Let’s make two things clear from the beginning: Vitor Belfort is an amazing fighter, and an equally terrible trash talker. He demonstrated both of these things on Saturday night, with both his brilliant finish of Michael Bisping and his callout of Jon Jones immediately afterwards.
Of course, Jon Jones is a little busy at the moment, getting ready for Chael Sonnen and all. Belfort addresses this by asking Dana White to “Take that clown away” so he could have his rematch with Jones instead of having Bones fight Sonnen in the spring.
No one is here to say that Belfort can’t beat Sonnen in the cage – especially at light-heavyweight – but “The Phenom” doesn’t exactly live up to his nickname when it comes to trash talking. Even though I wouldn’t count Belfort’s post-fight interview as a callout of Chael Sonnen, the clown comment definitely left a sour taste in his mouth. Sonnen wasted no time responding to Belfort’s comments, using his commentary gig on the post-event FUEL TV broadcast to issue the following statements:
Let’s make two things clear from the beginning: Vitor Belfort is an amazing fighter, and an equally terrible trash talker. He demonstrated both of these things on Saturday night, with both his brilliant finish of Michael Bisping and his callout of Jon Jones immediately afterwards.
Of course, Jon Jones is a little busy at the moment, getting ready for Chael Sonnen and all. Belfort addresses this by asking Dana White to “Take that clown away” so he could have his rematch with Jones instead of having Bones fight Sonnen in the spring.
No one is here to say that Belfort can’t beat Sonnen in the cage – especially at light-heavyweight – but “The Phenom” doesn’t exactly live up to his nickname when it comes to trash talking. Even though I wouldn’t count Belfort’s post-fight interview as a callout of Chael Sonnen, the clown comment definitely left a sour taste in his mouth. Sonnen wasted no time responding to Belfort’s comments, using his commentary gig on the post-event FUEL TV broadcast to issue the following statements:
“Well listen, let me be really clear and speak directly to you, Vitor. You’ve been telling the world that you want to meet Jesus, and I will gladly arrange that travel. But first I’m going to get rid of Jon Jones, but you are next,” said Sonnen. He acknowledged that he was impressed with Vitor’s performance in the cage, but made it clear that Vitor “is next.”
I hate to spoil the fun, but I highly doubt Belfort is next for Sonnen if he actually defeats Jon Jones (the winner of Gustafsson vs. Mousasi comes to mind). In reality, this fight makes much more sense if Sonnen were to lose.
When it comes to Belfort vs. Sonnen and Belfort vs. Jones II, both matchups seem unlikely to occur in the near future, but who are we to not play make-believe? Which fight would you look forward to more, and who wins it?
(Where the hell do y’all think you’re going?! Please, I’m begging you, if you stick around, I’ll even break out the Techno Viking dance!)
We can’t wait to see how Dana White tries to spin this one.
The numbers were just released for all of last weekend’s UFC events. The good news: The main FX card did pretty well and the fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter hit a seasonal high in terms of viewership (take that with a grain of salt). The bad news: The FUEL prelims were caught by less people than the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee prelims on ESPN 3. Probably.
You see, last Friday’s FUEL prelims only managed to draw in 44,000 viewers, absolutely shattering the promotion’s previous FUEL prelim low of 84,000 for UFC on FX 3. If these kind of numbers do not improve, the UFC won’t have to worry about emerging victorious from a ratings war with the WWE because they will be too busy trying to compete with the Punkin Chunkin people. We expect DW to start lobbing insults at “those four-eyed f*cking scumbag f*cks on the Lience Channel” any day now.
(Where the hell do y’all think you’re going?! Please, I’m begging you, if you stick around, I’ll even break out the Techno Viking dance!)
We can’t wait to see how Dana White tries to spin this one.
The numbers were just released for all of last weekend’s UFC events. The good news: The main FX card did pretty well and the fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter hit a seasonal high in terms of viewership (take that with a grain of salt). The bad news: The FUEL prelims were caught by less people than the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee prelims on ESPN 3. Probably.
You see, last Friday’s FUEL prelims only managed to draw in 44,000 viewers, absolutely shattering the promotion’s previous FUEL prelim low of 84,000 for UFC on FX 3. If these kind of numbers do not improve, the UFC won’t have to worry about emerging victorious from a ratings war with the WWE because they will be too busy trying to compete with the Punkin Chunkin people. We expect DW to start lobbing insults at “those four-eyed f*cking scumbag f*cks on the Lience Channel” any day now.
In all seriousness, at least part of the insane drop can be attributed to the fact that last weekend’s prelims started one hour earlier than normal — at 5 p.m. EST rather than 6 p.m. — meaning that many West Coast viewers would still likely be working or on their way home when the fights began. That being said, we don’t think a one hour difference could be the sole factor behind a 75% drop from the UFC on FX 4 prelims, which managed to reel in over 160,000 viewers. Although the card suffered some last minute setbacks, we also can’t imagine that the absence of Jeremy Stephens and Dennis Hallman were responsible for this ratings drop either.
At this point, we don’t know what to say really. While it’s not exactly crisis mode for the UFC, there’s no way they can be completely satisfied with such continually disappointing numbers. Say what you want about “Spuke TV”, but they sure as hell knew how to market The Ultimate Fighter and the prelim events better than FX does. I can’t remember the last time I saw an advertisement for the prelims more than a day or two out from when they were scheduled to air, which seems to be the main problem FX is facing: awareness. With a UFC event happening practically every weekend, FX needs to start advertising each event earlier and with more frequency if they expect to bring in more viewers.
Then again, it could simply be a case of the UFC spreading themselves too thin. Think about it, most cable-accessible UFC events begin with a live stream on Facebook, then a few fights on FUEL, then the main card on FX. Aside from the fact that most of the country does not get FUEL even with special cable packages — I have a 160 channel package that doesn’t — asking your viewing audience to keep jumping through hoops to watch a few fights featuring lower-level fighters seems like a counterproductive strategy. Only die hard fans of the sport will make the effort to catch every single fight, and they must often resort to illegal streams and other means to do so because of the variety of channels and mediums through which the UFC broadcasts their content on a given night.
The question now becomes: What can the UFC/FX do to boost these ratings?
(Who knew that “The Dream” was actually short for “The Wet Dream Brought on by Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation”?)
After going 2-2 in his return to the welterweight division, which began back in 2010 and included wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, as well as a most recent loss to Jake Ellenberger at the inaugural UFC on FUEL event, it looks like Diego Sanchez is headed back down to lightweight. We have been told by an anonymous source that the move has nothing to do with the fact that B.J. Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has returned to the welterweight division, but rather because BJ Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has left the lightweight division. So rest assured, Sanchez is definitely not ducking B.J. Penn.
Sanchez made the announcement over his Twitter account earlier today in a conversation with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan:
@joerogan there isn’t anyone out there that understands Mma as a whole like you do! Thanks Joe, its back to 155 for me… Should be good!!
(Who knew that “The Dream” was actually short for “The Wet Dream Brought on by Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation”?)
After going 2-2 in his return to the welterweight division, which began back in 2010 and included wins over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann, as well as a most recent loss to Jake Ellenberger at the inaugural UFC on FUEL event, it looks like Diego Sanchez is headed back down to lightweight. We have been told by an anonymous source that the move has nothing to do with the fact that B.J. Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has returned to the welterweight division, but rather because BJ Penn a.k.a the man who handed Sanchez the worst beating of his career has left the lightweight division. So rest assured, Sanchez is definitely not ducking B.J. Penn.
Sanchez made the announcement over his Twitter account earlier today in a conversation with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan:
@joerogan there isn’t anyone out there that understands Mma as a whole like you do! Thanks Joe, its back to 155 for me… Should be good!!
There was little denying that, upon his return to welterweight, Sanchez looked a little doughy around the middle, so perhaps this move is for the best. Sanchez also hinted at the drop in weight and called out top contenders Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis a couple of months ago, so expect him to announce his drop to featherweight in the near future if either of those matchups ever come to fruition*.
We’re obviously just having a little fun at Sanchez’s expense, because the man always makes for entertaining fights regardless of what weight said fights are held at. The power of crazy, and Jesus Christ, also allow Sanchez to absorb tremendous amounts of punishment without ever being knocked out, which is fun for us as well. But you gotta admit, keeping track of what weight Sanchez feels like fighting at these days is as easy as remembering the name of the Filipino prostitute you ordered while on vacation last weekend that turned out to be a dude who in turn refused to leave your hotel room and threatened to call “Big Ron” after that lemur you stole from the zoo bit his face off while he was “tripping balls.”
We’ve all been there, right?
Anyway, who would you like to see Diego face off against now that he’s a lightweight once again? Pettis? Lauzon? Big Ron?
*Clearly, the Pettis matchup is the more likely of the two considering Diaz is next in line for a title shot. But just go with it.
(I’ll show you Linsanity, you racist sonofabitch!)
Perhaps it’s because we are truly spontaneous creatures at heart, but we are more excited for tomorrow night’s UFC on FUEL broadcast than perhaps any other freecard in as long as we can remember, if only because it gives us an excuse to do something on a Tuesday night that we normally save for the weekends ie. drink, shout at the TV until our ears bleed, and gamble away the money we have yet to even earn. And since we don’t want to be the only MMA fans waiting in line at the soup kitchen come next week, we figured we’d drag you all down with us. Because, honestly, it’s neither as easy or as fun to start a soup fight with the homeless by yourself. Anyway, check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for our more-or-less comprehensible advice.
PRELIMINARY CARD (Fuel.tv, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT) Cody McKenzie (-105) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (-115) Brad Tavares (-175) vs. Dongi Yang (+155)
T.J. Grant (-400) vs. Carlo Prater (+325) Rafael Dos Anjos (-280) vs. Kamal Shalorus (+240)
Jeff Curran (-135) vs. Johnny Eduardo (+115)
Alex Soto (+200) vs. Francisco Rivera (-240)
Thoughts…
(I’ll show you Linsanity, you racist sonofabitch!)
Perhaps it’s because we are truly spontaneous creatures at heart, but we are more excited for tomorrow night’s UFC on FUEL broadcast than perhaps any other freecard in as long as we can remember, if only because it gives us an excuse to do something on a Tuesday night that we normally save for the weekends ie. drink, shout at the TV until our ears bleed, and gamble away the money we have yet to even earn. And since we don’t want to be the only MMA fans waiting in line at the soup kitchen come next week, we figured we’d drag you all down with us. Because, honestly, it’s neither as easy or as fun to start a soup fight with the homeless by yourself. Anyway, check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for our more-or-less comprehensible advice.
PRELIMINARY CARD (Fuel.tv, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT) Cody McKenzie (-105) vs. Marcus LeVesseur (-115) Brad Tavares (-175) vs. Dongi Yang (+155)
T.J. Grant (-400) vs. Carlo Prater (+325) Rafael Dos Anjos (-280) vs. Kamal Shalorus (+240)
Jeff Curran (-135) vs. Johnny Eduardo (+115)
Alex Soto (+200) vs. Francisco Rivera (-240)
The Good Dogs: Sheesh, the betting lines on this card make us yearn for the days of PRIDE freak shows ala Cro Cop vs. Dos Caras Jr, where big risk at least gave us the outside hope of reaping a big reward. Looking over the main card, the only underdog bet that stands out has got to be Jason MacDonald. Though he’s never been one for consistency, and is coming off a submission to strikes loss at the hands of Alan Belcher, the fact that he’s trying to earn a retirement fight at UFC 149 in Canada has to mean something in terms of an X-factor, right? I mean, the man he is fighting came to the weigh-ins dressed as another fighter dressed as a guitar player for Christ’s sake. No self respecting man wants to get his ass kicked by the class clown on his way out the door.
You may be wondering why we’ve kind of brushed off Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens, but the fact that Stephens has lost to every single upper echelon fighter he has faced should let you know how we feel about the outcome of that one. We love you, Lil’ Heathen, but we also believe that history tends to repeat itself.
The Easy Bet: Fabio Maldonado. The dude is an absolute beast who will walk through Pokrajac’s punches with a smile on his face, as is his M.O., before delivering a beautiful body shot KO that voids “The Duke’s” bowels upon impact.
Official CagePotato parlay: Poirier + Cerrone + Maldonado + Curran
Suggested stake for a $50 wager
$20 on the parlay
$10 on MacDonald
$5 on McKenzie to keep shit real
$15 on a 12-pack of Budweiser Platinum to make sure it stays that way
(Look at it this way, it’s not like it could end any worse than the first time around.)
Diego Sanchez has kind of become the Oprah of MMA. One minute he’s fat, the next he’s skinny, and in the moments between, he’s using a combination of over-the-top enthusiasm and divine right to help amass a cult following that consists of anyone within shouting distance. Perhaps it is ironic that the only fighter in UFC history to jump between more weight classes than Sanchez is the man he managed to beat for the TUF 1 middleweight plaque, Kenny Florian.
In either case, it looks like Diego’s most recent trip up to welterweight, which saw him go 2-2 (or 1-3 depending on how you viewed the Kampmann fight) will not be where the UFC’s go-to YES!! man will call home for long. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com, Sanchez stated that he is considering dropping back down to lightweight, because, you know, B.J. Penn is gone now. Fine, he didn’t state that directly, but we can read between the lines. Anyway, after undergoing surgery to fix a nagging shoulder injury, Sanchez feels 155 might become his new stomping grounds…again:
I really try to lift weights, but the shoulder injury sort of set me back. As I heal up, my body’s going to get a little smaller, so I might just go down to 155.
The last time I was at 155, I was just a wreck. Mentally, I was still young and partying a lot, and I was still smoking weed. I was just a wild child. Now that I’m grounded and have my life together and am married, I’m just focused. So maybe 155 might be a better weight for me.
(Look at it this way, it’s not like it could end any worse than the first time around.)
Diego Sanchez has kind of become the Oprah of MMA. One minute he’s fat, the next he’s skinny, and in the moments between, he’s using a combination of over-the-top enthusiasm and divine right to help amass a cult following that consists of anyone within shouting distance. Perhaps it is ironic that the only fighter in UFC history to jump between more weight classes than Sanchez is the man he managed to beat for the TUF 1 middleweight plaque, Kenny Florian.
In either case, it looks like Diego’s most recent trip up to welterweight, which saw him go 2-2 (or 1-3 depending on how you viewed the Kampmann fight) will not be where the UFC’s go-to YES!! man will call home for long. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com, Sanchez stated that he is considering dropping back down to lightweight, because, you know, B.J. Penn is gone now. Fine, he didn’t state that directly, but we can read between the lines. Anyway, after undergoing surgery to fix a nagging shoulder injury, Sanchez feels 155 might become his new stomping grounds…again:
I really try to lift weights, but the shoulder injury sort of set me back. As I heal up, my body’s going to get a little smaller, so I might just go down to 155.
The last time I was at 155, I was just a wreck. Mentally, I was still young and partying a lot, and I was still smoking weed. I was just a wild child. Now that I’m grounded and have my life together and am married, I’m just focused. So maybe 155 might be a better weight for me.
There’s little denying that Diego has looked a little thick around the waist ever since returning to welterweight, so maybe 155 is the best place for him. And according to Sanchez, UFC President Dana White has no problem with his continuously fluctuating weight:
Like Dana White said, maybe I can jump from either weight class as long as I do it professionally. And I will. If I have to go down to 155, it’s only going to make me more strict with health and nutrition and diet. That’s my hardest part (of training). But at 155, there’s no messing around. You’ve got to do it right.
And when the question of a return opponent came up, Sanchez had a couple opponents in mind, starting with Anthony Pettis, who will be coming off the exact same surgery as Sanchez:
I want to fight a guy who’s a fan favorite and who has a lot of fans and is a big draw. It’d make us both better, the sport better. Plus, the guy has a win over the champ, so that’d bump me up right to the top (of the division).
We’ll be recovering about the same time. I think he got the same surgery as me, so it’d be an event playing field. I told Dana I really liked that fight.
Considering that five of Sanchez’s last seven fights have earned Fight of the Night honors, “The Dream” felt that, if Pettis was not available, Nate Diaz would be just as good an option, because the word “boring” does not exist in the Diaz’s vocabulary. Neither does the word “vocabulary,” but you get what we’re saying:
Them Diaz brothers are just scrappers. It’d be a ‘Fight of the Night.’ You’re going to get the ground game, standup. You’re going to get it all. You’re going to get a real fight with a Diaz.
Though this is undoubtedly true, we’re going to have to ask Diego to pump the brakes a little bit. Like we said, he’s gone 2-2 in his last four, and hasn’t fought at lightweight since getting steamrolled by Penn at UFC 107.
To be fair, he lost to whom he considers “the best B.J. Penn ever,” which is pretty dead on in our opinion, but considering he’s also coming off a loss to Jake Ellenberger at the inaugural UFC on FUEL event, do you think he’s really in the position to start calling out top contenders like Diaz and Pettis? I guess we can all have dreams.
(Remember, the winner of this fight becomes the #2 contender for the UFC Intercontinental Temporary Welterweight Championship of the Midwest. So you’d better believe that Thiago Alves will be watching this one with great interest. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)
Tonight, the UFC will air their first-ever live fight card on FUEL TV — or so they say. Like most Americans, I don’t have the channel in my cable package, so I’m pretty much taking them for their word here. Luckily, our new liveblogger/boxing-analyst friend Steve Silvermandoes get the channel, and he’ll be handling play-by-play for the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET.
“UFC on FUEL 1: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger” results await you after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Thanks for being here, guys.
(Remember, the winner of this fight becomes the #2 contender for the UFC Intercontinental Temporary Welterweight Championship of the Midwest. So you’d better believe that Thiago Alves will be watching this one with great interest. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)
Tonight, the UFC will air their first-ever live fight card on FUEL TV — or so they say. Like most Americans, I don’t have the channel in my cable package, so I’m pretty much taking them for their word here. Luckily, our new liveblogger/boxing-analyst friend Steve Silvermandoes get the channel, and he’ll be handling play-by-play for the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET.
“UFC on FUEL 1: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger” results await you after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Thanks for being here, guys.
We should have a great night here with Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez headlining the night. We’ll have plenty of action prior to that fight… Ivan Menjivar vs. John Albert gets us started…
Menjivar is more experienced and he appears to have an edge. Menjivar is a solid striker and an excellent grappler…
You have to like Jon Anik and Kenny Florian announcing the fight. Any time you don’t have to listen to that boob Mauro Ranallo it’s a good listen
Round 1
Menjivar with a big overhand right to start but Albert blocks i. Albert with some good counters and quick knees…
Albert with an arm bar and Menivar is throwing hammers to the head…Menjivar with a footlock, while Albert has a heel lock…
Big kick by Albert has Menjivar in trouble. Menjivar trying to cover and he survives… Menjivar pounding Albert. He has his back. Rear naked choke and Menjivar wins.
This was a great one-round fight. Menjivar was in trouble but he just started pounding away and got on top of Albert’s back. He got the choke in and Albert had to tap out. Experience and toughness won this one for Menjivar….
Fight No. 2…. T.J. Dillashaw (4-1) vs Walel Watson (9-3) coming up next…
Both Dillashaw and Watson are strong wrestlers, but Dillashaw should be more comfortable throwing punches. That should give him an advantage at the start …
Dillashaw’s greatest asset may be his mean streak…he’ll try to get off to a quick start. Watson with a big reach advantage… 7 inches…
Dillashaw with a jumping righ hand and then goes for the single leg takedown…throws Watson down…
Watson is on his back but he looks comfortable. Dillashaw trying throw bombs but Watson uses his long arms to block them. Dillashaw has Watson’s back…
He tried to get in a rear naked choke. Dillashaw has been pounding away and he has Watson’s back. Trying to choke him out but Watson escapes.
Dillashaw remains in control. He looks like he is stronter than Watson and more accomplished. Watson is defending but he can’t mount his own attack. Big punches from Dillashaw and Watson has now answer. The first round is all Dillashaw but Watson survives and will fight a second round.
Round 2…
Big right hnd by Dillashaw to start and that hurt Watson. Dillashaw once again on top. Good wrestling and jiu jitsu allows him to mount a confident attack…
Dillashaw is not letting Watson get in anything. It seems all Watson can do is defend. He has not been able to get in a submission hold.
Dillashaw is getting in hammer fists and is hurting Watson. He is not really defending, just covering up…He has a deep choke on Watson, but Watson gets out. He is pounding Watson’s head once he stops choking him…
Watson is getting pounded in this fight and has had virtually no offense.Big right hand at the end of the round. This is a schoolyard whipping for Dillashaw but the fight moves on to round three.
Round 3…
Watson has some energy and comes out with a big kick, but it misses… Big right hand form Dillashaw and both sitll standing… Watson is much bigger, but much slower. Dillashaw with control on the ground again.
This time Watson escapes but still can’t attack. Finally Watson gets in a jumping knee, but it does not do much damage. Watson gets his legs around Dillashaw but he escapes.
Watson gets a heel hook and Dillashaw gets out… Watson doing much better in third round…
Dillashaw trying to get in choke, but Watson won’t let him secure it.
Final seconds of fight and Dillashaw is pounding away. This fight is over and Dillashaw has to be clear winner. Waiting for official decision.
And the winner is … Dillashaw by unanimous decision.
The next bout is Stipe Miocic (7-0) vs Philip De Fries (8-0 1 NC)
Miocic is a big-time striker while De Fries is more of a grappler. Miocic is a big-time hitter and may have an advantage. Good to see heavyweights go at it.
De Fries is going to have to defend against some heavy punches. If he can’t, he will have a hard time getting control and putting in a submission hold. …
Round 1…
Miocic looks stronger and in better shape as fight begins. De Fries lands a couple of rights to start….
Miocic gets in there and starts pounding with right hand and the fight is stopped. DeFries gets pounded…
Miocic has great power and the straight right hand hurts De Fries. He can’t defend himself and this fight is over in seconds.
The official time is 43 seconds and Miocic wins by a knockout.
Get ready for the next fight:
Aaron Simpson (11-2) vs Ronny Markes (12-1)
A couple of tough middleweights… Simpson has the edge in experience and should have an advantage if this one goes the distance…
Simpson is 14 years older, but you don’t get the feeling that he will wear down. He looks meaner and tougher…. off they go.
Markes attacks right off the jump.. They are clinching along the cage…and ref is pushing them for more action…
Simpson looks for opening but Markes responsds with combinations…Simpson hits him with an uppercut and starts pounding….
Simpson throwing elbows and Markes tries to get his wits about him…ref stands up Markes… and he’s a bit wobbly….both punching and Markes has survived. Wrestling along cag in final second of round 1. Give round 1 to Simpson….
Round 2….
Does Markes have the ability to take a solid punch? It’s questionable. But Markes has strong leg and is creating a problem for Simpson…
They are standing up int he middle, each man looking for and opening. Markes misses a left hook but lands an elbow…Simpson with a power left leg and tries for an overhand right, but Marks avoids the full force…
Markes has right underhook and delivers a right elbow. Markes with a takedown…Simpson gets back up after he was in a bad position… pretty even second round….
Round 3
Simposn looking to throw that big right hand. Wants to find an opening. Markes is strong but he’s not as quik when throwing punches. Markes trying to stomp Simpson …. and they break.
Markes is being much more aggressive and moving forward. Markes trying to work inside trip…another break and they go back to center. Simpson lands punch, Markes with kick.
Simpson slips and Markes gains control. Markes with double leg takedown…this one is close as we go to a decision.
The official results… Markes wins by split decision. It is not popular among Nebraska fans….
Solid comeback for Markes who was much better defensively after first round.
In the next fight we will see Stefan Struve (22-5) vs Dave Herman (21-2)
These two heavyweights should put on quite a show. The 6-11 Struve has a huge reach but a suspect chin; Herman has a strong chin and tremendous power. Struve is going to have to find a way to survive the first round.
Struve outweighs Herman by 22 pounds and has a 6-inch height advantage…
Herman rocking a beard…. Struve with a right roundhouse kick…Herman with combination… No advantage in first 1:30….
Herman finding the range. Struve is not aggressive. Not throwing that long left. Big right from Struve followed by left kick from Herman…Big right hand from Herman but he can’t throw a combination. Struve is cautious. Struve misses right hand and Herman with body shot. Right overhand punch by Herman. Feeling out first round, slight edge ot Herman.
Round 2…
Combination by Herman. Struve on ground and then an escape and back on his feet. Herman getting a bit closer. Struve with a big kick and that had to hurt. Left uppercut by Herman and Struve with a left hook. Struve is starting to get a bit more aggressive. Stuve appears to have hurt Herman.
Herman has a mouse under his eye. Uppercut sends Herman down. He is getting hammered by Struve. Struve wins by TKO….
The official time is 3:52 of the second round as Skyscraper Struve asserts himself and pounds Herman in the end. He appeared much more confident in second round…
Coming up… the main event… Diego Sanchez (23-4) vs Jake Ellenberger (26-5)
Ellenberger is a top wrestler with knockout punching power; Sanchez is relentless and wants to take it to the ground….
With fight in Ellenberger’s hometown of Omaha, he could have an edge if it goes to a decision…
Round 1
Ellenberger throwing punches and Sanchez looking for an opening. Feeling each other out at the start. Good right by Ellenberger.
Ellenberger moving forward, throwing wide punches but not landing solidly. Knee by Ellenberger on chin of Sanchez. Sanchez charges in and lands; counter knee by Ellenberger.
Both fighters with flurries. Crowd chanting “Jake, Jake…”. Ellenberger with the knockdown and Sanchez gets up. Big punch seems to hurt Sanchez but does not slow him down…First round goes to Ellenberger.
Round 2
Sanchez’s corner working on his nose and it may be broken. Ellenberger ready to go at start of round. Spinning back kick by Sanchez is ineffective.
Right roundhouse kick by Ellenberger blocked by Sanchez. Sanchez kick is ineffective. Ellenberger is quicker and lands a left hook. Another left hook as well.
Sanchez with solid right hook and then bull rushes Ellenberger. Hometown hero has not landed much in the final round but then he gets a takedown. He is trying to punch from the top and Sanchez could be in trouble.
Ellenberger thowing power punches and elbows and Sanchez is a bloody mess. He got hit in the nose and eye. Big finish of round for Ellenberger. Should be a great round 3.
Round 3
Sanchez cleaned up by corner to start round. Sanchez has not landed any seriosu power punches. Ellenberger knocks Sanchez off balance and he goes backwards.
Sanchez bleeding again and that nose looks broken. Right hand by Ellenberger followed by right hand from Sanchez tht appeared to hurt Ellenberger. However, Sanchez can’t follow up.
Ellenbrgr is cut and he is being hit with punches before Ellenberger scores takedown. Sanchez reverses and throws punchs and he is taking control. Tremendous rally by Sanchez.
Two-fisted attack by Sanchez and then escape by Ellenberger at the horn… What a finish…
It will go to a decision and Ellenberger had control for most of the fight, but Sanchez had control in the final few minutes. Is it enough?
We await the decision….
Ellenberger wins unanimous decision. All judges score it 29-28… Fans are roaring approval…
Ellenberger hung on and he wants a title fight next…We’ll see you on the next fight night….
