Tag: Tito Ortiz

Finishing off the undercard portion of the UFC 140 event was a light heavyweight collision between Croation Igor Pokrajac and Polish-Canadian Krzysztof Soszynski.  The fight was originally scheduled for UFC 131 in June, but an injury to Pokrajac forced him out of the bout.

Pokrajac stepped in the cage having won two of his past three fights, after dropping his first two with the promotion.  The well-rounded veteran has trained with Pride legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic for most of his career.

Ultimate Fighter alum Soszynski boasted a solid 6-2 record with the promotion heading into the contest.  The former professional wrestler has won two straight.

Round One: The pair exchanged immediately to start the bout.  Pokrajac rocked Soszynski right off the bat with a right hand.  Pokrajac flurried against the fence and Soszynski crashed to the mat.  Pokrajac hammered away until referee Yves Lavinge was forced to stop the bout.  Soszynski was completely out, face first on the canvas.

The quick finish for Pokrajac is sure to move him up the light heavyweight ladder, while the loss of Soszynski will put him back in the pack at 205 pounds.

Official Result: Igor Pokrajac def.. Krzysztof Soszynski by KO (strikes). Round 1, 0:35

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.

Rising middleweights Jared Hamman and Constantinos Philippou were matched up on the ION portion of the undercard.

The power-punching Hamman has scored a number of highlight reel knockouts, most recently defeating C.B. Dollaway.  The former light heavyweight looked to make his way into contention with another win.

Philippou fell short in his UFC debut against Nick Catone, but quickly rebounded with an impressive win over veteran Jorge Rivera at UFC 133 in August.  The East Coast-based fighter hoped to build on his last win with another strong performance.

Round One: Philippou the aggressor early, but Hamman starts pushing forward with some solid leg kicks. Hamman shoots for a takedown but Philippou stuffs it. Briefly against the cage, but not for long. Solid body kick lands for Hamman.  He lands it again but Philippou counters with a huge punch that drops Hamman.  Philippou follows Hamman to the gorund and grabs a choke. Hamman escapes and they’re back to their feet. Philippou drops him again. Philippou dropping bombs from the top, but somehow Hamman  gets back up. Philippou drops him for a third time with two more huge punches.  John McCarthy has seen enough and the fight is over.

“It was about time. This is who I am,” an ecstatic Philippou declared while speaking to Joe Rogan after the win.  “The best day of my life,” the fighter stated.

Official Result: Constantinos Philippou def. Jared Hamman by KO (strikes). Round 1, 3:11

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Kevin Sampson is a Correspondent for Bleacher Report MMA.

A classic striker versus grappler matchup took place in the lightweight division as Canadian kickboxing prospect John Makdessi locked horns with hard-nosed veteran Dennis Hallman.

Makdessi, a native Canadian, looked to keep his unblemished record in tact by defeating the veteran.  At UFC 129 in April, Makdessi scored an impressive spinning back fist knockout over another grappling expert in Kyle Watson.

This fight was supposed to be Hallman’s return to the 155-pound division, but the former welterweight was only able to cut to 158.5 pounds and was fined a portion of his purse.

Round One: Hallman immediately clinched and looked for a takedown along the fence.  Makdessi grabbed the fence to try to stay on his feet, but Hallman got him to the mat.  Hallman rained punches and locked in both hooks.  Hallman flattened out the Canadian and hammered away.  Makdessi turned over to his back and absorbed a series of elbows from Hallman.  Makdessi gave up his back again and Hallman locked in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Speaking with Joe Rogan afterward, “I didn’t want to stand up with that kid.  Luckily my gameplan worked,” Hallman proclaimed.  “I apologize to John for missing weight. I plan on staying at 155.”

Official Result: Dennis Hallman def. John Makdessi by submission(rear-naked choke). Round 1, 2:58

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.

Showcasing the depth of the lightweight division, longtime UFC vets Mark Bocek and Nik Lentz were tabbed for the Facebook undercard portion of UFC 140.

Bocek once again was picked to fight on his home soil, but hoped for a better outcome than his UFC 129 bout against Benson Henderson.  The Canadian submission ace entered the bout having dropped two of his last three fights to Henderson and fellow contender Jim Miller.

Wrestling stalwart Lentz looked to erase the memory of a no contest in June with Charles Oliveira.  Lentz has yet to taste defeat in his seven Octagon appearances and against Bocek, hoped to make it eight.

Round One: Bocek opened aggressively with a clinch, delivering knees and uppercuts.  Lentz pressed the fight against the fence, but Bocek quickly reversed.  Bocek scored with a trip takedown just a minute into the fight.  Bocek worked to pass the guard, but Lentz locked in a guillotine attempt.  Bocek stood to escape the hold and then quickly looked to pass again.  Bocek moved to side control, but Lentz recovered half guard immediately and eventually his full guard.  Bocek rained punches from the top as the end closed.

Round Two: Lentz threw a head kick to start the second round.  Bocek dove for a takedown but Letnz easily stuffed it.  Bocek slipped on a kick attempt and Lentz looked for an inverted triangle.  Bocek transitioned and landed in the top position.  Lentz maintained his guard, but could not threaten Bocek from his back.  The Canadian pushed his head deep into Lentz’s armpit, looking for an arm triangle, but Lentz recognized the threat and scrambled.  Lentz again latched onto a guillotine with a minute left in the round and Bocek was forced to stand and defend.  Referee Herb Dean stood the fighters up due to inactivity at the end of the round.

Round Three: Bocek quickly shot for a takedown and scored it along the fence to begin the final stanza.  Bocek tried to posture up and attack, but Lentz tied him up from the bottom.  Lentz scrambled to his feet.  Lentz popped the head of Bocek back with an uppercut.  Bocek secured another takedown at the midway point of the round.  Bocek continued to struggle to mount offense from the top, but Lentz remained on his back.  The fight ended with the two fighters briefly trading on the feet.

All three judges rewarded Bocek for his performance, handing Lentz his first Octagon defeat.  “He’s incredibly tough, give him credit,” Bocek said in his post-fight interview.

Official Result: Mark Bocek def. Nik Lentz by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.

Kicking off the event was a lightweight matchup between promotional newcomers John Cholish and Mitch Clarke.  The two submission specialists quickly looked to make their mark on the 155-pound division.

Cholish entered the bout riding a seven-fight win streak.  The Strikeforce veteran wrestled at Cornell and has been under the tutelage of Renzo Gracie since the start of his MMA career.

The Canadian Clarke steps into the Octagon for the first time carrying an undefeated record.  Six of his nine wins have come by way of submission.

Cholish barreled in early and locked for a takedown.  Clarke stuffed it and briefly looked for a guillotine choke.  Clarke connected with a pair of uppercuts.  Cholish scored with a big leg kick.  A stiff jab from Cholish popped the head back of Clarke.  Cholish slipped and Clarke moved to take his back.  Cholish rolled for a kneebar and landed in the top position.  Clarke used the cage to try to stand, but Cholish put him on his back again.  Cholish let Clarke stand.  Cholish followed a left hook with an outside leg kick.  Clarke fired away, but failed to land a number of punches.  Clarke stuffed another takedown attempt from Cholish as the round concluded.

Cholish scored with a right hand to start the second round.  A sluggish Clarke ate more right hands before Cholish again worked to the take the fight to the mat but failed.  Another right hand from Cholish landed flush on the jaw of Clarke.  Clarke continued to reach for his punches and repeatedly took right hands from Cholish.  With two minutes remaining in the round, Cholish landed a double leg takedown.  The pair scrambled as Clarke tried to escape and Cholish took his back.  The slick transition gave Cholish the ability to rain punches and open up a big cut on Clarke.  Referee John McCarthy saw enough and waived off the bout.

Speaking with Joe Rogan after the bout, Cholish credited Clarke for being a tough opponent and thanked his coaches for the win.

Official Result: John Cholish def. Mitch Clarke by TKO (strikes). Round 2, 4:36

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.