UFC 101 Results and Review

UFC 101 was not the most exciting event, but we did see two superstars elevate their respective legacies. BJ Penn looked sharp and on his game, as did the larger 205 version of Anderson Silva. While the crowd initially rooted again the two, by the end of their fights, the tide had turned.

B.J. Penn def Kenny Florian via sub(rear-naked choke) R4, 3:54- BJ Penn displayed excellent skill and cardio as he defeated Kenny Florian to claim a submission of the night bonus. While Florian attempted takedowns throughout the fight, BJ defended superbly, wearing Florian down with knees.

While both were standing, BJ seemed to land the harder punches, wobbling Florian on seperate occasions. Kenny's best offense seemed to be some leg kicks. In the fourth, Penn continued his dominance, stuffing a Florian takedown before getting his own. From there he passed the guard, got in mount and soon found Florian's back. BJ took his time working the rear naked choke until it was in too deep.
*BJ Penn wins Submission of the Night Bonus.
*MMA Blaster Readers correctly pick BJ Penn 69-43

Anderson Silva def Forrest Griffin via KO (punch) R1, 3:23- Anderson again looked invincible in this quick three and a half minute fight. While Forrest attempted to move forward he was hit flush with punches to the jaw. Forrest was knocked down twice, and on the second occasion, Anderson didn't want to follow him down and asked Forrest back up. After Forrest rose to his feet, he was hit flush again and the fight was over.

*Anderson Silva wins KO of the Night
*Griffin and Silva win Fight of the Night

Johnny Hendricks def Amir Sadollah via TKO (strikes) R1, 0:29- This fight was short and sweet. While Sadollah was content to throw kicks, Hendricks defended and threw counter punches. A couple uppercuts landed and Sadollah went to the ground. Hendricks followed up with ground and pound, but Sadollah appeared to block most. The stoppage seemed early.

Aaron Riley def Shane Nelson via unanimous dec- Aaron Riley landed the more powerful shots and ground and pound throughout the fight to win a unanimous decision.

Ricardo Almeida def Kendall Grove via unanimous dec- Rather slow fight in which Almeida got the better of the ground game. Grove landed a couple decent knees from the clinch.

Kurt Pellegrino def Josh Neer via unanimous dec- Pellegrino took Neer down at will throughout the fight. Neer tried to look for arm-bars and triangle atttempts, but he wasn't able to secure one.

UNDER CARD RESULTS

John Howard def Tamdan McCrory via split dec
Alessio Sakara def Thales Leites via split dec
Matthew Riddle def Dan Cramer via unanimous dec
George Sotiropoulos def George Roop via sub (kimura) R2, 1:59
Jesse Lennox def Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) R3, 3:37

UFN 17 Results - Lauzon Wins

UFC Fight Night 17 took place on Saturday, February 7th at the Sun Dome at the University of South Florida. There seemed to be a decent sized crowd and there were some entertaining fights.

Joe Lauzon def. Jeremy Stephens via sub (armbar) R2, 4:43- Joe Lauzon took another step closer to a top contender spot at 155 pounds. In the first, Lauzon was close to a couple submissions from the bottom position, but ate many Stephens punches and elbows. In the second, Lauzon scored a beautiful fireman's carry takedown, got mount to a rolling armbar.
*Lauzon wins the submission of the night bonus.

(Joe Lauzon pictured)

Cain Velasquez def. Denis Stojnic via TKO (strikes) R2, 2:34- Cain Valasquez was disappointed in his performance, but he looked dominant yet again. Cain battered Stojnic standing with knees and combinations. He was able to get a takedown in the second and punch his way to the TKO.
*Velasquez wins the knockout of the night bonus.

Josh Neer def. Mac Danzig via sub (triangle choke) R2, 3:36- Josh Neer handed TUF winner Danzig his second straight loss in the UFC. The stand up battle was pretty even as both dished out punishment. In the second, Neer got a takedown, rained down elbows, and then got a triangle from his back. Neer put the pressure on Danzig the entire bout and looked impressive.
*Neer and Danzig win fight of the night bonus.

Anthony Johnson def. Luigi Fioravanti via TKO (strikes) R1, 4:39- Johnson looked shredded at 170 pounds and came out throwing kicks and punches. Johnson eventually overwelmed Fioravanti, who turtled up after a takedown and ate strikes until the ref jumped in.

Dan Miller def. Jake Rosholt via sub (guillotine choke) R1, 1:03-NCAA champ Jake Rosholt was far too reckless in his UFC debut. Not looking relaxed he shot with his head out with his corner telling him to watch for the guillotine. But Rosholt kept the pressure anyway, and Miller was able to sink in the choke.

Matt Veach def. Matt Grice via TKO (strikes) R1, 4:34- This fight was a back and forth affair with Veach nearly losing after eating punishment off his back. After getting up, Veach flattened Grice with an overhand right and then followed him to the ground. Grice thought it was an early stoppage.

Kurt Pellegrino def. Rob Emerson via sub (rear-naked choke) R2, 3:14
Gleison Tibau def. Rich Clementi via sub (guillotine choke) R1, 4:35
Nick Catone def. Derek Downey via sub (keylock) R2, 1:15
Matthew Riddle def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision

UFC 88 Sugar Rocks the Iceman

UFC 88 was a well run and exciting ppv event for the Atlanta crowd. I wasn't a fan of the USA chants during Dong Hyun Kim's fight with Matt Brown, unfortunately that type of behavior is common place at UFC events.

Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell via KO (punch) R2, 1:51- The first round saw mainly circling and positioning. Evans didn't go for the takedown and didn't go in for a big strike. Liddell probably won on most scorecards in the first for landing a few punches.

In the second round Liddell backed Rashad near the fence. Rashad threw a jab and then a massive overhand right. Liddell threw an uppercut. Unfortunately for Liddell, Rashad's right hand landed flush, and Liddell hit the canvas like a sack of bricks. Liddell was a split second to late and he paid the price.

According to UFC president Dana White, Rashad earned an immediate title shot with the victory. Apparently, if Chuck Liddell would have won he would have gotten the shot. Lyoto Machida is another guy in line for a title shot who currently doesn't have an opponent in UFC 89 just yet. Thiago Silva had to withdraw with a back injury.
*KO of the night for Rashad Evans - 60K bonus
*MMA Blaster readers picked incorrectly 9-2

Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill via TKO (kick to the body) R3, :39- Hamill sustained numerous leg kicks throughout the first two rounds of the fight. Hamill, an elite wrestler, was only able to manage one takedown near the end of the first round. While landing far fewer strikes, Hamill was able to open a cut on Franklin.

Franklin meanwhile looked precise in his striking. He threw kicks to the legs, body and face throughout the fight. His punches landed more clean and effectively. In the third round, Franklin threw a precise body kick, crumpling Hamill.

Franklin will face a step up in competition in his next fight. I would like to see him fight Lyoto Machida again, however Machida is fighting in a couple weeks. A fight with Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, or Wanderlei Silva would garner excellent ratings and publicity. Hamill meanwhile needs to go back to the drawing board to work on his stand-up.

Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares via Dec. (Unanimous)- Not exactly the most exciting fight on the card but Henderson grinded out the decision. Palhares will be back with his dazzling submission game. However, Henderson was better on his feet in this match-up and did not engage Palhares on the ground instead letting him up.

Nathan Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann via TKO (Punches) R1, 1:22- Marquardt came in and bullied the smaller Kampmann, landing multiple punches before Kampmann couldn't defend himself. I wouldn't be surprised by a Marquardt v. Henderson match for the number one contender spot at 185. I also wouldn't be surprised if Kampmann moved down to 170.

Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown via Dec. (Split)- The first round saw Dong get extremely close with rear naked choke attempts and a kimura. The second round was all Matt Brown as he was able to land effective strikes and ground and pound after a failed submission attempt by Dong. The third round belonged to Dong as he was able to land some nasty elbows opening up a huge cut on Brown. A very hard fought match by two excellent competitors.

Kurt Pellegrino def. Thiago Tavares via Dec. (Unanimous)- Tavares showed alot of heart in this fight after he was nearly knocked out by Pellegrino in the first round. Kurt also had a pretty secure armbar that it looked like Tavares may have tapped. Tavares built some momentum in the second round, but ultimately Pellegrino got the unanimous decision.
*Both fighters earned the 60K Fight of the Night Bonus.

Tim Boetsch def. Michael Patt via TKO (Punches) R1, 2:03- Boetsch the Barbarian came out with a fury and Patt couldn't withstand it. A low kick by Patt was met with a vicious hard right counter by Boetsch. Patt ate a couple more before the fight was called.

Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambert via Sub (Rear Naked Choke) R2, 1:20- MacDonald won submission of the night with his rear naked choke over Jason Lambert. Lambert hadn't been submitted since a 2001 fight against Marco Ruas.
*MacDonald wins 60K submission of the night bonus

Ryo Chonan def. Roan Carneiro via Dec.(Split)

UFC Fight Night 12 Results

UFN 12 Recap

Three exciting fights made the broadcast on Wednesday night. The amount of fluff that goes into the Spike live telecasts is pretty harsh. There were 30 minutes of filler before the first fight. Then there was a long interview with Sly Stallone, and another with two guys from Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Tour. There was also the Rambo replay. Needless to say, it would have been nice if they could have put the Wiman fight that ended in the first or Corey Hill's fight that ended at the start of the second. Here are the results:

Mike Swick def. Josh Burkman via majority decision - Overall a relatively repetitive fight. Burkman tried to get a takedown, was stopped, and the fight was reset. The karate kick roundhouse by Burkman and a couple other wild and unsuccessful moves were interesting. Swick's heavy kick to Burkman's jugular probably won him a round. The other two rounds were very close. In my book this fight could have easily been a draw.

Patrick Cote def. Andrew McFedries via TKO (strikes) — R1, 1:44 - This was a very exciting 1:44 worth of action. Both fighters exchanged shots taking blows, and Cote lulled McFedries in. Cote next smashed McFedries on the jaw, following McFedries to the canvas with an uppercut. The fight was stopped with McFedries basically against the fence with his hands up taking punches.

Thiago Tavares def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision - After an entertaining grappling match in the first round, the rest of the fight was uneventful.

Nate Diaz def. Alvin Robinson via Submission (triangle choke) — R1, 3:39 - Diaz looks to be the real deal as he sealed this win with a perfectly executed triangle. After connecting with a hook, Diaz slammed Robinson to the mat, but found himself in a tight guillotine choke. Diaz stayed calm, worked himself out, and looked crisp with his grappling in the win. His legs from the bottom are never stopping as he looked extremely limber applying the triangle.
*My pick for submission of the night.



Kurt Pellegrino def. Alberto Crane via TKO (strikes) — R2, 1:55 - This fight is the type that makes some a little squeemish. Crane opened the fight with a head kick that struck Pellegrino right in the mouth. Pellegrino's bottom tooth actually punctured his skin. Crane went for a choke with Pellegrino on the floor, but the dazed Pellegrino didn't submit. Maybe because he was unconscious. Crane should have punched Kurt out there, but his inexperience showed. In the second round, Pellegrino struck Crane near the eye, and when Crane grimaced, held his face and rolled, the fight was called.
*My pick for KO of the night. *Fight of the night.

Undercard - I'd like to watch before I comment, here are the results.

Gray Maynard def. Dennis Siver via unanimous decision
Jeremy Stephens def. Cole Miller via TKO (strikes) — R2, 4:44
Corey Hill def. Joe Veres via TKO (strikes) — R2, 0:37
Matt Wiman def. Justin Buchholz via submission (rear-naked Choke) — R1, 2:56