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

UFC Fight for the Troops 12/10/08

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders vs. Brandon Wolfe

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

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

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


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

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

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

Winner: Josh Koscheck by KO R1 2:15

Welterweight Fight- Steve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees

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

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

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

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

UFC 87 Prelim Re-Cap

UFC 87 Unaired Fights


Light Heavyweight Fight- Jon Jones (6-0) vs. Andre Gusmao (5-0)

R1- Jones got a take down about 2 minutes into the fight but didn't get much in. At the 4 minute mark Jones started taking Gusmao apart on the fence but the ref saw a low blow and separated them. Both guys really started to mix it up in the last 30 seconds and ended a rather slow first round with a good flurry. Pretty even first round probably going to Jones.

R2- Jones caught him with another low blow early in the second round. Gusmao gets a take down but they scramble and Jones quickly gets back to his feet. Another close but not particularly engaging round.

R3- Jones is the aggressor in this fight as he spends a lot of time pushing forward and Gusmao is doing a lot of back stepping. Jones stops a couple of take downs. Jones gets a take down with a minute left and takes side control quickly but gives up the position and ends up in Gusmao's full guard. Gusmao tries to grab a couple of submissions but Jones gets out of it. Jones got a little sloppy at the end and almost got caught. Jones is going to take this one. Jones has a lot of talent he just needs a lot more experience to put it all together. Rogan says he's only been in MMA for 9 months.

Judges scores are 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27 in favor of Jon Jones.

Winner: Jon Jones by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Chris Wilson (12-4-1) vs. Steve Bruno (12-3)

R1- Wilson looks pretty good in Round One and took Bruno's back with about a minute and a half left in the round but Wilson couldn't finish him.

R2- Wilson took Bruno's back quickly in Round 2 but Bruno escaped very quickly. Wilson then took Bruno down at the 1 minute mark of the round. After a separation Wilson hit some nice strikes and then just destroyed Bruno with a big knee. Wilson just dominating this round.

R3- Wilson gets some really nice shots in about 45 seconds into the round and Bruno goes down. Wilson takes his back about 2 minutes into the round. Wilson just over matched Bruno in this fight but couldn't finish him.

Judges scores are 30-27 on all score cards in favor of Chris Wilson.

Winner: Chris Wilson by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Luke Cummo (9-5) vs. Tamdan McCrory (10-1)

R1- Tamdan got a take down about 2 minutes into the round and then took his back. Tamdan locked in a Rear Naked Choke and Cummo fought it pretty good. Cummo escaped the choke but Tamdan remained in control of the round. Tamdan grabbed an arm but Cummo rolled through and ended up in Tamdan's guard to end the round. Round easily goes to Tamdan.

R2- Tamdan quickly got a take down to start the round. Tamdan took his back about a minute and a half into the round. Tamdan grabbed an arm bar but Cummo rooled through it and took Tamdan's guard again. Tamdan regained control and laid in some good shots on Cummo. Tamdan is up 20-18 so far.

R3- Cummo came out better in round 3 landing a couple of shots and getting a take down. Tamdan turns him over fairly quickly and resumes control of the fight. They stood up with one minute left in the round but Tamdan again got a take down. Cummo got a triangle with 45 seconds left in the fight. Tamdan stands him up and slams him and gets out of the move. Good showing by Tamdan in this fight. I wonder if anybody on the prelims is going to finish their opponent tonight?

Judges score the fight:29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 for Tamdan.

Winner: Tamdan McCrory by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders (5-0-2) vs. Ryan Thomas (13-1)

R1- They are swinging pretty wildly in the beginning of the round. Saunders lands a good combo but Thomas grabs him and they sprawl. Both guys are hitting with some strikes. Saunders gets in some strikes and Thomas goes down. Thomas traps him in a triangle but Saunders pops out. Saunders attempts to take his back and gets a body triangle with less than a minute left in the round. Saunders takes the first round 10-9.

R2- Saunders fought to get a take down in the first part of the round but stood back up. Saunders landing some kicks. Thomas tries to do the same but slips and Saunders waits for him to stand up after some brief sprawling. Thomas looked like he got hurt by a body shot and then ate some punches. Saunders fairly quickly got an arm bar and got the win by submission. Really good showing by Saunders. He showed some inexperience early but recognized his ground game wasn't as good as Thomas so he tried to stay up on his feet for the majority of the second round.

Winner: Ben Saunders by Submission (Arm Bar) R2 2:28