UFC 112 marked the entry of UFC into yet another foreign territory: this time the event took place in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).  Unlike some of the European cards, 112 was stacked with two title bouts:  BJ Penn defending the lightweight title against Frank Edgar, and the middleweight champion Anderson Silva taking on Demian Maia (stepping in for Vitor Belfort, who was forced to give up his title shot due to a shoulder injury).  The featured matchups were rounded out by a battle between two legends: former welterweight champion Matt Hughes taking on Renzo Gracie in Renzo’s UFC debut.

Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz (185 lbs)

Round 1: Grove wants to strike but Munoz scores a takedown quickly.  Grove right back to his feet, eating a couple of punches as he gets up.  Munoz goes for another takedown but is rocked with a big uppercut coming in.  Munoz is on his knees, holding on to Grove’s leg as Kendall pounds away at Mark’s head.  Munoz looks almost out but somehow keeps trying to secure a takedown.  Grove is warned about holding the fence.  Eventually the referee breaks up the fighters.  Munoz goes for another takedown and gets it but Grove counters with a guillotine attempt.  Munoz escapes and Grove gets up; Munoz takes him down again and is caught in another tight guillotine.  Munoz survives and is free of the choke as the round ends. Round 10-8 Grove

Round 2: Both fighters come out swinging.  Munoz lands a hook that knocks Grove’s mouthpiece out, but Grove seems unfazed and responds with a knee that drops Munoz.  Grove takes Mark’s back and looks for a choke, then an armbar.  Munoz escapes and ends up in Grove’s guard.  Munoz punches from the top.  Grove keeps him away with leg kicks.  Munoz lands a big punch that stuns Grove, then follows up with a series of punches until Grove rolls over and covers up, causing the referee to stop the bout.

Aftermath: Mark Munoz has now won three straight since dropping down to middleweight after his loss to Matt Hamill.  He should next take on Jorge Rivera or Yushin Okami.    Kendall Grove proves to be an inconsistent and chinny fighter as usual, and next on his plate should be Nate Quarry or a rematch with Ed Herman.

Ranking Impact: Mark Munoz moves up 32 spots to #28 MW.  Kendall Grove falls 20 spots to #50 MW.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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Ultimate Fight Night 21 took place in Charlotte, NC and was headlined by the long-awaited UFC debut of the last Pride FC lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi, taking on one of UFC’s top lightweight contenders Ken Florian. Serving as a lead-in for the premiere of the eleventh season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ series, UFN 21 also featured past ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winners Roy Nelson and Ross Pearson trying to make a mark in their respective divisions.  A middleweight bout between veterans Nate Quarry and Jorge Rivera rounded out the televised card, while the preliminaries featured mostly lightweight matchups.

Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver (155 lbs)

Round 1: Pearson has a reach advantage over Siver, and is a bit quicker on the feet, outlanding Siver for most of the round in what is mostly kickboxing action.  Siver throws unorthodox front kicks but doesn’t land anything significant.  A small cut is open under Siver’s eye.  Pearson gets a takedown from a clinch and gets Siver’s back, then mounts Dennis.  Siver pushes Pearson off and pops up, landing a flurry of hooks to finish the round.  Round 10-9 Pearson

Round 2: Once again Pearson is scoring with punches and kicks on Siver.  Siver hangs in there and shoots for a takedown but is stuffed.  More striking exchanges and Siver gets the takedown and briefly takes Pearson’s back but can’t control the position.  Siver with his patented spin kick attempt, which falls just short of the target. Round 10-9 Pearson

Round 3: Both fighters look a bit tired but are still exchanging at a decent pace.  Pearson still outlanding Siver.  Siver gets a takedown and briefly works from guard but Pearson escapes. Pearson scores a takedown of his own.  Back to the feet and another takedown from Siver and quick escape by Pearson.  Round 10-9 Pearson

Ross Pearson wins a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all scorecards.

Aftermath: Ross Pearson continues to improve as a fighter and shows a lot of potential.  As an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner and one of the more promising British fighters in the UFC, he will likely be brought along slowly and kept away from the many strong wrestlers of the division who could derail his progress.  He should face Sam Stout next for another exciting display of stand-up fighting.

Denis Siver, who is usually a mainstay of the UFC’s European events, has had decidedly mixed results in the Octagon.  Siver has been the recepient of multiple ‘Knockout of the Night’ awards in the past, and with Siver and Pearson earning the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus for this bout, Siver’s place in the lower tier of the lightweight division is safe for now.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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UFC is having a very busy month – UFC 111 came less than a week after the inaugural ‘UFC on Versus’ event, and only a few days before Fight Night 21 and the debut of 11th season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.  Sandwiched between the two smaller events, 111 held it’s own in the fight line-up, with welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defending his belt against Dan Hardy, and heavyweights Frank Mir and Shane Carwin meeting for the interim title.   Welterweights Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves were supposed to have a rematch in the third featured bout, however a pre-fight CAT scan revealed an abnormality in Thiago’s brain, which prevented him from being licensed for the fight and resulted in Ben Saunders stepping in to face Fitch.  Saunders’ originally scheduled opponent Jake Ellenberger was scratched for the card (receiving both ‘show’ and ‘win’ money for his troubles).  Here’s how it all went down:

Preliminary Card (Spike TV)

Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown (170 lbs)

Round 1: Brown throws a high kick and gets taken down.  He gets up but Almeida plants him back down again.  Brown uses the cage to escape to his feet.  They clinch and it’s a stalemate.  Referee breaks up the clinch but Almeida is not having any part of Brown’s stand up and goes right back to clinching against the cage looking for takedowns.  Very little action, with Almeida landing a couple of good elbows.  Almeida edges out a very boring round to the loud boo’s of the crowd.  Round 10-9 Almeida

Round 2: Brown again starts the round with a kick, leading to an instant takedown.  Brown up and back down.  Brown up again and back to clinch against the fence.  A repeat of the first round.  Almeida lands an elbow combination that cuts Brown, then takes him down and quickly passes his guard.  Brown rolls; Almeida locks in a body triangle and transitions to Matt’s back, locks in a rear naked choke and Brown is forced to tap.

Aftermath: Ricardo Almeida’s welterweight debut was a successful one, despite boring the fans out of their minds for the first and much of the second round.   He needs to be matched up with another elite grappler – preferably Matt Serra or Matt Hughes.

The usually exciting Matt Brown has his game shut out by a much superior grappler; his clinching and takedown defense clearly need some work.  In the meanwhile, a fight with Brian Foster should make for some fireworks.

Fight Grade: 2.5/5

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UFC’s first event televised on the Versus network took place in Broomfield, Colorado – the home state of the first UFC event held back in 1993.  Zuffa – UFC’s parent company – has been frequently using the Versus network to broadcast WEC events.  For a period of time, a dispute between DirecTV and Comcast (the owners of Versus) kept the network off the screens of DirecTV subscribers.  The dispute was resolved just in time for this event, allowing the first UFC on Versus to be broadcast to a wider audience.

Besides the network change, the other notable theme of this event was a reunion of the previous class of UFC’s heavyweights:  Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheik Kongo, and the presently light-heavyweight Brandon Vera.  All three fighters began their UFC careers within a year of each other, and all have received a varying degree of hype early in their careers, but consistently underachieved.  All three had a pivotal matchup lined up for them on this card.

Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin (185 lbs)

Round 1: Sakara is the aggressor early on, interchanging punch combinations with leg kicks.  Irvin is tentative, defending and firing off an occasional leg kick.  Sakara trips and falls while throwing a leg kick but gets up before Irvin has a chance to capitalize.  Sakara lands a left hook and Irvin collapses, clutching his eye.  Referee Josh Rosenthal pulls Sakara off before any more damage is done.  Irvin complains about an eye poke but replay shows it was a clean punch that landed to the eye.  After some hesitation, Rosenthal declares the bout a TKO victory for Sakara – the right call.

Aftermath: Alessio Sakara earns three consecutive wins for the first time in his UFC career.  He should next take on the winner of the upcoming bout between Patrick Cote and Alan Belcher, or Vitor Belfort if he returns to action soon.

James Irvin looked completely flat in his first fight after a long layoff.  Whether the cause was ring rust, a difficult cut for his first fight at 185 lbs, being gun-shy after his destruction at the hands of Anderson Silva, or a combination of all these factors, Irvin’s UFC career may be in jeopardy.  Post-fight, the UFC President Dana White mentioned that if Irvin gets another chance, it will not be in the middleweight division.

Fight Grade: 2/5

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WEC 47 ‘Bowles vs. Cruz’ was the organization’s debut in Columbus, Ohio, and featured several important matchups in the bantamweight division: Champion Brian Bowles was set to defend his title against Dominick Cruz, former champion Miguel Torres took on Joseph Benavidez in a #1 contender bout, and a rising prospect Scott Jorgensen looked to break into the title picture.  As usual, the card was rounded out by a smattering of lightweight and featherweight bouts.

Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan (155 lbs)

Round 1: The fighters circle each other tentatively.  Karen lands the first significant punch.  Bart answers with leg kicks.  Karen advances with a flurry, backing Bart into the cage, then goes for a takedown.  Palaszewski grabs on to a guillotine but gets slammed as Darabedyan breaks free and lands elbows to the head.  Bart tries for an omoplata and uses it to regain guard.  Bart attempts and armbar and a triangle but Karen evades danger and finds openings for elbows and punches.  Karen stands over Bart and eats an upkick then dives back into Palaszewski’s guard.  Palaszewski keeps looking for an armbar and finally secures one, straightening out Karen’s arm.  Darabedyan tries to roll out of it but he is trapped and forced to tap out.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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In the UFC’s continued quest for world dominance, UFC 110 took place in Sydney, Australia – another new location for the promotion.   The unofficial theme of the night was a reunion of some of Pride FC’s biggest stars – Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic, Wanderlei Silva, and Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, all three fighting to maintain relevancy in the twighlight of their careers.

Mirko Filipovic vs. Anthony Perosh (HW)

Round 1: Mirko leads with a punch and misses with a head kick.  Perosh shoots for a takedown and Mirko sprawls, punching the side of Anthony’s head.  This sets the pace for the entire round, with Perosh’s takedown attempts repeatedly stuffed.  Mirko punishes Perosh on the feet with uppercuts and straight punches.  Perosh is persistent but unsuccessful with his shots, bleeding from the nose by the end of the round.  Round 10-9 Filipovic

Round 2: Perosh throws hands briefly, eats an uppercut and shoots for another takedown.  Mirko sprawls.  Perosh is still not having any success with his takedowns.  Mirko hurts Perosh with a body kick.  Perosh throws a couple of leg kicks and shoots again; Mirko stuffs the shot and punches the head of Perosh.  Perosh pulls guard and Mirko blasts him with an elbow from the top.  The elbow opens a huge, gushing cut on Anthony’s forehead.  The fight is stopped to check the cut and somehow allowed to continue.  Perosh attempts a few more failed takedowns and absorbs more punishment until the round finally ends.

The fight is stopped between rounds because of the severity of the cut, giving Mirko Filipovic the TKO victory.

Aftermath: This was a major mismatch, with the local fighter Perosh stepping in as a last-minute replacement for the ill Ben Rothwell who was originally scheduled to fight Filipovic.  Perosh never stood a chance in this matchup, and remains winless in the UFC.  Despite his willingness to fight on short notice, it’s unlikely he will get another UFC bout, unless perhaps they hold another event in Australia soon.

‘Cro Cop’ gets a much needed win, looking workmanlike against a outmatched opponent.  It looks like he will still take on Rothwell next – this should be a better indicator of just how far the mighty Cop has fallen.

Fight Grade: 2/5

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In the recent years, it has become a tradition for the UFC to put on a major event the night before Superbowl.  This year, UFC is still reeling from the string of illnesses and injuries suffered by key fighters in the past few months, and so the Superbowl event had a rather underwhelming card.  Headlined by the “seniors’ tour” matchup of Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture, 109 piled on the nostalgia with Matt Serra taking on Frank Trigg on the undercard.  The rest of the event was mostly filled with matchups with little divisional significance, with the notable exception of Nate Marquardt taking on Chael Sonnen for the shot at the middleweight title.

Preliminary Card (Spike TV)

Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres (155 lbs)

Round 1: Torres ducks under a punch and takes Guillard down.  Torres passes into half-guard and works for a kimura.  Guillard escapes and stands up.  Torres leads in with a punch then takes Guillard down again but Guillard reverses and ends up on top, then stands up and backs away.  Guillard lands a couple of kicks.  Torres misses with a flying knee.  Guillard attempts a spinning back fist but misses as well.  Torres shoots for another takedown, eats a knee on the way in but completes the takedown.  Ground and pound from Torres but Guillard is able to stand up and blasts Torres with two hooks as the round ends.   Round 10-9 Torres

Round 2: An ice bag breaks up in Torres’ corner between the rounds, extending the break to several minutes.  Both fighters come out swinging and missing.  Torres attempts to slam Guillard, lifting him up high against the cage; Guillard prevents the slam and they trade punches.  Torres shoots in – right into a knee again, then eats another knee after Guillard breaks free.  Guillard defends another takedown attempt but Torres takes his back standing and Guillard rolls, ending up in Ronnys’ guard.  Torres looks for a kimura but Guillard escapes and lands a big punch.  Round 10-9 Guillard

Round 3: Guillard is throwing haymakers, looking for a finish.  Guillard defends a takedown attempt and punishes Torres with big punches.  Torres fires back then earns a takedown.  Torres passes into side control and once again works a kimura.  Guillard escapes to his feet.  Guillard rocks Torres with a punch but gets taken down again.  Torres picks up Guillard and attempts a slam but lands on his back, mounted by Guillard.  Guillard tees off from the top as the round ends.  Round 10-9 Torres

Melvin Guillard wins a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all scorecards.

Aftermath: Melvin Guillard gets back on the winning track, somewhat controversially.  He should be faced with the winner of the upcoming bout between Spencer Fisher and Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig.

Ronnys Torres’ long awaited UFC debut has been delayed by a series of injuries, and he performed fairly well coming off a lengthy layoff.  Still, the loss places him near the bottom of the UFC’s lightweight division and he should prove his mettle by taking on either Mac Danzig or the fellow struggling Brazilian prospect Thiago Tavares.

Fight Grade: 3/5

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From Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA, WEC 46 was highlighted by the long-awaited return of the injured lightweight champion Jamie Varner, set to unify the belts with the interim lightweight champ Benson Henderson in the main events.  In other featured bouts, two former featherweight champions Urijah Faber and Mike Brown set their sights on the comeback trail, with Faber taking on Rafael Assuncao and Brown facing an unheralded WEC newcomer Anthony Morrison.

Mackens Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (145 lbs)

Round 1:  After a brief exchange, Taurosevicius closes distance and takes Semerzier down.  Semerzier locks in a guillotine but Taurosevicius slams his way out of it.  Taurosevicius stands over Semerzier and eats a slapping up-kick.  Taurosevicius passes into side control and throws elbows.  Semerzier regains guard and gets back to his feet but is quickly taken down again.  Semerzier with another guillotine attempt and Taurosevicius responds with a big slam.  The action slows down on the ground and referee stands them up.  Taurosevicius shoots another takedown as the round ends.  Round 10-9 Taurosevicius

Round 2: Semerzier leads off with a series of kicks.  He stops Taurosevicius’ first takedown attempt but gets dragged down from clinch. Semerzier escapes but is quickly taken down again, then slammed on his next attempt to get up.  Semerzier looks for a triangle but Taurosevicius defends well.  Taurosevicius works from Semerzier’s guard; Mackens looks for submissions from the bottom and nothing comes close.  Semerzier attempts a leg lock near the end of the round; Taurosevicius powers out of it. Round 10-9 Taurosevicius

Round 3: An uneventful exchange starts the final round.  Taurosevicius catches a kick but Semerzier stays on his feet.  Taurosevicius shoots for a takedown and Semerzier attempts a d’arce choke, then switches to a kimura.  Taurosevicius is in danger but rolls out of the hold, giving up the top position.  Semerzier stands over Taurosevicius, landing body and head strikes.  Taurosevicius is bleeding.  Semerzier passes guard and works from side control.  Taurosevicius scrambles out and gets caught in a guillotine, but escapes as the round ends. Round 10-9 Semerzier

Deividas Taurosevicius wins by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards

Fight Grade: 3/5

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During the rigorous training that leads up to an MMA bout, fighters often get injured and are forced to pull out of a scheduled fight, leading to late substitutions and/or fight cancellations.  Injuries can always be expected, but UFC 108 broke all records with the number of fighters who were once scheduled to be on the card but had to pull out with an illness or an injury.  A string of bad luck leading up to UFC 108 left the card without a solid main event, which we’ve come to expect from UFC’s year-end events.  In fact Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva and Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout were the only originally scheduled main card bouts that made it intact to the actual event.  All other main card bouts and several of the prelims fell apart due to injuries, forcing UFC to scramble to come up with suitable substitutions.

Preliminary Card (Spike TV)

Dan Lauzon vs. Cole Miller (155 lbs)

Round 1: Miller moves forward and lands a combination.  Lauzon fires back, dropping Miller with a left hook.  Miller recovers and jumps up, eating a knee as he does.  Miller clinches and throws a knee.  Lauzon takes Miller’s back standing, but Miller reverses and ends up on Lauzon’s back with Dan on his knees.  Miller locks his legs around one of Lauzon’s arms and looks for a kimura on the other arm.  Lauzon defends until Miller rolls over, and Dan is forced to tap out.

Aftermath: Dan Lauzon was at 18 years old the youngest fighter to compete in the UFC when he lost his debut to Spencer Fisher back at UFC 64.  After going on an eight-fight win streak in various promotions, his UFC return was spoiled, dropping him to 0-2 in the organization.  He would be better off making a switch to the WEC’s lightweight division.

Cole Miller gets back on the winning track, earning himself a Submission of the Night bonus in process.  He should fight Jeremy Stephens next.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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Returning to Las Vegas, WEC 45 had a lackluster lineup by the usual WEC standards: no title matches or clear #1 contender bouts – just a series of bouts in the bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions, headlined by Donald ‘The Cowboy’ Cerrone taking on Ed ‘9mm’ Ratcliff.  Here’s how it went down:

Scott Jorgensen  vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135 lbs)

Round 1: Mizugaki leads off with punches and Jorgensen counters with a right hook, dropping Mizugaki.  Jorgensen follows to the ground and looks for a guillotine.  Mizugaki defends and works back to his feet.  Mizugaki lands a combination to the body.  They clinch and Mizugaki throws knees; Jorgensen catches one and throws Mizugaki down.  Takeya instantly gets back up and goes back to trading punches until Jorgensen knocks him down for the second time.  Jorgensen jumps into Takeya’s guard and throws punches from the top but Mizugaki scrambles, gives up his back then escapes.   Round 10-9 Jorgensen

Round 2: Mizugaki comes out swinging again.  Jorgensen shoots and gets a takedown.  Jorgensen passes guard but Mizugaki escapes and stands up.  They trade punches then clinch against the cage.  Action slows down and referee breaks them up.  Mizugaki flurries and gets taken down again though quickly makes his way back to the feet.  Another exchange and another takedown for Jorgensen, this time Mizugaki pops up even more quickly. Round 10-9 Jorgensen

Round 3: They exchange for the first half of the round with both fighters landing.  Jorgensen scores another takedown and Mizugaki is right back up again, then responds with a trip takedown of his own.   Mizugaki passes into side control, briefly gets a crucifix but Jorgensen rolls and escapes.  Mizugaki takes him down again and punches from the top as the round ends.  Round 10-9 Mizugaki

Scott Jorgensen wins a unanimous decision with the scores of 29-28 from all judges.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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