UFC Fight Night 26 brought 13 fights to your screens. The Fox Sports 1 debut show was a fantastic way to kick off the new 24-hour sports network.
Chael Sonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua finished the night, and Sonnen got the best of that matchup. A firs…
UFC Fight Night 26 brought 13 fights to your screens. The Fox Sports 1 debut show was a fantastic way to kick off the new 24-hour sports network.
Chael Sonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua finished the night, and Sonnen got the best of that matchup. A first-round submission win impressed the crowd and pundits alike. Sonnen nabs a nice win over a top-10 light heavyweight to end his losing streak.
Travis Browne picked up a win to move him closer to a heavyweight title shot when he knocked out Alistair Overeem. Urijah Faber showcased his elite skills in an exciting bantamweight bout with Iuri Alcantara.
There were many more memorable moments from the fight card. There were plenty of finishes and some strange moments, too.
In the first main event in the history of Fox Sports 1, light heavyweight Chael Sonnen used a major wrestling advantage to defeat diminishing former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by first-round submission at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston.
Sonnen (28-13…
In the first main event in the history of Fox Sports 1, light heavyweight Chael Sonnen used a major wrestling advantage to defeat diminishing former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by first-round submission at UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston.
Sonnen (28-13-1) wasted no time pressing that advantage, landing a double-leg takedown just seconds into the fight. Rua (21-8) showed resilience and perhaps some defiance, however, when he returned fire with a takedown of his own.
The two eventually struggled to their feet, where Sonnen secured a front headlock. With no advance warning, Sonnen immediately dropped to the floor, cinching on a guillotine choke and securing the tap with only 13 seconds remaining in the opening stanza.
What we’ll remember about this fight
Sonnen’s submission. He did it against Brian Stann, and now he’s done it against Rua. Those aren’t exactly Abu Dhabi-level grapplers, but when Sonnen dropped to the ground with what was clearly a very tight guillotine, he showed again that if he has an opening, he knows how to plow through it.
What we learned about Shogun Rua
Honestly? Absolutely nothing. Before the fight, pundits expressed concern that Rua was even longer in fight mileage than his 31 years might suggest. Rua, said the concerned parties, was too shopworn, his takedown defense too mild, his grappling game too diminished, his striking too eroded to give Sonnen or any other top light heavy a run for his money.
At UFC Fight Night 26, all that was proven correct, at least until further notice.
What we learned about Chael Sonnen
That he’s still capable of getting a big win. With his two losses to Anderson Silva and that laugher against Jon Jones, seeing Sonnen eat his trash talk was becoming a familiar post-fight tradition. But Saturday night, Sonnen showed he can still execute a game plan, which isn’t a given (just ask Joe Lauzon or Uriah Hall). He may never hold a belt, but he has good fighting left in him.
What’s next for Rua
How about the loser between Thiago Silva and Matt Hamill, who fight on October 9? Unless Hamill loses. That matchup would be too depressing.
What’s next for Sonnen
It’s clear he has set himself on a collision course with Wanderlei Silva. Time to move forward along that course and give both men what they appear to want.
A huge rollout for the Fox Sports 1 launch, the most stacked card of the year under the UFC banner and a return to the fight-savvy city of Boston all combined to create the perfect environment for an entertaining night of fights at the TD Garden on Sat…
A huge rollout for the Fox Sports 1 launch, the most stacked card of the year under the UFC banner and a return to the fight-savvy city of Boston all combined to create the perfect environment for an entertaining night of fights at the TD Garden on Saturday night.
UFC Fight Night 26 brought the ruckus to “Beantown” as fighters from every tier of the UFC roster stepped into the Octagon to roll the dice. In the main event, former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former No. 1 contender ChaelSonnen squared off with their respective futures on the line, and “The Gangster from West Linn” put on a dominant performance as he submitted the former light heavyweight champion via guillotine in the opening round.
In co-main event action, Dutch wrecking machine Alistair Overeem looked to stop a nasty backslide when he mixed it up with prospect on the verge of contention Travis Browne. When two heavyweights step inside the cage, the action can end in abrupt and brutal fashion at any moment, and this particular clash of juggernauts was no exception.
“The Reem” dominated the action in the early going, but after Browne weathered the storm, Hapa unleashed a front kick that floored the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion. Once Overeem hit the deck, Browne swarmed with two heavy hammerfists and ended the affair.
While the top two fights on the billing held the highest profiles, the fighters on the rest of the card gave the top dogs a run for their money as face-punching goodness and savvy submissions abounded throughout.
There were several stellar performances as a handful of fighters solidified themselves as title contenders and one highly touted prospect took a step toward legitimacy, where another took a crucial loss. That being said, there were also those who didn’t rise to the occasion on Saturday night and a few downright strange occurrences that left fight fans scratching their heads.
Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from UFC Fight Night 26.
The Good
Chalk one up for the bad guy. ChaelSonnen put on a dominant performance as he defeated Mauricio Rua in their main event tilt, putting himself back into the win column for the first time since defeating Michael Bisping back in January 2012.
Since then, the 36-year-old Oregon native has challenged for titles in both the middleweight and light heavyweight division, coming up short on both attempts.
The bout against Rua came at a crucial time in Sonnen‘s career as a third consecutive defeat would have put a serious dent in his future title hopes and the UFC’s ability to promote him as a fighter to watch inside the cage—because let’s face it, outside the cage Chael P. will always be magic.
Immediately following his victory, Sonnen called out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva in his post-fight interview. After a solid bit of trash-talking, the former title challenger issued an official challenge to the MMA legend, and it’s highly likely there will be solid pressure from the UFC for the former Pride champion to accept.
Travis Browne came into Boston as a prospect preparing to face an opponent draped in world-class striking credentials, and the 31-year-old exited the Octagon as a legitimate title contender.
The Jackson’s MMA-trained fighter survived an early onslaught from Overeem where the Dutch striker appeared to be just moments away from a referee stoppage. But the Hawaiian proved to be resilient, and once he took the action back to the center of the cage, Browne began to find his range with front kicks.
Eventually one of his kicks found its mark and toppled Overeem. The victory over “The Reem” is undoubtedly the biggest of Browne’s career and will launch him onto the title radar in the heavyweight division.
The bantamweight title picture isn’t clearing up any time soon with two champions in the division, but Urijah Faber could care less. “The California Kid” has been rolling along impressively and picked up his third consecutive victory at UFC Fight Night 26 against Yuri Alcantara.
The Team Alpha Male leader bounced back strong after the crafty Brazilian put him on the canvas and took control for the better part of the opening round. Faber was eventually able to reverse position and never looked back as he fought on to earn a lopsided unanimous-decision victory.
With interim bantamweight champion RenanBarao set to face Eddie Wineland in September at UFC 165 and champion Dominick Cruz not expected to return until February, the Sacramento native will have no choice but to keep rolling. With former title challenger Michael McDonald also finding success on Saturday night, a potential showdown between the two bantamweight contenders would make sense.
Surging welterweight Matt Brown absolutely trucked Mike Pyle to pick up his sixth consecutive victory. While it’s hard to imagine “The Immortal” jumping to the front of the line to face the winner of Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks, the Ohio native absolutely earned a seat in the divisional upper tier on Saturday night.
Michael McDonald may be only one fight removed from a title opportunity in the bantamweight division, but on Saturday night, the 22-year-old took a big step back toward contention. “Mayday” dominated Brad Pickett en route to picking up a second-round submission victory.
McDonald was all over “One Punch” from the opening bell as he dropped the Englishman on multiple occasions throughout the opening frame. The momentum appeared to swing in the second round when Pickett took the action to the mat, but McDonald remained patient and locked on a triangle choke/armbar combination the instant the opportunity presented itself.
With the victory, the talented Californian will keep himself on the title radar at 135 pounds.
Blackzilians fighter Michael Johnson was in desperate need of a win going into his fight against Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 26, and the 27-year-old absolutely rose to the occasion. Johnson picked up the biggest win of his career and put on perhaps his best performance to date by drubbing the savvy veteran for three rounds.
After a great campaign in 2012 where he picked up three consecutive victories, Johnson experienced a drastic turnaround with his recent rough patch. The victory over Lauzon gives him a strong push back up the ladder and guarantees his next bout will come against a solid name in the lightweight division.
In featherweight action, rising young talent Steven Siler took another step toward shrugging off the prospect label when he dusted former WEC champion Mike Brown 50 seconds into their tilt. The American Top Team fighter came charging in and the 26-year-old caught him with an uppercut that put Brown on the canvas. Several big shots later, Brown went stiff and then came to with his arms wrapped around the referee’s leg.
The win over Brown makes it back-to-back victories for Siler, making him successful in five out of six showings under the UFC banner.
Texas is known for having an expedited death penalty, and “Texecutioner” James Vick wasted no time in snuffing out Ramsey Nijem in the opening bout of the card. Injuries kept Vick on the sidelines since his time on TUF Live, but he looked impressive in his official UFC debut by choking out the John Hackleman-trained fighter inside the first minute of the opening round.
The Bad
Before Alistair Overeem signed with the UFC, the Dutch striker carried a tremendous amount of mystique. Many believed it would only be a matter of time before he became a UFC champion, and when he defeated Brock Lesnar in his debut, he appeared to be on the cusp of doing just that.
But a failed drug test and a shocking upset against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva pushed Overeem to the edge of the title picture, and his loss to Travis Browne on Saturday night will put the finishing touches on extinguishing those hopes for the foreseeable future.
With back-to-back brutal knockout losses and a hefty contract on his back, it is certainly possible the UFC parts ways with Overeem after his performance on Saturday night. Without a title to chase and other high-profile matchups to pit him against for financial purposes, there isn’t a sensible place to put him.
Matt Brown may have looked impressive in his knockout victory over Mike Pyle, but his suggesting “Quicksand” is better than GSP in his post-fight interview is absurd. Then again, Brown did not specify what he believed Pyle was better than St-Pierre at, and if it were a fishing contest, the Las Vegas native would certainly have the advantage.
Moving on.
I’m all for mutual respect between fighters, but the “love fest” that went on during the Uriah Hall vs. John Howard bout was too much. Multiple stops to high five while the fight is razor-close is tough to digest, and apparently UFC President Dana White agrees with my thinking from his Twitter post.
While drawing the ire of the head honcho is never a good look, things are far worse where Hall is concerned.
He hasn’t been able to measure up to the tremendous hype he garnered as a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter. The New York native lost to Kelvin Gastelum in the show’s finale, and the setback he suffered on Saturday night will send Hall from being one of the most highly touted prospects under the UFC banner to being dangerously close to the biggest bust in recent memory.
Phillipe Nover is looking for a replacement in that category, and Hall is teetering on the verge of doing just that.
With the fight taking place in his backyard of Boston, the stage was set for Lauzon to put on a show. Unfortunately for the Bridgewater native, his skill set never had the opportunity to launch as a much quicker Michael Johnson beat him to the punch at every turn.
The first round was brutal for Lauzon as he was battered and dropped on multiple occasions. While he recovered enough to stay in the fight, “J-Lau” was never able to bring the action into a place where he was competitive.
The end result was a lopsided unanimous decision with one of the cageside judges scoring the bout 30-25 in Johnson’s favor.
While a poor performance in front of his hometown crowd will certainly sting for Lauzon, the loss to Johnson will bump him out of the elite level of the division for the time being, as he now has dropped back-to-back outings.
In preliminary action, Mike Brown came out of retirement to fight Steven Siler at UFC Fight Night 26. But after getting knocked out in quick fashion by the 26-year-old, the veteran could very well be heading back.
Landing in this particular category is never a favorable thing, and Ramsey Nijem has now made two consecutive visits. In his previous outing, the 25-year-old TUF alum was starched by Myles Jury at UFC on Fox 7, and on Saturday night in Boston, Nijem suffered another crushing setback. The Pit Elevated fighter was submitted in quick fashion as James Vick forced him to tap to a guillotine choke early in the first round.
While back-to-back losses doesn’t bring a guaranteed pink slip from the UFC, Nijem was on the low end of a packed lightweight roster. That scenario provides very little room for error, and getting dispatched quickly by Vick could be his last trip to the Octagon for some time.
The Strange
I understand the buzz and hype surrounding ConorMcGregor is crackling, but a fighter positioned on the lower end of the card getting the full “blackout” entrance is absolutely strange. “Notorious” put on a good performance against Max Holloway but didn’t look phenomenal in doing so. Make no mistake about it, McGregor showed his skills are legitimate, but his showing at UFC Fight Night 26 didn’t launch me over the moon about him.
That being said, a knee injury in the second round certainly had an impact on his performance and can’t be held too harshly against him. It will be interesting to see what the UFC does next with the Irishman.
Staying in the 145-pound division, featherweights are known for putting on high-paced, action-packed battles where the fight spills to every corner of the cage. While Diego Brandao and Daniel Pineda started out at a furious pace, both fighters’ cardio took a hard turn in the second round, and the rest of the tilt turned into a sluggish mess.
The Jackson’s MMA-trained fighter earned a clear unanimous-decision victory, but if Brandao has any chances of competing in the upper level of the division, he will absolutely need to figure out how to improve his gas tank.
It’s rare to see a fighter knocked out from inside the guard position, but Cody Donovan suffered the misfortune on Saturday night at the hands of Ovince St-Preux. After taking “OSP” to the canvas, Donovan lost position as he was reversed by the former Tennessee Volunteer football player. Once on top, St-Preux unloaded several heavy shots that brought an end to the fight.
Finally, big kudos go out to referee Kevin MacDonald, who officiated the bout between Michael McDonald and Brad Pickett on Saturday night.
He did a remarkable job allowing the action to continue despite Pickett being wobbled and dropped multiple times. Where the majority of officials have a tendency to jump in and stop things too early, MacDonald played the situation exactly right. Pickett was undoubtedly hurt, but the heavy-handed Brit was fighting back while attempting to regain his footing.
It certainly seems strange to write a shinning review of a MMA official not named Herb Dean, but MacDonald certainly earned it in Boston.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.
(Personally, I’d stay away from any mortgage service that advertises on Chael Sonnen’s butt-cheeks, but hey, that’s just me. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
Handling the main card play-by-play for the UFC’s return to Boston is our man Oliver Chan (aka “O Chan”), who will be hand-delivering “UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen” live results after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and keep the conversation poppin’ in the comments section. Thanks for being here.
(Personally, I’d stay away from any mortgage service that advertises on Chael Sonnen’s butt-cheeks, but hey, that’s just me. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
Handling the main card play-by-play for the UFC’s return to Boston is our man Oliver Chan (aka “O Chan”), who will be hand-delivering “UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen” live results after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and keep the conversation poppin’ in the comments section. Thanks for being here.
Please stand by…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Worcester Mass’s very own Oliver “Double Bacon Cheese” Chan returns to his hometown for FS1′s UFC Debut. And by return home, I mean on my buddy’s couch watching it in Brooklyn. But I digress… Already we’ve seen some great fights on the prelims, some sick camera angles, Vegas odds, new real-time fight stats, and a :50 second knockout that made me feel dizzy… I don’t know about you, but I’m giddy.
Here’s what we’ve seen thus far:
James Vick def. Ramsey Njem (guillotine, Rd 1 at 0:58)
Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan (KO, Rd 1 at 2:07)
Manvel Gamburyan def. Cole Miller (UD, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda (UD, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Steven Siler def. Mike Brown (KO, Rd 1 0:50)
Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway (UD, 30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett (Triangle Choke, Rd 2 3:43)
Now let’s get to the good stuff shall we? Leading off the main card is Joe Lauzon (who has a striking resemblance to Nick Stahl from Sin City) taking on TUF alumnus, Michael Johnson.
My prediction: Lauzon 3rd round submission arm-bar
My buddy’s: Lauzon 2rd round submission Rear-Naked
Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson
Rd. 1
Johnson and Lauzon square off trading jabs and low kicks. Both guys circle around the enter of the Octagon.
Johnson lands a hard left to Lauzon. He goes down, but gets up. He’s still dazed, a bit wobbly and looking to take Johnson to the ground. Johnson is aggressive with his follow-up, but Lauzon recovers. Stat tracker shows Lauzon is just being picked apart by Johnson on the striking department.
Johnson’s combos is just too much for Lauzon. Johnson knocks Lauzon down again! Lauzon wants Johnson in the guard, but Johnson doesn’t want that. Johnson continues to t-off on Lauzon knocking him down again and J-Lau is saved by the bell.
My call: 10-9 Johnson
Rd. 2 More circling and squaring off. J-Lau works Johnson against the cage. Johnson gets away and the two continue circling. J-Lau controls the center of the Octagon. J-Lau looks to have Johnson on the run, but Johnson quickly counters with some tight combinations. Johnson gets J-Lau against the cage and grinds it out. J-Lau pushes it off. Johnson is starting to look a bit gassed out. The two trade a few more on the center of the ring. MJ takes down J-Lau and gets some GnP against the cage. He might have sealed up that round with the take-down.
My call: 10-9 Johnson
Rd. 3 Third round starts with MJ circling around J-Lau in the center of the cage. Johnson throws some combos and leg-kicks. MJ is starting to pick apart J-Lau with the combos. Failed take-down attempt by J-Lau. MJ is just picking J-Lau apart with quick jabs. J-Lau really needs to step it and get the finish if he wants the win. Johnson has almost doubled J-Lau’s strikes. With 30 seconds left, Johnson gets J-Lau on his back and gets some more GnP from J-Lau’s guard.
My call: MJ 10-9
Official Decision coming up…
Official Decision
30-27, 30-27 and 30-25 in favor of Michael Johnson
Buddy’s quote of the night: “Howard is so hood, you got to wonder how he started Muay-Thai? He got no tooth!!”
John Howard vs. Uriah Hall
Howard has an excellent beard. I want one. Well, I want the ability to grow a beard, but I want that too. Our ref is Mario Yamasaki
My call: Doomsday by UD
My buddy’s: Hall First Round KO
Rd. 1
Uriah hall immediately goes for the take-down. Interesting move from a fight we thought would be stand-up. Uriah hall lets Howard stand. Hall is noticeably taller than Howard. Howard throws a nice leg-kick. Hall answers with some tight jabs. Uriah with a spinning round-house that Howard ducks. Howard tries to get inside, but Hall holds pushes him back.
The two square off a bit more and circle each other. Howard gets Hall with a nice shot and pins Hall against the cage. Hall reverses and goes for a take-down. Doomsday throws some punches while against the cage. The two engage in some dirty boxing.
They separate and Doomsday throws another powerful leg-kick and Hall answers with a knee. Hall goes for a take-down, Howard defends and goes for a single. Hall is pinned against the cage. Hall throws a knee and escapes. Hall goes for a spinning heel-kick and wiffs. Round ends.
Hall 10-9, but it was close.
Rd. 2
They touch gloves and we’re on. Hall throws some nice left-kick combos. Hall is doing a great job managing the distance. Hall goes for the take-down and Doomsday gets Hall in a guillotine. Hall gets out and Howard throws a nice combo. Doomsday has taken control of the pace and now has Hall pinned against the cage and works the take-down.
Hall reverses and now has Doomsday against the cage. Mario separates them and they square away. Doomsday catches Hall’s knee and works the single leg with Hall against the cage.
Hall goes for the Kimura and is the two scramble up. Hall has control of Doomsday’s back. Howard is now looking for the kimura and now Doomsday has Hall on the run. Howard gets the take-down away from the cage and starts work some rabbit punches and now strong body-shots. Howard looks to pass the guard and really lands some hard shots.
Round ends, Howard took that one 10-9.
Rd. 3 The two touch gloves and here we go! Hall goes for a take-down, but Doomsday shrugs it of. Howard wifs on a leg-kick and Hall goes for a fancy spinning kick, but doesn’t really connect. Doomsday goes for the overhand left, but Hall blocks. Doomsday goes for a take-down, but Hall shrugs it of. Hall connects with a nice knee. Hall goes for a take-down and has Doomsday against the cage. Doomsday throws some light punches against Hall while against the cage. Mario separates them.
They touch gloves and square off again. Head-kicked blocked by Doomsday. Hall gets taken down and has Doomsday in the halfguard. Hall gets to his knees. They get to the feet, Doomsday has control of Howard’s back. He’s got the right hook in, but Hall gets Doomsday against the cage and takes him down. Doomday gets up and Hall has his back. They separate and Doomsday starts riling up the crowd and now they both agree to just stand-up (I’m guessing). Hall gets for some weird spin kicking thing, Doomsday does that Hendo diving punch on Bisping thing… and now the two start bro-ing out.
Another close round, I’m going with my home-town guy, 10-9, but I’m thinking either way, we’re looking at a split-decision.
Official Decision 30-27 Howard, 29-28 Hall, 29-28 Howard
I called it. Welcome back Doomsday.
Next up, we got a guy with a mullet and a guy who will F-you up if you screw with his dip. We got Mike Pyle vs. Matt Brown. This is so red-neck I feel the need for some Skoal, Skynard, and ‘Shine… Moonshine.
Quick observation, this “World’s End Movie”… Is this the same thing as “Shaun of the Dead”, but with aliens instead of zombies.
Brown chases Pyle with some strong strikes and knocks Pyle down. He gets one shot in and Pyle is OUT. A few extra shots and it’s all over. Hell of a KO by Brown.
Well then, hope you didn’t blink.
Official Decision Matt Brown, 1st Round KO at 0:29. And Brown says Pyle is better tan GSP… Interesting. Rogan doesn’t buy it. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but you don’t knock a dude out in :30 and say he’s better than the current Welterweight champ… That’s just my opinion.
And there’s Shawn Thorton. He’s a Boston Bruin. He’s awesome.
Shameless plug by Oscar De La Hoya where I think he’s really trying hard to think boxing and cardio-boxing can co-exist.
My prediction Yuri by 3rd Rd RNC
Buddy’s Prediction: Faber by UD
Rd. 1
They touch gloves and we’re on. Faber charges and Yuri counters with a nice judo toss. Gets the mount and works the arm-bar . Faber loos for the leg-lock Yuri takes Faber’s back, both hooks in and throwing some nice effective strikes. Faber canot escape the back. Yuri is just working Faber. Faber throwing punches while watching himself on the screen (Patrick Batemen reference). Faber cannot escape from the back control. Yuri tries to attack Fabers arm.
Faber gets up and slams Yuri down. Yuri working the triangle. Faber passes tinto the third guard. Staples Yuri’s right leg and works some GnP. Yuri tries to sweep, but Faber maintains the position and drops bombs. Yuri recovers the full-guard. More GnP by Faber. Here is the U-S-A Chants… Yep, it’s Boston. I got nothing.
Yuri looks to control Faber from the guard, but Faber is still able to land some strong shots.
Faber stole that round in the end, 10-9
Rd. 2
The two go right at it. Interesting back-roll by Faber, he recovers and Faber is able to take down Yuri and is in Yuri’s guard against the cage.
Faber looks to pass the guard. Yuri eats a knee to the chest. Faber in the half-guard looks for the guillotine. Yuri replaces the guard. Faber grinding into Yuri. Faber gets some elbows in. This is text-book ground and pound, folks. Faber stands up and passes the guard. He starts working guillotine again. Thus far Faber has out-strucken (is that a word) Yuri 37-1.
While in the half-guard Faber is throwing some strong elbows and stronger punches. Yuri gets up, but Faber is looking for a Judo takedown. Faber has Yuri against the cage, they move away, Faber takes him down. Faber in the guard and continues with the GnP.
If this isn’t a 10-8 round Faber, then we need new judges.
Rd. 3 Faber fakes (?) a take down. He fakes another take-down and lands an overhand right. Little scramble, the two continue to square off. Faber doing some very Guida-esque dancing. He charges in but Yuri is able to defend. Yuri with a high kick and Faber blocks. Faber shoots for the take-down and Yuri sprawls out. The two continue to circle around.
Faber takes down Yuri. Yuri sweeps, but Faber maintains control and grinds Yuri against the cage while in the guard. Faber continues his GnP assault on Yuri. Yuri looks to control Faber’s left arm. Faber is able to stand up in Yuri’s open guard. Faber back in Yuri’s closed guard and continues to grind it out.
Yuri looking for the Oomaplata and Faber defends. Yuri transitions to the triangle and is back into the oomaplata hold. Faber steps over and butter-flies Yuri’s arms, he is able to escape and takes control of Yuri’s back and holds him down to end the round.
Solid attempt by Yuri to score a late-minute submission, but Faber has this one 10-9.
Official Decision Faber gets the UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Faber says he might have some jaw damage. But I’m sure the ladies still love him.
There’s Bob Kraft… Bob, let’s get another Super Bowl, it’s been a while.
My prediction: Overeem by 2 RD KO
Buddy’s prediction: Overeem by way of “horse-meat”
If Overeem loses, specifically gets KO’d, I think it’s safe to say we’ll probably see him fighting Anthony “Welterweight” Johnson at the WSOF
Rd. 1 Touch gloves and here we go. Overeem stalks and gets Brown against the cage with some knees to the body. Overeem controls Brown, but Brown is able to get Overeem back to the center.
Flying knee by Browne. Overeem goes for a guillotine attempt. Overem is getting some hard shots to Browne against the cage. Strong knee to the Browne. It looks like Overem got a knee to the the head with Browne’s knee down. They are both on the feet and Overeem works from the clinch getting solid knees to the body. Travis Brown is taking some devastating blows by Overeem.
Overeem gets a pretty sloppy take-down but Brown gets up. Browne goes for a couple front-kicks to the face. Overeem takes control of Browne against the cage. Another front-head kick by Browne. Browne goes for the spinning round-house, but misses. Browne has Overeem in the clinch, but is against the cage … Another front-kick and Overeem goes DOWN. Browne gets a couple shots in from the guard, but it is all over!!!!
For those of you who not watching… It looked like this. For those of you not with me right now, here’s our reaction.
Official Decision
Travis Brown 1st Round KO (4:08)
Browne shows much love to Boston.
So is this the last we’ll see of Overeem?
Ladies and gents, we’re coming up to our main-event of the evening.
My Prediction: Shogun 2nd round TKO
Buddy’s Prediction: Shogun 2nd round mounted guillotine
Chael Sonnen has a pink-ribbon on his shirt. If you Google Chael Sonnen and Cancer, you get a lot of articles about Lance Armstrong. Just a random fact I’ll put there.
Buffer is on FIRE tonight.
RD. 1 Herb Dean is our ref for the main-event.
No touch of gloves, Chael goes for the take-down and gets in Shogun’s half-guard. Shogun gets to the feet and gets Chael down and is in Chael’s butterfly guard. Chael has one butter fly-hook in and Shogun transitions into the half-guard. Chael goes for the guillotine. Shogun gets to his feet and the two clinch up.
Chael gets the take-down and works the GnP from the half-guard. Shogun is looking to sweep from the half. Chael flattens out Shoguns shoulders. Shogun works to get on his side. Chael continues to work some strikes. Shogun gets the butterfly hooks in. The Boo-birds are coming out… As always let’s see you guys do this.
Chael stands up Shogun goes for an upkick. Chael back in the half-guard and working the strikes. Chael continues to smother Shogun. Shogun works to his feet and Chael has a DEEP GUILLOTINE. Shogun is working the escape… HE TAPS!!! SHOGUN THE BJJ BLACKBELT TAPS!!!!!
Shogun is devastated that he tapped.
Quick observation, Chael has a Mortgage lender website as a sponsor… Do they really know who they are pairing their brand with?
Official Decision
Chael Sonnen wins by tapout via Guillotine (4:46)
Chael shows support for those fighting cancer (since Chael won via BJJ I only feel it appropriate to plug Nick Newell’s favorite charity TapCancerOut)… Shows some of his poetry skills… And as classic Chael does, calls out Wanderlie Silva in his classic fashion.
Despite what Deadspin says, this was a great night of fights. You go to Boston, you’re guaranteed a good show. My picks were pretty bad, but I still had fun doing this and hope you all did too.
Don’t forget to check back here for Condit vs. Kampman.
The UFC didn’t allow the fact that UFC Fight Night 26 will be free on television to keep it from putting together a great main event. Light heavyweights Chael Sonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua star in a matchup that no fight fan will want to miss.&…
The UFC didn’t allow the fact that UFC Fight Night 26 will be free on television to keep it from putting together a great main event. Light heavyweights ChaelSonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua star in a matchup that no fight fan will want to miss.
In Sonnen, you have a brash, controversial middleweight/light heavyweight contender who loves to push the pace with his relentless wrestling. He’s looking to get back into the win column after losing to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones in back-to-back fights.
In Shogun, you have a former PRIDE legend and fearsome striker who just can’t seem to catch a break. His brief run with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship has been overshadowed by his inability to win back-to-back fights since 2009, when he beat Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell after losing to Forrest Griffin in 2007.
With both fighters desperately needing a win in this interesting clash of styles, this bout has all the makings of a classic. Here’s everything you need to know before you catch the fight. Note: Statistics used in this article via FightMetricunless otherwise noted.
When: Saturday, Aug. 17 (Main card starts at 8 p.m. ET)
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Watch: Fox Sports 1 (Channel No. for your area can be found here)
Odds (via Bovada): Rua -155, Sonnen +125
Shogun Wins If…
He is able to defend Sonnen‘s takedowns and find his opponent’s chin.
At his best, Shogun is one of the most impressive knockout artists in MMA history. A fully healthy and prime Shogun has better explosiveness and power than just about anyone in the sport. It’s no coincidence that 18 of his 21 career victories have come by way of knockout.
His striking should be even stronger coming into this fight as he spent some time training with famed boxing coach, Freddie Roach.
Finishing Sonnen with strikes won’t be easy, though. Few fighters close distance as well as Sonnen does, and he only absorbs 1.05 strikes per minutes.
Sonnen Wins If…
He puts Shogun on his back early and often.
With 3.83 takedowns per 15 minutes in the Octagon, Sonnen is aggressive in his wrestling. He only lands 60 percent of his attempts, but he makes up for it with sheer volume. His striking has improved over the years, but it’s still relatively rudimentary.
Conversely, his opponent isn’t the best at stopping takedowns. Rua‘s takedown defense accuracy sits at just 44 percent, and he was taken down six times in his three-round bout against Alexander Gustafsson.
If Sonnen can wear Shogun down in the opening rounds, the fight will swing into his favor. He’s 16-1 in fights that have gone the distance, while Rua is just 2-3.
Prediction: Sonnen via Unanimous Decision
As always, the real question that will determine this fight is what version of Rua shows up. If it’s the Shogun who demolished Chuck Liddell and knocked out LyotoMachida for the light heavyweight title, then he wins the fight.
But it’s been more than three years since we saw that version of Shogun. His wins since then have come against Brandon Vera and Forrest Griffin. Those guys weren’t at the level that Sonnen is right now.
Expect Shogun to threaten early, but if he doesn’t get the finish, Sonnen will take control as the fight wears on.
The main event that almost wasn’t but then was goes down Saturday night in Boston, as the UFC makes its FOX Sports 1 debut with a deep card headlined by Chael Sonnen taking on Shogun Rua.
It’s an interesting fight between two guys who are v…
The main event that almost wasn’t but then was goes down Saturday night in Boston, as the UFC makes its FOX Sports 1 debut with a deep card headlined by ChaelSonnen taking on Shogun Rua.
It’s an interesting fight between two guys who are very close to their last chance at the top of the heap, and the loser may very well be relegated to gatekeeper status come Sunday morning.
If it’s his goal to avoid that label, here are some weaknesses Sonnen can exploit against Shogun.
In the first main event in the history of Fox Sports 1, light heavyweight Chael Sonnen used a major wrestling advantage to defeat diminishing former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by first-round submission at 
