UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy
The Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
March 27, 2010
The UFC has really been building up Georges St. Pierre as the pound for pound ace of the company. The only two multi-week build-up shows they've done have been for GSP (vs Penn and vs Hardy). GSP takes on Dan Hardy tonight in the Main Event for the Welterweight Championship. In the semi-Main Event Frank Mir will battle Shane Carwin for the Interim Heavyweight Championship and a shot at Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Jon Fitch was supposed to take on Thiago Alves in the battle of #2 and #3 Welterweights but Alves had to drop out and Ben Saunders has stepped up and will fight Jon "Decision Machine" Fitch.
Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller (16-2) vs. Mark Bocek (8-2)
Both guys have a 3 fight win streak. Miller is from New Jersey so he is the hometown guy in this fight. Bocek is a Jiu Jitsu and Kempo Black Belt. Miller is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt and has a background as a Division 1 wrestler. Bocek has a 4" reach advantage.
R1- Bocek shot in for a take down and Miller pulled guard with a guillotine but Bocek slipped out. Bocek got a driving take down about half way through the round. Miller grabbed a kimura and used it to sweep on top of Bocek and take his guard. Bocek was very close to tapping out. Miller also opened up a cut on the forehead of Bocek. Miller 10-9.
R2- Bocek got an early take down in this round. Bocek went for an arm triangle but was denied. Miller went for a leg lock but Bocek was able to counter the submission. Bocek is losing a lot of blood but was able to take full mount. Miller spun out of full mount but gave up his back to Bocek. Bocek trapped one of Miller's arms inside his body triangle so Miller only has one arm to defend a choke. Miller got to his feet and dropped back on Bocek but Bocek held on but couldn't finish before the bell rang. Bocek took this round and it's 19-19 going into the final round. Miller popped right up after this round and looks ready to fight. Bocek has lost a lot of blood so far.
R3- Miller hit a good right hand to start the round. Bocek went for a take down but got stuffed. Bocek went for another take down but Miller countered with a couple of knees. Bocek finally completed the take down with thirty seconds left in the round. Miller took Bocek's back in the last ten seconds of the round. This round was really all about positioning with not much damage done. I think this will be a split decision, very tough fight to call.
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards
Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders (8-1-2) vs. Jon Fitch (24-3)
Thiago Alves was supposed to take on Fitch but had to drop out and Saunders stepped up and told Dana White that he wanted the fight. Saunders has a 3" height and 3.5" reach advantage. I expect Fitch to smother Saunders and ride to a decision victory because that's what he does.
R1- Fitch got a take down about a minute into the fight. And then Fitch rode Saunders for the rest of the round. Fitch 10-9. I expect more of this in the next two rounds. Fitch is a tough fighter but he's got to be the most boring fighter in the UFC.
R2- Fitch got a take down one minute into the round. The ref stood up the fight with a minute left in the round despite Fitch landing some strikes. Fitch 20-18.
R3- Fitch had to work a little harder in this round and didn't get a take down until 2 minutes left in the round. Fitch landed some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round and cut Saunders up. Fitch takes this one easily 30-27. Not exciting but effective.
Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Kurt Pellegrino (20-4) vs. Fabricio Camoes (10-4-1)
Pellegrino is the local guy in this fight. Camoes has an 8 fight unbeaten streak and fought Caol Uno to a majority draw in his UFC debut.
R1- Camoes got Pellegrino down with a judo type throw and then took his back as Pellegrino stood up. Pellegrino dropped Camoes on his head and reversed positions and took top position. Camoes went for a triangle and then tried for a different submission but Pellegrino avoided them and moved to side control. Pellegrino landed some elbows and almost got caught in a choke but got out and maintained top position. Really good competitive first round. I've got Pellegrino 10-9.
R2- Camoes went for a take down but Pellegrino ended up on top briefly before they went back to their feet and Pellegrino got a driving take down. Pellegrino mounted with three minutes left in the round. Pellegrino really grinding out this round. Pellegrino clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and finished the fight. Great showing by Pellegrino.
Winner: Kurt Pellegrino by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 4:20
Interim Heavyweight Championship Fight- Frank Mir (13-4) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0)
The fighter who wins this will be guaranteed a title shot when Brock Lesnar is back to full health. Mir is consumed by his hatred for Lesnar. It will be interesting to see if this has focused him more for Carwin or if he's overlooked him. Carwin comes out to the Drowning Pool's "Bodies". Great MMA entrance song. Due to this being for the Interim title this is a 5-round fight but I don't think anybody expects this fight to go the distance. The average length of Carwin's fights is 1:07. Brock is ringside for this fight standing next to Dana White. He gets a good chorus of boos when he's shown.
R1- Mir drove in and Carwin took him back to the cage. Carwin landed some punches to the face against the cage and also landed some knees to Mir's leg. Mir came in and threw a combination but Carwin hooked him again and put him against the cage. Carwin landed some big short left uppercuts in the clinch and Mir folded to the floor. Carwin jumped on top and landed some good punches. Joe Rogan was calling it over but Mir managed to move to a better position but Carwin continued to land strikes to the side of the head and finished the fight. Great showing by Carwin.
Winner and new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion: Shane Carwin by KO R1 3:48
Post-fight they bring Brock into the ring and interview him. Brock tells Shane he's wearing a fake belt and that he has to come after the real one.
Next up they showed the Palharres/Drwal fight that was shown on the Prelim show on Spike TV.
Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St. Pierre (c) (19-2) vs. Dan Hardy (23-6)
The UFC tells us that GSP has a 87% defensive take down rate, a 78% take down accuracy rate and has 70% ground striking accuracy. Hardy defends 62% of his take down attempts, has never been knocked down in the UFC and lands 60% more strikes than his opponents. GSP is the big crowd favorite and Hardy the heel in this one based on the fan reactions at the introductions. Big "GSP" chant right after the introductions.
R1- GSP got a quick take down in the first 30 seconds of the fight. GSP passed Hardy's guard and took his back with 3 minutes left in the round. GSP tried for an arm bar but Hardy got up and GSP immediately took him down again before Hardy could separate. GSP mounted with a minute and a half left in the round. GSP went for some Ground and Pound and Hardy gave up his back. GSP landed some light strikes from the back and he clamped in a good arm bar but Hardy kept with it and broke the hold. Dominant round by GSP. Definitely a 10-9 round, borderline 10-8. It will be interesting to see how much damage GSP did to Hardy's arm in that round.
R2- GSP got a take down 1:25 into the round and moved into side control. Hardy gave up his back and GSP again went for the arm bar but Hardy was able to slip out and take GSP's guard. GSP quickly got back to his feet. GSP starts to land some strikes and then landed a driving take down with thirty seconds left in the round. GSP has dominated so far and is up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Hardy took a wild shot to open the round and GSP immediately dove in and got an easy take down. GSP stood up in Hardy's guard and landed some elbows and strikes. Hardy went for a triangle so GSP passed his guard. GSP grabbed Hardy's arm and tried for a kimura but Hardy broke loose and GSP went back to side control. Hardy got back to his feet for about a second and GSP took him down again with one minute left in the round. Hardy gave up his back and Hardy got out and GSP immediately took him back down. GSP 30-27, just a dominant performance so far by GSP.
R4- This round started just like the last one, Hardy threw a strike and missed big a large amount and GSP took him down. GSP immediately mounted and Hardy gave up his back. Hardy went for a leg lock but GSP easily threw him back to the ground and took his guard again. GSP grabbed a kimura but Hardy somehow survived. GSP is up 40-36 after four rounds.
R5- GSP got a take down twenty seconds into the round after landing a couple of strikes. GSP goes for another kimura but couldn't quite get it the way he wanted. GSP went for the kimura one for time and couldn't get it. Hardy got up and GSP slammed him back down with thirty seconds left in the fight. They fought for 25 minutes and GSP dominated every one of them. GSP 50-45 on my score card. Hardy showed a lot of heart by not tapping to a couple of tough GSP submissions but GSP was clearly in a class above Hardy tonight.
Judges score cards: 50-43, 50-44, 50-45
Winner: Georges St. Pierre by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-fight interview GSP says that he made a lot of technical mistakes and that he is going to talk with his trainer and get better. GSP apologizes to the fans for not finishing the fight. He says Hardy did better tonight in his first title shot then he did when he got his first shot at Matt Hughes.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rodney Wallace vs. Jared Hamman
This is a pre-show fight.
R1- Wallace landed a couple of strikes early and then got a take down. Wallace landed a couple of strikes and then a big uppercut and then chased Hamman down throwing some wild strikes and got another take down. Hamman landed a head kick and then tried to latch onto an arm but Wallace was able to take top position and try to recover. They stood up against the cage and threw strikes and Hamman landed a good punch. Hamman ended the round on top. Good round, Wallace looks pretty tired going into the second round.
R2- Wallace got an early take down but Hamman got back to his feet and landed a judo throw and took top position. Wallace was able to turn him over and take top position but Hamman landed some good strikes from the bottom. Wallace went for a triangle and missed and Hamman took top position and landed a good strike. Hamman landed some good elbows from the top.
R3- Wallace got a take down after his corner told him not to and Hamman quickly flipped him over and took top position. They got back to their feet and Wallace landed some good strikes and got another take down but Hamman again was able to flip him over and take top position. The ref stood them back up and Wallace landed a couple of more strikes but then Hamman was able to take him down. Wallace got back to his feet and then tired a kimura but couldn't quite turn it and Hamman once again took top position. Hamman will most likely take this 29-28.
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards
Winner: Jared Hamman by Decision (Unanimous)
Showing posts with label Dan Hardy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Hardy. Show all posts
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Sunday, November 15, 2009
UFC 105: "Couture vs. Vera" Re-Cap
UFC 105 Couture vs. Vera
11/14/09
Men Arena
Manchester, UK
Spike TV
The UFC returns to England and Spike TV tonight with a good card. Randy Couture Main Events in a Light Heavyweight Fight tonight against Brandon Vera. Brits Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy are in action against Denis Kang and Mike Swick. The last TUF winner Ross Pearson is also in action as is TUF Brit alum James Wilks.
Lightweight Fight- Ross Pearson (11-3) vs. Aaron Riley (28-11-1)
Riley is fighting out of Greg Jackson’s camp. Pearson is the latest TUF winner and is a Brit so he gets a huge reaction from the fans.
R1- Pearson is landing better strikes in the opening part of the round. Pearson looks really good in this first round and is getting the better of Riley in this first round. Pearson 10-9.
R2- Pearson continues his advantage this round and opens up a big cut on Riley’s head towards the end of the round and the doctor stops the fight due to the cut.
Really good performance by Ross Pearson.
Winner: Ross Pearson by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R2 4:38
Welterweight Fight- James Wilks (7-2) vs. Matt Brown (12-7)
Wilks was the other TUF winner from the same show Pearson was on. Brown is a TUF alum that has looked really good in his last few fights. Matt Brown has been training with Matt Hume.
R1- Pretty even first round. Brown landed some punches in the middle of the round and Wilks towards the end. Brown clamped in a guillotine towards the end of the round but couldn’t hold it and Wilks got a take down. Really close round.
R2- Brown landed a flying knee after Wilks slipped and then Brown went down to the ground and landed some strikes. Wilks was able to grab a leg lock to slip out of the bad position. Brown lands some good punches at the one minute mark. Brown clamped in a triangle but the buzzer sounded. Probably 19-19 right now but the momentum is fully with Brown right now.
R3- Wilks went for a couple of submission early but Brown was able to come back and Ground and Pound Wilks for the TKO win.
Winner: Matt Brown by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:27
Lightweight Fight- Andre Winner (10-3-1) vs. Rolando Delgado (8-4-1)
Delgado has a 4” reach and 4” height advantage.
R1- Winner hit a big time right hand in the first minute and then jumped on top but Roli was able to defend and get out of trouble. Winner hit a huge right hand late in the round and that was all she wrote. Winner looked really good in this fight.
Winner: Andre Winner by KO R1 3:22
Tito Ortiz is on via satellite and Joe Rogan interviews him about next weeks fight against Forrest Griffin.
Middleweight- Michael Bisping (18-2) vs. Denis Kang (32-11-1)
R1- Kang caught Bisping early and followed him to the ground but Bisping was able to lock him up and avoid more damage. Kang stayed on top of Bisping and was able to land some decent shots but Bisping did a good job in avoiding damage. Kang 10 Bisping 9.
R2- Bisping got a take down two minutes into the round. Bisping was able to land some good Ground and Pound. Kang got to his feet but not before taking some good shots. Bisping got another take down and landed more shots. Bisping opened up a cut near Kang’s eye. Bisping got another take down with one minute left in the round. Bisping landed knees to the side and finished Kang via TKO with punches. Good performance by Bisping.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (punches) R2 4:24
Light Heavyweight Fight- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman
This fight was on the pre-show.
R1- These guys throw leather right from the out-set. Big straight right hand from Gustafsson right after a re-start and then he jumped on top and quickly finished the fight. This one was a short but action packed fight.
Winner: Alexander Gustafsson by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:41
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (14-2) vs. Dan Hardy (22-6-1)
Swick has a 3” reach advantage. The winner should get a shot at GSP’s Welterweight Championship. This is the Co-Main Event of the evening. GSP is sitting next to Dana White watching the fight.
R1- Lots of clinching in this first round. Neither guy established themselves in this round. Pretty much a deadlocked round.
R2- Hardy landed a punch early that hurt Swick but he stayed on his feet. After that punch they went back to the clinch. Swick landed some shots in the final minute of the round but nothing as good as Hardy’s initial punch of the round. Hardy took this round.
R3- They exchange some leather early in the round with both guys landing shots. Hardy hurt Swick again with a punch but didn’t knock him down. Hardy went for a take down and Swick tried to counter with a guillotine but Hardy was able to get him to the mat. Hardy cut Swick with some elbows but the ref stood the fight back up. Hardy’s going to take this round so I’ve got Hardy winning two rounds and thus the fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Unanimous)
Post Fight they bring GSP in the cage and hype up GSP/Dan Hardy.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Randy Couture (16-10) vs. Brandon Vera (11-3)
Vera has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Vera came out swinging with a kick and then some punches. Randy clinched him against the cage but the ref broke it up after a minute. Randy quickly went back to the clinch against the cage and then got a take down but Vera got back to his feet with little damage. Randy didn’t inflict much damage but he controlled 4 and a half minutes of the first round. Couture 10 Vera 9.
R2- Lots of clinching by Couture. Vera lands some strikes and hurts Couture with a kick and follows him to the ground but Couture locks him up in his guard. Couture clinched Vera up against the cage to the end the round. Vera takes this round and we are at 19-19 going into the final stanza. Randy has a cut near his eye.
R3- Randy landed some good shots to start the round. Randy controlled the first part of the round by clinching Vera against the cage. Vera hit some good kicks after they were separated. Vera got Randy to the ground with under a minute left and landed in full mount but Couture was able to roll out with 15 seconds left and they got back to their feet and exchanged knees and punches. Really close round and really close fight.
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards.
Winner: Randy Couture by Decision (Unanimous)
11/14/09
Men Arena
Manchester, UK
Spike TV
The UFC returns to England and Spike TV tonight with a good card. Randy Couture Main Events in a Light Heavyweight Fight tonight against Brandon Vera. Brits Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy are in action against Denis Kang and Mike Swick. The last TUF winner Ross Pearson is also in action as is TUF Brit alum James Wilks.
Lightweight Fight- Ross Pearson (11-3) vs. Aaron Riley (28-11-1)
Riley is fighting out of Greg Jackson’s camp. Pearson is the latest TUF winner and is a Brit so he gets a huge reaction from the fans.
R1- Pearson is landing better strikes in the opening part of the round. Pearson looks really good in this first round and is getting the better of Riley in this first round. Pearson 10-9.
R2- Pearson continues his advantage this round and opens up a big cut on Riley’s head towards the end of the round and the doctor stops the fight due to the cut.
Really good performance by Ross Pearson.
Winner: Ross Pearson by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R2 4:38
Welterweight Fight- James Wilks (7-2) vs. Matt Brown (12-7)
Wilks was the other TUF winner from the same show Pearson was on. Brown is a TUF alum that has looked really good in his last few fights. Matt Brown has been training with Matt Hume.
R1- Pretty even first round. Brown landed some punches in the middle of the round and Wilks towards the end. Brown clamped in a guillotine towards the end of the round but couldn’t hold it and Wilks got a take down. Really close round.
R2- Brown landed a flying knee after Wilks slipped and then Brown went down to the ground and landed some strikes. Wilks was able to grab a leg lock to slip out of the bad position. Brown lands some good punches at the one minute mark. Brown clamped in a triangle but the buzzer sounded. Probably 19-19 right now but the momentum is fully with Brown right now.
R3- Wilks went for a couple of submission early but Brown was able to come back and Ground and Pound Wilks for the TKO win.
Winner: Matt Brown by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:27
Lightweight Fight- Andre Winner (10-3-1) vs. Rolando Delgado (8-4-1)
Delgado has a 4” reach and 4” height advantage.
R1- Winner hit a big time right hand in the first minute and then jumped on top but Roli was able to defend and get out of trouble. Winner hit a huge right hand late in the round and that was all she wrote. Winner looked really good in this fight.
Winner: Andre Winner by KO R1 3:22
Tito Ortiz is on via satellite and Joe Rogan interviews him about next weeks fight against Forrest Griffin.
Middleweight- Michael Bisping (18-2) vs. Denis Kang (32-11-1)
R1- Kang caught Bisping early and followed him to the ground but Bisping was able to lock him up and avoid more damage. Kang stayed on top of Bisping and was able to land some decent shots but Bisping did a good job in avoiding damage. Kang 10 Bisping 9.
R2- Bisping got a take down two minutes into the round. Bisping was able to land some good Ground and Pound. Kang got to his feet but not before taking some good shots. Bisping got another take down and landed more shots. Bisping opened up a cut near Kang’s eye. Bisping got another take down with one minute left in the round. Bisping landed knees to the side and finished Kang via TKO with punches. Good performance by Bisping.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (punches) R2 4:24
Light Heavyweight Fight- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman
This fight was on the pre-show.
R1- These guys throw leather right from the out-set. Big straight right hand from Gustafsson right after a re-start and then he jumped on top and quickly finished the fight. This one was a short but action packed fight.
Winner: Alexander Gustafsson by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:41
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (14-2) vs. Dan Hardy (22-6-1)
Swick has a 3” reach advantage. The winner should get a shot at GSP’s Welterweight Championship. This is the Co-Main Event of the evening. GSP is sitting next to Dana White watching the fight.
R1- Lots of clinching in this first round. Neither guy established themselves in this round. Pretty much a deadlocked round.
R2- Hardy landed a punch early that hurt Swick but he stayed on his feet. After that punch they went back to the clinch. Swick landed some shots in the final minute of the round but nothing as good as Hardy’s initial punch of the round. Hardy took this round.
R3- They exchange some leather early in the round with both guys landing shots. Hardy hurt Swick again with a punch but didn’t knock him down. Hardy went for a take down and Swick tried to counter with a guillotine but Hardy was able to get him to the mat. Hardy cut Swick with some elbows but the ref stood the fight back up. Hardy’s going to take this round so I’ve got Hardy winning two rounds and thus the fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Unanimous)
Post Fight they bring GSP in the cage and hype up GSP/Dan Hardy.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Randy Couture (16-10) vs. Brandon Vera (11-3)
Vera has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Vera came out swinging with a kick and then some punches. Randy clinched him against the cage but the ref broke it up after a minute. Randy quickly went back to the clinch against the cage and then got a take down but Vera got back to his feet with little damage. Randy didn’t inflict much damage but he controlled 4 and a half minutes of the first round. Couture 10 Vera 9.
R2- Lots of clinching by Couture. Vera lands some strikes and hurts Couture with a kick and follows him to the ground but Couture locks him up in his guard. Couture clinched Vera up against the cage to the end the round. Vera takes this round and we are at 19-19 going into the final stanza. Randy has a cut near his eye.
R3- Randy landed some good shots to start the round. Randy controlled the first part of the round by clinching Vera against the cage. Vera hit some good kicks after they were separated. Vera got Randy to the ground with under a minute left and landed in full mount but Couture was able to roll out with 15 seconds left and they got back to their feet and exchanged knees and punches. Really close round and really close fight.
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards.
Winner: Randy Couture by Decision (Unanimous)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
UFC 99: "The Comeback" 6/13/09 Re-Cap
UFC 99: The Comeback
6/13/09
Cologne, Germany
Lanxess Arena
The headliner of this show is Rich Franklin versus Wanderlei Silva in what should be an action packed contest. The undercard is stacked with Cheick Kongo/Cain Velasquez, Mike Swick/Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis/Dan Hardy and Mirko Cro Cop. This should be an exciting night of fights. And I actually forgot about Caol Uno against Spencer Fisher and that could be the Fight of the Night.
Welterweight Fight- Dan Hardy (21-6) vs. Marcus Davis (21-5)
There has been a big war of the words between these guys for several weeks so it’s nice to see them get in the cage and settle their differences. Marcus Davis is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Chris Lytle and he submitted Paul Kelly previous to that. Dan Hardy is on a 5-fight win streak. Rogan says that he’s never seen Marcus Davis so fired up, in shape and ready for a fight in his life. Hardy has a 4” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Neither guy wanted to make a mistake early. Davis made the first move by going for a take down and Davis finally got him down after a long struggle and got a mount. Hardy was able to get out of the mount but Davis leaned on him and got some Ground and Pound. Hardy got to his feet and hit Davis with a good punch. Davis slipped and Hardy caught him with a couple more shots but Davis tied him up. Davis looks like he got cut. This round was all Davis with the exception of about a 45 second explosion by Hardy. I’ve got Davis 10-9 but it was close due to the shots Hardy landed near the end of the round.
R2- They stand at the beginning of this round and exchange and Hardy gets a clinch and lands a knee that hurts Marcus. Hardy jumps on top to try and finish but Davis was able to protect so he didn’t get finished. Davis went for an arm bar from the guard position but Hardy was able to stop the submission. Davis is landing some elbows from the bottom and is very active in Hardy’s guard and the ref stands them up. Davis got a take down with 30 seconds left in the round and passed guard but all he could get was some brief Ground and Pound. This was pretty much a reversal of the first round as Hardy controlled the entire round and Davis controlled the last 45 seconds. I give this one to Hardy and have the fight 19-19 going into the third and deciding round.
R3- Davis landed a left that floored Hardy at the start of the round, it looked like Hardy got caught off balance. Davis took Hardy’s guard. Davis went for a heel hook but Hardy was able to spin out and both fighters got back to their feet. Hardy was able to get a take down with about 2 minutes left in the fight. Hardy hit an elbow and the ref stopped the fight to check the cut. It was on his nose so they continued the fight. Hardy is getting some Ground and Pound and Davis continues to bleed but Hardy doesn’t do enough and the ref stands the fighters up with 45 seconds left in the fight. Davis is having trouble seeing out of his eyes due to the blood and they tied up to finish the fight. I’ve got to give the fight to Hardy due to damage inflicted on his opponent. Close fight, I’ve got Hardy 29-28 on my score card. The winner of this is right on the verge of being a Top 10 Welterweight in the world and could be a couple of victories away from a title shot.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Hardy, 29-28 Davis and 29-28 Hardy.
Hardy goes to shake Marcus’s hand after the decision and Davis shrugs him off. Hardy says he respects Davis and that he is a tough fighter.
Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Caol Uno (25-11-4) vs. Spencer Fisher (23-4)
This is Uno’s first fight in his return to the UFC. Uno comes out to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
R1- They danced around for a while. Spencer went for a punch and Uno went for a take down and Spencer stuffed it and they clinched against the cage. The ref finally separated them with two minutes left in the round. Spencer landed a couple of punches and then blocked another Uno take down. This was a pretty even uneventful first round. I’ve got Spencer taking this one 10-9 but it’s anybody’s fight.
R2- Uno got a single leg after ducking a punch but Spencer got up quickly and separated. Uno went for another take down but was stuffed. Uno lands a couple of leg kicks but then gets another take down stuffed but Spencer stayed on him and Uno rolled him over and took his guard but Spencer was able to get back to his feet again. Uno is just constantly going for take downs. Spencer went for a sweep but got taken down by Uno and Spencer again quickly got up. This round went to Uno with his repeated take downs even though he didn’t do a lot once he got there. I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Spencer landed a good left hand in the first minute of the fight but Uno kept coming with a take down attempt. Uno went for a leg kick but Spencer punched him and Uno’s momentum took him down to the mat. Spencer got a take down but Uno quickly rolled him off. Uno mounted Spencer and got in a couple of elbows and punches and is finishing this round in an impressive fashion. Uno get the nod in this round due to his final push. I’ve got Uno 29-28 in a rather uneventful fight.
Judges score cards say: all judges score the fight for Spencer Fisher (no scores announced)
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2)
This fight should be the opposite of our last fight. Saunders looked great back in December against Brandon Wolfe as he finished him by TKO in the first round. Mike Swick fought on that same card in December and got a 33 second victory over Jonathon Goulet. At UFC 85 Swick defeated Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision. Swick is 3-0 as a Welterweight in the UFC and I’ve currently got Swick ranked #8 in the World Welterweight rankings.
R1- Saunders immediately pulls guard, which is a little surprising. Saunders is just holding him with Swick landing some little punches. Swick asks Saunders if he’s going to hold him all night. Ref stands them up with 1:30 left in the round. Swick landed some good punches after a Saunders kick. Swick takes this round 10-9 and Saunders rubs Swick’s head on the way back to his corner.
R2- Swick quickly mounted in less than a minute but Saunders was able to move him back to guard. The ref stands them up with 2:40 left in the round. Swick hit a good combination and drove Saunders back in the cage. Swick kept coming and Saunders went down Swick jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight. Swick jumped over the cage and gave Dana and his guys high fives and jumped back in the cage. Another great showing by Swick.
Post-fight Swick says he’s 9-1 in the UFC and wants to fight top guys. He names Matt Hughes, GSP and Thiago Alves.
Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:47
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4)
Cro Cop has looked less than stellar in his last two fights. Cro Cop looked bored in his fight against Hong Man Choi and in the fight before that he was on the ropes against Alistair Overeem when Cro Cop got low blowed and sold like he’d been taken out by a shotgun and could not continue. Overeem was dominating Cro Cop before the low blow. Al-Turk comes out to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. Mirko comes out to Duran Duran, I only know that because my sister was a big fan. Mirko gets a good reaction from the crowd despite his choice of theme music. Rogan says there are lots of fans here from Croatia. Al-Turk seems like the sacrificial lamb but let’s see how it plays out in the cage.
R1- Al-Turk is the aggressor early. Rogan points out that Al-Turk is telegraphing his shots. Mirko landed a good combo and is chasing down Al-Turk. Mirko gets on top and gets some shots in and then lets Al-Turk up. Cro Cop hits a punch that looked like it was an eye poke and Al-Turk covered up but the ref didn’t do anything and then Cro Cop finished him off when the ref didn’t step in. Miragliotta with another poor officiating job.
Cro Cop looked a little better than his previous two fights but he didn’t look much like he’s going to be a threat in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Throw him in there with Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos or Cain Velaquez if he beats Kongo.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-4-1)
Both of these fighters are coming in with momentum. At UFC 97 Kongo beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the second round and at UFC 92 Kongo just completely overwhelmed Mustafa Al-Turk. Velasquez dominated Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 and won via TKO in the second round. Kongo comes out to some Jimi Hendrix. Kongo has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage. Velasquez is 9 lbs heavier. I’ve got both of these guys right outside the Top 10 Heavyweight rankings so the winner is really going to rise up the ranks.
R1- Valesquez stalks Kongo down early but Kongo hits some nice shots and brings Cain to his knees. He landed two nice right hands but Cain stayed with it and got a double leg take down. Cain mounts and looks like he has a choke in but Kongo rolled out of the choke. Kongo got back to his feet but got slammed. Cain lands some nice shots and again goes for a choke but can’t get it locked in. Cain is landing some nice shots on Kongo. Kongo got to his feet again and again got slammed for his trouble. After those first two punches Cain just dominated Kongo. Kongo was two punches away from having a 10-8 round scored against him. Cain takes this round 10-9.
R2- Kongo landed another good punch on Cain and he went down to his feet. Kongo swung for the fences but then clinched Cain against the cage. Cain got a take down about one minute into the round. Cain hits some elbows and then lands some good punches against cage. Kongo got up but got taken down again. Cain hits some big knees to the body. Cain takes this round 10-9 so he’s up 20-18.
R3- Kongo looked like he landed another good strike but Cain wrapped him up. Kongo briefly got Cain down but then Cain got on top. This is reminiscent of Lesnar/Herring. Both fighters are bleeding. Kong is bleeding from the nose and Cain from the mouth. Kongo got to his feet at the two minute mark and got loose and threw some punches but Cain took him down again. Cain is landing some consistent punches on Kongo from the top. This was a good fight and FOTN so far. Cain wins 30-27 on my score card.
This was an interesting fight because of the the dominance of Cain on the ground and Kongo’s dominance on his feet. Cain’s technique and wrestling was just too much for Kongo. Cain was very impressive and definitely proved he could take a punch. The only question, as Rogan put it, is if Cain has the power to finish some of the Top Heavyweights in the UFC.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event Catchweight Fight (195lbs)- Rich Franklin (26-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)
This is a huge fight for both of these guys as they are coming off losses and adjusting to new weight classes. Franklin lost his last fight to Dan Henderson in a close decision loss and Silva lost his last fight by Knockout to Rampage Jackson. The winner of this fight could be within a fight or two of a title shot. I could realistically see the UFC giving Franklin a shot at Lyoto Machida (if he beats Shogun before he faces the winner of Rampage) and I could see Wanderlei get a shot at Anderson (because of the feud they built up on the Countdown show and Dana is looking for guys that will stand toe to toe with Anderson). Rogan points out that this is the first time that Wanderlei is cutting weight and Rogan says the rumor is that Wanderlei had to cut 12 pounds yesterday to make the 195 lb weight limit. Franklin has a 2” height and reach advantage.
R1- Wanderlei got a take down with two minutes left in the round after some fairly even stand-up. Franklin gets back to his feet with a minute left in the round and gets on top of Wanderlei and is landing some good Ground and Pound. Wanderlei back to his feet but he took some shots and looks like he has a cut. Franklin hit a couple of shots to end the round and he took this one 10-9 on my score card.
R2- Both guys are throwing some haymakers but nobody has hit anything substantial so far. Franklin caught Silva and his momentum took him to the mat but Franklin did not follow him to the ground. Franklin hit a good combo. Franklin got hit with a good left hand in an exchange and his knees briefly buckled. Wanderlei landed another good right hand and had Franklin reeling back into the cage. Franklin hit a high kick that was partially blocked but it seemed to hurt Wanderlei. This was a really hard round to judge. It seemed like Wanderlei hurt Franklin a couple times during the round so I’ve got to give the round to Wanderlei and that makes hit 19-19.
R3- Wanderlei landed a good knee after both guys threw a lot of punches. Wanderlei is the aggressor this round with Franklin choosing to stick and move. Wanderlei and Franklin are up against the cage and both guys were throwing bombs but not landing. Franklin got a take down and then they stood up with Wanderlei landed elbows and Franklin landing punches. Great finish to the fight as the crowd was on it’s feet cheering at the end. This third and final round was pretty much even. I think Wanderlei took this round which means he won the fight on my score card 29-28. Very close fight and this over took Velasquez/Kongo as FOTN.
Judges score the fight: all 3 judges score the fight for Rich Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-Fight Franklin makes one of his corner guys do push-ups.
This was a solid show with the two closing fights really delivering. Mike Swick really looked good again and I’m interested to see how Dan Hardy continues to progress in his weight class.
6/13/09
Cologne, Germany
Lanxess Arena
The headliner of this show is Rich Franklin versus Wanderlei Silva in what should be an action packed contest. The undercard is stacked with Cheick Kongo/Cain Velasquez, Mike Swick/Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis/Dan Hardy and Mirko Cro Cop. This should be an exciting night of fights. And I actually forgot about Caol Uno against Spencer Fisher and that could be the Fight of the Night.
Welterweight Fight- Dan Hardy (21-6) vs. Marcus Davis (21-5)
There has been a big war of the words between these guys for several weeks so it’s nice to see them get in the cage and settle their differences. Marcus Davis is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Chris Lytle and he submitted Paul Kelly previous to that. Dan Hardy is on a 5-fight win streak. Rogan says that he’s never seen Marcus Davis so fired up, in shape and ready for a fight in his life. Hardy has a 4” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Neither guy wanted to make a mistake early. Davis made the first move by going for a take down and Davis finally got him down after a long struggle and got a mount. Hardy was able to get out of the mount but Davis leaned on him and got some Ground and Pound. Hardy got to his feet and hit Davis with a good punch. Davis slipped and Hardy caught him with a couple more shots but Davis tied him up. Davis looks like he got cut. This round was all Davis with the exception of about a 45 second explosion by Hardy. I’ve got Davis 10-9 but it was close due to the shots Hardy landed near the end of the round.
R2- They stand at the beginning of this round and exchange and Hardy gets a clinch and lands a knee that hurts Marcus. Hardy jumps on top to try and finish but Davis was able to protect so he didn’t get finished. Davis went for an arm bar from the guard position but Hardy was able to stop the submission. Davis is landing some elbows from the bottom and is very active in Hardy’s guard and the ref stands them up. Davis got a take down with 30 seconds left in the round and passed guard but all he could get was some brief Ground and Pound. This was pretty much a reversal of the first round as Hardy controlled the entire round and Davis controlled the last 45 seconds. I give this one to Hardy and have the fight 19-19 going into the third and deciding round.
R3- Davis landed a left that floored Hardy at the start of the round, it looked like Hardy got caught off balance. Davis took Hardy’s guard. Davis went for a heel hook but Hardy was able to spin out and both fighters got back to their feet. Hardy was able to get a take down with about 2 minutes left in the fight. Hardy hit an elbow and the ref stopped the fight to check the cut. It was on his nose so they continued the fight. Hardy is getting some Ground and Pound and Davis continues to bleed but Hardy doesn’t do enough and the ref stands the fighters up with 45 seconds left in the fight. Davis is having trouble seeing out of his eyes due to the blood and they tied up to finish the fight. I’ve got to give the fight to Hardy due to damage inflicted on his opponent. Close fight, I’ve got Hardy 29-28 on my score card. The winner of this is right on the verge of being a Top 10 Welterweight in the world and could be a couple of victories away from a title shot.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Hardy, 29-28 Davis and 29-28 Hardy.
Hardy goes to shake Marcus’s hand after the decision and Davis shrugs him off. Hardy says he respects Davis and that he is a tough fighter.
Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Caol Uno (25-11-4) vs. Spencer Fisher (23-4)
This is Uno’s first fight in his return to the UFC. Uno comes out to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
R1- They danced around for a while. Spencer went for a punch and Uno went for a take down and Spencer stuffed it and they clinched against the cage. The ref finally separated them with two minutes left in the round. Spencer landed a couple of punches and then blocked another Uno take down. This was a pretty even uneventful first round. I’ve got Spencer taking this one 10-9 but it’s anybody’s fight.
R2- Uno got a single leg after ducking a punch but Spencer got up quickly and separated. Uno went for another take down but was stuffed. Uno lands a couple of leg kicks but then gets another take down stuffed but Spencer stayed on him and Uno rolled him over and took his guard but Spencer was able to get back to his feet again. Uno is just constantly going for take downs. Spencer went for a sweep but got taken down by Uno and Spencer again quickly got up. This round went to Uno with his repeated take downs even though he didn’t do a lot once he got there. I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Spencer landed a good left hand in the first minute of the fight but Uno kept coming with a take down attempt. Uno went for a leg kick but Spencer punched him and Uno’s momentum took him down to the mat. Spencer got a take down but Uno quickly rolled him off. Uno mounted Spencer and got in a couple of elbows and punches and is finishing this round in an impressive fashion. Uno get the nod in this round due to his final push. I’ve got Uno 29-28 in a rather uneventful fight.
Judges score cards say: all judges score the fight for Spencer Fisher (no scores announced)
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2)
This fight should be the opposite of our last fight. Saunders looked great back in December against Brandon Wolfe as he finished him by TKO in the first round. Mike Swick fought on that same card in December and got a 33 second victory over Jonathon Goulet. At UFC 85 Swick defeated Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision. Swick is 3-0 as a Welterweight in the UFC and I’ve currently got Swick ranked #8 in the World Welterweight rankings.
R1- Saunders immediately pulls guard, which is a little surprising. Saunders is just holding him with Swick landing some little punches. Swick asks Saunders if he’s going to hold him all night. Ref stands them up with 1:30 left in the round. Swick landed some good punches after a Saunders kick. Swick takes this round 10-9 and Saunders rubs Swick’s head on the way back to his corner.
R2- Swick quickly mounted in less than a minute but Saunders was able to move him back to guard. The ref stands them up with 2:40 left in the round. Swick hit a good combination and drove Saunders back in the cage. Swick kept coming and Saunders went down Swick jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight. Swick jumped over the cage and gave Dana and his guys high fives and jumped back in the cage. Another great showing by Swick.
Post-fight Swick says he’s 9-1 in the UFC and wants to fight top guys. He names Matt Hughes, GSP and Thiago Alves.
Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:47
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4)
Cro Cop has looked less than stellar in his last two fights. Cro Cop looked bored in his fight against Hong Man Choi and in the fight before that he was on the ropes against Alistair Overeem when Cro Cop got low blowed and sold like he’d been taken out by a shotgun and could not continue. Overeem was dominating Cro Cop before the low blow. Al-Turk comes out to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. Mirko comes out to Duran Duran, I only know that because my sister was a big fan. Mirko gets a good reaction from the crowd despite his choice of theme music. Rogan says there are lots of fans here from Croatia. Al-Turk seems like the sacrificial lamb but let’s see how it plays out in the cage.
R1- Al-Turk is the aggressor early. Rogan points out that Al-Turk is telegraphing his shots. Mirko landed a good combo and is chasing down Al-Turk. Mirko gets on top and gets some shots in and then lets Al-Turk up. Cro Cop hits a punch that looked like it was an eye poke and Al-Turk covered up but the ref didn’t do anything and then Cro Cop finished him off when the ref didn’t step in. Miragliotta with another poor officiating job.
Cro Cop looked a little better than his previous two fights but he didn’t look much like he’s going to be a threat in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Throw him in there with Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos or Cain Velaquez if he beats Kongo.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-4-1)
Both of these fighters are coming in with momentum. At UFC 97 Kongo beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the second round and at UFC 92 Kongo just completely overwhelmed Mustafa Al-Turk. Velasquez dominated Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 and won via TKO in the second round. Kongo comes out to some Jimi Hendrix. Kongo has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage. Velasquez is 9 lbs heavier. I’ve got both of these guys right outside the Top 10 Heavyweight rankings so the winner is really going to rise up the ranks.
R1- Valesquez stalks Kongo down early but Kongo hits some nice shots and brings Cain to his knees. He landed two nice right hands but Cain stayed with it and got a double leg take down. Cain mounts and looks like he has a choke in but Kongo rolled out of the choke. Kongo got back to his feet but got slammed. Cain lands some nice shots and again goes for a choke but can’t get it locked in. Cain is landing some nice shots on Kongo. Kongo got to his feet again and again got slammed for his trouble. After those first two punches Cain just dominated Kongo. Kongo was two punches away from having a 10-8 round scored against him. Cain takes this round 10-9.
R2- Kongo landed another good punch on Cain and he went down to his feet. Kongo swung for the fences but then clinched Cain against the cage. Cain got a take down about one minute into the round. Cain hits some elbows and then lands some good punches against cage. Kongo got up but got taken down again. Cain hits some big knees to the body. Cain takes this round 10-9 so he’s up 20-18.
R3- Kongo looked like he landed another good strike but Cain wrapped him up. Kongo briefly got Cain down but then Cain got on top. This is reminiscent of Lesnar/Herring. Both fighters are bleeding. Kong is bleeding from the nose and Cain from the mouth. Kongo got to his feet at the two minute mark and got loose and threw some punches but Cain took him down again. Cain is landing some consistent punches on Kongo from the top. This was a good fight and FOTN so far. Cain wins 30-27 on my score card.
This was an interesting fight because of the the dominance of Cain on the ground and Kongo’s dominance on his feet. Cain’s technique and wrestling was just too much for Kongo. Cain was very impressive and definitely proved he could take a punch. The only question, as Rogan put it, is if Cain has the power to finish some of the Top Heavyweights in the UFC.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event Catchweight Fight (195lbs)- Rich Franklin (26-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)
This is a huge fight for both of these guys as they are coming off losses and adjusting to new weight classes. Franklin lost his last fight to Dan Henderson in a close decision loss and Silva lost his last fight by Knockout to Rampage Jackson. The winner of this fight could be within a fight or two of a title shot. I could realistically see the UFC giving Franklin a shot at Lyoto Machida (if he beats Shogun before he faces the winner of Rampage) and I could see Wanderlei get a shot at Anderson (because of the feud they built up on the Countdown show and Dana is looking for guys that will stand toe to toe with Anderson). Rogan points out that this is the first time that Wanderlei is cutting weight and Rogan says the rumor is that Wanderlei had to cut 12 pounds yesterday to make the 195 lb weight limit. Franklin has a 2” height and reach advantage.
R1- Wanderlei got a take down with two minutes left in the round after some fairly even stand-up. Franklin gets back to his feet with a minute left in the round and gets on top of Wanderlei and is landing some good Ground and Pound. Wanderlei back to his feet but he took some shots and looks like he has a cut. Franklin hit a couple of shots to end the round and he took this one 10-9 on my score card.
R2- Both guys are throwing some haymakers but nobody has hit anything substantial so far. Franklin caught Silva and his momentum took him to the mat but Franklin did not follow him to the ground. Franklin hit a good combo. Franklin got hit with a good left hand in an exchange and his knees briefly buckled. Wanderlei landed another good right hand and had Franklin reeling back into the cage. Franklin hit a high kick that was partially blocked but it seemed to hurt Wanderlei. This was a really hard round to judge. It seemed like Wanderlei hurt Franklin a couple times during the round so I’ve got to give the round to Wanderlei and that makes hit 19-19.
R3- Wanderlei landed a good knee after both guys threw a lot of punches. Wanderlei is the aggressor this round with Franklin choosing to stick and move. Wanderlei and Franklin are up against the cage and both guys were throwing bombs but not landing. Franklin got a take down and then they stood up with Wanderlei landed elbows and Franklin landing punches. Great finish to the fight as the crowd was on it’s feet cheering at the end. This third and final round was pretty much even. I think Wanderlei took this round which means he won the fight on my score card 29-28. Very close fight and this over took Velasquez/Kongo as FOTN.
Judges score the fight: all 3 judges score the fight for Rich Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-Fight Franklin makes one of his corner guys do push-ups.
This was a solid show with the two closing fights really delivering. Mike Swick really looked good again and I’m interested to see how Dan Hardy continues to progress in his weight class.
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