Tag: Constantinos Philippou

UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II — Main Card Results & Commentary


(What a crazy year it’s been. Just think, four weeks ago that bald guy in the middle was actually homeless. / Photo courtesy of Esther Lin’s UFC 155 weigh-in set on MMAFighting.com)

UFC 155 might not be as epic as some of the UFC’s previous end-of-year cards (you can blame the injury curse for that), but any time the Heavyweight Championship of the World is at stake, it’s must-see TV.

Tonight, defending champ Junior Dos Santos will try to keep the train a-rollin’ in a rematch with his old pal Cain Velasquez. Meanwhile in the co-main event, lightweights Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller will gobble up as many performance bonuses as they can get their little hands on. Plus, six middleweight contenders — including Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher, and Chris Leben — will swing their ham-hock fists at each other, in the hopes that the most popular kid in school might notice them. Lotsa luck, ladies.

Running our final liveblog of the year (!) will be none other than Elias Cepeda, who will be updating you with round-by-round results after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please share your New Year’s resolutions in the comments section.


(What a crazy year it’s been. Just think, four weeks ago that bald guy in the middle was actually homeless. / Photo courtesy of Esther Lin’s UFC 155 weigh-in set on MMAFighting.com)

UFC 155 might not be as epic as some of the UFC’s previous end-of-year cards (you can blame the injury curse for that), but any time the Heavyweight Championship of the World is at stake, it’s must-see TV.

Tonight, defending champ Junior Dos Santos will try to keep the train a-rollin’ in a rematch with his old pal Cain Velasquez. Meanwhile in the co-main event, lightweights Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller will gobble up as many performance bonuses as they can get their little hands on. Plus, six middleweight contenders — including Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher, and Chris Leben — will swing their ham-hock fists at each other, in the hopes that the most popular kid in school might notice them. Lotsa luck, ladies.

Running our final liveblog of the year (!) will be none other than Elias Cepeda, who will be updating you with round-by-round results after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please share your New Year’s resolutions in the comments section.

Chris Leben vs. Derek Brunson

Brunson rocking the classic private entrance song on the headphones walk to the cage. Leben using the Red Hot Chili Peppers to get amped as he walks to the UFC Octagon for the twentieth time.

 Rd 1

Brunson leads with left kicks that miss. Leben catches another, tries but fails to get a sweep take down. Brunson counters with his own take down slam.

They work from Leben’s full guard. Brunson stands and tries to pass the guard but is sucked back into the full guard. Leben working an arm bar, Brunson defends. Leben switches to a triangle choke attempt, then another arm bar and Brunson slams his way out of the hold.

Brunson works to the half guard of Leben but the Cat Smasher recovers his full guard. brunson standing and throwing short elbows to the head of Leben. Leben trying to control the wrists and head of Brunson. Brunson stands and passes Leben’s guard, then works into the mount and an arm triangle choke attempt.

Leben rolls and gets a weak half guard back. Brunson lands a big elbow from on top of Leben in his half guard. Minute and a half left. Brunson staying low, trying to keep pressure on Leben. The wrestler begins to get off pot shots again. Leben recomposes to full guard and shoots for an arm bar that is easily defended by Brunson.

Leben is backed up against the cage and tries to stand back up with under a minute left. Leben up to his feet with under thirty seconds left, Brunson briefly takes his back then presses Leben up against the cage. The two separate and the bell ends with them in the center of the ring.

Rd 2

Brunson leads with another high kick. Leben catches it and throws a straight right down the pipe that lands on Brunson’s chin. Brunson wobbled but steadies himself. He shoots in and drives Leben backwards into the fence.

Leben defends the take down attempt well as well as Brunson’s follow up attempts from the double under hooks. Brunson gets tagged on the feet but Brunson shoots in again and scores the take down.

Leben working little hammer shots from the bottom in his full guard. Leben throws up a weak arm bar attempt and Brunson stands up to try striking. Leben cage walks and gets back to his feet. Brunson tries a guillotine choke but Leben easily defends.

Leben lands a big uppercut but Brunson returns fire and stuns Leben with punches of his own. Both men are tired but Leben moves forward. Leben is beginning to score with the round house kick to the leg. Brunson with a one-two punch combination that lands.

Brunson with another straight shot down the pipe to Leben’s head. Leben lands a jab then another leg kick. Brunson closes the distance off of a Leben leg kick and presses Leben backwards against the cage.

Leben frees himself and they are back in the center of the ring. Leben is stalking Brunson and throwing more punches. Brunson looks unsteady on his feet. Leben with another leg kick. Brunson attempts another take down. Leben defends the shot but is working with his back to the cage. Leben circles away from the cage once more and goes back to walking down Brunson. Leben fires a wide looping left hook that misses and the horn sounds.

Rd 3

Brunson lands a glancing lead punch. Brunson lands the double leg take down and presses Leben against the cage. Leben cage walks and returns to his feet. Leben lands another leg kick. Brunson land another big straight punch, shoots for a take down and gets stuffed. Leben throws and misses a big upper cut.

Leben wading in on a tiring Brunson but doesn’t land much. He does land a left that appears to knock mouth guard out. brunson takes Leben down but stands back up after a few moments. Ten seconds left and Leben and Brunson are both swinging big.

The horn sounds and Brunson lets out a celebratory scream instead of accepting a hand shake offer from Leben. Brunson apparently believes that he’s down enough with take downs to win the fight.

Decision time coming up next.

Judges score the fight 29-28 for Derek Burnson. Brunson beats Chris Leben in his UFC debut.

Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami II

Belcher is back to avenge his father’s death against former title challenger Yushin Okami. Tough one to call. Belcher insists that Okami is scared of standing and banging with him, bro. Okami says that he’s improved more than Belcher has and that he’ll walk away with another win over the Southern boy.

Rd 1

Belcher’s horrible Johnny Cash tattoo is really distracting from this writer’s play by play blogging, not for nothing. Lots of feinting and big swings from Belcher. Belcher slips and falls after he kicks and Okami lands a jab.

Yushin presses Belcher against the cage, looking for a take down. Okami lands a knee ot the body of Belcher, then tries to land a knee to the head. Belcher doing a good job of defending, then all but asks the ref to separate them. Belcher lands a trip and ends up on top of Okami. He then pulls a guillotine choke and guard on Okami.

The Japanese fighter defends and is inside of Belcher’s guard. Okami presses Belcher against the cage and works for the pass but runs out of real estate as the cage stops him. Okami eventually does pass to side control and looks to have very heavy pressure with his shoudler on Belcher’s neck.

Belcher gets his heels close to his butt and tries to bridge out and escape but Okami’s pressure is too much. Belcher does get to his knees and then tries to get to his feet. Okami locks on a front head lock then transitions to Belcher’s back as the horn sounds.

Rd 2

Okami swings and misses with a big left straight. Okami then presses Belcher against the cage, Belcher lands another take down but then pulls guard working for another failed guillotine attempt. Okami working strikes from on top of Belcher from inside of The Talent’s half guard. Belcher works for a deep half guard sweep but there’s nothing there as Okami’s base is too strong.

Okami now in cross side and the referee makes a malpractice-level decision by standing them up. Horrible. The Nevada State Athletic Commission needs to reconsider the referee’s competence.

Okami quickly brings Belcher back down to the ground, working from on top in half guard again against the cage. Half a minute left with Okami in control from on top on the ground, despite the referee’s attempt to dictate the fight.

The referee stands them up again with twenty seconds left. Okami’s right eye is swollen. the horn sounds.

Rd 3

Okami rushes in looking to clinch right away. Belcher defends and then drops Okami with a big punch following the sage advice of his coach, kick boxing great Duke Roufus. Okami has his legs back under him, stalking Belcher and then rushing him and pressing him against the cage.

For a third time, Belcher gets the better of an Okami take down attempt and lands in mount. Belcher transitions to his back. Okami defends the choke, stands and then frees himself and shoots for another takedown against the cage.

Belcher grabs Okami’s neck and goes for another guillotine choke. Belcher pulls guard and loses the choke. Okami in Belcher’s half guard against the cage with two and a half minutes left. Okami moves to mount but is choosing pressure over being very busy with strikes.

Okami, having established his mount positions, begins to rain down unanswered punches down on Belcher. Belcher turns and gives up his back. Okami gets both hooks in on Belcher, who is face down, and the horn sounds with Okami landing punch after punch from the back.

Decision time coming up.

All three judges score it 30-27 for Okami. Belcher’s four fight win streak is snapped and Okami gets his second straight.

Costa Philippou vs. Tim Boetsch

Rd 1

Few moments of feinting before Boetsch works for a take down. After about thirty seconds of work against the cage, Tim gets the take down. Costa quickly gets back to his feet but Tim stays connected, landing big knees to the body. Costa lands his own and separates.

They are back in teh center of the ring. Tim with a nice rear push kick. Nice inside leg kick from Boetsch. Costa witha left to the body, right to the head, punch combo. Boetsch pushing the pace, lands another leg kick. Tim pushes Costa against the fence but Costa catches Tim with a big upper cut counter.

Tim gets another take down and is inside of Costa’s full guard. Costa controlling Tim’s posture and referee Kim Winslow continues the embarassing pattern of the night with a quick stand up.

Costa takes advantage and lands a nasty body-head punch combo, flush to Tim. Boetsch, unfazed, lands a nasty front kick to the face of Costa. The round ends.

Rd 3

Rogan points out that he has heard Tim’s corner man Matt Hume talking about some injury that the fighter has sustained. As the round begins and Tim shakes out his hand, it appears that he may have broken his hand. Tim lands a big knee to the head of Costa from the clinch.

Tim is cut from an accidental head butt on his forehead. It looks like his right hand is the hurt one. Boetsch looks for and misses a take down. Tim lands another front kick to the body. Tim gets an accidental eye poke.

Jon Anik correctly points out that it has been a rough few minutes for Boetsch. Goodness gracious, ain’t that true.

Boetsch gets right back in with minimal rest time. Tim misses with a front kick. Tim now shooting in with minimal set-up and gets stuffed by Costa. Now Costa is on top from the half guard. Tim continues to bleed. Vosta throwing punches and elbows from on top. Costa throwing more strikes, then stands and walks away at the horn.

Rd 3

Tim tells his coach Matt Hume that he can’t see. Hume asks him if he wants to stop. “Fuck no,” is Tim’s reply. They get things started for the final round.

Tim with another shot from Kansas. He’s shooting from too far away with no set ups because of his hand and his blurred vision, it appears. Tim may have gotten another cut. Boetsch is butt scooting, then forced to stand up. Tim tries another failed take down and is again in half guard with three and a half minutes.

Boetsch is hurt and cannot see. He is back on his feet. Tim shoots in again, gets stuffed and is back in his own half guard. Tim eats some big shots and the ref steps in and calls the fight off.

Costa Philppou gets the win and stops Tim Boetsch’s frate trane run. Both men are impressive in their own ways in this one. Nasty fight. Good fight.

Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller

Both men come out swinging hard with punches in spurts. Miller tries to set up a big upper cut but misses. Miller with a hard leg kick and a hard shot to the body of Lauzon. Miller with another hard body knee that hurts Joe.

Miller follows up with punches. Lauzon gets free then eats a high kick. Miller landing big with more punches to the body and head then another big knee. Lauzon lands his own then gets free. Miller with another buckling leg kick.

Miller with nasty dirty boxing and elbows from the clinch. Miller tries a standing arm triangle hold, Joe defends and frees himself. Lauzon is cut badly and referee Yves Lavigne stops the fight for him to be checked out by the doctor. The cut is over the right eye.

The fight continues with two minutes and fifteen seconds left. Miller lands a head kick and now more short punches and elbows from Miller. Lauzon returns fire with an upper cut. Miller with an upper cut. Lauzon lands a big knee to the head of Miller. Miller follows up with another left short cross.

Both men fall after a kick from Miller. Lauzon with a straight jab but he’s bleeding badly. Under a minute left. Miller misses with a big over hand left. Lauzon with a right hand, Miller lands a one, two and another inside leg kick. Miller backs Lauzon up against the cage again. Lauzon returns with a jab. Ten seconds left. Miller lands a body kick. Lauzon ends the round with a flying knee to the body.

Rd 2

Lauzon wants the fight to continue badly. The crowd is going nuts. Round two starts. Miller immediately back on the attack with punches. Lauzon eats them but returns fire. Miller with a double leg take down. Lauzon in butterfly guard. Miller attacking the cuts on Lauzon’s face and head. Lauzon in his closed guard.

Lauzon’s cuts are bleeding badly again. Lauzon working to get to his feet instead of going for submissions. Miller in Lauzon’s half guard now, working to pass with heavy pressure on Lauzon’s neck. Lauzon tries to bridge out but Miller bases out and takes the mount.

Lauzon immediately takes back half guard. Miller postures up and throws a nasty elbow and punch to Lauzon’s head. Lauzon working for a deep half guard sweep but getting stuck under Miller’s base. Miller goes for a D’Arce choke but loses it and Lauzon is on top against the cage!

Lauzon is pressing Miller against the cage. Lavigne stops the fight because Lauzon’s hand tape is loose. They re-start from the same position. Good job by Lavigne.

Miller working his mission control rubber guard position to control Lauzon’s right arm. Lauzon picks Miller up and slams up, steps over Miller’s right leg to pass. Miller gets his right knee up into a half butterfly guard. Lauzon clears it again but Miller fights for it again. Lauzon dives for a heel hook, switches to a knee bar, Miller frees himself but Lauzon goes for a front choke. Time runs out with Miller face down on all fours, defending a front head lock from Lauzon.

Rd 3

Miller kicks out Lauzon’s leg again and drops JLau. Lauzon is right back up on his feet. Nice right punch from Lauzon. Miller looks spent from the beating he put on Lauzon in the first. Miller drops Lauzon with another inside leg kick again.

Lauzon chooses to stay down to try and goad Miller to the ground. Miller backs up and the ref stands them up. Lauzon pressing forward on Miller. Miller huffing and punching but returning fire. Stiff jab from Lauzon. Inside leg kick from Lauzon. Miller presses forward trying to land nasty dirty boxing shots again but Joe pushes him off and lands an inside leg kick. Miller with his own.

Knee to the body from Lauzon. miller backs up Short elbow from Lauzon followed up by a left hand. Miller lands his own, softer, knee to the body. Miller cut under his left eye. Lauzon appears to have another cut over his own left eye as well. miller swinging to the body, the, throws an uppercut to Lauzon’s head. Lauzon covers up. Lauzon parries a jab and lands his own. Minute and ah alf left. both men exhausted from this fight of the night. Lauzon swings big and misses.

Miller presses Lauzon against the fence. Lauzon circles out. Under a minute left. Lauzon with a right hand, Miller with a right hook. Lauzon lands a scissor leg take down, working fora  heel hook with fifteen seconds left. Miller gets up but Lauzon locks in a guillotine choke. Miller is saved by the horn!

Lauzon looks to have stolen the the final two rounds at the end with submission attempts. Decision time coming up.

All three judges score the fight 29-28 for Jim Miller. Amazing fight.

Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos II

Dos Santos gets the MGM Grand Garden Arena hyped with his energetic entrance to the Rocky theme.

Rd 1

Cain presses forward early shoots for and gets a single leg take down. Junior gets up and then lands on top. Cain reverses and they are back on their feet. Cain shoots from too far away and gets stuffed. Cain lands a left hook. Cain with a jab. Cain gets hit then Cain returns fire with a punch.

Body jab from Junior leg kick from Cain. Stiff jab from Cain. Cain dives for a single leg, Junior slips away. Cain stuns Junior with a right.

Cain with an over hand right that lands on the chin of Dos Santos. Cain dives for another single leg that gets stopped. Junior lands an over hand right.

Junior with a jab, Cain with two jabs and a knee to the body. Cain with a jab. Cain pressing Junior against the cage. Cain with with a big shot. Cain drops Dos Santos with a right. Cain lands a lot of shots on the downed Dos Santos. Junior to his feet, Cain takes him down, has Dos Santos on his knees against the cage again, raining down punches.

Junior back to his feet. Cain drags him down again. Junior tries to get up, Cain controls him and keeps him down. Junior back up, Cain drags him down again! Cain on the side of Junior, landing punches with seconds left in the round. The hor sounds with Dos Santos rising to his feet, but wobbled.

Rd 2

Cain slams Dos Santos with a double leg take down. He is behind Dos Santos, landing punches, now on top inside of Junior’s half guard. Junior up to his feet but eating big shots. Cain drags him back down with a double leg take down.

Cain on top of a flattened out Dos Santos. Cain doesn’t throw many more shots and Junior gets up but he is out on his feet, wobbling around. Cain backs him against the cage and takes Junior down again. Junior will not give up or give in and tries to stand again but Cain rides him and keeping the pressure on Dos Santos. Junior back up to his feet, presses Cain against the cage, Cain turns around and lands an inside left hand.

Cain hits an inside leg trip and brings Junior down to the ground. Dos Santos in half guard, Cain landing elbows and punches. Junior reverses positions, Cain goes for an arm bar from the bottom, Junior defends, escapes and gets on top. Cain scrambles up immediately and presses Junior against the cage with under a minute to go.

Cain picking Junior apart with punches upon separation, landing right on the chin to Dos Santos. Junior refuses to go down. The horn sounds.

Rd 3

Cain all but smiling as he prepares to get going in the third. Junior’s face is bruised and swollen. Dos Santos lands a big uppercut that hurts Cain. Dos Santos throws a hard body shot. Cain presses Junior against the cage again.

Cain goes for a single leg take down but Junior defends it. Cain going to the body and throwing an uppercut from the clinch. They are back in the center of the ring. Cain throws an over hand right hand and a left hook that lands. Cain pressing Dos santos against the cage again, looking for space in spots to punch. Cain goes for and misses a single leg take down.

Cain gets inside once more with an uppercut. They work in the clinch, hitting the body. On separation, Junior lands his own left body shot. Cain pressing against the cage again. Junior with a big knee to the body. Cain lands three big shots to the chin of Junior as the champ as his hands completely down at his waist.

Cain pressing again against the cage. Junior circles out and presses Cain against the cage. Cain tries to take Junior down but Junior defends and gets back to his feet. With under a minute left, Cain is once more pressing Junior against the cage and landing punches on separation.

Junior lands a big upper cut on Cain and Cain looks wobbled. Cain continues to stalk Junior though and the horn sounds.

Rd 4

Junior lands a stiff left hook after defending a Cain take down. Velasquez presses Dos Santos into the fence after eating a left. Junior circles out and rips a left to the body of Cain. Junior swings big and misses with a right hand. Cain lands a double leg take down but Dos Santos gets back up. Cain lands another flush shot to the chin of Dos Santos but the champ stays up.

Junior presses Cain against the cage and works for a take down. Cain defends and goes for and lands a take down. Dos Santos on his back, trying to get to his feet. Junior gets back up to his feet and Cain presses him agains the cage, landing a nasty left upper cut to the body. Cain now walking down Junior with punches along the cage. Junior with his hands down.

Cain shooting in weakly for take downs now, obviously spent from beating down on Junior and Dos Santos refusing to quit. One minute left and Cain is landing little shots to the head of Junior against the fence. Junior lands a left knee to the body of Cain. Junior lands a big right elbow and then right uppercut to the face of Cain.

Cain shoots for a single leg and Junior expertly defends before landing a stiff jab to the mid section of Cain. The round ends with Cain pressing Junior against the cage.

Rd 5

Cain with a jab a left hook and shoots in for a take down. Junior defends and lets rip another upper cut to the right side of Cain’s body. Junior now looking lighter on his feet as he moves around the cage. Both men are looking for one shot at a time given how fatigued they are. Cain shoots for another single leg take down but Junior defends. Junior swings and misses with a right hand. Cain shoots for and drives on another take down attempt that Junior defends. Cain with a left uppercut to the body and Junior answers with a right uppercut to the head.

Cain pressing the champ against the cage in an over under clinch. With three minutes left they separate and Junior lands another punch. Junior pressing Cain against the cage now. They separate and Cain lands a trip take down in the center of the ring with two and a half minutes left. Cain mounted on Junior briefly before Dos Santos gets to half guard. Cain landing punch after punch, followed with short elbows and then more punches. Junior gets to all fours in an attempt to get to his feet. Junior is up.

Cain presses him against the cage again before dropping down for a single leg take down that Junior dedends. Junior lands two more punches and Cain sticks to him like glue.

One minute left. Junior frees himself and throws an uppercut. Cain lands a kick to the head, but with his foot, to the left side of Junior’s head. Cain follows up with punches and presses Junior against the cage. fifteeen seconds left.

The fight ends with Cain pressing Junior against the cage. Cain falls to his knees in the center of the ring in celebration as Junior did one year ago.

Decision time up next.

Cain Velasquez wins a dominant unanimous decision to reclaim the UFC heavyweight title. “This fight was the hardest fight I’ve been through,” the now two-time champ tells Joe Rogan.

“Why are you guys doing that? Why?” Junior asked the crowd as they inexplicably booed him. Dos Santos sounds as if his jaw is broken. Multiple refs and this idiotic crowd dissapointed tonight. Thankfully the fighters, as always, delivered.

Velasquez acknowledged that he’d have to fight Dos Santos again in a rubber match at some point. Dos Santos, though, swollen and beaten, retained his fighting spirit.

“Like you said. I’m going to come back and I’m going to take my belt again,” Dos Santos promised.

Thanks for hanging out with us tonight, guys. Check back with us tomorrow for our UFC 155 Aftermath and post-event coverage.

– Elias Cepeda

Another One Bites the Dust: Weidman Injured, Replaced by Costa Philippou Against Tim Boetsch at UFC 155

Well, we should have seen this coming.

Not that it matters to Anderson Silva, but UFC 155 was supposed to set the stage for a fight that would more or less* determine the next top contender of the middleweight division when Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch squared off. But as things are wont to do in 2012, it has just been announced that Weidman has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to pull out from his scheduled fight at UFC 155. Newsday was the first to break the news:

Chris Weidman, one of the top UFC middleweight fighters, is out of UFC 155 next month with a shoulder injury, Newsday has learned.

Weidman said the injury occured Tuesday while training in Arizona with UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader and Levittown-based Strikeforce light heavyweight Gian Villante. The injury occured during a grappling session, the 28-year-old Weidman said.

“I hit a double-leg and that’s it,” Weidman said Wednesday. “My shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t even move my arm.”

Weidman said that he hasn’t received an official diagnosis from doctors, but he believes it is a torn labrum.

Well, we should have seen this coming.

Not that it matters to Anderson Silva, but UFC 155 was supposed to set the stage for a fight that would more or less* determine the next top contender of the middleweight division when Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch squared off. But as things are wont to do in 2012, it has just been announced that Weidman has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to pull out from his scheduled fight at UFC 155. Newsday was the first to break the news:

Chris Weidman, one of the top UFC middleweight fighters, is out of UFC 155 next month with a shoulder injury, Newsday has learned.

Weidman said the injury occured Tuesday while training in Arizona with UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader and Levittown-based Strikeforce light heavyweight Gian Villante. The injury occured during a grappling session, the 28-year-old Weidman said.

“I hit a double-leg and that’s it,” Weidman said Wednesday. “My shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t even move my arm.”

Weidman said that he hasn’t received an official diagnosis from doctors, but he believes it is a torn labrum.

It’s the latest in the continuing trials and tribulations for the Long Islander, who recently had his home all but completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Besides missing the payday, this has to be exceptionally disappointing for Weidman, who, barring some sort of insane last minute comeback, would have likely cruised past Boetsch and cemented his spot as the top middleweight contender. But again, even an impressive victory would do little to impress Silva, who has already stated that he isn’t the least bit interested in fighting Weidman. If you ask me, it’s Weidman’s own fault for lacking the drawing power of a Chael Sonnen or a Lorenzo Lamas. Maybe if he starts ripping off WWE speeches while doing burnouts with his Harley, Anderson will start to play ball.

But there is a silver lining in this storm cloud, albeit an infinitesimal one. Stepping up in Weidman’s absence will be streaking middleweight contender Costa Philippou, who was recently given a severe case of blue balls when Nick Ring pulled out of their UFC 154 fight on just one day’s notice after coming down with the flu. Philippou is currently 4-1 in the UFC, and most recently scored a unanimous decision over Riki Fukuda at UFC 148.

Thankfully for the UFC, Weidman’s withdrawal will not break their already stacked year-ending card. Then again, we’re still over a month out from UFC 155, so let’s just cross our fingers and hope that Weidman is the last main-carder to pull out.

*I say “more or less” because there are still some of you out there who are convinced that Michael Bisping is the true #1 contender and I have simply given up trying to convince you otherwise. If he manages to beat Vitor Belfort, however, I will start to entertain this ridiculous notion. 

–J. Jones

‘UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann’ Aftermath: Don’t Leave it in the Hands of the Sudden Death Round


Seriously, Thiago Alves weighed in at nearly 200 lbs three hours after making weight. There’s still no punchline coming. Props: UFC.com

Almost immediately after last night’s main event of UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann, the Martin Kampmann/Tim Boetsch comparisons came out in full force from fans and pundits alike. One can easily understand why, as Kampmann’s come-from-behind victory over Thiago Alves was the greatest one in UFC history since last week’s efforts from Tim Boetsch. But perhaps this comparison misses the point. While this comeback was obviously at least partially due to a gutsy performance from Kampmann, it had far more to do with questionable decision making from Thiago Alves.

Save for a first round kick that rocked “The Pitbull”, Thiago Alves was in total control of last night’s main event. His stand-up attack was simply too much for “The Hitman”, who offered less resistance as the fight progressed. Despite this, Alves- who isn’t exactly known for his ground game, mind you- attempted a double leg takedown on a visibly hurt Martin Kampmann and wound up getting caught in a fight-ending guillotine choke.

It’s easy to understand why Thiago Alves was eager for the finish, especially after watching Demetrious Johnson be declared the winner of his fight against Ian McCall (more on that later). What is astonishing is the fact that he took the fight to the only place where he didn’t have a clear advantage over Kampmann. The takedown gave Kampmann time to regain composure, and negated the need to get through The Pitbull’s leg kicks in order to utilize his superior grappling.


Seriously, Thiago Alves weighed in at nearly 200 lbs three hours after making weight. There’s still no punchline coming. Props: UFC.com 

Almost immediately after last night’s main event of UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann, the Martin Kampmann/Tim Boetsch comparisons came out in full force from fans and pundits alike. One can easily understand why, as Kampmann’s come-from-behind victory over Thiago Alves was the greatest one in UFC history since last week’s efforts from Tim Boetsch. But perhaps this comparison misses the point. While this comeback was obviously at least partially due to a gutsy performance from Kampmann, it had far more to do with questionable decision making from Thiago Alves.

Save for a first round kick that rocked “The Pitbull”, Thiago Alves was in total control of last night’s main event. His stand-up attack was simply too much for “The Hitman”, who offered less resistance as the fight progressed. Despite this, Alves- who isn’t exactly known for his ground game, mind you- attempted a double leg takedown on a visibly hurt Martin Kampmann and wound up getting caught in a fight-ending guillotine choke.

It’s easy to understand why Thiago Alves was eager for the finish, especially after watching Demetrious Johnson be declared the winner of his fight against Ian McCall (more on that later). What is astonishing is the fact that he took the fight to the only place where he didn’t have a clear advantage over Kampmann. The takedown gave Kampmann time to regain composure, and negated the need to get through The Pitbull’s leg kicks in order to utilize his superior grappling.

Aside from his second straight victory, Martin Kampmann earned the $50k Submission of the Night honors with his performance. Meanwhile, Thiago Alves drops to 19-9 overall, and is 2-4 in his last six fights. Alves is one of the division’s best strikers, but his days as a top welterweight in the UFC are clearly in the rear-view mirror.

The evenings co-main event, a flyweight tournament fight between Joseph Benavidez and Yasuhiro Urushitani, ended without any surprises. Already dominant as an undersized bantamweight, Joseph Benavidez picked up right where he left off in his flyweight debut with a second round TKO over Yasuhiro Urushitani. As expected, Benavidez utilized his superior wrestling in the first round before countering a kick with a huge right and finishing Urushitani with follow-up punches at the start of the second round, earning him Knockout of the Night honors. This isn’t to say that Urushitani didn’t look good in his UFC debut; it’s just that Benavidez looked like an already dominant fighter fighting in a weight class he’s more suited for. Regardless of who he faces next, it’s hard not to imagine he’ll be the favorite to win the UFC’s inaugural flyweight championship.

Now, about that other flyweight tournament matchup. There’s no point in offering a detailed analysis of Ian McCall vs. Demetrious Johnson, because due to the scoring error that occurred last night, we’re going to get a rematch to determine which fighter will advance in the tournament. That’s right, a rematch- aka “that thing that the addition of sudden death rounds was supposed to prevent”.

I will say this much about the fight though: Except for the scoring error that robbed us of a sudden death round, it was very deserving of its Fight of the Night honors. It was a close, exciting fight that clearly demonstrated why the UFC added a flyweight division to its roster. If this fight had gone to a fourth round, it’s hard to imagine Ian McCall losing it. “Uncle Creepy” blatantly had Johnson hurt towards the end of the third round, yet opted to taunt his opponent rather than continue to work for the finish. Not to blame the victim here, but you obviously have to call that decision into question. Ian McCall may be getting the rematch, but had he been able to finish Johnson last night, the ensuing scoring controversy never happens.

Also of note, Court McGee pushed forward against Constantinos Philippou throughtout their fight, yet his wild striking was easily countered by Philippou and McGee was seldom able to put Philippou on his back. While McGee’s striking has improved during his stint in the UFC, he is still very much a grappler who stands little chance of winning on his feet. Meanwhile, Philippou has won three straight since losing his UFC debut to Nick Catone at UFC 128, and should see a step up in competition at middleweight.

Full Results:

Main Card

Martin Kampmann def. Thiago Alves via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:12 of Round Three
Joseph Benavidez def. Yasuhiro Urushitani via TKO (strikes) at :11 of Round Two
Demetrious Johnson def. Ian McCall ruled majority draw, will rematch
Constantinos Philippou def. Court McGee via unanimous decision

Preliminary Results:

James Te Huna def. Aaron Rosa via TKO at 2:02 of Round One
Anthony Perosh def. Nick Penner via TKO at 4:59 of Round One
Steven Siler def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision
Andrew Craig def. Kyle Noke via unanimous decision
T.J. Waldburger def. Jake Hecht via submission (armbar) at 0:55 of Round One
Daniel Pineda def. Mackens Semerzier via submisison (triangle armbar) at 2:05 of Round One
Shawn Jordan def. Oli Thompson via TKO at 3:53 of Round Two

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 140

Filed under:

Jon JonesThe UFC’s streak of stellar fight cards continued in Toronto on Saturday night, and the Canadian fans showed all the intelligent appreciation we’ve come to expect of our MMA-crazed neighbors to the north. That’s good news for guys like Mark Bocek, who would have been booed out of the building in Las Vegas, but got treated like a conquering hero of technical grappling in the T-dot.

But now that UFC 140 is in the books, it’s time again to sift through the rubble to find the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.

Biggest Winner: Jon Jones
Here’s a scary thought: what if Jones’ chin is as good as the rest of him? What if he can take a shot as well as he can give one, and still come back to slice you up with those killer elbows and smack you upside the head with kicks that he flicks out like jabs? Then who beats this guy? Probably nobody, if we’re being honest. The more confidence and experience he gains, the more of a nightmare he becomes for anyone in the light heavyweight division. Just as we’ve been saying for months, the biggest threat to his dominance is still, paradoxically, that very same dominance. When you’re beating people this easily, it would be almost natural to get complacent and over-confident and let hubris get the better of you. There are a thousand different ways for that to happen to a wealthy young pro fighter who seems to be headed for super-stardom, and so few ways for him to avoid it. Will Jones prove to be the exception rather than the rule? Maybe. If there’s one thing we know about the guy at this point, it’s that he’s exceptional.


Biggest Loser: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nothing about Big Nog suggests that he’s the type to tap to a kimura even when he realizes that you’ve got it locked up. We all probably suspected as much before this fight. Now we know it. We also know that he’s willing to pay the price for his own stubbornness, and he did. Considering all the surgeries and lingering injuries he’s dealt with in the past few years, he seems like the last person who needs a broken arm right now. But really, maybe this is a good thing for him. Maybe it will sideline him long enough to make him think about why he’s still doing this when it’s clearly taking a terrible toll on his body. After having surgery on both hips, Nogueira told us before the fight, he went two months where he couldn’t put his foot on the floor without searing pain. That’s two months per hip, and since he had the surgeries a couple months apart, it means he spent nearly half a year off his feet, then came back as soon as possible to fight professionally again because…well, that part’s still unclear. He’s a legend of the sport, and as he showed in those early moments against Mir, dude can still scrap. But how much trauma can you put your skeleton through before it’s just not worth it anymore? I don’t know, but I fear Nogueira might be determined to find out.

Too Reasonable For His Own Good: Chan Sung Jung
Not only did he apologize to the Canadian crowd for knocking out one of their own in seven seconds, he later attributed his own victory to more good luck than skill. That’s true in the sense that it was lucky for him to have faced an overly reckless version of the usually patient Hominick, but give yourself some credit. You don’t hear Duane Ludwig or Todd Duffee saying they were lucky to score their blitzkrieg knockouts, though sure, there had to be a little luck involved. You almost get the sense that even Jung didn’t expect himself to win that fight — certainly not that quickly, anyway. A win’s a win, even if it’s a result of your opponent screwing up. Take ’em however you can get em, Zombie.

Most Charmingly Delusional: Frank Mir
He wasn’t dazed. No way. And Nogueira wasn’t close to stopping him. It was just a matter of time until he locked up the kimura and snapped his arm like a stale breadstick. If you believe all that, then you might also believe that it would be a good idea for Mir to fight Brock Lesnar in three weeks. Clearly, Mir is living in his own little world these days, but he is riding a three-fight win streak in that world, so maybe there’s something to it. Maybe success depends on making the most of your own illusions. It probably doesn’t hurt to be a 260-pound submissions expert, either.

Blackest Pot to Accuse Kettle of Same: Nik Lentz
According to the quotes sent out by the UFC, “The Carny” has suddenly come to the conclusion that holding an opponent down without doing any damage to him is a pretty cheap way to win. That he came to that conclusion right after Mark Bocek Lentz’d him, and not after he did more or less the same thing to Andre Winner, well, that’s probably no accident. “He did zero damage. That’s what fights are based on and he didn’t hurt me,” Lentz told the UFC, citing the Nick Diaz version of MMA scoring. “He did absolutely nothing to me except hold me down. That’s not what a fight is supposed to be. So what if he was on top, he did nothing.” Somewhere in England, Winner is sipping a cup of Earl Grey and having himself a good laugh.

Best Career-Saving Victory: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
This is the problem with fighting a guy like Tito Ortiz. If you lose, it’s disastrous — especially if you’re already riding a two-fight losing streak, like Little Nog was. If you win, as he did, then people shrug and say, so what? All you did was beat Tito, and everybody’s done that lately. At least Nogueira did it in brutal fashion, and in a hurry. In the process he showed that he can still hurt people when he manages to stay upright. If he improves his wrestling enough to stay there against some of the better takedown artists in the division, he might string together a few wins that fans have no choice but to be impressed by.

Most Knockouts Per Round: Constantinos Philippou
He only fought the brilliantly-mustachioed Jared Hamman for about three minutes, but Philippou must have knocked him out at least three times in that span. Hamman showed incredible toughness and resiliency by continuing to rise and rise again, but Philippou had no trouble locating Hamman’s skull with his fist each time. Philippou is a frightening enough striker when your legs are firmly underneath you and your guard is up. The last place you want to be is wobbling around like a newborn fawn in front of a slugger like that.

Least Impressive in Victory: Brian Ebersole
He played it safe and did enough to win, but just barely. It was his least entertaining performance in the UFC so far, and one of the few fights to draw the ire of the uncommonly patient Toronto crowd. These people seemed to actually find some enjoyment in the Bocek-Lentz fight, but Ebersole and Claude Patrick pushed them just a little too far. As long as Ebersole doesn’t make a habit of it, we’ll let this one slide.

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Most Impressive in Defeat: Walel Watson
He dropped a split decision to Yves Jabouin on the prelims, but it could have easily gone the other way. Watson’s height and reach could prove to be serious weapons if he learns how to maximize their effectiveness. He’s not quite there yet, but he made some strides in the right direction against Jabouin, even if the judges didn’t see it his way. While it’s a bummer to go home with an L on your record, he shouldn’t get too down over this one. He’ll be back soon, and I’ll be eager to see it.

Least Convincing New Nickname: Tito Ortiz
He’s now calling himself “The People’s Champ,” supposedly because he’s tired of associating himself with the negativity represented by “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” That’s fine, but in order to be anybody’s champ you still have to win some fights. Ortiz has won just one of his last eight, and he wants to be the people’s champ? I guess, but only in the same way that the public pool is always a little sadder than the private pool at the health club. He still remains a popular, or at least well-known figure, and he deserves a place in the UFC’s insular little Hall of Fame for all he did to help build the sport and the brand. But if Dana White does decide to grant his wish and let him have one last fight in May just so he can call himself a 15-year veteran, it will be more an act of generous pity than anything else. No other fighter gets to lose this much and still stick around. But then, no other fighter is Tito Ortiz. For the sake of White’s sanity, that’s probably a good thing.

 

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Filed under:

Jon JonesThe UFC’s streak of stellar fight cards continued in Toronto on Saturday night, and the Canadian fans showed all the intelligent appreciation we’ve come to expect of our MMA-crazed neighbors to the north. That’s good news for guys like Mark Bocek, who would have been booed out of the building in Las Vegas, but got treated like a conquering hero of technical grappling in the T-dot.

But now that UFC 140 is in the books, it’s time again to sift through the rubble to find the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.

Biggest Winner: Jon Jones
Here’s a scary thought: what if Jones’ chin is as good as the rest of him? What if he can take a shot as well as he can give one, and still come back to slice you up with those killer elbows and smack you upside the head with kicks that he flicks out like jabs? Then who beats this guy? Probably nobody, if we’re being honest. The more confidence and experience he gains, the more of a nightmare he becomes for anyone in the light heavyweight division. Just as we’ve been saying for months, the biggest threat to his dominance is still, paradoxically, that very same dominance. When you’re beating people this easily, it would be almost natural to get complacent and over-confident and let hubris get the better of you. There are a thousand different ways for that to happen to a wealthy young pro fighter who seems to be headed for super-stardom, and so few ways for him to avoid it. Will Jones prove to be the exception rather than the rule? Maybe. If there’s one thing we know about the guy at this point, it’s that he’s exceptional.


Biggest Loser: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nothing about Big Nog suggests that he’s the type to tap to a kimura even when he realizes that you’ve got it locked up. We all probably suspected as much before this fight. Now we know it. We also know that he’s willing to pay the price for his own stubbornness, and he did. Considering all the surgeries and lingering injuries he’s dealt with in the past few years, he seems like the last person who needs a broken arm right now. But really, maybe this is a good thing for him. Maybe it will sideline him long enough to make him think about why he’s still doing this when it’s clearly taking a terrible toll on his body. After having surgery on both hips, Nogueira told us before the fight, he went two months where he couldn’t put his foot on the floor without searing pain. That’s two months per hip, and since he had the surgeries a couple months apart, it means he spent nearly half a year off his feet, then came back as soon as possible to fight professionally again because…well, that part’s still unclear. He’s a legend of the sport, and as he showed in those early moments against Mir, dude can still scrap. But how much trauma can you put your skeleton through before it’s just not worth it anymore? I don’t know, but I fear Nogueira might be determined to find out.

Too Reasonable For His Own Good: Chan Sung Jung
Not only did he apologize to the Canadian crowd for knocking out one of their own in seven seconds, he later attributed his own victory to more good luck than skill. That’s true in the sense that it was lucky for him to have faced an overly reckless version of the usually patient Hominick, but give yourself some credit. You don’t hear Duane Ludwig or Todd Duffee saying they were lucky to score their blitzkrieg knockouts, though sure, there had to be a little luck involved. You almost get the sense that even Jung didn’t expect himself to win that fight — certainly not that quickly, anyway. A win’s a win, even if it’s a result of your opponent screwing up. Take ’em however you can get em, Zombie.

Most Charmingly Delusional: Frank Mir
He wasn’t dazed. No way. And Nogueira wasn’t close to stopping him. It was just a matter of time until he locked up the kimura and snapped his arm like a stale breadstick. If you believe all that, then you might also believe that it would be a good idea for Mir to fight Brock Lesnar in three weeks. Clearly, Mir is living in his own little world these days, but he is riding a three-fight win streak in that world, so maybe there’s something to it. Maybe success depends on making the most of your own illusions. It probably doesn’t hurt to be a 260-pound submissions expert, either.

Blackest Pot to Accuse Kettle of Same: Nik Lentz
According to the quotes sent out by the UFC, “The Carny” has suddenly come to the conclusion that holding an opponent down without doing any damage to him is a pretty cheap way to win. That he came to that conclusion right after Mark Bocek Lentz’d him, and not after he did more or less the same thing to Andre Winner, well, that’s probably no accident. “He did zero damage. That’s what fights are based on and he didn’t hurt me,” Lentz told the UFC, citing the Nick Diaz version of MMA scoring. “He did absolutely nothing to me except hold me down. That’s not what a fight is supposed to be. So what if he was on top, he did nothing.” Somewhere in England, Winner is sipping a cup of Earl Grey and having himself a good laugh.

Best Career-Saving Victory: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
This is the problem with fighting a guy like Tito Ortiz. If you lose, it’s disastrous — especially if you’re already riding a two-fight losing streak, like Little Nog was. If you win, as he did, then people shrug and say, so what? All you did was beat Tito, and everybody’s done that lately. At least Nogueira did it in brutal fashion, and in a hurry. In the process he showed that he can still hurt people when he manages to stay upright. If he improves his wrestling enough to stay there against some of the better takedown artists in the division, he might string together a few wins that fans have no choice but to be impressed by.

Most Knockouts Per Round: Constantinos Philippou
He only fought the brilliantly-mustachioed Jared Hamman for about three minutes, but Philippou must have knocked him out at least three times in that span. Hamman showed incredible toughness and resiliency by continuing to rise and rise again, but Philippou had no trouble locating Hamman’s skull with his fist each time. Philippou is a frightening enough striker when your legs are firmly underneath you and your guard is up. The last place you want to be is wobbling around like a newborn fawn in front of a slugger like that.

Least Impressive in Victory: Brian Ebersole
He played it safe and did enough to win, but just barely. It was his least entertaining performance in the UFC so far, and one of the few fights to draw the ire of the uncommonly patient Toronto crowd. These people seemed to actually find some enjoyment in the Bocek-Lentz fight, but Ebersole and Claude Patrick pushed them just a little too far. As long as Ebersole doesn’t make a habit of it, we’ll let this one slide.

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-141546%

Most Impressive in Defeat: Walel Watson
He dropped a split decision to Yves Jabouin on the prelims, but it could have easily gone the other way. Watson’s height and reach could prove to be serious weapons if he learns how to maximize their effectiveness. He’s not quite there yet, but he made some strides in the right direction against Jabouin, even if the judges didn’t see it his way. While it’s a bummer to go home with an L on your record, he shouldn’t get too down over this one. He’ll be back soon, and I’ll be eager to see it.

Least Convincing New Nickname: Tito Ortiz
He’s now calling himself “The People’s Champ,” supposedly because he’s tired of associating himself with the negativity represented by “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” That’s fine, but in order to be anybody’s champ you still have to win some fights. Ortiz has won just one of his last eight, and he wants to be the people’s champ? I guess, but only in the same way that the public pool is always a little sadder than the private pool at the health club. He still remains a popular, or at least well-known figure, and he deserves a place in the UFC’s insular little Hall of Fame for all he did to help build the sport and the brand. But if Dana White does decide to grant his wish and let him have one last fight in May just so he can call himself a 15-year veteran, it will be more an act of generous pity than anything else. No other fighter gets to lose this much and still stick around. But then, no other fighter is Tito Ortiz. For the sake of White’s sanity, that’s probably a good thing.

 

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UFC 140 Aftermath Part II: Broken and Battered

There’s a time for fightin’, and a time for dancin’! Nog breaks out “The Robot“, Mir shows off the “Smooth Criminal“. (Photo: UFC.com)

I’m not sure what sort of pre-fight pep talk was given to the fighters in their locker rooms last night, but I hope somebody recorded it to play at all future events. “Never leave it in the hands of the judges” doesn’t begin to capture the sentiment that most of the fighters carried with them to the Octagon. Last night’s finishes were emphatic and extraordinary. Knocking your opponent out wouldn’t do—it would have to tie for the quickest KO in UFC history. Subbing the previously untapped wasn’t enough—you had to break them or render them unconcious.

We’ve already broken down the Jones-Machida bout, so we’ll just say the champion definitely gave us something to Skype about. Now, onto the rest of the card.

There’s a time for fightin’, and a time for dancin’! Nog breaks out “The Robot“, Mir shows off the “Smooth Criminal“.  (Photo: UFC.com)

I’m not sure what sort of pre-fight pep talk was given to the fighters in their locker rooms last night, but I hope somebody recorded it to play at all future events. “Never leave it in the hands of the judges” doesn’t begin to capture the sentiment that most of the fighters carried with them to the Octagon. Last night’s finishes were emphatic and extraordinary. Knocking your opponent out wouldn’t do—it would have to tie for the quickest KO in UFC history. Subbing the previously untapped wasn’t enough—you had to break them or render them unconcious.

We’ve already broken down the Jones-Machida bout, so we’ll just say the champion definitely gave us something to Skype about. Now, onto the rest of the card.

If Frank Mir was watching the main event back stage, his heart must have dropped along with Machida’s unconcious body. After all, there are only so many “Submission of the Night” bonuses to go around. Mir has now notched two Nogueira “firsts” on his belt. In their bout at UFC 92, Mir battered Big Nog in the standup, dropping him multiple times before following him to the ground with strikes and becoming the first man to finish the durable Brazilian. Last night, Nogueira nearly flipped the script, rattling Mir with a combination that sent him to the canvas. The writing was on the wall as Nog dropped hammerfists on a dazed Mir, but the black belt switched his attack from bludgeoning to Brazilian jiu jitsu as he attempted a D’arce choke. Mir worked free from the hold and swept the Brazilian with a Kimura. Nogueira rolled to escape, but Mir ended up on top and still in control of the arm. Nogueira would tap for the first time, but not before significant, grimace-inducing damage had been done. A post-fight x-ray revealed a very broken arm which will be repaired with surgery this week. Despite the main event, Mir’s merciless cranking earned him the evening’s $75k “Submission of the Night” bonus.

The smaller of the Nogueira brothers faired much better in his equally short bout. As expected, Rogerio’s hands were superior to Tito Ortiz’s. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy People’s Champion” failed with an early single leg takedown, forcing him to trade with Little Nog. “Minotoro” caught him with a left hand before dropping him with a knee to the body eerily similar the knees that folded him in his fights with Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida. From there Nogueira went to work on Ortiz’s body from the guard, targeting hard punches and elbows on a single spot along his rib cage. Tito turtled up, obviously in pain, and Yves Lavigne waived the Brazilian off. Tito remained on the writhing on ground and clutching his mid-section. Dana White was unsure of Tito’s future following this second loss since his win over Ryan Bader. For Nogueira, it was a bounce back from two consecutive losses and a questionable decision victory over Jason Brilz.

“The Korean Zombie” set the tone for the evening early on. Mark Hominick came out aggressively, swinging away and looking to make short work of Chan Sung Jung, but that door swings both ways. Jung avoided Hominick’s haymaker and landed a beautiful counter that sent “The Machine” careening backwards to the mat. A few blistering follow-up shots on the ground prompted Herb Dean to step in to protect the defenseless Hominick. With his seven-second win, Jung picked up the “Knock Out of the Night” bonus and tied for the fastest ever UFC knock out, though Dana White promised to look into Duane Ludwig’s rightful claim to that record.

Jung wasn’t alone in making quick work of his opponent. Igor Pokrajac drove Krzysztov Soszynski across the cage with brutal punches that knocked him out cold in just 35 seconds.

Constantinos Philippou lit up Jarrad Hamman, dropping him multiple times throughout their fight. Hamman was mostly-unconscious for the duration of their three minute, eleven second bout, before Philippou flipped his switch for good.

Whether motivated by his exposing loss to Ebersole or a tough weight cut that left him low on energy, Dennis Hallman stormed after John Makdessi, quickly dragging him to the canvas. From there he unleashed some heavy blows before sinking in a rear naked choke just shy of three minutes into the bout.

Not all of the evening’s battles fit so neatly in the “Who Won” box, however. Brian Ebersole emerged victorious in a close contest with Claude Patrick. Boos poured out when the split-decision went against the hometown fighter. We also had the bout scored for Patrick, but if anything this bout highlighted the inconsistency in MMA judging criteria rather than outright incompetence.

Full results (via MMAWeekly):

Main Bouts (on Pay-Per-View):
-Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:26, R2
-Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by submission (kimura) at 3:38, R1
-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Tito Ortiz by TKO at 3:15, R1
-Brian Ebersole def. Claude Patrick by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Chan Sung Jung def. Mark Hominick by TKO at :07, R1

Preliminary Bouts (on ION Television):
-Igor Pokrajac def. Krzysztof Soszynski by KO at :35, R1
-Constantinos Philippou def. Jared Hamman by KO at 3:11, R1
-Dennis Hallman def. John Makdessi by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:58, R1
-Yves Jabouin def. Walel Watson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Preliminary Bouts (on Facebook):
-Mark Bocek def. Nik Lentz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Jake Hecht def. Rich Attonito by TKO at 1:10, R2
-John Cholish def. Mitch Clarke by TKO at 4:36, R2

 

– Chris Colemon (@chriscolemon)

 

Constantinos Philippou Went Into UFC 140 Fight With No Game Plan

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TORONTO — MMA Fighting spoke with Constantinos Philippou after his TKO win over Jared Hamman at UFC 140 on Saturday. Philippou talks about why UFC 140 was the best day of his life and why he chose to enter the fight without a game plan.

 

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TORONTO — MMA Fighting spoke with Constantinos Philippou after his TKO win over Jared Hamman at UFC 140 on Saturday. Philippou talks about why UFC 140 was the best day of his life and why he chose to enter the fight without a game plan.

 

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