UFC 114: Rampage vs. Rashad Re-Cap

UFC 114: Rampage vs. Rashad
MGM Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday May 29, 2010

Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (23-3) vs. John Hathaway (13-0)

This is Diego's return to the welterweight division after a brief run in the lightweight division. Diego is 7-2 in the UFC welterweight division. Hathaway has a 2" height and 3" reach advantage.

R1- Diego went for an early take down but got stuffed. Hathaway caught Diego was a knee as he was coming in and floored him. Hathaway jumped on top and tried to finish but Diego recovered. Hathaway stayed on top for the rest of the round. Good start by Hathaway. Hathaway 10-9.

R2- Hathaway hit a good left jab early in the round. Diego got a take down two minutes into the round but Hathaway got back to his feet without taking any damage. Diego has blood coming from his nose. Hathaway is using his reach to his advantage. Hathaway landed some good shots in the last several seconds of the round. Hathaway 10-9, 20-18 for the fight.

R3- Sanchez landed a good left in the first minute. Sanchez went for a take down but was stuffed. Sanchez hit a good right. Diego got another take down attempt stuffed. Hathaway's nose has been busted open. Hathaway partially connected with a head kick. Diego started to stalk towards the end of the round but Hathaway got a brief take down. Close round. I'll give the third to Sanchez and the fight to Hathaway 29-28. Huge win for Hathaway and this win puts him on the map in the welterweight division.

Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27, 30-26

Winner: John Hathaway by Decision (Unanimous)

Matt Hughes is in attendance. Yesterday he was officially inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He also has a fight coming up against Ricardo Almeida.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (18-3) vs. Jason Brilz (18-2-1)

Forrest Griffin was supposed to be in this fight but he got injured so enter Jason Brilz. Brilz took the fight on four weeks notice. Lil Nog debuted in the UFC at UFC 106 and took at Luiz Cane. Nog is on a 6 fight win streak. Nog has a 3" height and 3.5" reach advantage.

R1- Nog hit some good knees and kicks early. Brilz got a take down about 90 seconds into the fight. Nog slipped out but Brilz was able to get him back down onto the mat. Nog was able to slip out the back and take Brilz back and get him down but Brilz slipped out. Nog landed a couple of punches right at the end of the round. Brilz 10-9.

R2- Brilz went for a single leg and Nog grabbed a guillotine. Brilz slipped out and took top positon. Nog reversed but Brilz grabbed a guillotine. Nog got out of the move but Brilz grabbed it again and then released it but took top position. Brilz grabbed another guillotine but Nog slipped out and got back to his feet with two minutes left. Brilz landed a good right but Nog absorbed it. Nog landed a knee. Both guys swing for the fences and Brilz landed a good shot but Nog stayed on his feet but didn't engage for the rest of the round. Brilz 20-18. This would be another big upset.

R3- Brilz got an early take down. Nog swept him over and got back to his feet. Brilz went for a take down but Nog stuffed it and went for a choke but couldn't get it. Nog hit a knee. Brilz went for a take down but Nog quickly took top position. Nog caught Brilz in a crucifix but Brilz got out and took Nog's guard. Nog swept Brilz over with 30 seconds left. Nog took this round but I've got Brilz winning 29-28.

Judges score cards: 29-28 Brilz, 29-28 Nog, 29-28 Nog

Wow that was a very shocking decision. I thought Brilz clearly won that fight and so did the fans.

Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Decision (Split)

Heavyweight Fight- Todd Duffee (6-0) vs. Mike Russow (12-1)

Russow has won 8 straight fights with 6 of those coming by submission. Duffee debuted in the UFC at UFC 102 and promptly beat Tim Hague in 7 seconds. Duffee has a 2" height and 5" reach advantage.

R1- Duffee throwing some leather early .Duffee hit a couple of good uppercuts that hurt Russow but he survived teh onslaught. Duffee connected on a couple of overhand rights. Duffee is just dominating this fight so far. He is landing good shots and is taking his time. Duffee landed a big time left and Russow absorbed it. Duffee 10-8.

"I'll tell you one thing, Russow can take a shot"- Joe Rogan

R2- Duffee continues to land some good shots. Russow is starting to land a couple of punches. Duffee landed a good right when Russow came in for a take down. The fight has slowed down in this round. Fans are eager for a knockout after two decisions so far. Duffee 10-9, 20-17 for the fight.

R3- Russow caught Duffee half way through this round with a shocking knockout. Down 20-17 on my score card and he came back and out of nowhere landed a couple

"That's the craziest thing I've ever seen in a thousand fights. Oh My God! Mike Russow is standing in front of us and he's as surprised as we are. I'm standing up. I can't even sit down right now. That's the craziest thing I've ever seen. Oh My God!"- Joe Rogan
"If that was in a movie you'd say shut up that can't happen in real life"- Joe Rogan
"It just did"- Mike Goldberg

Winner: Mike Russow by KO R3 2:03

The Korean Zombie is in the house. San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan is at the show too.

Melvin Guillard vs. Waylon Lowe (8-2)

This is from the pre-show. Lowe fought for KOTC in April of this year and beat Steve Berger by knockout in the first round.

R1- Lowe got a take down but Guillard popped back up to his feet. Melvin landed some good knees while Lowe clinched him against the cage. Melvin landed some hammer fists. Lowe went for a take down and Guillard nailed him with a knee to the body and Lowe just keeled over and this one is over. Guillard came in and gave him a shot or two before the ref stopped it but it was the knee that did Lowe in.

Winner: Melvin Guillard by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:28

Guillard calls out Jeremy Stephens after the fight.

Middleweight Fight- Michael Bisping (19-3) vs. Dan Miller (11-3)

Bisping last fought at UFC 110 where he lost a unanimous decision to Wanderlei Silva. Previously at UFC 105 Bisping beat Denis Kang in the 2nd round. Dan Miller is coming off of a loss to Demain Maia at UFC 109. After the referee gives them instructions they don't touch gloves and Miller gives him a little shove back to the corner.

R1- Miller hit a good left early and then kicked Bisping in the balls. Bisping landed a right hand. Both guys are landing some shots. Really even fight so far. I think Bisping takes this round because he started to land some good shots at the end of the round. Bisping 10-9.

R2- Miller is starting to throw some leg kicks. Bisping is landing jabs and has open a cut on or near Miller's nose. Bisping stuffed a take down and then landed a good right hand at the mid-way point of the round. Bisping 20-18.

R3- Miller threw a good overhand right but Bisping answered early in the last round. Miller got a take down at the half-way point in the round. Bisping quickly backed up to the wall and got to his feet. Miller landed a couple of strikes at the end. Even if you give Miller this round it's still Bisping by decision. Unless the same judges from the Brilz/Nog fight are judging this fight.

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

Winner: Michael Bisping by Decision (Unanimous)

Mike Tyson and his face tatoo are at the fights tonight. So are Snoop Dogg, Larry Fitzgerald and David Spade. And is Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (30-7) vs. Rashad Evans (19-1-1)

Rashad last fought at UFC 108 where he won a decision against Thiago Silva. Rampage has not fought since March of 2009 when he beat Rashad's training partner Keith Jardine by unanimous decision. The UFC tells us that Rampage lands 84% of clinch strikes, defends 77% of take downs and has the 2nd best submission defense rate in MMA history. Rashad defends 63% of take downs, has never lost a fight when landing a take down and 4 of his last wins have come by way of knockout. This should be a good fight. Despite the layoff I've got Rampage. Rashad is boo'd as he enters the Octagon. Dana White has said the winner of this gets the first shot at Shogun Rua. Rampage has a 2" height advantage but Rashad has a 2" reach advantage.

R1- Rashad hit a right hand really early that stunned Rampage. Rashad rushed in and clinched Rampage against the cage and tried for a take down. Herb Dean separates the fighters. Rashad got a take down with two minutes left in the round. Rampage got back to his feet but ate a strike on the way up. Dean separates them again with 25 seconds left in the round. Rampage landed some offense right at the end of the round. Rashad 10-9.

R2- Rashad came in and clinched Rampage early in the round to a chorus of boos. They separated and then Rashad came in and clinched again. Dean separates them again. Rashad clinches Rampage again. Neither fighter has really done anything in this round besides Rashad clinching Rampage. Rashad went for a take down and didn't get it but did land a strike or two. Rashad 20-18.

R3- Rampage caught Rashad as Rashad tried to avoid Rampage and then went to clinch him. He landed a good right that knocked Rashad off-balance and down to the mat backwards. Rampage jumped on top and landed some good strikes. Rashad held onto Rampage to try and survive and Rashad got back to his feet. Rampage gave Rashad time to recover when they got back to their feet and Rashad shot and got a take down. Rampage got back to his feet with 40 seconds left in the fight but Rashad took him down again. Rampage 10-9 but Rashad is going to take this one 29-28 by wining a 2nd round in which both guys really did nothing. Unfortunately this fight didn't live up to the hype and even though Rashad won I have a hard time thinking he's deserving of a shot at Shogun after two decision victories.

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

Winner: Rashad Evans by Decision (Unanimous)

UFC 96 3/7/09 "Jackson vs Jardine" Re-Cap

UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine

Lightweight Fight- Gray Maynard (7-0) vs. Jim Miller (13-1)

Maynard is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Rich Clementi at UFC 90 and previous to that he won another unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar. Jim Miller is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Matt Wiman at the Fight for the Troops show in December. Might we be in for a 3 round fight here? Both guys are undefeated in the UFC. Miller is on an 8 fight win streak and is 2-0 in the UFC. Randy Couture is in the corner of Maynard for this fight.

R1- Miller is the aggressor early but Maynard does a good job throwing some combos. Miller spends a long time trying to take Maynard down and Maynard does a real good job avoiding it. Miller’s face is bloodied up. Maynard landed a nice shot at the end of the round and takes the round 10-9.

R2- Maynard got in some good shots at the two minute mark of the round. Miller went for a take down and eventually pulled guard because he couldn’t get the take down but Maynard quickly slipped out. Maynard is controlling this fight right now and is up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Maynard went for a take down for the first time in the fight and got a slam but then almost got caught in a leg lock but he slipped out. Miller tried to get a take down but got stuffed again and Maynard flipped it around and got some Ground and Pound. Maynard is going to win this decision 30-27.

Really solid showing by Maynard. He looked really good just didn’t show that Killer Instinct or finishing power. He’s had 3 straight decisions in which he’s controlled the fights. Would really like to see him step up in competition for his next fight as he’s definitely moving up the contenders list at this point.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all cards

Winner: Gray Maynard by Decision (Unanimous)

Light Heavyweight Fight- Matt Hamill (7-2) vs. Mark Munoz (5-0)

We are following up a decision fight with two wrestlers. Hamill beat Reese Andy his last time out but was really controlled by Rich Franklin in the fight previous to that. Munoz is a D1 Wrestling Champion who is currently training with Urijah Faber and was 2-0 in WEC. This will be the UFC debut for Munoz. Joe Rogan points out that Mo Lawal (Sengoku fighter) and Jason Lambert are in Munoz corner. Matt Hamill is the hometown guy in this fight and gets a good reaction. Matt Hamill has a 5 inch reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Hamill is the aggressor early and Munoz looks like he’s in a little bit of UFC debut jitters. Munoz went for a take down and didn’t get it but seems to be loosening up a little bit and starts to throw a lot more strikes and be more aggressive. Hamill lands some good shots up against the cage. Out of nowhere Hamill nailed a right high kick and Munoz just hit the mat. What a fantastic knock out kick from Hamill! Munoz had his hands down and he just got rocked.

Winner: Matt Hamill by KO (High Kick) R1 3:53

Frank Mir is up next with Mike Goldberg. Mir has just had knee surgery and they will be pushing his fight with Brock Lesnar back a few weeks. Thus, Rashad Evans will step in and Main Event the show that Lesnar/Mir was supposed to on in May on UFC 98 in Las Vegas. If Rampage wins tonight then Rampage fights Rashad. If Jardine wins then Rashad will fight Lyoto Machida. So Rampage could be Main Eventing two out of the next three UFC shows.

Welterweight Fight- Matt Brown (11-7) vs. Pete Sell (8-5)

Pete Sell is trained by Matt Serra and he will be stepping down to Welterweight for the second time in this fight. He beat Josh Burkman in his Welterweight debut. Sell is a jiu jitsu black belt. Brown trains with Rich Franklin. Brown subbed Ryan Thomas at UFC 91 and lost a close split decision loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 88. Despite the win/loss records these guys bring into the cage, this should be a pretty exciting fight.

R1- Brown is landing some good strikes early and floors Brown and the ref steps in front of Brown to break up the fight and stops Brown from jumping on Sell for some Ground and Pound but then lets the fight continue. HUGE referee error! Mat Brown then hits some knees and gets Sell down again and is nailing him with some punches. Brown is hitting some big elbows and knees on the cage and has Sell peddling back wards. Sell drops to the ground to tell Brown to come down to where he can dictate the fight but Brown steps in and lands a couple of punches and the ref stops the fight. Horrible referring by Yves Lavigne in this fight. Great showing by Matt Brown.

Winner: Matt Brown by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:32

Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day

This is a fight from the pre-show card. Kendall is in big need of a win. BJ Penn is in Grove’s corner.

R1- Kendall hit a big right hand after a pretty even fight and then jumped on top for the stoppage. Good win for Grove as he may have needed it to stay in the UFC.

Winner: Kendall Grove by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:32

Heavyweight Fight- Gabriel Gonzaga (10-3) vs. Shane Carwin (10-0)

This is the fight that I am most looking forward to on this card as the winner of this fight has the ability to move up into the upper echelon of UFC Heavyweights like Mir, Lesnar, Big Nog and Couture. The winner of this fight should get a big name for their next fight (or a match-up against a guy like Cain Velasquez or Cheick Kongo). Carwin comes out to Drowning Pool’s “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor.” Nice choice for an MMA entrance theme in my opinion. Not to be outdone Gonzaga comes out to Danzig’s “Mother.” Looks like we are in for a showdown of MMA entrance themes! Neither guy is known to go deep into a fight. Gonzaga is a BJJ World Champion. Carwin has a 4 inch reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Carwin pushed forward early but Gonzaga hit some nice punches. Gonzaga got him taken down within the first minute of the fight but Carwin got back to his feet. Carwin caught Gonzaga with a punch and Gonzaga went down and crumpled against the cage. Carwin just hit a big right hand and it connected fully.

Really good statement made tonight by Carwin as he took some early punishment from Gonzaga and escaped a take down to come back and knock out Gonzaga in less than two minutes.

Winner: Shane Carwin by KO R1 1:09

Welterweight Fight- Tamdan McCrory vs. Ryan Madigan

This is our second pre-show fight of the night. Brought to you by Shane Carwin, Matt Hamill and Matt Brown.

R1- McCrory gets a quick take down and passed the guard of Madigan within the first minute of the fight. McCrory is pushed back to full guard but gets in some Ground and Pound punches. McCrory passes again and mounts Madigan. McCrory almost got caught in a leg lock but got back into position and took out Madigan with some Ground and Pound. Madigan really didn’t provide a lot of resistance for McCrory in this fight. This was pretty much all McCrory.

Winner: Tamdan McCrory by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:35

Post-Fight McCrory drops some language and complains that he didn’t choose his music. He calls out Dana White for choosing his music! Says he wanted to come out to “Thunder Horse” cause he came out here on his “f’n Thunder Horse and handled business.” Best post-fight interview ever.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (29-7) vs. Keith Jardine (14-5-1)

If Rampage wins then he goes on to fight Rashad Evans for the Light Heavyweight Title. Jackson is currently my #3 ranked Light Heavyweight in the world and is 2-1 in his last 3 fights. He has victories over Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson and a loss to Forrest Griffin in a close decision. I’ve got Jardine ranked #9 as he is also 2-1 in his last 3 fights. He has wins over Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera and got demolished by Wanderlei Silva. I think Jardine is going to be a tough match-up for Rampage kind of like Forrest was. Rampage is in a better camp now then he was for the Forrest fight so it will be interesting to see how this camp makes his game plan for an unorthodox guy like Jardine.

UFC pulls out the statistical analysis for this fight (I love this stuff). Rampage lands 81% of his clinch strikes and is successful on 68% of his clinch take downs. Jardine lands 86% of his leg kicks and 92% of his body shots. Jardine has a 3” reach advantage.

Rashad Evans joins Mike and Joe in the broadcast booth for this fight. Rashad will fight Rampage if Rampage wins but is also a training partner of Jardine.

R1- The clinched early and got broken up by the ref. Jardine is employing a stick and move style early into the fight. They tied up against the cage again. Rampage hit a nice combo at the one minute mark. Rampage hit some shots as he chased Jardine towards the end of the round. A fairly close round that I give to Rampage 10-9. Rampage is clearly the aggressor and Jardine is being somewhat effective and is sticking and moving but is also getting chased around the ring a lot by Rampage.

R2- Rampage hit a big left hand on Jardine about 2 minutes into the round and then jumped on top to try and finish but Jardine weathered the storm and got back to his feet and clinched Rampage. Rampage got a take down but Jardine again quickly got up and clinched Rampage. Jardine hit Rampage with a low blow and Rampage wanted to continue on and shortly thereafter Jardine got in a good combo and had Rampage wobbly up against the cage but Rampage survived and didn’t go down and looked to gather his wits pretty quickly. Good round with both guys getting in some good shots. I’ve got Rampage up 20-18 so far after two rounds but Cecil Peoples is judging so these fighters will want to finish this fight before it gets to the judges score cards.

R3- Jackson got a take down shortly after the one minute mark of the round but couldn’t hold Jardine down. Pretty even stand up this round. Jardine goes for a take down but is not able to get it. One minute left in the fight and the ref breaks a clinch. Rampage chases Jardine down and lands some good shots but Jardine stays on his feet and escapes. Rampage levels Jardine with a left hand right before the buzzer and Jardine clutches Rampage’s leg. Rampage takes this round and he’s got this fight 30-27 on my score card. A good fight that was clearly won by Rampage although Rampage could not finish Jardine.

Judges score cards have the fight: 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 Rampage (and of course Cecil Peoples comes up with the same score that I did after I complained about his judging).

Winner: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by Decision (Unanimous)

Post-fight they have Rashad and Rampage face to face in each others face with both guys talking trash.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera vs. Mike Patt

We get another pre-show fight. Brandon Vera is looking to bounce back with this fight. He’s coming off of a close decision loss at UFC 89 to Keith Jardine in which neither guy really did enough to truly say that they won the fight as both guys put on a lackluster performance.

R1- Vera starts the fight off aggressively. Vera looks like he’s physically starting to adjust better to the Light Heavyweight weight. Vera is hitting some good leg kicks. Patt barely missed a high leg kick with a minute and a half left in the round. Vera looked really good in round one and clearly took it 10-9.

R2- Vera is just destroying Patt with leg kicks and literally chops him down to the ground until the ref stops the fight. Great showing by Vera as he just took out Patt with leg kicks in this fight. Maybe this will get Vera going as he looked really good and looks like he is adjusting to the new weight finally.

Winner: Brandon Vera by TKO (Leg Kicks) R2 1:27

Light Heavyweight Fight- Tim Boetsch vs. Jason Brilz

R1- Boetsch really comes at Brilz early and lands some strikes. Brilz got a take down at around the one and a half minute mark but Boetsch got back up when Brilz tried to pass. Pretty decent and even first round. Rogan points out that Jason Brilz corner forgot a stool and he had to stand up during the break between rounds.

R2- Brilz got a take down about one minute into the round and passes guard to side control. Brilz is really controlling the fight on the ground in this round. Brilz definitely takes this round so it’s probably 19-19 but Round One could have gone either way.

R3- Brilz got Boetsch to the mat at the half way mark of the round. Brilz controls this round and bloodies up Boetsch a little bit towards the end of the round. Brilz is going to win this fight by Decision.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 all for Brilz

Winner: Jason Brilz by Decision (Unanimous)


Overall, this was a solid show. It ended up being much stronger than it looked on paper. Rampage/Jardine ended up being a good solid fight and we had great showings by Hamill, Brown, and Carwin. Gray Maynard, Kendall Grove and Brandon Vera also put on good performances.