Houston “The Assassin” Alexander Vs. Alessio Sakara
Round one starts and both fighters come out swinging some major leather. Alexander lands a vicious knee that snaps back his opponents head but he catches another knee and takes Alexander to the mat. “The Assassin” works to his feet and drops Sakara with another knee. He pounds away from the top until referee Yves Lavigne stops the bout at 1:01 of the first.

Houston Alexander wins in the first round by Ref Stoppage.

Marcus Davis Vs. Paul Taylor
Davis has really improved with each fight since his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter. With a couple submission wins under his belt and De La Gratti in his corner, it would behoove him to take this fight to the ground.

The first round starts and both come out striking but Taylor is mixing in the kicks. Marcus shoots for a clinch and a single but is unsuccessful. Taylor lands a couple body kicks but Davis answers with a right hook. Taylor gets a MASSIVE head kick in and drops Davis to the canvas. He immediately dives in and tries to finish off Davis but Marcus has recollected his wits and reels Paul in, controlling his posture to stop the full extension on the hits. Taylor stands up briefly with Marcus against the cage and lands a couple hooks in for good measure. Davis rolls to a single takedown and both struggle for a bit. Taylor delivers some upkicks but Davis shrugs them off and tries for mount. Taylor shunts him to side guard and Davis starts raining down huge hooks and elbows and gets the mount he has been trying to get. Davis moves it to a high mount and Taylor immediately bucks him but Davis establishes shoulder control and then sinks an armbar forcing Taylor to tap.

Davis wins in the first round (4:13) by arm bar submission

Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Cheick Kongo
Mirko enters to Duran Duran and looks very assured of himself. Kongo is absolutely ripped and looking quite scary.

Round one starts and Mirko comes out southpaw. Kongo uses the leg kicks but Cro cop is throwing the left overhand.Cro Cop finally lands three kicks repeatedly to the body. Kongo tries a head kick but slips and Cro Cop jumps in for a clinch. Kongo reverses positions to press his opponent against the cage. Cro Cop looks tiny compared to Kongo. Kongo throws some knees to the leg but the ref breaks it up from inactivity. Cro Cop throws a head kick effortlessly, it misses but its so smooth you don’t even notice. Kongo throws a kick but Cro cop catches and throws his opponent down landing in half guard. Cro cop eventually pops his leg out and mounts but Kongo is holding onto the head to control posture. Kongo uses the cage to push off and reverses the position to land on top. Cro Cop goes for an armbar but can’t get it and the round ends.

Round two starts and Kongo lands a hard body kick, repeating two more times. Cro Cop finally answers twice with some of his own kicks and Kongo clinches up. Kongo uses a single to take Cro Cop down and quickly moves to side control. Cro Cop exploes out and gets half guard back but Kongo makes him pay with a nasty elbow to the face. Cro Cop tries for a brief armbar but Kongo powers out. Cro Cop uses the feet on the hips to keep Kongo off. Kongo stands up and delivers an axe kick to the body and then jumps back in guard. Cro Cop power lifts him off with his leg and jumps back up to his legs. Kongo immediately clinches and tries a body lock throw after throwing some short knees. Ref breaks em up and Kongo establishes clinch again and delivers some big knees to the body. Cro Cop is starting to look frustrated as Kongo looks dominant.

Round three begins and Cro Cop must win the round or finish his opponent to get the win. Cro Cop immediately whiffs on a left leg head kick. Kongo answers with a massive right to the head but then immediately bonks Cro Cop in the no-no’s twice before the ref can peel him off. Cro Cop looks tentative and Kongo is landing some nasty body kicks at will. Kongo gets the clinch and stalls the fight. Cro Cop finally lands a body kick off a break-up by the ref.  He then uses an axe kick but Kongo ties his opponent up against the cage. Ref breaks up the clinch yet again. Kongo continues to pick apart the PRIDE veteran with knees and kicks. Kongo then stalls the match with another clinch as the round winds down. The horn sounds and Kongo looks victorious as he appears to have pulled off the upset.

Kongo wins by unanimous decision (29-28)

Matt Hamill Vs. Michael Bisping
These guys really don’t like each other. Bisping is the crowd favorite but if Matt can get him down to the canvas then the whole fight dynamics change. Matt comes out to Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA” which elicits a lot of boos from the crowd, very ironic since Matt Hammill is totally deaf. Bisping comes out the “London Calling” and appears totally relaxed as the crowd goes wild for “The Count”.

Round one begins with Matt actually landing some bombs. Bisping lands a knee and Hammill answers with a flying knee. Matt finally catches a leg kick and takes Bisping to the ground but allows his opponent to stand back up.  Matt starts to flail with some big overhands and Bisping matches with some clean straight punches. Bisping starts to work the front leg of Hammill. Matt grabs a single and slings Bisping down but allows him to get up again. Matt uses a head lock to land some punishing uppercuts that leaves Bisping bleeding. Matt lands an overhand right that wobbles Bisping and continues to work the headlock, uppercut combo. Both come back to the ring and surprisingly, Matt is winning all the mini-exchanges. Bisping opens up finally finds his range, tagging Matt with lefts and rights. Matt Hammill advances with some HUGE overhand hits and is throwing Bisping around at will. The bell rings and the ref has to jump in because Matt can’t hear it.

Round two starts and both prove each other. Matt seems to turtle when the strikes from Bisping comes. Matt catches a kick and lands in guard. Bisping tries rubber guard but gives up on it. Matt passes to half guard and Bisping gives him his back and then stands up. Matt mysteriously lets his opponent back up. Both continue to probe. Matt pushes Bisping against the cage and then lands a hook as he pushes off. Bisping isn’t looking as confident and Matt shoots in for the takedown and then allows his opponent to get up and gets the headlock / hook position. Bisping is on his bike and not engaging except for some sporadic jabs. The round ends with Matt carrying the round with takedowns and better striking, which is surprising.

The beginning of round three has Bisping down two rounds, according to our scorecard. Bisping finally lands a very effective jab, hook combo. Bisping avoids the takedown attempt and keeps the distance open. Bisping is starting to feel it and landing punches at will. Matt appears tired and can’t get the takedowns like in the first and second round. Matt finally gets a takedown and pins Bisping’s hand behind his back. He gives up side mount and lands in guard. Bisping uses the cage to get back up. Bisping throws a knee and immediately gets a takedown. Matt lays in the guard without much activity. Bisping puts his feet on Matt’s hips and tries to push him off. Bisping rolls and ends up almost getting mounted. Bisping finally gets up and they both throw some nasty punches. Bisping finally lands a kick but when he goes to the well for a second time, Matt just throws him. the bell rings and Mazagati jumps in between to show Matt that the round is over.

Michael Bisping wins by split decision (I don’t agree with it)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Vs. Dan Henderson

Round one starts and Quinton comes out swinging. Dan clinches but Quinton pushes him against the cage. Dan reverses and lands some nasty knees to the thigh in a thai manner and even throws an elbow. Quinton throws some leather on the disengage. Dan just walks through the punches and steps behind Quinton and sweeps him to side guard.  Dan continues to work Quinton with the knees and works to establish dominandce.  Dan gets a crucifix but Quinton uses the fence to walk up it with his feet and roll over Dan eventually getting back up. Dan continues to work that knee to the thigh in the clinch. They break from the clinch and start throwing some hooks and uppercuts that stagger both of them.

Both are more measured as they start round two. Quinton gets a nice hook to the body off a missed overhand by Dan. Dan finally gets the greco body lock and takes Quinton down landing in cross body position. Both trade mini shots as Dan holds Quinton down. The action stalls as neither seeks to improve position. Dan works his way towards the top of Quinton’s body and Jackson lunges up and twists back to his feet. Quinton finally gets on top after a failed body lock takedown by Dan. Rampage is in side mount in a crucifix position. Dan works his way back to half guard as Quinton works the body with elbows. The round ends with Quinton in the dominant position.

Quinton probes with the jab as round three starts. Both exchange as Quinton gets the better of the shots. Dan’s mouth is open as he strikes and Quinton gets the takedown, landing in side control. Dan tries for Kimura but can’t pull it out. It does land him in half guard though as he continues to try and isolate that left limb. Dan gets the Kimura finally and forces Quinton to roll landing in half guard. Dan gives up the Kimura but is definitely in the dominant position now. Quinton tries to use the cage to stand up and gets mounted. Dan takes Jackson’s back but Quinton escapes and they both trade as Quinton throws knees and Dan throws uppercuts. They all barely miss but both champions are still throwing hard.

Round four starts and the champion rounds ensue. Quinton lands a right uppercut that rocks Dan and sends him to the canvas. Quinton jumps into the guard and Dan throws an arm bar attempt that fails. Dan goes for the arm bar again and Quinton uses the opportunity to pass. Dan goes for the kimura but doesn’t have the energy to finish the move like he did earlier in the match. Quinton is maintaining top position as Dan works underneath for the single attempt. The ref eventually stands up the action and they both are exhausted. Dan tries to throw a spinning side kick that doesn’t come anywhere near his opponent. Quinton steps in and delivers a 1-2-3 combo. Both stare at each other as the round ends.

The final round starts with both circling and Dan showing more gumption. Quinton tags Dan but Henderson gets the clinch. Both are stalling out and tired. Both separate and start throwing bombs. Quinton is getting the better of the stand up as he lands lefts and rights at will. Dan finally gets a right overhand forcing Quinton to clinch but Dan uses a body lock takedown. Dan is sitting in guard and Quinton eventually gets back up, taking Dan down when he tries for a double. Both get up and Rampage lets his hands go with Dan almost collapsing from exhaustion.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson wins by unanimous decision

Brian Stann and Billington should never have fought. Chuck and Stevenson bothered to show up at the show as well as Kendall Grove who cornered Stann.

Jeff Bedard vs. Miguel Torres (Bantamweight)
Round one starts and Torres immediately closes with a punch but Bedard slips under and takes him down, keeping Torres on his back. Torres utilizes a high guard and even throws on a right shoulder lock in preparation for an armbar. Bedard relaxes into the guard for a split second and Torres siezes the opportunity to tuck in the foot and lock in the triangle, eventually forcing Bedard to tap and ruin his undefeated record.

Miguel Torres wins in the first round by Triangle

Jesse Forbes vs. Bryan Baker (middleweight)
Jesse opens the first round in a southpaw stance and delivers a stiff left knocking Baker down. Baker immediately bounces back up and answers the punch with a flurry of punches. Both stand in the corner throwing leather. Forbes gets stung and shoots in for the double and gets the slam putting him in half guard. Forbes goes for a guillotin but Baker ends up putting his arms through his legs, picking him up, rotating him in the air until he was vertical, and then slamming him in one smooth motion. Baker then rains down GNP but Forbes reverses with a single and ends up getting Baker’s back. Baker uses wrist control (2 on 1) to prevent the RNC and to pull Forbes off his back. Forbes can’t control Baker’s posture and Bryan makes him pay for it. Baker eventually moves to side guard and gets a crucifix, forcing Forbes to give up his back and then Baker finishes out the match throwing haymakers to the ears of Forbes and the ref steps in to stop the bout.

Bryan Baker wins by ref stoppage in the first round

Jeremiah Billington vs. Brian Stann (Light Heavyweight)
Billington just looks outclassed in this match with his short frame and his lower weight (195 vs. 205). Round one starts with Stann coming out and clinching. Stann throws knees early and Billington answers with a nice uppercut that lands flush. Stann doesn’t even flinch and gets 2 good hooks in response to the uppercut and Billington tries for an unsuccessful single. Stann lands some nasty knees and uppercuts in the dirty clinch and both go to ground. Stann then stands over Billington, landing punch after punch and forcing the ref to step in and stop the bout.

Brian Stann wins in the first round due to ref stoppage (strikes)

Ranni Yahya vs. Chase Beebe (Bantamweight belt)
Round one was the most exciting round of the fight. Ranni came out with a mission. He took down Chase immediately and rolled straight into a knee bar that made Chase grimace with pain. Chase weathered through it and eventually slipped out. Ranni then executed a single and ended up on top trying for a guillotine but abandons it for side control. He then goes north-south and tries for a choke but Chase is still too strong. Chase gets up and Ranni jumps guard. Chase then gets Ranni’s back but can’t capitalize. Chase rolls to mount but Ranni wiggles back to guard. He then tries a high guard and armbar but isn’t successful. Ranni goes for an Oma plata that turns into a sweep. Ranni then get’s north-south again and executes a tight Darce choke. The bell rings saving Chase.

Rounds two through five are pretty much the same. Chase stays in dominant position with Ranni constantly struggling to get a submission or off his back. Chase keeps smothering and landing smattering of hits and eventually gets Ranni’s back in the fifth round where he rains in hooks to Ranni’s nose. The match ends with Chase on Ranni’s back.

Chase Beebe wins by decision and retains his belt

Rob McCullough vs. Rich Crunkilton
Round one was extremely short. Rich comes out with a kick but McCullough catches it and throws a right counter. They then flurry in the middle with McCullough beating Rich to the punches. Rob then drops Rich with a straight right. Crunkilton gets back up and rob drops him again and again. After the third time, Herb Dean is forced to step in and stop the match.

Rob McCullough wins by TKO (strikes) in the first round

Carlos Condit was looking to impress in his first title defense Sunday night, and he delivered with an impressive arm bar to submit Brock Larson at 2:21 of the first round.

With the World Extreme Cagefighting?? welterweight belt on the line, the two 170-pounders came into the bout amidst contrasting styles, with Larson a powerhouse wrestler hoping to grind out a win over the dynamic champion. But ???The Natural Born Killer??? has a penchant for slam-bang submissions ??? often executed off the briefest of openings ??? and that proved the difference.

???I???ve been doing jiu-jitsu since I was 15 years old. I love arm bars and don???t get to use them a lot. I have about fifty percent of my wins by submission. I knew that I???m a lot stronger coming into this fight than I have been in the past,??? said Condit, 23. ???In the UFC, the welterweight division is stacked. We won???t get as much exposure because there???s so many of us. I???ve definitely thought about a unification bout. MMA fans debate who???s the best. Now we???ve got the opportunity because everybody???s under Zuffa. We can find out who???s on top.???

After a feeling-out process in the first 30 seconds, where neither man attempted an opening move, Larson shot in for a lower-leg takedown attempt, quickly closing the distance to bring the fight to the mat. But Condit sprawled perfectly, stuffing it, only to be taken down moments later as Larson took him down from a body lock.

However, with Larson???s imposing ability to wear opponents down with pressure and submissions, Condit stayed cool as he was pushed up against the fence, keeping tight with Larson and recovering guard as Larson initially threatened from side control. After eating a couple of short left hands, Condit quickly rotated on his back, swung his left leg across Larson???s face and cranked on the right arm. Larson, caught in the tight submission, couldn???t escape and resisted the submission for several seconds until tapping. 

In the semi-main, Paulo Filho stayed unbeaten in 15 bouts with a first-round stoppage of Joe Doerksen to win the vacant WEC??? 185-lb. title. After stuffing a couple of Filho???s takedown attempts, Doerksen was on his back as Filho kept pressuring to take him down.  Doerksen recovered and escaped back to his feet only to absorb a big flurry by Filho. Stunned, Doerksen absorbed the first string of blows but Filho simply kept firing away en route to a knockout win at 4:07 of the round.

Now holding the WEC belt, Filho felt happy with his performance after years of battling opponents in Japan.

???I wanted to win my fight and put on a performance for the American fans,??? he said through an interpreter afterward. ???I feel my game is better suited for the cage than a ring.???

Asked if he would consider taking on fellow Chute Boxe teammate Anderson Silva ??? currently the UFC middleweight champ ??? Filho said he would if the opportunity presented itself.

???A fight???s a fight,??? he said. ???If we fight, we can go out afterwards and have a pizza.???

In a hard-fought featherweight battle, Jeff Curran took a close decision of Stephen Ledbetter, winning the third round on all three judges??? cards to take the duke 30-27 and 29-28 (twice). Ledbetter absorbed a huge right hand in the first round but quickly secured a takedown, holding Curran down but being unable to improve position or land too many effective shots.

In the second, Curran began to up the tempo with some quick kicks from standup, only to have Ledbetter respond with takedowns. However, the veteran Curran showed a wily guard and with 25 seconds left in the round, sunk in a triangle choke that had Ledbetter in some trouble. In the final five minutes, Curran controlled Ledbetter with another triangle from the top position, more of a positional advantage than a likely submission, but used to land punches and win the round, and the fight.

With the victory, Curran positions himself for a potential title shot against featherweight champion Urijah Faber down the road.

???I???d be honored to fight Faber. He???s a stud,??? said Curran.

In the opening fight of the televised portion of the card, Jamie Varner won by knockout at 4:08 of the first over Sherron Leggett. Using impressive slam takedowns and a high-pressure attack, Varner never let Leggett get untracked, though Leggett showed considerable gameness in fighting through increasingly rough circumstances. Varner used a series of big punches to get the stoppage.

Results from the non-televised undercard

Hiromitsu Miura KO 2 Fernando Gonzalez

In a rousing middleweight scrap, Miura and Gonzalez traded blows and takedowns in a fast-paced tilt. Miura showed superior ground skills in consistently being able to get the better position, eventually finishing with strikes from the mount.

Antonio Banuelos unanimous decision Justin Robbins

In a tactical bout, Banuelos held top position for most of the fight and controlled Robbins en route to a clear-cut decision. Judges??? scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.

Eric Schambari unanimous decision Logan Clark

In a battle of unbeatens, Schambari ground out a tough victory over Clark by scores of 29-28 on all the judges??? cards. Schambari was often kept on the defensive even in top position by Clark, who used an active guard, trying to set up submissions and striking from the bottom. However, Schambari closed effectively down the stretch, riding out the mount position for the final three minutes of the fight to win the bout.

Steve Cantwell KO 1 Justin McElfresh

Cantwell scored a rousing win, using a fast left hook in the opening round to stun McElfresh, then opening him up with another one for a finishing flurry as his opponent fell down against the cage. The stoppage came 47 seconds into the match in a light-heavyweight fight.

Blas Avena submission 1 Tiki Ghosn

Avena scored an impressive win in the opening round with a rear-naked choke over veteran Ghosn. Scoring a strong takedown off the clinch, Avena quickly transitioned to mount position, sinking the choke for the finisher.

Antonio Rodrigo “Minatauro” Noguiera vs. Heath “Crazy Horse” Herring
Minatauro vs. Crazy Horse was a promising fight where two ex-PRIDE athletes were pitted against each otehr. Both are upper echelon fighters and proved it in this match.

Round one was controlled by Noguiera. He managed a takedown from the very beginning that made Heath tentative the rest of the fight. Big Nog also landed a nice kick that tripped Heath Herring up but failed to capitalize on the mistake. Heath managed to get a nice head kick in right on the button that felled the PRIDE veteran Noguiera but he jumped straight into guard, giving Nog time to recover.

Round two started inexplicably. Big Nog was still visibly woozy but Heath refused to rush in and finish the bout. He stood around and waited for Nog to regain his composure. Once Nog regained his composure, Heath didn’t have a chance. Nog repeatedly took the bigger guy down, gets mount, and then back. The round finishes with Big Nog getting a body lock takedown.

Round two is much of the same. Heath is running away and Noguiera is picking apart Heath’s face. Nog gets Heath’s back and tries for a “jaw breaker” (this is where you use the forearm bone on the jaw instead of under the chin), but he is unsuccessful and Heath is able to spin into guard. The round ends with Noguiera taking whatever he wants because Heath is spent.

Noguiera wins unanimous 29-28 decision

Sean “Muscle Shark” Sherk vs. Hermes Franca
Sean came into this match off a 9 month layoff from a shoulder injury sustained when he beat Kenny Florian for the title belt. Sean is visibly leaner from his layoff, especially in the chest area, but you can tell that he worked on his core while he couldn’t do anything with his shoulder. The match was long with Sean showcasing his strength but also his lack of finishing capabilities. Some would call it boring, but the spectacle of Sean’s strength and his phenomenal wrestling made it worth watching, albeit not five rounds worth.

The whole match can be summed up very shortly. Sean shoots in, gets a single, double, body lock, and either spins Hermes down to the ground or slams him down. Sean then passes guard and either sits in side control, mount, or dominant side back position trying to punch his opponent out. Hermes turtles for much of the match in a fetal position and not much damage is done. Repeat that for five rounds, punctuated by bad sprawls from Hermes resulting in lifts and slams by Sean and you have a very workmanlike defense of a title belt.

Sean Sherk wins by unanimous decision and retains his title belt

Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans
Tito is surprisingly bigger than Rashad Evans. He is a natural 220 and Rashad is a natural 205. Tito is 6’2” and Rashad is only 5’11”.  Both absolutely hate each other and have been jawing since the match was announced.

Round one starts with an immediate bum rush by Tito that take Rashad all the way to the cage and down in Tito’s favorite position. Rashad tries to use the butterfly guard to move tito off his mid-section to no avail as Tito pins him against the chain link. The rest of the round goes the same way. Rashad is either stuck against the cage or tentative and waiting for the shoot in the middle of the octagon. Tito is visibly cheating and grabbing at Rashad’s shorts when they are struggling against the cage and Rashad is trying to circle out. By the end of the round, Rashad has got a handle on Tito’s one trick pony and is pretty much stuffing most of the takedowns.

Round two has Rashad a little more confident. He tries to shoot a couple times but gets stuffed because he isn’t setting up the change of levels with anything else. He does get Tito against the cage a couple times but Tito keeps visibly grabbing the cage to stop the takedowns. After one warning, the Big John docks Tito a point. At the end of the round, Tito gets a tight guillotine off a shoot attempt and Rashad is saved by the bell.

Round three shows Rashad with a lot more confidence. Rashad is stuffing all of Tito’s takedown attempts but he is still not confident with his stand-up game and waiting for Tito to initiate. Towards the end of the round Rashad gets a nice pick-up and slam and applies the GNP that has Tito in trouble. The bell rings and the match is over.

Match ends in a Draw. Tito won first. Rashad won third. 9-9 draw in second.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs. Nate Marquardt
This was predicted to be the mismatch of the night.  Nate is a very good fighter but Anderson is better at every area that Nate is good in and ended up being a bad matchup for Nate.

Round one started with Nate coming out very nervous. He was pawing Anderson’s guard constantly. Anderson initiated the action and Nate drops down into a single leg strangle. They both fall down and Anderson is very calm. He gets a lockdown in the half guard and Nat stands up and tries to stuff “The Spider” but can’t seem to do it effectively. Anderson’s long limbs are paying dividends as he uses his feet to stave off Marquardt. The referee eventually stands them back up and Anderson gets a nice straight left. Nate doesn’t want anything to do with the stand up game and goes for another single. Silva reverses and starts raining down beautiful right hands against the side of Nate’s head that puts him out for the count. You could tell the power in the hit as Anderson really stroked it with full extensions.

Anderson Silva wins by KO in the first round

The night had some highlights. It was good to see Minatauro in the Octagon and Anderson is still a force to behold. They are already talking about Evans vs. Ortiz 2 and the post-fight conference was definitely lively as their rivalry was not resolved in the ring. Maybe we can all contribute to the Sean Sherk Jiu-Jitsu fund because he already is a world class wrestler and stand-up fighter. 

Sam Spengler VS. Seth Kleinbeck

Round 1:

Both fighters engage in a clinch with Spengler trying for a takedown. Both fighters exchange shots. Spengler lands a nice punch, but Kleinback answers with a combo. The fighters end up in the north-south position. The round ends with Kleinbeck punching away at Spengler.

Round 2:

The secound round starts and Kleinbeck comes out and lands two kicks, one to the leg, and one to the head. Spengler charges in for the clinch. Kleinbeck accidentally lands a knee to the groin and referee Herb Dean steps in and calls time out. The fight restarts after Spengler is given enough time to recover. Spengler lands a leg kick, but Kleinbeck answers with a stiff shot. Kleinbeck shoots in and takes Spengler down. Kleinbeck begins to nail Spengler with a series of hard shots, and Spengler has no answer. Herb Dean steps in and stops the fight at 2:55.

Winner by TKO Seth Kleinbeck

Chris Cariaso VS. Anthony Figueroa

Round 1:

Cariaso comes out throwing a series of punches and sends Figueroa backing up. Cariaso shoots in and scores the take down, and begins to work from the top. Figueroa manages to scramble back to his feet. The two clinch and exchange knees back and forth. Cariaso scores another takedown, but is unable to do any significant damage before round 1 comes to an end.

Round 2:

Both fighters come out and exchange punches with Figueroa taking the upper hand. Cariaso lands a clean right, and the two exchange again with Figueroa again gaining the upper hand after landing a hard left shot. Figueroa unloads on Cariaso with a series of punches and a kick to end the second round.

Round 3:

Cariaso comes out and nails Figueroa with a lead right. Figueroa charges Cariaso throwing a series of wild punches. Cariaso goes in for the clinch, but is unable to take Figueroa down to the mat. The fight ends with Cariaso landing the cleaner shots for the duration of the third round.

Winner by decision Chris Cariaso

Rex Richards VS. Seraille

Round 1:

Richards comes charging in with a series of punches. The two clinch until referee Steve Mazagatti restarts the fight in the middle. Richards throws another series of punches landing them at will until Seraille falls to the mat and covers up. Mazagatti steps in and calls the fight at just 34 sec in the first round.

Winner by TKO Rex Richards

Jason Von Flue VS. Luke Stewart

Round 1:

Stewart comes out throwing a series of kicks. Von Flue catches a kick and throws a counter punch that misses. Stewart lands an unintentional kick to the groin. Referee steps in and calls for time out allowing Von Flue time to recover. The fight begins again and Stewart shoots in. Von Flue locks in the guillotine, but is unable to secure it tight enough for a choke. Stewart gets back to his feet and scores another takedown on Von Flue. Von Flue gets back up, but is taken down yet again by Stewart who now gains side control. Stewart gets the mount, but Von Flue is able to defend until the end of the round.

Round 2:

Both fighters come out and exchange a flurry of punches. Von Flue is again hit in the groin and time out is called. They begin to trade shots, but niether one of them is doing any significant damage to the other. Stewart gets the takedown again, but Von Flue is able to get back up. Stewart again lands the takedown, but Von Flue defends well against his shots. Stewart gets Von Flue’s back, but is unable to secure the choke before the end of round 2.

Round 3:

Von Flue is now bleeding from the left eye, and Stewart manages to get his back while standing. He sinks in both hooks, but before he can lock in a choke Von Flue turns into him. Stewart unloads with a series of punches from the mount position until referee Herb Dean steps in and calls it at 2:17 of round 3.

Winner by TKO Luke Stewart

Paul Buentello VS. Carter Williams

Round 1:

Buentello comes out throwing wildly and is nailed by Williams. Williams scores the takedown and hits Buentello with two right hands. Buentello gets back to his feet, and the two lock up in the clinch throwing knees up against the fence. Referee Steve Mazaagatti restarts the fight in the middle of the cage. Williams shoots in again, but Buentello is able to sprawl. The two lock up, and Buentello uses some dirty boxing to get in a few shots. Again the ref restarts the fight in the center. Buentello lands a few more knees, and attempts the guillotine but can’t secure it. The two exchange some wild shots and the round ends.

Round 2:

Bunetello nails Williams with a stiff jab followed by three uppercuts, the last which nails Williams directly in his eye. Williams is out followed by the last uppercut to the eye.

Winner by KO Paul Buentello

EliteXC Middleweight Championship Fight: Joey Villasenor VS. Murilo “Ninja” Rua

Round 1:

Villasenor comes out throwing stiff jabs and landing a few. He throws a hard left hook that actually rocks Rua. “Ninja” lands a takedown, but Villasenor manages to reverse it and gains side control on Rua. Villasenor hits Rua with a knee to the body followed by some punches. Rua reaches out for a leg, but Villasenor manages to escape and get back to his feet. “Ninja” lands a hard kick to the body and scores another takedown. Rua gains side control, but Villasenor manages to work back up to his feet. Rua lands a hard right hand and takes Villasenor down yet again. Rua attempts the kimura, but the round ends before he can lock it in.

Round 2:

“Ninja" comes out and lands a hard knee to Villasenor’s midsection. Rua lights up Villasenor with a series of punches. Villasenor throws a punch of his own, but “Ninja” sends him down to the mat with a counter. Rua lands a few more punches on his downed opponent. The referee steps in and stops the fight.

Winner by TKO, and NEW EliteXC Middleweight Champion Murilo “Ninja” Rua

Main Event: Strikeforce Middleweight Championship Fight: Frank Shamrock VS. Phil “The NY Bad Ass” Baroni

Round 1:

Opens up with Baroni charging straight for Shamrock. Baroni unleashes a barrage of punches, and actually takes Frank down to the mat. Baroni stands back up, and both fighters exchange some hard punches. Shamrock taunts Baroni by telling him he’s going to put him to sleep. Shamrock lands a vicious right hand that drops Baroni to the mat, and Frank pounces on him trying to secure a choke. Baroni is visibly hurt. Shamrock lands a blow to the back of Baroni’s head, and referee Steve Mazzagatti calls for a time out, and deducts a point from Shamrock. After Baroni gives the OK to continue the fight, the two meet in the center of the cage. Baroni shoots in and works Shamrock’s guard, but Frank just continues to land shot after shot. Both fighters end up back on their feet, and again Frank rocks Baroni with a brutal knee strike. Baroni goes down and grabs onto Shamrock’s leg. Frank works the body with a series of shots that leave Baroni’s side bright red. After a quick scramble, both fighters get back to their feet once again. Shamrock picks apart Baroni in the stand up, and taunts him before landing a series of jabs and knee strikes. Baroni is out on his feet by this time. With 17 sec remaining Baroni lands another take down, but does nothing offensively. Frank taunts Baroni more as the round comes to an end with a 9-8 score (would have been 10, but Shamrock lost a point).

The crowd is on their feet as the fighters head back to their corners to get cleaned up. Frank flashing the “V for victory” sign to a photographer before the round begins.

Round 2:

Baroni seems to have recovered nicely from the beating during the first round. Phil lands a clean overhand right and follows it up with a series of body shots. Both fighters size each other up before engaging in a brief series of exchanges. Shamrock lands a right, followed immediately by a left and a knee to the body on Baroni. Shamrock seems a bit gassed at this point as Baroni lands several unanswered shots. Baroni rocks Shamrock with a right, but Shamrock quickly recovers with a series of jabs that send Baroni back. At this point Baroni seems completely gassed. Frank lands a left to the head, followed by a knee that sends Baroni into a desperate takedown attempt. Shamrock sprawls, looks for a guillotine, but spins around and takes Baroni’s back. Shamrock sinks in the hooks, and works for the choke. Baroni tries desperately to fight it off, but Shamrock locks it in and chokes Baroni out cold with 44 sec remaining in the second round to win the Strikeforce Middleweight Title.

Winner via rear naked choke, and NEW Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Frank Shamrock

They promised only three fights on TV but since no fight went over two rounds, we got to see seven. Whether this was poor matchmaking is pointless because each fight was entertaining unto itself.

Doug Evans vs. Roger Huerta
The night started with the poster boy of the Latino community and UFC fighter Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evan. Doug is a top-flight wrestler and no push-over himself.

Round one starts with Doug getting the first lick in. Roger manages to grab a kick and throws Doug down but Doug spins out and grabs a body lock from behind Roger. They get back up to their feet after a brief spat on the ground and Doug starts to dominate Roger on the feet in a suprising manner. Roger is looking over-classed and we are all wondering if he has been nothing but hype. Roger uses a head kick and push kick to try and shoot but Doug will have nothing of it. He does pick up Doug but is blocked from a decent slam by a possible guillotine. The round ends with Doug chasing Roger around the cage with some nice strike combos.

Round two starts with Roger finally asserting himself. He has woken up and realized that the UFC is not going to keep feeding him guppies. Roger advances with Doug retreating around the cage for a bit. Doug does get a nice leg kick in but Roger counters nicely with a body kick. Roger then opens up with some nice kick combos that Doug cannot answer. Doug finally advances and gets a single leg trip off one of the exchanges but Roger spins out and tries to get up but Doug takes him back down. After some posturing and maneuvering on the ground, Doug finally over-extends on a triangle and Roger passes to get his back. After Doug wriggles around a bit, Roger flattens him out and starts to apply some major GNP. Eventually the ref is forced to step in and call the fighter due to inactivity.

Roger Huerta wins in the second round by Ref Stoppage

Thales Leites vs. Floyd Sword
Floyd is from Pete Jackson’s camp, which is the same camp that Keith Jardine and Diego Sanchez train in, and this is his first fight in the UFC. You can’t ask for a harder opponent than Thales so you can’t help but feel sorry for him a little bit.

Thales opens up the first round with some nice spin combos that include a spinning back kick which doesn’t land. Sword immediately jumps in and lands a nice combo. Thales tries a knee to the head but Sword grabs it and pushes him against the cage. Thales then reverses position and gets a nice hip throw in and lands perfectly on top. Sword eventually gets up and to his feet and utilizes some nice takedown defense to keep Thales off him. Thales eventually over-balances Sword yet again and gets the delivers the same hip throw we saw earlier.

Floyd is looking way over-matched at this point and it doesn’t get much better. Thales continues to dominate and eventually stacks Sword. He then uses his hands to cover Swords face and distract him so that he could pass and take his back. Thales gets one hook in and purposefully leaves his guard open so that Sword spins and lands in an arm triangle, forcing him to tap out.

Thales wins in the first round due to arm triangle submission.

Gray Maynard vs. Rob Emerson
Rob has changed camps since we last saw him on the show. He used to train with Marc Laimon’s Cobra-Kai and now he trains with X-treme Couture. Gray is looking as strong as ever and is a worthy adversary having made it to the semi-finals in the house.

Round one starts and both come out swingin with Gray landing some nice shots. Emerson gets the takedown on Gray and rolls him trying for an armbar but misses and ends up on his back. Rob then gets back to his feet after a long tim on the bottom. Gray tries for a guillotine and then goes for a suplex which lands him in side mount. Gray persists with some nice GNP that includes some short elbows. rob tries for another armbar but Gray fasses to north-south to block and then side mount on the opposite side. Gray then gets full mount but Rob slips back to half guard. Emerson counters with a heel hook and misses. Gray delivers a dropping body shot right on Rob’s ribs and hurts him bad. Gray comes down in side control and they scramble until the bell. Rob gets up holding his arm at his side.

Gray tags Rob to start round two with a left and then a right hook. Gray then picks up Rob and slams him down hard but catches his own head on the mat. Rob screams in agony and immediately taps clutching his ribs. Gray appears knocked out himself as the officials rush in to aid Rob. The NSAC eventually rules it a no-contest because both fighters were knocked out simultaneously, much to Gray’s chagrine and protest.

No-contest declared due to simultaneous KO

Joe Lauzon vs. Brandon Melendez
Brandon could not make weight for the match and was off by a pound. This is considered the ultimate disgrace in fighting circles but Joe just wants to fight. Brandon is docked 10% of his purse with 5% going to Joe.

Round one begins with Brandon getting a nice hand combo in on Joe. Joe shoots in and gets a single, throws Brandon down, and goes for North-South positioning. Joe then proceeds to lay some massive GNP but eventually ends back in the guard. Joe stacks Brandon, picks him up by one arm, and then slams him down hard. Joe mounts Brandon and forces him to roll and give up his back. They scramble with Joe eventually keeping the back after a position change. Brandon scoots back and forces Joe against the cage event though Joe is on his back. They eventually get back up and Brandon tries to throw a sloppy body kick but Joe catches it and they both go to ground with Joe ending up in the back position yet again. It appears that Brandon is purposefully giving up his back. He unhooks Joe’s feet and spins out of the position. Joe goes for a heel hook and gets it in deep but Brandon just waits the round out.

Round two starts with Joe working the angles and Brandon cutting him off. Brandon throws a trash haymaker but Joe times it, ducks, and shoots in to get a double take down. Joe again passes and gets mount. Brandon rolls and gives up his back. Joe then allows him to spin and sets the triangle as Brandon spins forcing him to tap out.

Joe wins in the second round due to triangle choke.

Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Diaz
The interviews play the matchup quite well. They again accentuate the tiff that Karo and Nate had during the show. Nate Diaz even said, “Living in the shadow of Nick Diaz? What’s bad about that? Not as bad as living in the shadow of Karo Parisyan.”

Round one starts with Manny shooting in, getting the single, and spinning Nate down. Manny plays the pitbull well and Goldberg managed to use the term often. Manny ends up getting ahold of Nates neck for a guillotine and locks up the head nicely but forgets the full guard. Nate steps out, rolls, and pops out of the hold nicely. Manny keeps up the pressure and applies the GNP nicely. The rest of the round is pretty much the same. Nate tries about every submission he can think of an Manny keeps working in a bullish manner. Nate eventually gets up and tries for a single but Manny gets an anaconda grip when the round ends.

Round two starts with Nat landing some nice combos that cause Manny to shoot in. As Nat goes to sprawl, Manny’s shoulder dislocates from the impact and causing him to immediately tap out on the floor in utter pain. Apparently, it was a reocurring injury from the series that he suffered when fighting Joe for the finals position.

Nate wins by tapout in the second round and is “The Ultimate Fighter” of season 5

Cole Miller vs. Andy Wang
Cole Miller is 6’1” and in the lightweight division and quite a quandary for new fighters because of his height and reach difference. He has a brother in the WEC who is cornering him. This fighter is fast so if you blink you might miss it.

Cole engages first with a combo to start round one and then lunges in with a knee. Andy tries to shoot but gets stuffed from the weak attempt. Both stay up top exchanging although Andy is trying to close the distance. Cole gets a huge left high kick that floors Andy and he immediately jumps into to GNP his downed opponent. After a few seconds and a clean shot from Cole, the referee steps in and stops the match, much to the protest of Andy.

Cole Miller wins 1:10 into the first round by referee stoppage.

B.J. Penn vs. Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver
The opening has them both talking. B.J. Penn has a new strength and conditioning coach and if he is following what the man sets forth, everybody in the 170 lb. division is in trouble. There is something in Jen’s eyes as he is standing there waiting for the fight that already declares him defeated.

Round one starts and they meet in the middle of the ring. B.J. is dominating the stand up and rocks Jens early. He then gets a body lock on Jens and slams him down, lands in half guard and goes to work. Jens stands back up and BJ yet again gets a body lock and a slam. BJ easily mounts Jens from the open half guard. BJ locks down on an armbar but gives it up for the triangle. Jens eventually postures out of the precarious position after eating a couple elbows and lays the smackdown on BJ as he pushes him up against the cage. Jens manages to throw a nasty overhand elbow from guard but BJ manages to get back up. They both work the dirty boxing with BJ winning the hand game which is Jens forte. Jens throws a high kick and throws a couple hooks to end the round

Round two starts and Jens throws a nic left but BJ has him times and shoots in for a single leg takedown. BJ passes off the open half guard and finally gets the mount. After some massive GNP from mount, Jens is forced to roll and give up his back. BJ then uses his legs to trap Jens arm and sinks in his forearm underneath Jens chin forcing the tapout.

BJ Penn chokes out Jens Pulver in the second round via RNC

Not one match shown on TV went three rounds and were highly entertaining. B.J. Penn has finally got his conditioning under control and looks to be a force in the 170 lb. division but everybody is confounded on why he doesn’t stay at 155. Jens is not looking to retire but states that he will be going to the 145 lb. division which probably means he will be transitioning to the WEC. Joe looked absolutely stellar and should have been in the finals. It was an all-around great finale for an above-average season.

Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith

The first fight of the night shown on TV was Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith. Ed Herman and Scott Smith are both TUF alumni. Ed Herman recently won on an Ultimate Fight Night by a sick armbar and Scott had recently won by KO against Pete Sells after Sells had knocked him down with a massive hit to the ribs. Ed talks about standing with Scott but nobody believes him.

Round one starts with Ed proving himself wrong by immediately shooting in for a double leg takedown. Ed then proceeds to throw some short elbows to Scott’s face in a foreshadowing of what is to come later in the match. This forces Scott to roll and Ed then takes Scott’s back. Scott stands back up and they clinch with Ed throwing knees while in the clinch. Ed again shoots in and goes for a double leg but Scott pulls a guillotine which Ed subsequently slips. Ed sits in guard lulling Scott to sleep and then all of a sudden throws an overhead wind-up elbow that lands on Scott’s nose on the bridge and splits it wide open, causing the blood to run into his eye, and forcing the doctor to stop the match briefly and look at the damage. The doctor doesn’t see it as much of a danger and lets the match continue. They continue in the same position and Scott has to roll giving up his back. Ed tries to take his back and misses causing Scott to get top position. Both go for toe folds with Ed breaking off first and diving in to finally get Scott’s back for an attempted Rear Naked Choke. Scott flips the choke and manages to get back into guard and the bell rings to end the round.

Second round starts and Ed yet again jabs and goes straight for a takedown but Scott gets a Guillotine in tight. Ed survives for a little bit in this position then pops out of it after Scott’s arms get tired. Ed continues to utilize the overhead elbows but Scott uses his forearm to block them having learned from his first run-in. Scott eventually has to give up his back trying to stand up and Ed immediately pounces, slips in his forearm, and gets the Rear Naked Choke.

Ed Herman wins by Rear Naked Choke in the second round.

Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
This match ended up being the fight of the night. Both were energetic in the match, utilizing good wrestling skills, yet sloppy JJ skills. Tyson was strong in round one, Clay seemed to take round two and three, but looks can be deceiving sometimes. Goldberg revealed how horrible a wordsmith he was by using “tireless, tireless...” in a sentence.

Round one starts with Tyson hitting first. Clay shoots in and gets a single but Tyson balances well on one foot and stays in an upright position. Tyson then pulls a guillotine so tight that Clay’s face goes red and you can hear him gurgle. Clay toughs it out and eventually slips the choke. A scramble ensues with Tyson landing in back position with a body lock. Clay drops and tries a toe fold reversing positions when Tyson has to respond. They eventually get up and Clay pins Tyson against the cage throwing some nice knees. Tyson then tees off and clay responds with some nice hand combos. Clay then shoots again and Tyson sprawls effectively forcing Clay to stand and trade jabs with him. Tyson then opens up and throws a left-right-head kick combo forcing Clay to shoot. Both exchange blows and a scramble ensues to end the round.

Round two starts with Tyson throwing a nice overhand. Clay responds with a high kick that misses and some hands which land. Clay then gets a single and Tyson blocks with a cross-body grab across the back. Clay gives up the leg and Tyson remains in a top gator roll position.  Tyson breaks the hold by throwing an uppercut that seems to originate at the floor. Both let their hands go with some hits scoring and others not. Guida then throws a head kick and shoots. Tyson demonstrates his flexibility and almost does the splits to escape the single leg. Tyson scrambles and gets Clay’s back with a body lock. He powerlifts Clay into the air and attempts to suplexes him but Clay’s butt lands on top of Tyson’s head. Clay scrambles and gets a knee bar that is in deep but can’t finish it off because of the flexibility of Tyson and the inability of Clay to arch his back enough to hyper-extend the joint. Tyson tries a heel hook to free his leg and Clay scrambles and ends up getting Tyson’s back with both hooks. Tyson tucks his chin and stands up with opponent on his back. Clay can’t seem to slip the arm under the chin and eventually Tyson rolls forward suddenly slamming Clay’s head into the mat. Tyson then starts to slip out back when the bell rings.

Round three begins and Tyson again initiates the action with his hands. Tyson closes the distance and gets a good knee in followed by a great hand combo. Clay is again forced to shoot in for a single. Tyson stuffs and answers but Clay is countering well. Guida shoots after throwing a jab but doesn’t sell it enough and allows Tyson to react and stuff. Clay eventually gets Tyson down but they soon spin. Tyson throws some nice elbows and another scramble happens with Clay ending the sequence with two nice back fists as Tyson holds onto one of his legs. Clay then proceeds to eat Tyson up. No matter how Tyson squirms, Clay lands on top. Clay tries to get mount but can’t quite get it and Tyson pushes him off with his legs and throws some nice upkicks. Clay throw his hips up and over trying to pass and they both scramble but Clay again lands on top continuously using GNP. The round nears the end and Clay is raining down hits on Tyson with no responses from Griffin. The round ends and both fighters come to the center for the decision.

TYSON WINS BY SPLIT DECISION and CLAY IS ROBBED!

Rory Singer vs. Jason MacDonald

This fight looked like a gimme on paper. Jason is super athletic and a great fighter although he lost to Rich Franklin recently. Rory has been surprisingly game in his fights against ex-TUF alumni but has been pulled up short against top athletes like Yushin Okami. Jason is one of those top athletes so the cards appeared stacked against Rory.

Round one starts with a leg kick from Jason to a take down attempt. Jason pushes Rory against the cage and then proceeds to apply foot stomp after foot stomp.Rory flips the position and tries a whizzer but Jason has really good balance.  Jason then gets a single leg but Rory applies the double underhooks to defend the takedown. Rory again reverses the position against the cage and throws some massive ands and a knee. Jason finally gets the takedown. Rory slaps on a high guard which Jason responds to with Shoulder shots. Jason gets in 2 good punches from up on top and Rory applies some good up-kicks forcing Jason to disengage. Jason tries to hit and shoot but misses. Rory gets up and throws some nice knees. Rory takes down Jason and gets mount and then the back with hooks as Jason rolls to avoid the hits. Jason reverses guard but is bleeding from a couple elbows. Jason stays in guard but Rory is using masterful JJ to control the action from bottom. Rory slips in a triangle as Jason tries to stack him for a pass and Jason is saved by the bell.

Round two has Jason kicking and then shooting for a single leg which succeeds. He ends in guard and starts to throw some great body shots to soften up Rory. Jason grabs Rory’s arm and puts it behind his own back in an effort to advance position Rory uses a body triangle instead of a closed guard to maintain control from bottom. Jason starts to drop heavy bombs and a couple of them are getting through. Jason then uses a can-open to pass to half guard and then mount. He continues to throw bombs and Rory turtles but doesn’t attempt to defend himself forcing the referee to step in and stop the match

Jason MacDonald wins by TKO - ref stoppage 2nd round

Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
This match was very one-sided and boring from any other angle except as a clinic to see how far Forrest has improved. Forrest Griffin has come a long way since his brawling days and even picked up a new weapon, the kick. Hector Ramirez is relatively new to the UFC, with a loss against James Irving, who isn’t as good as Forrest and therefore should not even stand a chance against the TUF alumni.

Round one starts with Griffin foreshadowing the rest of the fight by throwing masterful kicks against the legs. Hector shoots off a kick and gets the takedown. He can’t pass and Forrest stands back up. The rest of the round has Forrest giving Hector a kicking clinic with kicks raining in from all directions, body, head, both legs, etc.  He also mixes in the hands to keep things fresh. One impressive thing is that he is using angles and disengaging when Hector tries to advance. Repeat this and you have the rest of the round figured out.

Round two is much of the same with Forrest utilizing the double leg kicks effectively. He also mixes in a left cross-right uppercut into the mix to really throw Hector off. Hector never advances and when he does, Forrest backs off not allowing him to get into a rhythm. the leg kicks are starting to take their toll and Hector is slowing down. Hector tries a sorry takedown which doesn’t even come close and Forrest continues to pick him apart until the end of the round.

The third round has Hector’s legs looking like jelly from the repeated blows. Forrest continues to open up the combos and puts on a clinic for all those watching. The soccer chants start up in earnest and the crowd really loves Forrest. The round ends with Forrest hitting Hector so much that he is forced to turtle.

Forrest wins by Unanimous Decision

Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami

Rich Franklin is coming off a win against Jason McDonald and Yushin is coming off an impressive win against Mike Swick. Both are strong and they both know it. Rich is an ex-champion and is hungry to climb the ladder again. This match was boooorriiiing except for the third round. It is also one of the only ones on the PPV where the crowd actively booed because of the inactivity.

Round one and two of the main event are the most boring of the night. Both rounds have Rich advancing and Okami disengaging. Every time Yushin tries and advance, which isn’t many, Rich changes levels masterfully with his head and counters by hitting first. Repeat this for two rounds and you get the idea.

Round three starts a little differently. Yushin throws a kick that Rich grabs but he loses his grip and can’t take his opponent down. Rich lands a leg kick of his own, a body shot, and a body kick. Okami gets in range off the kick and finally gets a leg trip which lands him in side guard. Yushin then passes the guard and mounts successfully. Okami starts the GNP and Rich also works to get a butterfly guard back which he is eventually succeeds in doing. Rich escapes and gets a single which allows Okami to get a guillotine. Rich esscapes again and almost gets mount.  Rich tries to stand up and throws punches down at Okami. Yushin tries for a Kimura and gets it in deep. Rich winces with pain as Okami gets half guard and starts to torque the shoulder. Rich eventually rolls and tucks his arm underneath his body. He then reverses his position and escapes the dangerous submission. Rich finishes with GNP and the bell rings.

Rich wins by unanimous decision

The best fight of the night was Tyson Griffin and Clay Guida. The crowd was extremely sparse at the BW3 where I was at and the combination of afternoon time and the pre-buzz of the lacking card must have kept the people home rather than purchasing. Thank goodness the next three cards look better than this one. 

Drew Mcfedries vs. Jordan Radev
Drew is a Miletich Fighting Systems product. He came out looking extremely cut and confident. This was Jordan’s first time in the octagon but he was definitely talking the talk in the pre-fight interviews. Hopefully he can walk the walk.

Round one starts and Drew gets the first punch in. He tees off with a left hook that visibly wobbles Jordan. He then follows that hook with a high head kick that misses but pays dividends in the strategy game because he follows up with a right uppercut and knocks Jordan down. Jordan is still semi-alert and his head is still up but you can tell he is seeing stars. Drew then jumps to the canvas with a crushing overhand that lands right on the chin of the downed fighter that totally knocks Jordan out. He then follows up that shot with two more for effect on the unconscious opponent before the referee could jump in and stop the bout.

Drew McFedries wins by KO in the first round

Chad Reiner vs. Anthony Johnson
Both Chad and Anthony are seen talking smack in the pre-fight interviews. This is Anthony’s introduction into the UFC and Chad has already been in the octagon with a game loss against Josh Burkman. Chad is also a retired Marine (there is never an ex-Marine as pointed out by my Marine friend. Once a Marine, always a Marine).

The first round starts and both come out circling. Chad lands an inside leg kick but Anthony closes in and finds his range landing a hook to Chad’s chin that visibly wobbles his opponent. He then follows up with another uppercut that misses and then hits with another left hook that puts Chad out on the canvas.

Anthony Johnson wins by KO in the first round

Jon Fitch vs. Roan Carneiro
Jon is an up-and-coming star that nobody seems to know about. He has great hand speed and good ground game. Roan Carneiro (pronounced Ho-an) is a Brazilian protege who has a very stellar ground game and is being introduced in the UFC For his first time.

Round one begins with Jon throwing the first effective combo that land flush on Roan’s face. Roan answers with a left hook and Jon counters with an inside leg kick. Jon tries a hand combo and Roan counters with a shoot and takes Jon down with a double leg. Roan passes guard easily and gets north-south position with a head hold. Roan then positions one of his hands on the armpit of Jon with a hand clinch underneath as if to start a guillotine. Roan then rolls and starts a modified arm triangle but somehow Jon pops out and ends up with Roan’s back with body control. Roan gets up easily from this position and both start to swim for position on the cage. Roan goes for a single leg trip but Jon has good balance and staves it off. Jon answers with a knee and forces Roan to block with his arm. Roan finally gets double underhooks and transitions to a body lock and then proceeds to land some great knees. Roan again tries a throw but misses but eventually gets a double leg and whips Jon around for the takedown. Jon utilizes an open guard which gets passed and Roan again ends in a north-south position but can’t use his advantage as the round comes to an end.

Round two starts with Jon throwing another inside leg kick. Roan utilizes an overhand to try and get a shoot which Jon stuff easily. JOn then rocks Roan with a left-right-left hand combo and drops the BJJ expert. Jon then jumps in with some nasty headshots while Roan is trying to collect his whits and Roan rolls to expose his back. Jon grabs a modified RNC without the hooks, uses some headshots to loosen the neck up, then sinks his arm in for the tap.

Jon Fitch wins in the second round by Rear Naked Choke submission

Thiago Tavares vs. Jason Black
This match is Thiago’s second UFC match with his first win in the last UFC Fight Night against Naoyuki Kotani. Jason is another Miletich Fighting Systems product that is debuting in the UFC. His beard is out of control and it reminds me of the 1800’s the way he wears it.

Round one starts and Thiago immediately shoos in off the first exchange and tries to pull guard. Black gets a head lock and almost gets swept but lands in side control. Thiago gets out of the bad position and they both get back up. Thiago tries for another shoot but Jason successfully sprawls out of the attempt. Thiago then executes a brilliant reversal which lands him on Jason’s back. Jason rolls out and Thiago ends in mount. Jason escapes but Thiago ends in side control for a brief period of time. Jason tries for an arm triangle in half guard but cannot finish the submission attempt and Thiago pretty much has his way with him the rest of the round. Thiago is constantly landing in mount and throws two nasty elbows to the eye socket of Jason which causes some major swelling on that eye for the remainder of the fight. Thiago controls Jason for the rest of the round with Jason constantly trying to not get knocked out by the strong GNP that Thiago is landing on Jason’s face. The bell rings with Jason appearing very deflated.

Round two starts with Thiago wanting to work a little bit up-top. He lands a liver kick and Jason is very tight, telegraphing his right cross. Thiago tries for a head kick which is caught by Jason but he manages to shoot in and pucks Jason up bodily and slams him down after walking across the ring. Thiago lands in side control and Jason has to give up his back to try and roll out of the dominant position. Thiago is clearly stronger than Jason but he gamely tries a kimura which forces Thiago to roll onto his back. Thiago’s face is incredibly calm throughout the whole attempt and eventually he slips the arm and lands a leg triangle that forces Jason to tap.

Thiago Tavares wins by Triangle submission in the second round.

Spencer Fisher vs. Sam Stout
Both of these fighters enter the ring to great up-beat music. Their previous bout was exciting to watch but Spencer had taken it on 3 days notice, cut 24 pounds in 3 days, and was extremely tired. Sam won it on a decision but it is amazing that it was even close.

Round one starts with both comig to the middle and they don’t even shake hands. Sam throws a hand combo and Fish counters with a leg kick. Spencer then proceeds to open up a Muy Thai clinic with Sam being the student. Spencer lands some nasty combos to the body and head of Sam over and over again. He mixes up the hooks, crosses, and jabs effectively and plays the high low game keeping Sam guessing on what blow is coming next. Sam tries to counter but Spencer is playing the angles well and gives him no openings. Spencer is constantly throwing a left hook to the ribs of Sam which causes him to shy away. Spencer tries to shoot in but Sam has been working his shoot defense and stuffs it easily with Spencer ending up on the cage in the clinch. Sam throws some great knees before they break and proceed with their hand exchanges again. Spencer’s kicks are also very effective as he mixes those in with his hand combos to continue to keep Sam guessing. Sam tries to engage but Spencer beats him to the punch with some nasty straights. Sam is slightly bleeding but finally lands a nasty left and an elbow that opens up Spencer’s right eye. Both continue the exchange with Sam finally getting momentum near the end of the round but not enough to claim it.

Round two is much the same thing. Sam is throwing nice combos but Spencer keeps beating him to the punch with some very effective counters. Both are scoring but Spencer is totally in control. Spencer mixes in a nice superman punch every once in awhile to keep Sam off balance and forces Sam to counter with leg kicks. Both are circling and throwing at will and both are laser precise. Sam throws a couple rear leg front snaps to Spencer’s mid section to keep to stop his opponents advances. Spencer tries for another takedown but Sam swims out of the clinch and pays for it when Spencer steps back and lands a nasty hand combo. Spencer continues to advance with his precise combinations. His face is more battered than Sam’s but he is definitely controlling the fight.

Round three opens up with Sam utilizing that rear leg front snap a lot more often to try and stop Spencer from wading in. Spencer then uses some leg kicks as an answer but Sam counters with a good 1-2. Sam starts to initiate more with his hands and lands some decent combos while Spencer is turtling slightly. Spencer then takes over with his hand combos and even counters with an elbow once. Sam has no answer it seems for that closing cross. Spencer lands a massive right hook which rocks Sam. He then locks up and throws two precise knees. Sam has become very immobile when throwing his counters and Spencer is just moving in at angles to avoid the counter-punches. Both end the round still throwing hand combinations but Spencer again has dominated the third round. It ends and both come together, hug, and then hold each others hands up in a sign of good sportsmanship. Spencer’s face looks like it went through a meat grinder and Sam doesn’t look much better.

Spencer Fisher wins by unanimous decision

This event happened to be in Las Vegas and all the UFC ref’s were officiating. Frank Mir was color commentary and second fiddle in the telecast. He did a great job providing color since he is well versed in MMA, being a fighter himself, but his monologue skills definitely need work. The production values were decent although not stellar. There was no tunnel for fighter entrances and they ended up using the ballroom doors to stage the walk-ins for the fighters. The fights were good although the match-ups were a bit lop-sided throughout the night. This really couldn’t be contributed to the matchmaker as the card was plagued with injuries causing last minute changes to occur.

Brian Stann vs. Craig Zellner
The first fight of the night shown on TV was the Marquee Light-Heavyweight Brian Stann vs. Craig Zellner. Brian Stann had been hyped all week in the media so he had a lot to live up to at the fight. Brian Stann is a first Lieutenant in the Marines and he is definitely an intimidating character. A lot of veterans seem to be drawn to MMA which is only natural being from an aggressive line of work.

Round 1 begins and Craig shoots in. Brian opens with some massive knees to the mid-section and head that stagger Zellner. Craig tries to shoot again but doesn’t change levels very well and gets clocked by an overhand right forcing him to pull guard. Brian just sits in the guard doing body-body-head and Craig seems to be holding on for dear life. Craig does utilize a high guard and goes for an armbar but Craig just stands up out of the submission attempt. Brian then throws a drag kick that cracks on Craig’s thigh and forces Craig to shoot in desparation. When Brian stuff the shoot, Craig pulls guard yet again. Craig again works his legs up to go for the armbar and Brian just stands up out of the attempt. Stann then throws some punches that land and leave Craig punch drunk. Zellner tries to pull guard in desparation and Brian jumps in with a couple dropping overhands that knocks Craig silly and forces the ref to step in.

Brian Stann wins by ref stoppage first round with five seconds left in the round.

Alex Karalexis vs. Josh Smith
Alex is a former UFC and TUF star and has dropped from welterweight to lightweight to now fight in the WEC. His opponent this evening is quite a bit taller than the shorter Karalexis but Alex has the experience edge.

Round 1 starts with Josh pawing at Alex with a left jab. Frank warns against this against a person who likes right crosses because of the openings it creates and sure enough, Alex throws a right overhand cross that just barely misses. Josh shoots in and tries to get Alex’s back but fails. Alex scrambles and reverses and throws Josh to the mat. Josh then uses the cage to get back up but Alex stays glued to his hip. Both struggle for a bit on the cage with Alex finally breaking away and throwing some hit combos. Josh throws a spinning hammerfist which Alex just barely ducks. Alex then throws an overhand right and then shoots in off the hit. Alex gets the slam and slips to half guard but Josh uses the cage and his long legs to get full guard back. Josh is throwing some nice up-kicks but Alex keeps jumping in and stuff Josh’s legs. Josh does try for an armbar or two but Alex is elusive. The round ends with Josh stuffed in a corner.

Round 2 begins with Alex throwing a nice in-step kick to Josh’s knee and then following it up with a nice liver kick that lands with a thunk. Josh fakes a kick and lands a nasty right hand that staggers Alex and causes his left eye to swell shut. Alex shoots in and gets Josh’s back but Josh avoids the take down by grabbing the fence and the referee warns him. Alex’s eye is swelling so much that his eye is totally shut but he is still bringing the action Josh with nice leg kicks and punches. Josh slips and Alex jumps into his guard. Josh gets a triangle and Alex picks up the bigger fighter and walks him to his corner and then slams him down hard deftly avoiding the triangle upon landing. Alex finally passes the guard and starts to rain down hard shots. Josh uses the cage to get guard back but Alex continues to pummel the taller fighter. Josh then uses his feet and some flexibility to try and pry Alex out of the side mount. Alex worms his way out and barely gets mount before the bell rings to signify the end of the round.

Round 3 opens with Alex throwing kicks and using an overhand to shoot in for the single leg throw. Josh reverses and tries to throw Alex with a body lock. Alex stuffs the attempt and then gets a body throw to achieve mount. Josh again uses his long legs and flexibility to pry Alex out of mount. He then goes for a foot lock but Alex pulls his leg to a safe position. Josh continues to walk up his legs whenever he has pulled guard and Alex dangerously stands up out of the maneuver and then jumps back in to the fray. Alex ends up tapping the butt of his opponent in mocking fashion and even throws an illegal foot stomp to the mid-section and loses a point before the match ends.

Alex wins by Majority decision (2 29-27 and 1 28-28)

Brock Larson vs. Kevin Knabjian (Welterweight)
This fight was so fast that if you blinked, you missed it. Brock had been training hard to fight Carlos Condit for the Welterweight title but Carlos injured his shoulder at the last minute forcing the WEC to find Kevin in short notice.

Round 1’s bell rings and Brock comes out in an orthodox stance. He immediately throws a massive left that slips over Kevin’s guard and connects squarely on his opponents chin, flipping him around, and sending Kevin to the mat. Brock immediately bull charges and performs a football shoulder tackle that knocks his opponent halfway across the ring and onto his back. He then throws some dropping overhands that stun his opponent even more and Kevin curls forward to grab at Brock’s leg in desperation. Brock finishes off the match throwing some massive hooks to Kevin’s face and the referee steps in and waves off the match.

Brock Larson wins by TKO 27 seconds in the first round

Mark Hominick vs. Rani Yahya (featherweight)
Mark is another UFC veteran that is now in the WEC ranks. This featherweight (145) is a classic striker vs. submission specialist fight and promises to be interesting.

The bell rings on the first round and Rani shoots in without any pretext. Mark widens his base and throws some shots to Rani’s head that stun his opponent but doesn’t seem to slow him down. Rani confesses at the end of the bout that he doesn’t remember anything after Mark hits him but his actions were instinctual. Rani continues to press in for the takedown haphazardly and eventually gets the single leg and slings around his opponent. He then jumps onto Mark’s back and sinks the hooks plus slips the forearm underneath the chin at the same time. He then squeezes and forces Mark to tapout or go unconscious.

Rani Yahya wins in the first round by tapout

John Alessio vs. Alex Serduykov
Alex had already lost to John Alessio via RNC in 2006 but wanted to try his luck again. John Alessio is another UFC veteran that has made his way to the WEC after hitting a streak of hard luck. John is wearing an Xtreme Couture hat and Frank has invoked the champions name a couple times. Does the current heavyweight champion have a marketing agreement with Zuffa to promote his new brand?

Round one begins and both are throwing combos in the middle of the ring but Alex is landing more often. John lands a nice left hook and tries for a head kick and a shoot off the combo. Alex takes the bait and locks up with John giving up his neck and allowing Alessio to sink a guillotine and pull guard. The guillotine is deep and forces Alex to tap or go unconscious. Alex is visibly emotional over his defeat.

John Alessio wins in one minute nineteen seconds by way of guillotine choke

Urijah Faber vs. Chance Farrar
Chance has no chance against the current champ but nobody has bothered to tell him that he is the Patsy tonight. Urijah is considered to be one of the top three lightweights of the world and a force to be reckoned plus he is the poster boy for the fledgling MMA organization and with good reason. He has mad skills and a work ethic second to none. Frank Mir seemed to agree with Komikazee and was singing his praises all night.

Round one starts with Urijah landing an overhand right. Both continue to feint but Faber gets sloppy and throws double spinning kick that ends with him splayed on the ground from slipping on a decal. Chance could have pounced by stays patient. They eventually do lock up and Chance gets an Iranian lift and slams down the champion. They both scramble trying to establish dominant position with both utilizing extremely technical wrestling maneuvers. Urijah gets a cross lift and lands a guillotine but gives it up. Chance turns the corner and tries to get Urijah’s back but is unsuccessful. Urijah gets a weird north-south lift and eventually slams down Chance and sits on his opponents head. They struggle some more but Urijah eventually gets a body lock that allows him to secure Chance’s back. He immediately sinks in the hooks and the arm underneath the chin simultaneously for the Rear Naked Choke and Chance has no choice but to tap.

Urijah Faber wins three minutes and fifteen seconds into the first round

Kalib Starnes vs. Chris Leben

The first fight of the night was Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes. Chris was coming off a rough submission loss against Jason McDonald. Kalib lost by TKO against the rising start Yushin Okami. Both are TUF alumni with medium skills and the matchup promised to provide an entertaining bout.

Round one opens with both coming out jabbing. Chris throws a high kick that misses and Kalib clinches but Chris defends the attempted takedown well. Chris repeatedly cocks that left hand but telegraphs the shots and allows Kalib to dodge some of the heavy shots. Chris lands a couple straights but slips on one of the decals on the mat and Kalib lunges in to get double underhooks. Kalib’s face looks a little worn from Chris’ heavy hands but he gets the single leg takedown finally. Chris utilizes the high rubber guard effectively unti. the final seconds of the round. Kalib stuffs Chris into a corner, postures up, and unloads a flurry of hits to Chris on the ground that leaves Leben dazed as the bell rings.

Round two has Kalib coming out using his kicks to keep range. He clinches every once in awhile but mostly just throws onsies and two-sies. Chris tries a sloppy spinning hammerfist but whiffs. after lulling Chris to sleep, he comes in with a straight right and rocks Leben and then immediately takes him down before Chris can gather his wits. Kalib stands over the fallen opponent and unloads a flurry of hits. Chris stands up and gets dinged as he gets to his feet. Starnes then clinches and unloads knees on Chris’s body. Kalib is landing leg kicks and straight rights at will because Leben’s left hand continued to dip way low. Chris finally gathers himself and comes forward with a decent combo but Kalib turtles up and withers the small onslaught. Chris uses some nice knees to answer Kalib’s earlier knees and pushes Starnes backwards to finish the round.

Round three begins with Chris throwing a sloppy head kick. Starnes counters with a nasty right. Chris doesn’t look tired at all and Kalib is looking exhausted. Chris throws a mean liver kick that buckles Kalib but Chris doesn’t make him pay and instead allows Kalib to pull guard. Chris gets half guard only to be swept. Kalib seems content to stay in guard and doesn’t work at advancing. Kalib finally tries to stand and then pass to side mount but can’t. The fight finishes.

Kalib Starnes wins by Decision

Keith Jardine vs. Houston Alexander

Keith Jardine is a true light heavyweight contender coming off an electric win against Forrest Griffin. Houston Alexander is a new person in his first UFC bout that is being cast to play the patsie.

Round one starts with Keith coming out mocking Houston in a kind of chimpanzee stance with both hands over his head. Alexander takes offense but Jardine doesn’t give him time to contemplate and advances with a combo that ends with a left hook. Houston slips on a decal and Jardine immediately pounces thinking Houston is injured. Houston disabuses him of the idea and immediately answers with some nasty knees that stagger Keith. He ends his assault by throwing a combo of hooks that drops Keith two different times. Referee is forced to step in and stop the bout. Houston is still mad and woofs over Jardine while he is still down.

Houston Alexander wins in the first round via KO.

Terry Martin vs. Ivan Salaverry

Terry Martin comes in to Michael Jackson and with a recent win against Jorge Rivera, has to feel good about himself. Ivan Suanters to the ring without a care in the world and the match starts.

Ivan comes out with an immediate high kick. He then starts to unload leg kick after leg kick on Terry. Martin counters with an overhand and scores a nice hit. Ivan continues to work kicks. Terry lets his hands go and gets the clinch. Ivan has some good balance and staves off the takedown. Terry finally gets Ivan’s back and Salaverry takes 2 on 1 on Terry’s forearm. Terry picks up Ivan and suplexes him on his head knocking him out. Terry then finishes it off with a hammerfist before the ref can step in and stop the bout.

Terry Martin wins by knockout in the first round.

Karo Parisyan vs. Josh Burkman

Both combatants come out and a giant staredown ensues between Karo and Josh.

Round one starts and Josh lands a left and then kicks which Karo catches but Burkman balances nicely. Burkman then lights up Karo but Parisyan counters nicely with a thrown haymaker. Karo starts to time Josh and hits with a right again and again. Josh finally gets a takedown off a kick that Karo throws. Karo stands back up and gets kicked for his efforts. Karo then clinches and throws Josh like a pinwheel with a nasty Judo throw. Josh gets back up and tries to hit Karo but Parisyan counters and hits back. Josh grabs Karo finally and Karo gets a 2 on 1 in the start of a Kimura if he goes down. The bell rings and both combatants go to their corner.

Round two begins with Karo landing a nasty right and a body shot. Josh locks up and thinks otherwise as Karo maneuvers and starts a Judo throw. Karo is countering everything that Josh is throwing at this point. Josh is tiring and dropping his hands and Karo makes him pay by staggering Josh with an overhand right. Karo continues to pick Josh apart and to time him brilliantly. Josh continues to try and take him but down but Karo is defending successfully. Josh again tries to clinch and Karo answers with a straight right. Josh is visibly exhausted at this point but the round mercifully ends before Karo can capitalize.

Round three starts with Josh in a desperated scramble to finish the bout. He lost the last two rounds and he knows it. Josh jumps in swinging for the fences and Karo counters. Josh finally shoots in off a hit combo and gets a single leg takedown. Karo grabs guard and then successfully sweeks Burkman. Both get up and Karo lets his hands go with a flurry. Karo tries a huge kick and misses. Josh is utterly exhausted and giving all his strength just to defend so he doesn’t get knocked out. The bout ends and Karo knows he won all three round.

Karo wins by Decision and sings horribly.

Din Thomas vs. Jeremy Stephenson

Din Thomas is a TUF Alumni with two consecutive wins in the UFC. Jeremy is a newbie and this is his first fight and you can tell he is nervous.

Round one starts with Din changing levels and taking down Jeremy immediately. Din passes to side control and goes for Kimura. Jeremy gets guard off a scramble but eventually gives up his back. Din goes for a rear naked choke but Jeremy appears calm and successfully defends it with a 2 on 1 hold. Din still tries for a RNC but he loosens his hooks to a body triangle. Jeremy finally sweeps and starts to throw bombs from on top right when the round ends.

Round two starts with Jeremy very confident. He has the momentum from the last round. Jeremy tries for a spinning hammer and misses. Din hits Jeremy who then counters with a right hand twice. Jeremy then telegraphs a kick. Din shoots and gets the takedown but Jeremy immediately sweeps. Din passes one of his legs over Jeremy’s head and goes for an armbar. Jeremy picks up the smaller fighter and slams him down good but this only tightens the armbar down. Din flexes both his core and legs to tighten the armbar down and Jeremy taps before every tendon in his arm snaps.

Din Thomas wins in the second round by submission.

Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

The fighters come to the ring over a very long time and a perfectly timed entrance. The tension in the building is palpable, even through the TV screen. Rampage lets forth his usual howl but looks a little tense. Chuck comes to the ring and is incredibly loose. Both compete in a timeless staredown then go to their separate corners to start the fight.

Round one starts and they both come out of their corners on a mission. Chuck is circling and Quinton is cutting off his angles. Both throw very probatory shots but nothing landing. Chuck throws a sloppy body hook and Rampage comes up over the top with a right overhand hook that lands flush on the Iceman’s chin and knocks him to the mat. Rampage immediately jumps in and starts to rain down shots that Chuck is having to defend. Eventually, a really hard overhand leaks through and knocks Chuck senseless again. Chuck’s limbs splay out and Rampage has an unabated path to the head and continues to rain down blows. “Big” John McCarthy immediately jumps in and waves off the fight to protect the fighter. Chuck wakes up with a confused look wondering where those 10 seconds went and wanting to fight but he is done.

RAMPAGE WINS BY K.O. IN THE FIRST ROUND AND IS THE NEW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

Conclusions

Dan Henderson got up into the ring afterwards and in as few words as possible, challenged Rampage to a match. Dan Henderson currently has the belt in Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in PRIDE. It was a lame attempt because they are both friends and Dan isn’t a professional wrestler but the intent is obvious. The card was stacked and turned out better than anybody planned. The two upsets really put icing on the cake and made the night even sweeter.

3 of the 4 belts have changed hands in the last year due to upsets. Chuck vs. Rampage was just destiny.

There were five RNC in the evening and it was the submission “du jour”. The amazing thing is that each was different in how it was obtained. The secondary theme was horrible refereeing. They were atrocious and there was no excuse for a couple of the matches going as long as they did. We were literally yelling from the media seats to fire the ref’s as they totally bungled their job.

For a full re-telling of the events as they unfolded, you can read my blogged play-by-play that I did as I sat ringside and watched the action unfold. The purpose of this article is to convey the different impressions of the event that a play-by-play cannot communicate effectively.

When all the bouts first started, there were only about 500-1000 in the stands but by the end of the night, there were around 2000 people on hand. The small Austin Convention Center holds about 3200 so there was plenty of seats left empty. According to an internal source, their marketing plan did not net them what they thought it would and hence the poor showing at pre-sales time.

Some of the MMA celebrities on hand were:

• Mark Coleman - cornering for Wes Simms
• Pete Jackson - cornering for David Loiseau and is Diego Sanchez coach
• Loony - Best Damn Sports Show Period on FSN and was the ring announcer
• Frank Trigg - Had the ring chicks fawning over him by the end of the night
• Ed Fishman - Ex-PRIDE USA rep and all-around nice guy. Broke his wrist playing tennis and still showed up with Frank at the show. He even got a couple ring girls on his arm
• Saul Soliz - Tito’s coach and was there to corner Randy Hauer.

Wes Simms was constantly out and about cavorting with the media. He even sat ringside for the first 3 matches and appeared very confident and nonchalant about the whole event. He was essentially fighting a nobody and had drunk the Kool-Aid. More on that later.

At one point he gave an interview for one of the camera’s and was asked about Herschel Walker getting into MMA. He stated “Stay on the football field, stay out of MY cage, STAY ALIVE!”. Apparently he didn’t get it right the first time and had to re-do the scene a couple times to correct what mistakes he had done previously. Each take caused him to pantomime even more ferocity with hilarious results by the last take.

The first bout was prelim quality. Warren Stewart never had a chance. Daniel Pineda took him to the ground, got mount immediately, and the poor guy couldn’t seem to block the punches that were landing on his head. He had a lot of heart though and you could hear his head thudding solidly on the canvas as Daniel drove his fist into his face. It wasn’t a bounce, it was a solid thud with a sickening driving motion. After the third unabated and unblocked hit, we were literally yelling at the referee to stop the match. The pounding went on for about 4 more hits with Daniel literally looking up at the referee in a pleading manner before he would even step in and wave his hand to call off the match. Even then he didn’t look too sure. If the guy doesn’t know MMA, DON’T PUT HIM IN A POSITION TO ENDANGER A FIGHTER’S LIFE!

The second bout was Tony Lozano vs. Justin Howard and it was over before you could blink. Justin Howard immediately took Tony to the ground and fell into side control, isolated the left arm and threw a keylock on before Tony could say “What?”. It was over that fast. 6 weeks worth of work for 30 seconds in a cage.

The Jarrot Lewis vs. Aaron Flourney match was quite entertaining. Both were rolling around looking for submissions. Jarrot secured a nasty kimura that was in Aaron’s back pocket and up his spine so far that Aaron could have literally waved at his trapped hand. He amazingly gutted it out and eventually twirled and escaped after what seemed like an eternity. Flourney then staggers Lewis and turns the tables causing Jarrot to turtle on the ground in a fetal position. Flourney just stood on top and threw nasty hammerfist that were doing some good damage. The ref again wouldn’t stop the bout even though Jarrot wasn’t defending himself anymore except to turtle.  Flourney then jumped on top and sunk in a RNC to mercifully finish the bout.

The next bout between Edwin Figueroa and Whitney Brown was surprisingly entertaining. I walked in with Edwin Figueroa and mistook him for a corner man. His coach had to explain to me that he was a fighter on the card. He looked way young and was way short so I had my doubts. When the cage was locked, Edwin turned into a different animal. They both came out swinging with Brown gassing first and getting clipped going for a submission. Edwin turned on the juice and secured the RNC in his first professional match.

The next bout I dubbed as one of the fights of the night and it definitely was memorable. Matt Thompson had fought Ben Rothwell in the IFL, standing toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Heavyweight and survived into the second round so I knew he had a chin. Justin Wren is tenacious and had won his last AOW match so I figured they would be evenly matched. Matt came out and proved me wrong. Justin opened up with a vengeance and took Matt to the ground like his game plan dictated but Matt’s ground-game is undervalued and his face was utterly calm while Justin expended all his energy futilely while trying to break Matt’s guard. After Justin had spent himself, they stood back up and Matt went to town grabbing Justin’s head and delivering repeated uppercuts and knees forcing Justin to turn away and cover his face against the fence.

Again the referee would not stop the bout even though the only thing holding up Justin was the cage. Matt was forced to continue to rain down blow after blow until the bell rang. Justin barely wobbled back to his corner and collapsed in his stool. They then forced him to come back out for a second round and he could barely hold himself upright. Matt literally walked out and pushed him over and Justin couldn’t get up. The referee reluctantly walked over and waved his hand to finish the match.

The next bout was almost Comedic. Chris Bowles came to bang and Randy Hauer came to taunt. The thing about taunting is that you have to be willing to back up the show and Randy wasn’t. Randy would give Chris an evil eye and Chris would put his fist in it. Randy even hurt his knee on a slip while he was fooling around. Chris eventually sealed the deal with the submission “du jour”, RNC in the second round.

The next match was another one earmarked for “Fight of the Night”. Klas Akennson had a long hard fought match against Justin Wren in the first AOW and Damien Stelly won his last bout on AOW1. The two didn’t disappoint and put on quite an entertaining standing and submission clinic. Klas finally overextended on a Kimura try and lost to the submission “du jour”, you guessed it, a RNC. Klas was utterly disappointed and could be seen backstage pacing and condemning himself.

Brandon McDowell vs. Alex ???El Toro??? Andrade, from the Lion’s Den, looked good on paper but was a total mismatch in the ring. Alex is rounding into top form and from the opening bell he had his way with Brandon. Brandon tried to rush Alex and “El Toro” made him pay with a stiff right and then applied a Guillotine. Both expended energy on the futile hold but Alex eventually got top position and started the GNP in earnest after stuffing his adversary in a corner. He then smoothly transitioned to a heel hook that had Brandon tapping immediately in fear of his knee.

The two main bouts were mismatches on paper but turned out very surprising.

David ???The Crow??? Loiseau vs. Freddie Espiricueta was definitely set up as a tune-up match for “The Crow”. However, Freddie had something to say about it and gave him all he could handle in the first round. There was something missing in David’s face and nobody on media row could place it. The fire just wasn’t there. Eventually, in the second round, “The Crow” came out of his shell and showed his true colors and put Freddie away for good with a beautiful side mount to an arm triangle.

The next fight was the biggest mismatch of the night with Wes Simms against Chris Guillen. The fight started with Wes taunting Chris because of his size. This pissed off Chris to no end and he immediately rushed in giving Wes a mouth full of leather. Wes never recovered the momentum and tired over the three rounds that Chris took him. The first round was competitive with both working well. The second round was a little slower, and the third round had both combatants totally spent. By the end of the third round, everybody was booing because these two heavyweights were just standing in the middle of the ring, throwing lazy shots that never landed, and leaning against each other. Wes almost fell over trying to prop himself up on his knees a couple of times.

The production qualities of the bouts were impeccable and you can’t blame the promoters for horrible officiating. The TSAC really needs to send their boxing ref’s to MMA school if they are going to continue to have MMA matches here in Texas.

Cheick Kongo (W) vs. Assuerio Silva
The first match of the night was Cheick Kongo versus Assuerio Silva. Kongo is a stand-up fighter and Assuerio Silva is a ground person so on paper, this looked like a mis-match for Kongo who has no ground-game.

Round one starts with Silva opening up some leg kicks but Cheick answers back with his own. Assuerio stands up for a short time and then quickly shoots in and picks up Kongo by one leg and slams him down. Kongo goes for a guillotine but it is real weak and Assuerio moves to half guard. Kongo reverses and gets back up. Kongo at this point is practicing some decent take down but Assuerio still is able to get another single leg and a slam. This time Assuerio lands in side control but can’t do anything with it and Kongo eventually reverses in his clumsy way at the end of the round.

Round two gets incredibly boring with flashes of excellence. Kongo is repeatedly taken down but Assuerio does nothing with the chances. When they do finally stand on their feet, Cheick showcases his stand-up game and literally dismantles Silva. Leg kicks and hand combos are the soup du jour and Silva has no answer on his feet. Eventually the round ends with Joe Rogan remarking that somebody needs to kidnap Cheick and send him to wrestling school because he looks so rickety when taken to the ground.

Round three has Kongo hungry for activity and he opens up with kicks and hands delivered with extreme prejudice. Silva gets another takedown but with no activity after the takedown, the referee stands them back up. Kongo starts to really apply the pressure with his fists and has Assuerio in trouble. Silva goes for a takedown in desperation and ends up on the bottom. Kongo starts to throws elbows from the top and opens up some nasty gashes on Silva’s face. Eventually the bell tolls and the action stops with Kongo declared the winner by unanimous decision.

Kongo wins by unanimous decision.

Terry Etim (W) vs. Matt Grice
The next match had the building roaring as one of the hometown favorites, Terry Etim, entered the octagon to fight an American wrestler, Matt Grice. The first thing that you notice is the huge height difference. Terry Etim is very tall compared to Matt Grice.

Round one starts and Matt rushes in. Terry stuns him with a quick punch and immediately rushes in with a flying knee. Matt is still aware and pays back Terry’s mistake by catching the knee and slamming Etim down. Grice starts to really land some nasty shots with Etim flat on his back and Terry can’t seem to control Matt’s posture. Terry’s face is starting to look the worse for wear but he eventually uses the fence to get up and applies a standing guillotine choke to Matt. There’s no guard applied but the arm is in deep and Grice starts to go out but escapes and goes down to the mat. Terry follows him down and applies another guillotine that puts Grice out cold. At this point, the crowd is going wild for the hometown favorite and the referee steps in to pull Terry off.

Terry wins in the first round by Guillotine choke.

Michael Bisping (W) vs. Elvis Sinosic
The crowd favoritism continues when Michael Bisping enters the arena. The house is literally shaking as the charismatic Bisping enters the house. Bisping is so excited that he almost runs past the referee posted to do the safety inspection.

Round one opens up with Elvis looking very confident. Bisping catches a leg and Elvis inexplicably throws himself to the mat. Bisping immediately jumps in and starts the GNP. Michael lands some great right hands from the guard and it starts to show on Elvis face. Bisping is so excited that he jumps up and then immediately back in lowering the boom on Sinosic’s head yet again. Elvis is bleeding like crazy at this point and yet he still stays on the ground taking the beating. The bell finally rings for the end of the round and Elvis is a mess.

Round two starts and Bisping opens up with some great kicks and hits. Elvis actually catches the crowd favorite with a knee and sends him tumbling, much to the dismay of the crowd. Elvis jumps in on the stunned Bisping and goes for a Kimura that forces Bisping to give up his back. At this point Elvis is breathing hard and doesn’t have the strength to do anything with it. Bisping easily reverses and starts the GNP. The crowd is going crazy at this point and eventually the referee has to stop the bout because of lack of defense.

Bisping wins in the second round due to ref stoppage due to GNP.

Andrei Arlovski (W) vs. Fabricio Werdum
The next bout pitted Andrei Arlovski against Fabricio Werdum. Fabricio is a recent addition to UFC from the PRIDE ranks and is also the trainer of Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filopovic. Andrei is the ex-champion of the UFC heavyweight division and this should have been a decent bout. Too bad it was so boring that we will just give you the brief overview, except for the first round.

Round one starts out nicely with lots of inside and outside leg kicks from Arlovski. Werdum has no answer for these damaging blows throughout the match. Werdum looks confident and clinches with Arlovski but the champion makes him pay. Werdum clinches with Arlovski and throws a nice right and an elbow as he backs off the Andrei. Andrei continues the kicks and even gets a nice uppercut that stuns Werdum. Fabricio gets frustrated and drives Arlovski across the ring with a flurry of straight punches and four of them actually land. Andrei counters nicely and the round ends.

We won’t even differentiate the second and third round. It pretty much had Andrei stalking Fabricio but not staying engaged. When Fabricio would shift his weight forward, Andrei would immediately back pedal and forty-five off. Repeat that ad nauseum and you get the idea for the bout. Andrei eventually wins by majority decision (one judge was so disgusted, he considered it a draw). Andrei then apologizes to the crowd for the boring fight but it was pre-meditated and he stuck to his game plan.

Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filopovic vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (W)
Then the fight of the night shows up with Gabriel Gonzaga versus Mirko Cro-Cop. Joe Rogan has been pumping up Gabriel Gonzaga all night long and talking up the match even though Gabriel is a new-comer to MMA. Randy “The Natural” Couture actually picked Gabriel to win. All of this is moot because we are talking about Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filopovic, the wiley PRIDE veteran and terror of all human kind, right?

The first round starts with Gonzaga throwing the first punch. He circles and feints. Cro-Cop throws a nasty kick but Gabriel catches it rebounding off his rib. He immediately takes down the seasoned vet and starts the GNP in earnest. Even though Cro-Cop is calm, the blows are starting to take their toll. There’s a cut up near his hair line and his hips aren’t moving that much. Herb Dean, the referee jumps in and brings it back to the feet.

They both circle for a little bit and Gonzaga throws a right leg head kick that comes in over the top of the hand and lands flush on the side of Cro-Cop’s head. Cro-Cop goes down like a ton of bricks and his leg gets trapped underneath him. Gabriel follows him down with some nasty hits to the head before Herb Dean can pull him off and un-trap the bent leg.

Gabriel Gonzaga wins in the first round due to KO from a head kick.

I wish I could describe the first bout of Schultz vs. Joe Sampieri but FSN thought that the Stars in the playoffs were more important than my MMA. Needless to say, I have filed a complaint with my Senator. FSN was nice enough to cut in to see the decision and Schultz won over Joe Sampieri by unanimouos decision.

Michael Dolce vs. Delson Heleno
The next match was Michael Dolce vs. Delson Heleno. The last time Dolce fought, the match only lasted 29 seconds so the expectation was for a fast fight. Heleno proved us all wrong. This match was a war. Heleno was a beast on the ground and Dolce was Houdini.

Round one opened up with Dolce swinging for the fences in hopes of ending the match as soon as possible. Heleno disabused him of the thought and immediately wraps up. Dolce defended the takedown by grabbing the rope and was assessed a point deduction by the referee. Heleno finally takes down Dolce and Michael spends the rest of the round defending submissions and trying to get up.

Round two, Dolce comes out gun shy. Heleno is definitely in his head and he doesn’t want to be taken down. Heleno throws a head kick and Dolce blocks it. Delson then shoots in and takes it to the ground. Heleno then passes easily to side control. Heleno then uses the cage to slowly slip to full mount and goes for an americana which Dolce rolls and presents his back to escape. Heleno then throws the leg over the head in an effort to armbar but at this point Dolce is like Houdini and slips the armbar. Heleno keeps his grip and gets another submission but runs out of time and the bell saves Dolce.

Round three is almost a mirror of round two with Heleno securing the takedown after Dolce comes out tentative yet again. Heleno gets impatient about halfway through the last round and resorts to staying on top of Dolce no matter which way he writhes. Heleno keeps up the GNP until the end of the round and the last bell.

Heleno wins by unanimous decision. Although Dolce lost, it was entertaining because you were waiting to see how he was going to get out of the next submission attempt that Heleno was trying.

Gerald Harris vs. Fabio Leopoldo
The next pitted Gerald Harris against Fabio Leopoldo and both Gerald Harris. This is Gerald Harris’ first match in the IFL and you can tell he is excited to be there.

Round one starts and Leopoldo comes out trying to strike. Gerald Harris immediately shoots in and gets the double leg. He then picks up Leopoldo, adjusts his grip in midair to avoid the guillotine, and slams Fabio down hard. They both scramble and Leopoldo gets the triangle but Gerald sticks his hand in and avoids the submission. After struggling for awhile, Gerald stands up and then jumps in and throws some leather against Fabio’s face. Leopoldo responds by kicking straight to the knee while he is on his back. The referee stands them both up and Gerald streaks in and gets an awesome slam! Leopoldo gets a guillotine off the slam but Harris is saved by the bell.

Round two starts and Harris gets the takedown. They scramble and Leopoldo tries for a knee bar but misses. Harris then jumps back into guard and sits there. His corner is screaming at him to just stand up but he is tired. Leopoldo tries to go for a triangle twice but is unsuccessful. Harris is visibly exhausted but he remains elusive to all the submission attempts that Fabio continues to try off his back. They are both eventually stood back up and Harris manages to land a hard body shot to Leopoldo but the bell rings before Leopoldo can respond.

Round three has Harris bulldozing in right after the beginning bell. Leopoldo goes for another armbar off his back and Harris barely slips it due to exhaustion. Harris finally gets side guard and Leopoldo rolls out and up. Fabio then throws a nice uppercut that slightly stuns Harris. Both are tired and running on fumes. Harris then knocks Leopoldo down on the next exchange with a hard left. Leopoldo tries for a triangle and Harris escapes. There is a good flurry at the end of the match with both scrambling before the last bell.

They both come to the center of the ring and Fabio is declared winner by split decision. Harris is incredulous but gracious in his after-fight bout. It really could have gone either way but props to the judges to rate all those submission attempts so highly.

Jamal Patterson vs. Matt Horwich
The next bout figures to be the fight of the night with Jamal Patterson vs. Matt Horwich. There is a big lead up for Jamal in the which we learn that he is a district sales rep during the day and a fighter at night PLUS manages to keep a girlfriend. This is the first rematch in IFL history which is surprising since these teams have to constantly be fighting each other.

Round one starts with Jamal swinging wildly and goes for a guillotine off Matt ducking away. Jamal feels how deep his arm is around Matt’s neck and jumps to guard finishing the choke off. Nobody expected the win so fast but Jamal is incredibly strong. Matt himself is very choked up about the loss.

Jamal Patterson wins by Guillotine choke in the first round and the Pitbull’s win the team match 3-1.

Devin Cole vs. Brian Vettell
Devin Cole and Brian Vettell are next and if the Pitbull’s can take this match, they will be tied for first with the Anaconda’s. Devin has lost his last four matches and broke his nose in the last fight. Vettell is heavier but shorter than Devin Cole.

Round one starts and Devin rushes in and locks up with Vettell. Vettell flips the position and pushes Devin into the corner. Vettell lands a knee to the groin that sends Devin to the mat. Devin is given time to recover and they quickly get back to business. Both swing with roundhouse punches and Vettell pushes Devin into the corner. Brian gets a hook in on the nose of Devin Cole and there is blood everywhere. Vettell then takes down Devin and starts the GNP. Devin looks a little dazed but the bell saves him.

Round two starts and they both rush to the grapple. Devin throws Brian out of the ring and the apron saves Vettell from the ground. Vettell comes back into the ring and Devin lands a nasty Superman punch that causes Brian to bleed over the left eye. Cole then throws down Brian and moves almost effortlessly to side mount. After a couple punches, Cole gets mount and rains down nasty rights straight down the pipe while propped up with his left, knocking out Vettell.

Devin Cole wins in the second round by TKO due to GNP and completes an upset.

A very satisfying night of IFL fights where the Pitbulls advanced their cause for the playoffs and the fighters shone in their respective matches.

Its a little early in the show for libido desperation but apparently these guys are showing symptoms already. A couple women rode by the house on horses and these men were almost howling like wolves when they saw them. They invited the girls around the front and thats where it went all wrong.

The horses were shoed and the driveway acted like glass so when one of the horses set foot on the cement, it immediately splayed out dumping its rider on her rear. Quite funny really in a scary sort of way. The fighters of course acted like a kid that stole candy from the candy store and ran out like little girls with arms linked to help the horse back up. They then were so embarassed by the escapade that they immediately sent them on their way.

The next drama of the night was internal to Team Penn. Ruediger and Wiman don’t like each other. To be honest, not many people like Ruediger in the house. Most consider him a fat, overweight, whiney schmuck but Wiman just happens to voice his opinion to Gabe’s face which doesn’t go over very well with Ruediger. So they go at each other for like 10 minutes and eventually forces B.J. Penn to have to moderate the internal struggle. Penn is a pretty laid back guy and seems to have a really hard time trying to control 2 Type A personalities that happen to have a tiff. Lets just say he doesn’t inspire fear in the two combatants and the feud continues on in spite of the intervention.

After that the guys in the house start up on the shenanigans early. They find a shield and start to throw javelins at it and somebody gets the bright idea that they want to hold the shield while the other guys are throwing javelins at it. Yeah, “Hello, 9-1-1? My friend has a javelin sticking out of his chest… It was an accident, I swear...”. Somebody finally gets an idea and convinces them that they should test it first and uses a rock as a demonstration. The aforementioned fighter holding the shield then gets pegged right in the crotch with a rock and rolls on the ground in agony for several minutes. Classic.

Team Penn then tags the wall with “Suck it, Team Pulver” and when the other team comes home, they go off the hinges. Emerson first goes ape and takes off his shirt wanting to fight in the house and then Manny goes ape for about 5 minutes and says that he wants to go home, etc before they can calm him down. Every other word was a bleeped eff-bomb it seemed. Reminded me of a bunch of Chihuahuas barking at each other.

At the selection time, BJ tried to influence Pulvers to pick another way but Jens didn’t bite and took Noah Thomas vs. Manny Camburyan.

Manny is very strong and the cousin to Karo Parisyan. Even Dana White says that he is a beast. He has been out of fighting for two years due to injuries but TUF 5 is his ticket back in.

Noah Thomas is an ex-marine who attended sniper school and was enlisted for 6 years. It was fuzzy on whether he was an actual sniper but he was deployed at one time and you have to respect a man for that. His brother is currently deployed. Noah has a slight superiority complex which rubs his other Type A personality housemates the wrong way.

After all the build-up, the fight was anti-climatic and didn’t even last past the first round. Manny came out blazing and knocked Noah on his rear and jumps straight on him, manhandling him at will. Eventually he gets a North-South position and pulls out a kimura in short order and sends Noah packing.

This week was Reality-TV heavy and Fight light. Although entertaining, it gets old after awhile. Hopefully the fights get better the later it goes but entertainment is still entertainment.