UFC 152 Results & Recap – Jones subs Belfort
Posted by Drew Ellis (09/23/2012 @ 1:01 am)
Jon Jones maintained his hold on the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on Saturday with a fourth-round submission win over Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 152.
Jones came into the fight as the heavy favorite and he dominated most of the fight. Jones did nearly get caught in an armbar in the early going, but escaped and controlled the fight from there. Jones used his grappling and elbows to bloody up Belfort, and in the fourth round, caught the challenger in an Americana for the victory.
Belfort deserves credit for his effort and taking the fight on short notice in a bigger weight class, but Jones is just the better man.
With Dan Henderson dealing with his injury, there is no clear contender for Jones in the 205-pound division. That champion is becoming as dominant in his class as Anderson Silva is at 185 pounds.
In the co-main event, Demetrious Johnson won the first ever UFC Flyweight Championship with a decision victory over Joseph Benavidez.
The fight had a fast pace and was very competitive, as expected. The difference in the bout was the array of leg kicks that Johnson landed on Benavidez. The kicks slowly wore down Benavidez and allowed Johnson to control the pace. Benavidez still did enough to earn the victory on one of the scorecards, but Johnson was the victor on the other two cards, and in the eyes of most of the fans.
Johnson now is the first 125-pound champion in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how this division grows in the near future with a thin roster of talent in the weight class.
In another big bout, middleweight Michael Bisping defeated Brian Stann by decision to improve his ranking in the 185-pound class.
Bisping was able to out-point Stann with his technical striking and wrestling ability. Bisping actually utilized some nice takedowns in the latter stages of the fight to neutralize Stann.
Looking at Bisping, his resume is pretty strong and it appears he deserves a title shot. He has never been given a crack at the gold but has steadily been near the top of the division for years.
Check out the full results after the jump.
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Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC
Tags: Benavidez vs. Johnson, Bisping vs. Stann, Brian Stann, Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Jones vs. Belfort, Joseph Benavidez, Michael Bisping, MMA Results, Vitor Belfort
UFC on Fox Results & Recap: Two title contenders named
Posted by Drew Ellis (01/28/2012 @ 11:30 pm)
Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were expected to win their fights at UFC on FOX 2 Saturday night, and they did just that.
Evans defeated Phil Davis by unanimous decision to become the No. 1 contender for the light heavyweight title while Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping by unanimous decision to earn a future shot at the middleweight championship.
In the main event, Evans simply out-classed Davis with his superior wrestling and striking. Davis, who was in the biggest fight in his career, seemed overwhelmed by the environment and his opponent while Evans remained calm and implemented his game plan.
Evans didn’t look overly impressive but he did enough to win and now will face Jon Jones at UFC 145 in a fight that everyone has been waiting for.
Sonnen had a much more difficult time with Bisping than what was expected. Bisping showed the ability to stay off his back, but he didn’t quite do enough in the eyes of the judges to win the striking contest.
All three rounds were razor thin and there was some debate as to who won, but ultimately the judges all scored the fight in favor of Sonnen. He will now face Anderson Silva for the second time later this year. Sonnen clearly had the best performance against Silva than anyone in the UFC, as he was an arm triangle away from pulling out a decision win over the champion.
For full results from UFC on FOX 2, check out the jump.
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Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC
Tags: Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, Evans vs. Davis, Jon Jones, light heavyweights, Michael Bisping, Phil Davis, Rashad Evans, sonnen vs. bisping, top 10 light heavyweights
Ten things learned from UFC 127
Posted by Staff (02/28/2011 @ 10:07 am)
Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com compiles 10 things he learned from watching UFC 127 this weekend.
For the second time in two months (how has it only been two full months?), the UFC had a main event end in an understandable, but altogether unsatisfying draw. Such a result has always been labelled akin to “kissing your sister,” and no one likes that, even when the situation is warranted like on her birthday or at her wedding.
Jon Fitch didn’t like it. B.J. Penn thought is was the MMA gods giving him an opportunity to fight again, and fans and media alike will be debating the result until something crops up to distract them. The funny thing is that just as in the Edgar-Maynard battle on New Year’s Day, this result was the right result.
I had Penn winning the opening two rounds and awarded Fitch a 10-8 score in the third, producing the 28-28 total two of the three judges submitted; the other judge scored the fight 29-28 Fitch, giving him the second round and only a 10-9 in the final frame.
Read the full article.
UFC 127 Predictions: Fitch to take down Penn?
Posted by Drew Ellis (02/26/2011 @ 3:00 pm)
UFC 127 takes place tonight from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. While the card doesn’t have any blockbuster bouts, all the fights are intriguing and should be somewhat competitive. Here is my take on tonight’s PPV bouts.
UFC Welterweight Bout – B.J. Penn (16-7-1) vs. Jon Fitch (26-3) – I think this fight plays into Fitch’s style as he should be able to execute a similar plan to what Georges St. Pierre did to Penn back at UFC 94. Look for Fitch to clinch and grapple and put his weight on Penn to tire him down and eventually score takedowns to earn another decision victory.
UFC Middleweight Bout – Michael Bisping (21-3) vs. Jorge Rivera (18-7) – Rivera has talked a lot of trash leading up to this bout in hopes of making Bisping let his emotions go during the fight, but I see Bisping staying composed and bringing Rivera to the ground where he can overwhelm him with ground-and-pound striking. I see Bisping finishing off Rivera in the second round by TKO.
UFC Lightweight Bout – George Sotiropoulos (14-2) vs. Dennis Siver (17-7) – Siver can win this fight is he takes advantage of a slow-starting Sotiropoulos, but I see George being able to survive the early flurry and finding a way to get the fight to the ground where he will lock up an arm submission against Siver in the third round.
UFC Welterweight Bout – Chris Lytle (40-17-4) vs. Brian Ebersole (46-14-1) – Lytle is riding a big wave right now and seems to be the best he has ever been. Ebersole has a lot of experience but is making his UFC debut, which always seems to be problematic. Look for Lytle to control the fight and win by submission in the later rounds.
UFC Middleweight Bout – Kyle Noke (18-4-1) vs. Chris Camozzi (14-3) – Noke is fighting in front of his home country and is being showcased for a push in the UFC, but I see that as a lot of pressure on a relatively new UFC fighter. Camozzi has nothing to lose in this fight and I think he will pull off an upset by decision with the use of his grappling.
Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC
Tags: B.J. Penn, Brian Ebersole, Chris Camozzi, Chris Lytle, Dennis Siver, George Sotiropoulos, Jon Fitch, Jorge Rivera, Kyle Noke, Michael Bisping, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Champions
UFC 127 News: Bisping angered by Rivera’s antics
Posted by Staff (02/23/2011 @ 10:09 am)
According to HeavyMMA.com, Michael Bisping is not happy with Jorge Rivera’s antics leading up to their UFC 127 showdown and plans to do his talking inside the Octagon.
Michael Bisping is not a happy camper.
The smack talk and videos Jorge Rivera has produced leading up to their UFC 127 showdown has angered the British middleweight.
Bisping had been uncharacteristically quiet leading up to this weekend’s event, but that all changed during the UFC 127 pre-fight press conference on Tuesday.
“For me, I’ve got a big fight to prepare for. I’m fighting in the premier fighting organization in the world, and I’m trying to act accordingly,” said Bisping. “I’m a professional fighter. I’m not an idiot in the schoolyard making up silly rhymes and jokes and making stupid videos.”
Read the full article.