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UFC ON FX 7 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Bisping vs. Belfort" event
Jan 19, 2013 - 9:55:21 PM UFC ON FX 7 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's round by round report for "Bisping vs. Belfort" event

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC ON FX 7: BISPING VS. BELFORT
JANUARY 19, 2013
LIVE FROM SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

=====Facebook and Fuel TV Preliminary Card Quick Results=====

-Francisco Trinaldo def. C.J. Keith via submission (arm triangle choke) at 1:50 of the second round
-Ildemar Alcantara def. Wagner Prado via submission (kneebar) at 2:39 of the second round
-Yuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre ends in a no contest (accidental foul) at 2:11 of the first round
-Edson Barboza def. Lucas Martins via submission (strikes) at 2:38 of the first round
-Nik Lentz def. Diego Nunes via unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-26)
-Ronny Markes def. Andrew Craig via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Godofredo Castro def. Milton Vieira via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

=====FX Main Card=====

-And, tonight's card opens up with a really forced and awkward crossover promo with Bisping and Belfort clips spliced in with a preview of "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters." Ok, then.

-Jon Anik welcomes in the FX audience and brings in Kenny Florian for tonight's broadcast. They break down tonight's main event, along with what else is set for tonight's card.

FIGHT ONE: THIAGO TAVARES VS. KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV (LIGHTWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Tavares took the center early, but both fighters were feeling out the distance. Nurmagomedov pressed him back with a right. Tavares got in a leg kick. Nurmagomedov threw a few wild strikes to drive Tavares back briefly, but then he backed off as Tavares walked him down. Nurmagomedov landed a huge winging uppercut that dropped Tavares. He dropped down on him, then started throwing elbow after elbow after elbow. Tavares finally went out but ate a few more strikes before Dan Miragliotta stopped it. That was impressive. Late stoppage from Miragliotta, who has had a bad night of reffing thus far.

WINNER: Nurmagomedov via KO at 1:55 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**+) That was damned impressive from the undefeated Russian, and he deserves to fight a higher level opponent his next time out. As for the stoppage, it wasn't the latest in UFC history, but Miragliotta was certainly not on point. As soon as Tavares' head came free from the elbows, that should have been stopped.

FIGHT TWO: GABRIEL GONZAGA VS. BEN ROTHWELL (HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Rothwell switched his stance a few times and feinted engaging. He landed a punch. Gonzaga shot in quick and scored a brief single leg takedown. Rothwell got to his feet on the cage. Gonzaga stayed on Rothwell with another brief takedown before Rothwell popped up. Gonzaga scored another brief takedown, then tried to take Rothwell's back. Rothwell again got up. Gonzaga tossed in a couple knees to the body, but they were separated from the clinch. Gonzaga pressed in to clinch and landed a right as he was defending the clinch. Rothwell fought back with some strikes and drove Gonzaga to the cage. Rothwell landed a couple of knees and finally backed away with a strike. Gonzaga landed a couple of straight rights that seemed to stun Rothwell. Gonzaga shot in but got stuffed. Rothwell landed a right. He landed a nice combination. Gonzaga landed a right. Gonzaga clinched, and they separated as the round ended.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Gonzaga. The cage control and brief takedowns were more than Rothwell's limited offense. Ugly start.

ROUND TWO: Gonzaga cracked Rothwell on the ear early with an overhand right, but Rothwell recovered. Gonzaga landed a nice left, then another right. Rothwell tried to walk in but got staggered a couple of times. Gonzaga grabbed a guillotine choke and dropped to guard. He had it on tight and Rothwell couldn't pop out and he tapped.

WINNER: Gonzaga via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:01 of the second round

STAR RATING: (*+) Ugly fight with a decent finish. Rothwell looked off the whole fight, and Gonzaga was relatively comfortable throughout. Both got tired far too quickly, but thankfully Gonzaga was able to bring it mercifully to an end.

FIGHT THREE: C.B. DOLLAWAY VS. DANIEL SARAFIAN (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Dollaway tried to walk Sarafian down early, and landed a jab as Sarafian popped in from the edge. Dollaway landed a leg kick. Dollaway landed a left. They traded left hooks in an exchange. Sarafian popped in with a nice little combination. Dollaway missed with a big overhand right. Dollaway landed a body kick which kept Sarafian out of range for a combo. Sarafian landed a big right that dropped Dollaway. He tried to pounce, but Dollaway recovered and tried to shoot for a takedown. Saragian went on defense and held off the attempt before backing off. Dollaway landed a body kick but ate a right. Sarafian landed a nice combination with a big right hook ending it. Dollaway landed a jab. Sarafian connected with the overhand right again. He landed a jab and backed out. He grazed Dollaway with a left and missed the follow up. He scored with a right. Sarafian landed a couple jabs to the body. Dollaway tried to goad Sarafian in, which drew boos from the crowd before the round ended.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sarafian. He was the more powerful striker, and scored a knockdown in the round.

ROUND TWO: Dollaway came out pawing with his jab, but he ate the first strike of the round. Dollaway got in with a hook. Sarafian threw a spinning kick that didn't land. He then shot in and went for a takedown. Dollaway held him off on the cage and landed a knee. Sarafian backed off. Sarafian landed a jab to the body. Sarafian landed a quick left. He connected on the overhand right again, but Dollaway absorbed it. Dollaway landed a leg kick. Sarafian landed another big right, then went for a takedown, but Dollaway countered and got to his feet. Dollaway landed a hard body kick. He grazed Sarafian with a hook. Sarafian scored with a body shot. Sarafian caught a kick, threw him down, and landed a kick as Dollaway stood back up. Sarafian went for the spinning kick again. Dollaway landed a couple of body kicks. Sarafian landed the right hand again. Dollaway landed a good right hand strike. Sarafian landed a left. He got in with another one. Dollaway landed a couple jabs. Sarafian threw a jumping kick that didn't get through. He landed a big right. Dollaway landed a big strike that hurt Sarafian. He pounced and landed a ton of strikes and Sarafian somehow made it to the end of the round.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dollaway. He stole the round in the final 30 seconds by nearly finishing Sarafian. He landed the knockdown strike, and had Sarafian hurt and wobbled before the horn sounded.

ROUND THREE: Sarafian landed a big early strike and Dollaway connected in return. Dollaway tried to close the distance but didn't land a strike. He got in a body kick. He landed a right. They traded big hooks. Dollaway landed a nice right. Dollaway stayed on him and shot in, scoring a takedown against the cage. Dollaway easily passed to mount. Sarafian gave up his back and got up to his feet. Dollaway looked for another takedown and finished it easily. Sarafian again gave up his back and tried to get up. Dollaway dragged him back down. Sarafian then pulled off a half guard sweep and got on top with a minute and a half left. Sarafian got almost all the way to mount and landed some strikes. Dollaway gave up his back with a minute left. Sarafian tried to look for a choke as time ticked away. Dollaway then reversed and got back on top. That was Sarafian's chance, and likely took the fight. Sarafian swept to his feet and landed a knee, but Dollaway shot for a single as the round ended.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dollaway. Sarafian's offense and his sweep was too little too late that time around. He simply faded after the first round and a half.

WINNER: Dollaway via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

STAR RATING: (**+) Pretty entertaining fight. The crowd didn't like the decision, but it was probably the right one. It got ugly as both got tired, but it was a competitive back and forth fight.

-The crowd drowned out Dollaway's post-fight interview with boos.

-We get a preview of UFC 156 with some interviews from Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo before tossing to the main event.

MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: VITOR BELFORT VS. MICHAEL BISPING (MIDDLEWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Bisping came out to the center and Belfort circled around. Bipsing threw a couple jabs to feel out the distance, then tossed in a quick leg kick. Belfort threw a kick but Bisping backed away. Bisping landed a hard inside leg kick. Belfort tried to pop in and Bisping landed a nice jab. He popped right back in with a straight right and landed a jab in counter as Belfort tried to engage. Bisping got in a couple of strikes. Belfort threw a spinning kick that whiffed. Belfort tried to pop in and landed a left. Bisping missed an overhand right but pressed Belfort aside. Belfort landed a nice counter uppercut. Bisping landed an inside leg kick. Belfort missed a big punch and Bispind stepped away. Belfort landed a nice body kick. Bisping landed a couple jabs. Bisping blocked the body kick and got in a couple of punches. Bisping got poked in the eye and took a second to recover. He landed a right as they restarted. Bisping threw a spinning shot but it didn't connect. Belfort landed a left and a kick. Bipsing countered. Bisping landed a jab. Belfort landed a big head kick and went for a late blitz. Bisping recovered before the horn sounded.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Belfort. Was leaning Bisping due to a close round with relatively little offense, but Bisping had a big late flurry that took the round.

ROUND TWO: Bisping landed an inside leg kick early. He landed one to the outside. Belfort dropped his hands. Bisping landed a jab. Belfort connected on something early that bloodied Bisping's nose. Bisping landed a couple of nice strikes in combination. B effort landed the head kick again and it dropped Bisping. He pounced with punches as Bisping curled up and Dan Miragliotta stepped in. Crushing loss for Bisping. Huge win for Belfort.

WINNER: Belfort via TKO (head kick and punches) at 1:27 of the second round

STAR RATING: (**+) Big time performance from Belfort in a fight he needed to win as much as Bisping. He spoiled Bisping's opportunity, and now he might be close to another shot at Anderson Silva himself. It's an absolutely devastating setback for Bisping, but with Belfort coming off the loss to Jon Jones, this was a huge win.

-Bisping congratulated Belfort, gave no excuses, said Belfort was the better man tonight and again congratulated. He said he would not go away, said "trust me, I'll be back on the top of this pile before you f***ing know it."

-That's all for the UFC's first event of 2013. We'll have plenty to react to from this in the coming week, and there's no time to rest as UFC on Fox 6 comes next weekend from Chicago. Thanks for joining us tonight, make sure to stick with us throughout the week for even more coverage and reaction from this event and more!