UFC lightweight Edson Barboza put on quite the show at UFC 162, earning a technical-knockout stoppage after less than two rounds of action. And he did it all with leg kicks.Rafaello Oliveira, Barboza’s opponent/victim, took brutal shot after brutal sho…
UFC lightweight Edson Barboza put on quite the show at UFC 162, earning a technical-knockout stoppage after less than two rounds of action. And he did it all with leg kicks.
Rafaello Oliveira, Barboza’s opponent/victim, took brutal shot after brutal shot to his left leg, and, by the second round, he was struggling to stand. A few more leg kicks and the fight was over.
That’s another technical-knockout win for Barboza, who has won thanks to his vicious leg kicks before. It wasn’t a highlight-reel knockout like his spinning wheel kick against Terry Etim was, but it was very impressive nevertheless.
Here is what we learned:
What We Learned about Edson Barboza
Barboza was stunned by Jamie Varner at UFC 146, losing for the first time in his UFC career. Other than that loss, he is undefeated as a professional. And his striking prowess is why.
But we already knew that.
At UFC 162, Barboza didn’t show us anything new—his striking was as good as it’s ever been. He did, however, prove that he is going to be a problem in the lightweight division, and he’s ready for the next step.
That step involves fighting a top-10 guy.
The Brazilian is a frightening striker who could challenge just about anyone at 155 pounds if that person can’t get the fight to the ground. He’s probably not a top-10 guy just yet, but he could get there by the end of 2013.
After all, victories as dominant as this one allow for a reasonably quick return to the cage.
What We Learned about Rafaello Oliveira
The 31-year-old Oliveira is now 1-3 in his second stint in the UFC, meaning he is on the way out.
Against Barboza, we learned that he doesn’t (and probably never will) be able to truly compete in the UFC. He has struggled against unranked guys, and his two wins came against guys no longer with the promotion.
And it’s his second go-around under the Zuffa banner—he’s 2-5 with the promotion overall. We’ve probably seen the last of him at this level.
What’s Next for Edson Barboza
Barboza’s striking is as good as anyone’s in the lightweight division, and at 6-1 in the UFC, he deserves a top-10 guy.
A possibility is a fight against fellow kickboxer Donald Cerrone (No. 6 lightweight contender), but “Cowboy” is expected to meet Rafael dos Anjos (No. 10 lightweight contender) this August. The winner of that fight would be a good match.
If the UFC goes a different direction, Nate Diaz is a fine option.
What’s Next For Oliveira
Oliveira is 0-of-2 as far as successful runs in the UFC go. He almost certainly will find himself off the UFC roster as soon as the next cuts come around.
The Brazilian will have to pick up a couple wins in smaller promotions if he wants a third shot in the elite promotion.
Before the UFC 162 pay-per-view card kicks off, how ’bout we warm up with some fights on free TV? Tonight’s FX Prelims broadcast features a crowd-pleasing lineup of sluggers, including Chris Leben, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Edson Barboza, and the first post-TUF Smashes appearance of Norman Parke.
Handling liveblog duties for this leg of the “Silva vs. Weidman” fight card is none other than Matt Saccaro, who will be stacking round-by-round 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 please toss your own analysis and witticisms into the comments section. Thanks for being here.
Before the UFC 162 pay-per-view card kicks off, how ’bout we warm up with some fights on free TV? Tonight’s FX Prelims broadcast features a crowd-pleasing lineup of sluggers, including Chris Leben, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Edson Barboza, and the first post-TUF Smashes appearance of Norman Parke.
Handling liveblog duties for this leg of the “Silva vs. Weidman” fight card is none other than Matt Saccaro, who will be stacking round-by-round 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 please toss your own analysis and witticisms into the comments section. Thanks for being here.
The UFC always tries to make the “4th of July” card worth the $60 fans have to pay for it. This time, they succeeded. The main card is studded with talent. The FX preliminaries have some gems too. Fighters like Chris Leben, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Edson Barboza will be trying to rekindle their flames on FX. Hopefully, they’ll also be providing us with fights so exciting that we forget about all the shitty commercials we have to endure throughout the broadcast. Seriously though, if I have to hear Kid Rock talk about the sound of his freedom one more time…
Anyway, the violent festivities are about to start soon, so let’s quickly recap what happened on the Facebook prelims:
Mike Pierce defeated David Mitchell via TKO. The first round was so boring that all 11 people in the audience were booing.
Brian Melancon defeated Seth Baczynski via TKO. This TKO was an interesting one as it came quite literally at the bell. The bell sounded and then viewers saw a starched, lifeless Baczynski that was clearly going to be unable to answer the bell for the second round.
Now, the commercials are finally over and the first pairing of fighters is now entering the cage for the FX portion of the fight card. We have Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira—Brazilian Muay Thai stud and former Next Big Thing™ vs. Generic Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with a 1-2 record in the UFC who’s coming off a year-long absence from the cage.
This is Barboza’s biggest test since getting upset by Jamie Varner back in 2012. Since then, Barboza has only fought once, defeating the unheralded, unheard of Lucas Martins in under three minutes.
Oliveira is coming off his only UFC win, a unanimous decision over the fighter with the toughest name to spell in the history of the UFC, Yoislandy Izquierdo. Prior to that win, Oliveira lost via TKO to Yves Edwards and via Submission to Gleison Tibau.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it seems like Barboza is “supposed” to win this fight. He’s younger, more talented, and his spectacular highlight reel and skillset makes him more marketable. The fight is about to start now so I’ll put away my tinfoil hat…
Round 1: They touch gloves to start the fight. Barboza lands a leg kick. Oliveira lands a left hook. Oliveira tries a body shot and misses. Barboza hits two more hard leg kicks in succession. Then he lands a huge body kick. The thud echoed throughout the arena. Barboza lands a left to the body and Oliveira shoots in pathetically. Barboza lands two more vicious leg kicks. Oliveiria is a deer in the headlights and Barboza is a mack truck. Oliveira attempts a single leg and fails, only to eat another kick to the body. Oliveira lands a right hand, then shoots and again fails. Barboza hits a spinning back kick. After a period of inactivity, Barboza hits yet another leg kick. Maybe we’ll see a Paul Varelans vs. Marco Ruas? Oliveira fails to takedown Barboza AGAIN. Barboza lands a millionth hard leg-kick, Oliveira fails his millionth takedown attempt in response. A minute left in the round now. A mouse is forming on Oliveira’s right cheek. Oliveira is limping now too, from all the leg kicks. He’s going to be in trouble in the second round. The bell sounds the end of round one. We score it 10-9, Barboza.
Round 2: An ineffective flurry from both fighters starts the round. Barboza hits a nice sweep when he catches a kick from Oliveira. Oliveira manages to take Barboza down off a leg kick but Barboza gets back to his feet very quickly. Another leg kick buckles Oliveira, and then another right after. Oliveira is moving like a wounded animal. A leg kick floors Oliveira this time. He’s limping really badly. This is brutal. Barboza hits another leg kick and Oliveira falls to the mat. Herb Dean mercifully stops the fight. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are having an orgasm over the fact that Barboza is the first guy to win two fights with a TKO via leg kicks.
Result: Edson Barboza def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO (leg kicks) at 1:44 of round 2.
Next up is a scrap between disgraced heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and Dave Herman.
For a brief time, the MMA world thought that Gonzaga was “back.” He ran through one of Junior Dos Santos’ training partners and then submitted Ben Rothwell (remember when people thought Rothwell was HW champ material back in the IFL days? Good times). But after that, Travis Browne smashed Gonzaga’s head in with a brutal series of elbows. The fight lasted only a minute.
Dave Herman has lost three in a row. How he still has a job is a bit of a mystery. Maybe the heavyweight division is just really thin and Joe Silva doesn’t want to part with a warm body that can fill a card? Maybe Herman is friends with somebody important? Maybe he has nude pics of Dana? We’re not sure.
Herman is 1-3 in the UFC going into this fight and is on a three-fight losing streak. He lost to Stefan Struve, Roy Nelson, and Big Nog. The last loss to Big Nog was the most embarrassing of them all since Herman had infamously proclaimed that BJJ didn’t work…only to be submitted via arm bar.
Will Herman have better luck this time? Or will Gonzaga unmask the power animal in him and RADICALIZE his fighting skills? Let’s watch and find out.
Round 1: They touch gloves. Herman lands two front kicks. Gonzaga counters a leg kick with a massive overhand right that floors Herman. He follows up with a few punches and referee Kim Winslow stops the fight. Herman looks pretty pissed. Stoppage MIGHT have been a bit early, actually. Regardless, the fight is over.
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Dave Herman via TKO (punches) at 0:17 of round 1.
Now that that fight is over, we have our first (and only) piss-break match of the FX prelims: Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome:
This is a win-win fight for the UFC. They have an Irish guy on a winning streak taking on a Japanese guy on a winning streak. No matter who wins, they get a guy they can market overseas that has a healthy winning streak (even if the streak might not be over the best competition but hey, the MMA media won’t question it).
Now, I called this a piss-break match and that really isn’t fair, I guess. Both of these fighters are talented and, at age 26, could have a bright future. It’s just that, compared to some of the other names on the prelims, these guys aren’t as known—which means that casuals and even some hardcores might tune out during this match.
Well, CagePotato will never tune out. So feel free to smoke or take a piss and then read the liveblog for the results, which are…
Round 1: They touch gloves. Parke lands a nice left hand. Parke misses a head kick. Tokudome lands a weak leg kick. Parke swings big with a right hand and misses by a mile. Parke lands two stiff jabs and Tokudome just eats them. Parke follows up with a big left over the top. Parke misses an Anderson Silva-front kick. Tokudome eats another big left. Tokudome has no footwork and no head movement. He continues to stand in front of Parke. Tokudome throws some ineffective punches and eats some counters. Tokudome comes forward and lands a left, and then eats a counter left. They clinch and Tokudome winds up pinned against the cage. Parke grabs a leg and drags Tokudome to the mat. Tokudome gets up but Parke takes his back during the transition. Park attempts a takedown and is reversed, he’s now on his back with Tokudome in his guard. There’s not much action save for some soft punches from both fighters. Parke tries a Kimura and gives up on it shortly after. Tokudome still can’t pass Parke’s guard. Parke gets up to his feet from guard and simply pushes Tokudome over. He passes Tokudome’s guard and the round ends. Pretty close round but I give it to Parke, 10-9.
Round 2: Tokudome lands a weak leg kick, countered by a right hand. The two fighters exchange half-strength flurries that both miss. Tokudome lands a combo of light punches. Parke lands a big left hand, Tokudome flees, and then Parke lands another. Parke is landing some big punches now. They both slow down. Parke backs off and takes a deep breath. Parke keeps spamming big lefts. The two men clinch briefly and then break up. Parke throws more haymakers, but this time Tokudome counters a few. Parke lands another straight left. Tokudome misses a massive hook. Parke ducks under it and lands a single-leg. He has Tokudome sitting against the fence. There isn’t much action now. Tokudome manages to get back to his feet. Parke still has an underhook but can’t do anything with it. Tokudome separates and lands a sweet flying knee, but it’s all for naught since Parke takes him down off of it and then gets mount. Tokudome powers his way out of mount and then attempts his own takedown, which fails. The two men get back to their feet and exchange strikes until the round ends. 10-9 Parke.
Round 3: A series of strikes from both fighters doesn’t go anywhere. Tokudome takes the center of the cage and has Parke scurrying away. Parke attempts a single which backs Tokudome into the cage. Tokudome gets a takedown, which is reversed. Parke has Tokudome in a front headlock now. Tokudome gets Parke against the cage, who quickly spins around and reverses the position. Tokudome lands some short, strong elbows but Parke is unfazed. Parke takes Tokudome’s back and attempts a takedown, which is successful but Tokudome reverses. He winds on top of Parke, in Parke’s guard. Parke rises to his feet very quickly. Both fighters are breathing with their mouths wide open now. Tokudome lands a head kick which momentarily stuns Parke. Tokudome capitalizes on this, scoring a takedown on Parke, who is only on the ground for a few seconds before rising to his feet. They’re both clinched against the cage now. They separate. There’s a minute left now. Parke lands some more punches on Tokudome’s stationary head. Tokudome lands an uppercut. Parke goes for a single leg which he can’t complete. They’re both against the cage now and it looks like the round is going to end there. It does, but not before Parke gets Tokudome down for a split second. This was the toughest round to score. I say 10-9, Tokudome.
Result: Norman Parke def. Kazuki Tokudome via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
And now, the preliminary bout we’ve all been waiting for—even if you weren’t anticipating it more than the others, you have been waiting for it so technically the statement is accurate—Chris Leben vs. Andrew Craig.
Leben is arguably in the darkest part of his career. He’s 1-3 in his last four and is coming off two losses, most recently to Derek Brunson back in December. But before that, he lost to Mark Munoz and then tested positive for oxycontin. This offense earned him a yearlong suspension.
Leben’s only win in the last two years is over a decrepit Wanderlei Silva. A loss tonight could be damning for Leben.
Craig is 8-1. He’s coming off a loss to Ronny Markes.
Was this fight made to get Leben back on track? After all, Leben has over three times as many fights as Craig. I guess we’ll have to watch.
Round 1: No touch of gloves to star the fight. Leben rushes in sloppily and goes for a single leg. Weird. He hits some foot stomps and keeps Craig against the fence. He hasn’t given up on the takedown yet. He has an underhook and keeps working the foot stomps. Craig gets a Thai plumb and lands a nice knee. Leben gets Craig against the cage again and this time gets Craig onto the mat but only briefly. Craig attempts a knee but it’s blocked. Leben throws a really ugly, lazy leg kick and then almost falls down. Leben throws a body kick and lands a left hook. He rushes in and Craig lands a knee to the body. That doesn’t stop Leben though, who again pushes Craig against the cage. They separate and Craig lands a right hand to Leben’s face. Leben lands a knee to the body and they separate. Craig lands an inside leg kick and then attempts a leg kick. A left-right combo fazes Leben for a bit who attempts a clinch but is shrugged off. Leben looks tired. He tries an off-balance leg kick which misses badly. He goes for a single leg again and fails. He grabs a body lock on Craig and gets him to one knee but then Craig rises. They’re clinched and then they separate. On the separation, both men throw like they’re in a bar fight but nothing comes of it. They reset in the center of the cage. Craig tries a double leg but Leben stuffs it. The round ends shortly after. That one was close but I give it to Leben 10-9.
Round 2: Goldy shills for Fox Sports 1 before the round starts. Both fighters start the round with big punches that miss. Leben, again, presses Craig against the cage and keeps attempting takedowns that go nowhere. Leben tries some more foot stomps but nothing. He grabs a leg again, but still nothing. Craig gets a Thai plumb and hits a big knee to the face but Leben isn’t hurt. Leben continues to press forward and Craig can’t get away; he’s stuck against the cage again. This time though, he manages to reverse the position and push Leben against the fence. He transitions to a Thai clinch and lands another knee before Leben escapes. They reset and Craig lands an elbow. Leben continues his wall-and-stall strategy. He lands a knee to Craig’s body and then Craig escapes off the fence. Leben throws a leg kick. Craig lands a left hook. Leben misses another leg kick and Craig lands a leg kick. Craig initiates a clinch this time and gets Leben against the fence, who reverses Craig. This is like the 20th time we’ve been in this position during this fight. Rogan is commenting about how Leben is the more aggressive fighter but Craig is landing more. Leben clinches again and lands some body shots. Leben throws some big shots which are blocked. The round ends. Tough round to score, as Rogan said. 10-9, Craig.
Round 3: Craig seems much fresher but that doesn’t stop him from letting Leben come forwards and try to bully him. Both fighters throw a flurry of messy strikes. Craig lands a few which floor Leben. Craig keeps landing follow-up strikes but Yves Lavigne doesn’t stop the fight. Leben gets back to his fight and is now pressed up against the cage. His face is red and he looks exhausted. They separate and Craig lands two uppercuts. Leben clinches and, for the 100th time, pushes Craig against the fence and does nothing there save for some light strikes. Leben stalks Craig, who shoves Leben to the floor when Leben attempts to clinch. Craig is in Leben’s guard now. He passes to half guard. Leben gets to his feet after thinking about a Kimura. Craig takes a deep breath. Despite this though, Craig is still visibly the fresher fighter. Craig successfully attempts a double leg. He’s in Leben’s guard now. Both fighters are throwing light punches. Craig passes into half guard. Thirty seconds left. Leben wall-walks his way up and both fighters separate but not for long. Craig takes Leben down again and time expires. I give it to Craig, 10-9.
Result: Andrew Craig def. Chris Leben via split decision (29-28 Craig, 29-28, Leben, 30-27 Craig).
That does it for the UFC 162 FX prelims. Be sure to continue following the action at our main card live blog!
This is the UFC on Versus 6 live blog for all six preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC Live card from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. This is the UFC’s debut in the nation’s capital city.
Sass tries to stay unbeaten in his career when he meets Johnson, who won his first UFC fight in June after losing to Jonathan Brookins in the TUF 12 finals. Edwards and Oliveira had winning streaks snapped over the summer and are looking to rebound. And Neer and Wisniewski return after long stints outside the UFC, Neer more than two years and Wisniewski nearly six years.
Walel Watson vs. Joseph Sandoval
Round 1: We open up with a bout between a pair of debuting bantamweights. Watson trains at the San Diego Combat Academy with Team Hurricane Awesome, including Strikeforce women’s fighter Liz Carmouche. Sandoval is unbeaten at 6-0. Sandoval is channeling Dan Hardy, walking out with a bandana-mask covering his face, as well as a reddish-orange mohawk. Mario Yamasaki gets things rolling. Sandoval opens in southpaw stance and ducks away from two right head kicks from Watson. Then he checks one, then eats one to the mommy-daddy parts. Sandoval gets a few seconds to recover, and Yamasaki warns Watson. Watson comes back with a big head kick and he lands it big time, right under the chin. Sandoval hits the canvas, but bounces up quickly. But Watson is there to land a right kick to the side of the head, and a couple punches before Yamasaki can get in and stop it. It looks like Sandoval could’ve continued, but had he, he just would’ve eaten more shots. “I’ve been working on my striking. I just measured my distance, threw my head kick – same thing I’ve been practicing all day,” Watson tells Joe Rogan.
Result: Walel Watson def. Joseph Sandoval, TKO, 1:17 Round 1
Josh Neer vs. Keith Wisniewski
Round 1:
Both men returning for the first time in a while. Neer has been out of the UFC more than two years. Wisniewski for nearly six. They start out striking with Wisniewski getting a few short jabs in before clinching up and throwing a few knees. Wisniewski eats a right, then they clinch up again but not much comes from it. Wisniewski has a pretty good height advantage, and as Neer comes inside he lands repeated body blows until Wisniewski pushes him away. They clinch again and trade position against the fence. Neer’s mouthpiece falls out, and we take a second to put it back in. Nice low leg kick from Neer. Wisniewski throws on a Thai clinch, but there’s not much there. Wisniewski lands a left, then eats an uppercut from Neer. Wisniewski may be bloodied over his eye. Neer gets the better of a dirty boxing exchange, then eats a couple shots. Neer goes after Wisniewski’s cut with elbows trying to open it up some more. It’s a pretty interesting round, but it looks like Neer landed a few more shots and we’ll give it to him 10-9.
Round 2: Neer apparently told his corner that Wisniewski has broken his ribs with some body shots. So let’s see how that affects Neer here in Round 2. Big right from Neer backs Wisniewski up. Then a pair of jabs as Wisniewski moves in. Wisniewski told MMA Fighting on Friday he planned to get the better of exchanges and take the fight to the ground in each round. He never did that in the first. Will he look for a takedown in this round? They trade elbows along the fence in some more dirty boxing exchanges. Wisniewski goes back to the body. Wisniewski eats several elbows to the face, and then lands one of his own. Neer getting the better of all these standing elbwos, and Wisniewski looks very battered on his face and is starting to bleed pretty good. Neer lands uppercuts as Wisniewski clinches. Dan Miragliotta calls time to have a doctor look at Wisniewski’s cuts. Wisniewski says he’s fine, he can see and he wants to continue. But he is absolutely a bloody mess. Now we are looking for Wisniewski’s mouthpiece, which has fallen out against the cage and is now apparently lost under the cage! Never seen this before! They send someone under the cage to find it, and they do! Wisniewski probably will come forward with a new strategy now, and he comes forward quickly and looks for a takedown. It’s not there, and he eats some more elbows. With a minute left, Wisniewski is going to need to find some serious offense. But he eats some more elbows, then four straight left jabs. Neer goes for a standing guillotine at the end of the round, and it’s a bloodbath all over the cage. Miragliotta looks closely at the cut that was leaking all over the place as Neer squeezed the guillotine. It’s an easy 10-9 round for Neer, and it very well could be a 10-8. But it won’t matter. The doctor will stop the fight, and it’s a TKO victory for Neer, who landed probably nowhere short of 10,000 elbows.
Result: Josh Neer def. Keith Wisniewski, TKO (doctor’s stoppage), 5:00 Round 3 “I’m happy. I work on my elbows all the time. I have a lot of respect for (Keith). I wasn’t surprised the fight was stopped. It was getting hard to do anything in there, it was so bloody. I didn’t break my ribs. He definitely hurt me,” Neer tells Rogan afterward.
Shane Roller vs. T.J. Grant
Round 1: Grant walks first, and walks to “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake, conjuring up memories of Mark Wahlberg in “The Fighter” playing boxer “Irish” Micky Ward. This is Grant’s debut at lightweight, moving down from welterweight. Grant in the middle and stalking. Roller misses a looping left, then eats a couple short jabs. Big right uppercut from Roller, and Grant takes him to the ground. But Roller gets a guillotine. They flip-flop position a couple times, and Grant winds up on top looking for a side choke, then an armbar. Roller is an Oklahoma State wrestling product, though, and pretty quickly rolls Grant over and gets on top – and nearly gets a guillotine himself. Good scramble from Grant, though, and he gets up out of the bad position and stands up looking to throw punches from standing. He dives back in and Roller stays back in full guard. Grant looks to land some body shots as Roller looks for a guillotine. Grant moves around and gets to side control, and Rogan mentions the rare “Von Flue” choke that Grant apparently doesn’t know about. Grant traps Roller’s right arm, and proceeds to land some good shots from the top as Roller covers up. It’s a 10-9 round for Grant on the unofficial MMA Fighting card.
Round 2: Head kick from Grant 20 seconds in is partially blocked. Grant then times a nice inside leg kick. Some big knees from Grant lead Roller to shoot for a takedown. Roller tries to control an arm, but as they come back up he settles for some good shots on the feet. Roller starts throwing some bombs. Grant goes for a big takedown and lands it – and lands right into a guillotine. But Grant is able to pop his head out and winds up in side control. Grant changes position, giving up a pretty good spot, and after a short scramble Grant again looks for a crucifix position. But he loses his good spot going for the back, and Roller winds up on top. Roller tries to pass, but a bizarre scramble sees Grant pull off a beautiful transition to an armbar – and Roller just barely survives the round. We’re scoring it for Grant again, 10-9.
Round 3: A little slower pace to start the third round. Both guys trade jabs until Grant lands a big right hand that cuts Roller. Roller looks like he’s having some trouble seeing, blinking a lot. Roller shoots 90 seconds in, but Grant doesn’t have much trouble sprawling to defend. Roller continues to look for the takedown and gets a single, but Grant locks on a guillotine. Roller pops his head out, but Grant throws on an armbar, and it’s a good one. Suddenly, the ref stops the fight. But Roller didn’t tap. Roller is extremely upset. The crowd boos the perceived bad stoppage from Mario Yamasaki’s brother, Fernando.
Result: T.J. Grant def. Shane Roller, TKO (verbal submission), 2:12 Round 3
“He was in there and he yelled out in pain. You’re told before the fight you can’t do that. He gave me a helluva a fight, and that’s what I expected,” Grant said. “I knew I had a short window there (with the armbar).” Roller was less than pleased, talking to Rogan: “We were getting in a scramble, and I ended up an the armbar. It got locked up tight. I moaned, but I didn’t yell. I was trying to get out.”
Mike Easton vs. Byron Bloodworth
Round 1: Both fighters are making their UFC debuts. Bloodworth takes this fight on very short notice, filling in for Doug Hougland. He couldn’t hit the bantamweight limit, though, so this is a 138-pound catchweight fight and Bloodworth is giving up 20 percent of his purse. Easton is a big fan favorite as a D.C. native. Easton is buddy-buddy with Dominick Cruz, and he moves just like him. Easton isn’t doing anything in the way of attacking yet, though. Bloodworth lands an inside leg kick. Nice high kick from Bloodworth is checked. A couple nice inside leg kicks from Easton. Bloodworth shoots for a takedown, but Easton stops it. They clinch up and move to the fence and trade knees. With about 2 minutes left in the round, the ref breaks them for a lack of action. Good spinning back kick from Easton lands to Bloodworth’s gut with 90 seconds left in the round. Bloodworth misses a 1-2 with a spinning back elbow. Easton lands a knee to the midsection, then backs up and re-sets. Bloodworth shoots, but Easton easily sprawls out of it. It’s a pretty close first round, but Easton probably takes it 10-9.
Round 2: Easton has a little more pep in his step, if that’s even possible. Or at least he’s looking more offensive minded than the first, which had a lot of time spent bouncing but not throwing much offense out there. Nice kick from Easton, and then a lazy shot from Bloodworth is pushed away. Left hook from Easton, and a beautiful right kick from Easton to Bloodworth’s left leg. Then another shot to the lead leg, and Bloodworth appears to be feelin’ it for sure. Bloodworth toggles back and forth in his stances hoping to keep Easton away from that left leg, and he’s circling all over the place. Easton throws a kick, but it lands low and Bloodworth gets some time. Easton says, “Dude, totally sorry. My bad.” (Not literally.) But we get back going, and a Bloodworth kick combined with an Easton slip has Easton briefly with a knee on the mat. They clinch with a minute left, then trade position on the fence. Easton throws some big right knees to Bloodworth’s face, then lands a big knee to the body that instantly crumples Bloodworth. Easton gets in four lefts on the ground before Kevin Mulhall steps in to shut things down.
Result: Mike Easton def. Byron Bloodworth, TKO, 4:52 Round 2
Michael Johnson vs. Paul Sass
Round 1: Flying knee-kick thing from Sass starts the fight, and Johnson moves out of the way. It gets a nice “Ooooh!” from the D.C. crowd, though. Sass is the triangle master with eight of his 11 wins by the choke finish, including seven straight at one point. Johnson lands a nice right, then a left, then a knee that sends Sass to the ground. But instead of moving to the ground to try and finish, Johnson stays well away from Sass’ strength. They stay standing. Spinning elbow from Sass misses. A scramble sees the fight hit the ground, and Sass looks for a heel hook. He loses it, but then locks it up again. He turns it over and looks for leverage. He keeps working the hold, and then he rolls Johnson over and the TUF 12 runner-up has to tap. Sass is truly a submission specialist, and he gets yet another one. Sass, from England, moves to 12-0 – with 11 submissions, and is line for a possible second straight Submission of the Night bonus to start his UFC career.
Result: Paul Sass def. Michael Johnson, submission (heel hook), 3:00 Round 1
“I was trying to go for a triangle today, but any submission I’m going for. He’s hard to tap. I didn’t hear (his knee pop), but I didn’t want to let go,” Sass says after the fight.
Yves Edwards vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Round 1: Oliveira opens with a head kick that is blocked. Then a big flurry that is followed by a press against the fence. Edwards survives the flurry and ties Oliveira up. Edwards looks for a Thai clinch, but it’s not there. Oliveira comes back with another flurry. Another high kick from Oliveira is blocked. Edwards throws a right kick of his own, but it misses. Inside leg kick from Oliveira. Nice combo from Edwards, including a high kick. Nice kick to the body from Edwards now, then a high kick that is blocked. Edwards has stayed patient, and he looks to be in a better rhythm. Edwards ducks under a left, then lands a left of his own. Another good combo from Edwards is on the mark. Oliveira shoots for a takedown, but Edwards defends it nicely and lands a shot on the way back up, then a couple more. Oliveira started fast, but Edwards was more consistent and he gets the round 10-9 on our card.
Round 2: Traded kicks in the first 30 seconds. Good scramble that Edwards defends well. On the standup, he lands a nice inside leg kick. Each guy dodges away from some combos. But Edwards lands a big right that drops Oliveira. He pounces and lands some big shots on the ground as Mario Yamasaki moves in. It looks close to being stopped, but Yamasaki gives Oliveira the chance to recover. And somehow he does. But Edwards continues to land some shots – though Oliveira fights back. But then an Edwards kick to the head drops Oliveira again, and he pounces and lands repeated shots to the head. Yamasaki probably lets it go a little too long this time, but when Edwards takes Oliveira’s back and flattens him out, it’s quickly, and mercifully at this point, over.
Result: Yves Edwards def. Rafaello Oliveira, TKO, 2:44 Round 2
“I know Rafaello’s a really tough guy and would come out hard. I just had to get my timing down. I’m faster than just about everyone out there, so I just had to figure that part out. Ultimately I’m just a guy fighting in front of a crowd, asking them to love him,” Edwards said.
This is the UFC on Versus 6 live blog for all six preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC Live card from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. This is the UFC’s debut in the nation’s capital city.
Sass tries to stay unbeaten in his career when he meets Johnson, who won his first UFC fight in June after losing to Jonathan Brookins in the TUF 12 finals. Edwards and Oliveira had winning streaks snapped over the summer and are looking to rebound. And Neer and Wisniewski return after long stints outside the UFC, Neer more than two years and Wisniewski nearly six years.
Walel Watson vs. Joseph Sandoval
Round 1: We open up with a bout between a pair of debuting bantamweights. Watson trains at the San Diego Combat Academy with Team Hurricane Awesome, including Strikeforce women’s fighter Liz Carmouche. Sandoval is unbeaten at 6-0. Sandoval is channeling Dan Hardy, walking out with a bandana-mask covering his face, as well as a reddish-orange mohawk. Mario Yamasaki gets things rolling. Sandoval opens in southpaw stance and ducks away from two right head kicks from Watson. Then he checks one, then eats one to the mommy-daddy parts. Sandoval gets a few seconds to recover, and Yamasaki warns Watson. Watson comes back with a big head kick and he lands it big time, right under the chin. Sandoval hits the canvas, but bounces up quickly. But Watson is there to land a right kick to the side of the head, and a couple punches before Yamasaki can get in and stop it. It looks like Sandoval could’ve continued, but had he, he just would’ve eaten more shots. “I’ve been working on my striking. I just measured my distance, threw my head kick – same thing I’ve been practicing all day,” Watson tells Joe Rogan.
Result: Walel Watson def. Joseph Sandoval, TKO, 1:17 Round 1
Josh Neer vs. Keith Wisniewski
Round 1:
Both men returning for the first time in a while. Neer has been out of the UFC more than two years. Wisniewski for nearly six. They start out striking with Wisniewski getting a few short jabs in before clinching up and throwing a few knees. Wisniewski eats a right, then they clinch up again but not much comes from it. Wisniewski has a pretty good height advantage, and as Neer comes inside he lands repeated body blows until Wisniewski pushes him away. They clinch again and trade position against the fence. Neer’s mouthpiece falls out, and we take a second to put it back in. Nice low leg kick from Neer. Wisniewski throws on a Thai clinch, but there’s not much there. Wisniewski lands a left, then eats an uppercut from Neer. Wisniewski may be bloodied over his eye. Neer gets the better of a dirty boxing exchange, then eats a couple shots. Neer goes after Wisniewski’s cut with elbows trying to open it up some more. It’s a pretty interesting round, but it looks like Neer landed a few more shots and we’ll give it to him 10-9.
Round 2: Neer apparently told his corner that Wisniewski has broken his ribs with some body shots. So let’s see how that affects Neer here in Round 2. Big right from Neer backs Wisniewski up. Then a pair of jabs as Wisniewski moves in. Wisniewski told MMA Fighting on Friday he planned to get the better of exchanges and take the fight to the ground in each round. He never did that in the first. Will he look for a takedown in this round? They trade elbows along the fence in some more dirty boxing exchanges. Wisniewski goes back to the body. Wisniewski eats several elbows to the face, and then lands one of his own. Neer getting the better of all these standing elbwos, and Wisniewski looks very battered on his face and is starting to bleed pretty good. Neer lands uppercuts as Wisniewski clinches. Dan Miragliotta calls time to have a doctor look at Wisniewski’s cuts. Wisniewski says he’s fine, he can see and he wants to continue. But he is absolutely a bloody mess. Now we are looking for Wisniewski’s mouthpiece, which has fallen out against the cage and is now apparently lost under the cage! Never seen this before! They send someone under the cage to find it, and they do! Wisniewski probably will come forward with a new strategy now, and he comes forward quickly and looks for a takedown. It’s not there, and he eats some more elbows. With a minute left, Wisniewski is going to need to find some serious offense. But he eats some more elbows, then four straight left jabs. Neer goes for a standing guillotine at the end of the round, and it’s a bloodbath all over the cage. Miragliotta looks closely at the cut that was leaking all over the place as Neer squeezed the guillotine. It’s an easy 10-9 round for Neer, and it very well could be a 10-8. But it won’t matter. The doctor will stop the fight, and it’s a TKO victory for Neer, who landed probably nowhere short of 10,000 elbows.
Result: Josh Neer def. Keith Wisniewski, TKO (doctor’s stoppage), 5:00 Round 3 “I’m happy. I work on my elbows all the time. I have a lot of respect for (Keith). I wasn’t surprised the fight was stopped. It was getting hard to do anything in there, it was so bloody. I didn’t break my ribs. He definitely hurt me,” Neer tells Rogan afterward.
Shane Roller vs. T.J. Grant
Round 1: Grant walks first, and walks to “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake, conjuring up memories of Mark Wahlberg in “The Fighter” playing boxer “Irish” Micky Ward. This is Grant’s debut at lightweight, moving down from welterweight. Grant in the middle and stalking. Roller misses a looping left, then eats a couple short jabs. Big right uppercut from Roller, and Grant takes him to the ground. But Roller gets a guillotine. They flip-flop position a couple times, and Grant winds up on top looking for a side choke, then an armbar. Roller is an Oklahoma State wrestling product, though, and pretty quickly rolls Grant over and gets on top – and nearly gets a guillotine himself. Good scramble from Grant, though, and he gets up out of the bad position and stands up looking to throw punches from standing. He dives back in and Roller stays back in full guard. Grant looks to land some body shots as Roller looks for a guillotine. Grant moves around and gets to side control, and Rogan mentions the rare “Von Flue” choke that Grant apparently doesn’t know about. Grant traps Roller’s right arm, and proceeds to land some good shots from the top as Roller covers up. It’s a 10-9 round for Grant on the unofficial MMA Fighting card.
Round 2: Head kick from Grant 20 seconds in is partially blocked. Grant then times a nice inside leg kick. Some big knees from Grant lead Roller to shoot for a takedown. Roller tries to control an arm, but as they come back up he settles for some good shots on the feet. Roller starts throwing some bombs. Grant goes for a big takedown and lands it – and lands right into a guillotine. But Grant is able to pop his head out and winds up in side control. Grant changes position, giving up a pretty good spot, and after a short scramble Grant again looks for a crucifix position. But he loses his good spot going for the back, and Roller winds up on top. Roller tries to pass, but a bizarre scramble sees Grant pull off a beautiful transition to an armbar – and Roller just barely survives the round. We’re scoring it for Grant again, 10-9.
Round 3: A little slower pace to start the third round. Both guys trade jabs until Grant lands a big right hand that cuts Roller. Roller looks like he’s having some trouble seeing, blinking a lot. Roller shoots 90 seconds in, but Grant doesn’t have much trouble sprawling to defend. Roller continues to look for the takedown and gets a single, but Grant locks on a guillotine. Roller pops his head out, but Grant throws on an armbar, and it’s a good one. Suddenly, the ref stops the fight. But Roller didn’t tap. Roller is extremely upset. The crowd boos the perceived bad stoppage from Mario Yamasaki’s brother, Fernando.
Result: T.J. Grant def. Shane Roller, TKO (verbal submission), 2:12 Round 3
“He was in there and he yelled out in pain. You’re told before the fight you can’t do that. He gave me a helluva a fight, and that’s what I expected,” Grant said. “I knew I had a short window there (with the armbar).” Roller was less than pleased, talking to Rogan: “We were getting in a scramble, and I ended up an the armbar. It got locked up tight. I moaned, but I didn’t yell. I was trying to get out.”
Mike Easton vs. Byron Bloodworth
Round 1: Both fighters are making their UFC debuts. Bloodworth takes this fight on very short notice, filling in for Doug Hougland. He couldn’t hit the bantamweight limit, though, so this is a 138-pound catchweight fight and Bloodworth is giving up 20 percent of his purse. Easton is a big fan favorite as a D.C. native. Easton is buddy-buddy with Dominick Cruz, and he moves just like him. Easton isn’t doing anything in the way of attacking yet, though. Bloodworth lands an inside leg kick. Nice high kick from Bloodworth is checked. A couple nice inside leg kicks from Easton. Bloodworth shoots for a takedown, but Easton stops it. They clinch up and move to the fence and trade knees. With about 2 minutes left in the round, the ref breaks them for a lack of action. Good spinning back kick from Easton lands to Bloodworth’s gut with 90 seconds left in the round. Bloodworth misses a 1-2 with a spinning back elbow. Easton lands a knee to the midsection, then backs up and re-sets. Bloodworth shoots, but Easton easily sprawls out of it. It’s a pretty close first round, but Easton probably takes it 10-9.
Round 2: Easton has a little more pep in his step, if that’s even possible. Or at least he’s looking more offensive minded than the first, which had a lot of time spent bouncing but not throwing much offense out there. Nice kick from Easton, and then a lazy shot from Bloodworth is pushed away. Left hook from Easton, and a beautiful right kick from Easton to Bloodworth’s left leg. Then another shot to the lead leg, and Bloodworth appears to be feelin’ it for sure. Bloodworth toggles back and forth in his stances hoping to keep Easton away from that left leg, and he’s circling all over the place. Easton throws a kick, but it lands low and Bloodworth gets some time. Easton says, “Dude, totally sorry. My bad.” (Not literally.) But we get back going, and a Bloodworth kick combined with an Easton slip has Easton briefly with a knee on the mat. They clinch with a minute left, then trade position on the fence. Easton throws some big right knees to Bloodworth’s face, then lands a big knee to the body that instantly crumples Bloodworth. Easton gets in four lefts on the ground before Kevin Mulhall steps in to shut things down.
Result: Mike Easton def. Byron Bloodworth, TKO, 4:52 Round 2
Michael Johnson vs. Paul Sass
Round 1: Flying knee-kick thing from Sass starts the fight, and Johnson moves out of the way. It gets a nice “Ooooh!” from the D.C. crowd, though. Sass is the triangle master with eight of his 11 wins by the choke finish, including seven straight at one point. Johnson lands a nice right, then a left, then a knee that sends Sass to the ground. But instead of moving to the ground to try and finish, Johnson stays well away from Sass’ strength. They stay standing. Spinning elbow from Sass misses. A scramble sees the fight hit the ground, and Sass looks for a heel hook. He loses it, but then locks it up again. He turns it over and looks for leverage. He keeps working the hold, and then he rolls Johnson over and the TUF 12 runner-up has to tap. Sass is truly a submission specialist, and he gets yet another one. Sass, from England, moves to 12-0 – with 11 submissions, and is line for a possible second straight Submission of the Night bonus to start his UFC career.
Result: Paul Sass def. Michael Johnson, submission (heel hook), 3:00 Round 1
“I was trying to go for a triangle today, but any submission I’m going for. He’s hard to tap. I didn’t hear (his knee pop), but I didn’t want to let go,” Sass says after the fight.
Yves Edwards vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Round 1: Oliveira opens with a head kick that is blocked. Then a big flurry that is followed by a press against the fence. Edwards survives the flurry and ties Oliveira up. Edwards looks for a Thai clinch, but it’s not there. Oliveira comes back with another flurry. Another high kick from Oliveira is blocked. Edwards throws a right kick of his own, but it misses. Inside leg kick from Oliveira. Nice combo from Edwards, including a high kick. Nice kick to the body from Edwards now, then a high kick that is blocked. Edwards has stayed patient, and he looks to be in a better rhythm. Edwards ducks under a left, then lands a left of his own. Another good combo from Edwards is on the mark. Oliveira shoots for a takedown, but Edwards defends it nicely and lands a shot on the way back up, then a couple more. Oliveira started fast, but Edwards was more consistent and he gets the round 10-9 on our card.
Round 2: Traded kicks in the first 30 seconds. Good scramble that Edwards defends well. On the standup, he lands a nice inside leg kick. Each guy dodges away from some combos. But Edwards lands a big right that drops Oliveira. He pounces and lands some big shots on the ground as Mario Yamasaki moves in. It looks close to being stopped, but Yamasaki gives Oliveira the chance to recover. And somehow he does. But Edwards continues to land some shots – though Oliveira fights back. But then an Edwards kick to the head drops Oliveira again, and he pounces and lands repeated shots to the head. Yamasaki probably lets it go a little too long this time, but when Edwards takes Oliveira’s back and flattens him out, it’s quickly, and mercifully at this point, over.
Result: Yves Edwards def. Rafaello Oliveira, TKO, 2:44 Round 2
“I know Rafaello’s a really tough guy and would come out hard. I just had to get my timing down. I’m faster than just about everyone out there, so I just had to figure that part out. Ultimately I’m just a guy fighting in front of a crowd, asking them to love him,” Edwards said.
Filed under: UFCThe week of a fight, the last place UFC lightweight Yves Edwards wants to be is in his own head. It’s a scary place sometimes, and also a tough place to escape from.
“I obsess over the stupidest things you can imagine,” Edwards said. “…
The week of a fight, the last place UFC lightweight Yves Edwards wants to be is in his own head. It’s a scary place sometimes, and also a tough place to escape from.
“I obsess over the stupidest things you can imagine,” Edwards said. “I will obsess over the color of towels in my bathroom, or what kind of soap they have [in the hotel]. I had this one soap this one time and that wasn’t a great performance, so I can’t use this soap again. It’s stupid, and it’s just a distraction.”
With nearly 60 pro fights in a career that’s spanned almost 14 years, at least Edwards has had plenty of practice in dealing with his own fight week neurosis. Now he knows how to manage it. For starters, he can bring his own soap. He can also rely on his friends, like Strikeforce welterweight Tyron Woodley, to keep him mentally occupied.
Otherwise, Edwards said, it can get out of hand in a hurry. For instance, say a certain friend is coming to see the fight. Then Edwards starts to think about how he’s never won a fight with that guy in the audience. Maybe he’s bad luck. Maybe he’s cursed.
“But then, I don’t want to tell my friends not to come see my fights, so I have to stay away from that stuff,” said Edwards, who faces Rafaello Oliveira at UFC on Versus 6 this Saturday night.
“I can catch myself doing it a lot. Stopping it is the hard part. Common sense and rationalization — I’m a pretty rational person when I’m not in this mode — that kicks in a little bit and I realize that the color of my underwear has nothing to do with how hard I’ve prepared for this fight or how focused I am. But it’s just the irrational part of my brain, that part kicks in first. I have to talk myself down from it sometimes.”
At least Edwards has experience in his favor. Wednesday marks the ten-year anniversary of his UFC debut — a losing effort against Matt Serra at UFC 33 — and Saturday’s fight comes just one day after his 35th birthday. To Edwards, doing the math on his career numbers and realizing just how long he’s been at it comes as “kind of a surprise,” he said.
“I still feel like I’m 26. …The guy that was making his debut in the UFC, he didn’t know half the things I know now.”
But as Edwards prepares to take on Oliveira — a Brazilian fighter who he actually trained alongside of and “traded a few secrets” with in the past — he does so coming off a knockout loss to Sam Stout that UFC president Dana White called “one of the nastiest I’ve ever seen.”
It might not be a must-win fight for Edwards, but 35-year-old fighters can’t afford to take too many steps backwards, and he knows it.
“The thing is, nobody gets cut off a win,” Edwards said. “Not unless you’ve done something and screwed up. That’s my only concern, is going out there and winning, keeping my job, and keep moving up the ladder.”
The fact that he went from a pay-per-view card at UFC 131 to the prelim portion of a UFC on Versus card doesn’t worry him, he insisted, just like it doesn’t matter that he knows Oliveira to be “a pretty nice guy.”
“When it comes to the fight game that means absolutely nothing to me,” he said. “… This fight could be behind a Wal-Mart. All I have to worry about is, that’s the guy I’m fighting. That’s all that matters.”
That, and that he remembers not to obsess about the brand of soap in his hotel. After a week of battling himself, the fight should be a relief.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(“Hold up…you mean ya’ll were watching that shit???”)
Coming off of a semi-contested and equally boring win over Lyoto Machida, Rampage’s performance last night was meant to be more than a notch in the win column. If all went according to plan, it would have provided the UFC with the type of highlight-reel footage Jackson hasn’t produced since his knock out victory over Wanderlei Silva in 2008 and had fans clamoring for a fight against Jon “Bones” Jones. But last night’s fight yielded few fireworks if any. Hamill’s mantra in the lead-up to the bout was that he would break Jackson’s will, but only a few minutes into the bout it was “The Hammer” who looked like he’d rather be anywhere than in that cage. Going 0-17 in his plodding, telegraphed takedown attempts, Hamill was unable to get the fight to the ground and understandably reluctant to stand and trade with Rampage. As for Jackson, he did deviate slightly from his hands-heavy style–incorporating knees, elbows, and even a few token kicks into his attack–but he didn’t initiate or go in for the kill against a clearly gun-shy Hamill. After the fight, Jackson put some of the blame on a fractured hand he injured back in December of last year. [Note to Quinton: we believe you and all, but you’re not supposed to talk about that kind of stuff, bruh.] . Despite the lackluster performance, Dana White has stated that pending the positive outcome of tests on Rampage’s hand, he will likely be the first challenger to Jones’s belt.
If there were any questions about Frank Mir’s place in the heavyweight division following his first-round loss to Shane Carwin and coma-inducing win over faded star Mirko Cro Cop, they remain completely unanswered. His one-sided victory over the obese Roy Nelson says less about his dedication to training than it does “Big Country’s” lack of it. The time has come to call the “Big Country” experiment a flop. The myth of his terrific cardio has been dispelled in consecutive losses to Dos Santos and Mir, where he served as a very exhausted, very durable durable punching bag for the full three rounds. The dude has a terrific chin—did he even blink when he ate those crushing elbows late in round three?–but the notion that he can walk into the Octagon with Cheeto fingers and compete with the top of the division is absurd. Fatigue reduced his vaunted ground game to rolling to his ample belly and working his way to his feet; it’s an impressive trick even without Frank Mir on top of him, but it’s not enough to compete at this level. Mir looked good taking Nelson down at will and landing some heavy shots, but it’s fair to say that “Big Country” was looking for the path of least resistance throughout the fight, even if it meant getting smashed in the face or tossed to the mat. Despite his lethargic performance, Nelson does possess power in his hands- Mir left the Octagon with a broken jaw and rib to accompany his win bonus.
As for the rest of the card, they did their part to entertain and it’s a shame that their work was soured by the last thirty minutes of cage-time. Brian Stann opened the night with big knockout over the returning Jorge Santiago in the “Fight of the Night”. UFC heavyweightTravis Browne secured his spot on a future ‘Ultimate Knockouts’ dvd by felling mighty oak Stefan Struve in spectacular fashion. Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won a tough-to-call decision over Miguel Torres in a hyper-active fight contested largely on the ground. Top Welterweight Thiago Alves was given no room to work against Rick Story. Story kept constant pressure on Thiago, pressing him to the cage and working for takedowns. His decision victory marks his sixth straight win in the UFC. Tim Boetsch looked dominant in his first fight at Middleweight, rag-dolling Kendall Grove in a one-sided decision. This was Da Spyder’s second consecutive loss and his third in four outings. Late replacement Rafaello Oliveira was overpowered by Lightweight juggernaut Gleison Tibau. Tibau’s second round ground and pound forced Oliveira to surrender his back and tap out to a rear naked choke in the evening’s only submission.
Filed under: UFCUFC 130 kicks off a busy summer in the world of MMA, but with so many fighters now under the Zuffa umbrella it’s no time to get complacent. Just about every undercard has its share of fighters who need a win just to stay viable in the b…
UFC 130 kicks off a busy summer in the world of MMA, but with so many fighters now under the Zuffa umbrella it’s no time to get complacent. Just about every undercard has its share of fighters who need a win just to stay viable in the big leagues, and Saturday night’s event is no exception.
Let’s check out who might be looking at a win-or-go-home scenario at UFC 130, and who merely needs to lose with a little flair.
Kendall Grove (12-8-1 overall, 7-5 UFC) Who he’s fighting: Tim Boetsch Why he’s in danger: It doesn’t seem like it, but Grove has been a UFC mainstay for nearly five years now. Kind of surprising, right? Or maybe it’s just surprising that a guy could hang around in the middle of the pack for that long, making no significant moves up or down, and yet still hanging on to his job. Grove has a talent for survival in that way. He loses two in a row, then wins two in a row. Then he loses again. Then wins. Then loses. Then…you get it. The UFC overlords have shown that they’ll only put up with that pattern for so long, with occasional exceptions made for fan favorites or aging legends. Grove is neither, really, and he’s coming off an unimpressive showing in a decision loss to Demian Maia. If he loses this he’ll be 2-4 in his last six fights. And the two wins? Both came against fighters who are no longer with the UFC. If Grove doesn’t want to join them, he’d better pull out a victory. Odds of getting cut: 2-1. Boetsch is a difficult opponent for him. Grove’s stand-up is sharp enough and he’s got that gangly jiu-jitsu game off the bottom that gives some people trouble, but he can be outwrestled, which is Boetsch’s specialty. If he loses a snoozer of a decision, somebody better pass Grove the want ads.
Tim Boetsch (12-4 overall, 3-3 UFC) Who he’s fighting: Kendall Grove Why he’s in danger: Boetsch has already been cut from the UFC once, and without ever losing two in a row. He went 2-2 in his first stint, taking one step forward and one step back until the UFC sent him down to the minors to beat up on scrubs. Now he’s back, but already up to his old tricks with a 1-1 record this time around. In his last fight he fell victim to Phil Davis’ “Mr. Wonderful” kimura, which is the MMA equivalent of getting posterized by a monster dunk in the NBA. Boetsch’s problem isn’t just his record – it’s his style. He favors the wrestler’s grind, which doesn’t make you many friends in the UFC offices. If they can’t count on you to at least put on a show in defeat, your contract finds its way to the shredder a lot quicker. Now a middleweight, Boetsch needs to get back to the ‘Hulk smash!’ style he displayed in his UFC debut. If he can overpower and straight-up bully Grove, he stands a good chance of winning the fight and keeping his job. Odds of getting cut: 3-1. Boetsch has only been submitted once in his career, and that was a freakish incident to begin with. If Grove has to fight from the bottom against this guy he’s going to have a long night. I’m not saying it’ll be fun to watch, but I think Boetsch wins. If he doesn’t want to go back to the bush leagues, he’d better.
Rafaello Oliveira (14-3 overall, 1-2 UFC) Who he’s fighting: Gleison Tibau Why he’s in danger: Oliveira has also been cut once already, and he wouldn’t be back this soon if Bart Palaszewski hadn’t pulled out with an injury in the weeks before this fight. The UFC appreciates a fighter willing to step up on short notice and do the organization a solid, so as long as Oliveira can turn in a halfway decent effort he can at least make a case for continued employment. Then again, the flip side of taking a short notice fight like this is that you might be signing yourself up for one seriously bad showing if you aren’t adequately prepared. When you end the fight bloodied and beaten, people tend to remember that image and forget how eager you were to jump in there and scrap. Odds of being cut: Even. Would cutting a guy who stepped up on short notice for you be a real cold-hearted move? Sure. Has the UFC shown an absolute willingness to make such cold-hearted moves in the past? You bet.
Cole Escovedo (17-6 overall, 0-0 UFC) Who he’s fighting: Renan Barao Why he’s in danger: Escovedo has been in the game for almost ten years now, and it’s hard not to wonder if he didn’t spend the best of those years as the pre-Zuffa era WEC featherweight champ. There wasn’t a lot of fame or money in that particular title back in those days, and he’s spent the years since then bouncing around from one promotion to the next without ever putting serious roots down. He got knocked out in the IFL, won one fight in the Strikeforce Challengers series, and had mixed results with Dream. Getting his foot in the door with the UFC is a very big deal, but he shouldn’t expect much patience from the bosses now that he’s there. The fact is, Escovedo is pushing 30 and it’s now-or-never time. He’s got talent, but the UFC isn’t likely to see him as investment worth sitting on for too long. He needs to show that he’s got the goods to last at this level, and he needs to do it in a hurry. Odds of getting cut: 2-1. This is a winnable fight, but by no means an easy one. The UFC is going to be looking for Escovedo to show that he’s not just some guy who beats the also-rans and loses to the rest. If he’s smart, he’ll see this somewhat late notice bout on the bottom of the card for what it is: a tryout. If he’s not ready to make the most of it now, after the career he’s had, then he never will be.
This is the 
The week of a fight, the last place 
