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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
By Jamie Penick, MMATorch editor-in-chief
PENICK'S UFC 95 REPORT
MARCH 21, 2009
AIRED ON SPIKE TV
Well, I've avoided spoilers on the show from today so I can report on the fights as I see them tonight, and now we're minutes away from UFC 95 on Spike TV. Refresh throughout the event for my round by round breakdown and commentary on the fights as they air on Spike TV. Stick around, as the show begins soon!
-Cue Gladiator theme and opening video, it's time for UFC 95!
FIGHT ONE: JOSH KOSCHECK VS. PAULO THIAGO (WELTERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Koscheck says he didn't come all the way to London to lose, and he's going to come out as a winner. Thiago said he's going to take Koscheck down and submit him.
ROUND ONE: Koscheck stalks Thiago down early on. Kos throws a big right but Thiago blocks it. Thiago throws a shot of his own. Not much going early and the crowd starts booing. Just as that is said Koscheck lands a big flurry with a right hand and a kick. Koscheck just barely misses a big right. Big one two from Koscheck. He stalks him and lands it again. Nice shots out of Koscheck here. Thiago catches Koscheck with a shot as Josh landed a left. Nice leg kick from Koscheck. Nice high kick from Koscheck after missing a right hand. Koscheck landed a left jab but got caught with an uppercut and he went down. The ref stepped in and stopped it immediately. Wow, that was out of nowhere. Koscheck got right back to his feet afterwards but he looked to have gone out for a split second as he went to the mat, and that's all it takes.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Thiago via ko at 3:29 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**+) The surprising ko victory pops it up a notch. Koscheck was picking Thiago apart and got caught with an uppercut. Seeing the replay it's even clearer that Koscheck was out, that was a very good stoppage as his eyes looked to be rolling to the back of his head.
RAMIFICATIONS: That's a highly unfortunate setback for Koscheck, as it drops him down the ladder a bit. Fortunately he seemed to recover from it fine and he'll be able to turnaround quickly again and get back into the Octagon sooner than later, which helps him towards his goal of six fights this year. That's a huge debut for Thiago, although he was getting picked apart until catching Koscheck with that uppercut. He did catch him, though, and that's all that matters in this one.
FIGHT TWO: DEMIAN MAIA VS. CHAEL SONNEN (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Sonnen says he's going to stop Maia right now. Maia calls this the biggest fight of his life (so far). He said Maia's run through Team Quest ends tonight and ends with him. Maia said to be in a good spot for a title, you need to have good fights, not just win. Smart thinking.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Maia throws a kick but Sonnen catches it and drops him with a couple of shots and a leg kick. He allows Maia to get back to his feet though. They each land some shots as the trade a couple of times around the cage. Maia shot in and then tried to pull guard. Sonnen tried to get out of it and ate a jab from Maia on the bottom. The grapple a bit more and Maia gets into full guard. Sonnen gets out and allows Maia to stand. Maia comes in on Sonnen on the cage and they trade a bunch of shots. Maia pulls out an awesome take down that puts him in the triangle position on top. He flips it over and locks in the hold to force Sonnen to tap. That was beautiful. Maia's absolutely amazing with that submission game of his.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Maia via submission (triangle choke) at 2:37 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Maia said he was surprised that he was able to get him down with Sonnen's wrestling. He said he thinks he deserves a title shot, and he wants to show everyone that you can defeat your opponent without needing to hurt them.
STAR RATING: (**+) Very good one round fight. They were trading nicely on the feet, had some really nice grappling when Maia pulled guard and the finish was spectacular. Great almost suplex style takedown that put Maia on top of Sonnen already with that triangle position. It was a beautiful display to finish that fight by Maia.
RAMIFICATIONS: Maia's maybe one fight away from a title shot after his fifth straight submission victory in the Octagon. That will probably be another "Submission of the Night" for him as well, making it four of five. Amazing stuff from him.
PRELIM FIGHT A: JUNIOR DOS SANTOS VS. STEFAN STRUVE (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Struve's a giant at 6-11. Dos Santos pushed in early and got a body lock on Struve but it was defended nicely and Struve pushed him off. Dos Santos landed a nice body shot. He came in with a huge flurry of punches that had Struve rocked. He rocked him with another right and then another flurry that sent Struve down again and the ref stepped in to stop it. That was quick. Damn that was impressive from Dos Santos.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Dos Santos via tko at :54 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**) Short, but sweet from Dos Santos. Struve made Dos Santos look like almost small with the height difference. That may have been an early stoppage, but the power of Dos Santos was ridiculous and Struve would have taken a lot more unnecessary punishment had the fight not been stopped there. Also, the fact that he was dropped twice in those flurries from Dos Santos was reason enough to call the fight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Dos Santos continues his impressive entrance into the UFC in following up after defeating Fabricio Werdum, and in the ever deepening UFC heavyweight division he'll be a mainstay for some time. "Cigano" is for real, there's no doubt about that.
FIGHT THREE: NATE MARQUARDT VS. WILSON GOUVEIA (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Marquardt says his goal is to get another title shot against Anderson Silva. Gouveia says he's going to knock out Marquardt in the first round. Gouveia names a title shot as his ultimate goal.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Marquardt throws an inside leg kick to start off. Gouveia lands a leg kick and Marquardt responds with a high kick. Marquardt throws a straight kick that lands to the body. Marquardt with another high kick that's blocked. Marquardt rushed in with a Superman punch and pushed Gouveia backwards. He goes for it agian after a leg kick but misses. Another nice leg kick from Marquardt on the outside. Great body kick from Marquardt. Gouveia pushes forward and lands a couple of shots against the cage. Marquardt with another leg kick. Big body punch from Marquardt. He lands another straight kick to the body. Marquardt rushes with a few shots and then Gouveia comes back with a flurry of his own. Maruardt shoots in and gets a takedown and Gouveia almost gets a guillotine locked in. Marquardt is able to push his head out of it though. Marquardt lands a coule of nice elbows. He postures up and drops a big shot and throws a nice knee to the body and the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Marquardt. Great back and forth round there, but Marquardt worked the kicks really nicely and had a couple of nice shots once he took Marquardt down. Good start to the fight.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Marquardt starts off with another leg kick. He's landing those really nicely tonight. Gouveia pushes forward and lands a nice leg kick of his own. They've slowed it a bit more here in this round. Marquardt just barely misses a big right after a jab. Gouveia lands a nice shot but Marquardt recovers. Marquardt lands a big knee on the cage. He comes in with another big shot and he lands on a few more shots in a flurry. Gouveia rocks Marquardt with a shot and follows with another but as Marquardt spins Gouveia makes a mistake and Marquardt gets on his back. He almost gets a choke locked in but Gouveia is able to spin around and get Marquardt into his guard. Marquardt throws his shoulder into Gouveia's head. He throws some nice elbows from the top. Gouveia lands an elbow from the bottom but Marquardt is punishing him. Gouveia gets to his feet and Marquardt almost gets him out in a guillotine. He throws a big shot as he breaks away and we're standing again. Gouveia stalks Marquardt down again, but Marquardt lands a shot and then a big knee. He follows with another big shot. Marquardt lands a huge right hand that rocks Gouveia, and he follows with a big knee and another flurry. Gouveia survives the onslaught as the round closes.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Marquardt. Another excellent round. Marquardt nearly had it finished at the end of the round, but Gouveia did get in some nice offense in the middle of that one.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Gouveia starts off with a right hand. Marquardt lands another straight kick to the body. Gouveia tries to tee off but eats a shot from Marquardt. Marquardt backs away and they settle down again. Very tentative and both are trying to time a shot here. Marquardt lands a nice kick as Gouveia tries to throw a shot. Marquardt grapples Gouveia against the cage. He throws some knees to the back of Gouveia's leg. Marquardt grabs a single leg and then he backs away. Marquardt with a nice jab. Gouveia throws a high kick and then lands a punch. Marquardt lands a gigantic jumping knee that rocks Gouveia. He follows with a couple of shots, lands another knee against the cage, adds another one and Gouveia goes down. The ref comes in and stops the fight. Great finish by Marquardt.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Marquardt via tko at 3:10 of the third round.
POST FIGHT: Marquardt says the Nate you saw tonight was not the Nate that challenged Anderson Silva for the belt, so his next shot will be his first. Good attitude to have on that there.
STAR RATING: (***+) Excellent, excellent fight. Even though he was enduring a ton of punishment, Gouveia continued to push forward and was landing shots of his own all the way up to that jumping knee from Marquardt. Speaking of Nate "The Great," that was one hell of a performance, and it was absolutely excellent to watch. Great fight with a great finish.
RAMIFICATIONS: Marquardt should be next in line if Silva dispatches Thales Leites in April. Gouveia will need to get a couple of wins now to get himself back into contention.
-Joe Rogan talks to "Rampage" Jackson at cageside. He said he expects Jardine to be a tough challenge. He said there's always the danger in looking past an opponent, so he's taking it one fight at a time and he's ready to fight.
PRELIM FIGHT B: TERRY ETIM VS. BRIAN COBB (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Etim with a big leg kick to start off. Cobb tries to grab a leg but Etim pushes him off. Big leg kick from Etim buckles the knee a bit on Cobb. Inside leg kick lands by Etim. Cobb catches another kick attempt and trips Etim down. Cobb drops into his guard. Etim works for an arm bar from the bottom but Cobb holds it off. Cobb's not doing anything from the top here and Etim's got an arm held up. The ref stands them back up. Another nice leg kick from Etim. Cobb leaned in and Etim landed an uppercut. Another leg kick from Etim. More leg kicks from Etim and then he lands a high kick as well. Etim tried to grab a standing guillotine but Cobb drops him down again. Cobb tries to throw a bunch of body shots but Etim's got his left arm trapped. Again the ref stands them up. Etim again lands a few shots and leg kicks. Etim takes Cobb down with :15 of the round remaining. They end up standing up once more before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Etim. Almost a 10-8 round as Cobb did almost nothing, but he did get Etim to the ground on a couple of occasions. Problem there is he didn't do a thing once it got there.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Another leg kick from Etim. Etim then drops Cobb with a high kick to the jaw. Etim followed it up with a few shots and the ref steps in to stop it.
WINNER: Etim via tko at :10 of the second round.
POT FIGHT: Etim said he trained hard for it and gave Cobb props for taking the fight. He thanked the London crowd as well as his camp. Etim said he's going to take each fight as it comes and see what happens in the future.
STAR RATING: (**+) Great, exciting performance from Terry Etim there. Big time finish for Etim and Cobb just didn't look in the same class as Terry Etim tonight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Cobb may need to win a few fights outside of the Octagon before he gets called back to the UFC. It would be nice to see what Etim can do against the next level of competition in the lightweight division, as he looked very impressive against Cobb tonight.
PRELIM FIGHT C: PER EKLUND VS. EVAN DUNHAM
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Dunham comes in with a few shots, including a big left that rocked Eklund. Eklund shot in and took him down, getting into his guard. Dunham almost got a guillotine in, but Eklund got out. They get up to the feet on the cage. Eklund jumped up trying to pull guard but Dunham drops him. He gets guard and tries to get an arm bar but Dunham gets out. They standand Eklund lands a nice high kick. He lands another combination and they both end up trading with shots; very nice pace here. They continue to throw shots and Dunham drops Eklund cold with a left. Eklund recovers only to eat a bunch more shots and Dunham finishes him.
WINNER: Dunham via tko at 2:14 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Dunham said he was training for exactly what happened, as his coach pointed out that opening would be there and he took it.
STAR RATING: (**+) Relentless pace and a great debut by Evan Dunham. That left hand that dropped Eklund made him go down quickly, and as was said by Mike Goldberg like a bullet hit him. Nice fight.
PRELIM FIGHT D: NEIL GROVE VS. MIKE CIESNOLEVICZ (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: We're getting just about every fight tonight, I love it. Ciesnolevicz says he's going to kick Neil's ass. For play-by-play purposes we'll just go by Mike for him tonight.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Mike shoots in and pulls guard early. Grove moves to the half guard. Grove tries to get out and Mike grabs a leg trying to get a leg lock. Grove tries to get an ankle lock of his own. Mike grabs a heel hook and torque's the leg of Grove, almost snapping his knee which causes Grove to tap. That was nasty, but a nice submission victory from Ciesnolevicz.
WINNER: Ciesnolevicz via submission (heel hook) at 1:03 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Ciesnolevicz said he was waiting to get the call from Joe Silva and he was ready to fight anyone. He said he didn't think twice about taking the fight at heavyweight. He said Pat Miletich trained him on the leg locks. He said ideally he'd fight at light heavyweight, but he's willing to fight anyone.
STAR RATING: (**) Nice submission, and nasty at that, but there wasn't much else to it. Big win for Ciesnolevicz after a long wait in getting to the Octagon.
FIGHT FOUR: DAN HARDY VS. RORY MARKHAM (WELTERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Hardy says this is going to be a knockout fight. Markham says he wants to create his opportunity to end this fight. Hardy says at the end of the fight people are going to look at Markham's face and question whether he's picked the right profession.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Hardy with a nice inside leg kick to begin. Markham lands a nice right. Body kick lands from Hardy. Big left from Markham. Hardy lands a nice jab to the nose. Markham's nose is bleeding early. Hardy lands a huge left that drops Markham. He follows with one more shot on the ground and that's all she wrote folks. Wow. Huge, huge win for Hardy, and that didn't last long at all.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Hardy via ko at 1:09 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Hardy says, "no punching power, huh, ladies and gentlemen? What do you think about that." That was referencing Markham's comments before the fight. He thanked all of the London fans.
STAR RATING: (***-) With the hometown crowd and more of a big time feel to the fight, Hardy came through with a great knockout. Markham absolutely got tagged on the side of the head and it dropped him. The quickness of the knockout brought the fight up a notch in excitement as well. The replay of that left hand made it look even worse than the first time around. Ouch.
RAMIFICATIONS: Hardy's only 26 and now has 21 wins to his record. He'll get a shot at someone higher up the ladder the next time out, and we'll see if he can continue to impress in the UFC's welterweight division. Great show from England's own.
[Commercial Break]
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: DIEGO SANCHEZ VS. JOE STEVENSON (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Stevenson said to expect two guys trading in the middle of the cage. Diego says he can do a lot to hurt you. Stevenson said he's not scared, he's had B.J. Penn on his back. Diego says he doesn't think Stevenson's evolved in the sport. Stevenson said it'll be up to him whether he wins or loses, Diego doesn't have a choice. Sanchez is insanely intense coming out to "We Will Rock You." He's ready to go, and it's main event time!
ROUND ONE: Stevenson backs Diego to the cage but Sanchez uses a combo to back him off. Diego lands a nice right. Stevenson gets in a really nice right after a failed Sanchez takedown attempt. Diego lands a combination. Joe comes back with a one two combo of his own. Great pace here to start. Diego goes fro the knee but it doesn't connect. Stevenson lands a nice straight right hand. He follows with a combo. Diego lands a kick up high. Diego with a hard right hand. Stevenson lands a shot but eats a flurry from Sanchez. Stevenson gets in a shot himself. Diego with a big uppercut and he followed with another flurry. Stevenson lands a right as Diego goes for an uppercut. Joe lands a few shots as Diego lands some body shots of his own. Nice left from Stevenson lands. Big left lands by Diego. Big flurry from Sanchez again. Stevenson lands a knee to the body after a quick clinch. Stevenson lands a couple of shots. Diego lands a body and head combo. High kick thrown by Sanchez is blocked. Diego lands the uppercut again. Round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sanchez. Very close round, and one hell of a rush to start the main event. Both guys were throwing punches in bunches, but Sanchez landed more shots and was more active in the stand up than Stevenson. Joe Daddy's right there with him, though, and this is going to be a fun fight if that first round is an indication of where this is headed. Awesome start.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: They trade right out of the gate. Diego lands a big right hand that rocks Stevenson. He follows with a grest knee that hurts Stevenson as well. Diego shot in and went for a guillotine. He used that to take Stevenson's back, but Joe Daddy fought out of it and they stood again. Diego lands a couple more shots as they're standing again. Diego ducked under a shot and pushed Stevenson to the cage. Stevenson tried to grab a guillotine but Diego picked him up and slammed him. Stevenson ended up on top of Diego and Sanchez went for a guillotine. They move out of that and scramble back to their feet, finally separating and starting it up again. Sanchez lands a nice body shot and a combo. Stevenson gets a body shot in. Diego with a nice counter punch. This is a relentless pace. Diego again with another shot and Stevenson lands a right. Diego with a nice right hook that lands. Stevenson counters a missed shot with a right of his own. Stevenson lands an uppercut himself. Big jab from Diego. Body shot from Diego and they go to the cage trading punches. Both land a bunch of shots there. They get to the middle and trade again. Big shots from Diego and he goes for a head kick. They trade kicks as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sanchez. Unbelievably awesome second round to compliment the awesome first round. This has a "Griffin vs. Bonnar I" feel with this brawl right now, it's that good. Awesome exchanges and they're just brawling and trading punches now. Great two rounds so far.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: They touch gloves to start the third round and then immediately trade punches. Diego presses forward with a nice combo, ending with a nice right. Stevenson gets in a nice left jab. Stevenson with another left and Diego responds with a few shots. Diego throws a couple more big shots. Another nice flurry. Big left from Diego. Sanchez picks his spot for another nice flurry. Diego gets in another nice hook. Diego shoots in but Stevenson sprawls. Stevenson plays to the crowd to get a cheer here. Sanchez lands a nice combo again. Sanchez with a nice jab from a dropped arm. Stevenson with a nice flurry and Sanchez responds with another shot. Sanchez with a few more shots landing and then Stevenson lands a big hard right. Diego comes in for a shot but Stevenson counters nicely. Diego grabs a single leg and tries to trip up Stevenson but Joe lands up on his back against the cage. The battle back out of it. They trade a bunch more and it's a big flurry to finish off the fight. Great fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sanchez. He was more consistent with landing strikes and was doing much more than Stevenson, but Joe Daddy was getting in some nice shots of his own throughout the fight. Unfortunately for him, he's going to come up short on the scorecards, but that was an amazing back and forth fight.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Sanchez via unanimous decision.
POST FIGHT: There's some boos in the crowd for some reason. Makes no sense to me there. Diego said he didn't expect Joe to improve as much as he did. Diego said he hurt his hand in the first round. He said the lightweight move is permanent for now, when he's in his 30s he might go up. Diego said he's there to do whatever the UFC wants him to do, whoever they want him to fight.
STAR RATING: (****) That was an absolute blast for three rounds. It was a non-stop battle on the feet, but they also utilized the ground game slightly and had a nice slam in there from Sanchez. The outcome wasn't ever really in doubt, but it was a great performance by Stevenson in defeat and a great debut at lightweight for Sanchez. Awesome, awesome fight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Sanchez didn't show any ill effects from the weight cut, and he'll be ready for the next available contender in the lightweight division. It was a great performance and he really seemed in his element in the lightweight division here tonight. Stevenson's now lost three of four, so he's going to have to get back on the winning path or he won't be in the Octagon much longer. Yes the losses were against three great fighters, but you still have to be on the winning side to keep your job in the UFC in this day and age.
Well, that's another great event under our belts, and a great free show for the second straight event. Again, after a big string of pay-per-views, to get a free show like this that is well worth paying for is something you surely can't complain about. Thanks for checking out my report here tonight, and stick around for fallout from the event and more as we go through the week and turn our heads to WEC 39 next weekend and UFC 96 the weekend after that. Also, Jason Bent will be providing his report this weekend on tonight's UWC event of which he is in attendance, so stay tuned for that as well. Thanks again for sticking with us here tonight on MMATorch.com!
[Diego Sanchez photo provided to MMATorch by Spike TV]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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