UFN 19 - Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City was ready and rocking for the return of the UFC for the first time since the epic UFC 4 tournament rolled into town in December of 1994. That tournament had an epic finish with Royce Gracie narrowly defeating Dan Severn after taking a beating for 15 minutes. This Ultimate Fight night featured three epic fights before the main event.

Nate Diaz def Melvin Guillard via sub (guillotine) R2, 2:13- In the main event, Nate Diaz was able to get back on track with a submission victory over the uber athletic Melvin Guillard. In the first round, Guillard went on the offensive, tagging Diaz in the eye knocking him to the canvas. When he got up, blood streamed from Diaz' eye.

However, in the second round, Guillard got a little too comfortable and found himself stuck in a modified guillotine. Soon after Guillard was tapping.
*Diaz wins Submission of the Night.

Gray Maynard def Roger Huerta via split dec- Huerta looked to utilize his advantage in kickboxing to keep Maynard at bay from long distance. Maynard consistently tried to close the distance and tag Huerta with a big punch.

In the third round, Maynard finally got the fight to the mat and locked in a kimura. It seemed as if Huerta's shoulder was going to be ripped off, but somehow he managed to roll out of it. Huerta's heart will never be questioned. I scored the fight 29-28 Maynard, the judges scored it 30-27 twice for Maynard, once 29-28 Huerta.

Carlos Condit def Jake Ellenberger via split dec- Ellenberger didn't get the memo that he was supposed to be a big time underdog. In the first round he worked over Condit with big punches, causing Condit to go into the fetal position on numerous occasions. The ref did a good job letting the action go.

In the second and third rounds, Condit seemed to get better positions on the ground, get mount, and almost get submissions. But, Ellenberger always seemed to escape. I scored the fight a 28-28 draw, while the judges scored it 29-28 twice for Condit, once 29-28 Ellenberger.

Nate Quarry def Tim Credeur via unanimous dec- This fight was an all-out battle and definitely a contender for fight of the year. In the first round, Credeur looked to be landing more effective combinations, kicks and jabs. Near the end of the round, Credeur send Quarry to the canvas and followed him to the ground, nearly getting a fight ending rear naked choke.

In the second and third, Quarry was able to land big right hands, knocking Credeur to the canvas. From there, Quarry unleashed some good ground and pound, with Creduer countering with submission attempts and striking from his back. The crowd was screaming throughout, as both fighters threw punches back and forth.
*Quarry and Credeur win Fight of the Night Bonus.

(Nate Quarry pictured)

UNDERCARD

Brian Stann def Steve Cantwell via unanimous dec
Mike Pyle def Chris Wilson via sub (guillotine) R3, 2:15
C.B. Dollaway def Jay Silva via unanimous dec
Mike Pierce def Brock Larson via unanimous dec
Ryan Jensen def Steve Steinbeiss via sub (guillotine) R1, 3:56
Jeremy Stephens def Justin Buchholz via TKO (Cut) R1, 3:23
*Stephens wins KO of the Night

UFC 91 Preview

UFC 91 will be held in Las Vegas on November 15, 2008. I'll probably be watching at a local watering hole here in Chicago. With the drawing power of Lesnar and Couture, the ppv buy record for an MMA broadcast will probably be shattered. All fighters made weight with Randy Couture tipping the scales at 220 pounds. Brock Lesnar weighed the max at 265. In the other HW clash, Gabriel Gonzaga came in at 256 while Josh Hendricks came in at 238.

Randy Couture (16-8, 13-5 UFC) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1, 1-1 UFC)- This is the main event for the UFC Heavyweight title. Couture has been absent from the cage for 14 months while involved in a contract dispute. It is still unclear what Couture will do after this fight as he wants a fight with Fedor.

Couture beat Tim Sylvia to win the HW belt and defeated Gabriel Gonzaga in his title defense. Prior to that fight Couture had lost to Chuck Liddell at 205 pounds in 2006. Couture has been fighting since 1997, winning a four man tournament at UFC 13 in his debut. Couture's big wins have been against Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Pedro Rizzo, Kevin Randleman, Maurice Smith and one victory over Chuck Liddell (2 losses to Liddell).


Lesnar is a NCAA HW Champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota and placed second in his junior year. Lesnar destroyed Min Soo Kim in his debut with K-1 Hero's(now Dream) with a takedown and ground and pound. He lost his UFC debut to Frank Mir, despite laying a beating on Mir for the first 1:15 of the fight. Unfortunately, Brock got a little overconfident and lost via kneebar. In his last fight he dominated veteran fighter Heath Herring in a decision.

Both fighters are legit wrestlers with power. Couture has a big advantage in terms of experience, but on the flipside is 45 year old and not getting any younger. Couture will look to use dirty boxing in the clinch to win. He will also have to be ready to fight off his back as Lesnar has excellent takedowns.

Lesnar will look to use his speed to get a takedown. From there he has to make his punches count and defend submissions against the cagey veteran. Lesnar will come in with a sizable weight advantage, probably 40+ pounds. Lesnar is also deceptively quick and athletic for his size.


Kenny Florian (10-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (29-8)- This fight will be for a shot at BJ Penn's 155 pound crown. Expect Florian to try to keep the fight standing where he has been improving his Muay Thai game. Expect Stevenson to attempt to get the fight to the ground where he can try to utilize his ground game. Stevenson received his BJJ black belt recently.

Florian is on quite a roll in his UFC career since his loss to Sean Sherk for the 155 pound title. He has beaten Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Alvin Robinson, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon and Roger Huerta. Stevenson recently defeated Gleison Tibau via guillotine choke. Stevenson also holds wins over Yves Edwards, Kurt Pellegrino and Melvin Guillard and Luke Cummo in the UFC.


Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) vs. Josh Hendricks (15-4)- Gonzaga is coming off a kimura win over Justin McCulley after back to back TKO losses to Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum. Gonzaga is 5-2 in the UFC with wins over Cro Cop, Carmelo Marrero and Fabiano Scherner. Hendricks is a two-time All American wrestler who has won his past 10 fights. His best wins have come against Todd Brown (4-1) and Steve Conkel (13-4).

Demian Maia (8-0) vs. Nate Quarry (10-2)- This is the classic grappler v. striker match-up. Maia has some of the best BJJ on the planet. He has submission wins over Jason MacDonald, Ed Herman, and Ryan Jensen inside the UFC. Look for Maia to do everything in his power to get the fight to the ground.

Quarry on the other hand will look to keep the fight standing. Quarry is coming off a lackluster win over Kalib Starnes and a KO of Pete Sell. Quarry also has wins over Lodune Sincaid and Shonie Carter on his resume.

Dustin Hazelett (11-4) vs. Tamdan McCrory (9-1)- I'd really like to see this bout make the televised portion of the event. Hazelett is a BJJ black belt who is a master on the ground. He has submissions over Josh Burkman, Steven Lynch and Jonathan Goulet in the UFC. McCrory is a young up and comer, having beat Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo in the UFC.

Undercard

Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Mark Bocek vs. Alvin Robinson
Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas

Nick Catone (5-0) vs. Amir Sadollah (1-0)- Unfortunately, this bout was scratched as Amir Sadollah has a leg infection.

UFC 83 Canada

Jonathan Goulet def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka, TKO (Punches) R2, 2:07 - Was named fight of the night, but I have yet to find it.
Cain Velasquez def. Brad Morris, TKO (Strikes) R1, 2:10
Rich Clementi def. Sam Stout, Decision (Split)
Demian Maia def. Ed Herman, Sub. (Triangle Choke) R2, 2:27- Was named submission of the night.
Jason Day def. Alan Belcher, TKO (Punches) R1, 3:58
Jason MacDonald def. Joe Doerksen, TKO (Strikes) R2, 0:54

Mac Danzig def. Mark Bocek, Sub. (Rear-Naked Choke) R3, 3:48- Danzig may have lost the first round due to being taken down and frustrated by Bocek. The second saw Danzig land a couple knees and eventually get Bocek's back the the rear naked choke.

Michael Bisping def. Charles McCarthy, TKO (Arm injury) R1, 5:00- Bisping, despite giving up a takedown, looked impressive and strong at 185. He got the better of the standup and eventually

Nathan Quarry def. Kalib Starnes, Unanimous Decision - Do yourself a favor and just skip this bout. Extrmely boring, Starnes was cut for his embarrassing performance.

Rich Franklin def. Travis Lutter, TKO (Strikes) R2, 3:01- Lutter was able to get takedowns and get Franklin in trouble. Lutter was able to get a in mount and land strikes, but Franklin didn't buckle, and weathered a Lutter arm bar attempt. In the second round it wasn't good for Lutter as Franklin smashed a highkick to the face of Lutter. Lutter was dazed and tried to get a single leg until he was destroyed by hammerfists.

Georges St. Pierre def. Matt Serra, TKO (Knees to body) R2, 4:45- GSP has now dominated three straight elite fighters in the UFC. He took Serra down at will and punished him with strikes. He connected with kicks to the feet, and totally controlled the fight from start to finish. At the end, Serra was getting pummelled in the body until he was saved by the ref. The Canadian crowd was going crazy the entire fight and were one of the loadest I have heard.
*MMA Blaster readers were correct 21-7!