UFC Fight Night 25: Battle On The Bayou Play By Play

Justin Edwards vs George Lopez
Rd.1 Lopez comes out and slams Edwards but landed in a guillotine. George fights out but is smothered for most of the round until Lopez drops Justin with a knee though Edwards recovers quickly. 10-9 Edwards
Rd.2 More smothering but just as Edwards begins dishing the G&P, Lopez reverses and gets back to the feet. 10-9 Edwards
Rd.3 Lopez is tired and lost out there but gets a takedown himself and into side control. George deftly takes Georges back and punishes. Lopez finally gets busy going for multiple submissions but its too little too late. 10-9 Lopez

MMAFO 29-28 for Justin Edwards & the judges agree.

Mike Lullo vs Robert Peralta
Rd.1 Its a leg kick derby but Lullo doesn't know how to check kicks and his leg is turning bright red as Bobert takes the lead in the leg kick war. A front let side kick knocks down Lullo and its an easy round to call. 10-9 Peralta

Rd.2 Lullo has a large mouse on the left temple and somebody teach Mike how to check a leg kick! Mike finally shoots for a takedown but Bobert stuffs it. A lot of clinch work against the cage and its a closer round. 10-9 Peralta

Rd.3 Both men get busy in the final five but Robbie is landing more strikes and stuffing takedowns. Mike has one red thigh and one white thigh which looks very painful. Lullo gets a takedown for a moment but can do nothing with it. Nice trip takedown for Mike but time runs out. Nice endurance from both men. 10-9 Lullo

MMAFO 29-28 for Robert Peralta. Two 30-27's and one 29-28 from the judges for Robert.

TJ Waldburger vs Mike Stumpf
Rd.1 * TJ set the record for most submission attempts in a fight in his last outing defeating David Mitchell. It looks as though there are ten people in attendance and TJ looks very confident. TJ throws a leg kick and immediately begins his Jiu-Jitsu game. Mike is defending nicely but Waldburger is just sick on the mat! TJ misses an armbar then switches to a triangle forcing Stumpf for the tapout!

Beautifully done for the WINNER TJ Waldburger by Rd.1 Submission

"Submission Of The Night"
$$$ Cha Cha Ching Bodog.

Clay Harvison vs Seth Bacznski
Rd.1 Seth is looking for clinch work early and lots of knees. Some strong elbows from Bacznski and Seth is rolling. 10-9 Bacznski

Rd.2 Right uppercut hurts Clay who tumbles to the ground. Seth begins to drop G&P bombs followed by elbows. Bacznski wraps up the RNC and Clay taps out!

Good improvement from your WINNER Seth Bacznski by Rd.2 Submission
* I thought this would be a close fight but Seth looked improved and has Mr. Ryan Bader in his corner.

Ken Stone vs Donny Walker

* Donnie comes out to Five Finger Death Punch's "Bad Company" cover which immediately makes me dislike him. Ken enters to Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up" which isn't any better.
Rd.1 Ken takes down Walker who gets back to his feet only to have Stone use his own weight to drag him back down. The RNC is locked in and Donny goes unconscious and his legs stiffen straight out though the referee waited an extra 5, 6 seconds to stop the bout.

Finally back in the right column for our WINNER Ken Stone by Rd.1 Submission

Matt Riddle vs Lance Benoist

* The douchey Riddle comes out in a tie dyed tank top and platinum blonde hair looking more ghey than usual.
Rd.1 Matt takes a low blow and takes some time on the canvas bouncing up and down on his butt to recover? Riddle takes Lance down but Benoist sweeps into guard. Lance is roughing up Matt with the G&P and steals the round! 10-9 Benoist

Rd.2 Lance is winning the striking so Riddle takes him down with a double leg. Benoist gets back up and Matt lands a good knee to the jaw before getting taken down. Benoist is bleeding heavily from the nose on top and blew his nose making me think his nose is broken. The blood is puddling up on Matt but Lance continues to G&P. Riddle goes for an armbar but can't complete. The round ends and the nose is definitely broken and still bleeding profusely. 10-9 Benoist

Rd.3 Matt is screaming at the crowd and dancing around now sporting pink hair. We start swinging to begin and Riddle gets a takedown. Big elbow lands on the damaged proboscis which is still pouring crimson. Riddle finally lands a big shot and Lance is surviving with great defense. MMAFO has it 29-28 Lance Benoist in an Upset win but we await the official judges. The judges agree the moronic crowd boos! Matt plays to the crowd jumping on the cage while Lance was getting interviewed. You gotta hate MMA crowds but Joe Rogan tried to defend him.
* I'm really impressed with the unknown Lance Benoist from Mizzou. If it were not for one knee that broke his nose, he would have rolled Riddle easily.

Evan Dunham vs Shamar Bailey
Rd.1 Shamar has landed a couple of good shots early and Dunham doesn't look all that comfortable. With a minute left in the round Evan looks like he is starting to find his range and heat up. Nice front kick from Evan followed by a head kick. Shamar gets a last second takedown and Dunham tosses him to the mat after the bell which Bailey doesn't appreciate though Evan apologizes. 10-9 Dunham

Rd.2 Bailey is tiring while Dunham is touching him up. Shamar goes for a takedown and is thrown off. Evan is throwing like its target practice and the tide has definitely turned. 10-9 Dunham

Ray Sefo is cornering up young Evan who doesn't even take the stool.

Rd.3 Shamar comes out gunning and Evan responds in kind. Dunham's jab is just pretty and Bailey has no answer for the combinations. Good god those jabs land every single time and a temple shot barely staggers Shamar. Evan is throwing everything he has and Bailey is just taking it. Now Evan is unleashing "Beast Mode" but the referee halts the assault to reinsert a mouthpiece. A standing guillotine choke in the final seconds. 10-9 Dunham

MMAFO 30-27 and the judges agree all for WINNER Evan Dunham by Unanimous Decision. "Fight Of The Night"

* Shamar got absolutely lit up but never went down taking a severe beating. I can't wait to see the Compustrike numbers for Evan.

Time for yet another generic pause in which Zuffa forces us to listen to the just terrible Kid Rock.

Cody McKenzie vs Vagner Rocha

Cody still looks like the V For Vendetta version of Guy Fawkes and super hyper but it works for him. Also entered to Steeler's Wheel "Stuck In The Middle" which garners props.
Rd.1 Cody lands some strikes and draws a line on the mat daring Rocha to cross it! Cody looks for a neck but Vagner tosses him off. McKenzie gets popped in the pills but doesn't take any time and won't touch gloves at the restart. Vagner takes Cody down and looks for submissions but the wiley McKenzie escapes. Now Vagner takes the back and sinks in the RNC but he escapes again! G&P for Rocha but Cody spins out. McKenzie begins unloading and Rocha runs until the end of the round. 10-9 Rocha

Rd.2 The crowd is chanting "Cody" but Vagner gets the takedown pretty easily. Eventually Rocha puts on a Darce Choke but you cannot tap this guy! Vagner is doing as he pleases but can't secure a submission so he starts G&P. Finally Rocha gets in the RNC flattening out Cody who passes out instead of tapping.

WINNER Vagner Rocha by Rd.2 Submission

* Cody has a large mouse and cut eye and looks like he is about to head home to the trailer park to beat his wife.

Time to head to Spike TV for the last time as far as the UFC is concerned.

Alan Belcher vs Jason MacDonald
Rd.1 Both men look for a takedown but the "Athlete" pulls Alan down on top of him. Belcher drops a big punch and it seems like Jason is hurt. The "Talent" stands up to bring the thunder and begins teeing off prompting the referee to stop things. Wow that is an impressive return for Mr. Belcher!

WINNER Alan Belcher by Submission (verbal)
* Ring rust my ass. 16 months away for Belcher but that is not a good showing for Jason. Ben Askren is also in Alan's corner.

The camera shows Phil Davis and Melvin Guillard with a beautiful woman between them.

Jonathan Brookins vs Erik Koch
Rd.1 Brookins keeps Koch pinned against the fence for the 1st half of the round and the 2nd round against the cage. Nobody did much of anything. 10-10

Rd.2 Now Erik has found the range and is tagging Jon who presses him against the cage again. The crowd gets uncomfortable with the inactivity and Brookins gets the takedown with a minute left in the round. Koch kicks him off and is constantly landing strikes in close. 10-9 Koch

Rd.3 Erik lands strikes for the 1st two minutes before we clinch against the cage. Joe Rogan is talking it up like Brookins is winning but I'm not seeing it. Erik now more aggressive but the announcers are still on Jon's jock. The fight ends against the cage where we spent most of the evening and nobody in the crowd enjoyed it. 10-9 Koch

* MMAFO scores it 30-28 Koch. The official judges see it 30-27 twice and 29-28 for WINNER Erik Koch by Unanimous Decision. Joe Rogan is still talking shit about the verdict and I couldn't disagree more. The judges actually got something right and Rogan is just wrong on this one.

The lovely Mandy Moore is in the audience tonight.

More Marine propaganda commercials make me wonder are these people "called" to the Marines or just Pavlov's dogs reacting to stimuli? Go America.

Now we get an interview with Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Quinton Jackson. "Rampage" makes a comment about Jones spying on his camp but Jon calls it a "tactic" to get in the champs head. Jones seems defensive about the issue while Jackson is continuing to poke the bear. Jon seems edgy and has just become an asshole since winning the belt. This kids ego has just exploded and he's trying too hard to be politically correct while obviously simmering with anger.

Court McGee vs Dongi Yang
Rd.1 They feel each other out but Yang's hands are low. McGee lands a good shot but mostly they are just trading. The "Ox" slips against the fence but recovers in a very tentative round for both men. 10-10

Rd.2 They trade a bit but "Ox" seems to be landing a bit more. The boo birds are coming out and Court can't get the takedown twice. Not a lot going on though McGee is pressing the action. 10-9 McGee

Rd.3 Does either man want this fight? Two minutes in Yang gets a takedown but Court escapes and Dongi is bloody somehow. "Ox" actually drops Court for a second but Yang is getting sloppy now though he stuffs a takedown attempt. Dongi is very tired now and Court takes him down though he spins back to the feet. Well that's two awful fights in a row. 10-9 McGee

MMAFO has it 30-28 Court McGee. The official judges say 30-27, 29-28, 30-28 and despite the horrible commentary I'm still not impressed with Court.

Time for the Main Event and let's hope they can bring some passion back into the building as those last two fights have killed the good momentum built up by a good undercard.

Jake Shields vs Jake Ellenberger
Rd.1 Shields goes for the 1st takedown and the powerful Ellenberger just shakes him off. Shields goes for another and Ellenberger crushes Shields with a brutal knee! Ellenberger used the Thai clinch and then dropped some brutal punches and Shields was trying to shoot on the referee. Just devastating by the "Juggernaut" who I've been touting for a while now and must toot toot my own horn.

WINNER Jake Ellenberger by Rd.1 TKO

"(T)KO Of The Night"

My heart goes out to Jake Shields and his family.

9-3 on the picks.