UFC 144 Results: New Champ in Japan

With memories of PRIDE in the back of everyone's minds, this event surely lived up to its hype. On to the results.

To start off the thrilling UFC 144 in Japan, LW's Anthony Pettis and Joe Lauzon squared off. As I expected, Pettis showcased his superior striking just 1:21 into the first round, as he knocked out Lauzon with a devastating head-kick, finishing the fight with some extra shots on the ground. The second fight of the night was between FW's Hatsu Hioki and Bart Palaszewski. I wasn't too confident in Hioki after he barely beat George Roop in a split decision, so I had to go with "Bartimus". Unfortunately for my pick percentage's sake, Hioki came out strong and dominated the fight on the feet, winning a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). The third fight of the night featured MW's Yushin Okami and Tim Boetsch. Okami being heavily favored, I had to pick him. He showed his dominance by leaving Boetsch frustrated on the feet for the first two rounds. It was looking bright for Okami going into the 3rd, until Boetsch's corner told him to leave it all on the line. Unfortunately for Okami, those words sunk in, as Boetsch came out swinging like a man on a mission. Once he backed Okami onto the fench, he landed some solid uppercuts that left Okami no defense, sending Okami to the canvas. He followed up with some shots until the ref pulled him off, winning via TKO in the biggest fight of his career, and showing one of the best comebacks in UFC history in the process. Kudos to Boetsch, but man do I feel bad for Okami.

In the fourth fight of the night, WW stars Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jake Shields faced off in a bout that could jeopardize the losers career greatly. This bout was a very odd one to score, as Shields spent most of the time trying to get a hold of Akiyama, while also providing a steady offense on the feet. Oddly enough, all three judges saw it as a 30-27 victory for Shields, granting him the unanimous decision win. In the fifth fight of the night, HW's Mark Hunt and Cheick Kongo battled it out in a bout that Kongo was favored in. Just two minutes into the first round, PRIDE veteran Mark Hunt dropped Kongo with powerful shots against the cage, dropping him and finishing the fight with a few strikes on the ground, forcing Herb Dean to pull him off. Im expecting Hunt to be put against a relatively big name in his next fight at HW. In the co-main event, PRIDE veteran and fan-favorite Quinton "Rampage" Jackson squared off against fellow LHW Ryan Bader. For the majority of the fight, it was Ryan Bader controlling the cage with his effective wrestling/takedowns. Other than for one big slam, Rampage didn't have much offense in the fight. At the expense of the Japanese fan's happiness, the judges determined Ryan Bader as the winner via unanimous decision (30-27's all around). Rampage claimed that the reason he came in overweight and didn't preform to his peak ability was because of  knee injury, and I believe him. If there was one thing I could change about this event, I would have chose to have Rampage win in front of this beloved crowd.

In the main event, LW Champ Frankie Edgar attempted to defend his belt against the #1 contender in Benson Henderson. Frankie clearly one the first round with his effective boxing, and the second round went to Ben. Most notably in the second round, Bendo rocked Frankie with an upkick that put Frankie in a lot of danger. Check it out:

Most people gave the third round to Frankie, and then the fourth the Bendo. The fifth was close, but a lot of people gave it to Frankie. Most of the bout was spent on the feet, with Bendo throwing a lot of body kicks, but being caught late by Frankie. On the other hand, Frankie landed some nice combos but didn't seem to do much damage on Henderson's face. If you had seen Frankie's face without watching the fight, you would have thought he was completely thrown around the entire fight. This is one factor I think that led to the judges scoring. Unfortunately for most Frankie fans, the judges did not agree with their scoring. After all was said and done, Bruce Buffer announced that the UFC had a "NEW!" LW Champ in Benson Henderson, the winner via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46).

Standings:

Joe: 34 points

Alex: 33 points

Jon: 29 points

Shawn: 29 points

Vinny: 25 points

UFC 144 Predictions

So stoked for this event. 7 fight card, here we go Japan.

Main Card:

Lightweight Championship: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Benson Henderson

Light Heavyweight: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ryan Bader

Heavyweight: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo

Welterweight: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields

Middleweight: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch

Featherweight: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski

Lightweight: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon

Shawn's Predictions:
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon: Pettis via Decision
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski: Palaszewski via Decision
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch: Okami via Decision
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields: Shields via Decision
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo: Kongo via Decision
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ryan Bader: Jackson via Decsion
Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Benson Henderson: Edgar via Decision
                                                                                    Vinny's Predictions:
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon: Pettis via Decision
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski: Hioki via Decision
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch: Okami via KO/TKO
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields: Akiyama via Decision
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo: Kongo via Decision
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ryan Bader: Bader via Decsion
Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Benson Henderson: Henderson via Decision

UFC on Fuel TV 1 Results: War in Omaha

For some reason I didnt count the first bout of the night, Menjivar/Albert, so I wont be writing about that fight. Anyways, lets get to the results. 

The "first" fight of the night under our consideration was a BW bout between TUF 15 BW runner-up T.J. Dillashaw and Walel Watson. Dillashaw utilized his superior wrestling and ground and pound to completely control and dominate Watson, winning the fight with a steep unanimous decision victory (30-25, 30-25, 30-25). In the second bout new-comers and heavyweight prospects Stipe Miocic and Phil De Fries squared off in a bout which only lasted 43 seconds. Miocic, rocked De Fries with a nice straight right and continued on the feet until De Fries fell to ground and succumbed from strikes, giving Miocic the TKO victory. The third fight of the night was a MW bout between Aaron Simpson and Ronny Markes that could have gone either way. I didn't watch this fight and I heard it sucked. Results: Markes defeats Simpson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The co-main event was a HW bout between Stefan Struve and Dave Herman. Herman controlled the first round with his striking, but Struve ended up coming back in the second. Struve rocked Herman with some big shots and an uppercut, sending him to the canvas. Struve continued landing shots on the ground until the ref jumped in, giving him the TKO victory.

The main event was a bout between WW's Deigo Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger. The first two rounds were easily won by Ellenberger as he used his striking to pressure Sanchez. In the third round however, Sanchez rallied and made a war out of this fight, landing some good shots on Ellenberger and pressing the action. Unfortunately for most viewers (and Diego), this wasn't a five-rounder, which many people (including myself) expected it to be.  Ellenberger pulled of the unanimous decision victory on all the judges score cards. (29-28 all around).

Standings:

Alex: 28 points

Jon: 28 points

Joe: 27 points

Shawn: 26 points

Vinny: 18 points

UFC on Fuel TV 1

Main Card:

Bantamweight: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson

Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic vs. Philip De Fries

Middleweight: Aaron Simpson vs. Ronny Markes

Heavyweight: Stefan Struve vs. Dave Herman

Welterweight: Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger

Shawn's Predictions:

T.J. Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson: Dillashaw via Decision

Stipe Miocic vs. Philip De Fries: Miocic via KO/TKO

Aaron Simpson vs. Ronny Markes: Simpson via Decision

Stefan Struve vs. Dave Herman: Herman via KO/TKO

Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger: Ellenberger via Decision

UFC 143 Results

A bit late on these results but whatever. Lets get straight to it.

To start off UFC 143, middleweights Ed Herman and Clifford Starks squared off. After a round of battle on the feet, the fight hit the mat in round 2, where Herman is pretty comfortable. Unfortunately for Starks, he succumbed to a rear-naked choke, granting Herman the victory via submission. The second bout was a bantamweight battle between contenders Renan Barao and Scott Jorgensen. Barao being on a huge win streak, many expected him to win this fight with relative ease. The population was right, as Barao dominated this fight on the stand-up, getting the judges nod for a unanimous decision victory (30-27 all across). I expect Barao to fight Dominick Cruz for the title soon after Urijah Faber fights him for the third (and hopefully last) time. In the third fight, Josh Koscheck fought a confident Mike Pierce in a fight that was a huge step up in competition for Pierce. The fight was very, very close, as both traded on the feet for the majority of the fight and Koscheck getting a takedown in round 2 that changed the outcome of the fight greatly. Koscheck ended up winning 2 rounds to 1 in a split decision victory that could have gone either way. I'm not completely sure who I thought won the fight, but kudos to Pierce for almost and basically sticking it to a cocky Koscheck. 

In the co-main event, heavyweights Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum squared off. I expected Nelson to use his power and aggressiveness to pressure Werdum, but the exact opposite happened. Werdum tooled Nelson on the feet, delivering some brutal strikes and knees that would have KO'd the average man. After three rounds, Werdum was awarded the unanimous decision victory (30-27 across the board).

In the main event, Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit fought for the Interim Welterweight Championship. The fight was fought mostly on the feet, with Nick Diaz staying in the middle of the octagon controlling the pace and Carlos Condit moving in and out of Diaz's flurries, and constantly around the ring and avoiding his boxing. Because of this, many criticized Condit for "running", although in some rounds he definitely delivered the more powerful shots. After 5 extremely close and similar rounds, the judges gave the unanimous decision victory to Carlos Condit (48-47, 49-46, 49-46). I've watched this fight twice now, I am still unsure who the winner is. I know that rounds, 1, 2, and 3 were close, and round 4 was all Condit. Most believe that round 5 went to Diaz because he got back control and almost got a rear-naked choke, but before that Condit controlled the round on the feet. I am still confused, but the fight is over and done with, and now Condit will get to fight Georges St-Pierre to unify the title.

Standings:

Alex: 21 points

Joe: 21 points

Jon: 21 points

Shawn: 20 points

Vinny: 16 points

UFC 143 Predictions

Main Card:

Interim Welterweight Championship: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit

Heavyweight: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum

Welterweight: Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce

Bantamweight: Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen

Middleweight: Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks

Shawn's Predictions:

Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks: Herman via Decision

Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen: Barao via Submission

Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce: Koscheck via KO/TKO

Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum: Nelson via Decision

Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit: Diaz via Decision

UFC on FOX 2 Results: #1 Contenders

Another successful night of fights on FOX brought the MMA world many new contenders to shake things up in their respective divisions. To start off the night, Chris Weidman took on submission ace Demian Maia in a middleweight bout. Chris Weidman took control of the bout by showcasing his superior striking and wrestling, winning the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Big things should be next for Weidman, as he out-classed a former #1 contender on just eleven days noticed. Look for him to match up against a big name sometime in the near future.

In the co-main event, middleweight trash talkers Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping squared off to determine the #1 contender for Anderson Silva's title. The bout was a close one, as Sonnen and Bisping traded shots for the majority of the fight. Bisping also proved his wrestling wasn't as bad as most though, as Sonnen struggled to secure a ground dominance on Bisping. Although I thought that Bisping was going to win, all three judges saw the bout on Sonnen's side, awarding him with the unanimous decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

In the main event, #1 contender Rashad Evans and Phil Davis fought at light heavyweight. This was a very important bout for Davis because if he won, he could have very well taken Evans' pre-determined #1 contendership to go on and challenge Jon Jones for the title. As many expected, Evans' experience was a factor in the outcome of this fight, as he completely out-classed Phil Davis on the feet, and the small portion of the fight that was on the ground. After 5 rounds, the judges awarded Rashad Evans with the unanimous decision victory (50-45 across the board). Rashad will now fight Jon Jones at UFC 145.

Standings:

Shawn: 17 points

Alex: 17 points

Joe: 16 points

Jon: 15 points

Vinny: 12 points