UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
May 8, 2010
The Main Event tonight is a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Title between Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua. It is a re-match from their controversial decision last year in which the judges unanimously declared Machida the winner but most of the popular opinion said Rua should have won the fight. Josh Koscheck will fight Paul Daley in a #1 Contenders match with the winner going on to face champion Georges St-Pierre at a later date and also coach against him in the next version of The Ultimate Fighter. Kimbo Slice is in action tonight and Patrick Cote makes his return from an injury.
Middleweight Fight- Patrick Cote (14-5) vs. Alan Belcher (14-5)
Belcher's last fight was at UFC 107 in December where he disposed of Wilson Gouveia in the first round. This is Cote's first fight since getting injured in a freak accident in his title shot against Anderson Silva. The fans are solidly behind Canadian Cote in this one. I picked Belcher in this one but only because of the lay-off that Cote had. It will be interesting to see how Cote does after 18 months of not fighting.
R1- Belcher is throwing kicks early and then catches Cote with a low blow. Both guys are very active early and are landing strikes. Cote grabbed a Belcher kick and took him down. Cote went for a kimura but Belcher pulled out and was able to take top position. Belcher landed a couple of elbows and stayed on top until the end of the round. Cote sustained a small cut near his eye near the end of the round. Belcher 10-9.
"The inside leg kick. The enemy of cups all around the world."- Joe Rogan
R2- Belcher came out for the round without his mouthpiece and the ref briefly had to stop the fight. Cote landed some good punches to start the round. Belcher had to clinch to stop the onslaught. They traded some strikes against the cage and Cote got a take down at the mid-way point of the round. Belcher got back to his feet and basically did what in pro wrestling would be called a front piledriver as he picked up Cote and a pile driver type position and dropped him face first onto the mat. Belcher took Cote's back and Cote had to tap. Great win for Belcher. It looked like Cote was turning the tide until that pile driver.
"It is illegal to spike somebody on their head. To pick them up and drop them down purposely on the top of their head. It didn't seem like he spiked him. He went face first and that is legal. He just dropped him on his face"- Joe Rogan
Winner: Alan Belcher by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 3:25
Post fight Alan Belcher calls out Anderson Silva.
Heavyweight Fight- Kimbo Slice (4-1) vs. Matt Mitrione (1-0)
Both guys won fights on The Ultimate Fighter Finale back in December. Kimbo defeated Houston Alexander by decision in an ugly fight and Mitrione knocked out Marcus Jones ten seconds into the second round. Mitrione comes out to Simple Man from Lynyrd Skynyrd. Mitrione trains with Pat Berry, Eric Schafer, Jake O'Brien and Ben Rothwell. Kimbo gets a huge reaction. He should come out to Street Fighting Man by the Rolling Stones but he doesn't. Kimbo is training with American Top Team. Mitrione has a 5" reach advantage.
"There's something cool about watching a guy fight on Youtube in a backyard trying to avoid a satellite dish and a barbecue and then next thing you know he's in the Octagon"- Joe Rogan
"Kimbo might be the only guy who fights with an assumed name"- Joe Rogan
R1- Kimbo hit a right hand early and then Mitrione missed a kick and Kimbo tackle slammed him to the ground and then picked up Mitrione again and slammed him another time. Fans are going nuts. Mitrione grabs a quick triangle choke and Kimbo picks him up and tried to drop him down again. Kimbo broke free of the move and we've only fought for a minute and fifteen seconds. Kimbo had side control but is just doing nothing on the ground and Mitrione got back to his feet. Kimbo picked Mitrione up and Mitrione grabbed onto the top of the cage briefly to minimize the impact of Kimbo's slam. Mitrione goes for an triangle choke but didn't get it. Kimbo finally just backs off and let's Mitrione up with about a minute left in the round. Mitrione hit Kimbo with a knee and then grabbed him in a clinch and landed another knee to the head. Kimbo came in for a right hand and Mitrione kicked Kimbo's leg out from under him. Mitrione grabbed a choke on the ground. Kimbo looked like he was going to tap but Mitrione let the hold go to try and get a better grip on it. Fun first round. Mitrione 10-9.
R2- Mitrione is hurting Kimbo early in this round with leg kicks. Mitrione landed some good strikes with three minutes left. Kimbo tried to get a take down but couldn't and Mitrione landed a knee to Kimbo's side and Kimbo is looking like he's wilting. Mitrione is landing knees to Kimbo's side and legs. Mitrione has the mount and is landing strikes. Mitrione tried for a kimura but let it go after cranking back on it. Mitrione continued landing strikes and the ref stepped in. Mitrione really controlled Kimbo. Kimbo's grappling and wrestling is still just so rudimentary. I'm interested to see where Mitrione goes from here. He has some talent but both of his wins are against guys that really have no MMA experience.
Winner: Matt Mitrione by TKO (Strikes) R2 4:24
Lightweight Fight- Sam Stout (16-5-1) vs. Jeremy Stephens (17-5)
Stephens took out Justin Buchholz at UFC Fight Night 19 by TKO in the first round. Stout beat Joe Lauzon by Unanimous Decision in January (with one judge scoring the fight 30-26). Both guys say they are going to stand and bang. This looks like a fun fight on paper. Stout is from Ontario so he is the crowd favorite in this one. Shawn Thompkins is in Stout's corner.
R1- Stephens landed an early strike and caught a leg kick and got a take down. So much for standing and banging. Stout quickly got back to his feet. Stephens hit a good left that landed right in the eye of Stout and looked like it cut him. Stephens landed a good right hand. Stephens looks really good early. Stout landed a couple of body punches but Stephens retaliated with a big right hand that briefly floored Stout and Stephens then landed a knee. Stout lands some leg kicks and Stephens threw a big spinning back fist that was partially deflected. Good first round and they did stand and bang after that initial take down. Stephens 10-9.
R2- Stout lands some leg kicks to start the round and then got one caught and Stephens landed a punch as he held his leg which briefly floored Stout. Stout grabbed a kimura as they clinched on the cage but could not get it and the fight returned to the feet. Stout is very active this round and throwing a lot of strikes. Stout continues to land leg kicks and has slowed Stephens down. Stephens landed a couple of good strikes toward the end of the round. Really close round. Stephens might have stolen the round with the strikes he landed late but I scored it for Stout making it 19-19 going into the final frame on my score card.
R3- Stephens lands some strikes early in the round. Stephens grabbed a quick clinch and landed a knee. Stout looked like he landed a kick to the calf of Stephens and Stephens bent over in pain. Stout was able to land some strikes and got on top of Stephens and landed some elbows. Stephens got a take down in the last twenty seconds but Stout popped right back up. Good fight. I've got Stout winning the final round thus taking the fight 29-28 on my score card. I could see this fight going either way.
Judges score card: 30-27, 29-28, 28-29
Winner: Jeremy Stephens by Decision (Split)
Joe Doerkson vs. Tom Lawlor
After the Stephens/Stout fight they cut right into this one with no warning. Lawlor's hair is black and he has a Dan Severn mustache.
R1- Lawlor hit a left and knocked Doerkson down. Lawlor hurting Doerkson with strikes. Both guys swinging away and bloody. Lawler landed a punch that wobbled Doerkson but came in with another wild punch and missed. Crazy round. Doerkson started to go to the wrong corner after the round ended. Lawlor 10-9.
R2- Doerkson is the aggressor early in this round. Lawlor looks like he punched himself out in the first round. Doerkson took Lawlor's back and tapped him out with a Rear Naked Choke. Good comeback win for Doerkson.
Winner: Joe Doerkson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 2:10
Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (16-4) vs. Paul Daley (23-8-2)
Daley has defeated Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett since entering the UFC. Both fights were stopped in the first round via TKO (strikes). Koscheck is coming off of back to back wins against Frank Trigg and Anthony Johnson. Koscheck comes out to Higher Ground by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Daley has a 3" reach advantage. The winner of this fight will coach against Georges St-Pierre on the next edition of The Ultimate Fighter and will then receive a title shot. They don't touch gloves. Koscheck looks like he has a bigger height advantage then what was listed. From an entertainment stand point I would like to see Koscheck as a TUF coach.
R1- Koscheck got a take down after a minute of feeling each other out. Daley got back to his feet and Koscheck slammed him back down. Koscheck staying on top but not really doing any damage. Koscheck took Daley's back and tried to grab a Rear Naked but Daley got back to his feet and hit an illegal knee to Koscheck. They ended clinched up against the cage. Koscheck took the round 10-9. No point was deducted, so a good piece of referring.
"Let's take a look at it here. Oh, wait a minute. He didn't even hit him. He looked like he toed him in the eye. Uh oh. We might want to show this re-play to Josh Koscheck. Josh Koscheck might want to take a look at that and stand up."- Joe Rogan
"Maybe it was a foot to the eye. Maybe it was a toe. He's saying it barely hit him so let's see what happened. The knee kind of grazed him. No. hmmm. And the Oscar goes to."- Joe Rogan
R2- Koscheck got a take down early in the round. Koscheck not doing much on top but is maintaining position. Koscheck again took Daley's back. Koscheck 20-18.
R3- Daley landed a couple of strikes and then Koscheck clinched him up against the cage. Koscheck got the take down with three and a half minutes left in the round. Looks like Koscheck is going to grind this one out in unspectacular fashion. Well I think it's obvious that if you are learning MMA don't go to Dan Hardy and Paul Daley's camp to learn wrestling and jiu jitsu. Koscheck 30-27 in a boring fight. Smart game plan by Koscheck.
Post-Fight Paul Daley punched Josh Koscheck after the fight. Daley just turned Koscheck into a sympathetic figure. What a disgrace.
"That was the best shot he landed in the whole fight"- Joe Rogan
Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards
Winner: Josh Koscheck by Decision (Unanimous)
Koscheck gets on the microphone and heels the crowd about hockey and GSP and then invites them to an after party.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Lyoto Machida (c) (16-0) vs. Shogun Rua (18-4)
Goldberg brings up a good stat. Shogun hit Machida more times in their last fight then the last 7 opponents did in Machida's other UFC fights. Machida broke his hand in the last fight and Rogan brings up the point that the hand hasn't been tested. In the 28 re-matches in UFC history the winner has won 13 times, the loser has won 13 times and twice it was a draw.
R1- Shogun the more aggressive fighter out of the gate but got taken down by Machida. Shogun quickly got back to his feet. Shogun pushed forward and landed a strike or two but got taken down again. Shogun again quickly got to his feet but did eat a knee to the body. Machida landed a knee but Shogun hit a strike and quickly mounted Machida and finished the fight. Wow. Fantastic finish by Shogun and it came out of nowhere. Shogun knocked him out on the ground and was already getting up to celebrate before the ref stepped in to call for the finish.
Winner and new Light Heavyweight Champion: Shogun Rua by KO R1 3:35
Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis vs. Jonathan Goulet
This is from the pre-show. This fight is brought to you by Shogun Rua and his quick finish of Lyoto Machida. This is a fight I want to see so Thank You to Shogun despite him making me wrong on my prediction. Goulet has some crazy stuff going on in his hair.
R1- Goulet landed a quick head kick and then got a take down but Davis bounced right back to his feet. Goulet landed a knee to the body but in doing so he also ate a punch that wobbled him. Goulet went for a take down and Davis grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard. Goulet fought hard and finally popped his head out of the submission. Davis threw a leg and got taken down. Goulet landed a couple strikes. Davis got back to his feet but Goulet took him back down. Goulet probably stole that round despite Davis having a sub attempt and landing the best strike of the round.
R2- Davis hit a good right hand that knocked Goulet to his knees. Davis jumped on top and landed a couple of strikes but Goulet got back to his feet. Goulet is busted open. Davis landed something and Goulet just dropped like a ton of bricks. He landed a right and then a big left hook.
Winner: Marcus Davis by TKO (Strikes) R2 1:23
Showing posts with label Lyoto Machida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lyoto Machida. Show all posts
Monday, May 10, 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)
Monday, May 25, 2009
UFC 98 "Evans vs. Machida" Re-Cap
UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida
5/23/09
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada
This show is highlighted by Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans defending against Lyoto Machida. This will be the first time two unbeaten fighters have fought for the belt. Also, on this card in a feature fight is Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra in what is a grudge match due to their dislike of each other.
Lightweight Fight- Sean Sherk (37-3-1) vs. Frank Edgar (9-1)
Edgar has not fought since last July when he defeated Hermes Franca. Sherk was last seen at UFC 90 when he defeated Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision. If Sherk wins this then he should be right at the top of the list to fight the winner of BJ Penn/Kenny Florian. Edgar is a Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt who trains with Ricardo Almeida, he also has a strong wrestling base and has fast hands. Sherk is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and has only lost to Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre. Edgar has a big 5” reach advantage.
R1- Lots of stand-up early with Frankie with a slight advantage as he landed a couple of nice combinations. Edgar caught a Sherk leg kick and got a take down about three minutes into the fight and held him down for a minute but didn’t inflict any damage. Good, close first round that I give to Edgar 10-9. Edgar looks like the quicker fighter. Sherk looks like he’s going to need to take this to the ground and grind it out.
R2- Sherk is more aggressive to start off the round. Frankie got a knee to the body and briefly knocked Sherk off his feet. Sherk took the first half of this round but Frankie really started to land some nice shots in the second half of the round. I’ve got Edgar taking this round to go up 20-18. Rogan made a great point in saying that Sherk just keeps doing the same thing and Edgar is doing a much better job of mixing things up and keeping Sherk unbalanced and not knowing what is coming next.
R3- Sherk got a big take down about 45 seconds into the round but Edgar got back to his feet within 20 seconds. Sherk has a small cut over his left eyebrow. Sherk went for a another take down with about 2 minutes left but got stuffed. Sherk went for a shoot right at the end of the round and Edgar grabbed him in a guillotine and pulled guard as the round ended. I think Edgar may have stolen this round. Regardless I’ve got Edgar as the clear winner in this fight although it wasn’t a dominate performance. Frankie fought a really good fight and showed some great conditioning. Big win by Frankie as I had Sherk as a Top 5 Lightweight prior to this fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Frank Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
They show BJ Penn in the crowd after the fight and hype his fight against Kenny Florian.
Middleweight Fight- Chael Sonnen (23-10-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-1)
Miller is 3-0 inside the Octagon and is coming off a February fight against Jake Rosholt that he won in a tad more than a minute by guillotine choke. Miller is a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and a submission specialist. Sonnen is taking this fight on short notice as he’s filling in for the injured Yushin Okami. Sonnen trains with Team Quest. Sonnen has lost 3 times in the UFC, all by submission, and most recently by Demien Maia.
R1- Sonnen went for a take down early and got caught in a tight guillotine. Sonnen was able to survive the early submission attempt. Sonnen is landing some good Ground and Pound and landed some really hard shots towards the end of the round. Sonnen takes round one 10-9.
R2- Sonnen got a slam but Miller grabbed a guillotine again but this one was not as tight as the first round and Sonnen ends up in his guard. Miller goes for an arm bar but could not clamp it in as Sonnen continues to get some Ground and Pound but nothing at the level of what he got in the first round. Sonnen takes this round and is up 20-18. Miller is going to need to finish this fight if he wants to win.
R3- Miller landed a good combo to start the round but then got taken down. Not a real exciting fight but Sonnen just continues to grind this fight out and is going to take it by decision.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)
After two draws the odds are very strong that we will have a KO or TKO in this fight. Xavier lost to Denis Kang by Decision in his last fight. He is taking this fight on short notice filling in for James Irvin. Xavier is known as “Professor X”. He is explosive, with KO ability and good knees. Drew comes out to some Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre “Nothin’ But a G Thing”. Professor X has a 3” reach advantage.
R1- McFedries caught Xavier with a big punch early and just lays it in and the ref stops the fight. Drew hit him with some good punches and Xavier was trying to hold on but he got hit with several good punches. Great showing by McFedries.
Winner: Drew McFedries by TKO (Punches) R1 0:37
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzystof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
This is a pre-show fight.
R1- Gusmao caught him with a kick early that knocked Krzystof down but he recovered. Soszynski got him up against the cage and landed some nice shots and hit a big right hand that knocked Gusmao out. Another great showing for Soszynski. I thought early on that he was the favorite to win the TUF season he was on but he just didn’t deliver in the big fight on that show. He’s been delivering big time since getting a shot in the UFC as he is now 3-0 in the Octagon.
Winner: Krzystof Soszynski by KO R1 3:17
Mike Tyson is shown in the crowd.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (43-7) vs. Matt Serra (16-5)
This is a fight that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Both guys really want to get in there and beat each other up. The only problem for the fans is that neither guy is a likeable character so you kind of want to see both guys get their asses kicked.
“Matt Hughes. He is a dick. He’s a very talented dick. I’m looking forward to the fight. I feel like a winner already just knowing that I get to hit him in his face.”- Matt Serra
Matt Serra comes out to the theme to Rocky. Alright, so maybe Serra is a little bit likeable. Hughes is coming into this fight on a two fight losing streak (Thiago Alves and GSP). Serra’s last fight was a loss to GSP in defense of his Welterweight Championship. Hughes has a big size advantage in this fight as he is 3” taller and has a reach advantage of 5”.
R1- Serra landed an overhand right on Hughes about a minute into the fight and jumped on top of him. Hughes got back to his feet but his legs looked wobbly and Hughes tried to get a take down and looked like he recovered a bit. Hughes got a take down with a minute thirty left in the round. Hughes took his back but Serra slipped out and didn’t take much damage. Good first round. Serra is up 10-9. Hughes started to go to the wrong corner after the end of the round. It sounded like Matt Hughes asked his corner men if Serra knocked him down in the first round (it sounded like he might have asked if Serra knocked him out). They showed the re-play of Serra’s over hand right and at the same time that Serra hit him with the right his head also connected with Hughes’ chin.
R2- Hughes got a take down about a minute into the round. Serra rolled his eyes while he was in half guard and Hughes was hitting him with some side punches. Hughes basically just smothered Serra in this round but it didn’t look like he hurt him at all. They stood them up at the end of the round due to lack of action. Right now I’ve got this at 19-19.
R3- Hughes rushed him early and got a take down about a minute into the round but Serra landed in a good spot for a possible submission but he wasn’t able to grab anything. Serra went for a triangle but couldn’t grab it. The ref stands them up with one and a half minutes left in the fight. Serra reversed a take down with about 50 seconds left in the fight. Serra hit a good punch on the ground and finished the fight on top. The third round was close. They embraced after the fight and Hughes raised Serra’s arm before the decision came in. I’m thinking Serra 20-19 as Serra did more to try and finish the fight in the final round and neither guy did a significant amount of damage.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards for Matt Hughes.
Winner: Matt Hughes by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event: Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Rashad Evans © (18-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
This should be an interesting fight as both guys tend to like to counter punch. Evans is coming off big wins against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin and he has Yoda in his corner (Greg Jackson). Machida has an unorthodox style and is coming off of a decisive win against Thiago Silva. Rashad has never been knocked out, lands 58% of his take down attempts and has yet to attempt a submission in the UFC. Machida is the most elusive fighter in UFC history, he has never lost a round in the UFC, lands 65% of all strikes and has an 84% takedown defense. Machida is actually a favorite in this fight and the fans also texted him in as a 64% favorite. Machida is also a Karate Black Belt. Goldberg says that Machida has never been knocked down and Rogan says that he hasn’t taken a power punch since he fought BJ Penn. Rashad is a great wrestler and also has great power in his punches. Rashad is the third TUF fighter to try and defend a title successfully in the UFC (both Forrest and Serra were unsuccessful in their first title defenses).
The winner of this fight probably gets Rampage Jackson (since he was originally offered this title fight with Rashad but couldn’t go due to the short time needed to rebound from his fight with Jardine). Rashad/Rampage is a big time fight on paper that the UFC could really get behind due to all the trash talking that those guys would put on each other. I also like Rampage/Machida on paper as I think Rampage could be a difficult match-up for Machida since Rampage has solid boxing skills.
R1- No action in the first minute as Machida takes the center of the cage and Rashad dances around him. This is what I thought would happen since we have two counter punchers and Rashad didn’t really bring the action in the Liddell fight until Liddell brought it to him. Machida hits the first shot as he threw a leg kick that Rashad deflected but it sent him back into the cage. Machida landed another kick this one to the side and then Rashad answered with a kick. Machida threw a quick kick and then two quick punches all in a flurry of a second or two and Rashad went down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad recovered to his feet and they stood back up. Machida was lightning quick in that sequence. Machida takes round one 10-9 and looked good but didn’t do much damage.
R2- Machida takes the center of the cage again at the start of the round and the crowd chants “Machida…Machida…Machida”. So much for him being a boring fighter like some have said. Machida clinched Rashad but he got saved by the cage and Machida couldn’t get him down. Rashad threw a punch and missed and Machida came in with a flurry of punches but Rashad fought out of it by throwing some punches of his own. Rashad hit a side kick. Rashad came in for a looping punch but Machida beat him with a quick jab and then Machida caught him with a left hand knocking him down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad got to his feet and Machida chased him to the cage. Machida is now landing some big punches up against the cage. Machida hits Rashad with a wicked left and Rashad just crumbles to the ground as his leg falls underneath him. FANTASTIC showing by Lyoto Machida tonight. He just looked awesome. Rashad never looked comfortable tonight and Machida really just picked him apart in this fight. Machida hit him with 3 or 4 good punches on the cage and finally closed the door with the big left hand. Dana White straps the belt on Lyoto as he is announced as the NEW champion.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Lyoto Machida by KO R2 3:57
“The Dragon is the champion”- Lyoto Machida
Bring on Lyoto versus Rampage.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson vs. Mike Pyle
This is a fight from the pre-show. I like Brock Larson a lot and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t come out on top in this fight. Pyle is taking this fight on short notice. This is Pyle’s UFC debut. Larson is a very explosive fighter.
R1- Larson took him down but Pyle countered with some submission attempts. Larson stays on top with some Ground and Pound and Larson goes for the arm triangle and gets the win. Good showing by Larson.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
This is the UFC debut for Tim Hague. This is another pre-show fight.
R1- Barry hit a big right head kick and then hit another but Hague took him down at the one minute mark of the round. Hague got a guillotine and pulled out the upset. Rogan says Barry had this fight won but he just got sloppy.
Winner: Tim Hague by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:42
5/23/09
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada
This show is highlighted by Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans defending against Lyoto Machida. This will be the first time two unbeaten fighters have fought for the belt. Also, on this card in a feature fight is Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra in what is a grudge match due to their dislike of each other.
Lightweight Fight- Sean Sherk (37-3-1) vs. Frank Edgar (9-1)
Edgar has not fought since last July when he defeated Hermes Franca. Sherk was last seen at UFC 90 when he defeated Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision. If Sherk wins this then he should be right at the top of the list to fight the winner of BJ Penn/Kenny Florian. Edgar is a Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt who trains with Ricardo Almeida, he also has a strong wrestling base and has fast hands. Sherk is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and has only lost to Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre. Edgar has a big 5” reach advantage.
R1- Lots of stand-up early with Frankie with a slight advantage as he landed a couple of nice combinations. Edgar caught a Sherk leg kick and got a take down about three minutes into the fight and held him down for a minute but didn’t inflict any damage. Good, close first round that I give to Edgar 10-9. Edgar looks like the quicker fighter. Sherk looks like he’s going to need to take this to the ground and grind it out.
R2- Sherk is more aggressive to start off the round. Frankie got a knee to the body and briefly knocked Sherk off his feet. Sherk took the first half of this round but Frankie really started to land some nice shots in the second half of the round. I’ve got Edgar taking this round to go up 20-18. Rogan made a great point in saying that Sherk just keeps doing the same thing and Edgar is doing a much better job of mixing things up and keeping Sherk unbalanced and not knowing what is coming next.
R3- Sherk got a big take down about 45 seconds into the round but Edgar got back to his feet within 20 seconds. Sherk has a small cut over his left eyebrow. Sherk went for a another take down with about 2 minutes left but got stuffed. Sherk went for a shoot right at the end of the round and Edgar grabbed him in a guillotine and pulled guard as the round ended. I think Edgar may have stolen this round. Regardless I’ve got Edgar as the clear winner in this fight although it wasn’t a dominate performance. Frankie fought a really good fight and showed some great conditioning. Big win by Frankie as I had Sherk as a Top 5 Lightweight prior to this fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Frank Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
They show BJ Penn in the crowd after the fight and hype his fight against Kenny Florian.
Middleweight Fight- Chael Sonnen (23-10-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-1)
Miller is 3-0 inside the Octagon and is coming off a February fight against Jake Rosholt that he won in a tad more than a minute by guillotine choke. Miller is a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt and a submission specialist. Sonnen is taking this fight on short notice as he’s filling in for the injured Yushin Okami. Sonnen trains with Team Quest. Sonnen has lost 3 times in the UFC, all by submission, and most recently by Demien Maia.
R1- Sonnen went for a take down early and got caught in a tight guillotine. Sonnen was able to survive the early submission attempt. Sonnen is landing some good Ground and Pound and landed some really hard shots towards the end of the round. Sonnen takes round one 10-9.
R2- Sonnen got a slam but Miller grabbed a guillotine again but this one was not as tight as the first round and Sonnen ends up in his guard. Miller goes for an arm bar but could not clamp it in as Sonnen continues to get some Ground and Pound but nothing at the level of what he got in the first round. Sonnen takes this round and is up 20-18. Miller is going to need to finish this fight if he wants to win.
R3- Miller landed a good combo to start the round but then got taken down. Not a real exciting fight but Sonnen just continues to grind this fight out and is going to take it by decision.
Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all score cards.
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)
After two draws the odds are very strong that we will have a KO or TKO in this fight. Xavier lost to Denis Kang by Decision in his last fight. He is taking this fight on short notice filling in for James Irvin. Xavier is known as “Professor X”. He is explosive, with KO ability and good knees. Drew comes out to some Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre “Nothin’ But a G Thing”. Professor X has a 3” reach advantage.
R1- McFedries caught Xavier with a big punch early and just lays it in and the ref stops the fight. Drew hit him with some good punches and Xavier was trying to hold on but he got hit with several good punches. Great showing by McFedries.
Winner: Drew McFedries by TKO (Punches) R1 0:37
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzystof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
This is a pre-show fight.
R1- Gusmao caught him with a kick early that knocked Krzystof down but he recovered. Soszynski got him up against the cage and landed some nice shots and hit a big right hand that knocked Gusmao out. Another great showing for Soszynski. I thought early on that he was the favorite to win the TUF season he was on but he just didn’t deliver in the big fight on that show. He’s been delivering big time since getting a shot in the UFC as he is now 3-0 in the Octagon.
Winner: Krzystof Soszynski by KO R1 3:17
Mike Tyson is shown in the crowd.
Welterweight Fight- Matt Hughes (43-7) vs. Matt Serra (16-5)
This is a fight that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Both guys really want to get in there and beat each other up. The only problem for the fans is that neither guy is a likeable character so you kind of want to see both guys get their asses kicked.
“Matt Hughes. He is a dick. He’s a very talented dick. I’m looking forward to the fight. I feel like a winner already just knowing that I get to hit him in his face.”- Matt Serra
Matt Serra comes out to the theme to Rocky. Alright, so maybe Serra is a little bit likeable. Hughes is coming into this fight on a two fight losing streak (Thiago Alves and GSP). Serra’s last fight was a loss to GSP in defense of his Welterweight Championship. Hughes has a big size advantage in this fight as he is 3” taller and has a reach advantage of 5”.
R1- Serra landed an overhand right on Hughes about a minute into the fight and jumped on top of him. Hughes got back to his feet but his legs looked wobbly and Hughes tried to get a take down and looked like he recovered a bit. Hughes got a take down with a minute thirty left in the round. Hughes took his back but Serra slipped out and didn’t take much damage. Good first round. Serra is up 10-9. Hughes started to go to the wrong corner after the end of the round. It sounded like Matt Hughes asked his corner men if Serra knocked him down in the first round (it sounded like he might have asked if Serra knocked him out). They showed the re-play of Serra’s over hand right and at the same time that Serra hit him with the right his head also connected with Hughes’ chin.
R2- Hughes got a take down about a minute into the round. Serra rolled his eyes while he was in half guard and Hughes was hitting him with some side punches. Hughes basically just smothered Serra in this round but it didn’t look like he hurt him at all. They stood them up at the end of the round due to lack of action. Right now I’ve got this at 19-19.
R3- Hughes rushed him early and got a take down about a minute into the round but Serra landed in a good spot for a possible submission but he wasn’t able to grab anything. Serra went for a triangle but couldn’t grab it. The ref stands them up with one and a half minutes left in the fight. Serra reversed a take down with about 50 seconds left in the fight. Serra hit a good punch on the ground and finished the fight on top. The third round was close. They embraced after the fight and Hughes raised Serra’s arm before the decision came in. I’m thinking Serra 20-19 as Serra did more to try and finish the fight in the final round and neither guy did a significant amount of damage.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards for Matt Hughes.
Winner: Matt Hughes by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event: Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Rashad Evans © (18-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
This should be an interesting fight as both guys tend to like to counter punch. Evans is coming off big wins against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin and he has Yoda in his corner (Greg Jackson). Machida has an unorthodox style and is coming off of a decisive win against Thiago Silva. Rashad has never been knocked out, lands 58% of his take down attempts and has yet to attempt a submission in the UFC. Machida is the most elusive fighter in UFC history, he has never lost a round in the UFC, lands 65% of all strikes and has an 84% takedown defense. Machida is actually a favorite in this fight and the fans also texted him in as a 64% favorite. Machida is also a Karate Black Belt. Goldberg says that Machida has never been knocked down and Rogan says that he hasn’t taken a power punch since he fought BJ Penn. Rashad is a great wrestler and also has great power in his punches. Rashad is the third TUF fighter to try and defend a title successfully in the UFC (both Forrest and Serra were unsuccessful in their first title defenses).
The winner of this fight probably gets Rampage Jackson (since he was originally offered this title fight with Rashad but couldn’t go due to the short time needed to rebound from his fight with Jardine). Rashad/Rampage is a big time fight on paper that the UFC could really get behind due to all the trash talking that those guys would put on each other. I also like Rampage/Machida on paper as I think Rampage could be a difficult match-up for Machida since Rampage has solid boxing skills.
R1- No action in the first minute as Machida takes the center of the cage and Rashad dances around him. This is what I thought would happen since we have two counter punchers and Rashad didn’t really bring the action in the Liddell fight until Liddell brought it to him. Machida hits the first shot as he threw a leg kick that Rashad deflected but it sent him back into the cage. Machida landed another kick this one to the side and then Rashad answered with a kick. Machida threw a quick kick and then two quick punches all in a flurry of a second or two and Rashad went down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad recovered to his feet and they stood back up. Machida was lightning quick in that sequence. Machida takes round one 10-9 and looked good but didn’t do much damage.
R2- Machida takes the center of the cage again at the start of the round and the crowd chants “Machida…Machida…Machida”. So much for him being a boring fighter like some have said. Machida clinched Rashad but he got saved by the cage and Machida couldn’t get him down. Rashad threw a punch and missed and Machida came in with a flurry of punches but Rashad fought out of it by throwing some punches of his own. Rashad hit a side kick. Rashad came in for a looping punch but Machida beat him with a quick jab and then Machida caught him with a left hand knocking him down. Machida jumped on top but Rashad got to his feet and Machida chased him to the cage. Machida is now landing some big punches up against the cage. Machida hits Rashad with a wicked left and Rashad just crumbles to the ground as his leg falls underneath him. FANTASTIC showing by Lyoto Machida tonight. He just looked awesome. Rashad never looked comfortable tonight and Machida really just picked him apart in this fight. Machida hit him with 3 or 4 good punches on the cage and finally closed the door with the big left hand. Dana White straps the belt on Lyoto as he is announced as the NEW champion.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Lyoto Machida by KO R2 3:57
“The Dragon is the champion”- Lyoto Machida
Bring on Lyoto versus Rampage.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson vs. Mike Pyle
This is a fight from the pre-show. I like Brock Larson a lot and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t come out on top in this fight. Pyle is taking this fight on short notice. This is Pyle’s UFC debut. Larson is a very explosive fighter.
R1- Larson took him down but Pyle countered with some submission attempts. Larson stays on top with some Ground and Pound and Larson goes for the arm triangle and gets the win. Good showing by Larson.
Winner: Brock Larson by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
This is the UFC debut for Tim Hague. This is another pre-show fight.
R1- Barry hit a big right head kick and then hit another but Hague took him down at the one minute mark of the round. Hague got a guillotine and pulled out the upset. Rogan says Barry had this fight won but he just got sloppy.
Winner: Tim Hague by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R1 1:42
Thursday, February 05, 2009
UFC 94: "St-Pierre vs. Penn 2" Re-Cap
UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2
January 31st, 2009
MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV
This is one of the most anticipated and hyped shows for UFC. The Penn/St Pierre champion vs. champion re-match is the main draw. We also have what is basically a #1 Contenders fight between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. A potential FOTN on any card is the lightweight fight between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-2) vs. Clay Guida (24-6)
Clay Guida comes out to “Hero” by the Foo Fighters. Jason Guida is in Clay’s corner and Nick Diaz is in Nate’s corner. Maybe we can make this a 4-way brawl! Diaz has a big 5” height advantage and a huge 8” reach advantage. Diaz is undefeated in the UFC.
R1- Nate is doing a good job early with light jabs and keeping Guida at bay. Nate pulled guard and Clay put him in a full nelson after he took his back. Clay really controlled the second half of the round. Diaz stood up and landed a couple of shots as the round ended. About as even a round as there is but probably went to Guida.
“That might be the first full nelson in UFC history”- Joe Rogan
R2- Guida basically just clinched and held Diaz a lot in this round while trying to get better position. Not much damage done in this round. Diaz tried a triangle at the end of the round but couldn’t get it. I’ve got Guida up 20-18 although he’s done very little damage to Diaz at this point. Realistically this fight is either 20-18 Guida or 19-19 at this point. It smells like a split decision to me unless Diaz can get a submission.
R3- Diaz starts this round like the first round by picking apart Guida with jabs. Diaz is hitting some good shots in this round and is mocking Guida. Guida got a clinch and tries to hold on for a win. Diaz definitely won this round.
This was a close fight. If you are judging based on an entire fight (which UFC doesn’t) then Diaz won this fight. But if you are judging each round separately then I think Guida squeaks this one out 29-28.
The judges score the fight: 29-28 Diaz, 29-28 Guida and 29-28 Guida.
Winner: Clay Guida by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1)
Both guys are Black Belts in Judo. Parisyan has been battling a panic disorder, a hamstring injury and a back injury. Parisyan has Greg Jackson in his corner and that’s a good thing. Parisyan is coming off a loss to Top Contender Thiago Alves and Kim’s last fight was at UFC 88 where he won a split decision against Matt Brown. Kim has a 3” height advantage and a 4” reach advantage. Frank Mir is in Kim’s corner.
R1- Kim got an early take down and then took Karo’s back. Karo flipped and tried to knock him off but Kim is just latched on like Shinya Aoki. Kim went for an arm bar but Karo slipped out. Karo then almost got caught in a triangle. Kim took this round 10-9. He didn’t do a lot of damage but he really controlled and wore down Karo.
R2- Kim got an early take down and Karo got a kimura on Kim but couldn’t finish. Karo hit a beautiful judo throw half through the round and landed in side control. Karo’s mouthpiece has come out twice and the ref warns him that if it happens again that he is deducting a point. Karo lands strikes towards the end of the round. Karo wins this round and we are at 19-19 after two rounds. Karo still seems like he is having a lot of trouble with the mouth piece.
“Dude, you are kicking his ass now”- Karo’s corner after Round Two
R3- Kim gets an early take down and Karo pushes him off and the ref warns him about up kicks to the face. A minute and a half left in the fight and this is anybody’s fight. Really tough finally round to judge. It was very even. This one is a toss up.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Karo, 29-28 Kim and 29-28 Karo.
Winner: Karo Parisyan by Decision (Split)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar (14-4) vs. Jon Jones (7-0)
Jones is undefeated and looked good in his only UFC fight and win against Andre Gusmao at UFC 87. Bonnar’s last fight was a win against Eric Schaefer at UFC 77. Jones is a JUCO National Wrestling Champion but has most of his wins by KO. On paper this should be a fun fight. Bonnar has moved his camp to Vegas and is now training with Forrest Griffin. Jones has a 4.5” reach advantage. Jones is the 3rd youngest fighter in the UFC.
R1- Jones got a good judo throw take down early in the round but couldn’t hold position. Jones got another take down and Bonnar again got to his feet. Jones hit Bonnar with a belly to back suplex and when Bonnar got up he hit him with a spinning back fist and then jumped on top of Bonnar. Bonnar is cut on his forehead. Jones landed a good knee. Jones ended the round with a take down. Jones looked great in this round. 10-9 in favor of Jones.
R2- This round was a lot closer but Jones landed 3 take downs and the stand up was relatively even. Jones 20-18.
R3- Bonnar is the aggressor in this round and Jones looks to be tiring. Bonnar tried for a take down and got it reversed. Jones almost got caught in a triangle. Bonnar took this round but Jones will win this fight 29-28. The 3rd decision of the night but the first unanimous one. Jones definitely has a lot of talent, I look forward to his next fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Jones.
Winner: Jon Jones by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (13-0) vs. Thiago Silva (13-0)
If Machida wins this he is next in line for a shot at Rashad Evans. If Silva wins then he probably needs 1 more quality win to get a shot. Machida was last seen taking apart Tito Ortiz in a unanimous decision victory and Silva got a Round One TKO victory over Antonio Mendes. Both fights were at UFC 84. Silva has finished all but one of his opponents. Silva looks like he came to fight. Machida is called the “most elusive fighter in UFC history.”
R1- Machida hits some strikes early then they clinch and Machida hits a low blow. Machida got a quick take down after they re-started but he gave up his spot. Lyoto hit a big left hand and Silva went down. Lyoto caught Silva with a big right and knocked him down again. Great counter punching so far for Machida. In the closing seconds of the round Machida pushes Silva down and then jumps on top of him very quickly for a couple of strikes and the bell rings for time and then Silva just lays there and doesn’t get up to go back to his corner. It looked like the first punch from Machida knocked his head back into the canvas and knocked him out. Looks like he was knocked out more from the punch then from his head hitting the mat.
Machida looked great in this fight. He just earned himself a shot at Rashad Evans. Who would have thought that we would have 3 decisions and 1 KO so far and the KO would be for Machida?
Post-match Joe Rogan introduces Machida and his interpreter and then Machida speaks in English for his interview.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by KO R1 4:59
Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St Pierre © (17-2) vs. BJ Penn (13-4-1)
Champion versus Champion. UFC stats say Penn has never been knocked down and that he lands 61% of his lead jabs (UFC average is around 30%). GSP lands 75% of his take down attempts (UFC average is 45%) and he defends 85% of his opponents take downs (UFC average is 55%). BJ is looking to be the first UFC fighter to hold belts at the same time in different weight divisions. Penn gets a big reaction from the crowd as he comes to the ring. GSP gets more of a mixed reaction from the crowd. GSP won their first match-up by Decision after getting dominated in the first round by BJ Penn. GSP has a 6” reach advantage.
R1- Very even as GSP works the first couple of minutes trying to get a take down but BJ continues to deny him. GSP takes the first round by controlling where the fight went and landing a few more strikes. 10-9 GSP but not much damage done on either guy.
R2- Penn hit a good left hand in the first 30 seconds of round two. GSP finally got a take down one minute into the round after struggling the entire first round to try and get one but failing. GSP lands some Ground and Pound and passes guard and lands some more G&P. GSP is hitting some good elbows and the crowd rewards him with a “GSP” chant. GSP dominated this round and is up 20-18 so far.
R3- GSP lands some strikes to start the round and BJs nose is bloodied. GSP powers through another take down. BJ took some offense and some hammer fists and then got back to his feet but GSP got another take down. GSP lands some good strikes towards the end of the round. GSP is in control at 30-27. Penn is going to need a knockout or submission if he wants to win this one.
R4- GSP landed some early strikes and then got another take down. Starting in the second round GSP has done what he wanted to do. GSP is landing some good Ground and Pound. GSP was just all over BJ in this round. This was a 10-8 round for GSP. I’ve got GSP up 40-35 right now with one round left. Herb Dean wants the doctor to look at BJ and Dean stops the fight. It looks like in the replay that BJ’s corner stopped the fight.
What a dominate performance by GSP. This victory quickly catapults GSP into same stratosphere as Fedor and Anderson as the top Pound for Pound fighters in the world right now.
Winner and still Welterweight Champion: Georges St Pierre by TKO R4
Post-fight they interview GSP and bring in Thiago Alves and interview him as well.
The show started out kind of surprisingly with 3 straight decisions but 2 of them were entertaining fights in Diaz/Guida and Jones/Bonner. Lyoto and GSP both looked fantastic. Rashad vs. Lyoto and GSP vs. Alves should both be really good fights. Good show by UFC.
January 31st, 2009
MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV
This is one of the most anticipated and hyped shows for UFC. The Penn/St Pierre champion vs. champion re-match is the main draw. We also have what is basically a #1 Contenders fight between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva. A potential FOTN on any card is the lightweight fight between Nate Diaz and Clay Guida.
Lightweight Fight- Nate Diaz (10-2) vs. Clay Guida (24-6)
Clay Guida comes out to “Hero” by the Foo Fighters. Jason Guida is in Clay’s corner and Nick Diaz is in Nate’s corner. Maybe we can make this a 4-way brawl! Diaz has a big 5” height advantage and a huge 8” reach advantage. Diaz is undefeated in the UFC.
R1- Nate is doing a good job early with light jabs and keeping Guida at bay. Nate pulled guard and Clay put him in a full nelson after he took his back. Clay really controlled the second half of the round. Diaz stood up and landed a couple of shots as the round ended. About as even a round as there is but probably went to Guida.
“That might be the first full nelson in UFC history”- Joe Rogan
R2- Guida basically just clinched and held Diaz a lot in this round while trying to get better position. Not much damage done in this round. Diaz tried a triangle at the end of the round but couldn’t get it. I’ve got Guida up 20-18 although he’s done very little damage to Diaz at this point. Realistically this fight is either 20-18 Guida or 19-19 at this point. It smells like a split decision to me unless Diaz can get a submission.
R3- Diaz starts this round like the first round by picking apart Guida with jabs. Diaz is hitting some good shots in this round and is mocking Guida. Guida got a clinch and tries to hold on for a win. Diaz definitely won this round.
This was a close fight. If you are judging based on an entire fight (which UFC doesn’t) then Diaz won this fight. But if you are judging each round separately then I think Guida squeaks this one out 29-28.
The judges score the fight: 29-28 Diaz, 29-28 Guida and 29-28 Guida.
Winner: Clay Guida by Decision (Split)
Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1)
Both guys are Black Belts in Judo. Parisyan has been battling a panic disorder, a hamstring injury and a back injury. Parisyan has Greg Jackson in his corner and that’s a good thing. Parisyan is coming off a loss to Top Contender Thiago Alves and Kim’s last fight was at UFC 88 where he won a split decision against Matt Brown. Kim has a 3” height advantage and a 4” reach advantage. Frank Mir is in Kim’s corner.
R1- Kim got an early take down and then took Karo’s back. Karo flipped and tried to knock him off but Kim is just latched on like Shinya Aoki. Kim went for an arm bar but Karo slipped out. Karo then almost got caught in a triangle. Kim took this round 10-9. He didn’t do a lot of damage but he really controlled and wore down Karo.
R2- Kim got an early take down and Karo got a kimura on Kim but couldn’t finish. Karo hit a beautiful judo throw half through the round and landed in side control. Karo’s mouthpiece has come out twice and the ref warns him that if it happens again that he is deducting a point. Karo lands strikes towards the end of the round. Karo wins this round and we are at 19-19 after two rounds. Karo still seems like he is having a lot of trouble with the mouth piece.
“Dude, you are kicking his ass now”- Karo’s corner after Round Two
R3- Kim gets an early take down and Karo pushes him off and the ref warns him about up kicks to the face. A minute and a half left in the fight and this is anybody’s fight. Really tough finally round to judge. It was very even. This one is a toss up.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Karo, 29-28 Kim and 29-28 Karo.
Winner: Karo Parisyan by Decision (Split)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar (14-4) vs. Jon Jones (7-0)
Jones is undefeated and looked good in his only UFC fight and win against Andre Gusmao at UFC 87. Bonnar’s last fight was a win against Eric Schaefer at UFC 77. Jones is a JUCO National Wrestling Champion but has most of his wins by KO. On paper this should be a fun fight. Bonnar has moved his camp to Vegas and is now training with Forrest Griffin. Jones has a 4.5” reach advantage. Jones is the 3rd youngest fighter in the UFC.
R1- Jones got a good judo throw take down early in the round but couldn’t hold position. Jones got another take down and Bonnar again got to his feet. Jones hit Bonnar with a belly to back suplex and when Bonnar got up he hit him with a spinning back fist and then jumped on top of Bonnar. Bonnar is cut on his forehead. Jones landed a good knee. Jones ended the round with a take down. Jones looked great in this round. 10-9 in favor of Jones.
R2- This round was a lot closer but Jones landed 3 take downs and the stand up was relatively even. Jones 20-18.
R3- Bonnar is the aggressor in this round and Jones looks to be tiring. Bonnar tried for a take down and got it reversed. Jones almost got caught in a triangle. Bonnar took this round but Jones will win this fight 29-28. The 3rd decision of the night but the first unanimous one. Jones definitely has a lot of talent, I look forward to his next fight.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Jones.
Winner: Jon Jones by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (13-0) vs. Thiago Silva (13-0)
If Machida wins this he is next in line for a shot at Rashad Evans. If Silva wins then he probably needs 1 more quality win to get a shot. Machida was last seen taking apart Tito Ortiz in a unanimous decision victory and Silva got a Round One TKO victory over Antonio Mendes. Both fights were at UFC 84. Silva has finished all but one of his opponents. Silva looks like he came to fight. Machida is called the “most elusive fighter in UFC history.”
R1- Machida hits some strikes early then they clinch and Machida hits a low blow. Machida got a quick take down after they re-started but he gave up his spot. Lyoto hit a big left hand and Silva went down. Lyoto caught Silva with a big right and knocked him down again. Great counter punching so far for Machida. In the closing seconds of the round Machida pushes Silva down and then jumps on top of him very quickly for a couple of strikes and the bell rings for time and then Silva just lays there and doesn’t get up to go back to his corner. It looked like the first punch from Machida knocked his head back into the canvas and knocked him out. Looks like he was knocked out more from the punch then from his head hitting the mat.
Machida looked great in this fight. He just earned himself a shot at Rashad Evans. Who would have thought that we would have 3 decisions and 1 KO so far and the KO would be for Machida?
Post-match Joe Rogan introduces Machida and his interpreter and then Machida speaks in English for his interview.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by KO R1 4:59
Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St Pierre © (17-2) vs. BJ Penn (13-4-1)
Champion versus Champion. UFC stats say Penn has never been knocked down and that he lands 61% of his lead jabs (UFC average is around 30%). GSP lands 75% of his take down attempts (UFC average is 45%) and he defends 85% of his opponents take downs (UFC average is 55%). BJ is looking to be the first UFC fighter to hold belts at the same time in different weight divisions. Penn gets a big reaction from the crowd as he comes to the ring. GSP gets more of a mixed reaction from the crowd. GSP won their first match-up by Decision after getting dominated in the first round by BJ Penn. GSP has a 6” reach advantage.
R1- Very even as GSP works the first couple of minutes trying to get a take down but BJ continues to deny him. GSP takes the first round by controlling where the fight went and landing a few more strikes. 10-9 GSP but not much damage done on either guy.
R2- Penn hit a good left hand in the first 30 seconds of round two. GSP finally got a take down one minute into the round after struggling the entire first round to try and get one but failing. GSP lands some Ground and Pound and passes guard and lands some more G&P. GSP is hitting some good elbows and the crowd rewards him with a “GSP” chant. GSP dominated this round and is up 20-18 so far.
R3- GSP lands some strikes to start the round and BJs nose is bloodied. GSP powers through another take down. BJ took some offense and some hammer fists and then got back to his feet but GSP got another take down. GSP lands some good strikes towards the end of the round. GSP is in control at 30-27. Penn is going to need a knockout or submission if he wants to win this one.
R4- GSP landed some early strikes and then got another take down. Starting in the second round GSP has done what he wanted to do. GSP is landing some good Ground and Pound. GSP was just all over BJ in this round. This was a 10-8 round for GSP. I’ve got GSP up 40-35 right now with one round left. Herb Dean wants the doctor to look at BJ and Dean stops the fight. It looks like in the replay that BJ’s corner stopped the fight.
What a dominate performance by GSP. This victory quickly catapults GSP into same stratosphere as Fedor and Anderson as the top Pound for Pound fighters in the world right now.
Winner and still Welterweight Champion: Georges St Pierre by TKO R4
Post-fight they interview GSP and bring in Thiago Alves and interview him as well.
The show started out kind of surprisingly with 3 straight decisions but 2 of them were entertaining fights in Diaz/Guida and Jones/Bonner. Lyoto and GSP both looked fantastic. Rashad vs. Lyoto and GSP vs. Alves should both be really good fights. Good show by UFC.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
UFC Wired 5/19 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 5/19 Re-Cap
Light Heavyweight Fight: Jason Lambert (23-6) vs. Wilson Gouveia (9-4)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- Lambert is real aggressive early and is kind of stalking Gouveia but Lambert got himself caught in an early guillotine but he got out of it without any damage. Lambert is in Gouveia’s guard and is getting in some shots but Gouveia is doing a pretty good job avoiding extensive damage. Gouveia got out but Lambert pretty quickly got him back in the guard. Gouvia went for a triangle but got slammed. Gouveia held on but Lambert stepped over to get out of it, nice mat work by Gouveia to turn a defensive position into an offensive position. Lambert takes this round as Gouveia spent the majority of the round on his back and Lambert got in some nice shots.
R2- About 35 seconds into the second round Gouveia got some distance and just destroyed Lambert with a left hook for the KO. What a punch. Gouveia was losing this fight and just came back and Lambert left himself open and bam it’s over.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by KO R2
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (11-0) vs. Sokoudjou (4-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
This was also on the UFC Unleashed 4/23 TV show.
R1- Machida is unbeaten so far. Soko has been training with Dan Henderson. Soko hits a couple of nice punches early and gets a take down but Machida quickly reverses and is on top controlling in the half guard. Machida is going after his arm but gives it up and is trying to get some punches. Soko doing a good job defending but not actively seeming to try and get out. The ref stands them up. Soko with another take down but they are quickly back to their feet. Round goes to Machida but he definitely wasn’t dominating.
R2- Not much going on in this round. Machida is hitting a couple of kicks and then he gets an opening and trips Soku and goes after him in full guard with a bunch of punches. Machida going for a submission now with an arm triangle but losses it. Soko seems to be real winded as he’s really been controlled in this fight and especially this round. Machida on top and throwing some elbows. Machida grabs the arm triangle again and gets the victory. Real good win for Machida. He seems like a real good technical fighter, not exciting but seems like a real good tactician.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:20
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
This was also on the 5/14 Unleashed TV show.
R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.
“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)
R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Light Heavyweight Fight: Jason Lambert (23-6) vs. Wilson Gouveia (9-4)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
R1- Lambert is real aggressive early and is kind of stalking Gouveia but Lambert got himself caught in an early guillotine but he got out of it without any damage. Lambert is in Gouveia’s guard and is getting in some shots but Gouveia is doing a pretty good job avoiding extensive damage. Gouveia got out but Lambert pretty quickly got him back in the guard. Gouvia went for a triangle but got slammed. Gouveia held on but Lambert stepped over to get out of it, nice mat work by Gouveia to turn a defensive position into an offensive position. Lambert takes this round as Gouveia spent the majority of the round on his back and Lambert got in some nice shots.
R2- About 35 seconds into the second round Gouveia got some distance and just destroyed Lambert with a left hook for the KO. What a punch. Gouveia was losing this fight and just came back and Lambert left himself open and bam it’s over.
Winner: Wilson Gouveia by KO R2
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (11-0) vs. Sokoudjou (4-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
This was also on the UFC Unleashed 4/23 TV show.
R1- Machida is unbeaten so far. Soko has been training with Dan Henderson. Soko hits a couple of nice punches early and gets a take down but Machida quickly reverses and is on top controlling in the half guard. Machida is going after his arm but gives it up and is trying to get some punches. Soko doing a good job defending but not actively seeming to try and get out. The ref stands them up. Soko with another take down but they are quickly back to their feet. Round goes to Machida but he definitely wasn’t dominating.
R2- Not much going on in this round. Machida is hitting a couple of kicks and then he gets an opening and trips Soku and goes after him in full guard with a bunch of punches. Machida going for a submission now with an arm triangle but losses it. Soko seems to be real winded as he’s really been controlled in this fight and especially this round. Machida on top and throwing some elbows. Machida grabs the arm triangle again and gets the victory. Real good win for Machida. He seems like a real good technical fighter, not exciting but seems like a real good tactician.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:20
Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
This was also on the 5/14 Unleashed TV show.
R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.
“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)
R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2
Saturday, May 31, 2008
UFC 84 "Ill Will" Re-Cap/Thoughts
UFC 84: "Ill Will"
Lightheavyweight Fight- Thiago Silva (12-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (14-2)
Mendes is on an 11 fight win streak. Silva is undefeated. Mendes has a height and reach advantage.
David Spade is in the house and looks like he has a bottle of something that he snuck in.
R1- Mendes hits a big kick early that floors Silva but he survives. Mendes with another kick and Silva is down again. Mendes in control early. Mendes slips and allows Silva to get the advantage. Silva is controlling the fight on the ground and gets the win via ref stoppage. This just goes to show you what can happen if you just make one mistake as Mendes was in total control until he slipped doing a judo throw and then Silva just ate him up on the ground.
Winner: Thiago Silva via TKO (strikes) R1
Urijah Faber is in the house and they briefly talk about his fight live on Versus next week in what Mike Goldberg calls "the biggest WEC fight ever."
Lightheavyweight Fight: Tito Ortiz (16-5-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (12-0)
There has been a great pure pro wrestling build to this match that featured a war of the words between Tito and Dana White with Lyoto Machida being the man caught in the middle. Ortiz gets a good pop and Machida gets boo'd.
R1- Big but brief "Tito" chant as they feel each other out in the beginning. Ortiz went for a take down but was denied. Not much action. Ortiz unable to take down Machida. Machida with a couple of leg licks but not many strikes at all in this one so far. Machida hit a nice combo kick but Ortiz blocked it. Machida hitting another kick and then took Tito down and got side control and was really beating up on him until the bell rung. Round goes to Machida due to late take down and dominance once he took Ortiz down. Ortiz didn't do any damage in the round although he did control the ring for the first 3 or so minutes but all of his take downs failed.
Chuck Lidell is in the house and gets a pop.
R2- Ortiz missed a take down and got a kick for his trouble. Machida hitting a couple of punches now. Machida with a nice high kick. Tito just seems a step too slow to catch up with Machida. Tito shoots in for a take down but is denied again and Machida is in Tito's guard. They stand back up. Machida hits a knee. Tito stands back and tells Machida to come on. Machida hits two punches to Tito. Tito tried to come back and may have gotten in a kick. This round also goes to Machida as he got in more strikes and ultimately Tito got very little offense in. Tito is cut open. Machida 20 Ortiz 18.
R3- The ref falls down about 45 seconds into the round and gets pop. They clinch and Tito got a couple of shots in but nothing substantial. Ortiz just too slow to take down Machida so far. Ortiz went for a knee but came up short. Ortiz with a clinch and is getting in a couple of shots but can't take Machida down. With a buck 30 left Machida nails Tito with a knee to the body. Tito buckles and Machida reigns down punches. Tito defends and somehow grabs an arm triangle with about half a minute left. It looks like Machida is going to have to tap but he twists out of it and survives the rest of the fight.
Overall, Machida definitely won this fight. 30-27 on my scorecard and on the judges. Tito just wasn't quick enough to catch up to Machida during the fight and couldn't get any take downs. Good showing for Machida as he beat a big name.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
Shaquille O'Neal was spotted during the last fight. Jamie Presley was shown during Tito Ortiz's interview (he went out a lot classier than I thought he would. He definitely took the high road).
Silva and Machida are both Light Heavyweights and are both undefeated. Could be a good match-up.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Goran Reljic (7-0) vs. Wilson Gouveia (10-4)
This is Reljic's first fight in the UFC. Gouveia has won 4 straight in the UFC and 10 straight overall since a loss to Keith Jardine. Reljic has a big reach advantage in this fight.
The Rock is at ringside!
R1- Reljic is throwing some nice high kicks. Gouveia is blocking most of them but they've got to hurt. Other than Reljic's kicks the first round was pretty even through the first 3 minutes of the round. Gouveia is getting in some nice punches and Reljic pounces on him and takes him down into his guard to avoid more punishment. Gouveia is in Reljic's guard. Even first round. Reljic got in a bunch of nice kicks and Gouveia came on strong at the end of the round to even things out.
R2- Reljic hits a nice high kick about a minute into the round. Gouveia hits Reljic as he is going for a kick and gets an advantage and takes him down and is pounding on him up against the fence. Reljic gets back to his feet but took a lot of damage. Reljic caught him and is throwing a ton of punches and trying to finish the fight and the ref stops it. Great comeback for Reljic.
Reljic threw some great kicks in this fight. Took a couple of big flurries and withstood and nailed Gouveia with a left to the temple and then took him out. Great debut for Reljic.
Winner: Goran Reljic by TKO (strikes) R2
Heavyweight Fight: Christian Wellisch (9-2) vs. Shane Carwin (8-0)
This was from the pre-show. This is Carwin's UFC debut.
R1- Carwin hits him with a good square punch a little over a minute in and it crumples Wellisch. Hit him right on the chin and his mouthpiece went flying. Nice knockout as the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO (punches) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight: Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Keith Jardine (13-4-1)
This would be a huge win for Jardine. This should be a great fight. Jardine gets a mixed reaction and seemed to get mostly boos. Wanderlei gets a good reaction. Both these guys look ready to go.
R1- They trade good to start and Silva is all over Jardine and just destroying him and this is over. Wanderlei Silva just overwhelmed Jardine and looked amazing. Shaq and The Rock are brought to their feet. Jardine is still down. David Spade is shown saying "Holy sh*t". Jardine is a tough guy, he just got caught and then got destroyed. Silva was just an animal.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
Middleweight Fight- Ivan Salaverry (12-5-1) vs. Rousimar Palhares (16-1)
This is a fight from the pre-show.
R1- Salaverry hits a kick to start off but immediately gets taken down by Palhares. Palhares quickly gets a full mount. Salaverry gives up his back. Palhares gets an armbar shortly thereafter and he looks real good. Palhares just showed some great BJJ and took this one easily.
Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Submission (Armbar) R1
Joe Rogan interviews Urijah Faber at ringside and also interviews his opponent Jens Pulver. Then they show a hype video for Faber vs. Pulver.
Lightweight Title Fight: BJ Penn (c) (13-4-1) vs. Sean Sherk (36-2-1)
This is the second fight tonight that had a pro wrestling build to it with both guys jawing back and forth mostly focused on Sherk's earlier suspension due to drugs that cost him the Lightweight belt. The fan poll puts BJ Penn at the winner by 55% to 45%.
Jason Statham's in the crowd.
R1- Sherk goes for a quick take down but is denied. Real quick pace to start compared to a lot of the fights tonight. Big "BJ" chant by the crowd. Both guys are throwing pretty good. BJ jabbing a lot. Sherk is throwing some hard punches but BJ is hitting some nice jabs. BJ really starting to control this first round the longer that it goes. Good first round. Sherk is cut under his eye. I think Penn gets the first round as he was hitting his jabs pretty regularly.
R2- They trade pretty good. Sherk seems more active at the beginning of this fight. Good exchanges in the first minute as both guys landing some punches. BJ seems more controlled and Sherk more wild in terms of punches. BJ still landing some good jabs. Sherk has 2 or 3 cuts that he is bleeding out of. Another good round. I think this one was a little closer than the first but i've still got to give it to BJ due to his jabs and the damage that he's done to Sherk.
R3- A little of the same in this round as Sherk comes out strong and then BJ starts to re-gain the advantage throughout the round. They are throwing really good with BJ looking like the more controlled striker and Sherk throwing wild, hard punches. The announcers pick up on a possible right hand injury for Sherk as he's really just using his left and kicking. BJ opens up with an amazing flurry at the end of Round 3. Sherk came off the cage and BJ nailed him with a running knee and then punches and the horn sounded to end the round. And the ref calls the fight. Great finish by BJ Penn.
Winner: BJ Penn by TKO (Strikes) R3
Welterweight Fight- Jon Koppenhaver (6-1) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2)
Another pre-show match.
Yoshida drilled him early with a nice take down and then clamped on a guillotine. And this one was over before it started.
Winner: Yoshiyuki Yoshida by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rameau Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7)
Decent first round and then right at the end of the round Soko nails Nakamura and pounces on him and can't finish him but the match is called during the break as Nakamura can't continue.
Winner: Rameau Sokoudjou by TKO R1
This was a real good show. A very good Main Event in the Penn/Sherk match. I thought Machida/Ortiz was a good fight, Wanderlei put on an amazing performance, and I really enjoyed Silva/Mendes as well. There were some quick fights but I think Mendes and Silva looked really good in their fights. Reljic also looked really good. It will be interesting to see how some of the young guys like Reljic, Thiago Silva and Loyoto Machida can build on these victories. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Ortiz as he left the door open for a possible return to UFC. They teased GSP/Penn after the Penn/Sherk fight.
Lightheavyweight Fight- Thiago Silva (12-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (14-2)
Mendes is on an 11 fight win streak. Silva is undefeated. Mendes has a height and reach advantage.
David Spade is in the house and looks like he has a bottle of something that he snuck in.
R1- Mendes hits a big kick early that floors Silva but he survives. Mendes with another kick and Silva is down again. Mendes in control early. Mendes slips and allows Silva to get the advantage. Silva is controlling the fight on the ground and gets the win via ref stoppage. This just goes to show you what can happen if you just make one mistake as Mendes was in total control until he slipped doing a judo throw and then Silva just ate him up on the ground.
Winner: Thiago Silva via TKO (strikes) R1
Urijah Faber is in the house and they briefly talk about his fight live on Versus next week in what Mike Goldberg calls "the biggest WEC fight ever."
Lightheavyweight Fight: Tito Ortiz (16-5-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (12-0)
There has been a great pure pro wrestling build to this match that featured a war of the words between Tito and Dana White with Lyoto Machida being the man caught in the middle. Ortiz gets a good pop and Machida gets boo'd.
R1- Big but brief "Tito" chant as they feel each other out in the beginning. Ortiz went for a take down but was denied. Not much action. Ortiz unable to take down Machida. Machida with a couple of leg licks but not many strikes at all in this one so far. Machida hit a nice combo kick but Ortiz blocked it. Machida hitting another kick and then took Tito down and got side control and was really beating up on him until the bell rung. Round goes to Machida due to late take down and dominance once he took Ortiz down. Ortiz didn't do any damage in the round although he did control the ring for the first 3 or so minutes but all of his take downs failed.
Chuck Lidell is in the house and gets a pop.
R2- Ortiz missed a take down and got a kick for his trouble. Machida hitting a couple of punches now. Machida with a nice high kick. Tito just seems a step too slow to catch up with Machida. Tito shoots in for a take down but is denied again and Machida is in Tito's guard. They stand back up. Machida hits a knee. Tito stands back and tells Machida to come on. Machida hits two punches to Tito. Tito tried to come back and may have gotten in a kick. This round also goes to Machida as he got in more strikes and ultimately Tito got very little offense in. Tito is cut open. Machida 20 Ortiz 18.
R3- The ref falls down about 45 seconds into the round and gets pop. They clinch and Tito got a couple of shots in but nothing substantial. Ortiz just too slow to take down Machida so far. Ortiz went for a knee but came up short. Ortiz with a clinch and is getting in a couple of shots but can't take Machida down. With a buck 30 left Machida nails Tito with a knee to the body. Tito buckles and Machida reigns down punches. Tito defends and somehow grabs an arm triangle with about half a minute left. It looks like Machida is going to have to tap but he twists out of it and survives the rest of the fight.
Overall, Machida definitely won this fight. 30-27 on my scorecard and on the judges. Tito just wasn't quick enough to catch up to Machida during the fight and couldn't get any take downs. Good showing for Machida as he beat a big name.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
Shaquille O'Neal was spotted during the last fight. Jamie Presley was shown during Tito Ortiz's interview (he went out a lot classier than I thought he would. He definitely took the high road).
Silva and Machida are both Light Heavyweights and are both undefeated. Could be a good match-up.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Goran Reljic (7-0) vs. Wilson Gouveia (10-4)
This is Reljic's first fight in the UFC. Gouveia has won 4 straight in the UFC and 10 straight overall since a loss to Keith Jardine. Reljic has a big reach advantage in this fight.
The Rock is at ringside!
R1- Reljic is throwing some nice high kicks. Gouveia is blocking most of them but they've got to hurt. Other than Reljic's kicks the first round was pretty even through the first 3 minutes of the round. Gouveia is getting in some nice punches and Reljic pounces on him and takes him down into his guard to avoid more punishment. Gouveia is in Reljic's guard. Even first round. Reljic got in a bunch of nice kicks and Gouveia came on strong at the end of the round to even things out.
R2- Reljic hits a nice high kick about a minute into the round. Gouveia hits Reljic as he is going for a kick and gets an advantage and takes him down and is pounding on him up against the fence. Reljic gets back to his feet but took a lot of damage. Reljic caught him and is throwing a ton of punches and trying to finish the fight and the ref stops it. Great comeback for Reljic.
Reljic threw some great kicks in this fight. Took a couple of big flurries and withstood and nailed Gouveia with a left to the temple and then took him out. Great debut for Reljic.
Winner: Goran Reljic by TKO (strikes) R2
Heavyweight Fight: Christian Wellisch (9-2) vs. Shane Carwin (8-0)
This was from the pre-show. This is Carwin's UFC debut.
R1- Carwin hits him with a good square punch a little over a minute in and it crumples Wellisch. Hit him right on the chin and his mouthpiece went flying. Nice knockout as the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO (punches) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight: Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Keith Jardine (13-4-1)
This would be a huge win for Jardine. This should be a great fight. Jardine gets a mixed reaction and seemed to get mostly boos. Wanderlei gets a good reaction. Both these guys look ready to go.
R1- They trade good to start and Silva is all over Jardine and just destroying him and this is over. Wanderlei Silva just overwhelmed Jardine and looked amazing. Shaq and The Rock are brought to their feet. Jardine is still down. David Spade is shown saying "Holy sh*t". Jardine is a tough guy, he just got caught and then got destroyed. Silva was just an animal.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
Middleweight Fight- Ivan Salaverry (12-5-1) vs. Rousimar Palhares (16-1)
This is a fight from the pre-show.
R1- Salaverry hits a kick to start off but immediately gets taken down by Palhares. Palhares quickly gets a full mount. Salaverry gives up his back. Palhares gets an armbar shortly thereafter and he looks real good. Palhares just showed some great BJJ and took this one easily.
Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Submission (Armbar) R1
Joe Rogan interviews Urijah Faber at ringside and also interviews his opponent Jens Pulver. Then they show a hype video for Faber vs. Pulver.
Lightweight Title Fight: BJ Penn (c) (13-4-1) vs. Sean Sherk (36-2-1)
This is the second fight tonight that had a pro wrestling build to it with both guys jawing back and forth mostly focused on Sherk's earlier suspension due to drugs that cost him the Lightweight belt. The fan poll puts BJ Penn at the winner by 55% to 45%.
Jason Statham's in the crowd.
R1- Sherk goes for a quick take down but is denied. Real quick pace to start compared to a lot of the fights tonight. Big "BJ" chant by the crowd. Both guys are throwing pretty good. BJ jabbing a lot. Sherk is throwing some hard punches but BJ is hitting some nice jabs. BJ really starting to control this first round the longer that it goes. Good first round. Sherk is cut under his eye. I think Penn gets the first round as he was hitting his jabs pretty regularly.
R2- They trade pretty good. Sherk seems more active at the beginning of this fight. Good exchanges in the first minute as both guys landing some punches. BJ seems more controlled and Sherk more wild in terms of punches. BJ still landing some good jabs. Sherk has 2 or 3 cuts that he is bleeding out of. Another good round. I think this one was a little closer than the first but i've still got to give it to BJ due to his jabs and the damage that he's done to Sherk.
R3- A little of the same in this round as Sherk comes out strong and then BJ starts to re-gain the advantage throughout the round. They are throwing really good with BJ looking like the more controlled striker and Sherk throwing wild, hard punches. The announcers pick up on a possible right hand injury for Sherk as he's really just using his left and kicking. BJ opens up with an amazing flurry at the end of Round 3. Sherk came off the cage and BJ nailed him with a running knee and then punches and the horn sounded to end the round. And the ref calls the fight. Great finish by BJ Penn.
Winner: BJ Penn by TKO (Strikes) R3
Welterweight Fight- Jon Koppenhaver (6-1) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2)
Another pre-show match.
Yoshida drilled him early with a nice take down and then clamped on a guillotine. And this one was over before it started.
Winner: Yoshiyuki Yoshida by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rameau Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7)
Decent first round and then right at the end of the round Soko nails Nakamura and pounces on him and can't finish him but the match is called during the break as Nakamura can't continue.
Winner: Rameau Sokoudjou by TKO R1
This was a real good show. A very good Main Event in the Penn/Sherk match. I thought Machida/Ortiz was a good fight, Wanderlei put on an amazing performance, and I really enjoyed Silva/Mendes as well. There were some quick fights but I think Mendes and Silva looked really good in their fights. Reljic also looked really good. It will be interesting to see how some of the young guys like Reljic, Thiago Silva and Loyoto Machida can build on these victories. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Ortiz as he left the door open for a possible return to UFC. They teased GSP/Penn after the Penn/Sherk fight.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
UFC Unleashed 4/23 Re-Cap
Lightweight Fight- Rich Clementi (37-12-1) vs. Melvin Guillard (39-7-3)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
R1- Both guys feeling each other out. Guillard has a real explosive combo but hasn’t connected yet. Guillard has “Condom Depot” as the ad on his shorts, classy. Clementi grabs Guillard in a bear hug and slams him. Clementi has Guillard’s back and basically has him in a full nelson. Guillard flips it over and they get back to their feet. Guillard nails Clementi with a couple of punches and then slams him down. Clementi reverses and he’s on top. Real back and forth fight, Clementi with more cage control in Round 1. Clementi grabs a choke and it’s over. Clementi then does a classy “crotch chop” while above Guillard after the win.
Winner: Rich Clementi via submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:40
Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (10-4) vs. Jorge Rivera (14-6)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
Jorge takes him down quickly and is landing some punches against the cage. Jorge has his back and is landing more punches. Kendall to his feet but he’s eating punch after punch and this one is over quickly and impressively. Jorge with a dominating win.
Winner: Jorge Rivera via TKO (punches) R1 1:20
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (11-0) vs. Sokoudjou (4-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
R1- Machida is unbeaten so far. Soko has been training with Dan Henderson. Soko hits a couple of nice punches early and gets a take down but Machida quickly reverses and is on top controlling in the half guard. Machida is going after his arm but gives it up and is trying to get some punches. Soko doing a good job defending but not actively seeming to try and get out. The ref stands them up. Soko with another take down but they are quickly back to their feet. Round goes to Machida but he definitely wasn’t dominating.
R2- Not much going on in this round. Machida is hitting a couple of kicks and then he gets an opening and trips Soku and goes after him in full guard with a bunch of punches. Machida going for a submission now with an arm triangle but losses it. Soko seems to be real winded as he’s really been controlled in this fight and especially this round. Machida on top and throwing some elbows. Machida grabs the arm triangle again and gets the victory. Real good win for Machida. He seems like a real good technical fighter, not exciting but seems like a real good tactician.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:20
Welterweight- Interim Welterweight Title Match: Georges St-Pierre (14-2) vs. Matt Hughes (43-5)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
This is the third fight between these two fighters. This was on UFC Wired just a week or so ago.
R1- The first minute is active but both guys real cautious as nothing of note has been hit yet. Hughes tried for an early take down but Georges backed down. Hughes again goes for take down but is denied. Georges going for some kicks and then a Superman punch and Hughes goes for a take down but the clinch and Georges takes Hughes down and is on top in full guard. Georges with some light punches from the top. Georges pushes Hughes up against the cage. Georges with some short elbows. Georges with some punches again. Georges dominating so far but not really close to a stoppage. Hughes needs to find a way out. Georges slams Hughes a couple of times. Georges got his back in the last 10 seconds. Easy round to Georges here as he just dominated. Hughes really didn’t even get any offense at all in.
R2- Georges again takes Hughes down. Georges now in half guard. Hughes trying to get some offense from the bottom as he hits an elbow. Georges with some elbows. He’s in full guard now. Georges back on top in half guard and mounts Hughes and has his back with 1:30 left in the round. They battle and Georges has him up against the cage now. Hughes now with Georges leg but can’t get the takedown. They are tied up and Georges with a great take down into side control. Georges with an arm bar type move and Hughes taps.
Georges St-Pierre just absolutely dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner: Georges St-Pierre by Verbal Submission (arm bar) R2 4:54.
R1- Both guys feeling each other out. Guillard has a real explosive combo but hasn’t connected yet. Guillard has “Condom Depot” as the ad on his shorts, classy. Clementi grabs Guillard in a bear hug and slams him. Clementi has Guillard’s back and basically has him in a full nelson. Guillard flips it over and they get back to their feet. Guillard nails Clementi with a couple of punches and then slams him down. Clementi reverses and he’s on top. Real back and forth fight, Clementi with more cage control in Round 1. Clementi grabs a choke and it’s over. Clementi then does a classy “crotch chop” while above Guillard after the win.
Winner: Rich Clementi via submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 4:40
Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (10-4) vs. Jorge Rivera (14-6)- UFC 80- 1/19/08
Jorge takes him down quickly and is landing some punches against the cage. Jorge has his back and is landing more punches. Kendall to his feet but he’s eating punch after punch and this one is over quickly and impressively. Jorge with a dominating win.
Winner: Jorge Rivera via TKO (punches) R1 1:20
Light Heavyweight Fight- Lyoto Machida (11-0) vs. Sokoudjou (4-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
R1- Machida is unbeaten so far. Soko has been training with Dan Henderson. Soko hits a couple of nice punches early and gets a take down but Machida quickly reverses and is on top controlling in the half guard. Machida is going after his arm but gives it up and is trying to get some punches. Soko doing a good job defending but not actively seeming to try and get out. The ref stands them up. Soko with another take down but they are quickly back to their feet. Round goes to Machida but he definitely wasn’t dominating.
R2- Not much going on in this round. Machida is hitting a couple of kicks and then he gets an opening and trips Soku and goes after him in full guard with a bunch of punches. Machida going for a submission now with an arm triangle but losses it. Soko seems to be real winded as he’s really been controlled in this fight and especially this round. Machida on top and throwing some elbows. Machida grabs the arm triangle again and gets the victory. Real good win for Machida. He seems like a real good technical fighter, not exciting but seems like a real good tactician.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by submission (arm triangle) R2 4:20
Welterweight- Interim Welterweight Title Match: Georges St-Pierre (14-2) vs. Matt Hughes (43-5)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
This is the third fight between these two fighters. This was on UFC Wired just a week or so ago.
R1- The first minute is active but both guys real cautious as nothing of note has been hit yet. Hughes tried for an early take down but Georges backed down. Hughes again goes for take down but is denied. Georges going for some kicks and then a Superman punch and Hughes goes for a take down but the clinch and Georges takes Hughes down and is on top in full guard. Georges with some light punches from the top. Georges pushes Hughes up against the cage. Georges with some short elbows. Georges with some punches again. Georges dominating so far but not really close to a stoppage. Hughes needs to find a way out. Georges slams Hughes a couple of times. Georges got his back in the last 10 seconds. Easy round to Georges here as he just dominated. Hughes really didn’t even get any offense at all in.
R2- Georges again takes Hughes down. Georges now in half guard. Hughes trying to get some offense from the bottom as he hits an elbow. Georges with some elbows. He’s in full guard now. Georges back on top in half guard and mounts Hughes and has his back with 1:30 left in the round. They battle and Georges has him up against the cage now. Hughes now with Georges leg but can’t get the takedown. They are tied up and Georges with a great take down into side control. Georges with an arm bar type move and Hughes taps.
Georges St-Pierre just absolutely dominated this fight from start to finish.
Winner: Georges St-Pierre by Verbal Submission (arm bar) R2 4:54.
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