UFC Fight Night 83 Predictions

Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Oliveira: Mike Drahota: The move up to welterweight was kind of an obvious decision for Cerrone after his brutal one-sided loss to Rafael dos Anjos, but I’m not so sure that the murderer’s row of top contenders at 170 will make it any easier on him. However, here he gets another

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Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Oliveira:

Mike Drahota:

The move up to welterweight was kind of an obvious decision for Cerrone after his brutal one-sided loss to Rafael dos Anjos, but I’m not so sure that the murderer’s row of top contenders at 170 will make it any easier on him. However, here he gets another usual lightweight in late replacement ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira, so this fight should be a solid bounce-back spot for him. Oliveira has strong punching power, pressure, and submissions in addition to some unorthodox takedowns, and he also exhibits Cerrone’s anyone-at-anytime mentality. However, he lacks the world-class experience of his American “Cowboy” counterpart, meaning I have to go with Cerrone by round two TKO here.

Rory Kernaghan:

Cowboy vs. Cowboy is the fight that will see Cerrone fight for the first time since being dominated by dos Anjos for the second time. The Jackson’s MMA contender is essentially one half of a big squash match this weekend against Oliveira, but with Tim Means failing a drug test there clearly weren’t many other options. Where this fight takes place is really up to Cerrone, as I feel he has the drop on Oliveira in the technical striking and submission game. Of course Oliveira has some nice knockout power, but with Cerrone looking to rebound and potentially even more motivated than before, I can’t see this being a major factor in the big picture. I’m picking Cerrone to put on an angry performance, and score a classic head kick finish in round two.

Mike Henken:

While “Cowboy” Cerrone may be undersized compared to the welterweight elite, he’ll be taking on a fellow usual lightweight in this bout in Oliveira despite the fight taking place at 170 pounds. Oliveira is 3-1 in the UFC thus far, but he’s undoubtedly facing off with his toughest test to date in Cerrone. Cerrone is coming off of a brutal 66-second loss to lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but has won eight of his last night. At the end of the day I simply feel as if he is the far superior fighter, and it will show. Cerrone by third round submission.

Derek Brunson vs. Roan Carneiro:

Mike Drahota:

I feel this bout is a bit of an under-the-radar co-main event for a FOX Sports 1 card, as both Brunson and Carneiro have quietly put together some solid win streaks in one of the UFC’s most dangerous divisions. Brunson has looked like a man possessed since his last defeat, a come-from-behind TKO loss to top-ranked Yoel Romero in January 2014. Carneiro is no doubt a dangerous force on the ground, but as a former welterweight, I think Brunson will be too big, strong, and aggressive a challenge to manhandle on the ground. Keeping it standing, I predict Brunson finishes it by second round TKO.

Rory Kernaghan:

Roan Carneiro and Derek Brunson represent two fighters with a ton of potential. In the co-main event slot of the evening, each man has a chance to make his name known, and at a crucial time with the middleweight rankings wide open for the taking. The Jackson’s MMA-trained Brunson is the power striker and Carneiro is just a monster grappler. After seeing the way ‘Jucao’ sent Mark Munoz in to retirement and how Brunson has been smashing jaws left and right, this really is a gut call. I think it’ll be tough to get the muscular and well rounded Brunson to the mat, and for that reason I think we’ll see another first round knockout for Brunson.

Mike Henken:

Brunson has been a force to be reckoned with as of late, winning three consecutive bouts with two coming by way of stoppage. His opponent Carneiro, is no easy task, however, as he’s a third degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with 10 submission wins on his resume. Also a winner of six straight, the Brazilian has been rolling, and I expect him to take this fight to the mat before finishing it. Carneiro by second round submission.

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Derek Brunson Expects 2-Year Suspension For Yoel Romero: “He’s A Blatant Cheater”

derek brunson

Yoel Romero failed a drug test in January and is facing a serious suspension. Derek Brunson, who lost to Romero at UFC Fight Night 35, held nothing back when recently asked about his former opponent’s failed test.

“I messed up my jaw in that fight. I take him down and he’s exploding up. Why? Because his tendons are big, he’s stronger and he’s all juiced out of his mind,” Brunson told FOX Sports. “I don’t feel bad for him. He can do something else, but there’s rules and regulations and when you do certain things in life you have to deal with the consequences. That goes for everybody.

“I expect to see two years minimum out of this guy because he’s a blatant cheater.”

How long do you think Romero should be suspended for? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

derek brunson

Yoel Romero failed a drug test in January and is facing a serious suspension. Derek Brunson, who lost to Romero at UFC Fight Night 35, held nothing back when recently asked about his former opponent’s failed test.

“I messed up my jaw in that fight. I take him down and he’s exploding up. Why? Because his tendons are big, he’s stronger and he’s all juiced out of his mind,” Brunson told FOX Sports. “I don’t feel bad for him. He can do something else, but there’s rules and regulations and when you do certain things in life you have to deal with the consequences. That goes for everybody.

“I expect to see two years minimum out of this guy because he’s a blatant cheater.”

How long do you think Romero should be suspended for? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto — Just the Results


(The semi-official poster, via @ActionDonson.)

Welcome to the non-liveblog of UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto, a pay-per-view card so shockingly irrelevant that we’ll barely be covering it tonight. Basically, we’ll update the results through the night — which you can find after the jump — and that’s about it. If something particularly interesting happens, we’ll let you know, and if we find any good GIFs, we will link you to them. Thanks for checking in with us, and follow us on twitter for bonus commentary.


(The semi-official poster, via @ActionDonson.)

Welcome to the non-liveblog of UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto, a pay-per-view card so shockingly irrelevant that we’ll barely be covering it tonight. Basically, we’ll update the results through the night — which you can find after the jump — and that’s about it. If something particularly interesting happens, we’ll let you know, and if we find any good GIFs, we will link you to them. Thanks for checking in with us, and follow us on twitter for bonus commentary.

Main Card (PPV, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT)
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Joe Soto
Danny Castillo vs. Tony Ferguson
Shayna Baszler vs. Bethe Correia
Ramsey Nijem vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
Yancy Medeiros vs. Damon Jackson

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
– Derek Brunson vs. Lorenz Larkin
– Anthony Hamilton vs. Ruan Potts
– Chris Wade def. Cain Carrizosa via submission (guillotine choke), 1:12 of round 1

UFC Fight Night 35 Aftermath: Rockhold TKO’s Philippou With Body-Kick, Dana White Returns Fire on GSP at Post-Fight Press Conference

(Props: FOX Sports)

Erasing the bitter memory of his unsuccessful Octagon debut, Luke Rockhold began building his own UFC highlight-reel last night at UFC Fight Night 35 with a first-round body-kick TKO of Costa Philippou. Rockhold picked up a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the effort. At the post-fight press conference, Rockhold did what every surging middleweight does after a big win — he called out Michael Bisping:

“I’m looking at anyone in the middleweight division to get myself back into (title) position,” Rockhold said. “I already let it be known Bisping’s out there. A lot of people are calling him out, but Bisping went on national TV and told everybody he was the unofficial Strikeforce champion. He calls it a joke and this and that, but I say he’s got bad taste and he needs to pay for it.”

In other bonus news, featherweight Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for his second-round rear-naked choke of Sam Sicilia — which Miller followed up by calling out Donald “Clownboy” Cerrone in the post-fight interview — while middleweights Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson both got $50,000 bumps for FOTN. Highlights from both those matches are embedded at the end of this post.

Romero — who earned his third-consecutive KO/TKO win in the UFC by stopping Brunson with savage ground-and-pound in the third round — claims to have not pooped his pants during the match, despite damning Vine evidence to the contrary. However, Romero can’t deny the dick-punch he landed on Brunson. That was ugly, bro.

In injury news…


(Props: FOX Sports)

Erasing the bitter memory of his unsuccessful Octagon debut, Luke Rockhold began building his own UFC highlight-reel last night at UFC Fight Night 35 with a first-round body-kick TKO of Costa Philippou. Rockhold picked up a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the effort. At the post-fight press conference, Rockhold did what every surging middleweight does after a big win — he called out Michael Bisping:

“I’m looking at anyone in the middleweight division to get myself back into (title) position,” Rockhold said. “I already let it be known Bisping’s out there. A lot of people are calling him out, but Bisping went on national TV and told everybody he was the unofficial Strikeforce champion. He calls it a joke and this and that, but I say he’s got bad taste and he needs to pay for it.”

In other bonus news, featherweight Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for his second-round rear-naked choke of Sam Sicilia — which Miller followed up by calling out Donald “Clownboy” Cerrone in the post-fight interview — while middleweights Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson both got $50,000 bumps for FOTN. Highlights from both those matches are embedded at the end of this post.

Romero — who earned his third-consecutive KO/TKO win in the UFC by stopping Brunson with savage ground-and-pound in the third round — claims to have not pooped his pants during the match, despite damning Vine evidence to the contrary. However, Romero can’t deny the dick-punch he landed on Brunson. That was ugly, bro.

In injury news, Derek Brunson was taken to a hospital after the event to reportedly have surgery on a fractured jaw. (I’m surprised he didn’t have a bunch of broken ribs as well, thanks to all those elbows that Romero dropped on him in the finish. By the way, was that a late stoppage or what? Referee Blake Grice should have to chip in for Brunson’s medical bills.) Also, Cole Miller broke his hand and will find out today if he needs surgery.

Despite a losing effort against Elias Silverio, Isaac Vallie-Flagg scored a moral victory during the prelims with this tale-of-the-tape photo:

In semi-related news, Dana White took some time at the “Rockhold vs. Philippou” post-fight press conference to respond to Georges St-Pierre’s recent criticism of the UFC’s drug-testing policies. Unsurprisingly, White called St-Pierre “kooky” and questioned his manhood. Some notable quotes via MMAMania:

First of all, I don’t know if anybody remembers this but Georges St. Pierre is the one who said that he wanted to do the extra drug testing because he wanted to prove that he wasn’t on drugs. It wasn’t that he thought that Johny Hendricks was on steroids or performance enhancing drugs of any kind; he wanted to do this…[Y]ou see it in boxing all the time. One guy comes out and says ‘I want to do extra drug testing because I’m worried about this guy and I want to see what’s going on.’ They never come to an agreement. This guy says ‘I want to use this one’, this guy says ‘I want to use that one’; the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to test them, okay?

Now, a lot of things… I’ve talked about the Nevada State Athletic Commission as far as the refs and the judges; they drug test. Not only did they drug test Josh Barnett for his last fight because Josh Barnett has been busted for performance enhancing drugs before, they also made Travis Browne do it at the same time and the UFC paid for that. We paid for that drug testing. Also, for him to say we’re very lenient on drug testing, when we go out of the country and we regulate ourselves we test everybody on the card, not just the main event, not just the co-main event. You want to talk about being lenient? The fight that I was screaming about, yelling about that it was the greatest fight I’ve ever seen, Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot Silva, we tested the guys for that fight, we caught Bigfoot Silva, and he got destroyed. Literally, got destroyed for going over the limit.

He didn’t test positive, what he did was: Vitor Belfort, Bigfoot Silva, any of these other guys that are on TRT we test them throughout their whole camp. He did his last test the week of the fight and his numbers were fine. He took a shot after he got tested. So we tested him again after and his levels were through the roof and he got destroyed. Lost the win money that we gave him, lost the bonus money that we gave him, and obviously he’s not getting an extra bonus. The guy got smashed, and he’s suspended for a year. So if that’s lenient on drugs I guess we’re lenient then. I mean, I don’t even know what to say to it…

What I heard is Georges St. Pierre is upset about some of the things I said at the press conference and he’s upset that I said that he didn’t win the fight, that I thought Johny Hendricks won the fight. But if that’s the case, call me man-to-man. Let’s talk on the phone, let’s sit down face-to-face. I talked to him after the fight face-to-face (and) he didn’t say any of that to me. So the whole thing is a little weird…

And then as far as the other thing he said that we’re a monopoly? Viacom is our competitor. They have a $40 billion market cap. $40 billion. I’m never going to see $40 billion for as long as I live. Neither will the UFC, so we’re not a monopoly either.

So, everything Georges St. Pierre says is a little kooky. That’s the other thing too: I’m here, I’ve been in Atlanta, I’ve been on planes, and doing all this stuff. Lorenzo reached out to him and Lorenzo still hasn’t heard from him yet. If Georges St. Pierre wants to talk like a man he can pick up the phone and call us or come see us face-to-face, but everything that he said is ridiculous.”

Full results from UFC Fight Night 35 are below; click the links for video highlights from each fight.

UFC Fight Night 35 Main Card Results
– Luke Rockhold def. Costa Philippou via TKO, 2:31 of round 1
Brad Tavares def. Lorez Larkin via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– TJ Dillashaw def. Mike Easton via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Yoel Romero def. Derek Brunson via TKO, 3:23 of round 3
John Moraga def. Dustin Ortiz via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Cole Miller def. Sam Sicilia via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:54 of round 2

Preliminary Card Results:
Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Elias Silverio def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-27 x 3)*
Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Louis Smolka def. Alptekin Ozkilic via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Vinc Pichel def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Beneil Dariush def. Charlie Brenneman via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:45 of round 1

* Silverio had a point deducted for an illegal knee.

Drunkblogging the ‘Fight for the Troops 3? Facebook Prelims


(Just a typical 5 p.m. in the life of Danga.)

Anyone who knows anything about UFCs and MMAs knows that the best fights are never found on the hoity-toity main card or even the highfalutin FX undercard on a channel that takes two of your friends a TV guide and Encarta ’97 to find. No, it’s a well known fact amongst us MMA media types that the best fights *always* go down during the Facebook preliminaries. “That’s where the real action is,” Ariel Helwani once told me, Danga, while pointing to the champagne room of a Tijuana strip club called La Mula Triste, but I think his words of wisdom can be applied to FB prelims as well.

Anyways, I just took a popper and feel like drunkblogging my way through the Fight for the Troops 3: Kennedy vs. Natal because there’s fuck all to write about besides. In my apartment I have: A bottle of Beam, a 12-pack of Lagunitas IPA, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a nip of Svedka, so lets do this!


(Just a typical 5 p.m. in the life of Danga.)

Anyone who knows anything about UFCs and MMAs knows that the best fights are never found on the hoity-toity main card or even the highfalutin FX undercard on a channel that takes two of your friends a TV guide and Encarta ’97 to find. No, it’s a well known fact amongst us MMA media types that the best fights *always* go down during the Facebook preliminaries. “That’s where the real action is,” Ariel Helwani once told me, Danga, while pointing to the champagne room of a Tijuana strip club called La Mula Triste, but I think his words of wisdom can be applied to FB prelims as well.

Anyways, I just took a popper and feel like drunkblogging my way through the Fight for the Troops 3: Kennedy vs. Natal because there’s fuck all to write about besides. In my apartment I have: A bottle of Beam, a 12-pack of Lagunitas IPA, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a nip of Svedka, so lets do this!

Derek Brunson vs. Brian Houston 

Round 1: Fight for the Troops cards are notoriously violent so let’s see how this goes-HOLY SHIT! Brunson nails Houston with a picture perfect roundhouse to the dome and follows him to the mat where, after a little struggle, he finishes Houston off with a rear-naked choke.

Brunson def. Houston via rear-naked choke 0:48 of round 1. 

And the bottle of Beam is open.

Jesus, that was so fast I wasn’t even able to explain the rules of the drinking game I will be playing for these prelims. They are as follows:

Crowd shot of cheering soldiers – 1 drink
Crane shot of military equipment – 2 drinks
1st round finish – 1 shot
2nd round finish – 2 shots
3rd round finish – chug drink

Additionally, I will take a swig for each Goldberganism, each Rogan freak out and each time the name “Yancy” is spoken. Yancy.

Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski

Round 1: Baczynski with a pair of leg kicks and a nice right to start. Fuck that name, I’m calling him Bski. Bski pushes Magny into the fence. Big John McCarthy separates the two after a minute and Bski fires off an overhand right that lands. Magny clinches and they battle for position before BJ separates them again. Bski snags a double and slams Magny to the mat but gets hit with a good shot from the bottom. Bski to half guard then full mount, landing a few body shots before the bell ends. 10-9 Bski.

Round 2: Man, this crowd is fired up. They’re treating every landed punch like an ultimate diss in a Yo Momma episode. Remember that show? God it was terrible. Anyways, the first minute and a half of this one is all clinch before Big John separates them. Bski lands another nice right hand and tries for a takedown but is reversed and were back to a clinch battle. Magny with a right. Bski dives for another takedown but appears to be fading. Big John calls for a time as Magny’s glove tap is loose. Bski gets his takedown on the restart. After landing a couple elbows, Bski moves to half guard and lands some elbows as the rounds ends. 10-9 Bski

The soldiers are literally counting down the final five seconds of each round in unison. SHould a fight end via spinning heel kick, I’m quite certain the roof will ‘splode. Anyways, I just ripped another popper because fuck you.

Round 3: Magny lands a right and the two clinch up. Knees to the midsection from Bski. They break briefly and Bski goes for another takedown. He gets Magny down for a second before he is reversed. Magny with some nice knees now. Big John breaks ‘em up and Bski with another nice takedown. Joe Rogan is really impressed with Magny’s hand strength, so I’ll call it a half freak out and take a swig of some wine.  The two get back to their feet and Magny lands a big takedown but Bski pops back up. Magny unloading with some nice shots and snags another takedown. Bski gets to his feet and the two swing to the finish. 10-9 Magny

Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Yves Edwards vs. Yancy Medeiros

Oh boy, they’ve already said Yancy twice. This fight is going to be rough on my liver. Three times. CURSE YOU YANCY!!!!

Yves Edwards’ walkout music sounds like Shaggy is being rectally force fed a steel drum.

Round 1: Yancy comes out aggro for a guy named Yancy, trading low/body kicks with Edwards. Left hook Yancy. Body kick Yves. Edwards with a nice left hook. Yancy is throwing front kicks and Yves is answering with right hooks. Yancy tells Edwards to bring it and Edwards does with a few more rights. Out of nowhere, Yancy clips Yves with an uppercut and pounds him out for the victory. Son of a bitch, Yancy.

Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO at 2:47 of round 1

Well, there goes the nip of Svedka. Ditto for Yves’ UFC career, one would assume, as that’s three straight for the longtime vet. At this time, I’d like to personally thank Yves for a ridiculously entertaining caree-APACHE HELICOPTER SHOT. Drink drink!

Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin

Chris Camozzi looks like a guy who knows where that good crystal is at, know what I’m saying? Larkin, on the other hand, is coming out to James Brown’s “Living in America” which makes me think that he is going to get beat to death in this fight. THROW IN THE TOWEL, ROCK!

Round 1: Herb Dean is our ref, which reminds me that I need to re-up with my weed guy. Inside leg kick Camozzi. The two trade front kicks, then oblique kicks like a couple ‘a pussies. Counter left from a retreating Larking, then a straight right that drops him! Camozzi recovers and is back up and lands a leg kick. Front kick to the body by Larkin. Inside leg kick Camozzi, who is getting off first. Flying knee Camozzi and a left hook. I’m not scoring this because I stopped paying attention to pack a binger halfway through this.

Round 2: Camozzi with some more leg kicks. Larkin appears to be aiming for Camozzi’s gloves like he is hitting mits. Nice straight right by Larkin that jacks back the head of Camozzi. Camozzi tries another flying knee and they clinch. Larkin with a weak leg kick on the break. Camozzi’s nose is bloodied up but they trade leg kicks. Nice left by Camozzi. Larkin cuts Camozzi with a left and they clinch again. A couple nice standing elbows from Larkin have really busted up Camozzi, who simply will not stop coming forward. Probably on account of the meth. 10-9 Larkin

Round 3: The two trade body kicks to start the round. Larkin with a nice jab and the two trade leg kicks. Huge right hand by Larkin, who is just the quicker man. Camozzi whifs a head kick. Camozzi is visibly worn down but refuses to quit. Some brutal elbows and rights from Larkin in the clinch. Camozzi has Larkin pinned against the fence and Larkin lands some more elbows. My God this crowd is awesome, and Camozzi cheers them on while getting beat up in the clinch. I’ll have what he’s having, amiright? *crickets* Larkin lands some spinning shit to close things out and that’s all she wrote. 10-9 Larkin

Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27 x2 29-28)

Well, that’s it for me, Nation. I’m going to go take a piss off the balcony and yell at stray cats. Enjoy your fancy FS1 fights you bunch ‘a bitches.

UFC 155 Aftermath: Bloodbaths & Guts


Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

By Elias Cepeda

With a somewhat forgettable year thankfully coming to an end, UFC 155 looked to excite fans, promote contenders and get everybody ready for a new year. This card did exactly that. Not to reach into our bag of clichés so early into the aftermath, but UFC 155 really sent 2012 out with a bang, and set the bar high for upcoming cards in 2013.

With as many solid fights as took place Saturday in Las Vegas at UFC 155, Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon’s three round battle was recognized by the UFC brass as the Fight of The Night and each man earned an extra $65,000 for their effort. The lightweight contenders should also be in consideration for Fight of The Year lists everywhere.

If it is, Lauzon will be competing with himself for his incredible fight last August against Jamie Varner. JLau may have lost the decision against Miller on the judge’s score cards, two rounds to one, but deserves credit for coming back from being bullied, beaten and bloodied badly in the first round by Miller in the first round and finishing stronger in the final two rounds.

On the strength of his aggressiveness and multiple submission attempts to close out the second and third rounds, this writer believes that a very reasonable judge could have scored the bout Lauzon’s way instead of Miller’s. As it stands, both men were impressive in their own ways and, *reaches back into the bag of applicable clichés* there simply were no “losers” in this one.

Miller has always shown excellent boxing skills but he may have been sharper than ever before against Lauzon in the first and second rounds, scoring almost at will with shots to the body and head, as well as knocking Joe down repeatedly with a nasty inside leg kick. His dirty boxing from the clinch was masterful, using punches, knees and elbows to hurt and cut open Lauzon over and again.


Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

By Elias Cepeda

With a somewhat forgettable year thankfully coming to an end, UFC 155 looked to excite fans, promote contenders and get everybody ready for a new year. This card did exactly that. Not to reach into our bag of clichés so early into the aftermath, but UFC 155 really sent 2012 out with a bang, and set the bar high for upcoming cards in 2013.

With as many solid fights as took place Saturday in Las Vegas at UFC 155, Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon’s three round battle was recognized by the UFC brass as the Fight of The Night and each man earned an extra $65,000 for their effort. The lightweight contenders should also be in consideration for Fight of The Year lists everywhere.

If it is, Lauzon will be competing with himself for his incredible fight last August against Jamie Varner. JLau may have lost the decision against Miller on the judge’s score cards, two rounds to one, but deserves credit for coming back from being bullied, beaten and bloodied badly in the first round by Miller in the first round and finishing stronger in the final two rounds.

On the strength of his aggressiveness and multiple submission attempts to close out the second and third rounds, this writer believes that a very reasonable judge could have scored the bout Lauzon’s way instead of Miller’s. As it stands, both men were impressive in their own ways and, *reaches back into the bag of applicable clichés* there simply were no “losers” in this one.

Miller has always shown excellent boxing skills but he may have been sharper than ever before against Lauzon in the first and second rounds, scoring almost at will with shots to the body and head, as well as knocking Joe down repeatedly with a nasty inside leg kick. His dirty boxing from the clinch was masterful, using punches, knees and elbows to hurt and cut open Lauzon over and again.

For his part, Lauzon looked to be on his way out of the fight early on but somehow not only managed to survive, but thrive and turn the tide back in his favor multiple times with knees and submission holds despite bleeding like a stuck pig. Lauzon was cut in at least three places on his head by Miller and wore a crimson mask for most of the fight. On his facebook page, the Massachusets fighter shared a photo with fans of his bruised and stiched up (to the tune of 40) face.

The old knock on Lauzon for tiring late in fights should finally be retired. Both men look ready to continue to fight the division’s other elite. Lauzon, of course, has hit a speed bump and may have to move back a spot or two. Miller, as long as he’s healthy, should get another top opponent as soon as possible to give him another chance to move towards a title shot.

More than just a big uppercut  – Dos Santos shows heart of a champion in defeat

Junior Dos Santos could not threaten in the late rounds to the same level that Lauzon did but he also, and perhaps even more improbably, managed to go the distance and survive after nearly being knocked out in the first round. For five rounds Cain Velasquez knocked around and took down Dos Santos en route to winning back the UFC heavyweight title that he lost a little over a year ago to Dos Santos.

Despite looking to be out on his feet from the early minutes, Dos Santos never stopped moving, never stopped swinging and demonstrated almost unbelievable conditioning and mental fortitude. Despite being knocked silly time and again from clean shots to the chin and temple from Velasquez, and being dragged to the ground time and again, Dos Santos refused to stay down. He fought to the end and promised to be back for what an almost inevitable rubber match at some point between the two champions.

Cain out-paced, grappled and struck Dos Santos with a ballsy strategy that relied on complete faith in his own conditioning level. We’ve heard for years about how Velasquez out-worked light and welterweights in the gym but we’ve rarely had to see him go the distance and show his supposed inhumane conditioning.

In the main event at UFC 155 Cain showed what all the gym-buzz was about. Velasquez used everything in his arsenal from the opening bell, from punches, kicks, knees to diving for take downs ceaselessly, and continued to until the final one. After Dos Santos quickly got back to his feet after Cain’s first successful take down in the opening stanza and then Velasquez began missing follow up low single leg attempts from far away, it appeared that the Chicano fighter might be on his way to getting frustrated by the then-champ.

However it soon became clear that Velasquez was simply employing a strategy set on tiring out the larger-muscled Brazilian from the onset. Cain’s low single leg attempts from far away were not so much about landing the take down as not letting Dos Santos rest at any point while managing to stay low and out of the way of his counter upper cuts.

As Dos Santos huffed and puffed in the first round and then began eating more and more shots on the feet, including a huge over hand right from Cain, it was evident that the Velasquez strategy was paying dividends.

Still, the now two-time champion had to stay clear of Dos Santos’ power for five rounds. Even when “Cigano” had his hands at his sides and ate huge shots to the chin against the fence, he followed up with wild but hard punches, one at a time, to the body and head of Velasquez. Cain got hit with plenty, but his Toltec stone statue-like head managed to hold up to Dos Santos’ power this time around.

From the sound of Dos Santos’ voice in his post-fight interview, he injured his jaw badly. His head was also badly bruised and swollen, no doubt outward evidence of concussions suffered internally. As such, and because Velasquez won so dominantly, an immediate rematch is out of the question.

That said, however, two exciting fights from this rivalry have left each man with one win a piece. There is no doubt that should both stay healthy and winning enough, that they will face one another at least one more time.

Fans can’t be upset with that. Well, maybe the Vegas crowd that inexplicably booed Dos Santos after his courageous effort could be, but other than those ignorant parasites, no fans could be upset with a third fight.

The only question is who Velasquez will fight next. If his teammate Daniel Cormier keeps on winning as he enters the UFC, he couldn’t be far off from deserving a title shot. The two have said they don’t want to fight one another but Dana White has a way of making these things happen.

Fight of the Night went to Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon, Submission of the Night went to John Moraga, who kicked off the preliminary card by choking out Chris Cariaso, and Knockout of the Night went to Todd Duffee, who scored a first round TKO (Caveman Seizure) over Phil De Fries.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Cain Velasquez def. Junior Dos Santos via Unanimous Decision
Jim Miller def. Joe Lauzon via Unanimous Decision
Costa Philippou def. Tim Boetsch via TKO (punches), 2:11 of Round Three
Yushin Okami def. Alan Belcher via Unanimous Decision
Derek Brunson def. Chris Leben via Unanimous Decision

Preliminary Card

Eddie Wineland def. Brad Pickett via Split-Decision
Erik Perez def. Byron Bloodworth via TKO (punches), 3:50 of Round One
Jamie Varner def. Melvin Guillard via Split-Decision
Myles Jury def. Michael Johnson via Unanimous Decision
Todd Duffee def. Phil De Fries via TKO (punches), 2:04 of Round One
Max Holloway def. Leonard Garcia via Split-Decision
John Moraga def. Chris Cariaso via Submission (arm-in guillotine choke), 1:11 of Round Three