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Category Archives: Post Fights With Pete D.

UFC on FuelTV 3 – Post Fights With @longhornsMMA

MMAVictor members sorry for the issues last night but sometimes with greatness comes some struggle!  No worries though, we are making it up to you all with a huge FREE Bellator pool this Friday night and another cash payout Strikeforce pool on Saturday too!  Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, we still need to talk about the much forgotten UFC on FuelTV3 card!  For something that many like myself almost forget about, no one will ever forget Jung and Poirier’s performance!  Plus, we should all be thanking DW himself as if we didn’t get the extra two rounds for all main events this amazing outcome would have never happened.  Thank you Dana White!

  • The heavy underdog Chan Sun Jung submits Poirier using a D’arce choke late in the fourth round!  Honestly, this was one of my favorite fights of all time.  From the pin-point striking of Poirier to the smooth BJJ transitions of Jung this was an absolute ESPN “instant-classic” moment!  For those who missed this battle, Poirer controlled a good chunk of the beginning of the fight with his size and striking, until Jung was smart enough to bring the fight to the ground in the early second round where everything changed.  From there it was a battle of whits and eventually Jung forced the tap late in the fourth round.  Title shot for Jung?  I think it is time….
  • Amir Sodollah bores his hometown friends with a split decision victory over Justin Lopez.  In what was supposed to be a sweet homecoming for Amir turned into a lackluster affair.  I am not going to lie I think Amir won the fight 29-28, but I could have seen this fight going either way.  Neither really controlled any facet of the game, but Amir did have some good ground work going and in reality Lopez was in trouble a few times.  So again, my nod went to Amir, but I just hope next time he hits Virginia he has a little more spark for his hometown crowd!
  • The Cowboy reminds Jeremy Stephens who is the more dangerous striker with a dominant unanimous decision victory!  Is the cowboy back?  I am not exactly sure, but what I am sure of is that the cowboy OWNED this fight.  Literally every punch and kick was landed with attitude and Stephen’s had no answer for some of the sick combos.  Of all the rounds, the second was the cowboy’s most impressive as Stephen’s felt the wrath of a vicious uppercut that almost finished the fight.  With this loss Stephens finds himself slipping potentially to a pink slip and the cowboy seems to be getting closer to his horse again!
  • Yves Jabouin scores a unanimous decision victory over Jeff Hougland after almost finishing him no thanks to the referee.  If you aren’t a fan of decisions and missed this fight, you need to find it on YouTube.  There was a part when Jabouin fired a vicious spinning back kick to the liver that almost killed Hougland.  No lie.  I was honestly was stunned Hougland survived, but then again, if it wasn’t for the referee stepping in and adding some confusion to the setting it would have been a TKO victory for sure.  Very disappointing if you ask me, but sometimes less experienced referee’s like McGovern make mistakes.  Thankfully, Jabouin cast no doubt in the judges minds and grabbed the much needed win.  Jabouin is now 3-1 in the UFC and headed straight up the ladder.

Other Results:

  • Igor Pokrajac def. Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Tom Lawlor def. Jason MacDonald via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:50
  • Brad Tavares def. Dongi Yang via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Cody McKenzie def. Marcus LeVesseur via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:05
  • T.J. Grant def. Carlo Prater via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Rafael Dos Anjos def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:40
  • Johnny Eduardo def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Francisco Rivera def. Alex Soto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Lastly, don’t forget we are only a few days away from Strikeforce 40!!  So what are you waiting for get into the cash pool now!!!  Only 2 spots left…

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhornsMMA)
Director of Business Development & Writer for MMAVictor.com
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

MMAVictor members use the discount code of “WELCOME15″ to receive 15% off your entire JACO purchase. 

UFC on Fox 3 – Post Fights With @longhornsMMA

Finally, DW and the UFC got what they needed a SOLID UFC on Fox card.  From top-to-bottom all four Fox fights were amazing and I truly think we learned a great deal about all of the winners-and-losers.  Especially you Mr. Nate Diaz, who just put the 155 division on notice after his best performance to-date.  Anyway, let’s not waste anymore time and roll!

  • Diaz becomes the first fighter to ever finish Miller via submission in round two. I said it before and I will say it again, this was THE BEST performance of Diaz’s career.  I am not going to lie though, unlike Ben (MMAVictor Blog editor-in-chief) I HATE the Diaz brothers.  Then again, I did have him winning by submission on my primary MMAVictor picks.  Nevertheless, I learned a great deal about him and I think at this point we can all agree that he is one of the best strikers in MMA.  Nick’s game is so well-rounded that if he can keep his head in the game the sky is the limit for him.  Conversely, I was very disappointed by Miller and his preparation.  He was well aware of what Diaz was going to do but I do not believe his game plan was the best choice.  When you are fighting a striker like Diaz you need to bring people into camp that can punish you – something I do not believe his brother and his partners were able to successfully duplicate.  Hopefully things will change for him going forward as I think with a different game plan/camp he could have taken that fight.
  • Hendricks outlasts Koz via a split decision victory.  Honestly, the outcome here didn’t surprise me one bit.  I simply did not think Hendricks could “Fitch” Koz and new this was going the distance.  What I was kind of shocked about though was Koz seeming – well – tired?  I don’t know I felt like the first two rounds he was asleep at the wheel.  I truly think if he took what he did in the third round and did half of that in the first two the outcome would have went his way.  This has been a knock on Koz his entire career and I am just not sure what is up with that.  Hendricks on the other hand really grew with this fight.  If he wants to be able to get a shot at the title he is going to have to keep improving like this and proving he can go the distance with the top-tier talent that awaits him.  Hendricks is almost there but I do believe he needs one more fight before we can start talking title shot.
  • Belcher reminded Palhares and every UFC fan that his elbow striking are for real via first round TKO!  I am not going to lie, I figured Palhares would take Belcher down and that would be the end of it.  Boy was I wrong!  Not only did Palhares take Belcher down, but Belcher actually dominated the ground work!  Then when Palhares finally got some control back on the ground, Belcher unleashed hell via some vicious elbow strikes.  This fight was memorable on so many levels and I am sure DW has mixed feelings about its outcome.  Belcher was brought in to lose, not to win, so good luck putting him anywhere but title contention now!  No joke, I do not envy DW and Joe Silva right now!  Again, great performance by Belcher and much respect from this writer.
  • Johnson TKO’s Barry like no other!  What a way to start a free card on network television!  Johnson and Barry deserve kudo’s.  For the first time in a long time, we saw two behemoth strikers standing-and-trading and also showcasing some BJJ skills!   At one point, Barry was poised to break Johnson’s elbow with a sick submission (which Johnson later said he would have never tapped to) but eventually Johnson got back up and finished Barry with a flurry of punches, elbows and brutal knees.  I can tell you right now, if you missed this fight please try to find it on YouTube because this was a WAR.  If I were DW and the UFC I would have given Barry a submission bonus for showing that “big guys” can grow and round out their games!  Again, props to both fighters here and I expect to see BOTH of these guys coming back ready to give us all another great showing very soon!

FX + Facebook Results:

  • Michael Johnson def. Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • John Dodson def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • John Hathaway def. Pascal Krauss via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Louis Gaudinot def. John Lineker via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:54
  • Danny Castillo def. John Cholish via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Dennis Bermudez def. Pablo Garza via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Roland Delorme def. Nick Denis via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:59
  • Karlos Vemola def. Mike Massenzio via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:07

Lastly, don’t forget we are only a few weeks away from UFC146 and Strikeforce 40!!  So what are you waiting for?  Go sign up for MMAVictor and win yourself some bragging rights and cold hard cash!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhornsMMA)
Director of Business Development & Writer for MMAVictor.com
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

MMAVictor members use the discount code of “WELCOME15″ to receive 15% off your entire JACO purchase. 

UFC 145 – Post Fights with Pete D.

Well that sucked….  Decision after decision after decision…  I know, my good friend Suga didn’t win so I am going to be bummed right?  Well, not exactly, honestly just annoyed by some of the performances last night.  Sure, Rothwell showed Schaub is an over-rated under-carder and Rory finally shut up all the Che marks, but Jon Jones couldn’t finish Evans?  I watched that fight again this morning and I truly felt he held something back.  Sure, Evans looked crafty and somewhat fresh, but Jones could have really pushed that pace and didn’t….  Anyway, before I go too far ahead of myself, lets roll with these post fights with Pete D!!!

  • Jones once again proved that he is in his own world by beating Evans by UD.  Honestly, I am not surprised at the outcome here.  I mean sure, I liked Evans, but Jones is in another world right now – clearly.  Everything from his transitions to his movements to his striking.  Jones is just absolutely pin-point on everything in his game and only getting better!  At the same time, I am proud of Evans, he stood there, didn’t get finished and brought new life to his career at 205.  I still see him playing around in that division and hopefully this loss doesn’t send him into a decent of nothingness.  Jones now gets to look forward to Hendo, which I truly think isn’t going to be a big deal for him.  Jones is faster, younger, hungrier and most important larger!  Yep, Jones’s reach is going to really offer trouble for Hendo and Jones is my early pick for this match via submission…  Just watch Hendo vs Silva and you know whats going to happen.
  • Rory finally shuts up all the Che Mills marks with a TKO victory in the second round.  Listen, I get it, Che did a great job on  TUF and deserved this slot.  Well, so did Rory!  Everyone was up Che like he was the next big thing.  Thankfully, Rory was able to show the world he is one of the next BIG THINGS.  What a great performance by the young Canadian.  Something tells me whomever he faces next will not attempt to play with his G-N-P!!  Great job Rory, can’t wait to see you get in the cage again.
  • Ben Rothwell reminds the UFC fans why he is still fighting on the PPV card with a first round TKO (should have been KO) demolition of Schaub.  Will everyone on the Schaub bandwagon finally SHUT UP?  Seriously, Schaub is the most-overrated and over-hyped fighter in that division.  The kid has no chin and reminds me of Brandon Vera post Frank Mir fight.  All talk, and nothing backing it up.  I am so happy for Rothwell here, as he not only deserved this victory, but it is the perfect FU to the UFC who wanted to use him as a stepping stone for Schaub’s great comeback.  Thankfully, Rothwell’s elbow had something to say about that and if you missed this unreal display – get on YouTube now!!!
  • My upset special Mike Mac KO’ed Torres to a victory lap!  So is the UFC finally done with Miguel “I was only good in the WEC” Torres?  Seriously, at one point Torres was an animal, but now he needs to be taken out back and executed.  Wait, Mike Mac already did that for us!  Seriously, champ, did you not see that upper-cut coming?  I would say back to the gym for Torres, but I don’t want to see him on the PPV card anytime soon – so go enjoy Fuel, since I don’t have it anyways.  Will the real Mike Mac please stand up?  Great performance young pup.  Only 21!!!
  • Yagin reminds Hominick that he can stand and bang too with a gutty split-decision victory.  I am really shocked with this outcome.  First, it should not have been a split, Hominick clearly lost the first two rounds and no freaking way was the third a 10-8 for Hominick.  Anyway, Yagin again really surprised me.  I did not have him winning in my MMAVictor pools and really felt that Hominick was going to finish him early.  Sadly for me, Hominick looked out of place in the first round, like he usually does, and didn’t get going until round three.  Someone needs to remind him that you have to fight the FULL 15 minutes and not just the last 5.  Clearly, Yagin looks like he is ready for another war though, so I am very much excited to see what he offers next.
  • Boeck outlasts the more than likely unemployed Alessio via UD.  A great deal of people felt Alessio didn’t deserve to be in the UFC again and this fight clearly showed why that was the case.  Sure, Alessio could have maybe been on the FX or Facebook cards, but for an opener, this was no what Dana was hoping for on the PPV.   Boeck was clearly too much for Alessio from the start and it was very quick that Alessio realized he was in for a war.  Boeck reminded him with every take-down that Alessio needed to the keep the fight standing, but sadly that didn’t happen.  Something tells me Alessio will once again get his pink-slip, fly back up to the great white north and never be heard from again.  Boeck on the other hand needs some steeper competition.  Time to give this kid some thunder-and-lightning to play with.

Under-card Action:

  • Travis Browne def. Chad Griggs via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:29
  • Matt Brown def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
  • Anthony Njokuani def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Mac Danzig def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Chris Clements def. Keith Wisniewski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
  • Marcus Brimage def. Maximo Blanco via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

Lastly, don’t forget we are only a few weeks away from UFC146 and Strikeforce 40!!  So what are you waiting for?  Go sign up for MMAVictor and win yourself some bragging rights and cold hard cash!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhornsMMA)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

UFC on FuelTV 2 – Post Fights with Pete D.

I am not going to lie, Comcast hates me and I don’t have Fuel TV.  Yep, I missed basically all the fights yesterday with the exception of the Facebook fights and some highlights I was able to muster up this morning from YouTube.  So normally, I like to do a more “full” version of these post fights but I guess we will consider these the cliff notes version!  Although, I promise you this will be longer than Siyar Bahadurzada’s 42 second UFC debut!

  • Gustafsson was simply too much for the returning Thiago Silva to handle.  Being away for over a year and a late fill-in replacement for Lill-Nog, I wasn’t expecting much out of Thiago and in reality the UFC fans really shouldn’t have either.  Gustafsson showed that not only was he the better fighter but that body type means nothing sometimes.  Seriously, once Gustafsson dropped Thiago early on in the first round, Thiago’s gameplan was out the window and it was just about surviving at that point.  I truly believe Gustafsson with this victory brings him into a match up with Machida.  Sure it maybe early but anyone who can bruise and batter Thiago is worth a shot at Machida in my eyes.  We will just have to wait and see. Alexander Gustafsson def. Thiago Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • The all-american Brian Stann made short work of the forever crafty Sakara.  I am a huge fan of Brian Stann, probably due to the fact that he signed a bunch of gear for MMAVictor!  Anyway, having coming off a loss to Sonnen, a great deal of people were worried about him having a little slump here.  Well, Stann proved early on with some vicious knees to the head and three subsequent elbow strikes on the ground that he was more than fine.  Sakara was clearly unconscious after the second elbow strike so thankfully the referee stepped in at the right time.  Who knows what is next up for Stann but this soldier isn’t going anywhere!  Brian Stann def. Alessio Sakara via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:26
  • If you haven’t heard of Siyar you do now!  In the quickest fight of the night, Siyar dispatched Paulo Thiago in nearly 42 second with an absolute vicious knockout!  I only got to watch it on my computer, so I am sure if I had it on my wide-screen it would be been even more vicious!  Kidding, kidding – same both ways!!  Anyway, being that this was Siyar’s debut I am not exactly sure what is next, but the one thing I do now is that he will be right back to work as that training camp was a breeze for him.  Siyar Bahadurzada def. Paulo Thiago via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:42
  • Dennis Siver single handily was the turning point for most of the MMAVictor pools this weekend with his victory over Diego Nunes.  In a very tight contest which I actually felt was a 10/10 first round and at the very least a draw or split card turned out into being a total barn burner.  Literally, from the minute the bell rang both of these guys used stellar boxing and kickboxing skills that made the first round a highlight clinic for any striking team.  The second round was much the same but with a little more clinching and Siver pushing the pace right till the last second.  Then in the third round, which I personally felt Nunes won, started with Nunes almost knocking Siver out-cold while finishing up the round with a nice cut to silence the judges. As I said earlier at the very least I saw a draw with my score being 10/10, 9/10(S) and 10/9(N) but we all know people hate draws so that wasn’t happening.  Dennis Siver def. Diego Nunes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Maguire is a submission machine!  It was bad enough this card was filled with submissions all over the undercard, but Maguire himself didn’t help me out by throwing up 5 submissions attempts in 8 minutes!   Seriously, the first round was literally a BJJ clinic with Maguire trying every move in the book to lure DaMarques Johnson into hell.  That was until the second round pushed on and Maguire simply needed Johnson to make a rookie mistake and leave his arm out for a quick arm-bar.  Maguire said after the fight that he was just waiting for Johnson to over-commit and that’s all it was.  See kids – this is why patience in BJJ matters!  John Maguire def. DaMarques Johnson via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:40

In other action:

  • Brad Pickett def. Damacio Page via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:05
  • James Head def. Papy Abedi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:33
  • Cyrille Diabate def. Tom DeBlass via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
  • Francis Carmont def. Magnus Cedenblad via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:42
  • Reza Madadi def. Yoislandy Izquierdo via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:28
  • Simeon Thoresen def. Besam Ypusef via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:36
  • Jason Young def. Eric Wisely via unanimous decision (30-28, 29-28, 29-28 )

Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for the KnockoutRadio.com UFC 145 MMAVictor Fantasy Pool.  With another $90 on the line what are you people waiting for?  Don’t forget too we are only a few weeks away from UFC146 and Strikeforce 40 too?  Again, so what are you waiting for?  Time to sign up for MMAVictor and win yourself some bragging rights and cold hard cash!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhornsMMA)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

Strikeforce Tate vs Rousey – Post Fights with Pete D.

Women’s MMA was on display again on Showtime last night and I am still shocked with how many people couldn’t believe Rousey’s performance.  The girl (yes, I am going to use the term girl) is an Olympic judo medalist and arguably just as intense as Miss Steroid Cris Cyborg.  So I still do not understand why people had Tate winning this fight.  Nonetheless, besides this great championship bout and the other women’s MMA battle between Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis the rest was all but forgettable.

  • Rousey dislocated another elbow en route to winning the Strikeforce 135lb title.  Within the first 20 seconds of the fight Rousey laughed at a couple of Tate’s punches, got her hooks into an arm-bar and was ready to force the tap.  That was until Tate slipped out and the fans went crazy!  Holy cow, someone got out of a vicious arm-bar attempt of Rousey!  That was until Rousey used her stellar judo to whip Tate to the ground again, this time suffocating her and dislocating her for the submission victory.  Honestly, I am not a huge fan of women’s MMA, but Rousey really showed that she has something beyond just being hot.  Too bad, her over/under odds on going the Gina Carano path is 50/50 right now.  Sorry Strikeforce – she is lucky if she has one fight left!
  • Thomson proves once again he is not ready for the big stage.  Sure Thomson came out with the unanimous decision victory over KJ Noons in fairly easy fashion by dominating with take-downs and great wrestling but that was about it.  With Melendez hanging in the balance and the fans booing incessantly this was a very poor outcome for Thomson.  Sadly, sometimes the worst wins are the ones that people immediately want to forget.  KJ on the other hand really didn’t need to be in this fight, I do not see much more coming out of him anytime soon.
  • Daley fails at convincing all the judges that he beat Misaki.  In a pretty decent war of two always potential up-and-comers Misaki outlasted Daley via a split decision victory.  I for one had Daley winning the fight because of his awesome third round performance, but clearly two of the three judges didn’t see it that way.  One judge did have Daley winning 30-27, which was surprising to me since I think even Daley would admit he lost the first round.  Anyway, Daley did all he could, but in the end even ripping a huge cut on Misaki face wasn’t enough to convince the doctors, judges nor the UFC brass watching on TV to give him the victory.
  • Lumumba Sayers beat the forever young Scott Smith by way of submission.  Lumumba’s name reminds me so much of the old song  (La Bamba) that I almost want to get up and start singing and dancing.   Then again, I have always been a Scott Smith fan, so I guess I will leave the dancing to Lumumba.  Anyway, Lumumba wasted little time securing Scott’s back, but the crafty veteran popped out of it.  Sadly, Lumumba then grabbed him again to the ground and secured a guillotine choke that Scott couldn’t recover from.  I honestly don’t know what to say anymore as I think this was more than likely Scott’s last Strikeforce fight.
  • Ronaldo Souza proves that great BJJ beats two-weeks of preparation any day.  Sometimes mismatches happen and in this case Bristol Marunde probably wishes he didn’t take this fight.  Then again, I give him credit, Marunde hung in there for almost 15 minutes until Souza’s BJJ got the best of him.  Seriously, if it wasn’t for Souza pushing the pace in the third round I really didn’t see Marunde failing to an arm-triangle choke.  Great effort from Marunde though, Souza just had too many ways to win!

In other action:

  • Sarah Kaufman proved she is capable of lasting about two minutes with new champ Rousey in route to a unanimous decision victory over Alexis Davis.
  • Roger Bowling finished Brandon Saling with a great TKO in the second round.
  • Pat Healy secured the nights first arm-triangle win over Caros Fodor late in the third round.
  • Ryan Couture finally grabbed a decent victory Conor Heun via TKO middle of the third round.  Yawn, sorry Ryan, I am still not buying you!  I don’t care who your father is…

As a reminder, for those of you who missed out on this card and MMAVictor Fantasy MMA you really missed a great time!  With another great UFC card coming up and now AFOMMA – what are you waiting for?  Time to sign up for MMAVictor and win yourself some bragging rights and cold hard cash!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

UFC on FX2 – Post Fights with Pete D.

I know I am starting to sound like a broken record but what an AMAZING night of fights.  No joke, I was a little worried about the UFC’s visit to Australia being kinda lame without Mark Hunt, but boy was I wrong!  Then again, it could have been worse.  I could have been one of the now embarrassed local media members who made the mistake of mocking Dana White about the apparent lack of “stars” on the card.

Seriously, almost every fight on the card could have been considered fight-of-the-night worthy and I for one cannot wait for Kampmann’s next fight and the rematch of the century with Johnson vs McCall II!

  • Marty reminds the MMA world of all the different ways he has to win fights.  Honestly, I was definitely in the minority watching this fight as most of the world had Alves leading 20-18 heading into the third round on the scorecards.  I was just not as convinced since Marty was really frustrating Alves with his consistent pressure and pin-point striking.  Nevertheless, little did we all know that Marty in the third round was planning on reminding us how many ways he had to win that fight.  In one of the sickest take down reversals I have ever seen Marty sunk in a nasty mounted guillotine and secured a huge victory.  Sadly, the fight still brings some confusion around Marty as he didn’t prove thorough dominance like he and Extreme Couture trainers had hoped.  Then again, at least we all know where Alves is headed and that is into obscurity at 170lbs.
  • Benavidez TKO’ed Urushitani so hard my head still hurts.  In the second of the flyweight tourney matches Benavidez counter punched himself to victory over Urshitani with a great display of boxing very early in the second round.  Overall, not much more to discuss as the first round was very lackluster but the finish certainly made up for it.  Benavidez just continues to prove his UFC dominance and it will be interesting to see if he can be stopped en route to the flyweight title.
  • Australian Boxing/MMA Commission ruins the Johnson and McCall outcome.  If you were a Johnson fan and went to bed right after Bruce Buffer announced him as the winner I hate to be the bearer of bad news – but it is now a draw.  Yep, the Australian Boxing/MMA Commission tabulated the scorecards wrong and the fight has now been marked a draw!  Honestly, this tabulation mistake was beyond disappointing as if you didn’t have Uncle Creepy squeaking a 10-8 third round you were crazy.  I was yelling at my TV going where is the fourth round but I guess the Australian Boxing/MMA Commission was too busy further destroying the UFC’s credibility with scoring/judging.  I know, not everyone agrees with me about how the UFC needs to have an intermediary when it comes to double checking fight cards, but hopefully this will be the catalyst for that change.  Seriously, neither fighter last night deserved a victory, but McCall never deserved the heartache he had to endure in the cage.  I for one cannot wait for these two to touch gloves again!  Side note, for those of you who had Johnson winning outright, you need to get glasses ASAP!
  • Court McGee embarrassed himself thoroughly in a unanimous decision loss to Philippou.   I was big on Court all week and am very surprised at his performance last night.  Court just could not seem to get anything going and truly looked lethargic.  Philippou on the other hand really impressed me with his stellar take-down defense, counter punching and conditioning.  Basically, the total opposite of Court.  Sure, Court made a decent attempt in the third round, but too-little-too-late sometimes.  I don’t expect a rematch between these two, but I am now very interested in seeing how Philippou is planning on following up this victory.
  • Te Huna proves that his uppercuts should be illegal in all 50 states as he battered a weaker Rosa to a TKO victory.  I feel like I have heard the term uppercut in the UFC 100 times in the past three fight cards.  Seriously, three fight cards ago it was a nonexistent term in the UFC.  Anyway, in a fairly quick beat down, Te Huna and Rosa traded some blows until Te Huna landed a vicious uppercut and painted the octagon with Rosa’s blood.  Now, I am not sure if Te Huna is a force just yet, but this national stage certainly put him on a new pedestal.
  • Anthony Perosh brought some Aussie pride to the ring with him in dominant fashion over Nick Penner.  In fairly similar fashion to Te Huna, Perosh wasted little time hammering Penner, bloodying him up and then taking him down for some more damage and a TKO victory.  Penner really offered nothing in the outing other than a few shots, but at least the Aussie crowd had something to be happy about with Perosh.  Great hands and onto the next for him.

In other action:

  • Steven Siler reminded me why I should never bet on Cole Miller by suffocating him via unanimous decision.
  • Andrew Craig edged out the extremely gritty Kyle Noke via unanimous decision.
  • T.J. Waldburger wasted not time and threw on one of the nastiest arm bars to secure a submission victory over Jake Hecht in the first round.
  • Daniel Pineda showed some stellar BJJ skill by using an awesome triangle-armbar to submit Mackens Semerzier in the first round.
  • In my upset pick of the night, my buddy Shawn Jordan TKO’ed Oli Thompson with strikes in the second round.

As a reminder, for those of you who missed out on this card and MMAVictor Fantasy MMA you really missed a great time!  With another great UFC card coming up and now AFOMMA – what are you waiting for?  Time to sign up for MMAVictor and win yourself some bragging rights and cold hard cash!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

UFC 144 – Post Fights with Pete D.

What an amazing night of fights last night from Japan.  Simply cannot say enough how great the entire card was top-to-bottom.  As you all know, I was worried about the crowd last night and I believe I was dead on with the exception of the course of boooos for Okami after his last second choke.  If the fight was in Vegas I would have expected the negative fan reaction, but definitely not from a Japanese crowd.  I guess time does change people after all.  Enough boring talk though, time to break this entire card down.

  • Benson steals gold from Edgar in a five-round war.  Now, I am not going to lie, I did not have Benson winning gold on my scorecards.  I actually had the bout 48-47 in favor of Edgar due to a 10-10 on my scorecard from earlier in the fight.  Yes people, at 10-10, something that judges simply don’t use enough.  Although, I can tell you right now Edgar’s worn out face was the primary reason for a Benson unanimous decision victory.  For those of you who follow my posts on MMAVictor, you all know I didn’t think Benson could win by UD, I guess the judges didn’t agree with me.  Anyway, after re-watching the fight this morning, I still believe Edgar landed more shots and deserved the win, but hey they don’t call Frankie the “Rematch” for nothing.  Expect Pettis up next for Benson and the winner grabbing Frankie in a huge battle.
  • Darth Bader makes easy work of Mr. Fat via unanimous decision.  As I stated yesterday,  after seeing Rampage bark about a fake injury and coming in fat for the fight I was switching my pick.  Thank god I did too, cause in my MMAVictor leagues that was 35 points for me!  Bader really showed a great game plan last night and his stand-up is 100% better than in previous outings.  He is a force to be reckon with in that division regardless of his win-loss record.  Rampage on the other hand, looked terrible all over the octagon last night and it is time to put him on the shelf.  His lack of heart and subpar effort shows he is well below the normal pecking order at 205 now.  Although, I would not hate if the UFC decided to match him up one last time against Rich Franklin.
  • Hunt destroys the dreams of Kongo via a quick TKO.  Not going to lie, I was shocked with this outcome.  Sure everyone knows Hunt had a punchers chance, but this was Kongo’s time to reign.  Further, Hunt is now an ugly 8-7 in MMA action and now he is asking for a title shot?  Wait, what?  Sorry, Mr. Hunt, but if you want a title shot you are going to have to go through a beavy of talent at 265.  Sadly, Kongo looks to have fallen in the proverbial heavyweight dumpster with this loss.  A drop to 205 is possible, but will never happen.
  • Shields disappoints against Sexyama via unanimous decision.  Someone wrote on twitter during this fight last night “How did Shields ever handle Dan Henderson?”  I thought that tweet summed up how Shield’s performance was last night.  Ugly, nothing special and confusing.  Sure, Shields did enough to win the fight last night by controlling most of  where it went, but it wasn’t that special win he was hoping for.  Instead, more questions were left unanswered.  Conversely, I was intrigued by Sexyama’s performance though, so hopefully Dana and the guys will be willing to bring back “The Rock” of Japan.
  • Boetsch surprised everyone in Japan except Joe Rogan in a stunning third round TKO over Okami.  I had to watch this fight three times to truly understand what happened since Rogan was going crazy the entire third round.  Basically, Okami dominated every facet of the fight until about a minute left in the fight.  At that point, Okami had a little slip, which was just enough to Boetsch to slip in, hammer some uppercuts and destroy Okami’s will.  I honestly feel bad for Okami, but these things just happen sometimes.  The bigger question that remains now though is Boetsch for real?  I don’t think so, but only time will tell with his next test.
  • Hioki impresses with a unanimous decision victory over Bartimus.  Again, I was really hoping for a Bartimus win, but I can’t say enough how impressed I was with Hioki’s performance.  From top-to-bottom his stand-up was phenomenal and ground game was just as stellar.  Hioki can and will be a force to be reckon with and I am excited for him in his early UFC career.  Bartimus now drops to 1-1 in the UFC and I am still waiting for his breakout performance former IFL fans know he can offer.
  • Pettis head-kicks himself to a title shot with Benson in a key victory over Joe Lauzon.  Not much to break down here, Pettis threw a kick and J-Lo forgot to block it.  The rest is history.  Being from Massachusetts the loss stings as J-Lo hyped this as the #1 contender match and sadly for him this is going to send him into the dreaded free for all.  There is simply no way that J-Lo is going to be able to handle Frankie or Guida, never mind Benson.  Gomi – maybe?  I guess now it is simply time to focus on the Pettis and Benson rematch that former WEC fans have been clamoring for!

In other action:

  • Gomi survived an early struggle en route to a powerful TKO victory over Mitsuoka.
  • Vaughan Lee submitted “Kid” Yamamoto with a sick armbar!  Go find it online if you missed it!
  • Fukuda handed Steve Cantwell his fifth loss in a row all but assuring a  pink slip for him via unanimous decision.
  • Cariaso rode Takeya Mizugaki to fairly weak unanimous decision victory early in the fight card.
  • Issei Tamura opended up the show with an increidble knockout of the night against Tiequan Zhang.  One of my highlights of the night.

For those of you who missed out on the card and MMAVictor Fantasy MMA you really missed a great time!  With another UFC card this week – what are you waiting for?  Time to sign up for MMAVictor and win yourself some bragging rights and cold hard cash!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

Post Fights with Pete D. – CW45

I finally got the opportunity this afternoon to watch the very underrated Cage Warriors 45 card from Saturday night in North London. The card was filled with some very good up-and-comers and even had a New York Giants style “guarantee” from the nights main event winner Bobby Brents. Not to mention, one of the SICKEST elbow strikes I have EVER seen landed in modern day MMA competition. Seriously, if you missed the card I suggest you find time to watch the replay now because it is worth every second!

Main Card:

  • Main Event – Bobby Brents defeated Rogent Llorent via arm-triangle submission in the first round.  Just like the New York Giants in Super Bowl 46, Bobby Brents guaranteed a victory and boy did he get it.  Llorent a black belt in BJJ looked great on his feet at the start of the fight, but Brents showed no fear whatsoever and refused to step back.  Once the fight made its way to the ground it was very disappointing to see Llorent basically give up side control and then boom – arm-triangle choke and the fight was over.  Very surprising ending, but extremely satisfying I am sure for Brents who is looking for something bigger next time out.
  • James Reese defeated Brad Wheeler via unanimous decision in a very one-sided affair.  If this fight was about how many failed Kimura attempts per fighter Wheeler would have won easily.  Unfortunately for him, that was basically all the offense he showed as Reese thoroughly dominated the affair.  Although, it should be noted that Reese just didn’t want to finish this fight and that to me was disappointing.  Hopefully, when he re-watches the tape he will feel different about the effort going forward.
  • In a middleweight tournament opening round bout, Chris Fields defeated Jack Mason by TKO in the first round.  This quick battle started with an awesome display of Muay Thai kickboxing!  Seriously, within the first 60 seconds of the fight Mason was dropped with a vicious head-kick by Fields and seconds later Fields followed up with an intense barrage of hammer fists en route to an awesome TKO victory.
  • Steve O’Keeffe was no match for Conor McGregor who won by KO in the first round.  Something tells me Mr. O’Keeffe forget he had a fight last night.  Literally, Conor came out blazing with fists, knees and vicious elbows that made me and even the referee cringe a little.  I don’t know much about Conor, but this certainly put him on my radar.
  • In another striker vs grappler match up Dave Keeley elbowed himself to a victory over Eddy Bengtsson in the first round.  Can you feel that?  Yep, that is the sound of Bengtsson’s head smashing against Keeley’s elbow.  Honestly, I feel bad for Bengtsson in this fight as he tried to bring the fight to his world, but little did he know that Keeley didn’t care one bit.  After a series of failed submission attempts Keeley finally connected with a couple of elbows and a series of hammer fists to put Bengtsson to sleep.
  • In the bloodiest battle of the night Brett Sizeland defeated Brett Bassett by doctor stoppage (TKO) in the second round.  I know, when is this SICKEST elbow strike coming?  Well, I saved the best for last!  Sizeland connected with an early intense elbow in the first round and the blood from that cut was more than enough to warrant a doctors stoppage.  Sadly for Bassett, it took an entire extra round before he could get stitched up.  Great opening to the night though let me tell you!
Remainder of the  Card:
  • Jacek Toczydlowski defeated Shah Hussain via unanimous decision.
  • Charlie Watts defeated Chad Brown via submission to punches in the second round.
  • Ben Hajir defeated Michael Jones via arm bar submission in the third round.

Again, I cannot stress this enough if you missed Cage Warriors 45 go watch the replay now!  Don’t forget too, if you think you know MMA, then join MMAVictor.com and test your skills against the best in free or paid Fantasy MMA.  What are you waiting for?  Go sign up now!

~Pete D.  (Follow me on twitter – @longhorns978)
MMAVictor.com Writer
Think you know MMA? Fantasy MMA at MMAVictor.com!

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