Archive for June, 2007

BJ Penn finally got the revenge that he had been waiting for since there last fight.  Penn’s only knock on his game has been his cardio and he came into this bout looking in better shape than ever.  That did not bode well for Jens Pulver because he got controlled the entire fight up untill he got submitted with a slick BJ Penn Rear Naked Choke in the second.

Manvel “Manny” Gamburyan was looking very impressive in the Ultimate Fighter Finale against Nate Diaz.  That is untill he got a takedown blocked by a sprawl and dislocated his shoulder, being forced to tap laying face down in pain.  Nate Diaz is the winner of this years season and looks to follow the footsteps of his brother Nick Diaz to UFC greatness.

Other news and notes of the night was a crazy ending to the Gray Maynard, Rob Emerson fight.  Emerson got hurt with a punch to the body and could barely continue into the second round.  In addition, Gray looked like he wanted to go for the kill at the beginning of the next round.  After throwing some heavy punches he scooped up Rob and slammed him hard on the ribs where Emerson was favoring.  Rob quickly taps while laying in pain on the ground.  But a Lifeless Gray just layed on top because he knocked himself out on the slam.  The ref ended up calling it a No contest to the dismay of Gray who protested during his post fight interview.Cole Miller got knockout of the night with a left head kick that stunned Andy Wang and set up the ground and pound finish.Joe Lauzon baited Brandon Melendez into a triangle in the second round.  Roger Huerta got a game opponent in Douglas Evans but managed to finish him off with strikes from the mount in the second.  Thales Leites Jiu Jitsu looked off the hook when he finished his fight with Floyd Sword by Arm Triangle.  Matt Wiman also scored a win in a fight that was not aired on tv by overwhelming Brian Geraghty in the first.  The other fight that was not aired involved  an ass clown who is bad for the sport Allen “The Lobstah” Berubie.  Berubie reassured what most thought, that he did not belong in the octagon in losing to up and comer Leonard Garcia via not knowing how to defend a Rear Naked Choke.

If the main event lived up to the trash talk then it was going to be the fight of the century. This was not the case but it did end up a very entertaining fight. An old legend was reborn again as Frank Shamrock not only destroyed the NYBA in the stand up game but mocked him while doing it in the first. Then the second round came which Phil probably doesn’t recall because he got choked out cold by Shamrock. Even more impressive was finding out prior to the fight that Shamrock had tore his ACL and MCL. Frank wins the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship belt and wipes the Renzo Gracie debacle from recent memory with this big win.

The other title up for grabs was the EliteXC Middleweight Championship. Murilo “Ninja” Rua survived getting rocked early by Joey Villasenor but came back in the second with a big punch of his own. Ninja took advantage of the opportunity and finished Villasenor with strikes. Now the only question is when will these Middleweight titles get unified?

Other news and notes of the nights were Cung Le put on an Ong Bak clinic and dismantled Tony Fryklund with fancy kicks all night. After a looping right punch found it’s taget the night was over early for Tony Fryklund in the second.Paul Buentello showed his striking off against a K1 level opponent and crumpled Carter Williams in the second with uppercuts. Paul “Semtex” Daley pulled an upset on Duane “Bang” Ludwig via right cross in the second. Josh “The Punk” Thompson made quick work of Nick Gonzalez by submission in the first round. Krazy Horse was arrested for the third time this year and twentieth time in his life and got forced off the card despite promoter Gary Shaw’s efforts to try to get him still to fight. His sub was Edson Berto who surprised Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuala with a heel hook right away in round 1.

June 23 Live on Spike Tv from The Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada

-Main event: BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver
-TUF 5 Lightweight Finale: Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Diaz
-Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans
-Thales Leites vs. Floyd Sword
-Joe Lauzon vs. Brandon Melendez
-Gray Maynard vs. Robert Emerson
-Leonard Garcia vs. Allen Berube
-Cole Miller vs. Andy Wang
-Matt Wiman vs. Brian Geraghty

The first two rounds consisted of the former Middleweight champion Franklin outpointing his competitor Okami. Round 3 saw a little more action as Okami knew he was down on the score cards. Yushin closed the distance, got a take down and tried to finish Rich off. The most danger Rich saw was a deep kimora that he gutted out and escaped. The round ends shortly after giving Rich “Ace” Franklin the win by decision.

Forrest Griffin saw his first action since a loss to Keith Jardine. His opponent Hector “Sick Dog” Ramirez was also hungry for a win, being his only fight in the UFC was a loss. Forrest played it cautious using his hand speed to out box and out strike Hector for three rounds. The much needed win goes to Forrest Griffin in a three round decision.

The ex-TUF member Rory Singer almost finished Jason “The Athlete” Macdonald, but Jason was saved by the bell at the end of the first just when Rory got a triangle choke locked in. After dominating the first Rory got taken down in the second and couldn’t get much done on his back. Jason eventually got serious momentum going and finished Rory with elbow strikes from mount in the second round.

Other notes of the night are Tyson Griffin edged out Clay Guida in a close split decision. Ed Herman turns in his best UFC performance with a 2nd round Rear Naked choke submission over Scott Smith. Marcus Davis looks less like a boxer and more like a machine in his first round KO of Jason Tan. Eddie Sanchez bounces back from his Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic loss with a TKO over Colin Robinson in the second round. Steven Lynch also had an early night losing by anaconda choke to Dustin Hazelett.

Fights are Saturday June 16 in Belfast, Northern Ireland
-Rich Franklin vs. Yushin Okami
-Forrest Griffin vs. Hector Ramirez
-Tyson Griffin vs. Clay Guida
-Jason MacDonald vs. Rory Singer
-Ed Herman vs. Scott Smith

Preliminary Bouts:
-Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan
-Eddie Sanchez vs. Colin Robinson
-Dustin Hazelett vs. Stevie Lynch

This time Spencer Fisher didn’t have to lose 20 lbs. the day of the fight and did it ever make a difference. He looked very sharp in the first round often getting the better of the exchanges against champion kickboxer Sam Stout. Stout did get his offense going in the second and cut Spencer but the cut didn’t seem to faze The King and his aggressive style. Spencer ” The King” Fisher pulls a well deserved three round decision and keeps himself in the hunt for Sean Sherk’s Lightweight Title.

Other noteworthy performances of the night were Jon Fitch getting his 13th win in a row over Roan Carneiro by Rear Naked Choke. 13 was also the number of wins for the undefeated Thiago Tavares after he Triangle Choked Jason Black. Andrew McFedries shows us in a mere 33 seconds why no one wants to train stand up with him by owning Jordan Radev. Feeling like he was brought in to lose, Anthony Johnson showed potential in taking out Chad “The Grinder” Reiner in 13 seconds with accurate punches.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson comes out to the octagon with his trademark chain around his neck and wolf howls. Jackson is looking to repeat what most thought what was impossible in beating Chuck Liddell. Jackson known for his aggressive style and slams uses a self described disipline “whoop dat ass”. Next, the champion Chuck Liddell enters looking relaxed as usual. The fight begins with a feeling out process where Jackson raises his hands in frustration because Liddell is hesitant to engage. Jackson lands a 1- 2 combo and appears to be easing into a comfort zone. Chuck throws a left hook which Jackson blocks and immediately coutners with a hard right that crushes into Liddell’s jaw. Liddell is hurt and Jackson capitalizes on the opportunity to finish Chuck off with some ground and pound. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson becomes the new Light Heavy Weight Champion of the UFC at 1:53 in the 1st round. Some may argue that it was an early stoppage but in my opinion Chuck would of just took unessesary punishment. Post fight Dan Henderson who happens to hold a championship in two Pride weight divisions introduces himself to the UFC fans who may not know him. Henderson is going to be the next opponent for Rampage who is going to have a rough first title defense.
The other main event on the card was Josh Burkman vs. Karo Parisyan. Burkman made it evident from the start that he was going to be swinging for the fences. Burkman catches Karo with a solid left but Karo evens the score quickly with a right of his own. Burkman lands a takedown after eating some punches in southpaw stance. A scramble to the feet and bam…Karo produces another highlight judo throw. Every time Burkman gets something going Karo quickly answers and Josh finds himself trying to play catch up on points and go for the knock out in the 3rd. But the only thing that happens in the 3rd is Burkman gassing and watching the clock. Karo pulls the decision and also keeps in the title picture at 170.

Going into the event not many looked at this next fight and thought there would be fireworks. Apparently the same people were not aware that Houston Alexander from Nebraska has bricks attached to his wrists instead of hands. The upset of the night goes to Houston with a brutal knock out over Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine. Houston landed a slew of hooks to the temple and then put the icing on the cake with a uppercut that could be considered a death penalty in some states. Keith not only lost his mouthpiece but his title hopes as well. Houston reminds everyone why you dont get in a fight with someone from Nebraska who backs the Cornhuskers. I see Keith bouncing back from this loss and Houston needs some more fights before he is thown in the title picture but there is no denying he has power.

Terry Martin continued his tear and Suplexed Ivan Salaverry on his head while Ivan was working for a kimora. Heavy Hammer fists quickly followed and Terry Martin logged himself a win in 2:04 of the 1st round. Terry Martin’s weight division drop seems to of revitalized his career because he is turning heads with these quick finishes.
Two participants from prior Ultimate Fighter shows squared off as well. Kalib Starnes squeked a decision over Chris Leben in a three round fight. Din Thomas showed well roudned skills in beating Jeremy Stephens by arm bar at 2:44 in round 2. The other fight on the televised card was a Wilson Gouveia win over Carmelo Marrero by guillotine in 3:06 of round 1. Not televised was a Alan Belcher guillotine win over Sean Salmon in 53 seconds and James “The Sandman” Irvin losing to Thiago Silva when his knee blew out and buckled in round 1.

Mixed Martial Arts continues the most exciting sport to watch and this card did not disappoint. There was exceptionally more coverage leading up to this UFC then there has any other and the UFC delivered again.