Titan Fighting Championship 18
May 27, 2011
Memorial Hall,
Kansas City, Kansas, United States

Catchweight (140 lbs)

Brian Davidson (7 – 3 – 0) defeated UFC, Pride and WEC vet Jens Pulver (24 – 15 – 1) by submission due to rear-naked choke at 4:04 of round 1.  Davidson, who is on a 2 fight win streak (preceded by a 2 fight losing streak), enters the featherweight “Top 250” at [#215].  Pulver, who was on a 2 fight win streak prior to this loss (preceded by a 6 fight losing streak), remains unranked.

Catchweight (200 lbs)

John Ott (9 – 8 – 0) defeated UFC vet Jake Rosholt (11 – 4 – 0) by disqualification due to an illegal knee strike at 4:23 of round 3.  Ott, who is 3-2 in his last 5, moves from [#321MW] into the light heavyweight “Top 250” at [#71].  Rosholt, who was on a 4 fight win streak prior to this loss, moves from [#64MW] into the light heavyweight “Top 250” at [#79].
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UFC 130 – Rampage vs. Hamill
May 28, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena,
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Light Heavyweight

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32 – 8 – 0) defeated Matt Hamill (10 – 3 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Jackson easily stuffed Hamill’s repeated takedown attempts, answering with powerful punches to the head and body.  Other than leg kicks, Hamill was not able to mount any real offense against the former light heavyweight champion.  Jackson, who is 4-1 in his last 5, holds his ranking at [#4].  Perhaps a rematch with [#5] Lyoto Machida would help show where both men belong among the top of the division. Hamill, who was on a 5 fight win streak prior to this bout, moves 1 spots down the ranks from [#15] to [#16].  He should look to rebound against [#9] Ryan Bader should he defeat [#26] Tito Ortiz, who are scheduled to fight at UFC 132 in July.

Heavyweight

Frank Mir (15 – 5 – 0) defeated Roy Nelson (15 – 6 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Mir took down Nelson repeatedly, once with a textbook judo hip toss in the 1st round.  Nelson’s gas tank failed him by the 2nd round, and Mir continued to capitalize with both strikes on the feet and superior ground control.  Mir, who is 3-2 in his last 5, holds his rank at [#7].  Since the top of the heavyweight division is locked up at this point, Mir should look to face someone like [#22] Travis Browne to stay busy.  Nelson, who is on a 2 fight slide (2-4 in his last 6), moves 1 spot down the ranks from [#25] to [#26].  Nelson could face [#16] Mike Russow next to try and get back on the winning track.

Heavyweight

Travis Browne (11 – 0 – 1) defeated Stefan Struve (21 – 5 – 0) by KO due to a punch at 4:11 of round 1.  Struve nearly locked on a D’arce choke early in the round, but was stopped by a crushing superman punch by Browne.  Struve’s body seemed to fold upon itself as he fell to the canvas, followed by two unanswered blows from Browne.  Browne, who has won 9 of his 11 victories by stoppage, jumps 13 spots up the ranks from [#35] to [#22].  Browne should take a step up and face [#7] Frank Mir in his next bout.  Struve, who is 2-2 in his last 4, falls 16 spots down the ranks from [#34] to [#50].  Struve will need a win in his next bout, and should look to face someone like [#54] Rob Broughton.

Welterweight

Rick Story (13 – 3 – 0) defeated Thiago Alves (18 – 8 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Story used takedowns and clinch work to vex Alves throughout the fight.  Alves fired back with knees and punches that at times backed Story up, but never fully stopped his forward motion.  Story, who is on a 6 fight win streak , jumps 12 spots up the ranks from [#23] to [#11].  Story is making serious waves in the welterweight division, and should look to face a top contender like [#6] Josh Koscheck (who should be returning to competition in mid 2011) or [#4] John Fitch (once he returns from his injury).  Alves, who is now 1-3 in his last 4, falls 5 spots down the ranks from [#12] to [#17].  A fight between Alves and [#16] Jake Ellenberger would prove telling for where both men belong in the division.

Middleweight

Brian Stann (11 – 3 – 0) defeated Jorge Santiago (23 – 9 – 0) by KO due to punches at 4:29 of round 2.  Stann rocked Santiago in the 1st with a left hook that sent him crashing to the mat.  Santiago was able to fight through the ground and pound that followed from Stann.  Santiago’s suspect chin came into play again in the 2nd round, when he ate a right to the side of his head.  Again Santiago hit the mat, and Stann finished it this time with his ground and pound.  Stann, who is  5-1 in his last 6, jumps 12 spots up the ranks from [#18] to [#6].  If [*]Wanderlei Silva makes it past [#23] Chris Leben, that would be a great match to make (as Stann has requested the match personally).   Santiago, who is 3-2 in his last 5 (6 of his 9 losses coming from (T)KO), moves 6 spots down the ranks from [#5] to [#11].  A bout with [#27] Dan Miller would help show if Santiago is in over his head in the deep waters of the UFC.

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British Association of Mixed Martial Arts 6
May 21, 2011
Wembley Arena,
London, England

BAMMA Middleweight Championship

Middleweight (185 lbs)

Tom Watson (14 – 4 – 0) defeated Pride veteran Murilo “Ninja” Rua (20 – 12 – 1) by KO due to head kicks and punches at 2:06 of round 1.  Watson, who is 10-1 in his last 11, jumps 18 spots up the ranks from [#62] to [#44].  Rua, who announced his retirement following the bout, falls 54 spots down the ranks from [#88] to [#142].

Middleweight (185 lbs)

UFC vet Frank Trigg (21 – 8 – 0) defeated John Phillips (13 – 4 – 0) by TKO due to doctor stoppage at 2:41 of round 1.  Trigg, who is on a 2 fight win streak since being released from the UFC following back to back losses to [#6WW] Josh Koscheck and [#24WW] Matt Serra, moves 11 spots up the ranks from [#56] to [#45].  Phillips, who was on a 5 fight win streak prior to this loss (all by TKO via punches), falls 52 spots down the ranks from [#104] to [#156].
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In Episode 9, the two remaining quarter-final fights took place, with Team Lesnar taking both bouts.

In a rematch from the first round, Chuck O’Neil defeated Zachary Davis with a 20-18 unanimous decision. Davis suffered torn retinas in both eyes, requiring emergency surgery and effectively ending his fighting career.

In the last quarter-final, Anthony Ferguson defeated Ryan McGillivray with a TKO in the first round.

The current win tally is 5 Team Dos Santos, 7 Team Lesnar. Ramsey Nijem is the only remaining contestant from Team Dos Santos.

The semi-final matchups will take place in the next week’s episode (all rankings approximated as-of the show’s taping):

[#113] Anthony Ferguson vs [#289] Chuck O’Neil

[#247 LW] Ramsey Nijem vs [#441] Chris Cope

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Ultra X Combat – International Grand Prix
May 20, 2011
Exhibition Park,
Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Welterweight (170 lbs)

Gregor Gracie (5 – 1 – 0) defeated Tiago Tosato (9 – 11 – 0) by submission in round 1.  Gracie, who is on a 3 fight win streak (all by 1st round submission), flies 77 spots up the ranks from [#435] to [#358].  Tosato, who is 2-6 in his last 8, remains unranked.

Middleweight (185 lbs)

Norman Paraisy (9 – 1 – 1) defeated Paulo Filho (22 – 4 – 1) by unanimous decision.  Paraisy, who is 4-0-1 in his last 5,  moves from [#167WW] into the middleweight “Top 350” at [#51].  Filho, who is 2-3 in his last 5,  moves from [#42LHW] into the middleweight “Top 350” at [#59].
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Bellator Fighting Championships 45
May 21, 2011
L’Auberge du Lac Casino and Resort,
Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States

Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament Final/Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)

Christian M’Pumbu (18 – 3 – 1) defeated Richard Hale (17 – 4 – 1) by TKO via punches at 4:17 of the 3rd round.  M’Pumbu blasted Hale with a left hook that sent Hale to the canvas.  M’pumbu tried to finish the dazed Hale with a brabo choke, but Hale escaped.  Hale started to gain momentum in the second round, controlling the passive M’Pumbu on the feet.  This continued until midway into the 3rd round, when M’Pumbu again blasted Hale-this time with a strong right hand.  Hale again crashed to the mat, and after a brief pause M’Pumbu followed him with hammerfists.  Hale struggled to regain his guard but was unable to, forcing the ref to stop the bout.  M’Pumbu, who is on a 3 fight win streak (all by TKO via punches), jumps 16 spots up from [#44] to [#28].  M’Pumbu became the inaugural Bellator Light Heavyweight champ with this victory.  Hale, who had a 4 fight win streak broken by this loss, drops 16 spots from [#34] to [#50].

Bellator Featherweight Tournament Final
Featherweight (145 lbs)

Patricio Freire (17 – 1 – 0) defeated Daniel Straus (16 – 4 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Freire kept the distance close, not allowing Straus to use his reach and size advantage.  Freire pressed Straus up against the fence and peppered him with knees to the body.  Freire mocked Straus twice during the fight imploring Straus to come forward, garnering boos from the crowd.  Ultimately, Straus was never able to implement his wrestling based game plan.  Freire, who is on a 3 fight win streak after rebounding from his lone career loss to current Bellator featherweight champ [#4BW] Joe Warren, jumps 6 spots up from [#12] to [#6].  Freire will now get a rematch against Joe Warren.  Straus, who had a tremendous 12 fight win streak broken by this loss, drops 8 spots from [#16] to [#24].

Middleweight (185 lbs)

Sam Alvey (15 – 2 – 0) won a contentious split decision over Karl Amoussou (12 – 5 – 1).  The 1st round was all Amoussou, who landed powerful kicks and a slick judo throw.  He transitioned to mount and landed elbows that opened Alvey up.  These cuts would gush torrents of blood for the remainder of the fight.  Amoussou slowed in the 2nd round, and Alvey started to find his stride.  However, it was not until the 3rd round that Alvey truly got into the driver’s seat.  Alvey took Amoussou down near the end of the 3rd frame and flailed away in guard as the round came to a close.  Alvey, who is on a 4 fight win streak (2 by split decision), moves from [#92LHW] to [#92MW].  Alvey qualified for the upcoming Bellator middleweight tournament with this win.  Amoussou, who is 2-2-1 in his last 5, holds his rank at [#128].
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Rock and Brawl
May 14, 2011
Kouvola Hockey Arena,
Kouvola, Kymenlaakso, Finland

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)

Attila Vegh (22 – 4 – 2) defeated Marcus Vanttinen (20 – 3 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Vegh, who is on a 2 fight win streak (3-1-1 in his last 5) jumps 15 spots up from [#53] to [#38].  Vanttinen, who was on an 11 fight win streak prior to this loss, drops 17 spots from [#47] to [#64].

(To Be Updated)

Lightweight (155 lbs)

[#112] Juha Pekka Vainikainen (17 – 5 – 0) defeated [#209FW] Josh Pulsifer (14 – 6 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Vainikainen is on a career best 6 fight win streak (5 by stoppage).  Pulsifer is on a 2 fight losing streak, preceded by a 4 fight win streak (3 by submission via Brabo choke).
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In Episode 8, the first two quarter-final fights took place, with Team Lesnar and Team Dos Santos splitting the wins.  Team Lesnar’s Chris Cope defeated Shamar Bailey with a 20-18 unanimous decision, while Team Dos Santos’ Ramsey Nijem forced a tapout from Clay Harvison with a rear naked choke in the first round.

Next week the remaining two quarter-final fights will take place, and semi-final matchups will be announced.

The current win tally is 5 Team Dos Santos, 5 Team Lesnar.

Here’s who remains:
(all rankings are approximated as-of the show’s taping, and not necessarily reflecting the fighters’ current rankings)

[#113] Anthony Ferguson
episode 6: moved on to quarter-finals with a first round TKO (upkick) win over Justin Edwards

[#182] Justin Edwards
episode 3: alternate taking place of Keon Caldwell
episode 6: lost to Anthony Ferguson by TKO (upkick)

[#179] Myles Jury
episode 1: forced to withdraw due to an injury

[#200] Ryan McGillivray
episode 3: moved on to quarter-finals with a majority decision win (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) over Len Bentley

[#247 LW] Ramsey Nijem
episode 4: moved on to quarter-finals with a second round submission (rear naked choke) win over Charlie Rader
episode 8: moved on to semi-finals with a first round submission (rear naked choke) win over Clay Harvison

[#289] Chuck O’Neil
episode 1: alternate taking place of Miles Jury
episode 6: lost to Zachary Davis with a first round submission (triangle choke). Brought back for the wild card fight with Javier Torres
episode 7: moved on to quarter-finals with a second round submission (D’Arce choke) win over Javier Torres in the wild card bout

[#321] Charlie Rader
episode 4: lost to Ramsey Nijem with a second round submission (rear naked choke)

[#364] Shamar Bailey
episode 1: moved on to quarter-finals with a 20-18 unanimous decision win over Nordin Asrih
episode 8: lost a 20-18 unanimous decision to Chris Cope

[#387] Clay Harvison
episode 5: defeated Michael Bowman with a unanimous decision (20-18)
episode 8: lost to Ramsey Nijem with a first round submission (rear naked choke)

[#441] Chris Cope
episode 2: moved on to quarter-finals with a 29-28 overtime unanimous decision win over Javier Torres
episode 8: moved on to semi-finals with a 20-18 unanimous decision over Shamar Bailey

[#475] Len Bentley
episode 3: lost a majority decision win (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) to Ryan McGillivray

[NR] Nordin Asrih
episode 1: lost a unanimous decision (20-18) to Shamar Bailey

[NR] Michael Bowman
episode 5: lost a unanimous decision (20-18) to Clay Harvison

[NR] Keon Caldwell
episode 2: withdrew from competition

[NR] Zachary Davis
episode 6: moved on to quarter-finals with a first round submission (triangle choke) win over Chuck O’Neil

[NR] Javier Torres
episode 2: lost an overtime unanimous decision (29-28) to Chris Cope
episode 6: brought back for a wild card fight with Chuck O’Neil
episode 7: lost to Chuck O’Neil with a second round submission (D’Arce choke) in the wild-card bout

Xtreme Fighting Organization 39
May 13, 2011
Sears Centre Arena,
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States

Featherweight (145 lbs)

Jeff Curran (34 – 13 – 1) defeated Billy Vaughan (9 – 9 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Curran, who is 4-1 in his last 5, moves 5 spots up the ranks from [#67] to [#62].  Vaughan, who is on a 4 fight losing streak, remains unranked.

Welterweight (170 lbs)

Former WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner (17 – 5 – 1) defeated Tyler Combs (13 – 8 – 1) by technical submission via north-south choke at 1:30 of round 1.  Varner, who is 1-3-1 in his last 5, moves from [#116LW] into the welterweight “Top 500” at [#109].  Combs, who is on a 2 fight losing streak, moves from [#285LW] into the welterweight “Top 500” at [#354].
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World Absolute Fighting Championship – Mayor’s Cup 2011
May 7, 2011
Platinum Arena,
Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)

Baga Agaev (21 – 11 – 0) defeated Kevin Randleman (17 – 16 – 0) by submission due to an armbar at 3:00 of round 1.  Agaev, who has won 6 of his last 7 (5 by armbar) jumps 20 spots up from [#72] to [#52].  Randleman, who has lost 4 in a row, drops 21 spots from [#76] to [#97].  Randleman announced his retirement following the loss.

Lightweight (155 lbs)

Alexander Sarnavskiy (14 – 0 – 0) defeated Douglas Evans (13 – 8 – 0) by submission due to rear-naked choke in round 1.  Sarnavskiy, who scored his 3rd consecutive choke victory in this bout,  jumps 34 spots up from [#108] to [#74].  Evans, who is 3-2 in his last 5, moves from [#57FW] into the lightweight “Top 500” at [#239].

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In Episode 7, Team Lesnar’s Chuck O’Neil defeated Team Dos Santos’ Javier Torres with a D’Arce choke in the second round, earning the wild-card spot to become the eighth and final quarter-finalist.

Here are the quarter-final matchups (all rankings approximated as-of the show’s taping):

[#113] Anthony Ferguson vs [#200] Ryan McGillivray

[#247 LW] Ramsey Nijem vs [#387] Clay Harvison

[#289] Chuck O’Neil vs [NR] Zachary Davis

[#364] Shamar Bailey vs [#441] Chris Cope

The current win tally is 4 Team Dos Santos, 4 Team Lesnar.

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Tachi Palace Fights 9 – The Contenders
May 6, 2011
Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino,
Lemoore, California, United States

Flyweight (125 lbs)

WEC veteran Ian McCall (10 – 2 – 0) defeated Dustin Ortiz (7 – 1 – 0) by unanimous decision.  McCall, who is on a 3 fight win streak (4-1 in his last 5), moves 2 spots up from [#6]to [#4].  Ortiz, who tasted defeat for the first time, remains unranked.

TPF Featherweight Championship

Featherweight (145 lbs)

Issac DeJesus (10 – 3 – 0) defeated Russ Miura (9 – 2 – 0) by TKO due to punches at 2:52 of round 1.  DeJesus, who stopped a 2 fight losing streak with this victory, leaps 50 spots forward from [#127]to [#77].  Miura, who was on a 6 fight win streak prior to this loss (5 by stoppage), plummets 105 spots from [#112] to [#217].

Lightweight (155 lbs)

UFC veteran Fabricio Camoes (12 – 5 – 1) defeated fellow UFC vet Efrain Escudero (16 – 3 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Camoes, who is on a 2 fight win streak following release from the UFC, jumps 16 spots forward from [#72] to [#56].  Escudero, who was on a 3 fight win streak prior to this loss,  drops 22 spots from [#135] to [#157].

Middleweight (185 lbs)

UFC veteran Gerald Harris (18 – 4 – 0) defeated Anthony Ruiz (25 – 16 – 0) by unanimous decision.  Harris, who was on a 2 fight losing streak prior to this bout, moves 28 spots up from [#82] to [#54].  Ruiz, who is on a 3 fight losing streak, drops 11 spots from [#97] to [#108].

Flyweight (125 lbs)

Mamoru Yamaguchi (26 – 5 – 3) defeated Kevin Dunsmoor (10 – 4 – 0) by KO by a punch at 4:03 of round 2 .  Yamaguchi, who is on a 6 fight win streak (5 by stoppage), moves 1 spot up from [#2] to [#1].  Dunsmoor, who is 3-2 in his last 5, drops 6 spots from [#30] to [#36].
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Bellator Fighting Championships 43
May 7th, 2011

First Council Casino,
Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Final

Welterweight (170 lbs)
Jay Hieron (22 – 4 – 1) won an extremely close and contentious split decision over Rick Hawn (11 – 1 – 0).  Round 1 belonged to Hieron, who out-struck his Olympic foe for the first 5 minutes.  Round 2 started to swing in Hawn’s favor.  It was this round that would cause the fight to be such a close call.  Hawn stalked the backpedaling Hieron and struck him often throughout the 3rd round.  It was not enough to make the judges see the fight in his favor.  Hieron, who is on a 10 fight winning streak, holds his ranking at [#10].  He will now face Bellator welterweight champion [#21] Ben Askren for the title.  Hawn, who tasted defeat for the first time, moved up 4 spots from [#49] to [#45].

Middleweight (185 lbs)
Bryan Baker (15 – 2 – 0) defeated UFC veteran Joe Riggs (34 – 13 – 0) by KO due to a punch at 3:53 of round 2.  Except for a duo of flying knees from Baker, there was little action in the 1st round.  Riggs was able to connect with straight punches, but did not have an answer for Baker in the 2nd round.  Baker swarmed the dazed Riggs midway through the round and knocked him out against the fence when he dropped his hands.  Baker, who on a 2 fight win streak (9-1- in his last 10),  moves 7 spots up from [#37 ] to [#30]. Baker will be in the Bellator season 5 middleweight tournament.  Riggs, who is on a 2 fight losing streak (both by T/KO from punches), drops 7 spots from [#100] to [#107].

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UFC 129 – St. Pierre vs. Shields
April 30, 2011

Rogers Centre,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Preliminary Bouts

Welterweight (170 lbs)
21 year old Rory MacDonald (11 – 1 – 0) defeated Nate Diaz (13 – 7 – 0) by unanimous decision.  MacDonald wowed the Canadian crowd with three belly to back suplexes in the third round against the visibly smaller Diaz.  All told, MacDonald finished 7 of 10 takedown attempts, while Diaz did not complete 1 of his 7 takedown attempts.  Other than the 1st round, Diaz looked like he had little to offer in this bout.  He looked out-sized, out-struck and out grappled against the Canadian prospect.  MacDonald, who bounds 32 spots up the ranks from [#60] to [#28], should look to put some wins together and face the always dangerous [#22] Chris Lytle or fellow prospect [#34] John Hathaway next.  Diaz, who has lost 5 of his last 8 (2 in a row at welterweight), falls 13 spots from [#28] to [#41].  His next fight will be an absolute must win to stay in the promotion.  He should look to rebound against [#40] Brian Foster (should he be able to compete following his brain hemorrhage that forced him out of his bout with [#86] Sean Pierson) or [#38] Claude Patrick.

Welterweight (170 lbs)
Jake Ellenberger (24 – 5 – 0) defeated Sean Pierson (11 – 5 – 0) by KO due to a punch at 2:42 into round 1.  Ellenberger, who took the fight on 16 days notice when [#40] Brian Foster had to pull out due to brain hemorrhage, made short work of Pierson with a counter left hook that sent the Toronto native crashing to the mat.  Ellenberger followed up with punches on the ground on Pierson’s prone body, forcing the ref to stop the fight.  Ellenberger, who moves up 1 spot from [#17] to [#16], would benefit hugely from a victory over fellow winner on the night [#28] Rory MacDonald if they were to fight next.  Ellenberger is on a 4 fight win streak, 3 by stoppage.  Pierson gained considerable momentum by defeating prospect [#94] Matt Riddle at UFC 124 in December 2010, and he needs a victory to have a hope of gaining this momentum back.  A bout with [#80] DaMarques Johnson would determine which fighter will move onward and upward.

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