an interesting fight as both guys tend to like to counter punch. Evans is coming off big wins against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin and he has Yoda in his corner (Greg Jackson). Machida has an unorthodox style and is coming off of a decisive win against Thiago Silva. Rashad has never been knocked out, lands 58% of his take down attempts and has yet to attempt a submission in the UFC. Machida is the most elusive fighter in UFC history, he has never lost a round in the UFC, lands 65% of all strikes and has an 84% takedown defense. Machida is actually a favorite in this fight and the fans also texted him in as a 64% favorite. Machida is also a Karate Black Belt. Goldberg says that Machida has never been knocked down and Rogan says that he hasn’t taken a power punch since he fought BJ Penn. Rashad is a great wrestler and also has great power in his punches. Rashad is the third TUF fighter to try and defend a title successfully in the UFC (both Forrest and Serra were unsuccessful in their first title defenses).
The winner of this fight probably gets Rampage Jackson (since he was originally offered this title fight with Rashad but couldn’t go due to the short time needed to rebound from his fight with Jardine). Rashad/Rampage is a big time fight on paper that the UFC could really get behind due to all the trash talking that those guys would put on each other. I also like Rampage/Machida on paper as I think Rampage could be a difficult match-up for Machida since Rampage has solid boxing skills.
R1- No action in the first minute as Machida takes the center of the cage and Rashad dances around him. This is what I thought would happen since we have two counter punchers and Rashad didn’t really bring the action in the Liddell fight until Liddell brought it to him. Machida hits the first shot as he threw a leg kick that Rashad deflected but it sent him back into the cage. Machida landed another kick this one to the side and then Rashad answered with a kick. Machida threw a quick kick and then two quick punches all in a flurry of a second or two and Rashad went down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad recovered to his feet and they stood back up. Machida was lightning quick in that sequence. Machida takes round one 10-9 and looked good but didn’t do much damage.
R2- Machida takes the center of the cage again at the start of the round and the crowd chants “Machida…Machida…Machida”. So much for him being a boring fighter like some have said. Machida clinched Rashad but he got saved by the cage and Machida couldn’t get him down. Rashad threw a punch and missed and Machida came in with a flurry of punches but Rashad fought out of it by throwing some punches of his own. Rashad hit a side kick. Rashad came in for a looping punch but Machida beat him with a quick jab and then Machida caught him with a left hand knocking him down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad got to his feet and Machida chased him to the cage. Machida is now landing some big punches up against the cage. Machida hits Rashad with a wicked left and Rashad just crumbles to the ground as his leg falls underneath him. FANTASTIC showing by Lyoto Machida tonight. He just looked awesome. Rashad never looked comfortable tonight and Machida really just picked him apart in this fight. Machida hit him with 3 or 4 good punches on the cage and finally closed the door with the big left hand. Dana White straps the belt on Lyoto as he is announced as the NEW champion.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Lyoto Machida by KO R2 3:57
“The Dragon is the champion”- Lyoto Machida
Bring on Lyoto versus Rampage.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson vs. Mike Pyle
This is a fight from the pre-show. I like Brock Larson a lot and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t come out on top in this fight. Pyle is taking this fight on short notice. This is Pyle’s UFC debut. Larson is a very explosive fighter.
R1- Larson took him down but Pyle countered with some submission attempts. Larson stays on top with some Ground and Pound and Larson goes for the arm triangle and gets the win. Good showing by Larson.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
This is the UFC debut for Tim Hague. This is another pre-show fight.
R1- Barry hit a big right head kick and then hit another but Hague took him down at the one minute mark of the round. Hague got a guillotine and pulled out the upset. Rogan says Barry had this fight won but he just got sloppy.
Winner: Tim Hague by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:42
Sunday, April 26, 2009
UFC Fight Night 18 4/1/09 Preliminary Fights Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 18 Prelims
April 1, 2009
Nashville, Tn
Middleweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (9-3) vs. Matt Horwich (24-10-1)
R1- Kind of a blah first round until the end when Almeida took Horwich down with a guillotine and then Horwich came up with a heel hook. Pretty close first round.
R2- Almeida really dominates the first part of this round by taking Horwich’s guard and then getting in some good Ground and Pound. Almeida really dominated this entire round.
R3- Almeida gets two take downs in the first part of this round and continued to dominate Horwich in this round. Almedia wins this fight via unanimous decision.
All 3 judges scored the fight 30-27.
Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (12-4) vs. Nick Catone (7-0)
Credeur has a 2.5” reach and 3” height advantage in this fight. Tim looked really good in his dismantling of undefeated Nate Loughran at the Fight for the Troops back in December. Let’s see if he can beat his second undefeated fighter in a row.
R1- Catone got a take down early but Credeur grabbed an arm bar from the bottom but couldn’t fully lock it in and Catone returned to Credeur’s guard. Credeur grabs a heel hook but couldn’t hold on to that one either. Credeur also got a near kimura. Catone has had octagon control in this round but Credeur has almost finished the fight several times so far and landed another near arm bar towards the end of the round. Credeur 10-9.
R2- Catone got a take down and Credeur again looked for submissions and ended with a guillotine victory. Credeur looked really good for the second straight fight.
Winner: Tim Credeur by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 3:45
Middleweight Fight- Rob Kimmons (21-4) vs. Joe Vedepo (9-2)
R1- Lots of action early and Kimmons connected with a couple of punches. Both guys have been opened up. Kimmons catches Vedepo in a guillotine choke and Vedepo passes out in the submission.
Winner: Rob Kimmons by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:54
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Jesse Sanders (21-4)
Sanders has a 4” reach advantage. Brock Larson most recently fought for WEC and just destroyed Carlo Prater in their fight back in August of 2008.
R1- Larson got a take down within the first minute of the fight and then took Sanders back. Larson hit some good shots to the side of the head of Sanders. Larson is just destroying Sanders and locks in the Rear Naked Choke and submits him.
Larson looked awesome in this fight. It was his first UFC appearance since 2006 and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him in UFC. He has really looked good in his last two fights.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:01
Middleweight Fight- Tim McKenzie (12-5) vs. Aaron Simpson (4-0)
Simpson is another guy that is coming over from WEC. In Simpson’s last fight in WEC in November of 2008 he decimated David Avellan in 18 seconds with a right handed knockout reel punch. McKenzie has a green Mohawk. Simpson trains at Arizona Combat Sports.
R1- Lots of action early in this one as Simpson grabbed a clinch and hit a couple of shot and then took McKenzie down. Simpson got in a couple of shots before McKenzie got up. Simpson hit McKenzie with a good shot and he went down and then Simpson landed some Ground and Pound. Mario Yamazaki stepped in and stopped the fight earlier then he should have but Simpson looked great.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (punches) R1 1:40
Middleweight Fight- Jorge Rivera (15-7) vs. Nissen Osterneck (5-1)
It looks like it’s WEC night tonight as Osterneck is another WEC fighter debuting on this show. He last fought on WEC 36 and lost to Jake Rosholt by second round TKO but put on a good fight. This is Rivera’s first fight since the loss of his daughter.
R1- Osterneck got a take down to start the fight but Jorge swept him over and they stood back up. Rivera got a take down and almost fell victim to a triangle but maintained the dominant position and landed some punches but Nissen got back to his feet. Pretty even first round.
R2- Lots of clinching and pretty even fight until Rivera nailed a big right hand near the one minute mark and fell into Nissen’s guard. Rivera takes this round.
R3- Both guys are really tired in this round. Not a real exciting round
Judges score cards are: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28- split decision for Rivera.
Winner: Jorge Rivera by Decision (Split)
Catchweight Fight- Gleison Tibau (28-5) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-4)
This should have been a lightweight fight but both guys missed weight with Tibau weighing in at 156.5 and Stephens at 158. Hermes Franca is in Stephens’ corner.
R1- Tibau fought for a take down the entire first round and finally got one with a minute and a half left. Tibau then went for an arm triangle but couldn’t clamp it on. Tibau 10-9 after one round.
R2- Tibau got a take down about a minute and a half into this round. With about a minute left Tibau went for the arm triangle again but couldn’t get it. He ended up getting it clinched it but not tight enough to tap Stephens as he held on until the bell sounded. Tibau 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Tibau got a take down about half way through the round after avoiding some bombs from Stephens. Stephens grabbed a clinch in the last minute and tried some jumping knees but got take down again. Tibau will win this fight 30-27.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
April 1, 2009
Nashville, Tn
Middleweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (9-3) vs. Matt Horwich (24-10-1)
R1- Kind of a blah first round until the end when Almeida took Horwich down with a guillotine and then Horwich came up with a heel hook. Pretty close first round.
R2- Almeida really dominates the first part of this round by taking Horwich’s guard and then getting in some good Ground and Pound. Almeida really dominated this entire round.
R3- Almeida gets two take downs in the first part of this round and continued to dominate Horwich in this round. Almedia wins this fight via unanimous decision.
All 3 judges scored the fight 30-27.
Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (12-4) vs. Nick Catone (7-0)
Credeur has a 2.5” reach and 3” height advantage in this fight. Tim looked really good in his dismantling of undefeated Nate Loughran at the Fight for the Troops back in December. Let’s see if he can beat his second undefeated fighter in a row.
R1- Catone got a take down early but Credeur grabbed an arm bar from the bottom but couldn’t fully lock it in and Catone returned to Credeur’s guard. Credeur grabs a heel hook but couldn’t hold on to that one either. Credeur also got a near kimura. Catone has had octagon control in this round but Credeur has almost finished the fight several times so far and landed another near arm bar towards the end of the round. Credeur 10-9.
R2- Catone got a take down and Credeur again looked for submissions and ended with a guillotine victory. Credeur looked really good for the second straight fight.
Winner: Tim Credeur by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 3:45
Middleweight Fight- Rob Kimmons (21-4) vs. Joe Vedepo (9-2)
R1- Lots of action early and Kimmons connected with a couple of punches. Both guys have been opened up. Kimmons catches Vedepo in a guillotine choke and Vedepo passes out in the submission.
Winner: Rob Kimmons by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:54
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Jesse Sanders (21-4)
Sanders has a 4” reach advantage. Brock Larson most recently fought for WEC and just destroyed Carlo Prater in their fight back in August of 2008.
R1- Larson got a take down within the first minute of the fight and then took Sanders back. Larson hit some good shots to the side of the head of Sanders. Larson is just destroying Sanders and locks in the Rear Naked Choke and submits him.
Larson looked awesome in this fight. It was his first UFC appearance since 2006 and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him in UFC. He has really looked good in his last two fights.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:01
Middleweight Fight- Tim McKenzie (12-5) vs. Aaron Simpson (4-0)
Simpson is another guy that is coming over from WEC. In Simpson’s last fight in WEC in November of 2008 he decimated David Avellan in 18 seconds with a right handed knockout reel punch. McKenzie has a green Mohawk. Simpson trains at Arizona Combat Sports.
R1- Lots of action early in this one as Simpson grabbed a clinch and hit a couple of shot and then took McKenzie down. Simpson got in a couple of shots before McKenzie got up. Simpson hit McKenzie with a good shot and he went down and then Simpson landed some Ground and Pound. Mario Yamazaki stepped in and stopped the fight earlier then he should have but Simpson looked great.
Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (punches) R1 1:40
Middleweight Fight- Jorge Rivera (15-7) vs. Nissen Osterneck (5-1)
It looks like it’s WEC night tonight as Osterneck is another WEC fighter debuting on this show. He last fought on WEC 36 and lost to Jake Rosholt by second round TKO but put on a good fight. This is Rivera’s first fight since the loss of his daughter.
R1- Osterneck got a take down to start the fight but Jorge swept him over and they stood back up. Rivera got a take down and almost fell victim to a triangle but maintained the dominant position and landed some punches but Nissen got back to his feet. Pretty even first round.
R2- Lots of clinching and pretty even fight until Rivera nailed a big right hand near the one minute mark and fell into Nissen’s guard. Rivera takes this round.
R3- Both guys are really tired in this round. Not a real exciting round
Judges score cards are: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28- split decision for Rivera.
Winner: Jorge Rivera by Decision (Split)
Catchweight Fight- Gleison Tibau (28-5) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-4)
This should have been a lightweight fight but both guys missed weight with Tibau weighing in at 156.5 and Stephens at 158. Hermes Franca is in Stephens’ corner.
R1- Tibau fought for a take down the entire first round and finally got one with a minute and a half left. Tibau then went for an arm triangle but couldn’t clamp it on. Tibau 10-9 after one round.
R2- Tibau got a take down about a minute and a half into this round. With about a minute left Tibau went for the arm triangle again but couldn’t get it. He ended up getting it clinched it but not tight enough to tap Stephens as he held on until the bell sounded. Tibau 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Tibau got a take down about half way through the round after avoiding some bombs from Stephens. Stephens grabbed a clinch in the last minute and tried some jumping knees but got take down again. Tibau will win this fight 30-27.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
Thursday, November 27, 2008
WEC 35 8/3/08 Re-Cap
WEC: 8/3/08
Three title fights tonight. Let’s see if this show can live up to the “Faber vs. Pulver” card from June.
Bantamweight Fight- Damacio Page (10-3) vs. Brian Bowles (5-0)
Page was one of the TapouT fighters from the TV show last year if my memory serves me correctly. Bowles is from Georgia, so he’s a hometown boy for me.
R1- Both guys come out ready to fight. Page misses a flying kick and Bowles jumps on top. Mistake by Page and Bowles is in his full guard. Bowles grabs a guillotine against the cage. Page slips out of it and flips Bowles over in one motion and is now in Bowles guard and hits a couple of elbows. Page lets him up after not being able to improve his position. Both guys swinging and Page sticks his tongue out at Bowles after Bowles hits him with a combination. Bowles shoots in but Page stuffs him and picks him up but Bowles clamps on a guillotine while being elevated by Page. Page can’t get him off and taps to the guillotine. Quick and unexpected finish by Bowles. Very solid opening fight as it was only one round but was a good, exciting fight.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine)
Rashad Evans, Miguel Torres, Cain Velasquez, and Urijah Faber are all shown in attendance for the event.
Lightweight Title Fight- Jamie Varner (14-2) © vs. Marcus Hicks (8-0)
R1- They clinch early and Varner went for a knee and Hicks took him down but Varner quickly got back to his feet. Hicks powered him back to the ground and then hooked in a guillotine but Varner got out of it. Hicks slams Varner but Varner again quickly got up. Hicks is controlling the fight early. Varner went for a high kick and Hicks blocked it and shook is head no. Varner then hit a mid kick and got in what looked to be some nice knees but Hicks held on. Varner gets in a couple of shots and Hicks looks a bit wobbled. Varner is getting nailed with shots now and leaving himself open. Varner is laying it on him but Hicks is somehow keeping his composure and defending himself and trying to get back to his feet. Varner with more knees. Varner looks like he’s punching himself out. He might have made a mistake by not actually jumping on top of Hicks and instead letting him get back to his feet. But just as I type that Varner nails Hicks with a straight punch and the ref calls it. Hicks was controlling but got caught with those two knees and after that it was all Varner. Hicks has a really good chin.
Winner and still champion: Jamie Varner by TKO (strikes)
So far so good as we’ve had two solid (if short) under card fights.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (24-2) vs. Carlo Prater (23-6-1)
R1- Both guys start out tentative. Larson is jabbing about 5 feet away from Prater. Prater misses a kick. They stand off and Larson jumps at Prater and nails a big left hand and jumps on Prater and is throwing punches down on him and Mazzagatti stops the fight. Huge explosion from Larson and a big finish.
Winner: Brock Larson by TKO (strikes) R1
Next up they interview Urijah Faber at ringside. They talk about the Jens Pulver fight and the upcoming Mike Brown fight.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Brian Stann (6-0) © vs. Steve Cantwell (5-1)
Cantwell’s only loss came at the hands of Brian Stann.
R1- Decent start to the fight as both guys seem to want to keep the fight standing. First big strike is dealt by Cantwell at about a minute in a half as he dives in and gets some shots and a knee in on Stann and they throw down and Cantwell seems to be hitting on more shots. Cantwell goes in for a take down but Stann stuffs him and they clinch against the cage basically resting from their flurry. Cantwell comes in with a Superman punch which leads to both guys throwing down against the cage and then they clinch again. Cantwell has looked really good so far. Cantwell slips and lands on his back and Stann gets in between his legs and is landing some good punches on Cantwell. Cantwell gets back to his feet and they clinch. Good, exciting first round. Cantwell really controlled the round with the exception of slipping and Stann getting in some good punches at the end of the round. Cantwell 10-9 after one round.
R2- Stann hits a low kick early in the round and we will take a short break. Cantwell hits a good combo up against the cage and Stann clinches him. Cantwell has Stann up against the cage again and hits a flurry of good strikes. Stann looks real tired. Cantwell hits some more strikes and Stann staggers back against the cage. Stann somehow staying on his feet and finally gets taken out by a right hand.
Another good fight. So far we are 4 for 4 on entertaining fights on the show.
Winner and new champion: Steve Cantwell by TKO (strikes) R2 4:01
Featherweight Fight- Micah Miller (11-1) vs. Josh Grispi (11-1)
R1- Grispi hits a leg kick early as Miller was going for a punch and it takes Miller down off his feet. Grispi going after a lot of kicks early and hitting a good number of them. Grispi hits Miller with a big right hand and then jumps on him and hits some shots and Herb Dean stops the fight. Micah Miller jumps up pretty quickly kind of like the Werdum/Vera fight finish. Dean stopped the fight early but Miller was in a lot of trouble.
Winner: Josh Grispi by TKO (strikes) R1 0:50
Welterweight Title Fight- Carlos Condit (22-4) © vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-4)
Condit comes out to Rage Against The Machine.
R1- Pretty even fight in the first couple of minutes. Condit gets Miura in the clinch but Miura gets a nice judo throw and is immediately in side control but Condit quickly gets up. Miura gets a nice trip but again Condit gets back up. So Miura with some real nifty take downs but other than surprising Condit it hasn’t really done much in terms of damage. Condit pops Miura with a big right hand. Condit hits a body kick and then faked a kick and hit a punch that looked like it missed but I guess it connected because Miura went straight to the ground and Condit jumped on top. Condit is hitting some elbows and punches on Miura. Condit is smothering Miura and grabs an arm bar but Miura gets out and then hits Condit with a judo throw. This was a good first round and could have gone either way depending on how the judges score the fight. Do they score it for Miura based on his take downs or for Condit based on the fact that he did more damage in round one. I go for damage so I’ve got Condit up 10-9 in a close round one.
R2- Condit hits a few strikes early and then basically throws Miura down. Condit jumps on top in full guard. Miura hits an up kick but Condit gets back to the ground and is in half guard now. Condit gets full mount and is hitting some elbows and punches. Miura gives up his back and Condit goes for an arm bar. Miura gets out and gets into Condit full guard with about a minute and a half left in the round. Miura basically rests and the ref stands them back up. Miura goes for a throw but misses and Condit takes his back. Miura is able to get him back to full guard as the round ends with Condit at advantage. Condit really controlled this round. I’ve got Condit 20-18 through two rounds.
R3- Miura comes after Condit in this round with a little more vigor but Condit takes his back and then gets a guillotine choke in. Condit releases the choke and now has full mount. Condit hitting with some punches and elbows. Miura flips Condit over and gets in some shots. Miura is landing some really good punches while in full mount. Miura is unloading on Condit but Condit takes the punishment and rises to his feet. Condit hits a big knee and both guys are really throwing right now. Condit hits a right hand and takes Miura down. Condit in full mount and laying in some punches and elbows. Miura gives up his back and Condit is trying for a Rear Naked Choke but he runs out of time. Really great round. Condit controlled early, Miura then had Condit in danger and then Condit saved the round by coming back and owning the last minute and a half or so of the fight. Condit is up 30-27 in my book. Rounds 1 and 3 have been close but I’ve got Condit taking them.
R4- Miura hits a big right hand and then lands another on Condit early in the round. Miura gets a take down but Condit reverses it and has taken some good shots from Miura and is now on top. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches and Condit rolls through and goes after a knee bar but Miura slips out and is back in Condit’s guard. Both guys are winded at this point and the ref stands them up. Both guys are a little slow to their feet. Both guys are really throwing at each other almost like they are trying to end it in one punch. Condit sweeps Miura down and mounts him but isn’t doing much damage as he’s mostly resting. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches in on Condit and is really laying it in on him. Condit barely holds on and locks him up. Miura lets Condit get up and as he’s getting up barely misses a punch and Condit lands a nice knee in retaliation. Condit is landing some punches and the ref stops the fight. Kind of a weird finish as Condit didn’t really have a dominate position to finish the fight but Miura was on his stomach and not really defending after getting rocked by that knee. Miura was winning this round before eating that big knee. He made a huge mistake in missing that one big punch as Condit was getting up and Condit made him pay.
Really great fight. Definitely a low end FOTY candidate.
Winner and still champion: Carlos Condit by TKO (strikes) R4 4:43
Really good show with a great Main Event to cap off the night. Another really good performance for
Three title fights tonight. Let’s see if this show can live up to the “Faber vs. Pulver” card from June.
Bantamweight Fight- Damacio Page (10-3) vs. Brian Bowles (5-0)
Page was one of the TapouT fighters from the TV show last year if my memory serves me correctly. Bowles is from Georgia, so he’s a hometown boy for me.
R1- Both guys come out ready to fight. Page misses a flying kick and Bowles jumps on top. Mistake by Page and Bowles is in his full guard. Bowles grabs a guillotine against the cage. Page slips out of it and flips Bowles over in one motion and is now in Bowles guard and hits a couple of elbows. Page lets him up after not being able to improve his position. Both guys swinging and Page sticks his tongue out at Bowles after Bowles hits him with a combination. Bowles shoots in but Page stuffs him and picks him up but Bowles clamps on a guillotine while being elevated by Page. Page can’t get him off and taps to the guillotine. Quick and unexpected finish by Bowles. Very solid opening fight as it was only one round but was a good, exciting fight.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine)
Rashad Evans, Miguel Torres, Cain Velasquez, and Urijah Faber are all shown in attendance for the event.
Lightweight Title Fight- Jamie Varner (14-2) © vs. Marcus Hicks (8-0)
R1- They clinch early and Varner went for a knee and Hicks took him down but Varner quickly got back to his feet. Hicks powered him back to the ground and then hooked in a guillotine but Varner got out of it. Hicks slams Varner but Varner again quickly got up. Hicks is controlling the fight early. Varner went for a high kick and Hicks blocked it and shook is head no. Varner then hit a mid kick and got in what looked to be some nice knees but Hicks held on. Varner gets in a couple of shots and Hicks looks a bit wobbled. Varner is getting nailed with shots now and leaving himself open. Varner is laying it on him but Hicks is somehow keeping his composure and defending himself and trying to get back to his feet. Varner with more knees. Varner looks like he’s punching himself out. He might have made a mistake by not actually jumping on top of Hicks and instead letting him get back to his feet. But just as I type that Varner nails Hicks with a straight punch and the ref calls it. Hicks was controlling but got caught with those two knees and after that it was all Varner. Hicks has a really good chin.
Winner and still champion: Jamie Varner by TKO (strikes)
So far so good as we’ve had two solid (if short) under card fights.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (24-2) vs. Carlo Prater (23-6-1)
R1- Both guys start out tentative. Larson is jabbing about 5 feet away from Prater. Prater misses a kick. They stand off and Larson jumps at Prater and nails a big left hand and jumps on Prater and is throwing punches down on him and Mazzagatti stops the fight. Huge explosion from Larson and a big finish.
Winner: Brock Larson by TKO (strikes) R1
Next up they interview Urijah Faber at ringside. They talk about the Jens Pulver fight and the upcoming Mike Brown fight.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Brian Stann (6-0) © vs. Steve Cantwell (5-1)
Cantwell’s only loss came at the hands of Brian Stann.
R1- Decent start to the fight as both guys seem to want to keep the fight standing. First big strike is dealt by Cantwell at about a minute in a half as he dives in and gets some shots and a knee in on Stann and they throw down and Cantwell seems to be hitting on more shots. Cantwell goes in for a take down but Stann stuffs him and they clinch against the cage basically resting from their flurry. Cantwell comes in with a Superman punch which leads to both guys throwing down against the cage and then they clinch again. Cantwell has looked really good so far. Cantwell slips and lands on his back and Stann gets in between his legs and is landing some good punches on Cantwell. Cantwell gets back to his feet and they clinch. Good, exciting first round. Cantwell really controlled the round with the exception of slipping and Stann getting in some good punches at the end of the round. Cantwell 10-9 after one round.
R2- Stann hits a low kick early in the round and we will take a short break. Cantwell hits a good combo up against the cage and Stann clinches him. Cantwell has Stann up against the cage again and hits a flurry of good strikes. Stann looks real tired. Cantwell hits some more strikes and Stann staggers back against the cage. Stann somehow staying on his feet and finally gets taken out by a right hand.
Another good fight. So far we are 4 for 4 on entertaining fights on the show.
Winner and new champion: Steve Cantwell by TKO (strikes) R2 4:01
Featherweight Fight- Micah Miller (11-1) vs. Josh Grispi (11-1)
R1- Grispi hits a leg kick early as Miller was going for a punch and it takes Miller down off his feet. Grispi going after a lot of kicks early and hitting a good number of them. Grispi hits Miller with a big right hand and then jumps on him and hits some shots and Herb Dean stops the fight. Micah Miller jumps up pretty quickly kind of like the Werdum/Vera fight finish. Dean stopped the fight early but Miller was in a lot of trouble.
Winner: Josh Grispi by TKO (strikes) R1 0:50
Welterweight Title Fight- Carlos Condit (22-4) © vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-4)
Condit comes out to Rage Against The Machine.
R1- Pretty even fight in the first couple of minutes. Condit gets Miura in the clinch but Miura gets a nice judo throw and is immediately in side control but Condit quickly gets up. Miura gets a nice trip but again Condit gets back up. So Miura with some real nifty take downs but other than surprising Condit it hasn’t really done much in terms of damage. Condit pops Miura with a big right hand. Condit hits a body kick and then faked a kick and hit a punch that looked like it missed but I guess it connected because Miura went straight to the ground and Condit jumped on top. Condit is hitting some elbows and punches on Miura. Condit is smothering Miura and grabs an arm bar but Miura gets out and then hits Condit with a judo throw. This was a good first round and could have gone either way depending on how the judges score the fight. Do they score it for Miura based on his take downs or for Condit based on the fact that he did more damage in round one. I go for damage so I’ve got Condit up 10-9 in a close round one.
R2- Condit hits a few strikes early and then basically throws Miura down. Condit jumps on top in full guard. Miura hits an up kick but Condit gets back to the ground and is in half guard now. Condit gets full mount and is hitting some elbows and punches. Miura gives up his back and Condit goes for an arm bar. Miura gets out and gets into Condit full guard with about a minute and a half left in the round. Miura basically rests and the ref stands them back up. Miura goes for a throw but misses and Condit takes his back. Miura is able to get him back to full guard as the round ends with Condit at advantage. Condit really controlled this round. I’ve got Condit 20-18 through two rounds.
R3- Miura comes after Condit in this round with a little more vigor but Condit takes his back and then gets a guillotine choke in. Condit releases the choke and now has full mount. Condit hitting with some punches and elbows. Miura flips Condit over and gets in some shots. Miura is landing some really good punches while in full mount. Miura is unloading on Condit but Condit takes the punishment and rises to his feet. Condit hits a big knee and both guys are really throwing right now. Condit hits a right hand and takes Miura down. Condit in full mount and laying in some punches and elbows. Miura gives up his back and Condit is trying for a Rear Naked Choke but he runs out of time. Really great round. Condit controlled early, Miura then had Condit in danger and then Condit saved the round by coming back and owning the last minute and a half or so of the fight. Condit is up 30-27 in my book. Rounds 1 and 3 have been close but I’ve got Condit taking them.
R4- Miura hits a big right hand and then lands another on Condit early in the round. Miura gets a take down but Condit reverses it and has taken some good shots from Miura and is now on top. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches and Condit rolls through and goes after a knee bar but Miura slips out and is back in Condit’s guard. Both guys are winded at this point and the ref stands them up. Both guys are a little slow to their feet. Both guys are really throwing at each other almost like they are trying to end it in one punch. Condit sweeps Miura down and mounts him but isn’t doing much damage as he’s mostly resting. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches in on Condit and is really laying it in on him. Condit barely holds on and locks him up. Miura lets Condit get up and as he’s getting up barely misses a punch and Condit lands a nice knee in retaliation. Condit is landing some punches and the ref stops the fight. Kind of a weird finish as Condit didn’t really have a dominate position to finish the fight but Miura was on his stomach and not really defending after getting rocked by that knee. Miura was winning this round before eating that big knee. He made a huge mistake in missing that one big punch as Condit was getting up and Condit made him pay.
Really great fight. Definitely a low end FOTY candidate.
Winner and still champion: Carlos Condit by TKO (strikes) R4 4:43
Really good show with a great Main Event to cap off the night. Another really good performance for
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