FOX Sports 1 Main Card Results:
Dominick Cruz defeated TJ Dillashaw by a very narrow Split Decision (48-47, 46-49, 49-46) to once again become the Bantamweight Champion.
This was not an entertaining bout. Seriously. As much as Joe Rogan lauded praise upon Dominick for his "technique," the guy prances around the ring, not engaging, and it makes for a long, uneventful night. Cruz touches his opponent and then glides away praying that it wins him rounds while Dillashaw aggressively came forward the entire fight. Neither man looked impressive but the more damaging strikes seemed to come from "Dilly" who easily won the "Octagon control" battle. "Mr. Glass" seemed to slow as the bout progressed while TJ came on strong late.
Dominick landed 112 "significant" strikes in the fight while TJ landed 109. Dillashaw landed 130 total strikes while Cruz landed 122. Dominick secured 4 takedowns while TJ scored but a single takedown.
MMA judging continues to be awful in '16 but MMAFO scored the bout as follows:
Rd.1 Dillashaw
Rd.2 Cruz
Rd.3 Cruz
Rd.4 Dillashaw
Rd.5 Dillashaw (48-47 "Dilly")
Dominick was limping badly after the bout as a result of the hard leg kicks from TJ but it could easily be yet another shattered limb from "Mr. Glass." So now we will be forced to see through even more 25 minute dancing contests in the future. Here's hoping Urijah Faber can stop this madness and get the gold he so deserves while saving us from monotony of Cruz.
Smart, smart, smart, smart, smart. That's Eddie. The blueprint on how to defeat Pettis is out there and Alvarez utilized it. Ed put Tony's ass against the cage in the opening round and worked takedowns which is where Pettis continues to struggle. The 2nd round saw a bit of that striking battle fans had hoped for as the men evenly traded punches and kicks. The final round saw "Showtime" come out kicks blazing but the intelligent Eddie pressed him against the fence to halt his momentum. Both men were landing strikes but it was Eddie who bled (which is normal for him) so Alvarez secured a takedown and used his wrestling to control Tony for a few minutes. Pettis worked back to his feet only to be tripped back down once again. Eddie worked top position but back to the feet for the final 30 seconds, Alvarez landed a nice head kick and left hand to seal the deal and take another big win for his career.
We have always been fans of Alvarez but we are increasingly impressed with how he has fought since joining the UFC.
"Showtime" has got to learn how to get back to his feet of threaten with submissions from his back. The weakness in his game is glaring and everyone is on to it at this point.
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| THAT'S NASTY |
Well this was amateur hour. Browne egregiously eye poked Mitrione not once, but twice and there is no doubt that it changed the course of the fight. Matt was winning the fight leaping in and out (dangerously) but landing big punches and even dropped "Hapa" in the 1st round. After the 2nd eye poke for which Travis was not penalized, you could see the panic set in for Matt. Mitrione became more frenzied and ate a big punch to the left eye which we would find out later, broke his orbital bone. The eye swelled to massive proportions in an ugly display of what you can do when you blind your opponent. Browne did get a huge slam upon Mitrione (which may have broken a collar bone as something nasty was sticking out of his shoulder after the fight) and the wounded Purdue graduate covered up obviously injured.
Matt took to Twitter post fight to air a bit of his anger and show the aftermath of the damaged eye. Mitrione was talking about possibly retiring if he did not win, but with the controversy maybe it will light a fire under him and new resolve. Matt now goes into contract negotiations on a two fight losing skid which is not good.
Browne sure looked pleased with himself after the fact but the crowd showered him with boos. Ronda's boy moves on and yet again the referee's fail to take a goddamn point for abhorrent fouls.
Francisco Trinaldo Upset Ross Pearson by Unanimous Decision (30-37, 29-28, 30-27).
"Massaranduba" used his speed advantage and footwork to out point Pearson but he landed some pretty hard punches as well. Trinaldo launched Pearson into the heavens in the 1st for an epic slam to ensure he won the opening frame. A barrage of kicks from the Brazilian slowed Ross who never really go going in the fight.
Pearson is a great guy but he's just not athletic enough for the ultra-competitive Lightweight division. Still, we wish him the best and much success in the future.
Pearson is a great guy but he's just not athletic enough for the ultra-competitive Lightweight division. Still, we wish him the best and much success in the future.
FOX Sports 1 Prelim Results:
Patrick Cote TKO’d Ben Saunders via Punches at 1:14 of the 2nd round.
Damn. "Killa-B" did not fight a good fight. Saunders seemed to be working in slo-motion though he did get a takedown in the 2nd round, only to have the crafty Cote reverse position before the men stood back up. Ben clinched up with Patrick but the Canadians power came through rocking Saunders with vicious uppercuts while his knee strikes landed lightly and far to frequently. Ben collapsed from the attack and the "Canadian Predator" finished things on the ground as Saunders yelled out a "fuck" of frustration knowing he had shit the bed.
Well, we can now go back to liking Cote and good on ya for fighting a smart fight sir. Pat is now on a 3 fight bounce and looking solid at 35 years young.
MMAFO still has love for "Killa-B" and sometimes guys just have an off night. We know Mr. Saunders will be back better in the future and we can't wait.
Boetsch looked faaaat in his return to Light Heavyweight and in the clinch Herman landed a crushing knee that scrambled the "Barbarian." Nothing more was needed and somehow "Short Fuse" stays alive in the UFC. "KO of the Night"
Chris Wade submitted Mehdi Baghdad by RNC at 4:30 of the opening round.
Wade had little trouble taking the "Sultan" down and moving into position for the finish. The Long Island native continues to look good and has now won 6 in a row and needs some stiffer competition to see just how good he really is. "Submission of the Night"
Luke Sanders Upset Maximo Blanco via RNC at 3:38 of the very 1st round.
"Cool Hand" Luke came outta nowhere to light up "Maxi" with strikes early and often. Sanders hit a left hook that dropped Blanco and deftly moved in for the tight choke. An impressive debut for Luke but never climb the cage and lick the camera again. That was just creepy.
UFC Fight Pass Prelim Results:
Paul Felder staged a comeback to submit Daron Cruickshank by RNC 3:56 of the 3rd and final round.
Cruickshank was in control almost he entire way landing brilliant kicks from all angles and really handling Felder for 10 minutes. The 3rd round changed everything as Paul stymied a takedown attempt from Daron and caught him napping on his way back up. The "Irish Dragon" secured the choke for the win but didn't look so good in the fight. Felder has got to stop eating so many strikes if he wants to have a successful career in the UFC but all the "spinning shit" and reckless abandon in this bout was fun. "Fight of the Night"
Ilir Latifi KO’d Sean O’Connell via Punches 0:30 into the initial round.
The "Sledgehammer" let loose a single overhand right that discombobulated O'Connell who fell as his legs gave out. Latifi landed one more strike for good measure but the damage was done. Sean didn't care for the stoppage but you could see his eyes were scrambled on the way down and he only woke up after the fact.
Charles Rosa defeated Kyle Bochniak by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Rosa chewed up Kyle's leg kicks in front of his home crowd but we're still not impressed with this kid.
Rob Font TKO’d Joey Gomez via Punches at 4:13 of the 2nd round.
Font repped Sityodtong proudly landed punches whenever he felt like it while Gomez seemed to stand stunned in front of him. Joey took a lot of damage and finally wilted under the pressure. Rob has now won 11 in a row and looks like the real thing at Bantamweight.
Francimar Barroso defeated Elvis Mutapcic via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) in the opener.
This happened and nobody cared.
Well, 8-5 on the picks and we're struggling to start off 2016. Damn it.
Well, 8-5 on the picks and we're struggling to start off 2016. Damn it.
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