UFC 164 results and gifs: Pettis taps Henderson

Another UFC in the books, and we have a new lightweight champion.

Anthony Pettis def. Benson Henderson via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:31 – wins UFC lightweight championship

I’d thought the most likely outcome for this fight would have involved Bruce Buffer keeping everyone on the edge of their seats as he read the judges close scorecards. Ben Henerson i snot generally the kind of man that get’s finished even if his opponent is Anthony Pettis and we saw evidence of that in their fist fight.

The round started with some control against the cage from the champion that Pettis was able to survive without taking too much punishment. No-one stamped their authority on the fight until the challenger rattled off four consecutive right kicks to the body. THese weren’t even on Henderson’s live side, but he was visibly affected by their thunderous impact. From there, it looked like Pettis made the first error of the fight bey truing a flashy cartwheel kick and ending straight on his back in guard.

However, he used this to his advantage very quickly, controlling Bendo’s position and switching his hips tight and quick to lock in an armbar. A few seconds later and a futile attempt by Henderson to escape and the verbal tap came.

In the post-fight interview the new champ was calling out José Aldo, but I think he’ll probably have to defend his new 155lb prize a couple of times before the Brazilian makes his way up to  challenge for the belt. I can;t see the UFC brass letting him drop to featherweight. I also see Pettis handling anyone the lightweight division has to offer. If I had to pick one man to give him problems it would be Gilbert Melendez, but considering how capably Showtime has handled his last four opponents I would say he will have a rough go at that.

Josh Barnett def. Frank Mir via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:56

Josh Barnett got a win in his return to the UFC after nearly a decade with a TKO of the always TKO-able Frank Mir. He had a perfect gameplan, rushing Mir early and throwing a barrage odf strikes to the head and body. I honestly thought he was on the way to screwing everything up when knees started missing their mark, the face became the secondary target and Mir started firing back, but I need not have had any doubt as Barnett delivered a knee which crumpled the former champ to the mat and brought the stoppage.

I think the stoppage was a tad early, but not terrible. Mir should have been allowed the chance to recover (which he did seconds later), but if Barnett had been able to throw a couple more punches Mir would have had his lights out in short order. Where’s Dan Miragliotta when you need him.

Barnett has set himself up for some high-profile fights at heavyweight now, but I don;t think he’ll ever really be in for a title hunt with guys like Velasquez, Dos Santos and Cormier around. Mir has lost three straight but still has a place in the division. He’s a good fighter who’s lost to three top 10 fighters and he could still crush most heavyweights with ease. His title hunting days are over though.

Chad Mendes def. Clay Guida via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:30

Chad Mendes is a stone-cold killer, and really proved it by grabbing a fourth KO in a row against a notoriously impossible-to-KO fighter.

Clay Guida had nothing for Mendes in the grappling or striking departments, and when the Team Alpha Male prospect finally uncorked the kind of punches that had the potential to end the fight the fight was well and truly ended.

Mendes is ready for an Aldo rematch now. He might not win, but I don;t think he’ll get blown up like he did last time. He’s by far and away proved himself to be the number one contender and improved his skills enough that a rematch is still compelling. If he is given one more fight before he gets that chance you won;t find me complaining though. It will just be another chance for us to see hime flex his skills and blow up another 145 pounder.

Ben Rothwell def. Brandon Vera via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:54

This could finally be Brandon Vera’s ticket out of the UFC. He fought quite well at first, but he couldn’t stop Rothwell putting him up against the cage and when the big mid-westerner finally turned on the power Vera was helpless.

Big Ben might want to be careful what he asks for in his post-fight interviews though. A fight with Travis Browne is likely to nring one thing his way. A severe ass kicking.

Dustin Poirier def. Erik Koch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

This was the fight of the night for sure (despite what the official list of UFC bonuses might say). A back and forth battle with high offensive output in all areas of mixed martial arts. It looked like Poirier was done for when he was caught in a tight triangle early in the first and even when he finally managed to escape he looked like he was close to passing out. However, he gritted his teeth and swung the momentum back in his favour.

After this excellent punch ‘The Diamond’ rained down blows on ‘New Breed’ until the end of the round before following up with a second round of dominance. The punishment he dealt out in the first was so great in fact, that two judges gave him a 10-8 score despite the trouble he’d been in earlier on.

To his credit, Koch came back and won the third round, but unless he was about to score a finishing blow or hail-Mary submission the fight was Poirier’s.

Whatever the outcome of this fight my sentiments would have been the same as they are now. I can;t wait to see these young exciting fighters matched up with other high-quality featherweights for years to come. Boredom will never be an issue with these men fighting.

Prelim results

The official fight of the night was Hyun Gyu Lim’s destruction of Pascal Krausss. This was a hugely entertaining few minutes of violence, and striking to see how ENORMOUS Lim is at 170lbs. With reckless gameplanning like that he won’t be troubling the division’s elite any time soon, but he will definitely give some top-25 fighters some trouble and provide some outrageous excitement whether he’s delivering the damage or eating it.

The Jacaré award for upkick eating goes to Kyung Ho Kang, who pretty much lost his fight with Chico Camus as a result of taking this beauty.

The early contender for submission of the night was this nice guillotine from Magnus Cedenblad in the night’s opening contest.

Finally, I can’t not mention the slop-fest that was Soa Palelei win over Nikita Krylov in his return to the Octagon. The big Aussie was not impressive in his first UFC fight all those years ago, and broken rib or not, he was not impressive here. The blame can;t lie squarely at his door though. I’d herad Sherdog.com’s Jordan Breen describe how bad Krylov was on Friday, and the young Ukrainian scertyainly lived up to his billing. He played right into Paleelei’s limited abilities and deserveddly got beaten. I guess these horrorshow fight sare a bit of fun every once in a while, but I hope most of this sort of thing is reserved for the likes of Bellator and World Series of Fighting in future. It was BRUTAL to watch.

Gleison Tibau def. Jamie Varner via split decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
Tim Elliott def. Louis Gaudinot via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Hyun Gyu Lim def. Pascal Krauss via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:58
Chico Camus def. Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Soa Palelei def. Nikita Krylov via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:34
Al Iaquinta def. Ryan Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Magnus Cedenblad def. Jared Hamman via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:57

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

Dana White UFC 164 post fight media scrum

Dana gets on the mic with the assembled media to chat all things UFC 164.

For those familiar with Dana White, you will also be familiar with his brutal honesty. Occasionally this might be grossly misinformed, just plain wrong or controversial to the point he gets into a bit of bother with the media.. However, his there are times when his insistence on calling a spade a spade is admirable, particularly in the case of his criticism of the Soa Palelei/Nikita Krylov fight. That fight really deserved to be slammed, and the UFC president duly obliged.

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC 164 post fight press conference

Dana White and UFC 164 fighters sit down with the media after the conclusion of last night’s event.

New lightweight title holder Anthony Pettis fields questions for the first time as champion, including his future defending the belt and a potential fight with featherweight king José Aldo.

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC 164 Henderson vs. Pettis 2 weigh-in results and video

Every fighter was on weight for UFC 164 earlier today in Milwaukee, so there’s not too much to say really.

A few thoughts:

• Gleison Tibau us far too big to be a lightweight!
• Erik Koch and Dustin Poirier are still in the infancy of their MMA careers, but you won’t find many better or more intense fighters out there. Prepare for fireworks.
• When I hear Brandon Vera was moving back up to heavyweight I was skeptical. When I heard he weighed in at 241 pound I though his return to the division was bound to be a disaster. However, having seen his frame, he’s thicker, not just heavier. If he can keep a bit of speed from 205lbs he could give Ben Rothwell some trouble and revitalise his career.
• You would thing Chad Mendes had just dropped from the weight class above. He dwarfs Clay Guida. I predict an uncomfortable ride for The Carpenter tomorrow night.
• Henderson and Pettis look ready to go right now. This ssi very exciting.

Full preview to follow, though I’m not sure how coherant it will be. I think the breakdown of the main event might just be a list of superlatives, because this is the rematch of one of the top 5 best fights ever, and for my money the most exciting match possible to make in MMA right now.

Main Card

Benson Henderson (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (154.5)
Josh Barnett (255) vs. Frank Mir (248)
Clay Guida (146) vs. Chad Mendes (145)
Ben Rothwell (262) vs. Brandon Vera (241)
Erik Koch (145) vs. Dustin Poirier (145.5)

Prelims

Gleison Tibau (155) vs. Jamie Varner (156)
Tim Elliott (125.5) vs. Louis Gaudinot (125)
Pascal Krauss (170) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (171)
Chico Camus (135) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (136)
Nikita Krylov (236) vs. Soa Palelei (265)
Ryan Couture (156) vs. Al Iaquinta (156)
Magnus Cedenblad (185) vs. Jared Hamman (185.5)

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC on FX: Belfort vs Rockhold results, gifs

A belated look at Saturday’s UFC, where Vitor Belfort endeared himself to everyone by courting controversy with his TRT use, getting a spectacular KO victory, and then threatening anyone who mentioned TRT at the post-fight presser.

Vitor Belfort def. Luke Rockhold via knockout (strikes) – Round 1, 2:32

I’ll be honest, I didn’t see this coming, and neither did Luke Rockhold apparently.

I thought Rockhold would be able to survive the traditional ‘Phenom’ first round assault, but I hadn’t anticipated such a dynamic kicking attack. Belfort didn’t give the lastStrikeforce middleweight champion any chance to get going at all.

To be fair to Rockhold, he has a hell of a chin. Almost anybody else would have been knocked out cold, but it took a few more coffin nails to finally put him away and even then, he wasn’t completely unconscious.

This win should set Belfort up for either a #1 contenders fight or a rematch with Anderson Silva. However, there are a couple of problems with that. First, Keith Kizer, head of the NSAC has stated that TRT use in the wake of a previous positive drug test will probably equal a serious road block for fighting in Vegas again. So Belfort is screwed there. Second, Anderson Silva is hardly one for giving rematches to opponent he iced in the first round.

Rockhold, on the other hand, will be back, and back into contention soon enough. He is young, with dynamic, well rounded skills, and a match on paper for most fighters at middleweight not named Anderson Silva.

Ronaldo Souza def. Chris Camozzi via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:37

This was the most thrilling fight of the night for me, and the chance to watch a true BJJ master at work.

Jacaré repeatedly passed through Camozzi’s guard like a hot knife through butter, and locked up the arm-triangle choke so tight that the tap came within seconds.

Caamozzi was a solid fighter on a good win streak, but his wins were against fighters that were far from the summit of the division, and he had never even attempted a takedown in his entire UFC run before this fight. That should have made it abundantly clear – if it wasn’t already – that Camozzi was going to want no part of the former Strikeforce champ’s ground game.

Jacaré is unrivalled on the mat at 185lbs, and I would love to see him take on the division’s elite now that he is in the UFC. Fights against Weidman, Boetch, Lombard, Philippou, Okami and Belfort are tantalising, to say the absolute least, and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Rafael dos Anjos def. Evan Dunham via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

This was a fairly controversial one, which is a shame because it was an entertaining, high quality back-and forth fight. Dunham probably should have got the nod, but hey ho, this fight will probably all be forgotten as soon as Dos Anjos loses a fight against a top-10 lightweight and Dunham starts picking up wins again.

Rafael Natal def. Joao Zeferino via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

A tepid way to start the maid card, though not entirely unexpected seeing as it was contested by two late replacements. This fight literally sent me to sleep.

Prelim results

The preliminary card was pretty great, more than compensating for the lacklustre main card curtain jerker. Here are clips of the pick of the bunch

Gleison Tibau finished an opponent (!) to get himself back on the winning track, and solidify his place on the UFC roster.

If it wasn’t for the main event, John Linkeker would probably have secured the KO of the night bonus for this fantastic TKO. It began with a right kick to the body, got serious with a devastating hook to the same spot, and finished with the formality of ground and pound.

The fight of the night was the frankly absurd war between Lucas Martins and Jeremy Larsen. Defence didn’t really seem to be a part of either man’s gameplan, as they blasted each other in the face for two rounds, with Larsen gaining the upper hand. Martins turned things around early in the third, dropping his opponent like a sack of spuds within seconds of the restart, and sending the crowd completely wild.

Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (28-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:08
Gleison Tibau def. John Cholish via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:34
Paulo Thiago def. Michel Prazeres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Yuri Alcantara def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:31
Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)
John Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:07
Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:13

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC on FX 8: Post-Fight Press Conference

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC on FX Belfort vs Rockhold weigh in results

All fighters made weight late yesterday for tonight’s UFC event in Brazil, and we even got a little scuffle between the two headliners so we can pose question as to whether they are in each other’s heads etc…

In an unusual turn, quite a few fighters had to strip all the way down to make the weight, including Luke Rockhold.

Everyone ended up hitting the mar eventually though, even John Cholish, who needed an extra hour to cut the extra 0.2lbs to make his lightweight bout with Gleison Tibau official.

Main Card

Vitor Belfort (186) vs. Luke Rockhold (186)
Chris Camozzi (186) vs. Ronaldo Souza (186)
Rafael dos Anjos (156) vs. Evan Dunham (156)
Rafael Natal (186) vs. Joao Zeferino (185)

Prelims

Hacran Dias (146) vs. Nik Lentz (146)
Mike Rio (156) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (154)
John Cholish (156) vs. Gleison Tibau (156)
Michel Prazeres (171) vs. Paulo Thiago (170)
Yuri Alcantara (136) vs. Iliarde Santos (134)
Roger Hollett (204) vs. Fabio Maldonado (205)
Azamat Gashimov (126) vs. John Lineker (126)
Chris Cariaso (126) vs. Jussier Formiga (126)
Jeremy Larsen (155) vs. Lucas Martins (153)

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold preview

It’s fight night once again tomorrow. Brazil, a high-level middleweight tilt, UFC on FX. It’s not the highest profile event in the world, and the calibre of some of the fights are a little lacking, but there should be plenty of entertainment in the offing from Jaraguá do Sul tomorrow.

Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold 

This should be pretty interesting. One of those old lion vs. young wolf type of fights, except in this case the old lion is coming off one of his best wins, and presents a very real and dynamic threat.

Putting aside all TRT issues and the like, I am intrigued by this fight, particularly because it’s five rounds.

Belfort’s forté is to blast out of the gate and smash his opponents, but if he can’t do that, and he gets dragged into a war of attrition, he gets into trouble. He’s got all the tools. Quick, powerful striking, and a submission game that’s good enough to trap anyone who is less than competent  However, once he starts getting a grinding put on him, he folds. He’s a frontrunner, plain and simple.

Rockhold, on the other hand, is a master of fighting effectively and conserving energy. he fights at the pace he needs to do damage, stay ahead and win, finishing his opponent when he has to. Just look at his title fights in Strikeforce. Against Jacaré and Tim Kennedy – dangerous, well rounded, durable opponents – he fought at a pace that took him through the full five, outworking his opponents and staying out of danger. When he was matched up against an inferior fighter, Keith Jardine, he smashed him in round one.

I can see Rockhold working his way to a decision, or maybe even getting a late stoppage.

Chris Camozzi vs. Ronaldo Souza 

Camozzi has stepped in to replace Costa Philippou. Both are good fighters, and have recently put together some good runs that have got them knocking on the contender’s door.

Jacaré has been making noise for a while like he could be just that little extra step above though. His near-unrivalled BJJ, and  ever-improving striking, backed up with explosive athleticism could be the solution for damn near all of the middleweight division. I expect a tough fight for Souza, but his other-worldly grappling is something that Camozzi will never have experienced before, and he should be tapping at some point of the three rounds.

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Evan Dunham 

once upon a time Evan Dunham was considered to be the next big thing at lightweight, but he has fallen off the radar a little. He got back on track earlier this year with a win over the world’s biggest lightweight, Gleison Tibau.

Dos Anjos has always been flying under the radar, but could be set to break out with a win here, coming off a three-fight win streak, culminating in an impressive decision over Mark Bocek.

I’m going to guess Dos Anjos is quick enough with his hands and kicks to get the best of the fight on the feet, and if the fight hits the ground it will be at the behest of the Brazilian. Dunham is tough so I don;t think he’ll be stopped, but he’ll do well to come out of this with his armed raised in my opinion.

Rafael Natal vs. Joao Zeferino

This fight is also happening, and it’s a queer fight for the main card. Natal is pretty hot and cold, and Zeferino is a UFC newcomer. If this is anything other than an unspectacular way to open the show with a narrow, decision victory for one of these fighters I’ll be shocked

Prelims

Hacran Dias vs. Nik Lentz
Mike Rio vs. Francisco Trinaldo
John Cholish vs. Gleison Tibau
Michel Prazeres vs. Paulo Thiago
Yuri Alcantara vs. Iliarde Santos
Roger Hollett vs. Fabio Maldonado
Azamat Gashimov vs. John Lineker
Chris Cariaso vs. Jussier Formiga
Jeremy Larsen vs. Lucas Martins

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter

UFC 156 Aldo vs Edgar results

So UFC 156 was almost as good as we could have expected, with a phenomenal main event, some upset action,  and some spectacular finishes.

First on the agenda has got to  be an enthralling main event between José Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Frankie Edgar got off to his traditional slow start, but this was pretty much entirely down to the brilliance of Aldo. He was just razor sharp for the first couple of rounds. Edgar had no answer for his straight punching and evasiveness. It was almost a pity to not see him mangle Edgar’s leg up a little more.

As the fight wore on Edgar came back into things a little bit, but for as much as Joe Rogan got on the Edgar comeback bandwagon I happen to think that Edgar only won the fourth round, and Aldo won the fight 49-46.

Oh yeah, and Aldo landed a flying superman punch off the cage. Wow.

Before the fight there had been some discussion about Aldo moving up in weight if he won. However, in the post-fight interview he shot down these proposals pretty quickly.

There are plenty of compelling matchups at 145lbs, but they were all put on the backburner when Dana White  revealed that Anthony Pettits had texted him asking for a fight with ALdo, and at 145lbs. Now that is hard to look past, even if it is a little bit harsh to deny Ricardo Lamas a well deserved title shot.

As for Edgar, Dana made it pretty clear that he won’t be moving back up to 155, so he should probably be able to rack up a few wins in the featherweight division and build his way back up to another shot at the title.

More after the jump, including some gifs of the some pretty tasty knockouts.

UFC 156: Aldo vs Edgar Preview

UFC 156 is going to take some beating. We could already be in store for the best card of the year tonight thanks to the high calibre of athletes involved, and the potential for excitement and violence.

UFC Featherweight Championship – Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar

I think I’ve rambled on about why this fight is so amazing enough now, but it is worth remembering that this is the first time the UFC have promoted a legit superfight between two fighters from the top of two different divisions.

What makes this so intriguing is that I have no idea who is going to win. Ever since I started following José Aldo in the WEC he has been the overwhelming favourite for every single one of his fights. Frankie Edgar should be by far the stiffest test he has ever faced.

I think the outcome of the fight will depend on one of two things, Aldo’s cardio and whether either man can hurt the other.

First of all if Aldo starts to slow down in the championship rounds he could be in some serious trouble, as Edgar will never stop.

Secondly, I think Aldo’s takedown defence is so outstanding that even Edgar won’t be able to take him to the mat often enough to score points. Both men have great striking and should be able to hit each other.

I would slightly lean towards Aldo, because Edgar is that little bit more hittable, and Aldo will look to exploit that particularly with leg-kicks from the outside.

I think Aldo should be able to keep a decent pace up for the full five rounds and that the judges will give him the nod after he causes damage early and Edgar falls just short of pulling off another dramatic comeback.

Light Heavyweight – Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

This is a good fight, but I can’t help but think that Evans would have been better off dropping in weight and fighting a top-10 middleweight in order to set up a fight with Anderson Silva.

No matter, he should win this fight comfortably anyway if he fights smart, and that fight could still be on the cards.

Nogueira’s boxing is excellent, but Rashad should be fast enough to get inside, land punches and get back out quickly to avoid damage. His chin is not the sturdiest so he needs to be careful.

He’ll also need to be careful on the ground because he is fighting a Nogueira after all. However, L’il Nog is not quite the threat off his back that his brother is though, and Evans is pretty handy at dumping guys on their back, sticking them there and keeping them under total control.

I predict a comfortable unanimous decision win for Rashad. He’ll be too fast and powerful for Nog. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess

Heavyweight – Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva

I have already previewed this fight, and explained why I am so excited to see it.

Basically, one man is going to get knocked out in unspeakably violent fashion.

Even though Overeem turned up to the weigh ins looking a bit softer than usual I think he should be the one that stays conscious. Bigfoot is too slow, and his lights are going to go out early. The Reem by 1st round KO

Welterweight – Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia 

Now this is an intriguing battle. The man with the best submissions in the UFC against the man with the best submission defence.

Here’s a crazy idea though, what if the fight stays on the feet and we’re forced to watch Fitch and Maia kickbox? Well, that’s probably the most likely outcome unless Maia really aggressively looks for the takedown.

I predict a Fitch win by UD after he boxes and dirty boxes against the cage for three rounds

Flyweight – Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall 

It’s funny to see these men fight for another shot at the flyweight title after they both lost to Demitrious Johnson so recently. However, because the 125lb division has not been developed too much yet, that is the position they find themselves in. It is worth remembering too that neither man was blown out of the water by the champ, and many people even thought McCall won their first fight.

I think it will be Benavidez that moves onward and upward by unanimous decision though. He does everything very well, and I don’t quite have the faith in McCall to be at his best. Failure to prepare for a fight properly has been his downfall in the past.

Prelims

There’s not as many eye-catching fights on tonight’s undercard as last week, though I am interested to see how Evan Dunham combats Gleison Tibau’s caveman slams, and whether Jay Hieron can stay on his feet long enough to give Tyron Woodley a boxing lesson

Lightweight – Evan Dunham vs. Gleison Tibau 
Welterweight – Jay Hieron vs. Tyron Woodley 
Lightweight – Bobby Green vs. Jacob Volkmann 
lightweight – Yves Edwards vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Bantamweight – Chico Camus vs. Dustin Kimura 
Bantamweight – Edwin Figueroa vs. Francisco Rivera 

Don’t forget to follow TRIANGLECHOKEMMA on facebook and twitter.