UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2 Re-Cap

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

UFC 106 Preliminaries on Spike TV Re-Cap

UFC 106 Preliminaries
11/21/09
Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, Nevada
Spike TV


Jake Rosholt against Kendall Grove and Marcus Davis against Ben Saunders highlight the Preliminary fights of UFC 106 tonight on Spike TV. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are your announcers.

Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (12-6) vs. Jake Rosholt (6-1)

Rosholt is coming off a submission victory over Chris Leben at UFC 102. Kendall Grove is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101. Grove has a 5” height and 5” reach advantage.

R1- Rosholt got a take down within the first minute of the fight. Kendall keeps getting up and then getting dragged back down by Rosholt. Kendall really using the cage out of the referee’s view to his advantage and he gets a take down. Rosholt landed a couple of strikes and a knee after getting back to his feet. Rosholt got another take down. Rosholt looked like he was going for an arm triangle but Kendall caught him in an arm bar and Rosholt tapped out.

Winner: Kendall Grove by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 3:59

Lightweight Fight- Jason Dent vs. George Sotiropoulos

R1- George got a take down with two minutes left in the round after both guys had been exchanging some light strikes for the first three minutes of the round. George fought and got the mount and landed some good punches. Dent barely survived to fight in the next round. George 10-9.

R2- George caught a kick and got a take down about one and a half minutes into the round. George went for an arm bar and fought hard and finally got it and Dent tapped out.

Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 4:36

Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (21-6) vs. Ben Saunders (7-1-2)

Davis has won 13 of his last 15 but is coming off of a split decision loss to Dan Hardy at UFC 99. Saunders has a 5” height and 7.5” reach advantage. Saunders is coming off of a TKO loss to Mike Swick, also at UFC 99.

R1- Davis landed some good strikes in the clinch but Saunders returned the favor with some good knees. Saunders bloodied up Davis with the knees. Saunders grabbed Davis in the clinch again and just destroyed him with knees and knocked him out. Really great showing by Saunders.

Winner: Ben Saunders by KO R1 3:24

Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster

R1- A lot of action early which ended with a Larson take down. Half way through the round Foster reverses the position and lands some Ground and Pound. Both fighters were down and Larson kicked Foster in the face and the ref stepped in as it was an illegal blow. A point is deducted from Larson. Larson grabbed a guillotine at the end of the round and they called Larson for another illegal shot because Larson hit Foster when he had a hand down and Larson had him in a guillotine and he kneed him in the head. Another point is deducted from Foster. Foster takes this round 10-7 because of the two point deduction.

R2- Foster hit a good side kick and then got a take down and landed some Ground and Pound. Foster got caught by a big uppercut coming in for a take down and he got hurt badly and he tapped out as the ref stopped the fight.

Winner: Brian Foster by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:25

Joe Rogan interviews Tito Ortiz about his return to UFC and his fight with Forrest Griffin later tonight.

UFC 99: "The Comeback" 6/13/09 Re-Cap

UFC 99: The Comeback
6/13/09
Cologne, Germany
Lanxess Arena

The headliner of this show is Rich Franklin versus Wanderlei Silva in what should be an action packed contest. The undercard is stacked with Cheick Kongo/Cain Velasquez, Mike Swick/Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis/Dan Hardy and Mirko Cro Cop. This should be an exciting night of fights. And I actually forgot about Caol Uno against Spencer Fisher and that could be the Fight of the Night.

Welterweight Fight- Dan Hardy (21-6) vs. Marcus Davis (21-5)

There has been a big war of the words between these guys for several weeks so it’s nice to see them get in the cage and settle their differences. Marcus Davis is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Chris Lytle and he submitted Paul Kelly previous to that. Dan Hardy is on a 5-fight win streak. Rogan says that he’s never seen Marcus Davis so fired up, in shape and ready for a fight in his life. Hardy has a 4” reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Neither guy wanted to make a mistake early. Davis made the first move by going for a take down and Davis finally got him down after a long struggle and got a mount. Hardy was able to get out of the mount but Davis leaned on him and got some Ground and Pound. Hardy got to his feet and hit Davis with a good punch. Davis slipped and Hardy caught him with a couple more shots but Davis tied him up. Davis looks like he got cut. This round was all Davis with the exception of about a 45 second explosion by Hardy. I’ve got Davis 10-9 but it was close due to the shots Hardy landed near the end of the round.

R2- They stand at the beginning of this round and exchange and Hardy gets a clinch and lands a knee that hurts Marcus. Hardy jumps on top to try and finish but Davis was able to protect so he didn’t get finished. Davis went for an arm bar from the guard position but Hardy was able to stop the submission. Davis is landing some elbows from the bottom and is very active in Hardy’s guard and the ref stands them up. Davis got a take down with 30 seconds left in the round and passed guard but all he could get was some brief Ground and Pound. This was pretty much a reversal of the first round as Hardy controlled the entire round and Davis controlled the last 45 seconds. I give this one to Hardy and have the fight 19-19 going into the third and deciding round.

R3- Davis landed a left that floored Hardy at the start of the round, it looked like Hardy got caught off balance. Davis took Hardy’s guard. Davis went for a heel hook but Hardy was able to spin out and both fighters got back to their feet. Hardy was able to get a take down with about 2 minutes left in the fight. Hardy hit an elbow and the ref stopped the fight to check the cut. It was on his nose so they continued the fight. Hardy is getting some Ground and Pound and Davis continues to bleed but Hardy doesn’t do enough and the ref stands the fighters up with 45 seconds left in the fight. Davis is having trouble seeing out of his eyes due to the blood and they tied up to finish the fight. I’ve got to give the fight to Hardy due to damage inflicted on his opponent. Close fight, I’ve got Hardy 29-28 on my score card. The winner of this is right on the verge of being a Top 10 Welterweight in the world and could be a couple of victories away from a title shot.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 Hardy, 29-28 Davis and 29-28 Hardy.

Hardy goes to shake Marcus’s hand after the decision and Davis shrugs him off. Hardy says he respects Davis and that he is a tough fighter.

Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Split)

Lightweight Fight- Caol Uno (25-11-4) vs. Spencer Fisher (23-4)

This is Uno’s first fight in his return to the UFC. Uno comes out to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

R1- They danced around for a while. Spencer went for a punch and Uno went for a take down and Spencer stuffed it and they clinched against the cage. The ref finally separated them with two minutes left in the round. Spencer landed a couple of punches and then blocked another Uno take down. This was a pretty even uneventful first round. I’ve got Spencer taking this one 10-9 but it’s anybody’s fight.

R2- Uno got a single leg after ducking a punch but Spencer got up quickly and separated. Uno went for another take down but was stuffed. Uno lands a couple of leg kicks but then gets another take down stuffed but Spencer stayed on him and Uno rolled him over and took his guard but Spencer was able to get back to his feet again. Uno is just constantly going for take downs. Spencer went for a sweep but got taken down by Uno and Spencer again quickly got up. This round went to Uno with his repeated take downs even though he didn’t do a lot once he got there. I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.

R3- Spencer landed a good left hand in the first minute of the fight but Uno kept coming with a take down attempt. Uno went for a leg kick but Spencer punched him and Uno’s momentum took him down to the mat. Spencer got a take down but Uno quickly rolled him off. Uno mounted Spencer and got in a couple of elbows and punches and is finishing this round in an impressive fashion. Uno get the nod in this round due to his final push. I’ve got Uno 29-28 in a rather uneventful fight.

Judges score cards say: all judges score the fight for Spencer Fisher (no scores announced)

Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2)

This fight should be the opposite of our last fight. Saunders looked great back in December against Brandon Wolfe as he finished him by TKO in the first round. Mike Swick fought on that same card in December and got a 33 second victory over Jonathon Goulet. At UFC 85 Swick defeated Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision. Swick is 3-0 as a Welterweight in the UFC and I’ve currently got Swick ranked #8 in the World Welterweight rankings.

R1- Saunders immediately pulls guard, which is a little surprising. Saunders is just holding him with Swick landing some little punches. Swick asks Saunders if he’s going to hold him all night. Ref stands them up with 1:30 left in the round. Swick landed some good punches after a Saunders kick. Swick takes this round 10-9 and Saunders rubs Swick’s head on the way back to his corner.

R2- Swick quickly mounted in less than a minute but Saunders was able to move him back to guard. The ref stands them up with 2:40 left in the round. Swick hit a good combination and drove Saunders back in the cage. Swick kept coming and Saunders went down Swick jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight. Swick jumped over the cage and gave Dana and his guys high fives and jumped back in the cage. Another great showing by Swick.

Post-fight Swick says he’s 9-1 in the UFC and wants to fight top guys. He names Matt Hughes, GSP and Thiago Alves.

Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:47

Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4)

Cro Cop has looked less than stellar in his last two fights. Cro Cop looked bored in his fight against Hong Man Choi and in the fight before that he was on the ropes against Alistair Overeem when Cro Cop got low blowed and sold like he’d been taken out by a shotgun and could not continue. Overeem was dominating Cro Cop before the low blow. Al-Turk comes out to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. Mirko comes out to Duran Duran, I only know that because my sister was a big fan. Mirko gets a good reaction from the crowd despite his choice of theme music. Rogan says there are lots of fans here from Croatia. Al-Turk seems like the sacrificial lamb but let’s see how it plays out in the cage.

R1- Al-Turk is the aggressor early. Rogan points out that Al-Turk is telegraphing his shots. Mirko landed a good combo and is chasing down Al-Turk. Mirko gets on top and gets some shots in and then lets Al-Turk up. Cro Cop hits a punch that looked like it was an eye poke and Al-Turk covered up but the ref didn’t do anything and then Cro Cop finished him off when the ref didn’t step in. Miragliotta with another poor officiating job.

Cro Cop looked a little better than his previous two fights but he didn’t look much like he’s going to be a threat in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Throw him in there with Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos or Cain Velaquez if he beats Kongo.

Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:06

Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-4-1)

Both of these fighters are coming in with momentum. At UFC 97 Kongo beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the second round and at UFC 92 Kongo just completely overwhelmed Mustafa Al-Turk. Velasquez dominated Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 and won via TKO in the second round. Kongo comes out to some Jimi Hendrix. Kongo has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage. Velasquez is 9 lbs heavier. I’ve got both of these guys right outside the Top 10 Heavyweight rankings so the winner is really going to rise up the ranks.

R1- Valesquez stalks Kongo down early but Kongo hits some nice shots and brings Cain to his knees. He landed two nice right hands but Cain stayed with it and got a double leg take down. Cain mounts and looks like he has a choke in but Kongo rolled out of the choke. Kongo got back to his feet but got slammed. Cain lands some nice shots and again goes for a choke but can’t get it locked in. Cain is landing some nice shots on Kongo. Kongo got to his feet again and again got slammed for his trouble. After those first two punches Cain just dominated Kongo. Kongo was two punches away from having a 10-8 round scored against him. Cain takes this round 10-9.

R2- Kongo landed another good punch on Cain and he went down to his feet. Kongo swung for the fences but then clinched Cain against the cage. Cain got a take down about one minute into the round. Cain hits some elbows and then lands some good punches against cage. Kongo got up but got taken down again. Cain hits some big knees to the body. Cain takes this round 10-9 so he’s up 20-18.

R3- Kongo looked like he landed another good strike but Cain wrapped him up. Kongo briefly got Cain down but then Cain got on top. This is reminiscent of Lesnar/Herring. Both fighters are bleeding. Kong is bleeding from the nose and Cain from the mouth. Kongo got to his feet at the two minute mark and got loose and threw some punches but Cain took him down again. Cain is landing some consistent punches on Kongo from the top. This was a good fight and FOTN so far. Cain wins 30-27 on my score card.

This was an interesting fight because of the the dominance of Cain on the ground and Kongo’s dominance on his feet. Cain’s technique and wrestling was just too much for Kongo. Cain was very impressive and definitely proved he could take a punch. The only question, as Rogan put it, is if Cain has the power to finish some of the Top Heavyweights in the UFC.

Winner: Cain Velasquez by Decision (Unanimous)

Main Event Catchweight Fight (195lbs)- Rich Franklin (26-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)

This is a huge fight for both of these guys as they are coming off losses and adjusting to new weight classes. Franklin lost his last fight to Dan Henderson in a close decision loss and Silva lost his last fight by Knockout to Rampage Jackson. The winner of this fight could be within a fight or two of a title shot. I could realistically see the UFC giving Franklin a shot at Lyoto Machida (if he beats Shogun before he faces the winner of Rampage) and I could see Wanderlei get a shot at Anderson (because of the feud they built up on the Countdown show and Dana is looking for guys that will stand toe to toe with Anderson). Rogan points out that this is the first time that Wanderlei is cutting weight and Rogan says the rumor is that Wanderlei had to cut 12 pounds yesterday to make the 195 lb weight limit. Franklin has a 2” height and reach advantage.

R1- Wanderlei got a take down with two minutes left in the round after some fairly even stand-up. Franklin gets back to his feet with a minute left in the round and gets on top of Wanderlei and is landing some good Ground and Pound. Wanderlei back to his feet but he took some shots and looks like he has a cut. Franklin hit a couple of shots to end the round and he took this one 10-9 on my score card.

R2- Both guys are throwing some haymakers but nobody has hit anything substantial so far. Franklin caught Silva and his momentum took him to the mat but Franklin did not follow him to the ground. Franklin hit a good combo. Franklin got hit with a good left hand in an exchange and his knees briefly buckled. Wanderlei landed another good right hand and had Franklin reeling back into the cage. Franklin hit a high kick that was partially blocked but it seemed to hurt Wanderlei. This was a really hard round to judge. It seemed like Wanderlei hurt Franklin a couple times during the round so I’ve got to give the round to Wanderlei and that makes hit 19-19.

R3- Wanderlei landed a good knee after both guys threw a lot of punches. Wanderlei is the aggressor this round with Franklin choosing to stick and move. Wanderlei and Franklin are up against the cage and both guys were throwing bombs but not landing. Franklin got a take down and then they stood up with Wanderlei landed elbows and Franklin landing punches. Great finish to the fight as the crowd was on it’s feet cheering at the end. This third and final round was pretty much even. I think Wanderlei took this round which means he won the fight on my score card 29-28. Very close fight and this over took Velasquez/Kongo as FOTN.

Judges score the fight: all 3 judges score the fight for Rich Franklin.

Winner: Rich Franklin by Decision (Unanimous)

Post-Fight Franklin makes one of his corner guys do push-ups.

This was a solid show with the two closing fights really delivering. Mike Swick really looked good again and I’m interested to see how Dan Hardy continues to progress in his weight class.

Retro Re-Cap: UFC Fight Night 7 12/06/06

UFC Fight Night 7 12/06/06

Welterweight Fight- Shonie Carter (81-16-8) vs. Marcus Davis (14-4)

R1- Davis got a take down and mounted early. Shonie gave up his back and Marcus went for a Rear Naked Choke but Shonie rolled through it and got in some brief offense at the end of the round. Round One to Davis 10-9.

R2- Shonie got stunned by a right hand early in the round and went down. Davis is landing jabs just really outclassing Shonie in this round. Davis is up 20-18 at this point.

R3- This was a fairly even round. Fight goes to Davis as he outclassed Shonie in the first 2 rounds of the fight.

Judges score cards say: Davis 30-26, Davis 29-28 and Davis 30-27.

Winner: Marcus Davis by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (23-4) vs. Drew Fickett (30-4)

R1- Karo got a push take down about a minute into the fight and got in a shot or two but couldn’t keep Fickett down. Karo hit a good Superman punch about half way through the round. Karo looked good in the first round and is up 10-9.

R2- Karo catches a Fickett leg right at the beginning of the round and gets in some punches and lands a take down. Karo has him in the corner and both guys get cut. Karo has a bad cut under his eye. Fickett got a double leg take down with about one minute left in the round and lands some elbows. Karo controlled this round for 4 of the 5 minutes and takes a 20-18 lead into the final round.

R3- Karo is hitting jabs early in the round. Fickett tries to go for a leg lock but Karo ends up on top but let’s Fickett up. Karo is getting the better of this round as he’s hitting strikes and also threw Fickett to the ground at one point. Karo is going to take this fight 30-27.

Judges score cards say: 30-27 on all 3 score cards.

Winner: Karo Parisyan by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Josh Koscheck (9-1) vs. Jeff Joslin (5-2)

R1- Koscheck shot in and got a double leg take down after about a minute and a half. They stood up but Koscheck got another take down. Koscheck controls the round but didn’t look like he did a lot of damage. Koscheck up 10-9 after one round.

R2- Koscheck stuck with a take down and got one about half way through the round. The ref stands them up and Koscheck immediately gets another take down. Koscheck is up 20-18 as he’s just out wrestling Joslin in this fight.

R3- Koscheck continues to dominate by out wrestling Joslin in this round and gets a guillotine. It looked like Joslin was thinking about tapping but slipped out of the move. Koscheck is going to take this fight 30-27. Not an exciting fight but an effective one for Koscheck.

Judges score the fight: 30-27 on all 3 score cards

Winner: Josh Koscheck by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (18-0) vs. Joe Riggs (28-8)

Sanchez has a 3.5” reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Diego sticks Riggs with a left hand that floors him at the one and a half minute mark and then Diego jumps on top and hits a knee as he comes in and this fight is over.

“He believes Diego’s stand-up is about 3 years behind his”- Goldberg quoting Riggs who was talking about Sanchez.

Winner: Diego Sanchez by KO (Knee) R1 1:45

UFC 93 "Franklin vs Henderson" 1/17/09 Re-Cap

UFC 93: "Franklin vs Henderson"

Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (20-5) vs. Chris Lytle (36-16-4)

Looks like we are starting out with the fight on paper that should be FOTN. Davis beat Paul Kelly by submission in his last fight in October at UFC 89 and at the same show Chris Lytle scored a unanimous decision over Paul Taylor. Both guys have professional boxing experience. Lytle is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Marcus Davis comes out the House of Pain's "Jump Around." Both guys have won the majority of their fights by submission. Davis has a 2" reach advantage. Davis is the overwhelming fan favorite in this fight since he is the "Irish Hand Grenade."

"Ole" chant goes out from the crowd as the fight starts.

R1- Lytle attacks early and briefly knocks Davis back against the cage. Lytle is the aggressor but Davis is hitting some counter punches. Davis caught a kick with two minutes left in the fight and threw Lytle to the ground but didn't follow him down. Lytle went down again, on a possible slip or push, and Davis went down and tried some Ground and Pound but Lytle got back up and then ate a knee. Davis has a cut under his left eye. Good first round and really close to score. Lytle was the aggressor but got knocked off his feet twice. Very close fight so far.

R2- Lytle backed Davis up against the cage and threw bombs to open up the fight but Davis survived. Davis caught him with a body shot that knocked Lytle down. Davis hits a body kick and then some knees. This was a close round. Davis seemed like he hit more shots, Lytle seemed like he hit heavy shots. I think we've got a 19-19 fight here but I could honestly see it legitimately being scored 20-18 right now in favor of either fighter. It's a really close fight so far. Davis has a couple of minor cuts.

R3- Lytle throwing and missing with some wild shots this round. He's still pushing forward but looks like he's slowing. With about a minute and a half left they both throw punches against the cage. Lytle got knocked to his knees at the end of the round. Really good fight. I've got Davis 29-28 but I would be surprised if this wasn't a split decision.

The judges score the fight: Davis 29-28, Lytle 29-28 and Davis 29-28

Winner: Marcus Davis by Decision (Split)

Middleweight Fight- Alan Belcher (12-4) vs. Denis Kang (31-10-1)

This is Kang's UFC debut. Belcher is coming off of a questionable split decision victory over Ed Herman in September and has won 3 of his last 4 fights. The last time I saw Denis Kang he was getting submitted by Gegard Mousasi in the first round of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix tournament. Kang is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Belcher is a Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt.

R1- Kang got an early take down and controlled the action early. Kang got his second take down of the round with two minutes left. Knag went for a kimura but couldn't get it locked in. Really strong round for Kang as he dominated but didn't inflict too much damage on Belcher. 10-9 Kang after one round.

R2- Kang got a take down one and a half minutes into the round. Belcher pulled guard near the end of the round and caught Kang in a guillotine and tapped him. It looked like Kang had run out of gas prior to getting caught. Kang was controlling this fight but not dominating. Very disappointing debut by Kang but I think you could see it coming after he got subbed by Mousasi in very short order last April.

Winner: Alan Belcher by Submission (Guillotine) R2 4:36

Post-fight interview Belcher says he thinks he needs one or two more fights before calling out Anderson Silva. No shit sherlock.

Michael Bisping is shown in the crowd and they hype up the fact that he will be one of the coaches on the next installment of TUF.

Middleweight Fight- Jeremy Horn (88-18-5) vs. Rousimar Palhares (17-2)

Palhares is coming off of a decision loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 88 in a close fight that I scored in favor of Henderson 29-28. Palhares is an aggressive submission fighter and a jiu jitsu black belt. Horn has a 3" reach and 6" height advantage. Horn has over 50 submissions in his MMA career and has fought in over 100 career MMA fights.

R1- Horn pulled guard early but Palhares quickly took his back but Horn survived and was able to roll over. Palhares missed with a leg lock and Horn missed with a triangle. Palhares really controlled and almost dominating first round. This was a borderline 10-8 round in favor of Palhares.

R2- Palhares got a big slam and take down about 15 seconds into round two. Palhares has been warned a couple of times about grabbing onto the cage. Horn survived and got a single leg and then mounted Palhares and got him in an arm triangle but couldn't clamp it in right. Horn hit some stand up but then Palhaes got a take down. Very close first round with Palhares controlling the beginning and end and Horn controlling the middle. I've got Palhares 20-17 so far but I could see it as close as 19-19 depending on what the judges favor when they score.

R3- Huge suplex by Palhares to start off the round. Palhares just controls this round as Palhares was winded but Horn couldn't do anything. Palhares is going to take this by unanimous decision.

Judges say: 30-27 for all three judges.

Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway

This is a pre-show fight. Egan got a huge response from the crowd. This is the UFC debut of both guys. Hathaway has more experience.

R1- Hathaway dominated on the ground early. The crowd was really behind Egan. Hathaway finished Egan in the final minute of the round due to ref stoppage. Hathaway looked really good. Egan got in virtually no offense.

Winner: John Hathaway by TKO (strikes) R1 4:36

Light Heavyweight Fight- Mark Coleman (15-8) vs. Shogun Rua (16-3)

This is a re-match from their much talked about Pride fight where Rua broke his arm and then their was a post-fight melee in the ring. Coleman comes out to AC/DCs "Back in Black." This is the "Co-Main Event."

R1- Coleman rushes in early and eats a Shogun knee but got the take down. Rua going for a knee bar but Coleman escaped. Rua with a knee but Coleman took him down. Basically this fight is Coleman trying to Ground and Pound and Shogun trying to go for subs. Shogun is starting to come on at the end of the round with some good leg kicks. Coleman looking tired towards the end of the round. Shogun hit a good knee and Coleman dove at his leg. Big left hand from Rua and Coleman crumbles to the floor but grabs onto Rua's leg. Rua 10-9 in this round as Coleman just ran out of gas.

Phil Baroni is in Coleman's corner and telling Coleman that he's hurt Rua badly and that Rua is looking for a way out as Coleman has trouble finding his corner.

R2- Coleman got a take down after he ate a couple of strikes. Rua hitting more strikes and Coleman is having a difficult time keeping his hands up. Coleman got a take down with about 2 minutes left but couldn't hold him down. Rua peppered Coleman with some shots and Coleman got another take down. Rua got a shoulder lock. Both guys look tired. Coleman survives to fight another round if he can make it back to his corner. Rua is up 20-18 but not looking particularly good so far.

R3- Coleman got a take down and is laying on top of Rua. Rua is going after Coleman's leg and Coleman is continually grabbing the cage to help against the move. Coleman back on top and is on Rua's back and is taking some shots. Rua escaped and hit a knee to Coleman where Coleman's knees were on the ground. The ref separated them but on replay it was to the body which was a legal shot. Both guys are just gassed. Rua hitting Coleman with some shots and knocks him down and the ref stops the fight.

That was hard to watch. Both guys clearly didn't have the stamina needed to be ready for this fight. After Rua's interview with Rogan, Rua and Coleman shake hands and embrace a couple of times to squash their feud.

Winner: Shogun Rua by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:36

Light Heavyweight Fight- Rich Franklin (26-3-1) vs. Dan Henderson (23-7)

Henderson defeated Rousimar Palhares by decision at UFC 88 and Franklin's last fight was a win at the same show when he finished Matt Hamill. Henderson is a two-time Olympic wrestler and the only fighter to hold two belts at the same time in Pride. Both of these guys have recent losses to Anderson Silva so they are basically the #2 and #3 fighters in the Middleweight Division but are fighting at Light Heavyweight as Silva has basically forced them to move up. The winner is going to coach opposite of Michael Bisping in the next TUF installment.

R1- Henderson got a couple of good strikes in early, slipped but then got on top of Franklin. Franklin took some punishment but made it back to his feet about half way through the round. They exchanged on their feet as both guys got in shots. Henderson hit Franklin with an accidental headbutt that opened up a cut on his forehead. Henderson up 10-9 after Round One.

R2- Pretty even round but Henderson got a take down at the two minute mark and controlled for the rest of the fight. Henderson is up 20-18 so far so Franklin needs to finish if he wants to get a win.

R3- They mix it up at the beginning of the round with Franklin avoiding a take down but he couldn't avoid a second. Franklin started to land some good shots toward the end of the fight but then Henderson hit him with an eye poke and they had to take a break in the action. Not much action after the eye poke. Henderson takes this 29-28 in a rather boring fight for a Main Event.

Judges scores are: 29-28 Henderson, 30-27 Franklin and 29-28 Henderson. What's up with the 30-27 Franklin? Not a dominant win for Henderson but based on MMA scoring criteria he won the fight.

Winner: Dan Henderson by Decision (Split)

Not a great show from UFC but about what I was expecting. Davis/Lytle was Fight of the Night. BJ Penn vs Georges St Pierre is just two weeks away!

Retro Re-Cap: The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale 11/5/05

UFC: Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale 11/5/05

Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine vs. Kerry Schall

R1- Jardine just kind of picks his spots early and lands some good shots. Schall looks to be heavy. This is jus pretty much a straight stand up fight. Jardine wins the round and bloodies Schall’s nose.

R2- Not a very exciting fight so far through a round and a half. Jardine just picked apart Schall with leg kicks until he finally chopped him down like a tree and fight was ended.

Winner: Keith Jardine by TKO (leg kicks) R2 3:28

Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis vs. Melvin Guillard

This should be a fun fight.

R1- Guillard charges about a minute in and hits several good punches and then takes Davis down. Melvin got in a couple of good shots and then grabbed a guillotine on Marcus. Davis pops his head out after about a minute and is now in Davis’s guard. Melvin gets another take down with about 30 seconds left in the round and gets side control. Melvin takes round one 10 to 9.

R2- Melvin got another take down (that’s three so far) about one minute into the round. Melvin opened up a big cut on Marcus and the ref stops the ref to check the cut. Melvin caught him with an elbow above the eye and the doctor stops the fight.

Winner: Melvin Guillard by Ref Stoppage (Cut) R2 2:55

Welterweight Fight- Josh Burkman vs. Sam Morgan

R1- Burkman gets a quick take down and immediately beats Morgan. Wow. Burkman took him down and then just nailed him with a couple of shots that knocked Morgan out. It looked like when Burkman drove him into the mat the impact might have knocked Morgan out.

Winner: Josh Burkman by TKO (strikes) R1 0:21

Welterweight Fight- Kenny Florian vs. Kit Cope

Kit Cope is a Muy Thai fighter.

R1- Florian immediately clinches with him. Good action early as they clinch and battle. Florian caught a right hand going in for a take down but managed to clinch with Cope. Florian struggled but finally got a take down. Florian mounted but was quickly moved by Cope to full guard. Cope got to his feet but got taken down again. Florian took a mount and got lots of punches in. Florian then grabbed an arm bar but the bell rang before Cope would give up. Cope tapped but it was after the bell.

R2- Florian gets a quick take down and takes Cope’s back and quickly put on Rear Naked Choke and Cope tapped out again. Florian looked great in this fight.

Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 0:37

TUF Welterweight Finals Fight- Joe Stevenson vs. Luke Cuomo

Cuomo has a 5 inch height advantage and 4 inch reach advantage. When asked if the fighters have any questions Stevenson says “Luke I am your father.”

R1- Stevenson gets this fight to the ground within the first 30 seconds. Stevenson grabs an arm triangle but Luke gets out of it and moves Joe to full guard and then escaped back to his feet. Joe gets another take down half way through the round. Joe takes side control and lands some good elbows. Joe gets a bunch of elbows in on Luke and the fight was in danger of being stopped but Luke lasted until the bell range. Stevenson easily took round one.

R2- Luke hit a good clean right hand to start the round but Stevenson quickly recovered and good the take down. Stevenson went for an arm bar but Luke escaped. The exchanged some shots standing and then Luke got a take down but Joe grabbed Luke’s leg and moved to the top position. Joe hits some good elbows from the top. This was a close round and goes to Stevenson so he’s up 20-18. Good fight so far.

R3- Luke got in a punch to start the round and then Joe went for a take down but Luke reversed it on him. Luke’s conditioning is helping him out in this part of the fight. Luke got some shots in on Stevenson. Stevenson got up and quickly took down Luke. Luke went for a triangle but couldn’t get it. Joe went for a leg lock but abandoned it. They briefly got separated and Joe got in a slam to take Luke back down. This was a real good fight. I think Luke took round 3 but I’ve got Joe 29-28 for the fight.

Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Stevenson

TUF 2 Welterweight Winner: Joe Stevenson by Decision (Unanimous)

TUF Heavyweight Finals Fight- Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes

Imes has a huge 8 inch height advantage and a huge 6 inch reach advantage. Look for Rashad to take him to the mat quickly.

R1- Brad hit a couple of jabs early and then grabbed a Muy Thai clinch and tried some knees. Rashad answered with a good right and Imes again grabbed a clinch. Brad got a take down a little over a minute into the fight but couldn’t do anything with it. Brad hit a good elbow and then a left hand. Rashad came back with 3 punches but Brad keeps coming at Rashad. Rashad hit two big right hands and Brad tried to clinch but Rashad kept firing and knocked Brad down. Rashad jumped on top to try and finish but Brad hung in there. Rashad passed the guard but Brad rolled over to his knees and got to his feet. Brad is cut from those punches. This was a good first round. Brad was winning until Rashad hit that series of punches that knocked Brad down and almost finished him. Rashad 10-9 after one round.

R2- Even start to the round. Rashad starts to get the distance on his jab. Brad comes up with some good shots and tied to finish Rashad but Rashad weathered the storm and never left his feet. Brad got Rashad up against the fence and swung at him a bunch of times but Rashad showed good head movement and ducked the onslaught. Rashad got off the fence and hit some jabs. Both guys are really winded with about a minute and a half to go in the round. Rashad stuck Brad with two right hands. Rashad hit another right but Brad came back at the end of the round with some shots. Really good round. I think Brad took this round but it was close. I’ve got 19-19 after two rounds. Good fight so far.

R3- Rashad connects with some shots early in the round. Rashad caught Brad leaning in and nailed him with a left hand that staggered and then dropped Brad. Rashad jumps on top for the finish but Brad tries to wrap him up. Brad gets to his feet and tries to get some shots in on Rashad. Brad clinches and then gets a take down and gets half guard. Rashad got back to his feet after some elbows. 90 seconds left in the round. Both guys are really tired. They swing at the end but both guys are too tired to do any damage. Really close round and really close fight. I’ve got Rashad with a close victory 29-28. Good fight.

Judges score the fight- 29-28 Rashad, 29-28 Imes and 29-28 Rashad.

TUF 2 Heavyweight Winner: Rashad Evans by Decision (Split)

Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez vs. Nick Diaz

They meet heads during the meeting at the beginning of the fight and John McCarthy pushes Diaz back to his corner. Looks like a lot of bad blood is brewing between these two guys.

R1- Diego quickly takes Nick’s back. Diaz spins around and Diego is in his guard but Diaz is very active. Diego lands some pretty decent shots but Diaz remains pretty active which is making him hard to hit. Nick reverses and gets Diego in side control but Diego quickly reverses back. Diego is surprisingly controlling Diaz on the ground. Diego looked really good in this round. Sanchez 10-9 in the first round.

R2- Diaz slips really early but luckily it doesn’t hurt him. Diego gets a quick take down within the first 30 seconds of the round. Diego picks Nick up and slams him down and then gets some shots in on Nick. Diego moved Nick up against the cage and got some good Ground and Pound in on him. Diaz reversed a mount and got in Diego’s guard but Diego got out of it before the end of the round. Diaz has a cut near his eye. Diego got another take down at the end of the round. Sanchez is up 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Diaz starts out the round with a left hand and a jab. Nick is doing a good job at the start of the round avoiding take downs and hitting jabs but Diego gets a take down within the first minute of the round. Diego is bleeding and it’s dripping onto Diaz as Diego is in his guard. They got back to their feet but Diego quickly took Nick’s back. Diaz looks like he’s bleeding now. There is a good amount of blood flowing and it’s tough to see exactly who it is coming from. Diaz gets a take down with about two and a half minutes left. Both guys look to be cut badly. Diaz is on top but Diego grabs an arm bar. Diaz frees himself from the move. Diego slips out and they roll around a little bit and Diego ends up in Nick’s guard. This was a close round, probably went to Diaz. I’ve got Sanchez winning 29-28. Really good fight.

Judges score the fight 30-27 in favor of Sanchez.

Winner: Diego Sanchez by Decision (Unanimous)

This was a very enjoyable show with some good fights- Sanchez/Diaz, Imes/Evans, Stevenson/Cuomo and it also had some good performances from Florian, Jardine and Guillard.

UFC 89 "Bisping vs Leben" Re-Cap

UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben

Live from the UK on Spike TV! Brandon Vera takes on Keith Jardine in a Light Heavyweight Fight. Michael Bisping accepts his biggest challenge since stepping down in weight to Middleweight as he fights Chris Leben. Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly, Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Luiz Cane and Sokoudjou will also be fighting tonight. We should see some pretty exciting fights based on the line-up.

Welterweight Fight- Paul Kelly (8-0) vs. Marcus Davis (19-5)

R1- Davis lays in wait early and snaps off some jabs when Kelly comes in to strike. Davis hit a good body kick and then another after a couple of low kicks. Davis sweeps in and gets a take down with one and a half minutes. Davis is in half guard and hits a couple of elbows and then passes guard to take side control but Kelly spins out. Kelly has a cut near his right ear. Davis takes round one by a score of 10-9. Not a dominant round but Davis got in more strikes and got a take down.

R2- Kelly is throwing a lot of punches in this round but Davis is avoiding them. Goldberg and Rogan have a real interesting conversation about how Davis avoids the punches but does so in a way that he barely avoids them so he can stay in position to throw a counter punch and he doesn’t lose position so that he will have to work back to get that position again. Kelly gets a take down two minutes into the round. Marcus Davis grabs a guillotine and finishes Paul Kelly. Great finish by Davis as Davis looked really good in this fight after a poor showing last time out against Mike Swick.

Winner: Marcus Davis by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 2:16

Welterweight Fight- Paul Taylor (9-3-1) vs. Chris Lytle (35-16-4)

This one should be a slugfest. Lytle was last seen bleeding all over the Octagon in a loss to Josh Koscheck. Taylor has lost to both of the fighters in the previous fight (Kelly and Davis).

R1- They mix it up immediately. Both guys just nailing each other with Lytle landing some nice shots. Lytle hit a judo throw but Taylor got up immediately. Lots of clinching towards the middle and end of the round. First round went to Lytle as he got in more offense and dictated where the fight went. Lytle is up 10-9 after one round.

R2- They start this round just like they did the last one as both guys are just swinging for the fences. Lytle backs him up against the cage and then takes him down one minute into the round but Taylor sprawls out. Lytle stays with it and gets back to an advantage. Lytle goes for a guillotine but can’t clamp it in and Taylor gets back to his feet. Taylor gets a brief take down but Lytle gets right back to his feet. Lytle seems to be tiring out and Taylor nips him with a low blow. Another close round but Lytle again controlled the fight and landed better shots. Lytle is up 20-18 on my score card.

R3- They stand up at the beginning of the round and Lytle begins to pick Taylor apart with shots and pushes him against the cage. Taylor trying to swing back and they clinch. Lytle is starting to tire and Taylor is making Lytle chase him and then hurting him with leg kicks. Lytle clinches him against the cage. Lytle landed some good shots and then slipped but got another clinch and then took Taylor down. Taylor gets back to his feet with less than a minute left. Taylor is hitting some good shots here to finish the round but Lytle holds on. Good fight. Taylor takes this round but Lytle takes the fight 29-28.

Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Chris Lytle.

Winner: Chris Lytle by Decision (Unanimous)

Post-fight Chris Lytle says that he would like to fight Marcus Davis.

Next up, Joe Rogan interviews Anderson Silva about his Middleweight Title fight against Patrick Cote. The fight is next week on October 25th.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Sokoudjou (5-2) vs. Luiz Cane (9-1)

R1- Soko hits some strikes early. Soko continues to control the fight early with kicks and punches. Cane blocking well but he’s definitely being hit with some damage. Soko is doing a good job mixing up his strikes and going low, middle and high. Soko slows down towards the end of the round and Cane starts to get in some offense. First round goes to Sokoudjou but he has to be concerned as he seemed to tire towards the end of the round. Soko up 10-9 after the first round.

R2- Cane hits a low blow to start off the round. Not a lot of action in this round as Cane jabs at Soko. Soko throws some body kicks but they don’t back Cane off. Cane gets some shots in against the cage. Soko looks really tired and Cane hits a nice knee. Cane hits another knee and then pounds Soko on the ground with a bunch of strikes until the ref steps in to stop the fight. Good showing by Cane as he just outlasted Sokoudjou. Soko looked great for about two minutes but came in without the conditioning needed to win a MMA fight.

Winner: Luiz Cane by TKO (strikes) R2 4:15

Post-match Joe Rogan interviews Middleweight Contender Patrick Cote.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (13-5-1) vs. Brandon Vera (9-2)

This is an interesting fight as both guys are coming off of disappointing fights. Jardine got destroyed by Wanderlei Silva and Vera had a lackluster win against Reece Andy. This is the first fight that they show the ring entrances for. Brandon Vera comes out to The Blackeyed Peas. This should be a pretty good fight.

R1- Jardine comes in quick and gets a strike and then a take down. Vera hits some elbows in the area of the back of the head and Jardine is cut. Vera is going for Jardine’s arm as Jardine is bleeding all over Vera. Vera hit another big elbow onto the top of Jardine’s head. Jardine posture’s up and lands some good, strong elbows to Vera. The ref stand the fight up with two minutes remaining in the first round. Vera hits a body kick. Vera catches Jardine with a punch as he came in and he looked wobbled but then Jardine caught Vera. Both guys back to their feet and Jardine went for a take down and landed some strikes against the cage and Vera looked to be in a bit of trouble but got back to his feet and then the bell rang. Round One goes to Jardine as he got the take down and delivered some good elbows and finished strong. Jardine 10-9 but anybody’s fight going into round two.

R2- Jardine went for a take down but was denied by Vera. Vera went for a kick and Vera caught it and dumped Jardine and jumped on top of him but Jardine but he got up pretty quickly. Vera connected with a couple of body kicks. Jardine charged in towards the end of the round twice but didn’t really hit anything of notice. Not a lot of action in this round. I’ll give it to Vera but not a convincing round. 19-19 after two rounds. Joe and Mike speculated on Jardine sustaining a possible injury early in round two but weren’t definitive about it.

R3- Vera hits a kick and punch early in the round. They are trading some light strikes throughout the early part of the round. Vera hit a good straight left hand. Jardine went for a take down but Vera stopped it and they clinched against the cage. Jardine with some dirty boxing but then they separate. One and a half minutes remain. Jardine came out and closed strong. Really close fight. Nobody really won this fight. I’ve got to go with Jardine, just barely over Vera but like I said earlier I don’t think anybody clearly won this fight.

Scorecards: 29-28 Vera, 29-28 Jardine and 29-28 Jardine.

Winner: Keith Jardine by Decision (Split)

Middleweight Fight- Michael Bisping (17-1) vs. Chris Leben (18-4)

Chris Leben comes out to a song that sounds like it’s from The Sex Pistols. Bisping comes out to a Sports Jock “Woo Hoo” anthem song, can’t remember who sings it but it’s one of those songs that on all the “Jock Rock” CDs. The hometown guy, Bisping, gets a strong reaction from the crowd. Bisping has a 3” height advantage and a 5” reach advantage. Bisping was voted the 12th most popular sports figure in the UK by BBC.

R1- Leben hitting some leg kicks early and is controlling where the fight goes. Leben catches a Bisping kick and gets some shots in on him. Bisping caught a Leben kick and delivered a nice high kick. Bisping is starting to land some shots. Bisping lands some more shots and then Leben clinches him and then they release. Leben is bleeding from the nose but he continues to push forward. Bisping hit a good right hand. Leben is starting to swing for the fences. Leben went for a swing and Bisping ducked and as the bell rang he was in the midst of a take down. Leben controlled this round early and Bisping took it late. I’ve got Bisping taking round one 10-9. Good opening round.

R2- Leben slipped early in the round and then hit Bisping with a left hook. Bisping is doing a good job in this round of avoiding Leben’s strikes and counter punching. Leben starts pushing forward towards the end of the round and Bisping is backing away from him. Leben hit a big left toward the end of the round. This was a close round. I think Bisping lost some points in the round towards then end by somewhat running away from Leben. This was close, I’ll give it to Bisping. 20-18 after two rounds.

R3- Leben hits a left body kick and then a left hand to start the round. Bisping went for a kick and it was stopped but Leben could not score any damage. Leben hits a combo that sends Bisping back into the fence but can’t follow up. Leben got a take down with one minute and 45 seconds left in the round. Leben is busted open. Bisping gets back to his feet. Bisping runs away from Leben for the last 20 seconds of the fight and Leben mocks him. Leben definitely took this round. This was much like the Jardine/Vera fight in that I don’t think anybody really “won” the fight. Leben had a lot more damage on his face. Bisping clearly took round one, Leben clearly took round three. I think Bisping barely took round 2. So I’ve got Bisping winning a close decision 29-28.

Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 Bisping. Wow, I’m not sure how Bisping won that last round on these score cards.

Winner: Michael Bisping by Decision (Unanimous)

Decent show with the under card out shining the co-Main Events. Both Bisping/Leben and Jardine/Vera were decent fights but a little underwhelming as both ended in decisions without someone really coming out of the fight as a clear winner.

UFC Wired 6/21 Re-Cap

UFC Wired 6/21 Re-Cap

Middleweight Fight- Scott Smith (11-2) vs. Pete Sell (7-2) Ultimate Fighter Finale 4- 11/11/06

R1- About a minute in they start landing some nice shots on one another. Smith hit a couple of shots that looked to rock Sell but Sell clinch to avoid any more damage. This round is all stand up with both guys swinging for the fences. Sell has a cut under one of his eyes and Smith is doing some damage to his face. Smith knocks him down with about a minute left in the round. Really good opening round with both guys swinging for the fences and having some fun.

R2- Sell starts to come back in Round 2 as he is getting in some good shots but then gets caught with a nice punch. Sell catches Smith with a punch to the side and then goes in and gets knocked out by Scott Smith. Tremendous finish and knock out punch by Smith.

Winner: Scott Smith by KO R2

Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (17-4) vs. Paul Taylor (8-1)- UFC 75- 9/8/07

R1- This is a good back and forth fight and Taylor nails Davis with a kick and jumps on him and starts to nail him with Ground and Pound and was almost finished but somehow survived. Taylor hits some more big right hands up against the cage. Davis somehow comes back and with about a minute left in the round gets side control and then gets full mount and is nailing Taylor with Ground and Pound of his own. Taylor flips him over but gets caught in an arm bar and taps out. Good fight.

Winner: Marcus Davis by Submission (Arm Bar) R1

Middleweight Fight- Kendall Grove (8-3) vs. Chris Price (8-0)- UFC The Final Chapter- 10/10/06

R1- Kendall mounts up Price up against the cage with about a minute and a half left and gets some really good shots in on him. Kendall with lots of elbows and the ref stops the fight. Price had some nasty cuts on his eyebrows. The announcement is that the win was by tap out.

Winner: Kendall Grove by Submission (strikes) R1

Light Heavyweight Fight- Jason Lambert (22-6) vs. Renato Sobral (27-6)- UFC 68- 3/3/07

R1- Sobral opens up with some early strikes and takes Lambert down quickly. Sobral controls the fight on the ground. Sobral briefly had a Rear Naked Choke but Lambert got out of it. Lambert got back to his feet and got in some nice shots and took Sobral down and did some Ground and Pound to end the round.

R2- Sobral hits some early knees but Lambert gets a take down. Sobral gets back to his feet but gets take down again. The ref stands them up and almost immediately Lambert nails Sobral and just floors him and ends the fight.

Winner: Jason Lambert by KO R2

UFC 85 "Bedlam" Re-Cap/Thoughts

UFC 85: "Bedlam"
O2 Arena, London, England

Heavyweight Fight- Fabrico Werdum (10-3-1) vs. Brandon Vera (8-1)

The Heavyweight division is far and away UFC's weakest division right now so the winner of this match is gonna rise to right near the top of the division. This looks like it has the potential to be a good fight.

R1- A lot of clinching early. Werdum gets in a shot or two. Werdum again comes at Vera and hits a couple of shots and then they clinch. Vera hits a knee or two. Werdum takes him down. Werdum getting in some offense in Vera's guard. Vera kicks him off and then fights off another take down. Vera caught Werdum with a left hook but Werdum avoided further damage and they clinch against the cage. Werdum gets another take down. Werdum gets in the mount position and Vera is just covering up and the ref stops it. Brandon Vera disputes the stoppage as he was taking some shots but he popped right back up after the finish. Joe Rogan says the finish was pre-mature. I have to agree that this was a bad stoppage. Werdum may have gone on and won in about 15 or 20 seconds but the stoppage looked pre-mature as Vera just popped right back up at the finish.

Winner: Fabrico Werdum by TKO R1 4:40

Post-Match Vera basically says "there was only 15 seconds left in the round. Let me take my ass whipping and let's go to Round 2".

Just a quick note that the ref here, Dan Miragliotta, is also the guy who didn't stop the Kimbo fight when James Thompson had Kimbo and was just destroying him up against the cage and then on the other end stopped the Thompson/Kimbo fight when Thompson was ahead on the card but took a couple of shots and had his ear busted open. Stopping a fight is a tough call but it's odd that the same game had had two controversial stoppages within what I think is 8 days.

Guy Ritchie is in the house.

Middleweight Fight- Nate Marquardt (29-7-2) vs. Thales Leites (12-1)

I've never seen Leites fight before. Marquardt has only one loss in the UFC and it was to Anderson Silva. Leites has a 4" reach advantage.

R1- Leites gets a couple of shots in near the cage about a minute in. Leites gets in a shot on the cage and then Nate comes after him and Leites just sticks Nate with a shot and he slumps to the mat. Leites all over Nate trying to finish him. Leites has a mount on Nate but Nate works him back to half guard. Nate gets up and looks to be recovered. Leites hits him with a jab. Nate hits a shot and then they clinch against the cage. Nate with a combo on Leites and Leites looks like he's hurt but he survives. Pretty even round with Nate finishing strong but Leites got the big shot and take down and he wins the round 10-9. Still anybody's fight.

R2- Nate comes out almost immediately with a right hand but then has to retreat quickly as Leites comes after him. Nate hits a nice combo and then rushes Leites and takes him down and nails him with an ILLEGAL knee to the face when Leites was down. Herb Dean calls for the doctor. Doctor says he's okay and Dean is going to give the fighter time to recover. Herb Dean takes a point away from Nate and they restart. Nate takes Leites down and Dean warns him about shots to the back of the head. Nate is trying to make up that point. Leites is busted open. Nate hitting some elbows. Nate dominating at this point. Joe Rogan says he thinks Leites nose is broken. Nate slips and gets mounted late in the round and the bell rings with Leites on top. Nate dominated this round but also lost a point due to the illegal knee. I've got the fight Leites 19 Nate 18 so far.

R3- They exchange so decent shots early in the round and Nate takes Leites down. Leites gets a submission attempt and Nate slips out. Ref stops the fight again and takes another point away from Nate, this time for a shot to the back of the head. With two points being taken away Nate has to finish in this fight or he will lose. Rogan says he thinks the shot was to the side of the head and it was a mistake. They re-start and Nate hits a knee. Both guys are really tired with about 30 seconds left. Nate has dominated this fight since the illegal knee. Nate picks up Leites and basically pile drives him right near the end of the fight. Nate wins the final two rounds but since he lost a point in both of them then they are scored 9-9.

I've got this one Leites 28 Nate 27 with the 2 points deducted from Nate. Judges score the fight 28-27 Leites, 28-27 Nate, and 28-27 Leites.

Winner: Thales Leites by Decision (Split)

Interesting how both of the first fights have been controversial due to referee decisions.

Chuck Liddell is at the show.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Jason Lambert (23-7) vs. Luiz Cane (8-1-1)

This is from the pre-show.

R1- Cane landed some shots when they clinched and then when Lambert was coming at him Cane nailed him. Lambert slumped down when Cane caught him again. Lambert trying to stay in this fight but seems to be getting overwhelmed and he gets caught again and it's called. Lambert just left himself open too much when he was going for strikes and paid the price.

Winner: Luiz Cane by TKO (Strikes) R1

Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (19-4) vs. Mike Swick (11-2)

I've been really impressed with what I've seen from Marcus Davis. Davis is on an 11 fight win streak. Swick has a large 7" reach advantage. Davis is former pro boxer turned MMA fighter. Fans are solidly behind Davis in this fight.

R1- Swick trying some kicks early and misses a knee. Davis connecting on more stuff early but nothing really damaging. They tie up and Davis gets a take down but can't control it and then Swick takes Davis down. Swick is getting in some good shots and has Davis pinned against the cage. Swick with some elbows. Davis is busted open, announcers think it's mostly old scar tissue. Swick wins this round as he took Davis down and Davis could not get back to his feet. Swick 10 Davis 9.

R2- Swick went for a kick and got popped with a right hand. Swick retaliates with akick and then hits a knee and floors Davis and is now down on top fo Davis in his guard. Swick looks surprisingly good tonight. They get back to their feet. Davis hits some combos up against the cage. Davis hitting some uppercuts and shots while they clinch and they are exchanging knees. Davis takes Swick down. Davis gets up but Swick takes him right down and has side control but not enough time to do anything with it. Swick control the beginning of this round, Davis the middle and Swick the end. Davis showed some life this round but I think Swick took this round although Davis may have done more damage so he could have gotten the nod in this round.

R3- They are exchanging shots throughout the first minute. Yamasaki deducts a point from Mike Swick for holding the fence- he had previously been warned. This could be huge if Davis were to win this round. Swick sees this and gets real aggressive and takes Davis down and is hitting him with shots. Davis is busted open. I think Swick takes this round as well. After the point deducted I've got Swick 29-27. Swick was really impressive here and Davis just never got going. Judges score the contest 29-27.

Winner: Mike Swick by Decision (Unanimous)

Middleweight Fight- Michael Bisping (16-1) vs. Jason Day (17-5)

This is announced as the "Co-Main Event". Bisping gets a big reaction, of course he's from England.

R1- Bisping gets Day to the ground about a minute in and a half in and lands some really good shots. Day is holding his head. Bisping continues to get some shots in on Day. Day gets back to his feet but gets taken down again. Bisping has his back and is hitting him with lots of punches. The ref finally steps in and stops the fight (Miragliotta's got to be real gun shy by now but this was a perfect stoppage). Bisping was very impressive in this fight and just dominated.

Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (strikes)

Catchweight Fight- Matt Hughes (43-6) vs. Thiago Alves (20-4)

Alves did not make weight so they are fighting this as a "catchweight" fight. Hughes has a 3" reach advantage. Alves is only 24 years old.

R1- Thiago denies Hughes an early take down. Hughes goes for another one but it gets stuffed. Hughes pulls guard on Thiago. Thiago lands a couple of nice punches and then they stand up. Thiago hits a knee but Hughes is able to take Thiago down. Matt not really doing any damage to Thiago and Thiago gets up to his feet. Thiago takes Hughes down after a sprawl and Thiago lands some nice punches. Hughes controlled a lot of the middle portion of this round but Thiago did more damage. Alves 10 Hughes 9.

R2- Thiago hits a knee early and he's on top on the mat. Hughes is busted open. Alves hits Hughes with a flying knee and Hughes is a bloody mess and slumps to the mat. Herb Dean steps in to stop this fight and it's over. Alves looked really impressive here. When Hughes ate that knee Hughes felt right on his knee.

Winner: Thiago Alves by TKO (Knee Strike) R2 1:02

Post-match Matt Hughes says he's got at least one fight left in him and that's with Matt Serra.


Some more prelim fights:

Lightweight Fight- Matt Wiman vs. Thiago Tavares

R1- Wiman charges at Tavares throwing punches but Tavares grabs him in a guillotine and then grabs him in a triangle type move and then hits Wiman with a couple of upkicks. Wiman does a roll through into a leg lock but Tavares escapes. Tavares now with a heel hook but Wiman escapes. Really good fight so far and only two minutes in. Tavares on top and hitting some punches. Wiman catches him in a triangle but Tavares escapes and throws some punches. Good fight so far.

R2- Both guys come out swining in the second round and Tavares pops Wiman right in the face but Wiman takes it and comes back. Really good stuff early in this round. Wiman connects with a good punch. Tavares gets in a kick but then gets taken down. Wiman takes his back. Wiman peppers Tavares with some shots on the cage and Tavares just slumps to the mat and this one is over. Really good fight, great finish by Wiman.

Winner: Matt Wiman KO R2 1:57

Middleweight Fight- Jorge Rivera (15-6) vs. Martin Kampmann (12-1)

R1- Kampmann gets Rivera down and is in his guard about a minute in. Kampmann picks him up and slams him down on his back. Rivera went for an armbar but missed. Kampmann attempts to take the back of Rivera. Kampmann now with a guillotine and Rivera submits. Good showing by Kampmann as he dominated this one.

Winner: Martin Kampmann by Submission (Guillotine) R1 2:44

Overall Thoughts:
This was a good show that started out with 2 controversial finishes. Michael Bisping and Mike Swick really impressed me with their showings tonight. Thiago Alves looked great but he didn't make weight so he has that looming over him. The UFC doesn't seem to care too much though as he was one of the fighters that was awarded a bonus for his performance.

UFC Wired 5/31 Re-Cap

UFC Wired 5/31 Re-Cap


Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (9-1) vs. Thiago Tavares (16-0)- UFC 76- 9/22/07

R1- Tyson seems to be the aggressor early and then shoots in for a take down. Griffin landed a good shot while on the ground and then they sprawl to their feet. Thiago hits a nice knee. Thiago just missed a throw and Tyson got back on top. Tyson coming down with some punches. Thiago trying to work a submission from the guard and then briefly gets Tyson’s back and then Tyson gets back on top and lands some nice shots. Round 1 goes to Tyson 10-9 but still anybody’s fight.

R2- Thiago nailed Tyson with a flying knee and then jumped into Tyson’s guard. Thiago moves into full mount and Tyson gives up his back. Thiago goes for a choke and Tyson rises to his feet and he is carrying Thiago. Tyson pulls him over and gets on top and is hitting hammer punches but Thiago grabs an arm bar on Tyson but Tyson gets free and once again is in Thiago’s guard. Great round so far. Tyson has Thiago pressed up against the cage and is striking Thiago. Thiago goes for another arm bar but misses but rolls over and is now on top. Thiago takes Tyson’s back again. Tyson slams Thiago on his head and sprawls back on top. This was a really good second round and almost impossible to score. Tyson did more damage to Thiago’s face but Thiago almost finished Tyson a couple of times with different submissions and controlled as much of the fight as Tyson did.

R3- Tyson presses him against the cage and hits him with some shoulders but Thiago reverses and takes him down and has Tyson in an arm position. Tyson sprawls and takes the lead. Great sequence. Once again they are tied up against the cage. Thiago takes Tyson down with a throw but they get right back to their feet. Griffin hits some shots. Griffin has him in a clinch against the cage. Tyson with a knee. Thiago gets Tyson’s back again but Tyson again slips out.

Really good and close fight. I think Tyson’s going to get the nod but I could see a split decision from the judges. Really tough fight to score. First round clearly went to Tyson, the other two rounds are highly debatable. 29-29, 30-27 and 29-28 Tyson Griffin gets the decision.

Winner: Tyson Griffin by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (18-4) vs. Jess Liaduin (12-8)- UFC 80- 1/19/08

This was also on the UFC Unleashed 5/14 Show.

R1- Davis has won 10 straight fights going into the one. Jess with some kicks early. Davis just nails Jess with a solid left about one minute into the fight and this one is over. Great punch.

Winner: Marcus Davis by KO R1

Heavyweight Fight- Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2) vs. Fabricio Werdum (9-3-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08

Gonzaga is trying to avenge a loss to Werdum from earlier in his career.

R1- Gonzaga gets a quick take down but gives up his position as he doesn’t really do anything. Gonzaga with some leg kicks. Gonzaga floors Werdum with a big leg kick. Gonzaga with two more leg kicks, one of which takes down Werdum again. Werdum catches Gonzaga on a leg kick and has a dominant position on the mat. Werdum getting some shots in from half guard position. Werdum with 3 successive elbows. This was a pretty close round. Gonzaga controlled the first 3 and a half minutes and Werdum the final minute and a half. Gonzaga landed some good leg kicks and Werdum landed some good punches.

R2- Werdum comes out and lands some punches to start the round but then gets stuffed on an attempted take down. Gonzaga got caught going for a take down and Werdum hit some punches. Gonzaga with a couple more leg kicks. Werdum with a couple of punches. Gonzaga landed a body kick. Gonzaga sweeps Werdum down but doesn’t want to go to the mat with him. Gonzaga takes down Werdum again but still doesn’t want to follow up. Werdum landed a good knee and it looks like Gonzaga is hurt as Werdum follows up with some punches and hits two more knees. Werdum with another knee and then some jabs. Werdum with more knees. Gonzaga is slumping down in the corner. Werdum is on top of Gonzaga and is just punching him over and over and over and this one is over. Good second round for Werdum and a good win for him.

Winner: Fabricio Werdum by TKO (strikes) R2

UFC Unleashed 5/14 Re-Cap

UFC Unleashed 5/14 Re-Cap

This show featured 4 fights from 2008.

Welterweight Fight- George Sotiropoulos (8-2) vs. Roman Mitichyan (9-1)- Fight Night 13- 4/2/08

Both of these guys were in The Ultimate Fighter Season 6. Roman had to drop out before the first right due to injury and George made it to the semis.

R1- Roman looks wild early and George looks more controlled. George takes his back pretty quickly and is in control. Roman to his feet and tries to dump George but instead he gives up position and George has him in a choke. Roman gets out of the choke and flips it over but George goes for the arm bar. Roman finally slips out. George goes after some punches and then takes down Roman and gets his back again. George is now hitting some elbows and is going after the arm. Somebody is cut pretty good, I think George got cut on the back or the neck. George ends the round in full mount. George controlled Round 1 and took it pretty easily. Overall this was a pretty entertaining first round.

R2- George quickly gets control in this round as he takes Roman’s back again. Roman rolls over and George has full mount now and is laying in punches. The ref stops the fight as Roman really wasn’t defending himself. George pretty much dominated this fight and looked good.

Winner: George Sotiropoulos by TKO R2


Lightweight Fight- Clay Guida (22-6) vs. Samy Schiavo (10-4)- Fight Night 13- 4/2/08

R1- Long feeling out process as Schiavo is going for some punches and Guida just kind of trying to get the timing down. Guida moves in and absorb some punches but gets a take down. Guida moves into full mount with a minute and a half left in Round One. Schiavo can’t get out of being pinned against the cage and Guida quickly finished him with strikes on the ground. Schiavo looked good on stand up but just got controlled on the ground.

Winner: Clay Guida by TKO (strikes) R1


Welterweight Fight- Marcus Davis (18-4) vs. Jess Liaduin (12-8)- UFC 80- 1/19/08

R1- Davis has won 10 straight fights going into the one. Jess with some kicks early. Davis just nails Jess with a solid left about one minute into the fight and this one is over. Great punch.

Winner: Marcus Davis by KO R1

Lightweight Title Fight- Joe Stevenson (33-7) vs. BJ Penn 12-4-1)- UFC 80- 1/19/08

R1- BJ Penn comes out and land some punches immediately and quickly takes Stevenson down. BJ is in Joe’s half guard. BJ is just kind of smothering Joe so far. Stevenson gets some shots in from the bottom but BJ nails Stevenson with an elbow and he is a bloody mess with that one shot. Just a ton of blood. That was amazing that this one shot caused so much blood. First round goes to BJ Penn easily.

“That’s like a broken fire hydrant”- Joe Rogan (in reference to Stevenson cut from BJ Penn’s one elbow shot)

R2- Stevenson comes out more aggressive in this round. They fight pretty evenly on their feet for the first couple minutes of the round. Ref calls for a time to check out Stevenson, who has blood dripping down his face. They continue the fight. BJ jumps on Stevenson as he punches him and Stevenson drops into the fetal position. BJ grabs his back and Stevenson rolls over so now BJ is in full mount and blood is everywhere. BJ grabs his back and clamps in the choke and Stevenson taps out. BJ just dominated this fight from start to finish.

Winner and new Lightweight Champion: BJ Penn by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2

4/30 UFC Unleashed Re-Cap

UFC Unleashed 4/30 Re-Cap

Middleweight Fight: Drew McFedries (5-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (11-1)- UFC 68- 3/3/07

McFedries get a shot in early. Kampmann shots a couple of kicks but misses. McFedries hits him with another punch and downs him and then pounces but Kampmann gets back to his feet. McFedries nails another punch. Kampmann looks to be in trouble in this fight as McFedries is just overwhelming him. Kampmann comes back with a couple of shots but McFedries is landing some really strong damaging blows. Kampmann showing a lot of heart and takes McFedries down and has side control but isn’t really doing anything with it. Kampmann with a couple of knees to the side. Kampmann with an arm triangle and gets the win. Great comeback for Kampmann. McFedries was just dominate at the beginning of the match and was overwhelming Kampmann when they were on their feet. Kampmann took a ton of shots and then took McFedries down and eventually got the submission.

Winner: Martin Kampmann by Submission (Arm Triangle) R1 4:06


Welterweight Fight: Jason Tan (5-1) vs. Marcus Davis (16-4)- UFC 72- 6/16/07

This is Jason Tan’s debut in the UFC. Davis has won 9 straight fights prior to this one. Tan missing with some leg kicks early trying to keep Davis at bay. Tan misses a high kick. Davis gets in and lands a couple of shots. Davis gets close again and finishes with punches. Tan tries to continue by grabbing Davis’s leg but the ref stopped the fight. Tan had some nice kicks but just got overwhelmed when Davis got to him and nailed him with a vicious right hook and then pounced for the finish.

Winner: Marcus Davis by KO R1 1:15


Middleweight Fight- Rich Franklin (22-2) vs. Jason MacDonald (19-7)- UFC 68- 3/3/07

This was on the UFC Wired 4/19 Show.

MacDonald is coming off of 2 straight submission of the night awards and Franklin is trying to comeback from his title loss.

R1- McDonald went for an early take down and almost got it but then Franklin peppered him with punches. They battled a lot up against the cage for position. Franklin pretty much controlling when they were on their feet. Franklin gets him to the ground and really goes after him. McDonald got a take down with 20 seconds left but did nothing and Franklin flipped it over and got a couple of elbows in. R1 to Franklin.

R2- The story of the early part of this round is McDonald trying to take down Franklin and Franklin trying to keep it on their feet. McDonald gets him down and gets a submission and is trying to tap Rich but doesn’t quite have a triangle. Franklin escapes and is now in the dominant position. Franklin gets full mount with 2 minutes left and gets in some good punches. With 1 minute left Franklin is again peppering him and is now punching him as he has his back. McDonald not doing much here at all in this round. Franklin dominating. The round ends as Franklin is just dominating McDonald and punching him for the last 10 to 15 seconds of the round in full mount. Franklin wins this round and McDonald actually taps out after the round is over and that’s the fight.

Winner: Rich Franklin via TKO (Corner Stoppage) R2 5:00


Middleweight Fight- Travis Lutter (12-3) vs. Anderson Silva (17-4)- UFC 67- 2/3/07

This was also on the UFC Wired 4/19 show.

R1- This is a non-title match due to Lutter’s inability to make weight. Silva is pretty much the best P4P fighter in the world. This is Silva’s first fight since he won the title. Long feeling out process. Anderson hits a flying knee but Lutter gets in Anderson’s guard. Anderson is a great fighter from the guard and is very hard to take advantage of. Anderson gets up with very little damage if any but Lutter takes him back down. Travis got side control and then got full mount and was pounding on Silva but Silva brilliantly reversed it. Lutter ends the round on the ground. Really close first round. Silva did a great job in fighting and defending from the bottom and Lutter got in the one really good series of punches from the mount but it was quickly reversed. Almost too close to call.

R2- Lutter takes him down but Silva hits an up kick then grabs a triangle and is choking Lutter out from the bottom. Anderson hits elbows and Lutter taps. What a brilliant reversal by Silva. He’s just too tough a defender and counter attacker.

Winner: Anderson Silva by Submission (Triangle Choke) R2 2:12