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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief We're ready to go for another live UFC Pay Per View, and Anderson Silva is getting back in action tonight to defend his Middleweight Championship against Patrick Cote. This should be a solid show, so stick around for my ongoing report tonight, as well as Shawn Ennis's delayed coverage following the end of tonight's World Series game.
FIGHT ONE: SEAN SHERK VS. TYSON GRIFFIN (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Sherk expects this to be nothing but explosive. Griffin says he's looking to keep this on the feet and knock Sherk out. Griffin comes out to "Eye of the Tiger." I was played that on Rock Band today. Good song to start any night of fights.
ROUND ONE: Sherk shoots in and there's a bit of an exchange by Griffin before Sherk pushes him to the cage and takes him down. Sherk took Griffin's back, but Griffin stood up, walked across the Octagon and shook Sherk off. Sherk lands with a nice two punch combo. Sherk shoots again, and Griffin defends at first but gets driven to the cage. He lands a couple of knees, but Sherk drags him to the ground. Griffin starts punching Sherk in the face as Sherk tries to pull him down further. Griffin gets himself back up, continuing to land head punches. They break it away and Griffin lands some nice shots. Both guys land some nice combos in the middle of the cage. Griffin throws a head kick. Griffin tries to shoot himself, but Sherk defends nicely and gets Griffin's back again. Same thing as earlier in the round and they stand back up. They throw some more bombs at each other, with Griffin landing a nice upper cut and Sherk landing some hard shots to the chin as well. They exchange again as the round comes to an end.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sherk. Great round of action, but Sherk got two takedowns and had Griffin's back twice. He also landed a ton of shots himself. Awesome round.
ROUND TWO: Griffin eats a body kick and responds with a hard right before shooting in. He takes Griffin down, but steps back up and lands a combo as Griffin stands. Sherk lands a knee and Griffin follows with a left hook. They both stalk each other in the middle and exchange some more. Hard left hand from Sherk. Sherk lands a really hard combo followed by a leg kick. Griffin responds with a short combo. Griffin with a couple of really hard leg kicks, followed by Sherk with a double jab, followed by Griffin with a combo. This is just back and forth action right now. Another exchange in the middle, with Sherk landing the better shots. Another left from Sherk. Sherk with a combo again, he then pushes Griffin to the cage, steps back and lands another combo. Griffin comes back out and lands a combo of his own. Leg kick from Griffin. Sherk lands on a couple of counter punches.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sherk. Holy shit, this is just an awesome fight right now. It's non-stop action with some beautiful stand up combos on display right now. Sherk landed the more damagin blows in that round again, but it was a close round.
ROUND THREE: Griffin rocks Sherk right off the bat. Sherk recovers and throws some shots himself, but Griffin comes back again and lands another shot that rocks Sherk. Sherk gets Griffin in the clinch and lands a knee. They separate a bit and Sherk comes in with a combo himself. Griffin counters a knee strike with a nice overhand right. Sherk with a nice delayed left. Leg kick from Griffin answered with a leg kick from Sherk. Sherk lands a few more leg kicks. Griffin misses and Sherk responds with a couple of shots. Griffin lands a nice jab. Another exchange. Sherk with a really nice combo. Hard leg kick from Griffin. Griffin tried to close in, but ate a couple of shots for his trouble. Sherk with another combo. Sherk ducks in and out and lands a few shots. Griffin is missing more while Sherk is responding with counters. Nice leg kick from Griffin. Griffin lands a couple of shots as the round ends, and then he runs a lap around the Octagon for good measure.
Penick's Scorecard: Really tough third round to score. Griffin rocked Sherk twice early, but Sean landed a lot more in the round and did a good job avoiding shots and countering. I have to give it to Sherk 10-9.
WINNER: Sean Sherk via unanimous decision. That's how I had it.
POST FIGHT: Some of the crowd boos Sherk, which makes no sense at all. Sherk fought a great fight and landed more shots than Griffin, he deserved the win.
STAR RATING: (****) That was almost worth the price of admission in itself. What a fun fight and a great way to start this show. It was non stop relentless action from start to finish, with some great exchanges and combos in there, with neither guy wanting to give in.
RAMIFICATIONS: Sherk starts his climb up the ladder after his loss to B.J. Penn, and Griffin goes back to work. He doesn't lose much ground, as he had an awesome performance himself. That was just an awesome fight to watch.
-They plug Rachelle Leah on the cover of this month's Playboy magazine.
-We get an awesome preview video for UFC 91.
FIGHT TWO: FABRICIO WERDUM VS. JUNIOR DOS SANTOS (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Dos Santos says he thinks he'll have some great fights here in the UFC. He says Werdum better be prepared or he's going to get himself knocked out. Werdum says he's going to show us the best Fabricio Werdum.
ROUND ONE: Werdum comes out with an inside leg kick. Dos Santos stalks a bit and Werdum lands antoher inside leg kick. He lands one more before Dos Santos gets a leg kick of his own in. Dos Santos avoids a clinch with Werdum. Werdum lands an outside leg kick. Dos Santos lands an uppercut and drops Werdum. Oh my God. He follows up with two shots, but Werdum was out from that upper cut. Wow. Now that's how you make a statement in your UFC debut.
WINNER: Dos Santos via KO at 1:21 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (***) Chock that score up to the amazing highlight knockout for Dos Santos. Wow. I'm almost speechless after that. That thing's going to be replayed for many years to come.
POST FIGHT: Dos Santos's translator said Dos Santos felt he could hang with Werdum in his stand up.
RAMIFICATIONS: Well, Werdum no longer has a title shot coming up. Dos Santos immediately throws his name into the hat to get in there in the less than deep heavyweight division.
FIGHT THREE: RICH CLEMENTI VS. GRAY MAYNARD (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Clementi says he's coming into this with the mindset that a victory slingshots him up the ladder. Maynard says he's just going to kick Clementi's ass.
ROUND ONE: Maynard connects with a few after a short feeling out process. He lands a right. He comes in with a body shot. Clementi throws a high kic, but Maynard blocks it. Clementi goes to a leg kick after that. The crowd starts to boo a bit as they circle each other. Maynard lands a couple more shots. Maynard shoots but Clementi stays on his feet. Maynard separates. He lands a nice combination. He steps in with a couple more shots again. Maynard connects on a right hook. Clementi gets an inside leg kick, but Maynard picks him up and slams him. He ended up in half guard. Clementi does a very good job of controlling Maynard's body. Maynard throws a few body shots. Clementi tried to get himself up, and he almost moved into a submission attempt. Maynard got some shots in with ground and pound as the round came to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maynard. Not much to that round, but Clementi did nothing. Maynard had a nice slam in the round, though he didn't do much on the ground.
ROUND TWO: Maynard comes out swinging. Maynard connects with a nice right hand. Maynard presses Clementi up against the cage, but doesn't have much and backs off. Clementi steps in but eats a shot. Maynard shoots in, gets Clementi to the cage and picks him up for another slam. Clementi swings Maynard off, but Maynard almost had a standing guillotine in. He let it go and took Clementi down again. Clementi got one of Maynard's arms trapped, but let it go. He tried to roll out to get back to his feet, but Maynard stayed on him. Maynard is throwing some body punches, but Clementi is working from the bottom nicely to try to squirm out of this. Clementi again tried to spin out, but Maynard stayed on him once again. Maynard stayed in control on top as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maynard. Once again not much going outside of a nice takedown. He's not doing much of anything once he gets it there though. Clementi needs to do something in this third round.
ROUND THREE: Maynard wastes no time in getting another take down on Clementi. Rogan gets pissed at the referee telling them to get moving. Clementi tried to grab an arm, but he ate some body shots. He tried to get up again but Maynard kept him down. This ref is a getting a bit annoying with his constant "let's go gentlemen." Maynard gets into side control, but Clementi gets a leg hooked and tries to get out again. Maynard holds onto him and then gets his back. Clementi gets to his feet, but Maynard picks him up and takes him down again. Maynard lands a nice knee to the body on Clementi. Clementi reverses and tries to take Maynard's back, but he's unsuccessful. Maynard takes him down again and the crowd starts to boo. Maynard holds control and he'll take the decision here.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maynard. Three takedowns and not much else to the round. Clementi tried to get himself out of his predicament on the ground, but Maynard held control throughout.
WINNER: Maynard via unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (*+) There were some nice slam takedowns from Maynard, but not much else happened in that fight at all. That was disappointing as I know most of us were looking forward to that one.
POST FIGHT: Maynard apologized to the crowd, as he said he would've rather done more with the stand up.
FIGHT FOUR: JOSH KOSCHECK VS. THIAGO ALVES (WELTERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Here we go. Koscheck comes off well in the prefight interview for taking this fight on short notice. This is Alves's chance to make another statement, and Koscheck's chance to jump back into the title picture at 170 lbs.
ROUND ONE: Alves lands a nice inside leg kick to jab combo. Koscheck slipped on a kick attempt but Alves didn't capitalize. Alves rocked Koscheck with a shot, and jumped after him. Alves landed a few more shots, but Koscheck got back to his feet. Alves landed a head kick, but Koscheck recovered nicely. He was almost out. Koscheck lands a shot of his own. Nice fake punch to head kick from Alves. Koscheck lands a nice right hand himself. They trade leg kicks. Koscheck lands a nice right hand and follows it up with a body shot. Leg kick to jab from Alves. Nice hard leg kick from Alves. Koscheck with a nice combo. Alves lands a nice knee after eating a body shot. Alves defends the takedown on the cage very nicely. Nice head kick from Alves defended well by Koscheck. Alves with a couple more hard leg kicks. Nice inside leg kick with another jab follow up from Alves.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Alves. Good round of action. Koscheck got tagged early but he recovered nicely and continued on in the round.
ROUND TWO: Koscheck ate a shot as he went for an uppercut. Alves continues the leg kicks. Koscheck throws a nice combo. Koscheck comes in with a combo ended with a head kick, but Alves had it blocked. Nice right from Koscheck. Spinning back kick lands from Koscheck. He clinches Alves and lands a knee. Foot stomp from Koscheck. Alves frees himself. Another nice leg kick from Aleves. Body kick from Alves, returned by Koscheck. Nice combo started with a kick by ALves. Another leg kick and then a body kick from Alves. They exchange some body shots. Koscheck shoots in for a takedown, but Alves sprawls and holds it off. Koscheck gives a couple foot stomps. They stay clinched as the round closes.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Alves. Koscheck started off well in that round, but Alves's leg kicks and body kicks combined with his takedown defense gave him that round in my opinion.
ROUND THREE: Alves uses that inside leg kick to jab. Then he lands a knee to Koscheck and some punches and again has Koscheck rocked. Great recovery from Koscheck though. Outside leg kick to combo from Alves and then Koscheck grabs a clinch on the cage. Koscheck lands an elbow but got poked in the eye. Koscheck lands a right but gets tagged with another leg kick. Again with a leg kick from Alves. Again. Good high kick from Alves. Koscheck then returns the poke to Alves. Alves is alright and they restart. Another nice leg kick and then a combo. Gigantic leg kick from Alves that almost buckled Koscheck. Another nice leg kick form Alves. Koscheck still tried to push forward and he ate another leg kick. He continues to press, but he eats some more leg kicks. They swing at each other in the middle. Alves lands a superman punch at the end of the round. Good fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Alves. Those leg kicks were brutal, and Alves again almost knocked Koscheck out. Give Koscheck a tone of credit for surviving in this fight.
WINNER: Alves via unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was another exciting fight, and Koscheck put up one hell of a fight in surviving the onslaught from Alves. Alves fought a great fight and kept on with the leg kicks and showed some great takedown defense.
POST FIGHT: Alves said he's ready for whatever's next. He said he's still been a good boy and he would like to fight for the title.
RAMIFICATIONS: Alves should be next in line following the B.J. vs. GSP fight, and if Koscheck can recover he still may fight in December. He showed a ton of heart in taking this fight on short notice and performing like he did. He just found himself up against a better fighter tonight.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: ANDERSON SILVA VS. PATRICK COTE (MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
PRE FIGHT: Well, we saw one upset on this card already. It's not out of the realm of possibility for Cote to pull off the upset, I just don't think he's got a chance to make that happen in this fight. But, that's why the fights are fought, and that's why we're here tonight. Cote's right that no one is unbeatable, but the more you see of Anderson Silva the more you think he's as close to that as one can be. Great line from Goldberg, "[Silva] will be talked about for decades. If he's upset tonight, Cote will be talked about for centuries."
ROUND ONE: Cote starts with an inside leg kick. Cote with a couple more leg kicks. Cote is pressing a bit more here to start. Silva is calmly walking the cage, waiting for a spot. Silva's first shot of the fight is an inside leg kick. Very tentative to start here, but then Anderson unleashes a leg kick. He lands a second one and then gets in a body kick. Cote presses in again, but he's not landing anything. Silva lands a kick to the head and follows with a combo. Cote takes it, and then Silva lands a knee to the head as well. He slips a bit, but quickly recovers. Cote can take a hit. Silva jumped stances, and Cote mockingly followed suit. Hard leg kick from Silva. One more kick to the body from Silva as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. It only had short bursts of action, but those were exciting. Silva is so explosive, and he's being patient and waiting for his spot. This is sure to pick up as we go along.
ROUND TWO: Cote comes out with another inside leg kick. He presses in with a punch. Silva responds and catches Cote with a shot. He then does a jump kick. Cote lands a spinning back fist as Silva comes in at him, but they clinch on the cage. Silva with another kick as they break it out. Cote shot in, but Silva ducked out and got Cote on the ground himself. Cote lands a nice elbow from the bottom. Silva offers his hand to Cote to help him up off the ground as he stepped back. Cote came in but slipped a bit. Cote lands a kick to the body. Silva comes back with a front kick. Silva throws a hard leg kick, and Cote catches the leg. Silva gets out of it, but gets caught when he tries it again. Cote pushes him to the cage. Silva starts unleashing some vicious knees from the clinch. Good round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. Some nasty knees to seal the round late, but Silva landed some nice stuff there in that round. Give credit to Cote, he's the first fighter to take Silva to a third round in the UFC.
ROUND THREE: Cote lands a shot and then a leg kick. Cote ran in and his leg went out. The replay shows his knee just popping as he was about to make a move. Highly disappointing end to this main event. You've got to just feel awful for Cote right now.
WINNER: Silva via tko at :39 of the third round. Silva's not at all happy about the victory, and I know he feels for Cote here.
POST FIGHT: Silva apologizes to everyone, and says Patrick should not be booed, because you don't know what the fighters go through to get there, and he says he'll be back again to put on another show. Cote said it was an old knee injury, and he said it popped on him in the second round, and he tried to come out in the third and it just did it again. That was nasty looking.
STAR RATING: I'm not even going to give one to the non finish here. It was entertaining in many spots through the first two rounds, but just a disappointing end to the fight, especially for Patrick Cote.
PRELIM FIGHT A: THALES LEITES VS. DREW MCFEDRIES (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: McFedries came in with a shot, but Leites recovered and took him down on the cage. Leites takes McFedries's back. He gets his arm under the chin and that's all she wrote.
WINNER: Leites via submission at 1:18 of the first round.
STAR RATING:(**-) That was a beautiful display from Leites on the ground, and McFedries was just simply overmatched in that spot.
-Goldberg and Rogan broke down the night, and showed the submission of the night from the prelims, as Spencer Fisher caught Shannon Gugerty in a nice triangle. Rogan explained the beard that he's been sporting, saying it's a tribute to Evan Tanner, as he and some others agreed to grow out the shaggy beards in memoriam for two months.
-Well, I guess that's all we're getting for the fights tonight. Well, four out of six ain't bad, I suppose. There were two really good fights on this show, two good submissions with the Spencer Fisher triangle that was shown at the end, and an amazing upset from Junior Dos Santos. Well, that's all for me tonight, folks, but Shawn Ennis should be around with his coverage at some point, and we'll have our Torch Staff audio round table at some point tomorrow; so stick around to MMATorch.com for more on UFC 90 and beyond. Thanks for sticking with us tonight!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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