UFC 115: Preliminaries 6/12 Re-Cap

UFC 115: Preliminaries
GM Place
Vancouver, British Columbia
Spike TV
June 12, 2010

Tonight we will see Chuck Liddell step into the cage against Rich Franklin. But first we've got free fights on Spike TV. Mac Danzig fights Matt Wiman and Tyson Griffin takes on Evan Dunham.


Lightweight Fight- Mac Danzig (20-7-1) vs. Matt Wiman (11-5)

Wiman has a 2" height advantage but Danzig has a 3" reach advantage.

R1- Danzig was able to get Wiman down after an early exchange. Wiman grabbed a choke from the bottom and flipped Danzig over and applied some good pressure to his neck. Danzig got out but Wiman moved his weight onto Danzig and Yves Lavigne called for the bell. As soon as Yves called for the bell it was obvious that Danzig was not unconscious and that it was a horrible stoppage.

"This is a huge, huge, huge mistake. Let me tell you something, you cannot choke a guy unconscious when the side of his neck is loose. Yves Lavigne is moving his arm but Mac Danzig is just relaxing. This is a tremendous mistake."- Joe Rogan

Post fight both guys show a lot of class.

Winner: Matt Wiman by TKO (Yves Lavigne) R1 1:45


Welterweight Fight- Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick

R1- Lots of clinching against the cage to start the fight. Patrick got a take down 90 seconds into the fight. Funch grazed Patrick's head with a kick while he had a knee on the ground and the ref immediately separated them and took a point away from Patrick despite the kick not fazing Funch. UFC 115 "Bad Officiating". Patrick landed a couple of good strikes from the top. Patrick stayed on top for the rest of the round. Patrick went for a guillotine towards the end of the round and Yves Lavigne wasn't the ref so Funch lives to see a second round. Patrick 10-8 since Funch had a point deducted by the ref. Funch has a cut under his left eye going into the second round.

"That was the babiest kick to the head ever"- Joe Rogan

R2- They clinched against the cage again. Patrick grabbed a guillotine and pulled guard and Funch tapped out. Good showing in his UFC debut for Patrick.

Winner: Claude Patrick by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 1:48


Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (14-2) vs. Evan Dunham (10-0)

Dunham's last win was a submission victory over TUF winner Efrain Escudero. Griffin is coming off of a big win against Hermes Franca. Dunham has a 4" height and 4" reach advantage. Tyson should have a good strength advantage. Both guys have trained together at Xtreme Couture. Dunham trained elsewhere for this fight but will return to Couture after this fight.

R1- Dunham went for a take down but ate some good strikes from Griffin. Griffin has landed some good leg kicks. Griffin misses a punch and Dunham was able to grab Griffin's back. Dunham had a tough time after taking Griffin's back because of his height advantage. Close round. Probably goes to Dunham due to the dominant position he had for the end of the round.

R2- Dunham grabbed a take down in the first minute of the round. Griffin tried to grab a guillotine on the way down but couldn't lock it in. Dunham tried to grab a choke of his own but he couldn't and Griffin escaped to his feet. Dunham got another take down half way through the round. Dunham took Griffin's back again. Tyson got to his feet with Dunham still on his back and Tyson fell forward head planting Dunham into the mat. Dunham held on and Griffin stood back up with Dunham still on his back. Dunham 20-18.

R3- They both throw leather early in the round. Dunham whiffs on a take down and ate a good strike. Dunham landed a kick that briefly floored Griffin and Dunham took Griffin's back and got him to the ground. Griffin again got to his feet with Dunham still on his back. Tyson tried to slam Dunham again but Dunham held on.

Dunham is going to take this fight 30-27. Really good win for Dunham.

Judges score cards: 30-27 Dunham, 29-28 Griffin (huh?), 29-28 Dunham

Winner: Evan Dunham by Decision (Split)

UFC 97: "Redemption" Re-Cap

UFC 97: Redemption
4/18/09

This show is highlighted by Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defending against Thales Leites and Chuck Liddell taking on Shogun Rua. The Shogun/Liddell fight will be particularly interesting because whoever losses that fight is pretty much finished in the Light Heavyweight Division for the near future. Silva is looking to break the tie for most consecutive wins inside the Octagon (he is currently sitting at 8 straight wins). Cheick Kongo will also fight Antoni Hardonk in Heavyweight Fight.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Steve Cantwell (7-1) vs. Luiz Cane (10-1)

Cantwell is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. Cantwell fought on the “Fight for the Troops” show in November and destroyed Razak Al-Hassan. His previous fight was an August 2008 win over Brian Stann by TKO for the WEC Title. Cane is coming off a win over Sokoudjou in which Sokoudjou gassed and then Cane finished him off. Both of these guys are borderline Top 10 Light Heavyweight Fighters. Cane is a Muay Thai specialist and Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Cantwell is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt with Kick Boxing experience. This should be an explosive fight.

R1- Cane looks good early as he landing some strikes and stalking Cantwell early. As the round went on Cantwell seemed to become more confident but Cane definitely looks like the stronger fighter in this fight. Cane is leading 10-9 after one round on my score card.

R2- Cane controlled the early part of the round but Cantwell really started to score points in the middle of the round. Really close round that I’m giving to Cantwell so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.

R3- Cane landed a good combo in the first minute. Cane hit another good combo around the 4 minute mark of the round. Cane takes round three in a fairly close fight 29-28. Not a great fight for either guy, both guys fought hard and looked pretty good but both will really need to elevate their games to get up to the next level in UFC.

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

Winner: Luiz Cane by Decision (Unanimous)

Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (23-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)

Kongo is coming off of an impressive first round win over Mostapha Al Turk at UFC 92. Hardonk also fought at UFC 92 and won in the second round against Mike Wessel and is currently on a 3 fight win streak. Ernesto Hoost is in Hardonk’s corner for the fight. Kongo has a 4” reach advantage.

R1- Kongo grabbed Hardonk’s leg and pushed him down halfway through the round but the fight was stood back up. After they stood back up Kongo got in some good shots and then got a take down with about a minute left in the round. Kongo is up 10 to 9 after the first round.

R2- Kongo got Hardonk down quickly in this round and jumped on top for some Ground and Pound. Hardonk is bloodied up and the ref steps in to stop the fight. Really good showing by Kongo. It took him a while to get started but he looked impressive after he got the fight to the ground just like he did in his last outing.

Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:29

Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski (17-9-1) vs. Brian Stann (6-1)

Stann is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He lost the belt to Steven Cantwell in August of 2008. Soszynski is from TUF Season 8. These guys are former training partners at Team Quest. Stann is currently training with Greg Jackson. If I was a betting man I would put my money on Stann in this fight. Soszynski has a 3.5” reach advantage.

R1- Soszynski got a take down at the two minute mark of the round. Soszynski laid on top of Stann for a minute and a half. Stann got up and Soszynski got another take down. Soszynski went for a kimura and couldn’t get it but went for it again and got it and Stann tapped out. And this is why I’m not a betting man. Nice win for Soszynski. Stann obviously needs some work on his ground game.

Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) R1 3:53

Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-6) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (17-3)

This is a feast or famine fight for these guys. The winner is in line for a title shot with another victory and the loser is all but done in the UFC as a legit title contender. Shogun is coming off a lackluster victory over Mark Coleman in what may have been the worst fight of the year. Chuck is coming off of a KO at the hands of current Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Chuck Liddell is 39 years old, is this one of the last times we see him in the Octagon?

R1- Shogun got a take down about two and a half minutes into the round and went for a leg lock but couldn’t lock in the submission. Chuck got a take down with a minute left but immediately stood back up. Shogun landed a left hand and jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight! Shogun is back. Chuck looked really old in this fight as once Shogun hit a couple of leg kicks Chuck’s mobility looked slower and more limited. Maybe one more “money” fight for Chuck but besides that I don’t really think he should be fighting anymore.

Winner: Shogun Rua by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:28

Lightweight Fight- Sam Stout (14-5-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-4)

Wiman is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Jim Miller in December. Stout has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Wiman starts off by landing some good strikes and then gets a take down but can’t land anything on the ground. Both guys are swinging freely in this fight. Wiman grabbed a guillotine and tried to pull guard but Stout slipped out and landed in Wiman’s guard. Wiman went for a take down with 30 seconds left in the round but Stout flipped him over. Good first round that was very close.

R2- Wiman tried to take Stout’s back but Stout was able to move into Wiman’s guard. Stout hurt Wiman towards the end of the round but Stout could not finish him and Wiman almost landed an arm bar. Stout really started to pull away here and took this round. I’ve got the fight 19-19 after two rounds.

R3- Wiman took Stout’s back and got him down onto the ground just a minute and a half into the round. Stout eventually rolls out of it and into Wiman’s guard with half the round remaining and Stout lands some Ground and Pound. They stood up and Wiman got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Wiman drew some blood, got another take down and then both guys ended up swinging on their feet. This one is a toss up. I think Wiman’s going to take it as he looked better in the 1st and 2nd. Stout looked better overall but the fight is judges round by round not on the fight as a whole.

Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards in favor of Sam Stout.

I can’t say that I disagree with the decision but it was a very close fight.

Winner: Sam Stout by Decision (Unanimous)

Channing Tatum and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le join Mike Goldberg to hype their movie “Fighting”.


UFC Middleweight Title Fight: Anderson Silva © (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1)

Thales is the next contender to try and take away Anderson’s belt. Thales has earned the title shot by winning a controversial decision over Nate Marquardt and by stopping Drew McFedries a little over a minute into the first round on the under card of Silva/Cote. Leites has won 5 straight fights and has won 27% of his fights by arm triangle. Leites is a Jiu Jitsu black belt. Anderson has 8 straight wins which is tied for the most in UFC history but is coming off of a disappointing fight against Patrick Cote. In UFC Anderson has landed 80% of his strikes. Leites comes out to “Welcome to the Jungle”. You have to like that.

R1- One minute into the fight and neither guy has thrown a strike. Two minutes into the fight and not much is going on. Anderson tries to stalk Leites down but he’s more comfortable staying away from Anderson. Leites throws a high kick at the two minute mark that is blocked. Anderson sweeps Leites to the ground with a leg kick. Leites tries to take Anderson down but he’s denied and they clinch. Really slow first round. Anderson takes it 10-9 to the boos of the crowd as he landed the best two shots of the round. Both guys are fighting more of a counter style. Anderson finally started to stalk Leites towards the end of the round when it became apparent that Leites was not going to let Anderson be the counter puncher in this fight.

R2- Leites got a take down early into the round. Anderson got back to his feet at the two minute mark without really taking any damage from Leites. They basically stand around and do nothing for a minute as Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet. Anderson basically chases Leites around the ring and lands a couple of strikes. Leites got a take down but didn’t do anything with it. Anderson at least landed some strikes. I’ve got Anderson up 20-18 in a very unimpressive fight so far. Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet and Anderson is being very wary of Leites.

R3- Anderson caught a Leites leg kick early in the round and then avoided a take down. Anderson stuffed another take down and then Leites laid on his back. Fans chant “GSP” during the fight. Anderson starts to land some strikes and Leites dives onto the ground to avoid them. Anderson landed a good side kick. Anderson went for a punch and Leites dove onto the ground again to avoid him. Anderson starts to work Leites over with some jabs. Anderson takes this round so he’s up 30-27. Unless Leites somehow wins this fight he might be dropped by UFC after this performance. He’s almost going out of his way to be “unexciting”.

R4- Anderson is landing some front kicks and leg kicks to start this round. Anderson is dancing around this round since Leites doesn’t want to exchange with him. Leites went for a take down and got stuffed. Anderson is winning this fight 40-36. I think Leites would just lay on the ground and sleep if the ref would let him.

R5- Leites actually comes out to fight in this round and Anderson gets on top and gets in a couple of shots. Leites has blood coming from his nose. Anderson hits a couple of strikes and Leites dives to the ground to avoid Anderson. Fans chant “GSP” again during this round. This is probably the most boring title fight I’ve ever seen. Leites just did not want any part of Anderson Silva in this fight. Anderson wins this fight 50-45 in a boring, dominant route. I would be surprised if Thales Leites fights for UFC again after this debacle.

Judges score cards say: 49-46, 48-47 and 50-46 in favor of Anderson.

Winner and still Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva by Decision (Unanimous)

Not a real good show from UFC. The under card was pretty decent but the Main Event just flat out did not deliver.

UFC: Fight For The Troops 12/10/08 Re-Cap

UFC Fight for the Troops 12/10/08

On paper this looked like a show that could be easily skipped. But when it played out it was one of the most exciting nights of UFC fights this year. A fantastic knockout from Josh Koscheck, a dominate performance from Ben Saunders, a nasty submission from Steve Cantwell and another great performance from Mike Swick. A big night for TUF alums as not only Saunders, Swick and Koscheck got big wins but Tim Credeur looked really good.

Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller (12-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-3)

Wiman came in on a 4 fight win streak and Miller came in on a 7 fight win streak. Miller took the fight on one week notice. Wiman had a 2 inch height advantage but Miller had a 4 inch reach advantage.

R1- Good first round with Miller winning it 10-9. Miller got an early guillotine and almost got the submission victory early.

R2- Miller took this round as well and is now up 20-18. He is really controlling the fight through two rounds.

R3- Wiman started out this round strong but Miller got a quick take down and ultimately won the fight 30-27 in my book.

The judges scored the fight: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 in favor of Miller

Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)

They show celebrity testimonials when they come back from commercial to solicit donations to the troops. Some of the celebs included Charlie Sheen, Jack Black, Chris O'Donnell, Samuel L Jackson, Mick Foley, 50 Cent, Laura Prepon and James Gandolfini.

Middleweight Fight- Tim Credeur (11-4) vs. Nate Loughran (9-0)

Nate is a jiu jitsu fighter who trains with David Terrell. Rich Clementi is in Tim's corner. Tim has been training a lot at Xtreme Couture since TUF.

R1- Credeur's striking is superior in Round One and he takes the first round 10-9.

R2- Nate gets his eye busted open early in the second round. Tim controls on the ground early and in the stand up game late. This round was all Tim.

The fight was stopped after two rounds. Tim dominated Nate in this fight and looked one thousand times better than he did during any of his TUF fights.

Winner: Tim Credeur by TKO (verbal submission between rounds) R2

Light Heavyweight- Steve Cantwell (6-1) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (7-0)

Razak comes into the fight undefeated and has a huge five and a half inch reach advantage. Cantwell was last seen on WEC as their Light Heavyweight Champion but they disbanded the division so now he is in UFC.

R1- This was a good fight with pretty even stand up to start. Cantwell got an arm bar and Razak would not tap and Cantwell just destroyed Razak's arm and the ref stopped the fight. What a sick move and a great debut for Cantwell. Cantwell took much joy in his snapping his opponent's arm during the post-match interview.

Winner: Steve Cantwell by TKO (ref stoppage) R1 4:04

Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (12-2) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-4)

Swick has a three and a half inch reach advantage in this fight.

R1- Swick got a quick take down and just pounded Goulet on his knees until the ref stopped the fight. Wow! Swick looked awesome here.

Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R1 0:33

Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolfe

This was from the pre-show. Thanks to Mike Swick for his quick finish, so we get another fight.

R1- Saunders hits big knees in the Muy Thai clinch. Saunders just with a barrage of knees and kicks and this one is over fairly quickly. Another awesome performance by a TUF alum.

Winner: Ben Saunders by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:49


Welterweight: Josh Koscheck (13-3) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2)

Yoshida has a 3 fight win streak and is a judo black belt. Koscheck has a three inch reach advantage. Koscheck just fought 45 days ago in a loss to Thiago Alves. I really disliked Koscheck when he was on TUF. Not only did he come off as an arrogant prick but he was also a very boring fighter. Koscheck has really changed my mind this year with his performances against Dustin Hazlett and Chris Lytle and stepping up to fight Thiago Alves on short notice and continuing to stay booked for this fight. It's hard not to like him based on what he has done this year.

R1- About two minutes into the fight Koscheck hit Yoshi with a punch that hurt him. Yoshi was stunned and could not defend and Koscheck just leveled him with a huge KO to win the fight. Great KO for Koscheck.

Winner: Josh Koscheck by KO R1 2:15

Welterweight Fight- Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees

This pre-show fight is brought to you by Josh Koscheck's quick KO in the Main Event.

R1- Very even first round that got some boos from the crowd.

R2- Bruno took Rees back several times and finally clamped in a Rear Naked and got the submission victory.

Winner: Steve Bruno by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 3:44

UFC Wired 11/30/08 Re-Cap

UFC Wired 11/30/08

Lightweight Fight- Melvin Guillard (37-6-3) vs. Rick Davis (3-0-1)- UFC 60- 5/27/06

Davis’s nickname is “The Flying Squirrel.” This is Davis’s first UFC fight. Melvin was on season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter. Davis is 13 years older than Guillard. This was Guillard’s first fight as a lightweight- dropping down from welterweight.

R1- Davis seems like a pretty unorthodox fighter. Guillard grabs an early clinch and lands some knees. Guillard is showing some good quick hands so far and connected on one good shot and then landed some knees. Guillard then hit a highlight reel right hand that knocked Davis right out. Tremendous punch. Guillard looked real good in this fight.

Winner: Melvin Guillard by KO R1 1:37

Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (22-3) vs. Nick Thompson (22-8)- UFC 59- 4/15/06

Thompson has a 2 inch height advantage and a 3 inch reach advantage. Parisyan’s first two losses were to Sean Sherk, Thompson’s training partner.

R1- Karo immediately went for a knockout punch but missed so instead he took Thompson down to the mat. Karo mainly stayed in guard and half guard trying to look for an opening. He briefly got caught in a leg lock but quickly got out. Karo hit some strikes and then got turned over by Thompson. They went back to their feet and Karo got another take down. Karo is basically taking this fight where he wants to in terms of controlling the cage. Karo took side control and then moved to the mount position. Karo drew blood with some good strikes and Karo took his back and kept delivering shots and the ref stopped the fight when Thompson tapped out.

Winner: Karo Parisyan by TKO (strikes) R1 4:44

Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (16-2) vs. Jason MacDonald (18-7)- UFC 66- 12/30/06

The Crippler versus The Athlete. MacDonald is a jiu jitsu fighter and Leben is a stand up fighter. MacDonald has a 4 inch height advantage and 4 and a half inch reach advantage.

R1- Leben immediately caught MacDonald’s leg kick and it almost seems like MacDonald pulls guard. Leben gets back to his feet and hits a couple of shots but MacDonald definitely wants to keep this on the ground. They clinched against the cage but the ref broke them up and re-started. MacDonald keeps going for the take down but isn’t getting it so far. MacDonald clinches Leben against the cage again but Leben escapes. Leben gets in a couple of shots with about a minute left in the round. Both guys exchange shots and then MacDonald goes for another take down. This was a tough round to score. MacDonald controlled more of the round but never really got in any offense. Leben 10-9.

R2- Leben catches a MacDonald kick and takes him down. Almost a repeat of the beginning of the first round. Leben moves to side control but can’t accomplish anything and they stand back up and MacDonald clinches Leben against the cage but it’s broken up again. They exchanged shots and then MacDonald finally got a take down and quickly moved to half guard. MacDonald went for a guillotine and Leben passed out in the move. Nice finish by MacDonald. He had to struggle to get the position that he wanted but when he finally got it he finished the fight.

Winner: Jason MacDonald by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 4:03

Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (18-2) vs. Matt Wiman (6-2)- UFC 60- 5/27/06

This is Matt Wiman’s UFC debut. His nickname is “Handsome.”

R1- Wiman worked hard and finally got a take down after working for it for about a minute. Wiman got some punches and then clamped in a guillotine on Spencer. Wiman lost it and took full mount and Spencer quickly gave up his back. Wiman went for a Rear Naked Choke but Spencer blocked. Spencer spun out and got back to his feet. Both guys hit some punches and then Fisher hit a knee and took Wiman’s guard. Fisher ended up opening a good cut on Wiman’s forehead at the end of the round and then gave him a nice push after the bell rung. I’ve got Wiman 10-9 but Spencer did a good job recovering and coming back at the end of this round and setting himself up for round two.

R2- The exchanged a couple of strikes to open the round. Wiman went for a take down but Fisher got it instead and landed a couple of shots. Fisher stands up and hits some knees and punches and then hits a flying knee to take out Wiman. Great finish by Fisher. Good fight.

Winner: Spencer Fisher by KO (Flying Knee Strike) R2 1:43