PRELIMS
MIDDLEWEIGHT: (Pyr) Murilo “Ninja” Rua versus (TAF) Aaron “A-Train” Simpson
RESULT: Murilo Rua via Guillotine Choke 3:37 into Round 1.
LIGHTWEIGHT: (Pyr) Evan Dunham versus Hermes Franca
RESULT: Hermes Franca via Rear Naked Choke 3:51 into Round 1.
FEATHERWEIGHT: (TAF) Joe “The Hammer” Soto versus Din “Dinyero” Thomas
RESULT: Din Thomas via Triangle Choke 2:03 into Round 1.
HEAVYWEIGHT: (Pyr) “Big Country” Roy Nelson versus (TAF) Cheick Kongo
RESULT: Roy Nelson via TKO 3:52 into Round 1.
UCL 3: Team Pyramid vs. Team Angry Face
FEATHERWEIGHT: (Pyr) Marlon Sandro versus (TAF) “Junior” Jose Aldo
Round 1: Punch to the cheek by Sandro to start things off, quickly answered with a strong body kick by Aldo. They exchange strikes until Sandro decides to grapple and pushes Aldo back into the cage. Sandro with some dirty boxing to keep Aldo in place, holding him there for a long time until he finally tries to take Aldo down. Aldo miraculously counters and gets Sandro against the cage, where he punishes him with knee strikes. The round ends on a big jab from Aldo.
ANALYSIS: Lots of time wasting from Sandro, but Aldo finished strongly.
Round 2: Stinging blow from Aldo. A quick flurry of punches from both sides culminates in a leg kick by Sandro. More wayward strikes launched from both sides, with Sandro scoring the crisper of them. They tee-off on each other, each hitting strong jabs. Sandro goes in for a takedown, but Aldo launches a vicious counter uppercut that Sandro only narrowly avoids. He backs off to assess the situation and lets time run out.
ANALYSIS: This is incredibly even. I can’t possibly call it.
Round 3: The entire round is spent avoiding the other fighter’s flurries. Sandro dodges a big head kick and scores a couple of kicks of his own to the ribs. Exchanges boil down to little worth mentioning and the round comes to a close with both men standing well away from each other.
ANALYSIS: Wasn’t the best round. I’d give the fight to Sandro though.
RESULT: Winner, by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28), MARLON SANDRO!
(Sandro scores 4 points for himself and Team Pyramid!)
(Aldo scores 2 points for himself and Team Angry Face!)
WELTERWEIGHT: (Pyr) Matt Hughes versus (TAF) Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy
Round 1: Hardy doesn’t rush into things and it ends up being the veteran, Hughes, who forces the action by scoring a takedown. Hardy hits some superficial strikes before managing to create space and scrambles back to his feet. Hardy with a jab keeps Hughes from rushing in for another takedown. Hughes answers with a jab of his own followed by a successful takedown. Hughes tries to finish the fight with some big punches, but Hardy blocks them all and counters Hughes, ending up in half-guard himself. The round ends with Hardy trying to get out of half-guard to advance his position.
ANALYSIS: I think Hughes wins that round, but these two look like they’re just getting started.
Round 2: Hughes comes in, hoping to grapple, but he gets caught with a big right hand! He falls back but goes straight into defensive posture, recovering quickly. Hardy motions for Hughes to stand up with him, and he obliges. Hughes throws a jab and gets a body kick for his troubles. Hughes wants to grapple more, but he is now very wary of Hardy’s punching power and is waded off by some jabs. Another body kick from Hardy followed by a series of quick jabs. Hughes finally gets a takedown and gets side control with only a minute left of the round. Hardy struggles, but Hughes gets mount just as the bell tolls.
ANALYSIS: Hardy’s round that time, but once again it is really close. Both nearly finished the other at some point.
Round 3: Hardy is starting to throw bombs, but Hughes easily avoids them. Hughes comes forward and grapples, looking to push Hardy into the cage, but Hardy escapes and nails Hughes with a punch to the eye! Hughes is dazed and is Hardy smashes him with a giant hook, knocking Hughes out cold!
RESULT: Winner, by Knockout 1:17 into the Third Round, DAN HARDY!
(Hardy scores 5 points for himself and Team Angry Face!)
HEAVYWEIGHT: (Pyr) Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos versus (TAF) “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko
Round 1: Exchange of strikes does little, but Santos gets the first clean jab. Santos tries to grapple, but Fedor is simply too strong and reverses Santos into the cage before taking him down with relative ease. After a little struggle into the half-way mark, Fedor passes into side control and then slips into the mount. Fedor reveals his vicious ground and pound, and Santos takes every punch hard until the referee is forced to step in!
RESULT: Winner, by TKO 4:20 into the First Rounds, FEDOR EMELIANENKO!
(Fedor scores 5 points for himself and Team Angry Face!)
LIGHTWEIGHT: (Pyr) BJ “The Prodigy” Penn versus (TAF) George Sotiropoulos
Round 1: Penn takes Sotiropoulos down with ease, but finds it harder to pass guard but after a struggle, in which George tried and failed to sweep several times; Penn ends up in half guard. Penn blocks George from going back to full guard, but Penn also is finding it hard to get past Sotiropoulos’ defence. Round one comes to a close.
ANALYSIS: I’d say stalemate, but BJ Penn should take that round easily.
Round 2: Penn scores some big punches on Sotiropoulos. Penn grabs Sotiropoulos and forces him into the cage and hits him with a knee just to the side of his stomach. Penn holds George in place for much of the round until the referee finally separates them. Penn suddenly locks in a Muay Thai clinch and Sotiropoulos is in trouble! It takes one knee straight to the face to knock George out cold!
RESULT: Winner, by Knockout 4:50 into the Second Round, BJ PENN!
(Penn scores 5 points for himself and Team Pyramid!)
MIDDLEWEIGHT: (Pyr) Anderson “The Spider” Silva versus (TAF) “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler
Round 1: The two send punches each way, but neither does much damage to the other. Silva rocks Lawler with a big punch and immediately takes him down. Lawler recovers well and drags Silva to the cage, which he then uses to get to standing. He holds Silva close, preventing his attempts at dirty boxing and knee strikes, and eventually turns Silva so it is he who is against the cage. Silva works a little harder and manages to turn Lawler back as the round ends.
ANALYSIS: Silva will take that one, no problem. Lawler isn’t doing much, just surviving.
Round 2: Stinging jab from Lawler, but Silva heads the warning and manages to avoid all of Lawler’s follow-up strikes. Silva pulls Lawler into a grappling contest, and tries to throw some strikes in the clinch, but Lawler smothers them. They eventually separate and Silva easily blocks a flurry of punches from Lawler. Silva steps forward and explodes with a series of punches, knocking Lawler down! Silva dives on top of Lawler and rains on him with punches! The ref stops the fight!
RESULT: Winner, by TKO 4:13 into the Second Round, ANDERSON SILVA!
(Silva scores 5 points for himself and Team Pyramid!)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: (Pyr) Randy “The Natural” Couture versus (TAF) Jon “Bones” Jones
Round 1: Jones comes out and throws hands from the get-go, catching Couture! Couture is dazed, but grapples with Jones; pushing him against the cage and smothering him. Couture with some dirty boxing, but Jones starts grappling back. Jones tries to trip the legend, but Couture keeps him firmly in place. More dirty boxing from Couture as Jones searches for a way to get back into it. He struggles until he manages to separate himself and goes back to throwing hands, but none connect. Couture shoots in for the takedown and scores it just as the clock ticks to the end of the round.
ANALYSIS: Jones definitely did the most damage, but that long period against the cage might have hurt his chances.
Round 2: Couture throws some superficial punches with none reaching the target. Couture tries to grapple with Jones, but Jones backs off and keeps the Hall of Famer at bay with a jab. Jones shoots for the takedown, but Couture blocks it and takes Jones’ back. Couture peppers Jones with some punches from the top position, but Jones blocks them well and eventually tries to sweep Couture, but Couture stops him dead and wrestles him until they both end up on their feet. Couture scores with a big pinch, to which Jones responds with a flurry of punches that fail to connect as the bell tolls to end the round.
ALAYSIS: Couture is dictating the pace and dished out more damage in that round.
Round 3: Jones circles a visually-tiring Couture for a while before throwing a few punches. Couture covers up and tries to pull Jones into the grapple, but Jones keeps away. Jones launches himself into the air with a flying knee, but Couture dodges and takes Jones down. Jones pulls guard, but that doesn’t stop Couture from trying to advance his position. Jones brings up his legs and tries for a triangle, but Couture easily defends against it. Jones frantically scrambles, and slivers out of Couture’s grip. They stand and Jones hits rapid fire punches, connecting with a few good ones. Couture backs into the cage and covers up as Jones lays into him. Couture reaches out a grabs Jones around the waist and pushes him into the centre before slamming him to the mat. Couture smothers Jones as the round and the fight comes to an end.
ANALYSIS: Jones wins that round, but the fight could go either way I feel.
RESULT: Winner, by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), RANDY COUTURE!
(Couture scores 4 points for himself and Team Pyramid!)
(Jones scores 1 point for himself and Team Angry Face!)
HONOURS:
Knockout: Hardy
Submission: N/A
Fight: Hardy/Hughes
