MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was on scene and reporting live from today's official UFC 119 fighter weigh-ins, where all 22 event competitors made weight without issue for their respective contests.
Today's festivities took place at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse, the same venue that hosts Saturday's pay-per-view event.
Heavyweight contenders Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (227 pounds) and Frank Mir (252 pounds) led the cast of 22 UFC fighters to the scale.
Both main-event fighters looked in peak form as they hit the scale, though neither was willing to engage in much pre-fight banter after making the contest official.
"I feel good," Filipovic told event emcee Joe Rogan. "I'm very excited to be here."
Mir was also respectful in his brief comments to Rogan.
"I still think Mirko is a very dangerous opponent," Mir said. "I'm not taking him lightly by any means."
Hometown fighter and fan favorite Chris Lytle received one of the most vocal receptions of the afternoon, while lightweight sluggers Melvin Guillard and Jeremy Stephens engages in the the most tense staredown of the day. Guillard stormed off the scale and into Stephens' face for a nose-to-nose staredown, though "Li'l Heathen" hardly batted an eye in a brief preview of what many believe may prove to be UFC 119's "Fight of the Night."
The full weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (227) vs. Frank Mir (252)
Ryan Bader (205) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (205)
Chris Lytle (171) vs. Matt Serra (170)
Evan Dunham (156) vs. Sean Sherk (155)
Melvin Guillard (155) vs. Jeremy Stephens (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Joe Doerksen (186)
Joey Beltran (239) vs. Matt Mitrione (253)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Pat Audinwood (156) vs. Thiago Tavares (155)
Steve Lopez (156) vs. Waylon Lowe (154)
T.J. Grant (170) vs. Julio Paulino (170)
Mark Hunt (265) vs. Sean McCorkle (263)
Stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com for a full photo gallery of all the event's competitors.
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Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Mir comes full circle in quest to stay on top
Frank Mir went through a great deal of experimentation over the past year, trying to figure out exactly who he is in the fighting game.
The journey resulted in Mir coming full circle and trying to be the “old Frank Mir” as he headlines UFC 119 on Saturday night in the promotion’s debut in Indianapolis. Mir will face Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (28-7-2, one no-contest), a 36-year-old mixed martial arts legend who has also struggled the past few years trying to regain what he once had.
The fight is a test for Mir (13-5), who has held both the UFC heavyweight title and interim title and needs a solid victory to remain relevant in the deep heavyweight division.
The journey resulted in Mir coming full circle and trying to be the “old Frank Mir” as he headlines UFC 119 on Saturday night in the promotion’s debut in Indianapolis. Mir will face Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (28-7-2, one no-contest), a 36-year-old mixed martial arts legend who has also struggled the past few years trying to regain what he once had.
The fight is a test for Mir (13-5), who has held both the UFC heavyweight title and interim title and needs a solid victory to remain relevant in the deep heavyweight division.
Filipovic was on a vacation when called in mid-August to replace an injured Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The two are entirely different fighters – Nogueira a ground specialist and Filipovic a converted kickboxer whose lengthy résumé includes 45 amateur boxing matches and 23 professional kickboxing matches.
“Obviously, it was a drastic change as far as opponents, right-handled to left handed,” said Mir. “A guy whose a decent boxer to a guy who has, truly knockout power, a ground fighter versus somebody who doesn’t want to get to the ground. So, I had to change a lot of things. But the enthusiasm beind the change actually helped motivate me.”
“Obviously, it was a drastic change as far as opponents, right-handled to left handed,” said Mir. “A guy whose a decent boxer to a guy who has, truly knockout power, a ground fighter versus somebody who doesn’t want to get to the ground. So, I had to change a lot of things. But the enthusiasm beind the change actually helped motivate me.”
The fight had a minor scare in recent days. Filipovic was poked in the eye last week in his final days of training, leading to discoloration. He was medically cleared in Croatia, sent X-rays to UFC in Las Vegas immediately, and the company doctors said there was no structural damage that would keep him from fighting. Still, as a precautionary measure, company officials had him undergo a variety of tests on Monday when he arrived in Indianapolis. They found nothing that would threaten the fight.
In the past 14 months, Mir first had to overcome a mentally difficult loss to his biggest rival, Brock Lesnar, in what could be argued was the biggest fight in company history. The results of that July 2009 fight shook the very foundation of everything Mir believed about the sport – which is that superior technique beats strength and size.
As it turned out, all his ground technique as one of the best submission heavyweights in the game couldn’t overcome or even threaten Lesnar’s superior wrestling and power edge when the fight was on the ground.
To combat that, Mir went on a size binge. Seeing Lesnar and Shane Carwin (twin powerhouses who both had to cut to make 265 pounds) as the top guys in the division, he went on a heavy routine of powerlifting training and protein shakes in a quest to get up to their size. He got up to about 270, which brought up the obvious questions of what that kind of a weight gain in a short period of time would do to his cardio and speed.
Those questions weren’t answered in the fight that followed, in which he knocked down and choked out Cheick Kongo in just 1:12 in December.
But adding size from there got even more difficult.
When undergoing a physical while shopping for life insurance, Mir found that his cholesterol levels were high; after reading up on the subject, he felt the best way to improve his health was to eliminate all animal fat from his diet. But simultaneously trying to be a 280-pound powerhouse athlete and a vegetarian isn’t easy.
“It was horrible,” he said. “I would drink so many protein drinks that I was sick of them. Right before I’d go to sleep, I’d have to drink one and it would make me sick, and then I’d look and see I still had half the drink left to go.”
Mir’s theory was that even if he couldn’t match them in strength or overpower them, he’d be strong enough to negate their strength – and he’d still have his superior technique, both standing and on the ground.
But that didn’t work either, as he was knocked out by Carwin in the first round in Newark, N.J., in a March 27 fight to determine who would get Lesnar next.
“It was horrible,” he said. “I would drink so many protein drinks that I was sick of them. Right before I’d go to sleep, I’d have to drink one and it would make me sick, and then I’d look and see I still had half the drink left to go.”
Mir’s theory was that even if he couldn’t match them in strength or overpower them, he’d be strong enough to negate their strength – and he’d still have his superior technique, both standing and on the ground.
But that didn’t work either, as he was knocked out by Carwin in the first round in Newark, N.J., in a March 27 fight to determine who would get Lesnar next.
While getting knocked out from short range by a barrage of punches in the clinch didn’t necessarily show that trying to be as big as Carwin and Lesnar did him in, he said he had already realized from his training that it wasn’t the answer.
“I was still explosive in going straight forward, but I didn’t have the side-to-side movement and the quickness on the ground,” he said. “I couldn’t do in practice what I used to do.”
He likened it to being a matador instead of a bull stylistically: He was a matador, but at that size he no longer had the speed and movement to move out of the way of the bull.
So Mir took a 180-degree turn and embarked on a move to light heavyweight. While he gave up on that a few months ago, he said he still thinks he could have made it.
“I went down to 228 pounds without any dehydration,” he said.
But when it was time for another fight, he felt he wasn’t within striking distance of 205, so it had to be at heavyweight.
“If I had two more months, I think I could have made it,” he said.
The heavyweight division now looks to have a big four of Lesnar, Carwin, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, with Mir perhaps being the top of the next tier and needing a few wins to get back in contention. But he does have the advantage of being a recognizable name and probably the division’s second-biggest drawing card. If he were to beat Cro Cop and Lesnar were to lose to Velasquez on Oct. 23, a third Lesnar-Mir match would be a strong possibility – which gets him right back in the big hunt.
Mir said he’s not worried about weight going into this fight, saying that whatever weight he winds up at is fine, figuring right now it’ll be between 245 and 250 pounds. Ironically, that’s right where his best conditioned weight was before he tried to reinvent himself. He’s going in as a 5-to-2 favorite and will likely enter with a 10-to-20-pound weight edge.
The fight has stylistic intrigue. Filipovic is an experienced striker whose quiet charisma made him the biggest foreign star during the heyday of Japanese MMA and a national hero in his native Croatia – to the point he was elected to the nation’s parliament.
But while known as the sport’s master of the left high kick, it’s been four years since Filipovic last finished someone with it.
“His strengths are still there,” Mir said. “He still punches and kicks as hard as ever.”
Filipovic doesn’t show the quickness of his youth. Still, a standing fight would play to Filipovic’s strengths. While not thought of as more than a striker, Filipovic has powerful shoulders. In clinches, he usually gets good positioning that makes him difficult to be taken down from a bodylock position.
Mir would figure to have a strong edge on the ground, and he’s worked hard on his wrestling in fight preparation. Fighters with much stronger wrestling credentials have had difficulty getting Filipovic to the ground.
If the fight stays standing, Mir said the key would be to keep himself in boxing range (where he feels he can match Cro Cop) and avoid being farther away, in kickboxing range (where Filipovic can get his low and high kick game going).
And like always, Mir is highly confident in the end result.
“When the cage door shuts, I have every advantage,” he said.
Chael Sonnen plans to appeal failed UFC 117 drug test
Chael Sonnen will appeal a one-year suspension and $2,500 fine issued by the California State Athletic Commission for a failed drug test in the wake of his submission loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117. Mike Roberts, Sonnen's manager, today confirmed the news with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "There's not much else I can say at this point," Roberts said. Roberts did, however, refer MMAjunkie.com to a statement issued to MMAFighting.com that further detailed the Sonnen camp's initial response to the CSAC ruling, which was delivered this past Friday after the 33-year-old middleweight tested positive for abnormally elevated levels of testosterone. "It is our policy not to comment on pending actions by the athletic commission," Roberts stated. "Chael is consulting with his legal [advisers] and physicians and will have a statement in the near future. Chael will file an appeal with the CSAC and looks forward to working with the commission to resolve this matter."CSAC Executive Director George Dodd on Monday told MMAjunkie.com that Sonnen has 30 days from the day he received the notice to appeal his suspension and fine. Should he choose not to contest the ruling, he will be suspended until Sept. 2, 2011, and will face a $2,500 fine. According to Dodd, Sonnen was flagged first on Sept. 2 after an initial test revealed the presence of a performance-enhancer. A second, more-rigorous test conducted at the UCLA's Olympic Analytical Laboratory confirmed the results. The laboratory is used by the U.S. Olympic Committee and is the world's largest World Anti-Doping Agency-certified facility. Sonnen can have his appeal heard as early as Dec. 2, when the CSAC holds its next meeting in Sacramento, Calif. Dodd stressed that time is of the essence should a planned rematch between Sonnen and Silva take place next year during Super Bowl weekend. "We always say you want to make [the appeal] at the next commission meeting (from the notice)," Dodd said. "The next [meeting] after that probably won't be until the following year, and from what I understand, he has a rematch with Anderson Silva possibly in February. He'll probably be maintaining the suspension unless he gets on the agenda next time." Sonnen delivered a nearly note-perfect performance at UFC 117 and dominated Silva for four-plus rounds before falling prey to a Hail Mary triangle choke from the champion in the final moments of the fifth and final round. After much speculation as to both fighters' next move, Sonnen was earmarked for a rematch in early 2011. The fighter has yet to break his silence since news of the suspension broke.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Koscheck embraces villainous role
After his last visit, it appeared the last place where Josh Koscheck would look forward to returning was Montreal. But in what is easily the biggest fight of his career, and one of 2010’s most important bouts, Koscheck will face Georges St. Pierre on Dec. 11 on the welterweight champion’s home turf at the Bell Centre.
Josh Koscheck's last fight in Montreal didn't exactly endear him to the crowd.AP
“I think that match being done in Montreal is good,” said Koscheck, whose response sounded like a mix of business sense and outright sarcasm. “Me and Montreal have a great relationship. They really love me there. And I can’t wait to go back and shock them all and put Georges on his ass and come out of there with a new belt.”
Josh Koscheck's last fight in Montreal didn't exactly endear him to the crowd.AP
“I think that match being done in Montreal is good,” said Koscheck, whose response sounded like a mix of business sense and outright sarcasm. “Me and Montreal have a great relationship. They really love me there. And I can’t wait to go back and shock them all and put Georges on his ass and come out of there with a new belt.”
That contradicts what Koscheck had said months earlier when he talked about not wanting the fight in St. Pierre’s backyard, and hoping for the fight to be in Pittsburgh, not far from Waynesburg, Pa., where he grew up. UFC president Dana White confirmed that Pittsburgh was a strong possibility. But the combination of St. Pierre’s popularity throughout Canada and UFC’s prior success in Montreal made the Bell Centre the obvious choice.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
TUF Season 12 Review:
The Ultimate Fighter is back, and this season UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and number one contender Josh Koscheck will lead a cast of lightweight hopefuls through the six week competition en route to the live finale in December.
CAUTION: SPOILERS INCLUDED – 28 lightweight fighters have made their way to Las Vegas to compete for one UFC contract, and to help lead them to that goal on the 12th season of the Spike TV reality series “The Ultimate Fighter” are none other than UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and number one contender Josh Koscheck, who have their own meeting to think about at season’s end.As UFC President Dana White opens the season by introducing the coaches to the 28 hopefuls, he reveals that the Wild Card will be brought back for TUF12. Last season, Kris McCray used that Wild Card opportunity to make it to the finals. It remains to be seen what this season’s recipient will do with a second chance in the competition.“There’s no secret what we’re looking for,” said White. “We want to see guys go after it, we want to see that killer instinct, guys who want to be fighters. And more than that, I want to see guys who want to be world champions.”The next day, the fights – and the eliminations – begin.Marc Stevens, who wrestled for Koscheck at the University of Buffalo, kicks things off against TJ “The Spider” O’Brien of Iowa and makes an immediate impression as he drops O’Brien with a right hand and finishes him off with a barrage of ground strikes just seconds into the bout.Another New Yorker, Watertown’s Spencer Paige, takes on Torrance, California’s Steve Magdaleno, and both fighters show sharp standup attacks early on and also battle it out on the mat in an action-packed first round. They pick up where they left off in round two, but Paige begins tagging Magdaleno more and more, forcing the Californian to take the bout to the mat, but it was Paige who finished up stronger with his ground strikes, earning a unanimous decision victory.California veteran Nam Phan is up next, and he will tackle another vet in former WEC fighter Mike Budnik. Budnik is able to get the fight to the mat a few times in the opening round, but Phan attacks well off his back and returns to his feet. Late the round though, a body shot drops Budnik, and Phan finishes him off with strikes, earning himself a spot in the house.New Jersey’s Andrew Main is next lightweight to advance, as he comes from behind to defeat Jason Brenton via armbar / triangle submission.WEC veteran Jonathan Brookins also moved into the house with a unanimous decision win over Ran Weathers, and also joining him were Sako Chivitchian, who decisioned Toby Grear, and Jeffrey Lentz, who submitted Daniel Head via rear naked choke.Next up is an all-Florida battle, with unbeaten Paul Barrow of Tampa taking on Miami’s Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres, who enters the Octagon in the iconic Bruce Lee “Game of Death” track suit. And though he smiles before and during the bout, he’s all business, and after some competitive action early on, he submits Barrow via rear naked choke in the first round.Michael Johnson is the next to advance, as he used his ground and pound attack to defeat Pablo Garza via unanimous decision. And the UK’s Aaron Wilkinson also moved on with a unanimous nod over Michael Richman.Experienced H.I.T. Squad battler Kyle Watson sent Joseph Duffy out of the competition via rear naked choke submission, and Sevak Magakian did the same to JJ Ambrose, surviving a kimura attempt to win a unanimous decision.Egypt native Amir Khillah took on Spokane’s Cody McKenzie in the next elimination bout, and it was McKenzie making short work of his foe as he put Khillah to sleep via his signature guillotine choke.In the final bout of the opening round, Dane Sayers came flying out of his corner at the bell against Ariel Sexton, and though he missed his initial attack and took some huge shots, he roared back, almost pulled off a guillotine choke, and then finished things off via rear naked choke in the second round in a stirring finish to the first volley of fights.After episode one, the following fighters have earned a spot in the Ultimate Fighter house for this season:
Marc Stevens
Spencer Paige
Nam Phan
Andrew Main
Jonathan Brookins
Sako Chivitchian
Jeffrey Lentz
Alex Caceres
Michael Johnson
Aaron Wilkinson
Kyle Watson
Sevak Magakian
Cody McKenzie
Dane Sayers
Next week, the teams get picked…
UFC Fight Night 22 Results:
Kingsbury Outlasts Hamman in Light Heavy WarAUSTIN, September 15 – If you want an example of leaving it all in the Octagon, look no further than the light heavyweight bout between Kyle Kingsbury and Jared Hamman at the Frank Erwin Center, as both fighters went for broke in a punishing 15 minute battle won by Kingsbury via unanimous decision on the preliminary portion of Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night card
“I knew he had great wind and a good chin,” said Kingsbury. “There were a few times I rocked him, but he kept coming.”
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Kingsbury, who held off a late surge from Hamman to improve to 9-2 with 1 NC. Hamman falls to 12-3.
After a brief takedown by Kingsbury to kick off the bout, the two fighters stood and let the leather fly, with each taking some solid shots. Soon after, Kingsbury pinned Hamman against the fence for a spell, and when they broke, it was the former Arizona State football player landing with more hard blows, forcing Hamman – who was now bleeding from above the left eye to seek a brief break on the mat. After getting back up, Kingsbury scored with another takedown, but got back up almost immediately, tagging Hamman and then tying him up, a strategy that kept the El Segundo product off balance. Hamman did score with some good shots just before the bell though, bloodying his foe’s nose in the process.
Kingsbury continued to score well in the second, with his straighter shots hitting the mark more often than Hamman’s looping punches. As the round progressed, Hamman was getting rocked regularly and the cut was beginning to visibly bother him. “The Messenger” kept firing back though, knowing that one punch could change the course of the fight, but Kingsbury wasn’t having it, and with less than two minutes left, he took his foe down twice, adding more points to his tally. But with a minute remaining, a slip to the mat by Kingsbury allowed Hamman to put together a late rally and let his opponent know that he wasn’t done yet.
Rejuvenated by his late second round surge, Hamman came out blasting, momentarily silencing the pro-Kingsbury contingent. Kingsbury rejoined the fray, knocking Hamman’s mouthpiece loose. Fatigue was rapidly starting to become a factor, and each punch thrown had the potential to end the fight. Wisely, Kingsbury put some points on the board with a takedown, but Hamman got up quickly and began teeing off again, ending the bout with a flurry that had the crowd on its feet for both combatants.
“The victory doesn't put me anywhere in the division, just gives me another fight in the UFC,” said Kingsbury. “I hope the fans continue to enjoy my fights.”Veteran Yves Edwards returned to the Octagon for the first time since 2006 and in front of his hometown fans in Austin, he delivered a strong performance as he won a three round unanimous decision over John Gunderson.Scores were 30-27 across the board for Edwards, whose last UFC appearance was in a loss to Joe Stevenson at UFC 61 in 2006.
His last UFC win came in 2004 as he knocked out Josh Thomson at UFC 49. Since the Stevenson bout, Edwards has posted an 8-5 record that includes tonight’s win.Edwards came out of his corner with an evident intensity as he fought in his adopted hometown, and he landed effectively with his strikes in the early going and fought off a Gunderson takedown attempt. Gunderson didn’t stop working as Edwards tried to take his back, and he locked up his foe’s arm in response. Eventually Edwards broke free and began working his own offensive attack, ending up in the mount position. With the time in the round winding down, Gunderson gave up his back, but Edwards didn’t have enough ticks on the clock to finish.Striking out of a southpaw stance, Edwards’ striking was still sharp in the second round, leading Gunderson to seek a takedown. Edwards sprawled out of trouble, landed a couple shots on the inside, and got back to landing a variety of punches and kicks on his foe until the bell ended the round.With Gunderson still unable to get on track in the third round, Edwards took advantage, now delivering the hurt with ground strikes. Gunderson, never stopped as a pro, showed resilience under the attack in order to keep that streak intact, but it was clear that there would be no miracle comeback either, as Edwards sealed the victory.
With the win, Edwards improves to 39-16-1; Gunderson falls to 23-8.It wasn’t pretty, but New York middleweight David Branch got his first UFC win, outpointing Poland’s Tomasz Drwal over three rounds.The unanimous verdict read 30-27 across the board for Branch, who improves to 7-1; Drwal falls to 17-4.Branch controlled the majority of the first round on the mat, not particularly thrilling the crowd, but doing enough with his ground strikes to keep Drwal from mounting any consistent offense.
There was little change in rounds two and three when it came to action – or the lack thereof – with Drwal unable to land anything of consequence while standing and Branch unable to do anything with dominant positions on the mat or against the cage, leading to a bout that was painful to watch, with the fans unable to hide their displeasure during or after the contest.“I burned out a lot of energy working ground and pound to work in a submission,” said Branch. “I wanted to finish. I apologize to the fans.”The Ultimate Fighter 11’s Rich Attonito made it two in a row in the Octagon as he spoiled the UFC debut of Rafael Natal with a workmanlike three round unanimous decision win.Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Attonito, who ups his record to 9-3; Natal falls to 12-3.Natal’s height and reach advantage, along with a busy and varied striking attack, gave Attonito fits for the first half of the opening round, but a right hand by “The Raging Bull” evened things up as he dropped the Brazilian to the mat. A follow-up flurry of punches bloodied Natal, but didn’t finish him, and “Sapo” was able to make it back to his feet. After clearing his head, Natal got back to business, taking Attonito down in the final minute.The busy striking of Natal started the second round off strong for him, and after a couple failed attempts, he was able to take Attonito back to the mat. And when it was clear that his best chance of controlling his foe was while standing, he got back to his feet and did that for the remainder of the second stanza.Showing more urgency, Attonito came out fast for the final round, only to get a thudding kick to the side for his trouble. He kept pressing though, refusing to let Natal get him to the canvas. Instead, it was Attonito taking control with ground strikes on the mat, and this late comeback proved to be the deciding factor in the bout for the American Top Team product.UFC newcomers TJ Waldburger and David Mitchell put on an exciting three round groundfighting clinic in their welterweight bout, but when it was over, it was Belton, Texas’ Waldburger who issued Mitchell his first pro loss via unanimous decision.“I just kept pushing it,” said Waldburger.
“It is just three five minute rounds. Don't hold anything back.”Scores were 30-27 across the board for Waldburger, who improves to 13-5; Mitchell falls to 11-1.The bout went to the mat almost immediately, with Waldburger and Mitchell both searching for submissions. After those early attempts failed, the two continued to battle, with Waldburger firing off ground strikes between an armbar attempt and an eventual, but brief, return to the feet. Once on the ground again, Mitchell and Waldburger traded submission attempts again, thrilling the crowd in their attempt to finish the night early, but it was Waldburger who finished the round stronger thanks to some thudding shots to the head.There was no let up to the fast pace in round two, with strikes and slick ground work alternating throughout. With a little over two minutes gone, Mitchell looked for a guillotine choke, but Waldburger broke loose, got in the mount position, and almost caught his foe in an armbar. This time it was Mitchell’s turn to escape, and just as in the early stages of the first round, leg locks were the order of the day until a break and some late ground strikes from Waldburger.
Waldburger took control early in the final round, bloodying his foe and taking his back. A rear naked choke followed seconds later, but the game Mitchell fought his way free. But Waldburger was not going to let up, especially in front of his homestate fans, and he continued to pound away with strikes until taking Mitchell’s back again. This time Mitchell had an easier time getting free, but the punches kept coming. The Californian kept firing back from the bottom position, but there was little weight behind the punches, and with a late surge of energy from Waldburger, the 22-year old’s victory was sealed.Welterweight prospect Brian Foster got the night off to a quick start – literally – stopping Forrest Petz in just 67 seconds.Foster’s striking was sharp from the start, particularly his left jab. But it was an overhand right that spelled the beginning of the end for Petz, who was dropped hard to the mat. The Cleveland native tried to recover, but Foster’s relentless follow-up attack kept that from happening, forcing referee Herb Dean to call a halt to the bout at the 1:07 mark.“I tried to stay away from his power,” said Foster. “He has a habit of standing flat footed.... I hit him right on the button and he went down.”With the win, Foster improves to 16-5; Petz falls to 24-9.
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“I knew he had great wind and a good chin,” said Kingsbury. “There were a few times I rocked him, but he kept coming.”
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Kingsbury, who held off a late surge from Hamman to improve to 9-2 with 1 NC. Hamman falls to 12-3.
After a brief takedown by Kingsbury to kick off the bout, the two fighters stood and let the leather fly, with each taking some solid shots. Soon after, Kingsbury pinned Hamman against the fence for a spell, and when they broke, it was the former Arizona State football player landing with more hard blows, forcing Hamman – who was now bleeding from above the left eye to seek a brief break on the mat. After getting back up, Kingsbury scored with another takedown, but got back up almost immediately, tagging Hamman and then tying him up, a strategy that kept the El Segundo product off balance. Hamman did score with some good shots just before the bell though, bloodying his foe’s nose in the process.
Kingsbury continued to score well in the second, with his straighter shots hitting the mark more often than Hamman’s looping punches. As the round progressed, Hamman was getting rocked regularly and the cut was beginning to visibly bother him. “The Messenger” kept firing back though, knowing that one punch could change the course of the fight, but Kingsbury wasn’t having it, and with less than two minutes left, he took his foe down twice, adding more points to his tally. But with a minute remaining, a slip to the mat by Kingsbury allowed Hamman to put together a late rally and let his opponent know that he wasn’t done yet.
Rejuvenated by his late second round surge, Hamman came out blasting, momentarily silencing the pro-Kingsbury contingent. Kingsbury rejoined the fray, knocking Hamman’s mouthpiece loose. Fatigue was rapidly starting to become a factor, and each punch thrown had the potential to end the fight. Wisely, Kingsbury put some points on the board with a takedown, but Hamman got up quickly and began teeing off again, ending the bout with a flurry that had the crowd on its feet for both combatants.
“The victory doesn't put me anywhere in the division, just gives me another fight in the UFC,” said Kingsbury. “I hope the fans continue to enjoy my fights.”Veteran Yves Edwards returned to the Octagon for the first time since 2006 and in front of his hometown fans in Austin, he delivered a strong performance as he won a three round unanimous decision over John Gunderson.Scores were 30-27 across the board for Edwards, whose last UFC appearance was in a loss to Joe Stevenson at UFC 61 in 2006.
His last UFC win came in 2004 as he knocked out Josh Thomson at UFC 49. Since the Stevenson bout, Edwards has posted an 8-5 record that includes tonight’s win.Edwards came out of his corner with an evident intensity as he fought in his adopted hometown, and he landed effectively with his strikes in the early going and fought off a Gunderson takedown attempt. Gunderson didn’t stop working as Edwards tried to take his back, and he locked up his foe’s arm in response. Eventually Edwards broke free and began working his own offensive attack, ending up in the mount position. With the time in the round winding down, Gunderson gave up his back, but Edwards didn’t have enough ticks on the clock to finish.Striking out of a southpaw stance, Edwards’ striking was still sharp in the second round, leading Gunderson to seek a takedown. Edwards sprawled out of trouble, landed a couple shots on the inside, and got back to landing a variety of punches and kicks on his foe until the bell ended the round.With Gunderson still unable to get on track in the third round, Edwards took advantage, now delivering the hurt with ground strikes. Gunderson, never stopped as a pro, showed resilience under the attack in order to keep that streak intact, but it was clear that there would be no miracle comeback either, as Edwards sealed the victory.
With the win, Edwards improves to 39-16-1; Gunderson falls to 23-8.It wasn’t pretty, but New York middleweight David Branch got his first UFC win, outpointing Poland’s Tomasz Drwal over three rounds.The unanimous verdict read 30-27 across the board for Branch, who improves to 7-1; Drwal falls to 17-4.Branch controlled the majority of the first round on the mat, not particularly thrilling the crowd, but doing enough with his ground strikes to keep Drwal from mounting any consistent offense.
There was little change in rounds two and three when it came to action – or the lack thereof – with Drwal unable to land anything of consequence while standing and Branch unable to do anything with dominant positions on the mat or against the cage, leading to a bout that was painful to watch, with the fans unable to hide their displeasure during or after the contest.“I burned out a lot of energy working ground and pound to work in a submission,” said Branch. “I wanted to finish. I apologize to the fans.”The Ultimate Fighter 11’s Rich Attonito made it two in a row in the Octagon as he spoiled the UFC debut of Rafael Natal with a workmanlike three round unanimous decision win.Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Attonito, who ups his record to 9-3; Natal falls to 12-3.Natal’s height and reach advantage, along with a busy and varied striking attack, gave Attonito fits for the first half of the opening round, but a right hand by “The Raging Bull” evened things up as he dropped the Brazilian to the mat. A follow-up flurry of punches bloodied Natal, but didn’t finish him, and “Sapo” was able to make it back to his feet. After clearing his head, Natal got back to business, taking Attonito down in the final minute.The busy striking of Natal started the second round off strong for him, and after a couple failed attempts, he was able to take Attonito back to the mat. And when it was clear that his best chance of controlling his foe was while standing, he got back to his feet and did that for the remainder of the second stanza.Showing more urgency, Attonito came out fast for the final round, only to get a thudding kick to the side for his trouble. He kept pressing though, refusing to let Natal get him to the canvas. Instead, it was Attonito taking control with ground strikes on the mat, and this late comeback proved to be the deciding factor in the bout for the American Top Team product.UFC newcomers TJ Waldburger and David Mitchell put on an exciting three round groundfighting clinic in their welterweight bout, but when it was over, it was Belton, Texas’ Waldburger who issued Mitchell his first pro loss via unanimous decision.“I just kept pushing it,” said Waldburger.
“It is just three five minute rounds. Don't hold anything back.”Scores were 30-27 across the board for Waldburger, who improves to 13-5; Mitchell falls to 11-1.The bout went to the mat almost immediately, with Waldburger and Mitchell both searching for submissions. After those early attempts failed, the two continued to battle, with Waldburger firing off ground strikes between an armbar attempt and an eventual, but brief, return to the feet. Once on the ground again, Mitchell and Waldburger traded submission attempts again, thrilling the crowd in their attempt to finish the night early, but it was Waldburger who finished the round stronger thanks to some thudding shots to the head.There was no let up to the fast pace in round two, with strikes and slick ground work alternating throughout. With a little over two minutes gone, Mitchell looked for a guillotine choke, but Waldburger broke loose, got in the mount position, and almost caught his foe in an armbar. This time it was Mitchell’s turn to escape, and just as in the early stages of the first round, leg locks were the order of the day until a break and some late ground strikes from Waldburger.
Waldburger took control early in the final round, bloodying his foe and taking his back. A rear naked choke followed seconds later, but the game Mitchell fought his way free. But Waldburger was not going to let up, especially in front of his homestate fans, and he continued to pound away with strikes until taking Mitchell’s back again. This time Mitchell had an easier time getting free, but the punches kept coming. The Californian kept firing back from the bottom position, but there was little weight behind the punches, and with a late surge of energy from Waldburger, the 22-year old’s victory was sealed.Welterweight prospect Brian Foster got the night off to a quick start – literally – stopping Forrest Petz in just 67 seconds.Foster’s striking was sharp from the start, particularly his left jab. But it was an overhand right that spelled the beginning of the end for Petz, who was dropped hard to the mat. The Cleveland native tried to recover, but Foster’s relentless follow-up attack kept that from happening, forcing referee Herb Dean to call a halt to the bout at the 1:07 mark.“I tried to stay away from his power,” said Foster. “He has a habit of standing flat footed.... I hit him right on the button and he went down.”With the win, Foster improves to 16-5; Petz falls to 24-9.
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