UFC Seves Up Two Incredible Cards With Champs Retaining Belts and a Legend Leaving the Cage Behind

By: Rich Bergeron

UFC 175 and The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale took center stage at Mandalay Bay this weekend as part of the biggest fight week of the year in Las Vegas.

First up was UFC 175, where the main event saw Chris Weidman (12-0) prove his doubters wrong by dominating Lyoto Machida (21-5) over the first three rounds. Weidman did have to weather a late storm from the Karate expert, who turned on the jets late in the fight and seemed to have Weidman in survival mode by the final bell.  The champion retained his belt, but he told Color Commentator Joe Rogan that he didn't remember parts of the fight. This is concerning to many in the MMA media, but Weidman also tempered those remarks by saying he was just fighting in the moment. It also came to light after the bout that Weidman had one of his worst training camps ever and was still recovering from knee surgery and a camp injury. Either way, it looked like Machida was auditioning for "Dancing With The Stars" in the first few rounds. His style needs to be more aggressive through the entire fight if he wants to stay relevant in the division. Weidman was patient, and it paid off with the judges giving him a unanimous decision by a wide points margin. 

"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey (10-0) took just 16 seconds to bulldoze over Alexis Davis (16-6). After a few punches were exchanged, Rousey executed a phenomenal Judo throw, holding onto Davis in a tight headlock as both fighters hit the ground. Rousey rained down at least seven straight shots to the face of Davis before the ref jumped in to save the day. Still, Davis fought on in zombie mode, first clinging to Rousey's waist and then trying to take the referee down before realizing what happened.

There was more to talk about in the post fight interview process there, as Rogan relayed a question from "the truck" in reference to the possibility of Rousey fighting at UFC 176. She replied that she'd have to talk to her team, but Dana White then appeared to berate Rogan after apologizing to Rousey for the suggestion. Obviously White and the truck weren't on the same page.

Further adding injury to insult was a backstage scene in which Rousey had to have her hand stitched up due to a knuckle injury she left untreated. A cyst developed in the previous cut that split open again in the fight. Rousey will also undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, which she said is already scheduled. She previously stated she wanted to take a long break after this fight, so we probably won't see her back in the cage until late this year.

Uriah Hall (9-4) weathered a broken toe to beat Thiago Santos (9-3) in one of the most gutsy performances of his career. Hall earned the unanimous decision despite the doctor almost stopping the fight when Hall came back to his corner after the first round with his toe just about twisted off his foot.

"The California Kid" Uriah Hall (31-7) appeared for the first time in a long time on the undercard Saturday night against a game Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres (10-6, 1 N/C).  Caceres gave Faber some trouble early on with his awkward style, but Faber used his wrestling and jiu jitsu to maintain control of the fight until he sunk a picture-perfect rear naked choke to end the fight at the 1:09 mark of the third round.

In Other Results:

Russell Doane (14-3) won a split decision against Marcus Brimage (6-3)
Kenny Robertson (14-3) earned a unanimous decision victory over Ildemar Alcantra (20-7)
Bruno Santos (14-1) edged out a split decision over Chris Camozzi (19-8)
Rob Font (11-1) demolished George Roop (15-11-1) with a knockout win at 2:19 of the first round.
Luke Zachrich (14-3) earned a unanimous decision win over Guilherme Vasconcelos (3-2)
Kevin Casey (9-3) made quick work of Bubba Bush (8-3) with a series of elbows to earn a 1st round KO


Sunday night featured another series of phenomenal fights headlined by the final fight in BJ Penn's career. The third bout between Frankie Edgar (17-4-1) and Penn (16-10-2) cemented Dana White's statements about "The Prodigy" needing to retire. Penn pulled guard for most of the fight, looking more like he was a break dancer working on his backspin than an MMA fighter trying to go out on top.

Other than a series of upkick attempts and some ineffective punches and elbows from his back, Penn looked hopeless in his final fight in the Octagon. Edgar used his superior wrestling and striking to stop Penn for the third time in the Hawaiian's career. Elbows and punches opened Penn up late in the third round with Referee Herb Dean stepping in to save Penn from further damage at the 4:19 mark of the round.

Penn told Rogan after the bout that he should not have even been in the cage for this fight, and it was time to call it quits. He's had a fantastic and memorable career, but unfortunately he may be most remembered for refusing to realize his time was up. Penn only managed one victory over the course of his last six fights, including the other two losses to Edgar for the lightweight title. To add insult to injury, none of Team Penn's fighters made it to the finale except for Dan Spohn, who was beaten soundly by Patrick Walsh earlier in the night.

Corey Anderson (3-0) earned his first official UFC win and The Ultimate Fighter trophy for this season's 205 pound class with a dominating performance against Matt Van Buren (6-3). Ironically, Van Buren said in the montage leading up to the bout that he was going to hit Anderson harder than he'd ever been hit in his life. It turned out the opposite way with Anderson unloading some heavy punches to quickly force his opponent's back against the cage. Anderson blazed forward with bombing lefts and rights, dropping Van Buren to the mat. Though Van Buren appeared to be covering up well on the ground, he did not fight back enough to keep the fight going. The fight lasted just one second over a full minute, and Van Buren never really had a chance to showcase any of his best skills in the bout.

Eddie Gordon (7-1) made the best of his time working with Matt Serra and Ray Longo after leaving The Ultimate Fighter house. Dhiego Lima (9-2) didn't have a chance to lock up one of his slick submissions thanks to an immediate attack from "Truck" to start the bout. In only took Gordon ten more seconds than Anderson to get the finish and earn his own trophy and become this season's Welterweight winner. He also used a blitz of punches to finish his opponent.

Both fights were more explosive and exciting than any of the experts predicted they would be, and both were also far better than any performance the winners displayed while on the show. Both fighters won a customized Harley Davidson motorcycle in addition to a cheesy crystal trophy. Can't the UFC afford something better for these guys considering what they go through to win the tournament?

Both Anderson and Gordon are sure to become serious contenders in their respective divisions. They both seem to realize now that dynamic striking is what keeps their fans and their bosses entertained.

Patrick Walsh (5-1) wound up getting a win in the preliminaries by almost entirely abandoning his hands-down approach to striking. He dominated the bulk of the first two rounds against Daniel Spohn (8-4) with his superior wrestling, all the while working to submit Spohn with a Kimura. Spohn looked doomed until the referee stood the two fighters up late in the third round. Walsh kept his hands up this time, but he also positioned them a bit too far away from his face. Spohn split the uprights and gave Walsh reason to panic with a series of heavy handed punches and elbows. It could have been curtains for Walsh if Spohn didn't make the mistake of trying to sink a guillotine choke, which Walsh always escaped from on prior attempts. Walsh escaped yet again, bleeding from a gash on his forehead. He rode out the final seconds in top control and earned a unanimous decision by 29-28 scores across the board. Congrats to Walsh, a fellow Massachusetts native and recent guest on our FNU Combat Sports Show.        

In Other Results:

Derrick Lewis (11-2-1) scored a first round KO of Guto Inocente (6-3) at the 3:30 mark.
Dustin Ortiz (14-3) won a split decision against Justin Scoggins (9-1).
Kevin Lee (8-1) used smart defense and striking to edge out a split decision against Jesse Ronson (13-5)
Leandro Issa (12-4) pulled off an incredible comeback to submit Jumabieke Tuerxun (14-3) in the 3rd
Adriano Martins (26-7) knocked out Juan Manuel Puig (11-3) at 2:21 of the first with punches
Sarah Moras (4-1) notched a unanimous decision win over Alexis Dufresne (5-1)
Robert Drysdale (7-0) led off the card and made his UFC debut count with a Rear Naked Choke submission of Keith Berish (5-1)

UFC 175: The Start of a New Era, Again?

By Chris Huntemann, Columnist

 

Remember “The Machida Era?” 

Think back to UFC 98 when Lyoto Machida’s punches to Rashad Evans’ face crumpled him to the mat and landed “The Dragon” the light heavyweight title. No sooner did Evans hit the mat that we heard Joe Rogan proclaim “Welcome to the Machida Era.”

Well, it didn’t last very long. A controversial title defense against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua followed by a rematch and first-round knockout loss to Shogun ended “The Machida Era” before it really began. Machida had a chance to bring his era back to life against current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at UFC 140. But this time it was Machida’s turn to crumple to the mat, courtesy of a guillotine choke.

Since then, Machida moved to middleweight and hopes the third time is the charm as he takes on Chris Weidman for the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 175 in Las Vegas. Will “The Dragon” roar once again? Or, will Weidman prove his two victories against the seemingly unstoppable Anderson Silva were not a fluke?

I’ll get to the main event fight in a moment. 

First, let’s take a look at the other fights on this Saturday’s main card:

Marcus Brimage vs. Russell Doane (Bantamweight – 135 lbs.)

Brimage is a veteran of season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter (Team Michael Bisping vs. Team Jason “Mayhem” Miller, for those who don’t remember), where he showed great promise and power in his hands. That led to a three-fight win streak for Brimage before he helped launch the career of featherweight Conor McGregor by losing to him in April of last year.

Doane’s lone UFC fight resulted in a triangle choke victory against Leandro Thomas Issa at the UFC Fight Night: Lim vs. Saffiedine card in January. His record is rife with submission victories, and I like him to do the same here in an upset against a TUF veteran.

Prediction: Doane by submission

Uriah Hall vs. Thiago Santos (Middleweight – 185 lbs.)

Everyone knows who Uriah Hall is. He was pegged for stardom on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, when he viciously knocked out every single one of his opponents, and Chael Sonnen himself said he could have been a number one contender for the middleweight title right on the heels of the show.

Given Chael’s current situation, we’re not sure how much stock to put in his words. It also didn’t help that Hall seemed so timid in losing the final of TUF to Kelvin Gastelum and then lost again to John Howard. He rebounded somewhat by sending Chris Leben into retirement last year.

Santos secured a TKO victory against Rony Markes – who’s no joke himself – in his last fight. But I think Hall continues his climb up the middleweight ladder with a TKO victory of his own.

Prediction: Hall by TKO

Stefan Struve vs. Matt Mitrione (Heavyweight)

Matt Mitrione is a curious case. He came across as a weirdo on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, but he proved his doubters wrong when he embarked on a five-fight win streak following his time on the show. Then he suffered a two-fight losing streak before alternating wins and losses in his next three fights.

Struve is fighting for the first time since having his jaw rearranged by Mark Hunt. More importantly, it's his first time competing in the cage since the discovery that he suffers from a serious heart ailment. I watched Struve fight in person when he submitted Pat Barry on the UFC Live 6: Cruz vs. Johnson card in 2011. Mitrione has serious power, and Struve has been knocked out before. But I like Struve to be methodical in his approach and use his reach advantage to set up strikes while avoiding Mitrione’s loaded fists.

Prediction: Struve by unanimous decision

Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis (Women’s Bantamweight Title – 135 lbs.)

I’ve said this before, but I don’t think Ronda Rousey will ever lose. To anyone. However, I said the same thing about Anderson Silva, and we saw what happened. But unlike the men’s middleweight division, I don’t believe the depth of talent is there yet in women’s MMA, even though it has been an exciting addition to the UFC. Ronda is clearly the best female fighter in the sport, and I don’t think any other woman even comes close to matching her incredible talent.

Ronda showed vastly improved striking in her latest bouts, and she ended her last fight thanks to a vicious knee to Sara McMann’s liver. Still, I like her to go back to Ol’ Reliable to successfully defend her title yet again. Once she gets a grasp on an opponent's arm, there's no escape.

Prediction: Rousey by submission

Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida (Middleweight Title – 185 lbs.)

There are those who claim Weidman’s victory against Anderson Silva and subsequent title defense were flukes – a product of Silva’s arrogance in the first fight and a freak broken leg in the second. I’m not sure I agree with that assertion for the first fight. Yes, Silva was trying to clown Weidman. Yes, Silva dropped his hands, which is a cardinal sin in MMA. But Silva tried clowning other fighters and dropped his hands against other fighters before.

The difference? Weidman didn’t take the bait. He stepped up his aggression, which is what the best fighters do. Machida won’t clown Weidman like Silva tried to do, but he will do his patented stick-and-move and basically play keep away from Weidman the entire fight. It’s up to Weidman to close the distance with Machida and give him no breathing room.

I think Weidman will do just that. Machida will avoid being finished, but he won’t avoid being ground into the mat by the master wrestler and ground-and-pound specialist Weidman. It looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to see the rebirth of “The Machida Era.”

Prediction: Weidman by unanimous decision

Let's open up the comment section for fan predictions and see how many folks agree or disagree with my picks. 

FAMED FEMALE FIGHTER ELAINA MAXWELL TO PROVIDE COMMENTARY AT ECS’ CINCO DE MAYO SHOW

“Battle at the Fox” hits Redwood City tomorrow

San Francisco, California (USA): Rising NorCal fight promotion Elite Combat Sports (ECS) hits the historic Fox Theatre once again as ECS brings “Battle at the Fox” to downtown Redwood City, California tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo. Two title fights will be featured as undefeated Steve Lara and Radames Garcia will vie for the 135-pound title, and Nikko Jackson will defend his newly-won 170-pound strap against top contender Marco Del Real.

Providing commentary for this exciting event will be top-ranked female fighter Elaina Maxwell. A three-time Strikeforce veteran who has faced well-known female fighters such as Gina Carano, Miesha Tate, Alexis Davis, and Shayna Baszler, Maxwell is known for her exciting bouts. She trains at GracieFighter affiliate Combat Sports Academy with Kirian Fitzgibbons in Dublin, California, so she is well-aware of the Bay Area fight scene, and the importance of amateur fights.

“It’s important to have a platform, period. In women’s MMA, in amateur fighting…they need a platform. It makes the competitors better hybrid fighters in the future.”

As far as her commentating goes, she says, “I’ve done commentating on a few shows before, and being a fighter myself, I understand the importance of putting out accurate information over the air. That’s a sensitive area for me as a fighter myself. And I will make sure that happens at the ECS show.”

“For some awesome young Bay Area MMA action, come on our or tune in to Elite Combat Sports’ ‘Battle on the Fox’ on Cinco de Mayo!”

The Cinco de Mayo show will stream on a later date at EliteCombatSports.com.

“Battle at the Fox” takes place this Saturday, May 5^th at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California. Doors open at 5 PM, with the first fight hitting the cage at 6 PM. Tickets are available online at https://elitecombatsports.vbotickets.com/events. What an incredible night of fights it’s going to be!

At “Battle at the Fox,” Radames Garcia will lock horns with Steve Lara with the 135-pound title on the line. This scrap is sure to be a crowd-pleasing affair heavy on action. Both fighters have strong fan followings, and will have a lot riding on the line when they stand toe-to-toe with one another. Cinco de Mayo will play host to this pivotal battle, and the crowd is sure to be on fire for this one.

Also at this event, Nikko Jackson, one of the sons of UFC/Strikeforce veteran Eugene “The Wolf” Jackson, returns to Bay Area fight action after an exciting win at the last ECS event. He defends his belt against a very tough opponent in Marco Del Real. Jackson’s father Eugene is a certifiable legend in the Bay Area, having competed multiple times for the UFC and Strikeforce. Nikko is following in his father’s footsteps and will look to further the family legacy at “Battle at the Fox.”

Here is the full fight card as it stands:

135 lbs. (title bout): Steve Lara (4-0) vs. Radames Garcia (6-1)

170 lbs. (title bout): Marco Del Real (3-2) vs. Nikko Jackson (8-4)

210 lbs.: Myles Shaw (3-1) vs. Lamar Gosey (3-2)

145 lbs.: Jino Martinez (0-1) vs. Kevin Yamashita (0-1)

170 lbs.: Raymond Zuniga (2-0) vs. Lucas Brito (1-0)

170 lbs.: Keith Cutrone (5-1) vs. Juan Quesada (4-0)

145 lbs.: Charlie Seang (3-0) vs. Mike Willis (4-1)

125 lbs.: Dustin Moore (3-3) vs. Mefi Monterroso (1-2)

155 lbs.: Edgar Nolasco (2-0) vs. JJ Okanovich (2-1)

145 lbs.: Mike de Jesus (0-1) vs. Randy Panado (0-0-1)

170 lbs.: Abraham Vaesau (1-2) vs. Josh Passmore (1-3)

185 lbs.: Steven Miranda (0-2) @ Justin Davis (1-2)

For more information, please visit our website at http://www.elitecombatsports.com/