“Where’s your liveblog now, Playboy?” (Photo: FiveOuncesOfPain.com)
Chael Sonnen may have opted to stay home this weekend, terrified of losing his ranking as the biggest ass on the continent, but the rest of the MMA world has descended upon Rio de Janeiro and dammit we’re going to blog about it!
It’s the UFC’s triumphant return to Brazil and we’ve got a treasure trove of questions to work through tonight. Will there be enough carrots to get the fighters to and from the stadium safely? With Joe Rogan absent, can Kenny Florini fill the void in nut shot and cup-related conversation? Will the raucous Brazilian audience make good on the riots that Vancouver expected?
There are probably some questions related to the fights as well, and time permitting we will answer them. Join us after the jump to catch the punch-by-punch PPV action and to explain why your favorite fighter just lost and/or had an off night in the comments section.
And we…are…LIVE!!!!
Whoa, an homage to Brazilian MMA to kick off the evening. Nice change of pace. Soak in that Gladiator intro while you can; it will be going the way of the dodo soon enough. If you’ve been watching thus far, you’ve been treated to some questionable scoring, premature stand-ups, and all around crazy in cage action. We’ll keep the details to ourselves for now in case we get to revisit the fights on the PPV.
No time to waste. It’s time to throw down.
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov
R1: I’m curious who the crowd will be rooting for here…Oh, it looks like they’re behind Cane. Shocker. A bit of feeling out here. Neither man letting go of the hands. Nedkov comes in with a wild overhand. Both men exchange and Nedkov swings wildly as he tries to rush Cane, but Cane circles out. Body kick by Cane and a counter by Nedkov. Nedkov just tucking his head and winging in that right. Cane misses with a kick and slips to the mat, but pops back up. Cane putting together some combos on Nedkov’s face. Cane crowding Nedkov to the fence and picking his shots. Nedkov is cut and bleeding under his right eye. Nedkov connects with a big shot and Cane is rocked! Cane is on his bike trying to get away, but Nedkov is right there chasing him down. Nedkov with a big flurry punches him down and follows up with a series of big shots on the ground! Yamasaki calls the fight!
Nedkov def. Cane (TKO): 4:13 R1
Pretty slow stoppage from Yamsaki. Is he concerned about making it back to the hotel safely?
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub
R1:Herb Dean in control of this bout. Schaub is circling, Nog ties him up and Schaub pushes him to the fence. Schaub pushes off and takes tot he center of the cage. Schaub looks to be faster in the standup. Now Nog drives him to the cage, but Schaub circles out after some dirty boxing. Schaub connectswith an uppercut, then they briefly return to the fence. Nog is moving forward as Schaub backs away. Nog with a decent combo. Schaub with another uppercut now he continues to put his punches together with success. Nog with a big combo and SCHAUB IS DOWN AND OUT, face first on the canvas! Nog backs off on his own, no intervention needed.
Did the crowd like that? Yeah, I’d say the crowd liked that.
Nogueira def. Schaub (KO): 3:09 R1
A reshowing of a Facebook fight from earlier:
Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos
R1: Both men moving well.Leg kick from Ramos as they circle around. BIG right hand by Silva and Ramos crumbles backward. Silva sprints toward him and pounces with rapid shots, forcing Herb Dean to shove him off.
Silva def. Ramos (TKO) 0:40 R1
So between Facebook, Spike, and the PPV, we’ve been treated to that fight thrice now. I for one am quite pleased that they didn’t rely on Ed Soares for the post-fight “translations”.
Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson
R1: I expect leg kicks here. Barboza misses a big head kick and both men are slugging. Pearson chasing Barboza back as they exchange. He’s backing Barboza up, which will keep those kicks at bay (he hopes). Checked kick from Barboza. Pearson connects with a left and pushes him to the fence, but Barboza circles out. Body shot by Pearson, front kick by Barboza. Pearson’s game plan to pressure Barboz seems to be paying off. Spinning body kick by Barboza, but Pearson eats it and looks no worse for wear. Both men with a leg kick, but Pearson follows up with a nice combo. Body kick by Pearson. Barboza is faster,but Pearson is throwing combos and chasing him backward. Pearson shoots for a takedown against the cage, but Barboza works free at the buzzer.
Pearson’s corner calling for more combos. Barboza’s corner is speaking some gibberish I don’t understand.
R2: Body kick by Pearson, but Barboza cracks him with a big right and drops him, but Pearson’s back on his feet. Both men trade some punches, and another big body kick from Barboza. Pearson got dropped, but he’s recovered well. Pearson blocks another body kick. “Real Deal” putting pressure on Barboza once more. Inside leg kick by Pearson. Pearson shoots for a low single but gets stuffed easily.Barboza connects with another big shot, but Pearson is unphased. Barboza with another spinning body kick, but Pearson doesn’t seem to really give a shit. Must be nice! More body kicks from Barboza. Let kick by Barboza, followed by a spinning head kick that catches nothing but air.
R3: Pearson moving forward, keeping that pressure on. Missed flying knee from Pearson, but he’s unable to drive Barboza to the fence. Inside leg kick from Pearson. Now Barboza misses with a flying knee. The Brazilian misses with a head kick. Pearson swings away and drives Barboza to the fence, but he’s denied the takedown again. Flying knee by Pearson misses the mark and we’ve got two minutes left in the bout. Pearson shoots in again, but Barboza’s having none of it. Pearson connects with a combo, and now they’re swinging! Pearson bleeding from the right eye with swelling over the left. The sense of urgency is here as Pearson moves forward. Now Barboza is denied the takedown.
We’re going to the judges here.
Barboza def. Pearson (Split Decision- Barboza 29-28 x2, Pearson 29-28)
We’re moving along at a pretty steady pace here. It’s already time for the co-main event.
Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua
Forrest runs to the cage almost as quickly as he ran out of it after the Anderson bout.
R1: Both fighters are moving around while the crowd starts their chants. Shogun is diving in with punches. Forrest throws a right and Shogun counters with a nice uppercut. Shogun with a nice combo. Forrest is lobbing out some leg kicks. Another big right from Shogun and Forrest drops. Shogun swarms with violent hammer fists and we’re all done here!
Rua def. Griffin (KO) 1:53 R1
Finally, a break from all of this fighting to catch a sneak peak at “Shark Night 3D”. I know where I’ll be September 2nd. Enough dicking around- it’s time for our main event!
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
“The Middleweight title has not changed hands since October 2006.” It just sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Herb Dean is calling the shots for this five round affair. Not a lot of Americans got love tonight, but it sounds like Buffer has a huge groupie base in Brazil.
R1: Neither men touch gloves in the pre fight instructions. Silva circles quickly around the cage as Okami plants in the center. Silva judging his range with the lazy jab. Okami charges in but finds nothing but the fence. Neither man is lettin loose. Okami with a punch and a brief clinch, but they break apart and Silva lets a single hand fly. Silva’s starting to let the leather go. Big right from Silva misses. Silva circles more and switches his stance. Okami lands a shot and forces Anderson’s back to the cage. Okami clinching Silva, who isn’t bothered at all. Now Silva uncorks a few knees to the stomach. Okami answers in kind as they stay tied up on the fence. Anderson may be working for the Thai clinch, but he’s not forcing the issue. Silva with more knees as Okami dirty boxes. Okami drops down for a takedown, but Silva gets underhooks and stands him back up. And they’re off the cage to the delight of the crowd. Anderson with nice head movement as he ducks and slips a few punches from Okami. Anderson with a low kick and an uppercut. Solid head kick by Anderson just before the bell.
Okami stays on his feet between rounds.
R2: Okami swings and misses with two big punches, but Anderson is getting aggressive with his hands. Anderson taks a punch from Okami just for kicks then floors Okami with a solid punch. Anderson lets him up and is now looking to trade with his hands by his sides. Okami with a swing and a miss. Anderson drops him with another big punch, but this time he follows Okami down and is choosing his shots as Okami spins around slowly. Anderson continues to pick and choose his punches, and it’s a only a matter of time. Okami wants no more and Herb Dean obliges with the stoppage.
Yeah, so what we all already knew was convincingly confirmed. Anderson can knock you senseless without even trying.
Silva def. Okami (TKO) 2:04 R2
So that’s nine consecutive title defenses for the Middleweight Champ. Thanks for joining us tonight. I’m out for the evening, but if they show the Miller Palhares fight and you didn’t catch it earlier, do yourself a favor and stay glued to the broadcast.
We’ll be here in the morning to explain what all of this means in one way or another.