UFC 95 Review

UFC 95 may not of had a title fight, but the card delivered. In what was the most entertaining card of 2009, we saw 6 KO's, 2 submissions and only one decision in the 9 fights that aired on Spike TV.

Mike Ciesnolevicz def Neil Grove via sub (heel hook)- R1, 1:03- Mike C tried for a takedown, but was unsuccessful with Grove landing in top position. From there both fighters went for leg locks, with Grove looking for a straight ankle lock. Mike C got a heel hook close to his body and when he torqued it the knee appeared to pop and the fight was over. Hopefully Grove didn't suffer a bad knee injury.

Evan Dunham def Per Eklund via TKO, R1, 2:13- Dunham took a punch or two before unloading a left hand to the face of Eklund. After Eklund went down, Dunham continued delivering punishment until the ref called the fight.

Junior dos Santos def Stefan Struve via TKO- R1, 0:54- The tall Struve looked like a kid facing an adult in his match with dos Santos. When dos Santos was able to get inside on the taller Struve, it was all over as dos Santos landed a left and right crumpling the bigger fighter.

Terry Etim def Brian Cobb via TKO- R2, 0:10- Terry Etim put on a dazzling striking display as he dominated late replacement Brian Cobb. Etim looked good with varying kicks and punches. Cobb was able to get takedowns on Etim, but couldn't do anything in top position. In the second, Etim landed a kick to Cobb's face then finished him off.

Paulo Thiago def Josh Koscheck via TKO, R1 3:29- In the upset of the night, Paulo Thiago made a name for himself by knocking out heralded fighter Josh Koscheck. Entering the fight as a huge underdog, Thiago took a couple clean shots from Koscheck as the fight began. Kos seemed to be getting the better of Thiago, stalking him around the cage. However, Kos was caught by a nasty uppercut and then clipped with a hook before hitting the ground. The ref stepped in as Thiago knew it was over. Koscheck disputed the stoppage, but the replay showed it was the correct call.
*KO of the night bonus awarded to Thiago.

Demian Maia def Chael Sonnen via Sub (Triangle Choke) R1, 2:37- Demian Maia continued to dazzle as he submitted Chael Sonnen. Maia threw Sonnnen with a lateral throw landing in top position. From there, he locked in a triangle, rolled, and then had Maia tapping.
*Submission of the night bonus awarded to Maia.

Nate Marquardt def Wilson Gouveia via TKO (Knee and Punches) R3, 3:10- Marquardt was in his element as he had his way with Gouveia throughout the fight. Marquardt consistently landed push kicks, leg kicks and attempted high kicks. Marquardt was able to get a couple takedowns as well. In the third, Marquardt landed a jumping knee and straight punch. With Goeveia backing up, Marquardt threw kicks, a spinning backfist, knees and punches before the ref jumped in to stop the action. Marquardt looks poised for a title shot.

Dan Hardy def Rory Markham via KO (Punch) R1, 1:09- Markham came in looking for another knockout of the night bonus, but that didn't happen. Markham threw a huge overhand right which was countered by a left hook from Hardy. Markham protested the stoppage, but it was justified.

Diego Sanchez def Joe Stevenson via Dec (Unanimous)- In what turned out to be a close fight, Sanchez and Stevenson spent most of the fight trading punches. Diego did enough to win, landing more strikes overall. The closest Stevenson came to victory was a second round attempt at a guillotine choke.
*Sanchez and Stevenson win fight of the night bonus.

(Diego Sanchez pictured)

Un-aired bout- Paul Kelly def. Troy Mandaloniz via Dec (Unanimous)

UFC 95 Preview

UFC 95 will be taking place this Saturday in London, England. Lucky for us fans, the event will be shown live on Spike TV. All fighters made weight and will be ready to go tomorrow.

Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson- The main event pits two TUF champs against eachother in a 155 pound bout. This will be Diego's first match at 155 pounds. I expect Diego to try to keep the fight standing, attempting to utilize his reach advantage. Stevenson will likely try to take the fight to the ground looking for ground and pound.

Sanchez (19-2) has been on a roll beating Luigi Fioravanti and David Bielkheden in his last two bouts. Previous to those bouts, Diego lost two decisions to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, while battling a staff infection that took a chunk out of his leg. Diego has big wins against Kenny Florian, Jorge Santiago, Joe Riggs, Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan.

(Diego Sanchez pictured)

Joe Stevenson (29-9) enters this bout needing a win to stay relevant as a contender in the 155 pound division. In his last three bouts he has lost to #1 contender Kenny Florian, beat Gleison Tibau, and lost a title fight with BJ Penn. Stevenson has been fighting since he was 17 and has big wins over Melvin Guillard, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Luke Cummo and Kurt Pellegrino.

(Joe Stevenson pictured)

Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham- This fight pits hometown English fighter Dan Hardy (20-6) against hard hitting Midwestern brawler Rory Markham (16-4). In Markham's debut, he destroyed Brodie Farbar with the nastiest head kick of 2008. He will be looking to brawl and get the KO of the night. In his 16 wins, he has 11 KO/TKO's and 5 submissions. Markum's big wins have come over Brad Blackburn, Pat Healy and Mike Pyle.

(Rory Markham gif)

Dan Hardy is a solid fighter with technically sound stand-up. At 6 feet tall, he usually has a reach advantage when he fights. Hardy won a razor thin split decision over Akihiro Gono in his UFC debut. Hardy's big wins have come over Hidetaka Monma, Chad Reiner and Daniel Weichel.

Dan Hardy pictured

Wilson Gouveia vs. Nate Marquardt- A win by each of these 185 pound vets would put them that much closer to a potential title shot. Marquardt (27-8-2) is a former King of Pancrase who has gone 6-2 in the UFC. In his last fight he overwelmed Martin Kampmann in a first round TKO. Marquardt has victories over Jeremy Horn, Dean Lister, Joe Doerksen, Kazou Misaki and Yves Edwards. Look for Marquardt to take Gouveia to the mat.

(Nate Marquardt pictured)

Wilson Gouveia (12-5) started at 205 pounds in the UFC before moving down to the 185 pound division. The American Top Team fighter mainly can strike and has a BJJ blackbelt. Gouveia has 7 submission and 4 (T)KO wins with victories over Jason MacDonald, Jason Lambert, Jon Fitch and Seth Petruzelli in his career.

Demian Maia vs. Chael Sonnen- This bout would seem to be a grappling war. BJJ blackbelt Demian Maia has made everyone he's fought in the UFC look out of his league. Chael Sonnen is a superb wresler who will probably stand and trade with Maia, using his wrestling to keep the fight standing.

Demian Maia (9-0) has dazzled submitting each of his four UFC opponents. He has wins over Nate Quarry, Jason MacDonald, Ed Herman and Ryan Jensen in the UFC, securing submission of the night honors three times. Maia also won the 2007 ADCC submission grappling 83 KG division.

Chael Sonnen (21-9) has gone 7-1 in his last eight fights beating Paulo Filho in an odd bout in the WEC. Since the 185 pound division dissolved, Chael made the jump to the UFC, his second stint in the promotion. Chael's career has seen him defeat Tim Credeur, Amar Suloev, Trevor Prangley and Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago- TUF 1 alumnus Josh Koscheck (12-3) is coming off a highlight reel KO victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Josh is a highly decorated wrestler who has devoted himself to learning the striking game. Koscheck has victories over Diego Sanchez, Dustin Hazelett and Dave Menne in the UFC.

Paul Thiago (10-0) is a relevative unknown in this fight. He has fouht primarily in the Brazilian promotion Jungle Fight. This will be his first fight in the United States. He has 7 submission victories with a win over Luis Dutra Jr.(7-2) and Ferrid Kheder (10-4).

UNDERCARD

Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve
Brian Cobb vs. Terry Etim
Paul Kelly vs. Troy Mandaloniz
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Neil Grove
Evan Dunham vs. Per Eklund

Adreneline MMA 2 Results

Here are the results from Adreneline MMA 2 which took place in Moline, Illinois. Probably not the best scheduling as the Bears game was on during the fights. I haven't watched all the fights yet, the rest are sitting on the DVR. As you can see there weren't any upsets on the card as all the former IFL fighters came out victorious.

Pat Miletich def Thomas Denny via KO(punches) R2, 0:50
Ben Rothwell def Chris Guillen via sub (strikes) R1, 3:40
Mike Russow def Braden Bice via sub(North-South choke) R1, 1:13
Mike Ciesnolevicz def Derrick Mehmen via sub (guillotine) R2, 1:46
Dan Loman def Gabe Lemley via TKO (punches) R2, 1:54
Ryan McGivern def Geno Roderick via sub (rear-naked choke) R1, 1:27
Pat Curran def Ramiro Hernandez via unanimous decision
Jesse Lennox def Ryan Williams via sub (triangle choke) R1, 3:41
L.C. Davis def Billy Kidd via sub(side choke) R1, 2:52
Danny Rodriguez def David Fuentes via sub (rear-naked choke) R1, 1:50


(Ben Rothwell Pictured)

Questions With The Reverend

MMA Blaster was happy to touch base with mixed martial artist Chuck "The Reverend" Grigsby. Chuck will be defending his MCC title belt on Wednesday, November 26th against Travis "Ironman" Fulton. MCC 17: Thanksgiving Showdown will take place at Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines.

MMA Blaster: Rev, how's it going? Since your fight in June, how has your training changed?

Rev: First off I would like to thank you for the opportunity being on such a great website and the positive exposure MMA Blaster has given me throughout my career. I think it is one the best media outlets in the fight game.

My training has changed dramatically since I put my gym (Team Revolution) on hold and began to fully focus on myself and my training. This is the first time in my career that I have been able to walk in a gym and just be the student with no coaching or training responsibilities. It pretty ironic since I've been doing this sport since 2004, I'm surprised I've made this far to be honest, in the short time that I have been training for this fight I have seen significant improvements in all areas. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to train with Miletich Fighting Systems for about 4 or 5 weeks immediately after my last fight and soaked up as much knowledge from Pat Miltich and the guys who trained with me.

Special shout out to Josh Neer and Mike C. After the birth of my son I wasn’t able to maintain the three hour one way trip to train and now exclusively train in Des Moines at West Boxing and Central Iowa Mixed Martial Arts.

MMA Blaster: What are the biggest improvements that you have made in your fight skills since June?

Rev: I think my biggest improvement since my last fight has been mental toughness. Mitich, West Side Boxing, and Central Mixed Martial Arts have took the gloves off and really put me through a tough tough camp. People that know me know that I don’t train just for one fight, I train for multiple fights so I can obtain multiple wins and build win streaks.

MMA Blaster: What do you know about Travis Fulton? Any comments on the fight?

Rev: All I know about my opponent is that he is very experienced and a tough hard nose type guy who likes to get down and grind out fights. That's just the type of fighter I need to face to begin another chapter in the fight game. I think its good match up stylistically for the fans because he may just try to stand a little bit. I expect a very physical fight.

MMA Blaster: How has parenthood treated you? How has it changed your outlook on life and fighting?

Rev: My outlook has definitely changed as a fighter with birth of my son Xander, he and my wife have been the strength and cornerstone of my strength and purpose throughout times of adversity

MMA Blaster: What are your goals for 2009?

Rev: My goals for 09' are to win, win, win! I'm a “free agent” now that the WEC has dropped my weight class, 205. I can fight anywhere at anytime, so I'll do that, but first thing first, November 26th when I defend one of my titles for the second time with Midwest Cage Championships here in Des Moines. I'm excited to fight for MCC again. They are a great promotion that has awesome fans who understand and respect the sport.




(Pictured: Chuck "The Reverend" Grigsby")

*MMA Blaster would like to thank Rev for his time and kind words.
*Tickets for MCC: 17 can be purchased at Ticketmaster, the Val Air box office and http://www.midwestcagechampionship.com/
*Mike C. is Mike Ciesnolevicz, a former IFL fighter with notable wins over Aaron Stark, Alex Schoenauer and Brent Beauparlant.
*Josh Neer has fought 7 times in the UFC with wins over Din Thomas, Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard.

MCC 17 RESULTS

Ryan Langmaid def. Shane Mosby Sub (Rear Naked Choke) R1, 3:24
Heath Johnson def. Josh Christenson Sub (Verbal) R2, 3:49
Jesse Lund def. Phil Dawes Sub (Rear Naked Choke) R1, 2:16
TJ O'Brien def. Will Shutt Sub (Triangle Choke) R2, 1:43
Zak Cummings def. Cole Jennet Sub (Neck Crank) R1, 2:11
Chuck Grigsby def. Chad Vance TKO R1, 2:59

IFL New Blood New Battles Results

I have yet to see any of these fights yet as I haven't found them on Youtube yet. The IFL staff will probably post a couple of them for publicity, I'd like to see the head kick by LC Davis and Hieron's dominating performance.

Alex Schoenauer def. Brendan Barrett via Decision (Split)
LC Davis def. Rafael Dias via KO (Head Kick) R3, 3:56
Chris Horodecki def. Nate Lamotte via Decision (Unanimous)
Jim Miller def. Bart Palaszewski via Decision (Unanimous)
Brad Blackburn def. Delson Heleno via TKO (Strikes) R3, 1:50
LHW Champ- Vladimir Matyushenko def. Jamal Patterson via TKO (Strikes) R2, 3:35
FW Champ- Wagnney Fabiano def. Shad Lierley KO (Punch) 1 0:37
WW Champ- Jay Hieron def. Mark Miller TKO (Strikes) R1, 2:10
Emyr Bussade def. Jesse Lennox Sub (Kneebar) R2, 1:25
Mike Ciesnolevicz and Carmelo Marrero No Contest (Cut) 1 1:37