Tag: liveblog

The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale — Main Card Results & Commentary


(Mitrione refused to undergo VADA drug-testing. Nelson refused to shampoo the crabs out of his beard. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t watched a single episode of The Ultimate Fighter this season. (Spoiler alert: You haven’t). Tonight’s TUF 16 Finale on FX is still one of the greatest free cards of the year, partly because there aren’t any TUF also-rans mucking it up.

Instead, we’ve got two heavyweight slugfests (Roy Nelson vs. injury fill-in Matt Mitrione and Pat Barry vs. Shane Del Rosario), a lightweight battle that will likely end up in a brutal stoppage (Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner), a pair of featherweight contenders trying to bounce back from submission losses (Dustin Poirier vs. Jonathan Brookins), and a TUF 16 welterweight final featuring a man so dehumanized by his time in captivity that at this point he’s nothing more than a vessel for unspeakable acts of violence.

Taking us through the play-by-play this evening is Level 8 Liveblog Wizard Anthony Gannon, who will be updating us with main card results after the jump beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please, please, please, leave us some comments in the comments section.


(Mitrione refused to undergo VADA drug-testing. Nelson refused to shampoo the crabs out of his beard. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t watched a single episode of The Ultimate Fighter this season. (Spoiler alert: You haven’t). Tonight’s TUF 16 Finale on FX is still one of the greatest free cards of the year, partly because there aren’t any TUF also-rans mucking it up.

Instead, we’ve got two heavyweight slugfests (Roy Nelson vs. injury fill-in Matt Mitrione and Pat Barry vs. Shane Del Rosario), a lightweight battle that will likely end up in a brutal stoppage (Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner), a pair of featherweight contenders trying to bounce back from submission losses (Dustin Poirier vs. Jonathan Brookins), and a TUF 16 welterweight final featuring a man so dehumanized by his time in captivity that at this point he’s nothing more than a vessel for unspeakable acts of violence.

Taking us through the play-by-play this evening is Level 8 Liveblog Wizard Anthony Gannon, who will be updating us with main card results after the jump beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please, please, please, leave us some comments in the comments section.

A’ight CP Nation, let’s get this shit going. I don’t know about you, but I’m in need of some serious tusslin.’ One more crappy season of The Ultimate Fighter in the books. One more six figure contract, whateverthefuck that even means anymore. One more searing disappointment. And one more deflated hard-on by actually buying Dana White’s “This is the craziest season ever” bullshit. The show has become so excruciating it’s almost embarrassing to admit watching it, kinda like admitting you cried at the end of The Notebook, not me, but ya know, some of you bitch-asses probably did. Well, at least this season we got to see Julian Lane wig out and give us a line that quickly became more famous than he’ll ever be, “Let me bang, bro.”

Here are the preliminary results:

Tim Elliot beat Jared Papazian by unanimous decision, and by the looks of the scores it was a pretty severe beating, 30-25 (twice) and 30-26.

Mike Rio beat John Cofer by third round armbar.

Hugo Viana beat Reuben Duran by first round knockout.

TJ Waldburger beat Nick Catone by second round triangle. Thankfully I missed this cause it’s on the suck-ass FUEL channel no one gets.

Rustan Khabilov beat Vinc Pinchel by first round KO (suplex and punches). A KO suplex slam, on FUEL, mother fucker!

Johnny Bedford beat Marcos Vinicius by second round KO. Probably the best undercard ever…on FUEL.

Mike Pyle beat James Head by first round TKO. Greeaaaaaat!

Joe Rogan informs us that the Jamie Varner/Melvin Guillard fight was scratched due to Varner throwing up backstage, possibly the result of a difficult weight cut. And that’s just great cause that was the best fight on the card.

Jonathan Brookins vs Dustin Poirier is up first.

If you’ve never seen Fightville, shame on you. It’s always on On-Demand and features Dustin “I Desperately Need a New Nickname” “The Diamond” Poirier as he makes his way through the southern Louisiana MMA scene, which is an interesting local circuit to say the least. And you should feel twice as shamed if you’ve never visited that region of America. You can drive for hours without seeing a single human being, and when you finally do see that human being it may very well be some old-ass scary lady selling gumbo outside her shanty. And for $1 a bowl, no you do not get to ask what’s in it, but trust me the possum and squirrel down thar is dang tasty. Anyway, although he’s coming off a pretty brutal submission loss to the Korean Zombie, Poirier is a fighter to watch out for. He’s a nasty striker who is now at ATT to try and tighten up his grappling.

Brookins is a guy who wishes he won The Ultimate Fighter five years ago when TUF winners were coddled and given respectable billing against winnable opponents (see – Michael Bisping). Instead, Brookins is the new breed of TUF “champion,” who just two years and three fights into his UFC tenure is in danger of falling into the pit of obscurity because he’s been paired against guys like Erik Koch and Charles Oliveira. That being said, Brookins’ strength lies in his scrappiness. He likes to clinch, wrestle, make his fights ugly, and rock creepy braids. Hey, that’s just how they roll down in Fraggle Rock.

Round 1: Here we go. They trade leg kicks. Brook with a body shot. Swarms on him, busting him up. Damn, a bunch of shots, a knee, all kinds of hurt. Dustin grabs a hold of Brookins and pushes him into the cage. He seems recovered. Brookins with another big shot. Dustin with an elbow. Dustin charges in, does no damage but pushes Brookins into the cage, Brookins reverses, and they seperate. Brookins with a right, Dustin answers with a nice hook to the chops. Nice knee by Dustin. Body shot by Dustin. Uppercut by Dustin. Brookins has his chin up as usual, and Dustin clips it, rocks him, but he’s okay. Dustin lands another uppercut in the clinch, and now he’s going for a d’arce choke, and he gets the tap! That was sweet.

The official announcement is the d’arce choke at 4:15 of round 1.

Arianny and Britney are looking lovely tonight, as usual. I’d like to eat Arianny’s liver with some black-eyed peas and a nice Colt-45. For Britney, I’m thinking of the tongue with haricot verts and a fine asti spumante.

Vinc Pichel vs Rustam Khaboliv from the undercard is up next, and even though we already know the result so what, it’s a damn suplex knockout so let’s do this shit.

Round 1: Rustam shoots for a takedown, Vinc defending, but goes down eventually. Working some ground and pound from half guard. Vinc gets up, and gets LAUNCHED! He’s up again, and he gets tossed again, brutal! Rustam lauches him yet again, and commences to pound the side of Vinc’s head until the ref steps in. He was done from the suplex, the shots were just cherries on top. Awesome performance!

Thank God they showed that fight. We haven’t seen a guy get launched like that since Nate Diaz made his ill-advised move to welterweight and got bounced around by Rory McDonald.

Pat Barry and Shane del Rosario are up next.

How can you not love Pat Barry? The man is proof-positive of how far an interesting personality can take you. Sporting a 4-5 UFC record is usually not the makings of a securely employed man. However, being a kill-or-be-killed type (of nine UFC fights only one has gone to a decision) can negate a less-than-stellar record, and being a character doubles down on that. Add to that equation that beside a hard-ass leg kick, Barry is a kickboxer who doesn’t seem to be all that good at it, and we have the makings of a marketing genius here.

Del Rosario is another guy who has an impressive striking background, although he’s someone who can back that up with some cred – Rosario is actually the first American to win the WBC Muay Thai heavyweight title.

Neither of these guys is winning grappling tournaments either, although Rosario can tap a fool, at least a non-grappling fool such as Lavar Johnson, whereas Barry couldn’t despite being in side control, mount, and having Johnson in an armlock. What does that mean? This one has all the makings of a barn-burner.

Hmm, a Bellator on Spike commercial during UFC on FX, interesting. Guess bitter rivals can all get along when dollars are exchanged.

Round 1: It’s on. Shane opens hard to the body with a kick, Barry responds with a thumping leg kick. They clinch, and Shane delivers a couple knees. And a couple to the thigh up against the cage. Those don’t look fun. Shane tries for a takedown, Barry defends. Shane has Barry against the cage, knees him to the ribs again. And again. Shane fires one o the side of the head, then sends a knee to the gut. Barry finally escapes the position. Barry with a jab, then a leg kick. Shane shoots in again, Barry defending, but gets it and takes Barry’s back. He’s got a hook in, and going for the choke. He let it go, but Shane is still on Barry’s back. Now he’s going after an arm, now an omoplata. Jesus this is insane. Now he’s trying to take Barry’s back again, but falls off and ends up on the bottom. The round ends with Barry hugging Shane in side control. 10-9 Shane

Round 2: Shane opens with a jab, misses an uppercut. Barry rocks the shit out of him with a hook, then swarms in and knocks Shane the fuck out! Nice.

Damn, Barry cracked him with like five solid hooks, and when the doc tried to grab his arm, he jerked it away like, “Got awff me, son!” That was smooth.

The official decision is in, and it’s a KO at 0:26 of round 2.

Barry is teary-eyed, damn talking about the Connecticut shooting and hugging his kids. He hugs Rogan. Touching scene.

Cool, Mike “King Mullet” Pyle vs James “Sloppy” Head is up next.

And the Southern Comfort commercial with the fat dude walking down the beach could be the best thing ever.

Round 1: They touch and it’s a go. Head with a left hook, misses. Head charges in with a shot, and a few knees. Pyle delivers a knee of his own. They seperate. Pyle with a jab to the chest. Head forces the clinch, and throwing body shots. Pyle with a nasty knee, knocks Head down, then finishes him off. Very sweet, and the mullet makes it that much more badass.

Pyle thinks this win should put him into the Top 10. Not so sure about that, but three straight KOs is a nice run.

Colton Smith vs Mike “Metro” Ricci is up next.

Colton Smith is a lifelong wrestler and an Army Ranger. He will grab a leg and hold onto said leg for however long it takes to get the takedown, could be 30 seconds, could be four minutes and 59 seconds. That’s just how the dude rolls.

Mike Ricci is MMA’s first legitimate metrosexual (not that there’s anything wrong with that). He likes to shop, sip vino from the proper glass, vilify those he considers beneath him, and beat dudes up. And he absolutely despises when his friends change their hairstyles and fail to inform him. Hey, that’s just his thang.

I kinda like that Ricci doesn’t fit the typical mold. Sure, I consider him an arrogant prick too, but it’s nice to have a guy in the finals who, aside from a couple tats, doesn’t so easily fit into the sterotypical fighter package.

Damn, Colton’s old lady is fine. He’s kind of a fucked up looking dude. Pays to be a badass.

Has anyone else noticed how much Tristar guys love wearing tights? What’s up with that? Is that a Canadian thing?

Round 1: D White’s favorite ref is in charge, and it’s time to get it on. Colton ducks a high kick and shoots for a leg, Ricci defends. He’s got Ricci against the cage, working a body lock. Ricci goes down, looking to cage walk back up, and does. Colton’s got his back though, and drags him down. Ricci up, but Colton is all over him. He’s got a hook in, looking for the other. He takes Ricci down, gets the other hook in, looking for a choke. He’s softening Ricci up with head shots. They’re playing wrist control here. That’s a sucky position to be in for Ricci. Ah shit, he loses the position, and Ricci is up. Kick by Colton misses. Ricci throws a punch, Colton wraps him up again. He’s got underhooks, and takes Ricci down again. 10-9 for Colton.

Round 2: Ricci opens with a kick, but takes a nut shot. Ricci looks to the ref for help, but he aint having it, Colton attacks. Mazaghatti gives D White yet another reason to hate him. Colton takes Ricci down, working some ground and pound. Colton is trying to sneak those hooks in again. He’s got em, and going for a choke, but Ricci escapes out the back door. Colton takes his ass down again, and he’s dominating Ricci. Colton just smashed Ricci in the back of the head, has his hooks in again. He’s working that arm under the chin, but can’t get it. He’s sticking to Ricci like a glue trap, just relentless. Going for that choke again, but it looks like Ricci will survive the round. Round ends with Colton peppering Ricci’s mug with patty cake shots. 10-9 for Colton.

Round 3: Ricci with a body kick, but staying true to form, Colton takes him down, working that choke again. Ricci just cannot get anything going here, Colton is all over him, has his back, hooks in, just dominating him. Colton moves to mount, Ricci gives up his back again, working some shots to the side of Ricci’s head. Ricci should try something drastic, like an indian burn or a titty twister, shit something. Ricci tries to turn into Colton, but that aint happening. Ricci is either very good at defending chokes or Colton is very bad at applying them because he’s had Ricci’s back for the majority of the fight. Oh, Ricci reverses the position, has Colton’s back! Going for an armbar, holy shit! But no, Colton escapes, and that is a wrap. 10-9 for Colton and the clear victory.

The official decision is 30-27 (twice) and 30-26 for Colton Smith, the latest Ultimate Fighter, yada, yada, yada. Although he does get a Hog out of it, so that’s sweet. Colton pays mad respect to Ricci, to the troops, and to the good lord.

And the main event is next, Roy Nelson vs Matt Mitrione

It’s good to be a heavyweight. Not only do they generally make more money, but most of them don’t have to worry about cutting weight. Mitrione rolled out to the scales and didn’t even bother taking his jeans off, mocking the lighter weight fighters who had to starve themselves, swallow laxatives, and erase years from their lives by spending excessive time in the sauna.

Nelson took part in the clowning by willingly taking his shirt off, even though he didn’t have to, allowing his fabulous double DDs to freely flop around. And by sporting 17 pounds of lice-infested beard, yet still coming in 13 pounds under the limit.

Mitrione has moved his training camp down to the Blackzilians, even though he’s neither black nor zilian. And he rolls out to “Simple Man.” Respect!

“Big Country” rolls out to “We Will Rock You” with that fucked up beard and Pretorian gear out de ass.

Chris Lytle is in Mitrione’s corner. Let us all bow to Maximus.

Round 1: Herb Dean is the man, and it’s on. Matt opens to the body. Then a high kick, blocked by Nelson. And another. And another. Roy bull rushes him into the cage, working for a takedown. Matt reverses, and delivers a knee. Matt lands an elbow on the seperation, then lands a right hook. Oh, body kick by Matt. Roy firing back, lands a couple decent shots. They trade jabs. Nelson with a huge uppercut, and descends on Mitrione, scoring the TKO. Jesus!

It was an uppercut, then a left/right combo to knock Mitrione on his ass, then a few academic shots on the ground. Very impressive performance.

Roy Nelson with a TKO at 2:38 of the first round.

Eleven fights: only two decisions, with three submissions and six knockouts. I’d say Dana White has a pretty solid boner right about now.

That’s a wrap, later taters.

 

UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson — Main Card Results & Commentary


(Yeesh. That thing never gets easier to look at, does it. / Image via MMAJunkie)

Also known as the TUF: The Smashes Finale, tonight’s UFC card is coming to you live from the Gold Coast, and will feature the season’s lightweight and welterweight finals. (Remember, these are the Brits and Aussies. The “Let Me Bang, Bro” cast gets its big send-off tomorrow in Vegas.)

If you happened to read our brutally honest breakdown of the fights, you know that there’s not much on the line this evening outside of those lovely glass trophies. But at the very least, the lead-off fight between Hector Lombard and Rousimar Palhares should be memorable. Unless it isn’t, which is also possible.

Our own Matt Kaplan will be throwin’ down round-by-round results from the FX main card, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if you’re watching along with us, please throw your own bullshit into the comments section.


(Yeesh. That thing never gets easier to look at, does it. / Image via MMAJunkie)

Also known as the TUF: The Smashes Finale, tonight’s UFC card is coming to you live from the Gold Coast, and will feature the season’s lightweight and welterweight finals. (Remember, these are the Brits and Aussies. The “Let Me Bang, Bro” cast gets its big send-off tomorrow in Vegas.)

If you happened to read our brutally honest breakdown of the fights, you know that there’s not much on the line this evening outside of those lovely glass trophies. But at the very least, the lead-off fight between Hector Lombard and Rousimar Palhares should be memorable. Unless it isn’t, which is also possible.

Our own Matt Kaplan will be throwin’ down round-by-round results from the FX main card, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if you’re watching along with us, please throw your own bullshit into the comments section.

Please stand by…

Hey now. Mk here. Before we get to the liveblog, I just want to say how glad I am that these fights are on tonight. I have two little kids, so the more I hear/see/learn about the school shooting in Connecticut, the more furious/helpless/nervous I become. Once again, MMA is a welcomed respite – for a few hours, at least – and I’m sure I’m not the only one here at CP whose thoughts and prayers are with the families whose lives were forever changed today.

Now let’s get ready to watch some guys fight. Who ya got?

And the fighting robots can only mean one thing: “It’s time!” So cheezy.

Anik and Florian are once again behind the mic, kinda dressed alike too.

Hector Lombard vs. Rousimar Palhares

Rd. 1) We’ve got two short, stumpy thumpers going right here. I’m excited for this one. Lombard takes the center of the cage and opens with some kicks and punches, and Palhares accepts the invitation. Lombard misses a wild, leaping hook. Palhares is kicking low…and again…and is dropped by a Lombard right. Palhares circles away to his right and is being stalked by Lombard, who’s looking for a big left.Lombard connects with a big left and Palhares is down. Lombard is in his guard. Lombard is up and lets Palhares up. Lombard is peppering Palhares with big punches against the fence. Palhares is down again. More monster shots. He’s out. Lombard wins it with strikes (Rd. 1. 3:38). Damn, that was a nasty left from Lombard when Palhares was against the fence.

Lombard calls out Bisping in the post-fight interview. I’m down for that.

(That Southern Comfort commercial with the fat dude in the speedo is unreal.)

Colin Fletcher vs. Norman Parke

Rd 1) Joe Martinez is silky on the mic, as usual, and we’re off. Parke wades in with an overhand left and clinches Fletch before pressing him against the cage. He takes down Fletcher, who gets right back up and stuffs another takedown attempt. Woops, Parke trips him down again and is in Fletcher’s half guard, up against the cage. Fletcher is working for a kimura but Parke defends it without issue. Parke is still in half guard and can’t seem to pass. Big elbow from Parke to Fletcher’s face. Parke is in north-south position but passes to half. Fletcher spins out for a second – a scramble – and now it’s Fletcher with side control. He drops a few punches before the horn.

Rd 2)  Both men land some early low kicks. Again Parke throws the overhand left, clinches, and moves Fletcher to the fence. And there’s the takedown. Is Fletcher going for a heel hook? Nope. Parke is in side control again. Park is going for a one-armed guillotine, but Fletcher escapes. Parke now has Fletcher mounted, takes his back, but Fletcher escapes and is up on his feet. Parke lands a big left to the side of the head of Fletcher. Knee from Fletcher. Fletcher is throwing plenty of low kicks, but Parke lands some heavy punch combinations. Parke seems to be throwing with much more conviction – and power. Parke gets a takedown just before the round ends.

Rd 3) Kicks to the legs from Fletcher, punches to the head from Parke. Fletcher is swinging upstairs, but no luck. Parke ducks and counters. Solid left from Parke; Fletcher counters with a kick. Fletcher’s left eye is bleeding. Fletcher lands two punches on the jaw, but Parke counters with a left hook. Fletcher lands a left hook to the body. And a knee to the body. Parke has slowed a bit, it seems, and Fletcher is fighting as he should with a minute left. Parke hits two quick takedowns and has Fletcher’s back. Fletcher is up, and the fight ends with Parke pressing Fletcher against the cage. Norman Parke takes the unanimous decision and is the Smashes lightweight winner. Mazel tov on the new contract, Stormin.

The FX show The Americans looks like it could be pretty cool, no?

Robert Whittaker vs. Bradley Scott

Rd 1) Jeers for Scott. Cheers for Whittaker. Both men sample some kicks and punch combinations before Scott presses Whittaker against the fence. Whittaker knees as Scott presses. The crowd is anxious. Whittaker spins away and throws a big, glancing left hook. And another that lands clean on the nose of Scott. Nice right from Whittaker. Scott fires a right down the middle. Whittaker kicks hard at the lead leg and just misses with the right. Whittaker charges in with punches, drops Scott, but Scott is up, and both men are toe to toe. Scott presses forward against the cage. Whittaker is off the cage and counters a Scott right with three hard shots. Knee to the body from Scott, and a big Whittaker left hook lands at the horn.

Rd 2) Both men are firing punches early, and Scott again wants to press against the fence. Whittaker ain’t having it, though. A lead left uppercut and a follow-up right land for Whittaker. Whittaker kicks Scott in the junk, so we’re taking a breather. And we’re back. Scott lands a kick to the body. Some good dirty boxing from both men. Scott trips Whittaker and has the Aussie’s back. Scott is landing some short punches and knees. Scott has two hooks in and is dropping punches. Whittaker nearly sneaks out the back door. Yup, he’s out. Scott is pressing and Whittaker is bloodied. Whittaker lands a good left hook; Scott moves Whittaker against the cage once more. The round ends with Scott and Whittaker trading heavy leather.

Rd 3) Big left hook just misses for Whittaker. Whittaker is looking to turn the lights out with these punches. Scott moves in with punches, but Whittaker counters with hard combos. Whittaker is turning it up with nasty elbows. Scott lands a counter hook. Nasty elbow from Whittaker, followed by a 2 and a 3. Whittaker is getting the better of these exchanges. Scott jabs, Whittaker pounds. Whittaker attacks with a left uppercut that snaps back the head of Scott. Here’s a barrage of punches from Whittaker, and the crowd loves it. Hooks from Scott, elbows and straight punches from Whittaker. Great fight. Close, too. The judges award the unanimous decision victory to local boy Robert Whittaker, your new Smashes welterweight winner.

George Sotiropoulos vs. Ross Pearson

Rd 1) There will be no touching of the gloves in this one. Pearson fires some lead left hooks; Sotiropoulos slips and misses with he counter right. Pearson hits the kick to the inside of the lead leg. Big right form Pearson. Sotiropoulos is wobbly. Damn. Sotiropoulos pushes Pearson against the fence and is looking for a takedown. Knee from Sotiropoulos. both men trade rights. Pearson is landing hard punches and Sotiropoulos backs him off for a second with a close-range knee. A Pearson leg kick puts down Sotiropoulos, who gets right back up. Pearson might be smelling the big KO. Sotiropoulos is keeping his hands up as Pearson fires away. Sotiropoulos grabs a double, drags down Pearson, but Pearson gets back up. Uh oh. Sotiropoulos has Pearson’s back as Pearson is standing beside the fence. Pearson bucks Sotiropoulos off, but Sotiropoulos regains bach control as the round ends.

Rd 2) Sotiropoulos seems to have recovered. Pearson kicks low; Sotiropoulos counters with a straight right. High kick from Sotiropoulos. Body shot from Pearson. Pearson is winding up for the big one, it seems. Both men trade jabs. Sotiropoulos is finding his distance with the left jab. Another high kick from Sotiropoulos. Pearson lands a hard body shot with the right hand. Sotiropoulos counters, but a Pearson left hook drops Sotiropoulos. Sotiropoulos is wobbled again. Pearson’s left hook is getting through. Pearson slips after a left kick, but regains his footing. Another big Pearson left hits before the round ends.

Rd 3) A left hook from Pearson drops Sotiropoulos right away. Sotiropoulos gets up, but Pearson is hammering away. A straight left and a clobbering right hands drops Sotiropoulos, and the ref calls it off after Pearson lands one more right hand to a downed Sotiropoulos. Wow. Big power from Ross the boss. Ross Pearson wins via TKO at 41 seconds into the third.

Not a bad night of fights, CP. See you next time. Mk.

 

UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz — Main Card Results & Commentary


(Sometimes I look at Nate Diaz and think, “y’know, there’s a guy who probably hasn’t heard the Good News about Jesus Christ.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Old legends and young lions. Guys with angel wings on their backs and guys with middle fingers in your face. Hot-headed blood lickers, and reasonable folks who understand the health risks of such behavior. It’s UFC on FOX 5 — a card so good that you don’t even need lazy storylines to sell it.

On the menu tonight: Benson Henderson looks for his second lightweight title defense against Nate Diaz, Alexander Gustafsson makes his case for #1 light-heavyweigght contendership against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and BJ Penn will go to the death — or pretty damn close — against Rory MacDonald. Plus, a MySpace grudge-match nearly eight years in the making!

Running our “Henderson vs. Diaz” liveblog is New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee Jim Genia (congrats Jim!), who will be throwin’ down live results from the FOX main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and toss your own thoughts and observations in the comments section.


(Sometimes I look at Nate Diaz and think, “y’know, there’s a guy who probably hasn’t heard the Good News about Jesus Christ.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Old legends and young lions. Guys with angel wings on their backs and guys with middle fingers in your face. Hot-headed blood lickers, and reasonable folks who understand the health risks of such behavior. It’s UFC on FOX 5 — a card so good that you don’t even need lazy storylines to sell it.

On the menu tonight: Benson Henderson looks for his second lightweight title defense against Nate Diaz, Alexander Gustafsson makes his case for #1 light-heavyweigght contendership against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and BJ Penn will go to the death — or pretty damn close — against Rory MacDonald. Plus, a MySpace grudge-match nearly eight years in the making!

Running our “Henderson vs. Diaz” liveblog is New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee Jim Genia (congrats Jim!), who will be throwin’ down live results from the FOX main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and toss your own thoughts and observations in the comments section.

What up, spuds. ‘Tis I, Jim Genia.  Here are the results from the undercard:

-Yves Edwards def. Jeremy Stephens via KO (Punches) at 1:55, Round 1

-Raphael Assuncao def. Mike Easton via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

-Ramsey Nijem def. Joe Proctor via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

-Daron Cruickshank def. Henry Martinez via KO (Kick) at 2:57, Round 2

-Abel Trujillo def. Marcus LeVesseur via TKO (Knees) at 3:56, Round 2

-Dennis Siver def. Nam Phan via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-24)

-Scott Jorgensen def. John Albert via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:59, Round 1

And now, the main card, which is probably the best selection of fights Zuffa has ever given to FOX for airing for free.

First up, Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick:

You know and love Swick from his time on the seminal TUF season and the years of beatings both given and received in the Octagon.  You know Brown for pretty much the same thing, although his coming out party was at TUF 7.  We’ve seen them bang in impressive fashion, but Father Time has got to be taking his toll these grizzled dudes, so the question is: who’s still got enough grit left to pull out the win?

Round 1: After about 30 seconds of feeling each other out, Swick and Brown begin taking turns lunging in and winging punches.  Neither really connects though, so Brown grabs one of his opponent’s legs and dumps him on the canvas, and works into side-control.  From there Brown slips on a tight-as-hell D’Arce choke.  Swick is stuck defending the technique while in Brown’s guard.  He guts his way out of it, but not long after Brown has him in an even tighter triangle choke.  Somehow, some way, Swick survives, and with 3o seconds left they get back to their feet and pepper each other with short punches and knees from the clinch. Ding, end of round.

Round 2: Brown comes out and starts Muay Thai-ing the crap out of Swick, which is weird because doesn’t Swick live in Thailand or something?  Anyway, what can Brown do for you? I dunno, but for Swick it’s elbows and knees and some smothering clinch-work.  Swick seems to fade fast, and while he’s walking backwards, Brown tags him with a left hook on the chin and a right hand in the grill, and Swick is out and probably dreaming of a better Pad Thai than you and I will ever know.

Matt Brown def. Mike Swick via KO (Punches) at 2:31, Round 2

Next, BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald:

What more can I say about Penn that hasn’t been said?  The man’s a legend, he’s accomplished more in the sport than most can ever dream of, and when he bleeds, he bleeds grape-flavored Hawaiian Punch.  MacDonald is supposedly one of the next big things, but screw that. BJ, dispatch this clown.

Round 1: Penn comes straight across the cage and goes for a takedown.  MacDonald shrugs it off, and from his upper-body control, it becomes apparent that his size and height advantage is going to make it hard for Penn to move him around.  They two create some space, and for the next two minutes MacDonald uses his reach to land some low kicks, a high-kick to the head that the former lightweight- and welterweight champ shrugs off, some jabs and elbows.  Penn gets some good licks in, but it’s almost all MacDonald, and the young upstart wobbles the Hawaiian with an elbow with about 45 seconds left in the round.  They make it to the bell, but yeesh, Penn is getting hurt.

Round 2: MacDonald stalks Penn into the cage, and with jabs and kicks, begins to have his way with him.  Penn doesn’t circle, doesn’t really move his head, and aside from a right hand here and there, he’s a sitting duck.  MacDonald cracks him to the body with a kick at the midway mark of the round, and Penn nearly crumbles, staying upright only to eat more painful body blows.  With 38 seconds in the frame MacDonald grabs Penn and dumps him onto the canvas, and he feeds him short punches until the bell.

Round 3: Penn comes close with a single-leg takedown right out of the gate, but MacDonald gets out of it and tries to hug him to death against the cage.  Referee Herb Dean seperates them, and MacDonald resumes hurting Penn with strikes from the outside.  With all the confidence in the world, MacDonald shuffles his feet and throws question-mark kicks, Superman punches and just about anything else he wants, and all Penn can do is walk around and take it.  And then the bell sounds and it’s all over, and I go to my room and cry.

Rory MacDonald def. BJ Penn via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

Next, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Alexander Gustafsson:

Shogun was, at one time, one of the best in the world.  Now he’s a walking pile of barely connected bones, ligaments and aged muscles.  Will the big Swede striker be the one to finally make the Brazilian collapse into a heaps of twisted flesh in the cage?

Round 1: Apparently Shogun watched Penn’s fight on the monitor backstage and said “I ain’t going out like that.”  Within the first 30 seconds of the bout Gustafsson sends him to the canvas on his butt, but Shogun swivels into a heelhook attempt that the Swede has to seriously work to get out of – and when he does, the former PRIDE and UFC champ almost takes his back and manages to land a sweet knee to the chops when they’re against the fence.  They make some space and throw strikes, with Shogun opting to cover up, eat whatever his opponent throws so he can wade in and land something himself.  It’s a dangerous ploy, and he winds up bleeding from his nose – but still very much in the game – by the time the round ends.

Round 2: Winging overhand rights and lefts, Shogun re-establishes himself as a threat to the taller fighter.  Gustafsson almost hip tosses him two minutes in, but a flubbed takedown attempt soon after has Shogun on his back regardless.  They work back to their feet and Gustafsson nails two takedowns and bangs his foe up with some ground and pound, and when Shogun stands the taller fighter just blasts him, wobbling him with knees and punches.  The bell sounds with Shogun that much worse for wear.

Round 3: Gustafsson resumes dinging Shogun up, and when Shogun fights back with more overhand rights, the Swede takes him down and tries to work him over there.  They get back to their feet and the dance continues, with Shogun trying to land that big money shot and Gustafsson alternating between strikes from outside and successful takedowns.  About midway through the round Gustafsson lands a shot to Shogun’s liver, which turns the Brazilian into the Walking Dead while Gustafsson lands whatever he wants.  A front kick to the face, jabs, and takedowns – Gustafsson does it all, and time expires with Shogun on the bottom and fighting like maybe he should have retired a year and a half ago.

Alexander Gustafsson def. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Next, Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz:

Henderson won the UFC lightweight title by narrowly defeating Frankie Edgar, and reiterated his claim to the belt by defeating Edgar in another close fight and razor-thin decision.  Diaz ain’t about that life, though.  Diaz will beat you up in the parking lot, kiss your girl and smoke your pot, and there’s nothing you can do about it so you might as well start packing your bong now, son.  Ahem.

Round 1: Henderson wastes no time throwing kicks to Diaz’s legs, and Diaz wastes no time taunting him and tying him up against the cage.  They trade knees while jockeying for advantage, and this goes on for about two minutes.  Diaz makes some distance and lands an elbow, and Henderson manages two takedowns and some hard ground and pound.  The fine upstanding citizen from Stockton gets back to his feet, but he remains open to leg-kicks, and Bendo drops him with one.  Diaz is up again, and the round expires with the two pressed up against the cage.

Round 2: The champ muscles the challenger to the mat about 30 seconds into the round, and when Diaz rises, he throws a kick to the head that Diaz barely blocks.  They wrestle a bit on the feet, and when they seperate the two trade some strikes and it almost seems like the TUF winner is starting to find his boxing groove.  But no, Henderson resumes kicking the crap out of his leg, than drops him with a knuckle sandwich and pounds on him.  Diaz survives, gets vertical and scores with a sweet judo throw, but Henderson scrambles back up and continues his dominance.

Round 3: Henderson opens up with another leg-kick, Diaz answers back with some of his bread and butter punches, and at a minute in the champ hits a takedown and drops bombs. Back on their feet and then another takedown, and it’s clear Diaz’s guard is ill-equipped to deal with the heat Henderson brings from above.  Diaz rolls and works into a leglock attempt that morphs into a toehold.  Henderson expertly escapes, fends off another heelhook attempt, and when they stand once more Bendo drops Diaz with a right hand.  With time running out, Henderson lands an axe-kick to Diaz’s body, and then the bell sounds.

Round 4: Henderson gets a takedown against the fence about 35 seconds into the round, batters Diaz whenever Diaz turtles, and repeats the whole process when they get back up.  The Cesar Gracie black belt has maybe one half-ass kimura attempt and heelhook attempt, but that’s it, and you have to wonder if Diaz should maybe consider moving down to 145 pounds.

Round 5: They’re up against the cage early, and with 3:30 left on the clock Henderson hoists Diaz up and slams him like a pimp shaking down one of his hookers.  Diaz scores with one hip throw, but the champ scrambles to safety, and other than that one brief moment of brilliance, the challenger is nothing more than a grappling dummy that curses a lot.  And then time runs out and it’s all over.

Benson Henderson def. Nick Diaz via Unanimous Decision (50-43, 50-45, 50-45)

That’s all she wrote, folks. Peace out.

UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit — Main Card Results & Commentary


(Anderson Silva will be watching this one with great interest. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

Georges St. Pierre‘s 19-month hiatus from the Octagon is one of the reasons why MMA kind of sucked this year. But the UFC welterweight champion is back in the saddle tonight in Montreal against interim champ Carlos Condit, so come a little bit closer baby, get it on, get on, ’cause tonight is the night when two belts become one.

In the co-main event, Martin Kampmann battles Johny Hendricks for a potential title shot against the winner of St. Pierre vs. Condit. Plus: This clown, that weirdo, and Mark Hominick‘s must-win featherweight scrap against Pablo Garza. [Note: Nick Ring was supposed to fight Constantinos Philippou on the main card, but fell ill today and wasn’t cleared to compete. Mark Bocek vs. Rafael Dos Anjos was promoted to the main card from the prelims.]

Guiding us through the proceedings is liveblogger-supreme Aaron Mandel Ben Goldstein!, who will be throwin’ down round-by-round results from the UFC 154 pay-per-view main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let your voices be heard loudly and proudly in the comments section.


(Anderson Silva will be watching this one with great interest. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

Georges St. Pierre‘s 19-month hiatus from the Octagon is one of the reasons why MMA kind of sucked this year. But the UFC welterweight champion is back in the saddle tonight in Montreal against interim champ Carlos Condit, so come a little bit closer baby, get it on, get on, ’cause tonight is the night when two belts become one.

In the co-main event, Martin Kampmann battles Johny Hendricks for a potential title shot against the winner of St. Pierre vs. Condit. Plus: This clown, that weirdo, and Mark Hominick‘s must-win featherweight scrap against Pablo Garza. [Note: Nick Ring was supposed to fight Constantinos Philippou on the main card, but fell ill today and wasn’t cleared to compete. Mark Bocek vs. Rafael Dos Anjos was promoted to the main card from the prelims.]

Guiding us through the proceedings is liveblogger-supreme Aaron Mandel Ben Goldstein!, who will be throwin’ down round-by-round results from the UFC 154 pay-per-view main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let your voices be heard loudly and proudly in the comments section.

Yeah, Aaron pulled out due to some last-minute technical difficulties, so you’re stuck with Old Mom. And here I was, enjoying a pleasant Saturday evening of drinking local craft beer and putting together IKEA furniture. This better be good, guys.

Mark Hominick vs. Pablo Garza
Garza comes out to “Lights” by Ellie Goulding. Hominick comes out to “Kickstart My Heart” by Motley Crue.  The dichotomy is both hilarious and awesome. Bruce Buffer greets the crowd with a friendly “Bone Swa, Mon’Reahhhh…”

Round 1: Hominick stalks forward and Garza tries to push him back with leg kicks and a knee. Hominick steps in and throws heavy. Garza trying to keep him at distance with his long scarecrow limbs, but Hommy lands anyway. You can tell that Hominick wants to make an example of this guy. But now Garza dashes in with a great knee to the body and follows it with a good leg kick. Garza throws the head kick. Hominick backs up with punches. Another nice leg kick from Garza. Garza goes low/high with the kicks. He changes levels with punches too, but Hominick counters him hard, backing Garza to the fence. They tie up and Hominick slams him to the mat. Garza goes for the armbar. He nearly sinks it but Hominick pulls out and starts slugging down from inside Garza’s guard. Garza gets up and flings a long knee into Hominick’s body. Garza throws a punch to the ribs. But Hominick lands a devastating punch to Garza’s body and he crumbles. Hominick tries to finish but Garza gets up and lands an uppercut that opens Hominick up. Garza pushes Hominick to the fence and unloads. Hominick escapes at the bell. Awesome round…I have to give it to Garza 10-9 for landing more and drawing blood.

Round 2: Hominick’s face is already puffed up. Garza throws a wild-ass jumping kick to start the round. He grabs Hominick around the waist and drags him down, rolling into Hominick’s guard. Garza working some GnP and lands a couple good shots to Hominick’s mug. Now some elbows. This isn’t going well for the Canadian. He gets some distance and fires down some longer punches now. Hominick trying to tie up an arm then a leg, looking for any kind of submission, but it’s not happening. Hominick looks be bleesing near both eyes now, as Garza continues the assault of punches and elbows from the top. And that’s the bell. 10-9, bordering on 10-8 for Garza.

Round 3: Garza opens with a high kick, then goes to the inside leg. Hominick comes out like he did in the first frame, stalking and throwing hard. Garza grabs Hominick again, but gets shucked off. Garza tries a takedown again and gets it. Garza slashes with elbows. Hominick tosses the legs up looking for an omoplata, but can’t get it. More elbows from Garza. Hominick thinks about going for the leg, then resumes his roadkill-impression. Hominick slaps Garza in the side of the head a few times, doing jack-shit. Garza slugs him hard in the face. Double-hand slaps from the bottom from Hominick? Ugh, dude. Hominick kicks Garza off, Garza knees him in the ribs when he gets up and takes Hominick right back down. Garza in Hominick’s half-guard, and tosses down some hammer-fists. Hominick with a hail-mary triangle-armbar, but Garza pulls out and the fight ends. The crowd boos Garza for beating the dog doo-doo out of their homeboy. This is going to be Garza’s win, and the fourth straight loss for Hominick.

Pablo Garza def. Mark Hominick via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 29-28).

Mark Bocek vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

Round 1: Bocek takes the center of the cage. Bocek ties Dos Anjos up and pushes him against the cage; Dos Anjos escapes. Leg kick Dos Anjos. Bocek shoots again, and they’re back to tangling on the fence. Bocek knees Dos Anjos in the thighs from the clinch. Dos Anjos returns a knee to the chest and pushes off. Dos Anjos with a superman punch that misses and an uppercut that lands hard. Bocek lands a head kick but slips to the mat. He pops up, tries for a thai clinch then drops low. Dos Anjos just refuses to be taken down tonight. He’s out, and they trade low kicks. Dos Anjos sticks the uppercut. Leg kick Dos Anjos. Bocek shoots in, puts Dos Anjos against the fence, drops to finish it, can’t. Dos Anjos rolls out and kicks Bocek in the leg. That’s the round. I hope Bocek goes to Plan B, because he’s not landing the takedowns and I don’t particularly want to watch two more rounds of this.

Round 2: After a brief punching exchange, Bocek low-kicks Rafael straight in the Dos Anjos, if you catch my drift. Yowzer. Anyway, Dos Anjos is back in with the quickness. Bocek shoots again and Dos Anjos reverses him. Dos Anjos on top, struggling for control. Bocek powers to his feet but Dos Anjos puts him back down. Bocek looks for an arm, and Dos Anjos straight up sits on the dude’s head in north-south position. (aka, The Arabian Goggles Position.) Bocek thankfully escapes, and eventually gets to his feet. Dos Anjos smells blood, and shoots hard for a takedown, nailing it. He goes to Bocek’s back and slugs down at Bocek’s temple. Bocek covers up. He grabs onto Dos Anjos’s leg and works his way upright. Dos Anjos lifts Bocek straight up and deposits him on the mat. Bocek stands up and gets punched in the face for his troubles. Bocek’s face is a bloody mess. Time for Plan C?

Round 3: Dos Anjos with the superman punch, still looking energetic. Bocek goes back to grabbing Dos Anjos against the fence and dropping for a takedown, but it’s still not working. Dos Anjos with a body slam to get the fight back to the mat. Bocek gets up and goes for a standing kimura, but Dos Anjos escapes. Straight right from Bocek. Jumping knee to the body from Dos Anjos. Bocek attacks with punches. They tie up against the fence. Dos Anjos with a knee to the ribs. Dos Anjos with a crane kick attempt, then a hard uppercut. Dos Anjos slips, gets up and stumbles around a bit, then they trade punches in a firefight to the bell. This is going to be another loss for Team Canada.

Rafael Dos Anjos def. Mark Bocek via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor
Lawlor and his crew come out as…nerds, I guess? Not his best work.

Round 1: Lawlor the aggressor, coming forward and darting inside. They clinch on the fence. Carmont returns a knee. There’s another one. Dirty boxing from Filthy Tom. The ref breaks ‘em up when it becomes clear that they’ll spend all night on that fence. Carmont tries to set up a kimura when Lawlor shoots on him again. No dice. It’s back to the fence. They separate. Carmont uses his reach advantage, sticking his hand on Lawlor’s forehead to keep him at bay. Lawlor grabs a guillotine and jumps to the mat with it. Looks tight. Blood starts leaking out of somewhere on Carmont’s head, but he finally pulls out and postures up for some ground-and-pound payback. The bell saves Lawlor from getting punished.

Round 2: Carmont with some 52 Blocks-type hand-gesturing. Lawlor glides in with a straight left. Inside leg kick from Lawlor, then the outside. Carmont responds with a solid knee to the body. Lawlor pushes Carmont back against the fence. Lawlor lands the straight. Lawlor pushes him against the fence again. Carmont with a punch inside, and Lawlor drops for a takedown. He sticks it after some effort. Carmont gets up but eats a knee. Lawlor drags him down again. Carmont looks for the triangle but Lawlor escapes and scrambles for a guillotine attempt. Carmont escapes but the bell sounds before he can retaliate.

Round 3: They’re boxing. Carmont with a kick to the body. Carmont jumps forward with a knee, Lawlor grabs him and puts him against the fence. The crowd boos them, the ref breaks them. High kick from Carmont lands. Inside leg kick from Carmont. Lawlor pushing forward with punches. Carmont lands a right. He throws another high kick. Lawlor lands a counter-left. Kicks from Carmont to the leg and body. Left hook Lawlor, body kick Carmont. Foot stomps from Lawlor against the cage. They’re up after a brief moment on the mat, and that’s the fight. Not exactly a crowd-pleaser. The scores will be close.

Francis Carmont def. Tom Lawlor via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29). The Montreal crowd actually boos the decision, even though the Canadian dude won it. Maybe they just hated the fight.

If you’re wondering where Nick Ring is tonight, read the update at the top of this post.

Johny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann

Round 1: Kampmann throws a high kick to open. He tries it again. Hendricks bolts in with his nasty left hand. A lightning fast left/right combo from Hendricks puts Kampmann into falling tree mode, and Hendricks only has time to punch Kampmann’s comatose head once before Big Dan pulls him off. My goodness that was nasty. Ladies and gentlemen, Johny Hendricks is the next in line at 170 pounds.

Johny Hendricks def. Martin Kampmann via KO 0:46 of round 1.

Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit
Alright, main event time. Who’s ready for five rounds of positional domination? The champ enters the cage and does cartwheels in both directions. SCARED YET, CARLOS?

Round 1: GSP jabs. Carlos with a leg kick. GSP is moving forward, punching, making Condit circle along the outside of the cage. Carlos throws a 1-2, fires a high teep that misses. Leg kick Georges, and a sharp jab. St. Pierre shoots for a leg and twists Condit to the mat. GSP softens him up with punches, carefully avoiding attacks from Condit’s guard. St. Pierre pulls Condit’s neck up to break his position. Condit tries to kick off but St. Pierre is glued on top of him, doing what he does best. Condit looking for an arm, can’t find it. More punches from the top from GSP. St. Pierre with shots to the ribs. Condit escapes to his feet. He’s cut, badly. The bell sounds and jets of blood pulse out of Condit’s forehead. The replay shows that St. Pierre did it with an elbow from the top. Easy 10-9 for the champ.

Round 2: Nice straight/uppercut/kick combo from Condit. They both whiff high kicks. St. Pierre leans in with a straight that connects. Carlos lands a left. Condit lands a 1-2 on GSP, then a hook after a knee attempt. St. Pierre answers with a right. Condit throws a knee kick. Condit goes body/head. St. Pierre shoots for a double leg and nails it. Big shot from the top. Condit’s face is gory. He slugs at GSP off his back, in vain. St. Pierre lands much more effective punches from the top. Condit dashes to his feet. As bloody as he is, he’s still game, getting in GSP’s range and firing punches. GSP punches back. Neither of these guys are playing it cautiously. Another round for the champ.

Round 3: Condit tags St. Pierre with a head kick and floors him! Condit desperately tries to finish, jackhammering punches and elbows down. GSP has quite the goose-egg on the right side of his head. GSP somehow gets to his feet. He’s unsteady, but goes back to attacking Condit, and slams him to the mat. That right there is a champion, folks. Hard elbows from St. Pierre. Condit stands up, grabs a kimura, but loses it as they tumble back to the mat. GSP settles into half-guard as Condit tries to find a way off his back. Nothing doing. St. Pierre stays on top until the bell.

Round 4: Condit goes low/high with kicks. Condit tries the head kick again but gets counter-punched directly after. St. Pierre dives for the takedown and gets it. We’re back in the champ’s world. Condit trying to snake his way out, and stays active punching GSP off his back. St. Pierre with punches whenever he can find an opening. Condit looking for a kneebar, can’t get it, and misses a follow-up triangle attempt. Carlos goes back to slugging GSP in the face from below. Condit tries to get up, GSP drags him down, Condit briefly reverses the position, GSP reverses the reversal. He takes Condit’s back as the fourth round ends.

Round 5: GSP with a brilliant superman jab/leg kick combo. Carlos is swinging at air. Then he lands a spinning back kick. St. Pierre nails another takedown, but Condit is quickly back on his feet. St. Pierre lands a right. Condit charges in and lands a right, then a left. Condit with a hook, then a knee kick. St. Pierre with a pair of jabs, a right hand, and finishes with a takedown. Two minutes left. St. Pierre is doing his best to hold the challenger in place. Condit rolls, St. Pierre takes his back, Condit defends and establishes guard again. St. Pierre gets a little more active in the last 40 seconds, firing down punches. Condit looks for a desperation armlock, switches to elbowing St. Pierre in the head when that doesn’t work. The fight ends, and they both look like they’ve been in a car wreck. It wasn’t always pretty, but Georges St. Pierre just answered all the doubters. The only things left are the scores, and one more obligatory cut to Anderson Silva.

Georges St. Pierre def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45 x 2).

GSP says his knee didn’t bother him at all, and he wouldn’t have fought if it did. Joe Rogan asks him the million dollar question about a potential Anderson Silva fight, and the crowd boos. St. Pierre says he was only thinking about Condit; now, he’s going to take a vacation, think it over, and make the right decision for his career. Come on Andy, rush the cage and call him a punk or something! Ah well…the event ends without an awkward post-fight confrontation, but it’s great to see the greatest welterweight in MMA history working again.

That’s a wrap for tonight. Thanks, as always, for hanging out with us.

‘UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit’ — FX Preliminary Card Liveblog


(Chad Griggs is making his 205-pound debut tonight, but his muttonchops will remain at super-heavyweight. / Photo via CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Before the UFC 154 main card fireworks kick off on pay-per-view, FX is presenting four bouts of preliminary action from Montreal’s Bell Centre, including a battle between fellow Canadian strikers Sam Stout and John Makdessi, and Patrick Cote‘s Octagon return against Alessio Sakara. Your good friend Anthony Gannon will be piling round-by-round results after the jump, starting at 8 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.


(Chad Griggs is making his 205-pound debut tonight, but his muttonchops will remain at super-heavyweight. / Photo via CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Before the UFC 154 main card fireworks kick off on pay-per-view, FX is presenting four bouts of preliminary action from Montreal’s Bell Centre, including a battle between fellow Canadian strikers Sam Stout and John Makdessi, and Patrick Cote‘s Octagon return against Alessio Sakara. Your good friend Anthony Gannon will be piling round-by-round results after the jump, starting at 8 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

Sup, y’all. It’s time to get this shit poppin’ up in here. I’m your host/liveblogger for these here undercard fights this evening, and if there’s a sudden absence of posting allow  me to apologize in advance. It’s because the Sam Adams and awful wings I just  consumed are instigating a rebellion that needs to be squashed, Longshanks  style.

But I’m not going to allow this to get me down. We got some fights to watch, and I intend to have some fun this weekend as I may very well be walking into a human resources  nightmare/firing Monday morning.

I have a semi-private bathroom at work. Technically, it’s “public.” But it’s a lovely little john, one throne, directly behind my work station. So naturally I consider it mine,  and look upon anyone who dares enter it as a threat to my security. Occasionally, some selfish  interloper will be in there when I have to handle my handle, and I’m forced to set them straight. I’ve taken to memorizing all of my co-worker’s shoes so I know who the intruder is and can take the appropriate course of action. The other day, a Vietnamese fellow I know pretty well was in there. I decided it would be fun to get all Platoon on his ass. “La Dai! La Dai! Get the fuck out of the shitter,” I shouted as I burst into the room. I heard him jump, and then he started yelling, loud. Like he was really pissed. We’re pretty cool, he’s one of the very few fellow MMA fans I work with, so I figured it was all good to get a little derogatory.

Well, what I didn’t know, but do now, is that he came to this country as a young child, adopted by an American family, after being displaced in the war. Apparently, that little  bit of trauma took the humor out of it for him. I still think it was funny as shit, and I apologized whole-heartedly, but you know how PC all this shit is. Hopefully if he rats me out I’ll just get some sensitivity training or something.

But whatever, I won’t let it spoil my weekend because right now I’m watching fights on Facebook while simultaneously playing the Kevin Bacon game in my head, and I gotta tell ya, it just doesn’t get any better than this. Patrick Cote to Randy Couture in The Ultimate Fighter 4, Randy to Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables, Stallone to Robert De Niro in Cop land, and De Niro to Kevin Bacon in Sleepers. How do you like them apples, bitches? It always comes down to either Sleepers or A Few Good Men, doesn’t it. Sure, I had to mix a television show into a movie themed game, but shit man, it’s the undercards. Gotta give a fellow a little latitude. Eh, fuck that game anyway. It ceased being fun with Sleepers. I mean shit, a movie with Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, and De Niro? It’s almost as if the casting director assembled the actors with the sole intention of destructing the greatest parlor game since Charades.

Anyway, forget all this babbling nonsense, its fight time. And while this may not be the best undercard ever assembled, it aint half bad. We have a main show of Patrick Cote vs  Alessio Sakara, Chad Griggs is taking his pimp-ass mutton chops down to 205 to face Cyrille Diabate, and if you ever watched Oz you know damn well Cyrille is no one to trifle with. Also, we have Antonio Carvahlo vs Rodrigo Damm in a desperate struggle for relevance, and Sam Stout vs John Makdessi in a pretty decent stand up affair.

First, let’s get the Facebook results out of the way:

Darren Elkins busts Steven Siler up for a unanimous decision W.

Ivan Menjivar defeats Azamat Gashimov by first round armbar.

Matt Riddle defeats John McGuire by unanimous decision.

First up is Rodrigo Damm vs Antonio Carvahlo

Round 1: They touch gloves and it is on, yo. Carvahlo is in stalk mode. Damm attacks with a right, answered with a leg kick by Carvahlo. Damm with a left hook, blocked. They trade leg kicks. Carvahlo misses a high kick. Damm lands a powerful low kick, and answered by Carvahlo. Lots of leg kicks, and Rogan has a hard-on. Damn throws one, checked. Damm misses a straight right, while Carvahlo misses a low kick. Damm sticks a jab. Carvahlo with another low kick, and Damm’s leg is looking jacked up. Front kick by Carvahlo, Damm answers with a stiff jab. Carvahlo ends with another leg kick. Close round, 10-9 for Carvahlo.

Anderson Silva is icing down Damm’s leg, and it looks like chopmeat.

Round 2: Carvahlo attacks the leg, misses. Then hits it. And again. Damm sticks a nice front kick to the body. Carvahlo goes high, blocked. Man, Carvahlo lands to the leg again. Then to the inside. Damm with another front kick. Carvahlo misses a high kick and falls down. Damm jumps on him, but they scramble and now they’re back up. Damm misses a kick. So does Carvahlo. Damm charges forward, lands a decent left. Carvahlo is bleeding from the shnoz. Damm lands a shot, Carvahlo with another leg kick. Damm responds, then sticks a nice jab, fallowed by a front kick. Damm’s leg is getting busted up, but he’s getting the better of the punching exchanges. 10-9 Damm.

Round 3: Brittany is SO fine. Carvahlo with a head kick, misses. Goes low, lands inside, misses outside. Damm with a front kick, not much on it. The natives are getting restless. Carvahlo lands to the leg again. Damm answers. Damm with a stiff jab, knocks Carvahlo’s mouthpiece out. The camera zooms in on Damm’s leg, and it is fuuucked up. Damm charges forward, lands a good one. They trade hard leg kicks. Damm with another stiff shot to the mug. Good head movement by Carvahlo, avoids Damm’s combination. Carvahlo with a left. Inside leg kick by Carvahlo. Carvahlo misses a hige overhand right, and a high kick. Damm connects with a right. Carvahlo with a straight right, misses a flying knee. Good fight, gotta give that last round to Carvahlo.

The decision is in and it’s split, 29-28 x 2 for Carvahlo, 29-28 for Damm.

Sam Stout and John Makdessi are next, and Makdessi is on a two fight losing skid. He needs this one. Stout is coming off a fairly meaningless decision win over Spencer Fisher. You never know which Stout is going to show up. If the sluggish Stout shows, Makdessi has a good shot here. If Stout is on point, he has a habit of winning FOTN checks.

Round 1: Stout rocking a very stylish hairdo, looking suave. Here we go. Stout with a left jab. Makdessi avoids a few shots. He goes to the body. Stout with a nice hook, Makdessi answers with a stiff jab. Stout misses, Makdessi counters nicely. Stout to the body. Makdessi with another nice jab. Oh nice, Makdessi lands a side kick, and Stout whiffs a left hook. Makdessi with anothe rjab, Stout answers with a good straight right. Stout with a leg kick, finishes to the body. Stout with another leg kick, Makdessi goes to the grill, and again. Stout with an uppercut, skims. Makdessi with another nice jab. Stout shoots in, stuffed. They trade jabs, Makdessi’s lands better. Stout goes hard to the body, lands a jab, misses a right. Makdessi lands a jab that whacks Stout’s head back. Stout misses a combo. Damn, another nice jab, Stout answers with a hard low kick. Tough round to score, I’ll go with Makdessi 10-9.

Round 2: Stout with a low kick, Makdessi with a head kick, not much on it. Another nice jab by Makdessi. Stout attacking, but Makdessi moving very well. Stout misses a right, Makdessi lands a counter. Stout charges forward, lands a decent right hand. Stout shoots, stuffed again. Stout with a jab, Makdessi with a straight right. Stout goes low, then lands a right. Makdessi with the inside leg kick. Stout sticks a jab. Makdessi lands a hook. Another sweet jab. They trade, both land a couple good ones to the head. Makdessi ducks an overhand right, lands a jab. They trade leg kicks. Good exchange, Makdessi lands about four nice shots to Stout’s one. Body kick by Makdessi blocked. Stout misses a jab, Makdessi answers with his own. Stout gets stuffed again. Nice action, Makdessi again, 10-9, but close.

Round 3: Switch kick by Makdessi, not much on it. Damn, then lands a decent hook kick. Followed by a leg kick. Stout pawing, trying to get something going here. He lands a left. Stout to the body, clips Makdessi’s chin. Stour eats a shot as he stalks. Makdessi with a very good left, knocks Stout’s new hairdo around. Stout with a jab, eats another jab. Stout with a hard leg kick. Another jab by Makdessi, and then lands two good shots in a row. Stout to the body. Makdessi slips a punch, lands two of his own. He’s just doing a better job of countering than Stout is of attacking. Stout with a jab. Makdessi sticks another jab. They trade hooks. Makdessi slipping and moving, and landing shots. The round ends, and I give the edge to Makdessi.

The decision is 30-27, 29-28, and 30-27 for John Makdessi. Good win, he looked great.

Cyrille Diabate vs Chad Griggs is next, and rumor has it they have a bet where the winner gets to sleep with the loser’s girl, while the loser has to French kiss Anthony Perosh’s toe. Main objective in life: Do Not Fucking Lose.

Round 1: It’s on. Diabate is so damn long. Diabate lands a bomb and Griggs goes down. Diabate jumps on him, works to side control. Griggs pushes him off, gets up, but Diabate hurls his ass to the ground, Hendo style. Diabate back to side control, and Griggs is looking rough. He works his way to his feet, but eats a nasty knee, and another. Griggs up, but Diabate drags him down again. Diabate gets on Grigg’s back, and scores himself a sweet rear naked choke.

Less than two and a half minutes into it, Cyrille Diabate gets the submission victory.

Ivan Menjivar and Azamat Gashimov are up from the Facebook portion.

Round 1: Azamat sticks a shot, gets the takedown. Menjivar with a tight guard, looking for an arm. Azamat with a hammer fist, Ivan goes for another arm. Oof, Menjivar lands an upkick, and Azamat is back in Menjivar’s guard. Azamat trying to work some ground and pound. Menjivar with a nasty armbar, belly down baby. Azamat taps.

That was sweet, and Azamat’s arm looks like it’s damaged.

Patrick Cote and Alessio Sakara are up next, and it’s hard to imagine that the loser of this one won’t end up on the unemployment line. Sakara has been around forever, fighting exclusively in the UFC since 2005, but at 6-6 with a No-Contest, and riding a two fight losing skid, his job could be on the line. Cote isn’t setting the Octagon on fire either, dropping his last four, but he’s tearing up the regional circuit, and any time the UFC rolls into Canada they give him a ring, losses be damned. Not too sure how long that hometown favorability will continue though. Cote needs a win very badly.

Round 1: The Predator does not look good, he’s a tad flabby in the midsection. Here we go. Cote opens with an inside leg kick. Sakara opens up a combo, Cote covers up well. Cote with a few decent shots, Sakara is hurt. But Sakara comes back with some devestating elbows. Cote is down, and Sakara is bashing him in the side of the head with cartoon hammer fists. And it’s over, the ref steps in and saves Cote.

Okay, a couple of those were to the back of the head, not so much the side, but hey man, that shit happens.

There is some controversy here. The officials are discussing it. I counted three shots clearly to the back of the head during the replay. The crowd is letting Sakara have it. The decision is in, and it’s a disqualification win for Patrick Cote. That’s a bitch for Sakara, he had Cote badly hurt from the elbows. But those were brutal illegal shots. Anyway, Cote gets a much needed W.

Well, that’s it for me. I want to thank all two of you for joining me. Be sure to stick around the CP for the main card, up next.

 

 

‘UFC on FUEL 6: Franklin vs. Le’ — Live Results & Commentary


(Unfortunately, Bruce Lee’s ghost suffered a knee injury in training and will be unable to float above the fighters tonight. Hey, that’s why they say “card subject to change.” / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

It’s Saturday night in Macau, the special administrative region that never sleeps. While us North Americans are pouring cereal and rubbing crust out of our eyes, the UFC’s first-ever show in China is already in full swing at the CotaiArena. In the main event, a couple of middleweight battle-axes named Rich Franklin and Cung Le will be slugging it out, refusing to go gently into middle age. Supporting them on the main card is an array of international matchups, including Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov, Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago, and Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig.

Handling liveblog duties for us this morning is Jim Genia, who will be stacking round-by-round results from the UFC on FUEL 6 main card broadcast after the jump, beginning at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT. Refresh the page for all the latest, and let your voice be heard in the comments section. Thanks for being here, guys. We can all take naps later.


(Unfortunately, Bruce Lee’s ghost suffered a knee injury in training and will be unable to float above the fighters tonight. Hey, that’s why they say “card subject to change.” / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

It’s Saturday night in Macau, the special administrative region that never sleeps. While us drowsy North Americans are pouring cereal and rubbing crust out of our eyes, the UFC’s first-ever show in China is already in full swing at the CotaiArena. In the main event, a couple of middleweight battle-axes named Rich Franklin and Cung Le will be slugging it out, refusing to go gently into middle age. Supporting them on the main card is an array of international matchups, including Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov, Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago, and Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig.

Handling liveblog duties for us this morning is Jim Genia, who will be stacking round-by-round results from the UFC on FUEL 6 main card broadcast after the jump, beginning at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT. Refresh the page for all the latest, and let your voice be heard in the comments section. Thanks for being here, guys. We can all take naps later.

UFC on Fuel 6 Preliminary Results:

-Riki Fukuda def. Tom DeBlass via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

-John Lineker def. Yasuhiro Urushitani via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

-Alex Caceres def. Motonobu Tezuka via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)

Good morning!  Are you ready for some UFC action at a time of the day when you’d normally be watching cartoons and drinking either a cup of coffee or a Redbull or both?  I know am!

First up: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland

Back in the day when the WEC was a real thing and we all watched it, Mizugaki was the man – or at least one of them.  He’s had a rough time of it since, but his opponent today is regional-level dude Hougland, so we’ll see how it goes.

Round 1: They waste no time mixing it up on the feet, trading strikes early and often – Miz with his strong kicks and Hougland with his fists.  The American shoots for a takedown about a minute in, gets stuffed and put on his back, and tries to swing into a armbar from the bottom that bears no fruit.  I don’t know how to say “Been there, done that” in Japanese, but that’s what is probably running through Mizugaki’s head.  For the next couple minutes Miz is beating on Hougland’s face like it offends him, while Hougland tries for triangles and a head-arm choke.  The horn sounds and Hougland is no prettier.

Round 2: Miz continues banging his opponent up on the feet, so Hougland lumbers into a clinch and again gets taken down.  Just like in the first, the Japanese veteran is dropping bombs from within the American’s guard as Hougland keeps going for armbars and triangles that seem straight off a Gracie instructional DVD.  Referee Steve Perceval stands them up, which gives Miz the chance to blast Hougland in the grill, and again they’re back on the ground in their usual position.

Round 3: The third round begins and Hougland looks like he’s just run a marathon.  Miz tags him with a hook that sends him face-first to the canvas, but when Mizugaki goes in for the kill Hougland scoops him up and slams him.  The WEC vet scrambles on top, they get back to their feet, and Mizugaki easily hugs Hougland to the canvas to regain top position.  Some inactivity sees the ref stand them up, but Hougland’s got nothing left in the tank and can’t stop Miz from putting him on his back and mushing him.  The ground and pound onslaught opens up a cut on the American’s face, turning the waning seconds of the bout into a horror show, and when time runs out there’s no mystery as to who deserves the decision.  When it comes to scrubs, nobody beats the Miz.

Takeya Mizugaki def. Jeff Hougland via Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)

Next: Tiequan Zhang vs. John Tuck

When last we saw Tuck, the Guam native was trying to fight his way into the TUF House against Al Iaquinta and his toe damn near fell off.  Zhang is a mid-grade UFC vet who’s still trying to break out of the shadow of his reggae star brother, Zunga Zhang.

Round 1: Forty-five seconds of circling turns into Zhang nailing an explosive takedown, but the tide turns instantly when Tuck swing for an insanely tight armbar attempt.  Zhang rolls and rolls like his life depends on it, escapes and finds himself in an inverted triangle (which only works in Bellator), and escapes that to end up on Tuck’s back.  The Chinese fighter gets outmanuevered and suddenly Tuck is in mount, then affixed to his back, hunting for a choke.  Zhang survives and makes it back to the feet, and the bell rings.

Round 2: The round begins and the two men play Rock ‘Em-Sock ‘Em Robots until Zhang gets the takedown forty-five seconds in.  Tuck counters with another armbar attempt, and when Zhang dodges it, the Guam native reverses and gets on top.  Tuck turns his dominant mount position into an even more dominant back-mount, and Zhang spends the rest of the round behind the Eightball, struggling to avoid a rear naked choke.  Somewhere on the mainland, troops are surrounding Zhang’s village.

Round 3: Tuck inexplicably wants to stand with Zhang, and as the ancient Chinese saying goes, “Standing and trading with a desperate man is a fools errand.”  Zhang spends the next few minutes chasing him down and feeding him knuckles like they come free with the meal.  Tuck lands with his jab a few times, and manages a knee strike here and there, but Zhang dings him up.  Time runs out with Tuck trying to roll into a Hail Mary kneebar.

John Tuck def. Tiequan Zhang via Unanimous Decision  (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Next: Takanori Gomi vs. Mac Danzig

Gomi vs. Danzig pits a former PRIDE superstar who sucked hard when he came to the Octagon against a TUF winner who sucked hard when he came to the Octagon post-TUF.  Are you not intrigued?

Round 1: No surprises here as Danzig starts off circling and trying to avoid Gomi’s fistic power.  The TUF winner grows more confident, and about two minutes in he grabs a Thai clinch and delivers some knees.  Gomi responds with a takedown, and in about thirty seconds Danzig has worked back to his feet.  Gomi begins mixing in some hard leg-kicks to add flavor to his offense, and with about twenty seconds left in the round Danzig hits a takedown and drops some leather.

Round 2: They continue picking and choosing their strikes in the third, with Danzig clinching and delivering knees and Gomi knocking his head back whenever the American’s defenses lapse.  With a minute and a half left, Danzig gets the takedown, and when Gomi scrambles to get up his exposed neck is like a juicy Vegan meal that Danzig pounces on.  For the rest of the round Gomi is stuck defending an arm-in guillotine.

Round 3: Gomi opens up the third round with a sweet right hand that puts Danzig on his butt.  The PRIDE legend settles in on top, and alternates between feeding him punches and pulling Danzig back down whenever he tries to escape.  But the TUF winner still has some tricks up his sleeve, and he threatens with a heelhook and a straight kneebar.  Gomi defends, and Danzig works back to his feet.  Gomi flubs a takedown and eats a few punches for his folly.  They take turns blasting each other, and when Danzig lands a clean one, Gomi beckons him to give him more.  When time runs out they’re swinging – they’re tired, but they’re swinging.

Takanori Gomi def. Mac Danzig via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Next: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Paulo Thiago

It’s South Korea vs. Brazil in this match-up, with Kim bringing judo, solid positional grappling and a ribcage that could give out at any minute, and Thiago bringings submissions, KO power, and the threat that the BOPA police force will kick down your door and shoot you at any time.

Round 1: Kim goes for a single-leg takedown almost immediately, and though Thiago manages to avoid it for about thirty seconds, he eventually succumbs to gravity.  Acting as if the Brazilian’s jiu-jitsu background means nothing, Kim wastes no time getting on top then taking back-control.  For the rest of the round, Thiago is pretty much his bitch, struggling to avoid the rear naked choke with Kim on him like a backpack.  The round ends with “the Stun Gun” almost getting the submission.

Round 2: Thiago comes out in the second round trying “shoo!” his foe away with high-kicks, but then Kim gets his hands on him and judo’s him silly.  Thiago goes down, yet manages to mitigate his plight with a kimura attempt that forces Kim to think.  Soon Kim’s arm is free, and for the next couple minutes the South Korean has the Brazilian pressed into a ball against the fence.  Thiago escapes with a minute left, and in the final seconds of the frame Kim is again going for a tight submission – this one a D’Arce choke.

Round 3: Kim waits about a minute and a half before latching onto Thiago, and once again Thiago has got nothing on the South Korean’s judo skills.  Firmly glued to his opponent’s back, Kim spends the rest of the round making Thiago miserable, both with positional control and ground and pound – and, with only a few seconds left in the fight, a bunch of Captain Kirk double-punches from mount.  Decision time again, and this one is a no-brainer.

Dong Hyun Kim def. Paulo Thiago via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Next: Thiago Silva vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Time for the light-heavyweights, and it’s Silva vs. Nedkov.  Seriously, how the hell does Silva still have a job?  The dude loses like it’s his specialty, and his most impressive recent win (against Brandon Vera) was rendered a “no contest” when he pissed hot for juice.  Nedkov, send this guy packing, will you?

Round 1: The undefeated Bulgarian wrestles Silva to the fence and seems to want to push him through it like a hunk of cheddar through a cheese grater.  They flurry wildly about a minute and a half in, and when Silva gets some space, he nearly buckles Nedkov’s leg with a kick – a reminder to Nedkov to keep up the cheese grater tactic.  Silva manages a Thai clinch and feeds his opponent a knee, and Nedkov answers back with another flurry of fists.  Once more they’re against the fence, and it becomes all too clear that Nedkov’s spirit animal is the fearless (and possibly mindless) ox.

Round 2: The Brazilian opens the round by kicking the Bulgarian in the junk.  After a brief recovery period, they resume trying to impose their respective game plans, with Nedkov’s hugging efforts eliciting a ton of boos from the crowd.  If anyone seems to be taking the lead on the scorecards, it’s probably Silva, who manages to nail Nedkov from the outside, but with about twenty seconds left in the round Nedkov clips Silva with an overhand right that sends the Brazilian to the ground.  Silva survives to the bell.

Round 3: Silva comes out on fire, lighting Nedkov up like the Bulgarian is made of kindling, and about a minute in he shoots for the takedown, works to mount, slips on the arm-triangle choke, and gets the tap.  Good win for Silva, who was dangling on the precipice only minutes before.

Thiago Silva def. Stanislav Nedkov via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 1:45, Round 3

Next: Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le

Former UFC champ Franklin and former Strikeforce champ Le will never see the vista from the top of the mountain again, but they’re still popular, and usually very capable of throwing down, so here we are with a main event featuring two guys with more name than upside.  Regardless, it should be fun.

Round 1: In an exercise in the striking tenets of range and angles, Franklin and Le start off their bout flitting in and out, firing off kicks and punches, and stepping away and just out of range.  And then… then comes Franklin’s kick and Le’s picture-perfect counter, which is a right hand that hits Franklin squarely on the button and puts him instantly to sleep.  The former UFC champ collapses in a heap and is out, and Le is awarded the knockout victory at 2:17 of the first round while the crowd goes wild.

Cung Le def. Rich Franklin via KO (Punch) at 2:17, Round 1

Afterwards, Le thanks Franklin, the UFC, White and the Fertittas for the opportunity.  He also labels his finish as a “lucky punch” – “Thank you, Lord,” he says.

And that’s all she wrote.