MMA GIF Party: TUF 12 Finale Edition

(Props: ‘caposa’ on the UG)
Today’s GIF party features a couple of animated highlights from the TUF 12 Finale’s unaired prelims, as well as the Spike broadcast. First up, the night’s only knockout — Pablo Garza’s flying-knee-KO of Fredson Paixa…

Pablo Garza Fredson Paixao knockout KO MMA gif gifs Mazzagatti UFC TUF 12 Finale
(Props: ‘caposa’ on the UG)

Today’s GIF party features a couple of animated highlights from the TUF 12 Finale‘s unaired prelims, as well as the Spike broadcast. First up, the night’s only knockout — Pablo Garza’s flying-knee-KO of Fredson Paixao, which came just 51 seconds into round one and scored Garza a $30,000 Knockout of the Night bonus. As if the KO wasn’t impressive enough, check out Steve Mazzagatti flying in from 15 feet away to tackle Garza before he makes Paixao’s concussion any worse than it needs to be. 

After the jump: The "Pace choke," the McKenzitine, and the stunned expessions following Phan vs. Garcia.

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC & Strikeforce’s Dueling Events

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceNow that we’ve all caught our breath, gotten a little sleep, and prepared ourselves to approach Saturday night’s dueling MMA events like calm, rational individuals, let’s dig through the results and get worked up all over a…

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Now that we’ve all caught our breath, gotten a little sleep, and prepared ourselves to approach Saturday night’s dueling MMA events like calm, rational individuals, let’s dig through the results and get worked up all over again.

Without further delay, here are the big winners, losers, and everything in between after the TUF 12 Finale and Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu.

Biggest Winner: Dan Henderson
A blind man would have known this fight was over once he heard the sound of Hendo’s right hand thumping against “Babalu” Sobral’s skull. But because Sobral managed to keep his eyes open even as they rolled around in his head, it wasn’t stopped until after Henderson had landed several more memory-busters, just for completely unnecessary good measure. The impressive brutality of the win goes a long way towards erasing Henderson’s loss to Shields in the minds of fans, but we should probably reserve judgment until we see him in a fight with an opponent who’s still in his prime. An opponent like, say, light heavyweight champion “Feijao” Cavalcante.

Stats Confirm That Phan/Garcia Decision Was Indeed Bullshit

(Apparently, leaving your face open for repeated blows means you’re "dictating the action." Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
Well, another Leonard Garcia fight is in the books, which means it’s time to ask the judges, once again: Are you guy…

Leonard Garcia Nam Phan TUF 12 Finale UFC Ultimate Fighter
(Apparently, leaving your face open for repeated blows means you’re "dictating the action." Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Well, another Leonard Garcia fight is in the books, which means it’s time to ask the judges, once again: Are you guys totally blind, or just legally blind, so that, you know, you can make out shapes and degrees of light, that kind of thing?  

Garcia’s split-decision victory over Nam Phan at Saturday’s TUF 12 Finale elicited immediate chants of "Bullshit!" from the Las Vegas fans, as well as a lengthy anti-NSAC rant from Joe Rogan. Did the judges see something we didn’t? Am I just biased by the fact that Phan is a likable underdog, and Garcia’s striking is an aesthetic nightmare that I can’t stand watching?

Well, no, as it turns out. According to FightMetric’s report on Phan/Garcia, the match should have been scored a 30-27 for Phan based solely on statistical effectiveness. Phan landed more "significant strikes" in every round, with only the first round being close (33-30 significant strikes in Phan’s favor). The second round was an obvious runaway for Phan (34-13 in the s.s. department, with a brief knockdown via side-kick) and the third was also a clear win for Phan (35-21). The only advantage Garcia had was his two takedowns (one apiece in rounds 2 and 3), neither of which led to any real damage.

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Bonnar Says he Felt ‘Guilty’ Not Brawling with Pokrajac

(Props: MMA Weekly)
Can’t exactly blame Stephan Bonnar for showing up at the postfight press conference of the “TUF 12” finale this weekend looking like the cat that ate the balding, 6-foot-tall Croatian canary. Something tells me …

(Props: MMA Weekly)

Can’t exactly blame Stephan Bonnar for showing up at the postfight press conference of the “TUF 12” finale this weekend looking like the cat that ate the balding, 6-foot-tall Croatian canary. Something tells me Bonnar isn’t great with secrets, but leading up to his co-main event bout with Igor Pokrajac he did a pretty good job keeping a lid on the fact he wasn’t going to go out there and fight like the same, old swing-for-the-fences “American Psycho” we’ve all come to know, love and worry about. Nope, Bonnar looked every bit the smart and savvy vet in there on Saturday and the result was a unanimous decision win. Weird, huh?

“Everyone expected me to brawl,” says a half proud, half sheepish Bonnar in the above vid. “I knew what I was going to do, but I kind of let on that I was going to brawl. I feel sneaky, I feel surreptitious. It feels good, though. I felt a little guilty out there for not going toe-to-toe but hey, I got the win.”

Indeed. Also, someone should tell Bonnar that it’s not “sneaky” to analyze your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in order to devise a strategy you think gives you the best chance to win. That’s just called, you know, professional fighting.

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‘The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck’ — Live Results and Commentary

(Above: "Remember, remember, the fourth of December, the Gunpowder Treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot, brah." Below: You know what to do, honey. / Photos courtesy of UFC.com)
Welcome, fi…

Cody McKenzie TUF 12 finale UFC
(Above: "Remember, remember, the fourth of December, the Gunpowder Treason and plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot, brah." 
Below: You know what to do, honey. / Photos courtesy of UFC.com)

Welcome, fight fans, to the first leg of a liveblog double-header on CagePotato.com. The TUF 12 Finale gets rolling on Spike at 9 p.m. ET, with Team GSP lightweight finalists Jonathan Brookins and Michael Johnson battling for the highly coveted glassware, Stephan Bonnar trying to build a winning streak against Igor Pokrajac, and Demian Maia tangling with rangy TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove. Plus, five other TUF 12 vets will do their best to hang on to their UFC contracts, including Nam Phan, who clashes with hardy slugger Leonard Garcia in the UFC’s first-ever televised 145-pound feature. (Yes, the UFC has featherweights now!)

Round-by-round results await you after the jump; refresh the page every few minutes to get all the latest. Please toss in your two cents in the comments section, and don’t forget to check in at our viewing party at PlayPhilo.com for a chance to win a UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights DVD set. 

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UFC TUF 12 Finale Breakdown: Michael Johnson vs. Jonathan Brookins

Filed under: UFCThey were the first two picks on Georges St. Pierre’s team on The Ultimate Fighter, and on Saturday night’s TUF 12 Finale, Michael Johnson and Jonathan Brookins will fight to determine who truly is the top dog.

While the UFC bills the …

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They were the first two picks on Georges St. Pierre’s team on The Ultimate Fighter, and on Saturday night’s TUF 12 Finale, Michael Johnson and Jonathan Brookins will fight to determine who truly is the top dog.

While the UFC bills the evening’s Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac fight as its main event, it’s likely just as many, if not more, people are invested in Johnson and Brookins after watching them over the last three months on TUF.

According to oddsmakers, Brookins is a heavy favorite to win, getting odds in his favor of nearly 3-to-1.