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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Five years ago today, two of the most drama-filled fights on the UFC's 2010 schedule took place, with Chris Leben pulling off a late third round submission over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Brock Lesnar making his return from diverticulitis, surviving a brutal first round assault from Shane Carwin, and scoring the submission in the second.
Let's go back five years and take a look at our live report from that night on those two fights in today's flashback!
EXCERPT FROM UFC 116 LIVE EVENT REPORT
CO-MAIN EVENT: CHRIS LEBEN VS. YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Leben doesn't think Akiyama has fought the caliber of fighters that he has. Akiyama said he will become a recognizable fighter in the UFC. He said it will be Fight of the Night, and he'll knock Leben out when the opportunity is there.
ROUND ONE: Akiyama took the center and tripped Leben early as he caught a kick. Leben scrambled right back up. Akiyama took the center again. Leben tried to press forward and he landed a leg kick. Leben popped in again and landed a punch. He landed another nice kick to the leg. Leben landed a hard counter punch and then a couple of leg kicks. Akiyama landed a kick low and Leben took some time to recover. They restart and Akiyama lands a nice two punch counter as Leben comes in. Akiyama tried a spinning back fist. He got a nice judo toss to bring the fight to the ground. Leben nearly got an armbar locked in but Akiyama fought out. Leben again went for the armbar. Akiyama again pulled out of it and rolled for an armbar of his own. Akiyama has his legs around Leben's head and gets the mounted triangle again. He let go of that position and went for the arm again but Leben escaped and got back to half guard. Akiyama set up for an arm triangle but Leben got out. Leben got up to his feet and Akiyama clinched him to the cage. He separated with 15 seconds left. Leben landed a good left and another right, but Akiyama pressed forward and got Leben down with another trip as the round came to a close. Good first round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Akiyama. Leben landed a couple of good shots and had a couple of good armbar attempts, but Akiyama had some really good ground work and a couple of really good trips.
ROUND TWO: Leben slipped on a head kick attempt but Akiyama couldn't capitalize. They trade punches. Leben gets in with a good punch. Akiyama landed a great spinning back fist but Leben just takes it. Leben lands a nice superman punch. He clipped Akiyama with a left but Akiyama recovered. Akiyama got in with a right and then the left. He got another left. Leben landed a couple of lefts and hurt Akiyama. Akiyama hurt him. He landed some more shots to the chin and they're just throwing bombs. Leben drops him with a left. He gets back up and lands some more punches. This is insanity. Akiyama got another throw and got into his guard. That was a crazy exchange. Leben got his back on the cage and tried to walk up, but Akiyama landed a couple of punches and kept him down. Akiyama landed a bunch of rights as Leben got back to his feet. Akiyama clinched him on the cage. Akiyama drops for a double leg and Leben grabs for a front choke. He grabs the guillotine but Akiyama gets out and steps away. They go back to the center and Akiyama tags him with a right. Akiyama lands a right and Leben lands the left. They exchange punches again, with Leben getting the better of it. Akiyama grabs him again and Leben throws a bunch of lefts on the cage as the round ends. Awesome, awesome stuff.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Leben. He got the better of the exchanges overall in a crazy round. This third round is going to decide it, I think, but Akiyama could have taken that round with the takedown.
ROUND THREE: They show respect to start the third. Akyiyama landed a left. Leben landed a good body kick. He came in with a combo. Leben is looking fresh here compared to Akiyama. Akiyama catches a kick and drops him with a right into his guard. Leben started throwing punches from the bottom as Leben grabbed control of his head. Leben went for the armbar again but Akiyama defended well. Akiyama almost tapped but he got out and got to side control. Leben landed some heel kicks to the thigh but Akiyama got to the mount. The crowd started booing for some reason. Leben threw some punches from the bottom and he got it back to half guard. They exchanged punches on the ground and Leben got it back to guard. He started throwing more punches from his back. Akiyama threw punches back from the top. Akiyama got a nice left. Leben is staying very active on his back here. They traded more shots as the fight was winding down. Leben's throwing a ton and gets a triangle on with 30 seconds left. Akiyama taps with 24 seconds left! Unbelievable victory for Chris Leben. Wow, that was an incredible finish and an amazing fight from Chris Leben on two week's notice.
WINNER: Leben via submission (triangle choke) at 4:40 of the third round
POST FIGHT: Leben called out Wanderlei Silva and said he wanted that fight next. He said it doesn't matter if it's on the feet or on the ground, he gets the job done. Akiyama said he appreciated Leben taking the fight and thanked him. He spoke in English. He said he was surprised at Leben's ground game.
STAR RATING: (****) That is another "Fight of the Year" contender. That was just an incredible back and forth fight that had a huge brawl, and a shocking finish by Leben. He may have lost that last round had it gone to the scorecards, but he pulled out the submission in shocking fashion. That was just an amazing fight.
MAIN EVENT: BROCK LESNAR VS. SHANE CARWIN (UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
PRE FIGHT: There's no more to say, it's fight time!
ROUND ONE: Lesnar takes the center and slowly circles. Carwin gets in with a left jab early. Lesnar pops in with the jab and clipped Carwin with a big right and tried to get the takedown. Carwin fought it off and got to his feet, landing a knee as they separated. Carwin rocked Brock and pushed him back to the cage. Lesnar tried to get away but Carwin stayed on him. Lesnar pushed him off after eating a ton of punches. Lesnar is surviving, but Lesnar is in a bad spot here. Brock is trying to cover up and Carwin drops down with some more big punches. Lesnar gets it to half guard and has recovered. Lesnar landed a right from the bottom. Carwin postured up and dropped down with a couple of big elbows. He lands a big pucnh and Brock covers up. Carwin is still landing shots and Lesnar pushes him off and he's cut over the left eye. Carwin drops back into his half guard. The right eye is cut open now as well. Lesnar landed a couple of punches and Brock tried to scramble. He got a body lock and got Carwin to the cage. Carwin landed a knee to the body. Lesnar landed one of his own. He pushed Carwin's back on the cage. And we're getting to the second somehow. Wow. Well, we know Lesnar can take a punch.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Carwin. That was a crazy round. Lesnar took a ton of shots in that round, but Carwin may have punched himself out.
ROUND TWO: Lesnar is definitely tentative here. He landed a big right and Carwin countered. Lesnar shot in and got the takedown into half guard. Lesnar landed a couple of hammerfists and a short forearm. He threw some punches to the body and tried to set up for an arm triangle. He sets it up and moves to side control and has the arm triangle. Shane is holding this off, though. Lesnar tightens it up and forces Carwin to tap. That was incredible!
WINNER: Lesnar via submission (arm triangle) at 2:19 of the second round
POST FIGHT: Lesnar said this isn't about him tonight. He said it's about his family, his doctors, his training partners, his training staff. He said he is blessed. He said he stands before the fans as a humble Champion, and he's still the toughest s.o.b. around. He said he just needed to weather the storm. He said each shot was less dramatic than the other. Carwin was then interviewed, he said Brock was a tough son of a bitch and took those shots like no one else.
STAR RATING: (****) That lived up to the hype in every way.
[Brock Lesnar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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