Nik Lentz defeats Tyson Griffin via blind and controversial Split Decision. Tyson owned this fight and I have yet to find a MMA website that did not score the fight in his favor. This is yet another egregious judging error that continues to haunt the sport. * Despite a 3rd loss in a row, Dana White said Tyson Griffin will NOT be cut from the UFC. The UFC President said, "Tyson Griffin got fucked big time tonight." I never thought for a moment he would be cut and especially after this debacle.
Paul Kelly stops T.J. O'Brien by elbow TKO. "Tellys" dropped O'Brien in the 2nd with a left and swarmed with punches though the tough TJ survived. Kelly moved his opponent into a crucifix and reigned down elbows until the referee had to step in and save the defenseless fighter.
* Great impressive win for the Brit who gets back in the win column in a big way.
Edson Mendes Barboza Jr. leg kicked the hell out of a very game last minute replacement fighter Mike Lullo. Lullo needed this fight on the floor but found himself receiving an onslaught of brutal leg kicks. Edson never let up on the barrage and by the 3rd, each leg kick landed spun Mike to the floor. The referee steps in again to save a badly hurt opponent.
Dennis Hallman put Karo Parisyan down quick for a rare TKO win. The "Warmth" looked just dreadful. His arms crackhead skinny and his mid-section floppy, Karo came out and got rocked by a 1-2 and Hallman seals the deal with the follow up. Its the 1st TKO stoppage for Dennis since 2003.
* We all figured Karo would be cut again and Dana White confirmed it saying, "This kid went though some hard times. I helped him out and I helped him out and I helped him out. I said Karo this is it, I am going to give you one more shot. I let him in, and I think tonight he showed he can't perform here any more."
Mark Munoz defeated Aaron Simpson by Decision. This was as sloppy and terrible as I expected. I scored the bout for "A-Train" but I was also laughing at all the errant strikes and awful takedown attempts. Neither of these guys are that good and Simpson will probably find himself on the chopping block after losing 2 fights in a row the exact same way. Might want to take care of that whole endurance thing.
Brian Foster survived groin shots to submit Matt Brown with a Guillotine Choke. Both men came out angry and it was a back and forth affair with Foster gaining the upper hand in the 1st. After the round ended the 2 men stood and exchanged pleasantries before the corners separated the men. Matt hits Brian with a crotch shot and after he recovers he is hit again in the pills. Foster doesn't want the recovery time and is pissed! Brian catches a leg kick and dumps Brown with prejudice as he begins to bring heavy blows. Matt tries to posture out and is caught in a naughty tight guillotine to which he taps. The HIT Squad member looked impressive tonight and was definitely jacked up. That's 3 losses in a row for the "Immortal" so hit the bricks dick.
George Sotiropoulos slaps a Kimura on Joe Lauzon for the tapout win. "J-Lau" came out very strong gaining the upper hand with stand up and then controlling the ground game. Joe is cutting a deadly fast pace and you have to wonder if he can keep this up. George comes out for the 2nd firing and executes a great takedown. He's quickly into full mount and looking for the armbar his missed in the 1st round. Joe looks gassed and Sotir switches to the Kimura (the move of the night = 3 total) where he gets the tapout. Too much too fast for "J-Lau" while the smarter and more conservative George wins the race. "Fight Of The Night"
* Next up, George goes home to Australia for UFC 127 versus Germany's Dennis Siver.
Phil Davis defeats Tim Boetsch with the "Mr. Wonderful Kimura." The bout started slow and the fans did not appreciate the "feeling out process" but Davis easily took the 1st round. In the 2nd frame, Phil takes Tim down while working for a far-side kimura on the left arm of Boetsch. The "Barbarian" won't tap so he drags the arm behind Boetsch’s back using Tim's own weight on his arm. Phil sneaks his other arm around and locks up his hands for the impressive win. "Submission Of The Night"
* "Mr. Wonderful" looked good improving a submission on the fly but I'm not so sure Boetsch belongs in the UFC. Matt Hamill might be a good test for Davis in his next outing.
Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves (whew, long name) defeats Gerald Harris by Decision in a very odd bout. Harris looked powerful and fluid early though the bout becomes very inactive and the boo's come down. Then Falcao explodes with rabid punches and Gerald goes down. Goncalves looks for the RNC and sinks it in deep as the round expires. Maiquel doesn't relinquish the hold and the referee has to pull him off Harris. Gerald rightly complains to the official but only a warning is rendered. Jose attacks with abandon and Gerald cannot handle the speed or power plus his seems to still be recovering for the extra long RNC. In the 3rd, obviously down 2 rounds, Harris does nothing to try and win the fight and Maiquel seems gassed and disappears as there is zero action here in the Ultimate Staring Contest as the crowd boo's louder than I have heard in a long time.
* Maiquel Goncalves said he did not hear the buzzer at the end of the round and went up to Dana White and apologized after the press conference. The "Big Rig" brings it home for Chute Boxe. Still no word as to why Gerald Harris did not show up for the event.
B.J. Penn KO's Matt Hughes a mere 0:21 seconds into their rubber match. 2 right hands drop Hughes immediately and the "Prodigy" pounces with punches that render Matt unconscious. Wow, that was an emphatic end to that saga as Penn is more jacked up than I have seen in a while. I love to say I told you so, so I told you so. Penn is still in his prime and was simply unable to catch his prey in the last 2 bouts. Hughes is slow and old now and only beat 1 decent fighter in his previous 3 wins. People just do not take into account common sense and instead decide a figher is "done" or "unbeatable" after 1 fight. "KO Of The Night"
* BJ Penn is staying at Welterweight for the time being as he will now fight Jon Fitch in a bout with huge ramifications for the title picture at UFC 127. Matt Hughes wants rematch that will not happen and he'll take some time off before an interesting fight comes along to wet his appetite.
Quinton Jackson defeats Lyoto Machida by Split Decision in a bout he easily won 29-28. "Rampage" looked good cutting off the ring and forcing the "Dragon" into a clinch game early. In the 2nd "Rampage" is landing more and Lyoto is retreating as he catches a big uppercut. For the final round Jackson looks firmly in control when Machida trips him to the floor where he is gaining the advantage. Lyoto puts on an armbar and Jackson begins to raise up for his patented super-slam (a la vs. Ricardo Arona) but the "Dragon" sees it coming and releases the hold landing on his feet. Time runs out for Machida as he cannot end the fight for the win.
* "Rampage" was humble in defeat raising Machida's hand and saying he owes him an immediate rematch. He went on to say, "My trainers are in there and told me I won the fight. But when I was in the fight, I just had a one-track mind to knock him out. In the third round, he came at me so much, I forget what happened in the first two rounds. ... It's one of those things where at the time I thought I was getting my ass whooped because I was just on the ground taking a flurry to my face. It's different fighting than Machida than watching Machida," he said. "I have more respect for his style. I wish I could move like that. I have more respect for his style. But I still don't want to watch it."
Dana White said he doesn't want a rematch since Jackson clearly won the fight. Most of the Light Heavyweight division is already signed up so a possible fight with the returning Thiago Silva would make sense for "Rampage" while the "Dragon" could look to rebound against Vladimir Matyushenko or Krzysztof Soszynski.
8-2-1 on the picks. We cannot honor the judges decision on the Lentz/Griffin bout.
No comments:
Post a Comment