(Fight Pass shows only get the stock image treatment. / Photo via Getty)
You might not have noticed since all the other MMA sites were reporting about Floyd Mayweather Jr. tonight, but the UFC had an event on Fight Pass, UFC Fight Night 51.
Efrain Escudero made his (unsuccessful) return to the UFC against Leonardo Santos. Santos controlled the first round of the encounter. However, Escudero managed to drop Santos in the second with a right hand. It appeared to change the complexion of the fight as Santos became deflated and tired. In the third, Escudero was light on his feet and it looked like he’d pull away with the decision. This wasn’t meant to be. Santos found some source of inner strength (or Escudero stopped paying attention; who knows) and landed a huge takedown. From the takedown, he managed to take Escudero’s back and held the position until the round ended. This was enough to give Santos the unanimous decision victory.
Get the recaps for the other fights after the jump.
(Fight Pass shows only get the stock image treatment. / Photo via Getty)
UFC Fight Night 51 happened on Fight Pass tonight. You might not have noticed since all the other so-called “MMA” sites are too busy writing about Floyd Mayweather Jr. Ugh.
So was this event worth checking out? Kind of. When it becomes available for replay on Fight Pass, watch the main event. Despite that fight being the only one really worth watching on the main card, we recapped some other higher profile fights from the event.
Efrain Escudero made his (unsuccessful) return to the UFC against Leonardo Santos. Santos controlled the first round of the encounter. However, Escudero managed to drop Santos in the second with a right hand. It appeared to change the complexion of the fight as Santos became deflated and tired. In the third, Escudero was light on his feet and it looked like he’d pull away with the decision. This wasn’t meant to be. Santos found some source of inner strength (or Escudero stopped paying attention; who knows) and landed a huge takedown. From the takedown, he managed to take Escudero’s back and held the position until the round ended. This was enough to give Santos the unanimous decision victory.
In the co-main event, Gleison Tibau fought Piotr Hallman. Here’s a protip on this fight: Skip it. Tibau displayed his characteristic lack of conditioning. He torched his gas tank with a large flurry in the beginning. The rest of the fight was basically just non-stop clinching against the cage with zero activity. Hallman managed to cut Tibau with a knee to the head late in the third round. It didn’t matter though; Tibau got the decision because he spent more time pushing Hallman against the fence than Hallman spent pushing him against the fence. Even Jon Anik described this fight as “exhausting” to watch.
The main event: Andrei Arlovski took on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in a rematch of their Strikeforce bout from 2010. This time, Arlovski was the one who got his hand raised. The fight didn’t last long. Bigfoot was slow and plodding, Arlovski was agile and had much faster hands. Eventually, Arlovski tagged Bigfoot with an uppercut that dropped him flat on his ass. Arlovski pounced on Bigfoot and landed a series of hammer fists that put Bigfoot out cold. We’re hesitant to say Arlovski is “back” but he could be back.
Here are the complete results:
Main Card
Andrei Arlovski def. Antonio Silva via KO (punches), 2:59 of round 1.
Gleison Tibau def. Piotr Hallman via unanimous decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Leonardo Santos def. Efrain Escudero unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Wendell Oliveira via TKO (punches), 1:20 of round 1.
Iuri Alcântara def. Russell Doane via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Jéssica Andrade def. Larissa Pacheco via submission (guillotine choke), 4:33 of round 1.
Preliminary Card
Godofredo Castro def. Dashon Johnson via submission (triangle armbar), 4:29 of round 1.
George Sullivan def. Igor Araújo via KO (punches), 2:31 of round 2.
Francisco Trinaldo def. Leandro Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Sean Spencer def. Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Rani Yahya def. Johnny Bedford via submission (kimura), 2:04 of round 2.
Our decision to only liveblog the UFC Fight Night 28 matches that we cared about turned out to be a wise choice. Though last night’s supporting card had its moments — particularly Piotr Hallmann’s comeback submission win over Francisco Trinaldo, and the Fight of the Night-winning battle between Rafael Natal and Tor Troeng — the UFC’s latest trip to Belo Horizonte didn’t turn into a terrifying orgy of violence until the last three bouts, which all ended the exact same way: A stiff knockdown, some nasty ground-and-pound, and an impressive first-round TKO for the favorite. Let’s start at the top and work our way down.
Of the three first-round maulings on the main card, only Glover Teixeira faced real adversity on his way to victory. During his main event fight against Ryan Bader, the Brazilian light-heavyweight phenom had to collect his bearings after getting wobbled in a striking exchange. Bader smelled blood and tried to go in for the kill, but his aggression turned out to be his undoing. As Bader swarmed with punches, Teixeira tucked his chin and landed a cross/hook combo that sent Bader to the mat. Teixeira followed with shots from above, and that’s all it took to secure his 20th consecutive victory (!) and a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.
After the fight, it was confirmed that Teixeira (now 5-0 in the UFC) would receive the next light-heavyweight title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Aexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 later this month. His performance last night might not have impressed everyone — rumor has it that Teixeira was recovering from a bad weight cut — but anybody with that kind of power and resilience is always a threat.
The second-biggest story of night had to be Ronaldo Souza‘s official arrival as an elite UFC middleweight. Since his Strikeforce title-fight loss to Luke Ruckhold two years ago, “Jacare” has sliced through lower-level competition (Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson, Ed Herman, Chris Camozzi) with relative ease. Finally, he got a chance to prove himself against a longtime UFC contender, and he rose to the occasion, crushing Yushin Okami with an overhand right midway through the first round. Yes, Ronaldo Souza has “fallen in love with his hands,” so to speak. But unlike other jiu-jitsu aces like Demian Maia who have tried to re-invent themselves as strikers, Souza hasn’t looked the least bit uncomfortable turning his recent bouts into kickboxing matches. He’s as natural at striking as he is at grappling, and that’s a terrifying thought for the rest of the UFC’s 185-pounders. Jacare has chewed his way to the top of the middleweight food chain, and the possibilities in front of him are endless.
Our decision to only liveblog the UFC Fight Night 28 matches that we cared about turned out to be a wise choice. Though last night’s supporting card had its moments — particularly Piotr Hallmann’s comeback submission win over Francisco Trinaldo, and the Fight of the Night-winning battle between Rafael Natal and Tor Troeng — the UFC’s latest trip to Belo Horizonte didn’t turn into a terrifying orgy of violence until the last three bouts, which all ended the exact same way: A stiff knockdown, some nasty ground-and-pound, and an impressive first-round TKO for the favorite. Let’s start at the top and work our way down.
Of the three first-round maulings on the main card, only Glover Teixeira faced real adversity on his way to victory. During his main event fight against Ryan Bader, the Brazilian light-heavyweight phenom had to collect his bearings after getting wobbled in a striking exchange. Bader smelled blood and tried to go in for the kill, but his aggression turned out to be his undoing. As Bader swarmed with punches, Teixeira tucked his chin and landed a cross/hook combo that sent Bader to the mat. Teixeira followed with shots from above, and that’s all it took to secure his 20th consecutive victory (!) and a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.
After the fight, it was confirmed that Teixeira (now 5-0 in the UFC) would receive the next light-heavyweight title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Aexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 later this month. His performance last night might not have impressed everyone — rumor has it that Teixeira was recovering from a bad weight cut — but anybody with that kind of power and resilience is always a threat.
The second-biggest story of night had to be Ronaldo Souza‘s official arrival as an elite UFC middleweight. Since his Strikeforce title-fight loss to Luke Ruckhold two years ago, “Jacare” has sliced through lower-level competition (Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson, Ed Herman, Chris Camozzi) with relative ease. Finally, he got a chance to prove himself against a longtime UFC contender, and he rose to the occasion, crushing Yushin Okami with an overhand right midway through the first round. Yes, Ronaldo Souza has “fallen in love with his hands,” so to speak. But unlike other jiu-jitsu aces like Demian Maia who have tried to re-invent themselves as strikers, Souza hasn’t looked the least bit uncomfortable turning his recent bouts into kickboxing matches. He’s as natural at striking as he is at grappling, and that’s a terrifying thought for the rest of the UFC’s 185-pounders. Jacare has chewed his way to the top of the middleweight food chain, and the possibilities in front of him are endless.
Meanwhile in the flyweight division, Joseph Benavidez looked every bit the 6-1 favorite he was going into his fight against Jussier “Formiga” Da Silva, who simply didn’t show up for this one. Benavidez was the aggressor from the opening bell, measuring his opponent with strikes, sticking-and-moving, tagging Formiga at will, while Formiga could only throw game counter-punches, hitting air most of the time. When a punch combination from Benavidez dazed Formiga, the Team Alpha Male standout immediately seized the moment, stuffing a knee into the Brazilian’s ribs, and adding another hook for good measure as he crumpled to the mat. Once on the ground, Benavidez buried Formiga in ground-and-pound until the ref intervened. With three straight wins since his flyweight title-fight loss to Demetrious Johnson last September, is it time for Johnson vs. Benavidez 2? Fun fact: Team Alpha Male has gone 17-0 since Duane Ludwig’s arrival as coach, proving once again that marijuana does in fact help you study better.
UFC Fight Night 28 Quick Results:
FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD
Glover Teixeira def. Ryan Bader via TKO, 2:55 of round 1
Ronaldo Souza def. Yushin Okami via TKO, 2:47 of round 1
Joseph Benavidez def. Jussier Formiga via TKO, 3:07 of round 1
Piotr Hallmann def. Francisco Trinaldo via submission (kimura), 3:50 of round 2
Rafael Natal def. Tor Troeng via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Ali Bagautinov def. Marcos Vinicius via TKO, 3:28 of round 3
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS
Kevin Souza def. Felipe Arantes via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Lucas Martins def. Ramiro “Junior” Hernandez via technical submission (rear-naked choke), 1:10 of round 1
Elias Silverio def. Joao Zeferino via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Ivan Jorge def. Keith Wisniewski via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
FACEBOOK PRELIM
Sean Spencer def. Yuri Villefort via split-decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
BONUSES ($50,000 each):
– Fight of the Night: Rafael Natal vs. Tor Troeng
– Knockout of the Night: Glover Teixeira
– Submission of the Night: Piotr Hallmann
