UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy Re-Cap

UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy
The Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
March 27, 2010

The UFC has really been building up Georges St. Pierre as the pound for pound ace of the company. The only two multi-week build-up shows they've done have been for GSP (vs Penn and vs Hardy). GSP takes on Dan Hardy tonight in the Main Event for the Welterweight Championship. In the semi-Main Event Frank Mir will battle Shane Carwin for the Interim Heavyweight Championship and a shot at Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Jon Fitch was supposed to take on Thiago Alves in the battle of #2 and #3 Welterweights but Alves had to drop out and Ben Saunders has stepped up and will fight Jon "Decision Machine" Fitch.

Lightweight Fight- Jim Miller (16-2) vs. Mark Bocek (8-2)

Both guys have a 3 fight win streak. Miller is from New Jersey so he is the hometown guy in this fight. Bocek is a Jiu Jitsu and Kempo Black Belt. Miller is a Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt and has a background as a Division 1 wrestler. Bocek has a 4" reach advantage.

R1- Bocek shot in for a take down and Miller pulled guard with a guillotine but Bocek slipped out. Bocek got a driving take down about half way through the round. Miller grabbed a kimura and used it to sweep on top of Bocek and take his guard. Bocek was very close to tapping out. Miller also opened up a cut on the forehead of Bocek. Miller 10-9.

R2- Bocek got an early take down in this round. Bocek went for an arm triangle but was denied. Miller went for a leg lock but Bocek was able to counter the submission. Bocek is losing a lot of blood but was able to take full mount. Miller spun out of full mount but gave up his back to Bocek. Bocek trapped one of Miller's arms inside his body triangle so Miller only has one arm to defend a choke. Miller got to his feet and dropped back on Bocek but Bocek held on but couldn't finish before the bell rang. Bocek took this round and it's 19-19 going into the final round. Miller popped right up after this round and looks ready to fight. Bocek has lost a lot of blood so far.

R3- Miller hit a good right hand to start the round. Bocek went for a take down but got stuffed. Bocek went for another take down but Miller countered with a couple of knees. Bocek finally completed the take down with thirty seconds left in the round. Miller took Bocek's back in the last ten seconds of the round. This round was really all about positioning with not much damage done. I think this will be a split decision, very tough fight to call.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Jim Miller by Decision (Unanimous)

Welterweight Fight- Ben Saunders (8-1-2) vs. Jon Fitch (24-3)

Thiago Alves was supposed to take on Fitch but had to drop out and Saunders stepped up and told Dana White that he wanted the fight. Saunders has a 3" height and 3.5" reach advantage. I expect Fitch to smother Saunders and ride to a decision victory because that's what he does.

R1- Fitch got a take down about a minute into the fight. And then Fitch rode Saunders for the rest of the round. Fitch 10-9. I expect more of this in the next two rounds. Fitch is a tough fighter but he's got to be the most boring fighter in the UFC.

R2- Fitch got a take down one minute into the round. The ref stood up the fight with a minute left in the round despite Fitch landing some strikes. Fitch 20-18.

R3- Fitch had to work a little harder in this round and didn't get a take down until 2 minutes left in the round. Fitch landed some good Ground and Pound at the end of the round and cut Saunders up. Fitch takes this one easily 30-27. Not exciting but effective.

Judges score cards: 30-27 on all score cards

Winner: Jon Fitch by Decision (Unanimous)

Lightweight Fight- Kurt Pellegrino (20-4) vs. Fabricio Camoes (10-4-1)

Pellegrino is the local guy in this fight. Camoes has an 8 fight unbeaten streak and fought Caol Uno to a majority draw in his UFC debut.

R1- Camoes got Pellegrino down with a judo type throw and then took his back as Pellegrino stood up. Pellegrino dropped Camoes on his head and reversed positions and took top position. Camoes went for a triangle and then tried for a different submission but Pellegrino avoided them and moved to side control. Pellegrino landed some elbows and almost got caught in a choke but got out and maintained top position. Really good competitive first round. I've got Pellegrino 10-9.

R2- Camoes went for a take down but Pellegrino ended up on top briefly before they went back to their feet and Pellegrino got a driving take down. Pellegrino mounted with three minutes left in the round. Pellegrino really grinding out this round. Pellegrino clamped in a Rear Naked Choke and finished the fight. Great showing by Pellegrino.

Winner: Kurt Pellegrino by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 4:20

Interim Heavyweight Championship Fight- Frank Mir (13-4) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0)

The fighter who wins this will be guaranteed a title shot when Brock Lesnar is back to full health. Mir is consumed by his hatred for Lesnar. It will be interesting to see if this has focused him more for Carwin or if he's overlooked him. Carwin comes out to the Drowning Pool's "Bodies". Great MMA entrance song. Due to this being for the Interim title this is a 5-round fight but I don't think anybody expects this fight to go the distance. The average length of Carwin's fights is 1:07. Brock is ringside for this fight standing next to Dana White. He gets a good chorus of boos when he's shown.

R1- Mir drove in and Carwin took him back to the cage. Carwin landed some punches to the face against the cage and also landed some knees to Mir's leg. Mir came in and threw a combination but Carwin hooked him again and put him against the cage. Carwin landed some big short left uppercuts in the clinch and Mir folded to the floor. Carwin jumped on top and landed some good punches. Joe Rogan was calling it over but Mir managed to move to a better position but Carwin continued to land strikes to the side of the head and finished the fight. Great showing by Carwin.

Winner and new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion: Shane Carwin by KO R1 3:48

Post-fight they bring Brock into the ring and interview him. Brock tells Shane he's wearing a fake belt and that he has to come after the real one.

Next up they showed the Palharres/Drwal fight that was shown on the Prelim show on Spike TV.

Welterweight Title Fight- Georges St. Pierre (c) (19-2) vs. Dan Hardy (23-6)

The UFC tells us that GSP has a 87% defensive take down rate, a 78% take down accuracy rate and has 70% ground striking accuracy. Hardy defends 62% of his take down attempts, has never been knocked down in the UFC and lands 60% more strikes than his opponents. GSP is the big crowd favorite and Hardy the heel in this one based on the fan reactions at the introductions. Big "GSP" chant right after the introductions.

R1- GSP got a quick take down in the first 30 seconds of the fight. GSP passed Hardy's guard and took his back with 3 minutes left in the round. GSP tried for an arm bar but Hardy got up and GSP immediately took him down again before Hardy could separate. GSP mounted with a minute and a half left in the round. GSP went for some Ground and Pound and Hardy gave up his back. GSP landed some light strikes from the back and he clamped in a good arm bar but Hardy kept with it and broke the hold. Dominant round by GSP. Definitely a 10-9 round, borderline 10-8. It will be interesting to see how much damage GSP did to Hardy's arm in that round.

R2- GSP got a take down 1:25 into the round and moved into side control. Hardy gave up his back and GSP again went for the arm bar but Hardy was able to slip out and take GSP's guard. GSP quickly got back to his feet. GSP starts to land some strikes and then landed a driving take down with thirty seconds left in the round. GSP has dominated so far and is up 20-18 on my score card.

R3- Hardy took a wild shot to open the round and GSP immediately dove in and got an easy take down. GSP stood up in Hardy's guard and landed some elbows and strikes. Hardy went for a triangle so GSP passed his guard. GSP grabbed Hardy's arm and tried for a kimura but Hardy broke loose and GSP went back to side control. Hardy got back to his feet for about a second and GSP took him down again with one minute left in the round. Hardy gave up his back and Hardy got out and GSP immediately took him back down. GSP 30-27, just a dominant performance so far by GSP.

R4- This round started just like the last one, Hardy threw a strike and missed big a large amount and GSP took him down. GSP immediately mounted and Hardy gave up his back. Hardy went for a leg lock but GSP easily threw him back to the ground and took his guard again. GSP grabbed a kimura but Hardy somehow survived. GSP is up 40-36 after four rounds.

R5- GSP got a take down twenty seconds into the round after landing a couple of strikes. GSP goes for another kimura but couldn't quite get it the way he wanted. GSP went for the kimura one for time and couldn't get it. Hardy got up and GSP slammed him back down with thirty seconds left in the fight. They fought for 25 minutes and GSP dominated every one of them. GSP 50-45 on my score card. Hardy showed a lot of heart by not tapping to a couple of tough GSP submissions but GSP was clearly in a class above Hardy tonight.

Judges score cards: 50-43, 50-44, 50-45

Winner: Georges St. Pierre by Decision (Unanimous)

Post-fight interview GSP says that he made a lot of technical mistakes and that he is going to talk with his trainer and get better. GSP apologizes to the fans for not finishing the fight. He says Hardy did better tonight in his first title shot then he did when he got his first shot at Matt Hughes.

Light Heavyweight Fight- Rodney Wallace vs. Jared Hamman

This is a pre-show fight.

R1- Wallace landed a couple of strikes early and then got a take down. Wallace landed a couple of strikes and then a big uppercut and then chased Hamman down throwing some wild strikes and got another take down. Hamman landed a head kick and then tried to latch onto an arm but Wallace was able to take top position and try to recover. They stood up against the cage and threw strikes and Hamman landed a good punch. Hamman ended the round on top. Good round, Wallace looks pretty tired going into the second round.

R2- Wallace got an early take down but Hamman got back to his feet and landed a judo throw and took top position. Wallace was able to turn him over and take top position but Hamman landed some good strikes from the bottom. Wallace went for a triangle and missed and Hamman took top position and landed a good strike. Hamman landed some good elbows from the top.

R3- Wallace got a take down after his corner told him not to and Hamman quickly flipped him over and took top position. They got back to their feet and Wallace landed some good strikes and got another take down but Hamman again was able to flip him over and take top position. The ref stood them back up and Wallace landed a couple of more strikes but then Hamman was able to take him down. Wallace got back to his feet and then tired a kimura but couldn't quite turn it and Hamman once again took top position. Hamman will most likely take this 29-28.

Judges score cards: 29-28 on all score cards

Winner: Jared Hamman by Decision (Unanimous)

UFC 111: Preliminaries

UFC 111: Preliminaries
The Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
March 27, 2010
Spike TV

UFC 111 features Georges St. Pierre defending the Welterweight Championship against Dan Hardy and Frank Mir battling Shane Carwin for the Interim Heavyweight Championship on PPV. But first live on Spike TV will be Ricardo Almeida fighting TUF alum Matt Brown and TUF Winner Nate Diaz fighting Rory Markham.

Welterweight Fight- Ricardo Almeida (11-3) vs. Matt Brown (13-7)

This is the Welterweight debut for Almeida.

R1- Almeida got a take down at the end of the first minute of the fight but Brown got back to his feet without any damage. Lots of clinching in this round, Almeida started to throw some strikes at the end of the round. Almeida 10-9.

R2- Almeida got a take down in the first couple of seconds of the round but Brown moved back to the cage and got back to his feet very quickly. Almedia tripped Brown and took side control and landed some strikes before Brown could get back to his feet. Brown threw a kick and Almeida countered with a strike and a take down. Almeida opened up a cut on Brown. Almeida took Brown's back and clamped in the Rear Naked and finished the fight.

Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) R2 3:30

Joe Rogan interviews Georges St. Pierre about his title fight tonight against Dan Hardy.

A sneak preview of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz is shown.

Middleweight Fight- Nate Diaz (11-5) vs. Rory Markham (16-5)

Diaz is moving up to Welterweight for this fight but Markham failed to make weight but Diaz agreed to take the fight anyway and it was moved up to a Middleweight fight. Markham is coming off of around a year long layoff due to injury and Mike Goldberg points that out as a reason he didn't make weight. Diaz has a 5" reach advantage.

R1- Markham looks like he's fighting in a completely different weight class than Diaz. he is just so thick compared to Diaz. Diaz is landing some jabs early. Diaz landed some good shots and Markham went to his knees. Diaz took Markham's back and landed some strikes to the head and body. Diaz started landing good strikes to the head and the ref stopped the fight. Great showing by Diaz.

Winner: Nate Diaz by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:47

Joe Rogan interviews Dan Hardy about his title fight tonight against GSP. Hardy has some freaky red contacts in.

Joe Rogan and Dana White hype the fights for the PPV.

Middleweight Fight- Rousimar Palhares vs. Tomasz Drwal

R1- Drwal went for a kick and slipped and Palhares jumped on him and immediately went for his leg and tapped him out with a leg lock. Wow, Palhares the pit bull. This is the same guy that took Dan Henderson to the distance in Atlanta. He could be a tough out in the Middleweight division.

Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Submission (Leg Lock) R1 0:45