UFC Events
ENNIS: UFC 91 - Blow-by-Blow Coverage and Analysis of the Big Show
Nov 15, 2008 - 10:00:40 PM ENNIS: UFC 91 - Blow-by-Blow Coverage and Analysis of the Big Show

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We've got black and white interviews, we've got sepia gladiators, and it's time to witness UFC 91 - Couture vs. Lesnar. Let's commence with the event, shall we?

Goldberg and Rogan break down the hype and the text voting, and we get going with the vignettes for Quarry and Maia.

FIRST FIGHT: NATE "THE ROCK" QUARRY vs. DEMIAN MAIA (Middleweight)

It says in Maia's stats that he has "underrated striking." I tend to think that if it's rated at all, it's overrated. I'm just sayin.

ROUND ONE:
Maia leads with a left hand, then feints and shoots. Quarry tries to keep it on the feet, but Maia stays with the takedown and gets the mount. Quarry looks to escape and gives up his back, where Maia grabs a body triangle. Strikes from the back by Maia, and Quarry is calm. Maia looks to pull his arm across the neck for the rear naked, and Quarry defends well. Maia keeps a hold of the body triangle and continues to work strikes. Maia grabs the rear naked choke and secures the victory.

RESULT: Maia by submission at 2:13 of Round 1.

STAR RATING: (**-) Not much to see here, folks. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get Quarry down, which I think was also a surprise to Quarry. Of course, once it was there with neither fighter sweating, that was it.

RAMIFICATIONS: Quarry retains his status as middling middleweight who will continue to pick up wins against mid-level competition, and Maia gets another impressive submission, though this time over a guy who is primarily a striker. I'd still like to see him tested against a top-level fighter before I'm sold on him as a real opponent for Anderson Silva. I'd like to see a Nate Quarry-Jason MacDonald fight, and perhaps Maia taking on a Thales Leites or similar.

We get a promo for the crazy-awesome UFC 92 card, then a look inside the heavyweights' locker rooms.

SECOND FIGHT: GABRIEL "NAPAO" GONZAGA vs. JOSH HENDRICKS (Heavyweight)

Hendricks is a weird looking dude. Nothing personal, mind you. Just an observation. I'm thinking this one will also end in the first. I don't see Gonzaga taking him lightly, and he doesn't seem to be taking him for granted in the pre-fight interview.

ROUND ONE:
Both guys lunge in with strikes immediately. They exchange knees in the clinch. Knee to the body by Gonzaga, and he lands a big right hand. Another right hand lands for Gonzaga, and a knee. He is definitely getting the better of the exchanges. Big knee to the body by Gonzaga, and a huge right hand to the chin puts Hendricks down. Gonzaga puts Hendricks out of his misery quickly, and I told you so.

RESULT: Gonzaga by TKO at 1:01 of Round 1.

STAR RATING: (**-) Again, not much to see here, and it gets a little extra credit for the vicious nature of the KO.

RAMIFICATIONS: I wouldn't expect to see Hendricks any time soon, at least on the main card. Gonzaga, on the other hand, did exactly what he needed to and took care of business. That, my friends, is how you handle a showcase fight. Gonzaga needs to get back into the cage against some top competition next time. It may be too quick for the UFC's liking, but I'd love to see a Gonzaga-Valasquez or Gonzaga-Carwin fight. Or after Frank Mir gets hammered by Big Nog, put him in there with Gonzaga. That'd be good times.

Next we get some more promos, and I've got to admit that I'm almost as excited for Thiago Silva vs. Lyoto Machida as I am for GSP-Penn. Makes no sense, I know, but it just looks like a great fight to me. With the two quick fights out of the way, we'll get a prelim.

THIRD FIGHT (Prelim): MATT BROWN vs. RYAN THOMAS (Welterweight)

ROUND ONE:
Thomas throws two quick kicks that are blocked, and Brown lands a couple of punches that wilt Thomas. Thomas comes back with a body lock for a takedown, which Brown defends well at first before succumbing to the takedown. Thomas moves into side control, then punishes Brown against the fence. Brown uses the cage to stand, and they work inside the clinch. Thomas looks for a throw but ends up just muscling Brown down. Brown works his way back up again, and Thomas lands a knee to the body. Thomas continues to control Brown in the clinch, then Brown reverses and lands a knee to the body. Thomas then grabs a waistlock and takes Brown down again. Punches from the guard by Thomas, and Brown looks for a triangle. Thomas gets a little over-aggressive in spiking Brown to ascape the triangle and almost gets caught in an armbar. Thomas escapes the armbar and works into side control. He almost gets a crucifix, but ends up back in the guard. Brown reverses position and now works from Thomas's guard. Thomas looks like he's working for a gogplata, but Brown escapes and stands. Thomas looks for the takedown immediately and almost gets caught in a guillotine. Thomas works the ground and pound from the guard and Brown looks for another triangle as the round ends. I'd give that round to Thomas. Good round.

ROUND TWO:
They exchange strikes to start, and Thomas whiffs a takedown attempt. Brown lands a couple of punches and Thomas takes him down. Brown looks for an armbar immediately and Thomas stands and slams him. Brown holds on to the armbar and is able to flip Thomas on to his back to finish the fight.

RESULT: Matt Brown by submission at 0:57 of Round 2.

STAR RATING: (**+) Nice fight.

RAMIFICATIONS: I don't expect Ryan Thomas to be around anymore after losing to two fighters from one of the least impressive seasons of "The Ultimate Fighter." Brown, on the other hand, sees his stock rise more than I thought possible after a very impressive showing against Dong Hyun Kim in his last fight, then a submission win here.

TUF Promo.

FOURTH FIGHT: DUSTIN "MCLOVIN" HAZELETT vs. TAMDAN "THE BARN CAT" MCCRORY (Welterweight)
McCrory enters the cage to a metal song I'm not familiar with, while Hazelett pulls off the hick vibe, coming to the cage with a big bushy beard to the tune of "Bad Moon Rising." He even looks like Jon Fogerty circa 1965. More like Fogerty than McLovin' at the moment.
And by the way, it's great that they saved this fight for third, because the card figures to be stellar from here on out.

ROUND ONE:
They feel each other out briefly before McCrory unleashes a nice combination that lands. Hazelett with a leg kick followed by a front kick that stumbles McCrory. Hazelett runs in and misses a jumping knee. Body kick lands for McCrory. Nice leg kick by Hazelett. Head kick blocked by McCrory. Body kick lands for McCrory, and a leg kick. Huge straight right hand lands for Hazelett, and McCrory recovers and lands a nasty leg kick. Nice straight right hand for McCrory, and he lands a well-timed leg kick as Hazelett comes in for a punch. They exchange body kicks, and McCrory lands another leg kick. Head kick lands for Hazelett as McCrory shoots, and Hazelett looks for an omoplata. Really nice sequence there. McCrory rolls out and Hazelett grabs it again. McCrory looks to escape but Hazelett keeps it locked. He can't finish with that hold, so Hazelett switches very quickly into an armbar, causing the tap. That happened so quickly that there was virtually no response by the crowd. Another beautiful performance by Hazelett.

RESULT: Hazelett by submission at 3:59 of Round 1.

STAR RATING: (***-) I may be overrating this one a bit, but I really enjoyed that. Hazelett showed perfect technique transitioning from the omoplata to an armbar, but McCrory acquitted himself well.

RAMIFICATIONS: Hazelett has got to get a closer look at the upper echelon of the welterweight division after that. He has looked spectacular in his last three fights, including a loss to Josh Koscheck. Hazelett is a GSP-type fighter who is so well-rounded that you never know how he's going to look to finish a fight. McCrory, by the same token, hasn't looked bad yet even with two losses. He may need some time to develop, being only 22 years old, but he's a guy that the Zuffa would be wise to keep around and develop, perhaps in WEC?

FIFTH FIGHT IN A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR (Prelim): JEREMY "LIL HEATHEN" STEPHENS vs. RAFAEL DOS ANJOS (Lightweight)

They are moving really quickly tonight and getting a lot of promo time in for the next event, so if they do have a record-size audience tonight, they're putting on a good show.

ROUND ONE:
Dos Anjos lands a nice leg kick to start out. Knee to the body lands for Stephens, and another leg kick for Dos Anjos. Nice combo by Stephens lands. Dos Anjos shoots and Stephens thwarts him. They clinch against the fence. Stephens lands an elbow inside the clinch as Dos Anjos grabs a leg. Stephens weathers the takedown attempt, but Dos Anjos takes his back in short order and slams him. Strikes from the back by Dos Anjos. Dos Anjos works into half guard and Stephens grabs a guillotine. Dos Anjos escapes and gets back into side control. He works into and out of North-South a couple of times before looking for mount. Stephens gets half guard and then sweeps into top position, but Dos Anjos looks for an omoplata and rolls Stephens over. Stephens shows a lot of resolve and flexibility and makes it out of the round. Dos Anjos wins that round.

ROUND TWO:
They circle for a few seconds, and Stephens lands a nice knee to the head as Dos Anjos is caught ducking. Nice right hook lands on the ear of Dos Anjos. Flying knee by Stephens. Dos Anjos may be hurt, as he's dancing a little bit. Nice leg kick by Dos Anjos, and a Superman punch. Dos Anjos ducks a right hand and looks for a takedown. Nice work by Dos Anjos. Stephens had a hold of Dos Anjos's shoulder, but Dos Anjos spins out and takes Stephens's back. Dos Anjos grabs a body triangle and works the strikes from the back. He lets that go and tries to trap the arm of Stephens with his legs. Stephens uses that to reverse, defends an armbar, and works into Dos Anjos's guard. Nice elbows by Stephens, and he passes into half guard. Nice left-right combination lands for Stephens. Another big elbow for Stephens. He goes to the body-head combo, which is way underused in ground and pound. Stephens finishes the round in that position, and I think he won it late. Good fight so far.

ROUND THREE:
Leg kick lands for Dos Anjos, and Stephens answers. Stephens blocks a leg kick, then lands a right uppercut that destroys Dos Anjos. That has KO of the night written all over it. It was quite literally a slobberknocker, as the replay shows.

RESULT: Stephens by KO at 0:39 of Round 3

STAR RATING: (****-) Really nice fight. Good back and forth, a lot of work on the ground and the feet, and a heck of a finish to boot.

RAMIFICATIONS: Stephens continues to look good as part of the up-and-coming class of lightweights. He may not be undefeated, but he's another one that's never looked bad in a UFC fight. Dos Anjos is definitely coming back. He showed excellent jiu jits and some nasty leg kicks. There's no shame in getting caught by a punch like that, and both of these guys show tons of promise from what we've seen so far.

SIXTH FIGHT: KENNY "KENFLO" FLORIAN vs. JOE "DADDY" STEVENSON (Lightweight)

I love this fight on paper, but I still can't see how Stevenson would get a title shot if he wins. Also, I still feel the need to say that Florian's nickname needs to go, and it needs to be replaced by "The Fonz." Come on, he totally looks like Fonzie from Happy Days. I don't care if the reference is outdated. This needs to happen.

ROUND ONE:
Stevenson stalks as Florian sticks and moves. Nice right hand by Florian. Big head kick is blocked by Stevenson, and Florian lands a big knee. Stevenson chases and lands a big left hand. He charges in and gets a hold of Florian. He tosses Florian over his head but Florian stands back up. They work from the clinch and Florian lands a knee. Stevenson picks Florian up and looks for the slam, but Florian grabs the fence. He won't want to do that again with Herb Dean as the ref. they work their way back to the feet and separate. Nice right hand by Florian. Stevenson looks to land from the outside, but he doesn't have the reach. Stevenson pushes forward and looks for an uppercut from the clinch. Florian grabs a hold of Stevenson and slams him. Florian working from the guard. He looks for a downward punch, then transitions to the mount quickly. Ground and pound by Florian, and he gets Stevenson's back. Body triangle by Florian, and he grabs a rear naked choke, tapping out Stevenson. Unbelievable performance by Florian. You can't even overstate how huge that performance was.

RESULT: Florian by submission at 4:03 of round 1

STAR RATING: (***+) It didn't go long, but the duration was fantastic.

RAMIFICATIONS: Florian puts an exclamation point on his claim that he deserves a title shot. He said he wanted to make a statement, and that's exactly what he did. He says in the post-fight that he wants BJ Penn, and if Penn stays in the lightweight division, he absolutely cannot overlook Florian. Joe Stevenson may be hitting a rough patch lately, but when you fight Sherk , Gleison Tibau and Florian in the same year, going 1-2 doesn't look quite as bad. Stevenson will be just fine.

It's time to hype the main event, and I'm excited. The build up for this one has been excellent. I've had a crazy busy week this week, so I haven't seen the preview shows. If they used these vignettes on the preview, they're perfect. The sound, the video, everything. Very nice.

SEVENTH (!) FIGHT: BROCK LESNAR vs. RANDY "THE NATURAL" COUTURE (Heavyweight Championship)

I love that Lesnar comes out to "Enter Sandman." I don't care who you are, that's a great song to have as entrance music. Unfortunately, the broadcast is once again sorely lacking in the live audio department. I don't care about commentary during the entrances. I want to hear the crowd and the entrance music. Make me feel like I'm there, and not watching on TV.
Couture enters to "Back in the Saddle", which is also excellent entrance music, especially when one is…well, back. I must say, though, that I'm not confident about the look in Randy's eyes on the way to the cage. I may be way off, but he doesn't look like he wants to be there right now. Hopefully it's just me.

ROUND ONE:
Big "Randy" chant breaks out as the fight starts. Couture throws a punch and they clinch. Knees in the clinch by Lesnar. Couture leans him against the fence. Knees to the legs by Couture, and Lesnar answers. Lesnar spins Couture around against the cage. Lesnar lands a right hand, and Couture lands a nice right of his own as they separate. That will get Lesnar's attention. Lesnar paws a left hand out and shoots for a takedown. Couture defends, and they're against the cage. Lesnar gets Couture up and slams him. Lesnar working from the half guard. He looks for side control and almost mounts, but Couture defends. Couture reverses and almost gets Lesnar's back. Lesnar defends well, however, and gets into Couture's half guard again. He looks to posture up and lands some big shots to the face. Couture grabs the wrist. Couture tries to go out the back door again, but Lesnar stays on top of him. Couture continues to work and gets back to his feet. Couture lands a knee to the inside of Lesnar's leg and he looks for a takedown. He lifts Lesnar but can't get him down. They separate as the first round ends. I'm not positive, but I'd give the round to Lesnar. Great stuff so far, and Lesnar looks tired.

ROUND TWO:
Jab misses for Lesnar, but he lands a big standing elbow that wobbles Couture. Lesnar charges, but Couture presses him against the cage. Knee to the face by Couture, reminiscent of the Gonzaga fight. Knees to the legs by Couture. Big knee lands for Lesnar, and Couture answers with a big combination. Uppercuts exchanged by both fighters. Upercut by Lesnar, and a hook for Couture. Lesnar looks to shoot, but doesn't get low enough. Couture pushes him against the fence again. Couture looks for a takedown. They separate and Lesnar lands a big knee. Lesnar lands a big right hand that crumples Couture, and he pounces, peppering Couture with ground and pound. He keeps the punishment coming, and Yamasaki calls the fight. Shocking finish. I need to see a replay of that punch, because it didn’t look like it caught him enough.
On the replay, he definitely caught Couture perfectly with a shot to the temple. Couture is visibly upset after the fight.

RESULT: Lesnar by TKO at 3:07 of Round 2.

STAR RATING: (****) Unbelievable finish to that fight. The crowd is booing, but it's just sour grapes at this point. It's time to give Lesnar some dap.

RAMIFICATIONS: Well, the obvious ramification is that Lesnar is the new champ. He'll be fighting Big Nogueira for the undisputed title at a future date once Nog takes care of Frank Mir. I just don't even know how to react right now. I wasn't expecting the end to come that quickly. I have no doubt that we'll have people still doubting Lesnar, saying the punch was lucky and flukish. But you know what? Even if that was the case (and it's not), that's part of MMA. Ask GSP. The fact is that Couture ducked and caught a punch on the temple. That's not a fluke. That's a knockout. I'll say this, though: the prospect of a Noguiera-Lesnar title fight is pretty exciting to me. Lesnar has shown now that he can take a punch, as Couture hit him with some big stuff, so the question now is how his submission defense is. I imagine Nog-Lesnar will spend quite a bit of time on the ground. I just wonder how much time Noguiera will spend in top position.

EIGHT FIGHT (Prelim): JORGE GURGEL vs. AARON RILEY (Lightweight)

ROUND ONE: Riley paws a leg kick, and Gurgel throws a nice combo with a body kick punctuation. Front kick by Riley. Nice inside leg kick by Riley, and Gurgel takes a shot to the jewels. After a brief delay, they start again and Gurgel lands another combo. Body-head combination by Gurgel, and he eats a head kick. Gurgel needs to take the fight to the floor here. Nice right hand by Gurgel. Gurgel continues to pepper Riley, and lands a head kick. Big left by Riley, and a body kick. Nice body kick by Gurgel as well. Gurgel continues to work the body as they exchange frenetic punches and kicks. More punches by Gurgel and a body kick. Another body kick by Gurgel. Riley lands a nice knee, and Gurgel answers with a big right hand. They exchange big body kicks. Two kicks to the head and a nice right hand by Gurgel finish the round. That round was close, but Gurgel probably landed more.

ROUND TWO:
Gurgel's corner tells him to stick with the body kicks, which is fine and all, but he could win this fight a lot more easily if he just took Riley down. Body kick and a left hand by Gurgel. Another body kick by Gurgel, and Riley answers. Right hand by Gurgel. Riley lands a nice knee in the clinch. Left hand by Riley, and they exchange frenetically again. Two big left hands land for Riley, and a head kick. Right hand for Gurgel. Riley lands a head kick and a knee. Gurgel is taken down and Riley works from the guard. Riley stands up and lands a big downward punch, followed by a hammer fist. Hammerfists from the bottom by Gurgel, and they stand. Superman punch by Gurgel, and Riley catches him with an inside elbow. Riley lands a big head kick and Gurgel tries to land uppercuts in the clinch. Leg kick by Gurgel. Riley lands kicks to the body and head. Riley lands a nice shot and snaps Gurgel's head back with a left hand. Gurgel gets a nice takedown with 10 seconds left, and the round ends. That one goes to Riley, and Gurgel showed at the very end that he is capable of taking Riley down.

ROUND THREE:
Combination lands immediately for Gurgel, and a body kick. Sloppy strikes miss by Gurgel, and he lands a body kick. Riley misses a straight left. Leg kick by Gurgel. Riley lands a head kick that dazes Gurgel, and he charges in throwing heavy leather. Gurgel recovers nicely but eats another nice left hand and some nasty knees to the body. Gurgel backs away from Riley and takes some more shots. They exchange some sloppy strikes, and Gurgel lands a body kick. Left hand by Riley. Body kick by Gurgel, and he slips. Riley works from the guard and lands a hammerfist. Gurgel shoots with one minute left and is thwarted. Head kick lands for Gurgel. He shoots and is told to go away again. Knees from the clinch by Riley. Gurgel shoots and Riley makes him pay. Round three ends and I give it to Riley. Very nice fight, but I just wish that Gurgel would fight smarter.

RESULT: Riley by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)

STAR RATING: (***+) Nice striking throughout the fight here, but not much on the floor.

RAMIFICATIONS: Gurgel will have a home in the Octagon as long as he's tight with Rich Franklin, and it helps that he's exciting. But he won't be getting out of the undercard until he shows his full range of skills. Riley makes a successful return to the UFC, and it'll be interesting to see how they match him up next. I wouldn't mind seeing a Riley-Melvin Guillard fight.

EIGHTH FIGHT (Prelim): ALVIN ROBINSON vs. MARK BOCEK (Lightweight)

ROUND ONE:
Bocek gets a takedown early and moves into half guard. Robinson closes it. Bocek postures up for strikes, but Robinson defends his position well. Bocek continues to try to pass, and finally moves into half guard. He looks to mount, but Robinson sweeps and puts Bocek on his back. Boceck traps Robinson's arm briefly but can't hold on to it. Bocek sweeps and gets Robinson down again. He passes into side control. Elbows by Bocek, followed by knees to the body. Bocek works some elbows from the top again and looks to mount. Robinson looks for guard and gets it. Shots to the body by Bocek. He passes into side control again, then into north-south. Bocek gets a north-south choke but doesn't have enough time to finish as the round ends. That round was all Bocek.

ROUND TWO:
Nice left hand by Bocek, and Robinson charges in with a combination. Bocek uses his momentum and turns it into a takedown. Bocek passes again into side control. Knees to the body from the side, and short elbows by Bocek. He looks for another north-south, and Robinson defends. Bocek transitions into a guillotine, and Robinson spins out but gets caught in another north-south choke. Bocek can't finish the choke and moves into side control again. Bocek passes into mount and Robinson gives up his back. Bocek gets a body triangle and looks for the choke. Body punches by Bocek, and he peppers Robinson's head. Bocek almost sinks the rear naked choke, but Robinson escapes. Robinson sweeps and escapes into Bocek's guard. Bocek looks for the third or fourth omoplata of the night, but can't finish it. Robinson transitions and takes Bocek's back ever so briefly. Bocek gets back into the guard again as the round ends. Another one for Bocek.

ROUND THREE:
Bocek lands a nice combination to start and shoots for a takedown. He gets Robinson up and slams him hard. It looked like Bocek may have been spiked just a bit on the slam. He passes into half guard, then to side control. Bocek transitions into mount and almost gets an arm triangle. Robinson gives up his back and Bocek gets him flattened out. Robinson turns back over, takes some punches, then gives up his back again. Bocek looks for the rear naked choke and finally finds it, tapping Robinson. Very nice work by Bocek.

RESULT: Bocek by submission at 3:16 of Round 3.

STAR RATING: (***+) Nice ground battle there.

RAMIFICATIONS: Bocek finally gets to show something in his third fight for the UFC. This was probably a loser leaves town match, so we may not see Robinson for a while. Bocek will probably stay on the undercard for his next fight.

Well, this was a great card all around, and we got to see every single fight on it. We've got a new heavyweight champion, and we'll have more on the ramifications tomorrow night as we bring you roundtable audio. Keep it here at the Torch for the weekend.