UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun
10/24/09
Los Angeles, Ca
Staples Center
Lyoto Machida makes his first defense of his Light Heavyweight Title tonight against Shogun Rua. Cain Velasquez will try to stay undefeated when he takes on Ben Rothwell.
Welterweight Fight (Catchweight of 176)- Anthony Johnson (7-2) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3)
Yoshida subbed Brandon Wolff at UFC 98. Anthony Johnson TKO’d Luigi Fioravanti at Fight Night 17. Yoshida is a 4th degree Judo Black Belt. Johnson missed weight for this fight by six pounds. Joe Rogan says he’s been rumored to walk around as big as 220 so his days as a Welterweight might be numbered. Johnson has been training with Cung Le and has Le and Josh Thomson in his corner. Johnson has a 3” height, 8” reach and 6 lb weight advantage.
R1- Johnson landed some punches early in the clinch and then decked him with a right hand and this one is over. Rogan pointed out that these guys looked like they were in different weight divisions. Johnson looked great but he missed weight and he has got to move up in weight if he can’t make the cut to 170.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Punches) R1 0:41
Post-fight Johnson said that he had gotten heavy because of a knee injury that he sustained in training for Matt Brown previously. He owned up for not making weight but said that he’s not planning on moving up weight classes yet.
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is in the crowd.
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (24-4) vs. Joe Stevenson (35-10)
Fisher is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Caol Uno in a very close fight. Fisher is on a 3 fight win streak. Stevenson is coming off of a win over Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision at the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. Stevenson is currently training with Greg Jackson and has him in his corner for the fight. Stevenson is a jiu jitsu and judo black belt.
R1- Stevenson opened up a cut near Spencer’s eye. Stevenson fights hard for a take down but Spencer stuffs him and the ref breaks up the clinch. Spencer is blinking a lot and having some issues with the blood in his eye. Stevenson finally gets a take down with about half a minute left in the round. Joe lands some good Ground and Pound as Spencer turtled up. Stevenson takes this round and is up 10-9.
R2- Stevenson got a take down in the second minute of the round. Stevenson lands some good elbows in half guard. Stevenson just starts destroying Spencer with elbows and Herb Dean steps in and puts a stop to the fight. Stevenson has looked really good under the direction of Greg Jackson.
They announce the win as tapout due to strikes.
Winner: Joe Stevenson by Submission (Elbow Strikes) R2 4:03
Chris Tucker is at the fights with his sunglasses.
Middleweight Fight- Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen
The Dean of Draws Yushin Okami makes it onto the PPV in a televised pre-PPV fight. Okami’s only loss in UFC is to Rich Franklin. Matt Lindland is in Sonnen’s corner.
R1- Sonnen gets a take down in the first minute. Okami keeps getting up but Sonnen keeps taking him back down. Okami gets back to his feet about half way through the round. Sonnen got another take down with about a minute left in the round. Sonnen takes the first round 10-9.
R2- This was a pretty even round but Sonnen seemed to start getting the better of Okami towards the end of the round.
R3- Sonnen got a take down about half way through the round and landed some Ground and Pound but Okami got back up. Okami grabbed Sonnen with a kimura in full guard but could not keep it as Sonnen landed some body punches. Sonnen is going to win this fight by decision. Really good win for Sonnen.
Judges score cards say:
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Decision (Unanimous) 30-27 on all 3 score cards
Catchweight Fight- Josh Neer (25-8-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (29-6)
Tibau comes out to “Iron Man” but doesn’t have any spiked shoulder pads. Tibau is coming off a decision loss to Melvin Guillard. Tibau is fighting out of American Top Team and is a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Neer is coming off a decision loss to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101. Neer came in at 156.5 lbs and Tibau at 157 so that’s why this is a catchweight fight.
R1- Tibau got a wicked slam early but Neer got back to his feet. Tibau got another big take down/slam but Neer got up again after a short amount of time on the ground. Tibau got a third take down but Neer pushed him off when he tried to pass. Tibau got a fourth take down. Neer got to his feet and Tibau tried to grab a guillotine but Neer quickly slipped out. Tibau took this round 10-9.
Jerry Ferrera (turtle from Entourage) was shown in the crowd during the intermission between rounds. Jeremy Piven (also from Entourage) was shown a bit later.
R2- Tibau starts off the round with another powerful take down but Neer again gets up quickly. Tibau is taking Neer down at will but is not able to hold him down. Tibau was able to get a mount with half of the round left. Neer gave up his back to get out of mount and Tibau tried to get an arm bar but couldn’t and Neer ended up on top briefly. I’ve got Tibau up 20-18 but he seems to be fading a bit.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are at the show tonight.
R3- Tibau started off the round with a take down. Neer was able to stuff three take downs. Tibau gets another take down with two minutes left in the fight but couldn’t hold him down. Tibau finishes the fight with yet another take down. Tibau really dominated this fight with take downs. The only round that was close was the final one.
Judges score cards say: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28
Winner: Gleison Tibau by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (6-0) vs. Ben Rothwell (30-6)
Rothwell is making his UFC debut and is a former IFL Heavyweight Champion. Velasquez is a Top 10 Heavyweight and is coming off a big unanimous decision win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. Rothwell has a 3” height and 3” reach advantage and has a huge weight advantage of 27 lbs. Velasquez is from California and is a big fan favorite in this fight. Rothwell has won 14 of his last 15 fights and was 9-0 in IFL fights.
R1- Cain got a take down in the first 30 seconds but Rothwell stood back up without taking any damage. Cain got another take down at the two minute mark of the round. Cain landed a couple of punches before Rothwell got to his feet. Cain got Rothwell down again and landed some good punches and looked like he opened up a cut on Rothwell. Cain is starting to land some good punches. Cain landed some hammer fists and then peppered Rothwell with several punches. Cain is just dominating Rothwell so far. Somehow Rothwell survives that round but he took a beating in the second part of the round. 10-8 round in favor of Cain.
R2- Cain opens up the round with a take down and lands some good shots. Cain lands some big shots against the cage and Mazzagatti steps in and stops the fight. Rothwell is upset. Definitely an awkward stoppage but Cain was completely dominating the fight up to that point. Not a good time to stop the fight by Mazzagatti as Cain was landing some good punches but Rothwell was in the process of getting back to his feet.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Punches) R2 0:58
Chuck Liddell is at the fights as is Michael Clarke Duncan.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Lyoto Machida © (15-0) vs. Shogun Rua (18-3)
Lyoto has had 15 career fights and has never been knocked down. He’s also never lost a round in any of his UFC fights and has absorbed fewer strikes than any other fighter in UFC history. Shogun has also never been knocked down in the UFC and has a 46% strike accuracy percentage (versus 35% of the average fighter). Machida gets a really good reception from the crowd.
R1- Machida hits a few knees early. Shogun clinched Machida a couple of times but didn’t land anything significant. Really close round with neither guy really having an advantage. Shogun was the aggressor but in a title fight I’ve got to give the benefit of the scoring to the champion if neither fighter looked like they won the round. So I’ve got 10-9 Machida (it would be a 10-10 if it was allowed to be scored that way).
R2- Machida landed a couple of strikes in the opening minute. Machida landed a punch on Shogun and knocked him off balance and later hit a leg kick that did the same thing. Machida hit a side kick at the two minute mark but Shogun countered with one of his own. Shogun clinched Machida and landed some knees on Machida’s legs. Another close round that I’ve got going to Machida. Machida 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Shogun opens up with a body kick. Machida counters with a combination. They had two good exchanges where it looked like both guys hit what they went for. Shogun is landing some good leg kicks in this round. Machida landed some punches and Shogun hit a counter as well. Really close round that Machida probably stole with that last flurry. Machida 30-27 on my score card.
R4- Shogun is landing some leg kicks early in the round. Machida slipped and Shogun quickly rushed in for a take down but couldn’t get it. Not a lot of action in this round but Shogun definitely got the better of the little strikes that hit in this round. Machida 39-37 so far.
R5- Shogun continues with the onslaught of leg kicks. But I really don’t think leg kicks should win you a championship unless they are devastating and if they are devastating. Machida landed some knees and Shogun responded with a kick. Shogun landed a couple of strikes with about a minute and a half left in the fight. Close round but I think Shogun did enough to win this round. I’ve got this fight as Machida 48 Shogun 47. Really close fight with 5 very competitive and close rounds. Shogun fought a good fight but I don’t think he did enough to unseat the champion. I could definitely see a split decision by the judges.
Judges score cards say: All 3 judges score the fight 48-47 in favor of Machida.
Winner and still champion: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
Showing posts with label Spencer Fisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spencer Fisher. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
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.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Retro Re-Cap: UFC Fight Night 8 1/25/07
UFC Fight Night 8 1/25/07
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (20-2) vs. Hermes Franca (17-5)
Franca is sporting some sweet bright purple hair for this fight.
R1- Franca got a take down about a minute and a half into the round. Franca went for a leg lock but Spencer got out without any damage. Pretty even stand up throughout the round and then Franca got another take down with about a minute and a half left in the round. Franca got some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round to secure a 10-9 round.
R2- Franca grabbed a leg and took Spencer’s guard in the first minute of the round. They stood back up and Franca seemed to be getting a little bit tired. Franca got some good stand up in late in the round and Spencer didn’t go down but the ref stopped the fight. Franca was throwing some loopy haymakers and he happened to hit Spencer with one and that was what really hurt Spencer.
Winner: Hermes Franca TKO (Strikes) R2 4:03
Heavyweight Fight- Heath Herring (26-11) vs. Jake O’Brien (9-0)
This is Heath Herring’s UFC debut. O’Brien was a D1 wrestler at Purdue. Herring has 15 pounds on O’Brien.
R1- Herring hit a left hand and knocked O’Brien down at the two minute mark but O’Brien turned the tables on his and took his guard. O’Brien ended the round in Herring’s half guard. Not much action in the first round and not much damage done. O’Brien 10-9.
R2- O’Brien shot and got a take down about one minute into the round but can’t really get anything despite mounting and taking Herring’s back. O’Brien got Heath down again and opened up a cut on Herring. Heath got a brief take down at the end of the round but O’Brien easily rolled him over. O’Brien 20-18 so far.
R3- O’Brien really controlled but didn’t inflict any offense. They stood up with about a minute left and Herring landed a bunch but then got taken down again. Really poor showing by Herring and O’Brien fought a smart fight he just didn’t do anything to put Herring away.
Judges say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of O’Brien
Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman (13-4) vs. Chris Price (8-1)
Price comes in at 192 pounds and did not make the 185 weight limit. Herman agreed to the fight anyway. That’s a large amount to miss weight.
R1- Herman got a take down and Price got a kimura but couldn’t keep it. Harman got an arm bar and tapped out Price. Good showing by Herman.
Winner: Ed Herman by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 2:58
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rashad Evans (14-0) vs. Sean Salmon (9-1)
R1- Salmon goes for a Karate Kid type move early that looks hilarious. Not much contact in the first minute. Neither guy really looks like they want to fight early. Evans is content to counter punch. They tie up 2 minutes in and Salmon takes Evans down and gets half guard. Salmon got side control but Evans quickly got to his feet. Salmon gets a couple of punches in on the cage. Salmon grabs a leg and takes down Evans again. Salmon is landing some blows on Evans. Round 1 easily goes to Salmon as Rashad didn’t really do anything and got taken down twice and sustained more damage.
R2- Salmon comes in and slips and Evans hits a knee and then attacks and gets his first advantage of the fight. After this Evans looks like the aggressor as he’s started to take control of the ring and then he just DESTROYS Salmon with a kick to the head. Awesome finish to the fight after a very poor first round by Evans. Evans started really slow, seemed very nervous but after he got that one knee his demeanor kind of changed and then he just nailed the finish.
Winner: Rashad Evans via KO (kick) R2
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (20-2) vs. Hermes Franca (17-5)
Franca is sporting some sweet bright purple hair for this fight.
R1- Franca got a take down about a minute and a half into the round. Franca went for a leg lock but Spencer got out without any damage. Pretty even stand up throughout the round and then Franca got another take down with about a minute and a half left in the round. Franca got some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round to secure a 10-9 round.
R2- Franca grabbed a leg and took Spencer’s guard in the first minute of the round. They stood back up and Franca seemed to be getting a little bit tired. Franca got some good stand up in late in the round and Spencer didn’t go down but the ref stopped the fight. Franca was throwing some loopy haymakers and he happened to hit Spencer with one and that was what really hurt Spencer.
Winner: Hermes Franca TKO (Strikes) R2 4:03
Heavyweight Fight- Heath Herring (26-11) vs. Jake O’Brien (9-0)
This is Heath Herring’s UFC debut. O’Brien was a D1 wrestler at Purdue. Herring has 15 pounds on O’Brien.
R1- Herring hit a left hand and knocked O’Brien down at the two minute mark but O’Brien turned the tables on his and took his guard. O’Brien ended the round in Herring’s half guard. Not much action in the first round and not much damage done. O’Brien 10-9.
R2- O’Brien shot and got a take down about one minute into the round but can’t really get anything despite mounting and taking Herring’s back. O’Brien got Heath down again and opened up a cut on Herring. Heath got a brief take down at the end of the round but O’Brien easily rolled him over. O’Brien 20-18 so far.
R3- O’Brien really controlled but didn’t inflict any offense. They stood up with about a minute left and Herring landed a bunch but then got taken down again. Really poor showing by Herring and O’Brien fought a smart fight he just didn’t do anything to put Herring away.
Judges say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of O’Brien
Winner: Jake O’Brien by Decision (Unanimous)
Middleweight Fight- Ed Herman (13-4) vs. Chris Price (8-1)
Price comes in at 192 pounds and did not make the 185 weight limit. Herman agreed to the fight anyway. That’s a large amount to miss weight.
R1- Herman got a take down and Price got a kimura but couldn’t keep it. Harman got an arm bar and tapped out Price. Good showing by Herman.
Winner: Ed Herman by Submission (Arm Bar) R1 2:58
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rashad Evans (14-0) vs. Sean Salmon (9-1)
R1- Salmon goes for a Karate Kid type move early that looks hilarious. Not much contact in the first minute. Neither guy really looks like they want to fight early. Evans is content to counter punch. They tie up 2 minutes in and Salmon takes Evans down and gets half guard. Salmon got side control but Evans quickly got to his feet. Salmon gets a couple of punches in on the cage. Salmon grabs a leg and takes down Evans again. Salmon is landing some blows on Evans. Round 1 easily goes to Salmon as Rashad didn’t really do anything and got taken down twice and sustained more damage.
R2- Salmon comes in and slips and Evans hits a knee and then attacks and gets his first advantage of the fight. After this Evans looks like the aggressor as he’s started to take control of the ring and then he just DESTROYS Salmon with a kick to the head. Awesome finish to the fight after a very poor first round by Evans. Evans started really slow, seemed very nervous but after he got that one knee his demeanor kind of changed and then he just nailed the finish.
Winner: Rashad Evans via KO (kick) R2
Sunday, November 30, 2008
UFC Wired 11/30/08 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 11/30/08
Lightweight Fight- Melvin Guillard (37-6-3) vs. Rick Davis (3-0-1)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
Davis’s nickname is “The Flying Squirrel.” This is Davis’s first UFC fight. Melvin was on season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter. Davis is 13 years older than Guillard. This was Guillard’s first fight as a lightweight- dropping down from welterweight.
R1- Davis seems like a pretty unorthodox fighter. Guillard grabs an early clinch and lands some knees. Guillard is showing some good quick hands so far and connected on one good shot and then landed some knees. Guillard then hit a highlight reel right hand that knocked Davis right out. Tremendous punch. Guillard looked real good in this fight.
Winner: Melvin Guillard by KO R1 1:37
Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (22-3) vs. Nick Thompson (22-8)- UFC 59- 4/15/06
Thompson has a 2 inch height advantage and a 3 inch reach advantage. Parisyan’s first two losses were to Sean Sherk, Thompson’s training partner.
R1- Karo immediately went for a knockout punch but missed so instead he took Thompson down to the mat. Karo mainly stayed in guard and half guard trying to look for an opening. He briefly got caught in a leg lock but quickly got out. Karo hit some strikes and then got turned over by Thompson. They went back to their feet and Karo got another take down. Karo is basically taking this fight where he wants to in terms of controlling the cage. Karo took side control and then moved to the mount position. Karo drew blood with some good strikes and Karo took his back and kept delivering shots and the ref stopped the fight when Thompson tapped out.
Winner: Karo Parisyan by TKO (strikes) R1 4:44
Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (16-2) vs. Jason MacDonald (18-7)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
The Crippler versus The Athlete. MacDonald is a jiu jitsu fighter and Leben is a stand up fighter. MacDonald has a 4 inch height advantage and 4 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Leben immediately caught MacDonald’s leg kick and it almost seems like MacDonald pulls guard. Leben gets back to his feet and hits a couple of shots but MacDonald definitely wants to keep this on the ground. They clinched against the cage but the ref broke them up and re-started. MacDonald keeps going for the take down but isn’t getting it so far. MacDonald clinches Leben against the cage again but Leben escapes. Leben gets in a couple of shots with about a minute left in the round. Both guys exchange shots and then MacDonald goes for another take down. This was a tough round to score. MacDonald controlled more of the round but never really got in any offense. Leben 10-9.
R2- Leben catches a MacDonald kick and takes him down. Almost a repeat of the beginning of the first round. Leben moves to side control but can’t accomplish anything and they stand back up and MacDonald clinches Leben against the cage but it’s broken up again. They exchanged shots and then MacDonald finally got a take down and quickly moved to half guard. MacDonald went for a guillotine and Leben passed out in the move. Nice finish by MacDonald. He had to struggle to get the position that he wanted but when he finally got it he finished the fight.
Winner: Jason MacDonald by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 4:03
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (18-2) vs. Matt Wiman (6-2)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
This is Matt Wiman’s UFC debut. His nickname is “Handsome.”
R1- Wiman worked hard and finally got a take down after working for it for about a minute. Wiman got some punches and then clamped in a guillotine on Spencer. Wiman lost it and took full mount and Spencer quickly gave up his back. Wiman went for a Rear Naked Choke but Spencer blocked. Spencer spun out and got back to his feet. Both guys hit some punches and then Fisher hit a knee and took Wiman’s guard. Fisher ended up opening a good cut on Wiman’s forehead at the end of the round and then gave him a nice push after the bell rung. I’ve got Wiman 10-9 but Spencer did a good job recovering and coming back at the end of this round and setting himself up for round two.
R2- The exchanged a couple of strikes to open the round. Wiman went for a take down but Fisher got it instead and landed a couple of shots. Fisher stands up and hits some knees and punches and then hits a flying knee to take out Wiman. Great finish by Fisher. Good fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by KO (Flying Knee Strike) R2 1:43
Lightweight Fight- Melvin Guillard (37-6-3) vs. Rick Davis (3-0-1)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
Davis’s nickname is “The Flying Squirrel.” This is Davis’s first UFC fight. Melvin was on season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter. Davis is 13 years older than Guillard. This was Guillard’s first fight as a lightweight- dropping down from welterweight.
R1- Davis seems like a pretty unorthodox fighter. Guillard grabs an early clinch and lands some knees. Guillard is showing some good quick hands so far and connected on one good shot and then landed some knees. Guillard then hit a highlight reel right hand that knocked Davis right out. Tremendous punch. Guillard looked real good in this fight.
Winner: Melvin Guillard by KO R1 1:37
Welterweight Fight- Karo Parisyan (22-3) vs. Nick Thompson (22-8)- UFC 59- 4/15/06
Thompson has a 2 inch height advantage and a 3 inch reach advantage. Parisyan’s first two losses were to Sean Sherk, Thompson’s training partner.
R1- Karo immediately went for a knockout punch but missed so instead he took Thompson down to the mat. Karo mainly stayed in guard and half guard trying to look for an opening. He briefly got caught in a leg lock but quickly got out. Karo hit some strikes and then got turned over by Thompson. They went back to their feet and Karo got another take down. Karo is basically taking this fight where he wants to in terms of controlling the cage. Karo took side control and then moved to the mount position. Karo drew blood with some good strikes and Karo took his back and kept delivering shots and the ref stopped the fight when Thompson tapped out.
Winner: Karo Parisyan by TKO (strikes) R1 4:44
Middleweight Fight- Chris Leben (16-2) vs. Jason MacDonald (18-7)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
The Crippler versus The Athlete. MacDonald is a jiu jitsu fighter and Leben is a stand up fighter. MacDonald has a 4 inch height advantage and 4 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Leben immediately caught MacDonald’s leg kick and it almost seems like MacDonald pulls guard. Leben gets back to his feet and hits a couple of shots but MacDonald definitely wants to keep this on the ground. They clinched against the cage but the ref broke them up and re-started. MacDonald keeps going for the take down but isn’t getting it so far. MacDonald clinches Leben against the cage again but Leben escapes. Leben gets in a couple of shots with about a minute left in the round. Both guys exchange shots and then MacDonald goes for another take down. This was a tough round to score. MacDonald controlled more of the round but never really got in any offense. Leben 10-9.
R2- Leben catches a MacDonald kick and takes him down. Almost a repeat of the beginning of the first round. Leben moves to side control but can’t accomplish anything and they stand back up and MacDonald clinches Leben against the cage but it’s broken up again. They exchanged shots and then MacDonald finally got a take down and quickly moved to half guard. MacDonald went for a guillotine and Leben passed out in the move. Nice finish by MacDonald. He had to struggle to get the position that he wanted but when he finally got it he finished the fight.
Winner: Jason MacDonald by Submission (Guillotine Choke) R2 4:03
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (18-2) vs. Matt Wiman (6-2)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
This is Matt Wiman’s UFC debut. His nickname is “Handsome.”
R1- Wiman worked hard and finally got a take down after working for it for about a minute. Wiman got some punches and then clamped in a guillotine on Spencer. Wiman lost it and took full mount and Spencer quickly gave up his back. Wiman went for a Rear Naked Choke but Spencer blocked. Spencer spun out and got back to his feet. Both guys hit some punches and then Fisher hit a knee and took Wiman’s guard. Fisher ended up opening a good cut on Wiman’s forehead at the end of the round and then gave him a nice push after the bell rung. I’ve got Wiman 10-9 but Spencer did a good job recovering and coming back at the end of this round and setting himself up for round two.
R2- The exchanged a couple of strikes to open the round. Wiman went for a take down but Fisher got it instead and landed a couple of shots. Fisher stands up and hits some knees and punches and then hits a flying knee to take out Wiman. Great finish by Fisher. Good fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by KO (Flying Knee Strike) R2 1:43
Saturday, August 02, 2008
UFC Unleashed 7/19 Re-Cap
UFC Unleashed 7/19 Re-Cap
This was a double shot of UFC Unleashed.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (8-0) vs. Frankie Edgar (5-0)- UFC 67- 2/3/07
This was on the 7/13 episode of UFC Wired.
This is Edgar’s UFC debut. Both guys are undefeated coming into this fight.
R1- Edgar gets the first take down but Tyson gets a guillotine but Edgar gets out of it. Tyson picks him up and slams him and they sprawl. The stand up is pretty even in this round. Edgar gets another take down and is in Griffin’s guard. Edgar lands some good shots. Edgar 10-9 in a good first round.
R2- Griffin lands a really nice uppercut early in the round. Edgar gets a take down with about 2 minutes left after Griffin had been winning the round. Back on their feet and Griffin knocks Edgar down with a leg kick and then goes for another but Edgar takes him down. They sprawl and Tyson gets his back but Edgar transitions into a mount. This was a really close round. Edgar finished it really well and Griffin had trouble getting back to his corner and I think that and the take downs ultimately won the round for Edgar. I’ve got Edgar 20-18 in a really close fight so far.
R3- They are pretty even at the stand up at the beginning of the round. Edgar gets some knees and Griffin looks like he complains about a low blow but the ref tells him to fight on. Edgar starts to control the fight and has Griffin in the corner and is hitting him with punches. Edgar gets a take down. Edgar gets some more punches in as they stand up. Edgar gets another take down and is controlling this round. Edgar with more punches as they stand up and then gets another take down. Griffin reverses into a knee bar and Edgar looks like he’s going to hold on for the rest of the fight. Really good fight. Edgar really dominated this round with Griffin almost getting a submission at the end. Really good fight, I’ve got Edgar winning 30-27, but a really close 30-27.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Edgar.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Michael Bisping (12-0) vs. Eric Schafer (9-1-2)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
Looks like this is pre Bisping/Evans.
R1- First part of the fight is Bisping trying to strike and Schafer trying to take him down. Schafer got a good take down about a minute and a half into the round. Schafer went for Bisping's back and Bisping dropped him on his head but Schafer held on and remained at an advantage. They got back to their feet and Bisping hit a big kick and then grabbed a guillotine but lost it quickly. Bisping hit a couple of nice punches but Schafer got another take down. Bisping turns him over and hit some nice punches. Bisping is starting to lay into Schafer and the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (strikes) 4:24
Welterweight Fight- Thiago Alves (13-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (15-1)- UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2- 10/3/05
This should be a good fight. It’s interesting seeing Fisher fight at Welterweight.
R1- Both guys throwing early and providing some exciting action. Fisher gets an early take down. Fisher got an ankle lock on Alves but Alves flips over and gets in half guard. Alves controls the round but Fisher does almost get a couple submissions. Alves hits an illegal knee right at the end of the round and Herb Dean takes a point away from him. Round would have gone to Alves 10-9, instead it’s 9-9.
R2- Alves gets a take down fairly quickly into the round. Alves hits some really nice elbows. Fisher got back to his feet and landed a couple of punches. Alves got another take down with one minute left in the round. Alves lands some good punches in full guard. Fisher gets a triangle with 30 seconds left and Alves taps.
Wow, what a surprising finish. I was expecting Alves to take this one but Fisher got the triangle out of nowhere and won the fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Submission (Triangle)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Jason Lambert (22-6) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (27-6)- UFC 68- 3/3/07
This was on the 6/21 UFC Wired show.
R1- Sobral opens up with some early strikes and takes Lambert down quickly. Sobral controls the fight on the ground. Sobral briefly had a Rear Naked Choke but Lambert got out of it. Lambert got back to his feet and got in some nice shots and took Sobral down and did some Ground and Pound to end the round.
R2- Sobral hits some early knees but Lambert gets a take down. Sobral gets back to his feet but gets take down again. The ref stands them up and almost immediately Lambert nails Sobral and just floors him and ends the fight.
Winner: Jason Lambert by KO R2 3:36
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (6-1)- UFC 71- 5/26/07
This was on the UFC Wired 4/26 Show.
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
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (5-0) vs. Justin Eilers (9-4-1- UFC 57- 2/4/06
R1- They clinch for about a minute until the ref separates them. Vera starts to try some kicks and hits one and Eilers does what is almost a Flair flop and on the way down Vera hits him with a knee for the KO.
Winner: Brandon Vera KO (Knee Strike) R1 1:25
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (6-0) vs. Assuerio Silva (30-3)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
R1- Vera slipped and went down about 2 minutes into the fight but quickly got back to his feet. Vera got a guillotine, got slammed but held on and Silva tapped.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Submission (Guillotine) R1 2:39
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (9-2) vs. Brandon Vera (7-0)
R1- Vera hit a nice left and then came back with another good punch that rocked Mir a little bit 30 seconds into the round. Vera then hit a big knee and followed with a smaller knee blow. Vera took half guard and Mir’s nose is bleeding. Vera with some nice right hands and the ref steps in and stops the fight. Impressive showing by Vera.
Winner: Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes) R1 1:09
This was a double shot of UFC Unleashed.
Lightweight Fight- Tyson Griffin (8-0) vs. Frankie Edgar (5-0)- UFC 67- 2/3/07
This was on the 7/13 episode of UFC Wired.
This is Edgar’s UFC debut. Both guys are undefeated coming into this fight.
R1- Edgar gets the first take down but Tyson gets a guillotine but Edgar gets out of it. Tyson picks him up and slams him and they sprawl. The stand up is pretty even in this round. Edgar gets another take down and is in Griffin’s guard. Edgar lands some good shots. Edgar 10-9 in a good first round.
R2- Griffin lands a really nice uppercut early in the round. Edgar gets a take down with about 2 minutes left after Griffin had been winning the round. Back on their feet and Griffin knocks Edgar down with a leg kick and then goes for another but Edgar takes him down. They sprawl and Tyson gets his back but Edgar transitions into a mount. This was a really close round. Edgar finished it really well and Griffin had trouble getting back to his corner and I think that and the take downs ultimately won the round for Edgar. I’ve got Edgar 20-18 in a really close fight so far.
R3- They are pretty even at the stand up at the beginning of the round. Edgar gets some knees and Griffin looks like he complains about a low blow but the ref tells him to fight on. Edgar starts to control the fight and has Griffin in the corner and is hitting him with punches. Edgar gets a take down. Edgar gets some more punches in as they stand up. Edgar gets another take down and is controlling this round. Edgar with more punches as they stand up and then gets another take down. Griffin reverses into a knee bar and Edgar looks like he’s going to hold on for the rest of the fight. Really good fight. Edgar really dominated this round with Griffin almost getting a submission at the end. Really good fight, I’ve got Edgar winning 30-27, but a really close 30-27.
Judges score the fight: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Edgar.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Michael Bisping (12-0) vs. Eric Schafer (9-1-2)- UFC 66- 12/30/06
Looks like this is pre Bisping/Evans.
R1- First part of the fight is Bisping trying to strike and Schafer trying to take him down. Schafer got a good take down about a minute and a half into the round. Schafer went for Bisping's back and Bisping dropped him on his head but Schafer held on and remained at an advantage. They got back to their feet and Bisping hit a big kick and then grabbed a guillotine but lost it quickly. Bisping hit a couple of nice punches but Schafer got another take down. Bisping turns him over and hit some nice punches. Bisping is starting to lay into Schafer and the ref stops the fight.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (strikes) 4:24
Welterweight Fight- Thiago Alves (13-2) vs. Spencer Fisher (15-1)- UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2- 10/3/05
This should be a good fight. It’s interesting seeing Fisher fight at Welterweight.
R1- Both guys throwing early and providing some exciting action. Fisher gets an early take down. Fisher got an ankle lock on Alves but Alves flips over and gets in half guard. Alves controls the round but Fisher does almost get a couple submissions. Alves hits an illegal knee right at the end of the round and Herb Dean takes a point away from him. Round would have gone to Alves 10-9, instead it’s 9-9.
R2- Alves gets a take down fairly quickly into the round. Alves hits some really nice elbows. Fisher got back to his feet and landed a couple of punches. Alves got another take down with one minute left in the round. Alves lands some good punches in full guard. Fisher gets a triangle with 30 seconds left and Alves taps.
Wow, what a surprising finish. I was expecting Alves to take this one but Fisher got the triangle out of nowhere and won the fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Submission (Triangle)
Light Heavyweight Fight- Jason Lambert (22-6) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (27-6)- UFC 68- 3/3/07
This was on the 6/21 UFC Wired show.
R1- Sobral opens up with some early strikes and takes Lambert down quickly. Sobral controls the fight on the ground. Sobral briefly had a Rear Naked Choke but Lambert got out of it. Lambert got back to his feet and got in some nice shots and took Sobral down and did some Ground and Pound to end the round.
R2- Sobral hits some early knees but Lambert gets a take down. Sobral gets back to his feet but gets take down again. The ref stands them up and almost immediately Lambert nails Sobral and just floors him and ends the fight.
Winner: Jason Lambert by KO R2 3:36
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (6-1)- UFC 71- 5/26/07
This was on the UFC Wired 4/26 Show.
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
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (5-0) vs. Justin Eilers (9-4-1- UFC 57- 2/4/06
R1- They clinch for about a minute until the ref separates them. Vera starts to try some kicks and hits one and Eilers does what is almost a Flair flop and on the way down Vera hits him with a knee for the KO.
Winner: Brandon Vera KO (Knee Strike) R1 1:25
Heavyweight Fight- Brandon Vera (6-0) vs. Assuerio Silva (30-3)- UFC 60- 5/27/06
R1- Vera slipped and went down about 2 minutes into the fight but quickly got back to his feet. Vera got a guillotine, got slammed but held on and Silva tapped.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Submission (Guillotine) R1 2:39
Heavyweight Fight- Frank Mir (9-2) vs. Brandon Vera (7-0)
R1- Vera hit a nice left and then came back with another good punch that rocked Mir a little bit 30 seconds into the round. Vera then hit a big knee and followed with a smaller knee blow. Vera took half guard and Mir’s nose is bleeding. Vera with some nice right hands and the ref steps in and stops the fight. Impressive showing by Vera.
Winner: Brandon Vera by TKO (strikes) R1 1:09
Saturday, July 05, 2008
UFC Wired 7/5 Re-Cap
UFC Wired 7/5 Re-Cap
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar (12-4) vs. Mike Nichols (5-1)- UFC 73- 7/7/07
R1- Nichols comes out firing in this one and hits a shot right after the bell rings and then takes Bonnar down. Nichols gets mount but Bonner scrambles and Bonnar gets his back and then losses it but has Nichols in a hammer lock. Bonner then takes his back again and gets a choke clamped in and Nichols taps. Nice showing by Bonnar.
Winner: Stephan Bonnar by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1
Lightweight Fight- Frankie Edgar (7-0) vs. Spencer Fisher (21-3)- UFC 78- 11/17/07
Frankie gets a big round of applause for this fight and Spencer gets a mixed reaction. Frankie must be from Jersey.
R1- Frankie shoots in about 30 seconds into the fight and gets a take down slam. Frankie is controlling the fight as he’s spending the majority of the round in Spencer’s guard. They stood back up and Spencer tried a high kick but slipped and Frankie jumps down into his guard again. Edgar dominates round 1 for at least a 10-9 round.
R2- Edgar almost immediately takes Spencer down. They stood back up and Frankie avoided a Fisher punch and took him down again. Spencer gets a cut on his forehead, looks to be above his eye. Frankie took his back briefly towards the end of the round but couldn’t do anything with it. Edgar is winning 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Round 3 is more of the same as Edgar immediately takes Spencer down again. Frankie gets his back and looks to finish. Spencer got to his feet but got taken down again. This was kind of a boring fight as Edgar just dominated on the ground in this one. Edgar easily wins this fight 30-27. 2 judges had it 30-27 and one judge had it 30-26.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (14-3) vs. Jason Reinhardt (18-0)- UFC 78- 11/17/07
R1- Lauzon with a clinch and some knees early. Lauzon gets a take down and quickly gets good position and then takes his back and finishes him. Got to wonder who in the world Reinhardt fought to be 18-0. Lauzon just demolished him.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:14
Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (8-3) vs. Alvin Robinson (9-1)- UFC 73- 7/7/07
R1- Alvin Robinson hits a judo like arm throw. Florian answers with a hip throw and gets a take down. They get stood up and Robinson hit a couple of punches but Florian gets another take down. Florian hits some elbows. Florian get a mount and lands some punches but is forced back into the guard. Florian passes guard and hits some elbows but Robinson gets out. They do some dirty boxing and then Florian gets a double leg take down and gets full mount again. Florian is going to town on Robinson and this one is over.
Winner: Kenny Florian by TKO R1 4:30
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar (12-4) vs. Mike Nichols (5-1)- UFC 73- 7/7/07
R1- Nichols comes out firing in this one and hits a shot right after the bell rings and then takes Bonnar down. Nichols gets mount but Bonner scrambles and Bonnar gets his back and then losses it but has Nichols in a hammer lock. Bonner then takes his back again and gets a choke clamped in and Nichols taps. Nice showing by Bonnar.
Winner: Stephan Bonnar by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1
Lightweight Fight- Frankie Edgar (7-0) vs. Spencer Fisher (21-3)- UFC 78- 11/17/07
Frankie gets a big round of applause for this fight and Spencer gets a mixed reaction. Frankie must be from Jersey.
R1- Frankie shoots in about 30 seconds into the fight and gets a take down slam. Frankie is controlling the fight as he’s spending the majority of the round in Spencer’s guard. They stood back up and Spencer tried a high kick but slipped and Frankie jumps down into his guard again. Edgar dominates round 1 for at least a 10-9 round.
R2- Edgar almost immediately takes Spencer down. They stood back up and Frankie avoided a Fisher punch and took him down again. Spencer gets a cut on his forehead, looks to be above his eye. Frankie took his back briefly towards the end of the round but couldn’t do anything with it. Edgar is winning 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Round 3 is more of the same as Edgar immediately takes Spencer down again. Frankie gets his back and looks to finish. Spencer got to his feet but got taken down again. This was kind of a boring fight as Edgar just dominated on the ground in this one. Edgar easily wins this fight 30-27. 2 judges had it 30-27 and one judge had it 30-26.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Decision (Unanimous)
Lightweight Fight- Joe Lauzon (14-3) vs. Jason Reinhardt (18-0)- UFC 78- 11/17/07
R1- Lauzon with a clinch and some knees early. Lauzon gets a take down and quickly gets good position and then takes his back and finishes him. Got to wonder who in the world Reinhardt fought to be 18-0. Lauzon just demolished him.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R1 1:14
Lightweight Fight- Kenny Florian (8-3) vs. Alvin Robinson (9-1)- UFC 73- 7/7/07
R1- Alvin Robinson hits a judo like arm throw. Florian answers with a hip throw and gets a take down. They get stood up and Robinson hit a couple of punches but Florian gets another take down. Florian hits some elbows. Florian get a mount and lands some punches but is forced back into the guard. Florian passes guard and hits some elbows but Robinson gets out. They do some dirty boxing and then Florian gets a double leg take down and gets full mount again. Florian is going to town on Robinson and this one is over.
Winner: Kenny Florian by TKO R1 4:30
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale
The Ultimate Fighter Finale
Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin are both at the show to see their fighters fight and to hype their upcoming PPV fight.
Middleweight Fight- Matt Riddle (0-0) vs. Dante Rivera (10-2)
I’m think Riddle’s going to take this one, he impressed me more during the show then did Rivera even though Rivera made it further in the show than did Riddle. Riddle has a 4” reach advantage. Rivera has the edge in experience as he’s 11 years older. Riddle has been training at the Arizona Combat Sports Club, same as CB Dollaway.
R1- They clinch early and exchange a lot of knees, none of which look really damaging. Riddle slowly starts to get the advantage and then the ref breaks them up. They clinch again and exchange knees. Riddle takes Dante down with about 20 seconds left and hits some elbows. Really close tight first round. I think Riddle barely takes it by hitting more effective knees and getting the rounds only take down. Riddle 10 Rivera 9.
R2- Riddle quickly took Dante down at the beginning of the round but doesn’t get much done. They clinch up against the cage a lot in the middle of the round. Rivera hit a good overhand right but ends up getting mounted by Riddle. Riddle is hitting him with some shots and Rivera rolls over when Riddle went for an arm bar and now Rivera is in Riddle’s guard. Riddle grabs submission on Dante and pounds on Dante’s side but Dante slips out. Another really close round. I give it to Riddle again as he almost submitted Dante at the end of the round and seemed to control a lot of the time they were clinched. I’ve got Riddle up 20-18 but it’s very open to interpretation at this point.
R3- Riddle catches Dante with a right hand and then a knee at the beginning of the round. Riddle picks up Dante and takes him down. Dante had a nice rubber guard but then he lost it. Riddle gives up his position but then takes Dante down again. Riddle gets full mount and gets some shots in as the third round ends. Good showing by Matt Riddle and he wins 30-27 on my score card. Judges score the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Riddle
Winner: Matt Riddle by Decision (Unanimous)
Wanderlei Silva is in the house.
Joe Rogan is joined by Dana White and they talk about the 7/19 fight between Anderson Silva and James Irvin. Dana says he’s cleaned out the middleweight division and is going to move up to 205lbs. Says Anderson is the best p4p fighter in the world. They are really hyping Anderson Silva. They say Silva walks around at 215 so that he will have to cut weight to hit 205.
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (21-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (15-2)
Both of these guys are from Iowa. I really like what I’ve seen from Spencer, he always has good fights. Stephens is only 22. Stephens has a 3” reach advantage. This should be a good fight. Fisher lets out a “Whooo” during introductions and Mike Goldberg puts him over as a big Ric Flair fan.
R1- Stephens gets an early take down but Fisher gets right back up and takes down Stephens. Both guys are getting in some shots as Stephens has an active guard. Stephens went for a triangle and Fisher passed to half guard and works some elbows in. Fisher has blood on his elbow. Spencer hits some nice elbows from half guard. Spencer gets full mount and Stephens gives up his back with 1:15 left in the round. Stephens gets out but is still in the guard position. Fisher takes Round One has he had the dominate position for the majority of the round and got in more shots throughout the round.
R2- They stand up at the start of this round with both guys getting in shots. Stephens tried a take down but Spencer rolled through and got side control. Spencer starting to get some good shots in on Stephens. Stephens gets a slam about 10 seconds before the round ends. I’ve got Spencer up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- They stand at the beginning of this round and Stephens is getting in some good shots. Fisher goes for a take down but gets stuffed and gets a guillotine on Fisher but Fisher gets out and gets side control. Spencer gets the full mount but they quickly get back to their feet. Fisher went for another take down but slipped and Stephens got the take down. Jeremy is getting some shots in on Fisher. Jeremy goes for a guillotine and the fight ends with Stephens with the guillotine on Fisher. This round goes to Stephens so I’ve got Fisher winning 29-28. All three judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Fisher. This was a good fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)
Kevin James is in the house and he’s horsing around with Quinton Jackson.
Joe Rogan is out in the crowd and is joined by Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin and they talk about the upcoming fight in two weeks.
Next they review the “Road to the Finale” and look at how CB and Amir got to the finals.
Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show) is in the house.
Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (20-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3)
R1- Long feeling out process. Diego hits a really nice combo about a minute and a half in and then follows it up with a flying knee. Diego hit a big kick that was partially blocked. Diego tried a take down but missed and ate a shot or two. Luigi hits a good combo. Diego comes back with a nice combo of his own as he hits several punches. Diego almost got a take down but Luigi rolled him over and they are quickly back to their feet. Luigi got a slam right at the end of the first round. Good first round, Diego was the aggressor and Luigi kind of laid back and showed good take down defense and tried to counter Diego. I gave this round to Diego put it was pretty close.
R2- Both guys start off the round by getting in a good shot. Luigi looked like he hurt his ankle getting away from Diego but he appears to be okay. Diego drilled Luigi with a right hand and Luigi hit the mat and Diego dove on him. Luigi does a nice job of getting back to his feet with minimal damage. Diego barely missed with a head kick but Diego got his back while they are standing but Luigi escapes again. Diego with another good combo as he floors Luigi. Luigi gets up but Diego pounds him back down. Luigi back to his feet again, Diego goes for a kimura but is denied. Great sequence. Really good round. I’ve got this one going to Diego so he’s up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Luigi is showing some really good take down defense in this fight. Diego gets his back and they do some crazy sprawling and they go back to their feet. Diego with a big head kick on Luigi and then a huge knee and then some Ground and Pound and this one is over. Fantastic finish by Diego. This was fight of the night so far. Luigi did a great job of stopping Diego from getting take downs but Diego showed some really improved stand up and finally picked his spot and hit a solid kick and then a spot on knee and took out Luigi for the win. This is one of the better fights that I’ve seen in the UFC this year.
Winner: Diego Sanchez TKO (punches) R3 4:07
Minotuaro Noguiera and Frank Mir are in attendance and they mention that they will be coaches in Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter which will feature lightweights and light heavyweights and will take place in September. They mention that they will fight in December for the interim Heavyweight Title following the season of the Ultimate Fighter.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 Middleweight Finale: Amir Sadollah (1-0) vs. CB Dollaway (7-1)
The show a short feature on what CB and Amir been doing since the Ultimate Fighter ended. This is also the first fight that they show the full entrances for.
R1- They trade some kicks early and CB gets a take down about a minute into the fight. CB gets side control and Amir gives up his back and rolls CB back into full guard. CB getting in some good shots but Amir grabs an arm bar. CB appears to tap and Herb Dean stops the fight and then CB throws arms up. Looks like he tapped to me. Great submission from Amir to win the fight much in the same way that he won the last one against CB.
Dana White presents Amir with the trophy and the 6-figure contract and then Joe Rogan interviews him.
Winner: Amir Sadollah by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
Middleweight Fight: Evan Tanner (34-7) vs. Kendall Grove (10-5)
Tanner is sporting a Kimbo Slice beard and looks pretty rough but also looks like someone that I wouldn’t want to step in the cage and fight.
R1- They battle up against the cage and then Tanner gets a take down. Grove gets to his feet but eats a knee on the way up. Grove grabbed a Muy Thai clinch and hit some strikes. Grove with some more strikes. Grove has a big reach advantage and definitely looks like the better fighter when both are on their feet. Tanner grabs a leg of Grove and Grove nails Tanner with a big jumping knee. Tanner gets another take down and is back in his comfort zone. Kendall gets a triangle and escapes. Grove hits Tanner and Tanner goes down. Grove has his back and Tanner is bleeding pretty badly. Tanner slips out. Grove hits a big up kick but Tanner comes back in and gets in Kendall’s guard. Tanner gets some good shots in on the ground. Overall, a very good and even first round. Tanner got more take downs and Kendall owned the stand up game and did more damage on Tanner as Tanner was bleeding pretty badly. I’ve got Kendall Grove up 10-9 after Round One.
R2- They both come out and exchange some punches. Kendall hits a nice combo. Kendall hits Tanner with some nice shots. Kendall is really throwing some good punches early in this round. Tanner gets a take down up against the cage. Kendall quickly gets back on his feet. They sprawl and Kendall hits a big elbow and his hitting some strikes. Tanner is in trouble but grabs onto Kendall. Tanner looks like he is just barely hanging on in this fight and Kendall hits him with some nice kicks to close out the round. Kendall looked great in this round. Kendall up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Lots of clinching in this round. Tanner starting to get aggressive towards the end of the fight as he knows he needs a knock out here. This was a close third round. I think Tanner probably stole the third round which means fight goes to Kendall 29-28. One of the judges throws up a 29-28 Tanner, the next judges scores the fight 30-27 Grove, and the last judge scores it 30-26 Grove. What a weird difference in score cards.
Winner: Kendall Grove by Decision (Split)
Undercard Middleweight Fight- Marvin Eastman (15-7-1) vs. Drew McFedries (6-3)
R1- McFedries jumps at Eastman and Eastman takes him and flips him over almost hitting him with a Northern Lights bomb. Wild start. McFedries charges Eastman and hits several shots on him. McFedries is all over Eastman and the ref stops the fight. Great showing by Drew McFedries as he dominated this fight. They show Eastman post-match and his eye is swollen shut.
Winner: Drew McFedries by TKO (strikes) R1 1:08
This was a solid night of fighting with Sanchez/Fioravanti taking fight of the night and Grove/Tanner and Fisher/Stephens both having solid fights. I’m glad Amir won and I also thought that Matthew Riddle looked good in his fight. Drew McFedries looked awesome in his undercard fight.
Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin are both at the show to see their fighters fight and to hype their upcoming PPV fight.
Middleweight Fight- Matt Riddle (0-0) vs. Dante Rivera (10-2)
I’m think Riddle’s going to take this one, he impressed me more during the show then did Rivera even though Rivera made it further in the show than did Riddle. Riddle has a 4” reach advantage. Rivera has the edge in experience as he’s 11 years older. Riddle has been training at the Arizona Combat Sports Club, same as CB Dollaway.
R1- They clinch early and exchange a lot of knees, none of which look really damaging. Riddle slowly starts to get the advantage and then the ref breaks them up. They clinch again and exchange knees. Riddle takes Dante down with about 20 seconds left and hits some elbows. Really close tight first round. I think Riddle barely takes it by hitting more effective knees and getting the rounds only take down. Riddle 10 Rivera 9.
R2- Riddle quickly took Dante down at the beginning of the round but doesn’t get much done. They clinch up against the cage a lot in the middle of the round. Rivera hit a good overhand right but ends up getting mounted by Riddle. Riddle is hitting him with some shots and Rivera rolls over when Riddle went for an arm bar and now Rivera is in Riddle’s guard. Riddle grabs submission on Dante and pounds on Dante’s side but Dante slips out. Another really close round. I give it to Riddle again as he almost submitted Dante at the end of the round and seemed to control a lot of the time they were clinched. I’ve got Riddle up 20-18 but it’s very open to interpretation at this point.
R3- Riddle catches Dante with a right hand and then a knee at the beginning of the round. Riddle picks up Dante and takes him down. Dante had a nice rubber guard but then he lost it. Riddle gives up his position but then takes Dante down again. Riddle gets full mount and gets some shots in as the third round ends. Good showing by Matt Riddle and he wins 30-27 on my score card. Judges score the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 in favor of Riddle
Winner: Matt Riddle by Decision (Unanimous)
Wanderlei Silva is in the house.
Joe Rogan is joined by Dana White and they talk about the 7/19 fight between Anderson Silva and James Irvin. Dana says he’s cleaned out the middleweight division and is going to move up to 205lbs. Says Anderson is the best p4p fighter in the world. They are really hyping Anderson Silva. They say Silva walks around at 215 so that he will have to cut weight to hit 205.
Lightweight Fight- Spencer Fisher (21-4) vs. Jeremy Stephens (15-2)
Both of these guys are from Iowa. I really like what I’ve seen from Spencer, he always has good fights. Stephens is only 22. Stephens has a 3” reach advantage. This should be a good fight. Fisher lets out a “Whooo” during introductions and Mike Goldberg puts him over as a big Ric Flair fan.
R1- Stephens gets an early take down but Fisher gets right back up and takes down Stephens. Both guys are getting in some shots as Stephens has an active guard. Stephens went for a triangle and Fisher passed to half guard and works some elbows in. Fisher has blood on his elbow. Spencer hits some nice elbows from half guard. Spencer gets full mount and Stephens gives up his back with 1:15 left in the round. Stephens gets out but is still in the guard position. Fisher takes Round One has he had the dominate position for the majority of the round and got in more shots throughout the round.
R2- They stand up at the start of this round with both guys getting in shots. Stephens tried a take down but Spencer rolled through and got side control. Spencer starting to get some good shots in on Stephens. Stephens gets a slam about 10 seconds before the round ends. I’ve got Spencer up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- They stand at the beginning of this round and Stephens is getting in some good shots. Fisher goes for a take down but gets stuffed and gets a guillotine on Fisher but Fisher gets out and gets side control. Spencer gets the full mount but they quickly get back to their feet. Fisher went for another take down but slipped and Stephens got the take down. Jeremy is getting some shots in on Fisher. Jeremy goes for a guillotine and the fight ends with Stephens with the guillotine on Fisher. This round goes to Stephens so I’ve got Fisher winning 29-28. All three judges score the fight 29-28 in favor of Fisher. This was a good fight.
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)
Kevin James is in the house and he’s horsing around with Quinton Jackson.
Joe Rogan is out in the crowd and is joined by Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin and they talk about the upcoming fight in two weeks.
Next they review the “Road to the Finale” and look at how CB and Amir got to the finals.
Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show) is in the house.
Welterweight Fight- Diego Sanchez (20-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (12-3)
R1- Long feeling out process. Diego hits a really nice combo about a minute and a half in and then follows it up with a flying knee. Diego hit a big kick that was partially blocked. Diego tried a take down but missed and ate a shot or two. Luigi hits a good combo. Diego comes back with a nice combo of his own as he hits several punches. Diego almost got a take down but Luigi rolled him over and they are quickly back to their feet. Luigi got a slam right at the end of the first round. Good first round, Diego was the aggressor and Luigi kind of laid back and showed good take down defense and tried to counter Diego. I gave this round to Diego put it was pretty close.
R2- Both guys start off the round by getting in a good shot. Luigi looked like he hurt his ankle getting away from Diego but he appears to be okay. Diego drilled Luigi with a right hand and Luigi hit the mat and Diego dove on him. Luigi does a nice job of getting back to his feet with minimal damage. Diego barely missed with a head kick but Diego got his back while they are standing but Luigi escapes again. Diego with another good combo as he floors Luigi. Luigi gets up but Diego pounds him back down. Luigi back to his feet again, Diego goes for a kimura but is denied. Great sequence. Really good round. I’ve got this one going to Diego so he’s up 20-18 on my score card.
R3- Luigi is showing some really good take down defense in this fight. Diego gets his back and they do some crazy sprawling and they go back to their feet. Diego with a big head kick on Luigi and then a huge knee and then some Ground and Pound and this one is over. Fantastic finish by Diego. This was fight of the night so far. Luigi did a great job of stopping Diego from getting take downs but Diego showed some really improved stand up and finally picked his spot and hit a solid kick and then a spot on knee and took out Luigi for the win. This is one of the better fights that I’ve seen in the UFC this year.
Winner: Diego Sanchez TKO (punches) R3 4:07
Minotuaro Noguiera and Frank Mir are in attendance and they mention that they will be coaches in Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter which will feature lightweights and light heavyweights and will take place in September. They mention that they will fight in December for the interim Heavyweight Title following the season of the Ultimate Fighter.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 Middleweight Finale: Amir Sadollah (1-0) vs. CB Dollaway (7-1)
The show a short feature on what CB and Amir been doing since the Ultimate Fighter ended. This is also the first fight that they show the full entrances for.
R1- They trade some kicks early and CB gets a take down about a minute into the fight. CB gets side control and Amir gives up his back and rolls CB back into full guard. CB getting in some good shots but Amir grabs an arm bar. CB appears to tap and Herb Dean stops the fight and then CB throws arms up. Looks like he tapped to me. Great submission from Amir to win the fight much in the same way that he won the last one against CB.
Dana White presents Amir with the trophy and the 6-figure contract and then Joe Rogan interviews him.
Winner: Amir Sadollah by Submission (Arm Bar) R1
Middleweight Fight: Evan Tanner (34-7) vs. Kendall Grove (10-5)
Tanner is sporting a Kimbo Slice beard and looks pretty rough but also looks like someone that I wouldn’t want to step in the cage and fight.
R1- They battle up against the cage and then Tanner gets a take down. Grove gets to his feet but eats a knee on the way up. Grove grabbed a Muy Thai clinch and hit some strikes. Grove with some more strikes. Grove has a big reach advantage and definitely looks like the better fighter when both are on their feet. Tanner grabs a leg of Grove and Grove nails Tanner with a big jumping knee. Tanner gets another take down and is back in his comfort zone. Kendall gets a triangle and escapes. Grove hits Tanner and Tanner goes down. Grove has his back and Tanner is bleeding pretty badly. Tanner slips out. Grove hits a big up kick but Tanner comes back in and gets in Kendall’s guard. Tanner gets some good shots in on the ground. Overall, a very good and even first round. Tanner got more take downs and Kendall owned the stand up game and did more damage on Tanner as Tanner was bleeding pretty badly. I’ve got Kendall Grove up 10-9 after Round One.
R2- They both come out and exchange some punches. Kendall hits a nice combo. Kendall hits Tanner with some nice shots. Kendall is really throwing some good punches early in this round. Tanner gets a take down up against the cage. Kendall quickly gets back on his feet. They sprawl and Kendall hits a big elbow and his hitting some strikes. Tanner is in trouble but grabs onto Kendall. Tanner looks like he is just barely hanging on in this fight and Kendall hits him with some nice kicks to close out the round. Kendall looked great in this round. Kendall up 20-18 after two rounds.
R3- Lots of clinching in this round. Tanner starting to get aggressive towards the end of the fight as he knows he needs a knock out here. This was a close third round. I think Tanner probably stole the third round which means fight goes to Kendall 29-28. One of the judges throws up a 29-28 Tanner, the next judges scores the fight 30-27 Grove, and the last judge scores it 30-26 Grove. What a weird difference in score cards.
Winner: Kendall Grove by Decision (Split)
Undercard Middleweight Fight- Marvin Eastman (15-7-1) vs. Drew McFedries (6-3)
R1- McFedries jumps at Eastman and Eastman takes him and flips him over almost hitting him with a Northern Lights bomb. Wild start. McFedries charges Eastman and hits several shots on him. McFedries is all over Eastman and the ref stops the fight. Great showing by Drew McFedries as he dominated this fight. They show Eastman post-match and his eye is swollen shut.
Winner: Drew McFedries by TKO (strikes) R1 1:08
This was a solid night of fighting with Sanchez/Fioravanti taking fight of the night and Grove/Tanner and Fisher/Stephens both having solid fights. I’m glad Amir won and I also thought that Matthew Riddle looked good in his fight. Drew McFedries looked awesome in his undercard fight.
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