“I hate to have to tell you this, Mr. Bailey, but you’ve got a severe case of liveblog. It won’t be long now.” (Photo: UFC.com)
The good news: you’re all but guaranteed more than sixty-four seconds of action this evening. The bad news: you’re going to have to pay for it.
Nothing in life is free, not even punches to the face. Take Dan Henderson, for example. “Hollywood” was once considered too costly of an investment for the UFC, but after an impressive three-fight win streak he was deemed too valuable for Strikeforce. Tonight he makes his return to the Octagon after a two year hiatus. Does old Hendo have enough gas in the tank for one more title run, or will the “old” Shogun show up and ruin his homecoming.
Though he may not have the cleavage to warrant video commentary, weekend editor Chris Colemon does possess the sort of typing skills that get you beat up by jocks in high school. Come join him inside for the best play-by-play coverage you’ll see on this site tonight.
And we…are…live! Does anyone know when the Gladiator gets buried? I remember hearing that his days were numbered.
If you’ve been on Facebook, Spike, or MTV2, you’ve already had a great night of MMA, but there’s plenty more to come. Between the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, and Pride, there’s no shortage of past champions on tonight’s card.
We’re jumping right in with the first fight of the night.
Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury
R1: Both men game to exchange. Kingsbury swings and pushes Bonnar against the cage. Both men exchanging knees in the clinch with Bonnar finally breaking free. Bonnar tags Kingsbury but follows up with a kick to the nuts. A quick timeout and we’re back. Kingsbury is bleeding a little out of the nose. The two clinch again and head back to the cage. Kingsbury with a nice elbow. Bonnar tries a hip toss, but Kingsburs stays on his feet. Now a wild exchange between the two with both men swinging. Now Bonnar forces Kingsbury’s back tot eh cage, but Kyle circles out. Bonnar hunting him down with big punches. Stephan struggles with a takedown but finally drags Kingsbury to the mat. The American Psycho has side mount and is landing light punches while struggling to maintian position. Bonnar steps over to mount and is teeing off, but Kingsbury rolls. Dominant ending to the round for Stephan Bonnar.
R2: Kingbury misses with a high kick, but lands with a body kick. Solid right from Kingsbury and Bonnar responds with a blocked head kick. Bonnar gets behind Kingsbury and works him to the canvas. Stephan on top in half guard and breaks free to side control. Stephan trying to trap an arm in the crucifix but moves to North-South. Now he’s back to side control. Bonnar is in control on top but not scoring any real damage at all. Bonnar is still working for the crucifix but not finding any success. Now he’s got a guillotine and moves to mount but can’t quite hold onto either. Kingsbury is defending, but that’s all that he’s doing. Bonnar was trying for an arm triangle but couldn’t break free from half guard to complete it. Another controlling round for Bonnar.
R3: Body kick from Bonnar. Kingsbury with a leg kick, but Bonnar catches it, takes his back, and once again he’s in a dominant position on the ground. Kingsbury is latching on to half guard, but it was only a matter of time before Bonnar escapes and moves to North-South. “Looking for a choke is Bonnar”. It’s not there, so Stephan abandons it in favor of a kimura, but again Kingsbury defends well. Bonnar lands pitter pat punches and a few elbows to the gut, but largely this bout is a grappling match that he’s winning easily. More kimura contemplation from Bonnar, but that’s as far as it goes. Bonnar handily takes this round and the fight. Boos from the crowd once again remind him that he’ll never match the excitement of his UFC debut. Ever.
Stephan Bonnar defeats Kyle Kingsbury by Unanimous Decision: 30-27 (x2) and 30-25.
An apology from Bonnar to fans for this fight and to Koscheck for the whole t-shirt/lawsuit scandal.