Things have changed since Joe Stevenson was seen on season two of “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF). Stevenson won the TUF welterweight tournament back in Nov. 2005 against Luke Cummo. After that bout, he would go 4-1 before receiving a shot at B.J. Penn’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight gold. While Stevenson was submitted in the […]
Things have changed since Joe Stevenson was seen on season two of “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF). Stevenson won the TUF welterweight tournament back in Nov. 2005 against Luke Cummo. After that bout, he would go 4-1 before receiving a shot at B.J. Penn’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight gold. While Stevenson was submitted in the […]
(Photographer unknown. Level of badassery incalculable.)
For this installment of the CagePotato Roundtable, we invited a few of our photographer buddies over to discuss our all-time favorite MMA photos. Judging by our selections, shots of agony and defeat have a special attraction to them. I think it’s because they allow us to get close to an incredibly intense, transcendent moment, without having to experience the pain of it. And isn’t that why we love MMA in the first place? Our special guests for today are…
Disclaimer: There’s a short list of MMA photographers who have asked us to stop posting their work on this site due to copyright issues, and a couple of contributors to this week’s column happened to select photos taken by those photographers. We’ve used stand-ins in those cases, with links to the actual photos. Also, we don’t know why BJ Penn is so heavily represented in this column. The guy always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Lee Whitehead
(Click image for larger version.)
I have many favorite photos from all the years shooting MMA but this one has to rank amongst the very top purely because of all the flack and accusations of photoshop manipulation with the blood spurt; professionals can spot a ringer, and this ain’t one. The disappointing thing is that all negative comments detract from our main strength as MMA photographers — to understand the sport, spot smaller nuances, read the timing, and capture a key defining moment in a fight. To me, this brief slice of time from UFC 80 serves as the perfect reminder of how dominant BJ Penn was in his prime.
(Photographer unknown. Level of badassery incalculable.)
For this installment of the CagePotato Roundtable, we invited a few of our photographer buddies over to discuss our all-time favorite MMA photos. Judging by our selections, shots of agony and defeat have a special attraction to them. I think it’s because they allow us to get close to an incredibly intense, transcendent moment, without having to experience the pain of it. And isn’t that why we love MMA in the first place? Our special guests for today are…
Disclaimer: There’s a short list of MMA photographers who have asked us to stop posting their work on this site due to copyright issues, and a couple of contributors to this week’s column happened to select photos taken by those photographers. We’ve used stand-ins in those cases, with links to the actual photos. Also, we don’t know why BJ Penn is so heavily represented in this column. The guy always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Lee Whitehead
(Click image for larger version.)
I have many favorite photos from all the years shooting MMA but this one has to rank amongst the very top purely because of all the flack and accusations of photoshop manipulation with the blood spurt; professionals can spot a ringer, and this ain’t one. The disappointing thing is that all negative comments detract from our main strength as MMA photographers — to understand the sport, spot smaller nuances, read the timing, and capture a key defining moment in a fight. To me, this brief slice of time from UFC 80 serves as the perfect reminder of how dominant BJ Penn was in his prime.
Megumi Fujii entered her Bellator 34 fight against Zoila Gurgel with an undefeated record of 22 consecutive wins. This bout was a war; both fighter threw bombs at each other all night. In the end, Gurgel had her hand raised in a very controversial victory. I was lucky to have a position next to the gate, and After Fujii exited the cage, I was able to get this shot. It was one of the few shots I question myself about taking. Was I being voyeuristic in a moment of deep despair? Should I have allowed this person a private moment to feel their pain? I was very empathic to her feelings. By my account she had won that fight.
Although I wouldn’t really dub this my “favorite” MMA photo of all time, being that Chuck Liddell was and always will be one of the guys I would willingly storm the gates of Hell with, it’s easily the most iconic, and the first that came to my mind when this Roundtable topic was dropped in my lap. Let’s face it, before some guy called Anderson Silva arrived and decimated every UFC record known to man, Chuck Liddell was the scariest dude on the planet — the Governor to our Woodbury, if you will. Not only was “The Iceman” a champion, he abided by the Kenny Florian maxim of fight-finishing while Ken-Flo was still popping zits on his face and jacking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalog.
The point is, Liddell was untouchable. And when the only man to actually defeat him (a fact that most fans weren’t even aware of at the time) without receiving a proper revenge beatdown in return (*cough* Randy Couture, Jeremy Horn *cough*) entered the UFC and managed to do so a second time at UFC 71, it was like watching a public execution of a beloved children’s cartoon. The Iceman era was over, never to return, and this photo captured that sickening realization all too well. As Big John huddles over a semi-conscious Liddell, it almost appears as if the fallen champ is still trying to grasp at, or is perhaps reflecting on, the fleeting remnants of his empire as they disintegrate around him. It’s a heartbreaking, yet beautifully composed and symmetrical shot, and portrays the conflicting mix of emotions present when the metaphorical torch is passed better than any other MMA photo I’ve ever come across.
*pours out a drink for the Iceman and cries into Kimiko-tan*
For years, we’ve watched what many consider modern-day Gladiators battle it out for honor, glory, and cold hard cash. And in the countless fights we’ve been witness to, only a select few, by comparison, have been etched in our minds and the history books forevermore. From the joy of winning to the agony of defeat. From snapped limbs and KO faces to fighters nearly falling out of the ring. At the end of the night when the blood has dried and the swelling has subsided, these warriors remain mortal men like the rest of us, men with families whom they love and cherish. No more emotionally charged (and controversial) photo in the MMA community exists than the one of Mark Coleman with his young daughters after losing to Fedor Emelianenko at Pride 32.
The above photo is my favorite in MMA because of what I remember when I look upon it. First you have Mark Coleman, a dad, enjoying his most precious “prize” — his daughters. Despite him losing and his deformed face at the time, Coleman got on the mic, called out for his daughters, and got down on their level to explain that he was okay. To hear “The Hammer” tell it, as soon as he saw his daughters he immediately had to turn into a father. Then you have his girls, whose love and concern for their father is far greater than any world championship or over-sized check. The father-daughter relationship is more important than trophies or medals, and he knew it. Knowing his kids just watched him get beat up, he made a bold (and great) decision to make sure he could console them as soon as he could. Good job, dad. How can you not be moved when looking at this picture? Sure, he collected a paycheck for the brutality he suffered in the ring, but he did it for us.
You sign a contract to fight a certain opponent on a certain night. Either you think you’re better than the other guy, or you think you can figure out a way to win. You train as hard as you can. You craft a game-plan. When the time comes, you do your absolute best. And in an instant, you realize that it wasn’t enough. Your confidence was a lie. None of it mattered.
Anybody can get caught with a punch they didn’t see coming, or snatched up in a submission hold because they left their arm out for a split-second too long. You can excuse those losses in your mind. “He was the better man that night,” etc. But to be dominated from bell to bell for 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, or 25 minutes — that’s tough. At a certain point you realize that the miraculous comeback isn’t going to happen. Plan A didn’t work, and Plan B didn’t work, and you never really came up with a Plan C. Your opponent is hurting you in ways that you simply don’t know how to defend, and he’s getting stronger as you get weaker. You’re losing. You’ve lost.
They say the eyes are the windows the the soul, right? I look at Sam Morris’s photo of BJ Penn being dominated by Georges St. Pierre, and I can’t find it. The spirit has left the body, and the body is just waiting for it to be over. Penn is one of those fighters — like Tito Ortiz, like Quinton Jackson — who used to be the best in the world, and has managed to convince himself that on some level, he’ll always be the best in the world, or at least capable of greatness on any given night. And I wonder what Penn was telling himself the moment this photo was taken at UFC 94, when reality was smashing him in the face.
Jason Wright
One of the most memorable MMA photos for me is this photo of Rashad Evans after he was KO’ed by Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 (I can’t find a version with the proper photo credits). There’s so much to like here. The swollen, bloody lips, the unevenly rolled down eyes — you can tell that no one is home. He looks more alien than human. Let’s face it, unless your name is Rashad Evans, your first reaction to the photo is probably one of laughter. And if you are not a fan of Evans, you may keep on laughing for a few. I still grin every time I look at his photo, and for me that is a key factor to a great photograph — it stirs emotion.
It’s a glimpse at what was once the inexorable consequence of attempting to dethrone the MMA world’s unstoppable force — Arlovksi’s chin was clearly not the immovable object. The Pitbull lies prone, eyes open but unseeing, not so much a vanquished victim as an obstacle that happened to be in the way of something that refused to divert course. Fedor casually walks away, seemingly indifferent to the fact that he has just knocked out yet another challenger and retained his place among the sport’s elite in front of a sold-out arena of screaming fans.
Along with his almost decade-long reign atop the heavyweight division, the perception of Fedor as a cool, emotionless enigma, contributed to his mythic status among MMA fans. he was the MMA equivalent of Anton Chigurh. Until, of course, he wasn’t anymore. This Sherdog photograph manages to capture not only that sense of invincibility and mystique Fedor possessed, but the inevitable outcome that accompanied his fights at the time. It didn’t merely capture the qualities of the fighter himself but also an era of the heavyweight division — and MMA in general — which that fighter managed to define.
Aaron Mandel
Francis Specker‘s photo of the H-Bomb being deployed on Michael Bisping is my favorite MMA photograph of all time. This bout went down at UFC 100 — arguably the biggest card in terms of hype and talent the promotion had ever put on — and it was the culmination of the “Ultimate Fighter: US vs. UK” season where Bisping came across to most viewers as a complete and total douchebag. When Hendo knocked him out standing up and then lined up the totally unnecessary, yet somehow totally awesome follow up shot that this photo captures, many fans went wild.
This photo also marks the moment when Dan Henderson, who has a title shot coming up next month, got his mojo back. When Henderson came over from Pride in 2007 and lost two title shots at both middleweight and light-heavyweight, his career momentum was seriously derailed. His next two fights were rather unexciting decision wins, and going into the Bisping fight, people were losing interest in this seemingly aging veteran. With his destruction of Bisping, Henderson put himself back on the map, and while he left the UFC over a contract dispute then lost a disappointing fight to Jake Shields, Henderson’s next three fights were violent finishes and his return to the UFC was one of the greatest wars ever seen.
If you have a topic idea for a future Roundtable column, please send it to [email protected].
Joe “Daddy” Stevenson’s return to the cage was foiled by everyone’s favorite not-really-gay gay porn star Dakota Cochrane last night, who submitted “Daddy” with a rear naked choke. For Stevenson, this is obviously a disappointment. His losing streak has reached five in a row now, his skills have seemingly peaked, and thanks to Ian McCall he doesn’t even own the best patriarchal nickname in MMA anymore. Though to be fair, that was probably because no one else had one. At any rate, he’s not going to reach the big time again, as the sport has passed him by. It’s a shame, but at least he can always hold on to the fact that his face will always be remembered. Well, at least the parts of it that were not obscured by his own blood.
(Fight video props: IronForgesIron. The hot man-on-man action starts at the 7:01 mark.)
Joe “Daddy” Stevenson’s return to the cage was foiled by everyone’s favorite not-really-gay gay porn star Dakota Cochrane last night, who submitted “Daddy” with a rear naked choke. For Stevenson, this is obviously a disappointment. His losing streak has reached five in a row now, his skills have seemingly peaked, and thanks to Ian McCall he doesn’t even own the best patriarchal nickname in MMA anymore. Though to be fair, that was probably because no one else had one. At any rate, he’s not going to reach the big time again, as the sport has passed him by. It’s a shame, but at least he can always hold on to the fact that his face will always be remembered. Well, at least the parts of it that were not obscured by his own blood.
For Dakota, a win over Joe “Daddy” definitely bolsters his resume. He may never be able to shed his reputation, but being a successful cagefighter probably helps quell any critics he has to deal with. And frankly, while I’m not suggesting that singling out a fighter because of their sexual orientation is a good thing, I do think that Cochrane’s presence and success in the sport bodes well for any future (or currently closeted) gay or bisexual fighters. Even if Cochrane doesn’t consider himself one of them.
In many ways, the MMA, especially the UFC — as a promotion and a sport — is fundamentally rooted in modernity. It has very little history beyond the past two decades. As the sport has evolved in the past few years, so has the moral perception of homosexuality. While these two things aren’t necessarily related, they also mean that the sport hasn’t really had time to cultivate a culture that is oppressive to homosexuals. Sure, Dana White has dropped the other f-bomb occasionally (though, if a word’s offensive, you can bet it came out of his mouth at some point), Big Nog won’t train with gays and there are probably a decent number of fans who are homophobes. But given the complete lack of outrage over Cochrane’s past, the fact that he was allowed to try out for TUF and that he was in a headlining fight last night, it seems that the general MMA community is prepared to adopt a moral standard for sexuality that reflects the modern age during which the sport has developed.
It doesn’t matter who you fuck, just as long as you can fight.
After the WEC merged with the UFC in early 2011, most MMA fans were quick to write off the competitors in its lightweight division, claiming that they would simply be outmatched by their UFC counterparts. The success of current lightweight champ Ben Henderson, along with that of guys like Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis quickly disproved this notion, but one fighter who has gone almost completely unnoticed at 155 has been that of Danny Castillo. The Team Alpha Male standout’s record currently stands at 3-1 in the UFC, including a win over former number one contender Joe Stevenson in his promotional debut. On the heels of a split decision victory over noted striker Anthony Njokuani at UFC 141 in December, Castillo will be looking to build on his current two-fight win streak against Strikeforce veteran and submission savant John Cholish on the preliminary card of next weekend’s UFC on FOX 3 event. We were recently able to snag an interview with “Last Call,” who dished on everything from TRT to his stance on teammates fighting teammates. Enjoy, and make sure to follow Danny and all his Alpha Male cohorts on Twitter.
CAGEPOTATO.COM: Thanks for interview opportunity, Danny. I was wondering if we could first talk about your UFC 141 victory over Anthony Njokuani. How would you assess your performance in that fight?
Danny Castillo: “I would rate my performance about a D+. It wasn’t the best fight of my career. I was able to get a victory on four weeks of training, and I had just fought prior to that in November against Shamar Bailey. I pretty much went in there with the gameplan to wrestle the whole time; I knew that that was one of the flaws in [Njokuani’s] game. He’s a dangerous fighter. He was one of the most exciting fighters in the WEC, and he’s probably one of the top five strikers inside the UFC. On four weeks notice, I wasn’t prepared to necessarily stand with him or to sit in the pocket against his strengths. His ground game was greatly improved, and now that I’ve done some training with him I understand why; he’s got a phenomenal Jiu-Jitsu coach in Sergio Penha. As far as I’m concerned, I think I won the first and the third round. I probably had about six takedowns throughout the fight, and I think I did enough to win the fight.”
Follow us after the jump for Castillo’s thoughts on the TRT debate, the possibility of fighting a teammate, and more.
After the WEC merged with the UFC in early 2011, most MMA fans were quick to write off the competitors in its lightweight division, claiming that they would simply be outmatched by their UFC counterparts. The success of current lightweight champ Ben Henderson, along with that of guys like Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis quickly disproved this notion, but one fighter who has gone almost completely unnoticed at 155 has been that of Danny Castillo. The Team Alpha Male standout’s record currently stands at 3-1 in the UFC, including a win over former number one contender Joe Stevenson in his promotional debut. On the heels of a split decision victory over noted striker Anthony Njokuani at UFC 141 in December, Castillo will be looking to build on his current two-fight win streak against Strikeforce veteran and submission savant John Cholish on the preliminary card of next weekend’s UFC on FOX 3 event. We were recently able to snag an interview with “Last Call,” who dished on everything from TRT to his stance on teammates fighting teammates. Enjoy, and make sure to follow Danny and all his Alpha Male cohorts on Twitter.
CAGEPOTATO.COM: Thanks for interview opportunity, Danny. I was wondering if we could first talk about your UFC 141 victory over Anthony Njokuani. How would you assess your performance in that fight?
Danny Castillo: “I would rate my performance about a D+. It wasn’t the best fight of my career. I was able to get a victory on four weeks of training, and I had just fought prior to that in November against Shamar Bailey. I pretty much went in there with the gameplan to wrestle the whole time; I knew that that was one of the flaws in [Njokuani’s] game. He’s a dangerous fighter. He was one of the most exciting fighters in the WEC, and he’s probably one of the top five strikers inside the UFC. On four weeks notice, I wasn’t prepared to necessarily stand with him or to sit in the pocket against his strengths. His ground game was greatly improved, and now that I’ve done some training with him I understand why; he’s got a phenomenal Jiu-Jitsu coach in Sergio Penha. As far as I’m concerned, I think I won the first and the third round. I probably had about six takedowns throughout the fight, and I think I did enough to win the fight.”
Let’s move on to your upcoming fight with John Cholish at UFC on Fox 3. Do you see yourself as the underdog coming into this fight, and if so, are you the type of fighter who relishes that role?
“I’m not really sure if I like the role of being the underdog, but I’ve been the underdog my whole career so I’m kind of used to it. As far as John Cholish is concerned, I view him as one of my toughest fights to date, mainly because any fight that I have is my toughest fight. For someone who doesn’t get a lot of respect from the UFC, a loss could be detrimental to my career, especially to an unnamed guy like Cholish.”
How do you prepare for, as you said, a relatively unknown guy like Cholish?
“I know he’s a tough dude; he’s a solid wrestler, he comes from a great Jiu-Jitsu background, he’s got great foot work, and his striking doesn’t seem to be that bad. Losing to him would be horrible for my career, so I view it as a really tough fight. I’ve only got footage of two of his fights; one of his fights was two years ago. It seems like young fighters have huge changes in their careers from month to month because they’re still learning and improving. From his fight against Marc Stevens to his last fight in the UFC, I’ve just seen a huge improvement in him. I’m sure the pressure’s on him to step his game up, so I guarantee he’s been training like this is the toughest fight of his career, which it will be.”
Without revealing too much, how do you see this fight going down?
“I’ve been working a lot on my stand up. I got booed for wrestling in my last fight, so I’d like to repay the fans with a standup fight and sit there and bang with this kid. I think it might be one of his holes in his game. I don’t think he has a lot of power and I think I got a lot of power. I don’t see any knockouts on his record and I have a few knockouts in my career, so I’d like to stand with him. How I see the fight going is [Cholish] attacking my legs for fifteen minutes and me stuffing the takedowns, you know, just sprawlin’ and brawlin’.”
Granted you are successful, are there any specific opponents at 155 that you’d like to face next?
“There’s no one in particular that I’d like to face, but I’ve got four losses to UFC opponents, and two of them are in the top ten. I’d like to have those losses back; a lot of those losses were earlier in my career and I feel like I’m a completely different fighter. I know my identity, so getting those fights against those opponents I lost to would be good for me. That would be a fight that I’d be fired up for, but as far as I’m concerned, any fight that pushes me up the lightweight division is a fight that I want.”
Being one of the select guys brought over from the WEC, do you feel any additional pressure going into a fight, like you have something to prove on behalf of the promotion that you built your name upon?
“I can’t speak for the rest of the guys, but for me there was a lot of pressure. My first fight was against one of the UFC vets in Joe Stevenson. Fighting a tough veteran that I had been watching before I even thought about getting in the cage was really tough for me. Not only being my first fight in the UFC and all that pressure mounting up, but fighting a tough veteran like [Joe], the pressure was really high. But I was able to pull out the victory against a really tough dude, so I was happy with that and I’m happy with the way that my career has gone so far in the UFC.”
Dana White has been adamant in the past about the willingness of teammates to fight one another. Guys like Jon Fitch, however, have repeatedly stated that they would rather retire than fight a teammate. Where do you stand on this issue?
“Fortunately, in team Alpha Male there’s only a couple lightweights, and none of them are in the UFC, so I don’t have to really worry about that. I have some training partners that I’m good friends with, like Nate Diaz, and I don’t see myself fighting them. I know the hot topic is ‘teammates should be able to fight teammates,’ and Dana White hates when teammates don’t fight each other, but I view my friendship with Nate and his brother and everyone at Cesar Gracie’s, you know, I value that friendship more than a few thousand dollars.”
While we’re discussing some of the current hotbed issues in MMA, what are your thoughts on the TRT controversy that has seemed to divide fans and fighters alike?
“I think it’s terrible. I’ve never cheated at anything in my life, sports-wise at least, and I don’t see myself doing that. I’m 32 years old, I know a lot of guys that are doing HGH and testosterone, it seems like everyone in the sport is doing something. I’m just not that guy. I’ve been able to train my butt off and get great results in terms of being strong and not having to use performance enhancing drugs. I’m totally against it. I think random testing for steroids would be the way to go and I’m all for it. You can test me year round and I have nothing to worry about, and I think that’s how the fighters I fight against should be as well. It’s only fair.”
You hold a victory over Dustin Poirier, who could be looking at a future title shot at 145 is he is able to defeat Chan Sung Jung. How would you asses the current featherweight landscape and who do you think presents the biggest challenge to Jose Aldo?
“Dustin Poirier is a tough, young, hungry kid. I fought him earlier in his career; it’s a big win and I’m happy to have it. I would say I’m friends with Dustin after the fight. My girlfriend and his wife are friends as well, so I like the kid and I know how hungry he is. As far as him getting a title shot, I think it’s deserved, but in terms of anyone that can beat Jose Aldo; the only person in the world that can beat Jose Aldo is Chad Mendes. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t really get to see the fight play out; Chad was taking him down, he grabbed the fence, and right after that Chad got knocked out. I think that takedown could have changed the whole dynamic of the fight, but we’ll never really know. I think Chad’s the number two dude at featherweight, and the number three, four, and five guys, not sure who those guys are, but I think Chad’s light-years ahead of them and he’ll just smash anyone of those dudes.”
Thanks for the interview opportunity.
“Thanks for having me. After I beat this dude up, I’d definitely like to come on again.”
Make sure to swing by CagePotato this Saturday, as yours truly will be liveblogging all the UFC on FOX 3 action, starting at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.
Or perhaps by way of Slayer. In either case, check out these brutiful photos from last Saturday’s Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 45 card, which went down at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town, North London, England. In a middleweight match-up between Cage Rage veteran Brett Bassett and 5-1 Brett Sizeland, a brilliantly placed elbow in the second round cut Bassett wide open, resulting in one of the bloodiest cuts this side of Struve/Stojnic that we’ve ever seen. Check out the rest of the photos below.
Or perhaps by way of Slayer. In either case, check out these brutiful photos from last Saturday’s Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 45 card, which went down at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town, North London, England. In a middleweight match-up between Cage Rage veteran Brett Bassett and 5-1 Brett Sizeland, a brilliantly placed elbow in the second round cut Bassett wide open, resulting in one of the bloodiest cuts this side of Struve/Stojnic that we’ve ever seen. Check out the rest of the photos below.
I’ll never figure out how Kim Couture is still getting fights. She isn’t skilled. She isn’t exactly loved by the MMA community. And while you’ll get media attention for putting her on your fight card, it’s usually at the expense of having your good fighters ignored so that the inevitable freak show bout can receive extra criticism. Is any attention truly better than no attention?
Kim Couture fought Suzie Montero, a Muay Thai fighter who once fought Gina Carano, who was making her MMA debut. If this fight was a warm-up for Kim Couture’s planned transition to professional kickboxing, then perhaps Kim should train more. Or at least she should train with consenting sparring partners. Couture now drops to 3-6 in her MMA cash grab.
The saddest part is that W-1 MMA had some real news emerge from last night’s card. For starters, W-1 announced that it has agreed to terms with UFC veteran and TUF Season 2 winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. While details are still unclear, Stevenson is expected to make his debut with the promotion in early 2012. The fight will be Stevenson’s first fight since being cut from the UFC in August.
I’ll never figure out how Kim Couture is still getting fights. She isn’t skilled. She isn’t exactly loved by the MMA community. And while you’ll get media attention for putting her on your fight card, it’s usually at the expense of having your good fighters ignored so that the inevitable freak show bout can receive extra criticism. Is any attention truly better than no attention?
Kim Couture fought Suzie Montero, a Muay Thai fighter who once fought Gina Carano, who was making her MMA debut. If this fight was a warm-up for Kim Couture’s planned transition to professional kickboxing, then perhaps Kim should train more. Or at least she should train with consenting sparring partners. Couture now drops to 3-6 in her MMA cash grab.
The saddest part is that W-1 MMA had some real news emerge from last night’s card. For starters, W-1 announced that it has agreed to terms with UFC veteran and TUF Season 2 winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. While details are still unclear, Stevenson is expected to make his debut with the promotion in early 2012. The fight will be Stevenson’s first fight since being cut from the UFC in August.
Also of note, TUF 13 alumnus Chuck O’Neil defeated Marcus Davis in the main event of the evening. In an otherwise close fight, O’Neil used his reach advantage to control the distance, and opened a nasty cut on Davis’ forehead with an elbow from top position in the third round. O’Neil improves to 9-4, while Davis falls to 20-9. The loss snaps a three fight win streak for Davis.
Chuck O’Neil def. Marcus Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Luis Palomino def. James Edson Berto via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
John Manley def. Sabah Homasi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alan Arzeno def. Tom Waters via TKO, 3:12, R2.
Nathan Coy def. Patrick Mikesz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kenny Moss def. Bruno Reis Da Maria via submission (shoulder choke), 1:46, R2
Frank Carrillo def. Joseph Watson via KO (uppercut), 2:37, R1
Suzie Montero def. Kim Couture via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Giovanni Brugnoni def. James Wynn via submission (guillotine choke), 0:57, R1
Michael Trujillo def. Eric Raposo via TKO, 0:55, R1
Anthony Garavito def. Davaun McKoy via submission (keylock), 2:57, R3.
Michael Quinones def. Denis Sejdievski via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
