While every fight fan in North America turned to FOX to catch the UFC’s broadcast debut, then made their way to pay-per-view to witness boxing’s continued fall from legitimacy, the family members of Bellator’s fighters and people hoping to catch reruns of “Daria” headed over to MTV 2 for the conclusion of their Season 5 welterweight and middleweight tournaments.
Ben Saunders opened his match by trying to take Douglas Lima’s head off with a series of kicks, but when those failed to meet their mark the two fighters clinched and headed for the cage where they’d jockey for position and trade a few obligatory knees and punches. Thrice referee Yves Lavigne separated the pair only to see them return to the fence and grind the fight to a halt. With under a minute left, Lima caught a kick and slammed Saunders to the mat but was instantly swept and mounted. “Killa B” closed out the round in control and dropping a score of hard, short elbows on Lima’s skull. Saunders drove in for the clinch at the onset of round two, but yet another break by Lavigne gave Lima the space he needed to work. “The Phenom” slipped a Saunders right and countered with one of his own. That one punch would be enough. Saunders crumbled to the mat and Lima followed up with hammerfists until shoved away. Lima’s effort earned him the tournament championship, $100 G’s, and a shot at Welterweight Champion Ben Askren.
While every fight fan in North America turned to FOX to catch the UFC’s broadcast debut, then made their way to pay-per-view to witness boxing’s continued fall from legitimacy, the family members of Bellator’s fighters and people hoping to catch reruns of “Daria” headed over to MTV 2 for the conclusion of their Season 5 welterweight and middleweight tournaments.
Ben Saunders opened his match by trying to take Douglas Lima’s head off with a series of kicks, but when those failed to meet their mark the two fighters clinched and headed for the cage where they’d jockey for position and trade a few obligatory knees and punches. Thrice referee Yves Lavigne separated the pair only to see them return to the fence and grind the fight to a halt. With under a minute left, Lima caught a kick and slammed Saunders to the mat but was instantly swept and mounted. “Killa B” closed out the round in control and dropping a score of hard, short elbows on Lima’s skull. Saunders drove in for the clinch at the onset of round two, but yet another break by Lavigne gave Lima the space he needed to work. “The Phenom” slipped a Saunders right and countered with one of his own. That one punch would be enough. Saunders crumbled to the mat and Lima followed up with hammerfists until shoved away. Lima’s effort earned him the tournament championship, $100 G’s, and a shot at Welterweight Champion Ben Askren.
Vitor Vianna was game early on to throw down with Bellator’s Whirling Dervish of knockouts, Alexander Shlemenko, but he was ultimately outgunned by the Russian’s unorthodox arsenal. Though he showed a healthy respect for Shlemenko’s spinning attacks, Vianna stood his ground and, though out struck, found a home for his kicks and combinations in the first round. From there however Vianna’s caution grew to withdrawl; he failed to engage and counter Shlemenko, which allowed the Russian to pick his shots and dictate the exchanges. Shlemenko took the fight on all three score cards to secure the unanimous decision and earn his rematch against Bellator Middleweight champ Hector Lombard.
It’s not everyday that we’re treated to “the biggest fight in the history of the sport”, and even rarer that a single gif covers the pre-fight warm up, the bout, the post-fight celebration, and the after party at Ghost Bar. That calls for a GIF party. Though the sole focus of last night’s UFC on FOX event yielded precious little in terms of motion-picture awesomeness, the fighters relegated to the dark corners of social media came through in spades.
Join us after the jump for an incredible collection of throws, slams, submissions, knock outs, spinning everythings, and even some good old fashioned mid-fight showboating.
It’s not everyday that we’re treated to “the biggest fight in the history of the sport”, and even rarer that a single gif covers the pre-fight warm up, the bout, the post-fight celebration, and the after party at Ghost Bar. That calls for a GIF party. Though the sole focus of last night’s UFC on FOX event yielded precious little in terms of motion-picture awesomeness, the fighters relegated to the dark corners of social media came through in spades.
Join us after the jump for an incredible collection of throws, slams, submissions, knock outs, spinning everythings, and even some good old fashioned mid-fight showboating.
In the weeks leading up to last night’s Heavyweight Championship bout, Dana White trumpeted that “whether this fight goes 30 seconds or 30 minutes, this is going to be a fight right here.” It was a fight, and it was slightly longer than 30 seconds, but in the post fight analysis Dana appeared frustrated and was searching for a reason that his champion went down so quickly. With all of the buildup and hype, I can’t help but think that first time viewers were equally confused and found the whole affair to be anticlimactic. Were that all the action we got to see last night, we’d probably be disappointed as well, but thank god for Facebook.
With regards to the main event, there’s not a lot to say, really. Junior Dos Santos hits hard. Cain’s game plan has been under attack, but it’s not like he got butchered on his feet for two rounds while doggedly refusing to shoot for a single. Velasquez got nailed with a huge overhand right just 55 seconds into the bout after already trying unsuccessfully for a takedown. Obviously, getting Dos Santos off of his feet quickly would have been Cain’s best option, but for a versatile heavyweight fighting under the brightest lights ever shone on a UFC fighter, shooting in for a Couture-Toney ankle pick with the opening bell still ringing wouldn’t do. Props to Dos Santos for getting it done quickly and violently in the Knock Out of the Night. It wasn’t the most epic fight that the UFC and FOX could have hoped for, but it was a memorable one. That Dos Santos did it with a torn meniscus is all the more impressive.
In the weeks leading up to last night’s Heavyweight Championship bout, Dana White trumpeted that “whether this fight goes 30 seconds or 30 minutes, this is going to be a fight right here.” It was a fight, and it was slightly longer than 30 seconds, but in the post fight analysis Dana appeared frustrated and was searching for a reason that his champion went down so quickly. With all of the buildup and hype, I can’t help but think that first time viewers were equally confused and found the whole affair to be anticlimactic. Were that all the action we got to see last night, we’d probably be disappointed as well, but thank god for Facebook.
With regards to the main event, there’s not a lot to say, really. Junior Dos Santos hits hard. Cain’s game plan has been under attack, but it’s not like he got butchered on his feet for two rounds while doggedly refusing to shoot for a single. Velasquez got nailed with a huge overhand right just 55 seconds into the bout after already trying unsuccessfully for a takedown. Obviously, getting Dos Santos off of his feet quickly would have been Cain’s best option, but for a versatile heavyweight fighting under the brightest lights ever shone on a UFC fighter, shooting in for a Couture-Toney ankle pick with the opening bell still ringing wouldn’t do. Props to Dos Santos for getting it done quickly and violently in the Knock Out of the Night. It wasn’t the most epic fight that the UFC and FOX could have hoped for, but it was a memorable one. That Dos Santos did it with a torn meniscus is all the more impressive.
It’s easy to say that the Henderson-Guida bout should have been broadcast in hindsight, but it was pretty obvious ahead of time as well. There was no doubt that their fight would be balls to the wall, and it may have been the organization’s best chance of finally securing the Prell sponsorship that’s eluded them for all these years. Guida’s style relies on a relentless pace and a controlling top game, but he met a superior wrestler and a cardio-equal in Bendo. His take down defense gave him control of the fight and his crisp striking allowed him to counter Guida’s wild barrages. It’s a shame that only a small fraction of those who caught the FOX broadcast are even aware of their Fight of the Night performance, but I’m sure the extra $65k makes up for it a little.
Cub Swanson headed into his bout with Ricardo Lamas with an abundance of confidence and some of the ugliest tattoos I’ve seen since “Katie’s Revenge”. After getting the better of Lamas in the striking department, Swanson nearly ended the fight with a deep guillotine in the first. He seemed indifferent as Lamas took him down and worked his way behind him, but that apathy was nowhere to be seen as he struggled to break free from an arm triangle. Lamas secured the tapout, and the Submission of the Night bonus, at 2:26 of R2.
Alex Caceres put on an absolute clinic against Cole Escovedo in his debut at 135 lbs. “Bruce Leroy” came after the former WEC champ from every possible angle with every strike in the book from the opening bell. On the ground Caceres was too much as well, coming close to sinking in a triangle and an armbar as he transitioned from one sub to the next. He picked up the unanimous decision—his first win in the Octagon–in his bantamweight debut.
Quick Notes:
Tough break for Mackens Semerzier. No one wants to get knocked out, but when it comes from an illegal (albeit accidental) headbutt it’s a lot harder to swallow. Hopefully he can get the “L” overturned.
Darren Uyenoyama knows a thing or two about grappling. Kid Yamamoto is now 0-2 in the UFC with only one win in his past five fights, and once again JMMA looks to be on life support. I’m sure Kid will be kept on board for Zuffa’s upcoming visit to Japan. His slide started just after divorcing this. We’d be depressed too, Kid.
This was Clay Harvison’s second straight loss, and it came via knock out at the hands of a mid-pack fighter just 1:34 into the bout. It was a nice recovery for DaMarques Johnson, but I don’t think Clay’s up to snuff.
Main Event (On Fox): -Junior dos Santos def. Cain Velasquez by KO at 1:04, R1
Undercard (On Facebook and FoxSports.com): -Benson Henderson def. Clay Guida by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
-Dustin Poirier def. Pablo Garza by submission (d’arce choke) at 1:32, R2
-Ricardo Lamas def. Cub Swanson by submission (arm triangle choke) at 2:16, R2
-DaMarques Johnson def. Clay Harvison by TKO at 1:34, R1
-Darren Uyenoyama def. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
-Robert Peralta def. Mackens Semerzier by TKO at 1:54, R3
-Alex Caceres def. Cole Escovedo by unanious decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Mike Pierce def. Paul Bradley by split decision (28-29, 30-37, 29-28)
-Aaron Rosa def. Matt Lucas by majority decision (28-28, 30-26, 30-26)
(It’s funny until you realize that his little dog is in that backpack. And then it’s absolutely hilarious. GIF via IronForgesIron)
We’re heading into the home stretch of TUF 14: Team Asshole vs. Team Goofball, and the bloom is definitely off the rose. At this point, I just want to see the coaches settle their beef at the finale show next month. I’d also like to see Diego Brandao whip some more ass. Other than that, I’m only watching/writing this out of habit. How many dumb pranks can grown men can play on each other? Even when they involve Mariachi bands, it’s just…I don’t know. There are more important things happening in our country right now.
The TUF house has reached a Heathers-level of cliquey-ness. You got the Bible thumpers, the card players, and the dudes with anger issues/crazy hair/dark skin. And hey, you know who Akira Corassani doesn’t like? That bitch-ass Bryan Caraway. “He’s like a little girl,” Akira says. “He wakes up in the morning, he takes like 25 minutes to make his hair.”
So, Akira sneaks into Bryan’s bedroom in the middle of the night and shaves off a piece of his hair. Caraway chases him to an upstairs balcony, where Akira is giggling with his bros. Instead of brawling with the whole gang, Bryan threatens non-specific vengeance sometime in the future. “Y’know, what we do in life echoes in eternity, and this right here I’m going to laugh about my whole life,” Akira says, COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT OF GLADIATOR. Look, spoiler alert, Akira gets choked out at the end of this episode and it’s awesome. Sorry guys, I had to.
(It’s funny until you realize that his little dog is in that backpack. And then it’s absolutely hilarious. GIF via IronForgesIron)
We’re heading into the home stretch of TUF 14: Team Asshole vs. Team Goofball, and the bloom is definitely off the rose. At this point, I just want to see the coaches settle their beef at the finale show next month. I’d also like to see Diego Brandao whip some more ass. Other than that, I’m only watching/writing this out of habit. How many dumb pranks can grown men can play on each other? Even when they involve Mariachi bands, it’s just…I don’t know. There are more important things happening in our country right now.
The TUF house has reached a Heathers-level of cliquey-ness. You got the Bible thumpers, the card players, and the dudes with anger issues/crazy hair/dark skin. And hey, you know who Akira Corassani doesn’t like? That bitch-ass Bryan Caraway. “He’s like a little girl,” Akira says. “He wakes up in the morning, he takes like 25 minutes to make his hair.”
So, Akira sneaks into Bryan’s bedroom in the middle of the night and shaves off a piece of his hair. Caraway chases him to an upstairs balcony, where Akira is giggling with his bros. Instead of brawling with the whole gang, Bryan threatens non-specific vengeance sometime in the future. “Y’know, what we do in life echoes in eternity, and this right here I’m going to laugh about my whole life,” Akira says, COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT OF GLADIATOR. Look, spoiler alert, Akira gets choked out at the end of this episode and it’s awesome. Sorry guys, I had to.
Back at the gym, the fighters who have been eliminated from the competition are losing their focus, while the remaining eight semi-finalists are turning up the intensity. Mayhem rides a tiny bike to practice to avoid getting his car messed with, but Team Bisping has something else in store for him. As Tiki explains, ”We don’t want them to focus on training the guys, we want to them to focus on, ‘oh, what prank are they gonna play next?’”
Tiki and Bisping create a diversion, acting like assholes in Team Miller’s prep-room. When the orange team finally tries to exit the room, Bisping blasts ‘em with a fire extinguisher. Out of the haze comes a Mariachi band. Watching at home, Cain Velasquez sheds a single tear. The fighters evacuate, hacking their lungs out. Miller gives props to Bisping for the prank, but the gym is destroyed, and Johnny Bedford has a fight coming up, so not everybody can laugh it off so easily.
Dennis Bermudez ain’t the brightest bulb in the box. (He’s a “fufessional,” you guys.) Akira draws pictures of him as a wise owl, quoting his malapropisms and barely coherent catchphrases, which he posts on the refrigerator door.
Akira and Dennis will be kicking off the featherweight semis, and Team Bisping is drilling Akira on ground escapes to help him prepare for his wrestling disadvantage. ”Dennis wants to hold me down for 15 minutes,” Akira says. “Congratulations. First of all, you’re a big pussy.”
Bisping’s love of pranks has infected his whole team, who are now focused on pranking him. First, Akira ambushes Bisping with a squirt of water from the bathroom. Bisping responds by kicking the bathroom door open. He thought it was a Team Mayhem member, so…false alarm. Later, Marcus Brimage jumps on Bisping’s back, rubs his wet jock strap in the Count’s face, and runs away. Bisping retaliates by slamming Akira on the ground, wrapping the jock strap around his head, then slapping him around. Again, this is the guy who has to fight next for Bisping’s team. But Akira’s a good sport about it: “I think me and Darkness are blood brothers now because I actually had to taste his salty balls.” There’s a silly string incident later, but I don’t have the energy to get into it.
Bermudez doesn’t like Akira’s series of owl portraits. “Let me draw you a picture…with my fists,” he tells us. He never intends to hurt his opponents in fights — he just tries to win — but that might change. Raising the tension, Akira sings Dennis an improvised song about their fight which is as insulting as it is soulful.
Mayhem lets his wiener dog on the mats, completely disregarding the possible zombie apocalypse risk.
Okay, final pre-fight thoughts: Dana White thinks Akira is cocky, and maybe a little crazy to call out Dennis. “I think Akira might have bit off more than he can chew,” he says. Jason Miller says he respects Michael Bisping: “He’s a seasoned fighter. That being said, I really respect my father, and it never stopped me from whipping his ass.” Akira visualizes the fight the night before, in his own werid, cocky way. “I’m a black belt in fucking people up, you know what I’m sayin’?” he says. “I’m gonna show that European fighters have it all.”
It’s go time…
Round 1: Akira lands first and stumbles Dennis. Dennis tries to respond with a takedown but Akira sees it coming and punches him off. Akira catches a leg kick and lands a counter-punch. Akira sprawls and brawls. It turns into a dog fight. Akira lands two hockey-punches. They clinch up and trade knees. Leg kick and clinch from Dennis. Akira separates and opens fire with punches. Bermudez gives one back. They slug at the center of the cage. Akira scores with a right straight and hook. Dennis shoots and fails. Dennis misses another takedown and pays for it. Akira coming forward and landing. He drops Dennis with a big left. Dennis shoots for Akira’s legs, lifts him, and slams him. He sets up a guillotine. Call me crazy, but it seems that Akira taps and Herb Dean misses it…again. But Dennis stays on it, re-adjusts the hold, and gets Akira to tap, and this time it’s unmistakable. Dennis Bermudez is going to the featherweight finals.
Akira is confused and very emotional after the loss. He brushes off the doctor who needs to check him out, and everybody else who tries to console him. He just wants to be held by Michael Bisping, and hear that it’s going to be okay. But it’s not. On the bright side, a performance like that probably punched his ticket to the TUF 14 Finale prelims.
Dennis says that a fortune cookie predicted his victory. Akira says that he’s going to go home and crack a beer, but as we all know, ”the loser’s beer doesn’t taste as good as the winner’s beer.” Especially if the loser is drinking Kaliber, which tastes like straight dogshit, as I found out by accident last summer. Long story.
On the next episode: Air hockey, bug eating, and the first bantamweight semifinal between Dustin Pague and TJ Dillashaw.
While their first show back from exile was largely a success, ProElite took a gamble last night and lost by focusing their attention on heavyweights. When a mere pair of heavyweight fights can mar an otherwise enjoyable UFC card, the odds of twelve second-and-third-tier big boys delivering a memorable night of fights for ProElite seemed unlikely.
Fans slept through the first 899 seconds of the bout, and Fulton through the last one.
While their first show back from exile was largely a success, ProElite took a gamble last night and lost by focusing their attention on heavyweights. When a mere pair of heavyweight fights can mar an otherwise enjoyable UFC card, the odds of twelve second-and-third-tier big boys delivering a memorable night of fights for ProElite seemed unlikely.
In the evening’s main event, Tim Sylvia took home his second consecutive win in a plodding unanimous decision over Andreas Kraniotakes. The former UFC champion employed a strict gameplan of wall & stall to keep his smaller opponent pinned to the cage while periodically dispensing knees and punches. It was a win, and that’s about all you can say for it.
In his second fight under the ProElite banner, Andrei Arlovski returned to action against the Cal Ripken of MMA, Travis Fulton. Though the two showed a slight interest in exchanging strikes in the first round, that desire had waned by the second. The judges were spared the embarrassment of admitting that they’d stopped watching the fight at quite literally the last second, when “The Pit Bull” connected with a powerful left high kick that dropped Fulton cold at 4:59 of the final round.
In his pro debut last August, Reagan Penn displayed the same adept submission game and killer instinct as his older brother BJ. Last night he revealed that they share the same cardio training regimen as well. The first round was an active back-and-forth grappling battle, but Reagan was noticeably slower with nearly two minutes left in the frame. He started the second round with his hands hanging low, which allowed Evan Cutts to unload solid punches and kicks before taking the fight to the ground. Cutts spent the rest of the round grinding down Penn and working for submissions while taking his back and gaining full mount. Round three was rinse and repeat. Cutts picked up his third pro victory with the unanimous decision.
Heavyweight Tournament cliffs notes:
– Jake Heun picked up his second pro win with a first round TKO over Ed Carpenter. After spending much of the round pinned beneath Ed Carpenter, Heun worked his way back up and landed a body kick and big right hand that sent his opponent falling backward. Heavy ground and pound forced the ref to stop the fight.
– Justyn Riley spent most of round one brutalizing Cody Griffin’s body with knees while holding him down on all fours. In round two he secured the same position, but opted for punches and elbows to Griffin’s flanks instead. Griffin survived being back mounted at the end of the round and opened the third stanza throwing bombs. He dropped Riley and stood over him raining down blows until waived off by the official just 32 seconds into round three.
– Richard Odoms was simply too big and strong for Rodney Housley. Odoms was able to successfully control Housley against the cage and on the mat en route to a unanimous decision.
– Former NCAA champ Mark Ellis failed to parlay his considerable wrestling talent into a successful offense against Ryan Martinez. Martinez easily sprawled out of Ellis’ attempts to get the fight to the mat and made him pay with punches, hammerfists and knees (both legal and not). Martinez advances with the UD.
I sacrificed my Sunday to watch these fights so you don’t have to, but if you’re feeling full of self-hate you can catch them over at IronForgesIron.com.
Leading up to the fight, many pundits out there believed that Munoz’s wrestling and clinch game would be a deciding factor, but for most of the first round, Early 90’s Scott Weiland was able to keep Munoz at bay, even managing to secure a couple takedowns of his own. But as the second round got under way, it was clear that Leben was much worse for the wear, throwing increasingly slower and sloppier combinations and allowing “The Filipino Wrecking” Machine to unleash some of the vicious ground-and-pound that has become his M.O. And then, in perhaps the most shocking turn of events in Leben’s career, he quit. Think about that for a second. A man who has earned his reputation from absorbing near Noguerian levels of punishment (I said near) decided that he had had enough. A mad world indeed.
(2 rounds…10 minutes…600 seconds…that is when this fight will end.)
Leading up to the fight, many pundits out there believed that Munoz’s wrestling and clinch game would be a deciding factor, but for most of the first round, Early 90′s Scott Weiland was able to keep Munoz at bay, even managing to secure a couple takedowns of his own. But as the second round got under way, it was clear that Leben was much worse for the wear, throwing increasingly slower and sloppier combinations and allowing “The Filipino Wrecking” Machine to unleash some of the vicious ground-and-pound that has become his M.O. And then, in perhaps the most shocking turn of events in Leben’s career, he quit. Think about that for a second. A man who has earned his reputation from absorbing near Noguerian levels of punishment (I said near) decided that he had had enough. A mad world indeed.
Now, I’m not going to argue over how bad the cut was, or whether or not the doctors would have allowed Leben to continue for that much longer, but I must say that I never thought I would see the day that the granite-skulled TUF 1 alum would go out on anything but his shield. I’m also not going to over analyze the fact that Munoz called out Anderson Silva in his post-fight interview, because I’m pretty sure even Munoz didn’t think that one out. Take a number, bro.
And if, like myself, you were unconvinced that Renan “Barao” was for real, well then kids, sit and listen, sit and listen. Backing up the hype of his 26-1 record, Barao looked like a man possessed in his bantamweight contest with Brad Pickett, unleashing beautiful combinations at every turn before dropping the Brit with a knee and leaping like a goddamn spider monkey into a rear-naked choke to spoil Pickett’s UFC debut in just over 4 minutes of the first round. A disappointing start to Pickett’s UFC career, but I imagine the $70,000 Fight of the Night check he received helped mend some of his wounds.
In other action, Thiago Alves battered UFC newcomer Papy Abedi with strikes before dropping the Swede and securing a first round rear-naked choke victory. I find it kind of funny (I find it kind of sad) that this is the first time we’ve seen Alves utilize the skills that earned him a brown belt in BJJ, but I guess there’s a time and a place for everything. Let’s hope Abedi, on the other hand, gets another chance to showcase his skills inside the octagon, because the man has potential if nothing else.
After more than a year on the shelf since his armbar loss to Rafael Dos Anjos back at UFC 112, Terry Etim showed up bright and early for the daily races, putting away Edward Faaloloto with a guillotine choke in just 17 seconds. Etim walked away with not only the victory, but a $70,000 Submission of the Night award as well. Considering the time it took him to earn it, Etim may have made more money per second than James Toney did when he was schooled by Randy Couture at UFC 118. I’m not going to do the math, because my religion prohibits it on weekends. All hail Zorp.
But even Etim’s victory was not the most impressive of the night. UFC 138 was just as much Che Mills’ coming out party (not that kind) as it was for anyone else. The Gloucester, England native needed just 40 seconds to uncork a Muay Thai ass whooping on Chris Cope that he won’t soon forget. Scratch that, I’m pretty sure Cope won’t remember a damn thing until he sees the fight replay in a couple days. Mills’ brutal series of knees earned him Knockout of the Night honors and household recognition for at least a couple weeks. Not bad for a night’s work. Full results from the event are below.
Mark Munoz def. Chris Leben via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of round two
Renan Barao def. Brad Pickett via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:09 of round one
Thiago Alves def. Papy Abedi via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:32 of round one
Anthony Perosh def. Cyrille Diabate via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:09 of round two
Terry Etim def. Edward Faaloloto via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:17 of round one
John Maguire def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision
Philip De Fries def. Rob Broughton via unanimous decision Michihiro Omigawa def. Jason Young via unanimous decision
Che Mills def. Chris Cope via TKO (strikes) at 0:40 of round one
Chris Cariaso def. Vaughan Lee via split decision
