UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez
Acer Arena
Sydney, Australia
2/20/2010
This is the debut of the UFC in Australia and we get a big Heavyweight Title Contender fight when Antonio Minotauro Nogueira takes on up and comer Cain Velasquez. There is also a big Middlweight fight with Wanderlei Silva taking on Michael Bisping.
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (25-7-2) vs. Anthony Perosh (10-5)
Perosh is fighting in his home country but took this fight on short notice. Mirko has been a real disappointment since he came back to the UFC but he still should be able to win a fight when his opponent is an unknown fighting on short notice. Perosh comes out to some Motley Crue “Kick Start My Heart” and a big ovation. Mirko counters with some “Wild Boys” from Duran Duran. We are about to have an 80s hair band throw down! This could get crazy. Perosh is only 216 pounds so he is outweighed by around 20 pounds in this fight.
R1- Cro Cop is the aggressor early. Perosh tried for a take down but Cro Cop did a good just denying him. Cro Cop hit a good left that hurt Perosh but he couldn’t follow up. Perosh has a bloody nose. Cro Cop hit Perosh with another good left. Cro Cop is finding a home for the left whenever he wants it. Cro Cop 10-9.
R2- This round consisted of Perosh continually going for take downs and getting stuffed. Cro Cop landed a big elbow from full guard that busted open Perosh. Cro Cop 20-18 after two rounds.
The doctor’s stop the fight after the second round due to the cut over Perosh’s eye. Perosh tried to hang in there he just didn’t seem like he was a UFC caliber Heavyweight at this point of his career. Good win by Cro Cop as he was dominant. I don’t think he’s as good as the majority of UFC Heavyweights but with this win he’s still a marketable fighter for them at this point of his career. They should try to put him against another young guy or a big name for his next fight.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R2 5:00
Randy Couture is at the show and is sitting next to a blonde with large cleavage. Rashad Evans is in the crowd cheering on Jardine. Can’t wait to see him and Rampage hook it up since their fight is back on.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-7-1) vs. Ryan Bader (11-0)
R1- Bader got a big take down two minutes into the round. Jardine has a cut on the top of his head. Bader got some shots in but nothing big and the ref stood them up with thirty seconds left in the round. Bader 10-9.
R2- Jardine stuffed three Bader take downs and Bader looks like he’s starting to wear down a little bit. Bader hit a kick towards the end of the round that caught Jardine off balanced and briefly knocked him down and then Bader got a brief take down. Jardine won the majority of this round except the last thirty seconds and I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Bader caught Jardine coming in with a jab at the two minute mark and then followed it up with a flying knee and then a blow that knocked Jardine into the fence on the floor and the ref stopped the fight. Bader hit a big left against the cage and Jardine’s legs gave out and he slumped to the mat. Good stoppage. Really good win by Bader against a quality opponent in Jardine.
Winner: Ryan Bader by TKO (Strikes) R3 2:10
Welterweight Fight- Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster
This is from the pre-show.
R1- Foster got a quick take down but couldn’t keep Lytle down. Foster hit a spinning heel kick to the head but it was mostly blocked. Lytle grabbed a rolling knee bar and Foster tapped out. Really nice move by Lytle as Foster looked like he was winning the fight when Lytle went for that move.
Winner: Chris Lytle by Submission (Knee Bar) R1 1:41
Lightweight Fight- Joe Stevenson (36-10) vs. George Sotiropoulos (11-2)
Sotiropoulos is fighting in his home country so he should have a big home field advantage in this fight. Sotiropoulos comes out to “Iron Man” but doesn’t have any spiked shoulder pads on. Stevenson comes out to some really crappy electronica music that he seems to enjoy. Sotiropoulos is on a 5 fight win streak.
R1- George went for a single but Joe blocked it and then looked like he pulled guard. Joe briefly got an arm triangle from the bottom but couldn’t hold it. George mounted and then took Joe’s back and then took north/south position and went for an arm bar but couldn’t lock it in. George really dominated positioning in the first round but really didn’t inflict much damage. George 10-9. Fans chanted during the break between rounds and continued chanting into the second round.
R2- George hit a strike and Joe briefly went down to a knee but popped back up ready to fight. George landed some good jabs and then Stevenson got a take down. George used an omaplata to escape and take top position. Joe quickly got back on top. Joe went for an ankle lock at the end of the round but George scrambled out of it and grabbed a choke at the end of the round. Really close round. I’ve got George up 20-18 but the last round could have gone either way. George was really active off his back and got 2 different sub attempts off his back.
R3- Joe tried to grab a guillotine and pull guard but George slipped out. Back and forth round. Joe took top position with a minute and a half left in the round. They stand back up with 40 seconds left in the fight and Joe gets another take down. I’ve got Joe taking this round but George taking the fight 29-28. This could be a split decision.
Judges scored cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Crowd goes nuts at decision. Big win for Sotiropoulos.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Decision (Unanimous)
Royce Gracie is at the show tonight.
Middleweight Fight- Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs. Michael Bisping (19-2)
Bisping comes out to his usual Rock N Jock “WOO HOO” theme. This is a big fight for Bisping. Bisping got KTFO by Dan Henderson but then rebounded by beating up Denis Kang.
R1- Bisping got a take down one minute into the round but Wanderlei quickly gets back up swinging. Really even round, Wanderlei had a flurry at the end of the round that might have stole the round for him as he was the aggressor in the second half of the round after Bisping got two take downs.
R2- Wanderlei caught a Bisping kick and kicked his other leg out from under him and took top position on Bisping. Bisping got a take down with two minutes left in the round but Wanderlei got back to his feet quickly. Bisping got a take down at the end of the round but Wanderlei grabbed a guillotine and Bisping looked like he was going to tap but he held on until the end of the round. Wanderlei took this round so depending on how round one was scored he’s up 20-18 or it’s tied at 19-19.
R3- Wanderlei is starting to land some strikes about half way through the round. Bisping’s most effective offense in this round so far has been a low blow and an eye poke. Wanderlei landed a right hand and started to swing for the fence. Wanderlei grabbed another Bisping kick and swept his leg out from under him again. Wanderlei hit a big right in the closing moments and it looked like the ref was about to stop the fight but he let it go to the bell. Wanderlei definitely took the final two rounds so I’ve got him winning this fight. He didn’t seem as aggressive as usual but definitely picked up the pace at the end of all of the rounds.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Noguiera (32-5-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0)
The UFC tells us that Nogueira has 53 Submission Attempts which is the most in UFC/Pride history, he has a 67% arm bar success rate and his average fight time is 12 minutes and 14 seconds. Cain has a 63% striking accuracy (2nd in UFC), lands 70% of take down attempts and has never been taken down. The winner of this fight should be in line to face Brock Lesnar either before or after the winner of Shane Carwin/Frank Mir. Minotauro comes out to the Stones.
R1- Cain looks good early as he hits some combos and Big Nog absorbs them. Cain hit some wicked shots just after the two minute mark that knocked Big Nog down and then jumped on top and quickly finished the fight. Big Nog came in with a right and Cain countered with a left and then clocked him with a big right uppercut and then floored him with a big left hand. Cain then got on top and immediately struck a big right hand to the chin that ended the fight and before Herb Dean could get in there to break it up Cain landed a couple more shots. Amazing performance by Velasquez.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:20
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
This was from the pre-show. Bonnar needs a win badly.
R1- Soszynski bull rushes at the beginning and they clinched against the cage. Soszynski looks good early and has bloodied Bonnar’s nose. Bonnar grabbed a kick and got a take down but couldn’t do anything with it. Bonnar looked like he started getting more comfortable towards the end of the round but I’ve got Soszynski taking the round 10-9.
R2- Close round. Joe Rogan pointed out that it looked like Soszynski landed the stronger shots but Bonnar landed more shots and I think that’s pretty much how the round went. That was a tough round to judge. Soszynski landed some good shots towards the end of the round that may have stolen the round for him.
R3- Soszynski landed a shot very early that briefly knocked Bonnar to his knees and the shot cut Bonnar. Bonnar has blood all over him. Here is what Joe Rogan had to say about it “Oh My God. He is pouring blood out of his head…This is Crazy…It’s literally leaking out of his head”. The ref stops the fight to look at the cut. The ref stops the fight. In looking at the replays it looked like the cut was caused by a headbutt and that’s why after the cut happened Bonnar looked at the ref.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R3 1:04
Showing posts with label Joe Stevenson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Stevenson. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Friday, November 13, 2009
UFC 104 Re-Cap
UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun
10/24/09
Los Angeles, Ca
Staples Center
Lyoto Machida makes his first defense of his Light Heavyweight Title tonight against Shogun Rua. Cain Velasquez will try to stay undefeated when he takes on Ben Rothwell.
Welterweight Fight (Catchweight of 176)- Anthony Johnson (7-2) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3)
Yoshida subbed Brandon Wolff at UFC 98. Anthony Johnson TKO’d Luigi Fioravanti at Fight Night 17. Yoshida is a 4th degree Judo Black Belt. Johnson missed weight for this fight by six pounds. Joe Rogan says he’s been rumored to walk around as big as 220 so his days as a Welterweight might be numbered. Johnson has been training with Cung Le and has Le and Josh Thomson in his corner. Johnson has a 3” height, 8” reach and 6 lb weight advantage.
R1- Johnson landed some punches early in the clinch and then decked him with a right hand and this one is over. Rogan pointed out that these guys looked like they were in different weight divisions. Johnson looked great but he missed weight and he has got to move up in weight if he can’t make the cut to 170.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Punches) R1 0:41
Post-fight Johnson said that he had gotten heavy because of a knee injury that he sustained in training for Matt Brown previously. He owned up for not making weight but said that he’s not planning on moving up weight classes yet.
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is in the crowd.
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (24-4) vs. Joe Stevenson (35-10)
Fisher is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Caol Uno in a very close fight. Fisher is on a 3 fight win streak. Stevenson is coming off of a win over Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Stevenson is currently training with Greg Jackson and has him in his corner for the fight. Stevenson is a jiu jitsu and judo black belt.
R1- Stevenson opened up a cut near Spencer’s eye. Stevenson fights hard for a take down but Spencer stuffs him and the ref breaks up the clinch. Spencer is blinking a lot and having some issues with the blood in his eye. Stevenson finally gets a take down with about half a minute left in the round. Joe lands some good Ground and Pound as Spencer turtled up. Stevenson takes this round and is up 10-9.
R2- Stevenson got a take down in the second minute of the round. Stevenson lands some good elbows in half guard. Stevenson just starts destroying Spencer with elbows and Herb Dean steps in and puts a stop to the fight. Stevenson has looked really good under the direction of Greg Jackson.
They announce the win as tapout due to strikes.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Elbow Strikes) R2 4:03
Chris Tucker is at the fights with his sunglasses.
Middleweight Fight- Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen
The Dean of Draws Yushin Okami makes it onto the PPV in a televised pre-PPV fight. Okami’s only loss in UFC is to Rich Franklin. Matt Lindland is in Sonnen’s corner.
R1- Sonnen gets a take down in the first minute. Okami keeps getting up but Sonnen keeps taking him back down. Okami gets back to his feet about half way through the round. Sonnen got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Sonnen takes the first round 10-9.
R2- This was a pretty even round but Sonnen seemed to start getting the better of Okami towards the end of the round.
R3- Sonnen got a take down about half way through the round and landed some Ground and Pound but Okami got back up. Okami grabbed Sonnen with a kimura in full guard but could not keep it as Sonnen landed some body punches. Sonnen is going to win this fight by decision. Really good win for Sonnen.
Judges score cards say:
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous) 30-27 on all 3 score cards
Catchweight Fight- Josh Neer (25-8-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (29-6)
Tibau comes out to “Iron Man” but doesn’t have any spiked shoulder pads. Tibau is coming off a decision loss to Melvin Guillard. Tibau is fighting out of American Top Team and is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Neer is coming off a decision loss to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101. Neer came in at 156.5 lbs and Tibau at 157 so that’s why this is a catchweight fight.
R1- Tibau got a wicked slam early but Neer got back to his feet. Tibau got another big take down/slam but Neer got up again after a short amount of time on the ground. Tibau got a third take down but Neer pushed him off when he tried to pass. Tibau got a fourth take down. Neer got to his feet and Tibau tried to grab a guillotine but Neer quickly slipped out. Tibau took this round 10-9.
Jerry Ferrera (turtle from Entourage) was shown in the crowd during the intermission between rounds. Jeremy Piven (also from Entourage) was shown a bit later.
R2- Tibau starts off the round with another powerful take down but Neer again gets up quickly. Tibau is taking Neer down at will but is not able to hold him down. Tibau was able to get a mount with half of the round left. Neer gave up his back to get out of mount and Tibau tried to get an arm bar but couldn’t and Neer ended up on top briefly. I’ve got Tibau up 20-18 but he seems to be fading a bit.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are at the show tonight.
R3- Tibau started off the round with a take down. Neer was able to stuff three take downs. Tibau gets another take down with two minutes left in the fight but couldn’t hold him down. Tibau finishes the fight with yet another take down. Tibau really dominated this fight with take downs. The only round that was close was the final one.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (6-0) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-6)
Rothwell is making his UFC debut and is a former IFL Heavyweight Champion. Velasquez is a Top 10 Heavyweight and is coming off a big unanimous decision win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. Rothwell has a 3” height and 3” reach advantage and has a huge weight advantage of 27 lbs. Velasquez is from California and is a big fan favorite in this fight. Rothwell has won 14 of his last 15 fights and was 9-0 in IFL fights.
R1- Cain got a take down in the first 30 seconds but Rothwell stood back up without taking any damage. Cain got another take down at the two minute mark of the round. Cain landed a couple of punches before Rothwell got to his feet. Cain got Rothwell down again and landed some good punches and looked like he opened up a cut on Rothwell. Cain is starting to land some good punches. Cain landed some hammer fists and then peppered Rothwell with several punches. Cain is just dominating Rothwell so far. Somehow Rothwell survives that round but he took a beating in the second part of the round. 10-8 round in favor of Cain.
R2- Cain opens up the round with a take down and lands some good shots. Cain lands some big shots against the cage and Mazzagatti steps in and stops the fight. Rothwell is upset. Definitely an awkward stoppage but Cain was completely dominating the fight up to that point. Not a good time to stop the fight by Mazzagatti as Cain was landing some good punches but Rothwell was in the process of getting back to his feet.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Punches) R2 0:58
Chuck Liddell is at the fights as is Michael Clarke Duncan.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Lyoto Machida © (15-0) vs. Shogun Rua (18-3)
Lyoto has had 15 career fights and has never been knocked down. He’s also never lost a round in any of his UFC fights and has absorbed fewer strikes than any other fighter in UFC history. Shogun has also never been knocked down in the UFC and has a 46% strike accuracy percentage (versus 35% of the average fighter). Machida gets a really good reception from the crowd.
R1- Machida hits a few knees early. Shogun clinched Machida a couple of times but didn’t land anything significant. Really close round with neither guy really having an advantage. Shogun was the aggressor but in a title fight I’ve got to give the benefit of the scoring to the champion if neither fighter looked like they won the round. So I’ve got 10-9 Machida (it would be a 10-10 if it was allowed to be scored that way).
R2- Machida landed a couple of strikes in the opening minute. Machida landed a punch on Shogun and knocked him off balance and later hit a leg kick that did the same thing. Machida hit a side kick at the two minute mark but Shogun countered with one of his own. Shogun clinched Machida and landed some knees on Machida’s legs. Another close round that I’ve got going to Machida. Machida 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Shogun opens up with a body kick. Machida counters with a combination. They had two good exchanges where it looked like both guys hit what they went for. Shogun is landing some good leg kicks in this round. Machida landed some punches and Shogun hit a counter as well. Really close round that Machida probably stole with that last flurry. Machida 30-27 on my score card.
R4- Shogun is landing some leg kicks early in the round. Machida slipped and Shogun quickly rushed in for a take down but couldn’t get it. Not a lot of action in this round but Shogun definitely got the better of the little strikes that hit in this round. Machida 39-37 so far.
R5- Shogun continues with the onslaught of leg kicks. But I really don’t think leg kicks should win you a championship unless they are devastating and if they are devastating. Machida landed some knees and Shogun responded with a kick. Shogun landed a couple of strikes with about a minute and a half left in the fight. Close round but I think Shogun did enough to win this round. I’ve got this fight as Machida 48 Shogun 47. Really close fight with 5 very competitive and close rounds. Shogun fought a good fight but I don’t think he did enough to unseat the champion. I could definitely see a split decision by the judges.
Judges score cards say: All 3 judges score the fight 48-47 in favor of Machida.
Winner and still champion: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
10/24/09
Los Angeles, Ca
Staples Center
Lyoto Machida makes his first defense of his Light Heavyweight Title tonight against Shogun Rua. Cain Velasquez will try to stay undefeated when he takes on Ben Rothwell.
Welterweight Fight (Catchweight of 176)- Anthony Johnson (7-2) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3)
Yoshida subbed Brandon Wolff at UFC 98. Anthony Johnson TKO’d Luigi Fioravanti at Fight Night 17. Yoshida is a 4th degree Judo Black Belt. Johnson missed weight for this fight by six pounds. Joe Rogan says he’s been rumored to walk around as big as 220 so his days as a Welterweight might be numbered. Johnson has been training with Cung Le and has Le and Josh Thomson in his corner. Johnson has a 3” height, 8” reach and 6 lb weight advantage.
R1- Johnson landed some punches early in the clinch and then decked him with a right hand and this one is over. Rogan pointed out that these guys looked like they were in different weight divisions. Johnson looked great but he missed weight and he has got to move up in weight if he can’t make the cut to 170.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Punches) R1 0:41
Post-fight Johnson said that he had gotten heavy because of a knee injury that he sustained in training for Matt Brown previously. He owned up for not making weight but said that he’s not planning on moving up weight classes yet.
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is in the crowd.
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (24-4) vs. Joe Stevenson (35-10)
Fisher is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Caol Uno in a very close fight. Fisher is on a 3 fight win streak. Stevenson is coming off of a win over Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Stevenson is currently training with Greg Jackson and has him in his corner for the fight. Stevenson is a jiu jitsu and judo black belt.
R1- Stevenson opened up a cut near Spencer’s eye. Stevenson fights hard for a take down but Spencer stuffs him and the ref breaks up the clinch. Spencer is blinking a lot and having some issues with the blood in his eye. Stevenson finally gets a take down with about half a minute left in the round. Joe lands some good Ground and Pound as Spencer turtled up. Stevenson takes this round and is up 10-9.
R2- Stevenson got a take down in the second minute of the round. Stevenson lands some good elbows in half guard. Stevenson just starts destroying Spencer with elbows and Herb Dean steps in and puts a stop to the fight. Stevenson has looked really good under the direction of Greg Jackson.
They announce the win as tapout due to strikes.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Elbow Strikes) R2 4:03
Chris Tucker is at the fights with his sunglasses.
Middleweight Fight- Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen
The Dean of Draws Yushin Okami makes it onto the PPV in a televised pre-PPV fight. Okami’s only loss in UFC is to Rich Franklin. Matt Lindland is in Sonnen’s corner.
R1- Sonnen gets a take down in the first minute. Okami keeps getting up but Sonnen keeps taking him back down. Okami gets back to his feet about half way through the round. Sonnen got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Sonnen takes the first round 10-9.
R2- This was a pretty even round but Sonnen seemed to start getting the better of Okami towards the end of the round.
R3- Sonnen got a take down about half way through the round and landed some Ground and Pound but Okami got back up. Okami grabbed Sonnen with a kimura in full guard but could not keep it as Sonnen landed some body punches. Sonnen is going to win this fight by decision. Really good win for Sonnen.
Judges score cards say:
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous) 30-27 on all 3 score cards
Catchweight Fight- Josh Neer (25-8-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (29-6)
Tibau comes out to “Iron Man” but doesn’t have any spiked shoulder pads. Tibau is coming off a decision loss to Melvin Guillard. Tibau is fighting out of American Top Team and is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Neer is coming off a decision loss to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101. Neer came in at 156.5 lbs and Tibau at 157 so that’s why this is a catchweight fight.
R1- Tibau got a wicked slam early but Neer got back to his feet. Tibau got another big take down/slam but Neer got up again after a short amount of time on the ground. Tibau got a third take down but Neer pushed him off when he tried to pass. Tibau got a fourth take down. Neer got to his feet and Tibau tried to grab a guillotine but Neer quickly slipped out. Tibau took this round 10-9.
Jerry Ferrera (turtle from Entourage) was shown in the crowd during the intermission between rounds. Jeremy Piven (also from Entourage) was shown a bit later.
R2- Tibau starts off the round with another powerful take down but Neer again gets up quickly. Tibau is taking Neer down at will but is not able to hold him down. Tibau was able to get a mount with half of the round left. Neer gave up his back to get out of mount and Tibau tried to get an arm bar but couldn’t and Neer ended up on top briefly. I’ve got Tibau up 20-18 but he seems to be fading a bit.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are at the show tonight.
R3- Tibau started off the round with a take down. Neer was able to stuff three take downs. Tibau gets another take down with two minutes left in the fight but couldn’t hold him down. Tibau finishes the fight with yet another take down. Tibau really dominated this fight with take downs. The only round that was close was the final one.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (6-0) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-6)
Rothwell is making his UFC debut and is a former IFL Heavyweight Champion. Velasquez is a Top 10 Heavyweight and is coming off a big unanimous decision win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. Rothwell has a 3” height and 3” reach advantage and has a huge weight advantage of 27 lbs. Velasquez is from California and is a big fan favorite in this fight. Rothwell has won 14 of his last 15 fights and was 9-0 in IFL fights.
R1- Cain got a take down in the first 30 seconds but Rothwell stood back up without taking any damage. Cain got another take down at the two minute mark of the round. Cain landed a couple of punches before Rothwell got to his feet. Cain got Rothwell down again and landed some good punches and looked like he opened up a cut on Rothwell. Cain is starting to land some good punches. Cain landed some hammer fists and then peppered Rothwell with several punches. Cain is just dominating Rothwell so far. Somehow Rothwell survives that round but he took a beating in the second part of the round. 10-8 round in favor of Cain.
R2- Cain opens up the round with a take down and lands some good shots. Cain lands some big shots against the cage and Mazzagatti steps in and stops the fight. Rothwell is upset. Definitely an awkward stoppage but Cain was completely dominating the fight up to that point. Not a good time to stop the fight by Mazzagatti as Cain was landing some good punches but Rothwell was in the process of getting back to his feet.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Punches) R2 0:58
Chuck Liddell is at the fights as is Michael Clarke Duncan.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Lyoto Machida © (15-0) vs. Shogun Rua (18-3)
Lyoto has had 15 career fights and has never been knocked down. He’s also never lost a round in any of his UFC fights and has absorbed fewer strikes than any other fighter in UFC history. Shogun has also never been knocked down in the UFC and has a 46% strike accuracy percentage (versus 35% of the average fighter). Machida gets a really good reception from the crowd.
R1- Machida hits a few knees early. Shogun clinched Machida a couple of times but didn’t land anything significant. Really close round with neither guy really having an advantage. Shogun was the aggressor but in a title fight I’ve got to give the benefit of the scoring to the champion if neither fighter looked like they won the round. So I’ve got 10-9 Machida (it would be a 10-10 if it was allowed to be scored that way).
R2- Machida landed a couple of strikes in the opening minute. Machida landed a punch on Shogun and knocked him off balance and later hit a leg kick that did the same thing. Machida hit a side kick at the two minute mark but Shogun countered with one of his own. Shogun clinched Machida and landed some knees on Machida’s legs. Another close round that I’ve got going to Machida. Machida 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Shogun opens up with a body kick. Machida counters with a combination. They had two good exchanges where it looked like both guys hit what they went for. Shogun is landing some good leg kicks in this round. Machida landed some punches and Shogun hit a counter as well. Really close round that Machida probably stole with that last flurry. Machida 30-27 on my score card.
R4- Shogun is landing some leg kicks early in the round. Machida slipped and Shogun quickly rushed in for a take down but couldn’t get it. Not a lot of action in this round but Shogun definitely got the better of the little strikes that hit in this round. Machida 39-37 so far.
R5- Shogun continues with the onslaught of leg kicks. But I really don’t think leg kicks should win you a championship unless they are devastating and if they are devastating. Machida landed some knees and Shogun responded with a kick. Shogun landed a couple of strikes with about a minute and a half left in the fight. Close round but I think Shogun did enough to win this round. I’ve got this fight as Machida 48 Shogun 47. Really close fight with 5 very competitive and close rounds. Shogun fought a good fight but I don’t think he did enough to unseat the champion. I could definitely see a split decision by the judges.
Judges score cards say: All 3 judges score the fight 48-47 in favor of Machida.
Winner and still champion: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale 6/20/09 Re-Cap
The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale 6/20/09
The Pearl at the Palms
Las Vegas, Nevada
This is a big show with two really good match-ups in Diego Sanchez/Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson/Nate Diaz. We also have a potential show stealer in Chris Lytle/Kevin. Plus, we have the two Ultimate Fighter 9 Finals that have Damarques Johnson facing James Wilks in the Welterweight Division and Andre Winner taking on Ross Pearson in the Lightweight Finals.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-10)
This is a battle of past ultimate fighter winners. Joe Stevenson is really in a must win situation as he is coming off of losses to Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian. Nate Diaz is coming off of a close decision loss to Clay Guida at UFC 94. Stevenson won his weight class in Season 2 and Diaz won Season 5. Diaz has a 6” reach and 5” height advantage. Stevenson spent 6 weeks in Greg Jackson’s camp before this fight.
R1- Stevenson goes to touch gloves and Diaz does not touch. Stevenson gets an early take down and Diaz grabs a guillotine but could not hold onto the move. Joe lands some shots and has Nate tied up. Nate turns into Joe’s guard and Joe grabs a guillotine but Diaz held on and got out of the submission. Joe lands some knees to end the round. Joe takes this round 10-9.
R2- Joe went for a take down and Nate went for a guillotine again and didn’t get it but did fend of the take down as they ended up against the cage. Joe landed some knees against the cage and Joe gets Diaz down on the mat. Joe is controlling the round but not landing a lot of damage. I’ve got Joe up 20-18 going into the third round.
R3- Diaz again does not touch hands with Joe. Joe worked hard for a take down early and Nate landed a nice judo throw to get in Joe’s guard. Nate went for a submission but couldn’t get it and then briefly tried a Rear Naked but Joe scrambled back to his feet. Joe lands some more knees against the cage. Nate landed some punches in the last minute of the round while avoiding Joe’s take down. This was a pretty decent fight. I give Nate the final round but I’ve got Joe winning this fight 29-28.
Judges score cards say: all 3 judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Stevenson.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)
Ultimate Fighter 9 Lightweight Finals: Andre Winner (10-2-1) vs. Ross Pearson (10-3)
Winner made it to the finals by defeating Gary Kelly, Santino Defranco and Cameron Dollar. Pearson made it to the finals by defeating A.J. Wenn, Richie Whitson and Jason Dent. Winner has a 4” reach and 3” height advantage.
R1- Really even start to the fight as they started out on their feet and then clinched battling for position. This round was a virtual tie. Winner hit a flurry at the end of the round and I’ve got him barely taking this round 10-9.
R2- Lots of clinching in this round. This was another very close round. Winner hit another flurry at the end of this round but this one was not as good as the last round. Scoring could be anywhere right now. I’ve got it 19-19.
R3- They stand up and throw some leather in the middle of this round but then quickly got back to the clinch. With under a minute left they throw some more leather. Pearson has thus far landed more shots in this round as Winner looks like he’s is tiring. Pearson landed a knee and an elbow at the end of the fight and Winner took a knee as the bell rung. I’ve got Pearson winning this round so I’ve got Pearson up on my score card 29-28 but I think this is going to be a split decision as I really don’t feel there was a clear winner in this fight. This was a good close fight but it didn’t really have that explosive action that most MMA fans enjoy. Both guys deserve a shot to see if they can make it in the UFC.
Judges score card: all judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Ross Pearson.
Winner: Ross Pearson
Welterweight Fight- Chris Lytle (36-17-4) vs. Kevin Burns (8-2)
Chris Lytle is coming off of a split decision loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 93. Burns is coming off of a KO loss to Anthony Johnson back in December. Burns has a 6” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- This fight starts out how you thought it would with both guys throwing punches and some kicks. Lytle came in and Burns caught him with a short right uppercut and Lytle went down. Burns followed him to the ground but Lytle seemed to recover. Burns lands some good shots at the end of the round and Lytle is reeling. Burns took this round 10-9.
R2- Lytle came out and hit two good strikes right off the bat that sent Burns reeling. Burns went for a take down and got it but Lytle quickly got to his feet. Burns has hit Lytle with at least 3 low blows so far in this fight. He is the same guy that kept poking Anthony Johnson in the eye in a fight last year. Lytle evens this fight up at 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Rashad Evans in the house, no doubt he’s still thinking about how Lyoto Machida just dismantled him. Lytle caught a kick and delivered a punch while holding onto Burns leg and Burns got cut bad by that strike. Lytle hit a big right hand half way through the round that rocked Burns. Lytle is throwing some heavy punches this round. This was a really good fight. Lytle takes the final round and wins the fight 29-28 on my score card.
Judges score cards say: all 3 judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Lytle.
Winner: Chris Lytle by Decision (Unanimous)
Joe Rogan interviews Brock Lesnar via Satellite about the Frank Mir fight that is coming up in a few weeks.
Ultimate Fighter 9 Welterweight Finals: DaMarques Johnson (14-6) vs. James Wilks (6-2)
James Wilks got here by defeating Che Mills and Frank Lester twice. Damarques Johnson defeated Ray Elbe, Dean Amasinger, and Nick Osipczak. Wilks is from the UK but actually fights out of California now. Damarques trains with Jeremy Horn.
R1- Wilks hit a couple of nice shots to start off the fight. Wilks is landing some good knees against the cage. Wilks went for a leg lock but couldn’t lock it in. Damarques got a couple of shots in on Wilks. Wilks landed a triangle and Damarques got out but his arm looked like it was in a weird spot. Wilks went after a Rear Naked Choke and Damarques tapped with under 10 seconds left in the round. James Wilks just dominated this fight and looked very good.
Winner: James Wilks by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:54
Lightweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (22-2) vs. Clay Guida (25-6)
Diego won his debut at Lightweight against Joe Stevenson and is looking to move up in ranking as he’s looking for a title shot. Guida is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 94 and he beat Mac Danzig by Unanimous Decision in his fight previous to that one. Diego looks incredibly intense getting into the cage and he and Guida are jawing at each other. Diego has a 4” reach and height advantage. They have a crazy looking stare down.
R1- They are throwing shots at each other like crazy as Diego came running across the ring. Diego is nailing Guida with strikes and hits him with a flying knee. Guida looks like his face or nose is busted open. Guida gets a take down. Lucky for him because he was just getting destroyed by Diego on their feet. Sanchez uses the rubber guard and is able to get back to his feet. Diego landed a big head kick on Guida and he fell to the ground. Diego hit another flying knee and continues to eat Guida’s lunch on their feet. Diego got a take down with thirty seconds left in the round. WOW, what a SICK first round. Probably the best round of fighting I’ve seen this year. This was reminiscent of some of Eddie Alvarez’s fights in DREAM last year. Sanchez took this one 10-9. It was a borderline 10-8 round but Guida got a take down and landed some elbows. Sanchez looked awesome in this round.
R2- Guida got a take down to start this round. Diego is throwing elbows from the bottom. Guida is dominating control but Diego is landing better strikes so far this round. Diego is a bloody mess and I think it’s from the top of Guida’s head (where Diego has been hitting the strikes) and from Guida’s nose (which was probably broken in the first round). I’ve got to give this round to Diego. Cage control only goes so far. Diego did more damage in this round than Guida did with the elbows to the top of the head. Diego is up 20-18.
R3- Guida is bleeding from the nose and the head as this round starts. Clay went for a take down and Diego tried to take his back but Guida slipped into guard. Sanchez got an arm triangle briefly but Guida again slipped out. Guida is on top but Sanchez is working a kimura. Sanchez tried for an arm bar and then Guida hit some Ground and Pound as the bell rung. GREAT FIGHT. I’ve got Sanchez taking this round also as he had 4 submission attempts and the stand up in the round was even. Sanchez 30-27 on my score card. It will be interesting to see how the judges score the fight. Fight of the Year so far?
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Guida, 29-27 Sanchez and 29-28 Sanchez. I just don’t see how you would score the fight for Guida. Lying on top of a guy doesn’t beat out damage inflicted in a round. I can see how someone would give Guida round three but no way he won round two.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Split)
Solid night of fights capped by a FOTY candidate in Sanchez/Guida.
The Pearl at the Palms
Las Vegas, Nevada
This is a big show with two really good match-ups in Diego Sanchez/Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson/Nate Diaz. We also have a potential show stealer in Chris Lytle/Kevin. Plus, we have the two Ultimate Fighter 9 Finals that have Damarques Johnson facing James Wilks in the Welterweight Division and Andre Winner taking on Ross Pearson in the Lightweight Finals.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-10)
This is a battle of past ultimate fighter winners. Joe Stevenson is really in a must win situation as he is coming off of losses to Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian. Nate Diaz is coming off of a close decision loss to Clay Guida at UFC 94. Stevenson won his weight class in Season 2 and Diaz won Season 5. Diaz has a 6” reach and 5” height advantage. Stevenson spent 6 weeks in Greg Jackson’s camp before this fight.
R1- Stevenson goes to touch gloves and Diaz does not touch. Stevenson gets an early take down and Diaz grabs a guillotine but could not hold onto the move. Joe lands some shots and has Nate tied up. Nate turns into Joe’s guard and Joe grabs a guillotine but Diaz held on and got out of the submission. Joe lands some knees to end the round. Joe takes this round 10-9.
R2- Joe went for a take down and Nate went for a guillotine again and didn’t get it but did fend of the take down as they ended up against the cage. Joe landed some knees against the cage and Joe gets Diaz down on the mat. Joe is controlling the round but not landing a lot of damage. I’ve got Joe up 20-18 going into the third round.
R3- Diaz again does not touch hands with Joe. Joe worked hard for a take down early and Nate landed a nice judo throw to get in Joe’s guard. Nate went for a submission but couldn’t get it and then briefly tried a Rear Naked but Joe scrambled back to his feet. Joe lands some more knees against the cage. Nate landed some punches in the last minute of the round while avoiding Joe’s take down. This was a pretty decent fight. I give Nate the final round but I’ve got Joe winning this fight 29-28.
Judges score cards say: all 3 judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Stevenson.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)
Ultimate Fighter 9 Lightweight Finals: Andre Winner (10-2-1) vs. Ross Pearson (10-3)
Winner made it to the finals by defeating Gary Kelly, Santino Defranco and Cameron Dollar. Pearson made it to the finals by defeating A.J. Wenn, Richie Whitson and Jason Dent. Winner has a 4” reach and 3” height advantage.
R1- Really even start to the fight as they started out on their feet and then clinched battling for position. This round was a virtual tie. Winner hit a flurry at the end of the round and I’ve got him barely taking this round 10-9.
R2- Lots of clinching in this round. This was another very close round. Winner hit another flurry at the end of this round but this one was not as good as the last round. Scoring could be anywhere right now. I’ve got it 19-19.
R3- They stand up and throw some leather in the middle of this round but then quickly got back to the clinch. With under a minute left they throw some more leather. Pearson has thus far landed more shots in this round as Winner looks like he’s is tiring. Pearson landed a knee and an elbow at the end of the fight and Winner took a knee as the bell rung. I’ve got Pearson winning this round so I’ve got Pearson up on my score card 29-28 but I think this is going to be a split decision as I really don’t feel there was a clear winner in this fight. This was a good close fight but it didn’t really have that explosive action that most MMA fans enjoy. Both guys deserve a shot to see if they can make it in the UFC.
Judges score card: all judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Ross Pearson.
Winner: Ross Pearson
Welterweight Fight- Chris Lytle (36-17-4) vs. Kevin Burns (8-2)
Chris Lytle is coming off of a split decision loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 93. Burns is coming off of a KO loss to Anthony Johnson back in December. Burns has a 6” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- This fight starts out how you thought it would with both guys throwing punches and some kicks. Lytle came in and Burns caught him with a short right uppercut and Lytle went down. Burns followed him to the ground but Lytle seemed to recover. Burns lands some good shots at the end of the round and Lytle is reeling. Burns took this round 10-9.
R2- Lytle came out and hit two good strikes right off the bat that sent Burns reeling. Burns went for a take down and got it but Lytle quickly got to his feet. Burns has hit Lytle with at least 3 low blows so far in this fight. He is the same guy that kept poking Anthony Johnson in the eye in a fight last year. Lytle evens this fight up at 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Rashad Evans in the house, no doubt he’s still thinking about how Lyoto Machida just dismantled him. Lytle caught a kick and delivered a punch while holding onto Burns leg and Burns got cut bad by that strike. Lytle hit a big right hand half way through the round that rocked Burns. Lytle is throwing some heavy punches this round. This was a really good fight. Lytle takes the final round and wins the fight 29-28 on my score card.
Judges score cards say: all 3 judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Lytle.
Winner: Chris Lytle by Decision (Unanimous)
Joe Rogan interviews Brock Lesnar via Satellite about the Frank Mir fight that is coming up in a few weeks.
Ultimate Fighter 9 Welterweight Finals: DaMarques Johnson (14-6) vs. James Wilks (6-2)
James Wilks got here by defeating Che Mills and Frank Lester twice. Damarques Johnson defeated Ray Elbe, Dean Amasinger, and Nick Osipczak. Wilks is from the UK but actually fights out of California now. Damarques trains with Jeremy Horn.
R1- Wilks hit a couple of nice shots to start off the fight. Wilks is landing some good knees against the cage. Wilks went for a leg lock but couldn’t lock it in. Damarques got a couple of shots in on Wilks. Wilks landed a triangle and Damarques got out but his arm looked like it was in a weird spot. Wilks went after a Rear Naked Choke and Damarques tapped with under 10 seconds left in the round. James Wilks just dominated this fight and looked very good.
Winner: James Wilks by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:54
Lightweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (22-2) vs. Clay Guida (25-6)
Diego won his debut at Lightweight against Joe Stevenson and is looking to move up in ranking as he’s looking for a title shot. Guida is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 94 and he beat Mac Danzig by Unanimous Decision in his fight previous to that one. Diego looks incredibly intense getting into the cage and he and Guida are jawing at each other. Diego has a 4” reach and height advantage. They have a crazy looking stare down.
R1- They are throwing shots at each other like crazy as Diego came running across the ring. Diego is nailing Guida with strikes and hits him with a flying knee. Guida looks like his face or nose is busted open. Guida gets a take down. Lucky for him because he was just getting destroyed by Diego on their feet. Sanchez uses the rubber guard and is able to get back to his feet. Diego landed a big head kick on Guida and he fell to the ground. Diego hit another flying knee and continues to eat Guida’s lunch on their feet. Diego got a take down with thirty seconds left in the round. WOW, what a SICK first round. Probably the best round of fighting I’ve seen this year. This was reminiscent of some of Eddie Alvarez’s fights in DREAM last year. Sanchez took this one 10-9. It was a borderline 10-8 round but Guida got a take down and landed some elbows. Sanchez looked awesome in this round.
R2- Guida got a take down to start this round. Diego is throwing elbows from the bottom. Guida is dominating control but Diego is landing better strikes so far this round. Diego is a bloody mess and I think it’s from the top of Guida’s head (where Diego has been hitting the strikes) and from Guida’s nose (which was probably broken in the first round). I’ve got to give this round to Diego. Cage control only goes so far. Diego did more damage in this round than Guida did with the elbows to the top of the head. Diego is up 20-18.
R3- Guida is bleeding from the nose and the head as this round starts. Clay went for a take down and Diego tried to take his back but Guida slipped into guard. Sanchez got an arm triangle briefly but Guida again slipped out. Guida is on top but Sanchez is working a kimura. Sanchez tried for an arm bar and then Guida hit some Ground and Pound as the bell rung. GREAT FIGHT. I’ve got Sanchez taking this round also as he had 4 submission attempts and the stand up in the round was even. Sanchez 30-27 on my score card. It will be interesting to see how the judges score the fight. Fight of the Year so far?
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Guida, 29-27 Sanchez and 29-28 Sanchez. I just don’t see how you would score the fight for Guida. Lying on top of a guy doesn’t beat out damage inflicted in a round. I can see how someone would give Guida round three but no way he won round two.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Split)
Solid night of fights capped by a FOTY candidate in Sanchez/Guida.
Monday, November 17, 2008
UFC 91 "Couture vs Lesnar" Re-Cap
UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar
Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson and Brock Lesnar versus Randy Couture headline this show. These are two fights that I am really looking forward to watching.
Middleweight Fight- Nate Quarry (16-2) vs. Demian Maia (9-0)
Maia is a jiu-jitsu fighter. Maia's last fight was a victory over Jason MacDonald by submission in the third round back at UFC 87. Nate Quarry was last seen humbling and chasing Khalib Starnes at UFC 83. This should be a good fight. If Maia wins this then he could really step up towards the top of the UFC Middleweights. Quarry gets a good pop from the crowd.
R1- Maia immediately went to the mat and tried to pull guard and then got on top of Quarry. Maia takes Quarry's back about one minutes into the fight. He has him in a triangle and is looking for a choke. Maia clamped it on and Quarry tapped. Dominate performance by Maia.
Winner: Demian Maia by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:13
Heavyweight Fight- Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) vs. Josh Hendricks (18-4)
This is the debut of Hendricks. He's been training with Randy Couture for a couple of weeks helping Couture prepare for Lesnar. Gonzaga has a 20 lb weight advantage and a 2 inch reach advantage.
R1- They start off with some dirty boxing. Gonzaga hits with some knees and then just pops Hendricks with a big punch and Hendricks hits the mat like a ton of bricks. Gonzaga hits him with another punch and the ref doesn't step in so Gonzaga hits him again and the fight is stopped. Gonzaga looked great in this fight.
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:01
GSP is at the fight tonight, as is BJ Penn.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas
They jump right into this fight so it looks like it's a pre-show fight. Matt Brown took this fight on short notice.
R1- Matt Brown goes right after him and hit a couple of shots. Thomas recovered and got a take down and took side control fairly quickly. Thomas landing a lot of punches. Brown gets back to his feet. Matt Brown grabs an arm bar and then tries to move it to a triangle but Thomas slides to side control again. Brown grabbed a guillotine but couldn't finish and then went for a triangle right at the buzzer. Good first round. Thomas got in more punches but Brown got more near submission attempts.
R2- Brown clamped in an arm bar attempt early in the round and eventually turned Thomas over and got him to tap. Good fight and good showing by Brown.
Winner: Matt Brown by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 0:57
Tamdan McCrory (11-1) vs. Dustin Hazelett (13-4)
McCrory beat Luke Cuomo at UFC 87 by unanimous decision. Hazlett fell to Josh Koshcheck at UFC 82 and a victory against Josh Burkman. Hazelett comes out to some CCR. McCrory has a 3 inch height advantage.
R1- McCrory swings for the fences early and hit with some shots. Hazelett pushed McCrory down with a front kick and then missed a flying knee. Hazelett pushes forward and hits some nice strikes. McCrory comes back with some strikes of his own. They go to the ground and Hazelett ties McCrory up like a pretzel and eventually get the tap. Good fight.
Winner: Dustin Hazelett by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 3:59
Anderson Silva is at the show.
Lightweight Fight- Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
This is another pre-show fight.
R1- Dos Anjos took Stephens down in this round and controlled the majority of the round. He got a near submission towards the end of the round but Stephens held on.
R2- Stephens looked better in the second round. Dos Anjos has had opportunities to finish the fight but he just hasn't been able to get it done yet.
R3- Jeremy Stephens just explodes at the beginning of this round and destroys Dos Anjos. He just nailed him with an uppercut that rocked Dos Anjos. After that shot it was just a couple of shots on the ground and this one was over. Great punch.
Winner: Jeremy Stephens by KO R3 0:39
Wanderlei Silva is in the house tonight. Lots of big guns here to watch Couture/Lesnar.
Joe Rogan interviews 50 Cent during the break. 50 Cent seems to think that Brock is going to win the fight tonight.
Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (12-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-8)
This is potential fight of the night. But then again I thought that with Florian/Huerta and that one was pretty much a stinker. Stevenson just got his BJJ black belt. Florian has a 3 inch height advantage and a 4 inch reach advantage.
R1- Florian gets some strikes in early but Stevenson stalks him down against the cage. Stevenson went for a slam but Florian grabbed onto the cage to avoid the slam but still got taken down. Florian quickly sprawled back up to avoid damage. Florian got a take down and took half guard. Florian mounted and began to ground and pound on Stevenson and then Stevenson turned over and Florian took his back. Stevenson went to stand up and Florian got a Rear Naked Choke and tapped him out. Fantastic finish by Florian. Good fight.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:03
Post-fight Florian says he wants BJ's belt.
UFC Heavyweight Title Fight- Randy Couture © (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1)
Brock comes out to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. Lesnar has a huge 45 pound weight advantage and a 6 inch reach advantage. Lesnar has a 81 inch reach. Lesnar is the heel in this fight as he got a round of boos when he was introduced. Couture got a heroes welcome. Big "Randy" chant by the crowd right before the round starts.
R1- They clinched almost immediately. Crowd chants "Randy". Not much in the first minute and a half. Brock landed some knees and Randy got in a good punch when they clinch was broken. Lesnar dove in and went for a take down. Brock finishes the take down with a slam and Randy grabs half guard but Brock slips out and Randy slips out the back also and reverses position and tries to take Brocks back but Brock dumped him back on the ground and took half guard again. Lesnar lands some good punches in half guard. Couture gets back to his feet with about 45 seconds left in the round. Good first round. Brock controlled most of the action so I'll give him the round 10-9. Couture hung in there and kept away from getting a lot of damage.
R2- Lesnar stuck Randy with an elbow about 15 seconds into the round and he looked a little stunned. Brock rushed in but Randy clinched him against the cage. Brock hit a knee and Randy responded with a punch cutting Brock under the eye. Brock caught Randy with a knee as they broke clinch and then hit him with a couple of punches and he went down and Lesnar just nailed Randy with hammer punches and then the ref stopped the fight. Great finish by Lesnar. Ref probably could have let the fight go on a little longer but it's tough to call something like that.
Winner and new champion: Brock Lesnar R2 3:07
Lightweight Fight- Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
Another undercard fight
R1- Good even first round. Gurgel started to come on towards the end of the round. Gurgel didn't try to take down Riley at all.
R2- Riley definitely took this round as he dominated until about the last 30 seconds when Gurgel took Riley down.
R3- Riley opened up about a minute into this round with a great combo that almost finished Gurgel. Good fight. Aaron Riley is going to win this one via decision.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 in favor of Aaron Riley on all 3 judges score cards.
Winner: Aaron Riley by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek
Under card fight.
R1- Bocek gets a take down early into the fight. Robinson reversed the position after about a minute and a half and then Bocek took the advantage right back. Bocek lands some good elbows from the half guard position. Bocek clamped on a submission at the end of the round but Robinson lasted. Bocek takes this round 10-9.
R2- Bocek gets a quick take down and gets side control. Bocek got a guillotine in on Robinson. Bocek then took his back and looked for a Rear Naked Choke. Robinson fought back and got on top of Bockek with about 30 seconds left but Bocek moved him back over onto his back. Bocek up 20-18 so far and has dominated on the ground.
R3- Bocek slammed Robinson without 30 seconds of the round starting. Bocek got in some good Ground and Pound about half way through the round and then got a Rear Naked Choke and tapped out Robinson. Great showing by Bocek.
Winner: Mark Bocek by Rear Naked Choke R3 3:16
Just a great show from UFC. Definitely the best show UFC has put on this year. Brock/Randy was a good fight. Florian/Stevenson delivered a good one round fight. Maia and Gonzaga looked great in victory. Jeremy Stephens got a highlight reel knockout. Brown/Thomas, Hazelett/McCrory, Bocek/Robinson and Riley/Gurgel were all decent to good fights. Not a bad fight on the show and we got 4 under card fights.
Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson and Brock Lesnar versus Randy Couture headline this show. These are two fights that I am really looking forward to watching.
Middleweight Fight- Nate Quarry (16-2) vs. Demian Maia (9-0)
Maia is a jiu-jitsu fighter. Maia's last fight was a victory over Jason MacDonald by submission in the third round back at UFC 87. Nate Quarry was last seen humbling and chasing Khalib Starnes at UFC 83. This should be a good fight. If Maia wins this then he could really step up towards the top of the UFC Middleweights. Quarry gets a good pop from the crowd.
R1- Maia immediately went to the mat and tried to pull guard and then got on top of Quarry. Maia takes Quarry's back about one minutes into the fight. He has him in a triangle and is looking for a choke. Maia clamped it on and Quarry tapped. Dominate performance by Maia.
Winner: Demian Maia by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 2:13
Heavyweight Fight- Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) vs. Josh Hendricks (18-4)
This is the debut of Hendricks. He's been training with Randy Couture for a couple of weeks helping Couture prepare for Lesnar. Gonzaga has a 20 lb weight advantage and a 2 inch reach advantage.
R1- They start off with some dirty boxing. Gonzaga hits with some knees and then just pops Hendricks with a big punch and Hendricks hits the mat like a ton of bricks. Gonzaga hits him with another punch and the ref doesn't step in so Gonzaga hits him again and the fight is stopped. Gonzaga looked great in this fight.
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:01
GSP is at the fight tonight, as is BJ Penn.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas
They jump right into this fight so it looks like it's a pre-show fight. Matt Brown took this fight on short notice.
R1- Matt Brown goes right after him and hit a couple of shots. Thomas recovered and got a take down and took side control fairly quickly. Thomas landing a lot of punches. Brown gets back to his feet. Matt Brown grabs an arm bar and then tries to move it to a triangle but Thomas slides to side control again. Brown grabbed a guillotine but couldn't finish and then went for a triangle right at the buzzer. Good first round. Thomas got in more punches but Brown got more near submission attempts.
R2- Brown clamped in an arm bar attempt early in the round and eventually turned Thomas over and got him to tap. Good fight and good showing by Brown.
Winner: Matt Brown by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 0:57
Tamdan McCrory (11-1) vs. Dustin Hazelett (13-4)
McCrory beat Luke Cuomo at UFC 87 by unanimous decision. Hazlett fell to Josh Koshcheck at UFC 82 and a victory against Josh Burkman. Hazelett comes out to some CCR. McCrory has a 3 inch height advantage.
R1- McCrory swings for the fences early and hit with some shots. Hazelett pushed McCrory down with a front kick and then missed a flying knee. Hazelett pushes forward and hits some nice strikes. McCrory comes back with some strikes of his own. They go to the ground and Hazelett ties McCrory up like a pretzel and eventually get the tap. Good fight.
Winner: Dustin Hazelett by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 3:59
Anderson Silva is at the show.
Lightweight Fight- Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
This is another pre-show fight.
R1- Dos Anjos took Stephens down in this round and controlled the majority of the round. He got a near submission towards the end of the round but Stephens held on.
R2- Stephens looked better in the second round. Dos Anjos has had opportunities to finish the fight but he just hasn't been able to get it done yet.
R3- Jeremy Stephens just explodes at the beginning of this round and destroys Dos Anjos. He just nailed him with an uppercut that rocked Dos Anjos. After that shot it was just a couple of shots on the ground and this one was over. Great punch.
Winner: Jeremy Stephens by KO R3 0:39
Wanderlei Silva is in the house tonight. Lots of big guns here to watch Couture/Lesnar.
Joe Rogan interviews 50 Cent during the break. 50 Cent seems to think that Brock is going to win the fight tonight.
Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (12-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-8)
This is potential fight of the night. But then again I thought that with Florian/Huerta and that one was pretty much a stinker. Stevenson just got his BJJ black belt. Florian has a 3 inch height advantage and a 4 inch reach advantage.
R1- Florian gets some strikes in early but Stevenson stalks him down against the cage. Stevenson went for a slam but Florian grabbed onto the cage to avoid the slam but still got taken down. Florian quickly sprawled back up to avoid damage. Florian got a take down and took half guard. Florian mounted and began to ground and pound on Stevenson and then Stevenson turned over and Florian took his back. Stevenson went to stand up and Florian got a Rear Naked Choke and tapped him out. Fantastic finish by Florian. Good fight.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:03
Post-fight Florian says he wants BJ's belt.
UFC Heavyweight Title Fight- Randy Couture © (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1)
Brock comes out to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. Lesnar has a huge 45 pound weight advantage and a 6 inch reach advantage. Lesnar has a 81 inch reach. Lesnar is the heel in this fight as he got a round of boos when he was introduced. Couture got a heroes welcome. Big "Randy" chant by the crowd right before the round starts.
R1- They clinched almost immediately. Crowd chants "Randy". Not much in the first minute and a half. Brock landed some knees and Randy got in a good punch when they clinch was broken. Lesnar dove in and went for a take down. Brock finishes the take down with a slam and Randy grabs half guard but Brock slips out and Randy slips out the back also and reverses position and tries to take Brocks back but Brock dumped him back on the ground and took half guard again. Lesnar lands some good punches in half guard. Couture gets back to his feet with about 45 seconds left in the round. Good first round. Brock controlled most of the action so I'll give him the round 10-9. Couture hung in there and kept away from getting a lot of damage.
R2- Lesnar stuck Randy with an elbow about 15 seconds into the round and he looked a little stunned. Brock rushed in but Randy clinched him against the cage. Brock hit a knee and Randy responded with a punch cutting Brock under the eye. Brock caught Randy with a knee as they broke clinch and then hit him with a couple of punches and he went down and Lesnar just nailed Randy with hammer punches and then the ref stopped the fight. Great finish by Lesnar. Ref probably could have let the fight go on a little longer but it's tough to call something like that.
Winner and new champion: Brock Lesnar R2 3:07
Lightweight Fight- Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
Another undercard fight
R1- Good even first round. Gurgel started to come on towards the end of the round. Gurgel didn't try to take down Riley at all.
R2- Riley definitely took this round as he dominated until about the last 30 seconds when Gurgel took Riley down.
R3- Riley opened up about a minute into this round with a great combo that almost finished Gurgel. Good fight. Aaron Riley is going to win this one via decision.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 in favor of Aaron Riley on all 3 judges score cards.
Winner: Aaron Riley by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek
Under card fight.
R1- Bocek gets a take down early into the fight. Robinson reversed the position after about a minute and a half and then Bocek took the advantage right back. Bocek lands some good elbows from the half guard position. Bocek clamped on a submission at the end of the round but Robinson lasted. Bocek takes this round 10-9.
R2- Bocek gets a quick take down and gets side control. Bocek got a guillotine in on Robinson. Bocek then took his back and looked for a Rear Naked Choke. Robinson fought back and got on top of Bockek with about 30 seconds left but Bocek moved him back over onto his back. Bocek up 20-18 so far and has dominated on the ground.
R3- Bocek slammed Robinson without 30 seconds of the round starting. Bocek got in some good Ground and Pound about half way through the round and then got a Rear Naked Choke and tapped out Robinson. Great showing by Bocek.
Winner: Mark Bocek by Rear Naked Choke R3 3:16
Just a great show from UFC. Definitely the best show UFC has put on this year. Brock/Randy was a good fight. Florian/Stevenson delivered a good one round fight. Maia and Gonzaga looked great in victory. Jeremy Stephens got a highlight reel knockout. Brown/Thomas, Hazelett/McCrory, Bocek/Robinson and Riley/Gurgel were all decent to good fights. Not a bad fight on the show and we got 4 under card fights.
Monday, July 07, 2008
UFC 86 "Jackson vs Griffin" Re-Cap/Thoughts
UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (11-1) vs. Marcus Aurelio (16-5)
Griffin comes out to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. They put over Griffin as being the only guy to beat WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber. Griffin is definitely the fan favorite in this one. Aurelio has a win over Gomi to his credit.
R1- Long feeling out process. Marcus gets taken down and Tyson hits him with some hammer punches. Marcus is trying to catch Tyson in a submission. Marcus seems content to stay in the guard and go for submissions and eat some of Tyson's punches. In the stand up game Tyson controlled the cage and got in more shots. Round One goes to Griffin 10-9.
Jamie Pressly is in the house, I think she was at the last show. Seems like she could be a pretty big fight fan. Thiago Alves is in Aurelio's corner.
R2- They start out this round completely opposite of last round as they both come out throwing but then slow down a little. Griffin has the classy sponsor of "Condom Depot" on his ass. Griffin gets a slam with 2 minutes left in the round after a long clinch. Marcus is able to reverse it and get a slam of his own and looks to be taking Griffin's back but Griffin rolls over and is on top. Marcus almost gets a triangle but doesn't get it. This was a much closer round than the first one but I've still got Griffin winning this one and have Griffin up 20-18 at this point.
R3- Marcus is really tired in this round and Griffin is hitting a lot more punches this round. Griffin runs in and gets a take down with about a minute and a half left. Marcus almost gets an arm submission a couple of times near the end of the fight. I've got Griffin taking this fight 30-27. He controlled the fight without dominating. All 3 judges score the fight 30-27.
Winner: Tyson Griffin by Decision (Unanimous)
Michael Bisping is at the fight and they show a video segment of him and talk about how good he has looked since he moved down to 185 lbs.
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koshcheck (12-2) vs. Chris Lytle (35-15-4)
We have our second Condom Depot fighter of the night in Chris Lytle. Koscheck gets booed when he comes out. Koscheck has a 5" reach advantage.
R1- Lytle throws a lot at first but doesn't hit much. Koshcheck just kind of sits back and waits and gets a take down with about 2 and a half minutes left in the round. Lytle grabs a guillotine but can't hold it and Koscheck has half guard. Not a lot of action in this round but I've got it Koscheck 10-9 as he controlled the ground for the last half of the fight and when they were stood up Lytle was more aggressive but didn't really land anything substantial.
R2- Koscheck went for a take down and it was stopped but he landed some nice shots. Koscheck goes for another take down and Lytle grabs him in a guillotine just like in Round One. Koscheck gets out of the submission and is in half guard and throws some elbows. Koscheck puts him up against the cage and is getting some nice, hard shots in on Lytle. Lytle is bleeding and continues to take some shots from Koscheck. Koscheck is nailing him and Lytle grabs him to stop the punches. Lots of blood on the canvas near the cage. There is even blood on the camera lens at ringside. Koscheck just laying on him and punching him. Lytle has a pool of blood under his head. He's lost a ton of blood. This was a 10-8 round to Koscheck. I've got it 20-17 after two rounds with Koscheck just absolutely dominating the Second Round.
R3- Koscheck has Lytle's blood in his hair. Koscheck tries to get a take down. Lytle goes for a kimura and then a guillotine but Koscheck spins out and Lytle grabs him again but Koscheck gets out of the move and Koscheck is on top again. Koscheck landing more elbows. Rogan makes the comment of this being bloodier than BJ Penn/Joe Stevenson. Koscheck is hitting Lytle with punches and the ref stand them up. The announcers thought he was going to stop the fight. Just a crazy call by the ref in this position as Koscheck had a dominate position and was being active and punching Lytle. When Lytle stands up he has blood all of his head and arms. Lytle gets some shots in but slips on his own blood and Koscheck clinches him. Koscheck just trying not to make a mistake. Ref separates them again. Both guys just throwing at the end of the round. The fans boo Koscheck at the end of the fight but man he put on a good fight tonight and Lytle just bleed all over the place. This is a fight that needs to be seen just for the blood. Good fight and good showing by Koscheck. I've got Koscheck winning 30-26. Koscheck's hair is basically red with Lytle's blood after the fight. Scorecards at the end of the fight are 30-26, 29-27, 30-28. Some interesting scores there.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by Decision (Unanimous)
Wilmer Valderrama is at the show again, I think he was at the last show also (like Pressly).
Lightweight Fight- Gleison Tibau (27-4) vs. Joe Stevenson (33-8)
Tibau comes out to "Iron Man."
R1- Stevenson catches Tibau with a nice left early but he absorbs it. Stevenson hits a right and Tibau goes down. Stevenson grabs a brief guillotine but Tibau gets out. They sprawl and go back to their feet. Tibau gets a take down but doesn't get anything. Stevenson darts in and gets a take down with two and a half minutes left in the round. Tibau catches him in an arm submission. Stevenson looks worried. Tibau is hitting Stevenson with some punches while he has him in the arm submission. Stevenson just kind of sitting and watching the clock and looking bored and telling the ref to stand them up. Stevenson plays it off like the move didn't hurt but Tibau had him trapped for about half the round. Tibau 10-9 in round one on my score card. Could see it being judged the other way if someone bought into Joe's selling of the move.
BJ Penn is shown and he mugs for the camera and gets a good response. He's got a hottie next to him.
R2- Tibau gets a take down but they quickly stand up. Tibau with another take down and passes guard quickly. Tibau mounts but Stevenson sprawls out without any damage. Tibau gets another take down but Stevenson grabs him in a guillotine and Tibau taps out. Surprising turn of events as I had Tibau winning the first round and this round until Stevenson grabbed that one move. Good job by Stevenson in sticking in there and taking advantage of the move when he got the opportunity.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 2:57
Red Hot Chili Pepper front man Anthony Kedis is in the house.
Middleweight Fight- Patrick Cote (13-4) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2)
This is the Co-Main Event. Almeida comes out to CCR's "Fortunate Son." Cote gets a good reaction from the fans.
WEC Bantamweight Champ Miguel Torres is at the fight. He had a really exciting fight on the last WEC show that featured the Main Event of Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver.
R1- The clinch and Almeida jumps into Cote and grabs him and pulls guard. Cote gets out of it pretty quickly and they stand back up. They clinch for a while and Almeida gets a take down with two minutes left in the round. Almeida gets in a couple of good shots and then gets some Ground and Pound. Almeida really controlling the first round and Cote ends the round on his back. Ameida takes Round One 10-9. Cote has a tear on his glove and they have to tape it so he gets a little longer to recover.
R2- Almeida pulls guard and goes into a rubber guard type move where Cote can't do much. Cote hits a punch and gets out of the hold. Cote is starting to land a couple of shots in the stand up game. Almeida gets a brief guillotine but Cote slips out. Cote lands a right hand right before the buzzer. This was a real close round. Almeida tried to pull guard the entire round and Cote tried to stay on his feet. I think Cote hitting that punch at the end and flooring Almeida might have won him the round. I'll go 19-19 right now but could see Almeida up 20-18.
R3- Cote hits a really nice leg kick about a minute and a half into the round. Cote hits a good combo. Not much action in this round but Cote is starting to bring it. Almeida gets a take down with 30 seconds left in the round. Almeida misses a submission and Cote gets on top and gets in a couple of shots. This fight is really too close to call and I can see it going either way. Either way, neither guy finished so they can't really complain if they get the loss. This was the least exciting fight of the night by a wide margin. I think Almeida probably gets the win in this fight, possibly by split decision. Judges score cards are 29-28 Cote, 29-28 Almeida, and 29-28 Cote.
They kind of billed this as the winner gets a shot at Anderson Silva, but Cote didn't really do anything to deserve a title shot IMO.
Winner: Patrick Cote by Decision (Split)
Light Heavyweight Championship Fight- Rampage Jackson © vs. Forrest Griffin (15-4)
Forrest gets a big reaction and has Mandy Moore on his side. Rampage gets the heel reaction.
R1- Forrest is more active early and is getting some shots in on Rampage. Rampage gets a good shot in on Forrest about two and a half minutes into the fight. Forrest is effectively using some leg kicks. Rampage with a really good combination half way through the round and it wobbles Forrest. Forrest comes right back and takes at Rampage. Forrest using the leg kicks effectively. Forrest comes in and eats a big Rampage uppercut and he goes down with about a minute left in the Round. Rampage jumps on top and Forrest tries to latch onto Rampage. Rampage moves him against the cage. Rampage gets some shots in but Forrest gets to his feet and hits some knees. They exchange on their feet and are swinging for the fences. Really good first round and Rampage looks a little bit like he underestimated Forrest as he walks to his corner. Forrest did a really good job in Round One but I think he ultimately lost the Round due to getting caught with that uppercut. Forrest really got rocked at two different times during the Round even though I thought that he controlled a lot of the fight and did a great job with the leg kicks. I'll go Rampage 10-9 in Round One but Forrest made a great showing and has set himself up well for the rest of the fight.
R2- Forrest opens up with a leg kick and Rampage limps a little bit. Forrest with another leg kick and then another. Forrest hits some knees and takes Rampage down. Forrest has half guard. Forrest hitting some elbows. Forrest passes the guard and gets side control. Forrest working on elbows and punches to the head. Forrest gets to full mount. Big "Forrest" chant from the crowd. Forrest with short elbows. Forrest just dominated this round and ties up the fight and definitely has all the momentum on his side going into Round Three. It will be interesting to see how Rampage's leg is when Round Three starts. That looked like a 10-8 round which makes this 19-18 Forrest.
R3- Rampage with a good combo about 2 minutes into the round. Rampage hits a good counter punch that briefly stuns Forrest. Rampage with another combo. Forrest has hit a couple of kicks this round but not much else. Rampage with a couple of nice punches. Rampage with a body shot. Rampage with another good counter punch as he caught Forrest with a left. They swing for the fences at the end of the round. Good comeback round for Rampage as he takes this round. Forrest lost a lot of momentum this round and didn't try for a take down where he dominated last round. Rampage 28 Forrest 28.
R4- They really go after each other about 30 seconds into the round and Rampage lands a hook and Forrest bails out before he catches another one. Rampage with another good shot and then they clinch and Rampage ends up with the take down and he's on top. Forrest is cut above the right eye. Forrest doing a pretty good job defending and grabs a triangle. Rampage picks him up and goes to slam him off and does. Really good fight. Rampage back in Forrest's guard and Forrest is doing a good job defending. Forrest almost got a submission but Rampage bailed out and as Forrest was trying to get up Rampage caught him with a good shot but didn't knock him down. Rampage hits a couple of nice shots again as they mix it up in the last minute of the round. Forrest almost caught Rampage with a submission but Rampage really out landed Forrest in this round and cut him open. I've got this Rampage 38 Forrest 37 right now. Very close fight. Rampage has barely won three rounds in my book and Forrest dominated the one round that he took. I can see one of the rounds I gave to Rampage possible going to Forrest on some of the score cards. Forrest is controlling the pace of the fight but Rampage is out landing him on punches.
R5- Forrest going back to the leg kicks early in this round. Forrest hits a big leg kick, Rampage came back with a big punch and Forrest returned the favor. Forrest looks to be landing more in this round so far about 3 and a half minutes into the round. This one is going to come down to the wire. Both guys landing some shots in the last 30 seconds and they end the fight in a clinch. Great Fight. I think Forrest took the final round which on my score card puts it even at 47-47. Wow. It will be interesting to see how the judges score this one.
Judges score the fight:
48-46 Forrest
48-46 Forrest
49-46 Forrest
Great Fight. Looks like two of the judges gave one of the close rounds that I scored for Rampage to Forrest (probably had to be Round 1). Not sure about the 49-46 as I didn't see Forrest win 4 of the 5 rounds.
Part of me says that to "be the champ you have to beat the champ" and part of me says that Forrest did control the pace of the fight and should have gotten the win. IMO it was a really even 50/50 fight that definitely needs a re-match. I think Rampage overlooked Forrest, especially when I look back at the 5 minute interview that Rampage did on ESPN news the day before the fight. Kudos to both guys for putting on a great fight, definitely one of the top this year that I have seen.
Winner and new champion: Forrest Griffin
Pre-Show Fight:
Lighweight Fight- Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Silver
R1- Guillard just jumps Silver at the beginning and nails some shots but Silver gets back to his feet. Guillard nails Silver with a ton of punches and this one is over. Great showing for Guillard.
Winner: Melvin Guillard by TKO (punches) R1 0:36
Overall, this was a really good show. Forrest/Rampage is a contender for FOTY, Koscheck/Lytle and Stevenson/Tibau were both good fights as well.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (11-1) vs. Marcus Aurelio (16-5)
Griffin comes out to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. They put over Griffin as being the only guy to beat WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber. Griffin is definitely the fan favorite in this one. Aurelio has a win over Gomi to his credit.
R1- Long feeling out process. Marcus gets taken down and Tyson hits him with some hammer punches. Marcus is trying to catch Tyson in a submission. Marcus seems content to stay in the guard and go for submissions and eat some of Tyson's punches. In the stand up game Tyson controlled the cage and got in more shots. Round One goes to Griffin 10-9.
Jamie Pressly is in the house, I think she was at the last show. Seems like she could be a pretty big fight fan. Thiago Alves is in Aurelio's corner.
R2- They start out this round completely opposite of last round as they both come out throwing but then slow down a little. Griffin has the classy sponsor of "Condom Depot" on his ass. Griffin gets a slam with 2 minutes left in the round after a long clinch. Marcus is able to reverse it and get a slam of his own and looks to be taking Griffin's back but Griffin rolls over and is on top. Marcus almost gets a triangle but doesn't get it. This was a much closer round than the first one but I've still got Griffin winning this one and have Griffin up 20-18 at this point.
R3- Marcus is really tired in this round and Griffin is hitting a lot more punches this round. Griffin runs in and gets a take down with about a minute and a half left. Marcus almost gets an arm submission a couple of times near the end of the fight. I've got Griffin taking this fight 30-27. He controlled the fight without dominating. All 3 judges score the fight 30-27.
Winner: Tyson Griffin by Decision (Unanimous)
Michael Bisping is at the fight and they show a video segment of him and talk about how good he has looked since he moved down to 185 lbs.
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koshcheck (12-2) vs. Chris Lytle (35-15-4)
We have our second Condom Depot fighter of the night in Chris Lytle. Koscheck gets booed when he comes out. Koscheck has a 5" reach advantage.
R1- Lytle throws a lot at first but doesn't hit much. Koshcheck just kind of sits back and waits and gets a take down with about 2 and a half minutes left in the round. Lytle grabs a guillotine but can't hold it and Koscheck has half guard. Not a lot of action in this round but I've got it Koscheck 10-9 as he controlled the ground for the last half of the fight and when they were stood up Lytle was more aggressive but didn't really land anything substantial.
R2- Koscheck went for a take down and it was stopped but he landed some nice shots. Koscheck goes for another take down and Lytle grabs him in a guillotine just like in Round One. Koscheck gets out of the submission and is in half guard and throws some elbows. Koscheck puts him up against the cage and is getting some nice, hard shots in on Lytle. Lytle is bleeding and continues to take some shots from Koscheck. Koscheck is nailing him and Lytle grabs him to stop the punches. Lots of blood on the canvas near the cage. There is even blood on the camera lens at ringside. Koscheck just laying on him and punching him. Lytle has a pool of blood under his head. He's lost a ton of blood. This was a 10-8 round to Koscheck. I've got it 20-17 after two rounds with Koscheck just absolutely dominating the Second Round.
R3- Koscheck has Lytle's blood in his hair. Koscheck tries to get a take down. Lytle goes for a kimura and then a guillotine but Koscheck spins out and Lytle grabs him again but Koscheck gets out of the move and Koscheck is on top again. Koscheck landing more elbows. Rogan makes the comment of this being bloodier than BJ Penn/Joe Stevenson. Koscheck is hitting Lytle with punches and the ref stand them up. The announcers thought he was going to stop the fight. Just a crazy call by the ref in this position as Koscheck had a dominate position and was being active and punching Lytle. When Lytle stands up he has blood all of his head and arms. Lytle gets some shots in but slips on his own blood and Koscheck clinches him. Koscheck just trying not to make a mistake. Ref separates them again. Both guys just throwing at the end of the round. The fans boo Koscheck at the end of the fight but man he put on a good fight tonight and Lytle just bleed all over the place. This is a fight that needs to be seen just for the blood. Good fight and good showing by Koscheck. I've got Koscheck winning 30-26. Koscheck's hair is basically red with Lytle's blood after the fight. Scorecards at the end of the fight are 30-26, 29-27, 30-28. Some interesting scores there.
Winner: Josh Koscheck by Decision (Unanimous)
Wilmer Valderrama is at the show again, I think he was at the last show also (like Pressly).
Lightweight Fight- Gleison Tibau (27-4) vs. Joe Stevenson (33-8)
Tibau comes out to "Iron Man."
R1- Stevenson catches Tibau with a nice left early but he absorbs it. Stevenson hits a right and Tibau goes down. Stevenson grabs a brief guillotine but Tibau gets out. They sprawl and go back to their feet. Tibau gets a take down but doesn't get anything. Stevenson darts in and gets a take down with two and a half minutes left in the round. Tibau catches him in an arm submission. Stevenson looks worried. Tibau is hitting Stevenson with some punches while he has him in the arm submission. Stevenson just kind of sitting and watching the clock and looking bored and telling the ref to stand them up. Stevenson plays it off like the move didn't hurt but Tibau had him trapped for about half the round. Tibau 10-9 in round one on my score card. Could see it being judged the other way if someone bought into Joe's selling of the move.
BJ Penn is shown and he mugs for the camera and gets a good response. He's got a hottie next to him.
R2- Tibau gets a take down but they quickly stand up. Tibau with another take down and passes guard quickly. Tibau mounts but Stevenson sprawls out without any damage. Tibau gets another take down but Stevenson grabs him in a guillotine and Tibau taps out. Surprising turn of events as I had Tibau winning the first round and this round until Stevenson grabbed that one move. Good job by Stevenson in sticking in there and taking advantage of the move when he got the opportunity.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 2:57
Red Hot Chili Pepper front man Anthony Kedis is in the house.
Middleweight Fight- Patrick Cote (13-4) vs. Ricardo Almeida (9-2)
This is the Co-Main Event. Almeida comes out to CCR's "Fortunate Son." Cote gets a good reaction from the fans.
WEC Bantamweight Champ Miguel Torres is at the fight. He had a really exciting fight on the last WEC show that featured the Main Event of Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver.
R1- The clinch and Almeida jumps into Cote and grabs him and pulls guard. Cote gets out of it pretty quickly and they stand back up. They clinch for a while and Almeida gets a take down with two minutes left in the round. Almeida gets in a couple of good shots and then gets some Ground and Pound. Almeida really controlling the first round and Cote ends the round on his back. Ameida takes Round One 10-9. Cote has a tear on his glove and they have to tape it so he gets a little longer to recover.
R2- Almeida pulls guard and goes into a rubber guard type move where Cote can't do much. Cote hits a punch and gets out of the hold. Cote is starting to land a couple of shots in the stand up game. Almeida gets a brief guillotine but Cote slips out. Cote lands a right hand right before the buzzer. This was a real close round. Almeida tried to pull guard the entire round and Cote tried to stay on his feet. I think Cote hitting that punch at the end and flooring Almeida might have won him the round. I'll go 19-19 right now but could see Almeida up 20-18.
R3- Cote hits a really nice leg kick about a minute and a half into the round. Cote hits a good combo. Not much action in this round but Cote is starting to bring it. Almeida gets a take down with 30 seconds left in the round. Almeida misses a submission and Cote gets on top and gets in a couple of shots. This fight is really too close to call and I can see it going either way. Either way, neither guy finished so they can't really complain if they get the loss. This was the least exciting fight of the night by a wide margin. I think Almeida probably gets the win in this fight, possibly by split decision. Judges score cards are 29-28 Cote, 29-28 Almeida, and 29-28 Cote.
They kind of billed this as the winner gets a shot at Anderson Silva, but Cote didn't really do anything to deserve a title shot IMO.
Winner: Patrick Cote by Decision (Split)
Light Heavyweight Championship Fight- Rampage Jackson © vs. Forrest Griffin (15-4)
Forrest gets a big reaction and has Mandy Moore on his side. Rampage gets the heel reaction.
R1- Forrest is more active early and is getting some shots in on Rampage. Rampage gets a good shot in on Forrest about two and a half minutes into the fight. Forrest is effectively using some leg kicks. Rampage with a really good combination half way through the round and it wobbles Forrest. Forrest comes right back and takes at Rampage. Forrest using the leg kicks effectively. Forrest comes in and eats a big Rampage uppercut and he goes down with about a minute left in the Round. Rampage jumps on top and Forrest tries to latch onto Rampage. Rampage moves him against the cage. Rampage gets some shots in but Forrest gets to his feet and hits some knees. They exchange on their feet and are swinging for the fences. Really good first round and Rampage looks a little bit like he underestimated Forrest as he walks to his corner. Forrest did a really good job in Round One but I think he ultimately lost the Round due to getting caught with that uppercut. Forrest really got rocked at two different times during the Round even though I thought that he controlled a lot of the fight and did a great job with the leg kicks. I'll go Rampage 10-9 in Round One but Forrest made a great showing and has set himself up well for the rest of the fight.
R2- Forrest opens up with a leg kick and Rampage limps a little bit. Forrest with another leg kick and then another. Forrest hits some knees and takes Rampage down. Forrest has half guard. Forrest hitting some elbows. Forrest passes the guard and gets side control. Forrest working on elbows and punches to the head. Forrest gets to full mount. Big "Forrest" chant from the crowd. Forrest with short elbows. Forrest just dominated this round and ties up the fight and definitely has all the momentum on his side going into Round Three. It will be interesting to see how Rampage's leg is when Round Three starts. That looked like a 10-8 round which makes this 19-18 Forrest.
R3- Rampage with a good combo about 2 minutes into the round. Rampage hits a good counter punch that briefly stuns Forrest. Rampage with another combo. Forrest has hit a couple of kicks this round but not much else. Rampage with a couple of nice punches. Rampage with a body shot. Rampage with another good counter punch as he caught Forrest with a left. They swing for the fences at the end of the round. Good comeback round for Rampage as he takes this round. Forrest lost a lot of momentum this round and didn't try for a take down where he dominated last round. Rampage 28 Forrest 28.
R4- They really go after each other about 30 seconds into the round and Rampage lands a hook and Forrest bails out before he catches another one. Rampage with another good shot and then they clinch and Rampage ends up with the take down and he's on top. Forrest is cut above the right eye. Forrest doing a pretty good job defending and grabs a triangle. Rampage picks him up and goes to slam him off and does. Really good fight. Rampage back in Forrest's guard and Forrest is doing a good job defending. Forrest almost got a submission but Rampage bailed out and as Forrest was trying to get up Rampage caught him with a good shot but didn't knock him down. Rampage hits a couple of nice shots again as they mix it up in the last minute of the round. Forrest almost caught Rampage with a submission but Rampage really out landed Forrest in this round and cut him open. I've got this Rampage 38 Forrest 37 right now. Very close fight. Rampage has barely won three rounds in my book and Forrest dominated the one round that he took. I can see one of the rounds I gave to Rampage possible going to Forrest on some of the score cards. Forrest is controlling the pace of the fight but Rampage is out landing him on punches.
R5- Forrest going back to the leg kicks early in this round. Forrest hits a big leg kick, Rampage came back with a big punch and Forrest returned the favor. Forrest looks to be landing more in this round so far about 3 and a half minutes into the round. This one is going to come down to the wire. Both guys landing some shots in the last 30 seconds and they end the fight in a clinch. Great Fight. I think Forrest took the final round which on my score card puts it even at 47-47. Wow. It will be interesting to see how the judges score this one.
Judges score the fight:
48-46 Forrest
48-46 Forrest
49-46 Forrest
Great Fight. Looks like two of the judges gave one of the close rounds that I scored for Rampage to Forrest (probably had to be Round 1). Not sure about the 49-46 as I didn't see Forrest win 4 of the 5 rounds.
Part of me says that to "be the champ you have to beat the champ" and part of me says that Forrest did control the pace of the fight and should have gotten the win. IMO it was a really even 50/50 fight that definitely needs a re-match. I think Rampage overlooked Forrest, especially when I look back at the 5 minute interview that Rampage did on ESPN news the day before the fight. Kudos to both guys for putting on a great fight, definitely one of the top this year that I have seen.
Winner and new champion: Forrest Griffin
Pre-Show Fight:
Lighweight Fight- Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Silver
R1- Guillard just jumps Silver at the beginning and nails some shots but Silver gets back to his feet. Guillard nails Silver with a ton of punches and this one is over. Great showing for Guillard.
Winner: Melvin Guillard by TKO (punches) R1 0:36
Overall, this was a really good show. Forrest/Rampage is a contender for FOTY, Koscheck/Lytle and Stevenson/Tibau were both good fights as well.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
UFC Wired 6/8 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 6/8 Re-Cap
Lightweight Fight- Joe Stevenson (30-7) vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (17-4-2)- UFC 65- 11/18/06
I’ve liked Mishima ever since I saw him wrestle for U-Style in Japan. He’s got good charisma and some really funky mat work. That being said, the only MMA fight I’ve seen him in he pretty much got destroyed and I’m expecting Stevenson to take him out in this fight.
R1- Mishima gets a take down early but Stevenson wraps him up nicely in a guillotine. Mishima slams him down but can’t slip out. Finally he gets out. Stevenson is working a good active guard and Mishima keeps trying to get into a better position. Stevenson finally taps Mishima with the guillotine. Interesting fight as Stevenson was on the bottom for the whole fight but was in a dominant position for a majority of it.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 2:07
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (7-0) vs. David Lee (5-1)- UFC 63- 9/23/06
R1- Lee went for a jumping knee early and Tyson quickly took his back. It takes a minute but Tyson gets him in a Rear Naked Choke and taps him out.
Winner: Tyson Griffin by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:50
This is squash night on UFC Wired.
Catchweight Fight- Matt Hughes (40-4) vs. Royce Gracie (11-0)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
They are fighting at 175 lbs. Gracie has a 6” reach advantage. Gracie won the UFC 1, 2 and 4 tournaments. Hughes was the UFC Welterweight Champion at the time of this fight. Gracie gets a big ovation, Hughes not so much.
R1- Long feeling out process. Hughes gets a take down about a minute and a half into the fight. Royce gives up his back briefly to get to half guard but Hughes then grabs a kimura type move. Hughes really worked over the arm but Royce didn’t tap. Hughes gets Royce’s back and stretches him out. Hughes is hitting some punches in and the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Matt Hughes by TKO (strikes) R1 4:39
Light Heavyweight Championship Fight- Chuck Liddell © (19-3) vs. Tito Ortiz (16-4)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
R1- Good opening round with Chuck drawing first blood on Tito and then taking over the round and becoming more aggressive. Tito goes down and Liddell is just destroying him in the corner and Tito now has a big cut. Round One goes to Liddell as he came on strong towards the end of the round and almost ended Tito at one point.
R2- Even round with Tito getting Chuck’s back with about a minute left and taking him down but Liddell quickly got back up. Close Round.
R3- Tito went for a take down but ate a couple of punches for his trouble. Tito countered with a punch. Liddell hits some body shots. Chuck hits Tito with a barrage of punches towards the end of the round and gets him down and starts throwing punches and hammer punches on Tito and the ref stops the fight. Good fight, nice showing from Liddell.
Winner and still champion: Chuck Liddell by TKO (strikes) R3 3:59
Lightweight Fight- Joe Stevenson (30-7) vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (17-4-2)- UFC 65- 11/18/06
I’ve liked Mishima ever since I saw him wrestle for U-Style in Japan. He’s got good charisma and some really funky mat work. That being said, the only MMA fight I’ve seen him in he pretty much got destroyed and I’m expecting Stevenson to take him out in this fight.
R1- Mishima gets a take down early but Stevenson wraps him up nicely in a guillotine. Mishima slams him down but can’t slip out. Finally he gets out. Stevenson is working a good active guard and Mishima keeps trying to get into a better position. Stevenson finally taps Mishima with the guillotine. Interesting fight as Stevenson was on the bottom for the whole fight but was in a dominant position for a majority of it.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 2:07
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (7-0) vs. David Lee (5-1)- UFC 63- 9/23/06
R1- Lee went for a jumping knee early and Tyson quickly took his back. It takes a minute but Tyson gets him in a Rear Naked Choke and taps him out.
Winner: Tyson Griffin by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:50
This is squash night on UFC Wired.
Catchweight Fight- Matt Hughes (40-4) vs. Royce Gracie (11-0)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
They are fighting at 175 lbs. Gracie has a 6” reach advantage. Gracie won the UFC 1, 2 and 4 tournaments. Hughes was the UFC Welterweight Champion at the time of this fight. Gracie gets a big ovation, Hughes not so much.
R1- Long feeling out process. Hughes gets a take down about a minute and a half into the fight. Royce gives up his back briefly to get to half guard but Hughes then grabs a kimura type move. Hughes really worked over the arm but Royce didn’t tap. Hughes gets Royce’s back and stretches him out. Hughes is hitting some punches in and the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Matt Hughes by TKO (strikes) R1 4:39
Light Heavyweight Championship Fight- Chuck Liddell © (19-3) vs. Tito Ortiz (16-4)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
R1- Good opening round with Chuck drawing first blood on Tito and then taking over the round and becoming more aggressive. Tito goes down and Liddell is just destroying him in the corner and Tito now has a big cut. Round One goes to Liddell as he came on strong towards the end of the round and almost ended Tito at one point.
R2- Even round with Tito getting Chuck’s back with about a minute left and taking him down but Liddell quickly got back up. Close Round.
R3- Tito went for a take down but ate a couple of punches for his trouble. Tito countered with a punch. Liddell hits some body shots. Chuck hits Tito with a barrage of punches towards the end of the round and gets him down and starts throwing punches and hammer punches on Tito and the ref stops the fight. Good fight, nice showing from Liddell.
Winner and still champion: Chuck Liddell by TKO (strikes) R3 3:59
Thursday, June 05, 2008
UFC Wired 5/25 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 5/25 Re-Cap
Heavyweight Fight: Gabriel Gonzaga (5-1) vs. Fabiano Scherner (5-2)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
Scherner has a 4.5” reach advantage and about 20 pounds on Gonzaga.
R1- Gonzaga takes him down pretty quickly but lets him up. Gonzaga takes him down again but Scherner reverses. Scherner throwing some strikes but Gonzaga takes him down. Scherner seems to want to stay in the guard position. Gonzaga with a kick and then gets another take down as he reverses a take down by Scherner. Gonzaga controlled the first round and Scherner has some cuts on his face, that being said it’s still anyone’s fight as Gonzaga wasn’t exactly dominate in the first round. Gonzaga 10 Scherner 9.
R2- Lots of action early in the round and Gonzaga gets in some shots and then it’s over. Gonzaga tagged him with a nice left jab and then a right hand.
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO R2
Lightweight Fight: Joe Stevenson (32-7) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (16-2)- UFC 74- 8/25/07
Pellegrino is sporting purple hair for this fight.
R1- They mix it up pretty evenly until Pellegrino gets a take down. Pellgrino gets caught in a guillotine but gets out pretty quickly. Stevenson gets out without any damage and then takes Kurt’s back and then slams him down and grabs another guillotine until Kurt pops back out. Pellegrino got in some shots at the end of the round. This was a really close round. Nobody dominated but I think that even though Pellegrino spend the majority of the time on the top that Stevenson got more damage so I’ll go Stevenson 10-9 for a real close round one.
R2- They spend the first part of round two on their feet. Stevenson lands a nice knee and then gets in an overhand right. Kurt gets caught going for a take down and eats some punches. Pellegrino comes back with some shots. Stevenson knocks Pellegrino down and is in Kurt’s guard land a couple of punches. Kurt is cut open. Stevenson passes the guard and has Pellegrino’s back. Stevenson landing some punches. Pellegrino flips him over but gets caught in another guillotine. Kurt slips out and is in Joe’s guard. Kurt lands a good right hand. Kurt ends the round on a good note but I give this round to Stevenson as well which puts him up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- They start this round just like the last exchanging on their feet. Pellegrino scoops in and gets a take down. The ref stands them up as Pellegrino wasn’t active enough. Stevenson takes it right to Pellegrino but eats a guillotine. Stevenson gets out and is hitting Kurt with punches. Stevenson pins Pellegrino up against the cage and is hitting him with punches. Stevenson with a knee. Kurt throws a kick but can’t hit and Stevenson takes Pellegrino down again. Stevenson gets Pellegrino’s back at the end of the round and this one’s over. Stevenson takes round 3 and in my book it’s 30-27. Stevenson really came on in the 3rd round with superior conditioning. The judges give Stevenson the win with 2 30-27’s and 1 29-28.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Title Fight: Matt Hughes © (36-3) vs. BJ Penn (7-1-1)- UFC 46- 1/31/04
This is the sixth consecutive title defense for Hughes. BJ has moved up from the 155lb weight class to challenge Hughes.
R1- Hughes slips a little about 30 seconds in and BJ takes advantage. BJ gets Hughes’s back about a minute in and then goes back to the top. Hughes hits a nice elbow from the bottom. Penn moves into Hughes’s guard. Penn controlling this round. Penn lands a big right hand and mounts Hughes. Penn then takes his back. BJ grabs the Rear Naked Choke and Hughes taps.
Winner and new Welterweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1
Heavyweight Fight: Gabriel Gonzaga (5-1) vs. Fabiano Scherner (5-2)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
Scherner has a 4.5” reach advantage and about 20 pounds on Gonzaga.
R1- Gonzaga takes him down pretty quickly but lets him up. Gonzaga takes him down again but Scherner reverses. Scherner throwing some strikes but Gonzaga takes him down. Scherner seems to want to stay in the guard position. Gonzaga with a kick and then gets another take down as he reverses a take down by Scherner. Gonzaga controlled the first round and Scherner has some cuts on his face, that being said it’s still anyone’s fight as Gonzaga wasn’t exactly dominate in the first round. Gonzaga 10 Scherner 9.
R2- Lots of action early in the round and Gonzaga gets in some shots and then it’s over. Gonzaga tagged him with a nice left jab and then a right hand.
Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO R2
Lightweight Fight: Joe Stevenson (32-7) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (16-2)- UFC 74- 8/25/07
Pellegrino is sporting purple hair for this fight.
R1- They mix it up pretty evenly until Pellegrino gets a take down. Pellgrino gets caught in a guillotine but gets out pretty quickly. Stevenson gets out without any damage and then takes Kurt’s back and then slams him down and grabs another guillotine until Kurt pops back out. Pellegrino got in some shots at the end of the round. This was a really close round. Nobody dominated but I think that even though Pellegrino spend the majority of the time on the top that Stevenson got more damage so I’ll go Stevenson 10-9 for a real close round one.
R2- They spend the first part of round two on their feet. Stevenson lands a nice knee and then gets in an overhand right. Kurt gets caught going for a take down and eats some punches. Pellegrino comes back with some shots. Stevenson knocks Pellegrino down and is in Kurt’s guard land a couple of punches. Kurt is cut open. Stevenson passes the guard and has Pellegrino’s back. Stevenson landing some punches. Pellegrino flips him over but gets caught in another guillotine. Kurt slips out and is in Joe’s guard. Kurt lands a good right hand. Kurt ends the round on a good note but I give this round to Stevenson as well which puts him up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- They start this round just like the last exchanging on their feet. Pellegrino scoops in and gets a take down. The ref stands them up as Pellegrino wasn’t active enough. Stevenson takes it right to Pellegrino but eats a guillotine. Stevenson gets out and is hitting Kurt with punches. Stevenson pins Pellegrino up against the cage and is hitting him with punches. Stevenson with a knee. Kurt throws a kick but can’t hit and Stevenson takes Pellegrino down again. Stevenson gets Pellegrino’s back at the end of the round and this one’s over. Stevenson takes round 3 and in my book it’s 30-27. Stevenson really came on in the 3rd round with superior conditioning. The judges give Stevenson the win with 2 30-27’s and 1 29-28.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Title Fight: Matt Hughes © (36-3) vs. BJ Penn (7-1-1)- UFC 46- 1/31/04
This is the sixth consecutive title defense for Hughes. BJ has moved up from the 155lb weight class to challenge Hughes.
R1- Hughes slips a little about 30 seconds in and BJ takes advantage. BJ gets Hughes’s back about a minute in and then goes back to the top. Hughes hits a nice elbow from the bottom. Penn moves into Hughes’s guard. Penn controlling this round. Penn lands a big right hand and mounts Hughes. Penn then takes his back. BJ grabs the Rear Naked Choke and Hughes taps.
Winner and new Welterweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1
UFC Wired 5/19 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 5/19 Re-Cap
Light Heavyweight Fight: Jason Lambert (23-6) vs. Wilson Gouveia (9-4)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- Lambert is real aggressive early and is kind of stalking Gouveia but Lambert got himself caught in an early guillotine but he got out of it without any damage. Lambert is in Gouveia’s guard and is getting in some shots but Gouveia is doing a pretty good job avoiding extensive damage. Gouveia got out but Lambert pretty quickly got him back in the guard. Gouvia went for a triangle but got slammed. Gouveia held on but Lambert stepped over to get out of it, nice mat work by Gouveia to turn a defensive position into an offensive position. Lambert takes this round as Gouveia spent the majority of the round on his back and Lambert got in some nice shots.
R2- About 35 seconds into the second round Gouveia got some distance and just destroyed Lambert with a left hook for the KO. What a punch. Gouveia was losing this fight and just came back and Lambert left himself open and bam it’s over.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by KO R2
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (11-0) vs. Sokoudjou (4-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
This was also on the UFC Unleashed 4/23 TV show.
R1- Machida is unbeaten so far. Soko has been training with Dan Henderson. Soko hits a couple of nice punches early and gets a take down but Machida quickly reverses and is on top controlling in the half guard. Machida is going after his arm but gives it up and is trying to get some punches. Soko doing a good job defending but not actively seeming to try and get out. The ref stands them up. Soko with another take down but they are quickly back to their feet. Round goes to Machida but he definitely wasn’t dominating.
R2- Not much going on in this round. Machida is hitting a couple of kicks and then he gets an opening and trips Soku and goes after him in full guard with a bunch of punches. Machida going for a submission now with an arm triangle but losses it. Soko seems to be real winded as he’s really been controlled in this fight and especially this round. Machida on top and throwing some elbows. Machida grabs the arm triangle again and gets the victory. Real good win for Machida. He seems like a real good technical fighter, not exciting but seems like a real good tactician.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:20
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
This was also on the 5/14 Unleashed TV show.
R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.
“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)
R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Light Heavyweight Fight: Jason Lambert (23-6) vs. Wilson Gouveia (9-4)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- Lambert is real aggressive early and is kind of stalking Gouveia but Lambert got himself caught in an early guillotine but he got out of it without any damage. Lambert is in Gouveia’s guard and is getting in some shots but Gouveia is doing a pretty good job avoiding extensive damage. Gouveia got out but Lambert pretty quickly got him back in the guard. Gouvia went for a triangle but got slammed. Gouveia held on but Lambert stepped over to get out of it, nice mat work by Gouveia to turn a defensive position into an offensive position. Lambert takes this round as Gouveia spent the majority of the round on his back and Lambert got in some nice shots.
R2- About 35 seconds into the second round Gouveia got some distance and just destroyed Lambert with a left hook for the KO. What a punch. Gouveia was losing this fight and just came back and Lambert left himself open and bam it’s over.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by KO R2
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (11-0) vs. Sokoudjou (4-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
This was also on the UFC Unleashed 4/23 TV show.
R1- Machida is unbeaten so far. Soko has been training with Dan Henderson. Soko hits a couple of nice punches early and gets a take down but Machida quickly reverses and is on top controlling in the half guard. Machida is going after his arm but gives it up and is trying to get some punches. Soko doing a good job defending but not actively seeming to try and get out. The ref stands them up. Soko with another take down but they are quickly back to their feet. Round goes to Machida but he definitely wasn’t dominating.
R2- Not much going on in this round. Machida is hitting a couple of kicks and then he gets an opening and trips Soku and goes after him in full guard with a bunch of punches. Machida going for a submission now with an arm triangle but losses it. Soko seems to be real winded as he’s really been controlled in this fight and especially this round. Machida on top and throwing some elbows. Machida grabs the arm triangle again and gets the victory. Real good win for Machida. He seems like a real good technical fighter, not exciting but seems like a real good tactician.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:20
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
This was also on the 5/14 Unleashed TV show.
R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.
“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)
R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Sunday, May 18, 2008
UFC Unleashed 5/14 Re-Cap
UFC Unleashed 5/14 Re-Cap
This show featured 4 fights from 2008.
Welterweight Fight- George Sotiropoulos (8-2) vs. Roman Mitichyan (9-1)- Fight Night 13- 4/2/08
Both of these guys were in The Ultimate Fighter Season 6. Roman had to drop out before the first right due to injury and George made it to the semis.
R1- Roman looks wild early and George looks more controlled. George takes his back pretty quickly and is in control. Roman to his feet and tries to dump George but instead he gives up position and George has him in a choke. Roman gets out of the choke and flips it over but George goes for the arm bar. Roman finally slips out. George goes after some punches and then takes down Roman and gets his back again. George is now hitting some elbows and is going after the arm. Somebody is cut pretty good, I think George got cut on the back or the neck. George ends the round in full mount. George controlled Round 1 and took it pretty easily. Overall this was a pretty entertaining first round.
R2- George quickly gets control in this round as he takes Roman’s back again. Roman rolls over and George has full mount now and is laying in punches. The ref stops the fight as Roman really wasn’t defending himself. George pretty much dominated this fight and looked good.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by TKO R2
Lightweight Fight- Clay Guida (22-6) vs. Samy Schiavo (10-4)- Fight Night 13- 4/2/08
R1- Long feeling out process as Schiavo is going for some punches and Guida just kind of trying to get the timing down. Guida moves in and absorb some punches but gets a take down. Guida moves into full mount with a minute and a half left in Round One. Schiavo can’t get out of being pinned against the cage and Guida quickly finished him with strikes on the ground. Schiavo looked good on stand up but just got controlled on the ground.
Winner: Clay Guida by TKO (strikes) R1
Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (18-4) vs. Jess Liaduin (12-8)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- Davis has won 10 straight fights going into the one. Jess with some kicks early. Davis just nails Jess with a solid left about one minute into the fight and this one is over. Great punch.
Winner: Marcus Davis by KO R1
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.
“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)
R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
This show featured 4 fights from 2008.
Welterweight Fight- George Sotiropoulos (8-2) vs. Roman Mitichyan (9-1)- Fight Night 13- 4/2/08
Both of these guys were in The Ultimate Fighter Season 6. Roman had to drop out before the first right due to injury and George made it to the semis.
R1- Roman looks wild early and George looks more controlled. George takes his back pretty quickly and is in control. Roman to his feet and tries to dump George but instead he gives up position and George has him in a choke. Roman gets out of the choke and flips it over but George goes for the arm bar. Roman finally slips out. George goes after some punches and then takes down Roman and gets his back again. George is now hitting some elbows and is going after the arm. Somebody is cut pretty good, I think George got cut on the back or the neck. George ends the round in full mount. George controlled Round 1 and took it pretty easily. Overall this was a pretty entertaining first round.
R2- George quickly gets control in this round as he takes Roman’s back again. Roman rolls over and George has full mount now and is laying in punches. The ref stops the fight as Roman really wasn’t defending himself. George pretty much dominated this fight and looked good.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by TKO R2
Lightweight Fight- Clay Guida (22-6) vs. Samy Schiavo (10-4)- Fight Night 13- 4/2/08
R1- Long feeling out process as Schiavo is going for some punches and Guida just kind of trying to get the timing down. Guida moves in and absorb some punches but gets a take down. Guida moves into full mount with a minute and a half left in Round One. Schiavo can’t get out of being pinned against the cage and Guida quickly finished him with strikes on the ground. Schiavo looked good on stand up but just got controlled on the ground.
Winner: Clay Guida by TKO (strikes) R1
Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (18-4) vs. Jess Liaduin (12-8)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- Davis has won 10 straight fights going into the one. Jess with some kicks early. Davis just nails Jess with a solid left about one minute into the fight and this one is over. Great punch.
Winner: Marcus Davis by KO R1
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.
“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)
R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
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