CALGARY, July 21 – Just one fight into his UFC career and Ryan Jimmo has already made some considerable waves, delivering a demolition of Australia’s Anthony Perosh in UFC 149 prelim action Saturday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome that took only seven seconds.
All it took was one monster overhand right from Jimmo, landing flush on Perosh’s chin and putting the Aussie out before he hit the canvas. The Edmonton native, who notched his 17th straight win, made it look remarkably easy in front of his fellow Canadians.
“I’m very happy,” said the beaming, bald-headed light heavyweight after blitzing the 39-year-old submission ace. “Hi Mom, I love you! … I knew if I threw some heavy leather he was going to be on the ground.”
Jimmo, a four-time national champion in Karate, is definitely a fighter worth watching. In addition to his explosive wrecking of Perosh (13-7), Jimmo’s resume also includes wins over UFC vets such as Wilson Gouveia, Marvin Eastman, Rameau Sokoudjou and Jesse Forbes.
Watch Ryan Jimmo UFC 149 highlight video
COURT MCGEE VS. NICK RING
Different venue, different soil, same result.
In a rematch of their controversial bout in The Ultimate Fighter season 11 competition, Canada’s Nick Ring again eked by Court McGee – with Saturday’s victory perhaps equally controversial.
Nearly all of the middleweight fight unfolded on the feet, with Ring attempting several takedowns but being rebuffed each time. Round one was closely contested, with the southpaw Ring dancing and landing and McGee plodding forward but less busy with his strikes but landing hard on occasion.
The first half of round two clearly belonged to McGee, the TUF 11 winner who relentlessly and fearlessly stalked forward and began landing with more frequency and firing away with ferocious leg kicks. With his hometown faithful chanting “Go Nick Go!” Calgary’s Ring came on strong down the stretch, cracking McGee with several sizzling straight left hands to perhaps steal the round. The damage was reflected on McGee’s face in the form of a plenty of blood gushing from the bearded Utahn’s nose.
By any standard, McGee won the third round on the strength of superior cardio and a heavy volume of punches. Ring, his gas tank fading, danced away as if simply trying to kill the clock and survive. When Ring did throw, his punches had little steam on them and McGee seemed unfazed by their impact.
The faces of both fighters at the final horn showed signs of their slugfest, but McGee seemed like a man who could fight on another few rounds while an exhausted Ring seemed almost unable to stand, needing to be held up by a cornerman. But the Canadian’s physical suffering may have been alleviated somewhat when he heard the judges’ scores – 29-28 across the board.
Post-fight thoughts from Nick Ring
FRANCISCO RIVERA VS. ROLAND DELORME
The fight game, like life itself, is full of surprises and irony. For instance, Francisco Rivera bullied and battered Roland Delorme with heavy shots for four minutes – landing pretty much everything he wanted. But it was a short left hook counter – nothing special or devastating at first glance – that finally put Delorme on the deck and earned Rivera the knockout at 4:19 of the opening stanza.
The free-slugging Californian dedicated the victory to his mother.
“My mom’s been sick… and this is the way to prove to her that I still love her and I thank God every day that’s she’s OK,” said Rivera (9-2).
Watch Rivera’s post-fight interview
BRYAN CARAWAY VS. MITCH GAGNON
In all likelihood, Bryan Caraway needed a stoppage as he entered round three against a Canadian opponent that had roughed him for much of the opening 10 minutes. Calm and collected, the veteran took down Mitch Gagnon early in the final frame, trapped him, locked in a rear naked choke and won the tapout at 1:39 to escape with his second UFC triumph.
Gagnon left caution to the wind early on, smothering Caraway with takedowns early and landing a bevy of hard ground and pound shots, posturing up high and getting plenty of momentum behind his shots. Caraway rallied in the final minute with a takedown of his own, and despite getting full mount on top, he caused little damage.
Gagnon had appeared to be a tad winded as the first round came to a close, but emerged from his stool in round two and walloped the former Motorcross standout with big punches and hard knees. Caraway looked to be in trouble, but quickly calmed the storm with a takedown to avoid continuing to get the worse of the fistic exchanges. And in the third, the TUF 14 competitor, who was making his bantamweight debut, lowered the boom in impressive style to notch his second Octagon victory.
ANTONIO CARVALHO VS. DANIEL PINEDA
Ontario’s Antonio Carvalho achieved a career milestone Saturday night, knocking out fellow featherweight Daniel Pineda to earn his first-ever UFC victory. Overwhelmed with emotion by the feat, 33-year-old Carvalho dropped to his knees inside the Octagon and cried. It was a quick night for the Brazilian (14-5), who dropped the ultra-aggressive Pineda (17-9) early with a left high kick, then punished the charging Texan with three hard and precise right hands that turned out the lights at 1:11 of the opening round.
Hear from Carvalho after his win
MITCH CLARKE VS. ANTON KUIVANEN
Who says ground fighting is boring?
That certainly wasn’t the case for the night’s opening clash between Edmonton’s Mitch Clarke and Finland’s Anton Kuivanen. From the first round onward, fans were treated to an exciting, back-and-forth jiu-jitsu battle filled with daring submission attempts and nonstop attacks.
The lightweight tussle ended with Kiuvanen (17-5) capturing his first UFC victory by split decision (29-28 twice and 28-29).
It was Clarke who came closest to finishing the fight, locking in a deep armbar in round one from his guard. Kuivanen, his arm fully extended, somehow wiggled his endangered limb free and escaped. Clarke appeared to have accomplished more in the topsy-turvy round, especially on the strength of a 2-0 takedown advantage.
Kuivanen came on stronger in the second stanza, cracking Clarke (9-2) with a hard left hook to commence the round, then fighting off kimuras while spending most of the round on top.
With the fight up for grabs, Kiuvanen took control in the third round over a fading Clarke, scoring two takedowns on the Canadien, and dominating on top with some hard right hands.
Kuivanen post-fight interivew