Tag: UFC on Versus 3

Top Prospect Chris Weidman Battled Through Broken Rib to Win UFC Debut

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveJust four fights into his pro career, Chris Weidman got the call that nearly every mixed martial arts fighter hopes for: a chance to fight in the UFC. At the time, though, Weidman happened to be hurt, still recoverin…

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Chris WeidmanJust four fights into his pro career, Chris Weidman got the call that nearly every mixed martial arts fighter hopes for: a chance to fight in the UFC. At the time, though, Weidman happened to be hurt, still recovering from a fractured rib. The fight — a chance to perform on the main card against veteran Alessio Sakara — would be in just 18 days.

Needless to say, it wasn’t the best of timing, particularly for a highly touted athlete who many expected to wow onlookers from the beginning. In fact, on a recent edition of The MMA Hour, Weidman told Ariel Helwani that he was “in my underwear and fat” when the call came in.

“It definitely wasn’t the opportunity I imagined,” he said. “I always saw myself getting enough fights that the UFC wanted to have me, I could fight on undercards and work my way up.”

With a golden ticket dangling, though, turning down the fight seemed impossible. Weidman accepted the invitation, prayed for the best regarding his rib, then went out and bloodied Sakara in a unanimous decision win during last week’s UFC on Versus 3 event.

UFC on Versus 3: Brian Bowles Chokes Out Damacio Page

Filed under: UFCStepping into the cage for the first time since losing his bantamweight title a year ago, Brian Bowles choked out Damacio Page Thursday at UFC on Versus 3 — and likely felt some deja vu in the process.

Bowles finished Page with a firs…

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Stepping into the cage for the first time since losing his bantamweight title a year ago, Brian Bowles choked out Damacio Page Thursday at UFC on Versus 3 — and likely felt some deja vu in the process.

Bowles finished Page with a first-round guillotine choke at 3 minutes, 30 seconds when the two fought in a WEC bout in 2008. That’s exactly how Bowles won this time as well: He choked Page out at the 3:30 mark.

It was an intense, action-packed fight. Page, who’s known for his exciting fighting style, came out swinging wildly, and he connected with some hard shots in the early going. Bowles, however, took control when he caught Page’s kick and knocked him down with a punch, and when Bowles followed Page to the ground he sunk in a guillotine choke.

It was a good showing for Bowles, who improves his record to 9-1 and has to be considered among the elite bantamweights in the sport. And it was a solid showing in defeat for Page, who falls to 15-6 but showed just how exciting the little guys can be — even when their fights don’t last very long.

UFC on Versus 3: Chris Weidman Beats Alessio Sakara

Filed under: UFCChris Weidman put on a clinic on the ground against Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3 on Thursday night, winning his UFC debut and showing why he’s considered one of the best prospects in mixed martial arts.

A former NCAA wrestling All…

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Chris Weidman put on a clinic on the ground against Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3 on Thursday night, winning his UFC debut and showing why he’s considered one of the best prospects in mixed martial arts.

A former NCAA wrestling All-American who has developed a strong Brazilian jiu jitsu game, Weidman weathered an early storm of strikes against Sakara and came back to dominate the second and third rounds on the ground, winning a unanimous decision in a bloodbath of a fight.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC on Versus 3

Filed under: UFCThere are those who would argue that you can tell who won a fight by looking at each participant’s face when it’s over. They’re usually the same people who think takedowns are worthless and jiu-jitsu is some vague form of cheating, so d…

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There are those who would argue that you can tell who won a fight by looking at each participant’s face when it’s over. They’re usually the same people who think takedowns are worthless and jiu-jitsu is some vague form of cheating, so don’t listen to them.

Except just this once they seem to have a point. Both Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann took some damage in the main event of UFC on Versus 3, but it was Sanchez whose face looked like a Picasso that had been left out in the rain by the time it was all over. And you’re telling me this guy won?

He did on the judges’ scorecards, anyway, even if he might have had a hard time convincing the nurses in the hospital of that fact. Since the enduring images from that fight are likely to be ones of a deformed and bloodied Sanchez, it’s hard not to wonder if MMA fans will be any less skeptical.

Now on to Thursday night’s biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.

UFC on Versus 3 Results: Mark Munoz Rocks CB Dollaway

Filed under: UFCIn a stunning display of powerful striking, Mark Munoz needed less than a minute to finish CB Dollaway in the first round of their UFC on Versus 3 fight on Thursday night.

Munoz rocked Dollaway with a huge right hand to the chin that h…

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In a stunning display of powerful striking, Mark Munoz needed less than a minute to finish CB Dollaway in the first round of their UFC on Versus 3 fight on Thursday night.

Munoz rocked Dollaway with a huge right hand to the chin that had Dollaway dazed, followed it with an upper cut that knocked Dollaway to the ground, and pounced on him, landing a few more punches on the canvas before referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight, after just 54 seconds. Although Dollaway stood up immediately and seemed to be upset by the stoppage, it was the correct call: Dollaway wasn’t intelligently defending himself.

Diego Sanchez Beats Martin Kampmann in Close Decision at UFC on Versus 3

Filed under: UFCThe main event at UFC on Versus 3 was a wild one, as Diego Sanchez, his face a bloody mess, pulled out a unanimous decision win over Martin Kampmann.

Sanchez was getting pummeled in the early going, and he ended the fight with cuts all…

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The main event at UFC on Versus 3 was a wild one, as Diego Sanchez, his face a bloody mess, pulled out a unanimous decision win over Martin Kampmann.

Sanchez was getting pummeled in the early going, and he ended the fight with cuts all over his face and two badly swollen eyes, but he noted in his post-fight interview that he had hurt Kampmann as well.

“I caught him with some big shots, too — we both got caught with some big shots,” he said. “I thought I won the fight by putting on the pressure and I thought I controlled this fight.”

Sanchez wasn’t satisfied, and neither were most of the fans in Louisville, who cheered loudly when Kampmann said, “I think I won the fight.”