UFC 112 "Invincible" Re-Cap

UFC 112: Invincible
Yas Island
Abu Dhabi
April 10, 2010

This show is highlighted by two of the top Pound for Pound fighters, Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn, defending their titles. Demian Maia and Frankie Edgar have a shot tonight to shock the world with major upsets. Matt Hughes takes on Renzo Gracie in the other feature fight on this show. As always Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are your announcers for the show. At the outset of the show Rogan calls Anderson Silva the greatest fighter to ever fight in MMA and BJ Penn the greatest lightweight to ever walk the face of the earth. This show is outdoors!

Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (13-6) vs. Mark Munoz (7-1)

Grove has won 3 of his last 4 and had an impressive submission victory over Jake Rosholt at UFC 106. Munoz is still very young in this sport but was in WEC before he entered the octagon. Munoz was welcomed to the UFC by a Matt Hamill head kick but since has rallied to win two in a row. Munoz is considered the betting favorite in this fight. Grove has a 6″ height and 8″ reach advantage. I would be surprised if Munoz wasn’t significantly stronger.

R1- Munoz got a quick take down about half way through the round but Grove was able to get back to his feet. Grove caught Munoz coming in with a right and briefly floored him. Munoz clamped onto a leg to recover and Grove landed some strikes. Munoz went for a take down and Grove sprawled and briefly got a choke but lost it. Munoz landed a couple of strikes but then got taken down in a guillotine attempt and Munoz slipped out. Grove grabbed another guillotine towards the end of the round but couldn’t hold it. Good first round. Grove 10-9.

R2- Munoz ate a knee coming in for a take down and Kendall tried to get an arm bar but Munoz slipped out and took top position. Munoz lands some good strikes from the guard. Munoz opened up with a barrage of Ground and Pound strikes on Grove and got the ref stoppage. Really good come back by Munoz.

Winner: Mark Munoz by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:50

Lightweight Fight- Terry Etim (14-2) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (13-4)

Etim is on a 4-fight win streak but doesn’t have any wins that really stand out. dos Anjos is on a 2-fight win streak and also doesn’t have any big wins that stand out. The winner of this will be looking at a big step up in competition for their next fight. dos Anjos lost to Tyson Griffin and Jeremy Stephens when he stepped up in competition and since then has 2 decision victories over lesser opponents. Etim has finished 3 of his last 4 fights. Terry Etim is the favorite to win this fight. Etim has a 4″ height and 2″ reach advantage.

R1- Etim grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard on a take down attempt. Etim kept the move on for about two minutes but dos Anjos was able to get out of the submission. The referee warns dos Anjos for striking Etim in the spine and stands them up. Etim 10-9.

R2- Etim caught dos Anjos with a knee but dos Anjos got a quick take down. dos Anjos just controlled this round from the top position. dos Anjos worked hard and got an arm bar submission to win the fight. Good finish and win for dos Anjos.

Winner: Rafael dos Anjos by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:30

Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustafsson

This is from the pre-show. Davis is wearing some sweet neon pink trunks. Rogan says Davis looks like “a giant GSP”.

R1- Lots of grappling in this first round. Davis finally got a take down with about a minute left in the round and dropped some elbows. Davis was able to grab a choke and finished the fight as the first round was coming to an end. Nice showing by Davis.

Winner: Phil Davis by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1 4:55

Georges St-Pierre is at the show tonight and Rogan says GSP has an interesting eye on the Main Event because Anderson Silva has talked about dropping down to 170.

Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (44-7) vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)

Hughes was last in the octagon in May of 2009 and struggled to a decision victory over Matt Serra. Before that he posted back-to-back losses to GSP and Thiago Alves but those are 2 of the top 3 guys in the division and Hughes took the Alves fight despite Alves missing weight by a wide margin. The last I saw of Renzo Gracie was a DQ victory against Frank Shamrock in a controversial fight.

R1- Renzo landed some strikes early. Surprising first round, not a ton of action and the entire round was spend standing. I’d give that round to Renzo 10-9.

R2- Hughes got double under hooks and tried a take down but Renzo denied it. Hughes is finding a home for some leg kicks. Hughes was more aggressive in this round and finished strong. After two rounds I’ve got the fight scored 19-19.

R3- Hughes grabbed Renzo in a Muay Thai clinch and then released and landed some good shots. Hughes backed off but when they came back together he landed some more shots that wobbled Renzo. Hughes kicks Renzo’s leg out from under him twice. Hughes is continuing to pepper the leg and lands a couple good strikes as well and then floors Renzo with another strike. Hughes just goes to town on Renzo at the end of the round and finishes the fight. Renzo showed heart but he was just no match for Hughes once the fight got into the final round.

Winner: Matt Hughes by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:40

UFC Lightweight Championship Fight: B.J. Penn (c) (15-5-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)

B.J. Penn recently dispatched of the #2 guy in the division (Kenny Florian) and also decimated Diego Sanchez in short order. Edgar’s signature win was over former champion Sean Sherk. His last win was over Matt Veach. Penn has a 3″ height advantage and Edgar has a 2″ reach advantage.

R1- Edgar is doing a good job moving around early. Edgar went for a take down and ate a couple of strikes. BJ started to find the range towards the end of the round. Fairly even first round. I’ve got Penn 10-9. Edgar opened a small cut under one of BJ’s eyes.

R2- Edgar continued to bounce around the cage as Penn took the middle. Edgar was able to get Penn to the ground for like half a second before Penn got up. Close round but Penn seemed to have landed more strikes. I’ve got Penn 20-18 but both have been close rounds.

R3- Penn landed a good combination early in the round when Edgar came in for a strike. Edgar still bouncing around just as much as he did in the first round. Really close round. I’ve got Penn up 30-27 but by the slimmest of margins. Penn’s corner tells him it’s “about 2 to 1″.

R4- Edgar pushed Penn back to the cage and landed a couple of strikes toward the end of the round. Another difficult round to score for the judges. This was probably Edgar’s best round as Penn looks to be tiring a bit. I’ve got it 39-37 Penn through 4 rounds. I wish the UFC used CompuStrike for fights like this that look so close.

R5- Edgar got a take down in the first thirty seconds of the round but Penn got up very quickly. Penn had not been taken down at Lightweight in over 6 years before that. Frankie landed a good right half way through the round. Penn stuffed a couple of take down attempts. Frankie’s cardio really helping him out in this round as he’s still bouncing around Penn. BJ came on with some strikes at the end of the fight. Good fight but neither guy came close to finishing. I’ve got Penn taking the fight in a close one 48 to 47. Really impressive performance by Frankie Edgar as he did much better than anybody anticipated.

Judges score cards: 50-45, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of Frankie Edgar

Wow! Now that was a shocking decision. But I guess that’s why you don’t leave it in the judges hands. I’m partial to the saying “you have to beat the man to be the man” so on razor close rounds I tend to favor the champion. I guess these judges didn’t see it that way. 50-45 is more than a little shocking of a score card. Congrats to Frankie Edgar he definitely defied the odds. Now that B.J. is not the champ anymore I bet Gray Maynard starts campaigning for a title fight.

Winner and new champion: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)

UFC Middleweight Championship Fight: Anderson Silva (c) (25-4) vs. Demian Maia (12-1)

Anderson Silva has certainly not wowed anybody with his last two title fights (Thales Leites and Patrick Cote) but he was amazing in his last fight against Forrest Griffin. Despite posting a record of 6-1 inside the Octagon there is no question that Demian Maia backed his way into this title fight. Maia is one of the best submission fighters on the planet but his stand-up game was brutally exposed when he lost to Nate Marquardt in 21 seconds in UFC 102 and his wrestling is nowhere near the level of his jiu jitsu. Maia is only getting this title fight because Marquardt was manhandled by Chael Sonnen (although Maia did easily beat Sonnen) at UFC 109 and Vitor Belfort is on the shelf recovering from an injury. Rogan says Anderson Silva was wearing a shirt today that said “Trust Me, I’m a Jedi”. Silva has a 2″ height and 5.5″ reach advantage. They show GSP while Silva is being introduced and he waves to the camera.

R1- Anderson just dancing around and throwing a strike here or there and basically daring Maia to come at him. Anderson is just playing with Maia and clowning with him. Anderson lands a flying knee and Maia stays on his back for a while. Anderson 10-9. It really seemed like Maia only survived that round because Anderson wanted him to.

R2- Anderson is coming at Maia with some crazy stances. Maia tries for a few take downs and gets swatted off. Anderson stands in the middle of the ring half way through the round and motions for Maia to “bring it”. Anderson looks like he is getting mad and talking trash to Maia. Anderson is landing strikes at will when he wants to. Anderson 20-18.

“This must be terrifying for Demian Maia”- Joe Rogan

R3- Maia’s face is busted up going into the round. Not much going on in this round. Anderson has one sequence where he really went after Maia. Other than that it was a bunch of leg kicks and Anderson waiting for Maia to engage. Anderson 30-27.

R4- The crowd is growing a little restless of Anderson’s antics as they have a small “Maia” chant and a bigger “GSP” chant. Anderson doing a lot of dancing around and landing an occasional strike. Big chant for “Maia” towards the end of the round. Maia holds up his hands questioning Silva at the end of the round. Rogan points out that Dana White walked up to Silva’s manager at the end of this round “upset”. Rogan laso points out that Maia’s left eye is almost completely shut. He says sometimes this can happen if you have a broken nose and you blow your nose. Interesting. Anderson 40-36.

“This is the kind of stuff that drives Dana White nuts”- Joe Rogan

R5- Maia came in and threw some strikes and got a huge pop from the crowd. Maia is swinging for the fences. Crowd is chanting “Maia”. Maia grabbed a hold of Anderson up against the cage but couldn’t hold onto him when he tried to get him to the mat. Dan Mirgliatta calls time and tells Anderson Silva that if he keeps running around that he will take a point away from him. Fans boo after the bell rings. Maia might have taken that round but it’s a no brainer as to who won the fight. The fans turned on Anderson in this fight and even chanted “Maia” after the fight. That’s one of the strangest fights you will see.

Judges score card: scores are not announced but it is announced as a unanimous decision for Anderson Silva.

UFC 109: Relentless 2/6/10 Re-Cap

UFC 109: Relentless
2/6/10
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

Welterweight Fight- Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg

Serra has not fought since he lost a close decision to Matt Hughes. Trigg lost in his last fight at UFC 103 to Josh Koscheck by TKO early in the first round. If Trigg losses this fight he could be out of the UFC. Trigg comes out to LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Serra comes out to the Rocky theme.

R1- About half way through the first round Serra landed a good combo and Trigg went down and got finished. Great showing by Serra. Serra landed 3 big time uncontested shots once Trigg was down on the mat.

Winner: Matt Serra by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:23

Middleweight Fight- Demian Miller (11-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-2)

Miller comes out to CCR’s “Run Through the Jungle”. At UFC 98 Miller lost a unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen. So this is a match-up of the guys who lost to the fighters in another fight later tonight (Sonnen vs. Marquardt). Both guys are in a need of a win here to get back on the radar in terms of contenders. Maia last fought at UFC 102 and got clipped by Nate Marquardt via knockout in 21 seconds.

R1- Maia clinched Miller up against the cage trying for a take down but was denied. Maia tried again for a take down and was successful but Miller got back to his feet and got hit with a low blow but the ref didn’t step in and Miller absorbed several punches until Mazzagatti stopped for a break. Maia pushed Miller down again towards the end of the round but Miller popped back up. Maia 10-9.

R2- Maia hit a good left hand about two minutes in to the round. Not a ton of action in this round but Maia landed more strikes. Maia 20-18.

R3- Miller briefly got Maia down when he stuffed a take down but Maia immediately countered and got a take down. Maia landed some light Ground and Pound but Miller got back to his feet with three minutes left in the round. Maia got another take down after Miller initially stuffed him. Not a very exciting fight but Maia is going to take this one by unanimous decision.

Judges score cards: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 Demian Maia

Winner: Demian Maia by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Brian Stann vs. Phil Davis

Stann has recently started training with Greg Jackson and is 2-0 since joining his camp. Davis trains with Brandon Vera.

R1- After Maia’s interview in the cage with Joe Rogan we immediately cut to this fight as the bell rings and we are off. Davis got a take down with about two minutes left in the round. Davis kept switching from back position to full mount as Stann tried to get him off. Davis landed some good Ground and Pound but couldn’t finish the fight. Davis 10-9.

R2- Davis got a good take down about a minute into the fight. Davis really just dominated Stann in this round and landed some really nice knees to the body up against cage. Looked like a borderline 10-8 round. Davis is up two rounds to zero so far, either 20-18 or 20-17.

R3- Davis got another take down about a minute in the final round. Davis grabbed an arm bar in the last couple of seconds but the bell rang. Davis is going to take this fight easily when the judges hand in their score cards. Really good debut by Davis.

Judges score cards: no scores announced

Winner: Phil Davis by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (14-3) vs. Paulo Thiago (12-1)

Swick is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Dan Hardy at UFC 105. Thiago is coming off of a Unanimous Decision win over Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106. Swick is filling in for injured teammate Josh Koscheck in this fight.

R1- Really close round. Swick got a take down in the last 30 seconds of the round which probably nets the round for him. Swick 10-9.

R2- Swick hit a good right hand but Thiago threw two wild defensive punches and one landed and floored Swick. Thiago jumped on top of Swick and grabbed a choke and Swick passed out in the move.

Winner: Paulo Thiago by Submission (Choke) R2 1:54

Middleweight Fight- Nate Marquardt (32-8-2) vs. Chael Sonnen (25-10-1)

Marquardt is next in line for a shot at Anderson Silva (after Vitor Belfort) if he can keep on winning fights. Marquardt quickly disposed of Demian Maia in his last fight. Sonnen last fought at UFC 104 where he defeated Yushin Okami by Unanimous Decision. Sonnen comes out to some horrible music and has Matt Lindland in his corner.

R1- Marquardt pulled guard in the first minute with a guillotine but couldn’t hold it and Sonnen ended up in his guard. Sonnen landed some good Ground and Pound. Marquardt got to his feet and tried a flying knee but got taken down. Sonnen takes this round.

R2- Sonnen goes in and immediately gets a take down. Marquardt went for a kimura but could not get it. Lots of blood in this fight as Sonnen is on top and doing damage but Marquardt caught Sonnen with an elbow which opened up Sonnen. Sonnen is up 20-18 in this fight going into the third round.

R3- Sonnen got an immediate take down to start the final round. Sonnen is just all on over Marquardt in this fight. Marquardt got back to his feet and hit a knee and then Sonnen went for a take down and Marquardt clamped in a deep guillotine but couldn’t quite finish Sonnen off. Marquardt rolled Sonnen over and is on top with one minute left in the fight. Marquardt finished strong and could have stolen this round but he definitely lost the first two and Sonnen scores the upset victory in this one.

Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-27

Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Randy Couture (17-10) vs. Mark Coleman (16-9)

This is the battle of two of the oldest and decorated fighters in UFC history. Couture is coming off of a close 29-28 Unanimous Decision victory over Brandon Vera. Mark Coleman is coming off a UFC 100 29-28 Unanimous Decision victory over Stephan Bonnar. Both men are UFC Hall of Famers and former UFC Heavyweight Champions. Couture has also held the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

R1- Randy is landing some good jabs at the opening of the round. Randy landed a good right and then a knee and then clinched Coleman up against the cage two minutes into the round. Randy is landing some good shots in the clinch. Randy lands some really good uppercuts. Couture 10-9.

R2- Randy backed Coleman into the fence and landed some good shots and then got a take down. Randy mounted and landed some Ground and Pound. Coleman gave up his back and Randy clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and Coleman passed out in the hold. Really good dominant showing by Couture.

Winner: Randy Couture by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:09

Post Fight Mark Coleman is being interviewed Joe Rogan and Tito Ortiz yells out something and Coleman says “F You Tito, Anytime”.

Heavyweight Fight- Rolles Gracie vs. Joey Beltran

This is Gracie’s UFC debut.

R1- Gracie got a take down a little over a minute into the fight. Beltran finished the round strong by stuffing a take down and then getting some shots to the side of Gracie’s head. Both guys looked pretty inexperienced out there when they were on their feet.

R2- Beltran got Gracie down and landed some shots and then left him there as he wanted to stand up. Gracie looks really tired. He’s dove at Beltran feet and whiffed . Beltran is landing some shots and Gracie just looks like he’s given up and Herb Dean finally stops the fight. What a pathetic display by Gracie. He’s going to be cut from UFC after one fight after this performance. Gracie looked worse then some of the TUF guys that can barely go a round and gas.

Winner: Joey Beltran by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:31

UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera Re-Cap

UFC 102: Couture vs. Noguiera
8/30/09
Rose Garden Arena
Portland, Or

Light Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (10-3) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (19-9-1)

Krzysztof has looked very good since leaving his season of TUF. He beat Andre Gusmao in the first round of his last fight at UFC 98 and before that he defeated Brian Stann at UFC 97. Vera handled Mike Patt at UFC 96 in his last fight but lost a close fight previous to that to Keith Jardine in which both guys looked awful and neither deserved to win. Vera has a slight height and reach advantage.

R1- Vera hit some counter strikes early that backed Krzysztof off early. Lots of clinching in the first round as both guys struggled to get position on the other guy. Krzysztof got stuffed at the end of the round and Vera landed a couple of elbows. Close round that I give to Vera 10-9.

R2- Krzysztof had a tough time in this round catching up to Vera. Vera once again did a good job of countering Krzysztof’s attacks. Krzysztof’s only real offense was clinching and leaning on Vera. Krzysztof got a take down at the one minute mark but could hold it or do anything with it. Neither guy really did anything to win this round but Vera hit more strikes. I’ve got Vera up 20-18.

R3- Krzysztof clinched Vera and Vera nearly got a kimura but couldn’t lock it in. Vera landed some good knees in the clinch and then took down Krzysztof and landed some shots before Krzysztof got back to his feet. Krzysztof got really tired at the end of the round. Vera is going to take this fight 30-27 in my book. Not an exciting fight but Vera continues to improve at Light Heavyweight. Krzysztof was just outmatched in this fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Post-fight Vera wore an Affliction T-shirt. It’s been a while since one of those has been in the Octagon.

Winner: Brandon Vera by Decision (Unanimous)

Rashad Evans is in attendance and he gets a round of boos from the crowd.

Middleweight Fight- Demian Maia (11-0) vs. Nate Marquardt (31-8-2)

This fight is for a shot at Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Marquardt has been impressive lately in his fight at UFC 88 with Martin Kampmann and his victory over Wilson Gouveia. Maia is undefeated and has recently submitted Nate Quarry and Jason MacDonald. Both of these guys are easily Top 10 Middleweights in the World Rankings and borderline Top 5 guys right now. The winner of this fight is a Top 5 World Middleweight. Maia is a BJJ Black Belt who has been working on his striking with Wanderlei Silva and Marquardt is part of Greg Jackson’s training camp.

R1- Maia came in with a kick and Marquardt just blasted him with a big time right hand and Maia hit the mat like a ton of bricks. Maia was not out but the ref stopped the fight. I’m not crazy about the stoppage. Marquardt would have probably finished the fight but he didn’t jump right on Maia and I think that influenced the decision. Either way that was a great punch by Marquardt.

Looks like Marquardt has earned his re-match with Anderson Silva and honestly that match can happen ASAP as neither Marquardt nor Anderson Silva got hurt in the slightest in their fights.

Winner: Nate Marquardt by KO R1 0:21

Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (18-5) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-1)

Chris Leben’s last fight was a loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 89. After that fight Leben served a suspension for failing a drug test. Rosholt got submitted quickly by Dan Miller in his last fight. This fight is in Leben’s hometown. Rosholt has a 2” height and 4” reach advantage.

R1- Not much action in the first couple of minutes. Rosholt jumped in and Leben got a take down that almost looked like Rosholt pulled guard. Leben gave up his position to try and get a good shot but he didn’t and both fighters got back to their feet. Rosholt got a take down with a minute left in the round and landed some strikes. Leben took some wild shots at the end of the round and landed some. Leben looked like he got hurt by some of those Rosholt strikes. I give the first round to Rosholt as he did more damage but it was close.

R2- Rosholt went for a kick but Leben countered with a left hand and it dropped Rosholt as he was caught in the air and Leben jumped on top. The ref stood the fight back up due to lack of action by Leben. Leben had a leg kick blocked but landed a good punch and then clinched Rosholt up against the cage. Rosholt broke free and landed a punch and got a take down. Leben looks really tired right now. Rosholt landed some good strikes towards the end of the round but let Leben up. I’ve got Leben taking this round although it was very close so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.

R3- Rosholt got an early take down in the first 30 seconds of the round. Rosholt got an arm triangle and it looked like Leben was going to tap but he ended up passing out in the submission. Good showing by Rosholt. Leben had a tough time with his conditioning in this fight.

Winner: Jake Rosholt by Submission (Arm Triangle) R3 1:30

Heavyweight Fight- Tim Hague (10-1) vs. Todd Duffee (5-0)

This is a pre-show fight. The Heavyweight Division in UFC is all of the sudden pretty stacked. The winner of this fight will move up the ladder.

R1- Todd Duffee almost immediately knocked Hague down and then just destroyed him on the mat for a very quick finish. He hit a big left hand right off that bat when Hague left his chin wide open.

7 seconds is officially the fastest knockout in UFC history and Duffee got it in his UFC debut.

Winner: Todd Duffee by TKO (Punches) R1 0:07

UFC 103 is advertised. Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort. Mirko Crop Cop vs Junior dos Santos and Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick. September 19th!

Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-6-1) vs. Thiago Silva (13-1)

Both of these fighters are coming off losses to two of the top Light Heavyweight fighters in the world. Jardine lost to Rampage Jackson and Silva got mauled by Lyoto Machida. Both fighters are borderline Top 10 World Light Heavyweights. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Co-Main Event of the evening.

R1- Jardine hit a body kick but Silva took him down to the mat about 30 seconds into the fight but Jardine got back to his feet without taking any damage. Jardine came in with a flurry but Silva stuck Jardine with a punch and he went down. Silva landed some big shots on Jardine while he was on the mat and the ref jumped in and stopped the fight. Good stoppage as Jardine went limp after Silva hit two shots on the ground.

Winner: Thiago Silva by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:35

Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

This is our second re-show fight. Mike Goldberg drops the interesting trivia that Aaron Simpson and his wife competed together on American Gladiators.

R1- Both guys throw leather early into the fight. Simpson shot in and got a take down. Herman quickly got back to his feet but Simpson slammed him back down. Herman is trying some weird type of soccer style bicycle kick while Simpson is standing hovering above him. Herman hit a couple of up kicks and backed Simpson off. Herman got to his feet and hit a knee but Simpson tossed him to the mat. Very entertaining fight so far. Simpson hit a good combo and then hit a punch that floored Herman. Simpson jumped on top but Herman did a good job of defending. Herman got up but Simpson took him back down and got some Ground and Pound. Good first round that Simpson took 10-9. Herman limps back to his corner as it looks like his knee is hurt.

R2- Herman came out and tried a kick but Simpson grabbed it and took him down and Herman hurt his leg again and the ref stopped the fight. Herman showed a lot of heart in this fight and Simpson looks like he’s going to be a good fighter in the Middleweight division.

Winner: Aaron Simpson by TKO (Ref Stoppage) R2 0:17

Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira (31-5-1) vs. Randy Couture (16-9)

The UFC tells us that Nogueira’s average fight length is 12:18, he lands 75% of strikes thrown when standing up and he leads Pride & UFC in Submission Attempts. The fans have this fight pegged at 77% in favor of Couture. Rogan says Big Nog had a meniscus tear and a bad staph infection going into the Frank Mir fight where he was hospitalized five weeks before the fight. Couture, fighting in his home town, gets a huge reaction at introductions.

Brock Lesnar is at this show for the fight and he gets some boos when he is shown.

R1- Both guys throw some leather early and Big Nog tries to pull guard but Randy avoids it. Big Nog hurt Randy about 2 minutes into the fight and followed him to the ground. Big Nog locked in a choke and Randy somehow was able to get out of the move and get back to his fight. Both guys exchange some leather a couple of times and pop the crowd. Both guys just slug it out at about the one minute mark left in the round with both guys landing good shots. Really good first round that I’ve got Big Nog taking 10-9.

R2- Big Nog hit some good strikes early and tried to pull guard on a guillotine but Randy slipped out and took Big Nog’s guard. Randy controlled but Big Nog flipped him over and mounted Randy. Big Nog went for an arm triangle and punched Randy to try to get a better position with the submission but Randy got free. Randy got back to his feet with one minute left in the round. Both guys throw leather with Randy backing down first. Randy rocked Big Nog with a big left hand but Big Nog took it and stayed on his feet. Randy hit him with a follow-up left jab but Big Nog absorbed it. Another good round. I’ve got Big Nog up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Randy started out the round with a good combo. Big Nog came next with a combo of his own and then dropped Randy and got on top and hit some hammer punches with Randy fighting through and hanging on. Big Nog passed guard and took side control. Randy was able to flip Big Nog over. Goldberg says Lesnar is next to them shouting instructions at Couture. Randy lands some elbows from the top. Big Nog reversed Randy right at the end of the fight. Really good fight. I’ve got Big Nog taking all three rounds and redeeming himself after the Frank Mir fight.

Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Big Nog.

Winner: Antonio Minotauro Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)

Lightweight Fight- Evan Dunham vs. Marcus Aurelio

This is our third pre-show fight. Aurelio took this fight on short notice.

R1- Dunham got in a punch at the half way point of round one that knocked down Aurelio and Dunham followed him to the ground and got some good Ground and Pound but could not finish the fight. They went back to their feet and Dunham continued to win the round. Dunham took this round 10-9 and was really in control from the mid-point to the end of the round.

Dunham is an Xtreme Couture fighter and they show Shawn Thompkins giving him advice in the corner during the rest between rounds.

R2- Aurelio tries several times to get Dunham in the first minute and finally got him down after about a minute was gone from the round. Dunham was able to get back to his feet without taking much damage but Aurelio looks a lot more confident in this round. This was a fairly even round that will go to Aurelio due to the take down so it’s 19-19 going into the third and final round.

R3- Aurelio got a take down right off the bat in the final round. Aurelio got an Anaconda Choke submission attempt but Dunham was able to slip out. Dunham got a take down but did nothing with it as Aurelio quickly got back to his feet. The final minute of this fight sees Dunham trying to make this into a slugfest and Aurelio trying to take Dunham down. Really close round as they go toe to toe at the end of the round but I’ve got it for Aurelio due to the take down and submission attempt. So I’ve got Aurelio winning 29-28 in a very close fight.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 Aurelio, 29-28 Dunham, 30-27 Dunham

30-27? Really?

Winner: Evan Dunham by Decision (Split)

UFC 91 "Couture vs Lesnar" Re-Cap

UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar

Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson and Brock Lesnar versus Randy Couture headline this show. These are two fights that I am really looking forward to watching.

Middleweight Fight- Nate Quarry (16-2) vs. Demian Maia (9-0)

Maia is a jiu-jitsu fighter. Maia's last fight was a victory over Jason MacDonald by submission in the third round back at UFC 87. Nate Quarry was last seen humbling and chasing Khalib Starnes at UFC 83. This should be a good fight. If Maia wins this then he could really step up towards the top of the UFC Middleweights. Quarry gets a good pop from the crowd.

R1- Maia immediately went to the mat and tried to pull guard and then got on top of Quarry. Maia takes Quarry's back about one minutes into the fight. He has him in a triangle and is looking for a choke. Maia clamped it on and Quarry tapped. Dominate performance by Maia.

Winner: Demian Maia by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:13

Heavyweight Fight- Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) vs. Josh Hendricks (18-4)

This is the debut of Hendricks. He's been training with Randy Couture for a couple of weeks helping Couture prepare for Lesnar. Gonzaga has a 20 lb weight advantage and a 2 inch reach advantage.

R1- They start off with some dirty boxing. Gonzaga hits with some knees and then just pops Hendricks with a big punch and Hendricks hits the mat like a ton of bricks. Gonzaga hits him with another punch and the ref doesn't step in so Gonzaga hits him again and the fight is stopped. Gonzaga looked great in this fight.

Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:01

GSP is at the fight tonight, as is BJ Penn.

Welterweight Fight- Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas

They jump right into this fight so it looks like it's a pre-show fight. Matt Brown took this fight on short notice.

R1- Matt Brown goes right after him and hit a couple of shots. Thomas recovered and got a take down and took side control fairly quickly. Thomas landing a lot of punches. Brown gets back to his feet. Matt Brown grabs an arm bar and then tries to move it to a triangle but Thomas slides to side control again. Brown grabbed a guillotine but couldn't finish and then went for a triangle right at the buzzer. Good first round. Thomas got in more punches but Brown got more near submission attempts.

R2- Brown clamped in an arm bar attempt early in the round and eventually turned Thomas over and got him to tap. Good fight and good showing by Brown.

Winner: Matt Brown by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 0:57

Tamdan McCrory (11-1) vs. Dustin Hazelett (13-4)

McCrory beat Luke Cuomo at UFC 87 by unanimous decision. Hazlett fell to Josh Koshcheck at UFC 82 and a victory against Josh Burkman. Hazelett comes out to some CCR. McCrory has a 3 inch height advantage.

R1- McCrory swings for the fences early and hit with some shots. Hazelett pushed McCrory down with a front kick and then missed a flying knee. Hazelett pushes forward and hits some nice strikes. McCrory comes back with some strikes of his own. They go to the ground and Hazelett ties McCrory up like a pretzel and eventually get the tap. Good fight.

Winner: Dustin Hazelett by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 3:59

Anderson Silva is at the show.

Lightweight Fight- Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

This is another pre-show fight.

R1- Dos Anjos took Stephens down in this round and controlled the majority of the round. He got a near submission towards the end of the round but Stephens held on.

R2- Stephens looked better in the second round. Dos Anjos has had opportunities to finish the fight but he just hasn't been able to get it done yet.

R3- Jeremy Stephens just explodes at the beginning of this round and destroys Dos Anjos. He just nailed him with an uppercut that rocked Dos Anjos. After that shot it was just a couple of shots on the ground and this one was over. Great punch.

Winner: Jeremy Stephens by KO R3 0:39

Wanderlei Silva is in the house tonight. Lots of big guns here to watch Couture/Lesnar.

Joe Rogan interviews 50 Cent during the break. 50 Cent seems to think that Brock is going to win the fight tonight.

Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (12-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-8)

This is potential fight of the night. But then again I thought that with Florian/Huerta and that one was pretty much a stinker. Stevenson just got his BJJ black belt. Florian has a 3 inch height advantage and a 4 inch reach advantage.

R1- Florian gets some strikes in early but Stevenson stalks him down against the cage. Stevenson went for a slam but Florian grabbed onto the cage to avoid the slam but still got taken down. Florian quickly sprawled back up to avoid damage. Florian got a take down and took half guard. Florian mounted and began to ground and pound on Stevenson and then Stevenson turned over and Florian took his back. Stevenson went to stand up and Florian got a Rear Naked Choke and tapped him out. Fantastic finish by Florian. Good fight.

Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:03

Post-fight Florian says he wants BJ's belt.

UFC Heavyweight Title Fight- Randy Couture © (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1)

Brock comes out to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. Lesnar has a huge 45 pound weight advantage and a 6 inch reach advantage. Lesnar has a 81 inch reach. Lesnar is the heel in this fight as he got a round of boos when he was introduced. Couture got a heroes welcome. Big "Randy" chant by the crowd right before the round starts.

R1- They clinched almost immediately. Crowd chants "Randy". Not much in the first minute and a half. Brock landed some knees and Randy got in a good punch when they clinch was broken. Lesnar dove in and went for a take down. Brock finishes the take down with a slam and Randy grabs half guard but Brock slips out and Randy slips out the back also and reverses position and tries to take Brocks back but Brock dumped him back on the ground and took half guard again. Lesnar lands some good punches in half guard. Couture gets back to his feet with about 45 seconds left in the round. Good first round. Brock controlled most of the action so I'll give him the round 10-9. Couture hung in there and kept away from getting a lot of damage.

R2- Lesnar stuck Randy with an elbow about 15 seconds into the round and he looked a little stunned. Brock rushed in but Randy clinched him against the cage. Brock hit a knee and Randy responded with a punch cutting Brock under the eye. Brock caught Randy with a knee as they broke clinch and then hit him with a couple of punches and he went down and Lesnar just nailed Randy with hammer punches and then the ref stopped the fight. Great finish by Lesnar. Ref probably could have let the fight go on a little longer but it's tough to call something like that.

Winner and new champion: Brock Lesnar R2 3:07

Lightweight Fight- Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley

Another undercard fight

R1- Good even first round. Gurgel started to come on towards the end of the round. Gurgel didn't try to take down Riley at all.

R2- Riley definitely took this round as he dominated until about the last 30 seconds when Gurgel took Riley down.

R3- Riley opened up about a minute into this round with a great combo that almost finished Gurgel. Good fight. Aaron Riley is going to win this one via decision.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 in favor of Aaron Riley on all 3 judges score cards.

Winner: Aaron Riley by Decision (Unanimous)

Lightweight Fight- Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek

Under card fight.

R1- Bocek gets a take down early into the fight. Robinson reversed the position after about a minute and a half and then Bocek took the advantage right back. Bocek lands some good elbows from the half guard position. Bocek clamped on a submission at the end of the round but Robinson lasted. Bocek takes this round 10-9.

R2- Bocek gets a quick take down and gets side control. Bocek got a guillotine in on Robinson. Bocek then took his back and looked for a Rear Naked Choke. Robinson fought back and got on top of Bockek with about 30 seconds left but Bocek moved him back over onto his back. Bocek up 20-18 so far and has dominated on the ground.

R3- Bocek slammed Robinson without 30 seconds of the round starting. Bocek got in some good Ground and Pound about half way through the round and then got a Rear Naked Choke and tapped out Robinson. Great showing by Bocek.

Winner: Mark Bocek by Rear Naked Choke R3 3:16

Just a great show from UFC. Definitely the best show UFC has put on this year. Brock/Randy was a good fight. Florian/Stevenson delivered a good one round fight. Maia and Gonzaga looked great in victory. Jeremy Stephens got a highlight reel knockout. Brown/Thomas, Hazelett/McCrory, Bocek/Robinson and Riley/Gurgel were all decent to good fights. Not a bad fight on the show and we got 4 under card fights.

UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" Re-Cap

UFC 87: Seek and Destroy

Middleweight Fight- Jason MacDonald (21-9) vs. Demian Maia (8-0)

MacDonald has an 8" reach advantage.

R1- Maia pulls guard 30 seconds into the fight. Maia is going for a triangle early. Rogan says it's over. Maia also hitting him with elbows. MacDonald flips out and gets Maia's back. Incredible reversal and he had a Rear Naked Choke but lost it. MacDonald gets some shots in and then gets a guillotine and Maia flips him over and takes side control. Maia takes MacDonald's back with 45 seconds left. Maia is bleeding. Maia looks like he's got it in pretty good. And the first round ends. Great first round. A very thinking man's grappling match on the ground. Maia 10 MacDonald 9.

R2- They mix it up for a couple of seconds before they tie up. Maia goes for some knees and connects lightly to the body with some. Maia gets a take down. Maia is landing some nice punches on MacDonald and then some elbows. Maia with more elbows. Maia dominating this round so far. Maia is landing more punches. MacDonald has been busted open now, but not too badly. Maia goes for an arm bar as McDonald tried to escape. MacDonald gets out and takes Maia's guard with about 15 seconds left in the round. Maia just dominated this round. Maia 20 MacDonald 18. MacDonald needs a submission or a knockout to win.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is shown in the crowd between rounds.

R3- Maia gets a take down early and MacDonald reverses it. MacDonald controlled for about a minute and then Maia rolled him over and took full mount. Maia hitting some elbows. MacDonald gives up his back and Maia continues to punch him. Maia goes for a Rear Naked Choke and MacDonald taps out. Wanderlei Silva was in Maia's corner for the fight.

Pretty decent opening fight with a great first round. Maia looks like a good fighter based on this fight. It will be interesting to see him progress as he fights guys up the ladder.

"The only reason he escapes is cause the other guy is trying to kill him"- Joe Rogan

Winner: Demian Maia by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 2:44

Lightweight Fight- Roger Huerta (22-1-1) vs. Kenny Florian (11-3)

This should be fun. Florian has looked really good lately and Huerta is coming off of a big lay off. It will be interesting to see how much this hurts Huerta. Florian has a 4" reach advantage. Huerta is from Minneapolis so he gets a big reaction and Florian doesn't get much in the way of cheers.

R1- They trade some leg kicks early and then Florian gets a take down and mounts Huerta about a minute and a half into the fight. Huerta gives up his back with 3 minutes left in the round and gets out of the hold. Huerta catches Florian with a good combo then they clinch with no one with a distinct advantage. Close first round. Not nearly as much action as I thought that there would be. I've got to give the round to Florian based on getting the only take down, mounting Huerta and then taking his back although he didn't really do much damage in the sequence. Florian 10 Huerta 9.

R2- Pretty even action early in the round. Florian went for a take down, got stuffed but stayed with it and got Huerta down and quickly took his back but Huerta got out again. Florian got a leg sweep on Huerta and then got in a couple of good shots. They mix it up at the end of the round and seems like they are starting to get going. I've got Florian taking this round as well. Both rounds are fairly close but Florian looks like he's starting to pull away as Huerta looks real rusty to me. He keeps trying to use the Superman punch. Looks to me like Florian has a much better game plan. Florian 20 Huerta 18.

R3- Lots of action early in this round. Florian hit a front kick to start the round off then got a take down but couldn't hold it, hit a knee and then hit a flying knee on Huerta. Huerta looked pissed but got taken down by Florian. Huerta got back to his feet again. Three minutes left and both guys are standing up and punching now. Florian hit another front kick. Florian kind of running away from Huerta a little here towards the end with a minute and a half left in the fight- maybe knowing that he's got this one in the bag if it goes to a decision. Huerta lands a right hand and keeps moving forward. Florian keeps backing up fighting this round to win by decision. Florian hits a knee and Huerta comes at him and Florian backs off. Huerta slips on a kick and then Florian takes him down as Huerta looks like he hurt himself. Florian much more aggressive right at the end of the round. I've got this round going to Huerta just based on Florian backing away for about 4 minutes of the round. I've got it scored 29-28 Florian, not a convincing victory due to the lack of effort to get a finish and a little disappointing fight based on what I was expected.

All three judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Florian.

Winner: Kenny Florian by Decision (Unanimous)

BJ Penn is in attendance tonight.

Lightweight Fight- Manvel Gamburyan (10-3) vs.Rob Emerson (9-6)

R1- Both guys swinging big early and Rob Emerson hits Manvel hard and he goes down and then he eats some more punches and this one is over.

Winner: Rob Emerson by KO R1 0:12

Laura Prepon from That 70s Show is at the fights again tonight.

Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (21-4-1) vs. Dan Evensen (10-2)

R1- Kongo got a take down against the cage about a minute into the fight but doesn't do anything. Evensen has a standing guillotine against the cage but Kongo pops out pretty easily. Kongo gets another take down about 4 minutes into the round and this time gets some shots in on Evensen but then gave up his advantage. Kongo hits some kicks and then sticks Evensen with a punch that floors him and then jumps on him for some Ground & Pound and the ref steps in with about five seconds left in the fight. Great finishing flurry by Kongo. He controlled the fight although wasn't doing much damage until that end flurry.

Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:55

Heavyweight Fight- Heath Herring (28-13) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-1)

Brock gets a huge pop. Herring is the heel. This should be fun.

R1- Lesnar misses a big knee to start out and then sticks Herring with a big straight right hand punch that knocks him down. Lesnar runs in but Herring gets to his feet. Brock has him in a guillotine against the cage. Herring is bleeding. Heath gets out but Brock gets a take down. Brock nails Heath with a punch but then stands up and then gets back down on Heath. Lesnar with a couple of punches in as Heath is ducking into the canvas and trying to slide out. Brock with a big knee to the side. Brock just kind of riding Heath at this point and not letting him up and hitting some strikes. Lesnar with punches to Herrings back or side. Lesnar just dominated Heath in the first round. Lesnar ends the round with knees to the side. I don't remember Herring even getting in one offensive move in this round so it's got to be a 10-8 round. Herring just did nothing offensively. That being said, Herring is very experienced so he could still easily pull out this fight but Lesnar looked awesome in the first round.

They show Jessie Ventura in between rounds and it looks like he's sitting next to BJ Penn!

R2- Lesnar goes for an immediate take down but Herring denies him. Lesnar with a leg kick. They clinch and Lesnar just muscled him down. Herring again kind of ducks his head into the canvas and gives Brock his back. Lesnar moves into side control. Lesnar hits a couple of punches and Herring again goes into the turtle trying to survive. Brock mounts and Herring gives up his back and then goes back into the turtle before Brock can do anything. Lesnar with some knees to the side of Heath. Herring looks exhausted. Brock moves to side control but Heath again moves to the turtle. Heath works his way back to his feet. Lesnar with a knee while in the clinch and then another and you can just see Herring hurt when he hits those. Herring with a couple of knees.Herring missed a couple of punches and then got taken down again. Almost another 10-8 round but I'll go 10-9. Lesnar just dominating 20-17 on my score card. Herring needs to finish this fight in order to win. Herring looks rough in the corner.

R3- Lesnar lands a kick to the side. Herring rushes him against the cage and they clinch. Lesnar with a knee and another. Herring comes back with a couple of small knees and then gets muscled down by Brock. Lesnar hits some knees to the body. Herring trying to go for an arm lock but Lesnar denies him and gets full mount. Herring rolls over and turtles up again. Lesnar with a big knee. Herring gets back to his feet gets in a couple of shots and gets taken down again. Lesnar getting some shots in to the side. Lesnar mounts with about 10 seconds left and gets some punches in. Lesnar looked great in this fight. He acted like a jackass after he won but he still looked great. I've got this an easy Lesnar 30-26 win. If Lesnar could work on his ground game he's going to be a real problem for the fighters he's up against. Herring looked messed up badly after this fight.

Judges score cards are all 30-26 in favor of Lesnar.

Winner: Brock Lesnar by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St. Pierre (c) (16-2) vs. Jon Fitch (21-2)

R1- GSP gets an immediate take down about 5 seconds into the fight. Fitch got to his feet after two minutes but got taken down again. Fitch back to his feet and GSP just nailed him with a punch and Ftich went down. GSP is all over Fitch and is reigning down punches on him in his guard. GSP with big elbows. Fitch back to his feet and he gets rocked again by GSP. GSP just totally dominating Fitch. GSP with some big time elbows and Fitch is busted open. GSP passes Fitch's guard and gets side control. GSP mounts with 10 seconds left but doesn't get anything before the round ends. GSP just totally ate up Fitch in this round. A borderline 10-8 round.

R2- Fitch trying to stay in this fight as he gets a couple of body shots but GSP comes back with a good combo. GSP hit him with a good solid jab. Fitch gets in some shots with about a minute and a half left in the round. GSP gets a take down stuffed. Good come back round for Fitch as GSP changed up his game plan and let Fitch back into the fight. This round could have gone either way.

R3- GSP rocks Fitch about 15 seconds into the round with a solid punch and then takes Fitch's back. Fitch rolls him over and is in GSP's guard. Fitch eventually turns him back over and takes Fitch's guard. They stand up. GSP with a big right and then a big knee, a head kick and another knee. GSP with another shot and he's measuring Fitch and this point and then picks him up and slams him to the ground as the round is ending. GSP clearly took this round.

R4- Pretty even stand up for the first minute or two of this round. Fitch had a take down stuffed. Fitch went for another take down but GSP stood up and rode him to the cage. GSP got a take down at the end of the round. Overall, an uneventful round that goes to GSP. Both guys have cuts but neither are bad. Fitch needs a knockout or submission to win.

R5- GSP hit a nice spinning back fist about a minute into the round and then took Fitch down.GSP lands some solid shots on Fitch while in his guard. GSP controls this round. GSP took every round except maybe Round 2 and was never in danger in this fight. Good win for GSP. Fitch got dominated in Round 1 and then showed a lot of heart and came back and fought a closer fight but again never really put GSP in a position of danger.

Scorecards are 50-43, 50-44 and 50-44 for GSP

Winner: Georges St. Pierre by Decision (Unanimous)

BJ Penn comes into the ring post match as they tease the fight.

Overall, a little bit disappointing of a show as the Big 3 fights that I came in really wanted to see where all lopsided victories (Brock, GSP and KFlo).