Well that sure was an interesting evening of early stops, flagrant fouls, and all around bad refereeing.
Anderson Silva defeated Travis Lutter in a non-title match, because Lutter could not make the weight. After a fine, the match went on as a 3 round affair. Travis was able to take Silva down at will, but Anderson seemed able to get up fairly easily, and actually scored more from his guard. Lutter's massive weight dump (around 20 pounds) caused him to get tired and sloppy early. Silva got up after a takedown toward the end of the 1st, and Lutter refused to get off the canvas, instead just laying there until time ran out as the boo's rained down. In the 2nd, Lutter again took Silva down easily. This time, Silva struck well with his long legs, and after catching Lutter with a nice kick, Travis fell into a triangle choke. Though the hold was a little off the mark, Silva's long legs were able to cinch the hold in very tight. Lutter struggled to get away, but when Silva began striking with elbows, Travis tapped out.
Now the rub here, is that Silva's elbows were in the illegal downward motion, but Herb Dean did nothing to stop them. Granted, Silva was on his side, but the elbows still came in that illegal motion, and even the announcers couldn't decide if they were legal or not. At any rate, Silva gets the win, and Lutter had a very poor performance, on top of failing to make weight for a title fight, which is inexcusable.
Mirko Cro Cop had little trouble landing strikes with his legs and hands upon Eddie Sanchez. It looked like Eddie was going to stand with Cro Cop at first, but eventually began to run and run from the powerful Croation. Finally, Sanchez fell to the mat, where Mirko got full mount. He began raining down punches, and the ref stepped in to stop the fight. Again controversy, as Sanchez wasn't really hurt, and was moving trying to get out of the position. Still, he was getting hit and the ref felt it was too much to let him continue, though there were only a few seconds left in the round. It probably should've gone to the 2nd round, but I doubt the end would've been different.
Quinton Rampage Jackson also made a successful debut, stopping Marvin Eastman with strikes in the 2nd round. There were some good exchanges, but both men, at times, seemed a little cautious. Still, when the crowd boo'd, it just showed how ignorant the fans in attendance really are. A good fight really, and Rampage admitted after, that he was extremely nervous, and promised to do better next time. No apology necessary Rampage.
Patrick Cote got the unanimous decision over Scott Smith in a listless affair. It was a slow paced fight, where Cote was content to strike and move, making sure he won the rounds, though not the approval of the once again booing fans. When he did rock Smith badly, he did not follow up, but easily won every round. Give the guy a break, he was 0-4 in the UFC (& the judges screwed him in the Leben decision), and had to have the win.
Roger Huerta made quick work of John Halverson stopping him with strikes and a TKO win in the 1st. Despite the announcers thinking it was from an illegal knee, the knee landed, legally, right under the left peck of John, causing the damage. Then, Huerta mounted him and unloaded on the unanswering fighter. Legit TKO win.
Terry Martin KO'd Jorge Rivera in 14 seconds of their fight! Martin is a force to be reckoned with, if he can make weight, which will be difficult for him. He also called out Mike Swick for a fight, but there is no way they would put this dangerous newcomer up against their popular TUF fighter.
Frank Edgar got the decision win over Tyson Griffin in the fight of the night, with a furious pace, and loads of action. The 1st round was close, but in the 2nd, Tyson began to take over and while lifting Edgar in the air for a slam, Edgar held on to the cage and was warned by the ref. Then, he ignored the continued warnings and held on for what seemed forever. This kept Griffin from being able to possibly finish the fight. Then in the 3rd, Edgar hit Griffin in the groin which obviously hurt him. Griffin pleaded to the ref, but the ref did nothing and allowed the fight to continue! This gave Edgar the advantage, and he dominated the round. Even without the flagrant penalties that were not enforced, I still gave the fight to Griffin. The judge who scored the fight 30-27, every round, for Edgar, should be fired. The ref should be fined as well.
Ryoto Machida stays undefeated, beating Sam Hoger in a unanimous decision.
Dustin Hazelett also got a decision win over Saraiva.
Like I said, an odd night of uncalled fouls and early stoppages. The UFC really needs to get a handle on this growing problem, before it begins to really fuck up the integrity of the sport. Not a great PPV by any stretch of the imagination, but the moronic drunk assholes booing in every fight, need to be removed and killed. Until you have the balls and talent to step into the octagon and fight, you have no right to boo. If you don't like the fight, just shut the fuck up and go get another beer. This is not Ultimate Boxing, so learn the sport, or go back to watching Nascar.
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