UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez
Acer Arena
Sydney, Australia
2/20/2010
This is the debut of the UFC in Australia and we get a big Heavyweight Title Contender fight when Antonio Minotauro Nogueira takes on up and comer Cain Velasquez. There is also a big Middlweight fight with Wanderlei Silva taking on Michael Bisping.
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (25-7-2) vs. Anthony Perosh (10-5)
Perosh is fighting in his home country but took this fight on short notice. Mirko has been a real disappointment since he came back to the UFC but he still should be able to win a fight when his opponent is an unknown fighting on short notice. Perosh comes out to some Motley Crue “Kick Start My Heart” and a big ovation. Mirko counters with some “Wild Boys” from Duran Duran. We are about to have an 80s hair band throw down! This could get crazy. Perosh is only 216 pounds so he is outweighed by around 20 pounds in this fight.
R1- Cro Cop is the aggressor early. Perosh tried for a take down but Cro Cop did a good just denying him. Cro Cop hit a good left that hurt Perosh but he couldn’t follow up. Perosh has a bloody nose. Cro Cop hit Perosh with another good left. Cro Cop is finding a home for the left whenever he wants it. Cro Cop 10-9.
R2- This round consisted of Perosh continually going for take downs and getting stuffed. Cro Cop landed a big elbow from full guard that busted open Perosh. Cro Cop 20-18 after two rounds.
The doctor’s stop the fight after the second round due to the cut over Perosh’s eye. Perosh tried to hang in there he just didn’t seem like he was a UFC caliber Heavyweight at this point of his career. Good win by Cro Cop as he was dominant. I don’t think he’s as good as the majority of UFC Heavyweights but with this win he’s still a marketable fighter for them at this point of his career. They should try to put him against another young guy or a big name for his next fight.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R2 5:00
Randy Couture is at the show and is sitting next to a blonde with large cleavage. Rashad Evans is in the crowd cheering on Jardine. Can’t wait to see him and Rampage hook it up since their fight is back on.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Keith Jardine (14-7-1) vs. Ryan Bader (11-0)
R1- Bader got a big take down two minutes into the round. Jardine has a cut on the top of his head. Bader got some shots in but nothing big and the ref stood them up with thirty seconds left in the round. Bader 10-9.
R2- Jardine stuffed three Bader take downs and Bader looks like he’s starting to wear down a little bit. Bader hit a kick towards the end of the round that caught Jardine off balanced and briefly knocked him down and then Bader got a brief take down. Jardine won the majority of this round except the last thirty seconds and I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Bader caught Jardine coming in with a jab at the two minute mark and then followed it up with a flying knee and then a blow that knocked Jardine into the fence on the floor and the ref stopped the fight. Bader hit a big left against the cage and Jardine’s legs gave out and he slumped to the mat. Good stoppage. Really good win by Bader against a quality opponent in Jardine.
Winner: Ryan Bader by TKO (Strikes) R3 2:10
Welterweight Fight- Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster
This is from the pre-show.
R1- Foster got a quick take down but couldn’t keep Lytle down. Foster hit a spinning heel kick to the head but it was mostly blocked. Lytle grabbed a rolling knee bar and Foster tapped out. Really nice move by Lytle as Foster looked like he was winning the fight when Lytle went for that move.
Winner: Chris Lytle by Submission (Knee Bar) R1 1:41
Lightweight Fight- Joe Stevenson (36-10) vs. George Sotiropoulos (11-2)
Sotiropoulos is fighting in his home country so he should have a big home field advantage in this fight. Sotiropoulos comes out to “Iron Man” but doesn’t have any spiked shoulder pads on. Stevenson comes out to some really crappy electronica music that he seems to enjoy. Sotiropoulos is on a 5 fight win streak.
R1- George went for a single but Joe blocked it and then looked like he pulled guard. Joe briefly got an arm triangle from the bottom but couldn’t hold it. George mounted and then took Joe’s back and then took north/south position and went for an arm bar but couldn’t lock it in. George really dominated positioning in the first round but really didn’t inflict much damage. George 10-9. Fans chanted during the break between rounds and continued chanting into the second round.
R2- George hit a strike and Joe briefly went down to a knee but popped back up ready to fight. George landed some good jabs and then Stevenson got a take down. George used an omaplata to escape and take top position. Joe quickly got back on top. Joe went for an ankle lock at the end of the round but George scrambled out of it and grabbed a choke at the end of the round. Really close round. I’ve got George up 20-18 but the last round could have gone either way. George was really active off his back and got 2 different sub attempts off his back.
R3- Joe tried to grab a guillotine and pull guard but George slipped out. Back and forth round. Joe took top position with a minute and a half left in the round. They stand back up with 40 seconds left in the fight and Joe gets another take down. I’ve got Joe taking this round but George taking the fight 29-28. This could be a split decision.
Judges scored cards say: 30-27 on all three score cards. Crowd goes nuts at decision. Big win for Sotiropoulos.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Decision (Unanimous)
Royce Gracie is at the show tonight.
Middleweight Fight- Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs. Michael Bisping (19-2)
Bisping comes out to his usual Rock N Jock “WOO HOO” theme. This is a big fight for Bisping. Bisping got KTFO by Dan Henderson but then rebounded by beating up Denis Kang.
R1- Bisping got a take down one minute into the round but Wanderlei quickly gets back up swinging. Really even round, Wanderlei had a flurry at the end of the round that might have stole the round for him as he was the aggressor in the second half of the round after Bisping got two take downs.
R2- Wanderlei caught a Bisping kick and kicked his other leg out from under him and took top position on Bisping. Bisping got a take down with two minutes left in the round but Wanderlei got back to his feet quickly. Bisping got a take down at the end of the round but Wanderlei grabbed a guillotine and Bisping looked like he was going to tap but he held on until the end of the round. Wanderlei took this round so depending on how round one was scored he’s up 20-18 or it’s tied at 19-19.
R3- Wanderlei is starting to land some strikes about half way through the round. Bisping’s most effective offense in this round so far has been a low blow and an eye poke. Wanderlei landed a right hand and started to swing for the fence. Wanderlei grabbed another Bisping kick and swept his leg out from under him again. Wanderlei hit a big right in the closing moments and it looked like the ref was about to stop the fight but he let it go to the bell. Wanderlei definitely took the final two rounds so I’ve got him winning this fight. He didn’t seem as aggressive as usual but definitely picked up the pace at the end of all of the rounds.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 on all score cards
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Antonio Minotauro Noguiera (32-5-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (7-0)
The UFC tells us that Nogueira has 53 Submission Attempts which is the most in UFC/Pride history, he has a 67% arm bar success rate and his average fight time is 12 minutes and 14 seconds. Cain has a 63% striking accuracy (2nd in UFC), lands 70% of take down attempts and has never been taken down. The winner of this fight should be in line to face Brock Lesnar either before or after the winner of Shane Carwin/Frank Mir. Minotauro comes out to the Stones.
R1- Cain looks good early as he hits some combos and Big Nog absorbs them. Cain hit some wicked shots just after the two minute mark that knocked Big Nog down and then jumped on top and quickly finished the fight. Big Nog came in with a right and Cain countered with a left and then clocked him with a big right uppercut and then floored him with a big left hand. Cain then got on top and immediately struck a big right hand to the chin that ended the fight and before Herb Dean could get in there to break it up Cain landed a couple more shots. Amazing performance by Velasquez.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Strikes) R1 2:20
Light Heavyweight Fight- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
This was from the pre-show. Bonnar needs a win badly.
R1- Soszynski bull rushes at the beginning and they clinched against the cage. Soszynski looks good early and has bloodied Bonnar’s nose. Bonnar grabbed a kick and got a take down but couldn’t do anything with it. Bonnar looked like he started getting more comfortable towards the end of the round but I’ve got Soszynski taking the round 10-9.
R2- Close round. Joe Rogan pointed out that it looked like Soszynski landed the stronger shots but Bonnar landed more shots and I think that’s pretty much how the round went. That was a tough round to judge. Soszynski landed some good shots towards the end of the round that may have stolen the round for him.
R3- Soszynski landed a shot very early that briefly knocked Bonnar to his knees and the shot cut Bonnar. Bonnar has blood all over him. Here is what Joe Rogan had to say about it “Oh My God. He is pouring blood out of his head…This is Crazy…It’s literally leaking out of his head”. The ref stops the fight to look at the cut. The ref stops the fight. In looking at the replays it looked like the cut was caused by a headbutt and that’s why after the cut happened Bonnar looked at the ref.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R3 1:04
Showing posts with label Wanderlei Silva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wanderlei Silva. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, June 20, 2009
UFC 99: "The Comeback" 6/13/09 Re-Cap
UFC 99: The Comeback
6/13/09
Cologne, Germany
Lanxess Arena
The headliner of this show is Rich Franklin versus Wanderlei Silva in what should be an action packed contest. The undercard is stacked with Cheick Kongo/Cain Velasquez, Mike Swick/Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis/Dan Hardy and Mirko Cro Cop. This should be an exciting night of fights. And I actually forgot about Caol Uno against Spencer Fisher and that could be the Fight of the Night.
Welterweight Fight- Dan Hardy (21-6) vs. Marcus Davis (21-5)
There has been a big war of the words between these guys for several weeks so it’s nice to see them get in the cage and settle their differences. Marcus Davis is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Chris Lytle and he submitted Paul Kelly previous to that. Dan Hardy is on a 5-fight win streak. Rogan says that he’s never seen Marcus Davis so fired up, in shape and ready for a fight in his life. Hardy has a 4” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Neither guy wanted to make a mistake early. Davis made the first move by going for a take down and Davis finally got him down after a long struggle and got a mount. Hardy was able to get out of the mount but Davis leaned on him and got some Ground and Pound. Hardy got to his feet and hit Davis with a good punch. Davis slipped and Hardy caught him with a couple more shots but Davis tied him up. Davis looks like he got cut. This round was all Davis with the exception of about a 45 second explosion by Hardy. I’ve got Davis 10-9 but it was close due to the shots Hardy landed near the end of the round.
R2- They stand at the beginning of this round and exchange and Hardy gets a clinch and lands a knee that hurts Marcus. Hardy jumps on top to try and finish but Davis was able to protect so he didn’t get finished. Davis went for an arm bar from the guard position but Hardy was able to stop the submission. Davis is landing some elbows from the bottom and is very active in Hardy’s guard and the ref stands them up. Davis got a take down with 30 seconds left in the round and passed guard but all he could get was some brief Ground and Pound. This was pretty much a reversal of the first round as Hardy controlled the entire round and Davis controlled the last 45 seconds. I give this one to Hardy and have the fight 19-19 going into the third and deciding round.
R3- Davis landed a left that floored Hardy at the start of the round, it looked like Hardy got caught off balance. Davis took Hardy’s guard. Davis went for a heel hook but Hardy was able to spin out and both fighters got back to their feet. Hardy was able to get a take down with about 2 minutes left in the fight. Hardy hit an elbow and the ref stopped the fight to check the cut. It was on his nose so they continued the fight. Hardy is getting some Ground and Pound and Davis continues to bleed but Hardy doesn’t do enough and the ref stands the fighters up with 45 seconds left in the fight. Davis is having trouble seeing out of his eyes due to the blood and they tied up to finish the fight. I’ve got to give the fight to Hardy due to damage inflicted on his opponent. Close fight, I’ve got Hardy 29-28 on my score card. The winner of this is right on the verge of being a Top 10 Welterweight in the world and could be a couple of victories away from a title shot.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Hardy, 29-28 Davis and 29-28 Hardy.
Hardy goes to shake Marcus’s hand after the decision and Davis shrugs him off. Hardy says he respects Davis and that he is a tough fighter.
Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Caol Uno (25-11-4) vs. Spencer Fisher (23-4)
This is Uno’s first fight in his return to the UFC. Uno comes out to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
R1- They danced around for a while. Spencer went for a punch and Uno went for a take down and Spencer stuffed it and they clinched against the cage. The ref finally separated them with two minutes left in the round. Spencer landed a couple of punches and then blocked another Uno take down. This was a pretty even uneventful first round. I’ve got Spencer taking this one 10-9 but it’s anybody’s fight.
R2- Uno got a single leg after ducking a punch but Spencer got up quickly and separated. Uno went for another take down but was stuffed. Uno lands a couple of leg kicks but then gets another take down stuffed but Spencer stayed on him and Uno rolled him over and took his guard but Spencer was able to get back to his feet again. Uno is just constantly going for take downs. Spencer went for a sweep but got taken down by Uno and Spencer again quickly got up. This round went to Uno with his repeated take downs even though he didn’t do a lot once he got there. I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Spencer landed a good left hand in the first minute of the fight but Uno kept coming with a take down attempt. Uno went for a leg kick but Spencer punched him and Uno’s momentum took him down to the mat. Spencer got a take down but Uno quickly rolled him off. Uno mounted Spencer and got in a couple of elbows and punches and is finishing this round in an impressive fashion. Uno get the nod in this round due to his final push. I’ve got Uno 29-28 in a rather uneventful fight.
Judges score cards say: all judges score the fight for Spencer Fisher (no scores announced)
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2)
This fight should be the opposite of our last fight. Saunders looked great back in December against Brandon Wolfe as he finished him by TKO in the first round. Mike Swick fought on that same card in December and got a 33 second victory over Jonathon Goulet. At UFC 85 Swick defeated Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision. Swick is 3-0 as a Welterweight in the UFC and I’ve currently got Swick ranked #8 in the World Welterweight rankings.
R1- Saunders immediately pulls guard, which is a little surprising. Saunders is just holding him with Swick landing some little punches. Swick asks Saunders if he’s going to hold him all night. Ref stands them up with 1:30 left in the round. Swick landed some good punches after a Saunders kick. Swick takes this round 10-9 and Saunders rubs Swick’s head on the way back to his corner.
R2- Swick quickly mounted in less than a minute but Saunders was able to move him back to guard. The ref stands them up with 2:40 left in the round. Swick hit a good combination and drove Saunders back in the cage. Swick kept coming and Saunders went down Swick jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight. Swick jumped over the cage and gave Dana and his guys high fives and jumped back in the cage. Another great showing by Swick.
Post-fight Swick says he’s 9-1 in the UFC and wants to fight top guys. He names Matt Hughes, GSP and Thiago Alves.
Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:47
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4)
Cro Cop has looked less than stellar in his last two fights. Cro Cop looked bored in his fight against Hong Man Choi and in the fight before that he was on the ropes against Alistair Overeem when Cro Cop got low blowed and sold like he’d been taken out by a shotgun and could not continue. Overeem was dominating Cro Cop before the low blow. Al-Turk comes out to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. Mirko comes out to Duran Duran, I only know that because my sister was a big fan. Mirko gets a good reaction from the crowd despite his choice of theme music. Rogan says there are lots of fans here from Croatia. Al-Turk seems like the sacrificial lamb but let’s see how it plays out in the cage.
R1- Al-Turk is the aggressor early. Rogan points out that Al-Turk is telegraphing his shots. Mirko landed a good combo and is chasing down Al-Turk. Mirko gets on top and gets some shots in and then lets Al-Turk up. Cro Cop hits a punch that looked like it was an eye poke and Al-Turk covered up but the ref didn’t do anything and then Cro Cop finished him off when the ref didn’t step in. Miragliotta with another poor officiating job.
Cro Cop looked a little better than his previous two fights but he didn’t look much like he’s going to be a threat in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Throw him in there with Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos or Cain Velaquez if he beats Kongo.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-4-1)
Both of these fighters are coming in with momentum. At UFC 97 Kongo beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the second round and at UFC 92 Kongo just completely overwhelmed Mustafa Al-Turk. Velasquez dominated Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 and won via TKO in the second round. Kongo comes out to some Jimi Hendrix. Kongo has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage. Velasquez is 9 lbs heavier. I’ve got both of these guys right outside the Top 10 Heavyweight rankings so the winner is really going to rise up the ranks.
R1- Valesquez stalks Kongo down early but Kongo hits some nice shots and brings Cain to his knees. He landed two nice right hands but Cain stayed with it and got a double leg take down. Cain mounts and looks like he has a choke in but Kongo rolled out of the choke. Kongo got back to his feet but got slammed. Cain lands some nice shots and again goes for a choke but can’t get it locked in. Cain is landing some nice shots on Kongo. Kongo got to his feet again and again got slammed for his trouble. After those first two punches Cain just dominated Kongo. Kongo was two punches away from having a 10-8 round scored against him. Cain takes this round 10-9.
R2- Kongo landed another good punch on Cain and he went down to his feet. Kongo swung for the fences but then clinched Cain against the cage. Cain got a take down about one minute into the round. Cain hits some elbows and then lands some good punches against cage. Kongo got up but got taken down again. Cain hits some big knees to the body. Cain takes this round 10-9 so he’s up 20-18.
R3- Kongo looked like he landed another good strike but Cain wrapped him up. Kongo briefly got Cain down but then Cain got on top. This is reminiscent of Lesnar/Herring. Both fighters are bleeding. Kong is bleeding from the nose and Cain from the mouth. Kongo got to his feet at the two minute mark and got loose and threw some punches but Cain took him down again. Cain is landing some consistent punches on Kongo from the top. This was a good fight and FOTN so far. Cain wins 30-27 on my score card.
This was an interesting fight because of the the dominance of Cain on the ground and Kongo’s dominance on his feet. Cain’s technique and wrestling was just too much for Kongo. Cain was very impressive and definitely proved he could take a punch. The only question, as Rogan put it, is if Cain has the power to finish some of the Top Heavyweights in the UFC.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event Catchweight Fight (195lbs)- Rich Franklin (26-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)
This is a huge fight for both of these guys as they are coming off losses and adjusting to new weight classes. Franklin lost his last fight to Dan Henderson in a close decision loss and Silva lost his last fight by Knockout to Rampage Jackson. The winner of this fight could be within a fight or two of a title shot. I could realistically see the UFC giving Franklin a shot at Lyoto Machida (if he beats Shogun before he faces the winner of Rampage) and I could see Wanderlei get a shot at Anderson (because of the feud they built up on the Countdown show and Dana is looking for guys that will stand toe to toe with Anderson). Rogan points out that this is the first time that Wanderlei is cutting weight and Rogan says the rumor is that Wanderlei had to cut 12 pounds yesterday to make the 195 lb weight limit. Franklin has a 2” height and reach advantage.
R1- Wanderlei got a take down with two minutes left in the round after some fairly even stand-up. Franklin gets back to his feet with a minute left in the round and gets on top of Wanderlei and is landing some good Ground and Pound. Wanderlei back to his feet but he took some shots and looks like he has a cut. Franklin hit a couple of shots to end the round and he took this one 10-9 on my score card.
R2- Both guys are throwing some haymakers but nobody has hit anything substantial so far. Franklin caught Silva and his momentum took him to the mat but Franklin did not follow him to the ground. Franklin hit a good combo. Franklin got hit with a good left hand in an exchange and his knees briefly buckled. Wanderlei landed another good right hand and had Franklin reeling back into the cage. Franklin hit a high kick that was partially blocked but it seemed to hurt Wanderlei. This was a really hard round to judge. It seemed like Wanderlei hurt Franklin a couple times during the round so I’ve got to give the round to Wanderlei and that makes hit 19-19.
R3- Wanderlei landed a good knee after both guys threw a lot of punches. Wanderlei is the aggressor this round with Franklin choosing to stick and move. Wanderlei and Franklin are up against the cage and both guys were throwing bombs but not landing. Franklin got a take down and then they stood up with Wanderlei landed elbows and Franklin landing punches. Great finish to the fight as the crowd was on it’s feet cheering at the end. This third and final round was pretty much even. I think Wanderlei took this round which means he won the fight on my score card 29-28. Very close fight and this over took Velasquez/Kongo as FOTN.
Judges score the fight: all 3 judges score the fight for Rich Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-Fight Franklin makes one of his corner guys do push-ups.
This was a solid show with the two closing fights really delivering. Mike Swick really looked good again and I’m interested to see how Dan Hardy continues to progress in his weight class.
6/13/09
Cologne, Germany
Lanxess Arena
The headliner of this show is Rich Franklin versus Wanderlei Silva in what should be an action packed contest. The undercard is stacked with Cheick Kongo/Cain Velasquez, Mike Swick/Ben Saunders, Marcus Davis/Dan Hardy and Mirko Cro Cop. This should be an exciting night of fights. And I actually forgot about Caol Uno against Spencer Fisher and that could be the Fight of the Night.
Welterweight Fight- Dan Hardy (21-6) vs. Marcus Davis (21-5)
There has been a big war of the words between these guys for several weeks so it’s nice to see them get in the cage and settle their differences. Marcus Davis is coming off of a Split Decision victory over Chris Lytle and he submitted Paul Kelly previous to that. Dan Hardy is on a 5-fight win streak. Rogan says that he’s never seen Marcus Davis so fired up, in shape and ready for a fight in his life. Hardy has a 4” reach advantage in this fight.
R1- Neither guy wanted to make a mistake early. Davis made the first move by going for a take down and Davis finally got him down after a long struggle and got a mount. Hardy was able to get out of the mount but Davis leaned on him and got some Ground and Pound. Hardy got to his feet and hit Davis with a good punch. Davis slipped and Hardy caught him with a couple more shots but Davis tied him up. Davis looks like he got cut. This round was all Davis with the exception of about a 45 second explosion by Hardy. I’ve got Davis 10-9 but it was close due to the shots Hardy landed near the end of the round.
R2- They stand at the beginning of this round and exchange and Hardy gets a clinch and lands a knee that hurts Marcus. Hardy jumps on top to try and finish but Davis was able to protect so he didn’t get finished. Davis went for an arm bar from the guard position but Hardy was able to stop the submission. Davis is landing some elbows from the bottom and is very active in Hardy’s guard and the ref stands them up. Davis got a take down with 30 seconds left in the round and passed guard but all he could get was some brief Ground and Pound. This was pretty much a reversal of the first round as Hardy controlled the entire round and Davis controlled the last 45 seconds. I give this one to Hardy and have the fight 19-19 going into the third and deciding round.
R3- Davis landed a left that floored Hardy at the start of the round, it looked like Hardy got caught off balance. Davis took Hardy’s guard. Davis went for a heel hook but Hardy was able to spin out and both fighters got back to their feet. Hardy was able to get a take down with about 2 minutes left in the fight. Hardy hit an elbow and the ref stopped the fight to check the cut. It was on his nose so they continued the fight. Hardy is getting some Ground and Pound and Davis continues to bleed but Hardy doesn’t do enough and the ref stands the fighters up with 45 seconds left in the fight. Davis is having trouble seeing out of his eyes due to the blood and they tied up to finish the fight. I’ve got to give the fight to Hardy due to damage inflicted on his opponent. Close fight, I’ve got Hardy 29-28 on my score card. The winner of this is right on the verge of being a Top 10 Welterweight in the world and could be a couple of victories away from a title shot.
Judges score cards say: 29-28 Hardy, 29-28 Davis and 29-28 Hardy.
Hardy goes to shake Marcus’s hand after the decision and Davis shrugs him off. Hardy says he respects Davis and that he is a tough fighter.
Winner: Dan Hardy by Decision (Split)
Lightweight Fight- Caol Uno (25-11-4) vs. Spencer Fisher (23-4)
This is Uno’s first fight in his return to the UFC. Uno comes out to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
R1- They danced around for a while. Spencer went for a punch and Uno went for a take down and Spencer stuffed it and they clinched against the cage. The ref finally separated them with two minutes left in the round. Spencer landed a couple of punches and then blocked another Uno take down. This was a pretty even uneventful first round. I’ve got Spencer taking this one 10-9 but it’s anybody’s fight.
R2- Uno got a single leg after ducking a punch but Spencer got up quickly and separated. Uno went for another take down but was stuffed. Uno lands a couple of leg kicks but then gets another take down stuffed but Spencer stayed on him and Uno rolled him over and took his guard but Spencer was able to get back to his feet again. Uno is just constantly going for take downs. Spencer went for a sweep but got taken down by Uno and Spencer again quickly got up. This round went to Uno with his repeated take downs even though he didn’t do a lot once he got there. I’ve got it 19-19 going into the final round.
R3- Spencer landed a good left hand in the first minute of the fight but Uno kept coming with a take down attempt. Uno went for a leg kick but Spencer punched him and Uno’s momentum took him down to the mat. Spencer got a take down but Uno quickly rolled him off. Uno mounted Spencer and got in a couple of elbows and punches and is finishing this round in an impressive fashion. Uno get the nod in this round due to his final push. I’ve got Uno 29-28 in a rather uneventful fight.
Judges score cards say: all judges score the fight for Spencer Fisher (no scores announced)
Winner: Spencer Fisher by Decision (Unanimous)
Welterweight Fight- Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2)
This fight should be the opposite of our last fight. Saunders looked great back in December against Brandon Wolfe as he finished him by TKO in the first round. Mike Swick fought on that same card in December and got a 33 second victory over Jonathon Goulet. At UFC 85 Swick defeated Marcus Davis by Unanimous Decision. Swick is 3-0 as a Welterweight in the UFC and I’ve currently got Swick ranked #8 in the World Welterweight rankings.
R1- Saunders immediately pulls guard, which is a little surprising. Saunders is just holding him with Swick landing some little punches. Swick asks Saunders if he’s going to hold him all night. Ref stands them up with 1:30 left in the round. Swick landed some good punches after a Saunders kick. Swick takes this round 10-9 and Saunders rubs Swick’s head on the way back to his corner.
R2- Swick quickly mounted in less than a minute but Saunders was able to move him back to guard. The ref stands them up with 2:40 left in the round. Swick hit a good combination and drove Saunders back in the cage. Swick kept coming and Saunders went down Swick jumped on top and the ref stopped the fight. Swick jumped over the cage and gave Dana and his guys high fives and jumped back in the cage. Another great showing by Swick.
Post-fight Swick says he’s 9-1 in the UFC and wants to fight top guys. He names Matt Hughes, GSP and Thiago Alves.
Winner: Mike Swick by TKO (Strikes) R2 3:47
Heavyweight Fight- Mirko Cro Cop (24-6-2) vs. Mostapha Al-Turk (6-4)
Cro Cop has looked less than stellar in his last two fights. Cro Cop looked bored in his fight against Hong Man Choi and in the fight before that he was on the ropes against Alistair Overeem when Cro Cop got low blowed and sold like he’d been taken out by a shotgun and could not continue. Overeem was dominating Cro Cop before the low blow. Al-Turk comes out to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. Mirko comes out to Duran Duran, I only know that because my sister was a big fan. Mirko gets a good reaction from the crowd despite his choice of theme music. Rogan says there are lots of fans here from Croatia. Al-Turk seems like the sacrificial lamb but let’s see how it plays out in the cage.
R1- Al-Turk is the aggressor early. Rogan points out that Al-Turk is telegraphing his shots. Mirko landed a good combo and is chasing down Al-Turk. Mirko gets on top and gets some shots in and then lets Al-Turk up. Cro Cop hits a punch that looked like it was an eye poke and Al-Turk covered up but the ref didn’t do anything and then Cro Cop finished him off when the ref didn’t step in. Miragliotta with another poor officiating job.
Cro Cop looked a little better than his previous two fights but he didn’t look much like he’s going to be a threat in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Throw him in there with Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos or Cain Velaquez if he beats Kongo.
Winner: Mirko Cro Cop by TKO (Strikes) R1 3:06
Heavyweight Fight- Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (24-4-1)
Both of these fighters are coming in with momentum. At UFC 97 Kongo beat Antoni Hardonk by TKO in the second round and at UFC 92 Kongo just completely overwhelmed Mustafa Al-Turk. Velasquez dominated Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 and won via TKO in the second round. Kongo comes out to some Jimi Hendrix. Kongo has a 5” reach and 3” height advantage. Velasquez is 9 lbs heavier. I’ve got both of these guys right outside the Top 10 Heavyweight rankings so the winner is really going to rise up the ranks.
R1- Valesquez stalks Kongo down early but Kongo hits some nice shots and brings Cain to his knees. He landed two nice right hands but Cain stayed with it and got a double leg take down. Cain mounts and looks like he has a choke in but Kongo rolled out of the choke. Kongo got back to his feet but got slammed. Cain lands some nice shots and again goes for a choke but can’t get it locked in. Cain is landing some nice shots on Kongo. Kongo got to his feet again and again got slammed for his trouble. After those first two punches Cain just dominated Kongo. Kongo was two punches away from having a 10-8 round scored against him. Cain takes this round 10-9.
R2- Kongo landed another good punch on Cain and he went down to his feet. Kongo swung for the fences but then clinched Cain against the cage. Cain got a take down about one minute into the round. Cain hits some elbows and then lands some good punches against cage. Kongo got up but got taken down again. Cain hits some big knees to the body. Cain takes this round 10-9 so he’s up 20-18.
R3- Kongo looked like he landed another good strike but Cain wrapped him up. Kongo briefly got Cain down but then Cain got on top. This is reminiscent of Lesnar/Herring. Both fighters are bleeding. Kong is bleeding from the nose and Cain from the mouth. Kongo got to his feet at the two minute mark and got loose and threw some punches but Cain took him down again. Cain is landing some consistent punches on Kongo from the top. This was a good fight and FOTN so far. Cain wins 30-27 on my score card.
This was an interesting fight because of the the dominance of Cain on the ground and Kongo’s dominance on his feet. Cain’s technique and wrestling was just too much for Kongo. Cain was very impressive and definitely proved he could take a punch. The only question, as Rogan put it, is if Cain has the power to finish some of the Top Heavyweights in the UFC.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by Decision (Unanimous)
Main Event Catchweight Fight (195lbs)- Rich Franklin (26-4) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)
This is a huge fight for both of these guys as they are coming off losses and adjusting to new weight classes. Franklin lost his last fight to Dan Henderson in a close decision loss and Silva lost his last fight by Knockout to Rampage Jackson. The winner of this fight could be within a fight or two of a title shot. I could realistically see the UFC giving Franklin a shot at Lyoto Machida (if he beats Shogun before he faces the winner of Rampage) and I could see Wanderlei get a shot at Anderson (because of the feud they built up on the Countdown show and Dana is looking for guys that will stand toe to toe with Anderson). Rogan points out that this is the first time that Wanderlei is cutting weight and Rogan says the rumor is that Wanderlei had to cut 12 pounds yesterday to make the 195 lb weight limit. Franklin has a 2” height and reach advantage.
R1- Wanderlei got a take down with two minutes left in the round after some fairly even stand-up. Franklin gets back to his feet with a minute left in the round and gets on top of Wanderlei and is landing some good Ground and Pound. Wanderlei back to his feet but he took some shots and looks like he has a cut. Franklin hit a couple of shots to end the round and he took this one 10-9 on my score card.
R2- Both guys are throwing some haymakers but nobody has hit anything substantial so far. Franklin caught Silva and his momentum took him to the mat but Franklin did not follow him to the ground. Franklin hit a good combo. Franklin got hit with a good left hand in an exchange and his knees briefly buckled. Wanderlei landed another good right hand and had Franklin reeling back into the cage. Franklin hit a high kick that was partially blocked but it seemed to hurt Wanderlei. This was a really hard round to judge. It seemed like Wanderlei hurt Franklin a couple times during the round so I’ve got to give the round to Wanderlei and that makes hit 19-19.
R3- Wanderlei landed a good knee after both guys threw a lot of punches. Wanderlei is the aggressor this round with Franklin choosing to stick and move. Wanderlei and Franklin are up against the cage and both guys were throwing bombs but not landing. Franklin got a take down and then they stood up with Wanderlei landed elbows and Franklin landing punches. Great finish to the fight as the crowd was on it’s feet cheering at the end. This third and final round was pretty much even. I think Wanderlei took this round which means he won the fight on my score card 29-28. Very close fight and this over took Velasquez/Kongo as FOTN.
Judges score the fight: all 3 judges score the fight for Rich Franklin.
Winner: Rich Franklin by Decision (Unanimous)
Post-Fight Franklin makes one of his corner guys do push-ups.
This was a solid show with the two closing fights really delivering. Mike Swick really looked good again and I’m interested to see how Dan Hardy continues to progress in his weight class.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Retro Re-Cap: Pride "Total Elimination" 2003
Pride “Total Elimination” 2003
UFC clashes with Pride on this show as it features a tournament between 8 Middleweight Fighters (moving to the Final 4 in November).
Middleweight Tournament Fights
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Alistair Overeem vs. Chuck Liddell
Heavyweight Fights
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Heavyweight Fight- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Fedor is in the opener for this show! Fedor just came out firing at the beginning of this fight. Fedor quickly got Goodridge down and gave him some G&P and some kicks and this one was over. Phenomenal showing by Fedor as this was before he was a “big name” and he dispatched of Goodridge just like he would dispatch of Tim Sylvia last year.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:09
Next up they spent some time profiling Chuck Liddell and why he was fighting in the tournament for UFC.
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem
Talk about a stacked card. We’ve got Fedor in the first fight and Chuck Liddell in the second fight! Dana White joins the announce team on commentary for this fight. This was a pretty good fight while it lasted. For the first part of the fight it was pretty even with both fighters getting in offense. Then it looked like Alistair either got hurt or gassed and Liddell just took him apart.
Winner: Chuck Liddell by KO (Punches) R1 3:09
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Ricardo Arona was supposed to fight Jackson but he hurt his leg so Bustamante stepped in to take the fight. Bustamante clamped on a quick arm bar and then a triangle choke but Rampage hit a slam to get out of the submission. Bustamante then went for a guillotine choke but Rampage survived. Pretty even fight after the first round with Bustamante coming close to getting the finish with a few different submissions. Second round was controlled by Rampage with Bustamante continually trying to take the fight to the mat. Third round was pretty much the same as the first. Rampage will get this win in this one but not a particularly decisive victory. Very difficult match-up stylistically for Rampage in this fight.
Winner: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by Decision (Split)
Heavyweight Fight- Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
This actually put me to sleep when I watching it. Ricco controlled the first two rounds and really just stayed on top and smothered Big Nog throughout the fight. The announcers pretty much give the fight to Ricco without a doubt and Big Nog gets a unanimous decision. Definitely a surprising win.
In reading an explanation from Matt Hume it seems that Pride weighed “effort to finish by KO or submission” as their number one criteria in judging a fight and Big Nog did have the advantage in that category and thus he got the unanimous decision as Ricco totally controlled the fight but didn’t do any more damage than Nog did and seems to try to finish the fight less than Nog did.
Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Crop Cop has a large height advantage in this fight. Cro Cop hit a vicious kick about one minute into the fight and this was a highlight reel knockout! This is what Cro Cop use to be like when he was awesome. Now, he just gets kicked around by the likes of Alistair Overeem.
Winner: Cro Cop by KO (Kick)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
This was an exciting fight. It looked like Tamura was going to take it based on the early action but Yoshida came on strong and got the choke victory.
Winner: Hidehiko Yoshida by Submission (Choke)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rampage joins the booth to commentate this fight. This was a pretty exciting fight with Wanderlei swinging away a lot and then got the highlight reel KO about 5 minutes into the round.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
This really seems like a “Who’s Who” of MMA type show. Tons of big names from then and now like Fedor, Cro Cop, Liddell, Rampage, Wanderlei, Sakuraba and Big Nog under one roof. This was a fun show as it was really interesting seeing Dana and Chuck in Pride and it was nice to see Fedor before he became the monster that he is and Cro Cop when he was at the top of his game. the 4 Middleweights who survived this round of the tournament and will fight in the semis are Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Hidehiko Yoshida and Wanderlei Silva.
UFC clashes with Pride on this show as it features a tournament between 8 Middleweight Fighters (moving to the Final 4 in November).
Middleweight Tournament Fights
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Alistair Overeem vs. Chuck Liddell
Heavyweight Fights
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Heavyweight Fight- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge
Fedor is in the opener for this show! Fedor just came out firing at the beginning of this fight. Fedor quickly got Goodridge down and gave him some G&P and some kicks and this one was over. Phenomenal showing by Fedor as this was before he was a “big name” and he dispatched of Goodridge just like he would dispatch of Tim Sylvia last year.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko by TKO (Strikes) R1 1:09
Next up they spent some time profiling Chuck Liddell and why he was fighting in the tournament for UFC.
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem
Talk about a stacked card. We’ve got Fedor in the first fight and Chuck Liddell in the second fight! Dana White joins the announce team on commentary for this fight. This was a pretty good fight while it lasted. For the first part of the fight it was pretty even with both fighters getting in offense. Then it looked like Alistair either got hurt or gassed and Liddell just took him apart.
Winner: Chuck Liddell by KO (Punches) R1 3:09
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante
Ricardo Arona was supposed to fight Jackson but he hurt his leg so Bustamante stepped in to take the fight. Bustamante clamped on a quick arm bar and then a triangle choke but Rampage hit a slam to get out of the submission. Bustamante then went for a guillotine choke but Rampage survived. Pretty even fight after the first round with Bustamante coming close to getting the finish with a few different submissions. Second round was controlled by Rampage with Bustamante continually trying to take the fight to the mat. Third round was pretty much the same as the first. Rampage will get this win in this one but not a particularly decisive victory. Very difficult match-up stylistically for Rampage in this fight.
Winner: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by Decision (Split)
Heavyweight Fight- Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
This actually put me to sleep when I watching it. Ricco controlled the first two rounds and really just stayed on top and smothered Big Nog throughout the fight. The announcers pretty much give the fight to Ricco without a doubt and Big Nog gets a unanimous decision. Definitely a surprising win.
In reading an explanation from Matt Hume it seems that Pride weighed “effort to finish by KO or submission” as their number one criteria in judging a fight and Big Nog did have the advantage in that category and thus he got the unanimous decision as Ricco totally controlled the fight but didn’t do any more damage than Nog did and seems to try to finish the fight less than Nog did.
Winner: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by Decision (Unanimous)
Heavyweight Fight- Cro Cop vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Crop Cop has a large height advantage in this fight. Cro Cop hit a vicious kick about one minute into the fight and this was a highlight reel knockout! This is what Cro Cop use to be like when he was awesome. Now, he just gets kicked around by the likes of Alistair Overeem.
Winner: Cro Cop by KO (Kick)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
This was an exciting fight. It looked like Tamura was going to take it based on the early action but Yoshida came on strong and got the choke victory.
Winner: Hidehiko Yoshida by Submission (Choke)
Middleweight “Total Elimination” Tournament Fight- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rampage joins the booth to commentate this fight. This was a pretty exciting fight with Wanderlei swinging away a lot and then got the highlight reel KO about 5 minutes into the round.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
This really seems like a “Who’s Who” of MMA type show. Tons of big names from then and now like Fedor, Cro Cop, Liddell, Rampage, Wanderlei, Sakuraba and Big Nog under one roof. This was a fun show as it was really interesting seeing Dana and Chuck in Pride and it was nice to see Fedor before he became the monster that he is and Cro Cop when he was at the top of his game. the 4 Middleweights who survived this round of the tournament and will fight in the semis are Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Hidehiko Yoshida and Wanderlei Silva.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 Re-Cap
UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (22-4-1) vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-3)
This is Turk's debut in UFC. He was born in Beruit, Lebanon and is fighting out of London, England. Turk is a jiu jitsu based fighter. If Kongo can win this fight he puts himself in position to be a possible title contender later in 2009 due to the soft UFC Heavyweight Division. Kongo has a 4 and a half inch reach advantage which could be huge since he's a better striker.
"This is a battle of the cool names"- Joe Rogan
R1- They exchange low blows in the first round. Kongo came on really strong in the last minute of the round and knocked Turk down and started hitting a ton of strikes and busted him open and reigned down elbows and hammer fists. Great finish by Kongo. He really took it to Turk once he got him down. This is as good as I've seen Kongo look. Rogan described it well by saying he was "completely relentless."
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:37
Randy and Kim Couture are in attendance tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
What a stacked card when you can bring out Rampage/Wanderlei for the second fight on the show. This should be FOTN and has the ability to be one of the most exciting fights this year. This is the third match-up between the two fighters with Silva winning the first two. Winner of this fight steps up in line (with Lyoto Machida) to face the winner of Griffin/Evans for the Light Heavyweight Strap. Rogan calls Silva the most consistently exciting fighter in MMA history. This should be a Main Event on any show for any organization. Very mixed reaction for Rampage from the crowd. The fighters don't touch gloves prior to the fight. This is a GRUDGE match!
R1- Rampage hit a big knockout punch towards the end of the round and then continued to pound on Silva as the ref tried to pull him off. Big knockout punch by Rampage. Big left hook by Rampage. They cut to Chuck Liddell after the knockout and he looked less than thrilled with the finish. Great comeback for Rampage after the Forrest fight and he looks to step right back up in line for a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Fight.
Winner: Rampage Jackson by KO (left hook) R1 3:21
In the post-fight interview Rampage says he's back.
Heavyweight Fight- Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry
This is from the pre-show. Barry is hyped as a big-time striker. Evenson lost to Kongo at the UFC 87 show at the end of the first round by TKO. This is Barry's debut in the UFC.
R1- Barry looked decent and it looked like Evensen tweaked something (due to Barry's leg kicks) and could not continue.
Winner: Patrick Barry by TKO (Leg Kick) R1 2:36
Middleweight Fight- CB Dollaway (8-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)
Both guys are college wrestlers with Massenzio's only loss coming on an upset at the hands of Dollaway. Dollaway has a 2 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Massenzio got some shots in and knocked CB down and then grabbed a guillotine but CB survived. CB mounts him and then takes his back and starts to hit him with punches on both sides of the head and Massenzio does nothing to get out of the strikes and the ref stops the fight. Not much damage done by CB but Massenzio did nothing to defend himself. Questionable finish but Massenzio didn't help himself out. Big win for CB.
Winner: CB Dollaway by TKO (strikes) R1 3:01
Light Heavyweight FIght- Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Hamill is coming off a loss to Rich Franklin and Andy is coming off a loss to Brandon Vera. This is a pre-show fight.
R1- They stand up for the round and trade strikes. Hamill got a cut under his eye but pushed forward for the majority of the round. The guy in Matt Hamill's corner drops the f bomb about 50 times as Hamill reads his lips for instruction.
R2- Andy looked for some take downs but Hamill stuffed them and then hit some good strikes on Andy. Andy just slumped down to his knees and basically looked like he gave up as Hamill started to hit him with strikes. The ref finally stops it. Great second round by Hamill.
Winner: Matt Hamill by TKO (strikes) R2 2:15
Brock Lesnar joins Mike and Joe between the fights. Basically says he's not the champ yet until he beats the winner of Mir/Big Nog.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Title Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira © (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
Mir's average fight lasts 3:38 according to Mike Goldberg. Big Nog comes out to the Rolling Stones.
R1- Mir hit a good jab early. Mir is looking good early and gets a take down but gives it up to stand back up. Mir knocked down Big Nog at the 3 minute mark but again lets Big Nog up. Big Nog got in a good combo against the cage at the end of the round. Mir looked really good in this first round and got another knock down at the end of the first round. Mir won this round. Possibly 10-8. The announcers say it's 10-8, Big Nog got in some shots but Mir knocked Big Nog down 3 times.
R2- Mir hits Big Nog with two big punches and knocks him down and then jumps on top with some punches and Herb Dean stops the fight. Surprising finish and I think the stoppage was early considering how much punishment Big Nog takes but Mir was definitely owning this fight.
Post-fight Mir basically stares down Lesnar.
Winner and new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) R2 1:54
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Forrest Griffin © (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (17-0-1)
The battle of the winners of TUF Season 1 and Season 2. And they are Main Eventing a show with Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Frank Mir and Rampage Jackson. Forrest has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. I have a feeling that Rashad is going to win this fight but I've got to pull for Forrest since he's from Athens.
R1- Huge "Forrest" chant at the beginning of the round. Rashad laying back early like he did in the Liddell fight. Forrest took Round One 10-9. Rashad looked like he definitely has the quickness factor but he's laying back more and Forrest is pushing forward. If this fight stays on it's feet I can see Rashad getting a big punch in and ending this.
R2- Forrest hit a big right hand about a minute into the fight and they really mixed it up against the cage and then Rashad smiled at him and kind of gave him that "you can't hurt me" look. Forrest is doing a really good job with his kicks in this fight. Forrest took this round as well and is up 20-18 on my score card. His leg kicks seem to be taking their toll and Rashad is having trouble so far with Forrest's reach advantage. Still anybody's fight but Forrest is the aggressor so far and is out striking Rashad. Rashad has more power though so he's far from out with 3 rounds left. Neither guy looks to have sustained significant damage.
R3- Rashad grabs a Forrest leg kick and takes him down and is delivering hammer fists to Forrest. Forrest was in trouble but took him to full guard. Rashad hits some nice elbows while in Forrest's guard. Rashad delivering lots of punches from the top and the ref stops the fight. Big time round from Rashad. Forrest shows a lot of class and immediately congratulates Rashad once he gets up.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Rashad Evans by TKO (strikes) R3 2:46
Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
This is a pre-show fight. This is Wessell's UFC debut.
R1- Wessell overpowers him early and gets him to the ground. Back to their feet. Wessell is thick. Hardonk hits some good knees. Wessell gets Hardonk down again and Hardonk goes for a triangle but can't get it. Wessell gets full mount right at the buzzer. Wessell is bloodied up from the knees to his face. Good first round.
R2- Hardonk takes Wessell's back and gets the hooks in on him. Hardonk finishes him with strikes.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO (strikes) R2 2:09
Overall a strong show with a good Main Event in Evans/Griffin. Mir/Big Nog was a surprisingly one-sided fight and Silva/Jackson had a big KO. FOTN was Evans/Griffin.
UFC awarded Evans/Griffin the "Fight of the Night" 60K bonus and Rampage got the 60K "KO of the Night" bonus. No submission bonus was given as no fight ended by submission.
Where do we go from here?
Light Heavyweight Division- Looks like we are set up with Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Championship with the winner taking on Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva winner. Forrest versus Chuck Liddell would be an interesting fight for Forrest's next fight.
Heavyweight Division- Obviously we have the Lesnar/Mir re-match. It will be interesting to see where they go with Big Nog. Maybe a fight with Randy Couture?
Heavyweight Fight- Cheick Kongo (22-4-1) vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-3)
This is Turk's debut in UFC. He was born in Beruit, Lebanon and is fighting out of London, England. Turk is a jiu jitsu based fighter. If Kongo can win this fight he puts himself in position to be a possible title contender later in 2009 due to the soft UFC Heavyweight Division. Kongo has a 4 and a half inch reach advantage which could be huge since he's a better striker.
"This is a battle of the cool names"- Joe Rogan
R1- They exchange low blows in the first round. Kongo came on really strong in the last minute of the round and knocked Turk down and started hitting a ton of strikes and busted him open and reigned down elbows and hammer fists. Great finish by Kongo. He really took it to Turk once he got him down. This is as good as I've seen Kongo look. Rogan described it well by saying he was "completely relentless."
Winner: Cheick Kongo by TKO (strikes) R1 4:37
Randy and Kim Couture are in attendance tonight.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rampage Jackson (28-7) vs. Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1)
What a stacked card when you can bring out Rampage/Wanderlei for the second fight on the show. This should be FOTN and has the ability to be one of the most exciting fights this year. This is the third match-up between the two fighters with Silva winning the first two. Winner of this fight steps up in line (with Lyoto Machida) to face the winner of Griffin/Evans for the Light Heavyweight Strap. Rogan calls Silva the most consistently exciting fighter in MMA history. This should be a Main Event on any show for any organization. Very mixed reaction for Rampage from the crowd. The fighters don't touch gloves prior to the fight. This is a GRUDGE match!
R1- Rampage hit a big knockout punch towards the end of the round and then continued to pound on Silva as the ref tried to pull him off. Big knockout punch by Rampage. Big left hook by Rampage. They cut to Chuck Liddell after the knockout and he looked less than thrilled with the finish. Great comeback for Rampage after the Forrest fight and he looks to step right back up in line for a re-match for the Light Heavyweight Fight.
Winner: Rampage Jackson by KO (left hook) R1 3:21
In the post-fight interview Rampage says he's back.
Heavyweight Fight- Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry
This is from the pre-show. Barry is hyped as a big-time striker. Evenson lost to Kongo at the UFC 87 show at the end of the first round by TKO. This is Barry's debut in the UFC.
R1- Barry looked decent and it looked like Evensen tweaked something (due to Barry's leg kicks) and could not continue.
Winner: Patrick Barry by TKO (Leg Kick) R1 2:36
Middleweight Fight- CB Dollaway (8-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (11-2)
Both guys are college wrestlers with Massenzio's only loss coming on an upset at the hands of Dollaway. Dollaway has a 2 and a half inch reach advantage.
R1- Massenzio got some shots in and knocked CB down and then grabbed a guillotine but CB survived. CB mounts him and then takes his back and starts to hit him with punches on both sides of the head and Massenzio does nothing to get out of the strikes and the ref stops the fight. Not much damage done by CB but Massenzio did nothing to defend himself. Questionable finish but Massenzio didn't help himself out. Big win for CB.
Winner: CB Dollaway by TKO (strikes) R1 3:01
Light Heavyweight FIght- Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Hamill is coming off a loss to Rich Franklin and Andy is coming off a loss to Brandon Vera. This is a pre-show fight.
R1- They stand up for the round and trade strikes. Hamill got a cut under his eye but pushed forward for the majority of the round. The guy in Matt Hamill's corner drops the f bomb about 50 times as Hamill reads his lips for instruction.
R2- Andy looked for some take downs but Hamill stuffed them and then hit some good strikes on Andy. Andy just slumped down to his knees and basically looked like he gave up as Hamill started to hit him with strikes. The ref finally stops it. Great second round by Hamill.
Winner: Matt Hamill by TKO (strikes) R2 2:15
Brock Lesnar joins Mike and Joe between the fights. Basically says he's not the champ yet until he beats the winner of Mir/Big Nog.
UFC Interim Heavyweight Title Fight- Antonio Minotauro Nogueira © (31-4-1) vs. Frank Mir (11-3)
Mir's average fight lasts 3:38 according to Mike Goldberg. Big Nog comes out to the Rolling Stones.
R1- Mir hit a good jab early. Mir is looking good early and gets a take down but gives it up to stand back up. Mir knocked down Big Nog at the 3 minute mark but again lets Big Nog up. Big Nog got in a good combo against the cage at the end of the round. Mir looked really good in this first round and got another knock down at the end of the first round. Mir won this round. Possibly 10-8. The announcers say it's 10-8, Big Nog got in some shots but Mir knocked Big Nog down 3 times.
R2- Mir hits Big Nog with two big punches and knocks him down and then jumps on top with some punches and Herb Dean stops the fight. Surprising finish and I think the stoppage was early considering how much punishment Big Nog takes but Mir was definitely owning this fight.
Post-fight Mir basically stares down Lesnar.
Winner and new Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion: Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) R2 1:54
Light Heavyweight Title Fight- Forrest Griffin © (16-4) vs. Rashad Evans (17-0-1)
The battle of the winners of TUF Season 1 and Season 2. And they are Main Eventing a show with Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Frank Mir and Rampage Jackson. Forrest has a 4 inch reach advantage and a 2 inch height advantage. I have a feeling that Rashad is going to win this fight but I've got to pull for Forrest since he's from Athens.
R1- Huge "Forrest" chant at the beginning of the round. Rashad laying back early like he did in the Liddell fight. Forrest took Round One 10-9. Rashad looked like he definitely has the quickness factor but he's laying back more and Forrest is pushing forward. If this fight stays on it's feet I can see Rashad getting a big punch in and ending this.
R2- Forrest hit a big right hand about a minute into the fight and they really mixed it up against the cage and then Rashad smiled at him and kind of gave him that "you can't hurt me" look. Forrest is doing a really good job with his kicks in this fight. Forrest took this round as well and is up 20-18 on my score card. His leg kicks seem to be taking their toll and Rashad is having trouble so far with Forrest's reach advantage. Still anybody's fight but Forrest is the aggressor so far and is out striking Rashad. Rashad has more power though so he's far from out with 3 rounds left. Neither guy looks to have sustained significant damage.
R3- Rashad grabs a Forrest leg kick and takes him down and is delivering hammer fists to Forrest. Forrest was in trouble but took him to full guard. Rashad hits some nice elbows while in Forrest's guard. Rashad delivering lots of punches from the top and the ref stops the fight. Big time round from Rashad. Forrest shows a lot of class and immediately congratulates Rashad once he gets up.
Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Rashad Evans by TKO (strikes) R3 2:46
Heavyweight Fight- Antoni Hardonk vs. Mike Wessel
This is a pre-show fight. This is Wessell's UFC debut.
R1- Wessell overpowers him early and gets him to the ground. Back to their feet. Wessell is thick. Hardonk hits some good knees. Wessell gets Hardonk down again and Hardonk goes for a triangle but can't get it. Wessell gets full mount right at the buzzer. Wessell is bloodied up from the knees to his face. Good first round.
R2- Hardonk takes Wessell's back and gets the hooks in on him. Hardonk finishes him with strikes.
Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO (strikes) R2 2:09
Overall a strong show with a good Main Event in Evans/Griffin. Mir/Big Nog was a surprisingly one-sided fight and Silva/Jackson had a big KO. FOTN was Evans/Griffin.
UFC awarded Evans/Griffin the "Fight of the Night" 60K bonus and Rampage got the 60K "KO of the Night" bonus. No submission bonus was given as no fight ended by submission.
Where do we go from here?
Light Heavyweight Division- Looks like we are set up with Rashad Evans vs Rampage Jackson for the Light Heavyweight Championship with the winner taking on Lyoto Machida/Thiago Silva winner. Forrest versus Chuck Liddell would be an interesting fight for Forrest's next fight.
Heavyweight Division- Obviously we have the Lesnar/Mir re-match. It will be interesting to see where they go with Big Nog. Maybe a fight with Randy Couture?
Sunday, June 08, 2008
UFC Unleashed “Liddell vs. Silva: A Special Presentation” 5/31 Re-Cap
UFC Unleashed “Liddell vs. Silva: A Special Presentation” 5/31 Re-Cap
This show is basically all about the hype, build-up and anticipation of this fight. And then of course they show the fight…
Chuck Liddell (20-5) vs. Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
R1- Very cautious first minute and a half as Chuck seems to be waiting for Silva to come at him and Silva is cautious as well. They start to throw heavily after about two minutes. Not a whole lot of action until Liddell starts to hit some shots at about the 3:30 minute time of the round. Liddell is somewhat the aggressor in round one and seemed to land more shots. Liddell 10 Wanderlei 9.
They have Dana White, Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva talk about the first round after it happens and give their perspective of who won, etc. Then they show some of the corner action with Liddell. Pretty interesting perspective.
R2- They come out and swing like crazy in the first 10 seconds with Silva hitting a couple of shots. Silva seems to be wanting to be more aggressive in this round as he’s throwing some haymakers early. Silva is kind of stalking Chuck in this round and is getting in some shots. Chuck gets knocked down by kind of a push by Silva but he pops back up. Silva’s ear is bleeding but he pops Chuck with a right hand and Chuck falls down and gets right back up again. They clinch for the first time in the fight and Chuck hits a couple of shots and Wanderlei is bleeding from the left eye. Chuck now controlling the fight as Wanderlei is trying to wildly defend himself and he gets out of trouble. Wanderlei comes back and hits some shots. They are really mixing it up and swinging wildly. Great last minute of action in this round. Just fantastic. I actually re-wound the TIVO to check out the last 1:30 of this round again. Both guys just mixing it up and laying it all on the line. It’s amazing how both of these guys take shots and then dish it right back out. I’m gonna give this round to Wanderlei but not by much. Liddell 19 Silva 19.
They show Dana talking about the last round and the fight and also get some quotes from Wanderlei as well as going briefly inside the corners of Wanderlei and Liddell and then letting Chuck talk about the round briefly.
R3- Liddell goes for an immediate take down and gets it but they get back to their feet quickly. Chuck misses with a spinning back fist but then hits a right hand and Wanderlei is pushed back to the cage and then they just start throwing at each other. Chuck is connecting big time but ends up backing off. Chuck has Wanderlei on the cage again and is just picking him apart. Wanderlei backs him off. Wanderlei trying to come back and lands and couple of punches. Liddell takes him down with 15 seconds left and rides him to victory. This was a real good fight with a couple of parts that were just fantastic. 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 the winner is Chuck Liddell. I had it 29-28.
Winner: Chuck Liddell by Decision (Unanimous)
They also show some post-match interviews/reflection from the fighters. I really liked the presentation of this fight. They took one fight and built it up and then showed the fight with the fighters and Dana talking about each round and Joe Rogan chiming in once in a while. I would really like to see some other fights given this treatment. Really, enjoyable match and show.
This show is basically all about the hype, build-up and anticipation of this fight. And then of course they show the fight…
Chuck Liddell (20-5) vs. Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1)- UFC 79- 12/29/07
R1- Very cautious first minute and a half as Chuck seems to be waiting for Silva to come at him and Silva is cautious as well. They start to throw heavily after about two minutes. Not a whole lot of action until Liddell starts to hit some shots at about the 3:30 minute time of the round. Liddell is somewhat the aggressor in round one and seemed to land more shots. Liddell 10 Wanderlei 9.
They have Dana White, Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva talk about the first round after it happens and give their perspective of who won, etc. Then they show some of the corner action with Liddell. Pretty interesting perspective.
R2- They come out and swing like crazy in the first 10 seconds with Silva hitting a couple of shots. Silva seems to be wanting to be more aggressive in this round as he’s throwing some haymakers early. Silva is kind of stalking Chuck in this round and is getting in some shots. Chuck gets knocked down by kind of a push by Silva but he pops back up. Silva’s ear is bleeding but he pops Chuck with a right hand and Chuck falls down and gets right back up again. They clinch for the first time in the fight and Chuck hits a couple of shots and Wanderlei is bleeding from the left eye. Chuck now controlling the fight as Wanderlei is trying to wildly defend himself and he gets out of trouble. Wanderlei comes back and hits some shots. They are really mixing it up and swinging wildly. Great last minute of action in this round. Just fantastic. I actually re-wound the TIVO to check out the last 1:30 of this round again. Both guys just mixing it up and laying it all on the line. It’s amazing how both of these guys take shots and then dish it right back out. I’m gonna give this round to Wanderlei but not by much. Liddell 19 Silva 19.
They show Dana talking about the last round and the fight and also get some quotes from Wanderlei as well as going briefly inside the corners of Wanderlei and Liddell and then letting Chuck talk about the round briefly.
R3- Liddell goes for an immediate take down and gets it but they get back to their feet quickly. Chuck misses with a spinning back fist but then hits a right hand and Wanderlei is pushed back to the cage and then they just start throwing at each other. Chuck is connecting big time but ends up backing off. Chuck has Wanderlei on the cage again and is just picking him apart. Wanderlei backs him off. Wanderlei trying to come back and lands and couple of punches. Liddell takes him down with 15 seconds left and rides him to victory. This was a real good fight with a couple of parts that were just fantastic. 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 the winner is Chuck Liddell. I had it 29-28.
Winner: Chuck Liddell by Decision (Unanimous)
They also show some post-match interviews/reflection from the fighters. I really liked the presentation of this fight. They took one fight and built it up and then showed the fight with the fighters and Dana talking about each round and Joe Rogan chiming in once in a while. I would really like to see some other fights given this treatment. Really, enjoyable match and show.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
UFC 84 "Ill Will" Re-Cap/Thoughts
UFC 84: "Ill Will"
Lightheavyweight Fight- Thiago Silva (12-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (14-2)
Mendes is on an 11 fight win streak. Silva is undefeated. Mendes has a height and reach advantage.
David Spade is in the house and looks like he has a bottle of something that he snuck in.
R1- Mendes hits a big kick early that floors Silva but he survives. Mendes with another kick and Silva is down again. Mendes in control early. Mendes slips and allows Silva to get the advantage. Silva is controlling the fight on the ground and gets the win via ref stoppage. This just goes to show you what can happen if you just make one mistake as Mendes was in total control until he slipped doing a judo throw and then Silva just ate him up on the ground.
Winner: Thiago Silva via TKO (strikes) R1
Urijah Faber is in the house and they briefly talk about his fight live on Versus next week in what Mike Goldberg calls "the biggest WEC fight ever."
Lightheavyweight Fight: Tito Ortiz (16-5-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (12-0)
There has been a great pure pro wrestling build to this match that featured a war of the words between Tito and Dana White with Lyoto Machida being the man caught in the middle. Ortiz gets a good pop and Machida gets boo'd.
R1- Big but brief "Tito" chant as they feel each other out in the beginning. Ortiz went for a take down but was denied. Not much action. Ortiz unable to take down Machida. Machida with a couple of leg licks but not many strikes at all in this one so far. Machida hit a nice combo kick but Ortiz blocked it. Machida hitting another kick and then took Tito down and got side control and was really beating up on him until the bell rung. Round goes to Machida due to late take down and dominance once he took Ortiz down. Ortiz didn't do any damage in the round although he did control the ring for the first 3 or so minutes but all of his take downs failed.
Chuck Lidell is in the house and gets a pop.
R2- Ortiz missed a take down and got a kick for his trouble. Machida hitting a couple of punches now. Machida with a nice high kick. Tito just seems a step too slow to catch up with Machida. Tito shoots in for a take down but is denied again and Machida is in Tito's guard. They stand back up. Machida hits a knee. Tito stands back and tells Machida to come on. Machida hits two punches to Tito. Tito tried to come back and may have gotten in a kick. This round also goes to Machida as he got in more strikes and ultimately Tito got very little offense in. Tito is cut open. Machida 20 Ortiz 18.
R3- The ref falls down about 45 seconds into the round and gets pop. They clinch and Tito got a couple of shots in but nothing substantial. Ortiz just too slow to take down Machida so far. Ortiz went for a knee but came up short. Ortiz with a clinch and is getting in a couple of shots but can't take Machida down. With a buck 30 left Machida nails Tito with a knee to the body. Tito buckles and Machida reigns down punches. Tito defends and somehow grabs an arm triangle with about half a minute left. It looks like Machida is going to have to tap but he twists out of it and survives the rest of the fight.
Overall, Machida definitely won this fight. 30-27 on my scorecard and on the judges. Tito just wasn't quick enough to catch up to Machida during the fight and couldn't get any take downs. Good showing for Machida as he beat a big name.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
Shaquille O'Neal was spotted during the last fight. Jamie Presley was shown during Tito Ortiz's interview (he went out a lot classier than I thought he would. He definitely took the high road).
Silva and Machida are both Light Heavyweights and are both undefeated. Could be a good match-up.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Goran Reljic (7-0) vs. Wilson Gouveia (10-4)
This is Reljic's first fight in the UFC. Gouveia has won 4 straight in the UFC and 10 straight overall since a loss to Keith Jardine. Reljic has a big reach advantage in this fight.
The Rock is at ringside!
R1- Reljic is throwing some nice high kicks. Gouveia is blocking most of them but they've got to hurt. Other than Reljic's kicks the first round was pretty even through the first 3 minutes of the round. Gouveia is getting in some nice punches and Reljic pounces on him and takes him down into his guard to avoid more punishment. Gouveia is in Reljic's guard. Even first round. Reljic got in a bunch of nice kicks and Gouveia came on strong at the end of the round to even things out.
R2- Reljic hits a nice high kick about a minute into the round. Gouveia hits Reljic as he is going for a kick and gets an advantage and takes him down and is pounding on him up against the fence. Reljic gets back to his feet but took a lot of damage. Reljic caught him and is throwing a ton of punches and trying to finish the fight and the ref stops it. Great comeback for Reljic.
Reljic threw some great kicks in this fight. Took a couple of big flurries and withstood and nailed Gouveia with a left to the temple and then took him out. Great debut for Reljic.
Winner: Goran Reljic by TKO (strikes) R2
Heavyweight Fight: Christian Wellisch (9-2) vs. Shane Carwin (8-0)
This was from the pre-show. This is Carwin's UFC debut.
R1- Carwin hits him with a good square punch a little over a minute in and it crumples Wellisch. Hit him right on the chin and his mouthpiece went flying. Nice knockout as the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO (punches) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight: Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Keith Jardine (13-4-1)
This would be a huge win for Jardine. This should be a great fight. Jardine gets a mixed reaction and seemed to get mostly boos. Wanderlei gets a good reaction. Both these guys look ready to go.
R1- They trade good to start and Silva is all over Jardine and just destroying him and this is over. Wanderlei Silva just overwhelmed Jardine and looked amazing. Shaq and The Rock are brought to their feet. Jardine is still down. David Spade is shown saying "Holy sh*t". Jardine is a tough guy, he just got caught and then got destroyed. Silva was just an animal.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
Middleweight Fight- Ivan Salaverry (12-5-1) vs. Rousimar Palhares (16-1)
This is a fight from the pre-show.
R1- Salaverry hits a kick to start off but immediately gets taken down by Palhares. Palhares quickly gets a full mount. Salaverry gives up his back. Palhares gets an armbar shortly thereafter and he looks real good. Palhares just showed some great BJJ and took this one easily.
Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Submission (Armbar) R1
Joe Rogan interviews Urijah Faber at ringside and also interviews his opponent Jens Pulver. Then they show a hype video for Faber vs. Pulver.
Lightweight Title Fight: BJ Penn (c) (13-4-1) vs. Sean Sherk (36-2-1)
This is the second fight tonight that had a pro wrestling build to it with both guys jawing back and forth mostly focused on Sherk's earlier suspension due to drugs that cost him the Lightweight belt. The fan poll puts BJ Penn at the winner by 55% to 45%.
Jason Statham's in the crowd.
R1- Sherk goes for a quick take down but is denied. Real quick pace to start compared to a lot of the fights tonight. Big "BJ" chant by the crowd. Both guys are throwing pretty good. BJ jabbing a lot. Sherk is throwing some hard punches but BJ is hitting some nice jabs. BJ really starting to control this first round the longer that it goes. Good first round. Sherk is cut under his eye. I think Penn gets the first round as he was hitting his jabs pretty regularly.
R2- They trade pretty good. Sherk seems more active at the beginning of this fight. Good exchanges in the first minute as both guys landing some punches. BJ seems more controlled and Sherk more wild in terms of punches. BJ still landing some good jabs. Sherk has 2 or 3 cuts that he is bleeding out of. Another good round. I think this one was a little closer than the first but i've still got to give it to BJ due to his jabs and the damage that he's done to Sherk.
R3- A little of the same in this round as Sherk comes out strong and then BJ starts to re-gain the advantage throughout the round. They are throwing really good with BJ looking like the more controlled striker and Sherk throwing wild, hard punches. The announcers pick up on a possible right hand injury for Sherk as he's really just using his left and kicking. BJ opens up with an amazing flurry at the end of Round 3. Sherk came off the cage and BJ nailed him with a running knee and then punches and the horn sounded to end the round. And the ref calls the fight. Great finish by BJ Penn.
Winner: BJ Penn by TKO (Strikes) R3
Welterweight Fight- Jon Koppenhaver (6-1) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2)
Another pre-show match.
Yoshida drilled him early with a nice take down and then clamped on a guillotine. And this one was over before it started.
Winner: Yoshiyuki Yoshida by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rameau Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7)
Decent first round and then right at the end of the round Soko nails Nakamura and pounces on him and can't finish him but the match is called during the break as Nakamura can't continue.
Winner: Rameau Sokoudjou by TKO R1
This was a real good show. A very good Main Event in the Penn/Sherk match. I thought Machida/Ortiz was a good fight, Wanderlei put on an amazing performance, and I really enjoyed Silva/Mendes as well. There were some quick fights but I think Mendes and Silva looked really good in their fights. Reljic also looked really good. It will be interesting to see how some of the young guys like Reljic, Thiago Silva and Loyoto Machida can build on these victories. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Ortiz as he left the door open for a possible return to UFC. They teased GSP/Penn after the Penn/Sherk fight.
Lightheavyweight Fight- Thiago Silva (12-0) vs. Antonio Mendes (14-2)
Mendes is on an 11 fight win streak. Silva is undefeated. Mendes has a height and reach advantage.
David Spade is in the house and looks like he has a bottle of something that he snuck in.
R1- Mendes hits a big kick early that floors Silva but he survives. Mendes with another kick and Silva is down again. Mendes in control early. Mendes slips and allows Silva to get the advantage. Silva is controlling the fight on the ground and gets the win via ref stoppage. This just goes to show you what can happen if you just make one mistake as Mendes was in total control until he slipped doing a judo throw and then Silva just ate him up on the ground.
Winner: Thiago Silva via TKO (strikes) R1
Urijah Faber is in the house and they briefly talk about his fight live on Versus next week in what Mike Goldberg calls "the biggest WEC fight ever."
Lightheavyweight Fight: Tito Ortiz (16-5-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (12-0)
There has been a great pure pro wrestling build to this match that featured a war of the words between Tito and Dana White with Lyoto Machida being the man caught in the middle. Ortiz gets a good pop and Machida gets boo'd.
R1- Big but brief "Tito" chant as they feel each other out in the beginning. Ortiz went for a take down but was denied. Not much action. Ortiz unable to take down Machida. Machida with a couple of leg licks but not many strikes at all in this one so far. Machida hit a nice combo kick but Ortiz blocked it. Machida hitting another kick and then took Tito down and got side control and was really beating up on him until the bell rung. Round goes to Machida due to late take down and dominance once he took Ortiz down. Ortiz didn't do any damage in the round although he did control the ring for the first 3 or so minutes but all of his take downs failed.
Chuck Lidell is in the house and gets a pop.
R2- Ortiz missed a take down and got a kick for his trouble. Machida hitting a couple of punches now. Machida with a nice high kick. Tito just seems a step too slow to catch up with Machida. Tito shoots in for a take down but is denied again and Machida is in Tito's guard. They stand back up. Machida hits a knee. Tito stands back and tells Machida to come on. Machida hits two punches to Tito. Tito tried to come back and may have gotten in a kick. This round also goes to Machida as he got in more strikes and ultimately Tito got very little offense in. Tito is cut open. Machida 20 Ortiz 18.
R3- The ref falls down about 45 seconds into the round and gets pop. They clinch and Tito got a couple of shots in but nothing substantial. Ortiz just too slow to take down Machida so far. Ortiz went for a knee but came up short. Ortiz with a clinch and is getting in a couple of shots but can't take Machida down. With a buck 30 left Machida nails Tito with a knee to the body. Tito buckles and Machida reigns down punches. Tito defends and somehow grabs an arm triangle with about half a minute left. It looks like Machida is going to have to tap but he twists out of it and survives the rest of the fight.
Overall, Machida definitely won this fight. 30-27 on my scorecard and on the judges. Tito just wasn't quick enough to catch up to Machida during the fight and couldn't get any take downs. Good showing for Machida as he beat a big name.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by Decision (Unanimous)
Shaquille O'Neal was spotted during the last fight. Jamie Presley was shown during Tito Ortiz's interview (he went out a lot classier than I thought he would. He definitely took the high road).
Silva and Machida are both Light Heavyweights and are both undefeated. Could be a good match-up.
Light Heavyweight Fight- Goran Reljic (7-0) vs. Wilson Gouveia (10-4)
This is Reljic's first fight in the UFC. Gouveia has won 4 straight in the UFC and 10 straight overall since a loss to Keith Jardine. Reljic has a big reach advantage in this fight.
The Rock is at ringside!
R1- Reljic is throwing some nice high kicks. Gouveia is blocking most of them but they've got to hurt. Other than Reljic's kicks the first round was pretty even through the first 3 minutes of the round. Gouveia is getting in some nice punches and Reljic pounces on him and takes him down into his guard to avoid more punishment. Gouveia is in Reljic's guard. Even first round. Reljic got in a bunch of nice kicks and Gouveia came on strong at the end of the round to even things out.
R2- Reljic hits a nice high kick about a minute into the round. Gouveia hits Reljic as he is going for a kick and gets an advantage and takes him down and is pounding on him up against the fence. Reljic gets back to his feet but took a lot of damage. Reljic caught him and is throwing a ton of punches and trying to finish the fight and the ref stops it. Great comeback for Reljic.
Reljic threw some great kicks in this fight. Took a couple of big flurries and withstood and nailed Gouveia with a left to the temple and then took him out. Great debut for Reljic.
Winner: Goran Reljic by TKO (strikes) R2
Heavyweight Fight: Christian Wellisch (9-2) vs. Shane Carwin (8-0)
This was from the pre-show. This is Carwin's UFC debut.
R1- Carwin hits him with a good square punch a little over a minute in and it crumples Wellisch. Hit him right on the chin and his mouthpiece went flying. Nice knockout as the ref steps in and stops the fight.
Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO (punches) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight: Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs. Keith Jardine (13-4-1)
This would be a huge win for Jardine. This should be a great fight. Jardine gets a mixed reaction and seemed to get mostly boos. Wanderlei gets a good reaction. Both these guys look ready to go.
R1- They trade good to start and Silva is all over Jardine and just destroying him and this is over. Wanderlei Silva just overwhelmed Jardine and looked amazing. Shaq and The Rock are brought to their feet. Jardine is still down. David Spade is shown saying "Holy sh*t". Jardine is a tough guy, he just got caught and then got destroyed. Silva was just an animal.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO R1
Middleweight Fight- Ivan Salaverry (12-5-1) vs. Rousimar Palhares (16-1)
This is a fight from the pre-show.
R1- Salaverry hits a kick to start off but immediately gets taken down by Palhares. Palhares quickly gets a full mount. Salaverry gives up his back. Palhares gets an armbar shortly thereafter and he looks real good. Palhares just showed some great BJJ and took this one easily.
Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Submission (Armbar) R1
Joe Rogan interviews Urijah Faber at ringside and also interviews his opponent Jens Pulver. Then they show a hype video for Faber vs. Pulver.
Lightweight Title Fight: BJ Penn (c) (13-4-1) vs. Sean Sherk (36-2-1)
This is the second fight tonight that had a pro wrestling build to it with both guys jawing back and forth mostly focused on Sherk's earlier suspension due to drugs that cost him the Lightweight belt. The fan poll puts BJ Penn at the winner by 55% to 45%.
Jason Statham's in the crowd.
R1- Sherk goes for a quick take down but is denied. Real quick pace to start compared to a lot of the fights tonight. Big "BJ" chant by the crowd. Both guys are throwing pretty good. BJ jabbing a lot. Sherk is throwing some hard punches but BJ is hitting some nice jabs. BJ really starting to control this first round the longer that it goes. Good first round. Sherk is cut under his eye. I think Penn gets the first round as he was hitting his jabs pretty regularly.
R2- They trade pretty good. Sherk seems more active at the beginning of this fight. Good exchanges in the first minute as both guys landing some punches. BJ seems more controlled and Sherk more wild in terms of punches. BJ still landing some good jabs. Sherk has 2 or 3 cuts that he is bleeding out of. Another good round. I think this one was a little closer than the first but i've still got to give it to BJ due to his jabs and the damage that he's done to Sherk.
R3- A little of the same in this round as Sherk comes out strong and then BJ starts to re-gain the advantage throughout the round. They are throwing really good with BJ looking like the more controlled striker and Sherk throwing wild, hard punches. The announcers pick up on a possible right hand injury for Sherk as he's really just using his left and kicking. BJ opens up with an amazing flurry at the end of Round 3. Sherk came off the cage and BJ nailed him with a running knee and then punches and the horn sounded to end the round. And the ref calls the fight. Great finish by BJ Penn.
Winner: BJ Penn by TKO (Strikes) R3
Welterweight Fight- Jon Koppenhaver (6-1) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (9-2)
Another pre-show match.
Yoshida drilled him early with a nice take down and then clamped on a guillotine. And this one was over before it started.
Winner: Yoshiyuki Yoshida by Submission (Anaconda Choke) R1
Light Heavyweight Fight- Rameau Sokoudjou (4-2) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7)
Decent first round and then right at the end of the round Soko nails Nakamura and pounces on him and can't finish him but the match is called during the break as Nakamura can't continue.
Winner: Rameau Sokoudjou by TKO R1
This was a real good show. A very good Main Event in the Penn/Sherk match. I thought Machida/Ortiz was a good fight, Wanderlei put on an amazing performance, and I really enjoyed Silva/Mendes as well. There were some quick fights but I think Mendes and Silva looked really good in their fights. Reljic also looked really good. It will be interesting to see how some of the young guys like Reljic, Thiago Silva and Loyoto Machida can build on these victories. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Ortiz as he left the door open for a possible return to UFC. They teased GSP/Penn after the Penn/Sherk fight.
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