UFC 97: Redemption
4/18/09
This show is highlighted by Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defending against Thales Leites and Chuck Liddell taking on Shogun Rua. The Shogun/Liddell fight will be particularly interesting because whoever losses that fight is pretty much finished in the Light Heavyweight Division for the near future. Silva is looking to break the tie for most consecutive wins inside the Octagon (he is currently sitting at 8 straight wins). Cheick Kongo will also fight Antoni Hardonk in Heavyweight Fight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Steve Cantwell (7-1) vs. Luiz Cane (10-1)
Cantwell is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. Cantwell fought on the “Fight for the Troops” show in November and destroyed Razak Al-Hassan. His previous fight was an August 2008 win over Brian Stann by TKO for the WEC Title. Cane is coming off a win over Sokoudjou in which Sokoudjou gassed and then Cane finished him off. Both of these guys are borderline Top 10 Light Heavyweight Fighters. Cane is a Muay Thai specialist and Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Cantwell is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt with Kick Boxing experience. This should be an explosive fight.
R1- Cane looks good early as he landing some strikes and stalking Cantwell early. As the round went on Cantwell seemed to become more confident but Cane definitely looks like the stronger fighter in this fight. Cane is leading 10-9 after one round on my score card.
R2- Cane controlled the early part of the round but Cantwell really started to score points in the middle of the round. Really close round that I’m giving to Cantwell so it’s 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Cane landed a good combo in the first minute. Cane hit another good combo around the 4 minute mark of the round. Cane takes round three in a fairly close fight 29-28. Not a great fight for either guy, both guys fought hard and looked pretty good but both will really need to elevate their games to get up to the next level in UFC.
Judges score cards say: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of Cane.
Winner: Luiz Cane by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (23-4-1) vs. Antoni Hardonk (8-4)
Kongo is coming off of an impressive first round win over Mostapha Al Turk at UFC 92. Hardonk also fought at UFC 92 and won in the second round against Mike Wessel and is currently on a 3 fight win streak. Ernesto Hoost is in Hardonk’s corner for the fight. Kongo has a 4” reach advantage.
R1- Kongo grabbed Hardonk’s leg and pushed him down halfway through the round but the fight was stood back up. After they stood back up Kongo got in some good shots and then got a take down with about a minute left in the round. Kongo is up 10 to 9 after the first round.
R2- Kongo got Hardonk down quickly in this round and jumped on top for some Ground and Pound. Hardonk is bloodied up and the ref steps in to stop the fight. Really good showing by Kongo. It took him a while to get started but he looked impressive after he got the fight to the ground just like he did in his last outing.
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (Strikes) R2 2:29
Light Heavyweight Fight- Krzysztof Soszynski (17-9-1) vs. Brian Stann (6-1)
Stann is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He lost the belt to Steven Cantwell in August of 2008. Soszynski is from TUF Season 8. These guys are former training partners at Team Quest. Stann is currently training with Greg Jackson. If I was a betting man I would put my money on Stann in this fight. Soszynski has a 3.5” reach advantage.
R1- Soszynski got a take down at the two minute mark of the round. Soszynski laid on top of Stann for a minute and a half. Stann got up and Soszynski got another take down. Soszynski went for a kimura and couldn’t get it but went for it again and got it and Stann tapped out. And this is why I’m not a betting man. Nice win for Soszynski. Stann obviously needs some work on his ground game.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by Submission (Kimura) R1 3:53
Light Heavyweight Fight- Chuck Liddell (21-6) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (17-3)
This is a feast or famine fight for these guys. The winner is in line for a title shot with another victory and the loser is all but done in the UFC as a legit title contender. Shogun is coming off a lackluster victory over Mark Coleman in what may have been the worst fight of the year. Chuck is coming off of a KO at the hands of current Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Chuck Liddell is 39 years old, is this one of the last times we see him in the Octagon?
R1- Shogun got a take down about two and a half minutes into the round and went for a leg lock but couldn’t lock in the submission. Chuck got a take down with a minute left but immediately stood back up. Shogun landed a left hand and jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight! Shogun is back. Chuck looked really old in this fight as once Shogun hit a couple of leg kicks Chuck’s mobility looked slower and more limited. Maybe one more “money” fight for Chuck but besides that I don’t really think he should be fighting anymore.
Winner: Shogun Rua by TKO (Strikes) R1 4:28
Lightweight Fight- Sam Stout (14-5-1) vs. Matt Wiman (10-4)
Wiman is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Jim Miller in December. Stout has a 3” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Wiman starts off by landing some good strikes and then gets a take down but can’t land anything on the ground. Both guys are swinging freely in this fight. Wiman grabbed a guillotine and tried to pull guard but Stout slipped out and landed in Wiman’s guard. Wiman went for a take down with 30 seconds left in the round but Stout flipped him over. Good first round that was very close.
R2- Wiman tried to take Stout’s back but Stout was able to move into Wiman’s guard. Stout hurt Wiman towards the end of the round but Stout could not finish him and Wiman almost landed an arm bar. Stout really started to pull away here and took this round. I’ve got the fight 19-19 after two rounds.
R3- Wiman took Stout’s back and got him down onto the ground just a minute and a half into the round. Stout eventually rolls out of it and into Wiman’s guard with half the round remaining and Stout lands some Ground and Pound. They stood up and Wiman got another take down with a minute and a half left in the fight. Wiman drew some blood, got another take down and then both guys ended up swinging on their feet. This one is a toss up. I think Wiman’s going to take it as he looked better in the 1st and 2nd. Stout looked better overall but the fight is judges round by round not on the fight as a whole.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards in favor of Sam Stout.
I can’t say that I disagree with the decision but it was a very close fight.
Winner: Sam Stout by Decision (Unanimous)
Channing Tatum and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le join Mike Goldberg to hype their movie “Fighting”.
UFC Middleweight Title Fight: Anderson Silva © (23-4) vs. Thales Leites (14-1)
Thales is the next contender to try and take away Anderson’s belt. Thales has earned the title shot by winning a controversial decision over Nate Marquardt and by stopping Drew McFedries a little over a minute into the first round on the under card of Silva/Cote. Leites has won 5 straight fights and has won 27% of his fights by arm triangle. Leites is a Jiu Jitsu black belt. Anderson has 8 straight wins which is tied for the most in UFC history but is coming off of a disappointing fight against Patrick Cote. In UFC Anderson has landed 80% of his strikes. Leites comes out to “Welcome to the Jungle”. You have to like that.
R1- One minute into the fight and neither guy has thrown a strike. Two minutes into the fight and not much is going on. Anderson tries to stalk Leites down but he’s more comfortable staying away from Anderson. Leites throws a high kick at the two minute mark that is blocked. Anderson sweeps Leites to the ground with a leg kick. Leites tries to take Anderson down but he’s denied and they clinch. Really slow first round. Anderson takes it 10-9 to the boos of the crowd as he landed the best two shots of the round. Both guys are fighting more of a counter style. Anderson finally started to stalk Leites towards the end of the round when it became apparent that Leites was not going to let Anderson be the counter puncher in this fight.
R2- Leites got a take down early into the round. Anderson got back to his feet at the two minute mark without really taking any damage from Leites. They basically stand around and do nothing for a minute as Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet. Anderson basically chases Leites around the ring and lands a couple of strikes. Leites got a take down but didn’t do anything with it. Anderson at least landed some strikes. I’ve got Anderson up 20-18 in a very unimpressive fight so far. Leites wants nothing to do with Anderson on his feet and Anderson is being very wary of Leites.
R3- Anderson caught a Leites leg kick early in the round and then avoided a take down. Anderson stuffed another take down and then Leites laid on his back. Fans chant “GSP” during the fight. Anderson starts to land some strikes and Leites dives onto the ground to avoid them. Anderson landed a good side kick. Anderson went for a punch and Leites dove onto the ground again to avoid him. Anderson starts to work Leites over with some jabs. Anderson takes this round so he’s up 30-27. Unless Leites somehow wins this fight he might be dropped by UFC after this performance. He’s almost going out of his way to be “unexciting”.
R4- Anderson is landing some front kicks and leg kicks to start this round. Anderson is dancing around this round since Leites doesn’t want to exchange with him. Leites went for a take down and got stuffed. Anderson is winning this fight 40-36. I think Leites would just lay on the ground and sleep if the ref would let him.
R5- Leites actually comes out to fight in this round and Anderson gets on top and gets in a couple of shots. Leites has blood coming from his nose. Anderson hits a couple of strikes and Leites dives to the ground to avoid Anderson. Fans chant “GSP” again during this round. This is probably the most boring title fight I’ve ever seen. Leites just did not want any part of Anderson Silva in this fight. Anderson wins this fight 50-45 in a boring, dominant route. I would be surprised if Thales Leites fights for UFC again after this debacle.
Judges score cards say: 49-46, 48-47 and 50-46 in favor of Anderson.
Winner and still Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva by Decision (Unanimous)
Not a real good show from UFC. The under card was pretty decent but the Main Event just flat out did not deliver.
Showing posts with label Steve Cantwell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Cantwell. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
Saturday, December 13, 2008
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
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
Thursday, November 27, 2008
WEC 35 8/3/08 Re-Cap
WEC: 8/3/08
Three title fights tonight. Let’s see if this show can live up to the “Faber vs. Pulver” card from June.
Bantamweight Fight- Damacio Page (10-3) vs. Brian Bowles (5-0)
Page was one of the TapouT fighters from the TV show last year if my memory serves me correctly. Bowles is from Georgia, so he’s a hometown boy for me.
R1- Both guys come out ready to fight. Page misses a flying kick and Bowles jumps on top. Mistake by Page and Bowles is in his full guard. Bowles grabs a guillotine against the cage. Page slips out of it and flips Bowles over in one motion and is now in Bowles guard and hits a couple of elbows. Page lets him up after not being able to improve his position. Both guys swinging and Page sticks his tongue out at Bowles after Bowles hits him with a combination. Bowles shoots in but Page stuffs him and picks him up but Bowles clamps on a guillotine while being elevated by Page. Page can’t get him off and taps to the guillotine. Quick and unexpected finish by Bowles. Very solid opening fight as it was only one round but was a good, exciting fight.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine)
Rashad Evans, Miguel Torres, Cain Velasquez, and Urijah Faber are all shown in attendance for the event.
Lightweight Title Fight- Jamie Varner (14-2) © vs. Marcus Hicks (8-0)
R1- They clinch early and Varner went for a knee and Hicks took him down but Varner quickly got back to his feet. Hicks powered him back to the ground and then hooked in a guillotine but Varner got out of it. Hicks slams Varner but Varner again quickly got up. Hicks is controlling the fight early. Varner went for a high kick and Hicks blocked it and shook is head no. Varner then hit a mid kick and got in what looked to be some nice knees but Hicks held on. Varner gets in a couple of shots and Hicks looks a bit wobbled. Varner is getting nailed with shots now and leaving himself open. Varner is laying it on him but Hicks is somehow keeping his composure and defending himself and trying to get back to his feet. Varner with more knees. Varner looks like he’s punching himself out. He might have made a mistake by not actually jumping on top of Hicks and instead letting him get back to his feet. But just as I type that Varner nails Hicks with a straight punch and the ref calls it. Hicks was controlling but got caught with those two knees and after that it was all Varner. Hicks has a really good chin.
Winner and still champion: Jamie Varner by TKO (strikes)
So far so good as we’ve had two solid (if short) under card fights.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (24-2) vs. Carlo Prater (23-6-1)
R1- Both guys start out tentative. Larson is jabbing about 5 feet away from Prater. Prater misses a kick. They stand off and Larson jumps at Prater and nails a big left hand and jumps on Prater and is throwing punches down on him and Mazzagatti stops the fight. Huge explosion from Larson and a big finish.
Winner: Brock Larson by TKO (strikes) R1
Next up they interview Urijah Faber at ringside. They talk about the Jens Pulver fight and the upcoming Mike Brown fight.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Brian Stann (6-0) © vs. Steve Cantwell (5-1)
Cantwell’s only loss came at the hands of Brian Stann.
R1- Decent start to the fight as both guys seem to want to keep the fight standing. First big strike is dealt by Cantwell at about a minute in a half as he dives in and gets some shots and a knee in on Stann and they throw down and Cantwell seems to be hitting on more shots. Cantwell goes in for a take down but Stann stuffs him and they clinch against the cage basically resting from their flurry. Cantwell comes in with a Superman punch which leads to both guys throwing down against the cage and then they clinch again. Cantwell has looked really good so far. Cantwell slips and lands on his back and Stann gets in between his legs and is landing some good punches on Cantwell. Cantwell gets back to his feet and they clinch. Good, exciting first round. Cantwell really controlled the round with the exception of slipping and Stann getting in some good punches at the end of the round. Cantwell 10-9 after one round.
R2- Stann hits a low kick early in the round and we will take a short break. Cantwell hits a good combo up against the cage and Stann clinches him. Cantwell has Stann up against the cage again and hits a flurry of good strikes. Stann looks real tired. Cantwell hits some more strikes and Stann staggers back against the cage. Stann somehow staying on his feet and finally gets taken out by a right hand.
Another good fight. So far we are 4 for 4 on entertaining fights on the show.
Winner and new champion: Steve Cantwell by TKO (strikes) R2 4:01
Featherweight Fight- Micah Miller (11-1) vs. Josh Grispi (11-1)
R1- Grispi hits a leg kick early as Miller was going for a punch and it takes Miller down off his feet. Grispi going after a lot of kicks early and hitting a good number of them. Grispi hits Miller with a big right hand and then jumps on him and hits some shots and Herb Dean stops the fight. Micah Miller jumps up pretty quickly kind of like the Werdum/Vera fight finish. Dean stopped the fight early but Miller was in a lot of trouble.
Winner: Josh Grispi by TKO (strikes) R1 0:50
Welterweight Title Fight- Carlos Condit (22-4) © vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-4)
Condit comes out to Rage Against The Machine.
R1- Pretty even fight in the first couple of minutes. Condit gets Miura in the clinch but Miura gets a nice judo throw and is immediately in side control but Condit quickly gets up. Miura gets a nice trip but again Condit gets back up. So Miura with some real nifty take downs but other than surprising Condit it hasn’t really done much in terms of damage. Condit pops Miura with a big right hand. Condit hits a body kick and then faked a kick and hit a punch that looked like it missed but I guess it connected because Miura went straight to the ground and Condit jumped on top. Condit is hitting some elbows and punches on Miura. Condit is smothering Miura and grabs an arm bar but Miura gets out and then hits Condit with a judo throw. This was a good first round and could have gone either way depending on how the judges score the fight. Do they score it for Miura based on his take downs or for Condit based on the fact that he did more damage in round one. I go for damage so I’ve got Condit up 10-9 in a close round one.
R2- Condit hits a few strikes early and then basically throws Miura down. Condit jumps on top in full guard. Miura hits an up kick but Condit gets back to the ground and is in half guard now. Condit gets full mount and is hitting some elbows and punches. Miura gives up his back and Condit goes for an arm bar. Miura gets out and gets into Condit full guard with about a minute and a half left in the round. Miura basically rests and the ref stands them back up. Miura goes for a throw but misses and Condit takes his back. Miura is able to get him back to full guard as the round ends with Condit at advantage. Condit really controlled this round. I’ve got Condit 20-18 through two rounds.
R3- Miura comes after Condit in this round with a little more vigor but Condit takes his back and then gets a guillotine choke in. Condit releases the choke and now has full mount. Condit hitting with some punches and elbows. Miura flips Condit over and gets in some shots. Miura is landing some really good punches while in full mount. Miura is unloading on Condit but Condit takes the punishment and rises to his feet. Condit hits a big knee and both guys are really throwing right now. Condit hits a right hand and takes Miura down. Condit in full mount and laying in some punches and elbows. Miura gives up his back and Condit is trying for a Rear Naked Choke but he runs out of time. Really great round. Condit controlled early, Miura then had Condit in danger and then Condit saved the round by coming back and owning the last minute and a half or so of the fight. Condit is up 30-27 in my book. Rounds 1 and 3 have been close but I’ve got Condit taking them.
R4- Miura hits a big right hand and then lands another on Condit early in the round. Miura gets a take down but Condit reverses it and has taken some good shots from Miura and is now on top. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches and Condit rolls through and goes after a knee bar but Miura slips out and is back in Condit’s guard. Both guys are winded at this point and the ref stands them up. Both guys are a little slow to their feet. Both guys are really throwing at each other almost like they are trying to end it in one punch. Condit sweeps Miura down and mounts him but isn’t doing much damage as he’s mostly resting. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches in on Condit and is really laying it in on him. Condit barely holds on and locks him up. Miura lets Condit get up and as he’s getting up barely misses a punch and Condit lands a nice knee in retaliation. Condit is landing some punches and the ref stops the fight. Kind of a weird finish as Condit didn’t really have a dominate position to finish the fight but Miura was on his stomach and not really defending after getting rocked by that knee. Miura was winning this round before eating that big knee. He made a huge mistake in missing that one big punch as Condit was getting up and Condit made him pay.
Really great fight. Definitely a low end FOTY candidate.
Winner and still champion: Carlos Condit by TKO (strikes) R4 4:43
Really good show with a great Main Event to cap off the night. Another really good performance for
Three title fights tonight. Let’s see if this show can live up to the “Faber vs. Pulver” card from June.
Bantamweight Fight- Damacio Page (10-3) vs. Brian Bowles (5-0)
Page was one of the TapouT fighters from the TV show last year if my memory serves me correctly. Bowles is from Georgia, so he’s a hometown boy for me.
R1- Both guys come out ready to fight. Page misses a flying kick and Bowles jumps on top. Mistake by Page and Bowles is in his full guard. Bowles grabs a guillotine against the cage. Page slips out of it and flips Bowles over in one motion and is now in Bowles guard and hits a couple of elbows. Page lets him up after not being able to improve his position. Both guys swinging and Page sticks his tongue out at Bowles after Bowles hits him with a combination. Bowles shoots in but Page stuffs him and picks him up but Bowles clamps on a guillotine while being elevated by Page. Page can’t get him off and taps to the guillotine. Quick and unexpected finish by Bowles. Very solid opening fight as it was only one round but was a good, exciting fight.
Winner: Brian Bowles by Submission (Guillotine)
Rashad Evans, Miguel Torres, Cain Velasquez, and Urijah Faber are all shown in attendance for the event.
Lightweight Title Fight- Jamie Varner (14-2) © vs. Marcus Hicks (8-0)
R1- They clinch early and Varner went for a knee and Hicks took him down but Varner quickly got back to his feet. Hicks powered him back to the ground and then hooked in a guillotine but Varner got out of it. Hicks slams Varner but Varner again quickly got up. Hicks is controlling the fight early. Varner went for a high kick and Hicks blocked it and shook is head no. Varner then hit a mid kick and got in what looked to be some nice knees but Hicks held on. Varner gets in a couple of shots and Hicks looks a bit wobbled. Varner is getting nailed with shots now and leaving himself open. Varner is laying it on him but Hicks is somehow keeping his composure and defending himself and trying to get back to his feet. Varner with more knees. Varner looks like he’s punching himself out. He might have made a mistake by not actually jumping on top of Hicks and instead letting him get back to his feet. But just as I type that Varner nails Hicks with a straight punch and the ref calls it. Hicks was controlling but got caught with those two knees and after that it was all Varner. Hicks has a really good chin.
Winner and still champion: Jamie Varner by TKO (strikes)
So far so good as we’ve had two solid (if short) under card fights.
Welterweight Fight- Brock Larson (24-2) vs. Carlo Prater (23-6-1)
R1- Both guys start out tentative. Larson is jabbing about 5 feet away from Prater. Prater misses a kick. They stand off and Larson jumps at Prater and nails a big left hand and jumps on Prater and is throwing punches down on him and Mazzagatti stops the fight. Huge explosion from Larson and a big finish.
Winner: Brock Larson by TKO (strikes) R1
Next up they interview Urijah Faber at ringside. They talk about the Jens Pulver fight and the upcoming Mike Brown fight.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Brian Stann (6-0) © vs. Steve Cantwell (5-1)
Cantwell’s only loss came at the hands of Brian Stann.
R1- Decent start to the fight as both guys seem to want to keep the fight standing. First big strike is dealt by Cantwell at about a minute in a half as he dives in and gets some shots and a knee in on Stann and they throw down and Cantwell seems to be hitting on more shots. Cantwell goes in for a take down but Stann stuffs him and they clinch against the cage basically resting from their flurry. Cantwell comes in with a Superman punch which leads to both guys throwing down against the cage and then they clinch again. Cantwell has looked really good so far. Cantwell slips and lands on his back and Stann gets in between his legs and is landing some good punches on Cantwell. Cantwell gets back to his feet and they clinch. Good, exciting first round. Cantwell really controlled the round with the exception of slipping and Stann getting in some good punches at the end of the round. Cantwell 10-9 after one round.
R2- Stann hits a low kick early in the round and we will take a short break. Cantwell hits a good combo up against the cage and Stann clinches him. Cantwell has Stann up against the cage again and hits a flurry of good strikes. Stann looks real tired. Cantwell hits some more strikes and Stann staggers back against the cage. Stann somehow staying on his feet and finally gets taken out by a right hand.
Another good fight. So far we are 4 for 4 on entertaining fights on the show.
Winner and new champion: Steve Cantwell by TKO (strikes) R2 4:01
Featherweight Fight- Micah Miller (11-1) vs. Josh Grispi (11-1)
R1- Grispi hits a leg kick early as Miller was going for a punch and it takes Miller down off his feet. Grispi going after a lot of kicks early and hitting a good number of them. Grispi hits Miller with a big right hand and then jumps on him and hits some shots and Herb Dean stops the fight. Micah Miller jumps up pretty quickly kind of like the Werdum/Vera fight finish. Dean stopped the fight early but Miller was in a lot of trouble.
Winner: Josh Grispi by TKO (strikes) R1 0:50
Welterweight Title Fight- Carlos Condit (22-4) © vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-4)
Condit comes out to Rage Against The Machine.
R1- Pretty even fight in the first couple of minutes. Condit gets Miura in the clinch but Miura gets a nice judo throw and is immediately in side control but Condit quickly gets up. Miura gets a nice trip but again Condit gets back up. So Miura with some real nifty take downs but other than surprising Condit it hasn’t really done much in terms of damage. Condit pops Miura with a big right hand. Condit hits a body kick and then faked a kick and hit a punch that looked like it missed but I guess it connected because Miura went straight to the ground and Condit jumped on top. Condit is hitting some elbows and punches on Miura. Condit is smothering Miura and grabs an arm bar but Miura gets out and then hits Condit with a judo throw. This was a good first round and could have gone either way depending on how the judges score the fight. Do they score it for Miura based on his take downs or for Condit based on the fact that he did more damage in round one. I go for damage so I’ve got Condit up 10-9 in a close round one.
R2- Condit hits a few strikes early and then basically throws Miura down. Condit jumps on top in full guard. Miura hits an up kick but Condit gets back to the ground and is in half guard now. Condit gets full mount and is hitting some elbows and punches. Miura gives up his back and Condit goes for an arm bar. Miura gets out and gets into Condit full guard with about a minute and a half left in the round. Miura basically rests and the ref stands them back up. Miura goes for a throw but misses and Condit takes his back. Miura is able to get him back to full guard as the round ends with Condit at advantage. Condit really controlled this round. I’ve got Condit 20-18 through two rounds.
R3- Miura comes after Condit in this round with a little more vigor but Condit takes his back and then gets a guillotine choke in. Condit releases the choke and now has full mount. Condit hitting with some punches and elbows. Miura flips Condit over and gets in some shots. Miura is landing some really good punches while in full mount. Miura is unloading on Condit but Condit takes the punishment and rises to his feet. Condit hits a big knee and both guys are really throwing right now. Condit hits a right hand and takes Miura down. Condit in full mount and laying in some punches and elbows. Miura gives up his back and Condit is trying for a Rear Naked Choke but he runs out of time. Really great round. Condit controlled early, Miura then had Condit in danger and then Condit saved the round by coming back and owning the last minute and a half or so of the fight. Condit is up 30-27 in my book. Rounds 1 and 3 have been close but I’ve got Condit taking them.
R4- Miura hits a big right hand and then lands another on Condit early in the round. Miura gets a take down but Condit reverses it and has taken some good shots from Miura and is now on top. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches and Condit rolls through and goes after a knee bar but Miura slips out and is back in Condit’s guard. Both guys are winded at this point and the ref stands them up. Both guys are a little slow to their feet. Both guys are really throwing at each other almost like they are trying to end it in one punch. Condit sweeps Miura down and mounts him but isn’t doing much damage as he’s mostly resting. Miura flips him over again. Miura hits some punches in on Condit and is really laying it in on him. Condit barely holds on and locks him up. Miura lets Condit get up and as he’s getting up barely misses a punch and Condit lands a nice knee in retaliation. Condit is landing some punches and the ref stops the fight. Kind of a weird finish as Condit didn’t really have a dominate position to finish the fight but Miura was on his stomach and not really defending after getting rocked by that knee. Miura was winning this round before eating that big knee. He made a huge mistake in missing that one big punch as Condit was getting up and Condit made him pay.
Really great fight. Definitely a low end FOTY candidate.
Winner and still champion: Carlos Condit by TKO (strikes) R4 4:43
Really good show with a great Main Event to cap off the night. Another really good performance for
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