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UFC 161 Results: Memorable Quotes and Images from Evans vs Henderson Fight Card

Rashad Evans defeats Dan Henderson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Rashad Evans: “I had to step it up in the last round. I got dropped in the first round, and I thought I was winning the round til then, but I won the second for sure…

Rashad Evans defeats Dan Henderson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Rashad Evans: “I had to step it up in the last round. I got dropped in the first round, and I thought I was winning the round til then, but I won the second for sure and I knew I needed to come on more in the third. I was a man on a mission in the last round. I was not going home losing tonight. I got a lot of respect for Hendo, and I’m happy to have got the win.”

Dan Henderson: “I thought I had it but I take responsibility. He didn’t hurt me at all but I should have been more active in the last round instead of slowing down. He’s a tough guy, hard to land clean on, and we had a knockdown each. I was coming off the cage, off balance, and he’s got great speed and timing. This decision is a little less hard to swallow than the last one. Rashad came to fight.”

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Stipe Miocic defeats Roy Nelson (30-27 x 3)

Stipe Miocic: “I guess this was the biggest win of my career. I hit him with some big shots and he took them. I’m a Golden Gloves boxer, I believe in my boxing ability. I’ m glad to have put my last fight behind me. This was a big fight for me and I’m very happy I came through it with the win.”

Roy Nelson: “I’m just annoyed. I’m fine. I’m going to be sore tomorrow but he didn’t hurt me. Sore and annoyed.”

—–

Ryan Jimmo defeats Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Ryan Jimmo: “I hurt him in the first round but I couldn’t follow up. I wish I had because it wasn’t a great fight. I apologize to the fans.”

—–

Alexis Davis defeats Rosi Sexton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)

Alexis Davis: “I’m so tired I can barely speak. The adrenaline dump I got when Bruce Buffer said my name was awesome. I wanted to finish the fight in the first round, I landed some big elbows standing but she’s tough and so hard to finish on the ground. I can’t wait to fight again. I will fight anyone the UFC asked me to.”

Rosi Sexton: “The UFC butterflies are real. It is funny, I was very nervous backstage but one the fight started the nerves went away. I did a few things wrong, made some mistakes, but I think it was a good fight.”

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Shawn Jordan defeats Pat Barry via TKO at 0:59 of Round 1

Shawn Jordan: “I came here with a job to do and I did it. I wanted to keep the pressure on and I believe in myself. I’m getting better and better and more confident in the Octagon. This was a big win, here in Canada, for me. I think I’m ready to move up, but I will take anyone the UFC says.”

Pat Barry: “I dunno, man. Sometimes you get caught and it sucks. I caught plenty of guys myself. Well done to him.”

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Jake Shields defeats Tyron Woodley via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

Jake Shields: “It was a lot closer than I would have liked but I won. I was more aggressive, even though our two styles sort of cancelled each other out. I think this puts me back on the main cards, and I want a top five guy. If I could get a Rory MacDonald or someone like that, that’s who I am aiming at. If I could pick, I would get Jake Ellenberger again. I did a lot of things wrong in that fight he beat me, I had just lost my dad, and I want to get that win back.”

Tyron Woodley: “I am very confused right now. I got a 30-27 on one card, what were the other two judges looking at? He didn’t get anything going in that fight, I was the one pressing it. I don’t know what to say but WTF?”

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James Krause defeats Sam Stout via submission at 4:47 of Round 3

James Krause: “I hurt him badly in the first round with those kicks and knees but, with two weeks’ notice for the fight and with him being so hard to finish, I knew I couldn’t afford to go crazy to try to finish him. I wanted to finish him, but I couldn’t chase him all around the Octagon hoping to land a bomb. I had to apply smart pressure. He hasn’t been stopped since 2006, and this is a big win for me.

That punch to the body in the second round really hurt me. I couldn’t even disguise it, it hurt so bad. And then Sam kept on going for it in the same spot, and I was like ‘I am gonna give you one of those right back!’ so I hurt him to the body too.

I thought I was ahead on the scorecards but fighting a Canadian hero who has been with the UFC all these years and had all these great fights, I had to do better than that. I actually prepared for the booing. My teammates and trainers would all root for whoever I was sparring, getting me used to feeling that negative energy and just going about winning.”

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Sean Pierson defeats Kenny Robertson via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Sean Pierson: “I took the first round rounds but I lost the third and I was kinda upset with myself over that. I hurt him a few times in the first but I couldn’t keep it going. I won the first two rounds though. I said I was sorry to my corner because I never want to end the last round on the bottom, I want to make a statement. He hurt me good in the last round, I can’t remember what he hit me with, and he controlled it on the ground for longer than I wanted. But I won and I can get better from here.”

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Roland Delorme defeats Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Roland Delorme: “That was grueling. I’m happy with the performance, I’ve worked my on my submission defense and I needed that tonight.”

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Mitch Clarke defeats John Maguire via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Mitch Clarke: “I wanted to fight in the UFC since 2006, when I was a lazy judo player who was drinking and doing other things that weren’t good for me. Having a goal to get to the UFC changed me. It made me a better person. I got rid of so many negative forces in my life.”

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Yves Jabouin defeats Dustin Pague via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Yves Jabouin: “That was a war, man. I was trying to set up my shots, land a big combination, but after the first shot he’d be right in my face every time. He just kept coming and coming. He was great at setting up his subs, but, honestly, the only time he came really close was in the last round with the armbar. I think because I was so relaxed I was able to get out of it, if I had panicked and trying to muscle out, I would have got caught.

The difference was the damage I did when I was on top. I landed a ton of hard elbows and I thought I was a shot or two away from finishing it. It was a war, I can’t wait to go back home and sleep after that.”

Dustin Pague: “I gave everything.”

*all quotes provided to Bleacher Report MMA via UFC.

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UFC 161: What’s Next for Roy Nelson After Stunning Defeat

Roy Nelson was one of the brightest stars in the heavyweight division and a crowd favorite, but after being dominated by Stipe Miocic in a lopsided decision loss Saturday night at UFC 161, the future is uncertain for the bulky brawler.Nelson was on his…

Nelson was on his last fight on his current contract with the UFC, and there had been talk about whether the company would re-sign the talented heavyweight or if he would try to sign with the UFC’s top rival, Bellator MMA.

Nelson told MMA Weekly during the UFC 161 post-fight press conference about his future and where he’s like to end up when he signs a new deal:

I go where the fans want me. If Dana and Lorenzo want me to be with the UFC, I’ll be knocking on Cain Velasquez‘s door, or whoever the champ is, when I’m knocking on it… My interest (right now) is I want to get past this loss and just fight. That’s what a fighter does. I just want to get out there and fight and get another W. Where that opportunity is, hopefully it’s with the UFC, if they want me here then I’ll be here.

He may not be the best pure fighter in the world, and his weight and lack of conditioning is alarming to some in the sport, but Nelson is an exciting fighter who brings the fans into an event with his power and unstoppable chin.

As great as he looked in his previous three fights (all first-round knockouts), though, the loss to Miocic halts the hype machine surrounding him temporarily. While Bellator would have loved to steal Nelson from underneath the nose of Dana White and the UFC officials, the loss has killed his momentum and the company will now likely low-ball the big man to coax him away.

What would have been a massive bidding war that would have come with a victory has now become a tense negotiating process that will result in a far less expensive contract for one of these MMA companies.

Nelson lost more than a fight Saturday; he lost his chance at an enormous pay day.

There is no questioning that the better talent is in UFC right now. But with a television deal with Spike TV and an affiliation with TNA Wrestling, the possibility that Nelson could jump ship to Bellator is still there.

With another loss likely relegating him to the bottom of the heavyweight title contention ladder, starting over in Bellator as one of the company’s top stars and a focal point of the marketing campaigns could be the new beginning the big man needs.

Nelson is a star, and Bellator needs another top name to build around.

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High Stakes: Roy Nelson Bets Big at UFC 161 and May Lose His Job as a Result

There’s always a lot on the line when a fighter steps into the cage. For starters, there’s not a more personal contest in all of sports. Stripped to the waist and all alone, each athlete confronts his worst fears and his own mortality. And, oh yeah, a …

At best, he’s bathed in glory, one step away from a demi-god.

At worst?

He leaves on stretcher. If he’s lucky.

As if that‘s not enough, in the UFC, even more is typically at stake. Money. It’s the greatest motivator of them all, fungible, tangible and oh, so spendable. Most fighters can double their pay with a victory.

For some, that can be the difference between being a full-time professional athlete or a spending the summer on the construction crew waiting for the next call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. Many of these guys aren’t fantasizing about building a beach house in Malibu after a big win. They’re just trying to make rent and fund the next fight.

Understand why their stomachs may be in knots before a bout?

And then there’s Roy Nelson. The UFC heavyweight walked into Winnipeg for UFC 161 playing a high-stakes game with UFC president Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta. It was the last fight on his deal. He had turned down an new contract worth six figures a fight. This fight, and this fight only, was all the security he had in this world. After almost a decade in the sport, he was paid just $24,000 to step into the cage.

That, he hoped, was all about to change.

By going out with a big win, Nelson figured he’d be in the catbird seat, able to play the UFC off rival Bellator Fighting and reap big benefits. Instead, he lost in embarrassing fashion, getting outclassed and out-punched by the lightly regarded Stipe Miocic.

Nelson thought he’d come to the table with a pair of aces. Now, after making it so evident to fans he isn’t a top flight fighter, he’s got a three and a five—off suited.

“We asked for an extension; he said no,” White told the media after the event. “We made an offer to Roy. And we’ll sit down again after this.”

Somehow, I suspect, the positions will be reversed this time around. Nelson now owns the dubious distinction of absorbing more significant strikes than any fighter in UFC history. But will promotions pay big for a glorified punching bag?

“The good thing is the fans in Winnipeg got their money’s worth,” Nelson told Fuel TV after the fight.

That’s certainly one way of looking at it.

Others might point out that Nelson, belly jiggling over the waistband of his shorts, came into the bout in even worse shape than usual. That he wasn’t capable of fighting more than a single round before heaving for breaths and only occasionally winging a big right hand. That he actually cheated the fans out of a competitive fight because thanks to a combination of lifestyle choices and pure stubbornness.

“I’ve got to breathe,” Nelson said, describing the experience to Fuel’s Ariel Helwani. “Wait, no, I’m getting hit.”

Before the fight, Nelson was coy about his contract status. “I have people for that,” he said, per the Las Vegas Sun‘s Case Keefer, when asked what the future held. But it was widely speculated that manager Mike Kogan, who has sent two of his high-profile clients (“King” Mo Lawal and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) to Bellator and Spike TV, might have similar designs for Nelson.

Kogan, intentionally or not, fanned those flames during the fight, telling an underperforming Nelson, “You don’t want to go out like this.”

Go out like this? Was it a clue that this might actually be Big Country’s last fight in the Octagon?

Nelson refused to say much at all about his future plans after the bout, concentrating mainly on a desire to get back in the cage and redeem himself. But he didn’t close the door on returning.

“That’s really up to the UFC—Lorenzo and Dana,” Nelson said. “I know I’m in the business of fighting, so I fight. If they want me, I’m more than happy to be where I’m wanted.”

The big question now is whether the UFC even wants Nelson to return. He’s a popular undercard attraction, but at 36, it’s fairly clear he is never going to be a championship-caliber fighter. Combined with his near-constant shenanigans and backstage maneuvering, and it may turn out he’s simply more trouble than he’s worth.

An aging, past-his-prime pain in the backside? Sounds like the perfect fighter to foist off on Bjorn Rebney and Bellator doesn’t it? If White and the UFC were smart, they’d wave goodbye to Nelson right now. He’s given them all he has. Why not let Bellator pick up the pieces?

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UFC 161 Aftermath: Winnipeg is For Lovers

Photo via Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports

By Elias Cepeda

UFC 161 had some good fights to watch and learn from but if you’re one of the folks who paid the $217.00 or so that UFC pay per views now go for, and if you were drunk (those who do the former are often the latter during bouts) you may have been a bit disappointed with the action. In the main event, Rashad Evans turned up the heat in the third round against Dan Henderson and earned a split decision win.

The fight was close, and fought in spurts, but Evans looked impressive in coming back from being knocked down in the first round and in tiring Hendo and working the former Olympic wrestler over in his own sweet spot – the clinch. Evans gets back on the winning track but looks a long way from being able to challenge champion Jon Jones as he says he wants to once more.

Henderson certainly did not embarrass himself – he never has – but for the second consecutive fight, the forty two year-old looked to be the weaker and slower fighter in losing a close decision. Maybe that has to do with his age, maybe it has to do with the fact that both fights occurred against top light heavyweights.

Put the hard-earned legend of Henderson aside for a moment and remember that the man is a middleweight that, for reasons of crazy ability and guts, fights light heavyweights and heavyweights. Henderson is no where near a title shot at this point, in any division. It will be interesting to see how much motivation he has to keep fighting without more gold in his reach.

Photo via Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports

By Elias Cepeda

Stipe Miocic (right) lands an uppercut on Roy Nelson | Photo via BloodyElbow

The Fight of The Night came on the under card. James Krause and Sam Stout duked it out for almost three full rounds before Krause caught “Hands of Stone” in a guillotine choke, forcing the submission. Each man was awarded an $50,000 for producing the Fight of The Night.

Krause, who had the card’s only submission, also earned an additional $50,000 for Submission of The Night. UFC 161′s only knockout of the night won, surprise, Knockout Of The Night.

Shawn Jordan used a nasty punch combo to put Pat Barry down early in the first round of their heavyweight clash. Way too many left hand hooks to a grounded Barry brought about the stoppage.

Jordan now has won two straight and is $50,000 richer.

Stipe Miocic just made his future a lot brighter with a dominating win over UFC ranked #5 heavyweight Roy Nelson. The undersized Nelson was never in the fight with Stipe.

Miocic hadn’t fought in nine months, since getting knocked out by Stefan Struve, and both men took this fight on relatively short notice. Miocic controlled the grappling, avoided Nelson’s over hand right and tagged and moved over and again for three rounds, leaving “Big Country” gasping for air and unable to hold his arms up.

Bantamweight women Alexis Davis and Rosi Sexton put on a good scrap for three rounds. The Canadian Davis bested the British Sexton and won a unanimous decision.

The win is Davis’ third straight. Sexton’s loss snapped her own three fight win streak.

Enough Jokes – Roy Nelson Needs To Leave The Heavyweight Division

By Elias Cepeda

Roy Nelson made history last night at UFC 161. No, he didn’t become just the second man in UFC history to score four consecutive first round knockout wins as I’m sure he hoped he would.

According to UFC President Dana White, “Big Country”, with the help of Stipe Miocic, instead set a record that is incredibly detrimental to his own health.“Roy Nelson broke a UFC record tonight: 437 significant strikes absorbed without being knocked out. It’s a new UFC record,” White said.

We originally reported that number based on White’s statement. So did many other outlets, including MMA Weekly, Yahoo! Sports and MMA Fighting. A look over at FightMetric, the official statisticians for the UFC, however, reveals that Nelson absorbed only 106 strikes from Miocic.

White was probably using hyperbole to underscore a couple points about Nelson – how tough he is, how badly he got beaten, etc. – but it is telling that his 400 + strikes number didn’t strike many in the media as too far off.

Miocic knocked Nelson around that badly. And we’ve seen it happen before to the outspoken heavyweight.

Nelson probably should have taken a contract extension deal when it was offered to him by the UFC. He probably should not have fought Miocic just six weeks after his prior fight, a win over Cheick Kongo, and Nelson definitely shouldn’t be fighting in the heavyweight division.

Folks who respect and admire Nelson have been calling for the morbidly obese fighter to drop down to light heavyweight for years.

Forget all that.

Nelson has the height and frame of a tall lightweight or normal welterweight fighter. But instead of living a healthy lifestyle and fighting at, say, 170 pounds, the man has often had trouble of making the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds.

Roy Nelson clearly has a problem, and it isn’t just the fact that he can’t ever seem to be more than a punching bag any time he fights a top heavyweight – though it is related. The charismatic and gifted fighter has a consumption problem.

By Elias Cepeda

Roy Nelson made history last night at UFC 161. No, he didn’t become just the second man in UFC history to score four consecutive first round knockout wins as I’m sure he hoped he would.

Miocic knocked Nelson around that badly. And we’ve seen it happen before to the outspoken heavyweight.

Folks who respect and admire Nelson have been calling for the morbidly obese fighter to drop down to light heavyweight for years.

Forget all that.

No kidding, right? But it’s time we get past the “haha, Roy is fat” stage and ponder for a second how sick he must be. For someone to be as large as he is, with the amount of exercise that he must do for fight training, he’d have to eat an obscene amount of food as a part of a grotesquely unbalanced diet.

Roy shouldn’t be in there with heavyweights. He’s just a welterweight with a gigantic gut, skinny legs and arms and a ton of heart.

We should no longer just admire Nelson’s heart, however, or be amazed at how well he does despite his self-imposed handicap. We, and more importantly he and the people who love him, should start thinking about the damage Nelson’s brain is sustaining taking so many blows from men who are so much bigger than he.

The fact that Nelson doesn’t get knocked out doesn’t mean that he isn’t getting concussed or suffering a great deal of sub concussive brain damage. He most certainly is.

Miocic did a number on him. Junior Dos Santos battered him. Fabricio Werdum shellacked him. Frank Mir bullied him.

Nelson isn’t competitive against the very best in the heavyweight division and he’s taking a lot of punishment insisting on fighting them. For either reason, or both, he needs to re-evaluate how he lives and at what weight he competes at.

Time isn’t the thirty six year old’s friend at this point. Unfortunately, his post-fight comments show that Nelson hasn’t learned his lesson. Hopefully Dana White, who expressed that he’s interested in bringing Nelson back after his contract expires in July, can help convince him to make changes.

“I want to get past this loss and fight,” Nelson said at the UFC 161 post event press conference.

“If Dana and Lorenzo [Fertita] want me to be in the UFC then hey, I’ll be knocking on Cain Velasquez’s door or whoever the champ is when I’m knocking on it.”

Will Roy Nelson Return to the UFC or Is He Bellator Bound?

Following a disappointing loss at UFC 161, former Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson will enter free agency with serious questions surrounding his next move in the sport. Heading into Saturday night, the world was well aware that Nelson was on the last…

Following a disappointing loss at UFC 161, former Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson will enter free agency with serious questions surrounding his next move in the sport.

Heading into Saturday night, the world was well aware that Nelson was on the last fight of his current contract when he stepped into the Octagon against Stipe Miocic. UFC President Dana White had stated before the card kicked off that the promotion had previously tried to work out a new deal with Nelson, but nothing was settled yet so he would officially be out of contract once his fight was finished.

Unfortunately for Nelson, he may have lost some of his negotiating power after losing a one-sided unanimous decision to Miocic on a fight he took on just over two week’s notice.

Now Nelson enters free agency for the first time in several years, and following the fight offered little information on where his head is at concerning his next move.

“I go where the fans want me,” Nelson said when speaking at the UFC 161 post-fight press conference. “Wherever. If Dana and Lorenzo (Fertitta) want me to be with the UFC, then I’ll be knocking on Cain Velasquez’s door or whoever the champ is when I’m knocking on it.”

It’s no secret that Nelson and White share a very tumultuous relationship and rarely see eye to eye, but the UFC’s head honcho does give the heavyweight slugger credit for always showing up and fighting whenever they’ve needed him.

“I respect Roy. Roy has a great chin, hits hard, has great wrestling, great jiu-jitsu. He was a man about this contract, like I told you guys the other day, his contract was up in July we asked for an extension, he said no,” White explained. “He doesn’t have to say yes, his contract’s up, it’s up and we’ve got to get him a fight before it’s over. We did, he stepped up, he took the fight. Do Roy and I always see eye to eye? No, we don’t.

We made an offer to Roy, and we’ll sit down and talk to him again after this.”

White was definitely correct about Nelson’s chin, because in a somewhat dubious honor the season 10 winner from The Ultimate Fighter managed to break the record for most significant strikes absorbed in UFC heavyweight history without being knocked out on Saturday night. Throughout his UFC career, Nelson has taken 437 shots and has never been finished with strikes.

As great as Nelson’s chin was again on Saturday, it didn’t provide him the firepower necessary to offset the offensive output by Miocic. The end result was still a loss, and now Nelson sits in uncertain waters for his future.

There is no denying Nelson’s appeal with fans, because rarely does he enter an arena without a loud chorus of cheers, but he has struggled to beat the best fighters in the heavyweight division during the course of his career. It’s hard to let a commodity like Nelson go, but in the long run like any contract it will come down to negotiation and how much each side is willing to give.

“If they want me here,” Nelson said about his future with the UFC, “I’ll be here.”

It can’t be ignored that regardless of the loss, Nelson could still be a major signing for another organization—most notably Bellator. Nelson is close friends and training partners with current Bellator light heavyweight contender “King” Mo Lawal, and he is also a big fan of professional wrestling, which automatically poses the question, if he could land a fight deal along with a contract to compete in TNA wrestling, would he take it?

Only time will tell the future for Roy Nelson, but these next few months should be very interesting.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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