TUF 11 - Episode 1

TUF 11 started out with a bang, featuring highlights from 14 first round bouts. From the start, coach Chuck Liddell lets everyone know his dislike of opposing coach Tito Ortiz, calling him a "door knob." Come to MMA Blaster for coverage of season 11.

Jamie Yager def Ben Stark via KO (kick) R1, 0:26- Former BET Iron Ring contestant Jamie Yager came to the cage confident, sporting a sweet afro. Orthodox jew Ben Stark did not come out with the same attitude. Yager threw kick after kick before wobbling Stark and sending him to the canvas.

(Jamie Yager pictured)

Brad Tavares def Jordan Smith via KO (strikes) R1, 0:37- Both fighters exchanged before Tavares caught a Smith kick. After Smith got out of the single leg, Tavares connected on a knee that sent Smith to the floor.

James Hammortree def Norman Paraisy via TKO (DNF) R1- Hammortree overwelmed Frenchman Paraisy with ground and pound throughout the first round. Paraisy could not answer the bell in the second round.

Nick Ring def Woody Weatherby via TKO- fight basically showed highlights that seemed to show Ring dominated the ground battle before forcing the ref to jump in.

Kris McCray def Cleburn Walker via TKO (injury) R1- McCray looked like a beast in the cage, connecting on punches before an awesome lateral drop throw. After the throw, Walker was verbally tapping because of an injured shoulder from the toss. McCray landed an awesome backflip off a cage post after the victory.

(Kris McCray pictured)

TUF 11: Walker vs. McCray

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Kyle Noke def Warren Thompson via unanimous dec- Noke opened up a huge gash on Thompson in this fight, leaving a gushing cut on Thompson's brow. Highlights indicated that it was a one-sided fight in Noke's favor.

Court McGee def Seth Baczynski via unanimous dec- McGee got dropped in the first round by a punch, but came back using his wrestling to even the fight after two rounds, then won in the third.

Chris Camozzi def Victor O'Donnell via unanimous dec- Both fighters fought hard throughout this bout. Seemed like Camozzi got the better of the stand-up. However, O'Donnell's eye was swollen during the bout. O'Donnell may have suffered a broken orbital, otherwise he would be leading in the wild card bout.

Joe Henle def Constantinos Philippou via sub (arm-bar) R2- Philippou dominated the first round, utilizing his boxing skills and stand-up. In the second, Henle utilized his jiu-jitsu, locking on an armbar to get into the TUF house.

Kyacey Uscola def Brent Cooper via knockout (punches) R1, 0:25- Uscola has a ton of fights on his resume, however he has stated he took too many fights on short notice. In this fight, Uscola dropped Cooper with a cross and uppercut, winning in brutal fashion.

Charles Blanchard def Jacen Flynn via TKO (referee stoppage) R1- Blanchard might be the shortest fighter in the competition, but looks can be deceiving. Blanchard outwrestled Flynn before laying some fierce ground and pound. After the bell sounded, Flynn couldn't see out of a swollen eye and the bout was stopped.

Clayton McKinney def Charley Lynch via TKO (punches) R1- Clayton McKinney, training out of Jungle MMA, brought the fight to his friend Charley Lynch. McKinney was landing his straight and jab with confidence, smashing Lynches nose. The broken nose was absolutely nasty after the fight, completely shattered.

TUF 11: Lynch vs. McKinney

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See More: Clayton McKinney • Charley Lynch • TUF 11 • fights

Rich Attonito def Lyle Steffens via unanimous dec
Josh Bryant def Greg Rebello via majority dec

Two fighters who lost in the opening round will be chosen in the next episode to fight in the "wild card" bout. However, with the number of KO losses and injuries, the pickens will be kinda slim.

Fight Night 21 - Big Country

Ultimate Fight Night 21 brought some bigtime action in its two hour run-time. Roy "Big Country" Nelson firmly entrenched himself in the title picture with a big time knock out over Stefan Struve. Kenny Florian took a giant leap back into the lightweight title picture by submitting Pride legend Takanori Gomi.

Kenny Florian def Takanori Gomi via sub (RNC) R1, 2:52- Florian looked crisp with his jab and boxing throughout the fight. Gomi routinely was outclassed, not being able to get his counter hook going.

In the third round, Florian got the fight to the ground, landed in mount, and got the rear naked choke for the victory. Florian may get a fight next with Gray Maynard, Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin or George Sotiropoulos to get closer to a rematch with BJ Penn.
*Florian wins submission of the night bonus

Roy Nelson def Stefan Struve via KO (strikes) R1, 0:39- Roy Nelson was throwing overhand rights from the start, landing a big one off of a Struve jab. Nelson's last punch landed flush, crumpling the 6'10 fighter to the canvas. Expect Nelson to get Cheick Kongo, Cro Cop, Pat Barry or a rematch with Ben Rothwell.
*Nelson wins KO of the night bonus

Jorge Rivera def Nate Quarry via TKO (strikes) R2, 0:29- Jorge was able to work his right hand throughout the fight, smashing Quarry routinely in the chin. Quarry was content to throw leg kicks, but they didn't help. After being wobbled numerous times in the first, Rivera crumpled Quarry again in the second.

Ross Pearson def Dennis Siver via unanimous dec- In an entertaining bout that featured ample kickboxing, Ross Pearson was able to connect on more punches throughout the bout. Siver looked to be the more sloppy fighter, but did land one trademark spinning back kick during the bout. In the third, Ross sealed the win with a takedown.
*Pearson and Siver win fight of the night bonuses

Gleison Tibau def Caol Uno via TKO (punches) R1, 4:13- Gleison dominated the entire fight from start to finish with his power punching. Uno looked to stay low and stick and move, but he was unable to avoid Tibau strikes.

UNDERCARD

Andre Winner def Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous dec
Jacob Volkmann def Ronys Torres via split dec
Nik Lentz def Rob Emerson via unanimous dec
Yushin Okami def Lucio Linhares via TKO (stoppage) R2, 2:47
Gerald Harris def Mario Miranda via TKO (punches) R1, 4:49
Charlie Brenneman def Jason High via unanimous dec

Bellator 155 Pound Tourney

Bellator Fighting Championships has been slowly leaking the participants to their 145, 155, 170 and 185 pound 8 man tournaments. The latest addition to the 155 pound tournament is the biggest name in the field so far, former UFC star Roger Huerta.

Roger Huerta's star rose after defeating Leonard Garcia in the UFC in a very entertaining, back and forth battle. Huerta's biggest victory date was his insane, action packed come from behind effort against Clay Guida. Despite being down 2 rounds on the scorecards, he was able to stun Guida before getting his back and locking in a rear naked choke.

Huerta would then be in a series of contract disputes, some acting roles in movies like Tekken and suffer two heartbreaking decisions to Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian. Huerta's goal will be to win the 155 pound Bellator tournament to guarantee a shot against last years winner, Eddie Alvarez.

It has been announced that Toby Imada is fighting Ferrid Kheder in the first round.

Here is a look at the pairings:

Toby Imada (23-13) Bellator runner-up, Sub over Jorge Masvidal
Ferrid Kheder (16-5) 2000 Olympic judoka, W over Drew Fickett

Janne Tulirinta (12-3) Finnish fighter, 5 wins in M-1
Cary Vanier (7-2) Team Jackson fighter, 6 fight W streak

Mike Ricci (5-0) GSP training partner, 3 TKO's
Pat Curran (9-3) Tapout Show Vet, W's over Tony Hervey & Robbie Oliver

Chad Hinton (6-0) Ohio based fighter, KO over Jeff Cox
Roger Huerta (20-3) UFC vet, W's over Matt Wiman & Clay Guida

(Roger Huerta pictured)

UFC: Versus 1

UFC's first debut on the Versus network produced an entertaining fireworks. On the undercard, John "Doomsday" Howard destroyed UFC newcomer Daniel Roberts with vicious ground and pound. Junior Dos Santos pushed even closer to a title shot and X put his name right and center in the UFC's 205 pound division.

In the first fight of the broadcast, Alessio Sakara landed a perfect right hand into James Irvin's eye socket causing a stoppage in the first round. James Irvin originally thought it was an eyepoke, but veteran UFC referee Josh Roshental made the correct call.

In undercard action, John Howard fought the undefeated Daniel Roberts. Roberts was able to get takedowns early, but eventually Howard unloaded a fury. Howards hit a high amplitude double leg takedown then slammed a heavy right hand KO'ing Roberts.

In the second match of the evening, Cheick Kongo dominated Paul "Headhunter" Buentello for three rounds before coaxing a tapout from the veteran kickboxer. Kongo was able to mix in a combination of takedowns, punches, elbows and knees.

Referee Herb Dean did an exceptional job refereeing the fight. He deducted a point from Cheick Kongo from a knee when Paul Buentello. In doing so, Dean gave Buentello ample time to recover. Buentello also dislocated a pinky finger and was allowed to continue after popping it back into place.

In the end, Kongo's relentless attack was to much for Buentello to handle. Elbows to the thigh eventally forced Buentello to submit. With the victory, expect Kongo to get a solid test in the form of the winner of Roy Nelson and Stephen Struve.

Junior Dos Santos took another step into the heavyweight title picture defeating veteran UFC heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Dos Santos defended the takedown, loading up a mean right hand. Gonzaga landed a couple deadly leg kicks, but eventually let his guard down.

As Gonzaga threw a leg kick, Dos Santos fired a shot from hell, flooring Gonzaga, the BJJ blackbelt to the ground. A few more punches sealed the deal, and Gonzga was cooked. Dos Santos now will likely fight Cain Velasquez for a title shot.

In the main event, Jon "Bones" Jones inched his way closer to a 205 pound title shot. Jones looked to be the quicker fighter as he was able to land strikes and take down Brandon Vera. From there, Jones worked top control and threw some punches. Until Vera threw an upkick while Jones had a knee on the canvas.

Vera was deducted a point for the foul and Jones was given back position. From there, Bones Jones landed nasty left and right punches and elbows from Vera's guard with his big-time reach advantage. A point of a right elbow looked to land on Vera's eye socket, prompting the stoppage. Look for Jones to fight Ryan Bader or the winner of Forrest Griffin v. Antonio Nogueira.

(Jon Jones pictured)

Video of the Day - Markum v. Pyle

Here is Rory Markum v. Mike Pyle from the IFL: Legends which took place on 4/29/06. Markham next fights Nate Diaz at UFC 111.

Fedor v. Lindland

Here is the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Lindland from Bodog Fight which took place 4/14/07.

Fedor fights Fabricio Werdum in Strikeforce this weekend live on Showtime.

Video of the day - Urlacher v. Rutten

Here is Bas Rutten explaining a run-in with Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher at a charity golf event. Apparently Bas accidently stepped on Urlacher's footwear. Rutten is a former HW UFC champ and King of Pancrase.


Rutten on Jerry Springer: