If loads of knockouts make for an aesthetically pleasing card, then UFC on Fox 7 provided the brand of thumping action that typical MMA fans can’t get enough of.
While the co-main and main event bouts finished with decisions, eight of the card’s 12 scraps were ended by thrilling knockouts.
Josh Thomson and Yoel Romero each garnered $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonuses, although each of the six fighters who won via KO could have realistically pocketed the cash.
With four bouts ending by decision, eight by knockout and none by submission, where does the UFC on Fox 7 rank among 2013 UFC cards?
Of the nine other fights put on by the company in 2013, UFC 158 was the lone event that provided the type of entertainment value that UFC on Fox 7 offered.
Akin to the fireworks that unfolded at UFC on Fox 7, no fights ended in submission at UFC 158, but plenty were decided by KO.
T.J. Dillashaw, Rick Story, Jordan Mein, Darren Elkins and Jake Ellenberger each won via KO. Ellenberger pocketed $50,000 for the “Knockout of the Night” bonus after flattening Nate Marquardt with an impressive combination in the first round of their pivotal welterweight clash.
Also, the co-main and main-event bouts between Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit, and Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, each provided plenty of memorable highlights.
Hendricks got outstruck 94-69 against “The Natural Born Killer,” including 42-30 in the significant strikes category. But the left-handed “Bigg Rigg” not only scored 12 takedowns, he also tried valiantly to become the first man to KO Condit—despite injuring his left hand early in the fight.
Because of the stark contrast in their styles, Hendricks and Condit earned “Fight of the Night” honors for their back-and-forth scrap.
But in the night’s main event, GSP and Diaz simply failed to match the excitement Condit and Hendricks generated.
St-Pierre utilized his Muay Thai prowess to keep Diaz at bay and make his venomous boxing game seem rudimentary. GSP landed 105 significant strikes and outstruck the Californian 210-80 in a rather lopsided affair.
At UFC on Fox 7, the following fighters won by KO or TKO: Romero (flying knee and punches), Dillashaw (punches), Anthony Njokuani (punch), Joseph Benavidez (punch to the body), Myles Jury (punch), Chad Mendes (punches), Matt Brown (punches and elbows) and Thomson (head kick and punches).
Although Daniel Cormier dominated Frank Mir en route to a relatively boring unanimous decision win in the night’s co-main event, lightweight champ Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez didn’t hold much back in the main event.
In a five-round showdown, the cunning “Bendo” used furious hand combinations and thunderous leg kicks to narrowly edge a determined “El Nino.”
The co-main and main-event fights at UFC on Fox 7 may not have lived up to the hype. Thankfully for the UFC’s brass, eight knockouts on one card makes for a successful night in terms of entertainment, regardless of what happens in the night’s two most pertinent fights.
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