UFC on Fox 11 provided Orlando, Fla., one of the best fight cards of the year, making the action from the Werdum vs. Browne fight card worthy of replay.
In the night’s main event, heavyweight contenders Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne slugged it out inside the UFC Octagon for five rounds, with Werdum thoroughly dismantling his foe throughout.
While many expected Browne to enjoy a significant advantage on the feet against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, the script was flipped, and “Vai Cavalo” showed off his ever-expanding striking game, clipping Browne several times throughout the fight and out-landing him in each of the bout’s five rounds.
Before the two heavyweight monsters stepped into the Octagon, women’s bantamweight standouts Miesha Tate and Liz Carmouche fought a gritty three-round affair that saw Tate eventually emerge victorious in a questionable judges’ decision.
While I personally scored the fight a draw (10-9 Carmouche, 10-9 Carmouche, 10-8 Tate), the judges saw it unanimously for “Cupcake,” and Tate throws herself back into title talks in the thin 135-pound women’s division with the win.
Carmouche, on the other hand, has lost two straight, and she’s on thin ice moving forward. Check out the highlights and decide for yourself who should have won this back-and-forth scrap.
The main card’s only Performance of the Night bonus winner emerged from the much-anticipated lightweight showdown between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Edson Barboza.
Coming into the fight on a three-fight winning streak, Barboza exploded out of the gates, looking superconfident and crisp in the early going. He clipped Cerrone in the bout’s first 10 seconds and continued to pepper away at his foe until Cowboy made his move.
A stiff jab from Cowboy flattened Barboza, and the Greg Jackson product pounced on his opportunity, opting to sink in a deep rear-naked choke instead of looking for the ground-and-pound TKO finish.
The choice proved wise, and Cerrone sealed his comeback in emphatic fashion.
Kicking off the main card festivities was a middleweight tilt between Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero and the red-hot Hawaiian Brad Tavares.
Each man had ridden into the bout on a significant winning streak (Tavares won five straight; Romero won three), and the night’s victor would undoubtedly stroll into the Top 10 of the division and set himself up for a big-time fight later in 2014.
That man was Romero.
The Cuban powerhouse looked fantastic, tossing Tavares around the Octagon and dominating the fight with his explosive strength and technique.
Tavares couldn’t handle his opponent’s forward pressure and aggression, and Romero won a clear-cut unanimous decision for his efforts.
Which was your favorite bout from this stacked fight card?
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