Bellator 17
Bellator Fighting Championships
Wang Theatre
Boston, MA
May 6, 2010
Fox Sports South
Tonight we have the semi-finals of the Lightweight tournament and a super fight between current Lightweight Champion and former UFC slugger Josh Neer. Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith are the announcers for the show.
Lightweight Semi-Final Fight- Toby Imada (26-13) vs. Carey Vanier (8-2)
Imada beat James Krause in the first round by arm bar submission in the second round. Vanier beat Joe Duarte by TKO in the third round of their fight. Vanier has won 7 straight fights and has finished 7 of his 8 wins (5 KOs). Vanier has been mentored by Roger Huerta earlier in his career so that's a good story if they both advance to the finals. Imada has finished 25 of his 26 wins with 16 coming by submission. Vanier has a background in wrestling and Imada has a background in judo.
R1- Vanier tried an early take down and had to struggle for it but completed it within the first minute of the fight. Imada quickly got back to his feet with no damage taken. Vanier threw two quick kicks and partially landed one and then landed a strike. Vanier is looking good early. Imada grabbed Vanier and tried a submission but ended up on his back. Imada went for a knee bar but Vanier got out and then got a take down straight to full mount. They stood back up and both landed some strikes in the clinch. Vanier hit a sick German Suplex. Good first round. I give round one to Vanier 10-9 but I think he's going to have a tough time winning this fight unless it goes to decision.
R2- Imada landed a good knee early in the round. Imada is more aggressive this round and landed some strikes and then grabbed a knee bar. Vanier was able to escape but Imada tried for an arm bar and Vanier had to tap. Really impressive showing for Toby Imada in round two. Good fight!
Winner: Toby Imada by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 3:33
Lightweight Semi-Final Fight- Roger Huerta (21-3-1) vs. Pat Curran (10-3)
Tournament favorite Roger Huerta advanced in the first round by submitting Chad Hinton in round three with a knee bar. Pat Curran finished his first round fight against Mike Ricci via knockout in the very first round. Jeff Curran is in Pat's corner for the fight. The winner of this fight will face Toby Imada in the tournament finals for a shot at the Lightweight Title and Eddie Alvarez.
R1- Curran snapped off a head kick in the opening moments but it deflected off of Huerta's noggin and did not damage him. Not a lot of action in the round. I felt like Curran scored more with strikes. Huerta started to come on towards the end of the round but I gave the round to Curran 10-9.
R2- Huerta lands some early leg kicks. Huerta is much more aggressive this round. Curran went for a take down but was denied. Huerta took this round and I've got it 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Lots of clinching early in the round with Curran landing knees and Huerta landing strikes to Curran's thigh. Huerta went for a take down but Curran slipped out. Both guys really starting to throw some leather as we get down to under two minutes left in the fight and it's anybody's fight to win. Huerta took Curran's back and took him down. Curran switched out and landed a knee and then let Huerta go. One minute left and whoever is more impressive in this last minute will probably take the fight. Curran got a take down with 50 seconds left but Huerta immediately got up. Huerta looked like he landed more strikes down the stretch. Razor thin fight that's probably going to go to Huerta since he was pushing forward more in that round. Realistically this would be a 9-9 or 10-10 round and this should be a draw but if you have to pick someone i'll pick Huerta but only by an eye lash. Would like to see some CompuStrike stats for this fight.
Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards
Winner: Pat Curran by Decision (Unanimous)
Well Bellator has to be upset with that upset as they were clearly banking on Huerta to fight Eddie Alvarez. The Lightweight Finals are now set with Toby Imada against Pat Curran and the winner facing Eddie Alvarez.
Catchweight Fight (160 lbs)- Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer
Bellator just jumps right into this fight without the intro that they usually do. Strange. Alvarez holds the Bellator Lightweight Championship but this is a non-title fight as it's being contested at a catchweight.
R1- Alvarez got a take down with a minute and a half gone from the round. Alvarez landed some strikes. Alvarez really controlling Neer through the first three minutes of the fight. Alvarez lands more good strikes from the top position. Alvarez mounted and landed some good strikes but Neer was able to flip him over and Alvarez got back to his feet. Alvarez got another take down with under a minute left in the round. Alvarez passed guard and mounted again but didn't have a chance to do much more damage. Borderline 10-8 round as he just dominated Neer. Neer has shown the ability in the past to absorb a lot of punishment and continue to fight so he's still in this fight but not for long if he continues to allow Alvarez to take him down.
R2- Neer landed some strikes but then got taken down. Neer has been busted open over his eye. Alvarez took Neer's back and clamped in a Rear Naked Choke while Neer was on his feet and Neer collapsed and this fight is over. Fantastic fight by Eddie Alvarez. Neer is not at the level of Alvarez but Neer was the bigger fighter so this is a pretty big win for Alvarez considering how convincingly he destroyed Neer.
Winner: Eddie Alvarez by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:08
Heavyweight Fight- Pat Bennett (1-0) vs. Cole Konrad (2-0)
Konrad is a two-time NCAA wrestling champion and trains with Brock Lesnar. Konrad had to cut weight to make the Heavyweight limit.
R1- Bennett threw strikes early but then got clinched and taken down within the first minute of the fight. Konrad is smothering Bennett and it looks like Bennett is bleeding from the mouth. Konrad mounted with a minute left in the round. Bennett gave up his back and then Konrad flipped him back over. Konrad going to town on Bennett as the round ends. Borderline 10-8 round.
R2- This is the first time Konrad has been into the second round of a fight and he's noticeably tired. His biggest weakness so far is his conditioning and based on his size he could easily get into better shape. This second round has been like one of those TUF fights where the guys are just exhausted. Konrad starts to land a couple of strikes. Konrad took this round but only because I can't remember Bennett throwing a strike in it. Why is this fight on after Alvarez/Neer?
R3- Bennett comes out quickly with a flurry but didn't land anything. Bennett threw some leather up against the cage and looked like he landed a good one that momentarily stunned Konrad. Bennett took this round but Konrad won the fight. If Konrad seriously wants to be an MMA fighter then he needs to drop some weight and get in better shape. He clearly had cardio issues and it was probably a combination of dropping so much weight and carrying extra weight. He looked good in the first round but if he was in there against a high level striker he would have been toast. It's only his 3rd pro fight so he's got a lot of time to correct his issues but it's time to hit the gym.
"There comes a time when you want to win or you just want the fight to be over. I think Cole Konrad may just want the fight to be over"- Jimmy Smith
Judges score card: 30-26, 29-28, 30-27. Not sure how Konrad won that last round as he didn't do anything but he definitely won the fight. He got a round of boos from the fans after the fight.
Winner: Cole Konrad by Decision (Unanimous)
Next week is the Featherweight Semi-Finals. Georgi Karakhanyan fights Joe Warren and Wilson Reis fights Patricio Pitbull. Should be two good fights. They also say Hector Lombard will fight Paulo Filho in a Super Fight but shockingly (sarcasm) there have been reports the Filho has pulled out of that fight.
Showing posts with label Josh Neer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh Neer. Show all posts
Saturday, May 08, 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)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
UFC 101 "Declaration" 8/8/09 Re-Cap
UFC 101: Declaration
8/8/09
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The main interest in this show in the top 2 fights. We have Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn taking on challenger Kenny Florian and we have Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva taking on former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. We should also see Ricardo Almeida/Kendall Grove and Kurt Pellegrino/Josh Neer as well as TUF Champion Amir Sadollah in his first post TUF fight against Johny Hendricks.
Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (25-7-1) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (19-4)
Neer is coming off a big win at UFC Fight Night 17 over Mac Danzig.
R1- Pellegrino started the fight off with a good slam. Neer briefly locked in an arm bar but Pellegrino slammed his way out of it. Pellegrino is staying on top of Neer but both guys are active. Pellegrino takes round one 10-9.
R2- Both guys landed some stand up in the first minute of the fight. Pellegrino fought hard and got a take down. Neer keeps going for submissions from the bottom but eventually Pellegrino passed his guard and mounted him. Pellegrino then took Neer’s back with less than a minute left in the round. Pellegrino is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Pellegrino caught a Neer kick and got a quick take down early in this round. Neer opened up Pellegrino with a strike from the bottom. Neer looks like he’s got a bloody nose or mouth. Neer landed some nice elbows at the end of the round. Pellegrino is going to win this fight based on the first two rounds.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards. This was Pellegrino’s first UFC Main Card victory.
Winner: Kurt Pellegrino by Decision (Unanimous)
Tito Ortiz and Georges St-Pierre are in the crowd. GSP gets a good reaction, Tito got a mixed reaction.
Middleweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (10-3) vs. Kendall Grove (12-5)
Almeida comes out to some Social Distortion. Almeida is coming off a win over Matt Horwich at UFC Fight Night 18. Kendall Grove is coming off of a UFC 96 TKO of Jason Day. Grove has a 6” height and 5” reach advantage.
R1- Almeida worked for a long time and finally got a take down with about a minute and a half left in the round. Kendall was able to get back to his feet but then got slammed back down with 15 seconds left in the round. Almeida took this round 10-9.
R2- Almeida almost immediately got a take down to start this round. Kendall locked in an arm bar and came close but could not finish Almeida. Almeida gets some good Ground and Pound but Kendall was able to get back to his feet. Almeida finished the round with another take down. Almeida is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Almeida hit a good right hand, drove Kendall into the cage and then got a brief take down. Almeida tried to pull guard into an arm bar but Kendall landed on top and got some brief Ground and Pound before he gave up the position. Almeida is tired but he was still able to get a take down about half way through the round. Kendall was able to get back to his feet with 30 seconds left in the round but Almeida clinched him up and this one is going to go to Almeida by decision.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Decision (Unanimous)
Chuck Liddell is in the house.
Welterweight Fight- Amir Sadollah (2-0) vs. Johny Hendricks (5-0)
Hendricks is a 4-time All-American wrestler and a 2-time National Champion out of Oklahoma State. Hendricks comes out to “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones. Amir has a 6” reach advantage. One weird stat is that Amir comes into the fight at 3.5 lbs under the weight limit which is something that you don’t see very often. Hopefully he didn’t over cut as this is his first fight at Welterweight (he fought at Middleweight during TUF).
R1- Amir is throwing lots of kicks and strikes early but Hendricks catches him with some strikes and Amir goes down and Mirgliatta stops the fight early. Bad stoppage. The ref actually stopped the fight as Amir was trying to get back to his feet. This isn’t the first time that Mirgliatta has done this. UFC needs to look at keeping him away from the Main Card.
Winner: Johny Hendricks by TKO (Mirgilatta) R1 0:29
Lightweight Fight- Aaron Riley (27-11-1) vs. Shane Nelson (13-3)
Greg Jackson is in Aaron Riley’s corner. Yoda! This is a re-match from a previous fight where the ref made a horrible early stoppage and Shane Nelson was awarded a cheap win due to referee error. This is the re-match so Shane is looking to prove that he deserved to win the last fight and Riley is looking to prove that it was indeed an early stoppage and he would have won the fight if it had not been stopped.
R1- Riley is trying to take it to Nelson early and has landed some good strikes. Close first round. I’ve got it going to Riley.
R2- Riley hit a good head kick about half way through the round that didn’t knock Nelson down but did daze him and allowed Riley to get a take down. Riley takes this round as well and is up 20-18 going into the third round.
R3- There was a fight in the crowd during this fight but they didn’t show it. While that fight was going on Riley was on top of Shane and controlling the action. Riley gets his revenge in this fight as he took each round of this fight.
“If he doesn’t win this decision I’m going to burn my headset and run naked through the crowd”- Joe Rogan
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Aaron Riley by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight: Anderson Silva (24-4) vs. Forrest Griffin (16-5)
Silva is coming off of two lack luster fights in which his opponents really didn’t look to engage in combat with him. Silva is looking to make up for it in this fight. Forrest has not fought since he lost his Light Heavyweight Championship to Rashad Evans back in December. I read somewhere that Roy Jones Jr was going to be at this fight to scout Anderson Silva as I’ve heard they have some sort of agreement to fight after Anderson’s UFC contract is over. Forrest gets a huge reaction when he comes out for the fight. Silva is 9-0 in the UFC. Forrest got another huge reaction when he was announced. Silver got a little bit of boos when he was announced.
R1- Anderson grabbed a Forrest leg kick early and just tossed Forrest back wards. Anderson rushed in at about the two minute mark and landed a big right hand that knocked Forrest to the mat. Forrest gets back up and throws some strikes. Anderson looks pumped as he’s telling Forrest to bring it. Anderson puts his hands down and ducks Forrest’s shots and just levels him with a straight level that knocks Forrest to the mat. That was an unreal sequence that looked like it was out of a movie. Anderson gets some Ground and Pound but then let’s Forrest up. Anderson again puts his hands down and ducks Forrest’s shots and this time hits Forrest with a straight right hand. This was just a dominate performance by Anderson. WOW. Anderson Silva just ate Forrest Griffin.
Winner: Anderson Silva by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:23
UFC Lightweight Championship: B.J. Penn © (13-5-1) vs. Kenny Florian (13-3)
According to the UFC stats Penn has never been knocked down and lands 61% of his total strikes (3rd best in UFC History). Florian has also never been knocked down and lands 52% of his strikes (versus the UFC average of 35%). Penn is coming off of a well documented loss to GSP at Welterweight. Florian is coming off of an impressive victory over Joe Stevenson on UFC 91. KenFlo has a 4” reach advantage in the fight.
R1- Florian got tripped up early but he was able to get back to his feet and clinch with BJ. They clinched in the center and both hit some body shots. BJ landed a big strike near the end of the round that wobbled Florian and then BJ followed up with a couple of knees. BJ takes round one 10-9 in what was a fairly even round until the last 15 seconds.
R2- Not a lot of action in this round. BJ landed a couple of strikes around the one minute mark. Really close round with neither guy really doing much damage. I’ve got BJ up 20-18 with the second round being closer than the first.
R3- Kenny pressed BJ up against the cage for the first half of the round. Kenny controlled this round without doing a lot of damage. BJ was able to get in a couple of shots on the fence near the end of the round. Another close round. I’ve got Florian taking this one so that makes the fight Penn 29 Florian 28.
R4- BJ landed a couple of strikes to open the round. BJ got a take down about a minute into the round. BJ has trouble passing Kenny’s guard but still lands a couple of nice shots. BJ was able to mount and Kenny gave up his back. BJ nailed Kenny with some kicks to the side which opened up the Rear Naked and BJ grabbed the Rear Naked Choke for the win. Really great move by BJ Penn for the victory and successful title defense.
Winner and still champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R4 3:54
Lightweight Fight- George Sotiropoulos vs. George Roop
This was a pre-show fight featuring TUF 6 vs. TUF 8.
R1- Roop went for a kick and got taken down by Sotiropoulos. Sotiropoulos quickly mounted Roop but Roop got back to his feet. Sotiropoulos hit a good combination that stunned Roop. Sotiropoulos was able to get Roop down on the mat again and once again quickly passed his guard. Sotiropoulos is controlling this fight early much like I thought he would.
R2- Sotiropoulos got Roop down on the mat early in this round. Sotiropoulos got the kimura and tapped out Roop. Good showing for Sotiropoulos.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Submission (Kimura) R2 1:59
8/8/09
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The main interest in this show in the top 2 fights. We have Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn taking on challenger Kenny Florian and we have Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva taking on former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. We should also see Ricardo Almeida/Kendall Grove and Kurt Pellegrino/Josh Neer as well as TUF Champion Amir Sadollah in his first post TUF fight against Johny Hendricks.
Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (25-7-1) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (19-4)
Neer is coming off a big win at UFC Fight Night 17 over Mac Danzig.
R1- Pellegrino started the fight off with a good slam. Neer briefly locked in an arm bar but Pellegrino slammed his way out of it. Pellegrino is staying on top of Neer but both guys are active. Pellegrino takes round one 10-9.
R2- Both guys landed some stand up in the first minute of the fight. Pellegrino fought hard and got a take down. Neer keeps going for submissions from the bottom but eventually Pellegrino passed his guard and mounted him. Pellegrino then took Neer’s back with less than a minute left in the round. Pellegrino is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Pellegrino caught a Neer kick and got a quick take down early in this round. Neer opened up Pellegrino with a strike from the bottom. Neer looks like he’s got a bloody nose or mouth. Neer landed some nice elbows at the end of the round. Pellegrino is going to win this fight based on the first two rounds.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards. This was Pellegrino’s first UFC Main Card victory.
Winner: Kurt Pellegrino by Decision (Unanimous)
Tito Ortiz and Georges St-Pierre are in the crowd. GSP gets a good reaction, Tito got a mixed reaction.
Middleweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (10-3) vs. Kendall Grove (12-5)
Almeida comes out to some Social Distortion. Almeida is coming off a win over Matt Horwich at UFC Fight Night 18. Kendall Grove is coming off of a UFC 96 TKO of Jason Day. Grove has a 6” height and 5” reach advantage.
R1- Almeida worked for a long time and finally got a take down with about a minute and a half left in the round. Kendall was able to get back to his feet but then got slammed back down with 15 seconds left in the round. Almeida took this round 10-9.
R2- Almeida almost immediately got a take down to start this round. Kendall locked in an arm bar and came close but could not finish Almeida. Almeida gets some good Ground and Pound but Kendall was able to get back to his feet. Almeida finished the round with another take down. Almeida is up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Almeida hit a good right hand, drove Kendall into the cage and then got a brief take down. Almeida tried to pull guard into an arm bar but Kendall landed on top and got some brief Ground and Pound before he gave up the position. Almeida is tired but he was still able to get a take down about half way through the round. Kendall was able to get back to his feet with 30 seconds left in the round but Almeida clinched him up and this one is going to go to Almeida by decision.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Decision (Unanimous)
Chuck Liddell is in the house.
Welterweight Fight- Amir Sadollah (2-0) vs. Johny Hendricks (5-0)
Hendricks is a 4-time All-American wrestler and a 2-time National Champion out of Oklahoma State. Hendricks comes out to “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones. Amir has a 6” reach advantage. One weird stat is that Amir comes into the fight at 3.5 lbs under the weight limit which is something that you don’t see very often. Hopefully he didn’t over cut as this is his first fight at Welterweight (he fought at Middleweight during TUF).
R1- Amir is throwing lots of kicks and strikes early but Hendricks catches him with some strikes and Amir goes down and Mirgliatta stops the fight early. Bad stoppage. The ref actually stopped the fight as Amir was trying to get back to his feet. This isn’t the first time that Mirgliatta has done this. UFC needs to look at keeping him away from the Main Card.
Winner: Johny Hendricks by TKO (Mirgilatta) R1 0:29
Lightweight Fight- Aaron Riley (27-11-1) vs. Shane Nelson (13-3)
Greg Jackson is in Aaron Riley’s corner. Yoda! This is a re-match from a previous fight where the ref made a horrible early stoppage and Shane Nelson was awarded a cheap win due to referee error. This is the re-match so Shane is looking to prove that he deserved to win the last fight and Riley is looking to prove that it was indeed an early stoppage and he would have won the fight if it had not been stopped.
R1- Riley is trying to take it to Nelson early and has landed some good strikes. Close first round. I’ve got it going to Riley.
R2- Riley hit a good head kick about half way through the round that didn’t knock Nelson down but did daze him and allowed Riley to get a take down. Riley takes this round as well and is up 20-18 going into the third round.
R3- There was a fight in the crowd during this fight but they didn’t show it. While that fight was going on Riley was on top of Shane and controlling the action. Riley gets his revenge in this fight as he took each round of this fight.
“If he doesn’t win this decision I’m going to burn my headset and run naked through the crowd”- Joe Rogan
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Aaron Riley by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight: Anderson Silva (24-4) vs. Forrest Griffin (16-5)
Silva is coming off of two lack luster fights in which his opponents really didn’t look to engage in combat with him. Silva is looking to make up for it in this fight. Forrest has not fought since he lost his Light Heavyweight Championship to Rashad Evans back in December. I read somewhere that Roy Jones Jr was going to be at this fight to scout Anderson Silva as I’ve heard they have some sort of agreement to fight after Anderson’s UFC contract is over. Forrest gets a huge reaction when he comes out for the fight. Silva is 9-0 in the UFC. Forrest got another huge reaction when he was announced. Silver got a little bit of boos when he was announced.
R1- Anderson grabbed a Forrest leg kick early and just tossed Forrest back wards. Anderson rushed in at about the two minute mark and landed a big right hand that knocked Forrest to the mat. Forrest gets back up and throws some strikes. Anderson looks pumped as he’s telling Forrest to bring it. Anderson puts his hands down and ducks Forrest’s shots and just levels him with a straight level that knocks Forrest to the mat. That was an unreal sequence that looked like it was out of a movie. Anderson gets some Ground and Pound but then let’s Forrest up. Anderson again puts his hands down and ducks Forrest’s shots and this time hits Forrest with a straight right hand. This was just a dominate performance by Anderson. WOW. Anderson Silva just ate Forrest Griffin.
Winner: Anderson Silva by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:23
UFC Lightweight Championship: B.J. Penn © (13-5-1) vs. Kenny Florian (13-3)
According to the UFC stats Penn has never been knocked down and lands 61% of his total strikes (3rd best in UFC History). Florian has also never been knocked down and lands 52% of his strikes (versus the UFC average of 35%). Penn is coming off of a well documented loss to GSP at Welterweight. Florian is coming off of an impressive victory over Joe Stevenson on UFC 91. KenFlo has a 4” reach advantage in the fight.
R1- Florian got tripped up early but he was able to get back to his feet and clinch with BJ. They clinched in the center and both hit some body shots. BJ landed a big strike near the end of the round that wobbled Florian and then BJ followed up with a couple of knees. BJ takes round one 10-9 in what was a fairly even round until the last 15 seconds.
R2- Not a lot of action in this round. BJ landed a couple of strikes around the one minute mark. Really close round with neither guy really doing much damage. I’ve got BJ up 20-18 with the second round being closer than the first.
R3- Kenny pressed BJ up against the cage for the first half of the round. Kenny controlled this round without doing a lot of damage. BJ was able to get in a couple of shots on the fence near the end of the round. Another close round. I’ve got Florian taking this one so that makes the fight Penn 29 Florian 28.
R4- BJ landed a couple of strikes to open the round. BJ got a take down about a minute into the round. BJ has trouble passing Kenny’s guard but still lands a couple of nice shots. BJ was able to mount and Kenny gave up his back. BJ nailed Kenny with some kicks to the side which opened up the Rear Naked and BJ grabbed the Rear Naked Choke for the win. Really great move by BJ Penn for the victory and successful title defense.
Winner and still champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R4 3:54
Lightweight Fight- George Sotiropoulos vs. George Roop
This was a pre-show fight featuring TUF 6 vs. TUF 8.
R1- Roop went for a kick and got taken down by Sotiropoulos. Sotiropoulos quickly mounted Roop but Roop got back to his feet. Sotiropoulos hit a good combination that stunned Roop. Sotiropoulos was able to get Roop down on the mat again and once again quickly passed his guard. Sotiropoulos is controlling this fight early much like I thought he would.
R2- Sotiropoulos got Roop down on the mat early in this round. Sotiropoulos got the kimura and tapped out Roop. Good showing for Sotiropoulos.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Submission (Kimura) R2 1:59
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
UFC Fight Night 17 2/7/09 Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 17
February 7th, 2009
USF Sun Dome - Tampa, FL
No major drawing cards on the show tonight but the last time UFC ran a show similar to this (Fight for the Troops) they had a really good show. On paper we’ve got some interesting fights in Lauzon/Stephens, Neer/Danzig, Johnson/Fioravanti and Pellegrino/Emerson.
Welterweight Fight- Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4)
Anthony Johnson is coming off of a big Third Round KO of Kevin Burns in their re-match at the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Fioravanti is the home town guy in this fight as he’s from Florida. Johnson is a JUCO wrestler and a feared striker. This is a big fight for both guys. Johnson has a big 8” reach advantage and a 6” height advantage. Cung Le is in Anthony Johnson’s corner for the fight as Johnson has been training with Le and Strikeforce Lightweight Champ Josh Thomson. Fioravanti has won 3 of his last 4 fights with the loss coming at the hands of Diego Sanchez.
R1- Johnson scored mostly in this round with leg kicks and then caught Luigi towards the end of the round with a punch and then laid it on and got the Ground and Pound victory. Very impressive victory by Johnson as it took Diego Sanchez 3 rounds to get a TKO win over Luigi.
I’m looking forward to Johnson stepping up in competition for his next fight in the Welterweight Division. Post-fight Johnson says he’s disappointed with his performance so that’s a good sign that this guy is going to work really hard to continue to improve.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:39
Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (24-7-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-5-1)
Danzig is coming off of a September loss to Clay Guida in which he was really controlled by Guida’s wrestling. Neer fought on the same show and lost a split decision to Nate Diaz. Both guys are in a need to win situation as they don’t want to start racking up multiple losses in a row. Danzig won TUF Season 6 in 2007. Neer has a 3” height advantage and a 2” reach advantage.
R1- Danzig got caught early when he went for a head kick but weathered the storm. Danzig hit a good combo about a minute in a half in to even the fight back out. Danzig caught Neer coming in with a minute and half left and then took his guard. Neer grabbed a triangle but Danzig spun out and survived. Neer unloaded in the corner. Neer showboated towards the end of the round. Neer ended the round on an upswing. Very good and very close first round. Neer controlled early, Danzig took the middle part of the round with a knock down and Neer came on strong at the end. Danzig also opened up a cut on Neer’s face.
R2- Danzig got a take down stuffed and Neer unloaded with some good elbows. Neer tried to take his back but slipped off and Danzig took guard. Neer got another triangle with a minute and a half left in the round and Danzig had to tap.
Really good fight and a good showing by both guys as it was very competitive.
Winner: Josh Neer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 3:36
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (12-1)
Velasquez is an up and coming Heavyweight prospect and this is Stojnic’s first fight in the UFC. Cain has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Stojnic is from Amsterdam and his nickname is “Denis the Menace.”
R1- Velasquez just dominated this round. Stojnic showed a good chin but wasn’t able to get in any offense. Velasquez 10-8. Velasquez showed really good technique throughout the fight and did a good job mixing in strikes, kicks and knees.
R2- Velasquez took Stojnic down and Ground and Pound him over and over. The ref stopped the fight a little early but there was no question that Velasquez was just dominating this fight. Good showing by Velasquez, the only thing that was missing was a dominant finish.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:34
Lightweight Fight- Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach
This is a pre-show fight. Veach took this fight on short notice and has Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler in his corner.
R1- Veach really pushed the pace early and got a take down. Grice caught Veach in an Anaconda Choke but Veach quickly got out of it. Grice caught Veach with an uppercut and then got on top of him with some Ground and Pound and tried to finish. Grice looked like he punched himself out when he was going for the finish. Grice went for a guillotine and Veach took his guard. Veach was looking very tired and taking some shots and he landed a good shot on Grice and took him down and got the finish. Looked like an early ref stoppage but it was a really good fight.
Winner: Matt Veach by TKO R1 4:34
Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (16-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-3)
Stephens is coming off of a win at UFC 91 over Rafael Dos Anjos. Lauzon’s last fight was a win over Kyle Bradley. Previous to that he had won 6 straight fights before losing to Top Contender Kenny Florian. Hermes Franca was originally supposed to fight Lauzon. Stephens trains with Franca. Lauzon was on Season 5 of the Ultimate Fighter and was BJ Penn’s team.
R1- Lauzon did a good job early in the round in working his strategy and keeping Stephens close to him and on the mat. Stephens came on late in the round with some Ground and Pound and a big slam. Close first round, very competitive.
R2- Lauzon again controlled the first part of this round and got some light Ground and Pound. At about one and a half minutes left in the round Stephens flipped it over and opened up a cut on Lauzon. Lauzon reverses but he’s bleeding pretty good. Lauzon caught Stephens in an arm bar and got a tap out as the round was ending. Really good job by Lauzon quickly getting a finish after he started to lose blood as the fight could have been ended if the round ended depending on where the cut was.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:43
Middleweight Fight- Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt
This is our second pre-show fight.
R1- Rosholt got a quick take down but got reversed. Miller caught Rosholt in a guillotine and he got caught and tapped. His corner was yelling for him to watch for it but apparently he didn’t hear them.
Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:03
Overall, I was very satisfied with this show. Anthony Johnson and Cain Velasquez both looked really good. Grice/Veach and Lauzon/Stephens were both good fights and I thought Danzig/Neer was a really good fight. Danzig/Neer is probably the best fight I’ve seen so far this year although it’s only February.
February 7th, 2009
USF Sun Dome - Tampa, FL
No major drawing cards on the show tonight but the last time UFC ran a show similar to this (Fight for the Troops) they had a really good show. On paper we’ve got some interesting fights in Lauzon/Stephens, Neer/Danzig, Johnson/Fioravanti and Pellegrino/Emerson.
Welterweight Fight- Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4)
Anthony Johnson is coming off of a big Third Round KO of Kevin Burns in their re-match at the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Fioravanti is the home town guy in this fight as he’s from Florida. Johnson is a JUCO wrestler and a feared striker. This is a big fight for both guys. Johnson has a big 8” reach advantage and a 6” height advantage. Cung Le is in Anthony Johnson’s corner for the fight as Johnson has been training with Le and Strikeforce Lightweight Champ Josh Thomson. Fioravanti has won 3 of his last 4 fights with the loss coming at the hands of Diego Sanchez.
R1- Johnson scored mostly in this round with leg kicks and then caught Luigi towards the end of the round with a punch and then laid it on and got the Ground and Pound victory. Very impressive victory by Johnson as it took Diego Sanchez 3 rounds to get a TKO win over Luigi.
I’m looking forward to Johnson stepping up in competition for his next fight in the Welterweight Division. Post-fight Johnson says he’s disappointed with his performance so that’s a good sign that this guy is going to work really hard to continue to improve.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:39
Lightweight Fight- Josh Neer (24-7-1) vs. Mac Danzig (19-5-1)
Danzig is coming off of a September loss to Clay Guida in which he was really controlled by Guida’s wrestling. Neer fought on the same show and lost a split decision to Nate Diaz. Both guys are in a need to win situation as they don’t want to start racking up multiple losses in a row. Danzig won TUF Season 6 in 2007. Neer has a 3” height advantage and a 2” reach advantage.
R1- Danzig got caught early when he went for a head kick but weathered the storm. Danzig hit a good combo about a minute in a half in to even the fight back out. Danzig caught Neer coming in with a minute and half left and then took his guard. Neer grabbed a triangle but Danzig spun out and survived. Neer unloaded in the corner. Neer showboated towards the end of the round. Neer ended the round on an upswing. Very good and very close first round. Neer controlled early, Danzig took the middle part of the round with a knock down and Neer came on strong at the end. Danzig also opened up a cut on Neer’s face.
R2- Danzig got a take down stuffed and Neer unloaded with some good elbows. Neer tried to take his back but slipped off and Danzig took guard. Neer got another triangle with a minute and a half left in the round and Danzig had to tap.
Really good fight and a good showing by both guys as it was very competitive.
Winner: Josh Neer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R2 3:36
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (12-1)
Velasquez is an up and coming Heavyweight prospect and this is Stojnic’s first fight in the UFC. Cain has a 2” height and 3” reach advantage. Stojnic is from Amsterdam and his nickname is “Denis the Menace.”
R1- Velasquez just dominated this round. Stojnic showed a good chin but wasn’t able to get in any offense. Velasquez 10-8. Velasquez showed really good technique throughout the fight and did a good job mixing in strikes, kicks and knees.
R2- Velasquez took Stojnic down and Ground and Pound him over and over. The ref stopped the fight a little early but there was no question that Velasquez was just dominating this fight. Good showing by Velasquez, the only thing that was missing was a dominant finish.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:34
Lightweight Fight- Matt Grice vs. Matt Veach
This is a pre-show fight. Veach took this fight on short notice and has Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler in his corner.
R1- Veach really pushed the pace early and got a take down. Grice caught Veach in an Anaconda Choke but Veach quickly got out of it. Grice caught Veach with an uppercut and then got on top of him with some Ground and Pound and tried to finish. Grice looked like he punched himself out when he was going for the finish. Grice went for a guillotine and Veach took his guard. Veach was looking very tired and taking some shots and he landed a good shot on Grice and took him down and got the finish. Looked like an early ref stoppage but it was a really good fight.
Winner: Matt Veach by TKO R1 4:34
Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (16-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (16-3)
Stephens is coming off of a win at UFC 91 over Rafael Dos Anjos. Lauzon’s last fight was a win over Kyle Bradley. Previous to that he had won 6 straight fights before losing to Top Contender Kenny Florian. Hermes Franca was originally supposed to fight Lauzon. Stephens trains with Franca. Lauzon was on Season 5 of the Ultimate Fighter and was BJ Penn’s team.
R1- Lauzon did a good job early in the round in working his strategy and keeping Stephens close to him and on the mat. Stephens came on late in the round with some Ground and Pound and a big slam. Close first round, very competitive.
R2- Lauzon again controlled the first part of this round and got some light Ground and Pound. At about one and a half minutes left in the round Stephens flipped it over and opened up a cut on Lauzon. Lauzon reverses but he’s bleeding pretty good. Lauzon caught Stephens in an arm bar and got a tap out as the round was ending. Really good job by Lauzon quickly getting a finish after he started to lose blood as the fight could have been ended if the round ended depending on where the cut was.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:43
Middleweight Fight- Dan Miller vs. Jake Rosholt
This is our second pre-show fight.
R1- Rosholt got a quick take down but got reversed. Miller caught Rosholt in a guillotine and he got caught and tapped. His corner was yelling for him to watch for it but apparently he didn’t hear them.
Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:03
Overall, I was very satisfied with this show. Anthony Johnson and Cain Velasquez both looked really good. Grice/Veach and Lauzon/Stephens were both good fights and I thought Danzig/Neer was a really good fight. Danzig/Neer is probably the best fight I’ve seen so far this year although it’s only February.
Monday, September 22, 2008
UFC Fight Night 15 9/17/08 Re-Cap
UFC Fight Night 9/17/08
Light Heavyweight Fight- Houston Alexander (8-3) vs. Eric Schafer (11-3-2)
Schafer has a 3 inch height and 4 inch reach advantage. Alexander is the hometown fighter in this one and he gets a huge reaction. Alexander usually has short fights so this one could be quick.
R1- Alexander gets a clinch early and hits Schafer with a knee and then really rocks him with another. Alexander is trying to finish and Schafer is trying to survive and gets Alexander into his guard but Alexander gets back up as he wants the fight to remain standing. Alexander with some leg kicks and then gets driven into the cage. Schafer going for take downs but Alexander is denying him. Schafer finally gets a take down and gets side control. Schafer going for short elbows. Alexander gets out of the position but then gets turned over and mounted by Schafer. Schafer hitting some strikes. Schafer with some elbows and punches. One minute left in the round. Schafer landing punches and Alexander gives up his back but Schafer doesn’t take it and continues with Ground & Pound. Schafer goes for an arm triangle and Alexander taps out. Good, exciting opening fight. Schafer did a good job weathering the early storm and after several take down attempts he stayed with it and finally got one and then ended the fight.
This is Alexander’s third straight loss in the UFC. Eric Schafer has won three straight fights but had lost his last two in UFC to Stephan Bonnar and Michael Bisping.
Winner: Eric Schafer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 4:53
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman (16-5) vs. Alan Belcher (11-4)
R1- Lots of action early and then they clinch and are separated. Both guys hitting some strikes. Pretty even fight through the first half of the round. Herman hit a good combo and tried a take down but it was stopped and they clinched again. Herman picked Belcher up with a double-leg and got the take down. Herman is trying for what Rogan is calling a “Darth Choke” but Belcher gets to his feet. Herman gets another take down with half a minute left and is going for the same choke again. Pretty even round when they stood up but Herman took Belcher down twice and had two submission attempts. Herman is up 10-9 after Round One.
R2- Belcher hit a big left hand to start out the round. Herman hits a good combo after a couple of counter punches. Belcher with a couple of body punches and then hit a big punch that rocked Herman back into the cage. Belcher hit a kick to the midsection but got caught and taken down by Herman. Belcher got back to his feet with minimal damage from Herman. 45 seconds left in the round. Close round. Belcher controlled the first 2 and a half minutes and rocked Herman. Herman then got a take down and control for about a minute and the rest was even. Overall, I give Belcher this round which makes it 19-19.
R3- Herman went for a quick take down but got stuffed. Belcher landing some jabs. Herman went for another take down but Belcher stopped it again and they clinch against the cage and then get separated. Belcher showing good hands in this fight. Belcher goes for a spinning back fist and Herman goes for a take down but doesn’t get it. Herman stays with it and gets the take down. Herman gets some strikes in but Belcher gets back to his feet. One minute and fifteen seconds remain in the fight. It’s very even to this point so this will probably decide the fight. Herman gets another take down with 45 seconds left and lands some good punches. Herman continuing to hit some punches. Herman ends the fight in a dominate position. Belcher won the stand up part of the fight but Herman dominated in take downs and on the ground. Very, very close fight but I’ve got to give it to Herman as I think he won rounds 1 and 3 with a strong finish. Herman 29-28 on my score card. Not a dominate win but a good win and a good fight.
Judges score the fight: 29-28 Belcher, 29-28 Herman, and 29-28 Belcher.
Interesting decision, not sure that I agree with it though.
Winner: Alan Belcher by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Mac Danzig (19-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (23-6)
This should be a really fun fight.
R1- Danzig seems to be the aggressor early as he backs down Guida twice but doesn’t land anything substantial. Guida went for a take down on a Danzig kick but couldn’t get it. Danzig landed a couple of shots about two minutes into the round. Danzig rushes Guida and hits a big combo but Guida grabs him and takes him down. Great sequence of events. Danzig goes for a kimura from the bottom but Guida backs him up against the cage and Danzig gets back to his feet with no damage from Guida but Guida picks up Danzig and slams him down. Danzig once again has his back to the cage and stands up again and Guida slams him down again. Guida gets a couple of shots in but Danzig works his way back to his feet at the end of the round. Interesting round as Danzig won the first part of the round by winning the stand up game but Guida got several take downs and slams although not much actually offense on the ground. Almost an even round. Probably have to give it to Guida due to the slams but based on the way the judges scored the Belcher fight I would say that they would probably give it to Danzig. Guida 10-9. Good round.
R2- Guida looks to be more aggressive early in this round as he backs down Danzig and pushes forward. Danzig hits a good punch and then a front kick but Guida fights back and runs him down and gets a take down but Danzig goes right for his arm again and stands right up. Guida shoots in again about half way through the round and gets a take partial take down but Danzig doesn’t go all the way down and doesn’t take any damage. Danzig lands a couple of good shots with about a minute left but Guida grabs him and clinches and then takes Danzig’s back with 30 seconds left and takes him down and goes for a Rear Naked. Danzig rolls over and Guida finishes the fight in a dominate position but without landing much damage. I think Guida stole this round at the end with the big take down. I had Danzig winning based on strikes but Guida put himself in a position to finish the fight. I’ve got Guida winning a very close 20-18 so far.
R3- They sprawl early as Danzig missed a kick and then stopped a Guida take down. They both got some good shots in during a dirty boxing clinch. Danzig then got his first take down of the fight and attempted a kimura. Guida escaped and briefly took Danzig’s back. Guida with some knees against the cage. Danzig looks really tired and Guida is smothering him against the cage. Danzig got to his feet but got taken down again. Guida isn’t doing much damage but he’s controlling the fight. Danzig back to his feet but Guida is still holding him. Guida ends the fight with a flurry of punches on the ground. I’ve got Guida taking this fight 30-27. Not a dominate performance as far as damage but Guida controlled the fight with his wrestling.
Judges score cards are: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for Guida.
This is Guida’s second win a row after a loss to Roger Huerta. This is Danzig’s first loss after two consecutive wins.
Winner: Clay Guida by Decision (Unanimous)
Joe Rogan is joined by Dana White. Dana announces a fight on December 10th live from Ft Bragg a 3-Hour event called “UFC Fights for the Troops” to benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (9-2) vs. Josh Neer (24-6-1)
This is the first fight that we get the ring walk and entrance music. Josh Neer is from nearby Des Moines, Iowa. Jens Pulver is in his corner for the fight. Neer comes out to some soft rock that sounds like something from Nickelback. Diaz comes out to some rap with his brother Nick by his side. Diaz has a four inch reach advantage.
R1- They clinch early and Neer gets an immediate take down. Neer goes for a choke but lets it go. Neer takes his back and Diaz stands up and Neer takes him down but Diaz back to his feet again with Neer still on his back. Nate gets turned around and they sprawl and are back to their feet with a clinch. Diaz gets some shots in on Neer to the corner. Diaz is landing some good jabs and then gets a great looking judo throw and ends in side control but Neer gets him to half guard. Neer gets out but gets puched. Diaz fights his way back to full guard and then steps over and transitions to the back in a great move but can’t get anything. Diaz ends the fight on top of Neer. Neer controlled early but Diaz looked great late first hitting jabs, then a judo throw and then some good ground work. I’ve got Diaz taking this round 10-9.
R2- They exchange to start the round. Neer gets a take down but Diaz scrambles and reverses it so he’s in full guard. Neer gets back to his feet and gets a take down and has Nate’s back. Neer goes for a choke but Nate turns out of it. Lots of action as Neer goes for an arm bar and Nate for a triangle and both come up short. Neer gets some shots in and continues to be at and advantage but Diaz gets to his feet and they clinch. Diaz peppers him with jabs. Close round, I think Neer took this one so I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- They come out with Nate as the aggressor and they clinch against the cage. Nate gets a take down and is in half guard. Neer gets out but Diaz gets back to full guard and then stands up and then gets full guard again. Neer to his feet and they clinch. Diaz winning the final round half way through. Diaz takes Neer’s back and then turns to full mount. Nate with some strikes. They stand up with 20 seconds left and Diaz gets another judo throw and ends with some strikes. Diaz wins round three and will win this fight 29-28.
Judges scorecards are: 29-28 Neer, 29-28 Diaz and 29-28 Diaz.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Decision (Split)
I thought this was a real solid show with 4 good fights. The only real disappointing thing I could see was that only 1 fight went to a finish. 2 really close fights as they were judged as split decision.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Houston Alexander (8-3) vs. Eric Schafer (11-3-2)
Schafer has a 3 inch height and 4 inch reach advantage. Alexander is the hometown fighter in this one and he gets a huge reaction. Alexander usually has short fights so this one could be quick.
R1- Alexander gets a clinch early and hits Schafer with a knee and then really rocks him with another. Alexander is trying to finish and Schafer is trying to survive and gets Alexander into his guard but Alexander gets back up as he wants the fight to remain standing. Alexander with some leg kicks and then gets driven into the cage. Schafer going for take downs but Alexander is denying him. Schafer finally gets a take down and gets side control. Schafer going for short elbows. Alexander gets out of the position but then gets turned over and mounted by Schafer. Schafer hitting some strikes. Schafer with some elbows and punches. One minute left in the round. Schafer landing punches and Alexander gives up his back but Schafer doesn’t take it and continues with Ground & Pound. Schafer goes for an arm triangle and Alexander taps out. Good, exciting opening fight. Schafer did a good job weathering the early storm and after several take down attempts he stayed with it and finally got one and then ended the fight.
This is Alexander’s third straight loss in the UFC. Eric Schafer has won three straight fights but had lost his last two in UFC to Stephan Bonnar and Michael Bisping.
Winner: Eric Schafer by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 4:53
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman (16-5) vs. Alan Belcher (11-4)
R1- Lots of action early and then they clinch and are separated. Both guys hitting some strikes. Pretty even fight through the first half of the round. Herman hit a good combo and tried a take down but it was stopped and they clinched again. Herman picked Belcher up with a double-leg and got the take down. Herman is trying for what Rogan is calling a “Darth Choke” but Belcher gets to his feet. Herman gets another take down with half a minute left and is going for the same choke again. Pretty even round when they stood up but Herman took Belcher down twice and had two submission attempts. Herman is up 10-9 after Round One.
R2- Belcher hit a big left hand to start out the round. Herman hits a good combo after a couple of counter punches. Belcher with a couple of body punches and then hit a big punch that rocked Herman back into the cage. Belcher hit a kick to the midsection but got caught and taken down by Herman. Belcher got back to his feet with minimal damage from Herman. 45 seconds left in the round. Close round. Belcher controlled the first 2 and a half minutes and rocked Herman. Herman then got a take down and control for about a minute and the rest was even. Overall, I give Belcher this round which makes it 19-19.
R3- Herman went for a quick take down but got stuffed. Belcher landing some jabs. Herman went for another take down but Belcher stopped it again and they clinch against the cage and then get separated. Belcher showing good hands in this fight. Belcher goes for a spinning back fist and Herman goes for a take down but doesn’t get it. Herman stays with it and gets the take down. Herman gets some strikes in but Belcher gets back to his feet. One minute and fifteen seconds remain in the fight. It’s very even to this point so this will probably decide the fight. Herman gets another take down with 45 seconds left and lands some good punches. Herman continuing to hit some punches. Herman ends the fight in a dominate position. Belcher won the stand up part of the fight but Herman dominated in take downs and on the ground. Very, very close fight but I’ve got to give it to Herman as I think he won rounds 1 and 3 with a strong finish. Herman 29-28 on my score card. Not a dominate win but a good win and a good fight.
Judges score the fight: 29-28 Belcher, 29-28 Herman, and 29-28 Belcher.
Interesting decision, not sure that I agree with it though.
Winner: Alan Belcher by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Mac Danzig (19-4-1) vs. Clay Guida (23-6)
This should be a really fun fight.
R1- Danzig seems to be the aggressor early as he backs down Guida twice but doesn’t land anything substantial. Guida went for a take down on a Danzig kick but couldn’t get it. Danzig landed a couple of shots about two minutes into the round. Danzig rushes Guida and hits a big combo but Guida grabs him and takes him down. Great sequence of events. Danzig goes for a kimura from the bottom but Guida backs him up against the cage and Danzig gets back to his feet with no damage from Guida but Guida picks up Danzig and slams him down. Danzig once again has his back to the cage and stands up again and Guida slams him down again. Guida gets a couple of shots in but Danzig works his way back to his feet at the end of the round. Interesting round as Danzig won the first part of the round by winning the stand up game but Guida got several take downs and slams although not much actually offense on the ground. Almost an even round. Probably have to give it to Guida due to the slams but based on the way the judges scored the Belcher fight I would say that they would probably give it to Danzig. Guida 10-9. Good round.
R2- Guida looks to be more aggressive early in this round as he backs down Danzig and pushes forward. Danzig hits a good punch and then a front kick but Guida fights back and runs him down and gets a take down but Danzig goes right for his arm again and stands right up. Guida shoots in again about half way through the round and gets a take partial take down but Danzig doesn’t go all the way down and doesn’t take any damage. Danzig lands a couple of good shots with about a minute left but Guida grabs him and clinches and then takes Danzig’s back with 30 seconds left and takes him down and goes for a Rear Naked. Danzig rolls over and Guida finishes the fight in a dominate position but without landing much damage. I think Guida stole this round at the end with the big take down. I had Danzig winning based on strikes but Guida put himself in a position to finish the fight. I’ve got Guida winning a very close 20-18 so far.
R3- They sprawl early as Danzig missed a kick and then stopped a Guida take down. They both got some good shots in during a dirty boxing clinch. Danzig then got his first take down of the fight and attempted a kimura. Guida escaped and briefly took Danzig’s back. Guida with some knees against the cage. Danzig looks really tired and Guida is smothering him against the cage. Danzig got to his feet but got taken down again. Guida isn’t doing much damage but he’s controlling the fight. Danzig back to his feet but Guida is still holding him. Guida ends the fight with a flurry of punches on the ground. I’ve got Guida taking this fight 30-27. Not a dominate performance as far as damage but Guida controlled the fight with his wrestling.
Judges score cards are: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for Guida.
This is Guida’s second win a row after a loss to Roger Huerta. This is Danzig’s first loss after two consecutive wins.
Winner: Clay Guida by Decision (Unanimous)
Joe Rogan is joined by Dana White. Dana announces a fight on December 10th live from Ft Bragg a 3-Hour event called “UFC Fights for the Troops” to benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (9-2) vs. Josh Neer (24-6-1)
This is the first fight that we get the ring walk and entrance music. Josh Neer is from nearby Des Moines, Iowa. Jens Pulver is in his corner for the fight. Neer comes out to some soft rock that sounds like something from Nickelback. Diaz comes out to some rap with his brother Nick by his side. Diaz has a four inch reach advantage.
R1- They clinch early and Neer gets an immediate take down. Neer goes for a choke but lets it go. Neer takes his back and Diaz stands up and Neer takes him down but Diaz back to his feet again with Neer still on his back. Nate gets turned around and they sprawl and are back to their feet with a clinch. Diaz gets some shots in on Neer to the corner. Diaz is landing some good jabs and then gets a great looking judo throw and ends in side control but Neer gets him to half guard. Neer gets out but gets puched. Diaz fights his way back to full guard and then steps over and transitions to the back in a great move but can’t get anything. Diaz ends the fight on top of Neer. Neer controlled early but Diaz looked great late first hitting jabs, then a judo throw and then some good ground work. I’ve got Diaz taking this round 10-9.
R2- They exchange to start the round. Neer gets a take down but Diaz scrambles and reverses it so he’s in full guard. Neer gets back to his feet and gets a take down and has Nate’s back. Neer goes for a choke but Nate turns out of it. Lots of action as Neer goes for an arm bar and Nate for a triangle and both come up short. Neer gets some shots in and continues to be at and advantage but Diaz gets to his feet and they clinch. Diaz peppers him with jabs. Close round, I think Neer took this one so I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- They come out with Nate as the aggressor and they clinch against the cage. Nate gets a take down and is in half guard. Neer gets out but Diaz gets back to full guard and then stands up and then gets full guard again. Neer to his feet and they clinch. Diaz winning the final round half way through. Diaz takes Neer’s back and then turns to full mount. Nate with some strikes. They stand up with 20 seconds left and Diaz gets another judo throw and ends with some strikes. Diaz wins round three and will win this fight 29-28.
Judges scorecards are: 29-28 Neer, 29-28 Diaz and 29-28 Diaz.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Decision (Split)
I thought this was a real solid show with 4 good fights. The only real disappointing thing I could see was that only 1 fight went to a finish. 2 really close fights as they were judged as split decision.
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