Tag: Mike Chiesa

‘The Ultimate Fighter: Live’ Aftermath: Mike Chiesa Defeats Al Iaquinta, and the Odds

“Anyone *else* want to punch me in the face?!?” (Photo: Louie Abigail/FightBulletin.net)

Still in the wake of last week’s heavyweight rumbles, Friday’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Live’ Finale drew little hype. It could be because it was sandwiched in the middle of a busy schedule, or because it’s the closer to the least-watched season of the franchise thus far. Either way, it was a night of action worthy of your eyeballs, particularly considering the pricetag.

Jake Ellenberger wasted little time in bringing the hurt to his opponent. Ellenberger swarmed Martin Kampmann, a notoriously slow starter, with a barrage of heavy hands right out of the gate, sending the Dane crashing to his back against the cage. “The Juggernaut” followed him to the ground, unloading with heavy ground and pound in search of the shot that would turn Kampmann’s lights out. The death blow wouldn’t come, and if Kampmann prayed for a moment’s rest the gods shined upon him with nearly four minutes of a protracted ground battle that allowed him to shake out the cobwebs and regain his composure.

“Anyone *else* want to punch me in the face?!?”  (Photo: Louie Abigail/FightBulletin.net)

Still in the wake of last week’s heavyweight rumbles, Friday’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Live’ Finale drew little hype. It could be because it was sandwiched in the middle of a busy schedule, or because it’s the closer to the least-watched season of the franchise thus far. Either way, it was a night of action worthy of your eyeballs, particularly considering the pricetag.

Jake Ellenberger wasted little time in bringing the hurt to his opponent. Ellenberger swarmed Martin Kampmann, a notoriously slow starter, with a barrage of heavy hands right out of the gate, sending the Dane crashing to his back against the cage. “The Juggernaut” followed him to the ground, unloading with heavy ground and pound in search of the shot that would turn Kampmann’s lights out. The death blow wouldn’t come, and if Kampmann prayed for a moment’s rest the gods shined upon him with nearly four minutes of a protracted ground battle that allowed him to shake out the cobwebs and regain his composure.

“The Hitman” briefly took control of round two, connecting with a right hand that backed Ellenberger up against the cage. Kampmann pursued and got off a few shots before the ‘King of the Jakes‘ returned fire, again unleashing a torrent of heavy hands that had Kampmann in trouble. True to form, ‘The Hitman’ weathered the storm and connected with a short right to the top of the head that had Ellenberger doing the fish dance across the cage. Kampmann tied him up in a thai clinch and delivered three targeted knees to the face that dropped the ‘Berg to the canvas where referee Steve Mazagatti quickly—very quickly—stepped in to end the bout. The TKO stoppage broke Elleberger’s six-fight win streak and earned Kampmann one of the evening’s $40k Knockout of the Night bonuses. It also likely earns him a dance with Johnny Hendricks in a number-one contender bout, whatever those are worth these days.

In the evening’s titular bout, Team Faber products Mike Chiesa and Al Iaquinta squared off for the most coveted piece of glass in MMA. Iaquinta went on the attack early on. His aggressive standup had Chiesa covering up and backing away, and his takedown defense thwarted his former teammate’s early attempts to bring the fight to the ground. But a fruitless single leg or two were not enough to break the spirit of Chiesa, who bravely marched on through the grueling 13-week TUF trials after losing his father early in the season. As Iaquinta waded in winging punches, “Maverick” countered and took his back, sinking in his hooks and dragging him to the canvas. Chiesa tirelessly worked for the rear naked choke, alternating from one arm to another until one finally sunk below Iaquinta’s chin. The choke was in deep, and Iaquinta fought it off until going to sleep. In a time when ‘feel good’ stories are being forced and manufactured, even the most jaded of us have to feel good for Mike Chiesa. Along with his plaque, he’s won the infamous ‘six-figure contract’, a sponsorship from TapouT, the $40k ‘Submission of the Night’ bonus and a brand new hog.

Speaking of TUF champs, season 12 kingpin Jonathan Brookins returned to the cage to face the dynamic Charles Oliveira. Unfortunately, Brookins still looks ill-equipped to compete in the striking portion of an MMA bout. With a high chin and low hands, he took the worst of the exchanges, including the flying knee he ate before body-locking Oliveira and slamming him to the mat. ‘Do Bronx’ was not on his back long, though, and he confidently resumed battering Brookins on his feet. Brookins did put together a few combos in the second frame, even drawing a bit of blood from Oliveira’s forehead, but he also broke the cardinal rule of bringing slaps to a fist fight (no offense, El Guapo). Caught in a standing guillotine, Oliveira tried to slam his way free only to wind up in Brookins’ guard, but the Brazilian worked his way out of the sub. After delivering a pair of hard elbows, Oliveira exited his opponent’s guard and secured a modified guillotine of his own. Brookins would tap to the choke, reducing my hopes of witnessing a beautiful lateral drop to zero.

Earlier in the evening, youngster Max Holloway showed off an impressive striking game in a lopsided decision victory over Pat Schilling. Holloway’s clinic included flying knees, crippling body punches, even an attempt at a jazzed-up Showtime Kick—basically everything but a shred of killer instinct. Holloway left Schilling defenseless and barely able to ease himself off the canvas throughout the bout, but at no point did he move in for the coup de gras. Looking superb on your feet is one thing, but when you’re standing over a wounded animal the only humane thing to do is put him out of his misery. As his bloody piss circles the toilet this morning, I’m sure even Schilling wishes Holloway had pulled the trigger.

Justin Lawrence kicked off the action, and John Cofer’s head, in the broadcast’s opening bout. Things looked good for Cofer early on as he scored a short-lived takedown and a big left hand that momentarily staggered Lawrence, but ‘TUF: Live’s’ first draft pick was far from flustered. Cofer was game to trade on his feet, though he found himself on the bruised end of the exchanges. As round two drew to a close, the wrestler grabbed Lawrence from behind and took him for a ride, suplexing him to the ground. Lawrence escaped Cofer’s back control and ended the round with a little ground and pound. The third frame was short and sweet, for “The American Kid” at least. As Cofer backpeddled from an exchange Lawrence landed a perfectly timed right high kick to the jaw that had Cofer doing “The Captain” as he careened toward the ground. Both men picked up the $40 g’s for the “Fight of the Night”, while Lawrence’s thunder foot scored him the night’s second KOTN bonus.

 

– @chriscolemon

 

FULL RESULTS: (via MMAWeekly.com)

Main Card (on FX):
-Martin Kampmann def. Jake Ellenberger by KO (Knees) at 1:40, R2
-Michael Chiesa def. Al Iaquinta by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:37, R1
-Charles Oliveira def. Johnathan Brookins by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:42, R2
-Max Holloway def. Pat Schilling by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Justin Lawrence def. John Cofer by KO (Kick) at 0:19, R3

Preliminary Card (on Fuel TV):
– Daron Cruickshank def. Chris Tickle by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27), R3
-Myles Jury def. Chris Saunders by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:03, R1
-Sam Sicilia def. Cristiano Marcello by TKO (Strikes) at 2:53, R2
-Joe Proctor def. Jeremy Larsen by TKO (Strikes) at 1:59, R1

Preliminary Card (on Facebook):
-Erik Perez def. John Albert by Verbal Submission (Armbar) at 4:18, R1

 

[VIDEO] The Ultimate Fighter 15 Full Weigh-In Results

All fighters made weight at last night’s weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale, which goes down live on FX tonight at the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada. The evening was surprisingly absent of anything even resembling intensity, as many of the fighters (especially those on the undercard) seemed more like they were trying to one-up each other in terms of how goofy a stance they could strike for the cameras. As Yves Edwards would surely tell them, the key to a great weigh in photo is simplicity. And a bag of KC Masterpiece potato chips.

Will Martin Kampmann finally score a victory over a top contender that has eluded him ever since his win over Carlos Condit? And will the winner of Kampmann/Ellenberger receive a title shot in the clusterfucked welterweight division? Who will be crowned “king shit” of what may have been the least memorable season of The Ultimate Fighter in the show’s history?

For the answers to all these questions and more, make sure to swing by CP tonight, where our very own writer/ass-kicker Elias Cepeda will be liveblogging all the action starting at 9 p.m.

Join us after the jump for the video and full weigh-in results. 

All fighters made weight at last night’s weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale, which goes down live on FX tonight at the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada. The evening was surprisingly absent of anything even resembling intensity, as many of the fighters (especially those on the undercard) seemed more like they were trying to one-up each other in terms of how goofy a stance they could strike for the cameras. As Yves Edwards would surely tell them, the key to a great weigh in photo is simplicity. And a bag of KC Masterpiece potato chips.

Will Martin Kampmann finally score a victory over a top contender that has eluded him ever since his win over Carlos Condit? And will the winner of Kampmann/Ellenberger receive a title shot in the clusterfucked welterweight division? Who will be crowned “king shit” of what may have been the least memorable season of The Ultimate Fighter in the show’s history?

For the answers to all these questions and more, make sure to swing by CP tonight, where our very own writer/ass-kicker Elias Cepeda will be liveblogging all the action starting at 9 p.m.


(Weigh-ins start at the 13 minute mark.) 

Weigh-in Results

Main Card
Jake Ellenberger (171) vs. Martin Kampmann (170)
Michael Chiesa (156) vs. Al Iaquinta (155)
Jonathan Brookins (146) vs. Charles Oliveira (144)
Max Holloway (145) vs. Pat Schilling (145)
Justin Lawrence (155) vs. John Cofer (155)

Preliminary Card
Daron Cruickshank (155) vs. Chris Tickle (154)
Myles Jury (155) vs. Chris Saunders (156)
Cristiano Marcello (156) vs. Sam Sicilia (155)
Jeremy Larsen (155) vs. Joe Proctor (156)
John Albert (136) vs. Erik Perez (134)

–J. Jones

TUF 15 Live Episode 12 Recap

By Elias Cepeda

This final episode of the TUF 15 season included perhaps more out-of-the-ring action than any prior episode. We got more of Cruz and Faber cracking wise at each other, but also legit blows thrown inside of the house and a surprise announcement or two.

The winning fighter and coach will each win a Harley Davidson motorcycle and so the guys are taken to a Harley super store to try bikes on and leather for size. They are hosted by Theo “Juice” Rossi, who has inexplicably still managed to survive cooperation with the government (Watch Sons of Anarchy to get the reference. And yes, I have trouble telling the difference between quality screenplay and reality.)

Back in the house, Tickle decides to throw a water bottle on the balls of a sleeping Daron. Daron, with weeks of pent up aggression from being eliminated, wakes up into a sprint like a Navy Seal or something, finds Tickle and fires off a punch and kick combination on the goofball.

Tickle acts outraged, like he doesn’t understand that getting awoken from slumber by getting hit in the balls absolutely deserves an ass-kicking. Daron worries that he might get kicked off of the show for fighting in the house because that’s what has happened in past seasons.

Naw, its cool, dawg, says UFC President Dana White. Well, not really. But he does announce to the guys in the gym, later that all of them will be fighting on next week’s finale in Vegas. All, except for Mike Rio, who busted his rib, and Andy Ogle, who is on medical suspension after his last KO loss.

The passionate Ogle is distraught at the idea that he won’t get to fight after making it so far. White assures him that he will “be back.” That isn’t good for everyone’s favorite warrior-poet, who literally runs after White as the Prez is leaving the building, wraps his arm around him and asks to be put on the Nottingham card in September.

By Elias Cepeda

This final episode of the TUF 15 season included perhaps more out-of-the-ring action than any prior episode. We got more of Cruz and Faber cracking wise at each other, but also legit blows thrown inside of the house and a surprise announcement or two.

The winning fighter and coach will each win a Harley Davidson motorcycle and so the guys are taken to a Harley super store to try bikes on and leather for size. They are hosted by Theo “Juice” Rossi, who has inexplicably still managed to survive cooperation with the government (Watch Sons of Anarchy to get the reference. And yes, I have trouble telling the difference between quality screenplay and reality.)

Back in the house, Tickle decides to throw a water bottle on the balls of a sleeping Daron. Daron, with weeks of pent up aggression from being eliminated, wakes up into a sprint like a Navy Seal or something, finds Tickle and fires off a punch and kick combination on the goofball.

Tickle acts outraged, like he doesn’t understand that getting awoken from slumber by getting hit in the balls absolutely deserves an ass-kicking. Daron worries that he might get kicked off of the show for fighting in the house because that’s what has happened in past seasons.

Naw, its cool, dawg, says UFC President Dana White. Well, not really. But he does announce to the guys in the gym, later that all of them will be fighting on next week’s finale in Vegas. All, except for Mike Rio, who busted his rib, and Andy Ogle, who is on medical suspension after his last KO loss.

The passionate Ogle is distraught at the idea that he won’t get to fight after making it so far. White assures him that he will “be back.” That isn’t good for everyone’s favorite warrior-poet, who literally runs after White as the Prez is leaving the building, wraps his arm around him and asks to be put on the Nottingham card in September. White instantly grants his request.

That’s how you do it, kids. Train and fight like hell, with all your heart, and run towards fights even when you’re recovering from serious injuries. Can’t wait to see Ogle scrap again.

Back in the training room, Coach Dominick Cruz agonizes over the possibility of Vick getting put on his back against Chiesa. In the Faber room, Chiesa is struggling on his feet during sparring.

“I’m two fights away from fulfilling my dream and I want this thing so damn bad that when I have a bad day, everything comes piling in on me,” Chiesa says emotionally.

Faber tells Chiesa not to worry, that he has often had some of his worst training days right before fights and that they don’t affect his performances.

Fight Time!

James Vick vs. Michael Chiesa
Rd 1
Both men are cautious, feel each other out with jabs, feints and leg kicks. Chiesa wanting to stay clear of Vick’s striking and Vick not wanting to give Chiesa an opportunity to close the distance and take him down.

A minute and a half in, off of a missed right cross from Vick, Chiesa does duck under slightly and close the distance, securing double under hooks and a body lock. Vick doesn’t go down easy, however, works to get his own under hook and pushes Chiesa against the cage. Vick gets a takedown!

They land in Chiesa’s open guard and Chiesa uses a left under hook to help him stand back up. Vick goes for another takedown but can’t land it cleanly. They are back up on their feet, in free standing range.

Chiesa starts coming forward more confidently and lands a left cross. Vick fires back with a three punch combo but only lands glancingly and to Chiesa’s forehead. Chiesa lands another left cross! Vick marches forward and goes to the body with punches.

Vick lands a cross, then a jab, then an uppercut a few moments later and two more straight punches. Vick lands his long jab and goes back to the body with a left hook. Chiesa lands another straight left hand. Vick throws a body kick that Chiesa catches. He tries to turn that into a takedown but Vick gets his hips out of the way and defends.

Chiesa counters a leg kick with a hook and follows up with two straights. Vick presses forward and lands a left uppercut to the head of Chiesa. Chiesa half falls, half takes a desperation takedown shot. He’s on his knees.

Vick gets side control, then is forced back into half guard and then half butterfly guard by Chiesa. Chiesa turns in to get back up and Vick grabs a front headlock with arm in. Vick goes for an arm-in guillotine and reverses Chiesa into mount. Vick has the choke in tight with seconds left. Chiesa holds on until the horn.

Rd. 2
Chiesa shoots and scores the takedown early. From there, he moves into the mount with relative ease.
Looks like Coach Cruz’ worst nightmare of Vick being on his back might be coming true. Chiesa unleashes a barrage of strikes, Vick doesn’t defend and the referee steps in to call the bout.

What a comeback in this fight for Chiesa and what a season of perseverance through adversity all season long after the death of his father just weeks ago. It may be the most compelling personal narrative out of any TUF season. And it isn’t over. In just one week, Chiesa will fight again, for the title of The Ultimate Fighter.

Al Iaquinta vs. Vinc Pichel
Rd. 1
Al comes out firing and moving very aggressively. He follows that up by shooting for a single from very far away. Vinc defends well but then Al switches to a double leg and scores the takedown.

Vinc stands up but gives his back. Al gets one hook in and drags Vinc back to the ground while taking his back. Vinc defends Al’s rear naked choke attempts and stands up.

Al looks to be the much quicker fighter, with better footwork, effectively staying away from most of Vinc’s power strikes. Al also is throwing more combinations with the hands and finishing them off with low kicks.

Al shoots in and hits another double leg. Vinc controls Al’s posture with a high full guard before standing back up with seconds left in the round. The horn sounds with Al pressing in for another takedown.

Rd. 2
Al lands a left jab followed by a high kick. Vinc wades in, moving his head and feinting, and walks in to an uppercut. Al’s combinations continue to come fast but his finishing leg kicks are starting to land more solidly, with Vinc not checking most of them.

Al starts to move side to side in an even more slick fashion and is making Vinc miss big with punches, by slipping and weaving well. Al fakes a leg kick, throws a super-man punch and then shoots for a takedown. He’s stuffed by Vinc.

Vinc lands a low kick, followed by a right hand. Al shoots in for a takedown, presses Vinc against the cage. Vinc defends, circles away from the cage, to his right, and lands a solid knee to Al’s mid section. The round ends with Al makind Pincel miss with his punches more, by bobbing.

Al gets the decision nod and is in the finals against Chiesa!

As the episode ends, Al and Mike square off. Nuts that they will be fighting one another in just one week at the Palms in the finale. Cruz gets a water bucket thrown on him by his team. Slips, falls and injures his other acl.

That’s the season, folks! Please join us here next week for our live play by play blog of The Ultimate Fighter 15 Live Finale from The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.

TUF 15 Live Episode Ten Recap

By Elias Cepeda

Coach Dominick Cruz and his coaches are giddy on how good they think James Vick will be. At one point they are off in a corner of the gym almost snickering at how no one but them knows how good the lanky young fighter is.

“He’s making it to the finals,” Cruz says.

Cruz says that Vick listens well and is an open book.

Dana White comes in and for some reason is the one to make the announcement that Cruz has torn his ACL and is out of the fight with Faber, though he will stay on as coach. We all knew at this point that Cruz had injured himself this week, but I guess I expected that this week’s episode would have footage and put a little more drama into it.

It is just as well because we need all the time we can get for tonight’s two matchups of Cruz’ James Vick vs. Joe Proctor and Justin Lawrence vs. Faber’s Mike Chiesa.

By Elias Cepeda

Coach Dominick Cruz and his coaches are giddy on how good they think James Vick will be. At one point they are off in a corner of the gym almost snickering at how no one but them knows how good the lanky young fighter is.

“He’s making it to the finals,” Cruz says.

Cruz says that Vick listens well and is an open book.

Dana White comes in and for some reason is the one to make the announcement that Cruz has torn his ACL and is out of the fight with Faber, though he will stay on as coach. We all knew at this point that Cruz had injured himself this week, but I guess I expected that this week’s episode would have footage and put a little more drama into it.

It is just as well because we need all the time we can get for tonight’s two matchups of Cruz’ James Vick vs. Joe Proctor and Justin Lawrence vs. Faber’s Mike Chiesa.

Fight Time!

Proctor vs. Vick

Rd 1

Vick backs up Proctor with jab and left kick feints for a minute then lands a one-two-three to the body combo. More feints and pawing jabs from Vick as he stalks Proctor.

At just under a minute, Proctor shoots in for a double leg takedown but gets stuffed by Vick. Proctor lands a clean over hand right to Vick’s chin.

Vick forces a Thai plum and lands knees to the body and his own overhand right. Vick lands an uppercut, Proctor lands a cross, hook combo. Vick responds with his own cross that lands. Proctor fires back, lands and Vick hits back with a head kick that is mostly blocked.

Vick lands a right cross from a distance, using his reach. Proctor comes in closer, throws a body kick but is countered with a left hook. Another uppercut from Vick lands. Proctor lands a straight cross, Vick swings and misses with a head kick.

Rd 2

Vick keeping Proctor at the end of his long arms with feints. And a left body kick and left jab.

Proctor shoots in and gets a big slam but Vick stands right back up. Proctor grabs hold of Vick’s next from the side with a rear-naked choke type grip, Vick defends and gets a single leg takedown – landing in side mount.

Vick looks indecisive and uncomfortable from the side mount and stands up, letting Proctor go. Proctor lands a nice right hand to the face. Vick lands an uppercut to the head and two knees to the body.

Proctor counters an uppercut from Vick with a straight cross with thirty seconds left. Proctor finally making Vick pay for keeping his hands so low and lands two more right crosses.

–

Decision time!

Vick wins both rounds on all judges’ scorecards. “I feel like everything is coming together for me at the right time.”

Fight Time!

Chiesa vs. Lawrence

Rd 1

Lots of feints and then the young Lawrence begins making mistakes. First, he throws a head kick with no set up at the wrestler Chiesa, who uses that to slam him onto the ground. Lawrence snaps back up to his feet where he is pressed up against the cage by Chiesa.

From there, Lawrence turns and gives up his back while trying to escape, gets taken down with Chiesa on his back. Lawrence successfully turns into Chiesa and puts him on his back, in full guard.

Chiesa shoots his hips up for an armbar attempt. Lawrence stands and defends. Chiesa slaps on a triangle attempt and again Lawrence defends. He is in Chiesa’s half guard now, raining punches down.

Chiesa recomposes to the full guard and locks it up high. From the full guard Chiesa throws non-stop combinations of sweep, keylock and guillotine attempts at Lawrence, who defends. Lawrence backs Chiesa up on the fence but Chiesa manages to throw another triangle attempt on with under one minute left. Chiesa throws elbows to Lawrence’s head from the triangle position until the horn sounds.

Rd 2.

Lawrence comes out with a body kick and almost gets taken down again for it. Coach Cruz immediately begins yelling out that he should use “boxing only” on his feet to avoid making Chiesa’s job of taking him down easier.

Lawrence doesn’t and immediately throws a head kick. Now Lawrence is swinging with his fists – he lands a big overhand right and then a left hook that stuns Chiesa. Lawrence lands another left hook but follows up with a body kick that Chiesa grabs and nearly takes him down with again.

Lawrence frees himself up and Cruz yells out that he throw no more kicks. Lawrence lands another big overhand right, followed by a left hook-overhand right combo to the head of Chiesa.

Chiesa throws a double jab, Lawrence backs straight up, and the second jab lands. Chiesa throws a spinning reverse elbow but Lawrence closes the distance, jams him up and the elbow doesn’t land. Chiesa throws and lands a flying knee to the head of Lawrence.

Lawrence is finding his range now, mixing up head and body punches in combos. One body shot lands flush and drops Chiesa to the mat, face first!

Lawrence follows up and throws punches at the turtled-up Chiesa. Lawrence then chooses to grab the torso of the downed Chiesa, giving Mike a chance to go for a submission.

Chiesa grabs ahold of Lawrence’s left arm and torques a keylock. Lawrence stands and defends. Lawrence back in Chiesa’s full guard. Chiesa lands elbows, Lawrence stands with five seconds left and throws punches. The horn sounds.

Dana White is in the cage, announces that we are going to a sudden death victory round three!

Rd 3

Chiesa throws a knee, Lawrence grabs it and slams him to the mat. Lawrence is in Chiesa’s full guard. Chiesa sits up and sweeps Lawrence over.

Chiesa is in mount and begins raining down punches on Lawrence. Lawrence covers up but makes no attempt to escape and most of Chiesa’s punches get through.

The referee stops the bout one minute into the third round. The gym erupts in cheers and hooting from Team Faber.

Chiesa tells Jon Anik that this was the toughest fight of his career.

Match up time:

Vinc Pichel vs. Chris Saunders

Al Iaquinta vs. Andy Ogle