Sunday, January 15, 2012

UFC 142 Results: Aldo Retains Title, Vitor, Barboza, Palhares, & Pyle All Finish!





Felipe Arantes defeats Antonio Carvalho by Unanimous Decision.

Mike Pyle TKO's Ricardo Funch with a knee and punches only 1:22 into round 1. Funch got crunched with a Pyle right hand that dropped him to the mat where he would be brutally mauled into defeat. A just powerful performance for "Quicksand" though against a late replacement minor league fighter. Still a highlight reel win though.

Yuri Alcantara defeats Michihiro Omigawa by Unanimous Decision. Omigawa is done.

Gabriel Gonzaga returns in solid fashion tapping Ednaldo Oliveira with the RNC 3:22 into round 1. JDS led me astray with this pick and I completely blame him. Oliveira looked skinny yet still out of shape and his body language said he had no business being in there with a confident "Napao." Just an embarrassing pick.

Thiago Tavares Upsets Sam Stout by Unanimous Decision. Thiago employed a seamless all around game thwarting Stout's technical striking and grounding the Canadian as well as beating him up on the feet. A very impressive for a focused Tavares while Stout loses a ton of momentum and loses any realistic shot of being an elite Lightweight.

Edson Barboza KO's Terry Etim with a pinpoint spectacular spin wheel high kick. Etim was game all night but the vicious Barboza leg kicks slowed Terry while Edson put on a show. Barboza was growing as the fight progressed while Etim's battered legs slowed before he caught the end of an amazing spin wheel kick that put the Canadian to sleep before he splashed down! A highlight reel finish that would make Anthony Pettis proud and sure to be in the mix for "KO Of The Year." "KO Of The Night"

Carlo Prater defeats (?) Erick Silva via DQ issued by referee Mario Yamasaki for illegal punches to back of head to end the fight only 30 seconds in. This is what happened. Young superstar in the making came in, dropped Prater, and put him away in another short but impressive performance. Then, referee Mario decided to ruin his career and DQ Silva for illegal strikes to the back of the head. Erick did land about 2 of the 14 strikes that did damage to the back of the head which didn't seal Carlo's fate. Whether Yamasaki was looking for attention or to get fired one isn't sure but it was great to see Joe Rogan put the microphone in Mario's face asking him where the illegal shots were? Nobody saw them and Yamasaki knew he had make a mistake and walked away highlighting a night of terrible referee efforts.
* This bout has to be overturned by the Brazilian Athletic Commission that doesn't exist because it was a straight up mistake that Mario couldn't go back in time to fix instead standing in front of the world in an awful awkward moment.

Rousimar Palhares taps Mike Massenzio with the you guessed it heel hook just over a minute into round 1. Mike had nothing to offer anyway but when "Toquinho" pulled guard and grabbed a leg, the doctors were out of their seats heading to the cage. Another brutal tapout for Palhares who deserves some upper tier competition. "Submission Of The Night"
* "Toquinho" is closing in on the Middleweight Top 10 and a fight versus Brian Stann makes perfect sense!

Vitor Belfort submits the unprofessional unable to make any weight class Anthony Johnson by RNC at the end of the 1st round. Referee Dan Mirgliotta gave Vitor every chance with continual quick stand ups while "Rumble" was in control on top and working. Johnson stood strong on the feet but wisely took Belfort down only to be stood up time and time again by the meddling referee. In a scramble it was Vitor that deftly secured the back of Tony and peppered him with stiff strikes before the inevitable tap.
* Anthony Johnson has been fired by the UFC and I applaud the organization for an act long overdue.
** Vitor is in a good position now moving to the 1st Ultimate Fighter in Brazil to face rival Wanderlei Silva in a rematch 14 years in the making.

Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo retains his title KOing Chad Mendes with a flying knee 1 second before the end of the very 1st round! Aldo stuffed all takedown attempts and showed his brilliant striking for moments when Chad pressured him to the cage only to have Jose spin and land a lightening quick flying knee that put "Money" to bed! Yet another amazing KO ending tonight and a perfect end to the evening as Aldo races from the Octagon into the crowd to celebrate with the mad crowd!
* Next for "Scarface" could be a title eliminator between Hatsu Hioki and fan favorite Chan Sung Jung who will get destroyed in turn.

Amazing event in Rio yet again though a humiliating botched job by referee Mario Yamasaki and an over enthusiastic referee Dan Mirgliotta humoring the home crowd. 7 of 10 bouts finished and the crowd was wild, singing, chanting, and great.

6-3 on the picks though soon we'll be adding another win as the UFC gets Erick Silva the win he deserves!

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