UFC on Fox 2
There is no question that in the last few years MMA has become synonymous with UFC in America. Some companies could have crumbled and sent the sport back to the dark ages, but Dana White and the Fertittas really embraced their role as the premier spot for MMA. As the UFC began to absorb its competition (Affliction, PRIDE, Strikeforce, WEC, etc. etc.), they also took it upon themselves to spread the UFC all around. Now we see UFC and MMA everywhere on TV. Fox Deportes, ESPN Deportes, Fuel TV, FX, and Fox. That is impressive stuff. It seems like every week there is a free show to see. This is one of those free shows and the main card is pretty cool. We'll see how it goes!
Preliminary Fights
Heavyweight Division
Lavar "Big" Johnson vs. Joey "Mexicutioner" Beltran
Don't blink. These two are knockout artists and I am excited to see what the two of them will do once they are inside the octagon. The fight didn't disappoint at all. Lavar Johnson looks really good. He is much more versatile in the stand up with knees in the clinch, leg kicks, and the amazing jab that kept Beltran away from hitting his big punches and combinations. Johnson attacked Beltran with three main punches that the Mexecutioner just had no answer for. The hooks to the body, the left jabs to the face and the overhead right. Johnson knocked Beltran out while he was standing. Impressive.
Winner: Lavar "Big" Johnson by KO
Preliminary Fights
Lightweight Division
Michael "The Menace" Johnson vs. Shane Roller
Michael Johnson will be looking to bounce back from a loss while Roller is also trying to get back from two losses in a row. Both guys here will be hungry for wins. Roller will be hoping his top notch collegiate wrestling background will be able to rescue him if his stand up doesn't work against Johnson, who was a finalist of The Ultimate Fighter. From the start, Roller seems out of whack. He tried and tried to take Johnson down and just couldn't do it. Johnson looked light on his feet and his attacks, while sometimes sloppy, where definitely the more effective. In the second round, Roller was able to establish his striking but he failed horribly once more whenever he tried to take Johnson down. Johnson hit a nice flurry of punches at the end that might have stolen it. The third round was a completely different game. Roller was able to get Johnson's back and get a body triangle. Roller controlled the whole round until the last moments were they traded for the finish. This is a hard one to judge, but the way Roller controlled that last round might give him the edge in the judge's eyes. But the judges thought the first two rounds were enough for Johnson to take the win.
Winner: Michael Johnson by Unanimous Decision
Preliminary Fights
Featherweight Division
Eric "Little Lee" Wisely vs. Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira
This seems like an interesting fight. I have yet to see either of the two in the octagon, but Wisely has two victories against Hermes Franca which is pretty nice. Oliveira last significant win was against Efrain Escudero and after that there are some not very pretty results for him. Hopefully he will finally be comfortable in this weight division. Wow... that was quick. Oliveira really showed not only his ability to strike a little but how tremendously quickly he recognizes situations where he can get submissions. He quickly tried to get a leg lock and while Wisely did very well on defending it, his leg was stuck in a bad position and Oliveira quickly recognized it, grabbed Wisely's waist and just pulled him back, which wrenched Wisely's knee almost out of its socket. Very nice and probably submission of the night.
Winner: Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira by Submission
Preliminary Fights
Featherweight Division
George Roop vs Cub Swanson
Roop is one lanky motherfucker. He is incredibly tall for a 145er. Cub Swanson is one of those guys that is just entertaining to watch. I'm interested to see if he can catch the long limbs of Roop and work his BJJ magic. When you have a dynamic striker like Swanson, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to move backwards with your chin up. That is exactly what Roop did throughout the fight and eventually paid for it. Swanson was able to catch him with his chin in the air and knocked him down. After a few more punches to the head, Roop was done. That was a nice way to show how a little guy can finish of a big guy.
Winner: Cub Swanson by TKO
Preliminary Fights
Heavyweight Division
John-Olav "The Viking" Einemo vs. Mike Russow
I don't know much about The Viking other than he is scary looking. He lost to Dave Herman the last time he stepped in the octagon and he will be looking to avenge the loss. Too bad its against Mike Russow. Russow is one of those guys that just doesn't look like he's a fighter. He looks like he should be working security at a low end strip club, but he is one tough motherfucker. I remember watching his fight against Todd Duffee and the way he won that and I can't help but be a fan. I was definitely surprised to see Russow go to the ground against someone that was touted as a really good jiu-jitsu specialist, but I think Russow knew that against that reach advantage he would have a hard time surviving on the stand up. Pretty impressive how he managed to completely dominate Einemo on the ground where Russow was supposed to be the underdog. He never ceases to amaze me.
Winner: Mike Russow by Unanimous Decision
Preliminary Fights
Lightweight Division
Nik "The Carny" Lentz vs. Evan Dunham
These are both really good fighters, one looking to bounce back with a win and the other looking to continue with his winning ways. They will both be looking to finish the fight and I'm sure we will see them all around the octagon. It was pretty much what I expected. They hit each other in the face, took each other down, hit each other some more, tried submissions and eventually the fight had to be stopped because of a nasty cut under the left eye of Lentz that was pretty nasty. It was a good fight though. Dunham is a more precise striker, but Lentz really went out of his way to try and knock Dunham out with some wild shots. Good fight.
Winner: Evan Dunham by Doctor's Stoppage
Winner: Evan Dunham by Doctor's Stoppage
Main Card
Middleweight Division
Demian Maia vs. Chris "All American" Weidman
Looking forward to this fight. Maia is one of those guys that is always interesting to see because he has one of the best BJJ games for MMA. Maia really skyrocketed up the ranking until being knocked back down by both Anderson Silva and Nate Marquardt. He hasn't really finished anyone in a while, but the progress to his striking game is evident. Weidman is a relative newcomer to the MMA game but with a 7 fight win streak, he will be looking forward to setting his star up for the rise against a very tough and game opponent. It is surprising to see Maia not want to go down to the ground and work his BJJ. In the end, this turn into one hell of a lazy fight. Pretty lame. I can understand Weidman being tired as he took the fight on 11 day notice, but Maia was supposed to be ready to go against whomever his opponent was supposed to be. Very disappointing. It's not like they rolled around the ground for a long time or anything of the sort.
Winner: Chris Weidman by Unanimous Decision
Co-Main Event
Middleweight Division
Michael "The Count" Bisping vs. Chael Sonnen
You have to understand something first. I absolutely hate Bisping. While he is somewhat talented, he is such a douchebag that it is hard for me to root for him. Even when he was in The Ultimate Fighter coaching the UK team (which I liked), I just couldn't stand him. I expect Sonnen will try to bring the fight to the ground and control it there. Bisping is a speedy puncher, so Sonnen will have to be careful of that. I'm surprised that Bisping has been controlling the fight like he has. Sonnen looks sluggish and uninterested. For someone who talks so much trash, I'm surprised he is fighting so uninspired. He was able to dominate the third round and get the decision, but I think this will spark a nice debate on message boards all around. I think Bisping might have been robbed, but I'm so happy it happened!
Winner: Chael Sonnen by Unanimous Decision
Co-Main Event
Light Heavyweight Division
Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis vs. "Suga" Rashad Evans
Everybody who follows the UFC knows that Rashad Evans is probably one of the most complete fighters in the Light Heavyweight division. The former champion has only lost once (to Lyoto Machida) and that is it. He will be facing up and coming and undefeated "Mr. Wonderful". These two are great wrestlers, which is why I think Evans will probably have the advantage in the striking game and he will try to keep the fight standing, especially because Davis has some BJJ skills that he could put to use. I was hoping for Mr. Wonderful to finally get the win that would up his profile in the UFC, but Rashad completely dominated him. Evans was able to manhandle Davis and never let him get comfortable in the stand up game. When Davis tried to take it to the ground, most of the time he found himself on his back where Evans quickness and strong base allowed him to control the fight. At one point he got him in a crucifix and I thought it was definitely over. Davis was just manhandled completely by Evans. I think this will help him immensely though. Here is where we will see if Davis has what it takes.
Conclusion:
It was a fun show. Nothing extraordinary... except for Oliveira's submission and Sonnen calling himself a god after he was handed the fight by the judges. Two future title fights seem to be decided with Chael Sonnen getting a rematch against Anderson Silva and Rashad Evans getting a shot at Jon Jones. Other than that, most matches were ok, but nothing special.
5.5 out of 10
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