The Forward Roll: UFC on Versus 5 Edition

Filed under: UFCUFC on Versus: Hardy vs. Lytle could have been the rarest of events that saw both main event fighters exit the UFC right after competing. Instead, it saw Chris Lytle walk away on a glorious note, retiring after his submission win, while…

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Jim Miller, Ben HendersonUFC on Versus: Hardy vs. Lytle could have been the rarest of events that saw both main event fighters exit the UFC right after competing. Instead, it saw Chris Lytle walk away on a glorious note, retiring after his submission win, while Dan Hardy was given one more chance from UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta despite losing his fourth straight bout.

In reality, it was a fair conclusion for both fighters, who fought a hard-nosed battle for nearly 15 minutes before the ending. Lytle gets the distinction of walking away on a high while Hardy is afforded the opportunity to decompress, clear his mind and determine a new course of action going forward. While any thoughts of returning back to contender status are for off into the future, he has a pulse, and for now, that will have to do.

With that, we take a look at what might be next for Hardy and the rest of UFC on Versus 5‘s key participants, in this edition of The Forward Roll.

Dan Hardy
It’s been a brutal 17-month stretch for Hardy, who lost bouts to Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson and now Lytle. Afterward, he mentioned wanting to take some time off, and that’s a request that should be granted. Losing is often harder on the mind than the body, and Hardy should get the chance to heal both.

Hopefully, we don’t see him back in the octagon until spring is breaking. Given a lengthy layoff, it’s tough to project who he might face — a lot will happen in the next six or seven months — but someone like TJ Grant or Amir Sadollah sounds about right.

Ben Henderson
Casting aside Lytle’s emotional goodbye, Henderson was the star of the show, with a spectacular performance against Jim Miller in a high-stakes bout.

The fact that Miller was riding a seven-fight win streak made it impressive enough as it was, but having seen Miller throughout his career, we can say that he just doesn’t get dominated like that. Not even current champ Frank Edgar or current No. 1 contender Gray Maynard handled him the way Henderson did. Impressively, he continues to improve his standup game, but does his best work with wrestling and ferocious ground and pound. He also keeps a ridiculous pace, even for a lightweight.

The performance should quiet all doubters about Henderson’s ability and just how far he can go. It also rockets him up the contenders list, and he gets stars from here onward.

The next man on his list should be Clay Guida, who is riding a four-fight win streak and has nothing scheduled. The winner should next fight for the title.

Jim Miller
Sure he gets knocked down a couple of pegs, but given his recent run, there’s no reason to write Miller off as a future No. 1 contender.

The good news for him is that there is such a glut of top lightweights that there should be no problems in finding him a good matchup. The two best possibilities may be Dennis Siver, who is currently riding a four-fight win streak, or Sam Stout, who is coming off a fantastic knockout over Yves Edwards. Another possibility is Anthony Pettis, who lost to Guida in June.

Donald Cerrone
Previously considered an uneven performer, Cerrone seems to have figured out the issues that led to slow starts in the past. His first-round TKO win over the promising Charles Oliveira was his third victory of 2011 and fifth straight overall.

A good next step for him would be Jeremy Stephens, who has captured four of his last five, with his only loss coming in a close split-decision.

Charles Oliveira
For the first time in his career, Oliveira looked outmatched in the loss to Cerrone, who easily handled him in the striking and overwhelmed him on the ground. After losses in two of his last three, he has a decision to make as far as if he wants to stay in the 155-pound division or move to featherweight.

The UFC usually doesn’t force their hand in these matters, but they could cut Oliveira if they wanted to, so they have the leverage to ask him to reconsider a move. I think he will try 145. Let’s throw him in with a ground shark like Javier Vazquez and see if he sinks or swins.

Duane Ludwig
After a long welterweight run, Ludwig returned to welterweight and has now won two straight after throttling Amir Sadollah. The knock on Ludwig has always been grappling troubles, and his last two matchups have been favorable as he’s faced a pair of strikers.

That should change in his next match, but it probably won’t. Instead, the UFC will likely match him up in another bout that will guarantee good standup action. Let’s slot him in to face Matt Brown.

Jared Hamman
The wiry Hamman always seemed out of place among the UFC’s massive light-heavyweights. In his middleweight debut, he looked to be in the right class.

As a relative newcomer to the division, he shouldn’t be rushed along. Rafael Natal is about right.

Ed Herman
It’s hard to be believe, but Herman and Michael Bisping are the only two fighters remaining in the UFC from season three of The Ultimate Fighter. Unfortunately, he’s had terrible luck with injuries, missing nearly two years of action before returning with back-to-back wins.

He was fighting Aaron Simpson when he first injured his knee. It would be nice to give him another crack at Simpson, but the “A-Train” already has a fight scheduled in October, so we’ll have to go to plan B, Constantinos Philippou.

Joseph Benavidez
Benavidez is in a terrible position right now, stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock is Dominick Cruz, who has beaten him twice, yet is standing in front of him as the champion, meaning no rematch is likely anytime soon. The hard place is the lack of a flyweight division, which he will likely relocate to as soon as the UFC institutes it. So he is left to continue on with little chance of fighting for a belt until either Cruz loses or the UFC makes the move for 125-pounders.

There really aren’t many compelling fights for him right now. One possibility is a Miguel Torres rematch. The other is surging 20-year-old Michael McDonald.

 

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UFC on Versus 5 Results: Does Joseph Benavidez Have the Tools to Be a Champion?

Short answer, yes: Joseph “The Beefcake” Benavidez does have the tools—the discipline, the energy, the aggression and the excitement factor—that one needs if he’s going to be a world champion.To know this, you didn’t even have to watch his …

Short answer, yes: Joseph “The Beefcake” Benavidez does have the tools—the discipline, the energy, the aggression and the excitement factor—that one needs if he’s going to be a world champion.

To know this, you didn’t even have to watch his fight with Eddie Wineland last night. All you had to do was go on YouTube and check out a highlight or two of Benavidez in action.

The only people he has not beaten are guys named Dominick Cruz, but Benavidez has beaten two former WEC bantamweight champions, one of which was formerly seen as pound for pound, one of the best fighters in the sport.

In some minds, he also beat the current UFC bantamweight champion in his WEC 50 rematch with Dominick Cruz.

In hindsight, Benavidez would be the first choice of many for the next crack at the UFC bantamweight champion after the winner of UFC on Versus 6’s Cruz-Demetrious Johnson title bout fights the winner of UFC 139’s Urijah Faber-Brian Bowles fight.

Realistically though, would Joseph Benavidez‘s tools help him acquire gold at 135?

Maybe and maybe not, but that is mostly due to the size of Benavidez, not at all because of what he brings to the fight game.

Like many in the MMA community, I find it hard to believe that a drop to Flyweight in 2012 will do anything less than benefit his career.

People say that if Dana White gets the flyweight division off the ground in 2012, Benavidez and Johnson could be considered among the best flyweights in the world.

Both have the tools to do it, and there’s little question if they can do it at 135, but right now, it’s still looking like exciting fights are at 135 for both, while 125 is where the big paydays and title aspirations are at.

Then again, maybe we’re all underestimating what it is that the Team Alpha Male speed demon and the Matt Hume product can do by assuming they’d do well at 125 when they’ve seen good success at 135.

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UFC on Versus 5 Results: Eddie Wineland and Joseph Benavidez Put on a Show

UFC on Versus 5 last night was a true MMA show if there ever was one, with only one fight truly leaving something to be desired.All throughout, the fights did not disappoint, and one fight that proved an early candidate for Fight of the Night before th…

UFC on Versus 5 last night was a true MMA show if there ever was one, with only one fight truly leaving something to be desired.

All throughout, the fights did not disappoint, and one fight that proved an early candidate for Fight of the Night before the main card even started was the bantamweight clash between Joseph Benavidez and Eddie Wineland.

It was a bit more technical than what some fans of the WEC days were used to seeing previously from Benavidez, but fans who hadn’t seen Benavidez in action before last night got a nice taste of what to expect from “The Beefcake.”

Wineland did give Benavidez a fight but for most of the fight, Wineland seemed tentative and appeared hesitant to pull the trigger at times, opening Benavidez’s opportunities to attack Wineland head on.

The most damage Benavidez appeared to take was when Wineland caught him on the eyebrow and Benavidez somehow felt as though he got poked in the eye.

It was irrelevant, however, as Benavidez got past it and landed the harder, more damaging shots to the former WEC bantamweight champion, even busting him open at one point in the fight.

As a result, Benavidez moves up in the ranks and hopes to position himself near the upper echelon of 135 once more, although many argue he would benefit more by taking on exciting 135-lb fights and putting on main-event-level performances until Dana White establishes a legitimate UFC flyweight division.

Once that happens, there’s no question that Benavidez would be considered as elite as they come.

Actually, “champion” will be more like it.

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC on Versus 5

Filed under: UFCYou can say this for the UFC’s free fight cards: they’re always worth your money, even if you pay for them by sitting through the same few commercials over and over again.

Last night in Milwaukee fight fans got treated to a little piec…

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You can say this for the UFC’s free fight cards: they’re always worth your money, even if you pay for them by sitting through the same few commercials over and over again.

Last night in Milwaukee fight fans got treated to a little piece of MMA history, as one of the sport’s great battlers called it quits and went out on a triumphant victory. If you didn’t feel a little choked up watching Chris Lytle hug his kids in the Octagon after a brutal scrap to end a hard-nosed career, better check your battery life, because you may be a robot.

It’s great to see those moments broadcast live to the entire cable TV universe, but it wasn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows at UFC on Versus 5. Now that we’re faced with the sober reality of Monday morning, it’s time to sort through all the winners, losers, and everything in between.

Biggest Winner: Chris Lytle
It’s so rare to see pro fighters walk away when it’s time. It’s rare to even see them walk away when it’s a quarter past time. Usually, the appeal of the money and fame combines with the addictive power of adrenaline and the unbreakable spirit that got them here to begin with, and the result is a person who wants to hang on to a fighting career until promoters and fans are stomping on his fingers to get him to let go. Lytle had seen that in action enough to know he didn’t want to find out what it felt like, and so he made the perfect exit at the perfect time. From the opening moments of the bout he fought like a man who was determined to see someone get beat up and he didn’t particularly care who it was. After boxing Hardy up and surviving a few wobbly scares of his own, a submission finish in a fight that he never tried to take to the mat feels like the absolute right ending to Lytle’s great career. Heading out with $130,000 in bonuses probably doesn’t hurt either. So long, Chris. Thanks for the memories.

Biggest Loser: Dan Hardy
He fought exactly the fight that Lytle wanted him to, right down to the ill-advised takedown with his neck wide open in the third. That’s four straight for our mohawked friend, and he should be very grateful that the UFC loves his fighting style and his attitude so much that it doesn’t mind when one or both results in a losing streak that would embarrass the Detroit Lions. But his losses aside, keeping Hardy is the right move here. The UFC has been too quick with the cuts in the past, as if it’s impossible for fighters to go through a lull and come back strong. Hardy fought for the welterweight title a year and a half ago. On Sunday he was one half of the Fight of the Night, so it would be hypocritical to reward his efforts and praise his fighting style while also giving him his walking papers. I know, the UFC has done that very thing in the past, but that doesn’t make it right. Eventually, however, Hardy might have to choose between fighting smart and fighting to the UFC’s liking. Reminder: just because you want to stand and bang, that doesn’t mean you have to stand in only one spot, exactly where your opponent’s left hook knows how to find you.

Most Surprising: Ben Henderson
With a win over Miller, he joined a very small club that includes only the current UFC lightweight champion and the current no. 1 contender. By battering Miller into a bloody mess, Henderson established his own club where he, as the only member, gets to write the bylaws (first rule: haircuts are optional). It’s one thing to survive all Miller’s submissions and eek out a decision. It’s quite another to shrug off those submissions and punish him severely for each attempt. Miller is a very good lightweight, and we’ve never seen anyone take it to him like Henderson did. Put this kid in a fight with Clay Guida and you’ll have your next lightweight challenger by the time the dust clears. Also, getting down on bended knee to plead for the UFC to give your teammates a look? Yeah, that’s a pretty awesome move.

Worst Game Plan: Amir Sadollah
So he came into a fight with one of the most experienced kickboxers in the UFC and decided it would be a good idea to keep it on the feet in the early going, huh? As much as I respect a man who’s always looking to test himself, in retrospect that doesn’t seem like such a good idea. Sadollah needed to get this fight to the mat, and he should have known that. Instead of making that his primary goal, he went toe-to-toe with “Bang” and only tried for takedowns right after getting rocked, when his lunging attempts were more desperation than technique. That’s exactly the kind of thing people are talking about when they talk about the difference that experience makes. Sadollah hung tough and took his beating like a man, so he’ll likely benefit from this painful little lesson. Let’s just hope he only has to learn it once.

Weirdest Post-Fight Request: Duane Ludwig
You’d think a 33-year-old man would have other things to think about after a big win than getting Joe Rogan’s signature on his MMA doll — sorry, action figure. But hey, we all have our quirks, I suppose. The strangest thing is how quickly he had that thing ready. That means he probably asked one of his cornermen to bring it down to the cage with them, at which point I imagine Trevor Wittman looking at him and fighting the urge to say, ‘You’re a grown man, Duane!’ As for Ludwig’s plea to get the UFC to acknowledge his record for the fastest knockout, there he actually has a good point. Maybe Dana White can send an intern down to the copy shop to print up an official-looking certificate to give him. Then Ludwig can put it in his rec room along with all his autographed MMA dolls action figures. At least he’s a savvy enough collector to keep them in their original packaging, which is more than I can say for a certain host of a certain MMA Hour.

Most Brutal: Donald Cerrone
In case you couldn’t tell, “Cowboy” is just straight-up mean. He has very little regard for the feelings of others, and seems to take immense pleasure in their pain. A lot of people think that’s common among pro fighters, but it really isn’t. Most guys just want to win and dominate. They might even feel a little bad about punishing someone more than necessary. Cerrone? Let’s just say that if the UFC ever goes under, he could find work as a freelance debt collector. Since coming over from the WEC, he seems to have only improved his overall game and even learned to come out of the gates a little quicker. I’m not sure if he’s got all the tools necessary to get to the top in this division, but he certainly has the ability to lay down some beatings and instill fear in some hearts along the way. For now, that’s good enough.

Sharpest Decline: Charles Oliveira
Remember when he was the undefeated whiz kid coming straight outta Brazil? Once he got above the level of the Efrain Escuderos, his ascent stalled. Not that he’s gotten an easy road, mind you. He got thrown in against Jim Miller, which is a tough draw for any lightweight. Then he had the unfortunate (very) illegal knee incident against Nik Lentz, which cost him a win. But against Cerrone he quickly looked like a man who didn’t really want to be in there. Calling time for what was far more of a leg kick than a groin shot should have been the first sign. Crumpling up after that pitiless body shot was the last. There’s no question that he’s got skills, and he’s still young enough for these to be valuable learning experiences, but he needs to grow up in a hurry if he’s going to hang at this level for very long. In case the matchmaking hasn’t already tipped him off, perhaps someone should point out that the UFC doesn’t take it easy on anyone.

Most in Need of a New Weight Class: Joseph Benavidez
Give credit to the Joe-Jitsu master, he’s perfected the art of closing the distance against taller opponents, probably because he’s been doing it his whole career. The fact that he’s been this successful against bigger guys at 135 pounds only strengthens my belief that he’s essentially the de facto champ in the 125-pound division, which exists in the UFC only as a promise at this point. Soon, they say. Soon they’ll gather up the little fellas and start this new weight class. That day can’t come soon enough for Benavidez, who seems like he’d be absolutely dominant if he could ever get the chance to pick on someone his own size.

 

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UFC on Versus 5 Undercard Blog: Dollaway vs. Hamman, Benavidez vs. Wineland, More

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CB Dollaway faces off against Jared Hamman at UFC on Versus 5.MILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC card.

UFC on Versus 5 is the promotion’s debut in Wisconsin and takes place at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.

The preliminary card features eight fights, including a middleweight bout between C.B. Dollaway and Jared Hamman and a bantamweight contest between former WEC champion Eddie Wineland and former title challenger Joseph Benavidez.

The live blog is below.





Edwin Figueroa vs. Jason Reinhardt

Round 1: No glove touch, but we start anyway. Figueroa takes the center and Reinhardt circles to the right on the outside, then back left. Reinhardt is on his horse, not engaging, and grinning at Figueroa, now talking to him and clapping at him. The crowd is booing wildly. Figueroa finally catches him to throw a partially blocked kick. This has Kalib Starnes written all over it. Figueroa lands a right and drops Reinhardt, then locks in a standing guillotine. Reinhardt is trying to power out of it, and he eventually gets a little slam out of it and winds up on top. He transitions to Figueroa’s back and starts to work for a rear naked choke with a body triangle locked on. Figueroa gets out, though, and lands a shot from up top. They stand up, and when Figueroa engages, Reinhardt immediately drops to his back. They stand up again, and Reinhardt lands a decent right of his own. Back on the feet, Figueroa again lands a couple good shots and gets Reinhardt back on the ground, where he proceeds to land some pretty stiff shots from standing. Reinhardt does a somersault and rolls over. He has basically given up and is just laying there as the ref looks at him when the horn sounds. It’s a 10-8 round for Figueroa on our card thanks to Reinhardt’s running.

Round 2: We’re going to do a second round of this thing, and this time they touch gloves. Reinhardt again is on his horse, then shoots when Figueroa engages. There’s a scramble, and Figueroa ends up on top in full mount. Reinhardt rolls over and covers up and he’s not long for this fight. Pretty quickly, the ref steps in and it’s done. So, too, likely, is Reinhardt’s UFC career after the running in the first round.

Result: Edwin Figueroa def. Jason Reinhardt, TKO, 0:50 Round 2

Jacob Volkmann vs. Danny Castillo

Round 1: The legendary Mario Yamasaki gets things going. No glove touch. Volkmann shoots in early and they have a scramble in the clinch, but not much comes from it. They break apart and dance. Decent body kick from Castillo, who shortly thereafter misses a nice high kick. Then he lands an outside leg kick, followed by one on the inside. Volkmann shoots again and gets a soft takedown and looks to pass from half guard. He ties up Castillo’s right arm, then works for a side choke. But trying to hold on to that position costs him, as Castillo works his way out and gets top position. Volkmann settles back into guard, then nicely wall walks back to his feet as they clinch up. They separate around 1:50 and move back to the middle. After trading rights, Castillo lands one of the loudest body kicks in recorded history (we think) to Volkmann’s left ribcage. But Volkmann survives it and the two wind up in a scramble on the ground. It’s a tough first round to score, with each guy looking pretty effective. But MMA Fighting will give it, highly unofficially, to Castillo 10-9.

Round 2: After a few seconds of dancing, we clinch up along the fence. A few traded shots lead to Volkmann on his butt looking for a choke, and Castillo trying to work ground and pound. Yamasaki warns Castillo for holding Volkmann’s shorts and says he’ll take a point if he does it again. Volkmann wall walks back up, and then Castillo is warned for grabbing the fence, though it looked mild. A weird scramble leads to Volkmann on his back briefly, then on his knees, and he wrestles Castillo to his back and is in half guard. Then work for position, and Volkmann briefly has a choke that he can’t lock up as Castillo tries to reverse position. He works for it again, and it’s an arm-in modified guillotine. But Castillo will survive the round. Round 2 goes to Volkmann on our card, 10-9.

Round 3: Castillo lands a nice right hand 10 seconds in. Forty seconds later, the next action is a nice inside leg kick from him. They hit the ground briefly, but Volkmann has the edge there before Castillo scrambles quickly out and back to his feet. The crowd cheers the cat-and-mouse game. A short exchange in the middle leads to Volkmann again taking top position on the ground, controlling Castillo’s head and neck from half guard. He looks for some short elbows, but mainly this is a control game with Castillo’s right arm locked up. Volkmann isn’t doing much with the position, and it doesn’t look like it’s a choke he can lock down from where he’s at. Castillo wiggles out, but Volkmann gets to side control and looks for more elbows and again traps an arm and controls Castillo’s head. Castillo throws right knees from the ground, but that’s all he can do. The crowd is booing what it deems a stalling game by Volkmann. Castillo rolls over, and Volkmann works for his back. But nothing will happen. It’s a 10-9 third for Volkmann, and MMA Fighting scores the fight for him 29-28. No doubt some judges will have it 30-27 for him.

Result: Jacob Volkmann def. Danny Castillo, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Cole Miller vs. T.J. O’Brien

Round 1: They touch gloves, surprising given yesterday’s heated moment at the weigh-ins. These guys are both tall. Not Stefan Struve tall, but tall. We dance for 30 seconds, looking for position. Both throw a few kicks and rights that miss. Miller blocks a high kick and pushes forward, but O’Brien just misses a big uppercut right that has the crowd making one giant “Ooooooh!” sound. O’Brien lands a nice body shot that has Miller thinking that wasn’t very nice. And O’Brien then comes forward with a nice combination. He blocks some of Miller’s combos a short time later, then checks an outside leg kick. With 90 seconds left, Miller lands a big right, then just misses another but follows it with an outside leg kick. He lands a pair of stiff left jabs, then a third. O’Brien blocks a high Miller kick, then comes forward with a body shot. It’s a pretty close first round, but we’ll go 10-9 Miller – though it could go either way.

Round 2: We trade leg kicks and look for openings to start the first minute of Round 2. Miller then backpedals to re-set. O’Brien comes forward and has Miller backing up just for a second, but Miller drops him with a left and starts to work kicks from up top while O’Brien lays on his back. But a really nice scramble by O’Brien has him to his feet – but just for a second. Miller dives back in and cranks on a guillotine, and he’s got it good. Though O’Brien is trying to get out, he can’t and he has to tap.

Result: Cole Miller def. T.J. O’Brien, submission (guillotine), 2:38 Round 2

Alex Caceres vs. Jim Hettes

Round 1:

Karlos Vemola vs. Ronny Markes

Round 1:

Ed Herman vs. Kyle Noke

Round 1:

Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland

Round 1:

C.B. Dollaway vs. Jared Hamman

Round 1:

 

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CB Dollaway faces off against Jared Hamman at UFC on Versus 5.MILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC card.

UFC on Versus 5 is the promotion’s debut in Wisconsin and takes place at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.

The preliminary card features eight fights, including a middleweight bout between C.B. Dollaway and Jared Hamman and a bantamweight contest between former WEC champion Eddie Wineland and former title challenger Joseph Benavidez.

The live blog is below.





Edwin Figueroa vs. Jason Reinhardt

Round 1: No glove touch, but we start anyway. Figueroa takes the center and Reinhardt circles to the right on the outside, then back left. Reinhardt is on his horse, not engaging, and grinning at Figueroa, now talking to him and clapping at him. The crowd is booing wildly. Figueroa finally catches him to throw a partially blocked kick. This has Kalib Starnes written all over it. Figueroa lands a right and drops Reinhardt, then locks in a standing guillotine. Reinhardt is trying to power out of it, and he eventually gets a little slam out of it and winds up on top. He transitions to Figueroa’s back and starts to work for a rear naked choke with a body triangle locked on. Figueroa gets out, though, and lands a shot from up top. They stand up, and when Figueroa engages, Reinhardt immediately drops to his back. They stand up again, and Reinhardt lands a decent right of his own. Back on the feet, Figueroa again lands a couple good shots and gets Reinhardt back on the ground, where he proceeds to land some pretty stiff shots from standing. Reinhardt does a somersault and rolls over. He has basically given up and is just laying there as the ref looks at him when the horn sounds. It’s a 10-8 round for Figueroa on our card thanks to Reinhardt’s running.

Round 2: We’re going to do a second round of this thing, and this time they touch gloves. Reinhardt again is on his horse, then shoots when Figueroa engages. There’s a scramble, and Figueroa ends up on top in full mount. Reinhardt rolls over and covers up and he’s not long for this fight. Pretty quickly, the ref steps in and it’s done. So, too, likely, is Reinhardt’s UFC career after the running in the first round.

Result: Edwin Figueroa def. Jason Reinhardt, TKO, 0:50 Round 2

Jacob Volkmann vs. Danny Castillo

Round 1: The legendary Mario Yamasaki gets things going. No glove touch. Volkmann shoots in early and they have a scramble in the clinch, but not much comes from it. They break apart and dance. Decent body kick from Castillo, who shortly thereafter misses a nice high kick. Then he lands an outside leg kick, followed by one on the inside. Volkmann shoots again and gets a soft takedown and looks to pass from half guard. He ties up Castillo’s right arm, then works for a side choke. But trying to hold on to that position costs him, as Castillo works his way out and gets top position. Volkmann settles back into guard, then nicely wall walks back to his feet as they clinch up. They separate around 1:50 and move back to the middle. After trading rights, Castillo lands one of the loudest body kicks in recorded history (we think) to Volkmann’s left ribcage. But Volkmann survives it and the two wind up in a scramble on the ground. It’s a tough first round to score, with each guy looking pretty effective. But MMA Fighting will give it, highly unofficially, to Castillo 10-9.

Round 2: After a few seconds of dancing, we clinch up along the fence. A few traded shots lead to Volkmann on his butt looking for a choke, and Castillo trying to work ground and pound. Yamasaki warns Castillo for holding Volkmann’s shorts and says he’ll take a point if he does it again. Volkmann wall walks back up, and then Castillo is warned for grabbing the fence, though it looked mild. A weird scramble leads to Volkmann on his back briefly, then on his knees, and he wrestles Castillo to his back and is in half guard. Then work for position, and Volkmann briefly has a choke that he can’t lock up as Castillo tries to reverse position. He works for it again, and it’s an arm-in modified guillotine. But Castillo will survive the round. Round 2 goes to Volkmann on our card, 10-9.

Round 3: Castillo lands a nice right hand 10 seconds in. Forty seconds later, the next action is a nice inside leg kick from him. They hit the ground briefly, but Volkmann has the edge there before Castillo scrambles quickly out and back to his feet. The crowd cheers the cat-and-mouse game. A short exchange in the middle leads to Volkmann again taking top position on the ground, controlling Castillo’s head and neck from half guard. He looks for some short elbows, but mainly this is a control game with Castillo’s right arm locked up. Volkmann isn’t doing much with the position, and it doesn’t look like it’s a choke he can lock down from where he’s at. Castillo wiggles out, but Volkmann gets to side control and looks for more elbows and again traps an arm and controls Castillo’s head. Castillo throws right knees from the ground, but that’s all he can do. The crowd is booing what it deems a stalling game by Volkmann. Castillo rolls over, and Volkmann works for his back. But nothing will happen. It’s a 10-9 third for Volkmann, and MMA Fighting scores the fight for him 29-28. No doubt some judges will have it 30-27 for him.

Result: Jacob Volkmann def. Danny Castillo, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Cole Miller vs. T.J. O’Brien

Round 1: They touch gloves, surprising given yesterday’s heated moment at the weigh-ins. These guys are both tall. Not Stefan Struve tall, but tall. We dance for 30 seconds, looking for position. Both throw a few kicks and rights that miss. Miller blocks a high kick and pushes forward, but O’Brien just misses a big uppercut right that has the crowd making one giant “Ooooooh!” sound. O’Brien lands a nice body shot that has Miller thinking that wasn’t very nice. And O’Brien then comes forward with a nice combination. He blocks some of Miller’s combos a short time later, then checks an outside leg kick. With 90 seconds left, Miller lands a big right, then just misses another but follows it with an outside leg kick. He lands a pair of stiff left jabs, then a third. O’Brien blocks a high Miller kick, then comes forward with a body shot. It’s a pretty close first round, but we’ll go 10-9 Miller – though it could go either way.

Round 2: We trade leg kicks and look for openings to start the first minute of Round 2. Miller then backpedals to re-set. O’Brien comes forward and has Miller backing up just for a second, but Miller drops him with a left and starts to work kicks from up top while O’Brien lays on his back. But a really nice scramble by O’Brien has him to his feet – but just for a second. Miller dives back in and cranks on a guillotine, and he’s got it good. Though O’Brien is trying to get out, he can’t and he has to tap.

Result: Cole Miller def. T.J. O’Brien, submission (guillotine), 2:38 Round 2

Alex Caceres vs. Jim Hettes

Round 1:

Karlos Vemola vs. Ronny Markes

Round 1:

Ed Herman vs. Kyle Noke

Round 1:

Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland

Round 1:

C.B. Dollaway vs. Jared Hamman

Round 1:

 

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UFC on Versus 5 Weigh-in Results and Reaction

The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Live results from the event will be posted below as the fighters tip the scales.
The main event features a surefire scrap…

The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Live results from the event will be posted below as the fighters tip the scales.

The main event features a surefire scrap between exciting welterweight sluggers Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle. It’s do-or-die for Hardy, who has lost his last three fights. Lytle hopes to rebound from his upset loss at UFC 127 to Brian Ebersole.

The co-main event holds more weight than the headliner. Top lightweight contenders Jim Miller and Ben Henderson will battle it out to possibly decide the next No. 1 contender for the UFC title.

As is custom, all of the preliminary bouts will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook page at 5:45 p.m. EST before the main card goes live on Versus at 9 p.m. EST.

 

Main Card

*Dan Hardy (171.5) vs. Chris Lytle (170.5)

Ben Henderson (156) vs. Jim Miller (155.5)

Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Charles Oliveira (155)

Amir Sadollah (170) vs. Duane Ludwig (170.5)

 

Prelims

C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Jared Hamman (185)

Joseph Benavidez (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (136)

Ed Herman (186) vs. Kyle Noke (185)

Karlos Vemola (205.5) vs. Ronny Markes (205)

Alex Caceres (146) vs. Jim Hettes (145.5)

Cole Miller (155.5) vs. T.J. O’Brien (155.5)

Danny Castillo (156) vs. Jacob Volkmann (156)

Edwin Figueroa (136) vs. Jason Reinhardt (135)

 

* Did not make weight on the first attempt

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