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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)

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.

Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 145 Edition

(Thigh sleeve > Muttonchops? I don’t understand this world anymore.)

By Jack Saladino

After a six week hiatus that threatened to drive UFC fans worldwide into their nearest mental asylum, UFC 145 came back with a fury, providing us with all the sweet KO’s, slick submissions, and classic scraps that we have come to know and love. And now that the storm has passed, we must look to the future for those involved in what was a fantastic night of fights. As always, we’ll take a look at the must-make match-ups for Saturday’s biggest winners, and maybe even a couple of the losers, because they’re people too, we guess.

Let’s get right to it…

Travis Browne– If not for Chad Griggs’ incredible chin, “Hapa” could have just as easily walked away with a Knockout of the Night bonus for that beautiful double flying knee. That being said, Browne was awarded Submission of the Night for only his second career submission victory, and looked like a Jiu-Jitsu whiz while doing so. Browne has steamrolled through most of his opponents, and if the heavyweight division wasn’t so tongue tied at the moment, I would have a long list of potential opponents for the Hawaiian. But Browne has age on his side and would fight tomorrow if you asked him to, so I’m thinking he should step up and fill the vacancy “Bigfoot” Silva left against Roy Nelson. Browne has a month to keep fit and a win over a name like “Big Country” on relatively short notice would ensure his top tier status.

(Thigh sleeve > Muttonchops? I don’t understand this world anymore.)

By Jack Saladino

Let’s get right to it…

Mark Bocek– The pasty Canadian BJJ specialist has had a bumpy road to hoe thus far in his Zuffa career. His only losses have come to title holders, potential contenders, and TUF winners, but his only wins have come over fighters no longer employed by the promotion. And John Alessio, who as of this moment has yet to be booted from the UFC again. For Bocek’s next fight, I’d like to see him get a nice submission in a striker/grappler mismatch against UFC 145 undercard winner Anthony Njokuani. Njokuani made a name for himself in the WEC but has struggled to thrive in the UFC’s tough lightweight division. If he could neutralize the ground game of Bocek and score a KO, it could propel him into notoriety. Potentially, this could be a huge fight for both men.

Eddie Yagin– I couldn’t imagine a better pick for Fight of the Night than Yagin’s huge upset over former number one contender Mark Hominick. With more strikes landed in three rounds than the five round title fight and a no holds barred attitude from both fighters, I was thoroughly pleased with each man’s performance. Unfortunately for Hominick, getting dropped twice, combined with his one-dimensional striking attack, cost him a close split decision for his third loss in a row. This was a big win Yagin, who utilized some powerful kicks to pepper Hominick’s legs and managed to rock “The Machine” on two separate occasions, despite telegraphing damn near every technique he threw. I’d recommend he heals his face up, improves his cardio, and gets ready to fight Armenian judoka Manvel Gamburyan, who’s also coming off three consecutive losses. Both men are relatively small even for featherweight, and would make for a hell of an addition to one of the free “Fight Night” type cards the UFC throws our way every now and again.

Michael McDonald– Be afraid, Mr. Cruz. Be very afraid. After your done trading insults (and tiny fists) with Urijah Faber, you’re going to have to deal with the ridiculous punching power of this youngster. The 21 year old McDonald is thriving off his second consecutive first round KO, and against a former WEC champ nonetheless. If he hasn’t already cemented his spot amongst the bantamweight elite, perhaps a fight against someone like Brad Pickett would. Renan Barao and Ivan Menjivar could be fighting for the #1 contender spot at UFC 148, but I think Pickett or McDonald could also present a serious challenge to the champ.

Ben Rothwell– I’m not sure how Ben Rothwell and Brendan Schaub, who were both coming off rather embarrassing losses (the former more so than the latter), got promoted to the main card over Travis Browne and Chad Griggs, who are both coming off wins. That being said, “Big Ben” survived an early onslaught and got the better of “The Hybrid” in a flurry that earned him Knockout of the Night honors, and finally gave him a UFC highlight to boot. The heavyweight division is upside down right now thanks to Alistair Overeem’s prescription-biased illiteracy, and almost every other big name is tied up at UFC 146. But one heavyweight I’d like to see back in the cage soon is Matt “Meathead” Mitrione, who would match-up perfectly with Rothwell. After suffering his first career loss to Cheick Kongo in October, Mitrione has been devoting most of his time to his family whilst opening up his own gym. He’ll be eager to erase the memory of what was one of the most boring fights this side of Ben Askren vs. anybody against a fellow slugger like Rothwell, so I say we match them up ASAP.

Rory MacDonald– When Rory MacDonald steps into the cage, the only thing he fails to do is give you a bathroom break. It is non-stop action with the GSP protégé, and his domination of Che Mills has earned him a step up in competition. His wrestling prowess is simply too much for a pure striker, so I’d like to see how he fares against a fellow wrestler. After Jon Fitch disposes of Aaron Simpson at UFC 149, I say test “Ares” against the AKA product, who’s smothering “offense” has frustrated even the most aggressive of competitors at 170.

Jon Jones– The argument has been settled, reach is everything in fighting. Jones’ proved to be too much for Rashad Evans on Saturday night, as he was able to land over 75 strikes to the head alone, according to FightMetric. In the post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that Dan Henderson was next in line for the title shot, which would likely go down sometime in the late summer. Honestly, I think Jones deserves some well earned R&R, but then again, I’m not the boss, so I’m ready for sparks to fly.

Rashad Evans– The hype surrounding this fight may or may not have made the evening tougher for Rashad, but the fact of the matter is that he just couldn’t get inside frequently enough to put combos together against Jones. He had success in the first round landing a big head kick and a few flurries, but for the most part, he seemed content to eat jabs and elbows from the outside until the final bell rang. In my opinion, “Suga” should say farewell to the light heavyweight division and drop to 185. His cardio would improve enough for him to challenge most of the top tier middleweights right off the bat, and his fight with Jones would prepare him for what he could expect in a title fight against Anderson Silva. If Rashad chooses to drop, it would take him several months to do so, and by that time the middleweight division could be even more shaken up than it is now. The winner of Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva immediately comes to mind, being that they have both fought in higher weight classes before and have good power to boot. But the winner of Tim Boetsch and Michael Bisping could make for a great fight as well, especially if it meant a rematch with Bisping, who dropped to 185 following his loss to Evans at UFC 78.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

‘UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans’ — The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com.)

By Jason Moles

Reflecting on UFC 145, one can only agree that that was an incredible way to break the fast of Zuffa-branded MMA action. Now that it’s all over, let’s take a moment to sort through the night’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between. Oops, wrong site. So what five things did we learn from the event? Nope, that’s not right either. Here’s ~~UFC 145’s~~ ~~MMA Stock Market~~ The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Yeah, that’s it.

The Good

• Travis Browne. In a shrinking weight division, the undefeated “Hapa” continues his streak of dominance. After submitting Chad Griggs with an arm triangle choke in the first round, top-ten heavyweights are forced to pay this man some notice — especially now that he’s finishing opponents on the mat, which seemed to surprise Browne as much as anybody. Look for the big man to get a big step up in his next outing.

• Young Fighters Performing Like Veterans. Rory MacDonald and Jon Jones are two of the youngest fighters in the UFC, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell that purely from watching them in action Saturday night. At 22 and 24 respectively, the young guns showed us that virtuosity beats experience. Georges St. Pierre has praised MacDonald for a while now, going as far as saying that he will be the next Georges St. Pierre — a mighty high compliment considering the source. In all of his 14 pro bouts, “Ares” has only gone to a decision once. Even his one loss to UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit came in exciting fashion and earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. The countdown has already begun. Liftoff is imminent. Hope this kid isn’t scared of heights.

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com.)

By Jason Moles

Reflecting on UFC 145, one can only agree that that was an incredible way to break the fast of Zuffa-branded MMA action. Now that it’s all over, let’s take a moment to sort through the night’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between. Oops, wrong site. So what five things did we learn from the event? Nope, that’s not right either. Here’s ~~UFC 145′s~~ ~~MMA Stock Market~~ The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Yeah, that’s it.

The Good

• Travis Browne. In a Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem: Where Are They Now?” href=”http://www.cagepotato.com/brock-lesnar-vs-alistair-overeem-where-are-they-now/” target=”_blank”>shrinking weight division, the undefeated “Hapa” continues his streak of dominance. After submitting Chad Griggs with an arm triangle choke in the first round, top-ten heavyweights are forced to pay this man some notice — especially now that he’s finishing opponents on the mat, which seemed to surprise Browne as much as anybody. Look for the big man to get a big step up in his next outing.

As for the champion, Jon “Bones” Jones retained his 205 lb. strap after he carved out an elbow-shaped cave in Rashad Evans‘ forehead. Even with emotions running high and the world taking pause to watch genuine bitter enemies fight it out, Jones kept his composure and never once hinted at cracking under the brightest of spotlights. The fight was never really all that close, at least not as close as one would expect it to be with Bones fighting an opponent who’s former champion as well as a former sparring partner. Jones’ masterful performance in the Octagon on Saturday night makes me hope the UFC offers to pay for the funeral of his next opponent. I mean, the guy’s already left four former champions in body bags.

• Guys Who Make Rape Jokes Getting KTFO. I don’t care if it was a line from a hit TV show or not, rape is no laughing matter. Miguel Torres was cut from the UFC for his blunder, and re-signed after making a concerted effort to make amends for his transgressions. Though his debt to society had been paid, Michael “Mayday” McDonald — another impressive young up-and-comer — dished out his own brand of justice to the master of mullets. Defeating a former champ is always noteworthy, even if Torres is playing on the back nine, so to speak. One well-executed uppercut was all that was needed from McDonald to send the former WEC bantamweight champion to the canvas for the night. I bet Torres never saw that coming. Good thing everyone loves surprises.

• Matt Brown’s Testicular Fortitude. Brown fought a game opponent in Stephen Thompson whose famed karate was key in busting up Brown’s face, but was virtually useless when the fight hit the mat. Nonetheless, as the fight progressed into the final minutes of the third round, Thompson landed a 1-2 combo and nearly won the fight. Goldie and Rogan insisted that Brown was in trouble, hurt, rocked and various other synonyms. If half of what they said was true, then maybe “Immortal” is more than just a nickname for Matt Brown.

• Joe Rogan busting Mike Goldberg’s balls. It never, ever gets old.

The Bad

• Brendan Schuaub’s Chin. It’s no coincidence that all three of Brendan Schaub‘s losses have come by way of (T)KO. Some guys can take a punch, others can’t. Either the Colorado native needs to work on a different game plan for heavy hitters, or he should make reservations at Sharmar Village Care Center.

• Rashad Evans’ Unwillingness to “Go for Broke.” Being down four rounds to none is the definition of having one’s back against the wall. You cannot retreat. You have no other recourse than to fight your heart out, risking life and limb, and another embarrassing KO face, for the chance to wear UFC gold once again. This is your chance to prove what you’ve been saying for over a year to be true. Pop quiz hotshot, what do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO? In the case of Rashad Evans, ‘nothing’ is answer.

• The MMA Live Curse Returns. Miguel Torres and Rashad Evans, both former ESPN MMA Live co-hosts, walked away in defeat at UFC 145. Some say it’s because their opponents were just that damn good or that the difference in reach was an insurmountable disadvantage for Rashad. Others, however, blame a completely provable, totally natural curse from a few years back — which we conveniently never mention unless it benefits us.

The Ugly

• That Color Blind Ref. I swear the referee for the Bocek/Alessio fight was wearing a pair of UPS pants. Although still not as big of a wardrobe malfunction as this (SFW), it was certainly distracting.

• The Faces of Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin.

• Marcus Brimage and Maximo Blanco following up a shitty fight with a ridiculous gymnastics demo.

• The Sight of Brendan Schaub Reaching at a Phantom After Being Savaged By Ben Rothwell. Although the GIFs it spawned made it all worth it…

‘UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans’ — The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com.)

By Jason Moles

The Good

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com.)

By Jason Moles

Reflecting on UFC 145, one can only agree that that was an incredible way to break the fast of Zuffa-branded MMA action. Now that it’s all over, let’s take a moment to sort through the night’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between. Oops, wrong site. So what five things did we learn from the event? Nope, that’s not right either. Here’s ~~UFC 145′s~~ ~~MMA Stock Market~~ The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Yeah, that’s it.

The Good

As for the champion, Jon “Bones” Jones retained his 205 lb. strap after he carved out an elbow-shaped cave in Rashad Evans’ forehead. Even with emotions running high and the world taking pause to watch genuine bitter enemies fight it out, Jones kept his composure and never once hinted at cracking under the brightest of spotlights. The fight was never really all that close, at least not as close as one would expect it to be with Bones fighting an opponent who’s former champion as well as a former sparring partner. Jones’ masterful performance in the Octagon on Saturday night makes me hope the UFC offers to pay for the funeral of his next opponent. I mean, the guy’s already left four former champions in body bags.

• Joe Rogan busting Mike Goldberg’s balls. It never, ever gets old.

The Bad

• Brendan Schuaub’s Chin. It’s no coincidence that all three of Brendan Schaub’s losses have come by way of (T)KO. Some guys can take a punch, others can’t. Either the Colorado native needs to work on a different game plan for heavy hitters, or he should make reservations at Sharmar Village Care Center.

• Rashad Evans’ Unwillingness to “Go for Broke.” Being down four rounds to none is the definition of having one’s back against the wall. You cannot retreat. You have no other recourse than to fight your heart out, risking life and limb, and anotherembarrassing KO face, for the chance to wear UFC gold once again. This is your chance to prove what you’ve been saying for over a year to be true. Pop quiz hotshot, what do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO? In the case of Rashad Evans, ‘nothing’ is answer.

The Ugly

• The Faces of Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin.

• Marcus Brimage and Maximo Blanco following up a shitty fight with a ridiculous gymnastics demo.

• The Sight of Brendan Schaub Reaching at a Phantom After Being Savaged By Ben Rothwell. Although the GIFs it spawned made it all worth it…

UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans Aftermath Pt. 2

By Elias Cepeda

(UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre [right] and ~~fan contest winner~~ future champion Rory MacDonald)

Ok, let’s get right to the cheddar – the UFC 145 fight bonuses, which UFC President Dana White announced during the post-event presser (video of entire press conference below). It always warms the heart when the fighters who get the big bonus checks are not the big stars, and that’s what happened at UFC 145.

Ben Rothwell, Travis Browne, Mark Hominick and Eddie Yagin all earned an extra $65,000 for their efforts Saturday night in Atlanta, GA. Rothwell got the KO of the night for his come-from-behind stoppage of Brendan Schaub. Browne got the night’s only submission but it was still a good one – forcing Chad Griggs to tap out to an arm triangle choke.

Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick both took home fight of the night honors for their back and forth war. Yagin also took home the win bonus for earning the split-decision win over the former featherweight #1 contender.

The Immortal beats The Karate Kid and GSP-lite continues to impress

Matt Brown took a little steam out of the home town Karate Kid Stephen Thompson with a unanimous decision win. Thompson burst onto the UFC scene with a nifty lead leg KO at UFC 143. Brown has a toughness that his win to loss ratio doesn’t necessarily reveal, and a win over a top prospect like Thompson helps “The Immortal” get back on the slow climb up in the welterweight division.

Staying in the welterweight division for a moment, Rory MacDonald continued to prove that he is the division’s brightest young star

By Elias Cepeda

(UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre [right] and ~~fan contest winner~~ future champion Rory MacDonald)

The Immortal beats The Karate Kid and GSP-lite continues to impress

Staying in the welterweight division for a moment, Rory MacDonald continued to prove that he is the division’s brightest young star. MacDonald took on the underrated Che Mills and, after getting tagged a little too much by Mills’ sharp striking, took him down at will and dominated on the ground.

MacDonald exhibited smooth striking-to-takedown transitions, excellent ground control and vicious, well-balanced ground striking en route to a second round TKO win over Mills. The twenty two year-old has only lost to current interim champion Carlos Condit, and that was after a fight that MacDonald was arguably winning at points.

Last week Georges St. Pierre said that he believes his fellow Canadian and training partner MacDonald will be the 170 lb champion one day. The two have said they won’t fight one another.

I’m sure they are friends and respect each other. But at least a small part of GSP not wanting to fight MacDonald is because it can’t be that much fun to do so.

Miguel Torres’ future

Miguel Torres’ year didn’t get any better with a knockout loss to top bantamweight prospect Michael McDonald. McDonald threw fast and hard punch combinations at Torres during their brief fight, with a number of uppercuts landing.

The last uppercut landed cleanly and knocked the former champion Torres out on contact. Torres has now lost two out of his last three, though this was the first decisive loss for the charismatic fighter since 2010.

More importantly, however, is how well Torres will be able to recover from such a bad knockout. He is a young man by society’s standards at just 31 years of age. But, considering his weight class, where speed and reaction time is so crucial, Torres is beyond a veteran.

There is no telling how much damage Torres’ mind and body have sustained, either. His official record stands at something around 40-5, and goes back twelve years.

(Miguel Torres could find himself in the broadcaster’s booth whenever he ends his long and illustrious career)

That’s an eternity and a huge amount of fights by MMA standards. But Torres likely has dozens more fights that will never appear on any official record. When he was still in high school he’d regularly fight multiple grown men in a single night at unsanctioned events.

Also, anyone who has seen Torres in training knows that he goes harder in practice sparring than many fighters go in competition. And we’ve all seen his warring style in the ring.

Torres has kept up the arrebentacao style and legacy of his mentor, the late, great Carlson Gracie Sr. , and he’s earned world titles, pound for pound rankings and legions of fans because of it. But at some point, his accomplished career will have to come to an end.

Only he knows if Saturday night’s knockout loss brings him closer to that moment or not. Its part of the cruelty of fight sports that careers can be considered full and long, but still leave their owners young, with fire in their heart and their families’ plates needing to be filled.

There is no pension for MMA fighters, no union that will ensure they get at least a living wage in retirement for the blood they’ve spilled and millions they’ve made for their employers. Thankfully, Torres will have a better shot than most fighters at maintaining success once he retires from fighting, whenever that is.

He is college-educated, has been a successful gym business owner for years, and has the kind of reputation – built on accessibility and genuine seeming overall friendliness and community involvement – that could keep him in demand as a trainer and television commentator for years after he hangs up his gloves. At the moment, the bantamweight division moves on with prospects like McDonald and champion Dominick Cruz, but without Torres.

Read Pt 1 of our UFC 145 Aftermath

UFC 145 Post Event Press Conference Video:

‘UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans’ — Live Main Card Results & Commentary

(“…but my body! My BODY, is telling me yeeahh!” / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

At long last, we’re finally going to find out if watching Jon Jones and Rashad Evans fight is as entertaining as discussing it. The two light-heavyweight rivals — who sport similar haircuts, completely by coincidence — will settle their beef at the end of tonight’s UFC 145 main card, backed by a supporting lineup that includes Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills, Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell, and Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald.

Live, round-by-round results from the UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans pay-per-view broadcast will be collecting after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of CagePotato flyweight liveblog champ Aaron Mandel. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Now take our hand, Constant Reader, and follow us into the abyss…

(“…but my body! My BODY, is telling me yeeahh!” / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

Alright, it’s time for the action to start in Atlanta!

John Alessio VS. Mark Bocek

Round 1- Bocek takes the opening round, my cable provider sucks ass, now I’m live, sorry PotatoHeads!

Round 2- Redhead vs. blonde action here as Alessio tries to have more UFC success than his first few runs. Bocek’s striking does not look good, Alessio tags him on the feet. Bocek shoots for a double leg and pins Alessio against the cage as he completes the takedown. Bocek working in Alessio’s guard, trying to pass. Elbows from the top by Bocek who is much more comfortable on the ground. More elbows from Bocek as he works into half guard. Bocek moves into side control and looks very slick on the ground. Alessio hip escapes back into half guard as Bocek continues to work some strikes and hunt for submissions. Alessio escapes and they are back on the feet. Bocek’s leg kicks look very slow, not sure why he’s throwing so many of them. Alessio working some strikes on the feet as Bocek shoots for another takedown. Alessio clinches up and defends the takedown. Round ends and it’s a close one.

In between rounds Alessio’s corner unleashes a string of aggressive curse words to encourage his fighter, which impresses Rogan!

Round 3- Bocek is likely up two rounds at this point. Alessio comes out throwing as they engage on the feet. Alessio with some strong jabs, repelling Bocek’s takedown attempts. Bocek gets an easy takedown and takes Alessio’s back with hooks. Bocek stays heavy on Alessio’s back with a body triangle working some ground and pound. Bocek is bloodied up but in total control on the ground and sort of resembles a battle extra from “Lord of the Rings”. Alessio with a nice escape and they are back on the feet again with two minutes left. Bocek with a sloppy takedown attempt and Alessio working kicks, but they look too casual. Bocek times the kick and shoots another takedown. Bocek works to the back but Alessio comes out the back and they are on the feet again with now one minute left. Bocek clinches Alessio against the cage and Alessio has to make something big happen in a hurry here. Bocek sticks to Alessio as the round winds down and Bocek cruises to what will certainly be a decision victory.

Mark Bocek defeats John Alessio by unanimous decision.

Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin

This looks to be a tailor-made comeback fight for Hominick as Yagin has done nothing in his UFC career to deserve this fight.

Round 1- Hominick makes it through the first ten seconds, longer than his previous bout with the Korean Zombie lasted, so he must be thrilled! Hominick looks must bigger than Yagin. Yagin clips Hominick on the feet and looks quick with his hands. Good leg kick from Yagin. Both fighters are feeling each other out early. Hominick has very technical striking but Yagin is staying in the pocket successfully throwing punches and kicks. Yagin drops Hominick and pounces looking for the finish! Hominick defends and recovers guard but Yagin is pounding away. Hominick is back on his feet but his face is cut up and bruised badly already. Yagin swings with a wild spinning back kick and I wonder if he gassed himself out trying to finish Hominick early. Hominick may still be dazed but he’s hanging in there and Yagin is slowing slightly as the round ends. Round one goes to Yagin.

Round 2- Yagin throwing big power shots while Hominick is much more technical and conservative with his strikes as they trade on the feet. Hominick peppering Yagin with a jab. Yagin throws another wild spinning kick that misses badly. Yagin drops Hominick again and he looks badly hurt but survives on the ground. Yagin is really fast in addition to his obvious power as he makes me eat my pre-fight words. Hominick is recovering and tying Yagin up in his guard. Hominick’s face is messed up. Yagin throws another spinning kick as they return to the feet. Hominick is landing much more frequently but when Yagin lands Hominick is getting dropped. Yagin again looks tired from trying to finish Hominick, just as in the first round. Hominick working some strong shots to the body of Yagin. Another round for Yagin as we head to the third.

Round 3- Both guys faces are bloodied up but Hominick is starting to resemble his alien doppelganger that appeared in his Aldo fight. Yagin pumps the crowd up as he works for a huge upset as the round begins. Striking exchanges between the two are pretty even as Hominick is trying to turn up the pace. Hominick is starting to get the better of the striking exchanges, which he needs to do in my opinion to have any shot at winning the fight. Hominick is working a stiff jab that is hurting Yagin and cutting him up but I don’t know if that will finish him. Hominick needs to take a page from Yagin’s playbook and throw some power punches. Two minutes left in the round. Yagin is getting tagged now and loses his mouthpiece but fires back with a minute left. These guys are throwing down! Yagin looked to be hurt but is still in there and firing back. The round ends with Hominick in charge but I don’t think it was enough as we go to the judges scorecards.

Eddie Yagin defeats Mark Hominick by split decision

Huge upset win for Yagin and it’s now three straight losses for Hominick.

Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald

This fight is a great test for both fighters in the bantamweight decision. Does McDonald have what it takes at such a young age to compete with the top guys and does Torres have another title run in him?

Round 1- Both fighters tentative at the start. McDonald the more active striker at the outset. McDonald unleashes a flurry on Torres but most of it is blocked as Torres uses footwork and head movement to circle away. McDonald throws very heavy uppercuts but they haven’t landed flush yet. Torres’ mouthpiece comes out and Herb Dean stops the action to replace it WITHOUT RINSING IT as Goldberg mentions the five-second rule. McDonald drops Torres with a huge uppercut and he is out before he hits the mat. Huge KO for McDonald and there is no doubt he is for real.

Michael McDonald defeats Miguel Torres via knockout.

Ben Rothwell VS. Brendan Schaub

This is a must-win fight for both guys. Will Rothwell turn into a walking zombie like he did in the Hunt fight or can he put his new physique to use and touch the questionable chin of Schaub.

Round 1- Rothwell looks intense and the fighters touch gloves to start. Rothwell eats some heavy shots from Schaub but clinches up and throws some knees. Spinning elbow from Schaub lands and puts Rothwell in trouble but as Schaub swarms, Rothwell drops him out cold with a left hook! Wild exchange and career saving win from Rothwell.

Ben Rothwell defeats Brendan Schaub via knockout

Rory MacDonald VS. Che Mills

Rory MacDonald is in a situation akin to similarly named Michael McDonald and has a huge platform to make a name for himself in the co-main event tonight. Speaking of which, if I beat Chris Cope could I get in a co-main event too?

Round 1- MacDonald looks intense at the start. Mills with some low kicks but has his chin exposed. Mills cracks MacDonald with a punch as they clinch against the cage. Mills cracks MacDonald again with an uppercut and MacDonald immediately shoots in for a takedown which he gets rather easily. MacDonald unloads some huge ground and pound which he throws with amazing accuracy. A huge shot from a postured up MacDonald lands on Mills as MacDonald slides easily into side control. Mounted crucifix for MacDonald who appears to be light years ahead of Mills on the ground. MacDonald pounding away from the mounted crucifix as Mills lies there bleeding and looking confused. Mills tries to escape and shakes the crucifix but has MacDonald in side control. Mills’ face is a bloody mess. MacDonald moves into full mount and pounds away as Mills rolls and gives up his back. HUGE punches by MacDonald as he works for a rear naked choke. The round ends with Mills’ cheekbone doing a better job of escaping his face than Mills’ did off his back.

Round 2- Wasn’t sure if Mills would answer the call for round 2 but he does, a total warrior. MacDonald grabs a single leg and effortlessly takes Mills down and starts pounding away again. Yet another cut is opened up on Mills’ face as MacDonald is in side control working toward full mount. Full mount for MacDonald and he quickly transitions to Mills’ back. MacDonald unloads another flurry and Mills turns away in pain and agony as the ref mercifully steps in and stops this one.

Mills looked good during his brief time on the feet but had no answer for MacDonald on the ground. MacDonald got tagged on the feet but was never in real trouble and will probably get a big name for his next fight.

Rory MacDonald defeats Che Mills via technical knockout

Champ Jon Jones VS. Rashad Evans

It’s main event time now. The amount of buildup and hype for this fight has been off the charts. When the cage door closes, can the fight itself live up? One thing worth noting is how loose Jones has looked every time he’s been shown on camera in the locker room. I, for one, think Jones will win, but I have some doubt in the back of my head about him being too cocky now and clowning around. Video montages, walk ins, fighter introductions and then it’s go time!

Round 1- Jones and Rashad both coming out in cat mode! Jones goes to the body early and thinks about dropping for a shot but separates. Jones throwing kicks, Evans looks tentative. Rashad’s reach deficit is apparent as it looks hard for him to get inside. Rashad lands a combination there and Jones appears to take it well. More kicks from Jones. Head kick lands from Jones but Evans appears to take it well. Leg kick from Jones and he’s using his legs to maximize his reach advantage and control distance. Jones throwing a lot of kicks. Elbow to Evans face from Jones. Body shot from Jones. Evans seems to be content to wait for counter striking opportunities here in the first. Jumping body kick from Jones. A superman punch and two quick body kicks from Jones who is controlling the action early. Evans in counter mode, leg kick to Jones head and Jones is staggered! Jones shoots and then clinches. Round ends with Rashad in charge but I think Jones takes the round.

Round 2- Clinch between the two early and then they separate. Jones looks way more tentative now as they both swing and miss in the center of the cage. Jones tries a front upkick that misses. Evans taunts Jones after a flurry misses, Jones does not react. Stiff jab from Jones lands on Evans. Elbow from Jones from short range looks painful. Jones rocks Evans with another elbow that staggers Evans. Evans clinches and tries to clear the cobwebs. Another push-away elbow from Jones but Evans seems to be recovering. More elbows from Jones. Jones is using this short elbow a lot and concludes with a flying knee and a left hook that rocks Evans right as the round ends. That round goes to Jones.

Round 3- Jones the aggressor as the round begins. Evans lands a huge overhand right on Jones but Jones seems to take it well. Evans appearing more confident. Jones may be hurt but Evans is not pushing the pace. Jones lands a head kick. This is a great fight, my heart rate is tripping out! Lots of momentum swings and back and forth action. Evans’ boxing looks really tight. Jones rocks Evans with a flying knee and follows it with a body kick and another flying knee. Rashad counters with a punch. Hard body kick from Jones. Evans with a sloppy shot and they clinch. Jones looks to be wearing Evans down but he is staying in range of Rashad’s power shots. Jones ends the round with two kicks and I think Jones took that round.

Round 4- We are in the championship rounds, baby!!! Strikes in the center of the cage from both fighters. Spinning elbow attempt misses from Jones. Evans looks for a takedown that is easily stuffed by Jones. Jones catches a kick and throws a right hand down the middle that lands. Jones controlling the action here, Evans has done very little. Evans is looking to throw his right hand and not much else at this point. Jones is hopping like a rabbit towards Evans but the action has slowed in this round. Jones stops a takedown attempt and tries a front choke before giving it up and throwing some knees. Rashad has a “welt” on the side of his head that looks more like a dent in his skull, probably from the round two elbows. Shoulder strikes from the standing clinch by Jones, you read that right, yes. Jones shoots in but can’t complete the takedown as the round ends with Jones in charge.

Round 5- Evans looks tired compared to Jones at the start. Jones throwing jabs to start the round. Evans has to stop Jones to win at this point. Jones is snapping Evans head back with jabs and mixes in a body shot for good measure. Jones dancing around a little and just slips a huge right hand from Evans. Jones is standing right in front of Evans not moving much but lands a huge right. Jones landing some kicks and elbows while Rashad swings wildly and misses. Evans misses with a spinning back fist and eats a flying knee for his trouble. In the clinch and Jones muscles Evans against the cage. Jones lands a left and separates. Jones initiates a clinch again and flings Rashad to the ground with ease and tags him on the ground. Rashad separates and gets up but finds himself in the clinch eating knees from Jones again. Thirty seconds left and Rashad flings some bombs. For no reason known to man, Jon Jones pulls guard and defends against Evans’ ground and pound as the round ends.

We go to the judges and Jon Jones should retain his title here with a dominant win over Rashad Evans.

Jon Jones defeats Rashad Evans via unanimous decision

And that’s it folks, thanks for hanging out!