Tag: Jake Shields

In one of the most anticipated bouts of the evening in New Orleans, Court McGee and Dongi Yang squared off looking to build their Middleweight resumes.

Action went under way as both McGee and Yang tested the waters early. Neither fighter made it a point to engage in on action as the fans began to see the beginning of arguably the the dullest bout of the evening.

If anything, McGee was protecting himself from any chance of Yang landing a strike that would leave him in defeat. McGee, who’s game plan was to ground and pound Yang to a decision didn’t do much grounding and pounding.

In fact, both fighters exchanged mediocre strikes as the crowd became uneasy. An occasional leg kick was landed followed by a strike from each McGee and Yang.

After a subpar first two rounds of action, the third round began as Yang demonstrated a sense of urgency and moved in towards McGee.

Yang landed a strike that sent McGee backwards as the crowd became involved for the first time in three rounds. As McGee appeared injured, Yang attempted a flying knee that was failed.

McGee took control and became pounding away on Yang who appeared to have took control of the fight just seconds before.

McGee locked in a late Guillotine Choke but Yang escaped and the third and final round came to an end.

While Yang landed the most vicious strike of the evening it wasn’t enough to change the minds of the judges. The judge’s scorecards read 30-27, 29-28, and 30-28 declaring the winner, McGee by Unanimous Decision.

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Conditioning is a cornerstone of a great fighter.  Court “The Crusher” McGee displayed conditioning, perseverance, and heart in his unanimous decision over Dongi ” The Ox” Yang in a return to the octagon for the TUF season eleven champion. 

Prior to the fight, Court dealt with numerous injuries including a total destruction of his knee before entering tonight’s fight.  Desire allowed him to push through the obstacles just to make it to tonight.  Known for his excellent cardio and conditioning, Court displayed it through-out the fight.  

As with his TUF Season Eleven fights, the action started slow, however Yang initiated pushing the action forward.  McGee showed his technical boxing background with his disciplined punching, however he wasn’t able to connect early in the fight.  Yang also wasn’t able to connect with his patented right hook early on as the crowd grew restless with the lack of significant action.

The action picked up when Yang connected with a right hook that dazed McGee.  However, Court clinched and fought through and regained his composure.  He turned the scramble into an opportunity to get in some dirty boxing and took control of the fight.  The training with weight vest and high altitude in Utah helped tremendously toward the apex of the fight as Yang was visibly tired.  If the fight lasted any longer, Yang would’ve definitely been submitted or even knocked out.

For future fights, Yang definitely should be more offensive in his approach instead of using counter-punching.  This strategy doesn’t bode well against technical strikers.  McGee, who will most likely move up in competition, should try to start his fights faster and more aggressive.  Waiting on the fight to come to him will undoubtedly backfire sooner than later. 

By Bleacher Report’s Antwyn Jackson

Vagner Rocha and Cody McKenzie squared off in what many expected to be a quick fight by way of submission.

In fact, of their 18 combined fights, fiften have ended in a submission victory for both Rocha and McKenzie.

In one of the more exciting bouts of the evening, Rocha and McKenzie exchanged strikes early and fairly evenly. While the two engaged in throwing strikes, it was just a matter of time until the fight was taken to the ground and the submission attempts began.

As expected, Rocha took control on the ground and looked to end McKenzie’s night early. McKenzie, unexpectedly showed exceptional submission defense as Rocha wouldn’t find an answer how to end his opponent.

While McKenzie demonstrated improved submission defense, the constant “fighting for his life” appeared to get the best of him as he began to gasp for air.

McKenzie, who looked to repeat history tried submitting Rocha via Guillotine Choke several times but was unsuccessful.

Finally, Rocha took complete control and began punishing McKenzie. The longer the fight went on the more entertained the fans became.

McKenzie truly demonstrated his heart as it appeared as if he was never going to tap.

While Rocha was unsuccessful in many submission attempts he finally connected on one that put an end to McKenzie’s night.

McKenzie walked out of the Octagon taking a step back in his mixed martial arts career and Rocha gained the biggest win of his career.

If you were looking for a Brazilian Jiu-Jistu clinic, this was the fight for you.  Vagner Rocha moved past his previous defeat to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 131 with a submission victory over TUF season twelve alum Cody McKenzie.

Weren’t we all looking for the patented “McKenzie-tine”?  We knew it was coming and true to form there was a guillotine attempt from Cody McKenzie within the first few minutes of the first round.  However, outside of the predictable guillotine, Cody Mckenzie impressed quite a bit with his submission defense and reversal of several submission attempts in the first round.  The TUF alum also showcased an improved striking game as well.  

However with all the improvements McKenzie made to his game, Vagner Rocha’s pedigree as a brazilian jiu-jistu ace came through as he forced the ground action once he fought through McKenzie’s striking.  Once the fight got in Vagner’s world, he showed why he’s called a BJJ ace.  He tried an Anaconda choke, guillotine choke, armbar, and a Darce choke in a very offensive ground assault.  He also got full-mount and threw some ground and pound at McKenzie.  

Had McKenzie shown a little more effort to get the fight back to standing, and wasn’t looking repeatedly for the guillotine, perhaps the fight would’ve turned out different.  He simply tired out from fighting off all the submission attempts.  His tap out wasn’t because of pain, it was more because he conceded to a jiu-jistu master.  

Vagner Rocha will need to get serious about his stand-up game in order to move up in the division, however this was an encouraging win.  McKenzie will look to round out his game in order to not be so predictable in the future. 

by Bleacher Report’s Antwyn Jackson