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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief -Cue the Gladiator opening, it's time for UFC 102.
-Mike Goldberg opens the broadcast talking about Nogueira and Couture fighting father time here tonight. Joe Rogan comes in and runs down the credentials of both fighters in the main event. They move on to the Jardine-Silva fight after giving text voting info for who will win the main event. Goldberg mentions Couture's time spent here in the Portland area before running down the rest of the card.
FIGHT ONE: KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI VS. BRANDON VERA (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Soszynski comes forward and lands a couple of early shots. Vera returns with a hard body kick that backs Krzysztof off. He sticks to the outside a bit and Vera takes the center. Vera pushes him back again with a quick combo. Hard leg kick from Vera. Krzysztof popped in for a punch and ate a couple from Vera that seemed to have an effect. Vera lands another inside leg kick. Straight kick from Vera to the leg. Soszynski comes forward and Vera barely misses an uppercut. Soszynski clinches and presses Vera against the cage. Soszynski throws some knees to the thighs and tries to do a little dirty boxing. Vera spins him around and they separate. Vera lands a good inside leg kick. Soszynski comes forward with a couple of body punches. Vera knocks him back with a punch. Soszynski comes in and lands another couple punches. Vera with a leg kick and then a high kick that gets blocked. Soszynski comes in again and Vera clinches to push Soszynski to the cage. He lands a knee to the body. He lands another good one to the gut. The crowd grows restless as they're on the cage. Soszynski tries to grab a Thai clinch and Vera pushes away. Vera with a couple more leg kicks. Soszynski swings wildly but doesn't land. Soszynski shoots in for a takedown but gets stuffed. Vera adds some elbows on the cage just before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Vera. He was calm and landed the leg kicks nicely while avoiding much of what Soszynski was throwing at him.
ROUND TWO: Vera comes out to the center and they trade punches. Vera gets in with an overhand left and then a right to the body. Soszynski gets in a jab. Vera lands another leg kick as Soszynski comes in. They clinch with Vera's back on the cage. The crowd starts to boo. Vera grabs a Thai clinch and lands a knee as they separate. Vera then grabs him and press him against the cage. He lands a couple of knees to the leg. The crowd starts booing again right before they separate. Vera lands a good right hook. He pops in with an uppercut that lands as well. He shakes off a half-hearted shot from Soszynski and tags him with another couple shots. Vera loses his mouthpiece and they halt the action. Vera throws a high kick that gets blocked. Vera ducks under a punch and Soszynski grabs for a double leg against the cage. Vera tries to grab for a guillotine but Soszynski pops out. Soszynski lands a punch and Vera responds. Soszynski grabs a Thai plum again but Vera tags him with an uppercut as Soszynski grabs a double leg. Krzysztof finally drags him down and Vera tries to walk back up the cage. He gets back up to his feet and lands a couple of knees to Soszynski while pressing him on the cage. He ends again with a couple of elbows on the cage.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Vera. Closer than the first but Vera is tagging and moving nicely here. Kind of a boring fight thus far though.
ROUND THREE: Soszynski again comes forward. He lands a couple shots and Vera comes back with one of his own. Vera pushes forward with a spinning back elbow and a couple of punches. He lands a leg kick. Soszynski tags him with a couple shots and gets his back on the cage again. Sosyznski shoots for a double and Vera grabs for a kimura. He pulls on it to get Soszynski off of him. He ducks under a punch and lands one of his own. Soszynski grabs the Thai clinch again and pushes Vera to the cage. They jockey for position on the cage and Vera starts throwing knees to the legs of Soszynski. Vera then gets a takedown. Vera takes Sosyznski's back but Soszynski walks him up the cage. Vera lands a couple of knees and one apparently goes low. Soszynski is given time to recover and they start back in the center with two minutes left. Vera tags him with two quick punches. Soszynski gets a leg kick. He goes for the Thai clinch again but eats a couple of uppercuts. They separate again. Vera lands a good combination with a minute left. Good right hook lands from Vera. Vera lands a body kick and a couple of straight kicks. Soszynski pushes forward but Vera avoids. He lands a leg kick and they trade punches as the round ends and the crowd boos the fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Vera. He was just a class above Soszynski here. Landed his shots and avoided most of what Soszynski threw at him all three rounds.
WINNER: Vera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Vera said he tried to stay in southpaw most of the fight to mess with him. Tells the crowd he wished he could have knocked him out but Krzysztof's a tough dude. He says now he'll go back to the gym and get back as soon as Joe Silva and Dana White tell him to go.
STAR RATING: (*+) It was not much more than a glorified sparring session. Vera looked a step above Krzysztof at every turn but it wasn't an exciting fight by any means.
RAMIFICATIONS: Vera's not going to be tossed into the deep end of the light heavyweight division after that, but he takes a step back up with a win. Soszynski simply couldn't get anything done in that fight against a better fighter, but he'll be back. He's a good mid-level fighter but Vera's skills were just a level ahead of him.
-They show a preview video on next month's UFC 103 card from Dallas.
FIGHT TWO: NATE MARQUARDT VS. DEMIAN MAIA (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Maia throws a couple kicks early. Maia jumps forward for a kick and Marquardt knocks him out with a huge right hand. Oh. My. God. That just happened. Unbelievable. He literally spun him around. That was directly on the button. Sick.
WINNER: Marquardt via KO at :21 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Marquardt said he's just really happy right now and thanks the fans. He said he wants the belt, he said if you want someone that can get in there and kick Anderson Silva's butt you should pick him.
STAR RATING: (***) Though it was extremely short, that was an insane knockout in an important fight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Marquardt should be right in the mix with Henderson now. That was an incredible punch and a more than convincing win. Maia just isn't as versed in the stand up game, but the fight wasn't long enough to say anything decisively on where he stands. He's still an unbelievable ground fighter.
FIGHT THREE: CHRIS LEBEN VS. JAKE ROSHOLT (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Rosholt takes the center and Leben walks around the outside. Rosholt throws an inside leg kick. A big "Leben" chant starts up for the Portland native. Rosholt lands another good leg kick after Leben misses a kick. Leben lands one of his own. He misses another kick. They trade kicks again. Leben with another kick. Rosholt lands a good right hand on Leben. He pushes in with a flying knee and Leben takes him down. Leben pushes him up against the cage in his guard. Rosholt tries to control Leben's body and he opens up a cut on Leben from the bottom. Rosholt pushed Leben off and gets back to his feet. Leben lands an outside kick again. Inside kick next. Inside leg kick lands from Rosholt. Rosholt lands a jab and grabs a hold of Leben. He pushes in and takes Leben down, getting almost immediately to mount. Leben got out and tried to get to his feet. Rosholt landed a couple of shots on Leben as Chris worked his way back up. Leben pushed forward with a couple of big left hooks. He chases Rosholt down with a couple of wild shots as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Rosholt. He looked good there in that first round. He hit Leben with a couple of hard shots and neutralized the takedown from Leben with one of his own.
ROUND TWO: Rosholt lands a good left hand but then he gets dropped by one from Leben. Leben gets into Rosholt's half guard. Leben throws a bunch of body punches. Rosholt tries to get back to guard and does. Leben keeps throwing body punches and a couple of shots to the head as well. Leben lands a good left. Leben keeps himself busy as Rosholt tries to control his posture. Leben keeps throwing punches until the ref stands them up. Leben lands a good leg kick and Rosholt responds with one in kind. Leben pushed forward with a high kick and a big left hand to Rosholt on the cage. He gives Rosholt a few footstomps on the cage. Rosholt pushes him off with an elbow. Rosholt pushes in and takes Leben down. Leben holds onto half guard. Rosholt stands and Leben lands an up kick. Rosholt drops back into the half guard. He postures up and lands a few shots. He backs off and Leben gets back to his feet. They exchange shots at the end of the round with Leben getting in a couple of hard shots.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Leben. He did more damage that round and it's going to come down to this third round.
ROUND THREE: Leben takes the center and lands a kick. He throws another one but Rosholt takes him down. Rosholt moves to mount after trying for an arm triangle. Leben gets out of the mount. Rosholt tries to get take his back. Leben gets out of that but Rosholt isolates an arm and pops out with the arm triangle. Leben tried to tap but Lavigne didn't stop it and Leben went out cold. He started twitching on the ground after that.
WINNER: Rosholt via submission (arm triangle) at 1:30
POST FIGHT: Rosholt said he finally got it done in the Octagon. He said he wished he could get the last one back.
STAR RATING: (**+) Great finish by Rosholt. He looked much better than his last two outings and has improved a lot. Disappointing performance from Leben who just looked like he never found his rhythm.
RAMIFICATIONS: Rosholt makes the statement in the middleweight division he wanted to make in his debut. Better late than never. Much more impressive fight than we've seen from him. Leben drops down quite a few rungs in the ladder with a shaky return from suspension.
PRELIM FIGHT A: TODD DUFFEE VS. TIM HAGUE (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Duffee drops Hague off the bat with a jab and then ground and pounds him out with a big left and that's it. Wow. Duffee went to the camera and said that was just an appetizer before asking Dana White to let him eat.
WINNER: Duffee via KO in :07 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: That's the fastest knockout in UFC history. He said hello world. He said "I though it was six, though."
STAR RATING: (**+) Fastest KO in UFC history gets this one bumped up, but there just wasn't anything else to it. Great jab and huge left hand shot on the ground and it took less time than this does to type.
FIGHT FOUR: KEITH JARDINE VS. THIAGO SILVA (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Jardine smiles and gives the nipple tweak before they start. He comes straight forward and pushes Silva back. He lands a hard leg kick. Silva pops in with a good jab. Jardine pushes him back again with a flurry. Silva catches a body kick and puts Jardine on his back. Silva tries to grab a choke but Jardine pushes him off and gets back to his feet. Jardine comes in with a flurry and Silva knocks him down with a left hook. He throws a few more shots to the downed Jardine and Jardine goes out. Huge win for Silva.
WINNER: Silva via KO at 1:35 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Silva said he's very happy and tonight was his night. He came to prove his worth and he did it. He said the fight was very important for him, because the UFC is his life.
STAR RATING: (***-) Good back and forth to start, and Jardine looked game before Silva caught him with that left hook.
RAMIFICATIONS: Silva is going to be right in the mix in the light heavyweight division with that big victory. It was one of the two ways I saw this fight going down, but Silva's a great fighter.
PRELIM FIGHT B: ED HERMAN VS. AARON SIMPSON (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Herman comes out and they trade shots. Simpson lands a good right and Herman gets a punch in. Herman lands a good left and Simpson lands a right hand. They trade shots again and Herman lands a kick. Simpson with a nice right hand and then gets a takedown. Herman gets back to his feet and Simpson tags him with multiple shots. He picks him up at the cage and slams him down. Simpson steps back and lands some kicks. Herman tried to throw a kick high from the bottom. Simpson throws kicks to the legs as Herman's on his back. Simpson tries to slam down with a couple of punches as Herman tries to throw the up kicks. Herman lands a couple of the up kicks and hurts him. Simpson recovers but Herman gets back to his feet. Simpson lands a knee that sends Herman back. Simpson comes forward with a good combo. Simpson drops him with a big shot and starts trying to ground and pound. Herman recovers but he's eating a ton of shots. Simpson backed off and Herman worked back to his feet. Herman lands a good left. Simpson lands a big right hand and gets a takedown. Simpson lands some more shots in Herman's guard. He backs off and Herman works to his feet before the round ends. Herman's knee is hurt as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Simpson. Brutal assault from Simpson and Herman just survived. Herman's hurting here at the end of the round.
ROUND TWO: Herman comes out hobbling a bit. He throws a kick and collapses. Simpson threw a couple of punches but Herman's knee popped out when he landed on it. That was bad. Very nasty looking.
WINNER: Simpson via TKO (injury) at :17 of the second round.
POST FIGHT: Simpson said he was in a war out there. He gave it up to Herman. He said he wanted to put on a show. He said "thanks for the boos, I guess." Simpson said he just wants to fight and he's ready for whoever they put in front of him.
STAR RATING: (**+) Great first round for Simpson but a disappointing finish with the injury.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: RANDY COUTURE VS. ANTONIO RODRIGO MINOTAURO NOGUEIRA
ROUND ONE: They showed Brock Lesnar in the crowd before the fight started. Couture lands a quick combo off the bat. Nogueira tried to clinch and Couture got loose. Couture gets in with a quick combo. Nogueira lands a good right hand. Couture lands a good left and then a combo. Nogueira tried to pull guard but Randy backed off. Couture missed a punch and Nogueira clinched. Nogueira threw a couple of punches in the clinch. After they separate, Couture comes in with another good right and they clinch again. Quick separation this time. Couture stalks Nogueira against the fence. Nogueira caught him with a good shot and then jumps on him. He goes for the D'Arce choke as Couture tries to recover. Couture gets out of it and hops to his feet as the crowd roars. That was close. Nogueira lands a body kick as they're back standing. Couture lands a quick combo. Couture lands another good right hand and a quick straight right. Nogueira gets a combo himself. Couture tags him with two hard shots and they trade shots again. Randy with a few more and Nogueira's bleeding. Randy with two jabs and some good right hands and they're trading shots. Randy grabs his neck and lands three successive shots to the face and then pushes him against the cage. Couture with some dirty boxing on the cage and then the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Couture. Unbelievable start to the fight. The energy level is awesome, and with a near submission and some great stand up, Couture steals it with more damage overall. Awesome round.
ROUND TWO: Randy comes in cautiously and gets a good jab in. He then gets a good leg kick. Nogueira tags Couture with a shot and has him shaky. Couture shoots in. Nogueira tries to grab a standing guillotine but Randy slips out sending Nogueira to the mat. Couture drops down into his guard. Couture tries to posture up and throw some elbows. He throws a shoulder and then Nogueira sweeps him and gets right into the mount. This is a bad spot for Randy. Randy gets him to the half guard. Nogueira goes for the arm triangle and Couture tries to hold him off. Nogueira tries to throw some punches to get Couture to stop defending. Nogueira keeps throwing shots and Randy gets his head out but Nogueira's in the mount. Couture finally scrambles and gets back to his feet. Couture gets a good flurry in. Nogueira comes in and COuture lands a big left hook. Nogueira lands a good knee to the body. He lands a good leg kick. They trade punches again as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Nogueira. Another great round there, but Nogueira had great position on the ground and again nearly finished it. He likely took the first round on a lot of scorecards so Couture's going to need to finish this one. Awesome fight thus far.
ROUND THREE: Couture throws a leg kick. He pops in with a quick flurry. He lands another hard shot and Nogueira tags him. Nogueira knocks him down with a right and starts ground and pounding. Couture somehow recovers. Nogueira starts throwing more shots and tries to move to side control. Nogueira keeps throwing punches as Couture tries to get out of the position. Nogueira tries to move to mount but he's right up against the cage. Randy tries to scramble but Nogueira stays on him. Randy gives up his back and Nogueira tries to lock in the hooks. Coutures tries to pull him forward to try to get up. Nogueira continues to go for the submission and Couture pops through and gets on top. Nogueira holds on with a minute left. He tries to power up and throw some shots. He lands a good elbow but this will be too little too late unless he can knock him out. Another elbow lands. He lands another good elbow, and another. Nogueira sweeps him once more as the round ends and mounts him to seal it. Great fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Nogueira. Great performance from Nogueira in this one. Again had dominating position and nearly had Randy knocked out, but Randy was able to survive.
WINNER: Nogueira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
POST FIGHT:The crowd boos because Couture lost but Nogueira does not deserve that. Absolutely great performance from Nogueira but Couture was still in it the whole way and showed amazing resilience there after nearly being finished about three times. Nogueira says it's beautiful to fight in "Portuland." He calls Couture one of his idols. He says he had a lot of issues going into the Mir fight, but now he wants the Title belt. Couture said he was disappointed to lose, but said he loves the sport, you never know what's going to happen. Couture said interesting fights keep him going, and said Nogueira was a tough fight. He said he'll let the dust settle and see what the UFC wants to do, but he feels great and wants to fight.
STAR RATING: (****-) Very exciting main event fight between two legends. The first two rounds were great, and the third again had Couture in trouble trying to recover. Nogueira looked great tonight.
RAMIFICATIONS: The Nogueira that fought tonight would not have lost the way he did to Frank Mir last December. He's right in the mix at the top of that division with that win. Couture can have some great fights at heavyweight or at light heavyweight, so regardless of what he decides to do as long as he comes back to fight it will be enjoyable.
PRELIM FIGHT C: EVAN DUNHAM VS. MARCUS AURELIO
ROUND ONE: Dunham comes out with a quick combo. Aurelio lands a good right as Dunham comes in. They exchange shots. Dunham lands a good two punch combo. He backs out and comes back again with a good two shots. They trade shots once again. Dunham again gets a right hand in. Dunham presses forward again. He lands a big left. Dunham drops Aurelio with a punch and tries to pounce with some ground and pound. He lands a ton of punches but Aurelio recovers. Aurelio tries to pull him down in his guard and Dunham steps up and lets him back up. Dunham lands a couple of combos. Dunham again lands a good combo. Aurelio lands a right punch to the face. Dunham connects with another two punch combo. They trade shots as the round closes.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dunham. He pushed the action throughout, landed more shots and got a knockdown. Clear cut round for Dunham.
ROUND TWO: Aurelio lands an early punch. Dunham gets one in and then Aurelio tries for a takedown but gets stuffed. He again attempts a takedown but gets stuffed. Dunham pushes him back again and then stuffs another takedown. Dunham lands a combo again. Aurelio finally got Dunham to the ground and caught his arm against the cage in half guard. Dunham gets his arm free but Aurelio throws some good shots from the top. Dunham sprawls and gets back to his feet. Dunham pops in again with a combo. Aurelio lands a punch and then lands a loud right hand. He presses forward and pokes Dunham in the eye. Quick delay and they restart. Aurelio lands a punch and then they stand and trade shots again. Aurelio shoots in for a double leg but Dunham holds him off. Dunham again with the combinations landing. Aurelio tries to press in and Dunham tagged him with some good right hands to the temple. Aurelio ducks under a punch and shoots in but Dunham holds it off. Aurelio stays on him against the cage. Dunham breaks free again. He pushes forward with a leg kick and then lands a combination. Dunham lands a leg kick, and Aurelio lands one of his own. They trade shots to close the round yet again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dunham. Despite the takedown and short moment of ground and pound, that round was Dunham's. Aurelio's not able to get much done here.
ROUND THREE: Aurelio lands a good punch and shoots in and gets the takedown this time. He tries to throws some punches from Dunham's guard. Aurelio pops up and throws a couple of shots. He passes to half guard. He gets to the north-south position but Dunham pops to his feet. Aurelio grabs a standing guillotine and then goes for a D'Arce choke. Dunham rolls out and gets back to his feet. Dunham lands an inside leg kick. Aurelio shot in for the takedown again and dragged Dunham down to the ground. Dunham pushed him off and got back to his feet again. Dunham then got Aurelio down but popped back up. They trade shots again. Dunham lands a few punches. They're both really tired as they swing at each other here. Aurelio shoots in again. Dunham pushes him away and lands a good punch. He throws a high kick that gets blocked. They finish the third like they did the first two, trading shots.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Aurelio. Two takedowns and a near submission gave him the round there, but it won't be enough.
WINNER: Dunham via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**+) Good fight, but not anything special. I don't know what's up with the 30-27 score, as it looked clear the third was Aurelio's.
-Rogan and Goldberg discuss Marquardt's win from earlier in the night after showing that Jake Rosholt won the "Submission of the Night." They wrapped up the night talking about Nogueira's victory over Couture.
UNAIRED PRELIM RESULTS:
-Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision
-Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision
-Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO at 4:27 of the first round
Thanks for joining us here tonight for our live coverage, that's another event in the books! Check back throughout tomorrow and the rest of the week for fallout from this event and more as we move on to a busy third week of September with two live UFC events and the debut of the tenth season of the Ultimate Fighter.
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