Tag: Recap

Bellator 102 Aftermath: The End of The Road


(Cheick Kongo relaxing before his fight, presumably listening to high-quality audio of groin shots. / Screen-cap via Chris Nelson)

After nine years in the UFC, Cheick Kongo found himself fighting for another promotion last night. The French heavyweight probably found the experience a little disconcerting, and yet entirely familiar. The cage was there, there was a man inside it, and he was tasked with disposing of him. Yet there is something less about the entire experience for a fighter competing in a lower-tier organization, deprived of the possibility of reaching the glory he once sought. For Kongo and fellow UFC cast-off Lavar Johnson, Friday’s Bellator 102 event in Visalia, California, was the beginning of the end of the road. Both are fighters on the way down, fighting not for what they once strove for, but simply because this is what they know how to do. It’s rarely a road that ends well. All they can hope for is to reclaim the one thing that doesn’t change —  the euphoria of victory. Because if you can’t get that, what’s the point anymore?

Kongo was, at least, able to make the best of his opportunity against Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer. His most formidable challenge on the night came from his pre-fight water bottle. Unfortunately, Godbeer wasn’t capable of offering such a test. If there’s one thing Kongo is known for, it’s probably his knee strikes. If there’s another thing he’s known for, it’s probably that those knee strikes tend to find his opponent’s testicles a little too often. Fortunately for almost everyone involved, Kongo managed to keep himself in Cheick tonight. (I’m so sorry.) He battered Godbeer with knees from the clinch throughout the fight, and finished him in the second round with a monster right knee followed by an uppercut against the fence. Able to stave off the reaper for another few months, Kongo advances into the next round of Bellator’s heavyweight tournament.

The same can’t be said for Lavar “Big” Johnson. Cast aside from the UFC for failing a drug test — to say nothing of possessing one of the least imaginative nicknames in a sport rife with them — Johnson was essentially fed his opponent Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz in his Bellator debut upon returning from his suspension. The expectation was that Johnson, a one-dimensional heavy-hitter, would have no problem dispatching Queiroz in a spectacularly violent fashion. Queiroz, it was reasoned, could offer trouble on the ground, but the fight wouldn’t last long enough to get there. If you’re familiar with ironic foreshadowing, you’ve probably figured out what happens next.


(Cheick Kongo relaxing before his fight, presumably listening to high-quality audio of groin shots. / Screen-cap via Chris Nelson)

After nine years in the UFC, Cheick Kongo found himself fighting for another promotion last night. The French heavyweight probably found the experience a little disconcerting, and yet entirely familiar. The cage was there, there was a man inside it, and he was tasked with disposing of him. Yet there is something less about the entire experience for a fighter competing in a lower-tier organization, deprived of the possibility of reaching the glory he once sought. For Kongo and fellow UFC cast-off Lavar Johnson, Friday’s Bellator 102 event in Visalia, California, was the beginning of the end of the road. Both are fighters on the way down, fighting not for what they once strove for, but simply because this is what they know how to do. It’s rarely a road that ends well. All they can hope for is to reclaim the one thing that doesn’t change —  the euphoria of victory. Because if you can’t get that, what’s the point anymore?

Kongo was, at least, able to make the best of his opportunity against Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer. His most formidable challenge on the night came from his pre-fight water bottle. Unfortunately, Godbeer wasn’t capable of offering such a test. If there’s one thing Kongo is known for, it’s probably his knee strikes. If there’s another thing he’s known for, it’s probably that those knee strikes tend to find his opponent’s testicles a little too often. Fortunately for almost everyone involved, Kongo managed to keep himself in Cheick tonight. (I’m so sorry.) He battered Godbeer with knees from the clinch throughout the fight, and finished him in the second round with a monster right knee followed by an uppercut against the fence. Able to stave off the reaper for another few months, Kongo advances into the next round of Bellator’s heavyweight tournament.

The same can’t be said for Lavar “Big” Johnson. Cast aside from the UFC for failing a drug test — to say nothing of possessing one of the least imaginative nicknames in a sport rife with them — Johnson was essentially fed his opponent Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz in his Bellator debut upon returning from his suspension. The expectation was that Johnson, a one-dimensional heavy-hitter, would have no problem dispatching Queiroz in a spectacularly violent fashion. Queiroz, it was reasoned, could offer trouble on the ground, but the fight wouldn’t last long enough to get there. If you’re familiar with ironic foreshadowing, you’ve probably figured out what happens next.

The fight started and Queiroz fired a counter-right over Johnson’s lazy hook that staggered Johnson, who attempted to recover only to faceplant on the mat. Whatever hope Johnson had of a career recovery was snuffed out in 23 seconds. Meanwhile, Queiroz received the satisfaction of proving his doubters wrong, and can now look forward to a modicum of respect. Though he’ll probably get knocked out when he faces Kongo. Oh well.

If this recap sounds a little depressing or pessimistic, that’s what happens when your primary talent for a card consists of aging fighters who have recently been released by the UFC. Bellator has solid, younger fighters; the fight between Brennan Ward and Joe Pacheco was a good fight while it lasted, as Ward secured the victory with a modified guillotine. Rafael Silva looked impressive as he earned a title shot with a unanimous decision victory over Anthony Leone. Bellator, however, put all of its promotional stock in fighters whose stocks are on the decline. Even Kongo’s victory is but a halt in his inexorable descent. By tying their image to fighters like him, it only serves to reinforce the perception that Bellator is being led down the same road they are. Maybe it will work for now. But inevitably it won’t end well.

Full Bellator 102 Results

MAIN CARD
– Cheick Kongo def. Mark Godbeer via TKO, 2:04 of round 2
– Vinicius Spartan def. Lavar Johnson via KO, 0:23 of round 1
– Rafael Silva def. Anthony Leone via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Mikkel Parlo def. Jason Butcher via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Brennan Ward def. Joe Pacheco via submission (guillotine choke), 2:41 of round 2

PRELIMINARY CARD
– Scott Cleve def. Isaac de Jesus via TKO, 3:14 of round 2
– Javy Ayala def. Thiago Santos via KO, 5:00 of round 1
– Brandon Girtz def. Poppies Martinez via submission (armbar), 1:20 of round 1
– Stephen Martinez def. Bryan Travers via technical submission (guillotine choke), 0:56 of round 1
– Cain Carrizosa def. Juan Quesada via submission (triangle choke), 4:41 of round 2
– Brandon Cash def. William Richey via TKO (exhaustion), 5:00 of round 2

Bellator 102 Video & Quick Results

Friday night’s Bellator 102 event was heavy on UFC veterans and nasty finishes. In the night’s main event, former long-time UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo knocked out Mark Godbeer with knees and punches in the second round. Kongo used a dirty clinch in the first to wear down Godbeer and then started to lay into him with knees in the second before dropping him and forcing the stoppage.

The card’s other heavyweight UFC veteran Lavar Johnson did not fare so well. Johnson was knocked out in just over twenty seconds of the first round by Vinicius de Queiroz. The Brazilian now advances to this season’s heavyweight tournament finals against Kongo.

Quick Results for the Rest of the Bellator 102 Card:

Rafael Silva beat Anthony Leone by unanimous decision
Mikkel Parlo won a unanimous decision over Jason Butcher
Brennan Ward scored a guillotine submission win over Joe Pacheco in the second round
Scott Cleve beat Isaac de Jesus in the second round by TKO
Javy Ayala defeated knocked Thiago Santos out in the first round
Brandon Girtz won with an arm bar submission in the first over Poppies Martinez
Stephen Martinez choked out Bryan Travers in the first round with a guillotine choke
Cain Carrizosa beat Juan Quesada with a triangle choke in the second round
Brandon Cash scored a second round TKO win over William Richey

– Elias Cepeda

Friday night’s Bellator 102 event was heavy on UFC veterans and nasty finishes. In the night’s main event, former long-time UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo knocked out Mark Godbeer with knees and punches in the second round. Kongo used a dirty clinch in the first to wear down Godbeer and then started to lay into him with knees in the second before dropping him and forcing the stoppage.

The card’s other heavyweight UFC veteran Lavar Johnson did not fare so well. Johnson was knocked out in just over twenty seconds of the first round by Vinicius de Queiroz. The Brazilian now advances to this season’s heavyweight tournament finals against Kongo.

Quick Results for the Rest of the Bellator 102 Card:

Rafael Silva beat Anthony Leone by unanimous decision
Mikkel Parlo won a unanimous decision over Jason Butcher
Brennan Ward scored a guillotine submission win over Joe Pacheco in the second round
Scott Cleve beat Isaac de Jesus in the second round by TKO
Javy Ayala defeated knocked Thiago Santos out in the first round
Brandon Girtz won with an arm bar submission in the first over Poppies Martinez
Stephen Martinez choked out Bryan Travers in the first round with a guillotine choke
Cain Carrizosa beat Juan Quesada with a triangle choke in the second round
Brandon Cash scored a second round TKO win over William Richey

– Elias Cepeda

TUF 18 Episode 5 Recap: Well, At Least We Know Where Ronda Gets Her “Crazy” From


(The shirt says “Fighting is in my DNA,” just in case you guys didn’t get the message. Photo via UFC.com)

After winning control of the fight picks and securing their first victory last week via dive bomb KO, Team Rousey has selected that roommates and BFF’s Davey Grant (Team Rousey) and Louis Fisette (Team Tate/Lives With Parents) will do battle this week.

Episode 5 starts off with Grant and Fisette shooting the breeze about still being friends after they fight and all that noise, then switches to Roxanne coping with her loss by bawling her eyes out in the fetal position, then switches to Raquel Pennington discussing what it was like coming out to her parents. Non sequiturs FTW!!

Anyway, Grant is our first featured fighter this week. He speaks in what I like to call “Terry Etim English,” in that I can only understand one out of every thirteen words he says. I think he’s missing his children, but he could just as easily be talking about buying his mum a caravan.

At the TUF house, a few members of Team Tate, including “friends with benefits” aficionado Julianna Pena (Author’s note: I’m a really good listener if you ever need one, Julianna. Just sayin’), start to play truth or dare. I shit you not. The first “truth” that comes up: Who’s the hottest guy in the house? Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras votes for Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierrez. Pena strongly disagrees, labelling him the ugliest guy of them all. Choose your words wisely, Julianna, because if Gutierrez catches wind of his ugliness he will buwn this whole house to da gwound.

Josh Hill is up next and chooses dare. He is given the challenge of using a cheesy pickup line on Roxanne Modafferi. He chooses “Nice shoes, wanna fuck?” It should be noted that Roxanne is not wearing shoes at the time. She didn’t say “No,” though.


(The shirt says “Fighting is in my DNA,” just in case you guys didn’t get the message. Photo via UFC.com)

After winning control of the fight picks and securing their first victory last week via dive bomb KO, Team Rousey has selected that roommates and BFF’s Davey Grant (Team Rousey) and Louis Fisette (Team Tate/Lives With Parents) will do battle this week.

Episode 5 starts off with Grant and Fisette shooting the breeze about still being friends after they fight and all that noise, then switches to Roxanne coping with her loss by bawling her eyes out in the fetal position, then switches to Raquel Pennington discussing what it was like coming out to her parents. Non sequiturs FTW!!

Anyway, Grant is our first featured fighter this week. He speaks in what I like to call “Terry Etim English,” in that I can only understand one out of every thirteen words he says. I think he’s missing his children, but he could just as easily be talking about buying his mum a caravan.

At the TUF house, a few members of Team Tate, including “friends with benefits” aficionado Julianna Pena (Author’s note: I’m a really good listener if you ever need one, Julianna. Just sayin’), start to play truth or dare. I shit you not. The first “truth” that comes up: Who’s the hottest guy in the house? Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras votes for Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierrez. Pena strongly disagrees, labelling him the ugliest guy of them all. Choose your words wisely, Julianna, because if Gutierrez catches wind of his ugliness he will buwn this whole house to da gwound.

Josh Hill is up next and chooses dare. He is given the challenge of using a cheesy pickup line on Roxanne Modafferi. He chooses “Nice shoes, wanna fuck?” It should be noted that Roxanne is not wearing shoes at the time. She didn’t say “No,” though.

Anthony’s turn at the wheel. He chooses truth and is asked to out the weakest fighter in the house. He selects Louis Fisette (which, considering he lost his qualifier bout, makes sense), then tell the cameras that “If you play truth or dare long enough, someone’s going to get offended.” If this bit lasts any longer I am quitting my job.

It’s training time for Team Tate, which gives us a chance to learn something about Fisette other than the fact that he is a bum who still lives with his parents.

Turns out, he’s a Canadian who still lives with his parents. He got into MMA through a friend when he was 18 and blah blah blah this dude still lives with his parents let’s all point and laugh.

Fresh off his victory over Chris Beal in episode 3, Chris Holdsworth is struggling to stay away from the plethora of junk food that the TUF house has to offer. Gutierrez is in the same camp, but has yet to fight. Looks like we might have Gabe Ruediger 2.0 on our hands, Nation. Someone get the tissues for his breakdown when he inevitably misses weight.

Back to the gym for a Team Rousey training session, which can only mean that Momma Rousey is in the building (bow chicka wow-wow). Ann Maria has already criticized MMA fans and The Ultimate Fighter in general for their portrayal/treatment of her daughter, and right from the get-go she seems…perturbed. She calls out members of Team Rousey, including Jessica Rakoczy (who just fought last week) for putting in enough effort. Ronda talks about how she used to intentionally send her to tournaments injured, bringing new meaning to the phrase “crazy like a champion.” I’m pretty sure Mick went easier on Rocky.

After her little pep talk, the Rousey’s make a surprise visit to the house to give Grant a further pepping. Momma Rousey talks about how having kids makes you stronger or something and I have the weirdest boner right now.

Fight time!

Round 1: Grant starts off with a strong outside leg kick, then lands a nice combo that backs Louis up against the cage. Fisette reverses Grant but can’t get him down, allowing Grant the opportunity to fire off another three punch combo. Grant grabs a leg and Fisette tries an Yves Edwards, single leg flying knee only to be slammed to the mat. Grant stacks him up and lands a few decent shots. Louis tries for a kneebar but is soundly denied. Grant snatches up a kimura then leaps into an armbar but Fisette is able to escape. A scramble ensues and Grant winds up back in Louis’ guard, landing some nice elbows thereafter. Grant’s size/reach advantage are winning him the day here, and he piles on an onslaught of elbows and punches until the round ends. A bloodied Louis was saved by the bell there, which Rousey makes sure to point out.

Round 2:  Louis immediately shoots for a double at the start of the round and pushes Grant into the cage. Grant picks up Louis and delivers an effortless slams, winding up in side mount, then full mount, then back control. Punches reign down from above before Grant flattens Louis and secures a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Damn. For a British striker, Grant has an incredibly solid ground game. In a show of good sportsmanship, Fisette hugs Grant then hoists him onto his shoulders to carry him around the ring. Uh, dude, you were supposed to use those grappling skills during the fight.

After jumping out to an early lead, Team Tate has now dropped two straight, evening things out between teams. If there was ever a time for Bryan Caraway to try and secure that threeway, it is now.

With Team Rousey still in control, Jessamyn Duke (Team Rousey) is selected to take on Raquel Pennington (Team Tate) next in a matchup that pleases both coaches. Like I said, Bryan, the time is now.

Next week: It’s sexy, slow-mo pool party time with the Hooters girls! Seriously. Plus, Julianna uses her makeover skills to turn a couple of her housemates from drab to fab (*double snaps*).

Team Rousey Women
Shayna Baszler (eliminated by Julianna Pena in the quarterfinals, episode 2)
Jessamyn Duke
Peggy Morgan
Jessica Rakoczy

Team Rousey Men
Chris Beal (eliminated by Chris Holdsworth in the quarterfinals, episode 3)
Davey Grant
Anthony Gutierrez
Michael Wootten

Team Tate Women
Julianna Pena
Sarah Moras
Raquel Pennington
Roxanne Modafferi (eliminated by Jessica Rakoczy in the quarterfinals, episode 4)

Team Tate Men
Cody Bollinger
Chris Holdsworth
Josh Hill
Louis Fisette (eliminated by Davey Grant in the quarterfinals)

–J. Jones

TUF 18 Episode 5 Results and Recap: Battle Between Friends Ends Violently

The remaining cast of UFC bantamweight hopefuls graced television screens across the nation Wednesday evening in episode five of The Ultimate Fighter.  Featuring a one-sided beatdown between friends as the night’s main course, this episode continued the season’s trend of high drama and intensity between Team Rousey and Team Tate.  Let’s break it down.    Fight […]

The remaining cast of UFC bantamweight hopefuls graced television screens across the nation Wednesday evening in episode five of The Ultimate Fighter.  Featuring a one-sided beatdown between friends as the night’s main course, this episode continued the season’s trend of high drama and intensity between Team Rousey and Team Tate.  Let’s break it down.    Fight […]

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Bellator 101 Recap: Joe Warren Scores Submission Win, UFC Washouts Davis, Alessio, and Clementi All Come Up Short


(Spoiler alert: The guys you heard of are the ones who lost).

By Matt Saccaro

Bellator’s 101st show is over…and the majority of MMA fans are probably still unaware that Bellator has entered the triple digits, sadly. But CagePotato will always have you covered with Bellator recaps and highlights.

The main takeaway from the prelims was highly-regarded Polish prospect Marcin Held running through Ryan Healy worse than Khabib Nurmagomedov ran through Ryan’s brother Pat Healy back at UFC 165. I guess the Healy brothers have a weakness against fighters from Eastern Europe or something.

To start off the main card — which featured the Season 9 Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinals — Saad Awad submitted an overmatched Martin Stapleton. In the next fight, long-time veteran John Alessio faced up-and-comer Will Brooks. It wasn’t pretty. Brooks dominated the fight from bell to bell. One judge even scored the fight 30-25 in Brooks’ favor. In the last round of the fight, Brooks opened up a nasty gash on Alessio’s cheek. It wasn’t “goat’s vagina” bad, but it was close.

The other UFC vets on the card didn’t fare well. Rich Clementi lost a decision to Ricardo Tirloni, and Marcus Davis lost to Russian prospect Alexander Sarnavskiy by submission. The fight only lasted 1:40, and it still felt like Davis was in there too long. If your hairline is starting to go grey, MMA might not be the best sport for you.

In the night’s main event, the Bellator-sponsored Joe Warren defeated the unheralded Nick Kirk via armbar in a Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal bout. Warren won the fight, but took more punches than were necessary; “defense” might not be in his vocabulary.

Complete results from the event — as well as videos of the Warren/Kirk and Sarnavskiy/Davis fights — are after the jump.


(Spoiler alert: The guys you heard of are the ones who lost).

By Matt Saccaro

Bellator’s 101st show is over…and the majority of MMA fans are probably still unaware that Bellator has entered the triple digits, sadly. But CagePotato will always have you covered with Bellator recaps and highlights.

The main takeaway from the prelims was highly-regarded Polish prospect Marcin Held running through Ryan Healy worse than Khabib Nurmagomedov ran through Ryan’s brother Pat Healy back at UFC 165. I guess the Healy brothers have a weakness against fighters from Eastern Europe or something.

To start off the main card — which featured the Season 9 Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinals — Saad Awad submitted an overmatched Martin Stapleton. In the next fight, long-time veteran John Alessio faced up-and-comer Will Brooks. It wasn’t pretty. Brooks dominated the fight from bell to bell. One judge even scored the fight 30-25 in Brooks’ favor. In the last round of the fight, Brooks opened up a nasty gash on Alessio’s cheek. It wasn’t “goat’s vagina” bad, but it was close.

The other UFC vets on the card didn’t fare well. Rich Clementi lost a decision to Ricardo Tirloni, and Marcus Davis lost to Russian prospect Alexander Sarnavskiy by submission. The fight only lasted 1:40, and it still felt like Davis was in there too long. If your hairline is starting to go grey, MMA might not be the best sport for you.

In the night’s main event, the Bellator-sponsored Joe Warren defeated the unheralded Nick Kirk via armbar in a Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal bout. Warren won the fight, but took more punches than were necessary; “defense” might not be in his vocabulary.

Complete results from the event — as well as videos of the Warren/Kirk and Sarnavskiy/Davis fights — are after the jump.

Main Card
Joe Warren def. Nick Kirk via submission (armbar), Round 2
Alexander Sarnavskiy def. Marcus Davis via submission (rear naked choke), Round 1, 1:40
Ricardo Tirloni def. Rich Clementi via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Will Brooks def. John Alessio via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-25)
Saad Awad def. Martin Stapleton via submission (rear naked choke), Round 1, 3:46

Preliminary Card
Nathan Coy def. Andy Uhrich via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marcin Held def. Ryah Healy via KO (punches), Round 1, 1:12
Dave Vitkay def. Tyson Jeffries via submission (rear naked choke), Round 3, 3:07
Brent Primus def. Scott Thometz via submission (rear naked choke), Round 1, 3:48
Austin Springer def. Zack Skinner via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
Peter Aspenwal def. Jeremiah Riggs via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)


(Joe Warren vs. Nick Kirk)


(Alexander Sarnavskiy vs. Marcus Davis)

On This Day in MMA History: Randy Couture Puts a Literal Spanking On Tito Ortiz, Unifies the LHW Belts and Becomes the Oldest MMA Champion in Ever

It ended up in the last thirty seconds, in a weird situation. He was kinda outta desperation, he rolled to a kneebar and an ankle lock. He had my leg, I’m sitting and have his feet and all I can see is his butt. You know, he was “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” and I can’t really get my leg out, and it just pops into my head, ‘spank him.’

That’s how former two-division UFC champion and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture described delivering one of the most humiliating beatdowns in MMA History, ten years ago today. The event was UFC 44: Undisputed. Couture’s opponent was then light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who had successfully defended his title a record five times; a record that would not be broken until last weekend. The date was September 26, 2003 (do you feel old now?).

Believe it or not, there was a time long, long ago when the relationship between the Coutures and the UFC was something other than mutual disdain. It was the early aughts, and after pounding out Chuck Liddell for the interim LHW championship at the previous event, Couture would successfully unify the belts with a five-round drubbing of Ortiz.

While there was no shaming “The Hunting People’s Champ” for losing to a legend like Couture, there was plenty of shame to be seen in the final thirty seconds of the fight, when “The Natural” proceeded to spank his younger foe like he had just found a bag of grass in his sock drawer. For lack of a better word, it was…hilarious.

At 40 years of age, Couture would become the oldest fighter to ever win a UFC title. And he wasn’t even done yet.

But Couture vs. Ortiz wasn’t the only historic beatdown to happen at UFC 44. Not by a long shot…

It ended up in the last thirty seconds, in a weird situation. He was kinda outta desperation, he rolled to a kneebar and an ankle lock. He had my leg, I’m sitting and have his feet and all I can see is his butt. You know, he was “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” and I can’t really get my leg out, and it just pops into my head, ‘spank him.’

That’s how former two-division UFC champion and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture described delivering one of the most humiliating beatdowns in MMA History, ten years ago today. The event was UFC 44: Undisputed. Couture’s opponent was then light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who had successfully defended his title a record five times; a record that would not be broken until last weekend. The date was September 26, 2003 (do you feel old now?).

Believe it or not, there was a time long, long ago when the relationship between the Coutures and the UFC was something other than mutual disdain. It was the early aughts, and after pounding out Chuck Liddell for the interim LHW championship at the previous event, Couture would successfully unify the belts with a five-round drubbing of Ortiz.

While there was no shaming “The Hunting People’s Champ” for losing to a legend like Couture, there was plenty of shame to be seen in the final thirty seconds of the fight, when “The Natural” proceeded to spank his younger foe like he had just found a bag of grass in his sock drawer. For lack of a better word, it was…hilarious.

At 40 years of age, Couture would become the oldest fighter to ever win a UFC title. And he wasn’t even done yet.

But Couture vs. Ortiz wasn’t the only historic beatdown to happen at UFC 44. Not by a long shot…

– In the evening’s co-main event, Tim Sylvia defeated fellow giant Gan McGee by first round knockout, only to be immediately stripped of the title after testing positive for steroids in his post fight drug test. He would not fight again until nearly a year later at UFC 48. It would not end well.

– Speaking of heavyweights, Andrei Arlovski would score a quick knockout over fellow Belarusian Vladimir Matyushenko one fight prior to the Sylvia/McGee scrap, cementing his place as a top heavyweight and punctuating the UFC’s “Greatest Knockouts” lists forevermore.

– On the preliminary card, a debuting Nick Diaz would score a third round submission via armbar over future TUF 4 contestant and despicable rapist scumbag Jeremy Jackson. The victory brought Diaz’s lifetime record against Jackson — who to this day holds the only (non cut-related) stoppage victory over Nick — to 2-1.

–J. Jones