The lowdown from Las Vegas' (sold-out) Pearl:
- I'm stepping in for Casey, who has torn both of his groins and broken both of his necks. We're not sure how long he'll be out of action, but we wish him a speedy recovery.
- Lightweights: Roger Huerta defeated (ref-stoppage TKO @ 3:30 - round 2) Doug Evans. Three words: Action, action, action (and no way am I even attempting to describe all of it). Great fight, with Evans presenting one hell of a challenge before Huerta was on Evans' back and raining down blows, prompting the ref to step in. Evans (who may have taken the first round) very much impressed me, and were he not brought back to television, it would be a damn shame. After the fight, Huerta thanked God. I don't like the sound of that.
- In the house, the cast of some show on Comedy Central. So?
- Middleweights: Thales Leites defeated (head-and-arm-choke submission @ 3:50 - round 1) Floyd Sword. Another good fight, although not quite at the level of the opener. Leites' poise and generalship in getting Sword to tap were beautiful things to watch.
- Lightweights (taped earlier in the evening): Gray Maynard (G) and Rob Emerson battled to a no-contest. They never bothered giving the time, which will make sense to you in a little bit. For a description of the first round, see my thoughts on the opener, although these guys spent a lot more time on the ground. First round definitely went to Maynard (G). Maynard (G) hits fucking hard for a lightweight! Some of the body shots he dished out were just brutal. So brutal, this fight will forever be remembered for its Matt Hughes-Carlos Newton-like finish. The second round opened with Maynard (G) slamming Emerson to the mat, which, because of the earlier punishment his body took, caused Emerson to tap, but Maynard (G) KO'ed himself, so the ref declared it a no-contest. The fans were pissed, and so was Maynard (G), who claims to not have been knocked out. I'm pretty sure he was. Emerson claimed to have a preexisting rib injury, and said Maynard (G) was definitely out. The fans also hated that, because Emerson claimed to be nice enough to not want to beat his "friend" in that manner. Well, that would be fine, except you tapped out, you fucking goof! Overworked Steve Mazzagatti, in my opinion, made a bad call, and the fight should've went to Maynard (G). It took the announcers all of about three-seconds to begin pushing the rematch.
- Joe Rogan talked to Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee. Jesus, does everyone and their kid have a fucking show to promote?! Rogan definitely had a hard-on for her.
- Lightweights (taped earlier in the evening): Joe Lauzon defeated (triangle-choke submission @ 2:09 - round 2) Brandon Melendez (who, at one-hundred-fifty-seven-pounds, couldn't make weight). Another exciting, action-packed fight. I gave the first to Lauzon, who kept the majority of it on the ground. Melendez was definitely game, though, escaping more than one attempt at a submission, reversing position, and even making it back to his feet. In the second, Lauzon scored another quick takedown, waited until the time was right, and secured the choke, which caused Melendez to tap.
- Rachelle Leah (and some Dana White-looking guy, who made sure he was glued directly to her side) was in the house. I wonder what she sees in him?
- TUF5 final: Nathan Diaz defeated (tap-out submission @ 0:20 - round 2) Manny Gamburyan. Both of these guys are related to accomplished fighters, but I forget their names. On an unrelated subject, free Nick Diaz! I gave the first to Gamburyan, because he was able to quickly grab Diaz, he was able to control the pace and keep most of it on the ground. I swear, once Gamburyan got a grip, he never let go, even for the few seconds Diaz was able to get to his feet. In the second, Gamburyan shot in for a takedown, a bone was visibly popped out in his shoulder, and he quickly tapped. Tough break for Gamburyan, but I'm just glad Diaz (who had the crowd's support) didn't let me down. I have to admit, even while Dana White was presenting him with his prizes, Diaz looked like he couldn't wait to (take another) toke. Gamburyan said his shoulder popped out, which has happened in the past, including in his fight against Lauzon.
- Lightweights (taped earlier in the evening): Cole Miller defeated (ref-stoppage-TKO @ 1:10 - round 1) Andy Wang. This took about forty-seconds longer than I expected. Wang spent the entire first round on his feet... Until taking a high-kick, which floored his goofy ass. Miller pounced on Wang and rained down punches, causing the ref to step in. Wang protested the decision, but he was hurt (and is an idiot). An emotional Miller dedicated the fight to his late grandfather.
- Lightweights: BJ Penn defeated (rear-naked-choke submission @ 3:12 - round 2) Jens Pulver. Among those looking on, were some wussy, Robbie Lawler, and Matt Hughes. Enjoyed the first round (which I barely gave to Penn), which saw Penn get Pulver on the ground and try for an armbar, which Pulver escaped. Pulver managed to reverse position, but Penn still had to fight out of a triangle. Penn eventually got to his feet, and while there wasn't a great deal of action, definitely held his own in the standup. In the second, Pulver defended his ass off, but it wasn't enough to prevent a rear-naked choke, which caused Pulver to tap. Hughes shown great disappointment at the finish, which must've been like déjà vu. Speaking of déjà vu, like in the second Hughes-Frank Trigg fight, Penn wasn't exactly quick in letting go, although he and Pulver went on to make amends, to the point where Pulver if they could train together, and Penn said yes. Pulver confirmed his move to one-hundred-forty-five-pounds and the WEC. Penn simply said, if you want to know how he feels, go to his website (www.bjpenn.com). Unlike Euan (and his mustard) Penn continues to be the fucking man!
Casey's a fucking warrior, so he'll fucking give you the fucking rest of the prelim results, fuck.
Another of the UFC's good outings, maybe their best of the year. Luvved the (Bill) Goldberg walkouts they gave the four main-eventers, as it created an amazing atmosphere, but it still paled in comparison to 'Shamrock vs. Baroni,' which was a better overall show.Labels: B.J. Penn, Jens Pulver, Manny Gamburyan, Mixed Martial Arts, Nate Diaz, OCC Television Coverage, Ric's Commentary, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC
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