By now, you know the deal when it comes to Dana White’s videoblogs, and today’s “episode” is no different. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the aftermath of the UFC’s second Fox event, the UFC 143 videoblog contains the familiar mix of upper and downer moments, with an emphasis on the downer. Especially tough to watch is Joey Beltran’s realization that his Zuffa career may have reached a temporary standstill in the wake of his first round KO loss to Lavar Johnson. Keep your chin up, “Mexicutioner.”
Let’s get right to the highlights.
(0:45) –Jon Jones, seen here for the last time before disappearing into a thicket of notes from which he has yet to emerge.
(1:40) – Eric Wisely, still in awe of the calf-slicer Charles Oliveira was able to pull on him. The pain was apparently so incredible that Wisely has trouble explaining to the backstage physician where exactly the strain was.
By now, you know the deal when it comes to Dana White’s videoblogs, and today’s “episode” is no different. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the aftermath of the UFC’s second Fox event, the UFC 143 videoblog contains the familiar mix of upper and downer moments, with an emphasis on the downer. Especially tough to watch is Joey Beltran’s realization that his Zuffa career may have reached a temporary standstill in the wake of his first round KO loss to Lavar Johnson. Keep your chin up, “Mexicutioner.”
Let’s get right to the highlights.
(0:45) –Jon Jones, seen here for the last time before disappearing into a thicket of notes from which he has yet to emerge.
(1:40) – Eric Wisely, still in awe of the calf-slicer Charles Oliveira was able to pull on him. The pain was apparently so incredible that Wisely has trouble explaining to the backstage physician where exactly the strain was.
(3:30) – “Shit man, he take some knees, huh?” – John Olav Einemo, who seems a little more pissed about the clusterfuck of a plane ride he had to take from Norway in retrospect. He still manages to congratulate Mike Russow on his win, however. Stay classy, J.O.E.
(4:45) – Another look at the gash under Nick Lentz’s left eye that “cut” *snicker* his bout with Evan Dunham short.
(5:10) – Does anyone know who the older gentleman responsible for hyping up Michael Bisping is? He could give Flavor Flav a run for his money is all we’re saying.
(5:50) – The agony of defeat, paired here with the thrill of victory. And it’s honestly hard to tell which one is which.
(6:08) – Example #327 of why you never let it go to the judges. It’s like jumping off an air hockey table; it only opens the door for bitter disappointment.
(6:27) – After mirroring the above sentiment, Bisping says that Chael Sonnen “punches like a woman,” before congratulating him on the win. Oh, the ironing.
(6:50) – Bisping, now claiming that Sonnen agreed “The Count” may have taken the first two rounds of their middleweight clash. Man, Bisping just doesn’t have it in him to give a straight compliment to someone, does he? Though we agree, 30-27 was bullshit.
(8:19) – We’d be more grossed out by Phil Davis‘ shin wound if we hadn’t recently come across this.
(9:07) – Perhaps it’s due to my limited knowledge of the Hip hop genre, but it took me like 10 rewinds to figure out that the gentlemen asking DW for an autograph wasn’t T.I. It isn’t, right?
UFC on FOX 2 didn’t exactly hypnotize the network TV audience with thrilling MMA action on Saturday night, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe the UFC doesn’t need every FOX fight to be a shootout. Maybe both the network and the viewers need to know that sometimes you get a first-round knockout, and other times you get an hour’s worth of slow grinds — especially when five of your six main card fighters are grappling specialists.
For better or worse, both FOX and the UFC learned that lesson in Chicago this weekend. Now that the dust has settled, it’s time for a look at the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Rashad Evans
Okay, so it wasn’t the most entertaining fight. It was, in fact, about as entertaining as a bowl of oatmeal. Regardless, Evans took on an undefeated former national champion wrestler and shut him out on the scorecards. He was better than Davis everywhere — on the feet, on the mat, and between the ears. In short, Evans took on the next big thing and made him look like a man who was just glad to get out of there and go home by the end. With the win, he earned a title shot (again), and probably also some haters (again). If you weren’t an Evans fan before this fight, chances are you still aren’t. Chances are you hope Jon Jones will crush him when they meet to finally, hopefully end this rivalry, and chances are that Evans is just fine with that. The “Suga” we saw on Saturday night was one who seemed, perhaps for the first time, comfortable with his role as a methodical spoiler of prospects and deflater of hype. He has the patience of a glacier and is almost as difficult to move once he gets on top of you. Fans won’t ever love him for that, which is fine. As long he can live with it, he doesn’t need anyone’s permission to keep doing what he does best.
Biggest Loser: Demian Maia
Toward the end of Maia’s wheezing effort against Chris Weidman, Joe Rogan compared the fighters to two drunks brawling outside a bar. I disagree. Drunks have better game plans. While I can appreciate all the time Maia has put into developing a striking game, it’s still not a great one. It’s predictable, not terribly threatening, and, worst of all, it distracts him from his true strengths. Remember when Maia was the one-dimensional jiu-jitsu fighter who at least knew he was one-dimensional? He’d look for the takedown and the submission as if he had no other choice. He’d pull half-guard and actually make it work. Much like Rousimar Palhares with his leg locks, people knew what Maia was going to do and they still couldn’t stop him. Now they don’t need to. By ignoring the ground game in favor of a mediocre striking attack, he’s stopped himself. To make matters worse, he also quickly ran out of steam against Weidman, who at least had the short-notice element as an excuse for poor cardio. Maia? He had no excuse. If he keeps this up, he won’t have much of a future either.
Least Impressive in Victory: Mike Russow
After grinding out a decision over John Olav Einemo that was the very definition of ‘lay-and-pray,’ Russow said, “I can’t believe I’m 4-0 in the UFC right now.” That makes two of us. I suppose he did what he had to do to get his hand raised in front of the hometown crowd, but he sure didn’t do anything extra. If his plan was to take Einemo down, hold him there, and stay out of submissions, then mission accomplished. If it was to convince the UFC that he’s a heavyweight worth getting behind, then sorry, there’s still some work to do.
Most Impressive in Defeat: Michael Bisping
Bisping proved more by losing a narrow decision than Sonnen proved by beating him that way. In part that’s because Bisping came in as a 3-1 underdog. No one expected him to stay on his feet long enough to do much of anything, and yet he ended up controlling many of the clinches and even took Sonnen down once. Sonnen pursued more or less the exact same game plan against Bisping as he used against opponents like Nate Marquardt and Brian Stann, and Bisping stood up to it better than either of them. Not bad for a Brit who supposedly has no wrestling skills. Bisping will probably spend the next three decades of his life talking about how he got screwed out of that decision. This time you can’t really blame him. The third round was the only one he clearly lost, and the first two could have easily gone his way. To the people who still stubbornly insist on maintaining the conventional wisdom that Bisping is no good, or that he succeeds only because the UFC feeds him hand-picked opponents, it must have been uncomfortable to sit there and wait for the decision, knowing that Bisping could have very easily been declared the UFC’s top middleweight contender. Unfortunately for him (or maybe fortunately, depending on what you think about his chances against Anderson Silva), it wasn’t to be. But by taking the best Sonnen had and giving it right back to him, Bisping showed once and for all that he deserves to be taken seriously. You don’t have to like the guy, but you ought to respect his skills.
Back to the Drawing Board: Phil Davis
Any time the announcers start talking about what a great learning experience this is for you while the fight is still going on, that’s a bad sign. It’s not that Davis performed badly. Clearly, the man has some skills. He just doesn’t have all the skills necessary to be a top light heavyweight in the UFC, or at least not yet. His striking still seems largely perfunctory and his takedowns aren’t fooling anybody. That’s fine against a lower caliber of opponent, who Davis can muscle to the mat even when they know what’s coming, but it’s not going to work against the cream of the 205-pound crop. But let’s not freak out here. That was just Davis’ tenth pro fight. One hopes that he really did learn something from five unpleasant rounds with Evans, and at 27 years old he still has plenty of time to make the most of those lessons. That’s the trouble with being undefeated: it can be hard to know what you need to be spending time on in the gym, since no one has been able to make you pay for any of your mistakes. Now he knows. Of course, so does everyone else in the division.
The Carpe Diem Award for Day-Seizing Excellence: Chris Weidman
A lot of UFC middleweights might have declined the offer to drop 32 pounds in less than two weeks and fight a guy like Maia on network TV. But Weidman saw an opportunity to go from the prelims to the spotlight, and he made the most of it. The fight wasn’t exactly a thriller, and by the end of it both guys were huffing and puffing like New Year’s resolutioners after their first day at a gym in eight years, but hey, at least Weidman had a good excuse. Given his situation, any win would have been a good win. He might not have dazzled new viewers, but he answered the call and got his hand raised. Some nights that’s enough.
Most Surprising: Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz
It’s not the result so much as the method. Who would have guessed, back when he was taking heat for winning fights via wall-and-stall, that Lentz would have two Fight of the Night bonuses in his last three trips inside the Octagon? Certainly not anyone who saw his decision wins over Andre Winner or Tyson Griffin. And yet, now that Lentz has hid the roughest stretch of his pro career, suddenly he’s raking in the bonuses. Too bad he had to do so on the losing end, thanks to Dunham. At least this loss is better for Lentz’s bank account than the defeat via smothering that he suffered at the hands of Mark Bocek in his last outing. Then again, this one wasn’t nearly so kind to his face.
Least Improved: FOX Broadcast
This event didn’t feature a frantic Dana White shouting into the camera, but it did include a slightly bewildered Curt Menefee and a light heavyweight champ who was a little too dependent on his notes. The combination made every cut-away to the boys at the desk an awkward little experiment in live TV, while down on the floor Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg reminded us that, yes, it does pay to have a couple guys who have done this before. In fact, whenever the broadcast abandoned the stilted FOX Sports feel and gave way to the regular old UFC routine, that’s when it felt smooth and comfortable. It’s almost as if the UFC has got this stuff down to a science, and all FOX needs to do is get out of the way.
UFC on FOX 2 didn’t exactly hypnotize the network TV audience with thrilling MMA action on Saturday night, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe the UFC doesn’t need every FOX fight to be a shootout. Maybe both the network and the viewers need to know that sometimes you get a first-round knockout, and other times you get an hour’s worth of slow grinds — especially when five of your six main card fighters are grappling specialists.
For better or worse, both FOX and the UFC learned that lesson in Chicago this weekend. Now that the dust has settled, it’s time for a look at the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Rashad Evans
Okay, so it wasn’t the most entertaining fight. It was, in fact, about as entertaining as a bowl of oatmeal. Regardless, Evans took on an undefeated former national champion wrestler and shut him out on the scorecards. He was better than Davis everywhere — on the feet, on the mat, and between the ears. In short, Evans took on the next big thing and made him look like a man who was just glad to get out of there and go home by the end. With the win, he earned a title shot (again), and probably also some haters (again). If you weren’t an Evans fan before this fight, chances are you still aren’t. Chances are you hope Jon Jones will crush him when they meet to finally, hopefully end this rivalry, and chances are that Evans is just fine with that. The “Suga” we saw on Saturday night was one who seemed, perhaps for the first time, comfortable with his role as a methodical spoiler of prospects and deflater of hype. He has the patience of a glacier and is almost as difficult to move once he gets on top of you. Fans won’t ever love him for that, which is fine. As long he can live with it, he doesn’t need anyone’s permission to keep doing what he does best.
Biggest Loser: Demian Maia
Toward the end of Maia’s wheezing effort against Chris Weidman, Joe Rogan compared the fighters to two drunks brawling outside a bar. I disagree. Drunks have better game plans. While I can appreciate all the time Maia has put into developing a striking game, it’s still not a great one. It’s predictable, not terribly threatening, and, worst of all, it distracts him from his true strengths. Remember when Maia was the one-dimensional jiu-jitsu fighter who at least knew he was one-dimensional? He’d look for the takedown and the submission as if he had no other choice. He’d pull half-guard and actually make it work. Much like Rousimar Palhares with his leg locks, people knew what Maia was going to do and they still couldn’t stop him. Now they don’t need to. By ignoring the ground game in favor of a mediocre striking attack, he’s stopped himself. To make matters worse, he also quickly ran out of steam against Weidman, who at least had the short-notice element as an excuse for poor cardio. Maia? He had no excuse. If he keeps this up, he won’t have much of a future either.
Least Impressive in Victory: Mike Russow
After grinding out a decision over John Olav Einemo that was the very definition of ‘lay-and-pray,’ Russow said, “I can’t believe I’m 4-0 in the UFC right now.” That makes two of us. I suppose he did what he had to do to get his hand raised in front of the hometown crowd, but he sure didn’t do anything extra. If his plan was to take Einemo down, hold him there, and stay out of submissions, then mission accomplished. If it was to convince the UFC that he’s a heavyweight worth getting behind, then sorry, there’s still some work to do.
Most Impressive in Defeat: Michael Bisping
Bisping proved more by losing a narrow decision than Sonnen proved by beating him that way. In part that’s because Bisping came in as a 3-1 underdog. No one expected him to stay on his feet long enough to do much of anything, and yet he ended up controlling many of the clinches and even took Sonnen down once. Sonnen pursued more or less the exact same game plan against Bisping as he used against opponents like Nate Marquardt and Brian Stann, and Bisping stood up to it better than either of them. Not bad for a Brit who supposedly has no wrestling skills. Bisping will probably spend the next three decades of his life talking about how he got screwed out of that decision. This time you can’t really blame him. The third round was the only one he clearly lost, and the first two could have easily gone his way. To the people who still stubbornly insist on maintaining the conventional wisdom that Bisping is no good, or that he succeeds only because the UFC feeds him hand-picked opponents, it must have been uncomfortable to sit there and wait for the decision, knowing that Bisping could have very easily been declared the UFC’s top middleweight contender. Unfortunately for him (or maybe fortunately, depending on what you think about his chances against Anderson Silva), it wasn’t to be. But by taking the best Sonnen had and giving it right back to him, Bisping showed once and for all that he deserves to be taken seriously. You don’t have to like the guy, but you ought to respect his skills.
Back to the Drawing Board: Phil Davis
Any time the announcers start talking about what a great learning experience this is for you while the fight is still going on, that’s a bad sign. It’s not that Davis performed badly. Clearly, the man has some skills. He just doesn’t have all the skills necessary to be a top light heavyweight in the UFC, or at least not yet. His striking still seems largely perfunctory and his takedowns aren’t fooling anybody. That’s fine against a lower caliber of opponent, who Davis can muscle to the mat even when they know what’s coming, but it’s not going to work against the cream of the 205-pound crop. But let’s not freak out here. That was just Davis’ tenth pro fight. One hopes that he really did learn something from five unpleasant rounds with Evans, and at 27 years old he still has plenty of time to make the most of those lessons. That’s the trouble with being undefeated: it can be hard to know what you need to be spending time on in the gym, since no one has been able to make you pay for any of your mistakes. Now he knows. Of course, so does everyone else in the division.
The Carpe Diem Award for Day-Seizing Excellence: Chris Weidman
A lot of UFC middleweights might have declined the offer to drop 32 pounds in less than two weeks and fight a guy like Maia on network TV. But Weidman saw an opportunity to go from the prelims to the spotlight, and he made the most of it. The fight wasn’t exactly a thriller, and by the end of it both guys were huffing and puffing like New Year’s resolutioners after their first day at a gym in eight years, but hey, at least Weidman had a good excuse. Given his situation, any win would have been a good win. He might not have dazzled new viewers, but he answered the call and got his hand raised. Some nights that’s enough.
Most Surprising: Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz
It’s not the result so much as the method. Who would have guessed, back when he was taking heat for winning fights via wall-and-stall, that Lentz would have two Fight of the Night bonuses in his last three trips inside the Octagon? Certainly not anyone who saw his decision wins over Andre Winner or Tyson Griffin. And yet, now that Lentz has hid the roughest stretch of his pro career, suddenly he’s raking in the bonuses. Too bad he had to do so on the losing end, thanks to Dunham. At least this loss is better for Lentz’s bank account than the defeat via smothering that he suffered at the hands of Mark Bocek in his last outing. Then again, this one wasn’t nearly so kind to his face.
Least Improved: FOX Broadcast
This event didn’t feature a frantic Dana White shouting into the camera, but it did include a slightly bewildered Curt Menefee and a light heavyweight champ who was a little too dependent on his notes. The combination made every cut-away to the boys at the desk an awkward little experiment in live TV, while down on the floor Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg reminded us that, yes, it does pay to have a couple guys who have done this before. In fact, whenever the broadcast abandoned the stilted FOX Sports feel and gave way to the regular old UFC routine, that’s when it felt smooth and comfortable. It’s almost as if the UFC has got this stuff down to a science, and all FOX needs to do is get out of the way.
Swanson vs. Roop provided an early candidate for Side-Punchface of the Year. Props: UFC.com
Remember how last night, you invited your non-MMA fan friends over to introduce them to our sport? You spent the past week talking about how Chael Sonnen is one of the best trash talkers in professional sports, and how technical and talented these fighters were. You figured that after three fights that were guaranteed to be exceptional, your friends would be won over to MMA fandom. Then you’d continue to drink and be merry all night, and we’d all meet up here today for our traditional post-UFC event GIF party where we all high five over how awesome the fights were.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, you found yourself doing damage control as you watched three fights worth of sloppy brawling, wall and stall and Chael Sonnen’s blatant swaggerjacking of homage to “Superstar” Billy Graham. You tried to convince them that the fights are usually nothing like this, and that these guys gassing out and the end of the first round are world class athletes. Eventually, one of your friends said “I bet Pacquiao would destroy ANY of these guys” as the rest of your friends grabbed their coats and said they’d call you next time they wanted to watch the fights.
Okay, so last night sucked. But we’ve been planning this party all week, and we’ll be damned if we cancel it at this point. So grab an alcoholic beverage, put on your gaudiest Affliction shirt and join us for our traditional post-UFC event GIF Party.
Swanson vs. Roop provided an early candidate for Side-Punchface of the Year. Props: UFC.com
Remember how last night, you invited your non-MMA fan friends over to introduce them to our sport? You spent the past week talking about how Chael Sonnen is one of the best trash talkers in professional sports, and how technical and talented these fighters were. You figured that after three fights that were guaranteed to be exceptional, your friends would be won over to MMA fandom. Then you’d continue to drink and be merry all night, and we’d all meet up here today for our traditional post-UFC event GIF party where we all high five over how awesome the fights were.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, you found yourself doing damage control as you watched three fights worth of sloppy brawling, wall and stall and Chael Sonnen’s blatant swaggerjacking of homage to “Superstar” Billy Graham. You tried to convince them that the fights are usually nothing like this, and that these fighters gassing out and the end of the first round are world class athletes. Eventually, one of your friends said “I bet Pacquiao would destroy ANY of these guys” as the rest of your friends grabbed their coats and promised they’d call you next time they wanted to watch the fights.
Okay, so last night sucked. But we’ve been planning this party all week, and we’ll be damned if we cancel it at this point. So grab an alcoholic beverage, put on your gaudiest Affliction shirt and join us for our traditional post-UFC event GIF Party.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Evan Dunham was thought to be on the short list of contenders for the UFC lightweight strap.However, the Xtreme Couture product succumbed to back-to-back losses which sent him to the tail end of the of the division. Sin…
It wasn’t all that long ago that Evan Dunham was thought to be on the short list of contenders for the UFC lightweight strap.
However, the Xtreme Couture product succumbed to back-to-back losses which sent him to the tail end of the of the division. Since then, Dunham has rattled off a two-fight win streak, recently toppling Nik Lentz in a “Fight of the Night” performance on the UFC’s second venture on the FOX network.
Now that Dunham has become a relevant and viable fighter in the division once again, where does he go from here?
Totally illegal in NCAA competition. (Photo: UFC.com)
“It’s usually not like this.” With that text I found myself apologizing to a UFC-virgin for the first time in a long time. My friend had just told me that she was at home watching the the show on FOX, without any provocation from me mind you. “This is that fighting you like, right???”. I assured her that the event had yet to capture the energy and excitement indicative of the sport. “I’m going back and forth between this and figure skating,” she replied. I can’t really say I blame her, either.
While we expected plenty of grappling in the bouts themselves, the wrestling theme seemed to carry on throughout the production at large. The usually-charismatic Jon Jones wrestled with his notes, relying on them not just for in-depth fight analysis but for simple things like his thoughts on fighting Rashad. The opening act wrestled with fatigue, leading to a performance as exhausting for fans as it was for the competitors in the cage. And once again, FOX wrestled with an underwhelming broadcast that left the most exciting action behind in the prelims.
Enough belly aching about the show itself, let’s take a look at what made such a promising event so forgettable for the masses.
Totally illegal in NCAA competition. (Photo: UFC.com)
“It’s usually not like this.” With that text I found myself apologizing to a UFC-virgin for the first time in a long time. My friend had just told me that she was at home watching the the show on FOX, without any provocation from me mind you. “This is that fighting you like, right???”. I assured her that the event had yet to capture the energy and excitement indicative of the sport. “I’m going back and forth between this and figure skating,” she replied. I can’t really say I blame her, either.
While we expected plenty of grappling in the bouts themselves, the wrestling theme seemed to carry on throughout the production at large. The usually-charismatic Jon Joneswrestled with his notes, relying on them not just for in-depth fight analysis but for simple things like his thoughts on fighting Rashad. The opening act wrestled with fatigue, leading to a performance as exhausting for fans as it was for the competitors in the cage. And once again, FOX wrestled with an underwhelming broadcast that left the most exciting action behind in the prelims.
Enough belly aching about the show itself, let’s take a look at what made such a promising event so forgettable for the masses.
The first fight of the FOX broadcast was a dreadful match between Demian Maia and Chris Weidman. The All-American wrestler showed little fear of Maia’s proven BJJ, taking him down numerous times throughout the bout. Though he went down without much trouble, Maia impressively scrambled back to his feet more often than not. His striking, however, left much to be desired. The Brazilian showcased limited weapons in the stand-up, though neither man went for the kill, even when they had the stamina to do so. Weidman’s cardio woes are easily forgiven; he took this fight on eleven-days notice following Munoz’s departure from the card. Maia’s lethargy is a bit less understandable. The pair were beyond exhausted in round three, opting to forgo the opportunities they found themselves in simply because it was far less tiring to do nothing at all. Weidman took the split decision in a (hopefully) easily forgotten performance. As the lone lead-in for the co-main events, this bout really set the stage for a disappointing evening.
Perhaps it’s best that Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen had a scant eleven days to talk up their bout, as it didn’t live up to the hastened hype it received. It’s not their fault, really. They both fought their asses off, it’s just that each man made the other look bad. The opening seconds reflected what many expected from this bout, with Chael landing an instant takedown and going to work. A moment later, however, Bisping threw the script out of the Octagon and popped right back up to his feet. His defensive wrestling wasn’t limited to the ground, either. The Brit surprised many everyone by repeatedly circling off the fence, pinning Sonnen against the cage and controlling much of the action. Though not much happened in the clinch, he outworked “The American Gangster” in the center of the cage as well, finding a home for his hands. Round three was all Chael; the self-proclaimed Middleweight champion put “The Count” in peril while taking his back and mounting him. If Twitter is any indication, exactly 50% of you are outraged with Sonnen’s unanimous decision victory. If even industry experts can’t agree on who won and by what margin, what must new fans have thought of the outcome? A fist fight should be a relatively easy affair to judge, but a bout like this puts MMA’s nebulous scoring system in the spotlight. The UFC now has the momentous rematch with Anderson Silva that they’d hoped for, but Chael’s performance hardly commanded the second bite at the apple like his submission win over Stann did.
The main event pitted perennial #1 contender Rashad Evans against the undefeated Phil Davis. Evans insisted that he would out-wrestle “Mr. Wonderful” convincingly, collegiate pedigrees be damned, and was confident that the rising star would fade under the bright lights of a high-stakes bout. As the final seconds of round one ticked away, and he stared up at those bright lights with his back against the canvas and his arms pinned in a crucifix, Davis must have heard Rashad’s claims echoing in his mind. Davis’ stand-up, though vastly improved, was still too sluggish for Rashad’s fast hands, and he repeatedly found himself in compromising positions on the ground throughout the bout. At times Davis looked disillusioned, but he never stopped fighting, he never allowed Rashad to put him away. He’ll benefit from this loss and has ample time to develop his skills and grow as a fighter. Evans will find no such respite. Following his unanimous decision win, the UFC has once again dangled the Jon Jones carrot in front of him. Fortunately he has little time to question if the fight will actually take place. The former training partners and friends are slated to dance at UFC 145 in Atlanta, Georgia. Assuming Evans picked up no injuries in his five round battle, this gives him just enough time to recover and get in a full training camp for the April 21st bout.
You need look no further than last night’s bonus checks for proof that the best of last night’s tussles were left on the cutting room floor. Lavar Johnson hurt Joey Beltran early with body shots, but it was a torrent of brutal uppercuts that dropped “The Mexicutioner” late in first round. Johnson picked up $65k for the evening’s “Knock out of the Night” and the first win for a Strikeforce heavyweight since their formal assimilation into the Octagon. Eric Wisely’s UFC debut was short lived. Charles Oliveira welcomed the rookie to the cage with some hard leg kicks before taking him to the ground and raining down shots. The Brazilian quickly transitioned from leg lock to leg lock before catching a rare calf-slicer and drawing the tap in just 1:43 of the first round. A terrific debut at Featherweight for “Do Bronx” was made all the sweeter with a check for the “Submission of the Night”. In the evening’s “Fight of the Night”, Evan Dunham and Nick Lentz swung away early and often. There was little feeling out process as the two traded shots in close quarters throughout the first frame. Both fighters slowed in round two, but their assaults were just as spirited. Dunham battered Lentz on the ground, swelling and cutting the fighter just below his eye. The damage was serious enough to limit his vision and force cage-side physicians to halt the bout between the second and third frames.
Main Bouts (on Fox at 8 p.m. ET on Fox): -Rashad Evans def. Phil Davis by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45), R5
-Chael Sonnen def. Michael Bisping by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), R3
-Chris Weidman def. Demian Maia by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), R3
Preliminary Bouts (on Fuel TV at 5 p.m. ET on Fuel TV):
-Evan Dunham def. Nick Lentz by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00, R2.
-Mike Russow def. Jon Olav Einemo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Cub Swanson def. George Roop by TKO (punches) at 2:22, R2
-Charles Oliveira def. Eric Wisely via submission at 1:43, R1
-Michael Johnson def. Shane Roller by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
-Lavar Johnson def. Joey Beltran by knockout (punches) at 4:24, R1
-Chris Camozzi def. Dustin Jacoby by submission (front choke) at 1:08, R3
On a night that was headlined by six top-10 fighters in their respective weight classes, it was an undercard bout between lightweights Evan Dunham and Nik Lentz which stole the show and won a decisive “Fight of the Night” bonus from the UFC on FOX 2 ev…
On a night that was headlined by six top-10 fighters in their respective weight classes, it was an undercard bout between lightweights Evan Dunham and Nik Lentz which stole the show and won a decisive “Fight of the Night” bonus from the UFC on FOX 2 event.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Lentz stepped into the fight against Dunham on short notice, just a month and a half after his most recent bout against Mark Bocek at UFC 140. Lentz let his hands fly perhaps more than we have ever seen him do in his UFC career, but ended up on his back where he took a huge elbow from Dunham that opened up a large cut under his left eye.
The fight was eventually stopped between the second and third rounds as Dunham was declared the winner by TKO.
“I was surprised by it,” Dunham told MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani after the bout, regarding the stoppage. “Honestly, I wanted the fight to continue. I felt momentum was building majorly in my favor and I was very confident I was going to put him away in the third. I was a little bit disappointed when they stopped it because I wanted to keep fighting.”
Dunham did admit that he would have probably given the first round to Lentz if he was a judge, but it didn’t end up mattering whatsoever as he was able to finish the fight with the elbows. It will be interesting to see where this highly skilled and motivated lightweight goes in 2012.
“I’d really like to fight the winner of the [Joe] Lauzon and [Anthony] Pettis fight,” Dunham said.
Whoever his next fight is, Dunham will be riding some serious momentum after this impressive victory.
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On a night that was headlined by six top-10 fighters in their respective weight classes, it was an undercard bout between lightweights 