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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief After all of the hype, after all of the anticipation, UFC 91 is upon us, and we are only hours from the main event between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture. Update this page throughout the night for ongoing coverage of the event, and check out Shawn Ennis's Blow by Blow coverage as well on the site. Also, as we announced today MMATorch will be going mobile with an exclusive look on mobile phones and devices, streamlining your mma news and analysis for easy access on the go. Check out the new layout on your phones starting this week!
-In the opening interview videos, Stevenson says he's upset that he's considered the under dog. Florian says he needs to make a statement with this fight.
-Lesnar says he's not coming to just "do his best," he's coming to win the belt. He wants to take it home to Minneapolis.
-Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan open the show as always adding more hype to our megahyped main event. They've got the text voting going for the main event once again. They then break down the lightweight bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson.
FIGHT ONE: NATE QUARRY VS. DEMIAN MAIA (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PREFIGHT: The pre-fight video hypes up Maia's submission skill. Quarry says he's going to have to get through his hands first. Maia says the stand up's not a problem for him. Quarry says he needs to make this something Maia's never seen. Maia comes to the Octagon to the Linkin Park/Jay-Z mash-up "Encore."
ROUND ONE: Maia pushes the action on Wuarry and lands a shot first before shooting in and pulling guard. Quarry tries to get out of Maia's grip but Maia took control and got full mount. Quarry tried to get out of it, and Maia took his back and locked in the body triangle. Maia continued to stay busy throwing shots as he tried to get an arm under Quarry's chin. Quarry's in so much trouble right now. Maia continues to throw shots to get his opportunity and then he locked in the rear naked choke for the win.
WINNER: Maia via submission at 2:13 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Rogan interviews Maia after the fight. Maia says he doesn't have a strategy for his fights, he just comes and fights. Maia says it's up to Dana White who he fights next, and says Michael Bisping would be a good fight for him. I'd pay to see that.
STAR RATING:(**) That was a beautiful display from Maia. He is a special fighter on the ground, and he came with the first punch in this fight and pressed Quarry. Once he got it to the ground, it was just domination. Great showing from Maia.
RAMIFICATIONS: A fight with Michael Bisping would be a good match up for Maia next, although he's making a case for a title shot sooner rather than later.
FIGHT TWO: GABRIEL GONZAGA VS. JOSH HENDRICKS (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PREFIGHT: Gonzaga mumbles that he has nothing against Hendricks, but he's the next guy in front of him and he's going to do what he needs to do.
ROUND ONE: Hendricks tried to grapple with Gonzage and do a little dirty boxing. Gonzaga's landing some really hard shots in here, but Hendricks has landed a couple himself. Big knee to the gut from Gonzaga. He stepped back and dropped Hendricks with a right hand. Two punches on the ground later and that's all she wrote.
WINNER: Gonzaga via tko at 1:01 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Gonzaga said he hopes that he'll get a title shot soon, and he'll do much better the next time. He said it's impossible to predict, Lesnar may do good, but he chooses Randy.
STAR RATING:(**-) It wasn't a pretty minute of fighting, but it was a dominant finish from Gonzaga. Good knockout for Gonzaga.
RAMIFICATIONS: Well, Gonzaga did what Werdum could not in his showcase fight and he looked great. He keeps his name in the hat for a title shot in mid to late '09 in the thin heavyweight division.
PRELIM FIGHT ONE: RYAN THOMAS VS. MATT BROWN
ROUND ONE: Thomas lands a couple of kicks early, but Brown came back with a couple of nice shots of his own. Thomas shoots in and works to a take down. He pushes Brown towards the cage, and Brown uses the cage to get to his feet. Thomas works the clinch nice and gets Brown down again. Brown once again got up, but Thomas has total control of his body right now. Brown's exerting a lot of energy just to stay on his feet. He moves position and lands a couple of knees onto Thomas. Thomas then pushes Brown back and gets a takedown. Brown goes for a triangle, but Thomas rolls through but gets caught in armbar. He manages to get out of that back into Brown's guard. Brown is actively working for a submission from the bottom. Thomas tried to drop in with a shot. Brown used that to get up and gain top control on Thomas. They exchange shots on the ground and then they get back to the feet. Thomas tries to shoot in again and Brown gets a guillotine as they go to the ground. It's not locked in tight enough and Thomas pulls his head out. Brown goes for a triangle as the buzzer sounds.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Thomas. Very good round, but the slight edge to Thomas for the takedowns and shots.
ROUND TWO: They come out and exchange. Thomas shoots in for another takedown. Brown almost gets a triangle again, and Thomas picks him up and slams him, Brown holds onto an arm and works into the armbar and locks it in for the submission victory.
WINNER: Brown via armbar at :57 of the second round.
POST FIGHT: Brown said he took this on two weeks notice and dropped 25 pounds to get to this fight. He said the slam works better for him to get that.
STAR RATING: (***) That was a hell of a fight. Thomas worked well to get the takedowns, but Brown showed great work on the ground and worked continuously to get that armbar.
FIGHT THREE: DUSTIN HAZELETT VS. TAMDEN MCCRORY (WELTERWEIGHT)
PREFIGHT: Hazelett says it won't be the fight of the night because that means he'll be in trouble at some point of the night. He says he wants to get the knockout or submission of the night instead.
ROUND ONE: McCrory starts it off with a very nice combination. Hazelett gets a nice front kick and runs for a knee kick but misses. McCrory lands a nice jab right before Hazelett connects on a leg kick. They slow down a bit after the frantic start, but then McCrory comes in with another combination. Hazelett connects on a hard right hand but McCrory recovers. Hazelett went for a shot but got dropped with a leg kick. They exchange front kicks. They get it to the ground and Hazelett gets a shoulder lock in. McCrory rolls through but almost gets caught in the omoplate. McCrory has his arm stuck, and Hazelett pulls it out after a short while and contorts it, making Tamden tap.
WINNER: Hazelett via armbar at 3:59 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Hazelett said he wants to be known as the best submission guy in MMA.
STAR RATING:(***) That was another good short fight. That had a little bit of everything with a nasty submission finish.
RAMIFICATIONS: Hazelett opened the eyes of everyone who had not had a chance to see him yet, and he is going to continue his ascension in the welterweight division. At 22, he's got nothing but good things ahead of him.
PRELIM FIGHT TWO: JEREMY STEPHENS VS. RAFAEL DOS ANJOS (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Dos Anjos lands the first leg kick and then a left hand. They have a short exchange in the center. Stephens is throwing some big shots but he's not landing. Dos Anjos shoots but Stephens sprawls nicely and they clinch on the cage. Stephens throws a short elbow with his back on the cage. Dos Anjos picks him up and slams him down. Dos Anjos gets his back and throws a couple of punches. Stephens gets himself turned around but Dos Anjos pulls him down and gets into his mount. Stephens goes for a guillotine in half guard from the bottom, but Dos Anjos got himself out into side control. Dos Anjos is controlling the body of Stephens, but he's not doing much here. Stephens rolls through but Dos Anjos gets an omoplata and rolls over and almost gets a crucifix. Stephens somehow gets through to the end of the round as Dos Anjos had his shoulder in a bad spot.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dos Anjos. Very good round. Dos Anjos has some very good jiu jitsu and he controlled the action nicely on the ground.
ROUND TWO: Much more tentative pace to start this round. Stephens throws a knee but catches a shot himself. He comes in with another knee on the cage. Dos Anjos throws a nice inside leg kick. Dos Anjos shot in again and got Stephens to the cage. He picked him up and dropped him down. Dos Anjos rolled and took the back of a turtled Stephens. Dos Anjos gets his legs hooked in, but Stephens throws some shots from the bottom, trying to defend. Stephens rolled into an armbar but held off and got himself into Dos Anjos's guard. He throws some very hard forearms from the top. Dos Anjos throws a couple of shots but Stephens responds with a couple of bombs himself. Stephens throws a few more shots that land. Nice ground and pound for him here. Dos Anjos defends nicely though as the round comes to an end.
Penick's Scorecard: Tough round to score, as Dos Anjos had it early and Stephens finished really well. I think the slight edge goes to Dos Anjos for the overall round, so I've got it 10-9 Dos Anjos. That could have gone for Stevenson, though.
ROUND THREE: The two exchange leg kicks, and then Stephens absolutely decimates Dos Anjos with an uppercut. Holy shit. He follows it with a couple of shots on the cage before the ref stepped in. Wow.
WINNER: Stephens via tko at :39 of the third round.
POST FIGHT: Stephens said he thought his shoulder was going to pop, and he says he's got heart.
STAR RATING: (****-) That was another great fight, and one of the best knockout uppercuts in MMA history.
-Joe Rogan interviews 50 Cent cageside about his new album. 50 bets on Brock Lesnar.
FIGHT FOUR: KENNY FLORIAN VS. JOE STEVENSON (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PREFIGHT: Stevenson calls this the biggest fight of both of their careers. Florian said he's going to go out there to destroy Joe Stevenson. He says he's going to use everything to break his heart and his will.
ROUND ONE: Kenny with the first leg kick. Stevenson tries to press but Florian's moving well. Kenny lands a nice shot. He comes in with a good kick and then lands a knee. Kenny was backpedaling as Stevenson was trying to land a few shots. Stevenson gets a takedown on the cage but Florian popped right back up. He throws a knee to the body and a couple of body shots as Stevenson had him on the cage. Stevenson picked Florian up, but he held on to the cage as he came down. He was warned on that. He finally got loose and back to his feet. Florian landed a short punch. He came in with a high kick. They get to the cage again and then Florian gets a takedown. He throws a couple of shots before Stevenson pulled guard. He stepped up and threw a shot. He came down and passed into mount. He got to Stevenson's back and locked in a rear naked choke for the win. Huge.
WINNER: Florian via rear naked choke at 4:03 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Florian said this was exactly what he wanted to do. He yelled that he wanted to make a statement, "I want B.J.'s belt." Kenny said he considers B.J. a master and it's time to kill that master.
STAR RATING: (***+) Yet another good fight on this card. Kenny showed good selective striking, and then a great ground game that, like Rogan said, many may have forgotten that he has.
RAMIFICATIONS: Obviously, Kenny needs to be fighting B.J. next. He looked awesome tonight.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: BROCK LESNAR VS. RANDY COUTURE (HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
PREFIGHT: Lesnar's out to "Enter Sandman." Nice choice. We've said all there is to be said coming into this fight. It's time to enjoy this everyone. Couture out to "Back in the Saddle." Fitting songs tonight.
ROUND ONE: The crowd is electric. Lesnar clinch's early and throws a couple of knees. Lesnar throws another knee. Couture tries to hold him on the cage and Brock throws some more knees. Lesnar pops out with a shot and then Randy lands a shot to Brock's chin. Brock comes in with a one two that Couture avoids. Brock shoots in and Randy stays on his feet on the cage. Randy throws a knee and Brock catches it and takes him down. Randy has half guard and Brock almost gets mount. Randy gets back up to his feet and almost gets Brock onto his back, then he almost gets Brock's back, but Lesnar grabs his leg and sweeps him getting back into the half guard. Brock trapped Couture's right arm and throws a couple of left hands. Couture gets back up to his feet. He has Brock up against the cage and Brock throws a couple more knees. He throws a body punch. Couture tries to pick Lesnar up, but he can't do it as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lesnar. Great opening round. Lesnar took a punch, although not a great one, and he had a huge takedown and worked well on the ground. A huge "Randy" chant starts between the rounds.
ROUND TWO: Brock throws a left to start. Brock connects on an elbow that hurts Randy. Brock came in but Randy holds him on the cage and recovers. He throws a knee to the face of Lesnar. Lesnar pulls out and lands a knee to Randy's face and then they exchange shots. Brock's cut under his eye. They exchange again and Brock connects on an uppercut. Randy again pushes him on the fence. Brock throws a nice short left and then a couple more as Randy's tries to take him down. Brock lands another knee as they separate. Lesnar rocks Couture with a right and then Lesnar pounced. The ref gave Randy a ton of time to try to do something but Lesnar stayed on him with shots until the ref had to step in. The replay showed Lesnar's right hand caught Randy right behind his ear and he went down. It takes Randy a while to get back to his fight.
WINNER: Brock Lesnar via tko at 3:07 of the second round.
POST FIGHT: Brock went and showed great respect to Couture after the fight. That's a changing of the guard right there. Lesnar said he can't believe that he's the Champ. He thanked everyone, especially Randy for taking this fight, and the crowd boo's him throughout his interview. Lesnar said he's just confident, and it comes off as cocky. He said God gave him his body and his mind and he thanks everyone again. Great respect despite the crowd's booing. Randy said those are some big ass ham hocks coming at you. He thanks everyone in Vegas, and he thanks his people at his gym. He said "that's just a big sumbitch that's all there is to it." Randy said rust wasn't an issue, Brock's just a big guy and caught him with a big shot.
STAR RATING: (****+) The historic passing of the torch along with the hype and buildup of this fight, along with the actual action from the two in that round and a half make this one to remember. This has been an amazing night of fights so far.
PRELIM FIGHT THREE: JORGE GURGEL VS. AARON RILEY
ROUND ONE: Gurgel throws a couple of shots and lands a body kick. Riley caught Gurgel low, and then he ate a few shots as he tried to let the ref know it was low. He's hurting off of that one. They start it up again. They exchange. Gurgel lands a Superman punch. Gurgel comes in with a short flurry and then lands a high kick. Riley responds with some hard shots. Gurgel with a hard body kick. Riley with a high kick. Riley with another kick and Gurgel responds with a flurry. Big exchange from both guys. They're really trading nicely here. Another hard body kick from Gurgel. Riley comes in with a nice kick and a knee. Gurgel responds with another punch and flurry. They trade body kicks. Gurgel comes in with a couple of high kicks.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Gurgel. Another good fight so far here. Very energetic round with a ton of exchanges between the two. Lots of action, and there are some really hard kicks being thrown in this fight. Gurgel did a ton of body damage and landed more in that round.
ROUND TWO: Another exchange and then another hard body kick from Gurgel. Riley comes back with a few shots of his own. Both guys are diligently working the stand up here. Riley landed a hard shot to the face. They exchange again and Riley lands a few more. They trade on another flurry. This is relentless action here. Riley sweeps Gurgel at the cage and lands a couple of shots. Gurgel throws an upkick. He adds two or three more before Riley drops a couple of hammer fists from the top. They continue to exchange on the ground and then Gurgel gets back up. Riley lands a nice short elbow in an exchange. Riley gets in a head kick, but then Gurgel lands a bunch of shots. Leg kick from Gurgel and then an exchange followed by another high kick. Riley responds with kicks of his own. They again trade with Riley landing a couple of straight lefts that rock Gurgel, but he recovers and gets a trip takedown of his own.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Riley. He did a ton more damage throughout, but it was getting even by the end of the round.
ROUND THREE: Gurgel comes out swinging. He lands another body kick followed by a straight right hand. Another hard body kick from Gurgel followed by another. Riley lands a shot to Gurgel. Leg kick from Gurgel and another body kick. High kick from Riley rocks Gurgel and he follows with a flurry of hard shots on the cage. He lands a knee to the body. He adds a couple more of those knees, but then Gurgel breaks out of it. Another body kick from Gurgel. More exchanges here. Gurgel lands a hard shot. Another knee from Riley. They exchange more shots. They clinch on the cage and Gurgel lands a couple of knees. Gurgel slipped and Riley tried to pounce on him. Riley throws a bomb from the top. Gurgel got back to his feet and tried to shoot. Gurgel lands a head kick and shoos but gets nowhere. Riley lands another knee. Gurgel again goes for a shoot but fails to take Riley down. Riley lands a high kick as the round ends. Great fight.
WINNER: Riley via unanimous decision.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was a stand up battle. Great kicks and exchanges through all three rounds. It added yet another good fight to this already great night of action. Everyone stepped up their games tonight in expectation of a massive Pay Per View audience.
PRELIM FIGHT FOUR: ALVIN ROBINSON VS. MARK BOCEK
ROUND ONE: They clinch early and Robinson pulls guard. They work in Robinson's guard. Bocek finally moves to side guard. He tries to pass to guard but Robinson turned it into him on top. Bocek pulls off a nice sweep and gets to side control. Bocek starts throwig some elbows and then knees to the body. Bocek again throws some elbows. Robinson is doing a good job defnding from the bottom. They're both staying active here, but it's a battle of wills as they're battling for position. Bocek gets in a north-south choke but Robinson holds it out to the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bocek. He dominated that round on the ground, and had a really nice sweep when he was on his back.
ROUND TWO: They come out swinging, and then Robinson tries to shoot in but he ends up on his back. Bocek again takes side control. Bocek keeps up with the short elbows. Bocek gets a guillotine and then Robinson moves out of it and gets into the north-south choke again. Bocek takes side control again. Bocek gets the full mount and then gets Robinson's back. He's got a body triangle locked in. Bocek is throwing punches from behind Robinson. He continues to work on getting this choke in, but Robinson's doing a good job of defending. He then gets out of his predicament and Robinson winds up on top. Bocek went for an omoplata but Robinson got out of it. Bocek again winds up on top again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bocek. Much of the same from Bocek, but Robinson's staying in there.
ROUND THREE: They again exchange early and then Bocek picked up Robinson and slammed him. Bocek again passed into side control. He throws a couple of knees to the body and then some elbows in as well. Bocek moves again into the mount. Robinson is defending every submission attempt really well. Bocek starts pounding on Robinson from his dominant position. Bocek gets Robinson's back again and then he gets the rear naked choke locked in.
WINNER: Bocek via rear naked choke at 3:16 of the third round.
STAR RATING: (***) Great ground battle between these two. Bocek dominated throughout, but Robinson did a great job through two and a half rounds of fighting off everything Bocek brought, but it was too much at the end and Bocek got the win.
-Goldberg and Rogan ran down the night's events one last time to close the show.
This was an awesome show for the UFC tonight. We got nine fights on the Pay Per View, and a decisive finish to almost every fight on the card. We also had a great finish to a really good main event. This was just a great card and a great night for UFC. Everyone stepped up their games tonight and showed off their best sides on this night. Thank you again for joining us tonight for all of our coverage, and we'll have plenty more tomorrow including text and audio roundtables from our columnists and contributors. Remember, starting this week MMATorch updates and articles can be accessed in an all new way on your mobile devices. It will be a brand new, easily accessible, and easy to navigate. MMATorch will be the best place to find MMA coverage on your mobile phone. That's all for me tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you once again and we'll be back with even more tomorrow covering the event and your new UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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