UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann Results — Rousey and Cormier Both Win by First-Round TKO, MacDonald Takes Decision Over Maia


(Judo and wrestling = sports. Curling and ice dancing = not sports. Just wanted to clear that up. / Photo via the UFC 170 weigh-ins gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann is underway in Las Vegas, and if you’re a fan of closely-matched MMA competition…well, you definitely came to the wrong place tonight. Ronda Rousey is over a 4-1 favorite against challenger Sara McMann, and the betting line in Daniel Cormier‘s light-heavyweight debut against late replacement Patrick Cummins can best be described with an Al Bundy GIF. Then again, Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia seems like a competitive welterweight scrap, even if it’s not exactly what you’d call a barnburner.

Round-by-round results from the UFC 170 main card will be after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section.


(Judo and wrestling = sports. Curling and ice dancing = not sports. Just wanted to clear that up. / Photo via the UFC 170 weigh-ins gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann is underway in Las Vegas, and if you’re a fan of closely-matched MMA competition…well, you definitely came to the wrong place tonight. Ronda Rousey is over a 4-1 favorite against challenger Sara McMann, and the betting line in Daniel Cormier‘s light-heavyweight debut against late replacement Patrick Cummins can best be described with an Al Bundy GIF. Then again, Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia seems like a competitive welterweight scrap, even if it’s not exactly what you’d call a barnburner.

Round-by-round results from the UFC 170 main card will be after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your own thoughts in the comments section.

Preliminary Card Results
– Alexis Davis def. Jessica Eye via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Raphael Assuncao def. Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Gibson via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Zach Makovsky def. Josh Sampo via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Erik Koch def. Rafaello Oliveira via TKO, 1:24 of round 1
– Ernest Chavez def. Yosdenis Cedeno via split-decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Robert Whittaker vs. Stephen Thompson

Naturally, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson comes out to “Wonderboy” by Tenacious D. Whittaker shows love to Australia by walking out to AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.”

Round 1: Thompson opens with a side kick. Whittaker sticks the jab. Whittaker throws a high kick. Thompson marches forward with punches, then lands a leg kick. Body kick then a leg kick from Thompson. He tries an outside axe kick that scores him style points if nothing else. Great head movement and counters from Thompson. Truly, he is the white Machida. A hook kick from Thompson lands. Whittaker pops the jab. Thompson drops Whittaker with a dead-on right straight, then swarms as Whittaker tries to get to his feet. Thompson clinches, fires in some knees, and clubs Whittaker down to the mat again. Thompson with a frenzy of ground and pound until Mario Yamasaki calls a stop to it. Impressive, violent finish from Wonderboy. Stephen Thompson def. Robert Whittaker via TKO, 3:43 of round 1.

Mike Pyle vs. TJ Waldburger

And now Waldburger is coming out to “TNT” by AC/DC. What the hell. He’s not even Australian. And Mike Pyle is rocking the mullet tonight. Waldburger is already dead.

Round 1: Waldburger lands first with a leg kick. Pyle lands a kick but almost eats a big overhand left in return. Pyle fires a pair of leg kicks. They trade leg kicks. Pyle dashed forward with punches. Pyle grabs a clinch and Waldburger pushes him against the fence. Pyle escapes with ease. Waldburger slips while throwing a kick and Pyle chases him when he gets up but can’t capitalize. Waldburger lands a right, then a left, then a leg kick. Pyle tries a front kick to the body, Waldburger grabs him, Pyle sweeps him to the mat and gets on top. Then, Pyle transitions into side control. Very slick work by Pyle tonight. But then Waldburger powers up to his feet and escapes. They clinch against the fence. Knees to the body then to the head from Pyle. Waldburger throws a pair of knees to Pyle’s leg as the round expires. 10-9 Pyle.

Round 2: Uh…I think my dog just erased everything I wrote for this round when he ran across my laptop. WTF. Short version: It was a much closer frame…Waldburger may have had a slight edge in the striking total, but Pyle had some good grappling moments and bloodied Waldburger’s face with knees.

Round 3: Hard right hand from Pyle and he smells blood. They clinch, Pyle shoulder-checks im in the face then lands a hard left hook. And then a spinning back elbow. Pyle is on fire. He lands two nasty elbows in the clinch then fires punches until Waldburger stumbles to the mat. Pyle almost gets a guillotine but Waldburger pulls out. Pyle bears the ever-loving fuck out of Waldburger with punches and elbows from the top. Joe Rogan asks Herb Dean why he’s not stopping the fight. This beating…it just keeps going. Okay, now Herb stopped the fight. Mike Pyle def. TJ Waldburger via TKO, 4:03 of round 3.

Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia

Round 1: They meet in the center of the cage and trade haymakers. Demian Maia shoots once, MacDonald defends. He tries it again and single-legs MacDonald to the mat. Maia trying to pass guard. He throws down an elbow. And boom, Maia scores mount. Maia softening MacDonald up with punches to the head and body. MacDonald tries to shrimp out and almost does it. Maia in half-guard now. MacDonald uses double-butterfly guard, trying to prevent the mount again. MacDonald kicks him off and gets up. Maia shoots and Rory defends. The two fighters start brawling and Maia lands the harder shots. MacDonald is bloodied. The round ends, and it’s an easy 10-9 for Maia.

Round 2: Maia landing some serious power punches, but MacDonald comes back with a series of head kicks that have Maia hurt. Maia shoots and fails. McDonald with a hard body kick and Maia shoots in desperation. MacDonald is having a lot of success with his kicks right now, which are landing at all levels. MacDonald lands a head kick as Maia is shooting in. MacDonald has Maia rocked with punches and kicks. MacDonald using his range really well, landing long jabs and straights. Overhand left from Maia, kicks to the body and leg from MacDonald. MacDonald with a kick to the body, a kick to the head. He tries a superman punch. MacDonald measure up Maia and stings him with a cross. He lands another body kick as the round ends. That round was all MacDonald, 10-9. We’re even heading into round 3, but Rory has the momentum.

Round 3: MacDonald with more long punches. Maia lands a left straight. MacDonald with more kicks to the body and head. MacDonald with another clean right hand. Maia shoots, unsuccessfully once again. MacDonald punches him in the face for it. MacDonald thoroughly outboxing Maia. Maia shoots for a single. Then he grabs both legs and slams MacDonald to the mat. Maia on top, MacDonald pushes him off and scrambles away. MacDonald fends off another takedown attempt. And another. MacDonald with a body punch before stuffing another takedown. MacDonald with a front kick to the body. MacDonald stuffs a takedown and makes Maia pay, landing a nice uppercut. MacDonald with jabs and another big uppercut. And a right straight. MacDonald stuffs one last takedown before the bell. Pretty clear 10-9 for Rory as far as I’m concerned. After a couple of back-to-back stinkers, that was a fantastic performance from Rory MacDonald. Hey look, all the judges got it right! Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). “The animal is back,” MacDonald says. “I’m ready to kick some ass, I’m ready to kill…I want that belt.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we have now entered the “squash match” portion of the evening…

Daniel Cormier vs. Patrick Cummins

Round 1: Cormier takes the center of the cage. Cummins lands a sharp leg kick. He shoots, Cormier defends. Cummins with a nice body kick. Cormier lands a hard uppercut. Some hockey-fighting from the clinch. Cummins literally turns his back and runs away. Cormier follows him and throws bombs. An uppercut from Cormier glances off the side of Cummins’s head, and Cummins hits the mat. Cormier starts throwing down bombs. Cummins rolls and turtles. More big, nasty shots from Cormier and it’s all over. Cummins tries to get to his feet. He looks disappointed with the stoppage, but come on bro, you were gonna get killed out there. Daniel Cormier def. Patrick Cummins via TKO, 1:19 of round 1.

Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann

Round 1: Rousey storms to the center of the Octagon, and McMann lands multiple punches to Ronda’s dome as she’s coming in. They clinch against the fence and Rousey lands a hard knee to the body and a sharp elbow. They trade knees. Rousey lands another knee to the liver and McMann drops to the mat and covers up. Herb Dean steps in…just as McMann grabs a leg and tries to recover. The crowd boos the stoppage as premature. But what are you gonna do, McMann dropped like a corpse. Ronda Rousey def. Sara McMann via TKO, 1:06 of round  1. So that’s what it looks like to see Ronda win by something other than an armbar…interesting.

Well damn, the main card is over in two hours, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to replay any of the prelims. Are Goldberg and Rogan going to have to kill time for a full hour? I want no part of this. Good night, all.

UFC 169 Results: Barao TKOs Faber, Aldo Decisions Lamas


(I’ll eat my own foot if the word “bro” wasn’t uttered at least once. / Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

Legacies will be defined, belts may or may not change hands, and “Bagautinov” will be pronounced at least three different ways — welcome, ladies and gents, to CagePotato’s liveblog of UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber. On tap for this evening: Renan Barao attempts to defend his unified bantamweight title for the first time against Urijah Faber, and Jose Aldo goes for his sixth UFC featherweight title defense against hard-charging contender Ricardo Lamas. Plus: a heavyweight battle between Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir that’s totally awesome if you don’t think about it too hard.

Handling play-by-play for the UFC 169 pay-per-view broadcast is Aaron Mandel, who will be putting live results from the main card after the jump, starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest updates, and shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. Thanks for coming.


(I’ll eat my own foot if the word “bro” wasn’t uttered at least once. / Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

Legacies will be defined, belts may or may not change hands, and “Bagautinov” will be pronounced at least three different ways — welcome, ladies and gents, to CagePotato’s liveblog of UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber. On tap for this evening: Renan Barao attempts to defend his unified bantamweight title for the first time against Urijah Faber, and Jose Aldo goes for his sixth UFC featherweight title defense against hard-charging contender Ricardo Lamas. Plus: a heavyweight battle between Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir that’s totally awesome if you don’t think about it too hard.

Handling play-by-play for the UFC 169 pay-per-view broadcast is Aaron Mandel, who will be putting live results from the main card after the jump, starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest updates, and shoot your own thoughts into the comments section. Thanks for coming.

Preliminary card results
– Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
– Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Nick Catone def. Tom Watson via split-decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
– Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 28-27)
– Clint Hester def. Andy Enz via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 30-26)
– Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)

Alright everyone, we are live for the UFC 169 PPV card!  The first seven (7!) fights all went to decision so if you’re just tuning in now congrats on not wasting your life, we must be due for something good.

Abel Trujillo vs. Jamie Varner

Varner took this on slightly short notice as an injury replacement for Bobby Green and he’ll be looking to keep his career resurgence going against the the up and comer Trujillo.

Round 1- Left hook lands for Varner.  Good one-two from Trujillo.  Right hand lands from Varner.  Two big shots just miss from Trujillo.  Varner hits a right hand and Trujillo answers.  Good even exchanges so far.  Ducking left hook for Varner.  Trujillo clinches and tries for a takedown but Varner reverses and has Trujillo’s back.  Varner rolls with him and stays on the back looking to sink in hooks.  They scramble and Varner is in north south working a choke.  The attempt looks deep but Trujillo gives the classic thumbs up.  Varner tightens the choke but releases and tries to transition to mount but looses position and they return to the feet.  A wild exchange ensues and both fighters are clipped but seem okay.  Good straight left lands from Trujillo followed by a knee, great round. 10-9 Varner.

Round 2- Trujillo comes out firing but mostly missing.  Front kick from Varner.  Left hook tags Trujillo and tries to pounce but Trujillo fires back and clips Varner who shoots in on the legs.  They are both standing and Varner clips Trujillo who goes against the fence and then slumps forward for a takedown.  Varner sprawls and works strikes.  Varner swivels to the back as Trujillo rises against the cage.  They go rock em sock em robots against the cage and Trujillo is taking the worst of it but is still in the fight, but he is seriously wobbled.  Out of nowhere Trujillo unloads a right hand that puts Varner out cold!!! Wild fight, holy shit.

Abel Trujillo defeats Jamie Varner via KO, 2:32 of round 2

Trujillo admits in the post-fight interview he was seriously hurt before getting the KO, love the honesty and the warrior spirit! This will be hard to top for FOTN and maybe KOTN.

Ali Bagautinov vs. John Lineker

Lineker has more UFC experience and top level KO power for 125 lbs. but Bagautinov can bring it and has shown it up to this point.  Lineker struggled to make weight (again) yesterday so we’ll see if his gas tank can last if it needs to.  Winner of this might get a Flyweight title shot in this new, emerging division.

At the check-in point they clip Lineker’s fingernail as Rogan starts with the mani/pedi jokes. NJ commission is world-class and Lineker cannot seem to keep his shit together.

Round 1- Lineker stalking and rips a right but Ali times it well and hits a takedown, looking to pass from full guard. Lineker working elbows from the bottom and man, he really does hit hard.  Ali postures up and looks to rain down strikes.  Ali trying to pass but Lineker doing a good job maintaining full guard.  Lineker spins for a leg lock agains the sambo master as Rogan clowns on him.  Ali switches to a heel hook of his own and sits back on it, looked good but Lineker spins out and they stand.  Lineker taunts Ali to stand and strike.  Lineker stalking again as Ali moves around the edge of the Octagon.  Lineker throws a right body kick with Ali catches and uses to take Lineker down where he is on top in half guard throwing punches.  Lineker trying for a kimura from the bottom as round ends.  10-9 Bagautinov.

Round 2- Low kicks from both men to start.  Ali dives in on the legs for a takedown but it’s from way too far out and they end up against the fence.  Ali flurries with strikes and they tie up in the clinch.  They split, left hooks from Ali as he moves constantly to avoid Lineker’s power.  Huge body shot right punch from Lineker and two more, ouch, these look good.  Ali dives for a takedown which fails and those body shots hurt him.  Lineker opening up and starting to tag Ali and the momentum is shifting.  Ali dives under a punch for a takedown.  Lineker sprawls and throws elbows to the body as he rises against the fence.  They separate and Ali hits some good punches to the head of Lineker, kick is blocked and Ali goes for a takedown which fails.  Round ends with a flurry, Lineker landing some heavy shots.  10-9 Lineker.

Round 3- By my unofficial scoring it will come down to this round.  Ali wades in through strikes and get a takedown from a clinch trip but Lineker gets back to his feet.  Ali throws Lineker back down from the body lock.  Ali working to full mount as Lineker works a kimura and recovers half guard.  Lineker uses the fence to get back up but gets hit with a left and then taken back down by Ali.  Half guard with Ali on top and Rogan makes the good point that Lineker’s cardio remarkably seems okay as we’re halfway through the third round.  They are clinched against the cage with Ali working knees.  They separate, one minute left.  Ali dives in on a leg and gets it, even from quite far out.  Ali working strikes on top as Lineker goes for a leg lock and eats some strikes to pay for it.  The fight ends with Lineker working a leg lock as Bagautinov stands up flexing and playing to the crowd.  10-9 Bagautinov.

Ali Bagautinov defeats John Lineker via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem

Time for the big boys to throw down.  Both have been on the wrong end of KO’s as of late and the loser could be out of the UFC.

Round 1- BIG DUDES! Touch of the gloves and some feeling out.  High kick by Mir, body punch from Overeem.  Low kick by Overeem and a right hand from Mir.  Mir comes in with strikes and clinches but Overeem reverses and throws some knees.  They split, leg kick from Overeem and he lands a short left hand on Mir.  Left hook behind the ear of Mir.  Thai clinch from Overeem and a knee to the body makes Mir spit.  Overeem drops Mir with a knee to the head from the clinch and he is hanging on for dear life on the ground as Overeem pours it on.  Overeem is pinning Mir’s hand behind his head big brother style.  Mir eats a knee to the body but rises to his feet!  Did Overeem gas again@!!?!? They split and back on the feet.  Overeem looks fresh still, that cardio training has paid off.  Mir comes in with a kick and a punch that are slow and miss.  They clinch and Mir drops for a leglock but ends up on the bottom in half guard.  Overeem drops two hammerfists and an elbow to the midsection.  Round ends with Overeem on top but Mir survives.  10-9 Overeem.

Round 2- Straight left from Overeem snaps Mir’s head back.  Leg kick from Mir and then another which is checked.  Overeem catches a leg and throws Mir like a small child to the mat but backs off.  Mir comes in with strikes that are slow again and miss.  Overeem clinches and throws knees to the body against the fence.  Ref separates them and back to the center.  Overeem throws three big strikes which land.  Mir runs in and scores a bumrush takedown.  Overeem sitting up against the cage with Mir trying to stay on top.  Mir briefly threatens with a guillotine but loses it and finds himself on the bottom with Overeem throwing strikes again.  Overeem continues to work strikes on top in half guard.  Mir is bloodied around his right eye in multiple places.  Big left elbow from Overeem and Mir is getting beaten up.  Mir gets full guard from the bottom and tries to use the cage to roll and reverse.  Overeem stands up while Mir lays in guard.  Ref stands them up and the round ends.  10-9 Overeem.

Round 3- Two high kicks miss from Mir.  Mir tries for a takedown, runs into the brick wall of Overeem’s body and then pulls guard.  Overeem does not want to play on the ground and stands up.  Mir shoots for another takedown but again has to pull guard and ends up on the bottom in half guard eating some punches from Overeem.  Two big left hands land from Overeem on top and Mir ties him up.  Overeem working strikes to the head and body from guard.  Overeem is laying a methodical beating on Mir and he stands up to force Mir to rise.  Big straight right rocks Mir who looks longingly at the clock.  Overeem begs Mir to swing at him but Mir just flails a weak kick and eats two more big strikes from Overeem as the right ends.  10-9 Overeem.

Alistair Overeem defeats Frank Mir via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Champ Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas

For some reason the heavier fight is not the headliner.  Lamas is rocking a great mohawk mullet, may it give him the strength he needs because Aldo is the clear favorite and maybe the pound for pound best.

Round 1- Leg kick from Lamas and another.  Head kick misses from Lamas.  Aldo throwing lots of fakes and feeling Lamas out.  Two minutes in and Aldo has thrown three strikes.  More leg kicks from Lamas which Aldo is mostly checking.  Two strikes and a kick from Aldo.  Spinning kick to the body from Aldo.  Jumping head kick from Lamas is blocked.  Body kick from Lamas and he slips and Aldo pounces throwing head and body shots but no major damage.  Lamas working more kicks, high and low, none landing.  Right hand from Aldo to the head and rips another to the body.  Two spinning kicks miss from Aldo.  First round ends with Aldo throwing flying knee and punches.  More missed than landed in that round, fortunately we’ve got four more if we need them! 10-9 Lamas.

Round 2- Aldo checks a leg kick and blocks a high kick.  Lamas throws a slow wheel kick which also doesn’t land.  Punch and low kick from Aldo, that hurt.  Straight right from Aldo.  Leg kick from Lamas doesn’t land fully, body punch from Aldo and two more.  Good leg kick from Aldo, his are way more successful than Lamas’.  Aldo clips Lamas with a left hand.  Good leg kick from Aldo.  Jabs and a leg kick from Aldo, he’s starting to turn it up.  Another leg kick bends Lamas around.  Wheel kick misses from Lamas.  Lamas’ leg is starting to give out on the kicks.  Wheel kick again from Lamas that is blocked followed by another that totally misses.  10-9 Aldo.

Round 3- Lamas comes out with a front kick and then a body kick.  Leg kick from Aldo.  Punch and a leg kick from Aldo.  Aldo blocks a head kick and throws a leg kick.  Aldo with more leg kicks and punches.  Lamas tries for a single leg takedown but Aldo shrugs it off.  Lamas with a head kick that was close, leg kick from Aldo, obviously.  Front push kick frmo Lamas and Aldo drills him with a leg kick.  Uppercut from Lamas and an overhand right from Aldo.  Two jabs and a straight right from Aldo.  Lamas misses with two headkicks.  Body punch from Aldo and another leg kick.  Lamas is still in the fight though, he’s taking it and pushing on, throwing strong strikes of his own.  Right hand and leg kick from Lamas.  Lamas got Aldo with a right.  10-9 Aldo.

Round 4- Aldo has tended to fade in the championship rounds, we’ll see how this goes.  Lamas goes for a single leg takedown which Aldo defends as he backs against the cage.  Lamas lifts Aldo into the air against the cage and Aldo just chills there in midair for awhile.  Aldo reverses and puts Lamas against the cage.  Aldo trips Lamas and takes him to the mat.  Aldo on top in side control looking for an arm triangle.  Aldo now in half guard.  Lamas with butterfly guard and Aldo jumps over them and lands in mount.  Lamas rolls and gives up his back.  Aldo goes for a choke but can’t get it under the chin.  Lamas gets to his feet and now shoots in on Aldo who has his back against the cage defending against Lamas.  10-9 Aldo.

Round 5- I think Lamas has to finish here to win. Lamas comes out aggressive with a flurry of body kicks.  Lamas swings for the fences but misses and Aldo presses him against the cage.  Aldo drags Lamas down against the cage and is in full guard.  Aldo moves to side control and then mount.  Lamas throws his hips and reverses Aldo.  Lamas now on top in full guard.  Lamas diving down with strikes but Aldo defending.  Big elbow from Lamas and he wants it but Aldo is doing a good job of somewhat desperately tying him up.  Lamas’ corner is screaming that he needs to finish and Lamas is pouring it on.  Aldo ties him back up in full guard and is hanging on tight.  A few final punches and elbows from Lamas as the round ends.  10-9 Lamas and I think Aldo will take it three rounds to two, but who am I?

Jose Aldo defeats Ricardo Lamas via unanimous decision (49-46 x3)

Aldo gives Lamas credit in his postfight interview as the humble champ retains the belt.

Champ Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber

Faber has been on an absolute tear since his previous loss to Barao and he steps up on short notice for another crack at a title that has eluded him since earlier in his WEC days. Barao has been on a run of his own, dude hasn’t lost since 2005 in his first fight.  Faber has lost his last 5 title fights and won everything else, he is still evolving and improving but you have to wonder at age 34 if he’ll get another shot if he loses tonight. My heart wants Faber, my head says Barao, it’s tough out here.

Round 1- Kicks and punches from both to start, nothing landing.  Faber catches a leg and lands a left on Barao.  Lots of kicks from Barao, nothing really landing so far.  Body shot by Faber, he slips and briefly turtles up as Barao strikes.  Faber stands up with a spinning back fist and he smiles at Barao.  Body shot head shot combo from Faber and his striking looks good, thanks Duane Ludwig.  Head kick blocked from Barao.  Good leg kick by Barao.  Barao floors Faber with a punch and dives in.  Faber covering up for his life but he gets back to his feet!  Barao hits Faber some more and he tries for a leg desperately.  Barao drops Faber again and Faber goes flat on the canvas for a second before grabbing Barao’s leg again.  Barao raining down punches as Faber covers up.  Referee Herb Dean jumps in and stops the fight.  Faber holds on in disbelief to Barao’s leg and tells Dean that he was fine and giving a thumbs up.  It’s to no avail and the champ retains his belt.

Renan Barao defeats Urijah Faber via tko, round 1

From where I sit, on my couch, that was a bad stoppage.  No one except Herb Dean is in the cage making those calls officially but we’re all entitled to our opinions.  My opinion is that Faber should have been given every opportunity to stay in that fight and he was robbed of that.  I bet Eddie Wineland agrees.

Faber stays classy in his interview but agrees the stoppage was early, obviously, and suggests that “a limp body” would be a better indicator to stop the fight.  Rogan suggests that Chad Mendes, Faber’s teammate should get the next shot, Faber reminds Rogan that Mendes is a weight class above.  ”I’m retarded,” muses Rogan, outsmarted by a guy who was on the verge of consciousness a minute ago.  And on that note, have a good night.

UFC Fight Night 35 Aftermath: Rockhold TKO’s Philippou With Body-Kick, Dana White Returns Fire on GSP at Post-Fight Press Conference

(Props: FOX Sports)

Erasing the bitter memory of his unsuccessful Octagon debut, Luke Rockhold began building his own UFC highlight-reel last night at UFC Fight Night 35 with a first-round body-kick TKO of Costa Philippou. Rockhold picked up a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the effort. At the post-fight press conference, Rockhold did what every surging middleweight does after a big win — he called out Michael Bisping:

“I’m looking at anyone in the middleweight division to get myself back into (title) position,” Rockhold said. “I already let it be known Bisping’s out there. A lot of people are calling him out, but Bisping went on national TV and told everybody he was the unofficial Strikeforce champion. He calls it a joke and this and that, but I say he’s got bad taste and he needs to pay for it.”

In other bonus news, featherweight Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for his second-round rear-naked choke of Sam Sicilia — which Miller followed up by calling out Donald “Clownboy” Cerrone in the post-fight interview — while middleweights Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson both got $50,000 bumps for FOTN. Highlights from both those matches are embedded at the end of this post.

Romero — who earned his third-consecutive KO/TKO win in the UFC by stopping Brunson with savage ground-and-pound in the third round — claims to have not pooped his pants during the match, despite damning Vine evidence to the contrary. However, Romero can’t deny the dick-punch he landed on Brunson. That was ugly, bro.

In injury news…


(Props: FOX Sports)

Erasing the bitter memory of his unsuccessful Octagon debut, Luke Rockhold began building his own UFC highlight-reel last night at UFC Fight Night 35 with a first-round body-kick TKO of Costa Philippou. Rockhold picked up a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the effort. At the post-fight press conference, Rockhold did what every surging middleweight does after a big win — he called out Michael Bisping:

“I’m looking at anyone in the middleweight division to get myself back into (title) position,” Rockhold said. “I already let it be known Bisping’s out there. A lot of people are calling him out, but Bisping went on national TV and told everybody he was the unofficial Strikeforce champion. He calls it a joke and this and that, but I say he’s got bad taste and he needs to pay for it.”

In other bonus news, featherweight Cole Miller won Submission of the Night for his second-round rear-naked choke of Sam Sicilia — which Miller followed up by calling out Donald “Clownboy” Cerrone in the post-fight interview — while middleweights Yoel Romero and Derek Brunson both got $50,000 bumps for FOTN. Highlights from both those matches are embedded at the end of this post.

Romero — who earned his third-consecutive KO/TKO win in the UFC by stopping Brunson with savage ground-and-pound in the third round — claims to have not pooped his pants during the match, despite damning Vine evidence to the contrary. However, Romero can’t deny the dick-punch he landed on Brunson. That was ugly, bro.

In injury news, Derek Brunson was taken to a hospital after the event to reportedly have surgery on a fractured jaw. (I’m surprised he didn’t have a bunch of broken ribs as well, thanks to all those elbows that Romero dropped on him in the finish. By the way, was that a late stoppage or what? Referee Blake Grice should have to chip in for Brunson’s medical bills.) Also, Cole Miller broke his hand and will find out today if he needs surgery.

Despite a losing effort against Elias Silverio, Isaac Vallie-Flagg scored a moral victory during the prelims with this tale-of-the-tape photo:

In semi-related news, Dana White took some time at the “Rockhold vs. Philippou” post-fight press conference to respond to Georges St-Pierre’s recent criticism of the UFC’s drug-testing policies. Unsurprisingly, White called St-Pierre “kooky” and questioned his manhood. Some notable quotes via MMAMania:

First of all, I don’t know if anybody remembers this but Georges St. Pierre is the one who said that he wanted to do the extra drug testing because he wanted to prove that he wasn’t on drugs. It wasn’t that he thought that Johny Hendricks was on steroids or performance enhancing drugs of any kind; he wanted to do this…[Y]ou see it in boxing all the time. One guy comes out and says ‘I want to do extra drug testing because I’m worried about this guy and I want to see what’s going on.’ They never come to an agreement. This guy says ‘I want to use this one’, this guy says ‘I want to use that one’; the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to test them, okay?

Now, a lot of things… I’ve talked about the Nevada State Athletic Commission as far as the refs and the judges; they drug test. Not only did they drug test Josh Barnett for his last fight because Josh Barnett has been busted for performance enhancing drugs before, they also made Travis Browne do it at the same time and the UFC paid for that. We paid for that drug testing. Also, for him to say we’re very lenient on drug testing, when we go out of the country and we regulate ourselves we test everybody on the card, not just the main event, not just the co-main event. You want to talk about being lenient? The fight that I was screaming about, yelling about that it was the greatest fight I’ve ever seen, Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot Silva, we tested the guys for that fight, we caught Bigfoot Silva, and he got destroyed. Literally, got destroyed for going over the limit.

He didn’t test positive, what he did was: Vitor Belfort, Bigfoot Silva, any of these other guys that are on TRT we test them throughout their whole camp. He did his last test the week of the fight and his numbers were fine. He took a shot after he got tested. So we tested him again after and his levels were through the roof and he got destroyed. Lost the win money that we gave him, lost the bonus money that we gave him, and obviously he’s not getting an extra bonus. The guy got smashed, and he’s suspended for a year. So if that’s lenient on drugs I guess we’re lenient then. I mean, I don’t even know what to say to it…

What I heard is Georges St. Pierre is upset about some of the things I said at the press conference and he’s upset that I said that he didn’t win the fight, that I thought Johny Hendricks won the fight. But if that’s the case, call me man-to-man. Let’s talk on the phone, let’s sit down face-to-face. I talked to him after the fight face-to-face (and) he didn’t say any of that to me. So the whole thing is a little weird…

And then as far as the other thing he said that we’re a monopoly? Viacom is our competitor. They have a $40 billion market cap. $40 billion. I’m never going to see $40 billion for as long as I live. Neither will the UFC, so we’re not a monopoly either.

So, everything Georges St. Pierre says is a little kooky. That’s the other thing too: I’m here, I’ve been in Atlanta, I’ve been on planes, and doing all this stuff. Lorenzo reached out to him and Lorenzo still hasn’t heard from him yet. If Georges St. Pierre wants to talk like a man he can pick up the phone and call us or come see us face-to-face, but everything that he said is ridiculous.”

Full results from UFC Fight Night 35 are below; click the links for video highlights from each fight.

UFC Fight Night 35 Main Card Results
– Luke Rockhold def. Costa Philippou via TKO, 2:31 of round 1
Brad Tavares def. Lorez Larkin via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– TJ Dillashaw def. Mike Easton via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Yoel Romero def. Derek Brunson via TKO, 3:23 of round 3
John Moraga def. Dustin Ortiz via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Cole Miller def. Sam Sicilia via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:54 of round 2

Preliminary Card Results:
Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Elias Silverio def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-27 x 3)*
Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Louis Smolka def. Alptekin Ozkilic via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Vinc Pichel def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Beneil Dariush def. Charlie Brenneman via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:45 of round 1

* Silverio had a point deducted for an illegal knee.

UFC Fight Night 35: Rockhold vs. Philippou — Main Card Results & Commentary


(Luke and Costa face off in front of the wax replica of Dana White that the UFC has been sending to non-essential events. No offense, guys. At least you’re not on Fight Pass. / Photo via Getty)

Look, what can we tell you about UFC Fight Night 35 that we haven’t already expressed via dog GIFs? Luke Rockhold and Costa Philippou are a pair of highly-regarded middleweights who are trying to avoid a two-fight losing streak. Supporting their main event is a worthwhile list of TUF vets (Brad Tavares, TJ Dillashaw, Cole Miller, Sam Sicilia), a former flyweight title challenger (John Moraga), and a fast-rising knockout artist named Yoel Romero. It’s on cable TV, and early enough to watch while you’re eating your salisbury steak. Take it or leave it.

Handling our liveblog of the “Rockhold vs. Philippou” FOX Sports 1 main card is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if you’re watching along with us, join the conversation in the comments section.


(Luke and Costa face off in front of the wax replica of Dana White that the UFC has been sending to non-essential events. No offense, guys. At least you’re not on Fight Pass. / Photo via Getty)

Look, what can we tell you about UFC Fight Night 35 that we haven’t already expressed via dog GIFs? Luke Rockhold and Costa Philippou are a pair of highly-regarded middleweights who are trying to avoid a two-fight losing streak. Supporting their main event is a worthwhile list of TUF vets (Brad Tavares, TJ Dillashaw, Cole Miller, Sam Sicilia), a former flyweight title challenger (John Moraga), and a fast-rising knockout artist named Yoel Romero. It’s on cable TV, and early enough to watch while you’re eating your salisbury steak. Take it or leave it.

Handling our liveblog of the “Rockhold vs. Philippou” FOX Sports 1 main card is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if you’re watching along with us, join the conversation in the comments section.

Preliminary card results:
– Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
– Elias Silverio def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision (29-27 x 3)*
– Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Louis Smolka def. Alptekin Ozkilic via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Vinc Pichel def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Beneil Dariush def. Charlie Brenneman via submission (rear-naked choke), 1:45 of round 1

* Silverio had a point deducted for an illegal knee.

Just a few minutes of intro stuff we already know, and here comes the first bout of the noche. Fight Night 35 is shaping up to be a Tic Tac-and-a-rubber type of gal: nothing fancy, just right to bidness.

Cole Miller vs. Sam Sicilia

Rd. 1 – Sicilia takes the center of the cage and puts his jab to work a little. The much taller Miller is getting it going after a slow opening minute, but neither man is getting too nasty with it just yet. Sicilia wades in, looking for a hook, but Miller is patient and sidesteps the inside hooks. Miller is testing out the head kick, it seems. Sicilia nails Miller with a tough right hand to the mid-section. Again Miller brings the kick upstairs. Sicilia is throwing his hooks hard now, but Miller is still patient and fighting behind his jab.  He’s committed to that head kick, but isn’t throwing it too hard, and Sicilia keeps coming in with wide, hard shots. Decent opening round.

Rd. 2 – Miller opens with a high kick, and Sicilia answers with hooks. Miller employs the front kick. A left hook-right cross combo seems to hurt Sicilia, and you can see the damage under his left eye. Nice body shot from Sicilia. BIG right staggers and drops Sicilia. Miller pounces and slaps on a guillotine from half guard. Oh boy. Now he’s got his back…Sicilia is flattened out on his stomach…rear naked…tappy tap.

Cole Miller wins via Rd. 2 rear naked choke (and then calls out Cowboy Cerrone).

John Moraga vs. Dustin Ortiz

Rd. 1 – Big overhand right from the very energetic Ortiz just 20 seconds in, but Moraga takes it. He shoots on Ortiz…nah. Ortiz shoots now, scrambles behind Moraga, and presses him against the cage. Moraga is throwing short punches and knees from off the fence as Ortiz presses and works for position. Knees from Ortiz now, and there’s the takedown. Ortiz is in Moraga’s guard and dropping punches. Moraga can’t get up, it seems. Moraga is against the cage with Ortiz all over him. Ortiz is in half guard now and stays active from top position. MOraga going for the triangle? Looks like it. Yup. Ortiz is really throwing hard now. Bye bye, triangle attempt. Dominant round for Ortiz.

Rd. 2 – Moraga is kicking early as Ortiz bounces around the center of the cage. Nice leg kick from Moraga. Good short right hand from Moraga. Big ol’ left hook from Moraga staggers Ortiz. That was some power right there. Ortiz recovers, but Moraga has him against the cage now. They’re off the fence. Ortiz slips as Moraga feints, and Moraga is all over him. Ortiz has a hold of his leg, but he’s throwing some hard elbows. Moraga takes Ortiz’s back now. Here we go. Uh-oh, Ortiz escapes and is in side control. They scramble and are back on the feet. A hard right-left combo from Moraga connects. Ortiz shoots and has Moraga’s back with seconds left. Much better round for Moraga.

Rd. 3 – Moraga misses a big overhand right that could have been all she wrote. Moraga stuffs an Ortiz shoot and is the much more poised stand-up fighter so far. Nice right from Ortiz over the top, right on cue. Both men are throwing combos with limited success, and there’s a takedown from Ortiz. Ortiz is moving into half guard and dropping forearms. Moraga wants the kimura but can’t get it. Moraga pops up, tries for Ortiz’s back, but Ortiz reverses and has Moraga on the fence. Knees from Ortiz. Ortiz nails one last takedown. Moraga wants the guillotine, as Ortiz pounds the body. Close fight.

John Moraga wins via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Hey, there’s Ric Flair cageside, looking like death warmed over. Whooo!

Yoel Romero vs. Derek Brunson

Rd. 1- Big early left hand from Brunson. Bigger left and flying knee from Romero. Brunson gets a takedown, but Romero is back up like it aint no thang. Brunson fires a 1-2. Nice left hand to the body from Romero, but GOD DAMN  did Brunson just land a monster kick to the ear of the burly Cuban gent. Wow. I’d be dead. Brunson stuffs a takedown and kicks at the lead leg. The head kick misses for Brunson. Romero with the trip takedown, but Brunson gets up and slams down Romero after a busy scramble. The round ends with both guys locked up in the center of the cage.

Rd. 2 – Brunson misses the 1-2, but hits with the right hook. Romero punches the body, but the shot is deflected to the nether regions of Brunson. Time out briefly, and we’re back. Romero is loading up for a big uppercut or hook, but Brunson lands a hard elbow in the meantime. Romero misses with wide, wild shots. Romero connects with the lead left and the right to the body. Brunson nails the takedown and is in half guard with 2 min. left. And now Brunson has the mount. Romero isn’t doing much from the botton but is avoiding any real punishment. Brunson is back in half guard, and they’re up. Romero is throwing for the KO uppercut but misses the mark. Romero misses a few takedowns, and that’s the bell.

Rd. 3 – Brunson circles away as Romero wades in for the close-quarters assault. Brunson’s half-assed takedown is stuffed with one hand. The pace has slowed markedly. Each man flicks a kick at the opponent’s lead leg. Big right from Romero drops Brunson to a knee, but he’s back up. Knee from Brunson now. Romero is loading up that uppercut. Big left from Romero. And another…Brunson is down! Romero is on him. Brunson is down and bloodied, and Romero is elbowing the shit out of his right ribs. That’s it.

Yoel Romero wins via Rd. 3 TKO (elbows).

TJ Dillashaw vs. Mike Easton

Rd. 1 – Easton fires a side kick immediately. Both men are throwing hard and moving forward early on. Dillashaw slips and lands a right. Dillashaw kicks the body. Easton returns the favor and drops Dillashaw for a second. Dillashaw grabs Easton’s knees and had his down against the cage. Easton has Dillashaw in his guard, pushes Dillashaw away with his legs, and is back up to his feet. Dillashaw clinches and takes some knees from Easton. They separate. Dillashaw lands some good short fists as he comes forward. Left uppercut-right cross combo hits for Dillashaw. Nice one. Dillashaw switches to south[paw and lands a knee to the chin. Dillashaw nails Easton with two big rights, and Easton circles away from the power. Good action.

Rd. 2 – Dillashaw is definitely landing the harder, more crisp punches, but Easton isn’t going anywhere. Easton misses the takedown, Dillashaw takes his back, and Easton finds himself fighting off a very aggressive Dillashaw from half guard. Easton’s left eye is cut. Dillashaw pounds away with the left hand. Easton is up, but takes a knee from Dillashaw. Oooh. Easton misses two spinning kicks and is again smothered by Dillashaw. Easton is down on a knee with his back to the fence and with Dillashaw in his half guard once again. Easton is up, but Dillashaw is on his back, looking to get both hooks in. Dillashaw knees Easton’s legs. Easton can’t shake Dillashaw off his back. More knees from Dillashaw. Easton wants the straight elbow, but Dillashaw slips away.

Rd. 3 – Dillashaw connects with a short uppercut in the center of the cage.  Easton looks frustrated offensively and eats a right hook from Dillashaw. Big left kick to the body from Dillashaw, who seems to be in complete control of the striking exchanges. Dillashaw connects with a front kick that keeps Easton back. Easton is coming in, looking for something, but Dillashaw lands shots before Easton can make up his mind. Dillashaw is pulling away, it seems. Easton wants to clinch; Dillashaw punches his face, so no more clinch. Dillashaw is landing his combination punches seemingly at will. Easton is throwing punches in isolation, and Dillashaw is kneeing and punching as the bell sounds. Easton was dominated.

TJ Dillashaw wins via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).

Brad Tavares vs. Lorenz Larkin

Rd. 1 – Tavares opens with an inside leg kick. Tavares connects with a left hook. Larkin ust misses with the Super Man punch, and Tavares counters with the left-right combo. Larkin’s uppercut is just off the mark. Larkin brings a hard kick upstairs that Tavares blocks. Tavares throws a high klick of his own now. Tavares again kicks at the lead leg. Larkin reciprocates with the same kick. Larkin lands a punch combo from close range. Larkin kicks the lead leg, but Tavares counters with a straight punch. Larkin misses a wild kick and Tavares takes his back. Tavares drags him to a knee and has his back. Horn.

Rd. 2 – Again Tavares targets the lead leg with kicks, and he follows up with a left-right. Larkin just misses with the uppercut – looked good, but nothing. Tavares keeps kicking and follows with two punches to the facial. Tavares is keeping it simple and is winning this fight, kids.  Larkin misses another uppercut and eats a counter right from Tavares. Tavares works the body, and both men are kicking one another’s lead thighs. Tavares goes for a single, gets the takedown, and has Larkin’s back. Both hooks are in and he wants the RNC. Tavares with the hammer heels to Larkin’s right leg. Larkin escapes and is in Tavares’s guard for the final seconds of the frame.

Rd. 3 – Tavares comes out hot: punching, kicking, charging forward. The Larkin offense has been confined to missed uppercuts and some successful kicks to Tavares’s left thigh, but nothing so far from the right hand. Larkin just landed a pretty good elbow, but Tavares answers with the right hand. Larkin kicks to the body, but Tavares catches the kick and goes for the takedown. Larkin grabs the head for a guillotine, but Tavares sprawls out. Tavares lands a cracking right hand, shoots in on Larkin, and presses him against the fence. Larkin lands some vicious elbows to the ear. Those look horrible. Tavares snatches a single, but Larkin stays up and lands a good uppercut, finally. Tavares again wants the single, but Larkin avoids it. Horn.

Brad Tavares wins via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3).

Costas Philippou vs Luke Rockhold

Rd. 1 – Philippou opens things up with a shot to the body. Rockhold answers with a body kick. Philippou is circling and Rockhold connects with a right hook that drops the Long Islander. Philippou is right up and lands a big right of his own. Rockhold lands a hard kick to the head. Philippou is bleeding but still connects with another right. WHOA! Rockhold threw a left kick to the body, punched upstairs, and then kicked the body again and dropped Philippou. Herb Dean rushed in and waved it off.

Luke Rockhold wins via Rd. 1 TKO (body kick).

That’ll do ‘er.

UFC on FOX 9: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 — Live Results & Commentary


(It was then that Demetrious realized his own head was chilly, and the envy built up inside him, poisonous and overwhelming. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

The UFC is setting up shop at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento this evening, and while injuries have hacked this card down to a hobbling shell of its former self, we’ll still happily tune in to watch the Team Alpha Male crew defend its home turf on network television. On the docket for this evening: Joseph Benavidez takes another crack at reigning flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, local legend Urijah Faber takes on 22-year-old bantamweight phenom Michael McDonald, and Chad Mendes looks for his fifth-straight KO/TKO in the featherweight division against Nik Lentz. Plus, Joe Lauzon and Mac Danzig kick off the broadcast in a battle between a guy who collects a lot of bonus money and a guy with no sponsors.

Handling our liveblog for this evening is Aaron Mandel, who will be banging out round-by-round results from the UFC on FOX 9 main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you’re feeling in the comments section.


(It was then that Demetrious realized his own head was chilly, and the envy built up inside him, poisonous and overwhelming. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

The UFC is setting up shop at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento this evening, and while injuries have hacked this card down to a hobbling shell of its former self, we’ll still happily tune in to watch the Team Alpha Male crew defend its home turf on network television. On the docket for this evening: Joseph Benavidez takes another crack at reigning flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, local legend Urijah Faber takes on 22-year-old bantamweight phenom Michael McDonald, and Chad Mendes looks for his fifth-straight KO/TKO in the featherweight division against Nik Lentz. Plus, Joe Lauzon and Mac Danzig kick off the broadcast in a battle between a guy who collects a lot of bonus money and a guy with no sponsors.

Handling our liveblog for this evening is Aaron Mandel, who will be banging out round-by-round results from the UFC on FOX 9 main card after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you’re feeling in the comments section.

Preliminary card results
– Ryan LaFlare def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Edson Barboza def. Danny Castillo via majority decision (29-28 x2, 28-28)
– Bobby Green def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
– Zach Makovsky def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Sam Stout def. Cody McKenzie via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Abel Trujillo def. Roger Bowling via TKO, 1:35 of round 2
– Alptekin Ozkilic def. Darren Uyenoyama via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)

Main Card

We’ve got FOX robots, very small men and 3 guys trying to do it on home turf.  Refresh early and often for round-by-round action and leave your comments below.

Joe Lauzon vs. Mac Danzig

Both these lightweights are coming of losses so it’s an important fight for both of their UFC careers.

Round 1- Touch of the gloves to start.  Lauzon throwing a few strikes early.  Lauzon clinches Danzig and drags him to the ground into half guard.  Lauzon working some ground and pound from half guard.  Moves to mount and rains down strikes.  Lauzon rolls for armbar and goes belly down but Danzig escapes and lands on top in Lauzon’s guard.  Butterfly guard from Lauzon working for a sweep, Danzig not doing much.  Lauzon throws his legs up for an armbar that is not there but he switches to omoplata and then triangle, well defended by Danzig and they rise to the feet.  Good knees and elbows from Danzig in the Thai clinch.  Lauzon muscles Danzig down from the clinch and lands in guard.  Round ends with Lauzon on top and probably 10-9 Lauzon.

Round 2- Danzig winning the standup in the early going with punches and kicks.  They clinch and exchange strikes but not much action.  Good body shot and jab from Danzig.  Right hand lands for Danzig.  Danzig works strikes again from the clinch, some knees from Lauzon.  A trip attempt fails for Danzig and Lauzon ends up on top in guard.  Large cut on Danzig with blood getting in the eyes from a Lauzon elbow.  Lauzon working strikes from on top in guard, being patient.  Danzig’s face is entirely covered in blood.  Lauzon moves to half guard and works knees into Danzig’s body.  Danzig recovers butterfly guard and Lauzon postures up and rains down a large strike and falls into side control and then mount.  With ten seconds left he spins for an armbar but Danzig defends.  10-9 Lauzon.

Round 3- Danzig comes out with a flurry of strikes but nothing major lands.  Head collision briefly stops the fight, I did not realize that was a thing.  Danzig initiating clinches more than I’ve ever seen, they separate and throw strikes, Danzig throwing heavier and landing more.  Big elbow and knee from Lauzon and he trips Danzig to the ground.  Lauzon in full guard working ground and pound as he moves to half guard.  Side control for Lauzon with a crucifix on Danzig’s right arm.  Heavy strikes from Lauzon and Danzig is bleeding bad.  Elbows from Lauzon as he mounts.  Huge elbows from mount for Lauzon as he spins for an arm.  He pauses on the arm to rip elbows into Danzig’s body.  Lauzon spins too soon and Danzig ends up on top.  Lauzon turtles, stands and drives Danzig back down.  Lauzon moves to half guard and works knees into side control, some top level top game grappling from Lauzon with big elbows as the fight ends.  10-9 Lauzon and should be his fight.

Joe Lauzon defeats Mac Danzig via unanimous decision, 30-27 x 3

Nik Lentz vs. Chad Mendes

Big cheers for hometowner Mendes, apparently Lentz is huge at 145…

Round 1-  Lentz throws first but Mendes blocks.  Mendes cracks Lentz with a right that rocks Lentz but he survives the flurry and they get back to striking range.  Lentz may have hurt Mendes with a body kick.  Lentz gets wobbled again and his knows is bloodied.  Lentz whiffs on an uppercut and Mendes takes him down.  Lentz escapes back to the feet.  Speed of Mendes is apparent as he keeps landing.  Lentz comes forward with strikes but Mendes perfectly times a takedown.  Lentz successfully defending on the bottom and they are back on the feet.  Mendes with another takedown but he has not been able to work any ground and pound.  10-9 Mendes.

Round 2- A few leg kicks from Mendes and Lentz answers.  Good jab from Mendes.  Right hook and leg kick from Mendes.  Rogan thinks Mendes is tired or maybe hurt from round 1 body kick and he is only one strike at a time.  Takedown from Mendes again but it is short lived and Lentz works back to the feet.  Jab and hook land from Lentz.  Takedown from Mendes yet again but Mendes is not doing much much.  Lentz elevates and they are back to the feet.  Lentz stuffs a takedown but Mendes comes back and hits another one, back on top in guard doing nothing.  10-9 Mendes.

Round 3- Kicks from both fighters to start, nice to the body from Lentz.  Lentz clips Mendes and he either slipped or briefly goes down but back to the feet.  Mendes shoots in but is stuffed and momentum building for Lentz.  Headkick blocked from Mendes and Lentz flurries.  Eye poke on Lentz with only a brief pause in the action.  Good right hand from Lentz.  Mendes briefly gets a takedown but Lentz comes right back up and drills a kick into the body of Mendes.  Two more takedowns from Mendes but they are shortlived.  Left hand lands from Lentz.  Flying knee from Mendes clips Lentz and he goes down and Mendes dives in for a guillotine on top but Lentz is defending.  They rise to the feet and the round ends.  10-9 Lentz?

Chad Mendes defeats Nik Lentz via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)

Apparently Mendes had the cold/flu according to a Dana White tweet which might explain his slightly flat performance.  I wouldn’t take much away from Lentz though, he was a game opponent.

Michael McDonald vs. Urijah Faber

This is a good battle between a young stud in McDonald who has already had great early-career success and a fighter in Faber who is into the second half of his career.  It should prove a lot about where the bantamweight division is headed, if McDonald is ready for another climb to the top or whether Faber will make a final run.

Round 1- Crowd is seriously pumped for Faber and boos McDonald who has one punch power at 135. Touch of gloves to start.  Headkick from Faber into a takedown in first 15 seconds.  Faber working strikes while Rogan salivates over McDonald’s guard.  McDonald working rubber guard with Faber’s left arm stuck, Faber still working strikes.  Good shots from the top from Faber.  McDonald tying Faber up and searching for submissions with his legs.  Some body shots from Faber and Herb Dean stands them up.  Faber dancing around with kicks and shrugs of a clinch takedown from McDonald.  Head kick misses from Faber.  Big knee from McDonald to the body of Faber.  Faber misses with a big windmill right.  Good right hand from Faber lands as the round ends followed by a left.  10-9 Faber.

Round 2- Faber dances and fakes but can’t get an early takedown.  Left hooks land from both fighters.  Faber hits McDonald with a low blow and the action stops.  Restart and Faber nails McDonald with a right hand that has him wobbled.  McDonald fires back off a Faber head kick and hits Faber pretty hard which makes him reconsider his frenzy.  McDonald still unsteady but firing back and lands a good low kick.  Headkick grazes Faber but he cracks McDonald with a right and has him in trouble stumbling all over the Octagon.  Faber pursues like a wild hyena smelling blood and drops McDonald with more strikes, throws a guillotine on and McDonald taps out.  The crowd goes nuts, Rogan goes nuts and McDonald raises the hometown boy’s hand.

Urijah Faber defeats Michael McDonald via guillotine choke, round 2

Champion Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez

It’s time for the rematch of the first flyweight title fight in UFC history which Johnson eeked out in a decision.  Benavidez has been on a tear and is fighting at home, should be a great fight and a great test of my touch typing speed skills.

Round 1- Leg kick from Benavidez, and yep, they are both fast as shit!  Johnson goes down for a quick breakdancing move and then fails on a takedown attempt.  Punches and headkick miss from Benavidez who is more active early with punches and a high amount of kicks.  Johnson darting in and out quickly and loads up on a right hand that catches Benavidez flush and puts him out cold.  Johnson holds onto his title with his most dominant performance yet.

Champion Demetrious Johnson defeats Joseph Benavidez via KO, round 1

Good nights of fights, capped by the main and co-main events, as it should be.  Good night PotatoHeads.

UFC 167 Results: St-Pierre Wins Controversial Decision Against Hendricks


(Tan advantage: Hendricks. Beard advantage: Hendricks. Really, I don’t see how GSP has a shot here. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the UFC, and so much has changed since the wild, awkward days of the early 1990s. Of course, the UFC’s welterweight division has stayed pretty much the same since 2008 — with Georges St. Pierre at the top, dispatching all comers. Will Johny Hendricks be the man to end St-Pierre’s 11-fight win streak and take the gold belt for himself? Nah, probably not. But if you’re a GSP fan, that shouldn’t really matter.

Also on tonight’s UFC 167 lineup: Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans duke it out for no apparent reason, while GSP’s heir-apparent Rory MacDonald faces old-school banger Robbie Lawler in a classic meeting of suit guy vs. t-shirt guy. Handling the play-by-play for the PPV broadcast will be Anthony Gannon, who will be stacking live results after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and throw your own thoughts down in the comments section. Thanks for coming.


(Tan advantage: Hendricks. Beard advantage: Hendricks. Really, I don’t see how GSP has a shot here. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the UFC, and so much has changed since the wild, awkward days of the early 1990s. Of course, the UFC’s welterweight division has stayed pretty much the same since 2008 — with Georges St. Pierre at the top, dispatching all comers. Will Johny Hendricks be the man to end St-Pierre’s 11-fight win streak and take the gold belt for himself? Nah, probably not. But if you’re a GSP fan, that shouldn’t really matter.

Also on tonight’s UFC 167 lineup: Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans duke it out for no apparent reason, while GSP’s heir-apparent Rory MacDonald faces old-school banger Robbie Lawler in a classic meeting of suit guy vs. t-shirt guy. Handling the play-by-play for the PPV broadcast will be Anthony Gannon, who will be stacking live results after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and throw your own thoughts down in the comments section. Thanks for coming.

UFC 167 preliminary card results
– Donald Cerrone def. Evan Dunham via submission (triangle choke), 3:49 round 2
– Thales Leites def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Rick Story def. Brian Ebersole via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Erik Perez def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Jason High def. Anthony Lapsley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Sergio Pettis def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
– Gian Villante def. Cody Donovan via TKO, 1:22 round 2

What up, Potato Nation? Tonight is a big Goddamn deal. Not only is GSP in the house looking to defend his title for the 9th consecutive time, but it’s the UFC’s 20th anniversary. That means a little walk down memory lane is in order.

What were you doing on November 12, 1993 on the night that MMA was created? Sure they already had Vale Tudo in Brazil, Pankration dating back to the ancient Olympics, some bootleg boxing/wrestling hybrid matches here in the states, and God knows what other savagery going on in some parts unknown jungle. But none of that shit created modern MMA. UFC 1 did.

I was a senior in high school, probably, like most nights back then, drinking Milwaukee’s Best and smoking dirt weed behind some factory, trying – futilely in most instances – to get myself laid. I had no clue what the UFC was. To me and most of America back then, fighting consisted of boxing, and if you were a major tool, pro wrestling. Jiu jitsu was not a real thing. It was movie shit. It was that weird leg choke thingy Riggs got Joshua with. By 93 even the karate craze of the 80s had died down. All that took was a couple high school parking lot fights where some misguided dipshit was foolish enough to test his Drunken Monkey style against the captain of the wrestling team. Little did we know during those times that we would be witnessing the same shit happening very soon, and that it would spawn a new sport.

We owe our current obsession to the pioneers, the OGs like Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, and Art “One Glove” Jimmerson. And even though by modern standards UFC 1 was a total fucking freak show, no fight lasted longer than the 4:20 mark. If a modern event showcased that kind of finishing rate we’d be talking about it as Event of the Decade. It was, quite simply, a brutal spectacle. The only thing you weren’t allowed to do was bite and eye gouge – ya know, for safety ‘n shit. Everything else was fair game: hair pulling, nut punches, titty twisters, Indian burns, wedgies, noogies, wet Willies, smudgies, you name it. And it was Goddamn great. What was supposed to be a one-time tournament to introduce Gracie Jiu Jitsu to America ended up selling 86,000 PPVs. At $30 a clip (correct me if I’m wrong on that) that’s just north of $2.5 million. In other words, Rorian Gracie, Art Davie, John Milius and their group of investors made a little loot. No reason not to do the shit again. The rest is history.

If you were in on the ground floor of MMA, salud. I didn’t catch UFC 1 until 1997, and that was only because I found the tape at the Salvation Army store for $1.50. My Marine buddies and I got blitzed and watched it, all the while beating the shit out of each other with absurd moves poached from Kung Fu Theatre. We could scantly appreciate the significance of what we were watching. But it did peak an interest for more. Not long thereafter though, MMA entered its Dark Ages and that interest waned, until about 2003 when it started to appear more regularly, and guys like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, and Randy Couture were becoming popular figures even outside the fringe MMA scene.

The culmination of all that history – the beginning, the evolution, the Dark Ages, the Ultimate Fighter, FOX, and of course the totally unconstitutional Cagepotato Ban – is now upon us in the form of amazing athletes like GSP and Johny Hendricks. In 2003 the UFC did five shows. Just a few years earlier UFC fans were forced underground to search for grainy VHS like the creepy pervs in 8MM. This year they’re running 33 events. Next year they’ll do even more. When MMA fans are griping about too many fights, that’s a high class problem.

Anyway, enough about the old days. We got a serious card about to start, and we should all be sporting some wood. Let’s get it crackin’ up in this piece.

No matter what happens tonight, the move of the night goes to Brian Ebersole for getting the absolute shit beat out of him by Rick Story, yet still getting up after the final buzzer and raising his arms in triumph.

Kenny Florian predicts Woodley, McDonald, Sonnen, and GSP. Daniel Cormier goes with Koscheck, McDonald, Evans, and Hendricks. They either forgot there’s a 5th fight on the main card or just totally are ignoring the poor flyweights.

To kick things off we have Tim Elliott vs. Ali Bagautinov

It’s nice that the flyweights are getting some PPV billing here, especially after the epic diss from K-Flo and Cormier. By conventional logic the guaranteed barnburner of Donald Cerrone vs. Evan Dunham should have kicked things off. But here we see the UFC showing the 125ers some good loving. Ali Bagautinov – who for the purposes of keeping shit simple will henceforth be known as just Ali – is a good prospect who has won his last nine, seven by some form of violent stoppage. Plus he’s Russian, so that fills the Ivan Drago slot for emotionless scary dude that any quality fight card is required to have.

Tim Elliot is riding a two fight win streak after falling short versus Jon Dodson in his Octagon debut. He packs a decent punch for a flyweight and is sporting the corn rows.

Round 1: Elliot going forward with his hands down, taunting Ali. Elliot misses a couple jabs, Ali lands a right. Ali misses a huge hook. Elliot goes for a spinning backfist, misses by a mile. They clinch, separate with no damage done. Elliot throws a grossly telegraphed kick, misses badly. The tie up, Elliott with a nice knee to the body. Ali lands a right. Elliott with a leg kick. Ali lands a huge right, buckles Elliott. But he looks recovered. Ali lands another right. Elliott continues to press forward. Ali lands a takedown, Elliott pops right back up. Left hook from Ali, Elliott responds with a combo. Ali misses an uppercut, then a high kick. Ali shoots, Elliott defends. Ali ends the round by landing a solid right, then a kick to the dome. 10-9 Ali

Round 2: Elliott charges forward again, looking like a mad man. Ali misses a straight right, then sticks one. Ali then lands an overhand right, followed by a leg kick. Elliott jumps in with a knee, Ali takes him down. Elliott with a guillotine, looks tight, but Ali escapes, takes Elliott down, but ends up on the bottom in the scramble. Elliott in top position working some ground and pound. Ali sweeps, gets to his feet. Elliott throws a lazy leg kick, Ali answers with a big right, then a left. Kick to the body by Ali. They trade rights, Ali’s looks better. Ali with a left, Tim with a jab. Ali misses big with a hook, Elliott continuing to fight with his hands down. They scramble, no significant damage. Elliott lands a right at the buzzer. Closer round, but Elliott isn’t really landing anything, 10-9 Ali

Round 3: Elliott charges forward, looking to exploit Ali’s fatigue. Ali misses a huge shot, Elliott lands a jab, then another. Ali lands a big leg kick. Elliot lands a couple little jabs, Ali goes straight kick to the body. Left lands by Elliott. Ali sticks a good uppercut. Leg kick by Elliott. Ali lands a left, then a good right, then an uppercut. Ali with an overhand right. Elliott lands a three punch combo, not much on em though. Ali misses a straight right. Then a couple more. Elliott doing good with head movement. Elliott charges in, eats a big right for it. Elliott with a jab. Ali with a head kick, skims the cheek. Ali shoots, Elliott defends. Elliott with a left, Ali responds with a couple shots. Elliott with a slam, a knee, and it’s over. Tough one, 10-9 Elliott

The decision is in, and it’s a unanimous decision for Ali Bagautinov (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Next up is Josh Koscheck vs. Tyron Woodley

Here we have two hard-hitting guys who can wrestle. Hardly ever see that in MMA.

Kos holds the record for the most UFC fights with 22. He used to volunteer for any opening that came up. He’d just troll Twitter with his trademark, “Let’s do it, brah” and land a fight. Lately though he’s been taking it a little easier. Dude’s 35 now, had to pull out of his last fight due to injury, and is probably nursing a bunch of little nagging injuries that we never even hear about. It’s common for all fighters, especially the older ones. Some guys come in with an injured hand, others with a sprained ankle. On occasion a guy may even be brave enough to fight with a zit on his taint big and nasty enough to fill a cannoli. We just don’t know.

Who knows if Kos is even into this whole fighting thing anymore. Unlike his pal Jon Fitch, Kos actually did very well for himself. Dude’s got a fat crib, a Ferrari, and a fucking plane. Who has a plane? If you want to feel shitty about how your own life turned out, you can watch Kos and some smokin’ chick take the tour here, or if you prefer, you can watch some painfully annoying gal with gigantic cans talk about it here.

Woodley aint got none of that shit, but he wants it. He’s a dangerous cat. He can knock your punk-ass out with the quickness or put your bitch-ass to sleep (literally) with some horribly boring clinch work. Just depends on how he’s rollin’ that particular day.

Round 1: Woodley begins with a right. Then charges in with a big right, stuns Kos. Woodley with a knee, but Kos pushes him into the cage and is working for a takedown. Woodley defending well, Kos working some knees to the thighs. The fans are getting pisses already. Herb Dean breaks them apart. Woodley lands another nice right, then a leg kick. Kos responds with a mice right of his own, gets Woodley’s respect. Kos misses an overhand right. Woodley drops Kos with a right, working some ferocious ground and pound. Kos ties him up in full guard, trying to recover. Woodley puts Kos into the cage, working some short shots to the body. Herb Dean stands them up. Kos goes hard to the body, Woodley lands a huge right, puts Kos onto a knee, then bashes him again with another one, Kos is out, Dean steps in and stops the action. Very impressive win for Woodley.

The official call is a KO at 4:38 of round 1

Keeping things moving along is Rory McDonald vs. Robbie Lawler

Aside from being the creepiest thing since Buffalo Bill, Rory is widely viewed as the next big thing at 170, that when GSP hangs em up he’s going to glide right into the championship. He’s a bad dude, no doubt, but let’s not go swinging from his metrosexual nutbag just yet. He’s talented as hell, just don’t seem right that a guy who hangs with Mike Ricci hunting for red pants in Montreal thrift shops should be the UFC champion.

Robbie Lawler is in the midst of a serious career resurgence, and yes if I hear that term one more time I’m also going to vomit. Welterweight is always where Robbie belonged, and aside from that awful tramp stamp he’s been looking damn good. The UFC really ought to offer to pay to have that monstrosity removed, for the sake of the company’s image.

Round 1: Lawler starts off with a hard leg kick. And another. Lawler goes high, misses. Front kick by Lawler misses, leg kick lands. Rory lands a counter right when Lawler charges in. Lawler with another low kick. High kick by Rory, blocked. They trade front kicks. Rory skims a high kick. Another leg kick by Lawler. Now Lawler goes high, blocked by Rory. Whoa, Lawler goes in with a huge left, misses. Front kick to the body landed by Rory. Front kick by Lawler blocked, and again. Lawler lands a body kick, then a couple head shots. 10-9 Lawler

Round 2: Lawler opens with another leg kick.. Rory goes for a single, eats a couple shots, let’s go. Rory misses a jab, sticks a front kick to the body. Lawler lands to the body in the clinch, they separate. Rory kicks to the body again, then lands a straight right. Lawler with a right hook, Rory answers with an elbow. Rory lands a straight right to the body. And another. Leg kick by Lawler lands. Rory misses a straight right, then lands a kick to the body. Rory shoots, gets the takedown. Lawler with butterfly guard up against the cage. Lawler trying to get up, Rory cradles him back down, gets back into butterfly guard. Rory not really doing much, but is controlling Lawler. Now Rory explodes with a few good elbows. The round ends with Rory on top, 10-9

Round 3: Lawler lands a big shot, then an uppercut, Rory catches a knee and takes Lawler down. Rory lands an elbow. The ref stands them up when Rory decides to use Lawler’s chest as a pillow. Lawler lands another, and another. He’s on top of Rory, in full guard. This is Lawler’s change to steal the fight. He has to get active. He calls Rory up. Rory with a straight right, Lawler lands a big left. Rory takes a finger to the eye, the ref stops the action. Rory is ok and we start up again. Rory going for a takedown, Lawler defends life his life depends on it. Lawler lands a couple beautiful shots, knocks Rory on his ass. Lawler now in side control landing some good punches. Rory gets half guard, Lawler moves back to side control. Dropping some nice ground and pound. Rory manages to get to guard, and threatens with an armbar. Lawler wants none of it, gets up. Rory lands an easy takedown , dropping elbows to end the round. Great round. 10-9 Lawler

The official decision is in, and it’s a split decision for Robbie Lawler (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

Next up in the co-main event between Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans

Rashad needs a good showing here. He’s turned into GSP on Quaaludes. Matter of fact, with the exception of 2008 – where he set in motion the ruination of Chuck Liddell’s career and exposed the “excellent” guard of Forrest Griffin – Shad aint never really set the world on fire. He was just a winner, but exciting performances were the exception rather than the rule. Do not even dare invoke the Sean Salmon headkick. It’s a stain on the history of our sport that Salmon was ever allowed in the UFC. Some quick figures to support that: Salmon has lost his last 11 – all in the first round; 16 of his last 20 – 9 by KO and 7 by submission…on the local circuit. The good news though is that with one more loss Sean has said he’s probably going to hang up the gloves, because hey ya never know, he could go on a run.

Still though, Rashad’s been top of the food chain at light-heavyweight since 2006 and that’s no easy task. Curious to see what sort of strategy he’ll employ here. Will it be the 50 takedowns of certain triumph, or the one where he just dances around and paws at his opponent for 15 minutes? After sitting on the edge of our seats for the past couple months, we finally get to find out.

Chael Sonnen continues to astonish. After talking his way into a title shot, out of his division, Sonnen went and proved the skeptics wrong that he’s all mouth and a few takedowns by submitting Shogun’s tight shorts wearing ass in the first round. With a guillotine, no less. You aint supposed to get Shogun with a guillotine, or any really good jiu jitsu guy for that matter, especially if you’re Chael P. Sonnen and for the first 2/3 of your career you were known for getting submitted. So I say again, Chael continues to astonish. Will he do it again? It really doesn’t matter, because if Sonnen has proven anything it’s that wins and losses don’t really matter much, he’s gonna get his.

Here’s 2014/2015 for Sonnen: granted next heavyweight title shot, gets ass handed to him, somehow comes out smelling like roses, gets elected to House of Representatives on a platform of abolishing money laundering laws on the grounds they’re actually a communist plot to destroy America, gets back into the real estate game.

Round 1: Sonnen comes out looking to be the aggressor. He shoots, Rashad defends, Chael pushing him into the cage. They reverse each other, Chael knees to the body. Rashad drops levels goes for the takedown, Chael defends it. Rashad lands a couple shots to the body. Chael with a knee. Rashad lands a good right, looking for a trip, doesn’t get it. Rashad drops again, gets the takedown. Chael with half guard, Rashad dropping some ground and pound. Chael trying to wall alk, Rashad drags him back down. Rashad with a nice elbow, Chael is in trouble, he’s taking a beating. Rashad gets full mount, Rashad smashing him as Chael goes belly down. That’s it, the ref steps in and ends it.

Awesome fight for Rashad, he really needed that.

It’s a TKO at 4:05 of round 1

And here we go, the main event, Georges St. Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks

There’s a good bit of talk about how this could be the last time we see GSP in the cage, that he’s grown tired of this fighting shit, and how he was piping mad that the UFC didn’t back him in his peculiar quest for VADA testing. Probably a bunch of shit, but who knows. The UFC would be a weird place without GSP. He’s been laying on top of dudes for so long there would be a noticeable void if that magic were to disappear.

Even more amazing than his superior fighting skills is that GSP has managed to be the UFC’s top draw, despite being a somewhat reserved fighter. If you’ve ever been to a GSP-headlined event you know what I’m talking about. Flocks of adoring fans think nothing of making themselves look like humungous dickheads by strapping on those stupid Daniel-san headbands to show their support for the champion. Bitches love him too. You know what they say about guys with tiny Canadian heads, right?

Johny Hendricks finally gets his due. It’s not a stretch to say that no fighter ever, in the welterweight division, has had a rougher road to the title. Hendricks is 10-1 in the Octagon with wins over TJ Grant, Charlie Brenneman, TJ Waldburger, Mike Pierce, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Martin Kampmann, and Carlos Condit. Basically, no one deserves this more than Johny Hendricks. That being said, aside from a perfectly placed set of knuckles to the mandible, Hendricks will not be the one to dethrone Nate’s man crush.

Round 1: GSP opems with a leg kick. Hendricks throws a bomb, GSP takes him down. Hendricks gets up, they clinch, GSP with a couple knees. Hendricks puts GSP into the cage, they trade knees to the thighs. The ref seperates them, GSP shoots again, Hendricks tagging him as he defends the takedown. GSP still going for the takedown, Hendricks delivers some elbows to the side of the head. GSP abandons the takedown. Now Hendricks going for a takedown, gets it. GSP gets to his feet, they separate. Hendricks goes in with a knee, misses. Leg kick by GSP, then a side kick to the body, then a jab. Head kick by GSP skims. Hendricks with a couple good knees to the thigh in the clinch. And another. They look like they suck. Hendricks with a shot to the head off the separation. GSP misses a straight right. GSP lands a low kick, Hendricks counters with a right hand. Good round, 10-9 Hendricks

Round 2: Sorry people, I just lost everything I wrote for this round. Don’t know what the fuck just happened. Close round, 10-9 GSP

Round 3: Hendricks with a right hook. GSP with a good low kick. Jab by GSP, then a left that lands. GSP front kick missed, but he lands a left over the top. Hendricks wades in hard, lands a glancing right. GSP with a low kick. GSP with a good right. They trade hooks, both land well. Another jab by GSP. Hendricks lands a right, but his punches have a lot less pop on them here in the third round. GSP with a straight right. Hendricks fakes a takedown, eats a left. GSO with a body head combo. Low kick by GP, then a straight right. Hendricks sticks a nice hard straight left. Superman punch lands by GSP. Low kick by GSP, blocks a Hendricks counter. Nice uppercut to the body by Hendricks. He shoots, GSO defends, but Hendricks sticks with it and lands it. Hammer fist for Hendricks, but GSP gets up. 10-9 GSP

Round 4: GSP with a jab. Low kick lands by GSP. Hendricks lands a left, GSP sticks a good jab. Hendricks jabs, GSP answers with a hook. Hendricks charged in, GSP slipped, and Hendricks ends up on top. Lands an elbow, a hammer fist, some body shots. GSP kicks off, and Hendricks lets him up. GSP is bleeding all over the place. No clue why Hendricks let him up. Hendricks lands a good left. Nice jab by Hendricks, followed by a uppercut. GSP lands a right, going for a takedown, Hendricks defends and reverses him against the cage. Hendricks working hard for the takedown, GSP escapes it, now has him against the cage. Hendricks reverses, they trade body shots. Knees from Hendricks find GSP’s thigh. 10-9 Hendricks

Round 5: GSP lands a left hook, shoots, he’s got a leg, but Hendricks is no joke, GSP can’t get him down. Hendricks has GSP against the cage, now looking for his own takedown. GSP with a wide base, they separate. Hendricks with a jab, GSO with a good kick to the body. GSP gets a takedown, he’s got to do some good work down there. But Hendricks is on his way up, GSO has his neck ,GSP knees to the body but Hendricks is up. They trade knees from the clinch. The ref seperates them. GSP with a high kick, blocked. GSP misses a huge overhand right, then shoots in, works hard but gets the takedown. Hendricks pops right back up. And it’s a clinch war again. GSP threatening with a Kimura, aint happening. I’m going with Hendricks man. 10-9

The decision is in, and it’s a split decision for GSP (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)

A little bit of bullshit there, in my opinion. But hey, Hendricks did awesome.

GSP just kind of retired, for a little bit, maybe. Weird retirement announcement. GSP says he has to go away for a little bit. Hopefully there will be some clarification on that soon.

Hendricks is pretty sure he won, says the belt is his, and with GSP kind of, maybe retiring for a little bit perhaps that’ll open up the title. Who knows. Weird. Anyway, that’s it for us. We’ll analyze this shit tomorrow.