Sunday, November 16, 2008 So here I am on a Saturday evening. Its raining cats and dogs here in Staten Island. The weather reports a tornado may actually touch down here. In New York City!? All signs point to a somewhat quiet night inside. One thing is for sure, this guy is not going anywhere in this monsoon. So what to do? Order up some cheap Mexican food and watch what has been labeled the most anticipated MMA bout of the year.... UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar. Other than the heartburn achieved by shoveling down six tacos, it was a pretty damn entertaining evening.
***(ANY VIDEOS BELOW ARE FROM PREVIOUS BOUTS OF ONE OR BOTH FIGHTERS)***
Bout 1: Damian Maia (9-0) vs. Nate Quarry (16-2)
Referee: Herb Dean
Maia is a two time world jiu jitsu champion who is suppose to be a ground game technician. Quarry is on the come back after having back surgery. One of his sponsors is Nuvasive Tech who supplied the technology to "rebuild" him...I just thought that was cool.
Round 1: Quarry gives up his back early in the bout. You can actually see Maia licking his chops as he sinks in a rear naked choke for a first round submission.
Damian Maia wins by tap-out (rear naked choke) 2:13.
Bout 2: Josh Hendricks (18-4-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3)
Referee: Steve Mazagatti
Hendricks is a burly guy who is currently on an eleven fight win streak. Took a year off so he may have some rust. He'll be testing it against a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champ in Gonzaga, who is just a beast. He rolls out of the locker room to Danzig's Mother...so I have my prediction already. I remember seeing him knockout Cro-Cop and being pretty impressed...
Round 1: Heavy blows are traded by both monsters from the opening bell. You could hear the sickening thuds of each punch landed. Gonzaga landed more clean punches though. Gonzaga starts to land some serious knees while in a stand up clinch then unleashes a vicious right cross to Hendricks' head that sends him to the mat. The ref stops the fight as Hendricks is in La La Land.
Gabriel Gonzaga wins by TKO at :61.
Bout 3: Matt Brown (10-7) vs. Ryan Thomas (9-2)
Referee: Herb Dean
Matt Brown (Ultimate Fighter alumni) replaced Matthew Riddle (knee injury) on short notice for this fight. So who had the upper hand with this? Recent fights like this show the new fighter winning a slightly higher percentage of the time. In my opinion it presents a problem for both fighters. Its like getting ready to take out the prom queen only to find out you got stuck with her fat cousin instead.
Round 1: Thomas takes it Brown early. They go to the ground where its pretty even as both fighters trade offensive guards.
Round Winner: DRAW
Round 2: Again the fight goes right to the ground. Brown manages to get Thomas in an arm bar. Thomas attempts to slam Brown two times (sans Quentin Jackson) to no avail as Brown is able to flip Thomas onto his back and gets full hyper extension on the arm bar.
Matt Brown winner by tap-out via arm bar at :57.
BOUT 4: Tamdan McCrory (11-1) vs. Dustin Hazelett (13-4)
Referee: Steve Mazagatti
Two tall, lanky fighters. McCrory prides himself on his Greco Roman background while the bearded hillbilly Hazelett, who entered the ring to Creedance Clearwater Revival, has been studying the "rubber guard" extensively.
Round 1: Excellent strikes traded at opening bell. Fight goes to the ground where Hazelett's rubber guard comes into play. Hazelett ties up McCrory in an Oma Plata. McCrory manages to roll out of it but lands right into a tight arm bar.
Dustin Hazelett wins by tap-out via arm bar at 3:59.
BOUT 5: Jeremy Stephens (15-3) vs. Raphael Dos Anjos (11-2)
Youngster Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens whose three-fight win streak was snapped with a recent unanimous-decision loss to Spencer Fisher, will welcome Brazilian Fury Fighting lightweight champ into the UFC.
Round 1: Good strikes exchanged from opening bell. The fight goes to the ground where Dos Anjos shows great control, putting Stephens on the defensive for most of the round.
Round Winner: Dos Anjos (2-1)
Round 2: Great right hand and knee combos thrown by Stephens. Dos Anjos times one of these combos just right and spears Stephens to the ground where he locks on a tight anaconda lock around the torso of Stephens. Stephens defends well and manages to escape mounting Dos Anjos, landing some serious elbows during an effective ground and pound.
Round Winner: Stephens (3-1)
Round 3: The biggest right hand of the night is thrown by Stephens. I mean he winded up like Popeye does after eating spinach. Sends Dos Anjos hurdling to the mat where Stephens goes for the kill, following up with some more punches before the referee puts an end to it.
Jeremy Stephens wins by TKO :39.
BOUT 6: Kenny Florian (12-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-8)
Kenny Florian is one of my favorite fighters. Not only does he look like Face from the A-Team but his fighting style is just insane. Joe Rogan made some comments that everyone takes his ground game for granted because his opponents are focusing with his Muay Thai skills. Stevenson (who resembles John Leguizamo) has an impressive record and is a skilled wrestler and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt is looking to make a name for himself with a win over Florian.
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Round 1: From the opening bell Florian looks to use Muay Thai kicks to open things up. Stevenson gets in close and pins Florian to the fence. Florian escapes and manages to take Steveson down to the mat. An excellent transition fom stand up to ground game. Florian applies a rear naked choke.
Kenny Florian winner by tap-out via rear naked choke 4:03.
MAIN EVENT: Randy Couture (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1)
Referee: Mario Yamakazi
Here it is folks. The main event! Randy "The Natural" Couture meeting maybe his toughest challenge in his career. He's without a doubt, a legend in MMA fighting and the UFC. And at 45 years old he can still bring it. His opponent, who I am balloting to nick name "Baby Fenster" is 31 years old and outweighs him buy about 45 lbs, and oh yeah, has a 85 inch reach! When the fighters touch gloves one is instantly reminded of Rocky being dwarfed by the gigantic Russian destructive force, Ivan Drago.
Round 1: Both fighters hunt each other before clinching. Brock throws a few knees that land to the body before Randy sneaks big right to Brock's head. Brock shoots on Randy for a take down. That boy can friggen move for a big guy because its lightening fast. They trade guards at about 2:00. But Brock can't do anything from half guard and seems winded by end of the round.
Winner: Draw
Round 2: Round opens with a big elbow by Brock to Couture's head. Randy, stunned, begins to lean on Lesnar as he pushes him up against the fence. It gives Randy enough time to recover. At 3:37 Brock gets cut on right eye by some good shots by Randy. Brock throws a 1-2 combo and lands a big right to the left side of Couture's head which sends him to the mat dazed. Brock rains a flurry of hammer punches until ref stops the fight.
Brock Lesnar winner by TKO at 3:07 in the second round.
Fight Summary:
This was a classic battle of experience versus ability. Not taking any ability away from Randy Couture but at first glance the fight looked as if it would be lop-sided. I mean what in hell does this Lesnar guy eat?! Couture put up a great fight in my opinion, and Brock., although I dislike him for his arrogance, deserved the win and fought a little better. A lot of people are blogging today about how the ref stopped it too early but i call bullshit on that. I think the ref gave Couture ample time to recover but after 30-40 hammer punches by this behemoth you can't blame the guy for stopping the fight in the interest of safety. Could Couture have continued? Of course he could have. But that's what separates MMA/UFC from a random street fight. The only question now is will Randy Couture hang up the gloves? Only he knows the answer to that.
Labels: Rants and Raves, Reviews, Video
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