(Buffer’s got that look in his eyes again. / Photos via MMAFighting)
With two marquee titles on the line, UFC 168 can certainly claim to be the “biggest” and “best” UFC offering of 2013 — although we still reserve the right to wonder what the hell Fabricio Camoes is doing on the main card. Anyway, Las Vegas is Rematch City tonight, with MMA G.O.A.T. Anderson Silva looking for revenge against Chris Weidman, and women’s bantamweight superstar Ronda Rousey trying to make it 2-0 against her arch-nemesis Miesha Tate. Plus: Josh Barnett and Travis Browne face off in a sure-to-entertain heavyweight battle, and Dustin Poirier will attempt to punish Diego Brandao for coming in way, way overweight yesterday.
Handling our liveblog for the “Weidman vs. Silva 2″ pay-per-view broadcast is Aaron Mandel, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section or on twitter. (We’re @cagepotatomma. Hi there.)
Preliminary card results
– Uriah Hall def. Chris Leben via TKO (doctor stoppage*), 5:00 of round 1
– Michael Johnson def. Gleison Tibau via KO, 1:32 of round 2
– Dennis Siver def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– John Howard def. Siyar Bahadurzada via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– William Macario def. Bobby Voelker via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Robbie Peralta def. Estevan Payan via KO, 0:12 of round 3
* Or “retirement,” basically. Leben verbally quit the fight after being dominated through the first round.
Hi PotatoHeads and welcome to the last card of 2013. If you were too cheap to throw down the extra $5 for the PPV, fear not, we’ve got all your results here, I’m in the best liveblogging shape of my life, refresh early and often!
Diego Brandao vs. Dustin Poirier
Round 1- Body kick to start from Poirier with a head kick from Brandao that is blocked. Good body punch from Brandao. Wild windmill from Brandao who slips but is landing some early with punches and kicks to the body. Spinning backfist lands from Poirier. Some good wild exchanges early. Overhand right drops Poirier but he’s back up. Brandao tries a clinch throw but Poirier uses an effective whizzer and stands up. Brandao completes a takedown on Poirier, who had been landing. Poirier up and unloads on Brandao with strikes, wobbling him. Brandao goes down and Poirier follows with strikes until the ref jumps in and stops it, good win for Poirier.
Dustin Poirier defeats Diego Brandao via TKO, round 1
Poirier pumped up in the post fight interview and clearly from Louisiana.
Jim Miller vs. Fabricio Camoes
Miller is looking to right the ship after alternating wins and losses lately. Camoes has to be excited to be on the main card of the end of year PPV, he’s definitely the least known fighter outside of hardcore fans but has the no-lose thing going for him here with a win or strong show.
Round 1- Leg kick from Camoes. Clinch on the fence as Camoes tries for a takedown that fails and they separate back to the feet. Two short strikes land from Camoes. Head kick blocked by Miller. Camoes cracks Miller with a left hook. Camoes continues to land, backing Miller up. Head kick caught by Miller who takes him down and lands some ground and pound. Camoes back to the feet and now gets Miller down and lands in full guard. Miller doing a good job of tying up from the bottom and threatening with submissions. Miller tightens up an armbar, Camoes defends patiently but Miller stays on it and works it tighter until Camoes is forced to tap!
Jim Miller defeats Fabricio Camoes via armbar, round 1
Miller references Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in his interview, losing the beer soaked KO crazy crowd, but impressing all the nerds out there (hey o!)
We are now treated to the undercard fight between Gleison Tibau and Michael Johnson.
Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
Round 1- Browne lands first with a left hook. Barnett puts Browne against the cage where he wants to work his catch wrestling but Browne moves away and lands a few strong hooks. Barnett shoots for a takedown against the cage and Browne starts unloading elbows just like he did against Gonzaga and Barnett goes limp, he’s out and Lavigne stops the fight! Impressive KO for Browne who is rocketing to the top of the HW division.
Travis Browne defeats Josh Barnett via KO, round 1
And with three quick finishes so far we return to the undercard for Leben-Hall.
Champ Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
Round 1- Tate comes out swinging furiously but wildly. Rousey clinches up and takes Tate down but she is right back up but eating shots from Rousey as she gets put against the fence and eats more shots. Headkick from Rousey is blocked but Tate is on her back and Rousey is working strikes. Tate gets up and gets Rousey down! Shockingly Rousey throws on an armbar but it’s loose. Rousey locks on a triangle and peppers Tate from the bottom with strikes. The triangle looks tight but Tate gets out and they strike until Rousey clinches again and goes into mount, working on an arm. Tate slips out on top into guard but Rousey pulls out and they get back up. Another huge judo throw from Rousey who is on top again. Tate back to the feet and lands a nice strike. Rousey clinches and works strikes against Tate on the fence. The round ends and this is the first round 2 for Rousey in her career. 10-9 Rousey.
Round 2- Good right from Rousey and trips Tate easily. Tate hits Rousey with some good upkicks and Rousey’s mouth is open and she backs off! Tate gets up but Rousey hits another judo throw but quickly backs off. Tate having some luck with a left hook but Rousey gets her down and works for her back but Tate works back up against the cage with Rousey throwing strikes. Strong clinch works ends in a violent judo throw from Rousey who is in side control. Tate throws her legs up and around and grabs Rousey head but Rousey works out and grabs Tate’s arm. She torques it brutally and Tate’s arm is fully stretched but she doesn’t tap and somehow gets out. Tate is now caught in an inverted triangle but is defending with Rousey all over her. Round ends and saves Tate. 10-9 Rousey.
Round 3- Rousey muscles Tate into the cage and works clinch positioning. Tate lands on top out of a throw but her arm is in danger and this time Rousey cranks it at the right angle and Tate taps.
Tate tries to initiate a hand shake but Rousey is having none of it.
Ronda Rousey defeats Miesha Tate via armbar, round 3.
The crowd roundly boos Rousey who compliments Tate but says she insulted her family and cannot shake her hand. Tate gets a huge ovation from the crowd and admits Rousey was the better fighter.
Champ Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva
Silva on his way into the cage crouches and remains motionless on two separate occasions. It’s a 10 minute walk in. He is a unique legend. Weidman is all business and my girlfriend just referred to him as a “thoroughbred”.
Round 1- Touch of the gloves. Weidman shoots in and finishes on a single leg. Silva works his way up on the cage and they are clinched. Weidman cracks Silva and he staggers back. Weidman landing HUGE bombs on the ground but Silva SOMEHOW survives and ties Weidman up in full guard. Weidman is loading up on some huge shots, some of which are landing. It is hard to tell how hurt Silva is but he is still in the fight. Big elbow from Weidman and he postures up and hits him more as Silva throws upkicks and creates separation. Weidman dives in with a strike and Silva ties him up as round ends. 10-9 Weidman.
Round 2- Good low kick from Silva. Weidman wades in with strikes. Head kick from Weidman blocked. Good body kick from Weidman and Silva snaps a leg kick low on Weidman OH FUCK Silva snapped his leg. He falls back in pain and his leg fractured on the shin right above the foot on the shinbone. Fight is over.
Chris Weidman defeats Anderson Silva via TKO, round 2, doctor/ref stoppage.
Weidman classy in victory giving props to Silva as the greatest of all time. Silva is not in the cage, presumably getting medical treatment or already on the way to the hospital. My own editorializing: It sucks for Silva, of course, this could be career ending. It also sucks for Weidman who dominated the first round for the second time before winning on a crazy, unpredictable moment. He will still have to face questions about if he was for real, which he CLEARLY is. Crazy ending, great night of fights, no judges involved on the main card! Goodnight for now, thanks for reading along.