Per usual, the UFC Fight Night 26 post event presser table was filled Saturday night with fighters who had plenty to celebrate as well as those that felt miserable. Some guys managed to embody both feelings.
Conor “Brock Hype Lite” McGregor won his second UFC fight in impression fashion and looked as dandy as ever afterwards wearing sunglasses and a bow tie but nonetheless said he felt like he had just loss and was filled with disappointment because he couldn’t finish Max Holloway. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua looked devastated and as though he had to dig deep into his gut to sit and face questions about his shocking first round submission loss to Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen, on the other hand, was humble when it came to talking about his win over Rua. He said the win was his biggest ever and that the shoe could have easily been on the other foot.
When it came to speaking of future opponents, however, Sonnen the troll was in fine form when said he’d beat Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort in one night. Alistair Overeem didn’t make it to the presser after getting knocked out by Travis Browne but his opponent was, and went into honest detail about the moments he was frozen by body shots by the kickboxer.
Matt Brown didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal in saying he wants a title shot and Urijah Faber and Michael McDonald talked about the possibility of fighting one another in the future.
For the complete UFC Fight Night 26 post event press conference video, press ‘play’ above. For highlights of the Brown vs. Pyle, Rua vs. Sonnen and Faber vs. Alcantara bouts, check us out after the jump.
Per usual, the UFC Fight Night 26 post event presser table was filled Saturday night with fighters who had plenty to celebrate as well as those that felt miserable. Some guys managed to embody both feelings.
Conor “Brock Hype Lite” McGregor won his second UFC fight in impression fashion and looked as dandy as ever afterwards wearing sunglasses and a bow tie but nonetheless said he felt like he had just loss and was filled with disappointment because he couldn’t finish Max Holloway. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua looked devastated and as though he had to dig deep into his gut to sit and face questions about his shocking first round submission loss to Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen, on the other hand, was humble when it came to talking about his win over Rua. He said the win was his biggest ever and that the shoe could have easily been on the other foot.
When it came to speaking of future opponents, however, Sonnen the troll was in fine form when said he’d beat Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort in one night. Alistair Overeem didn’t make it to the presser after getting knocked out by Travis Browne but his opponent was, and went into honest detail about the moments he was frozen by body shots by the kickboxer.
Matt Brown didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal in saying he wants a title shot and Urijah Faber and Michael McDonald talked about the possibility of fighting one another in the future.
For the complete UFC Fight Night 26 post event press conference video, press ‘play’ above. For highlights of the Brown vs. Pyle, Rua vs. Sonnen and Faber vs. Alcantara bouts, check us out after the jump.
On paper, UFC Fight Night 26 – or UFC on Fox Sports 1 1, or UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun, or whatever else people were calling this card – looked to be one of the strongest of the year. Usually those cards tend to be solid, but still fall a little short of the hype. This wasn’t one of those cards. All but one or two fights delivered in some form, often with jarring, violent finishes. It was all the UFC could have hoped for to cap off its run on Fox Sports’ new network.
Let’s start at the top; Chael Sonnen managed to control Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the majority of the first round before shocking everyone by finishing Shogun with a guillotine choke. For Sonnen, this was a big win; it legitimizes his jump to 205, and he managed to submit an opponent with very high level submission grappling ability. It also netted him an extra $50,000 for one of the UFC’s Submission of the Night bonuses. Now everyone from Lyoto Machida to Vitor Belfort is chomping at the bit to get a shot at him. He’ll probably move on to fight either one of them, or Wanderlei Silva in a gimme matchup. As for Shogun, he was eulogized elsewhere before the fight. The hard truth is he hasn’t been the fighter he was since his third knee surgery after the second Machida fight, and getting hammered by Jon Jones and Dan Henderson probably didn’t help matters. Getting finished by Sonnen in the first round is evidence of that. It’s not quite time to hang up the gloves, but that day is drawing ever nearer for the 31 year-old.
On a slightly more enjoyable note was the shocking ending to the Travis Browne-Alistair Overeem co-main event. Overeem held the edge in power and technique, and it showed from the beginning. Overeem hammered Browne with shots from all angles, but particularly knees to the midsection. Browne was dropped a number of times but was never out of it, always maintaining an intelligent, if not necessarily effective, defense. But Overeem, as he is wont to do, began to tire. As he plodded forward, Browne unleashed a front kick that, while lacking the snap found in Anderson Silva’s or Lyoto Machida’s, was still sufficient to drop Ubereem. Browne followed with hammerfists and Mario Yamasaki stepped in. It was slightly premature, though Overeem had no complaints.
On paper, UFC Fight Night 26 – or UFC on Fox Sports 1 1, or UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun, or whatever else people were calling this card – looked to be one of the strongest of the year. Usually those cards tend to be solid, but still fall a little short of the hype. This wasn’t one of those cards. All but one or two fights delivered in some form, often with jarring, violent finishes. It was all the UFC could have hoped for to cap off its run on Fox Sports’ new network.
Let’s start at the top; Chael Sonnen managed to control Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the majority of the first round before shocking everyone by finishing Shogun with a guillotine choke. For Sonnen, this was a big win; it legitimizes his jump to 205, and he managed to submit an opponent with very high level submission grappling ability. It also netted him an extra $50,000 for one of the UFC’s Submission of the Night bonuses. Now everyone from Lyoto Machida to Vitor Belfort is chomping at the bit to get a shot at him. He’ll probably move on to fight either one of them, or Wanderlei Silva in a gimme matchup. As for Shogun, he was eulogized elsewhere before the fight. The hard truth is he hasn’t been the fighter he was since his third knee surgery after the second Machida fight, and getting hammered by Jon Jones and Dan Henderson probably didn’t help matters. Getting finished by Sonnen in the first round is evidence of that. It’s not quite time to hang up the gloves, but that day is drawing ever nearer for the 31 year-old.
On a slightly more enjoyable note was the shocking ending to the Travis Browne-Alistair Overeem co-main event. Overeem held the edge in power and technique, and it showed from the beginning. Overeem hammered Browne with shots from all angles, but particularly knees to the midsection. Browne was dropped a number of times but was never out of it, always maintaining an intelligent, if not necessarily effective, defense. But Overeem, as he is wont to do, began to tire. As he plodded forward, Browne unleashed a front kick that, while lacking the snap found in Anderson Silva’s or Lyoto Machida’s, was still sufficient to drop Ubereem. Browne followed with hammerfists and Mario Yamasaki stepped in. It was slightly premature, though Overeem had no complaints.
There have been people who said Overeem paid for disrespecting his opponent again. That’s not true; Overeem has a history of gassing himself out and being unable to handle getting hit[Ed. Note, Part 1: I’m not saying…]. This is merely the latest manifestation of those flaws, which are exacerbated by fighting well above his natural weight [Ed. Note, Part 2: …I’m just saying – SF]. At this point, he’s one of the UFC’s most spectacular busts (but not the only one on this card!) with a drug bust and two consecutive KO losses. He’ll get one more chance to redeem himself, but I wouldn’t hold out hope for a title run in his tenure. As for Browne, the man can take a beating. That said, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos won’t be so likely to let him off the hook should he face them. He’s got work to do as well. But I bet those ribs of his feel better after winning one of the UFC’s two KO of the Night bonuses.
Urijah Faber proved yet again why he’s one of the best fighters in history – perhaps the best – to never hold UFC gold. Despite getting mounted by Iuri Alcantara within ten seconds of the first round, Faber maintained his poise and battle through submission attempts and back mount before gaining top position and raining elbows from the guard. From there on, it was all Faber. Alcanatara was a very legitimate opponent, but he simply couldn’t match Faber’s pace, wrestling and scrambling abilities. There are few who can. Another Faber title shot is probably as inevitable as the sun rising.
In what promised to be the Battle of the Gritty White Dudes, Matt Brown ended Mike Pyle’s night in under a minute. After dropping Pyle with a right to the temple, Brown unloaded on his adversary with brutal rights as he stood over him, separating Pyle from his senses and winning the other KO of the Night bonus. Brown, on a six-fight win streak with virtually every fight being eminently watchable, called out GSP after the fight. He’s not quite there yet, but give him the winner of Condit-Kampmann and we’ll see how he handles himself there. Pyle, on the other hand, has never quite managed to translate his fearsome gym reputation into the octagon. It’s unfortunate, and at 37, it’s unlikely to change at this point. Still, he’s talented enough to hang around for a while longer.
I mentioned Overeem wasn’t the only bust on this card. Well, the other honor belongs to TUF 17 sensation – and, as many people seem to forget, runner up – Uriah Hall. After a decent first round against late replacement John Howard, who is a natural welterweight, Hall seemed to fade. Not as a byproduct of conditioning so much as dismay stemming from the fact that his opponent simply wasn’t going to be intimidated. As a result, Hall simply seemed to withdraw into himself. There were rare moments of brilliance, such as when he almost took Howard’s back in the second round, but by and large he allowed Howard to push the pace and land shots. As a result, he deservedly lost a split decision in a relatively dull fight – perhaps the only one on the card – and will undoubtedly face the ire of the UFC should he lose again. His back’s against the wall, and if his fights are any indication, he might not respond too well to that
Finally, Michael Johnson showed improved striking in dispatching a sluggish Joe Lauzon. Lauzon was dropped twice in the first round and never seemed to figure out Johnson. Faced with a superior striker, he made no real effort to drag the fight to the ground, even as Johnson began to tire later in the fight. It wasn’t his best performance to say the least, but it was just the opposite for the mercurial Johnson. Johnson’s always been inconsistent as a fighter, but the overall trend of his fights show that he’s been improving. If he can maintain the level he showed last night – and avoid the ground at all costs – he’s got the ability to go places.
Just to touch on the preliminary card, Michael McDonald and Brad Pickett won fight of the night for their brutal two round scrap. McDonald scored a 10-8 first round, dropping Pickett multiple times. It’s a testament to Pickett’s toughness that he made it to the second, and a testament to McDonald’s mental toughness that he didn’t let that dissuade him. A bit fatigued, though, he found himself losing the second round to Pickett, on his back. In the blink of an eye, the tables turned as McDonald snatched a triangle choke from nowhere and, after some maneuvering, secured the tap and one Submission of the Night bonus as well. He’s a thought; have him go toe-to-toe with Uriah Faber.
Other than that, Conor McGregor had an excellent showing against Max Holloway, but possibly blew out his knee in the process. Hopefully not; the hype behind the man is, by all appearances, justified. Steven Siler scored a brutal knockout of former WEC Champion Mike Brown. And Diego Brandao managed to win an entertaining but progressively slow fight, living up to his reputation as someone who tends to gas after round one.
From top to bottom, almost every fight on this card delivered in some fashion. The decisions were exciting, the finishes were violent and shocking. The production was, by and large, professional and streamlined. Granted, we didn’t have Goldberg bellowing “IT IS ALLLLLL OVER!”, but maybe that’s something you need to ease a network audience into over time. All in all, this was the card the UFC wanted to have for its debut on Fox Sports 1, and it could not have gone better.
Since Dana White constantly craves action-packed fights, the longtime UFC president should feel like he just received an entertainment fix from watching UFC Fight Night 26 on Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston.
White watched several captivating decisi…
Since Dana White constantly craves action-packed fights, the longtime UFC president should feel like he just received an entertainment fix from watching UFC Fight Night 26 on Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston.
White watched several captivating decisions, four knockouts and three submissions unfold in his hometown of Boston in the inaugural event on the Fox Sports 1 network.
Of the 13 bouts on the card, several merited considerations for “Fight of the Night” bonuses, including ChaelSonnen‘s shocking submission win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the night’s main event and Michael McDonald’s triangle choke win over Brad Pickett on the preliminary card.
However, no fight epitomized the phrase show-stopper quite like the night’s co-main event between Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem.
Somehow, in the midst of a brutal first-round beating being handed out by “The Demolition Man,” Browne managed to defend himself and occasionally answer back with a counterstrike.
Overeem landed a flush knee on Browne’s breadbasket from the clinch and dropped the Jackson’s MMA product along the fence.
The Demolition man hammered away with punches at the dazed Browne as he attempted to regain his composure on all fours. Browne absorbed several thunderous strikes, including knees and elbows from Overeem, until referee Mario Yamasaki warned the Hawaiian that he was about to stop the fight.
Browne listened to Yamasaki‘s commands and miraculously broke free from Overeem and the early beating he was taking.
Browne stuffed an Overeem takedown attempt with 2:15 to go in the first round before grazing the Dutchman with a head kick at the 1:27 mark.
With roughly a minute to go, “Hapa” landed a left front kick to Overeem’s body followed by a right front kick to The Demolition Man’s face.
Then, as Overeem crept forward with his hands at his chest, Browne unleashed a left front kick that landed flush on his chin.
Overeem crashed to the canvas and Browne capitalized on his dire state, landing a pair of fight-ending hammerfists to solidify the upset win.
After withstanding an unprecedented thrashing from the venomous Overeem, Hapa regained his footing and landed a knockout that was reminiscent of Anderson Silva’s over VitorBelfort at UFC 126.
Watching Sonnen cinch up just his second submission win in his UFC career marked a memorable moment. It was also satisfying to watch the UFC‘s third-ranked bantamweight, McDonald, take out the division’s fifth-ranked fighter, Pickett, with an airtight triangle choke. But witnessing Browne’s resilience and ultimate release of aggression on a savage like Overeem was downright astounding.
Travis Browne put the rest of the heavyweight division on notice with a huge first-round TKO win over Alistair Overeem in the co-main event of Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 26 card at the TD Garden in Boston.
It was a strong display of toughne…
Travis Browne put the rest of the heavyweight division on notice with a huge first-round TKO win over Alistair Overeem in the co-main event of Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 26 card at the TD Garden in Boston.
It was a strong display of toughness from Browne. Overeem was the one who came out strong from the opening bell, putting the underdog against the fence and attacking him with his signature Muay Thai knees and kicks.
However, Browne weathered the storm and waited out ‘The Demolition Man’s” barrage. The perseverance paid off as Browne landed a front kick to Overeem’s jaw that would make Anderson Silva jealous and turned the fight on its head.
Browne followed “The Reem” to the mat and finished him off with strikes to complete the upset.
The upset victory is easily the biggest of the big 31-year-old’s career. His professional record moves to 15-1-1 with the win including a 6-1-1 mark inside the Octagon.
None of Browne’s previous five victories were quite as impressive as this one. Ranked as the No. 5 heavyweight in the UFC, Overeem was expected to rebound from his UFC 156 loss to Antonio Silva and get back on track for a crack at the UFC title.
Now Browne has the case to be in line for a championship bout.
The 6’7″ powerhouse was ranked as the No. 8 heavyweight in the division heading into the bout after a vicious first-round knockout of UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga. Now he has a huge name in Overeem to add to his resume.
Throw in the fact that the win happened in front of a free television audience, and Browne couldn’t have hoped for a bigger stage to take his career to the next level.
Overeem, on the other hand, will need to go back to the drawing board after this loss. The once feared and revered Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight champion was once again defeated by an opponent whom he was expected to beat.
After dominating former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in his UFC debut en route to a first-round TKO victory, he’s been defeated by Silva and Browne. For a 33-year-old with 50 fights around the globe on his record, one has to wonder if his next venture will be navigating the retired life.
UFC Fight Night 26 was supposed to represent The Reem‘s chance to get right back in the mix as a marketable contender for Cain Velasquez’s title. Instead, Browne seized the best opportunity of his career thus far and catapulted himself into the conversation.
(Personally, I’d stay away from any mortgage service that advertises on Chael Sonnen’s butt-cheeks, but hey, that’s just me. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
Handling the main card play-by-play for the UFC’s return to Boston is our man Oliver Chan (aka “O Chan”), who will be hand-delivering “UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen” live results after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and keep the conversation poppin’ in the comments section. Thanks for being here.
(Personally, I’d stay away from any mortgage service that advertises on Chael Sonnen’s butt-cheeks, but hey, that’s just me. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)
Handling the main card play-by-play for the UFC’s return to Boston is our man Oliver Chan (aka “O Chan”), who will be hand-delivering “UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen” live results after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and keep the conversation poppin’ in the comments section. Thanks for being here.
Please stand by…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Worcester Mass’s very own Oliver “Double Bacon Cheese” Chan returns to his hometown for FS1′s UFC Debut. And by return home, I mean on my buddy’s couch watching it in Brooklyn. But I digress… Already we’ve seen some great fights on the prelims, some sick camera angles, Vegas odds, new real-time fight stats, and a :50 second knockout that made me feel dizzy… I don’t know about you, but I’m giddy.
Here’s what we’ve seen thus far:
James Vick def. Ramsey Njem (guillotine, Rd 1 at 0:58)
Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan (KO, Rd 1 at 2:07)
Manvel Gamburyan def. Cole Miller (UD, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda (UD, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Steven Siler def. Mike Brown (KO, Rd 1 0:50)
Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway (UD, 30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett (Triangle Choke, Rd 2 3:43)
Now let’s get to the good stuff shall we? Leading off the main card is Joe Lauzon (who has a striking resemblance to Nick Stahl from Sin City) taking on TUF alumnus, Michael Johnson.
My prediction: Lauzon 3rd round submission arm-bar
My buddy’s: Lauzon 2rd round submission Rear-Naked
Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson
Rd. 1
Johnson and Lauzon square off trading jabs and low kicks. Both guys circle around the enter of the Octagon.
Johnson lands a hard left to Lauzon. He goes down, but gets up. He’s still dazed, a bit wobbly and looking to take Johnson to the ground. Johnson is aggressive with his follow-up, but Lauzon recovers. Stat tracker shows Lauzon is just being picked apart by Johnson on the striking department.
Johnson’s combos is just too much for Lauzon. Johnson knocks Lauzon down again! Lauzon wants Johnson in the guard, but Johnson doesn’t want that. Johnson continues to t-off on Lauzon knocking him down again and J-Lau is saved by the bell.
My call: 10-9 Johnson
Rd. 2 More circling and squaring off. J-Lau works Johnson against the cage. Johnson gets away and the two continue circling. J-Lau controls the center of the Octagon. J-Lau looks to have Johnson on the run, but Johnson quickly counters with some tight combinations. Johnson gets J-Lau against the cage and grinds it out. J-Lau pushes it off. Johnson is starting to look a bit gassed out. The two trade a few more on the center of the ring. MJ takes down J-Lau and gets some GnP against the cage. He might have sealed up that round with the take-down.
My call: 10-9 Johnson
Rd. 3 Third round starts with MJ circling around J-Lau in the center of the cage. Johnson throws some combos and leg-kicks. MJ is starting to pick apart J-Lau with the combos. Failed take-down attempt by J-Lau. MJ is just picking J-Lau apart with quick jabs. J-Lau really needs to step it and get the finish if he wants the win. Johnson has almost doubled J-Lau’s strikes. With 30 seconds left, Johnson gets J-Lau on his back and gets some more GnP from J-Lau’s guard.
My call: MJ 10-9
Official Decision coming up…
Official Decision
30-27, 30-27 and 30-25 in favor of Michael Johnson
Buddy’s quote of the night: “Howard is so hood, you got to wonder how he started Muay-Thai? He got no tooth!!”
John Howard vs. Uriah Hall
Howard has an excellent beard. I want one. Well, I want the ability to grow a beard, but I want that too. Our ref is Mario Yamasaki
My call: Doomsday by UD
My buddy’s: Hall First Round KO
Rd. 1
Uriah hall immediately goes for the take-down. Interesting move from a fight we thought would be stand-up. Uriah hall lets Howard stand. Hall is noticeably taller than Howard. Howard throws a nice leg-kick. Hall answers with some tight jabs. Uriah with a spinning round-house that Howard ducks. Howard tries to get inside, but Hall holds pushes him back.
The two square off a bit more and circle each other. Howard gets Hall with a nice shot and pins Hall against the cage. Hall reverses and goes for a take-down. Doomsday throws some punches while against the cage. The two engage in some dirty boxing.
They separate and Doomsday throws another powerful leg-kick and Hall answers with a knee. Hall goes for a take-down, Howard defends and goes for a single. Hall is pinned against the cage. Hall throws a knee and escapes. Hall goes for a spinning heel-kick and wiffs. Round ends.
Hall 10-9, but it was close.
Rd. 2
They touch gloves and we’re on. Hall throws some nice left-kick combos. Hall is doing a great job managing the distance. Hall goes for the take-down and Doomsday gets Hall in a guillotine. Hall gets out and Howard throws a nice combo. Doomsday has taken control of the pace and now has Hall pinned against the cage and works the take-down.
Hall reverses and now has Doomsday against the cage. Mario separates them and they square away. Doomsday catches Hall’s knee and works the single leg with Hall against the cage.
Hall goes for the Kimura and is the two scramble up. Hall has control of Doomsday’s back. Howard is now looking for the kimura and now Doomsday has Hall on the run. Howard gets the take-down away from the cage and starts work some rabbit punches and now strong body-shots. Howard looks to pass the guard and really lands some hard shots.
Round ends, Howard took that one 10-9.
Rd. 3 The two touch gloves and here we go! Hall goes for a take-down, but Doomsday shrugs it of. Howard wifs on a leg-kick and Hall goes for a fancy spinning kick, but doesn’t really connect. Doomsday goes for the overhand left, but Hall blocks. Doomsday goes for a take-down, but Hall shrugs it of. Hall connects with a nice knee. Hall goes for a take-down and has Doomsday against the cage. Doomsday throws some light punches against Hall while against the cage. Mario separates them.
They touch gloves and square off again. Head-kicked blocked by Doomsday. Hall gets taken down and has Doomsday in the halfguard. Hall gets to his knees. They get to the feet, Doomsday has control of Howard’s back. He’s got the right hook in, but Hall gets Doomsday against the cage and takes him down. Doomday gets up and Hall has his back. They separate and Doomsday starts riling up the crowd and now they both agree to just stand-up (I’m guessing). Hall gets for some weird spin kicking thing, Doomsday does that Hendo diving punch on Bisping thing… and now the two start bro-ing out.
Another close round, I’m going with my home-town guy, 10-9, but I’m thinking either way, we’re looking at a split-decision.
Official Decision 30-27 Howard, 29-28 Hall, 29-28 Howard
I called it. Welcome back Doomsday.
Next up, we got a guy with a mullet and a guy who will F-you up if you screw with his dip. We got Mike Pyle vs. Matt Brown. This is so red-neck I feel the need for some Skoal, Skynard, and ‘Shine… Moonshine.
Quick observation, this “World’s End Movie”… Is this the same thing as “Shaun of the Dead”, but with aliens instead of zombies.
Brown chases Pyle with some strong strikes and knocks Pyle down. He gets one shot in and Pyle is OUT. A few extra shots and it’s all over. Hell of a KO by Brown.
Well then, hope you didn’t blink.
Official Decision Matt Brown, 1st Round KO at 0:29. And Brown says Pyle is better tan GSP… Interesting. Rogan doesn’t buy it. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but you don’t knock a dude out in :30 and say he’s better than the current Welterweight champ… That’s just my opinion.
And there’s Shawn Thorton. He’s a Boston Bruin. He’s awesome.
Shameless plug by Oscar De La Hoya where I think he’s really trying hard to think boxing and cardio-boxing can co-exist.
My prediction Yuri by 3rd Rd RNC
Buddy’s Prediction: Faber by UD
Rd. 1
They touch gloves and we’re on. Faber charges and Yuri counters with a nice judo toss. Gets the mount and works the arm-bar . Faber loos for the leg-lock Yuri takes Faber’s back, both hooks in and throwing some nice effective strikes. Faber canot escape the back. Yuri is just working Faber. Faber throwing punches while watching himself on the screen (Patrick Batemen reference). Faber cannot escape from the back control. Yuri tries to attack Fabers arm.
Faber gets up and slams Yuri down. Yuri working the triangle. Faber passes tinto the third guard. Staples Yuri’s right leg and works some GnP. Yuri tries to sweep, but Faber maintains the position and drops bombs. Yuri recovers the full-guard. More GnP by Faber. Here is the U-S-A Chants… Yep, it’s Boston. I got nothing.
Yuri looks to control Faber from the guard, but Faber is still able to land some strong shots.
Faber stole that round in the end, 10-9
Rd. 2
The two go right at it. Interesting back-roll by Faber, he recovers and Faber is able to take down Yuri and is in Yuri’s guard against the cage.
Faber looks to pass the guard. Yuri eats a knee to the chest. Faber in the half-guard looks for the guillotine. Yuri replaces the guard. Faber grinding into Yuri. Faber gets some elbows in. This is text-book ground and pound, folks. Faber stands up and passes the guard. He starts working guillotine again. Thus far Faber has out-strucken (is that a word) Yuri 37-1.
While in the half-guard Faber is throwing some strong elbows and stronger punches. Yuri gets up, but Faber is looking for a Judo takedown. Faber has Yuri against the cage, they move away, Faber takes him down. Faber in the guard and continues with the GnP.
If this isn’t a 10-8 round Faber, then we need new judges.
Rd. 3 Faber fakes (?) a take down. He fakes another take-down and lands an overhand right. Little scramble, the two continue to square off. Faber doing some very Guida-esque dancing. He charges in but Yuri is able to defend. Yuri with a high kick and Faber blocks. Faber shoots for the take-down and Yuri sprawls out. The two continue to circle around.
Faber takes down Yuri. Yuri sweeps, but Faber maintains control and grinds Yuri against the cage while in the guard. Faber continues his GnP assault on Yuri. Yuri looks to control Faber’s left arm. Faber is able to stand up in Yuri’s open guard. Faber back in Yuri’s closed guard and continues to grind it out.
Yuri looking for the Oomaplata and Faber defends. Yuri transitions to the triangle and is back into the oomaplata hold. Faber steps over and butter-flies Yuri’s arms, he is able to escape and takes control of Yuri’s back and holds him down to end the round.
Solid attempt by Yuri to score a late-minute submission, but Faber has this one 10-9.
Official Decision Faber gets the UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Faber says he might have some jaw damage. But I’m sure the ladies still love him.
There’s Bob Kraft… Bob, let’s get another Super Bowl, it’s been a while.
My prediction: Overeem by 2 RD KO
Buddy’s prediction: Overeem by way of “horse-meat”
If Overeem loses, specifically gets KO’d, I think it’s safe to say we’ll probably see him fighting Anthony “Welterweight” Johnson at the WSOF
Rd. 1 Touch gloves and here we go. Overeem stalks and gets Brown against the cage with some knees to the body. Overeem controls Brown, but Brown is able to get Overeem back to the center.
Flying knee by Browne. Overeem goes for a guillotine attempt. Overem is getting some hard shots to Browne against the cage. Strong knee to the Browne. It looks like Overem got a knee to the the head with Browne’s knee down. They are both on the feet and Overeem works from the clinch getting solid knees to the body. Travis Brown is taking some devastating blows by Overeem.
Overeem gets a pretty sloppy take-down but Brown gets up. Browne goes for a couple front-kicks to the face. Overeem takes control of Browne against the cage. Another front-head kick by Browne. Browne goes for the spinning round-house, but misses. Browne has Overeem in the clinch, but is against the cage … Another front-kick and Overeem goes DOWN. Browne gets a couple shots in from the guard, but it is all over!!!!
For those of you who not watching… It looked like this. For those of you not with me right now, here’s our reaction.
Official Decision
Travis Brown 1st Round KO (4:08)
Browne shows much love to Boston.
So is this the last we’ll see of Overeem?
Ladies and gents, we’re coming up to our main-event of the evening.
My Prediction: Shogun 2nd round TKO
Buddy’s Prediction: Shogun 2nd round mounted guillotine
Chael Sonnen has a pink-ribbon on his shirt. If you Google Chael Sonnen and Cancer, you get a lot of articles about Lance Armstrong. Just a random fact I’ll put there.
Buffer is on FIRE tonight.
RD. 1 Herb Dean is our ref for the main-event.
No touch of gloves, Chael goes for the take-down and gets in Shogun’s half-guard. Shogun gets to the feet and gets Chael down and is in Chael’s butterfly guard. Chael has one butter fly-hook in and Shogun transitions into the half-guard. Chael goes for the guillotine. Shogun gets to his feet and the two clinch up.
Chael gets the take-down and works the GnP from the half-guard. Shogun is looking to sweep from the half. Chael flattens out Shoguns shoulders. Shogun works to get on his side. Chael continues to work some strikes. Shogun gets the butterfly hooks in. The Boo-birds are coming out… As always let’s see you guys do this.
Chael stands up Shogun goes for an upkick. Chael back in the half-guard and working the strikes. Chael continues to smother Shogun. Shogun works to his feet and Chael has a DEEP GUILLOTINE. Shogun is working the escape… HE TAPS!!! SHOGUN THE BJJ BLACKBELT TAPS!!!!!
Shogun is devastated that he tapped.
Quick observation, Chael has a Mortgage lender website as a sponsor… Do they really know who they are pairing their brand with?
Official Decision
Chael Sonnen wins by tapout via Guillotine (4:46)
Chael shows support for those fighting cancer (since Chael won via BJJ I only feel it appropriate to plug Nick Newell’s favorite charity TapCancerOut)… Shows some of his poetry skills… And as classic Chael does, calls out Wanderlie Silva in his classic fashion.
Despite what Deadspin says, this was a great night of fights. You go to Boston, you’re guaranteed a good show. My picks were pretty bad, but I still had fun doing this and hope you all did too.
Don’t forget to check back here for Condit vs. Kampman.
UFC Fight Night 26 goes live Saturday night on Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, and a heavyweight clash between Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem is one of the evening’s biggest fights.
Overeem, once a top contender, is coming off a loss to Antonio Si…
UFC Fight Night 26 goes live Saturday night on Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, and a heavyweight clash between Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem is one of the evening’s biggest fights.
Overeem, once a top contender, is coming off a loss to Antonio Silva. Meanwhile, Browne, who also lost to Silva, got back on track with a win over Gabriel Gonzaga. Both heavyweights find themselves in the top 10 at heavyweight, and the winner will take a large step toward the title.
Join us this evening for the heavyweight tilt, and we’ll bring you live round-by-round coverage and analysis of the contest on the next few slides.
Since 
