Back at the UFC’s home base, the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, UFC 114 was headlined by a light-heavyweight number one contender bout between Rashad Evans and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.  The fight was originally supposed to take place in 2009 when Jackson decided to place his MMA career on hiatus to play ‘Mr. T’ in a remake of The A Team.  After many bitter words were exchanged between Jackson and UFC president Dana White,  all parties finally came to an agreement, setting the stage for this long-awaited grudge match to finally take place at 114.

The co-main-event was slated to be a bout between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Forrest Griffin – another light heavyweight fight with potential title implications.  However, Griffin was forced to pull out of the fight with a shoulder injury, and his short notice replacement Jason Brilz was not deemed suitable for a featured bout.  And so a lackadaisical middleweight matchup between Michael Bisping and Dan Miller was promoted to the co-main.  The remainder of the undercard was a motley mixture of bouts with very little divisional significance.

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon (155 lbs)

Round 1: The fighter circle and fire off strikes from a distance.  Lauzon with head and body kicks, both blocked.  Jabs from Escudero.  Not much contact until Escudero grabs a clinch and lands a series of knees, most of which are blocked by Lauzon.  Escudero lets up and they circle around each other with some sporadic strike exchanges.  A cut opens on Escudero’s eyebrow.  Slow round.  Round 10-9 Escudero

Round 2: A few leg kicks from Escudero, then he rushes in with punches, backing Lauzon against the fence and firing off knees from the clinch.  Lauzon absorbs the knees and remains standing and so Escudero backs off.  Lauzon with a failed takedown attempt.  Lauzon starting to gas.  Escudero continues to work the leg kicks.  Escudero grabs clinch again and lands more knees but still can’t finish.   Escudero pushes Lauzon down but doesn’t follow him to the ground.   Round 10-9 Escudero

Round 3: More leg kicks from Efrain to start the final round.  Lauzon is more aggressive but doesn’t look to have much left in the tank.  Both fighters land a few punches.  Sporadic action, Escudero dances around and switches stances as the crowd boos.  Another clinch attack from Escudero; knees land but Lauzon remains standing and they separate.  A low kick catches Lauzon’s cup and he crumbles.  A point is deducted from Escudero.  They restart and both fighters flurry in the remaining few seconds.  Round 9-9 draw

Efrain Escudero wins the unanimous decision, 29-27 on all scorecards.

Aftermath: This was not an impressive showing for either fighter.  Escudero was successful in rebounding from the first loss of his career but failed to dazzle in his performance.  He should next take on Aaron Riley, who took a unanimous decision over Joe Brammer on the undercard.

Lauzon remains winless in his three UFC bouts, and will likely be gone from the organization on the heels of back-to-back losses and his well publicized conflicts with his brother and training partners.

Ranking Impact: Efrain Escudero rises 35 spots to #103 LW.  Dan Lauzon falls out of the LW Top 250.

Fight Grade: 2/5

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UFC 113 took place in Montreal, Canada and was headlined by a long-awaited rematch between the light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.  Machida defeated Rua at UFC 104 in a highly controversial decision – most observers, including myself, disagreed with the judges and felt that Shogun deserved the nod in their first fight.  The other featured matchup on the card was a welterweight title shot eliminator bout between Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley.

Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote (185 lbs)

Round 1: Belcher comes out throwing leg and body kicks.  Cote responds with punches.  Belcher’s kicks are finding their target until one lands in Cote’s groin.  The fight is paused briefly then they resume trading.  Both fighters land punches in an exchange.  More kicks from Belcher until Cote catches one and trips Alan to the ground.  Cote looks for a kimura, it’s locked in as he passes Belcher’s guard but Belcher is able to sweep and ends up in top guard.  Belcher passes into half guard, attempts an arm triangle then steps over into side control.   Round 10-9 Belcher

Round 2: Belcher once again leads with low kicks.  Referee Mario Yamasaki halts the action – turns out Belcher forgot to put his mouth guard back in between the rounds.  The fight resumes and Cote flurries with punches, landing several solid ones.  Belcher clinches and pushes Cote into the fence.  They separate and trade punches; Cote gets the best of the exchange then follows up with a takedown.  Belcher scrambles to his feet; Cote looks for another takedown but as he is attempting a double-leg, Belcher elevates him in the air and slams Patrick flat on his face!  Cote is stunned and Belcher hops onto his back and locks in a rear naked choke.  Cote submits, tapping on his opponent head.

Aftermath: Alan Belcher, continuing his rise up the middleweight ranks, should next fight Demian Maia.   A #1 contenders match with Vitor Belfort is also a good possibility.   Belcher earns the ‘Submission of the Night’ award for his performance.

Patrick Cote receives a harsh welcome back in his first fight since the loss to Anderson Silva, and should next take on CB Dollaway or Tim Credeur.

Ranking Impact: Alan Belcher rises 3 spots to #11 MW.  Patrick Cote, unranked for inactivity, returns at #52 MW.

Fight Grade: 4/5

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