UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin
GM Place
Vancouver, British Columbia
June 12, 2010
The Main Event tonight is Chuck Liddell fighting Rich Franklin. As you know, it was originally supposed to be Chuck versus Tito Ortiz but Tito withdrew and had surgery and Rich stepped in to take Tito's spot as TUF coach and his spot in this fight. There are some other intriguing fights on this card. Cro Crop versus Pat Barry, Martin Kampann against Paulo Thiago, Ben Rothwell fights Gilbert Yvel and Carlos Condit is in action against Rory MacDonald. As usual, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handle the announcing and Bruce Buffer is the ringer announcer.
Welterweight Fight- Carlos Condit (24-5) vs. Rory MacDonald (10-0)
MacDonald is only 20 years old and is the youngest fighter in the UFC. MacDonald is 1-0 inside the Octagon. Condit is a former WEC Champion. Condit is 1-1 in the UFC with two wars against Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger. Condit trains with Greg Jackson. Will it be youth or experience tonight? MacDonald is Canadian so he gets a huge ovation when announced.
R1- MacDonald quickly caught a Condit kick and took him down but let him back up. MacDonald tried to measure Condit with some shots but came up empty. Fans chant "Rory". MacDonald got a take down inside of the first minute. Condit lands some good strikes to the face from the bottom. Condit got back to his feet without taking any damage and actually controlling the situation from his back. MacDonald swung for the fences and Condit landed a good right counter that wobbled MacDonald. MacDonald landed a couple of strikes that took Condit to the fence and then MacDonald got another take down. Condit again got to his feet without taking any damage. Condit is landing some good kicks. MacDonald got a take down to end the round. MacDonald got 3 take downs but didn't do anything with them. I give the round to Condit because he delivered more damage on the ground and landed the best shot on their feet. It was close but I've got Condit 10-9. Rogan says he gave the round to MacDonald based on take downs.
R2- Condit tried for a take down but MacDonald ended up on top. Condit again gets to his feet without any damage. Condit missed a superman punch and MacDonald tried for a take down but Condit reversed it and ended up on top. MacDonald was able to kick out and ended up on top. Condit again defended and landed more strikes from the bottom and got back to his feet without taking any damage. Fans chant "Let's Go Rory." MacDonald landed a good combination in a near clinch situation. MacDonald landed a good counter front kick right at the end of the round. Both guys went for front kicks, Condit actually connected with Rory's face but Rory caught Condit's arm which knocked him off balance and knocked him down. MacDonald takes this round so I've got it at 19-19 on the score card. Good fight so far, Condit needs to be more aggressive. I've said this before in his UFC fights, but it almost feels like he's fighting a 5-Round fight.
R3- MacDonald hit a head kick that didn't fully connected in the early part of the round. MacDonald is throwing bombs but Condit is blocking them. Condit hit MacDonald with a 2-punch combination that hurt and MacDonald immediately went for the take down. Condit went for a kimura and ended up on top. Condit lands a couple of good elbows. MacDonald is cut open. Condit gets mount but then MacDonald gets him back in half guard. Condit lands more elbows. MacDonald gets back to his feet. MacDonald went for a take down and Condit easily reversed. MacDonald looks really tired or he's hurt. Rogan says it looks like something is wrong with MacDonald's eye, says it's possibly an orbital break. Condit continues to pressure MacDonald and land strikes. The ref steps in and stops the fight with about 10 seconds left in the fight. Great fight. Rogan says there is definitely something wrong with MacDonald's eye. MacDonald showed a lot of heart and at 20 years old he has a lot of life left in the UFC. Good win by Condit, he showed the killer instinct in the 3rd round that he needs to show earlier.
Winner: Carlos Condit by TKO (Strikes) R3 4:53
Heavyweight Fight- Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-7)
30 of Yvel's 36 wins have come by way of knock out. Yvel fought at UFC 108 but he was stopped in that fight by Junior dos Santos. Rothwell has a 2" height, 3" reach and 21 pound advantage in this fight. Rothwell is coming off of a loss to Cain Velsaquez so both guys are coming off losses to top tier UFC Heavyweights. Yves Lavigne is the ref and gets some boos after his poor stoppage earlier on Spike TV.
R1- Rothwell charges right at Yvel and back him down throwing strikes. Yvel separates and grabs a guillotine and pulls guard but Rothwell easily gets out of it and takes side control. Yvel flips him over, Rothwell got back to his feet and slammed Yvel back down. Rothwell gets full mount and throws some elbows. Yvel goes for a leg lock but Rothwell spun out of it. Rothwell got Yvel in a crucifix but Yvel flipped him over and got to his feet. Yvels landed some good strikes. Good round. Yvel finished strong but I've got Rothwell taking the round 10-9.
R2- Rothwell immediately got a take down to start the round. Rothwell lands some good elbows. Yvel got back to his feet at the mid-way point of the round. Rothwell got another take down at the two minute mark. Yvel flipped him over and threw some good strikes from the top. Yvel is connecting and Rothwell tries to clinch him but Yvel breaks free and continues to land some good shots. Rothwell got back to his feet with a minute left in the round and took Yvel down again. Rothwell finished the round on top. Give Yvel this round due to damage inflicted and I've got it 19-19 going into the third.
R3- Yvel went for a take down but got taken down. Rothwell spends the majority of the round on top of Yvel. Rothwell is going to take this round and the fight 29-28.
Judges score cards: 30-27. 29-28, 29-28
Winner: Ben Rothwell by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Paulo Thiago (13-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (16-3)
Kampmann is coming off of a win at UFC 108 on the preliminaries against Jacob Volkmann by submission. Kampmann has won 3 of his last 4 including a decision win over Carlos Condit. Thiago fought at UFC 109 and choked out Mike Swick in the 2nd round. Thiago also holds a victory over title contender Josh Koscheck. The winner of this fight probably sets themselves up for a title contenders fight since GSP and Koscheck are doing TUF and they won't be fighting for a while. Thiago has a 2.5" reach advantage.
R1- Kampmann lands some strikes early. Kampmann is landing some good jabs. Kampmann landed a good right hand and knocked down Thiago with 90 seconds left in the round. Thiago retaliated by getting a trip and take down. Kampmann grabbed a guillotine and used it to get to his feet. Kmapmann went for another choke against the cage but Thiago used his legs to kick off the cage and get out of the choke. Kampmann 10-9.
R2- Thiago is just throwing haymakers but is not connecting. Kampmann got a take down at the mid-way point of the round. Thiago used a kimura to sweept Kampmann over but there is only 30 seconds left in the round. Kampmann got back to his feet and landed a couple of knees. Kampmann 20-18.
R3- Kampmann landed a counter jab and then got a take down in the first minute of the final round. Kampmann went for an arm triangle and Thiago gave up his back and was able to avoid the submission. Kampmann stayed on top of Thiago. Thiago finally got back to his feet with about 80 seconds left. Thiago threw a bomb but Kampmann took him down again. Kampmann goes for another arm triangle. Kampmann almost finished the fight but not quite. Kampmann wins this fight 30-27.
Judges score cards: 30-27 on all 3 score cards
Winner: Martin Kampmann by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (26-7-2) vs. Pat Barry (5-1)
Cro Cop fought Junior dos Santos in late 2009 and verbally submitted. Barry fought at UFC 104 and beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the 2nd round. Cro Cop is one of Barry's idol's. Cro Cop needs some new theme music, Duran Duran just doesn't cut it.
R1- Barry is very aggressive from the outset and landed a good shot that knocked Cro Cop down 30 seconds into the fight. Barry is landing some good leg kicks. Cro Cop returns the favor with some kicks of his own. Barry hit a good right that floored Cro Cop again. Rogan says he thinks Cro Cop broke his jaw. Cro Cop got a brief take down but Barry got back to his feet. Barry 10-9.
R2- Barry partially connected with a head kick but it was just a glancing blow and Cro Cop was able to take him down. Cro Cop got the mount and Barry gave up his back. Cro Cop takes this round and we are at 19-19 going into the final stanza.
R3- Not a lot of action in this round. Cro Cop clinched against the cage for a while and then the ref re-started them and Cro Cop backed Barry down and landed some strikes. Cro Cop knocked Barry down and jumped on top and delivered some Ground and Pound. Cro Cop clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and won the fight in the last minute. Barry just tired out and Cro Cop outlasted him. Good win by Cro Cop.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3 4:30
Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-7) vs. Rich Franklin (27-5)
Chuck Liddell has changed his lifestyle going into this fight. He's training more and in different areas of his game, he's given up alcohol and he's been resting. It will be interesting to see how he matches up with Rich.
R1-Chuck is landing some leg kicks early. Just lands a body kick and just missed a head kick as it as partially blocked. Rich hit a good right but Chuck landed a good shot during a clinch. Chuck got a take down two minutes into the round. Rich got back to his feet and Chuck has been cut open (not sure how it happened). Chuck caught Rich with a punch that almost knocked him down. Chuck lands a couple more strikes. Chuck landed a partial head kick and moved in quickly. He slipped and Rich hit a couple of small shots. They clinched with 10 seconds left in the round. Chuck pushed off and threw a couple of punches. Chuck threw a big right and missed. Rich countered with a right hand that hit Chuck right on the button and ended his night with 7 seconds left in the round. Chuck looked pretty good until those last 10 seconds. Big time punch by Rich Franklin.
"You've gotta expect this is the last time we see Chuck Liddell in the Octagon"- Joe Rogan
"I was just thinking the same thing"- Mike Goldberg
Winner: Rich Franklin by KO R1 4:55
Franklin says that Chuck broke Rich's left hand in the first round when he threw and landed a body kick.
Welterweight Fight- Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox
R1- Pyle landed some good shots at the end of the round and floored Lennox. Pyle jumped on top and tried for a choke but couldn't finish before the bell rung. Pyle 10-9.
R2- Pyle went for a take down and didn't get it but he was able to spin around and take top position from Lennox. Pyle stayed on top for the round and took it. Pyle 20-18.
R3- Lennox came on strong at the end of the round and landed some shots around the one minute mark. Pyle clinched him but Lennox got a take down. Lennox is cut open bad. Pyle got a triangle choke and finished the fight. Good finish from the bottom by Pyle.
Winner: Mike Pyle by Triangle Choke R3 4:44
Showing posts with label Rich Franklin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rich Franklin. Show all posts
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 20, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, January 19, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
UFC 88 "Breakthrough" Re-Cap
UFC 88 "Breakthrough"
Welterweight Fight- Dong Hyun Kim (10-0-1) vs. Matt Brown (10-6)
Matt Brown comes out to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. Dong Hyun Kim counters with "Higher Ground" by the Chilli Peppers.
R1- They clinched early and Kim took him down and then took his back but Brown stood him up. Kim grabbed a choke while on Brown's back as brown was standing but Brown broke it up. Kim controlled early but the middle portion of the match is even and then with about a minute left in the round Brown got a choke in on Kim that looks kind of like a head lock but Kim takes Brown's back again. Good first round that was close but I give to Kim due to him having control of Brown and his back for at least half the round.
R2- They stand up early in the round and Brown gets some good knees in on Kim. Brown is controlling early and is getting in some decent shots on Kim. Kim hits on up kick but Brown retaliates with some Ground & Pound. Brown really controlled this round and was in a dominate position at the end of the round, could have maybe finished him but he wasn't aggressive enough. Right now Kim looks real tired. I've got the fight 19-19 right now with Brown with the momentum.
R3- Matt Brown forgot his mouth piece to start the round so they stop the fight for a minute after he eats a punch. Kim gets a take down about a minute into the round and gets side control rather quickly but Brown gets out of the position without any damage. Brown gets some shots in as they clinched. Kim going for judo throws but Brown doing a good job stopping them. Kim gets another take down with 2 minutes left and is in Brown's guard. Kim hits some elbows and cuts Brown. Kim wins this round rather handily so i've got him taking Round 1 and 3 and Brown taking Round 3. Really close fight. I give it to Kim but not by much. Kim 29 Brown 28.
Judges score cards are 29-28 Kim, 29-28 Brown, and 29-28 Kim. Split Decision win for Kim. That's pretty much how I had it. Crowd doesn't really like the result.
Winner: Dong Hyun Kim by Decision (Split)
UFC fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida is shown in the crowd. He was supposed to fight Karo Parisyan tonight but Karo pulled out due to injury.
Middleweight Fight- Martin Kampmann (13-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)
Kampmann is undefeated in the UFC and Marquardt is coming off a controversial loss in which he lost 2 points due to an illegal move and a questional punch to the back of his opponents head. Marquardt comes out to the theme that UFC uses at the beginning of it's PPVs and Kampmann comes out to what sounds like an Eminem song. Kampmann is the first Condomdepot.com fighter of the evening.
R1- They stand up early and Kampmann got in a good close punch. Nate rebounded with a nice kick to the head that sent Kampmann reeling. Nate hit a knee and was throwing a nuch of punches. Nate is all over him and has him in the corner and Kampmann sits down in the corner and the ref stops the fight. Fantastic showing by Marquardt as he was just all over Kampmann after he hit that kick.
Winner: Nate Marquardt by TKO (strikes) R1 1:22
Urijah Faber is at the show tonight. I think he actually attends every single MMA event no matter what company it's for (DREAM, UFC, WEC, etc).
They announce that Faber's fight is being rescheduled due to the hurricanes and will now be on Nov 5th. NO!
Miguel Torres is also with Faber at the fight.
Middleweight Fight- Dan Henderson (22-7) vs. Rousimarr Palhares (17-1)
Henderson is 10 years older than Palhares, about 5 inches taller and has a 3 inch reach advantage. Henderson gets the largest reaction of the evening so far. Palhares is our second condomdepot.com fighter of the evening. Matt Lindland is in Henderson's corner.
Big Boi from Outkast (they are from Atlanta) is shown in the crowd. He is sitting next to Rampage Jackson.
R1- They start out very carefully. No touching for the first 30 seconds. Rousimarr goes for a take down and Henderson nails him with a shot. Back to their feet. Henderson stops a take down and then another and then another and another. Henderson gets some good shots in as they mixed it up. They mix it up again and Palhares gets in a couple of shots and throws some wild kicks. Henderson connecting with some jabs. Palhares finally got a take down with 30 seconds left. Palhares can't get anything and then the bell rings. He looked like he was in position to get a knee bar but didn't have enough time. Henderson takes Round 1 but Palhares started to come on at the end of the round. Good, entertaining first round once it got started.
R2- Palhares picked up Henderson and slammed him down about one minute into the round and is in Henderson's guard. Palhares goes for a leg lock and gets it but Henderson gets out of the move. Palhares goes for a take down but gets caught by Henderson and Henderson locks him up and then they stand back up. Henderson with some strikes. Another take down stuffed by Henderson and he takes Palhares guard. The ref stands them up due to inactivity. This was a really close round. Palhares controlled the opening stanza and then Henderson the last half. I think Palhares was more dominant in his portion of the fight and almost finished Henderson with that leg lock so I think he takes the round. 19-19 so far with one round left.
R3- Henderson stuffs an early take down. Not a whole lot of action in this round. Henderson has connected on a couple of strikes. Two minutes left in the round. Palhares went for a take down but it was stuffed and Henderson got in a shot or two. Henderson went for a punch and looked like a slipped and Palhares almost caught him in a leg lock but Henderson slipped out. Henderson gets a good strike and then stuffs a take down. Henderson ends the fight with three or four good strikes. Not a good final round but Henderson will win this 29-28. Good first two rounds but a very unurgent third round. Not a very impressive victory for Henderson but still a victory.
Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Henderson.
Winner: Dan Henderson by Decision (Unanimous)
Randy Couture is at the event and Joe Rogan interviews him about the Brock Lesnar fight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Tim Boetsch (7-2) vs. Michael Patt (15-2)
R1- Boetch hits a big right hand about 2 minutes into the round and then Ground and Pounds until the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Tim Boetsch by TKO (strikes) R1 2:03
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rich Franklin (25-3) vs. Matt Hamill (6-1)
Matt Hamill comes out to the Skynard's "Simple Man." Hamill gets a good response from the crowd. Franklin gets a good pop.
R1- They stand up at the beginning of the fight. Franklin getting more strikes in but Hamill got in a nice right hand. Franklin is hitting leg kicks. Hamill gets a take down with about a minute left in the round and Franklin goes for an arm bar but Hamill breaks free and they are back to their feet. Both guys are cut open. Franklin hits a big knee. Close first round. I think Franklin took this one 10-9 as he was more agressive during the round and landed more shots. Hamill got a take down but didn't get much offense in during the take down and Franklin got a submission attempt (although he never really locked it in) which led to him getting out of the hold pretty quickly).
R2- Franlin landed a good combination in the first minute and is landing some leg kicks. The ref is checking the cut on Franklin but the fight continues, he's not bleeding but the announcers seem to think that he lost a chunk of skin near his eye. Franklin landed a nice kick to Hamill and then follows it up with a kick to the family jewels which causes a stop in the action. Nice slow mo instant reply of the crotch kick and the groan by the crowd. Franklin landing more leg kicks. Franklin gets a good kick to the midsection. Franklin really controlled this fight and is up 2 rounds to nothing. Franklin 20 Hamill 18.
R3- Franklin hits a kick to the midsection and hits a couple of punches and this ones over. Good showing for Rich Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by TKO (strikes) R3 0:39
Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-5) vs. Rashad Evans (16-0-1)
Evans gets some heel heat from the crowd, probably more because they are pro-Liddell than anti-Evans.
R1- They just kind of dance around each other for the first 30 seconds. Liddell got in a shot or two in the first minute or so. Evans then got one and Liddell answers. Not much action in the first two minutes. One of the more lackluster opening rounds I think I've ever seen. If I had to pick someone to give this round with it would be Liddell but he didn't do anything to deserve it. Liddell 10 Evans 9.
R2- They mix it up a little on the cage with Liddell attacking and Evans countering. Evans hitting some combos now. Evans drills Liddell with a right hand and Liddell drops like a sack of potatoes. Nice punch. Evans really had not shown much at all until that one punch but what a punch it was.
On the replay Chuck got caught with a slow looping hook and Rashad just came over the top and hit him with a quick overhand right that just rocked Liddell. This was a case of Liddell underestimating Liddell and leaving himself open and Rashad capitalizing on the mistake. Although it didn't make for a good first round Rashad did a good job not giving into Liddell and making Liddell be the aggressor in the first two rounds instead of the counter puncher.
Winner: Rashad Evans by KO R2 1:51
Rampage and Forrest are shown. Forrest gets a good pop. I think Rashad winning opens things up for a Rampage rematch quicker than he would have gotten one if Liddell won the fight.
Middleweight Fight- Jason MacDonald vs. Jason Lambert
R1- Lambert pulled guard early and took a guillotine. MacDonald popped out after about a minute and a half in the move. MacDonald controlled for the rest of the round until the last 15 seconds as Lambert grabbed another tight guillotine but MacDonald rode it out.
R2- They mix it up right at the beginning of the round and MacDonald takes Lambert down. MacDonald takes Lambert's back and gets the tap via Rear Naked Choke.
Winner: Jason MacDonald by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:27
This was a decent show with a bunch of decent fights and then a great KO in the Main Event. The most interesting thing coming out of tonight was not the fights but where these fighters like Evans, Liddell, Franklin, Henderson, Marquardt go from here
Welterweight Fight- Dong Hyun Kim (10-0-1) vs. Matt Brown (10-6)
Matt Brown comes out to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. Dong Hyun Kim counters with "Higher Ground" by the Chilli Peppers.
R1- They clinched early and Kim took him down and then took his back but Brown stood him up. Kim grabbed a choke while on Brown's back as brown was standing but Brown broke it up. Kim controlled early but the middle portion of the match is even and then with about a minute left in the round Brown got a choke in on Kim that looks kind of like a head lock but Kim takes Brown's back again. Good first round that was close but I give to Kim due to him having control of Brown and his back for at least half the round.
R2- They stand up early in the round and Brown gets some good knees in on Kim. Brown is controlling early and is getting in some decent shots on Kim. Kim hits on up kick but Brown retaliates with some Ground & Pound. Brown really controlled this round and was in a dominate position at the end of the round, could have maybe finished him but he wasn't aggressive enough. Right now Kim looks real tired. I've got the fight 19-19 right now with Brown with the momentum.
R3- Matt Brown forgot his mouth piece to start the round so they stop the fight for a minute after he eats a punch. Kim gets a take down about a minute into the round and gets side control rather quickly but Brown gets out of the position without any damage. Brown gets some shots in as they clinched. Kim going for judo throws but Brown doing a good job stopping them. Kim gets another take down with 2 minutes left and is in Brown's guard. Kim hits some elbows and cuts Brown. Kim wins this round rather handily so i've got him taking Round 1 and 3 and Brown taking Round 3. Really close fight. I give it to Kim but not by much. Kim 29 Brown 28.
Judges score cards are 29-28 Kim, 29-28 Brown, and 29-28 Kim. Split Decision win for Kim. That's pretty much how I had it. Crowd doesn't really like the result.
Winner: Dong Hyun Kim by Decision (Split)
UFC fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida is shown in the crowd. He was supposed to fight Karo Parisyan tonight but Karo pulled out due to injury.
Middleweight Fight- Martin Kampmann (13-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2)
Kampmann is undefeated in the UFC and Marquardt is coming off a controversial loss in which he lost 2 points due to an illegal move and a questional punch to the back of his opponents head. Marquardt comes out to the theme that UFC uses at the beginning of it's PPVs and Kampmann comes out to what sounds like an Eminem song. Kampmann is the first Condomdepot.com fighter of the evening.
R1- They stand up early and Kampmann got in a good close punch. Nate rebounded with a nice kick to the head that sent Kampmann reeling. Nate hit a knee and was throwing a nuch of punches. Nate is all over him and has him in the corner and Kampmann sits down in the corner and the ref stops the fight. Fantastic showing by Marquardt as he was just all over Kampmann after he hit that kick.
Winner: Nate Marquardt by TKO (strikes) R1 1:22
Urijah Faber is at the show tonight. I think he actually attends every single MMA event no matter what company it's for (DREAM, UFC, WEC, etc).
They announce that Faber's fight is being rescheduled due to the hurricanes and will now be on Nov 5th. NO!
Miguel Torres is also with Faber at the fight.
Middleweight Fight- Dan Henderson (22-7) vs. Rousimarr Palhares (17-1)
Henderson is 10 years older than Palhares, about 5 inches taller and has a 3 inch reach advantage. Henderson gets the largest reaction of the evening so far. Palhares is our second condomdepot.com fighter of the evening. Matt Lindland is in Henderson's corner.
Big Boi from Outkast (they are from Atlanta) is shown in the crowd. He is sitting next to Rampage Jackson.
R1- They start out very carefully. No touching for the first 30 seconds. Rousimarr goes for a take down and Henderson nails him with a shot. Back to their feet. Henderson stops a take down and then another and then another and another. Henderson gets some good shots in as they mixed it up. They mix it up again and Palhares gets in a couple of shots and throws some wild kicks. Henderson connecting with some jabs. Palhares finally got a take down with 30 seconds left. Palhares can't get anything and then the bell rings. He looked like he was in position to get a knee bar but didn't have enough time. Henderson takes Round 1 but Palhares started to come on at the end of the round. Good, entertaining first round once it got started.
R2- Palhares picked up Henderson and slammed him down about one minute into the round and is in Henderson's guard. Palhares goes for a leg lock and gets it but Henderson gets out of the move. Palhares goes for a take down but gets caught by Henderson and Henderson locks him up and then they stand back up. Henderson with some strikes. Another take down stuffed by Henderson and he takes Palhares guard. The ref stands them up due to inactivity. This was a really close round. Palhares controlled the opening stanza and then Henderson the last half. I think Palhares was more dominant in his portion of the fight and almost finished Henderson with that leg lock so I think he takes the round. 19-19 so far with one round left.
R3- Henderson stuffs an early take down. Not a whole lot of action in this round. Henderson has connected on a couple of strikes. Two minutes left in the round. Palhares went for a take down but it was stuffed and Henderson got in a shot or two. Henderson went for a punch and looked like a slipped and Palhares almost caught him in a leg lock but Henderson slipped out. Henderson gets a good strike and then stuffs a take down. Henderson ends the fight with three or four good strikes. Not a good final round but Henderson will win this 29-28. Good first two rounds but a very unurgent third round. Not a very impressive victory for Henderson but still a victory.
Judges score cards: 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 in favor of Henderson.
Winner: Dan Henderson by Decision (Unanimous)
Randy Couture is at the event and Joe Rogan interviews him about the Brock Lesnar fight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Tim Boetsch (7-2) vs. Michael Patt (15-2)
R1- Boetch hits a big right hand about 2 minutes into the round and then Ground and Pounds until the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Tim Boetsch by TKO (strikes) R1 2:03
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rich Franklin (25-3) vs. Matt Hamill (6-1)
Matt Hamill comes out to the Skynard's "Simple Man." Hamill gets a good response from the crowd. Franklin gets a good pop.
R1- They stand up at the beginning of the fight. Franklin getting more strikes in but Hamill got in a nice right hand. Franklin is hitting leg kicks. Hamill gets a take down with about a minute left in the round and Franklin goes for an arm bar but Hamill breaks free and they are back to their feet. Both guys are cut open. Franklin hits a big knee. Close first round. I think Franklin took this one 10-9 as he was more agressive during the round and landed more shots. Hamill got a take down but didn't get much offense in during the take down and Franklin got a submission attempt (although he never really locked it in) which led to him getting out of the hold pretty quickly).
R2- Franlin landed a good combination in the first minute and is landing some leg kicks. The ref is checking the cut on Franklin but the fight continues, he's not bleeding but the announcers seem to think that he lost a chunk of skin near his eye. Franklin landed a nice kick to Hamill and then follows it up with a kick to the family jewels which causes a stop in the action. Nice slow mo instant reply of the crotch kick and the groan by the crowd. Franklin landing more leg kicks. Franklin gets a good kick to the midsection. Franklin really controlled this fight and is up 2 rounds to nothing. Franklin 20 Hamill 18.
R3- Franklin hits a kick to the midsection and hits a couple of punches and this ones over. Good showing for Rich Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by TKO (strikes) R3 0:39
Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-5) vs. Rashad Evans (16-0-1)
Evans gets some heel heat from the crowd, probably more because they are pro-Liddell than anti-Evans.
R1- They just kind of dance around each other for the first 30 seconds. Liddell got in a shot or two in the first minute or so. Evans then got one and Liddell answers. Not much action in the first two minutes. One of the more lackluster opening rounds I think I've ever seen. If I had to pick someone to give this round with it would be Liddell but he didn't do anything to deserve it. Liddell 10 Evans 9.
R2- They mix it up a little on the cage with Liddell attacking and Evans countering. Evans hitting some combos now. Evans drills Liddell with a right hand and Liddell drops like a sack of potatoes. Nice punch. Evans really had not shown much at all until that one punch but what a punch it was.
On the replay Chuck got caught with a slow looping hook and Rashad just came over the top and hit him with a quick overhand right that just rocked Liddell. This was a case of Liddell underestimating Liddell and leaving himself open and Rashad capitalizing on the mistake. Although it didn't make for a good first round Rashad did a good job not giving into Liddell and making Liddell be the aggressor in the first two rounds instead of the counter puncher.
Winner: Rashad Evans by KO R2 1:51
Rampage and Forrest are shown. Forrest gets a good pop. I think Rashad winning opens things up for a Rampage rematch quicker than he would have gotten one if Liddell won the fight.
Middleweight Fight- Jason MacDonald vs. Jason Lambert
R1- Lambert pulled guard early and took a guillotine. MacDonald popped out after about a minute and a half in the move. MacDonald controlled for the rest of the round until the last 15 seconds as Lambert grabbed another tight guillotine but MacDonald rode it out.
R2- They mix it up right at the beginning of the round and MacDonald takes Lambert down. MacDonald takes Lambert's back and gets the tap via Rear Naked Choke.
Winner: Jason MacDonald by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 1:27
This was a decent show with a bunch of decent fights and then a great KO in the Main Event. The most interesting thing coming out of tonight was not the fights but where these fighters like Evans, Liddell, Franklin, Henderson, Marquardt go from here
Sunday, May 04, 2008
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
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
UFC Wired 4/26 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 4/26
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (22-5-2) vs. Cheick Kongo (20-3-1)- UFC 75- 9/8/07
R1- Cro Cop is coming off of a knockout at the hands of Gonzaga and Kongo is coming off of a win. Cro Cop got a pretty good ovation at introduction. Mirko is kind of stalking him early- continually moving forward- and got in a couple of punches. Kongo slipped and Mirko jumped all over him but didn’t get any damage as they clinched against the cage. Mirko takes him down and is in control as he slides him up against the cage. Mirko gets full mount with about 50 seconds left in the round. Kongo is doing a pretty good job defending and actually reverses the position at the end of the round. R1 goes to Mirko as he controlled the cage and got more damage. Not a dominate performance but a good first round from him. Still anybody’s fight.
R2- Kongo is the aggressor in Round 2 as he’s throwing jabs and kicks. Kongo gets a take down on Mirko. Kongo controlling the round but not inflicting too much damage. Kongo with some nice knees while in the clinch. This round was all Kongo as he controlled from start to finish.
R3- This round will decide the fight. Kongo gets some nice strikes in right off the bat. Kongo with some knees and there is a low blow by Kongo and we have a break. Kongo with more kicks and jabs. Mirko trying to come back with a couple of kicks but Kongo is the aggressor again in this round. One minute left and Kongo with some knees and a nice kick and ties up Mirko on the cage. Kongo controlled this round and I’ve got him with a 29-28 win on my scorecard. Judges scorecards are all 29-28 in favor of Kongo
Rogan puts over that Kongo broke one of Cro Cop’s ribs in the first round.
Winner: Cheick Kongo via Decision (unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (6-1)- UFC 71- 5/26/07
This is Alexander’s UFC debut and they put Jardine over as being heavily favored coming off of his win against Forrest Griffin.
R1- Jardine starts off with some shots and gets Alexander down. He charges but Alexander catches him and just swarms on him laying down a ton of punches and a knee and more punches and Jardine just crumbles. Alexander takes time to scream at him after he’s knocked out. Just a wild one minute fight. Alexander landed a ton of brutal shots.
Winner: Houston Alexander by KO R1 0:41
Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin
This was on the UFC Unleashed 4/16 show.
Middleweight Title Match: Anderson Silva © vs. Rich Franklin
R1- This is the re-match and it’s in Franklin’s hometown of Cincinnati. Long feeling out process to start. Franklin trying to exchange. Anderson going for the clinch. Doesn’t get it but has Franklin against the cage. Anderson with some knees. Franklin gets the takedown and is in Anderson’s guard but Anderson is real active and they are standing up again with Franklin holding one of Anderson’s legs. Franklin has him up against the cage now. Anderson with some knees. They separate. Anderson with a spinning back kick. They are exchanging on their feet now. Anderson with a nice kick and some punches and knees. Anderson is taking it to him now. Franklin looking at the clock and trying to survive. Franklin with a couple knees. Anderson responds with a knee. Franklin is cut. Franklin with an attempted combo and Anderson dances around it. Anderson with a huge knee and some nice punches and Franklin gets destroyed with a punch at the end of the round and needs help getting back to his corner. Round to Silva- period.
R2- Franklin with some jabs, Anderson goes for the Muy Thai Clinch but misses. Anderson destroys Franklin with a knee and is now pelting him with kicks, knees and punches and it’s over.
Anderson Silva is just so impressive. He waits for his spot and when he attacks he’s so overwhelming. He’s got to be the best fighter in the world right now.
Winner: Anderson Silva by TKO R2 1:07
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (22-5-2) vs. Cheick Kongo (20-3-1)- UFC 75- 9/8/07
R1- Cro Cop is coming off of a knockout at the hands of Gonzaga and Kongo is coming off of a win. Cro Cop got a pretty good ovation at introduction. Mirko is kind of stalking him early- continually moving forward- and got in a couple of punches. Kongo slipped and Mirko jumped all over him but didn’t get any damage as they clinched against the cage. Mirko takes him down and is in control as he slides him up against the cage. Mirko gets full mount with about 50 seconds left in the round. Kongo is doing a pretty good job defending and actually reverses the position at the end of the round. R1 goes to Mirko as he controlled the cage and got more damage. Not a dominate performance but a good first round from him. Still anybody’s fight.
R2- Kongo is the aggressor in Round 2 as he’s throwing jabs and kicks. Kongo gets a take down on Mirko. Kongo controlling the round but not inflicting too much damage. Kongo with some nice knees while in the clinch. This round was all Kongo as he controlled from start to finish.
R3- This round will decide the fight. Kongo gets some nice strikes in right off the bat. Kongo with some knees and there is a low blow by Kongo and we have a break. Kongo with more kicks and jabs. Mirko trying to come back with a couple of kicks but Kongo is the aggressor again in this round. One minute left and Kongo with some knees and a nice kick and ties up Mirko on the cage. Kongo controlled this round and I’ve got him with a 29-28 win on my scorecard. Judges scorecards are all 29-28 in favor of Kongo
Rogan puts over that Kongo broke one of Cro Cop’s ribs in the first round.
Winner: Cheick Kongo via Decision (unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (6-1)- UFC 71- 5/26/07
This is Alexander’s UFC debut and they put Jardine over as being heavily favored coming off of his win against Forrest Griffin.
R1- Jardine starts off with some shots and gets Alexander down. He charges but Alexander catches him and just swarms on him laying down a ton of punches and a knee and more punches and Jardine just crumbles. Alexander takes time to scream at him after he’s knocked out. Just a wild one minute fight. Alexander landed a ton of brutal shots.
Winner: Houston Alexander by KO R1 0:41
Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin
This was on the UFC Unleashed 4/16 show.
Middleweight Title Match: Anderson Silva © vs. Rich Franklin
R1- This is the re-match and it’s in Franklin’s hometown of Cincinnati. Long feeling out process to start. Franklin trying to exchange. Anderson going for the clinch. Doesn’t get it but has Franklin against the cage. Anderson with some knees. Franklin gets the takedown and is in Anderson’s guard but Anderson is real active and they are standing up again with Franklin holding one of Anderson’s legs. Franklin has him up against the cage now. Anderson with some knees. They separate. Anderson with a spinning back kick. They are exchanging on their feet now. Anderson with a nice kick and some punches and knees. Anderson is taking it to him now. Franklin looking at the clock and trying to survive. Franklin with a couple knees. Anderson responds with a knee. Franklin is cut. Franklin with an attempted combo and Anderson dances around it. Anderson with a huge knee and some nice punches and Franklin gets destroyed with a punch at the end of the round and needs help getting back to his corner. Round to Silva- period.
R2- Franklin with some jabs, Anderson goes for the Muy Thai Clinch but misses. Anderson destroys Franklin with a knee and is now pelting him with kicks, knees and punches and it’s over.
Anderson Silva is just so impressive. He waits for his spot and when he attacks he’s so overwhelming. He’s got to be the best fighter in the world right now.
Winner: Anderson Silva by TKO R2 1:07
Monday, April 21, 2008
UFC 83: "Serra vs. St-Pierre 2" Re-Cap/Thoughts
UFC 83
Lightweight Fight: Mac Danzig (18-4-1) vs. Mark Bocek (5-1)
Bocek is Canadian so he gets a big pop. Danzig was the winner of Season 6 of the Ultimate Fighter and has been real impressive in the fights I've seen him in.
R1- They are mixing it up so far on their feet. No one with a clear advantage. Bocek grabs a leg and pushes Mac up against the cage. Danzig grabs an arm to stop it. Bocek finally gets him down and begins to hammer some punches to the side. Mac has him in his guard. Danzig grabs an arm submission but Bocek gets out and gets in some punches. Mac trying to get back to his feet. Bocek's got his back but Mac fights out. Bocek with the advantage in half guard, now in full guard. Danzig trying to grab a submission. Bocek controlling the fight. Danzig works back to his feet. Mac rides him and gets some good shots in. Mac is now on top in half guard. Mac now in full guard and is laying in punches. Bocek grabs him and holds him trying to hold on to win the round. Close round with Danzig rallying at the end. I think Bocek gets this one although he definitely suffered some damage towards the end of the round. He looks much rougher than Danzig does in the corner shots.
R2- Danzig destroys Bocek with a knee to the chin and jumps on him trying to finish but Bocek protects himself. Danzig still on top. Danzig laying in some shots. Bocek brings the fight back to the feet and Mac hits him with another knee and Bocek wilts back to the ground. Danzig on top and getting in some shots. Danzig in full mount. Bocek gives up his back. Danzig just dominating in this round. Danzig releases and they stand up. Bocek getting in some shots and goes for a single leg take down. Danzig going after his arm. Danzig takes the dominant position. Danzig wins this round easily, he just couldn't finish. He just destroyed Bocek with that knee at the beginning of the round.
R3- Bocek going for some punches then goes for the take down and he finally gets it. Bocek is in Danzig's guard trying to pass as Danzig is going for a submission choke from the bottom. Bocek getting some shots from the top. Danzig slips out and gets up. They are in a clinch and Danzig hits another knee. Danzig seems to have gained the advantage again and gets a punch and then a kick. Bocek is bleeding heavily know and the ref stops the fight just as Danzig seems to be gaining the momentum and was looking to really go after him. Bocek is cut badly but they will continue. Crowd roars. Danzig landing some jabs. Danzig punches him into the corner and Danzig gets a leg sweep and is in full mount. Bocek gives up his back with 90 seconds left. Danzig going for a choke but there is so much blood. Danzig gets the win via Rear Naked Choke.
Good fight. Danzig looked real good and Bocek showed a lot of heart.
Winner: Mac Danzig by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3
Kenny Florian did the color commentary for Joe Rogan and was real solid.
Mandy Moore is in the house!
Middleweight Fight: Charles McCarthy (10-4) vs Michael Bisping (15-1)
I've only seen Bisping fight once and he was solid but real unmemorable. This will be the first time i've seen Charles McCarthy. Bisping is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3. Bisping seems to be the crowd favorite here as he gets a good pop during introductions. This is Bisping's first fight at Middleweight.
R1- Bisping is the aggressor early. McCarthy throws some hay makers that miss. Bisping jabbing. Bisping controlling the cage early and McCarthy just curling up and Bisping pelts him a couple times then McCarthy screams at him and plays to the crowd. Bisping controlling early. Bisping with a knee. Bisping with some combos. McCarthy just covering up and doing nothing offensively besides playing to the crowd. Bisping with a knee and then an uppercut. crowd doing the "Ole" chant. McCarthy with a take down which is really his first offensive move that was successful. McCarthy in half guard. McCarthy going after his back and then going after an arm. Bisping trying to get his arm out as McCarthy is trying to get the submission. Bisping gets out and nails some punches. Bisping with some jabs and a knee. Bisping with a kick and some jabs. Bisping with punches and knees and just owning McCarthy who is doing nothing. Bisping just owning McCarthy who is in the fetal. Bisping just owned this round. McCarthy got one take down. The ref calls the fight after the bell as McCarthy is still on the ground where Bisping left him. Bisping looked great in this fight and just picked apart McCarthy.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO R1
Middleweight Fight: Khalib Starnes (10-3-1) vs. Nate Quarry (15-2)
Starnes is Canadian so obviously he's the crowd favorite tonight. Both of these guys were in different seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.
R1- They are dancing around a lot. Quarry is the aggressor and is basically chasing him around the ring. Kalib runs away but then grabs him but they release. Crowd starting to boo as Starnes looks like he wants none of this fight so far. Most of this match is Starnes trying to stay away from Quarry. They are tied up on the cage now. Quarry with a flurry out of the clinch. Quarry with a combo and is chasing Starnes around the ring again. Kalib just continually running away from Quarry. They clinch against the cage. Starnes with his first offensive move of the fight- a knee at one minute left in the round. Quarry though answers. Quarry with a flurry at the end of the round. Quarry just dominates Kalib who spent the majority of the first round running away from Quarry. Not sure what Kalib's game plan is here, he looks like he doesn't want to be in there with Quarry.
R2- Starnes comes out and actually tries to hit a punch and then tries a tie up. Quarry hitting leg kicks. Quarry still the aggressor and Kalib still running away. Starnes grabs a leg on a kick and takes down Quarry briefly and gets in a couple of shots. Quarry quickly back to his feet. Florian is describing this as sparring practice for Quarry. Quarry wins this round again as Starnes is just running away. The Canadian fans are booing Starnes.
R3- Two rounds to none so far for Quarry. So far this round is just more of the same. Quarry with a combo and another. Quarry with a flurry. Quarry is only going to lose here if he trips and breaks his neck cause Starnes is not interested in fighting Quarry tonight. Quarry with another flurry of punches with a couple hitting. Quarry with a big knee that just misses. Starnes just making no attempt at trying to win this fight with only a minute left and way down on the judges cards. Quarry lighting him up now and chasing Starnes and mocking him by doing the running man. Quarry now punching himself.
Starnes with an embarrassing performance and I wonder if he'll see another fight in UFC after this performance. Quarry looked great but Starnes just simply did not want to fight tonight. Starnes and his corner are mad that Quarry is making fun of Starnes but Starnes just put on an embarrassing performance tonight. He simply didn't want to fight. Crowd is booing Starnes whenever he's shown and cheering Quarry. 30-26, 30-27 and 30-24 by unanimous decision. Goldberg says this might be the first 30-24 he's ever seen in UFC. Can't wait to see Quarry fight someone who actually wants to fight.
Winner: Nate Quarry via Decision (Unanimous)
Forrest Griffin is in the house and he's going for the cheap pop with a Montreal Canadians sweater.
Middleweight Fight: Travis Lutter (12-4) vs. Rich Franklin (24-3)
Travis Lutter comes out to Nickelback, so there is one reason to dislike him. Franklin is definitely the crowd favorite in this one. Both guys have lost to Anderson Silva and are still considered top contenders.
R1- They are mixing it up early. Nice to see two guys who actually want to fight. They are tied up against the cage. Lutter's got his back early. Lutter moves to side control and now to half guard. Not much action but Lutter seems to be moving into position. Franklin showing good defense. Lutter gets into full mount with 2 minutes left. Lutter starting to land some punches. Lutter's goit him in the arm bar but Franklin with a magnificent escape and he's back to his feet. Lutter for a take down and Franklin getting in some punches. Lutter still holding onto the leg. First Round goes to Lutter due to him almost finishing the match and controlling the majority of the round. He didn't dominate or inflict much damage though so this is anybody's fight.
R2- Franklin controls early. Lutter misses a take down. Lutter goes again but Franklin denies him and lands a knee and then hits a kick that hurts Lutter. Franklin trying to finish but Lutter grabs Franklin's leg and still has it. Franklin escapes. Franklin with another knee. Lutter is looking hurt. Franklin with some jabs. Franklin with a knee to the body and some punches. Lutter grabs a leg. Lutter is just dead tired. Franklin with some jabs. And more jabs and a big knee. Franklin just dominating. Lutter is down and Franklin looking to finish and the ref calls for the bell. Franklin just dominated this round and Lutter got hurt with knees and punches and gassed out.
Winner: Rich Franklin by TKO R2
Welterweight Title Fight: Matt Serra © (16-4) vs. Georges St-Pierre (15-2)
Here it is. The Main Event. The match that's been hyped up and we've been waiting to see. St-Pierre has a big height and reach advantage. St-Pierre gets a huge reaction. Crowd is really ready for this one.
R1- St-Pierre grabs him immediately and gets to half guard. St-Pierre getting in some short jabs. Serra defending. "GSP" chants by the crowd. St-Pierre with a couple of punches. Serra hitting a couple of elbows from the bottom. Crowd with an "Ole" chant. St-Pierre with a nice combination. St-Pierre controlling this fight. More "GSP" chants. St-Pierre passes the guard and has Serra's back. St-Pierre hitting him with punches. Serra trying to get up but St-Pierre is all over him. St-Pierre with a knee and they are back on their feet. St-Pierre with a Super man punch that barely misses and then takes down Serra again. St-Pierre with punches to end the round. St-Pierre just dominated Round 1. Serra's got a nice bruise under his right eye.
R2- Serra goes for a kick and GSP grabs his leg and takes him down against the cage. Crowd with an "Ole" chant. They are on their feet now. GSP with some nice jabs. GSP with another take down. GSP with a big elbow on the ground. GSP has Serra's back and Serra flips over and GSP is on top in guard position. GSP with punches on top. GSP with a knee to the side and another. GSP with punches and knees. GSP with side control and gets Serra's back. GSP with punches and knees to the midsection. Serra turns over but GSP is peppering him with knees to the back and the ref stops the fight as Serra is not defending himself and GSP does a back flip. Relatively easy win for GSP as he just dominated and Serra ran out of gas mid-second round probably due to inactivity coming off the injury. Serra raises GSP's hand after the fight and picks him up in celebration as a show of respect. GSP just looked phenomenal in this fight.
Winner: Georges St-Pierre via TKO R2 and new Welterweight Champion.
The guys who came out looking really good tonight were Georges St-Pierre, Mac Danzig, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Nate Quarry. They all looked impressive in their wins. Mark Bocek probably looked best in defeat.
Preliminary Match:
Welterweight Fight: Jonathan Goulet (21-9-1) vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4)
Goulet is Canadian so he'll be the crowd favorite here. Goulet comes out in a Montreal Canadians sweater.
R1- Hironaka tries an early take down but it's denied. Goulet trying for some kicks. Hironaka going for another takedown but eats two knees. They tie up against the fence but the ref separates them. Goulet with a combo. Goulet with a series of strikes. Hironaka back with jabs. Hironaka shoots in but is denied again. Goulet with another combo and a jab. Hironaka gets in a good counter punch. Goulet controlling the action. Hironaka again misses a take down and eats another knee. Hironaka drops Goulet with a punch and is now on top and trying to finish. Hironaka all over Goulet on the ground. Goulet barely makes it to the second round. Goulet controlled this fight for the first 4 minutes but just got dominated in the last minute of the fight. Gotta give this to Hironaka due to the damage that he inflicted after he hit a nice left handed counter punch to Goulet's chin.
R2- They are mixing it up pretty evenly early in Round 2. Hironaka with a combo and Goulet almost drops. Goulet lands a big punch and jumps on top and hit a knee and is chasing Hironaka. Goulet hits him squarely with another punch and ends the fight.
Good fight. Both guys showed some good offense and Goulet persevered after almost losing in Round 1.
Winner: Jonathan Goulet via TKO R2 (2:07)
Lightweight Fight: Mac Danzig (18-4-1) vs. Mark Bocek (5-1)
Bocek is Canadian so he gets a big pop. Danzig was the winner of Season 6 of the Ultimate Fighter and has been real impressive in the fights I've seen him in.
R1- They are mixing it up so far on their feet. No one with a clear advantage. Bocek grabs a leg and pushes Mac up against the cage. Danzig grabs an arm to stop it. Bocek finally gets him down and begins to hammer some punches to the side. Mac has him in his guard. Danzig grabs an arm submission but Bocek gets out and gets in some punches. Mac trying to get back to his feet. Bocek's got his back but Mac fights out. Bocek with the advantage in half guard, now in full guard. Danzig trying to grab a submission. Bocek controlling the fight. Danzig works back to his feet. Mac rides him and gets some good shots in. Mac is now on top in half guard. Mac now in full guard and is laying in punches. Bocek grabs him and holds him trying to hold on to win the round. Close round with Danzig rallying at the end. I think Bocek gets this one although he definitely suffered some damage towards the end of the round. He looks much rougher than Danzig does in the corner shots.
R2- Danzig destroys Bocek with a knee to the chin and jumps on him trying to finish but Bocek protects himself. Danzig still on top. Danzig laying in some shots. Bocek brings the fight back to the feet and Mac hits him with another knee and Bocek wilts back to the ground. Danzig on top and getting in some shots. Danzig in full mount. Bocek gives up his back. Danzig just dominating in this round. Danzig releases and they stand up. Bocek getting in some shots and goes for a single leg take down. Danzig going after his arm. Danzig takes the dominant position. Danzig wins this round easily, he just couldn't finish. He just destroyed Bocek with that knee at the beginning of the round.
R3- Bocek going for some punches then goes for the take down and he finally gets it. Bocek is in Danzig's guard trying to pass as Danzig is going for a submission choke from the bottom. Bocek getting some shots from the top. Danzig slips out and gets up. They are in a clinch and Danzig hits another knee. Danzig seems to have gained the advantage again and gets a punch and then a kick. Bocek is bleeding heavily know and the ref stops the fight just as Danzig seems to be gaining the momentum and was looking to really go after him. Bocek is cut badly but they will continue. Crowd roars. Danzig landing some jabs. Danzig punches him into the corner and Danzig gets a leg sweep and is in full mount. Bocek gives up his back with 90 seconds left. Danzig going for a choke but there is so much blood. Danzig gets the win via Rear Naked Choke.
Good fight. Danzig looked real good and Bocek showed a lot of heart.
Winner: Mac Danzig by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R3
Kenny Florian did the color commentary for Joe Rogan and was real solid.
Mandy Moore is in the house!
Middleweight Fight: Charles McCarthy (10-4) vs Michael Bisping (15-1)
I've only seen Bisping fight once and he was solid but real unmemorable. This will be the first time i've seen Charles McCarthy. Bisping is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3. Bisping seems to be the crowd favorite here as he gets a good pop during introductions. This is Bisping's first fight at Middleweight.
R1- Bisping is the aggressor early. McCarthy throws some hay makers that miss. Bisping jabbing. Bisping controlling the cage early and McCarthy just curling up and Bisping pelts him a couple times then McCarthy screams at him and plays to the crowd. Bisping controlling early. Bisping with a knee. Bisping with some combos. McCarthy just covering up and doing nothing offensively besides playing to the crowd. Bisping with a knee and then an uppercut. crowd doing the "Ole" chant. McCarthy with a take down which is really his first offensive move that was successful. McCarthy in half guard. McCarthy going after his back and then going after an arm. Bisping trying to get his arm out as McCarthy is trying to get the submission. Bisping gets out and nails some punches. Bisping with some jabs and a knee. Bisping with a kick and some jabs. Bisping with punches and knees and just owning McCarthy who is doing nothing. Bisping just owning McCarthy who is in the fetal. Bisping just owned this round. McCarthy got one take down. The ref calls the fight after the bell as McCarthy is still on the ground where Bisping left him. Bisping looked great in this fight and just picked apart McCarthy.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO R1
Middleweight Fight: Khalib Starnes (10-3-1) vs. Nate Quarry (15-2)
Starnes is Canadian so obviously he's the crowd favorite tonight. Both of these guys were in different seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.
R1- They are dancing around a lot. Quarry is the aggressor and is basically chasing him around the ring. Kalib runs away but then grabs him but they release. Crowd starting to boo as Starnes looks like he wants none of this fight so far. Most of this match is Starnes trying to stay away from Quarry. They are tied up on the cage now. Quarry with a flurry out of the clinch. Quarry with a combo and is chasing Starnes around the ring again. Kalib just continually running away from Quarry. They clinch against the cage. Starnes with his first offensive move of the fight- a knee at one minute left in the round. Quarry though answers. Quarry with a flurry at the end of the round. Quarry just dominates Kalib who spent the majority of the first round running away from Quarry. Not sure what Kalib's game plan is here, he looks like he doesn't want to be in there with Quarry.
R2- Starnes comes out and actually tries to hit a punch and then tries a tie up. Quarry hitting leg kicks. Quarry still the aggressor and Kalib still running away. Starnes grabs a leg on a kick and takes down Quarry briefly and gets in a couple of shots. Quarry quickly back to his feet. Florian is describing this as sparring practice for Quarry. Quarry wins this round again as Starnes is just running away. The Canadian fans are booing Starnes.
R3- Two rounds to none so far for Quarry. So far this round is just more of the same. Quarry with a combo and another. Quarry with a flurry. Quarry is only going to lose here if he trips and breaks his neck cause Starnes is not interested in fighting Quarry tonight. Quarry with another flurry of punches with a couple hitting. Quarry with a big knee that just misses. Starnes just making no attempt at trying to win this fight with only a minute left and way down on the judges cards. Quarry lighting him up now and chasing Starnes and mocking him by doing the running man. Quarry now punching himself.
Starnes with an embarrassing performance and I wonder if he'll see another fight in UFC after this performance. Quarry looked great but Starnes just simply did not want to fight tonight. Starnes and his corner are mad that Quarry is making fun of Starnes but Starnes just put on an embarrassing performance tonight. He simply didn't want to fight. Crowd is booing Starnes whenever he's shown and cheering Quarry. 30-26, 30-27 and 30-24 by unanimous decision. Goldberg says this might be the first 30-24 he's ever seen in UFC. Can't wait to see Quarry fight someone who actually wants to fight.
Winner: Nate Quarry via Decision (Unanimous)
Forrest Griffin is in the house and he's going for the cheap pop with a Montreal Canadians sweater.
Middleweight Fight: Travis Lutter (12-4) vs. Rich Franklin (24-3)
Travis Lutter comes out to Nickelback, so there is one reason to dislike him. Franklin is definitely the crowd favorite in this one. Both guys have lost to Anderson Silva and are still considered top contenders.
R1- They are mixing it up early. Nice to see two guys who actually want to fight. They are tied up against the cage. Lutter's got his back early. Lutter moves to side control and now to half guard. Not much action but Lutter seems to be moving into position. Franklin showing good defense. Lutter gets into full mount with 2 minutes left. Lutter starting to land some punches. Lutter's goit him in the arm bar but Franklin with a magnificent escape and he's back to his feet. Lutter for a take down and Franklin getting in some punches. Lutter still holding onto the leg. First Round goes to Lutter due to him almost finishing the match and controlling the majority of the round. He didn't dominate or inflict much damage though so this is anybody's fight.
R2- Franklin controls early. Lutter misses a take down. Lutter goes again but Franklin denies him and lands a knee and then hits a kick that hurts Lutter. Franklin trying to finish but Lutter grabs Franklin's leg and still has it. Franklin escapes. Franklin with another knee. Lutter is looking hurt. Franklin with some jabs. Franklin with a knee to the body and some punches. Lutter grabs a leg. Lutter is just dead tired. Franklin with some jabs. And more jabs and a big knee. Franklin just dominating. Lutter is down and Franklin looking to finish and the ref calls for the bell. Franklin just dominated this round and Lutter got hurt with knees and punches and gassed out.
Winner: Rich Franklin by TKO R2
Welterweight Title Fight: Matt Serra © (16-4) vs. Georges St-Pierre (15-2)
Here it is. The Main Event. The match that's been hyped up and we've been waiting to see. St-Pierre has a big height and reach advantage. St-Pierre gets a huge reaction. Crowd is really ready for this one.
R1- St-Pierre grabs him immediately and gets to half guard. St-Pierre getting in some short jabs. Serra defending. "GSP" chants by the crowd. St-Pierre with a couple of punches. Serra hitting a couple of elbows from the bottom. Crowd with an "Ole" chant. St-Pierre with a nice combination. St-Pierre controlling this fight. More "GSP" chants. St-Pierre passes the guard and has Serra's back. St-Pierre hitting him with punches. Serra trying to get up but St-Pierre is all over him. St-Pierre with a knee and they are back on their feet. St-Pierre with a Super man punch that barely misses and then takes down Serra again. St-Pierre with punches to end the round. St-Pierre just dominated Round 1. Serra's got a nice bruise under his right eye.
R2- Serra goes for a kick and GSP grabs his leg and takes him down against the cage. Crowd with an "Ole" chant. They are on their feet now. GSP with some nice jabs. GSP with another take down. GSP with a big elbow on the ground. GSP has Serra's back and Serra flips over and GSP is on top in guard position. GSP with punches on top. GSP with a knee to the side and another. GSP with punches and knees. GSP with side control and gets Serra's back. GSP with punches and knees to the midsection. Serra turns over but GSP is peppering him with knees to the back and the ref stops the fight as Serra is not defending himself and GSP does a back flip. Relatively easy win for GSP as he just dominated and Serra ran out of gas mid-second round probably due to inactivity coming off the injury. Serra raises GSP's hand after the fight and picks him up in celebration as a show of respect. GSP just looked phenomenal in this fight.
Winner: Georges St-Pierre via TKO R2 and new Welterweight Champion.
The guys who came out looking really good tonight were Georges St-Pierre, Mac Danzig, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Nate Quarry. They all looked impressive in their wins. Mark Bocek probably looked best in defeat.
Preliminary Match:
Welterweight Fight: Jonathan Goulet (21-9-1) vs Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-4)
Goulet is Canadian so he'll be the crowd favorite here. Goulet comes out in a Montreal Canadians sweater.
R1- Hironaka tries an early take down but it's denied. Goulet trying for some kicks. Hironaka going for another takedown but eats two knees. They tie up against the fence but the ref separates them. Goulet with a combo. Goulet with a series of strikes. Hironaka back with jabs. Hironaka shoots in but is denied again. Goulet with another combo and a jab. Hironaka gets in a good counter punch. Goulet controlling the action. Hironaka again misses a take down and eats another knee. Hironaka drops Goulet with a punch and is now on top and trying to finish. Hironaka all over Goulet on the ground. Goulet barely makes it to the second round. Goulet controlled this fight for the first 4 minutes but just got dominated in the last minute of the fight. Gotta give this to Hironaka due to the damage that he inflicted after he hit a nice left handed counter punch to Goulet's chin.
R2- They are mixing it up pretty evenly early in Round 2. Hironaka with a combo and Goulet almost drops. Goulet lands a big punch and jumps on top and hit a knee and is chasing Hironaka. Goulet hits him squarely with another punch and ends the fight.
Good fight. Both guys showed some good offense and Goulet persevered after almost losing in Round 1.
Winner: Jonathan Goulet via TKO R2 (2:07)
UFC Unleashed 4/16 TV Re-Cap
UFC Unleashed 4/16
Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
R1- They really mix it up early and Sakara grabs him and takes him down but Alexander gets back to his feet quickly. They are going after each other pretty good and Alexander nails Sakara and drops him and is now pounding him and the ref stops it in what seemed to be under 2 minutes. Just a real quick aggressive fight. Alexander looked dominant here and not like the same guy that just got dropped at Fight Night.
Winner: Houston Alexander by KO R1 1:01
Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping
R1- This is hyped by Mike Goldberg was the battle of Ultimate Fighter 2 and 3. Evans is unbeaten at 15-0-1 (with a draw against Tito Ortiz). Evans is the aggressor early and goes for a take down as he backs Bisping against the cage. Evans works him down against the cage but Bisping gets back to his feet. Evans hits a couple of punches and goes back in after the take down. The ref separates them and Rashad hits some punches and they tie-up again against the cage. Evans seems to be the dominant fighter but not a lot of damage being done by either guy. Bisping goes for a kick and Evans grabs his leg and takes him down and falls into Bisping’s guard. Evans stands up and throws a big punch. Evans has side control now. Bisping slips out and they are up against the cage again. Bisping grabs a clinch and gets a knee. Rashad with some elbows and Rashad takes him down again and is now in half guard. Evans controlled this round and definitely won it. Bisping did a good job in getting out of some bad situations but needs to come off with some offense if he wants to have a chance in this one.
R2- Evans with a takedown attempt and then slams Bisping to the mat. Evans is in Bisping’s guard. Evans tries some punches. Bisping doing a good job on defense. Not much going on right now as they are on the mat and the ref stands them up with 3 minutes left. Bisping gets a jab after a couple of Evans misses. Bisping starting to get some shots in now but he eats a punch from Evans. Pretty even stand up fight going on right now. Evans goes for a take down but Bisping defends with a clinch and a knee. Evans seems to be a little winded here. Bisping grabs a clinch and nails a knee to the mid-section. Evans grabs Bisping and moves him against the cage. Nothing doing and they stand back up in the middle of the ring. Bisping with a knee and then gets a slam after the buzzer. This round was very even. I could see it going either way.
R3- They start out pretty even. Evans grabs a leg and then takes down Bisping. Evans has him up against the cage. Bisping reverses and Evans is up against the cage now and now they stand back up with Bisping having Evans against the cage and now they stand up in the center. Evans with a combo but he looks real winded. Evans shoots in for a take down and has Bisping up against the cage. They stand up and then Evans goes for another take down but it’s defended. Neither guy really going for the win here. Now they start to mix it up again. Evans goes for a take down with 10 seconds left to solidify his win and gets it.
Not a real exciting fight. Both guys looked OK but neither guy looked like a top contender in there. Evans definitely has the tools but he doesn’t have the cardio right now as he was wasted in the last two rounds and just barely hung on here and should pick up a unanimous decision. 29-28 Evans, 29-28 Bisping, 29-28 Evans. Not sure how that one judge got Bisping as the winner but that’s why you have to finish your fights.
Winner: Rashad Evans by Decision (Split)
Middleweight Title Match: Anderson Silva © vs. Rich Franklin
R1- This is the re-match and it’s in Franklin’s hometown of Cincinnati. Long feeling out process to start. Franklin trying to exchange. Anderson going for the clinch. Doesn’t get it but has Franklin against the cage. Anderson with some knees. Franklin gets the takedown and is in Anderson’s guard but Anderson is real active and they are standing up again with Franklin holding one of Anderson’s legs. Franklin has him up against the cage now. Anderson with some knees. They separate. Anderson with a spinning back kick. They are exchanging on their feet now. Anderson with a nice kick and some punches and knees. Anderson is taking it to him now. Franklin looking at the clock and trying to survive. Franklin with a couple knees. Anderson responds with a knee. Franklin is cut. Franklin with an attempted combo and Anderson dances around it. Anderson with a huge knee and some nice punches and Franklin gets destroyed with a punch at the end of the round and needs help getting back to his corner. Round to Silva- period.
R2- Franklin with some jabs, Anderson goes for the Muy Thai Clinch but misses. Anderson destroys Franklin with a knee and is now pelting him with kicks, knees and punches and it’s over.
Anderson Silva is just so impressive. He waits for his spot and when he attacks he’s so overwhelming. He’s got to be the best fighter in the world right now.
Winner: Anderson Silva by TKO R2 1:07
Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
R1- They really mix it up early and Sakara grabs him and takes him down but Alexander gets back to his feet quickly. They are going after each other pretty good and Alexander nails Sakara and drops him and is now pounding him and the ref stops it in what seemed to be under 2 minutes. Just a real quick aggressive fight. Alexander looked dominant here and not like the same guy that just got dropped at Fight Night.
Winner: Houston Alexander by KO R1 1:01
Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping
R1- This is hyped by Mike Goldberg was the battle of Ultimate Fighter 2 and 3. Evans is unbeaten at 15-0-1 (with a draw against Tito Ortiz). Evans is the aggressor early and goes for a take down as he backs Bisping against the cage. Evans works him down against the cage but Bisping gets back to his feet. Evans hits a couple of punches and goes back in after the take down. The ref separates them and Rashad hits some punches and they tie-up again against the cage. Evans seems to be the dominant fighter but not a lot of damage being done by either guy. Bisping goes for a kick and Evans grabs his leg and takes him down and falls into Bisping’s guard. Evans stands up and throws a big punch. Evans has side control now. Bisping slips out and they are up against the cage again. Bisping grabs a clinch and gets a knee. Rashad with some elbows and Rashad takes him down again and is now in half guard. Evans controlled this round and definitely won it. Bisping did a good job in getting out of some bad situations but needs to come off with some offense if he wants to have a chance in this one.
R2- Evans with a takedown attempt and then slams Bisping to the mat. Evans is in Bisping’s guard. Evans tries some punches. Bisping doing a good job on defense. Not much going on right now as they are on the mat and the ref stands them up with 3 minutes left. Bisping gets a jab after a couple of Evans misses. Bisping starting to get some shots in now but he eats a punch from Evans. Pretty even stand up fight going on right now. Evans goes for a take down but Bisping defends with a clinch and a knee. Evans seems to be a little winded here. Bisping grabs a clinch and nails a knee to the mid-section. Evans grabs Bisping and moves him against the cage. Nothing doing and they stand back up in the middle of the ring. Bisping with a knee and then gets a slam after the buzzer. This round was very even. I could see it going either way.
R3- They start out pretty even. Evans grabs a leg and then takes down Bisping. Evans has him up against the cage. Bisping reverses and Evans is up against the cage now and now they stand back up with Bisping having Evans against the cage and now they stand up in the center. Evans with a combo but he looks real winded. Evans shoots in for a take down and has Bisping up against the cage. They stand up and then Evans goes for another take down but it’s defended. Neither guy really going for the win here. Now they start to mix it up again. Evans goes for a take down with 10 seconds left to solidify his win and gets it.
Not a real exciting fight. Both guys looked OK but neither guy looked like a top contender in there. Evans definitely has the tools but he doesn’t have the cardio right now as he was wasted in the last two rounds and just barely hung on here and should pick up a unanimous decision. 29-28 Evans, 29-28 Bisping, 29-28 Evans. Not sure how that one judge got Bisping as the winner but that’s why you have to finish your fights.
Winner: Rashad Evans by Decision (Split)
Middleweight Title Match: Anderson Silva © vs. Rich Franklin
R1- This is the re-match and it’s in Franklin’s hometown of Cincinnati. Long feeling out process to start. Franklin trying to exchange. Anderson going for the clinch. Doesn’t get it but has Franklin against the cage. Anderson with some knees. Franklin gets the takedown and is in Anderson’s guard but Anderson is real active and they are standing up again with Franklin holding one of Anderson’s legs. Franklin has him up against the cage now. Anderson with some knees. They separate. Anderson with a spinning back kick. They are exchanging on their feet now. Anderson with a nice kick and some punches and knees. Anderson is taking it to him now. Franklin looking at the clock and trying to survive. Franklin with a couple knees. Anderson responds with a knee. Franklin is cut. Franklin with an attempted combo and Anderson dances around it. Anderson with a huge knee and some nice punches and Franklin gets destroyed with a punch at the end of the round and needs help getting back to his corner. Round to Silva- period.
R2- Franklin with some jabs, Anderson goes for the Muy Thai Clinch but misses. Anderson destroys Franklin with a knee and is now pelting him with kicks, knees and punches and it’s over.
Anderson Silva is just so impressive. He waits for his spot and when he attacks he’s so overwhelming. He’s got to be the best fighter in the world right now.
Winner: Anderson Silva by TKO R2 1:07
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