Author: Brian Mazique

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone proved he’s the only cowboy in the UFC. He defeated Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira via triangle choke in the first round on Sunday night in Pittsburgh at UFC Fight Night 83.  

Cerrone was originally supposed to face Tim Means, but the latter had to be replaced when he was suspended for violating anti-doping regulations. Oliveira normally fights at lightweight, but he had to come up to 170 pounds to take on Cerrone, who himself moved up a weight class after being destroyed by 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos in his last fight.

Cerrone has gained a sterling reputation for his striking, but he proved his submission game is still elite on Sunday.

After trading knees with Oliveira in the early moments, Cerrone proved to be at home working off his back. He quickly locked in the triangle when the fight went to the ground, and it didn’t take long for Oliveira to tap. 

Referee Mario Yamasaki didn’t notice Oliveira’s submission at first. In fact, Cerrone had to point it out before Yamasaki signaled the end of the fight. UFC President Dana White wasn’t complimentary of Yamasaki after the bout:

When it was over, Cerrone had an awesome quote for any potential opponents, per the UFC on Twitter:

Despite his failures to win a title at 155 pounds, his hardworking, fight-anybody attitude continues to make Cerrone a crowd favorite. Fans across the world will wait patiently to see who the real Cowboy faces next.

 

Brunson Makes Quick Work of Carneiro

In the co-main event, Derek Brunson came out fighting as if he were double-parked. It was clear from his aggression he had designs of getting Roan Carneiro out of there quickly. Mission accomplished.

It took just two minutes and 38 seconds to get the finish.

Carneiro fought off his heels the entire fight. Brunson chased him across the cage and ultimately pinned his fallen opponent against it and pounded him until the referee called a stop to the bout.

Brunson came into the fight ranked 13th in the middleweight division. He might take a slight jump after this dominant performance. We’ll see who’s next for him.

 

The Finishes

Murphy Wears Down Tough Last-Minute Replacement

Lauren Murphy was supposed to face Sarah Moras on Sunday night, but the latter had to pull out because of injury. Her replacement gave Murphy all she could handle before succumbing to strikes from the mounted position in the final round.

Kelly Faszholz showed excellent hand speed, a sturdy chin and good athleticism in her impromptu UFC debut.

Faszholz’s striking gave Murphy some serious issues in the first few minutes of the opening round. A consistent one-two combination found its mark on Murphy’s chin regularly.

In one instance, Murphy was dropped by a counter right hand from Faszholz.

Murphy showed toughness and patience. Faszholz’s combination of lack of experience and compromised conditioning reared its head. She suddenly slowed down, and Murphy turned up the heat. She began landing punches squarely on Faszholz’s face, and the momentum shifted.

By the second round, Faszholz’s tank looked empty, and Murphy took complete control. In the third and final round, Murphy took Faszholz down, and the latter had no answer off her back.

Murphy rained down punches until the referee called an end to the bout with just under 15 seconds remaining. It’ll go down as a loss in Faszholz’s debut, but she made an excellent account of herself and deserves a few more appearances in the Octagon.

 

Bamgbose Destroys Sarafian

Oluwale Bamgbose is one of the most dangerous and quirky strikers in the UFC’s middleweight division. During the Fox Sports 1 Prelims, Bamgbose dropped Sarafian with a head kick—despite the fact that it was blocked—and pounded him out by hammer fists.

Bamgbose motioned toward the ground to make Sarafian look down. Suddenly Bamgbose changed levels with the head kick that set up the finish. MMAFighting.com’s Shaheen Al-Shatti marveled at Bamgbose’s power:

After depleting Sarafian during the closing sequence, Bamgbose looked to kneel and pray over his fallen foe. All righty then. He lost his UFC debut to Uriah Hall in a listless performance, but he showed off the promise that had many excited about his arrival in the promotion.

You’ll see this guy again sometime soon. 

 

Strickland Powers Through Garcia

Sean Strickland is trying to make good on his potential. In the final Fox Sports 1 prelim match, he patiently took Alex Garcia apart before stopping him via strikes in the third and final round.

Per UFC.com, Strickland landed 47 of 23 significant strikes. Aside from two takedowns from Garcia, Strickland was in control throughout the fight. In the final round, Strickland’s length and superior conditioning spelled the end for Garcia.

Jabs and hard straight right hands put Garcia on wobbly legs. Strickland followed it up with a stiff right hand that put Garcia down, and the referee immediately stepped in to call an end to the fight. Bleacher Report MMA has a post-fight quote from Strickland:

Strickland looked like he was trying to appease the crowd as he chased the finish at the end. If he continues to build on this performance, he could become an even bigger crowd favorite.

 

Camozzi Knees Riggs into Oblivion

Joe Riggs took a beating in his battle with Chris Camozzi, and it only took 26 seconds. Riggs is as far past his prime in the Octagon as can be, and it showed, even against a mediocre fighter like Camozzi.

To the latter’s credit, he looked to be in great shape and has now won four of his last fights. Still, Camozzi has long reached his relatively low ceiling in the sport.

Nonetheless, he delivered a Grade-A beating to Riggs with the use of a series of knees to the face in the clinch.

The UFC has the brutal finish:

You won’t see a more vicious KO.

 

Garbrandt Shows Mendes No Love

Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is rapidly ascending the bantamweight rankings. He took out Augusto Mendes in the first round. A hard right hand and some follow-up strikes to his downed opponent spelled the end of the fight.

Garbrandt came far more hyped and highly regarded. He proved the hype was real as he destroyed Mendes with no issues. Per the Fox Sports broadcast, he’s looking to face John Lineker in his next bout.

That could potentially be a slugfest as both men have heavy hands. Hopefully we’ll get to see that one sooner rather than later.

 

What’s Next

London will be rocking as the UFC returns to the United Kingdom. 

UFC Fight Night 84 is being billed as the biggest Fight Pass card in history. It’s not just hype. The return of Anderson Silva is no joke. The fact that the Spider is facing a well-known opponent like Michael Bisping only adds to the appeal.

The co-main event is another potentially excellent fight. Thales Leites will face Gegard Mousasi. Expect this event to break Fight Pass records.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie trilogy was supposed to end conclusively on Friday night in Houston at the Toyota Center. What we got was a victory with controversy. In the main event of Bellator 149, Royce Gracie scored a TKO win over Shamrock in the very first round after a knee from the clinch seemed to catch the latter in the groin. 

Shamrock had a bit of a delayed reaction, as he didn’t favor the sensitive area until after another knee was thrown. He went to the canvas, and Gracie used hammer fists to get the stoppage. It was Gracie’s first-ever victory by TKO.

Almost immediately, Shamrock went ballistic. Per the Spike TV broadcast, you could hear him yelling, “He did that on purpose!” Whether Gracie intentionally landed a shot below the border or not, it doesn’t change the outcome. 

No one saw the knee land until after the replay was shown, and by then it was too late. The two men seemed to make up after the official decision was read, but Shamrock was visibly disappointed by the abrupt defeat.

At the pre-fight press conference (Warning: video includes NSFW language), Gracie said that Shamrock was just another opponent. That is hard to believe, but nonetheless, the Brazilian legend did to Shamrock what he’d done to 13 other men in his career and what he’d done to Shamrock in their first meeting. 

He defeated him.

At 49 years old, you’d like to think Gracie is at least near the end of his career. If this is his last fight, under the current circumstances, he couldn’t have picked a better way to end things.

The Twitterverse wasn’t kind to the fight or the card on a whole. Duane Finley of MMA Junkie pulled no punches with his assessment:

The bout that preceded Gracie vs. Shamrock was even more bizarre.

 

Kimbo Slice Outlasts Dada 5000

It took almost three rounds, but Kimbo Slice earned the TKO win over Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris. After a partially entertaining first round, the action slowed tremendously in the second round. Both men threw wild shots, but Slice landed a few more than Dada 5000.

In the third round, both guys were so tired, it was clear one would get knocked out. When Dada 5000 went down in a heap, referee John McCarthy stepped in to stop the fight.

WSHH Fans has the hilarious and pitiful ending. No, this isn’t in slow motion:

Quite honestly, the fight was pretty bad. The techniques were amateurish and the action was nearly nonexistent. Some fans came into the fight looking for a back-alley brawl. Instead, it was a backyard nap.

Slice did what he said he would—figuratively speaking. In an obscenity-laced tirade in the aforementioned pre-fight press conference, Slice said he’d knock Dada 5000 out, and that’s what he did. Truth be told, based on Slice’s advantage in experience, this is a fight he should have won. 

Dada 5000 had just two MMA bouts coming into the fight. Slice had seven MMA bouts, seven boxing matches and the experience of participating in a season of The Ultimate Fighter.

If he’d lost this fight, it would’ve been a huge upset. 

Slice is 42 years old. There’s still a chance he could have a few more of these kinds of fights. He’ll never be considered a legitimate threat to win the Bellator heavyweight title, but perhaps he could have an openweight scrap against a guy like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who just returned to Bellator, or even Tito Ortiz. 

Brent Brookhouse of MMA Junkie is also interested in seeing Kimbo and Ortiz:

 Here’s a look at all of the results from Friday’s televised card:

 

Vassell Gets Revenge

The first battle between Emanuel Newton and Linton Vassell was a thriller. Newton won the bout by submission back in October 2014.

This time, Vassell had a sound game plan and he executed it perfectly. He used his advanced wrestling skills to control Newton on the ground most of the night. He avoided the former Bellator light heavyweight champion’s tricky striking game, and Vassell didn’t allow his opponent to dictate a slow-paced bout. He even had to overcome three low blows from Newton.

The result was a dominant unanimous-decision victory.

Vassell desperately needed this win to validate his standing as a legitimate title threat in Bellator’s light heavyweight division. He had failed in each of his previous bouts against the division’s best.  

The avenges the previous defeat to Newton and at the very least sets up a third meeting. That’s a bout that could easily headline a smaller Bellator event or serve as a co-feature. If Vassell can string together a few wins after this one, he may be able to challenge for the title by the end of 2016.

 

Campos Smokes Guillard

As is the case in most Melvin Guillard bouts, the fight between he and Derek Campos was a slugfest. It’s also not surprising that Guillard came out on the wrong end of the brawl.

After an early flurry from Guillard, Campos seized control of the opening round with a series of momentum-snatching strikes. In the second round, Campos stunned Guillard with a hard left hand against the fence. Campos used a surge of follow-up punches to finish Guillard off.

Coming in, Campos had not only lost three of his last four fights, but he was also finished in each of those losses. The defeats came to more than respectable opponents: Patricky Pitbull, Michael Chandler and Brandon Girtz.

Because of the fighters who have bested Campos, it would appear as though the 27-year-old is what you’d call a gatekeeper or measuring-stick opponent. If that assessment is true, Guillard’s career is in peril. He’s now lost four of five fights, and his most recent loss came at the hands of a guy that most of the elite 155-pounders have beaten.

Campos is still young, so he’ll probably get another crack at one of the top lightweights in Bellator after this win. It remains to be seen if he can do any better than he did the first time through the elite circuit.

 

Sanchez Takes Another Step Toward Elite Status

It wasn’t easy, but Emmanuel Sanchez squeaked out a split-decision victory over Daniel Pineda on Friday night. Sanchez’s more textbook and fundamental style got the better of Pineda’s creative striking approach. 

Pineda may have taken the first round as his speed and quickness seemed to bother Sanchez. By the second frame, Sanchez was able to enforce his will and wrestling to slow Pineda down. In the final round, Sanchez began to land hard shots from top position and was eluding all or most of Pineda’s kicks and attacks.

Sanchez showed excellent poise in weathering the early storm to take the final two rounds.

The 25-year-old Sanchez continues to roll in Bellator. Friday’s win was his third in a row. He’s positioning himself for a shot at the featherweight title sooner rather than later. Defeating an experienced opponent like Pineda—who had 32 pro fights coming in—only adds to Sanchez’s increasingly impressive resume.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

On Saturday night in Las Vegas, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson did something that no one had ever done: He dominated Johny Hendricks. It took just three minutes, 31 seconds for Thompson’s majestic striking game to dismantle Hendricks in the main event at UFC Fight Night 82.

A flurry of kicks and punches left Hendricks baffled by his opponent’s speed. A counter straight right hand and left hook dazed the former champion against the cage. A spinning back kick and a series of hard right hands prompted referee John McCarthy to stop the bout.

Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter was on the money with his assessment:

Per UFC.com, Thompson landed 24 significant strikes in three-and-a-half minutes, compared to seven for Hendricks. Thompson’s strikes had speed, power and accuracy. Combine those elements with his length (6’0″), and he may be the most dangerous striker in the sport.

To make his performance more impressive, Thompson stopped a takedown attempt by Hendricks within the first 30 seconds of the bout. This well-roundedness from a notorious striker against a respected grappler played to Botter’s Holly Holm comparison.

It also supported MMA Fighting’s Shaheen Al-Shatti’s summary:

Coming in, Thompson was known primarily as a karate master whose game wasn’t developed. That doesn’t look to be the case anymore. He put himself in position to challenge champion Robbie Lawler for the welterweight title, but Tyron Woodley has been waiting a long time for a shot at the gold.

It seems fair to give Woodley his shot, but it’s hard not to think of how awesome a Thompson vs. Lawler fight could be. Hopefully, that’s a fight we get to see at some point.

 

Roy Nelson Beats Jared Rosholt in a Horrible Fight

You won’t find a worse co-main event. Roy Nelson and Jared Rosholt lumbered around the Octagon for 15 minutes without landing anything of significance. Nelson applied the most pressure and landed a few solid leg kicks. Those strikes led to his unanimous-decision victory.

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden and MMA Mania tweeted what everyone had to be thinking:

Per UFC.com, the two heavyweights landed a total of 93 significant strikes—it seemed as though they landed even fewer. Nelson tried to create some action, but Rosholt wouldn’t engage. Despite his celebrated wrestling background, Rosholt attempted only two takedowns in the entire fight.

It was a bizarre and excruciatingly boring fight to watch. Here’s a look at all of the results from Las Vegas:

 

The Finishes

Gall Is the One

CM Punk has his first UFC opponent. Mickey Gall destroyed Mike Jackson inside of a minute to earn the distinction of welcoming the former WWE champion to the UFC.

Jackson was overmatched. He was making his professional debut, and the UFC served him up for Gall to shine ahead of a bout with Punk.

Fox Sports: UFC captured the first meeting between the two future combatants:

Per MMAFighting.com, Gall’s trash talk was WWE-like immediately after the victory:

In Gall’s brief time in the Octagon, he displayed excellent poise and nice transitioning from striking to grappling. We don’t know what to expect from Punk in the Octagon, but we’ll find out what he has to offer at UFC 199 or UFC 200, per Dana White on the UFC Fight Pass broadcast.

 

The Nastiest of Knees

You won’t see a more devastating knockout via flying knee than the one Diego Rivas used to stop Noad Lahat on Saturday night. After Lahat‘s Brazilian jiu-jitsu game thoroughly dominated him in the first round, Rivas was ready for his opponent to shoot for another takedown.

Just before they engaged for the first time in the second round, Rivas launched into the air and caught Lahat square on the chin. Lahat was out before he crumpled to the canvas. It was scary.

Ben Fowlkes of MMA Junkie, MMAFighting.com and Bleacher Report MMA reacted to the finish:

Per B/R’s Jeremy Botter, Lahat was at least able to get to his feet:

Lahat is no stranger to flying knees. Godofredo Pepey also defeated him with the exciting maneuver in March 2014. His career thus far has brought a new meaning to the phrase “watch those knees.”

 

The Black Beast Devours Grabowski

Derrick Lewis made quick work of Damian Grabowski. After staving off a takedown, Lewis gained top position and rained down punches with bad intentions until the referee stepped in to stop the bout.

It was a quick stoppage, but the outcome wasn’t in doubt. Grabowski had no answer for Lewis’ ground-and-pound. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin had a different way to describe Lewis’ ground attack:

Lewis talked about a potential title shot during his post-fight interview on Fox Sports 1, but he probably needs to win three more fights before he can challenge for the gold.

 

Pyle Wins Seesaw Affair

Sean Spencer rocked 40-year-old Mike Pyle in the first round but couldn’t get the finish. Pyle wouldn’t waste his opportunity to put Spencer away. With both fighters gassed in the third round, Pyle landed a hard spinning elbow that wobbled Spencer.

Pyle then methodically landed a series of knees, punches and elbows until referee Yves Lavigne called for an end to the fight. Fowlkes gave his take on Pyle’s performance:

Pyle isn’t a serious contender anymore, but he proved he can still compete at a high level.

 

Cirkunov Cranks Out a Win

Alex Nicholson was in over his head, and Misha Cirkunov sent him home with a loss in his UFC debut. Nicholson kept trying amateurish spinning strikes—missing them all—and he had no solution for Cirkunov’s ground game.

In the second round, Cirkunov gained top position, and Nicholson’s lack of poise put him in a compromising position. Cirkunov took Nicholson’s back and locked in a rear-naked choke.

It didn’t appear as though he had it in under his neck, but Cirkunov was able to squeeze Nicholson’s jaw, which had been injured before, per the Fox Sports 1 broadcast, to induce the quick tapout. Per Fox Sports, Cirkunov gave us the graphic details:

Neither man looked impressive, and Cirkunov might be in trouble against a more experienced and talented light heavyweight.

 

What’s Next

UFC Fight Night 83 will take place Sunday, February 21, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The battle of the UFC’s two Cowboys will headline the event.

Fresh off his loss to Rafael dos Anjos in December, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will take on Cowboy Alex Oliveira. The main event was originally supposed to feature Cerrone against Tim Means, but a potential anti-doping violation forced the latter out of the fight, per MMA Weekly. Oliveira stepped in to take his place.

The fight won’t have much bearing on the lightweight title scene, but it has some flare because of the shared nickname. Cerrone has also proved to be an exciting fighter in most of his fights.

It should be an entertaining scrap.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com