Tag: UFC

UFC on Fox 2 Results: Why It’s Not as Bad as You Think or as Good as You Hoped

Last night the UFC presented its second-ever event on the nationally-broadcast Fox network, “UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis.” The main event between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis was actually supposed to be a main event of a Pay-Per-View a few…

Last night the UFC presented its second-ever event on the nationally-broadcast Fox network, “UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis.” The main event between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis was actually supposed to be a main event of a Pay-Per-View a few months back, so expectations were high for this event.

Did it deliver? The answer to that, and even the question itself, is open to interpretation. So here’s what I think: Here are the full results as well as some early commentary for “UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis”.

Rashad Evans defeats Phil Davis by unanimous decision. Chael Sonnen defeats Michael Bisping by unanimous decision. Chris Weidman defeats Demian Maia by split decision. Evan Dunham defeats Nick Lentz by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 2.

Mike Russow defeats Jon Olav Einemo by unanimous decision. Cub Swanson defeats George Roop by TKO (punches) at 2:22 of Round 2. Charles Oliveira defeats Eric Wisely via submission at 1:43 of Round 1.

Michael Johnson defeats Shane Roller by unanimous decision. Lavar Johnson defeats Joey Beltran by knockout (punches) at 4:24 of Round 1. Chris Camozzi defeats Dustin Jacoby by submission (front choke) at 1:08 of Round 3.

Note: According to reports just released today, Weidman actually won by unanimous decision while Sonnen actually won by split decision.

Due to some scheduling conflicts on my part, I came into the “UFC Prelims” mini-event rather late, and in fact was only able to see the excellent Evan Dunham/Nick Lentz fight.

I’ve since caught a few of the matches on the web, and I can say that once again the prelims live up to the hype I’ve given them: they really are “the best MMA you’re not watching.” So watch!

 

In particular, I really wanted to highlight Nik Lentz as someone that did a complete 180 on me. After Nik Lentz’s supremely boring decision win against Andre Winner a while back, I was ready to write him off as just another lay-and-pray wrestler too afraid of getting KO’d to do anything with his takedowns or to risk the fight staying on its feet for more than a few seconds.

That’s certainly not the Nik Lentz that showed up at the UFC prelims last night.

I don’t know what lit a fire under his ass, but I hope it stays lit. Win or lose, Nik Lentz has been very entertaining lately. His wrestling is still good, but he’s gotten a lot of confidence in his striking and he’s no longer afraid to stand and bang.

He even hit Dunham with some good clean shots a few times. I hope this tough loss doesn’t rattle his confidence, because I’d hate to see him revert back to lay-and-pray  tactics now that I’m this close to legitimately calling myself a Nik Lentz fan.

In regards to the main card…I got two out of my three picks right, but I still had a very mixed bag of emotions. I don’t fault Chris Weidman for gassing in his fight against Demian Maia—I actually expected him to.

I just didn’t think Maia would gas as badly and as quickly, given the fact that he did get a good training camp in. Then again, he got a good training camp in preparing for a striker, and not a wrestler like Weidman. It is what it is…it was certainly a lackluster bout, but these things happen in MMA.

In regards to Bisping/Sonnen…my early reaction is that Bisping got robbed. I had Sonnen winning this fight and I still think Bisping got robbed.

Bisping really impressed me with his ability to neutralize Sonnen’s takedowns for two out of the fight’s three rounds. I think Bisping won the first two rounds due to his stand-up and his ability to neutralize Chael against the cage.

And in the main event, Rashad Evans proved to me that he’s ready for Jon Jones even though he didn’t dramatically finish Phil Davis as expected.

Evans put on a mostly-complete performance, and I think Evans could possibly be the biggest threat Jon Jones has ever faced.

Overall, it’s tough for me to brand “UFC on Fox 2” as a letdown. It certainly wasn’t Pay-Per-View quality, but I’ve seen worse UFC events, whether they were “Fight Night Live” events or even full-fledged Pay-Per-Views.

This was a mediocre event, but mediocre doesn’t mean bad. Hopefully everyone, from the Fox fanbase to the MMA fanbase to the folks pulling the strings behind the curtain, realizes and remembers this fact.

 

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.

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Michigan State Spartan Rashad Evans Earns Title Shot

Former Michigan State Spartan wrestler “Sugar” Rashad Evans has finally earned his shot at the title again.After winning the belt in 2008 against Forrest Griffin, Evans lost it in his next fight against Lyoto Machida.It was no easy task on …

Former Michigan State Spartan wrestler “Sugar” Rashad Evans has finally earned his shot at the title again.

After winning the belt in 2008 against Forrest Griffin, Evans lost it in his next fight against Lyoto Machida.

It was no easy task on the road back to the belt for Evans. He defeated Thiago Silva, and Rampage Jackson. After the Jackson fight, Evans earned a title shot against Shogun Rua.

Rua however would hurt his knee, forcing Evans to wait almost a year for his shot. A few weeks before the title bout Evans himself hurt his knee forcing him to miss his opportunity.

One of Evans’ best friends and training partners took the title shot himself—Jon Jones.

Jones has since then dominated the division while Evans has had to sit back and watch his former friend wear the belt. Evans left his training camp and has feuded publicly with Jones over the last year because of it.

The two were set to meet in 2011 but due to a hand injury, Jones withdrew from the bout between him and Evans.

Tired of waiting, Evans, booked a fight against former champion Tito Ortiz, and about a week later Jones’s hand, which was thought to require surgery, apparently didn’t need it anymore, angering Evans once again because he was already set to fight Ortiz.

Evans went through with his plans with Ortiz and was able to earn a TKO victory in the Round 2.

After Jones defended his belt against Jackson, it looked like the two former training partners would finally meet. However during the fight against Ortiz, Evans suffered a broken hand which would push the bout between himself and Jones a few weeks back.

Unwilling to wait a few weeks, Jones took a fight against Machida. Wanting to fend off ring rust, Evans, took a fight against Phil Davis which leads us to where we are now.

Last night, in a dominating fashion Evans manhandled Davis for five rounds, winning each round on all three judges’ score cards for a 50-45 unanimous decision victory.

Jones and Evans will FINALLY meet up at UFC 145 in one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. The two truly hate each other, and there is a lot of understandable bitterness from Evan’s camp.

When the two do meet up in April, you can guarantee someone will get finished. This will not go to the judges.

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UFC on Fox 2 Results: Why Michael Bisping Was the Biggest Winner

UFC on Fox 2 will be remembered for producing two immediate No. 1 contenders. Both Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were able to beat their opponents on the judges’ scorecards to secure the big, lucrative fights they’ve been longing for.That being said, t…

UFC on Fox 2 will be remembered for producing two immediate No. 1 contenders. Both Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were able to beat their opponents on the judges’ scorecards to secure the big, lucrative fights they’ve been longing for.

That being said, they weren’t the biggest winners of the night. Michael Bisping was.

Bisping, who hasn’t always been the most liked fighter, especially in the United States, may not have earned a title shot but he did finally earn respect.

Besides Bisping’s brash personality and controversial post-fight actions, the knock on him has always been that he has been coddled when it came to matchmaking and didn’t win when actually challenged with top-tier opponents.

Despite losing to Chael Sonnen, Bisping took a huge step forward in shaking that reputation and proving he belongs in the conversation as a top five middleweight. The Brit was able to go the distance with Sonnen and handled Sonnen’s grappling in a way very few have been able to do.

In the postfight press conference, Sonnen himself admitted that he never felt comfortable in any position when he was on the ground, and any time he created space Bisping was able to stand back up.

While Bisping masterfully stalled Sonnen’s usually relentless ground and pound, he wasn’t able to sustain enough offense throughout the bout to win on the cards and that’s something he can work on and improve.

So while Sonnen won the fight and now claims the coveted title shot, Bisping did more for his career and standing in the division with this loss than he has with any of his previous wins in the middleweight division. Bisping went toe to toe with the No. 2 guy in his weight class and didn’t blink.

In fact, many felt that he won the fight, and being on the losing end of a controversial decision could just find him being the fan favorite for once.

Even in defeat, Bisping has punched his ticket for more marquee fights against top level competition because he has shown he can compete with the best.

That has him closer to a title shot than ever before, and while Evans and Sonnen have had shots at the belt Bisping hasn’t, that makes him the biggest winner of UFC on Fox 2.

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UFC on FOX 2 Results: 5 Things Michael Bisping Needs to Improve on

Following a close decision loss to the No. 2 middleweight in the world, Chael Sonnen, on UFC on FOX 2, English star Michael Bisping has shown that he can compete with the best. Many fans, including myself and even UFC president Dana White, felt that th…

Following a close decision loss to the No. 2 middleweight in the world, Chael Sonnen, on UFC on FOX 2, English star Michael Bisping has shown that he can compete with the best. Many fans, including myself and even UFC president Dana White, felt that the Brit actually won the fight thanks to his superb takedown defense and solid gameplan.

However, all three judges cageside saw it for the All-American wrestler, leaving Bisping one fight short of his long-desired title shot for the second time in his career. Much like his crushing KO loss to Dan Henderson, “The Count” will need to group and continue to work at making himself a better fighter.

After proving that he can defend some of the best takedowns in MMA and even get up quickly, here are just five key things that Michael Bisping needs to work on to put himself in position for a title shot once again.

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UFC on FOX 2 Results: 3 Things Phil Davis Needs to Improve On

Phil Davis is an amazing wrestler; but he’s mainly just a wrestler.His NCAA accolades and his time at Penn State have served him well so far in the Octagon. However, against the top-tier fighters, he needs something more.What does he need?There are thr…

Phil Davis is an amazing wrestler; but he’s mainly just a wrestler.

His NCAA accolades and his time at Penn State have served him well so far in the Octagon. However, against the top-tier fighters, he needs something more.

What does he need?

There are three main areas where he needs to improve his game if he’s to ever become a true top light heavyweight.

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Early Ratings For UFC on FOX 2 Event Average 4.37 Million Viewers

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to FOX for it’s first “official” show on the network Saturday night, with a three bout main card and a six bout prelim card airing on FUEL TV. The early ratings for the UFC on FOX: Evans vs. Davis event for were posted by TVBytheNumbers.com on Sunday, showing an estimate […]

Photo by Nick Laham/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to FOX for it’s first “official” show on the network Saturday night, with a three bout main card and a six bout prelim card airing on FUEL TV.

The early ratings for the UFC on FOX: Evans vs. Davis event for were posted by TVBytheNumbers.com on Sunday, showing an estimate average of 4.37 million viewers for the two hour main card.

Against repeats and the U.S. Skating Championships, FOX easily cruised to victory in adults 18-49 with two hours of UFC on FOX 2 with a fight card headlined by Evans vs. Davis. Again, these numbers are far more likely to be adjusted (and adjusted up) than normal due to the nature of live programming. But in the preliminary non time zone adjusted numbers the fight card averaged a 2.2 adults 18-49 rating between 8-10p and 4.37 million viewers.

UFC on FOX 2 took place on Jan. 28, 2012 at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. with parts of the event airing on FOX television, FUEL TV, and a live stream on Facebook.