Monday, June 9, 2008

UFC 85

Paul Taylor def. Jess Liaudin via split decision
Antoni Hardonk def. Eddie Sanchez via TKO- R2, 4:15

Martin Kampmann def. Jorge Rivera via submission (guillotine choke)- R1, 2:44- Very good to to see Danish fighter Kampmann do well in his comeback. He has been sidelined for over 15 months with various injuries after injuring his knee. Kampmann now has 4 straight victories in the UFC.

Matt Wiman def. Thiago Tavares via KO (punch)- R2, 1:57- Both fighters got the fight of the night bonus' for their efforts. It was a back and forth battle with both fighters getting punched, going for submissions, and defending. In the end, Wiman was able to rock Tavares for the KO. Quietly, Wiman now has four straight victories.

Kevin Burns def. Roan Carneiro via submission (triangle choke)- R2, 2:53- This fight won submission of the night. Burns was able to submit Carneiro, who is a black belt in BJJ. Burns has fought mainly in Des Moines, Iowa.

Luiz Cane def. Jason Lambert via TKO (strikes)- R1, 2:07- Cane landed the crisper shots while Lambert was looking for a takedown. After Lambert was dazed, it was all over as Cane capitalized and forced a ref stoppage.

Fabricio Werdum def. Brandon Vera TKO (Punches)- R1, 4:40- This was a controversial fight in that Vera was able to stun Werdum with strikes in the beginning of the round. After a takedown and scramble, Vera ended up covered up and eventually mounted. Werdum threw quite a few strikes, seldom of which landed, most of which were blocked. Unfortunately, the ref stopped the fight. Vera was very angry at the stoppage. While I agree it was an early stoppage, Vera should have done something to improve his position. With the win, Werdum has moved higher up the heavyweight ladder.

Thales Leites def. Nathan Marquardt Decision (Split)- Marquardt basically lost the fight on an illegal knee and strike to the back of the head point deductions. Back in the day, Marquardt would have probably won the fight. Regardless, not a convincing victory.

Mike Swick def. Marcus Davis Decision (Unanimous)- Swick basically took down Davis and used position to win the fight.

Michael Bisping def. Jason Day TKO (Punches)- R1, 3:42- Bisping came out and dominated Day from start to finish. After a trip takedown, Bisping rained down punishment until the action was called.

Thiago Alves def. Matt Hughes TKO (Knee and punches)- R2, 1:02- The first round was close, but Hughes was rejected in his takedown attempts and then Alves landed some clean shots before the bell. In the second, Alves landed a knee clean to the body and followed it up with shots to the face to finish off Hughes.
*After two losses in a row the only logical fight for Hughes would be Matt Serra.
*Alves has moved up the ladder in the 170 pound class, the win is blemished by him being overweight. I wouldn't be surprised in a fight with Josh Koscheck or Diego Sanchez.

No comments: