* Francisco Rivera def. Alex Soto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Johnny Eduardo def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
* Rafael dos Anjos def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear naked choke) at :40 of the first round
* T.J. Grant def. Carlo Prater via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
* Cody McKenzie def. Marcus LeVesseur via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:05 of the first round
* Brad Tavares def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
======UFC ON FUEL TV: KOREAN ZOMBIE VS. POIRIER PLAY BY PLAY======
FIGHT ONE: JASON MACDONALD VS. TOM LAWLOR
- MacDonald is seven years older, three inches taller, and has a whopping six inch reach advantage. His sleeves can’t touch Lawlor’s mutton chops, though.
ROUND ONE: Todd McGovern is the referee for this fight. MacDonald shoots a double, but nothing comes of it. After they separate, Lawlor celebrates his 29th birthday with a left to the chin and a right to the ear to get the quick knockout. It was more dramatic than it reads…
WINNER: Tom Lawlor by knockout at 0:50 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) My write up pretty much covered everything. Moving on.
FIGHT TWO: IGOR POKRAJAC VS. FABIO MALDANADO
- Maldanado has an inch of height and reach on Pokrajac, who is a year older than Maldanado.
- Igor vs. Fabio sounds much more bad-ass than Pokrajac vs. Maldanado. Plus, it’s easier to type…
ROUND ONE: Big Dan is the third man in the cage. Maldanado misses a looping left and gets taken down quickly. Pokrajac is in a loose half-guard, looking to get to side control. Pokrajac takes his back during a scramble, which he uses to get mount. Maldanado’s right arm is trapped, but Pokrajac isn’t able to throw a single strike, and Maldanado gets out of the mount to half-guard. Pokrajac has been on top for 2 minutes and not thrown even one strike. OK, there’s a punch, missed. Pokrajac is in half-guard looking for a Salaverry. He eventually gives up that attempt. Maldanado escaped, dumped Pokrajac on his back, and stands over him until Big Dan separates them. Pokrajac stalking Maldanado down, but Maldanado unloads a dozen or so punches that stun Pokrajac. Pokrajac gets a plum clinch, but Maldanado starts working the body while being clinched. Pokrajac lets go of Maldanado’s head briefly, grabs it again, and lands a nice knee. 10-9 Maldanado Interesting round. Fun once Maldanado got back to his feet.
ROUND TWO: Pokrajac working the leg kicks early, mainly checked by Maldanado. Pokrajac’s left hand found a home on Maldanado’s chin. Nice combination, which he follows up with a single leg that presses Maldanado into the fence. Maldanado is landing short strikes while Pokrajac is relentlessly working for the high single leg takedown. Maldanado avoided the takedown, but still has his back against the fence. Both guys are trying to work the body from the clinch position. Pokrajac is going back to the Thai clinch, and just missed a big knee. Maldanado spins off the cage, and is throwing head body combinations to great effect. Pokrajac has controlled position for most of the fight, but Maldanado is landing more, and harder, shots. 90 seconds left. Maldanado has Pokrajac against the fence, and lands a nice three punch combo, body head body. And another similar combo as Pokrajac gets off the fence. Pokrajac grabs a quick Thai clinch and lands a knee. Spinning back fist from Pokrajac. It landed, but wasn’t very hard. Another Thai clinch, and more body shots by Maldanado. The body shots are wearing out Pokrajac here, who gives up an easy takedown to end the round. 10-9 Maldanado, 20-18 Maldanado Pokrajac is dog tired.
ROUND THREE: Maldanado pushes Pokrajac into the cage, gets Thai clinched and kneed, but lands a couple of punches to the body of Pokrajac. Maldanado is landing body shots at will up against the cage. Standing knee by Pokrajac. This is really sloppy, and devolving as both guys suck wind. Pokrajac gets Maldanado against the fence, and lands a strong jumping knee. That drew a small pop from the Virginia fans. 45 seconds later Big Dan separates them. Maldanado comes out aggressive, landing a nice combination. Pokrajac responds by landing a really hard left hook. That staggered Maldanado briefly. 2:30 left, and Pokrajac has Maldanado pressed into the cage. Maldanado lands 4 quick shots to the body. Pokrajac lost his mouthpiece, and Maldanado picked it up as Big Dan briefly stopped the clock. Fight restarted in the middle of the cage with 2:00 left. Leg kick by Pokrajac. Left hook by Maldanado. Maldanado is coming forward more than Pokrajac, but not mush has happened since the restart. Pokrajac just landed a really heavy straight left. Both guys are swinging hard now, and the crowd is cheering the efforts. No more pretense of defense, just swinging for the fences now. The fight ends in a clinch against the cage. 10-9 Pokrajac. 29-28 Maldanado Sloppy fun.
WINNER: Igor Pokraja by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**) Nothing special or memorable, but there are worse ways to kill 20 minutes, ya dig? I don’t see how Pokrajac gets a 30-27. I understand how a bad judge could give him the first round since he was on top (and threw exactly 2 punches in 3 minutes) for half of the first round, and I even gave Pokrajac the third, but that was a crappy decision overall.
FIGHT THREE: YVES JABOUIN VS. JEFF HOUGLAND
- Hougland is a year older, and an inch taller. Both fighters possess a 68” reach. GSP is in the corner of Jabouin.
ROUND ONE: The referee is Todd McGovern. Jabouin lands a leg kick, followed a few seconds later by a nice left hand. Jabouin offering up a lot of feints, which help set up a nice spinning back kick which made Hougland recoi into the cage. Jabouin is dancing laterally, Hougland is straight in and out. 2 minutes in. Body kick by Hougland, to little effect. Lead head kick by Jabouin was blocked, but still made a loud thud. Lots of circling, not much action. Another left high kick by Jabouin, blocked again, more slapping than thudding this time. Thrusting side kick from Jabouin caught Hougland in the gut and made him bounce off of the fence. Another spinning back kick by Jabouin to the liver knocked Hougland down after retreating a solid 15 feet. Jabouin pounces, but is unable to finish. Jabouin backs away and throws kicks to Hougland’s legs. Axe kick to the ribs from Jabouin. Jabouin dives in, gets mount, but can’t do much with it as the horn sounds. 10-9 Jabouin Surprising non-finish there. Hougland’s too slow to stay on the feet with Jabouin.
ROUND TWO: McGovern got in the path of Jabouin after the big kick, and it cost Jabouin a second or two of pouncing time. That may have saved Hougland. Hougland shoots from distance, barely gets Jabouin down, but he pops back up after less than a second. He needs to do whatever he can to get the fight down, but shooting from six feet out is a good way to get unconscious. Spinning back fist from Hougland, but it didn’t land solid. Big body kick by Jabouin. Hougland’s doing a slightly better job of circling, but he’s still flat footed, leaving him vulnerable. Hougland ducks under an overhand right, but fails to get the takedown. Straight left by Jabouin catches Hougland as Hougland was coming in to try something. Jabouin is working the body again, this time with a right kick. Hougland’s movement is improved in this round, but he’s still eating leg and body kicks. 10-9 Jabouin. 20-18 Jabouin Better round for Hougland, but he didn’t win the round. I fully expect Hougland to win a decision.
ROUND THREE: Left hook from Jabouin followed by a straight right knocks Hougland down early. Jabouin pounces and gets warned harshly by the referee to watch the back of the head. After hesitating a few seconds, Jabouin attacks. Jabouin is pounding away, waiting for McGovern to stop the fight. Jabouin has landed a couple dozen strikes on the mat. Jabouin takes his back, but Hougland sweeps and gets on top. What a mistake by Jabouin. Back to standing. Hougland not letting go of Jabouin, pursuing the takedown. He gets it, but lands on his back. Jabouin is in full guard now. Still 3:15 left in the fight. Jabouin gets his right leg out, and now he’s got the mount. Hougland immediately gets back to full guard, well done by Hougland. Jabouin has Hougland’s head pressed against the cage. Hougland looked for an arm, but Jabouin saw it coming and escaped any danger. Side control, with Hougland stacked up against the fence. Hougland is taking a lot of punishment, but is in no danger of the fight being stopped right now. Full guard, Hougland still stacked up. Now to half guard. Gutty performance by Jeff Hougland. McGovern stands them up with 45 seconds left.Jabouin misses a spinning back kick, but as Hougland backs straight away into the fence Jabouin hits him with a jumoping knee which floors Hougland. As Hougland scrambles back to his feet, he eats a head kick that sends him back down. That landed with the foot, or else the fight would be over. Jabouin jumps into guard and lands fierce elbows until the fight ends. 10-8 Jabouin. 30-26 Jabouin That was a slaughter, but credit to Hougland for being tough.
WINNER: Yves Jabouin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**+) One sided ass beatings can be fun when they’re delivered as spectacularly as Jabouin delivers them.
FIGHT FOUR: DONALD CERRONE VS. JEREMY STEPHENS
- Cerrone is three inches taller, with a two inch reach advantage. But he did ome out to Kid Rock. I mean, I get the Cowboy thing, but there are a billion songs about Cowboys, Donald!
ROUND ONE: Mario Yamasaki is the ref, so watch the back of the head, Erick Silva. Several leg kicks from both guys in the first 45 seconds as they feel each other out. This has been an extended feeling out process. Not any combinations of note, lots of circling and missed punches. A lot of one off kicks landing by each fighter. Cerrone with a shot from the outside, to no avail. Cerrone lands a head kick, but didn’t land with any force. Cerrone’s staying on the outside, and is doing a good job of controlling the pace. Still not a lot of note, but Cerrone is starting to throw more often than Stephens now. Stephens caught something to the left eye, and he’s pawing at it a little. Stephens slipped on a head kick, but Cerrone backed away. Stephens is bleeding from the left eye now. Cerrone’s getting comfortable, jogging around and dropping his hands. Charging lef kick by Cerrone. Cerrone has his hands all the way down, and kands a flying knee at the horn. 10-9 Cerrone Cerrone found his range, Stephens didn’t.
ROUND TWO: low push kick by Stephens. Cerrone follows up with three kicks, leg, head, and body. This is Cerrone’s style of fight now. Stephens charges in to brawl, but Cerrone manages to evade and stay outside. Cerrone just threw a duck down back elbow. He’s very comfortable, and Stephens is lost now. Cerrone just hurt Stephens with a three punch combo, finished with an uppercut. Stephens shoots, but Cerrone stuffed it. 2 minutes into the round now. Body punch from the outside by Cerrone lands flush. When Liddell tried that on Rampage, he got KTFO for his efforts. Cerrone stalking Stephens, Landing whatever he wants. He’s being patient and methodical, not looking to finish until the time is right. Cerrone’s openly taunting Stephens now, but Stephens is too slow to do anything about. Leg kick by Cerrone almost dropped Stephens. Another punch-kick combo from Cerrone. Stephens charges in, Cerrone picks him up and lands a double. Full guard in the middle of the cage. Cerrone is stacking him up as the round ends. 10-9 Cerrone. 20-18 Cerrone
ROUND THREE: When Cerrone was on top at the end, Stephens landed an elbow to the top of Cerrone’s head, which opened a couple of small cuts. Stephens’ face is a bloody mess though, so Cerrone will take that deal. Third round starts with a kick to the groin from Cerrone. Stephens is down, and down hard. Stephens stayed down from 2-3 minutes, which is an eternity in tough-guy-time. 4:45 left. Nice punches and kick combo from Cerrone. This is a recording. Stephens is starting to hang his head, and looks to be broken. Nice step-in knee by Cerrone to Stephens’ body. Another charging leg kick by Cerrone drops Stephens. Cerrone backs up and lets Stephens stands. He’s landed a few of those now. Stephens is swinging for the fences, but isn’t landing. Another big leg kick, need I bother to identify who threw it? Everytime Stephens throws, Cerrone is ten feet away before the punch is fully thrown. Two nice body kicks, one from the left and one from the right. Stephens looks as lost and confused as I’ve ever seen a fighter. Another solid inside leg kick by Cowboy.. Stephens won’t be walking comfortably for a week. Stephens tries a flying knee, but Cerrone duckedunder and Stephens almost flew right over Cerrone’s head. 10-9 Cerrone, 30-27 Cerrone This was a thrashing.
WINNER: Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: Cerrone’s never looked better. He may have finished Siver, but Stephens is a much more dangerous lightweight than Siver was back when he was at 155. Cerrone toyed with him almost as badly as Nate Diaz toyed with Cerrone five months ago. This wasn’t as one-sided as that fight was, but they were similar fights.
FIGHT FIVE: AMIR SADOLLAH VS. JORGE LOPEZ
- Sadollah is eight years older than Lopez, and has three inches of reach. I bet you thought Amir was still a ‘prospect’ didn’t you? Nope. He’s a veteran.
ROUND ONE: Keith Peterson is the referee for the co-main event. Hard leg kick by Lopez. Amir has missed on a couple of straight kicks. Double jab by Lopez, body then head. Lopez is working the jab lg-kick combo so far, to good effect. Lopez grabs Amir, pushes him into the cage with double underhooks. Amir is throwing knees to the legs, but Lopez lands a big knee to the body of Amir. Lopez throws Amir off and we’re back to the middle. Nice jab by Lopez, he’s finding a home for that and for his outside leg kicks. And another. Sadollah kicks, but Lopez uses it as a chance to grab a high single and push Amir into the cage. Still working a single. He gets the takedown, and lands in full guard with about 90 seconds left. Amir scoots back to the cage, and Lopez jumps into half guard while Amir scoots back. Lopez trying to get a kimura, but doesn’t have any leverage and Sadollah gets back to standing. Sadollah has Lopez’ back against the cage now. Lopez can’t be happy with that choice. The round ends with Sadollah looking for knees against the fence. 10-9 Lopez
ROUND TWO: Body kick by Lopez, who follows up by grabbing Amir and pressing to the fence. He’s dropping low in effort to get the single leg takedown. Sadollah’s landing a few short strikes. Lopez gives up the single and has over under now. The crowd is starting to boo this one. Sadollah escapes. Nice right hand by Amir. And now a hard body kick by Amir. Lopez ducks under a jab and presses Amir back into the cage. Lopez drops for a single leg, but his neck is vulnerable. Sadollah just read this report and grabbed a guillotine. It’s tight, but Lopez twists out, and has Amir’s back. Amir stands, and Lopez is half on Amir’s back still. Amir spins, and is working for a single leg against the cage. Lopez escapes, but eats a knee to the gut. Back to the middle with 90 seconds left. Amir lands a couple of kicks up the middle. Head kick by Sadollah. Lopez is slowing down. Body shot by Amir. Amir’s pressing forward now. A couple of leg kicks. Amir with another, but gets taken down. That was kind of ugly. Lopez is in guard. Sadollah’s trying to use the cage to get to his feet as the round ends. 10-9 Sadollah. 19-19
ROUND THREE: Lopez working the clinch against the cage. Lopez drops for a single, but Sadollah’s done a good job all night of stuffing the single leg against the cage. He’s going for another standing guillotine, but he gave it up. Sadollah reverses and goes for his own single, but Lopez grabs an arm and uses a kimura sweep to get Amir into the cage. They separate, and back to standing. Oh, and this fight really sucks, but you knew that before the first round started, right? Guess what? Lopez has Sadollah pressed into the cage and stuck his neck out too far. Guillotine attempt, nope. Takedown? Yep. Lopez in guard, eating elbows to the top of the head. Lopez threw a big knee… from guard. Creative? Sure, why not. Lopez did nothing, and Peterson stood them up. Lopez took his sweet time to get up. Lopez stuffing Amir back into the fence again. Working a single again. Crowd booing again. Sadollah almost got his back, but Lopez got back to that same damn position. Fight is over. Mercifully. 10-9 Lopez. 29-28 Lopez
WINNER: Amir Sadollah by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (*) I hated every last second of this fight. It was so slow moving, that if you watch it in fast forward, you’ll still think they’re moving slowly. Also, sometimes I just don’t understand judges.
FIGHT SIX: CHAN SUNG JUNG VS. DUSTIN POIRIER
- Poirier is two inches taller, and has an inch of reach on Mister Zombie. The referee for this fight is Big Dan. Yay muscles!
ROUND ONE: Nice left right away by Poirier. Zombie catches a body kick and lands on top. Poirier sweeps and works a single against the cage. Zombie with short elbows to Poirier’s cranium. Zombie back to his feet, but Poirier is still working the single. Body shot by Poirier. And another. Big standing elbow by Poirier. Knee to the body from Poirier. Poirier tries to disengage, but Zombie gets a powerful takedown right into side control. Poirier defends well and scrambles into full guard, parallel to the cage now. Nice elbows by Zombie. Postures up, and drops a big elbow. Poirier’s guard is open, but Zombie’s not trying to pass. Zombie stands and eats an upkick. Don’t know if it hurt him or not, but Poirier immediately swept and got on top, and is in full guard. Zombie’s seated against the cage, looking bored. Poirier looking to move to back control, but Zombie defends as the rednecks start a USA chant. Morans (look it up). Zombie’s on his feet, but Poirier has a body lock.Big elbow, punch, and knee by Poirier as they disengagte. Zombie with a wild punch, Poirier ducks under and shoots, but Zombie stuffs it as the horn blows. 10-9 Poirier That was fun.
ROUND TWO: Zombie comes out firing with a leg kick. Poirier throws one of his own, but Zombie catches it and takes him down. Big shots from the top by Zombie. Zombie backs off and dives into guard, narrowly missing a fight ending upkick attempt. Zombie has Poirier stacked up against the cage. Parallel to the fence now. Big Dan telling htem to work. Poirier’s trying to control Zombie’s head. Huge left hook by zombie. That hurt Poirier. Zombie backs off, and Back to standing with 3:15 left in the 2nd. Poirier misses with a left corss. Spinnign back fist by Zombie, missed. This is nuts. Zombie with a flying knee into a muay thai clinch. He’s unloading. Uppercuts. Two knees . Poirier shoots and gets a takedown, but Zombie rolls through and gets full mount. It’s a high mount. This is awesome! Crowd chanting for Zombie now. Poirier has his arms wrapped around Zombie’s body. He won’t escape that way. Zombie’s starting to land a few shots. Zombie gives up mount for and armbar. Poirier gets out, but winds up having to fight off a triangle. This is wicked awesome. Zombie has a triangle and armbar, and elbows to the head. He’s got the arm! Poirier rolls out and gets on top in side control. Unreal action there! Zombie gets Poirier back to full guard with 45 seconds left. That was great stuff. Triangle from Zombie now! It’s tight! And the horn sounds. Poirier was dead in the water there, saved by the bell! WOW!! 10-9 Zombie. 19-19 Best round since Daley Diaz last year.
ROUND THREE: Poirier looked pissed off as he got off the stool. Touch of gloves to start the third round. Of five. Yay five rounders! Straight kick to the face by Zombie. Poirier finds his range, but Zombie is more than willing to brawl with him, so Poirier pulls out. Poirier is pressing forward, but isn’t landing with much accuracy. Nice jab from Poirier. Nice hook as well. Poirier’s getting sloppy, but he’s getting through a little more now. Zombie has done nothing this round. Straight punches from Poirier are getting through now. Poirier comes forward. Body lock by Zombie, takedown, right into side control. Poirier sweeps and gets back up. 2:30 left. These guys are slowing down after that epic 2nd round. Zombie’s hands are dropping. Big knee by Zombie to the body. Follows up by pressing Poirier to the cage and lands a few punches there. Standing elbow from Poirier as they separate. Zombie’s hands are at his waist, and he eats a jab. Poirier has no lateral movement, and Zombie’s gassing. Soopid five rounders! Zombie pressing forward, landing wild hooks and a big knee at the end. Poirier engages with a wild left, and Zombie counters with one of his own. Straight left by Poirier lands flush. Zombie’s left eye is swelling badly. Poirier’s straight punches are landing consistently. The round ends with both guys winging wild hooks. 10-9 Zombie. 29-28 Zombie
ROUND FOUR: Head kick from Zombie to start the round. Straight left to the body by Poirier. He needs to follow up with a right or a kick when that lands. Zombie with a standing knee to the ribs. Right uppercut left hook by Zombie, and Poirier is hurt. Poirier is against the cage reeling, and eats a flying knee from the Zombie. Poirier is down. Poirier is turtled, and Zombie has north south. Transitions to a D’Arce, and POIRIER IS UNCONSCIOUS! FIGHT OF THE YEAR, FOLKS!
WINNER: Chan Sung Jung by submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:07 of the fourth round.
STAR RATING: (****+) This fight had everything. It was the best fight I have seen since Shogun-Henderson, and might wind on my short list of best fights of all time. Heat of the moment is strong, so I’ll let that simmer for a few weeks, but son of a bitch that was an awesome fight.
Also, I think Poirier was unconscious, but it was announced as a submission, not a technical submission. I didn’t see no tap.
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