UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy Re-Cap

UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy
The Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
March 27, 2010

The UFC has really been building up Georges St. Pierre as the pound for pound ace of the company. The only two multi-week build-up shows they've done have been for GSP (vs Penn and vs Hardy). GSP takes on Dan Hardy tonight in the Main Event for the Welterweight Championship. In the semi-Main Event Frank Mir will battle Shane Carwin for the Interim Heavyweight Championship and a shot at Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Jon Fitch was supposed to take on Thiago Alves in the battle of #2 and #3 Welterweights but Alves had to drop out and Ben Saunders has stepped up and will fight Jon "Decision Machine" Fitch.

Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller (16-2) vs. Mark Bocek (8-2)

Both guys have a 3 fight win streak. Miller is from New Jersey so he is the hometown guy in this fight. Bocek is a Jiu Jitsu and Kempo Black Belt. Miller is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt and has a background as a Division 1 wrestler. Bocek has a 4" reach advantage.

R1- Bocek shot in for a take down and Miller pulled guard with a guillotine but Bocek slipped out. Bocek got a driving take down about half way through the round. Miller grabbed a kimura and used it to sweep on top of Bocek and take his guard. Bocek was very close to tapping out. Miller also opened up a cut on the forehead of Bocek. Miller 10-9.

R2- Bocek got an early take down in this round. Bocek went for an arm triangle but was denied. Miller went for a leg lock but Bocek was able to counter the submission. Bocek is losing a lot of blood but was able to take full mount. Miller spun out of full mount but gave up his back to Bocek. Bocek trapped one of Miller's arms inside his body triangle so Miller only has one arm to defend a choke. Miller got to his feet and dropped back on Bocek but Bocek held on but couldn't finish before the bell rang. Bocek took this round and it's 19-19 going into the final round. Miller popped right up after this round and looks ready to fight. Bocek has lost a lot of blood so far.

R3- Miller hit a good right hand to start the round. Bocek went for a take down but got stuffed. Bocek went for another take down but Miller countered with a couple of knees. Bocek finally completed the take down with thirty seconds left in the round. Miller took Bocek's back in the last ten seconds of the round. This round was really all about positioning with not much damage done. I think this will be a split decision, very tough fight to call.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders (8-1-2) vs. Jon Fitch (24-3)

Thiago Alves was supposed to take on Fitch but had to drop out and Saunders stepped up and told Dana White that he wanted the fight. Saunders has a 3" height and 3.5" reach advantage. I expect Fitch to smother Saunders and ride to a decision victory because that's what he does.

R1- Fitch got a take down about a minute into the fight. And then Fitch rode Saunders for the rest of the round. Fitch 10-9. I expect more of this in the next two rounds. Fitch is a tough fighter but he's got to be the most boring fighter in the UFC.

R2- Fitch got a take down one minute into the round. The ref stood up the fight with a minute left in the round despite Fitch landing some strikes. Fitch 20-18.

R3- Fitch had to work a little harder in this round and didn't get a take down until 2 minutes left in the round. Fitch landed some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round and cut Saunders up. Fitch takes this one easily 30-27. Not exciting but effective.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards

Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)

Lightweight Fight- Kurt Pellegrino (20-4) vs. Fabricio Camoes (10-4-1)

Pellegrino is the local guy in this fight. Camoes has an 8 fight unbeaten streak and fought Caol Uno to a majority draw in his UFC debut.

R1- Camoes got Pellegrino down with a judo type throw and then took his back as Pellegrino stood up. Pellegrino dropped Camoes on his head and reversed positions and took top position. Camoes went for a triangle and then tried for a different submission but Pellegrino avoided them and moved to side control. Pellegrino landed some elbows and almost got caught in a choke but got out and maintained top position. Really good competitive first round. I've got Pellegrino 10-9.

R2- Camoes went for a take down but Pellegrino ended up on top briefly before they went back to their feet and Pellegrino got a driving take down. Pellegrino mounted with three minutes left in the round. Pellegrino really grinding out this round. Pellegrino clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and finished the fight. Great showing by Pellegrino.

Winner: Kurt Pellegrino by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 4:20

Interim Heavyweight Championship Fight- Frank Mir (13-4) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0)

The fighter who wins this will be guaranteed a title shot when Brock Lesnar is back to full health. Mir is consumed by his hatred for Lesnar. It will be interesting to see if this has focused him more for Carwin or if he's overlooked him. Carwin comes out to the Drowning Pool's "Bodies". Great MMA entrance song. Due to this being for the Interim title this is a 5-round fight but I don't think anybody expects this fight to go the distance. The average length of Carwin's fights is 1:07. Brock is ringside for this fight standing next to Dana White. He gets a good chorus of boos when he's shown.

R1- Mir drove in and Carwin took him back to the cage. Carwin landed some punches to the face against the cage and also landed some knees to Mir's leg. Mir came in and threw a combination but Carwin hooked him again and put him against the cage. Carwin landed some big short left uppercuts in the clinch and Mir folded to the floor. Carwin jumped on top and landed some good punches. Joe Rogan was calling it over but Mir managed to move to a better position but Carwin continued to land strikes to the side of the head and finished the fight. Great showing by Carwin.

Winner and new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion: Shane Carwin by KO R1 3:48

Post-fight they bring Brock into the ring and interview him. Brock tells Shane he's wearing a fake belt and that he has to come after the real one.

Next up they showed the Palharres/Drwal fight that was shown on the Prelim show on Spike TV.

Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St. Pierre (c) (19-2) vs. Dan Hardy (23-6)

The UFC tells us that GSP has a 87% defensive take down rate, a 78% take down accuracy rate and has 70% ground striking accuracy. Hardy defends 62% of his take down attempts, has never been knocked down in the UFC and lands 60% more strikes than his opponents. GSP is the big crowd favorite and Hardy the heel in this one based on the fan reactions at the introductions. Big "GSP" chant right after the introductions.

R1- GSP got a quick take down in the first 30 seconds of the fight. GSP passed Hardy's guard and took his back with 3 minutes left in the round. GSP tried for an arm bar but Hardy got up and GSP immediately took him down again before Hardy could separate. GSP mounted with a minute and a half left in the round. GSP went for some Ground and Pound and Hardy gave up his back. GSP landed some light strikes from the back and he clamped in a good arm bar but Hardy kept with it and broke the hold. Dominant round by GSP. Definitely a 10-9 round, borderline 10-8. It will be interesting to see how much damage GSP did to Hardy's arm in that round.

R2- GSP got a take down 1:25 into the round and moved into side control. Hardy gave up his back and GSP again went for the arm bar but Hardy was able to slip out and take GSP's guard. GSP quickly got back to his feet. GSP starts to land some strikes and then landed a driving take down with thirty seconds left in the round. GSP has dominated so far and is up 20-18 on my score card.

R3- Hardy took a wild shot to open the round and GSP immediately dove in and got an easy take down. GSP stood up in Hardy's guard and landed some elbows and strikes. Hardy went for a triangle so GSP passed his guard. GSP grabbed Hardy's arm and tried for a kimura but Hardy broke loose and GSP went back to side control. Hardy got back to his feet for about a second and GSP took him down again with one minute left in the round. Hardy gave up his back and Hardy got out and GSP immediately took him back down. GSP 30-27, just a dominant performance so far by GSP.

R4- This round started just like the last one, Hardy threw a strike and missed big a large amount and GSP took him down. GSP immediately mounted and Hardy gave up his back. Hardy went for a leg lock but GSP easily threw him back to the ground and took his guard again. GSP grabbed a kimura but Hardy somehow survived. GSP is up 40-36 after four rounds.

R5- GSP got a take down twenty seconds into the round after landing a couple of strikes. GSP goes for another kimura but couldn't quite get it the way he wanted. GSP went for the kimura one for time and couldn't get it. Hardy got up and GSP slammed him back down with thirty seconds left in the fight. They fought for 25 minutes and GSP dominated every one of them. GSP 50-45 on my score card. Hardy showed a lot of heart by not tapping to a couple of tough GSP submissions but GSP was clearly in a class above Hardy tonight.

Judges score cards: 50-43, 50-44, 50-45

Winner: Georges St. Pierre by Decision (Unanimous)

Post-fight interview GSP says that he made a lot of technical mistakes and that he is going to talk with his trainer and get better. GSP apologizes to the fans for not finishing the fight. He says Hardy did better tonight in his first title shot then he did when he got his first shot at Matt Hughes.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Rodney Wallace vs. Jared Hamman

This is a pre-show fight.

R1- Wallace landed a couple of strikes early and then got a take down. Wallace landed a couple of strikes and then a big uppercut and then chased Hamman down throwing some wild strikes and got another take down. Hamman landed a head kick and then tried to latch onto an arm but Wallace was able to take top position and try to recover. They stood up against the cage and threw strikes and Hamman landed a good punch. Hamman ended the round on top. Good round, Wallace looks pretty tired going into the second round.

R2- Wallace got an early take down but Hamman got back to his feet and landed a judo throw and took top position. Wallace was able to turn him over and take top position but Hamman landed some good strikes from the bottom. Wallace went for a triangle and missed and Hamman took top position and landed a good strike. Hamman landed some good elbows from the top.

R3- Wallace got a take down after his corner told him not to and Hamman quickly flipped him over and took top position. They got back to their feet and Wallace landed some good strikes and got another take down but Hamman again was able to flip him over and take top position. The ref stood them back up and Wallace landed a couple of more strikes but then Hamman was able to take him down. Wallace got back to his feet and then tired a kimura but couldn't quite turn it and Hamman once again took top position. Hamman will most likely take this 29-28.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Jared Hamman by Decision (Unanimous)

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

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

UFC Fight Night 4/2/08 Thoughts

UFC Fight Night Live


Light Heavyweight- Houston Alexander (8-2) vs James Irvin (13-4)

This was pretty shocking and a great way to start the show. I’ve never seen Irvin before and I was pretty much expecting Alexander to take this one but Alexander just ate a huge punch right off the bat and the ref stopped the fight. This tied the record for fastest knockout in UFC history at 8 seconds.

Lightweight- Kurt Pellegrino (17-3) vs Nate Diaz (8-2)

Pellegrino is sporting brown hair instead of his normal colored looks- almost didn’t recognize him. Pellegrino seems to be controlling on the ground early. Pellegrino got side control and peppered Diaz with several quick punches. Diaz is busted open and Pellegrino dominating so far 3 minuts into the fight as he hits a big elbow. Diaz looks like he’s out and Pellegrino has his back. Diaz back to his feet as he is trying to get in some offense. Pellegrino just dominated the first round with Diaz holding on. It will be interesting to see if Diaz can come back. Pellegrino had 2 or 3 chances to really finish off Diaz in the first Round but didn’t get it done.

Round 2- Pellegrino takes Diaz down about 45 seconds into the round after some stand up with little contact. Diaz is going for a kimura but Pellegrino slips out and still is on top of Diaz. They get to their feet and Pellegrino has Diaz’s back but Diaz does a nice flip but Pellegrino still has control. Diaz with a brief control but Pellegrino lifts him up and takes him down but now Diaz is going for a triangle and he’s got it and Pellegrino taps.

Good fight. Pellegrino really dominated but Diaz got that one move and got the submission. Diaz showed a lot of guts cause he was almost gone several times in the first round.


Light Heavyweight- Matt Hamill (5-1)vs Tim Boetsch (7-1)

Hamill takes him down about 20 seconds into the fight. Hamill is controlling the fight but not much going on and the ref stands them up. Boetsch looks like the better striker as he’s definitely the aggressor when they are on their feet. Boetsch is really swinging for the fences. Matt Hamill is bleeding slightly from his mouth. Boetsch hits a big knee but Hamill comes back with some punches and lands a nice one. Really even first round. Hamill controlled early but really didn’t get in any offense and then they went back and forth on their feet and I think Boetsch landed more damage in those exchanges. Both guys looked a little winded after Round 1.

Round 2- Hamill goes for a high sidekick and falls but gets back up. Boetsch goes for a takedown but Hamill is landed a bunch of punches. Repeated punches and this might be over real soon and the ref stops it. Huge mistake by Boetsch in going for the takedown on a better wrestler. Hamill took advantage and won the fight by capitalizing on Boetsch’s mistake.


Welterweight- Karo Parisyan (26-4) vs Thiago Alves (19-4)

Karo grabs the clinch early and takes down Thiago quickly. Thiago gets back to his feet with little damage and they are back on their feet now. Karo is controlling the fight early but not dominating. Karo goes in for a takedown but Thiago fights it as they are up against the cage. They separate and are on their feet again. Thiago seems to be getting a little more comfortable and is throwing more punches and kicks as the round continues. They end the round with Karo at an advantage against the cage. Round goes to Karo but no real damage was landed by either fighter.

Round 2- Thiago just destroys Karo with a vicious knee about 20 seconds into R2 and wins via ref stoppage. Karo is the second guy tonight who is upset about stoppage but he just got destroyed by that knee.

Welterweight- Tommy Speer vs Anthony Johnson (4-1)

I’m actually in the process of watching The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 (Hughes vs Serra) from the marathon that came on last week (got 2 episodes left) so this should be interesting to see how Speer does and see how he has improved. Speer seems to have slimmed down a bit. Johnson nailed him with a left hook early and then destroyed him with a kick and is nailing him with punches and then just destroys him with a HUGE knockout punch. Great showing for Anthony Johnson. This one only last 51 seconds.

Lightweight- Frank Edgar (8-0) vs Gray Maynard (5-0-1)

Maynard seems to be a tad of the aggressor so far as he’s throwing more punches and throwing them with more force and Edgar just seems to be trying to measure Maynard and feel him out. Edgar starts to get some shots in and Maynard takes him down. Close Round- I’ve got to give it to Maynard due to him having the only takedown and maintaining control for the majority of the round. Little damage done in Round 1 by either guy. Both guys may have small cuts.

Round 2- Maynard comes out swinging and then Edgar does as well. Much more action in this round as both guys feel a sense of urgency. Edgar goes for a takedown but Maynard blocks. Instead Maynard gets the takedown. Edgar gets to his feet and gets in 2 decent shots. Edgar looking much more aggressive in this round and is landing more shots. Edgar gets a great takedown on a throw but Maynard quickly escapes. Edgar seemed to be controlling the game on the feet but Maynard took him down. Edgar battling trying to get a kimura. That takedown may have saved the round for Maynard but Edgar is trying to submit him from the bottom. This was real close and this one really could have gone either way.

Round 3- Both guys come out swinging and Maynard shoots in for a takedown and they are really going back and forth on the mat until they stand up. Edgar with a combo. Maynard with another takedown and then with a big slam. Maynard has been controlling the wrestling in this match. Maynard with another big slam and he’s still controlling the wrestling. Back to the feet and Edgar throws some elbows. Edgar’s got to do something here or he’s gonna lose via decision. Maynard with another takedown and throw. Maynard remains on top as the match is coming to a close. I’ve got this one Maynard 30-27 but I guess we’ll see what the judges think.

Winner by Unanimous decision 30-27 on all card Gray Maynard. Definitely the right decision. Maynard looked real impressive in his wrestling and control of the fight. Maynard really has to work on his submissions and/or killer instinct because even though he dominated the fight at no point was he even close to finishing Edgar.

Lightweight- Kenny Florian (10-3) vs Joe Lauzon (15-3)

Lauzon shoots in early and takes down Florian but gets nailed with several elbows to the head that busts Lauzon upon. The ref breaks it up. Florian lands a nice kick. Florian on top with some nice strikes. Lauzon takes down Florian and goes for a heel hook but never really gets any damage in. Lauzon goes for another leg hold but Florian gets out again and hits Lauzon with a couple of shots. Really close first round, I’d give it to Florian just based on damage inflicted as he got in more.

Round 2- They stand up for about a minute and then Florain gets a take down and gets Full Mount and is swinging on Lauzon as Lauzon is just trying to cover up right now. Florian with some elbows and now punching more in side control. Florian still just controlling Lauzon. Lauzon trying to squirm out. Florian just continuing to pound on Lauzon and the ref finally stops it.

Florian looked really good here. I haven’t seen much of him but he looks like a totally different fighter than when he was in The Ultimate Fighter Season 1.

Overall this was a good show and very enjoyable. Several good fights- Florian/Lauzon, Pellegrino/Diaz, Edgar/Maynard and Karo/Alves. I think my favorite fight was the Nate Diaz fight just due to the beating he took and then came back to win.