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 Frank Mir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Mir. Show all posts
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez 12/13/09 Re-Cap
UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez
12/13/09
Fedex Forum
Memphis, Tn
Heavyweight Fight- Paul Buentello (25-10) vs. Stefan Struve (22-3)
Buentello has won 5 of his last 6 fights and this is his return to the UFC. Struve is a 6’11” fighter with an 83” reach. Struve won his last fight via submission against Chase Gormley at UFC 104 and beat Denis Stojnic by submission at UFC 99 in a blood bath.
R1- Struve tried to pull guard early but abandoned that and nailed a big uppercut that Buentello ate and then Struve took him down and got a body triangle on Buentello. Struve tried to get in a Rear Naked Choke but couldn’t get it clamped in. With thirty seconds left in the round Buentello was able to turn over and take top position. Buentello really did nothing this round, it could have been a 10-8 round if Struve could have done some significant damage. Struve 10-9.
R2- Buentello hit a good shot as Struve was coming in and Buentello knocked him to the ground but did not attack and let him stand back up. Struve came in again about half way through the round and got destroyed by a right hand that looked like it might have knocked him out. Near the one minute mark Struve hit a good elbow , then Buentello retaliated then they went toe to toe throwing leather. Just seconds later both guys threw toe to toe again. Struve actually came back and made a round of this but I’ve got it going to Buentello. Really fun round and I’ve got the fight scored 19-19.
R3- The beginning of this round had to be delayed because they had to remove a piece of tooth from Struve’s mouth guard. Ouch. Struve landing more strikes in the first part of the round. Buentello was able to catch Struve leaning and landed a strike that knocked him to the ground in the last minute of the fight. Really close fight. I see a split decision. Struve landed more strikes in the third round but Buentello did get the knock down.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28, 28-28
Winner: Stefan Struve by Decision (Majority)
Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (13-4) vs. Clay Guida (25-7)
Guida is coming off of a FOTY Candidate loss to Diego Sanchez and Florian is coming off of a loss to BJ Penn. On paper this looks like it has the ability to steal the show and both guys need a win. Florian has a 3” height and 6” reach advantage. Guida is definitely the fan favorite in this fight.
R1- Kenny partially landed a head kick but it ended with Guida taking top position but Florian was able to get back to his feet quickly. Florian almost got a take down but did land a knee as Guida rose back up. Guida went for a take down but Florian controlled him and opened up a big cut on Guida and then got a slam and landed some strikes against the cage. Florian landed some elbows and the ref stopped the fight so the doctor could look at the cut. Florian won this round in the last minute and is up 10-9 going into round two.
R2- Guida went for a take down early but was stuffed. Florian really started to look comfortable with the stand up this round and he just leveled Guida with a big time right hand that hurt Guida. Florian jumped on top and landed some strikes and then clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and Guida tapped out. Fantastic showing by Florian.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:19
Welterweight Fight- Jon Fitch (23-3) vs. Mike Pierce (9-2)
Fitch has a 4” height and 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Fitch caught a kick early and muscled Pierce to the ground and took his back. At the two minute mark Pierce slipped out and got a take down but Fitch got to his feet pretty quickly. Fitch landed some decent strikes at the end of the round. Fitch 10-9.
R2- Fitch caught a leg kick and took Pierce down but Pierce got to his feet without taking any damage. Fitch got another brief take down. This was a typical Fitch round and he’s up 20-18 going into the final round.
R3- Jon Fitch makes me sleepy. Pierce got in some good shots towards the end of the round and almost stole this right but I’ve got Fitch 29-28 on the score cards.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all cards
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (12-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-5-1)
Mir has been talking all kinds of crap about this fight and about Brock Lesnar. It will be interesting to see if Mir overlooks Kongo in this fight. Goldberg tells us Kongo is the 4th most accurate striker in the UFC. Mir has earned more wins by submission than any other Heavyweight fighter in UFC history. Mir has 25 pounds on Kongo.
R1- No touching of the gloves to start the fight. Mir hit a huge left hand 30 seconds into the fight and Kongo went down hard. Mir jumped on top with a guillotine and Kongo tried to hold on but he went limp and the ref stopped the fight. Amazing performance by Mir.
Winner: Frank Mir by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:12
Catchweight Fight- Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
This is a pre-show fight. There was a lot of talk before the fight that Belcher was upset that he was not on the main card.
R1- We join the fight about one minute into round one. Belcher is wearing some sweet pink tights and has corn rows. Lots of free swinging by both guys. Belcher hurt Gouveia with an uppercut and then finished him on the ground as the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Alan Belcher by TKO (Strikes) R1
Lightweight Title Fight- BJ Penn © (14-5-1) vs. Diego Sanchez (23-2)
The UFC tells me that BJ lands 61% of his total strikes, lands 57% of his lead jabs (tied for 1st in UFC History with Anderson Silva) and he has never been knocked down. Diego has also never been knocked down, he has 56% ground striking accuracy and in his last four fights he has a 79% take down defense rate.
R1- BJ rocked Diego and knocked him down at the thirty second round of the fight. Diego got back up and ate a knee and BJ jumped all over him with punches. Diego fought and survived the onslaught. BJ hit a couple more strikes at the end of the round and looks to be in total control so far. BJ 10-9.
R2- Diego went for an early take down but could not get BJ off his feet. Diego keeps going for the take down but cannot get it. Diego missed a high kick and ate a couple of shots. BJ 20-18.
R3- Sanchez trying hard for the take down but BJ is not letting him. BJ is winning the striking game. BJ 30-27.
R4- BJ hit a good combo at the one and a half minute mark of the round. Diego continues to go for take downs and BJ continues to avoid them. BJ 40-36.
R5- Diego tried hard for a take down but BJ sprawled and ended up on top and then took the fight back to their feet. BJ hit a good kick and then followed it with some good punches before Diego could latch onto BJ’s leg. BJ sprawled out and then landed some punches and opened a huge cut above Diego’s eye and the fight was stopped due to the cut. The high kick is what opened up the big cut on Diego. Great performance by BJ.
Winner: BJ Penn by TKO (Cut) R5 2:37
Welterweight Fight- Damarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia
R!- Both guys throwing strikes early. Garcia gets a take down about a minute and a half into the round. Garcia goes for a choke and Damarques survived and Edgar gave up the hold. Garcia hit some good shots against the cage and Damarques seemed to feed off of it. Edgar landed another right that took Damarques off his feet. Edgar landed some Ground and Pound and Damarques trapped him in a triangle and won the fight. Great submission by Damarques and it earned submission of the night.
Winner: Damarques Johnson by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 4:03
12/13/09
Fedex Forum
Memphis, Tn
Heavyweight Fight- Paul Buentello (25-10) vs. Stefan Struve (22-3)
Buentello has won 5 of his last 6 fights and this is his return to the UFC. Struve is a 6’11” fighter with an 83” reach. Struve won his last fight via submission against Chase Gormley at UFC 104 and beat Denis Stojnic by submission at UFC 99 in a blood bath.
R1- Struve tried to pull guard early but abandoned that and nailed a big uppercut that Buentello ate and then Struve took him down and got a body triangle on Buentello. Struve tried to get in a Rear Naked Choke but couldn’t get it clamped in. With thirty seconds left in the round Buentello was able to turn over and take top position. Buentello really did nothing this round, it could have been a 10-8 round if Struve could have done some significant damage. Struve 10-9.
R2- Buentello hit a good shot as Struve was coming in and Buentello knocked him to the ground but did not attack and let him stand back up. Struve came in again about half way through the round and got destroyed by a right hand that looked like it might have knocked him out. Near the one minute mark Struve hit a good elbow , then Buentello retaliated then they went toe to toe throwing leather. Just seconds later both guys threw toe to toe again. Struve actually came back and made a round of this but I’ve got it going to Buentello. Really fun round and I’ve got the fight scored 19-19.
R3- The beginning of this round had to be delayed because they had to remove a piece of tooth from Struve’s mouth guard. Ouch. Struve landing more strikes in the first part of the round. Buentello was able to catch Struve leaning and landed a strike that knocked him to the ground in the last minute of the fight. Really close fight. I see a split decision. Struve landed more strikes in the third round but Buentello did get the knock down.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 29-28, 28-28
Winner: Stefan Struve by Decision (Majority)
Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (13-4) vs. Clay Guida (25-7)
Guida is coming off of a FOTY Candidate loss to Diego Sanchez and Florian is coming off of a loss to BJ Penn. On paper this looks like it has the ability to steal the show and both guys need a win. Florian has a 3” height and 6” reach advantage. Guida is definitely the fan favorite in this fight.
R1- Kenny partially landed a head kick but it ended with Guida taking top position but Florian was able to get back to his feet quickly. Florian almost got a take down but did land a knee as Guida rose back up. Guida went for a take down but Florian controlled him and opened up a big cut on Guida and then got a slam and landed some strikes against the cage. Florian landed some elbows and the ref stopped the fight so the doctor could look at the cut. Florian won this round in the last minute and is up 10-9 going into round two.
R2- Guida went for a take down early but was stuffed. Florian really started to look comfortable with the stand up this round and he just leveled Guida with a big time right hand that hurt Guida. Florian jumped on top and landed some strikes and then clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and Guida tapped out. Fantastic showing by Florian.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:19
Welterweight Fight- Jon Fitch (23-3) vs. Mike Pierce (9-2)
Fitch has a 4” height and 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Fitch caught a kick early and muscled Pierce to the ground and took his back. At the two minute mark Pierce slipped out and got a take down but Fitch got to his feet pretty quickly. Fitch landed some decent strikes at the end of the round. Fitch 10-9.
R2- Fitch caught a leg kick and took Pierce down but Pierce got to his feet without taking any damage. Fitch got another brief take down. This was a typical Fitch round and he’s up 20-18 going into the final round.
R3- Jon Fitch makes me sleepy. Pierce got in some good shots towards the end of the round and almost stole this right but I’ve got Fitch 29-28 on the score cards.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all cards
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (12-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-5-1)
Mir has been talking all kinds of crap about this fight and about Brock Lesnar. It will be interesting to see if Mir overlooks Kongo in this fight. Goldberg tells us Kongo is the 4th most accurate striker in the UFC. Mir has earned more wins by submission than any other Heavyweight fighter in UFC history. Mir has 25 pounds on Kongo.
R1- No touching of the gloves to start the fight. Mir hit a huge left hand 30 seconds into the fight and Kongo went down hard. Mir jumped on top with a guillotine and Kongo tried to hold on but he went limp and the ref stopped the fight. Amazing performance by Mir.
Winner: Frank Mir by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:12
Catchweight Fight- Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
This is a pre-show fight. There was a lot of talk before the fight that Belcher was upset that he was not on the main card.
R1- We join the fight about one minute into round one. Belcher is wearing some sweet pink tights and has corn rows. Lots of free swinging by both guys. Belcher hurt Gouveia with an uppercut and then finished him on the ground as the ref stepped in and stopped the fight.
Winner: Alan Belcher by TKO (Strikes) R1
Lightweight Title Fight- BJ Penn © (14-5-1) vs. Diego Sanchez (23-2)
The UFC tells me that BJ lands 61% of his total strikes, lands 57% of his lead jabs (tied for 1st in UFC History with Anderson Silva) and he has never been knocked down. Diego has also never been knocked down, he has 56% ground striking accuracy and in his last four fights he has a 79% take down defense rate.
R1- BJ rocked Diego and knocked him down at the thirty second round of the fight. Diego got back up and ate a knee and BJ jumped all over him with punches. Diego fought and survived the onslaught. BJ hit a couple more strikes at the end of the round and looks to be in total control so far. BJ 10-9.
R2- Diego went for an early take down but could not get BJ off his feet. Diego keeps going for the take down but cannot get it. Diego missed a high kick and ate a couple of shots. BJ 20-18.
R3- Sanchez trying hard for the take down but BJ is not letting him. BJ is winning the striking game. BJ 30-27.
R4- BJ hit a good combo at the one and a half minute mark of the round. Diego continues to go for take downs and BJ continues to avoid them. BJ 40-36.
R5- Diego tried hard for a take down but BJ sprawled and ended up on top and then took the fight back to their feet. BJ hit a good kick and then followed it with some good punches before Diego could latch onto BJ’s leg. BJ sprawled out and then landed some punches and opened a huge cut above Diego’s eye and the fight was stopped due to the cut. The high kick is what opened up the big cut on Diego. Great performance by BJ.
Winner: BJ Penn by TKO (Cut) R5 2:37
Welterweight Fight- Damarques Johnson vs. Edgar Garcia
R!- Both guys throwing strikes early. Garcia gets a take down about a minute and a half into the round. Garcia goes for a choke and Damarques survived and Edgar gave up the hold. Garcia hit some good shots against the cage and Damarques seemed to feed off of it. Edgar landed another right that took Damarques off his feet. Edgar landed some Ground and Pound and Damarques trapped him in a triangle and won the fight. Great submission by Damarques and it earned submission of the night.
Winner: Damarques Johnson by Submission (Triangle Choke) R1 4:03
Monday, July 13, 2009
UFC 100 "Making History" 7/11/09 Re-Cap
UFC 100: Making History
7/11/09
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
This event has been hyped up as the biggest UFC event of all time. On top we have 2 Main Event quality fights in Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir and GSP vs. Thiago Alves. We also have Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping in a match-up of the two trainers during the last TUF show. This fight is a borderline Main Event and the winner could be up for a shot at Anderson Silva. In addition to those three bouts we also have the UFC debut of Yoshihiro Akiyama, Stephan Bonnar/Mark Coleman and some interesting under card fights that will hopefully make the show (Jim Miller/Mac Danzig, Jon Jones/Jake O’Brien, Jon Fitch/Paul Thiago).
Middleweight Fight- Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1) vs. Alan Belcher (13-4)
This is Akiyama’s debut in the UFC. Belcher recently spoiled Denis Kang’s UFC debut. Belcher is a brown belt in bjj and has just recently spent a few weeks with Eddie Bravo. Akiyama is a Judo Black Belt and is riding a 13 fight unbeaten streak. Akiyama has been training with UFC fighter Yushin Okami. Belcher has a 4” height advantage but their reach is even.
R1- Both guys are throwing kicks early. Belcher is the bigger fighter but Akiyama looks to be a lot faster. Belcher nailed Akiyama with a low blow early in the fight. Belcher connected with a punch that knocked Akiyama down but Akiyama jumped right back up. Akiyama’s striking is crisp and he’s landing some good shots. Akiyama caught a Belcher kick and took him down. I’ve got Akiyama taking the first round as he hit more and better strikes. Belcher did knock Akiyama down but it looked like it was more of being caught off balance. Good fight so far. Akiyama hit a strike after the bell and Belcher looked like he was not too happy about it.
R2- Akiyama got an immediate take down of Belcher to start the round. Belcher took some Ground and Pound but nothing too significant and was able to get back to his feet with two minutes left in the round. Both guys are looking a little winded at the end of this round. Akiyama is winning this fight 20-18 after two rounds but this could be anybody’s fight because both guys look like they are going to struggle with their conditioning in the third round.
R3- Both guys stand and throw some punches in the first minute of the round with both guys landing some decent blows. Akiyama is having some trouble with his left eye, I think he got poked by Belcher early in this round. Belcher went for a leg kick and Akiyama caught him and punched him to the mat but Belcher got back to his feet quickly. Akiyama got a take down with thirty seconds left but Belcher got back to his feet again. The stand-up in this round was pretty even but Akiyama got two take down/knock downs. I’ve got Akiyama winning this fight 30-27. The first and third rounds were close with Akiyama clearly winning the second. This was a good, competitive opening fight.
Judges scores: 30-27 Akiyama, 29-28 Belcher and 29-28 Akiyama
Rogan and Goldberg said that they thought Belcher got robbed. Not on my score card.
Winner: Yoshihiro Akiyama by Decision (Split)
Middleweight Fight- Dan Henderson (24-7) vs. Michael Bisping (18-1)
This is a big fight for both of these guys as a potential title shot is on the horizon for the winner. Bisping hasn’t fought since UFC 89 where he won a close but unanimous decision against Chris Leben. Dan Henderson also won a decision in his last fight as he beat former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin by Split Decision at UFC 93. Bisping comes out to his usual Rock & Jock song. I think somebody told me it was by the band Blur. Woo hoo!
R1- Henderson is stalking Bisping early and Bisping is moving around the cage and trying to stick and move. Hendo hit a good combo against the cage that put Bisping at a back pedal and he followed with another combo but he was able to keep his senses. Hendo clinched him against the cage and landed some knees. Hendo is up 10-9 after the first round.
R2- Hendo got Bisping up against the cage and landed a big right hand but Bisping took it and backed out to the center of the cage. Bisping isn’t doing anything to hurt Hendo but he’s doing a better job keeping him away with jabs in this round. Bisping has been on his heels this entire fight. Hendo loaded up and nailed Bisping with a big right hand and Bisping fell like a ton of bricks. This fight is over. Hendo dove in with a punch to the grounded Bisping but it wasn’t needed, Bisping was gone when he hit the mat. Great showing by Hendo.
Hendo says he feels that he has earned a re-match with Anderson Silva but that he’s up for whatever UFC has for him.
Winner: Dan Henderson by KO R2 3:20
Royce Gracie is in attendance at the show tonight.
UFC 101 is coming up August 8th and will feature BJ Penn defending against Kenny Florian and Anderson Silva taking on Forrest Griffin in a Light Heavyweight Fight.
UFC 102 will take place at the end of August and will feature Big Nog vs. Randy Couture. This card will also have Demian Maia against Nate Marquardt and Keith Jardine against Thiago Silva.
Welterweight Championship Fight: Georges St-Pierre © (18-2) vs.Thiago Alves (22-4)
GSP is at the top of a lot of people’s current P4P rankings. GSP is coming off his UFC 94 domination of BJ Penn. Previous to that GSP beat Jon Fitch by Decision in a fight that he dominated. Thiago Alves is coming off a UFC 90 Unanimous Decision win over Josh Koscheck (Koscheck stepped in for Diego Sanchez taking the fight on short notice). Before that Alves beat up Matt Hughes in a fight where Alves did not make weight. Goldberg says Alves has landed the third most leg kicks in UFC history. GSP is a Kyokushin Karate Black Belt and is considered to have among the best take down in MMA right now. GSP gets a good reaction from the crowd. Thiago is pacing in the ring like a mad man before the fight. GSP has a huge 6” reach advantage. This is the Co-Main Event.
R1- Crowd starts a big “GSP” chant as the fight starts. GSP got a quick take down in the first minute of the fight. Alves got back to his feet without any damage but GSP pulled him back down and transitioned to his back. Thiago rolled him over and then they got back to their feet. GSP is really getting better of the stand up so far in the fight. Alves came forwards with some strikes but GSP took him down. Alves got back to his feet as the round ended. GSP 10-9 after round one.
Jason Statham is at the show enjoying some frosty beverages.
R2- GSP got another take down about a minute into the round. GSP briefly got to mount but Alves was able to get out. Alves is bleeding from his nose. GSP is landing some good shots on Alves. Alves got back to his feet with thirty seconds left in the round. That was a borderline 10-8 round in favor of GSP but I’ll say 10-9 so it’s GSP up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- They had some even stand up early in the round but GSP got a take down with around two minutes gone from the round. Alves got back to his feet with two minutes left in the round. GSP landed a good right hand and floored Alves. GSP jumped on top with some aggressive Ground and Pound but Alves was able to hand on. GSP is up 30-27 after three rounds.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida is at ringside for the fight and he gets a good response from the crowd.
R4- GSP got a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the round. GSP passes guard and mounts. GSP tried to take GSP’s back but Alves slipped out and took GSP’s guard. Alves got some good Ground and Pound in on GSP but GSP got back to his feet with 1:45 left in the round. GSP got another take down as he timed an Alves leg kick. Alves gave up his back trying to get to his feet. This was the closest round to date but GSP took it and is up 40-36. GSP tells Greg Jackson in the corner that he pulled his groin.
R5- GSP got a take down at the one minute mark of the round but Alves battled back to his feet rather quickly. GSP got another take down at the half way point of the round. Alves got back to his feet with two minutes remaining in the fight but GSP got him down yet again. GSP takes the 5th and final round and I’ve got him winning this easily 50-45. Great showing by GSP. Alves showed good conditioning and showed some heart but just like Jon Fitch he was no match for GSP.
I’m not sure what’s next for GSP but I would like to see Alves fight Jon Fitch.
Judges score cards: 50-45, 50-44, and 50-45.
Winner and still champion: Georges St-Pierre by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-Fight GSP says he hurt his groin in the 3rd round. He is indecisive about moving up to 185 to take on Anderson Silva.
UFC Heavyweight Title Fight: Brock Lesnar © (3-1) vs. Frank Mir (12-3)
This is the re-match of the last fight where Brock was dominating but got caught by a Mir submission. Since that fight Brock has gone on to defeat Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and Frank Mir has gone on to defeat Big Nog for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship (which was created when Randy Couture was holding out). UFC tells me that Brock has outstruck his opponents 87-18 in his first 3 UFC fights. Brock has an 86% accuracy rate of ground power strikes and he has 75% take down accuracy. Frank Mir has 6 submission wins, which is the most by a UFC Heavyweight. Of Mir’s 15 career fights only 1 has gone past the second round and his fights have an average length of only 3:52. This fight has had a good traditional Pro Wrestling type build from the guys comments about each other. The UFC Countdown was well put together. Brock comes out to “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. Brock has a 20 lb and 2” reach advantage. They do not touch gloves when Herb Dean has them together at the center of the ring for pre-fight instruction.
R1- Brock got a quick take down. Brock took a while to get into position but eventually he started landing some good shots to Mir’s face. Not a very exciting round but Brock fought a smart round and got in some good punches that bloodied up Frank’s face. Brock up 10-9 after one round. Almost a 10-8 round just due to the fact that Mir got in virtually no offense.
R2- Mir went for a knee and Brock dumped in on the ground but didn’t follow. Mir landed a couple of strikes against the cage and Mir hit a jumping knee into Brock (similar to the Yves Edwards/Edson Berto knee) but Brock followed through with a take down. Brock lands some big shots to the face of Mir and Herb Dean steps in to stop the fight as Mir is down in the corner. Mir wobbles to his feet and he and Brock have some words in the middle of the cage.
Winner and still champion: Brock Lesnar by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:48
Post-Fight Brock says that Sable is going to get lucky tonight. Mir says Brock did a good job in the fight and that Mir made a mistake by getting caught against cage with such a big guy against him.
UFC Welterweight Fight- Jon Fitch (22-3) vs. Paulo Thiago (11-0)
Thiago burst on the scene in his UFC debut with an upset over Josh Koscheck. Thiago is an undefeated jiu jitsu black belt who also has amateur boxing experience. Fitch is pretty much the gatekeeper of the Welterweight division. He’s better than everybody else but not as good as GSP. Fitch is one of the least exciting fighters in UFC right now in my opinion.
R1- Fitch got a take down within a minute but Thiago grabbed a guillotine in the full guard position. Fitch finally got out of the move with two minutes left in the round. Fitch controlled the last two minutes but really didn’t do much damage. Basically an even first round.
R2- Fitch got another take down in the opening stages of the fight. Man, Fitch is a boring fighter. Thiago got up but Fitch slammed him back down and sat on him some more. Fitch took his back with about a minute left in the round. Fitch easily took this round.
R3- Fitch again gets Thiago down to the ground early and basically just rides Thiago for the rest of the round. Fitch takes this either 30-27 or 29-28 but he is clearly the winner.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of Fitch.
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
TapouT Submission of the Night went to Tom Lawlor would choked out CB Dollaway with a guillotine in the under card.
The Turning Point of the Night was when Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping. It wasn’t as much a “turning point” as it was lights out.
I enjoyed this show as it had a Great KO in the Hendo/Bisping fight, a dominant performance by the Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, a great showing by one of the best P4P fighters in the world GSP and a good opener in Akiyama/Belcher.
7/11/09
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
This event has been hyped up as the biggest UFC event of all time. On top we have 2 Main Event quality fights in Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir and GSP vs. Thiago Alves. We also have Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping in a match-up of the two trainers during the last TUF show. This fight is a borderline Main Event and the winner could be up for a shot at Anderson Silva. In addition to those three bouts we also have the UFC debut of Yoshihiro Akiyama, Stephan Bonnar/Mark Coleman and some interesting under card fights that will hopefully make the show (Jim Miller/Mac Danzig, Jon Jones/Jake O’Brien, Jon Fitch/Paul Thiago).
Middleweight Fight- Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1) vs. Alan Belcher (13-4)
This is Akiyama’s debut in the UFC. Belcher recently spoiled Denis Kang’s UFC debut. Belcher is a brown belt in bjj and has just recently spent a few weeks with Eddie Bravo. Akiyama is a Judo Black Belt and is riding a 13 fight unbeaten streak. Akiyama has been training with UFC fighter Yushin Okami. Belcher has a 4” height advantage but their reach is even.
R1- Both guys are throwing kicks early. Belcher is the bigger fighter but Akiyama looks to be a lot faster. Belcher nailed Akiyama with a low blow early in the fight. Belcher connected with a punch that knocked Akiyama down but Akiyama jumped right back up. Akiyama’s striking is crisp and he’s landing some good shots. Akiyama caught a Belcher kick and took him down. I’ve got Akiyama taking the first round as he hit more and better strikes. Belcher did knock Akiyama down but it looked like it was more of being caught off balance. Good fight so far. Akiyama hit a strike after the bell and Belcher looked like he was not too happy about it.
R2- Akiyama got an immediate take down of Belcher to start the round. Belcher took some Ground and Pound but nothing too significant and was able to get back to his feet with two minutes left in the round. Both guys are looking a little winded at the end of this round. Akiyama is winning this fight 20-18 after two rounds but this could be anybody’s fight because both guys look like they are going to struggle with their conditioning in the third round.
R3- Both guys stand and throw some punches in the first minute of the round with both guys landing some decent blows. Akiyama is having some trouble with his left eye, I think he got poked by Belcher early in this round. Belcher went for a leg kick and Akiyama caught him and punched him to the mat but Belcher got back to his feet quickly. Akiyama got a take down with thirty seconds left but Belcher got back to his feet again. The stand-up in this round was pretty even but Akiyama got two take down/knock downs. I’ve got Akiyama winning this fight 30-27. The first and third rounds were close with Akiyama clearly winning the second. This was a good, competitive opening fight.
Judges scores: 30-27 Akiyama, 29-28 Belcher and 29-28 Akiyama
Rogan and Goldberg said that they thought Belcher got robbed. Not on my score card.
Winner: Yoshihiro Akiyama by Decision (Split)
Middleweight Fight- Dan Henderson (24-7) vs. Michael Bisping (18-1)
This is a big fight for both of these guys as a potential title shot is on the horizon for the winner. Bisping hasn’t fought since UFC 89 where he won a close but unanimous decision against Chris Leben. Dan Henderson also won a decision in his last fight as he beat former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin by Split Decision at UFC 93. Bisping comes out to his usual Rock & Jock song. I think somebody told me it was by the band Blur. Woo hoo!
R1- Henderson is stalking Bisping early and Bisping is moving around the cage and trying to stick and move. Hendo hit a good combo against the cage that put Bisping at a back pedal and he followed with another combo but he was able to keep his senses. Hendo clinched him against the cage and landed some knees. Hendo is up 10-9 after the first round.
R2- Hendo got Bisping up against the cage and landed a big right hand but Bisping took it and backed out to the center of the cage. Bisping isn’t doing anything to hurt Hendo but he’s doing a better job keeping him away with jabs in this round. Bisping has been on his heels this entire fight. Hendo loaded up and nailed Bisping with a big right hand and Bisping fell like a ton of bricks. This fight is over. Hendo dove in with a punch to the grounded Bisping but it wasn’t needed, Bisping was gone when he hit the mat. Great showing by Hendo.
Hendo says he feels that he has earned a re-match with Anderson Silva but that he’s up for whatever UFC has for him.
Winner: Dan Henderson by KO R2 3:20
Royce Gracie is in attendance at the show tonight.
UFC 101 is coming up August 8th and will feature BJ Penn defending against Kenny Florian and Anderson Silva taking on Forrest Griffin in a Light Heavyweight Fight.
UFC 102 will take place at the end of August and will feature Big Nog vs. Randy Couture. This card will also have Demian Maia against Nate Marquardt and Keith Jardine against Thiago Silva.
Welterweight Championship Fight: Georges St-Pierre © (18-2) vs.Thiago Alves (22-4)
GSP is at the top of a lot of people’s current P4P rankings. GSP is coming off his UFC 94 domination of BJ Penn. Previous to that GSP beat Jon Fitch by Decision in a fight that he dominated. Thiago Alves is coming off a UFC 90 Unanimous Decision win over Josh Koscheck (Koscheck stepped in for Diego Sanchez taking the fight on short notice). Before that Alves beat up Matt Hughes in a fight where Alves did not make weight. Goldberg says Alves has landed the third most leg kicks in UFC history. GSP is a Kyokushin Karate Black Belt and is considered to have among the best take down in MMA right now. GSP gets a good reaction from the crowd. Thiago is pacing in the ring like a mad man before the fight. GSP has a huge 6” reach advantage. This is the Co-Main Event.
R1- Crowd starts a big “GSP” chant as the fight starts. GSP got a quick take down in the first minute of the fight. Alves got back to his feet without any damage but GSP pulled him back down and transitioned to his back. Thiago rolled him over and then they got back to their feet. GSP is really getting better of the stand up so far in the fight. Alves came forwards with some strikes but GSP took him down. Alves got back to his feet as the round ended. GSP 10-9 after round one.
Jason Statham is at the show enjoying some frosty beverages.
R2- GSP got another take down about a minute into the round. GSP briefly got to mount but Alves was able to get out. Alves is bleeding from his nose. GSP is landing some good shots on Alves. Alves got back to his feet with thirty seconds left in the round. That was a borderline 10-8 round in favor of GSP but I’ll say 10-9 so it’s GSP up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- They had some even stand up early in the round but GSP got a take down with around two minutes gone from the round. Alves got back to his feet with two minutes left in the round. GSP landed a good right hand and floored Alves. GSP jumped on top with some aggressive Ground and Pound but Alves was able to hand on. GSP is up 30-27 after three rounds.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida is at ringside for the fight and he gets a good response from the crowd.
R4- GSP got a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the round. GSP passes guard and mounts. GSP tried to take GSP’s back but Alves slipped out and took GSP’s guard. Alves got some good Ground and Pound in on GSP but GSP got back to his feet with 1:45 left in the round. GSP got another take down as he timed an Alves leg kick. Alves gave up his back trying to get to his feet. This was the closest round to date but GSP took it and is up 40-36. GSP tells Greg Jackson in the corner that he pulled his groin.
R5- GSP got a take down at the one minute mark of the round but Alves battled back to his feet rather quickly. GSP got another take down at the half way point of the round. Alves got back to his feet with two minutes remaining in the fight but GSP got him down yet again. GSP takes the 5th and final round and I’ve got him winning this easily 50-45. Great showing by GSP. Alves showed good conditioning and showed some heart but just like Jon Fitch he was no match for GSP.
I’m not sure what’s next for GSP but I would like to see Alves fight Jon Fitch.
Judges score cards: 50-45, 50-44, and 50-45.
Winner and still champion: Georges St-Pierre by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-Fight GSP says he hurt his groin in the 3rd round. He is indecisive about moving up to 185 to take on Anderson Silva.
UFC Heavyweight Title Fight: Brock Lesnar © (3-1) vs. Frank Mir (12-3)
This is the re-match of the last fight where Brock was dominating but got caught by a Mir submission. Since that fight Brock has gone on to defeat Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and Frank Mir has gone on to defeat Big Nog for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship (which was created when Randy Couture was holding out). UFC tells me that Brock has outstruck his opponents 87-18 in his first 3 UFC fights. Brock has an 86% accuracy rate of ground power strikes and he has 75% take down accuracy. Frank Mir has 6 submission wins, which is the most by a UFC Heavyweight. Of Mir’s 15 career fights only 1 has gone past the second round and his fights have an average length of only 3:52. This fight has had a good traditional Pro Wrestling type build from the guys comments about each other. The UFC Countdown was well put together. Brock comes out to “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. Brock has a 20 lb and 2” reach advantage. They do not touch gloves when Herb Dean has them together at the center of the ring for pre-fight instruction.
R1- Brock got a quick take down. Brock took a while to get into position but eventually he started landing some good shots to Mir’s face. Not a very exciting round but Brock fought a smart round and got in some good punches that bloodied up Frank’s face. Brock up 10-9 after one round. Almost a 10-8 round just due to the fact that Mir got in virtually no offense.
R2- Mir went for a knee and Brock dumped in on the ground but didn’t follow. Mir landed a couple of strikes against the cage and Mir hit a jumping knee into Brock (similar to the Yves Edwards/Edson Berto knee) but Brock followed through with a take down. Brock lands some big shots to the face of Mir and Herb Dean steps in to stop the fight as Mir is down in the corner. Mir wobbles to his feet and he and Brock have some words in the middle of the cage.
Winner and still champion: Brock Lesnar by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:48
Post-Fight Brock says that Sable is going to get lucky tonight. Mir says Brock did a good job in the fight and that Mir made a mistake by getting caught against cage with such a big guy against him.
UFC Welterweight Fight- Jon Fitch (22-3) vs. Paulo Thiago (11-0)
Thiago burst on the scene in his UFC debut with an upset over Josh Koscheck. Thiago is an undefeated jiu jitsu black belt who also has amateur boxing experience. Fitch is pretty much the gatekeeper of the Welterweight division. He’s better than everybody else but not as good as GSP. Fitch is one of the least exciting fighters in UFC right now in my opinion.
R1- Fitch got a take down within a minute but Thiago grabbed a guillotine in the full guard position. Fitch finally got out of the move with two minutes left in the round. Fitch controlled the last two minutes but really didn’t do much damage. Basically an even first round.
R2- Fitch got another take down in the opening stages of the fight. Man, Fitch is a boring fighter. Thiago got up but Fitch slammed him back down and sat on him some more. Fitch took his back with about a minute left in the round. Fitch easily took this round.
R3- Fitch again gets Thiago down to the ground early and basically just rides Thiago for the rest of the round. Fitch takes this either 30-27 or 29-28 but he is clearly the winner.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of Fitch.
Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)
TapouT Submission of the Night went to Tom Lawlor would choked out CB Dollaway with a guillotine in the under card.
The Turning Point of the Night was when Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping. It wasn’t as much a “turning point” as it was lights out.
I enjoyed this show as it had a Great KO in the Hendo/Bisping fight, a dominant performance by the Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, a great showing by one of the best P4P fighters in the world GSP and a good opener in Akiyama/Belcher.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 Re-Cap
UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (22-4-1) vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-3)
This is Turk's debut in UFC. He was born in Beruit, Lebanon and is fighting out of London, England. Turk is a jiu jitsu based fighter. If Kongo can win this fight he puts himself in position to be a possible title contender later in 2009 due to the soft UFC Heavyweight Division. Kongo has a 4 and a half inch reach advantage which could be huge since he's a better striker.
"This is a battle of the cool names"- Joe Rogan
R1- They exchange low blows in the first round. Kongo came on really strong in the last minute of the round and knocked Turk down and started hitting a ton of strikes and busted him open and reigned down elbows and hammer fists. Great finish by Kongo. He really took it to Turk once he got him down. This is as good as I've seen Kongo look. Rogan described it well by saying he was "completely relentless."
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:37
Randy and Kim Couture are in attendance tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
What a stacked card when you can bring out Rampage/Wanderlei for the second fight on the show. This should be FOTN and has the ability to be one of the most exciting fights this year. This is the third match-up between the two fighters with Silva winning the first two. Winner of this fight steps up in line (with Lyoto Machida) to face the winner of Griffin/Evans for the Light Heavyweight Strap. Rogan calls Silva the most consistently exciting fighter in MMA history. This should be a Main Event on any show for any organization. Very mixed reaction for Rampage from the crowd. The fighters don't touch gloves prior to the fight. This is a GRUDGE match!
R1- Rampage hit a big knockout punch towards the end of the round and then continued to pound on Silva as the ref tried to pull him off. Big knockout punch by Rampage. Big left hook by Rampage. They cut to Chuck Liddell after the knockout and he looked less than thrilled with the finish. Great comeback for Rampage after the Forrest fight and he looks to step right back up in line for a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Fight.
Winner: Rampage Jackson by KO (left hook) R1 3:21
In the post-fight interview Rampage says he's back.
Heavyweight Fight- Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry
This is from the pre-show. Barry is hyped as a big-time striker. Evenson lost to Kongo at the UFC 87 show at the end of the first round by TKO. This is Barry's debut in the UFC.
R1- Barry looked decent and it looked like Evensen tweaked something (due to Barry's leg kicks) and could not continue.
Winner: Patrick Barry by TKO (Leg Kick) R1 2:36
Middleweight Fight- CB Dollaway (8-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)
Both guys are college wrestlers with Massenzio's only loss coming on an upset at the hands of Dollaway. Dollaway has a 2 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Massenzio got some shots in and knocked CB down and then grabbed a guillotine but CB survived. CB mounts him and then takes his back and starts to hit him with punches on both sides of the head and Massenzio does nothing to get out of the strikes and the ref stops the fight. Not much damage done by CB but Massenzio did nothing to defend himself. Questionable finish but Massenzio didn't help himself out. Big win for CB.
Winner: CB Dollaway by TKO (strikes) R1 3:01
Light Heavyweight FIght- Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Hamill is coming off a loss to Rich Franklin and Andy is coming off a loss to Brandon Vera. This is a pre-show fight.
R1- They stand up for the round and trade strikes. Hamill got a cut under his eye but pushed forward for the majority of the round. The guy in Matt Hamill's corner drops the f bomb about 50 times as Hamill reads his lips for instruction.
R2- Andy looked for some take downs but Hamill stuffed them and then hit some good strikes on Andy. Andy just slumped down to his knees and basically looked like he gave up as Hamill started to hit him with strikes. The ref finally stops it. Great second round by Hamill.
Winner: Matt Hamill by TKO (strikes) R2 2:15
Brock Lesnar joins Mike and Joe between the fights. Basically says he's not the champ yet until he beats the winner of Mir/Big Nog.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Title Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira © (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
Mir's average fight lasts 3:38 according to Mike Goldberg. Big Nog comes out to the Rolling Stones.
R1- Mir hit a good jab early. Mir is looking good early and gets a take down but gives it up to stand back up. Mir knocked down Big Nog at the 3 minute mark but again lets Big Nog up. Big Nog got in a good combo against the cage at the end of the round. Mir looked really good in this first round and got another knock down at the end of the first round. Mir won this round. Possibly 10-8. The announcers say it's 10-8, Big Nog got in some shots but Mir knocked Big Nog down 3 times.
R2- Mir hits Big Nog with two big punches and knocks him down and then jumps on top with some punches and Herb Dean stops the fight. Surprising finish and I think the stoppage was early considering how much punishment Big Nog takes but Mir was definitely owning this fight.
Post-fight Mir basically stares down Lesnar.
Winner and new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) R2 1:54
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Forrest Griffin © (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (17-0-1)
The battle of the winners of TUF Season 1 and Season 2. And they are Main Eventing a show with Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Frank Mir and Rampage Jackson. Forrest has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. I have a feeling that Rashad is going to win this fight but I've got to pull for Forrest since he's from Athens.
R1- Huge "Forrest" chant at the beginning of the round. Rashad laying back early like he did in the Liddell fight. Forrest took Round One 10-9. Rashad looked like he definitely has the quickness factor but he's laying back more and Forrest is pushing forward. If this fight stays on it's feet I can see Rashad getting a big punch in and ending this.
R2- Forrest hit a big right hand about a minute into the fight and they really mixed it up against the cage and then Rashad smiled at him and kind of gave him that "you can't hurt me" look. Forrest is doing a really good job with his kicks in this fight. Forrest took this round as well and is up 20-18 on my score card. His leg kicks seem to be taking their toll and Rashad is having trouble so far with Forrest's reach advantage. Still anybody's fight but Forrest is the aggressor so far and is out striking Rashad. Rashad has more power though so he's far from out with 3 rounds left. Neither guy looks to have sustained significant damage.
R3- Rashad grabs a Forrest leg kick and takes him down and is delivering hammer fists to Forrest. Forrest was in trouble but took him to full guard. Rashad hits some nice elbows while in Forrest's guard. Rashad delivering lots of punches from the top and the ref stops the fight. Big time round from Rashad. Forrest shows a lot of class and immediately congratulates Rashad once he gets up.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Rashad Evans by TKO (strikes) R3 2:46
Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
This is a pre-show fight. This is Wessell's UFC debut.
R1- Wessell overpowers him early and gets him to the ground. Back to their feet. Wessell is thick. Hardonk hits some good knees. Wessell gets Hardonk down again and Hardonk goes for a triangle but can't get it. Wessell gets full mount right at the buzzer. Wessell is bloodied up from the knees to his face. Good first round.
R2- Hardonk takes Wessell's back and gets the hooks in on him. Hardonk finishes him with strikes.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO (strikes) R2 2:09
Overall a strong show with a good Main Event in Evans/Griffin. Mir/Big Nog was a surprisingly one-sided fight and Silva/Jackson had a big KO. FOTN was Evans/Griffin.
UFC awarded Evans/Griffin the "Fight of the Night" 60K bonus and Rampage got the 60K "KO of the Night" bonus. No submission bonus was given as no fight ended by submission.
Where do we go from here?
Light Heavyweight Division- Looks like we are set up with Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Championship with the winner taking on Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva winner. Forrest versus Chuck Liddell would be an interesting fight for Forrest's next fight.
Heavyweight Division- Obviously we have the Lesnar/Mir re-match. It will be interesting to see where they go with Big Nog. Maybe a fight with Randy Couture?
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (22-4-1) vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-3)
This is Turk's debut in UFC. He was born in Beruit, Lebanon and is fighting out of London, England. Turk is a jiu jitsu based fighter. If Kongo can win this fight he puts himself in position to be a possible title contender later in 2009 due to the soft UFC Heavyweight Division. Kongo has a 4 and a half inch reach advantage which could be huge since he's a better striker.
"This is a battle of the cool names"- Joe Rogan
R1- They exchange low blows in the first round. Kongo came on really strong in the last minute of the round and knocked Turk down and started hitting a ton of strikes and busted him open and reigned down elbows and hammer fists. Great finish by Kongo. He really took it to Turk once he got him down. This is as good as I've seen Kongo look. Rogan described it well by saying he was "completely relentless."
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:37
Randy and Kim Couture are in attendance tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
What a stacked card when you can bring out Rampage/Wanderlei for the second fight on the show. This should be FOTN and has the ability to be one of the most exciting fights this year. This is the third match-up between the two fighters with Silva winning the first two. Winner of this fight steps up in line (with Lyoto Machida) to face the winner of Griffin/Evans for the Light Heavyweight Strap. Rogan calls Silva the most consistently exciting fighter in MMA history. This should be a Main Event on any show for any organization. Very mixed reaction for Rampage from the crowd. The fighters don't touch gloves prior to the fight. This is a GRUDGE match!
R1- Rampage hit a big knockout punch towards the end of the round and then continued to pound on Silva as the ref tried to pull him off. Big knockout punch by Rampage. Big left hook by Rampage. They cut to Chuck Liddell after the knockout and he looked less than thrilled with the finish. Great comeback for Rampage after the Forrest fight and he looks to step right back up in line for a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Fight.
Winner: Rampage Jackson by KO (left hook) R1 3:21
In the post-fight interview Rampage says he's back.
Heavyweight Fight- Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry
This is from the pre-show. Barry is hyped as a big-time striker. Evenson lost to Kongo at the UFC 87 show at the end of the first round by TKO. This is Barry's debut in the UFC.
R1- Barry looked decent and it looked like Evensen tweaked something (due to Barry's leg kicks) and could not continue.
Winner: Patrick Barry by TKO (Leg Kick) R1 2:36
Middleweight Fight- CB Dollaway (8-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)
Both guys are college wrestlers with Massenzio's only loss coming on an upset at the hands of Dollaway. Dollaway has a 2 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Massenzio got some shots in and knocked CB down and then grabbed a guillotine but CB survived. CB mounts him and then takes his back and starts to hit him with punches on both sides of the head and Massenzio does nothing to get out of the strikes and the ref stops the fight. Not much damage done by CB but Massenzio did nothing to defend himself. Questionable finish but Massenzio didn't help himself out. Big win for CB.
Winner: CB Dollaway by TKO (strikes) R1 3:01
Light Heavyweight FIght- Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Hamill is coming off a loss to Rich Franklin and Andy is coming off a loss to Brandon Vera. This is a pre-show fight.
R1- They stand up for the round and trade strikes. Hamill got a cut under his eye but pushed forward for the majority of the round. The guy in Matt Hamill's corner drops the f bomb about 50 times as Hamill reads his lips for instruction.
R2- Andy looked for some take downs but Hamill stuffed them and then hit some good strikes on Andy. Andy just slumped down to his knees and basically looked like he gave up as Hamill started to hit him with strikes. The ref finally stops it. Great second round by Hamill.
Winner: Matt Hamill by TKO (strikes) R2 2:15
Brock Lesnar joins Mike and Joe between the fights. Basically says he's not the champ yet until he beats the winner of Mir/Big Nog.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Title Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira © (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
Mir's average fight lasts 3:38 according to Mike Goldberg. Big Nog comes out to the Rolling Stones.
R1- Mir hit a good jab early. Mir is looking good early and gets a take down but gives it up to stand back up. Mir knocked down Big Nog at the 3 minute mark but again lets Big Nog up. Big Nog got in a good combo against the cage at the end of the round. Mir looked really good in this first round and got another knock down at the end of the first round. Mir won this round. Possibly 10-8. The announcers say it's 10-8, Big Nog got in some shots but Mir knocked Big Nog down 3 times.
R2- Mir hits Big Nog with two big punches and knocks him down and then jumps on top with some punches and Herb Dean stops the fight. Surprising finish and I think the stoppage was early considering how much punishment Big Nog takes but Mir was definitely owning this fight.
Post-fight Mir basically stares down Lesnar.
Winner and new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) R2 1:54
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Forrest Griffin © (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (17-0-1)
The battle of the winners of TUF Season 1 and Season 2. And they are Main Eventing a show with Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Frank Mir and Rampage Jackson. Forrest has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. I have a feeling that Rashad is going to win this fight but I've got to pull for Forrest since he's from Athens.
R1- Huge "Forrest" chant at the beginning of the round. Rashad laying back early like he did in the Liddell fight. Forrest took Round One 10-9. Rashad looked like he definitely has the quickness factor but he's laying back more and Forrest is pushing forward. If this fight stays on it's feet I can see Rashad getting a big punch in and ending this.
R2- Forrest hit a big right hand about a minute into the fight and they really mixed it up against the cage and then Rashad smiled at him and kind of gave him that "you can't hurt me" look. Forrest is doing a really good job with his kicks in this fight. Forrest took this round as well and is up 20-18 on my score card. His leg kicks seem to be taking their toll and Rashad is having trouble so far with Forrest's reach advantage. Still anybody's fight but Forrest is the aggressor so far and is out striking Rashad. Rashad has more power though so he's far from out with 3 rounds left. Neither guy looks to have sustained significant damage.
R3- Rashad grabs a Forrest leg kick and takes him down and is delivering hammer fists to Forrest. Forrest was in trouble but took him to full guard. Rashad hits some nice elbows while in Forrest's guard. Rashad delivering lots of punches from the top and the ref stops the fight. Big time round from Rashad. Forrest shows a lot of class and immediately congratulates Rashad once he gets up.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Rashad Evans by TKO (strikes) R3 2:46
Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
This is a pre-show fight. This is Wessell's UFC debut.
R1- Wessell overpowers him early and gets him to the ground. Back to their feet. Wessell is thick. Hardonk hits some good knees. Wessell gets Hardonk down again and Hardonk goes for a triangle but can't get it. Wessell gets full mount right at the buzzer. Wessell is bloodied up from the knees to his face. Good first round.
R2- Hardonk takes Wessell's back and gets the hooks in on him. Hardonk finishes him with strikes.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO (strikes) R2 2:09
Overall a strong show with a good Main Event in Evans/Griffin. Mir/Big Nog was a surprisingly one-sided fight and Silva/Jackson had a big KO. FOTN was Evans/Griffin.
UFC awarded Evans/Griffin the "Fight of the Night" 60K bonus and Rampage got the 60K "KO of the Night" bonus. No submission bonus was given as no fight ended by submission.
Where do we go from here?
Light Heavyweight Division- Looks like we are set up with Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Championship with the winner taking on Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva winner. Forrest versus Chuck Liddell would be an interesting fight for Forrest's next fight.
Heavyweight Division- Obviously we have the Lesnar/Mir re-match. It will be interesting to see where they go with Big Nog. Maybe a fight with Randy Couture?
Saturday, August 02, 2008
UFC Unleashed 7/19 Re-Cap
UFC Unleashed 7/19 Re-Cap
This was a double shot of UFC Unleashed.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (8-0) vs. Frankie Edgar (5-0)- UFC 67- 2/3/07
This was on the 7/13 episode of UFC Wired.
This is Edgar’s UFC debut. Both guys are undefeated coming into this fight.
R1- Edgar gets the first take down but Tyson gets a guillotine but Edgar gets out of it. Tyson picks him up and slams him and they sprawl. The stand up is pretty even in this round. Edgar gets another take down and is in Griffin’s guard. Edgar lands some good shots. Edgar 10-9 in a good first round.
R2- Griffin lands a really nice uppercut early in the round. Edgar gets a take down with about 2 minutes left after Griffin had been winning the round. Back on their feet and Griffin knocks Edgar down with a leg kick and then goes for another but Edgar takes him down. They sprawl and Tyson gets his back but Edgar transitions into a mount. This was a really close round. Edgar finished it really well and Griffin had trouble getting back to his corner and I think that and the take downs ultimately won the round for Edgar. I’ve got Edgar 20-18 in a really close fight so far.
R3- They are pretty even at the stand up at the beginning of the round. Edgar gets some knees and Griffin looks like he complains about a low blow but the ref tells him to fight on. Edgar starts to control the fight and has Griffin in the corner and is hitting him with punches. Edgar gets a take down. Edgar gets some more punches in as they stand up. Edgar gets another take down and is controlling this round. Edgar with more punches as they stand up and then gets another take down. Griffin reverses into a knee bar and Edgar looks like he’s going to hold on for the rest of the fight. Really good fight. Edgar really dominated this round with Griffin almost getting a submission at the end. Really good fight, I’ve got Edgar winning 30-27, but a really close 30-27.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Edgar.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Michael Bisping (12-0) vs. Eric Schafer (9-1-2)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
Looks like this is pre Bisping/Evans.
R1- First part of the fight is Bisping trying to strike and Schafer trying to take him down. Schafer got a good take down about a minute and a half into the round. Schafer went for Bisping's back and Bisping dropped him on his head but Schafer held on and remained at an advantage. They got back to their feet and Bisping hit a big kick and then grabbed a guillotine but lost it quickly. Bisping hit a couple of nice punches but Schafer got another take down. Bisping turns him over and hit some nice punches. Bisping is starting to lay into Schafer and the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (strikes) 4:24
Welterweight Fight- Thiago Alves (13-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (15-1)- UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2- 10/3/05
This should be a good fight. It’s interesting seeing Fisher fight at Welterweight.
R1- Both guys throwing early and providing some exciting action. Fisher gets an early take down. Fisher got an ankle lock on Alves but Alves flips over and gets in half guard. Alves controls the round but Fisher does almost get a couple submissions. Alves hits an illegal knee right at the end of the round and Herb Dean takes a point away from him. Round would have gone to Alves 10-9, instead it’s 9-9.
R2- Alves gets a take down fairly quickly into the round. Alves hits some really nice elbows. Fisher got back to his feet and landed a couple of punches. Alves got another take down with one minute left in the round. Alves lands some good punches in full guard. Fisher gets a triangle with 30 seconds left and Alves taps.
Wow, what a surprising finish. I was expecting Alves to take this one but Fisher got the triangle out of nowhere and won the fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Submission (Triangle)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Jason Lambert (22-6) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (27-6)- UFC 68- 3/3/07
This was on the 6/21 UFC Wired show.
R1- Sobral opens up with some early strikes and takes Lambert down quickly. Sobral controls the fight on the ground. Sobral briefly had a Rear Naked Choke but Lambert got out of it. Lambert got back to his feet and got in some nice shots and took Sobral down and did some Ground and Pound to end the round.
R2- Sobral hits some early knees but Lambert gets a take down. Sobral gets back to his feet but gets take down again. The ref stands them up and almost immediately Lambert nails Sobral and just floors him and ends the fight.
Winner: Jason Lambert by KO R2 3:36
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (6-1)- UFC 71- 5/26/07
This was on the UFC Wired 4/26 Show.
This is Alexander’s UFC debut and they put Jardine over as being heavily favored coming off of his win against Forrest Griffin.
R1- Jardine starts off with some shots and gets Alexander down. He charges but Alexander catches him and just swarms on him laying down a ton of punches and a knee and more punches and Jardine just crumbles. Alexander takes time to scream at him after he’s knocked out. Just a wild one minute fight. Alexander landed a ton of brutal shots.
Winner: Houston Alexander by KO R1 0:41
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (5-0) vs. Justin Eilers (9-4-1- UFC 57- 2/4/06
R1- They clinch for about a minute until the ref separates them. Vera starts to try some kicks and hits one and Eilers does what is almost a Flair flop and on the way down Vera hits him with a knee for the KO.
Winner: Brandon Vera KO (Knee Strike) R1 1:25
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (6-0) vs. Assuerio Silva (30-3)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
R1- Vera slipped and went down about 2 minutes into the fight but quickly got back to his feet. Vera got a guillotine, got slammed but held on and Silva tapped.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Submission (Guillotine) R1 2:39
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (9-2) vs. Brandon Vera (7-0)
R1- Vera hit a nice left and then came back with another good punch that rocked Mir a little bit 30 seconds into the round. Vera then hit a big knee and followed with a smaller knee blow. Vera took half guard and Mir’s nose is bleeding. Vera with some nice right hands and the ref steps in and stops the fight. Impressive showing by Vera.
Winner: Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes) R1 1:09
This was a double shot of UFC Unleashed.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (8-0) vs. Frankie Edgar (5-0)- UFC 67- 2/3/07
This was on the 7/13 episode of UFC Wired.
This is Edgar’s UFC debut. Both guys are undefeated coming into this fight.
R1- Edgar gets the first take down but Tyson gets a guillotine but Edgar gets out of it. Tyson picks him up and slams him and they sprawl. The stand up is pretty even in this round. Edgar gets another take down and is in Griffin’s guard. Edgar lands some good shots. Edgar 10-9 in a good first round.
R2- Griffin lands a really nice uppercut early in the round. Edgar gets a take down with about 2 minutes left after Griffin had been winning the round. Back on their feet and Griffin knocks Edgar down with a leg kick and then goes for another but Edgar takes him down. They sprawl and Tyson gets his back but Edgar transitions into a mount. This was a really close round. Edgar finished it really well and Griffin had trouble getting back to his corner and I think that and the take downs ultimately won the round for Edgar. I’ve got Edgar 20-18 in a really close fight so far.
R3- They are pretty even at the stand up at the beginning of the round. Edgar gets some knees and Griffin looks like he complains about a low blow but the ref tells him to fight on. Edgar starts to control the fight and has Griffin in the corner and is hitting him with punches. Edgar gets a take down. Edgar gets some more punches in as they stand up. Edgar gets another take down and is controlling this round. Edgar with more punches as they stand up and then gets another take down. Griffin reverses into a knee bar and Edgar looks like he’s going to hold on for the rest of the fight. Really good fight. Edgar really dominated this round with Griffin almost getting a submission at the end. Really good fight, I’ve got Edgar winning 30-27, but a really close 30-27.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Edgar.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Michael Bisping (12-0) vs. Eric Schafer (9-1-2)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
Looks like this is pre Bisping/Evans.
R1- First part of the fight is Bisping trying to strike and Schafer trying to take him down. Schafer got a good take down about a minute and a half into the round. Schafer went for Bisping's back and Bisping dropped him on his head but Schafer held on and remained at an advantage. They got back to their feet and Bisping hit a big kick and then grabbed a guillotine but lost it quickly. Bisping hit a couple of nice punches but Schafer got another take down. Bisping turns him over and hit some nice punches. Bisping is starting to lay into Schafer and the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (strikes) 4:24
Welterweight Fight- Thiago Alves (13-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (15-1)- UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2- 10/3/05
This should be a good fight. It’s interesting seeing Fisher fight at Welterweight.
R1- Both guys throwing early and providing some exciting action. Fisher gets an early take down. Fisher got an ankle lock on Alves but Alves flips over and gets in half guard. Alves controls the round but Fisher does almost get a couple submissions. Alves hits an illegal knee right at the end of the round and Herb Dean takes a point away from him. Round would have gone to Alves 10-9, instead it’s 9-9.
R2- Alves gets a take down fairly quickly into the round. Alves hits some really nice elbows. Fisher got back to his feet and landed a couple of punches. Alves got another take down with one minute left in the round. Alves lands some good punches in full guard. Fisher gets a triangle with 30 seconds left and Alves taps.
Wow, what a surprising finish. I was expecting Alves to take this one but Fisher got the triangle out of nowhere and won the fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Submission (Triangle)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Jason Lambert (22-6) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (27-6)- UFC 68- 3/3/07
This was on the 6/21 UFC Wired show.
R1- Sobral opens up with some early strikes and takes Lambert down quickly. Sobral controls the fight on the ground. Sobral briefly had a Rear Naked Choke but Lambert got out of it. Lambert got back to his feet and got in some nice shots and took Sobral down and did some Ground and Pound to end the round.
R2- Sobral hits some early knees but Lambert gets a take down. Sobral gets back to his feet but gets take down again. The ref stands them up and almost immediately Lambert nails Sobral and just floors him and ends the fight.
Winner: Jason Lambert by KO R2 3:36
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (6-1)- UFC 71- 5/26/07
This was on the UFC Wired 4/26 Show.
This is Alexander’s UFC debut and they put Jardine over as being heavily favored coming off of his win against Forrest Griffin.
R1- Jardine starts off with some shots and gets Alexander down. He charges but Alexander catches him and just swarms on him laying down a ton of punches and a knee and more punches and Jardine just crumbles. Alexander takes time to scream at him after he’s knocked out. Just a wild one minute fight. Alexander landed a ton of brutal shots.
Winner: Houston Alexander by KO R1 0:41
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (5-0) vs. Justin Eilers (9-4-1- UFC 57- 2/4/06
R1- They clinch for about a minute until the ref separates them. Vera starts to try some kicks and hits one and Eilers does what is almost a Flair flop and on the way down Vera hits him with a knee for the KO.
Winner: Brandon Vera KO (Knee Strike) R1 1:25
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (6-0) vs. Assuerio Silva (30-3)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
R1- Vera slipped and went down about 2 minutes into the fight but quickly got back to his feet. Vera got a guillotine, got slammed but held on and Silva tapped.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Submission (Guillotine) R1 2:39
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (9-2) vs. Brandon Vera (7-0)
R1- Vera hit a nice left and then came back with another good punch that rocked Mir a little bit 30 seconds into the round. Vera then hit a big knee and followed with a smaller knee blow. Vera took half guard and Mir’s nose is bleeding. Vera with some nice right hands and the ref steps in and stops the fight. Impressive showing by Vera.
Winner: Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes) R1 1:09
Sunday, June 29, 2008
UFC Unleashed 6/18 Re-Cap
UFC Unleashed 6/18 Re-Cap
Looks like we’ve got 5 fights on tap night. I’ve already seen a couple of them but I’m looking forward to seeing Brock/Mir again.
Middleweight- Chris Leben (17-4) vs. Alessio Sakara (16-6-1)- UFC 82- 3/1/08
This is from the UFC 82 show and is also on the UFC Wired 6/28 show.
R1- Both guys swinging pretty freely early. Leben seems to be moving forward and in slight control. They are still throwing pretty good at one another with no one with a clear advantage. Leben continues to move forward on Sakara as they exchange. Sakara gets in a couple of good shots but then eats a knee. Leben with a nice inside leg kick and then body kick. They tie up on the cage but then release. Leben gets in some punches and Sakara is rocked on the cage and Leben is on top of him landing punches and the ref stops the fight. Leben has Sakara's blood on him and is the victor. Leben got in some good punches and then rocked Sakara with 2 punches and then got on top and started punching and the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Chris Leben via TKO Round 1 (3:16)
Lightweight Fight- Ryan Roberts (14-2-1) vs. Marcus Auriello (15-5)- UFC Fight Night 13- 4/2/08
R1- Auriello takes him down quick and then taps him with an arm bar. This one was over before it started. Auriello just dominated. His celebration took longer than the fight did.
Winner: Marcus Auriello by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 0:16
Welterweight- David Bielkheden (12-5) vs Diego Sanchez (19-2)- UFC 82- 3/1/08
Sanchez quickly takes David down and gets in a couple of shots. He’s really working trying to get in position on top to do damage or to pass. Diego is getting in a couple of shots and is really in control early. Diego gets side control and hits some short elbows and is looking for a kimura. Diego moves into full mount and finally starts to get in some good shots on David and then just starts laying it in and gets the win via opponent tap. Diego just controlled this match and won decisively. Real good showing for Diego.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Submission (punches) R1 4:43
Middleweight Fight- Alan Belcher (9-2) vs. Kendall Grove (9-3)- UFC 69- 4/7/07
This is a fight with some really young fighters as Belcher is only 22 and Grove is 24 as of this fight.
R1- Belcher takes him down about 30 seconds in and gets side control. Grove did a good job getting out and threw some knees. Kendall seems to be the aggressor as he hits some knees and gets a take down. Kendall gets some shots in and then stops a take down at the end of the round. This was a good, close round that I think Kendall took 10-9.
R2- Kendall gets a real nice knee in early in the round and Belcher goes for a take down but gets it stuffed. Grove just starts to nail Belcher with some elbows and he took some skin off of the top of Belcher’s head with those elbows. Kendall hits a really nice combo as he gets a kick and then a punch and follows it with some good looking knees. Grove is getting some big shots in on Belcher and then hits a big slam on Belcher. Kendall has half guard and is getting in some good shots on Belcher. Kendall finishes Belcher with a nice submission from half guard. Kendall just looked great in this fight. This was definitely the best that I’ve seen him look.
Winner: Kendall Grove by Submission (Brabo Choke) R2 4:42
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-0)- UFC 81- 2/2/08
R1- Lesnar takes down Mir immediately. Lesnar gets some nice shots in but the ref calls a timeout due to a shot to the back of the head and they take a point away from Lesnar without a warning. I didn’t see anything bad based on the other MMA fights that I’ve seen. Lesnar hit him in the back of the head a couple of times but I’ve seen a lot worse without points taken away and without even a warning given. Mir was getting overwhelmed at this point so it was a real interesting call by the ref. Brock hits Mir again and starts pounding on him on the ground. Mir almost gets an arm bar. Mir gets to the guard position. Mir caught Lesnar in a knee bar with a very nice wily veteran type move and tapped him. Lesnar let down his guard and it cost him.
This was a real interesting fight, especially watching it again. Lesnar just dominated but made some real mistakes due to his inexperience. Lesnar’s offense looked awesome. I’m very interested in seeing Lesnar fight again. Great job my Mir in holding on and finding Lesnar’s weakness and taping him but I just can’t see Mir beating Noguiera.
Winner: Frank Mir by Submission (Knee Bar) R1 1:30
Looks like we’ve got 5 fights on tap night. I’ve already seen a couple of them but I’m looking forward to seeing Brock/Mir again.
Middleweight- Chris Leben (17-4) vs. Alessio Sakara (16-6-1)- UFC 82- 3/1/08
This is from the UFC 82 show and is also on the UFC Wired 6/28 show.
R1- Both guys swinging pretty freely early. Leben seems to be moving forward and in slight control. They are still throwing pretty good at one another with no one with a clear advantage. Leben continues to move forward on Sakara as they exchange. Sakara gets in a couple of good shots but then eats a knee. Leben with a nice inside leg kick and then body kick. They tie up on the cage but then release. Leben gets in some punches and Sakara is rocked on the cage and Leben is on top of him landing punches and the ref stops the fight. Leben has Sakara's blood on him and is the victor. Leben got in some good punches and then rocked Sakara with 2 punches and then got on top and started punching and the ref stopped the fight.
Winner: Chris Leben via TKO Round 1 (3:16)
Lightweight Fight- Ryan Roberts (14-2-1) vs. Marcus Auriello (15-5)- UFC Fight Night 13- 4/2/08
R1- Auriello takes him down quick and then taps him with an arm bar. This one was over before it started. Auriello just dominated. His celebration took longer than the fight did.
Winner: Marcus Auriello by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 0:16
Welterweight- David Bielkheden (12-5) vs Diego Sanchez (19-2)- UFC 82- 3/1/08
Sanchez quickly takes David down and gets in a couple of shots. He’s really working trying to get in position on top to do damage or to pass. Diego is getting in a couple of shots and is really in control early. Diego gets side control and hits some short elbows and is looking for a kimura. Diego moves into full mount and finally starts to get in some good shots on David and then just starts laying it in and gets the win via opponent tap. Diego just controlled this match and won decisively. Real good showing for Diego.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Submission (punches) R1 4:43
Middleweight Fight- Alan Belcher (9-2) vs. Kendall Grove (9-3)- UFC 69- 4/7/07
This is a fight with some really young fighters as Belcher is only 22 and Grove is 24 as of this fight.
R1- Belcher takes him down about 30 seconds in and gets side control. Grove did a good job getting out and threw some knees. Kendall seems to be the aggressor as he hits some knees and gets a take down. Kendall gets some shots in and then stops a take down at the end of the round. This was a good, close round that I think Kendall took 10-9.
R2- Kendall gets a real nice knee in early in the round and Belcher goes for a take down but gets it stuffed. Grove just starts to nail Belcher with some elbows and he took some skin off of the top of Belcher’s head with those elbows. Kendall hits a really nice combo as he gets a kick and then a punch and follows it with some good looking knees. Grove is getting some big shots in on Belcher and then hits a big slam on Belcher. Kendall has half guard and is getting in some good shots on Belcher. Kendall finishes Belcher with a nice submission from half guard. Kendall just looked great in this fight. This was definitely the best that I’ve seen him look.
Winner: Kendall Grove by Submission (Brabo Choke) R2 4:42
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-0)- UFC 81- 2/2/08
R1- Lesnar takes down Mir immediately. Lesnar gets some nice shots in but the ref calls a timeout due to a shot to the back of the head and they take a point away from Lesnar without a warning. I didn’t see anything bad based on the other MMA fights that I’ve seen. Lesnar hit him in the back of the head a couple of times but I’ve seen a lot worse without points taken away and without even a warning given. Mir was getting overwhelmed at this point so it was a real interesting call by the ref. Brock hits Mir again and starts pounding on him on the ground. Mir almost gets an arm bar. Mir gets to the guard position. Mir caught Lesnar in a knee bar with a very nice wily veteran type move and tapped him. Lesnar let down his guard and it cost him.
This was a real interesting fight, especially watching it again. Lesnar just dominated but made some real mistakes due to his inexperience. Lesnar’s offense looked awesome. I’m very interested in seeing Lesnar fight again. Great job my Mir in holding on and finding Lesnar’s weakness and taping him but I just can’t see Mir beating Noguiera.
Winner: Frank Mir by Submission (Knee Bar) R1 1:30
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