UFC on FX 1 Results

Man, just watched 5 hours of live fights on free tv. Sweet!

Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard (sub 1)

Pretty much what you'd expect. Melvin couldn't KO Miller so Miller got the sub. Melvin really needs to work on sub defence...really...again. (1-0)

Josh Neer def. Duane Ludwig (sub 1)

Ludwig had the better of the stand up but once it went to the ground, it didn't take long for Neer to lock in a guillotine. If it had stayed standing, I think it would have been a different story. (2-0)

Mike Easton def. Jared Papzian (majority)

Fast-paced but largely ineffective striking. The fact that neither guy went down says less about the granite in the chins and more about the lack of real power. The fight stayed standing, so it came down to who the judges thought got the better shots in. From my point of view, Easton got some good shots, but Papzian got more shots and at least comparable quality shots. Close, but I might have given it to Papzian 29-28. As it was, it was 29-28, 30-27, 29-29 Easton. (3-0)

Pat Barry def. Christian Morecraft (KO 1)

Morecraft almost got the submission, but Barry defended well, and once it was on the feet, Barry had the edge. After a couple of big shots, Barry managed to get the W and avoid the axe. I expect Morecraft to get his walking papers. (4-0)

Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer (TKO 2)

Nice to see Rivera win his swan song fight. He has surprised me in the past and he did again. Schafer appeared to suffer from the weight cut and had nothing left in the tank after a dominant first round. Once Rivera got on top, it was over, as Schafer turtled and offered no resistance. (4-1)

Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus (sub 3)

Shalorus got clipped in the first and was not the same thereafter. Between rounds he was confused about what round was ahead, a clear sign he was out of it. H eventually tapped out to an awkward rear naked choke - again, perhaps indicative he was not all there. (4-2)

Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts (unanimous)

No sure how one judge gave it 29-28 - this was one way almost all the way. Roberts did try a couple of nice submissions, but Brenneman dominated. Strange reffing, as Herb Dean insisted on standing them up even though Brenneman was working. (5-2)

Fabricio Camoes def. Tommy Hayden (sub 1)

Hayden was doing alright, but Camoes was too much. (5-3)

Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling (sub 1)

This was a mismatch. Schilling had a decent record (5-0) but was clearly untested. Pineda took advantage and schooled the UFC newcomer. (6-3)

Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval (KO 1)

The Canadian made a big splash. Caught Sandoval with some crisp shots and then finished with some crazy standing elbows. (7-3)

Not bad, I guess.

UFC Fight Night Results

I thought this event might suck and it did, for the most part - at least the telecast version.

Jon Jones vs Vladimir Matyushenko
Jones dominated, looking a lot like Anderson Silva in his awkward, gangly approach. He got top position and started dropping some elbows to Vlad's head and it took Herb Dean about 3 seconds to jump in and stop the fight. While Vlad was in deep trouble, he wasn't hurt. This was a premature stoppage in my books. Still, Jones was clearly the better fighter. If Silva ever goes back up to 205, I'd love to see him fight Jones because their styles are so similar. (1-0)

Mark Munoz vs Yushin Okami
Boring as hell. Munoz had a terrible gameplan, attempting lazy single-leg takedowns from five feet away. Okami just had to stuff the takedowns, lie on top of Munoz (who wouldn't let go) and hit him with hammer fists to get the win. Ridiculous. (1-1)

John Howard vs Jake Ellenberger
Howard looked goods until he got smacked in the eye and it swelled shut in an ugly way. He clearly had an injury there and the doctor wisely stopped the fight. Too bad for Howard. (1-2)

Tyson Griffin vs Takanori Gomi
Another pretty dull fight for all that it lasted. Give Gomi credit for turning the lights out on Griffin. (1-3)

Paul Kelly vs Jacob Volkmann
This wasn't aired. I wouldn't mind seeing it to see how the two performed. Once again Volkmann screwed me over. :P (1-4)

DaMarques Johnson vs Matthew Riddle
Should have stuck with my boy Riddle. Johnson is overrated. (1-5)

James Irvin vs Igor Pokrajac
I think the Sandman may be done. Another poor performance. Seems he's a one trick pony. (1-6)

Brian Stann vs Mike Massenzio
Finally! Another win! Massenzio loses to CB Dolloway and then gets submitted by Stann? Dunno if he'll escape getting cut. (2-6)

Darren Elkins vs Charles Oliveira
I didn't know these guys before, but I know Oliveira now. That was quick and impressive. Dunno if he'd catch many UFC vets in such a straightforward triangle that easily, but he has probably earned another couple of fights in the UFC. (2-7)

Rob Kimmons vs Steve Steinbeiss
Steinbeiss has probably earned his walking papers with this one. As I said before, his record is less than impressive. (3-7)

Wow. 3-7. That sucks. Thank goodness I fare better at PPV's when it really counts, right? :P

UFC 112 "Invincible" = Disgraceful

UFC 112 went off on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, a significant event in the history of the organization. By the end of the event, it would become a public relations nightmare. The storm may calm over the coming days and weeks, but at the time it was clear that everyone outside of Anderson Silva’s camp thought the main event was a disgrace to the sport. Dana White was fuming.

I sincerely hope the UFC finds a way to punish the middleweight champ for his antics in the octagon and the embarrassment he brought to the sport on this massive stage. If I were the UFC president, I’d consider stripping Silva of the belt and creating a Sonnen vs Silva, Belfort vs Marquardt tourney for the right to claim the title. Even if Silva won the belt back, he’d have to earn it and the 6 months removed from the title of middleweight champ would be a clear message that this sort of crap would not be tolerated.

Anderson Silva def. Demian Maia (unanimous) – In case you missed it, Silva spent five rounds dancing away from Maia, acting like an ass and landing just enough jabs to bloody his opponent and retain his belt. Silva’s taunting of Maia was almost violent as he urged the challenger to attack him. Message to Anderson Silva: counterstriking is YOUR game. Forrest Griffin and Chris Leben proved that attacking you with reckless abandon is just this side of suicidal. Why does Maia have to play your game? How about you attack him and finish him if he is so unworthy? Let’s get something straight: this was another example of terrible match-making. Sure, the UFC might have had this particular pairing thrust upon them because Sonnen, Belfort and Marquardt were all unable to fight on this date (and apparently Silva insisted on fighting in Abu Dhabi) but there was little doubt that this fight would be a repeat of the Silva-Leites fight that set the stage for Leites’ exit from the UFC. How is a jiu-jitsu practitioner with no real power in his fists supposed to handle Silva if Silva won’t go to the ground? It’s called a stalemate. Boring as hell. Maia, to his credit, did attack Silva more in the later rounds and landed a few good shots on the champ. Silva even said afterwards that he was surprised by Maia’s power. Was Silva so scared that he decided to just jump on his bike and backpedal for the last 5 minutes? Maybe. I’m glad Dana White did not try to sugar-coat the facts with some PR spinning. In fact, he showed his anger before the fight was even over, giving the belt to Silva’s manager and telling him to put the belt on “the champ”. I’m praying this is not the end of this story and that Silva will be sanctioned somehow. (1-0)

Frankie Edgar def. BJ Penn (unanimous) – This was the shocker of the night. Did anyone see this coming? Penn was apparently a 7-1 favourite. But did Edgar deserve the decision? I dunno… See, I always believed that to be the champ you had to beat the champ. If it was a close fight and it went to decision, odds were the champ would retain. I look at Arlovski-Silvia III for the best example of this. In my mind, Arlovski won that fight on points, but it was close, lacklustre and went to decision with Silvia getting the nod. Ok, fine. So what about this fight? Well, Edgar spent the five rounds dancing and circling around Penn, trying to land punches and feigning takedowns here and there (at least, I assume they were feints because if they were real efforts he failed miserably). He did land one takedown in the 5th round (I think) which I felt would give him that round, but for the rest of the fight it was Penn who was landing the more effective strikes. Edgar threw far more punches, don’t get me wrong, but Penn’s were landing at a far greater rate, it seemed. Penn did seem to fade in rounds four and five, but even then he seemed to be getting the better of the exchanges. When the scores were announced, I was disappointed that one judge had the fight 50-45, meaning he didn’t think Edgar deserved even that one takedown round. I was floored when the unanimous decision was actually going Edgar’s way, meaning that HE was being given all five rounds by that one judge. Wow. So what happens now? Will Penn want to regain his belt or will he use this as an opportunity to move back up to welterweight? (Man, I hope not – at least not if it means an undeserved second rematch with GSP!) It would seem inconsistent with Penn’s ego to vacate the lightweight division without the title in his hands, so I’m betting on a rematch in a few months, with Penn moving on if he wins that night. If that isn’t the plan, look for lightweights to be positively salivating at the prospect of facing Edgar for the belt and not Penn. First up, the man who last beat Edgar – Gray Maynard. Boy, wouldn’t Kenny Florian be pissed, too, since Edgar didn’t have to go through him to get his shot. If Penn, like other champs who have lost their belt, is forced to take a redemption fight before getting a rematch, then I’d love to see him square off against the Energizer bunny, Clay Guida. (1-1)

Matt Hughes def. Renzo Gracie (TKO 3) – When the fight card was announced, I feared it might turn into a complete dud of an evening with three boring fights to end it off. Aside from the shock of Edgar’s win and the insanity of Silva’s behaviour, I was right. All three main event fights were uneventful, boring fights. The fact that this one actually ended before it went to the scorecards is testament to the fact that Renzo had no business inside the octagon. Before this fight, Gracie hadn’t fought in 3 years. By his own admission, he hadn’t trained in two and a half years leading up to the six months of training for this fight. That’s ridiculous. Why did the UFC even make this fight? The guy makes his UFC debut at 43? WTF? Matt Hughes fights once a year and this is the match-up you give him? What a waste of time. That said, it’s not like Hughes dominated Gracie. He landed very few clean shots, basically wearing his opponent down with kicks. But Gracie still looked terrible. He clearly did not have the gas for this fight and went down at every occasion simply from fatigue. One knockdown was clearly a phantom punch. Eventually, Herb Dean stepped in not because Hughes was threatening to hurt his defenseless opponent but because Gracie simply could not continue. Pathetic. And he has a six fight contract? Let’s hope the UFC cuts him. (2-1)

Rafael Dos Anjos def Terry Etim (sub 2) – Sure, the main events were garbage, but the prelims/undercard fights weren’t bad. Etim had Dos Anjos in serious trouble in the first round with a deep guillotine choke but Dos Anjos turned the tables in the second, securing an arm bar submission for the win. Good fight. (2-2)

Mark Munoz def. Kendall Grove (TKO 2) – This was another one where one guy dominated in the first but got put away in the next round. Munoz took a big uppercut in the first and was on queer street for the rest of the round. His wrestling saved him as he was able to tie up Grove against the cage and ride out the storm. He didn’t look much better in the second, but still managed to land a few shots that shook Grove and then he dropped some bombs from the top to draw the ref’s mercy. Grove’s soft chin was exposed again. (3-2)

Phil Davis def. Alexander Gustafsson (sub 1) – I’m not sure why I picked Gustafsson in this one. Davis was insanely impressive in his beatdown of Brian Stann though he did have holes in his game. Still, they weren’t holes Gustafsson was going to be able to take advantage of on his feet and once this went to the ground it was pretty much over. Davis secured an anaconda choke that had Gustafsson tapping with just 5 seconds left in the round. Ouch. (3-3)

Rick Story def. Nick Osipczak (split decision) – Apparently Story eked this one out after a tough battle with the always game Osipczak. Wish I had seen it. (4-3)

DeMarques Johnson def. Brad Blackburn (TKO 3) – Didn’t see it, but Johnson earned KO of the Night. (5-3)

Paul Kelly def. Matt Veach (sub 2) – Oh well, my underdog pick didn’t pan out. Kelly was very successful in his lightweight debut, finishing Veach with a guillotine. Veach’s face was a mess afterwards. I’m looking forward to seeing Kelly’s future lightweight matches. (5-4)

Jon Madsen def. Mostapha Al Turk (unanimous) – Ok, that’s three losses in three appearances for Al Turk. Surely this is the end of his UFC career. I thought he’d redeem himself, but I was wrong. Time to go. (5-5)

Paul Taylor vs John Gunderson – This fight didn’t happen for medical reasons. I was a bit confused as to the weight class for this fight and apparently Taylor was, too.

So a .500 record for the night. A couple of dogs didn’t pan out and you can’t blame me for not picking Edgar. Still, I thought I’d do better. Next time.

TUF 10 Episode 3 - Kimbo Tested

So here we are at episode 3 of The Ultimate Fighter X and we got our chance to see the legendary Kimbo Slice in the octagon.

It would be a big test - literally - as he would be taking on former IFL heavyweight champ Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Some said this match-up would have been fitting for a pay-per-view.

I think a lot of people would have been asking for their money back. And it probably says something about how foolish Elite XC was for sinking all their hopes into the Kimbo pool.

The fight didn't live up to the hype.

Neslon is a big fat fuck. He's hardly a fighter. I mean, the guy is not tall for a heavyweight, yet he tested the weight limit, weighing in at 264 lbs. It's all stomach, baby.

But that's all he needed against the inexperienced brawler. Nelson managed to get Kimbo down, then rested his big belly on the poor street fighter who could not free himself from The Blob.

Nelson was clearly upset that the referee (Herb Dean) did not stop the fight before the end of the first round when he had Kimbo in a crucifix-like position and dropped...uh...marshmallows on Kimbo's head.

I mean, let's face it - they were hardly bricks.

The second round went much the same way. Kimbo landed a couple of decent shots but fell under Nelson's weight again and, this time, the ref stopped the fight when Nelson landed another couple of dozen marshmallow shots to Kimbo's head.

Was Kimbo "defenseless"? Maybe. But was he in danger? Hardly.

Frankly, the ref should have let the fight continue. I mean, what's the criteria here? Do you have to "intelligently defend" yourself when you're in no danger? If Nelson can't finish properly from that position I say let him tire himself out and see what happens.

It was a terrible display by both Kimbo and Nelson. Neither would fare well in the UFC with this skills. The fact Nelson sees himself as the favourite is either a commentary on his ego or on the lack of talent on this season of TUF.

I fear it may be both.

So far this season is one big country dud.

TUF 9 Finale - Results

Let’s see:

Diego Sanchez def. Clay Guida (split decision)
James Wilks def. DaMarques Johnson (rear naked choke - 1)
Chris Lytle def. Kevin Burns (unanimous decision)
Ross Pearson def. Andre Winner (unanimous decision)
Joe Stevenson def. Nate Diaz (unanimous decision)
Melvin Guillard def. Gleison Tibau (split decision)
Brad Blackburn def. Edgar Garcia (split decision)
Tomasz Drwal def. Mike Ciesnolevicz (TKO – 1)
Nick Osipczak def. Frank Lester (rear naked choke - 1)
Jason Dent def. Cameron Dollar (anaconda choke – 1)

I thought Sanchez was going to get robbed in the decision based on previous judges’ scoring. While Sanchez was clearly delivering the majority of the punishment, Guida was on top for a good chunk of the decisive third round and usually top position is equated with winning. I assume, of course, that it was the third round that was decisive since Guida was on top for most of the second – but Sanchez delivered some brutal elbows in that round, so who knows which one swayed the third judge. Further clouding the issue is the fact that the UFC would benefit more from a Sanchez win as he is the more colourful character and would likely sell more tickets in a title fight than Guida. I’m not convinced judges aren’t influenced by this sort of thing. We can now look forward to a Sanchez vs Penn/Florian fight for the 155 belt in 4 months or so. It ought to be interesting either way, but, while I like Florian, I don’t think there’s much doubt a Sanchez-Penn match-up would be more desirable to the UFC and fans. After all, Sanchez humbled Florian once already (though in a different weight class) and it’s always more interesting to see an established champ defend the belt than first timers (see the light heavyweight division).

I also correctly predicted Wilks would beat Johnson. Wilks struck early, putting Johnson on the defensive and the American couldn’t get out of the round to gather himself. Despite a few decent exchanges, Wilks was clearly in control and got the much-deserved win. It’ll be interesting to see how he does going forward. I was impressed with Wilks’ skills.

I went 3-for-3 in the top portion of the card when Lytle got the nod over a game Kevin Burns. Lytle threw bombs from the opening seconds and didn’t let up until the horn sounded. I was really impressed with Lytle’s cardio, which allowed him to give it all for 15 minutes and was the difference in the fight; Burns was gassed and was in retreat mode for much of the third round. Lytle isn’t champ material, but he’s one of those guys who acts as a gatekeeper to the upper ranks – if you can beat him, you deserve top-flight fights. Burns just isn’t there yet.

I really wanted Ross Pearson to win, but I thought Andre Winner was going to squeeze out a decision. I thought these two would stand and trade shots, with Winner having the jab advantage. I didn’t expect that these guys would hug for 15 minutes with no intervention by the ref (have I mentioned how much most refs suck? Herb Dean is by far the worst with Mazzagatti second). For a TUF “title fight” this was a dud. The two competitors negated each other’s offence and the result was a fight too close to call; not enough happened to distinguish the two competitors. I thought it fair that the first two rounds would be split and the third would decide the outcome since no one seemed to deserve being up 2-0. That said, I thought Winner was getting the best of Pearson in the first two and might have gotten the nod as the result. But Pearson was a little more active in the third and, thanks to the split rounds, got the decision. I really wasn’t impressed, but am looking forward to seeing more of Pearson in the future to see what he really has to offer.

What was Nate Diaz thinking? His loss to Joe Stevenson was due to one thing – strategy. Diaz is the more talented fighter, but he allowed Stevenson to take him down and stay on top – which was enough to earn the victory. Stevenson really didn’t do much, but Diaz was happy to stay on his back and attempt submissions. What he should have done was stay on his feet as much as possible and pick Stevenson apart a la BJ Penn. Instead, he pulled guard, made no real attempt to get back up and tried…what? Kimoras? Come on… Diaz has pulled this kind of stupidity before and obviously needs new coaching ‘cause his current approach sucks. This is a serious speed bump for him. Both of these guys have careers going nowhere fast.

In the undercard, I went 1-4, but I blame part of that on bad info from the UFC website. Tomasz Drwal and Mike Ciesnolevicz were fighting at light heavyweight which explains the discrepancy in their stats. Ciesnolevicz failed to make weight, though, and the big cut he did make probably factored in his loss. I’d have to see the other fights to comment on them. I’d like to see the Guillard-Tibau fight, for one.

So 3-2 on the main card, 1-4 on the undercard, 4-4 with fighters I knew, 4-6 overall.

Let the hype and build-up to UFC 100 begin!