(Shogun vs. Henderson 2 highlights via Fox Sports)
Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua fought for the second time last night in Natal, Brazil, and though we weren’t treated to another five-round dogfight, the rematch turned out to be nearly as incredible as their first meeting. This time, it was Henderson who was getting beaten up in the early rounds, as an energized Shogun Rua came close to finishing the American legend on more than one occasion. It seemed like Henderson’s heart, experience, and still-solid chin were the only things keeping him alive going into round three. And then…boo-yah.
All it took was one right hand directly across the chin to snap Shogun’s head back and send him into a backwards somersault across the mat. Arguably, referee Herb Dean could have stopped the fight as soon as Shogun went ass-over-teakettle, but he allowed Hendo to follow up the knockdown with some controversial blows to the back of the head, as Shogun groggily clung to Henderson’s leg. To those of you who expected Herb Dean to penalize Henderson during the finishing sequence: You haven’t been watching MMA for very long, have you?
The Pepey/Lahat KO was just one of five matches at UFC Fight Night 38 that ended in the first round. Notably, middleweight vet CB Dollaway TKO’d TUF Brazil 1 winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira in just 39 seconds with an impressive display of counter-punching, which you can watch below…
(Shogun vs. Henderson 2 highlights via Fox Sports)
Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua fought for the second time last night in Natal, Brazil, and though we weren’t treated to another five-round dogfight, the rematch turned out to be nearly as incredible as their first meeting. This time, it was Henderson who was getting beaten up in the early rounds, as an energized Shogun Rua came close to finishing the American legend on more than one occasion. It seemed like Henderson’s heart, experience, and still-solid chin were the only things keeping him alive going into round three. And then…boo-yah.
All it took was one right hand directly across the chin to snap Shogun’s head back and send him into a backwards somersault across the mat. Arguably, referee Herb Dean could have stopped the fight as soon as Shogun went ass-over-teakettle, but he allowed Hendo to follow up the knockdown with some controversial blows to the back of the head, as Shogun groggily clung to Henderson’s leg. To those of you who expected Herb Dean to penalize Henderson during the finishing sequence: You haven’t been watching MMA for very long, have you?
The Pepey/Lahat KO was just one of five matches at UFC Fight Night 38 that ended in the first round. Notably, middleweight vet CB Dollaway TKO’d TUF Brazil 1 winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira in just 39 seconds with an impressive display of counter-punching, which you can watch below…
Speaking of fights that lasted less than a minute, Thiago Santos TKO’d Ronny Markes in 53 seconds during the prelims, thanks to a well-placed body-kick. Considering that Markes missed weight by five pounds for the match, and he was already coming off a loss to Yoel Romero, his days in the promotion might be numbered.
“Possibly Early Stoppage of the Night” goes to the Steven Siler vs. Rony “Jason” Bezerra main card fight, which Jason won by first-round TKO after knocking Siler down with punches. The ref jumped in as soon as Siler hit the mat, drawing an immediate protest from the American featherweight. Not that Siler wasn’t hurt — but clearly there was some inconsistency in the officiating last night, when you consider how many opportunities Dan Henderson was given to recover after being rocked.
As for fights that went the distance, Norman Parke cost himself a victory against Leonardo Santos by getting a point deducted for shorts grabbing during their main card fight. Instead, the match ended in a majority draw. And in other point-deduction news, prelim fighter Mairbek Taisumov became just the second UFC fighter to have two separate point-deductions in a fight that went to the judges. (Taisumov was docked points for an illegal head-kick in round one and fence-grabbing in round two.) As a result, he lost a unanimous decision with scores of 30-25 across the board.
Once again, here are the complete results from UFC Fight Night 38: Shogun vs. Henderson 2…
Main Card
– Dan Henderson def. Shogun Rua via TKO (punches), 1:31 of round 3
– C.B. Dolloway def. Cezar Ferreira via TKO (punches), 0:39 of round 1
– Leonardo Santos vs. Norman Parke ends in majority Draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
– Fabio Maldonado def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
– Michel Prazeres def. Mairbek Taisumov via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-35)
– Rony Jason def. Steven Siler via TKO (punches), 1:17 of round 1
Preliminary Card
– Thiago Santos def. Ronny Markes via TKO (body kick and punches), 0:53 of round 1
– Jussier Formiga def. Scott Jorgensen via submission (rear naked choke), 3:07 of round 1
– Kenny Roberston def. Thiago Perpetuo via submission (rear naked choke), 1:45 of round 1
– Hans Stringer def. Francimar Barroso via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
– Godofredo Castro def. Noad Lahat via KO (flying knee), 2:39 of round 1
(That’s the easy, confident smile of a guy who knows he could probably call in a drone strike if things aren’t going his way. / Photo via Facebook.com/MMAFighting)
Handling play-by-play for the Fox Sports 1 main card will be our own Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking live results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. #murica
(That’s the easy, confident smile of a guy who knows he could probably call in a drone strike if things aren’t going his way. / Photo via Facebook.com/MMAFighting)
Handling play-by-play for the Fox Sports 1 main card will be our own Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking live results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. #murica
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
– Bobby Green def. James Krause via TKO, 3:30 of round 1 (weird finish)
– Francisco Rivera def. George Roop via TKO, 2:40 of round 2
– Dennis Bermudez def. Steven Siler via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Amanda Nunes def. Germaine de Randamie via TKO, 3:36 of round 1
– Lorenz Larkin def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Yancy Medeiros def. Yves Edwards via KO, 2:47 of round 1
– Seth Baczynski def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Derek Brunson def. Brian Houston via submission (rear-naked choke), 0:48 of round 1
My brother, currently a U.S. Army Ranger captain stationed in Savannah, GA, used to be at Ft. Campbell with the 101st, so I’ve been anxious to cover this event (and Tim Kennedy, of course). And here we are.
Colton Smith vs Michael Chiesa
Rd. 1: Both men paw tentatively, and Smith opens with an easy roundhouse kick that grazes. Smith kicks higher now. Chiesa kicks, and Smith smiles at him. Chiesa charges in with a punch, and they clinch. Smith gets the takedown, and Chiesa turns towards Smith. Sweep, back control, and body triangle for Chiesa as he goes for the neck. Smith pries Chiesa’s hands away for now, escapes, and takes Chiesa’s back. Chiesa is up, but Smith is all over him. Smith looks to sink in the RNC as Chiesa tries to slam Smith off of him by dropping to the mat. Chiesa is out of the choke for now, but seemed to have taken a lot from Chiesa. Smith still has back control. Chiesa escapes and gets to his feet just seconds before the bell.
Rd 2: Early clinch and Smith has Chiesa against the cage. Smith lands some knees. Chiesa is off the cage and lands some long punches. Again Smith has Chiesa against the cage. Chiesa gets the takedown, takes Smith’s back, and chokes him out. That was an emphatic slam for a takedown, and the finish came seconds later. Looks like Smith was knocked silly by the takedown. Yup; they just replayed it. Chiesa hip tossed Smith onto his head. Nice win for Michael “Maverick” Chiesa.
Winner: Michael Chiesa via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:41 of round 2
Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov
Rd 1: Early jab, faked shot, and beefy overhand right from Khabilov. That was heavy. Masvidal is starting slowly, but throwing hard. Both men look poised. Khabilov keeps changing levels, which seems to be keepi ng Masvidal from opening up. Khabilov misses a big right hook and bounces around calmly. Masvidal, Joe Rogan points out, might want to go back to some leg kicks. Masvidal presses ahead, clinches, and knees Khabilov. Khabilov grabs a single leg, but Masvidal knees and escapes. Masvidal lands a kick to the body. A Masvidal flying knee ends in a brief scramble. Masvidal is catching kicks and landing leg strikes of his own now. Khabilov catches a Masvidal kick and lands an overhand right. The round ends with both men clinching on the cage. Good action so far.
Rd 2: Khabilov looks loose, as does Masvidal. Khabilov is committed to the jab and working off of it. Masvidal is kicking now. Another 1-2 from Khabilov. Masvidal knees from the clinch and gets out before Khabilov gets a real hold of him. Nice left from Masvidal. Khabilov is really looking for that big overhand right off the jab. Again they clinch against the face, where Masvidal is hitting with knees. Masvidal drags Khabilov down and throws ‘bows. Khabilov is up now, and they separate. Khabilov charges in for the double, but Masvidal is staying up. Khabilov is having a hard time keeping Masvidal down. 1-2 from Khabilov, and there’s the horn.
Rd 3: Khabilov throws an early kick upstairs, which Masvidal blocks. Both men trade jabs. Stinging straight right from Masvidal. Spinning back heel kick to the face from Khabilov and Masvidal is down. Khabilov has his back and Masvidal is spinning away. Jeez. They scramble, but Khabilov has back control and looks for the choke. Masvidal hip escapes and seems to have recovered a bit. Wow. They’re back up. Masvidal stuffs a takedown and has Khabilov against the cage. Masvidal tosses Khabilov down, but Khabilov is back up right away. Masvidal tries the same spinning back kick, but Khabilov smothers it and has back control. Masvidal rolls out and goes for Khabilov’s back. They’re up against the cage. They scramble. Masvidal shoots, Khabilov pounds at the body, and there’s the horn. Good fight.
Winner: Rustam Khabilov via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero
Rd 1: Nice inside leg kick from Markes early on. Romero flicks a kick after some feeling out. Markes snatches Romero’s lead leg, gets the takedown, but Romero pops up. Romero lands a hard left hand. Romero kicks at the body, slips, but is back up again before Markes can capitalize. Markes is looking to land the right cross, but Romero is moving fluidly. They clinch, and Markes is on top of Romero in side control. Markes lands some leather and wants the kimura on the left arm. Romero escapes, and they’re up. Straight left from Romero, who’s keeping his hands very high. Another left to the chin from Romero. Markes kicks the body. Markes misses a front head kick and stuffs a takedown. Markes front kicks to the body, but Romero blocks.
Rd 2: Romero pumps his right jab, blocks a head kick from Markes, and stuffs a takedown attempt. Romero kicks at the lead leg. Markes answers with an uppercut that misses. Markes hasn’t answered Romero’s left hand, and Romero muscles Markes to the mat. Markes is up and eats another left. Markes misses with both hands, and there’s the Romero left hand, right down the middle. Heavy kick to the body from Romero. Markes is down and Romero stands over him. The ref stands Markes up. Romero changes levels and lands another hard left. Here comes Markes with punches, but Romero ducks away from each strike. Romero fakes a shot and eats a right from Markes right before the round ends.
Rd 3: Markes comes out swinging, misses the takedown, and wants Romero to follow him to the ground. Nope. Romero answers a Markes left hand with a harder left of his own. Nice body kick from Markes. Romero sticks a left hand to the body of Markes. BAM. Romero drops Markes with a left over the top, follows up with a right hammer fist, and that’s it.
Winner: Yoel Romero via TKO, 1:39 of round 3
Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Rd 1: All the ladies in the house say, “Ye-ah.” The lefty Carmouche jabs and kicks early, but Davis defends. Davis jabs and avoids a hard right from Carmouche. Carmouche kicks the lead leg and circles away from Davis’s right hand. Carmouche kicks the inside leg, and Davis counters with a 1-2 that Carmouche blocks. Davis licks low and again fires a 1-2. Davis blocks and overhand right from Carmouche. Davis is landing that inside leg kick, and it seems to be taking a toll on Carmouche, who kicks the outside of the lead leg of Davis. Big right from Carmouche. Both ladies kick at one another’s legs now,Davis kicks low, throws a 1-2, and there’s the horn.
Rd 2: Davis again sets up the 1-2 with the leg kick. Carmouche is kicking low and throwing the right over the top, but Davis is controlling the center of the cage. Hard punch from Carmouche, and Davis is cut. They clinch against the cage, but break subsequently. Davis is bleeding pretty heavily from her left eye brow now. She keeps coming forward though. Carmouche kicks at the body and backs off of the longer Davis. Davis pumps the left jab as Davis pumps the left jab as kicks low. Again Davis kicks the inside of the lead leg really hard. Carmouche’s right leg is definitely bothering her now. Davis catches a Carmouche kick and throws Carmouche down. Davis is in half guard and dropping the shoulder on Carmouche. Davis keeps side control and knees the body with ten seconds left. Carmouche escapes and gets top position, but the round ends before she can get any offense going.
Rd 3: Davis fires the 1-2 and knocks Carmouche down with a hard, low kick to the lead leg. They clinch against the cage; knees from Davis to the body and thighs. Carmouche lands a knee of her own, but Davis has double underhooks. The ref breaks them up and they go back to the center of the cage. Another 1-2 from the bloodied Davis. Carmouche is circling away pretty well, but there go two more hard kicks from Davis. Davis again has Carmouche on the fence and lands an elbow from close quarters. Both women swing and miss in the center of the octagon. Davis is getting her strikes off first, and Carmouche is flat-footed now. Davis keeps kicking and moving ahead. Carmouche lands a short uppercut and a front kick to the body, and that’s the end of the fight.
Winner: Alexis Davis via unanimous decision (30 x 27 x 2, 29-28)
Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal
Rd 1: Kennedy catches a kick from Natal and fires an overhand right. Natal kicks again. And again. Once more. Natal ducks a right hand and lands a jab to Kennedy. Natal pumps the jab, and Kennedy answers with a high kick. A left hand from Natal sneaks through. Natal kicks low, Kennedy high. Natal ducks a right hook and gets a quick takedown, but Kennedy pops up. Natal drops Kennedy with a hard leg kick. Kennedy lands a kick of his own. Kennedy’s left leg is red now. Huge body kick from Kennedy. Kennedy kicks high and misses with the right. Natal kicks low steps back, and throws a spinning back fist. Natal has been switching stances, and Kennedy is staying patient. A monster left hook catches Natal backing up, and he’s down. Kennedy drops some bombs, and that’s it. Natal is out.
(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)
Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3’ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.
(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)
Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3′ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.
George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera – This bout was originally scheduled for UFC 166, but was moved to this card to make room for Sarah Kaufman vs. Jessica Eye. Some fun facts about this fight: George Roop will be entering a fight riding back-to-back victories for the first time since 2008 for this one, and if Rivera didn’t piss hot after UFC 149, he’d be riding a five fight winning streak. It’s never a smart idea to bet money on a George Roop fight, but I think we’re in for a fun scrap.
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero – Former Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero will look to follow up his devastating UFC debut with an impressive performance against a fighter who is 3-0 in the UFC and hasn’t lost since 2010. Sign me up.
Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin – Yeah, I know, both guys are coming off losses. But before accepting a fight against Jacare on short notice, Camozzi was riding a four fight win streak that included victories over at least three guys you’ve heard of. Likewise, you can make the argument that Lorenz Larkin should still be undefeated; his loss against Francis Carmont this past April was debatable, to say the least. It’ll make for a decent midcard fight.
Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski – It’s win or go home for both fighters. That should at least provide a dramatic finish to a fight I otherwise wouldn’t be able to care less about.
(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?) Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, […]
(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?)
Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, the first of which being a featherweight match-up between grappling wizards Jonathan Brookins and Rani Yahya. After lateral dropping his way through season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, Brookins recently saw a four fight win streak snapped at the hands of featherweight contender Eric Koch in a three rounder reminiscent of Couture vs. Vera that saw Brookins unable to get Koch to the mat.
Yahya, on the other hand, is likely fighting for his future in the UFC. Just 1-3 in his past four, with the lone win coming against a struggling (and last minute replacement) Mike Brown, we last saw Yahya on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo‘s next challenger, Chad Mendes. Prior to the Brown win, Yahya was outclassed by Takeya Mizugaki in another decision at WEC 48 and TKO’ed by future flyweight champ Joseph Benavidez at WEC 45.
Elsewhere on the card, Aaron Simpson will be looking to improve on the three fight win streak he has quietly built up over the year when he faces Ronny Markes in the Brazilian’s sophomore octagon bout. “A Train” rebounded from the only losing streak of his career (a two-fighter to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz) with three straight unanimous decisions over Mario Miranda, Brad Tavares, and Eric Schafer at UFN 24, UFC 132, and UFC 136, respectively.
Fresh off his own unanimous decision victory over Karlos Vemola in his UFC debut at UFC Live 5, Markes will be looking to derail *snicker* the veteran Simpson, which would be no new task for Markes. In his last fight before being signed by the UFC, Markes outpointed former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho at an IFC event in April. A win over Filho may not be what it used to, but work with me on this one.
Filed under: UFC, NewsThe inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.
Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces…
The inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.
Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces Brazilian Ronny Markes in a 185-pound fight, while Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins will face submission wizard Rani Yahya.
Simpson (11-2) has tried to work his way into middleweight contention with consecutive victories over Eric Schafer, Mario Miranda and Brad Tavares, wins that came on the heels of a two-fight losing streak.
To continue that run, he’ll have to beat Markes, who made his octagon debut on short notice and out-worked Karlos Vemola to a decision win in an August event. That match was contested at light-heavyweight, and in this one, Markes (12-1) will attempt to stake out some ground in the UFC‘s 185-pound division.
The featherweight bout between Brookins and Yahya features a pair of fighters who prefer to look for victory on the ground. Brookins (12-4) has eight of his wins by tapout, while Yahya (16-7) has 14 submission wins. Both men are coming off losses.
UFC on FUEL 1 will take place on February 15, 2012, and though the venue isn’t official, it is likely to emanate from CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. It features a main event of Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger.
Filed under: UFC, NewsThe inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.
Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces…
The inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the UFC announced middleweight and featherweight bouts that have been agreed to.
Aaron Simpson will put his three-fight win streak on the line when he faces Brazilian Ronny Markes in a 185-pound fight, while Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner Jonathan Brookins will face submission wizard Rani Yahya.
Simpson (11-2) has tried to work his way into middleweight contention with consecutive victories over Eric Schafer, Mario Miranda and Brad Tavares, wins that came on the heels of a two-fight losing streak.
To continue that run, he’ll have to beat Markes, who made his octagon debut on short notice and out-worked Karlos Vemola to a decision win in an August event. That match was contested at light-heavyweight, and in this one, Markes (12-1) will attempt to stake out some ground in the UFC‘s 185-pound division.
The featherweight bout between Brookins and Yahya features a pair of fighters who prefer to look for victory on the ground. Brookins (12-4) has eight of his wins by tapout, while Yahya (16-7) has 14 submission wins. Both men are coming off losses.
UFC on FUEL 1 will take place on February 15, 2012, and though the venue isn’t official, it is likely to emanate from CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. It features a main event of Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger.
The inaugural UFC on FUEL event added two new matchups on Wednesday when the 
