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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 38
MARCH 23, 2014
LIVE FROM NATAL, BRAZIL
-Godofredo Pepey def. Noad Lahat via KO (flying knee) at 2:39 of the first round
=====Fox Sports 1 Prelims=====
-Jon Anik and Brian Stann have the call tonight in Brazil. They set the stage for tonight's main event before turning the attention to what's coming up on these prelims.
PRELIM FIGHT ONE: FRANCIMAR BARROSO VS. HANS STRINGER (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Barroso threw an opening side kick to the body, but Stringer walked through it and landed a left. Barroso caught a kick and tossed Stringer down. He stood over him and threw kicks to the legs. Yamasaki allowed Stringer to stand. Stringer threw a strike that sent Barroso off balance and he got into his guard. He landed a few hard strikes and a nice elbow. He tried to stay busy as Barroso tried to work from his back. Stringer landed some more big strikes. Stringer continued to stay busy with strikes from the top, landing forearms and elbows. Stringer postured up and landed three big strikes before Barroso pulled him into closed guard. Stringer continued on with elbows. Barroso finally kicked him off and got to his feet. He landed a hard body kick as Stringer clinched. Barroso tried to set up a throw, but Stringer took him down. He got to his feet quickly and Stringer landed a knee to separate from a clinch. Stringer landed a big right hand. They clinched again. Stringer landed an elbow. Stringer worked busy enough to stay in the clinch to the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Stringer. Solid round for Stringer. He's got the edge in most spots right now.
ROUND TWO: Barroso opened things up with a couple of leg kicks. He landed a body kick and Stringer clinched. They traded strikes in close and jockeyed for position. Barroso landed some good knees to the thighs. They separated. Barroso scored a trip takedown. Stringer tried to back up to the cage. He kicked Barroso off briefly and nearly got a triangle. He worked to his feet. He got separation and came forward. Barroso landed a hard body kick and stuffed a takedown attempt. They clinched but Stringer only stalled and they were separated. Barroso landed a strike. Stringer got in a left hand. Both missed a couple strikes. They were both tired here. Barroso landed a left. He landed a hard uppercut but Stringer took it. Stringer landed a left. He got in another left before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Barroso. Strong comeback round, but both are exhausted into the third.
ROUND THREE: Stringer came in and landed a kick. They traded punches. Barroso landed a left. Barroso landed a left and circled away. Stringer landed a two punch combo. Barroso landed a hard body kick that Stringer briefly caught. Stringer landed a right and clinched. Neither did a ton early in the clinch. Barroso got in some knees, and they were finally separated. Barroso scored with some leg kicks. Stringer fired a couple back. He clinched again and they traded a few shots before Barroso got free. Stringer shot in and got stuffed. Barroso landed a left hook. Stringer landed a leg kick. Barroso returned the favor. Barroso just missed a spinning elbow. Barroso scored a takedown with 30 seconds left. Barroso stayed busy and finished the round on top.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Stringer. I guess. Could be 10-10, could be 10-9 Barroso. Both were so gassed neither was all that effective that round.
WINNER: Stringer via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (*) Just an ugly fight. Both fighters gassed out midway through the fight; neither looked like they should be on a UFC card. Not good.
PRELIM FIGHT TWO: THIAGO PERPETUO VS. KENNY ROBERTSON (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: They quickly got into the clinch. Robertson almost got back mount in a scramble, and as they continued, Robertson moved into mount. He was bloody early with a cut on the back of his head. Perpetuo gave up his back and Robertson locked on a rear naked choke. Perpetuo tried to defend for a bit, but Robertson locked it in tight and forced the tap. The crowd went silent, then booed the Brazilian loss.
WINNER: Robertson via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:45 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) Really impressive work from Robertson. Perpetuo only had one other submission loss on his record and it came five years ago, so the ease with which Robertson worked into that position for the choke was excellent.
PRELIM FIGHT THREE: SCOTT JORGENSEN VS. JUSSIER FORMIGA (FLYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Jorgensen landed a right hook early to start. He got in a left hand. He covered up as Formiga came forward. Formiga shot in for a takedown but Jorgensen turned the momentum on him and got to his feet. Jorgensen popped in with a right hand. They clinched and Formiga tried to pull off a toe trip. Jorgensen held it off and separated. Jorgensen landed a hard right hand. He landed an uppercut. Formiga connected on a left. Jorgensen landed a nice straight right but ate a counter. Formiga missed a left hook. Formiga landed a two punch combo. He landed a nice knee in a brief clinch. Formiga knocked Jorgensen down with a headbutt and quickly took his back. Unfortunate for Jorgensen. Jorgensen tried to turn out as Formiga went for the choke. Formiga trapped Jorgensen's arm in the choke and turned it into a neck crank as well. Jorgensen tried to fight it but was forced to tap.
WINNER: Formiga via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:07 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) It really sucks for Jorgensen that he got sent to the ground off a nasty inadvertent headbutt, but all credit to Formiga for taking advantage of the situation. He worked excellently on the ground and secured a nasty neck crank/RNC combo there to force Jorgensen to tap. No easy task regardless of the situation. Still a terrible ending for Jorgensen given how it hit the ground to begin with.
PRELIM FIGHT FOUR: RONNY MARKES VS. THIAGO SANTOS (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Tentative start to the fight. Santos landed a hard body kick and Markes slowly dropped to his back. Santos dropped down and started dropping down hammer fists and big strikes. Markes could only cover up and Mario Yamasaki stepped in quickly.
WINNER: Santos via TKO at :53 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Not much to that one. Santos landed a brutal kick to the gut, followed up with a vicious assault on the ground, and it was over 20 seconds after the opening salvo.
-We're going to have a 25-minute break before the main card, meaning they're likely to go back to the studio for a while. Although, they may air the Pepey-Lahat fight from the Fight Pass prelims.
-They do indeed re-air the Pepey-Lahat fight. On that note, Pepey's flying knee over Lahat was the cleanest and most vicious flying knee you'll ever see. Easy front runner for "KO of the Year," and if you missed it, you have to find it. It's going to be damn hard to beat in that race this year.
=====Fox Sports 1 Main Card=====
Pacing on the prelims tonight was tough, because the fights all ended quickly. That's a good problem to have after a decision-filled year in the UFC, though, and it's been a night of underdogs thus far. All of the betting favorites have gone down, with Thiago Santos pulling off the biggest upset of the night. We've got six more fights coming up tonight on Fox Sports 1, topped by the only real anticipated fight on this card with the Shogun-Henderson rematch.
MAIN CARD FIGHT ONE: RONY JASON VS. STEVEN SILER (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Siler came out aggressive with a series of kicks to the leg and body of Jason in the opening half minute. Siler landed a left and Jason connected on a right hand counter. Siler landed a body kick. Siler threw a front kick to the body. Jason landed a hard right hand that hurt him badly. He was loopy, and then got sent down with a left hook and the ref stepped in right away. Jason protested immediately as he had regained his bearings as he hit the ground, but he was hurt badly. On the replay, though, Siler threw up a kick as Jason was coming to engage. Ehhh, don't like that stoppage after seeing that replay.
WINNER: Jason via TKO at 1:17 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Great work from Jason, and I don't want to take away from the two big strikes that had Siler hurt bad, but Siler was fighting back from the ground there. He threw an upkick immediately as Siler came forward. The ref stepped in far too quickly there. There's a fine line to walk on how much damage to let a fighter take, but Siler had more left in him there.
MAIN CARD FIGHT TWO: MICHEL PRAZERES VS. MAIRBEK TAISUMOV (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Both fighters started off tentatively. Taisumov tossed out a hard leg kick. Prazeres threw one of his own out. Prazeres landed a solid combination. He landed a right. Taisumov landed a hard strike. Prazeres grabbed a body lock and powered Taisumov to the ground. He quickly passed to mount. Taisumov escaped that position but Prazeres got to side control and then nearly north-south. Taisumov nicely got loose and to his feet. He threw a straight kick and Prazeres came in for the clinch. Taisumov tried to throw him and failed, then Prazeres took him down. Prazeres again got to mount after threatening a kimura. He landed a big left. He looked for a position and tried to set up an armbar. He landed a few strikes, but Taisumov worked back to guard, escaping that spot. Prazeres stayed busy from the top. Prazeres escaped and got to his feet. He threw a few strikes and he landed an illegal kick and Mario Yamasaki immediately took a point away. They restarted but the horn quickly sounded.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Prazeres. Close to a 10-8 on its own, which could bring it to a 10-7 with the point deduction.
ROUND TWO: Looks like the point deduction was for grabbing the cage multiple times. Makes it more acceptable, but has to be done with consistency. They restart and Prazeres counters a strike with a big one of his own, but he wound up on his back after trying to rush in. Prazeres was active off his back as Taisumov looked for openings to land strikes. Yamasaki let Prazeres stand. Ok, now Stann says the point was taken for the head kick, with no warning. Ugh. Taisumov landed a left. Prazeres shot in and Taisumov grabbed the cage again. Yamasaki halted the action as he knew it right away and he took a point away for grabbing the fence this time. They restarted, and Taisumov landed a strike. Prazeres got in a grazing head kick. He landed an overhand right. Prazeres landed a right hook. Prazeres landed a nice combination at the cage. Taisumov landed a short left hook, but he needs something huge or he's done. Taisumov landed a hook. Prazeres landed a hard leg kick. He threw a high kick before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Prazeres. Taisumov's pretty screwed here after another point deduction. Needs to finish somehow or he's done.
ROUND THREE: Taisumov was tossing the jab out early but Prazeres got through with a right. Prazeres landed a big combination and shot in. Taisumov stuffed it and broke free. He landed a front kick. Prazeres shot in again and Taisumov stuffed it. Taisumov again grabbed the cage. No point taken this time, but he was given one more warning or Yamasaki would disqualify him. Taisumov landed a hard right hand. Prazeres landed a left hook and kept Taisumov on the cage. Taisumov landed an uppercut. Prazeres landed a hard leg kick. Taisumov grazed him with an uppercut. Prazeres landed a hard strike. Taisumov landed a hard strike and stuffed a takedown. He landed a short combo. Prazeres shot in again and this time got him to the ground. Prazeres got to half guard and quickly passed to mount. Taisumov got back to guard and pushed back to his feet. Taisumov landed a left. Prazeres landed a two punch combo. He shot in but got stuffed. Taisumov took his back standing. Roger Huerta yelled at Taisumov in disappointment as he held position. He broke out and they each landed a strike before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Prazeres. A whole lot working against Taisumov in that fight, and the lack of urgency in the final round was unfortunate to see. His only chance to win was a finish and he didn't leave everything there.
WINNER: Prazeres via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)
STAR RATING: (*+) Such an odd fight. The inconsistent officiating from Yamasaki to take two points away then give a warning in the third, Taisumov's inability to engage further down the stretch; it was all just odd.
MAIN CARD FIGHT THREE: FABIO MALDONADO VS. GIAN VILLANTE (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Villante opened up with a right hand. Maldonado missed a strike. Villante grabbed a body lock and scored a quick takedown into side control. Villante tried to get into the mounted crucifix but Maldonado got a leg out. Maldonado tried to scramble and Villante took his back. Maldonado got to a knee and tried to get to his feet. Villante landed some big knees to the thigh as he kept pressure on Maldonado. Maldonado tried to work free, but Villante kept position even standing and took Maldonado back down into side control. The crowd booed the Brazilian being stuck on his back. Villante tried to pass to mount but got held up in half guard. Villante kept pressure on top. Villante continued staying busy from the top as he got pulled back to half guard. Maldonado avoided some damage from his back. Villante continued to stay just busy enough to ride out the round on top.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Villante. Maldonado doesn't have much to offer up from his back here.
ROUND TWO: Villante landed a big left hook to kick off the round. Maldonado connected no a left of his own. Maldonado landed a hard jab. He connected on a couple more as he backed Villante up. Villante fired back with a jab. Maldonado connected on another jab. He got in a punch to the body. Villante shot in and dragged Maldonado to the ground in a scramble. Maldonado got to a knee on the cage but Villante landed a knee to the body and tried to sit back. Maldonado tried to scramble out, but Villante held strong. Villante landed a few big knees that opened Maldonado up badly. They traded jabs. Maldonado got in some damage and got in some body punches in a clinch. He landed a two punch combo. He landed another jab. Villante taking a ton of damage this round as he was slowing down. He looked up at the clock with two minutes left. Maldonado landed a hard right. Maldonado landed a hard jab. Maldonado landed another combo to the head and body. Maldonado with another big combination. Villante continued slowing down badly. He breathed heavily after getting stuffed on a takedown. Maldonado landed a series of body strikes. Maldonado landed another combination. Maldonado landed another body strike. They clinched briefly and Villante moved out. Maldonado landed another big combo on Villante. Villante put his hands on his hips and ate a couple more before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maldonado. Villante's run out of gas, and he's getting absolutely lit up on the feet because of it.
ROUND THREE: Maldonado came out firing. He landed a left hook and avoided a shot from Villante. Villante tossed up a high kick. Maldonado backed him up and threw some strikes. Maldonado with a hard jab. Maldonado with a nice combination shortly thereafter. Villante got backed up but moved out of the corner. He shot in and Maldonado stepped away easily. Maldonado landed another hard body combination. Maldonado landed a hard right hand. Villante shot in and again got stuffed. Maldonado landed a hard jab and avoided the counter. Maldonado connected on more strikes in combination. Maldonado mixed up a combo to the head and body. More body punches. Another jab. Another combo. Villante landed a hard right hand but Maldonado came back with more in combination. Maldonado landed a hard hook. He landed another big strike and stepped away from a shot. Villante continued getting lit up, but then grabbed a clinch. Maldonado stayed on his feet and went for a front choke. Maldonado landed a big combination with a couple of uppercuts. Maldonado kept the pressure on as an exhausted Villante continued taking damage. Maldonado landed a hard overhand right. Villante shot in again. Maldonado back on the attack. Villante just continued absorbing strikes. Maldonado landed a big left hook. Villante was taking tons of damage and finally grabbed for a leg. He held on to the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Maldonado. Just an extended beating, and Villante somehow stayed conscious through it all. Big comeback after a bad opening round for Maldonado.
WINNER: Maldonado via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**+) Fun comeback from Maldonado. Villante has one hell of a chin, as he took an obscene amount of damage through the last half of that fight.
MAIN CARD FIGHT FOUR: LEONARDO SANTOS VS. NORMAN PARKE (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Santos landed a quick inside leg kick. Parke tossed out a couple of kicks to the lead leg. Parke tried to press in, and he landed a hard body kick and an inside leg kick. Santos fired back to the body and leg. They traded punches. Santos tried to get a Thai clinch but Parke got free. Parke got poked in the eye. He took a bit to restart but then kept going. Santos threw a few wild strikes. Santos landed a hard body kick. Parke peppered him with a few short strikes. Santos landed a really nice uppercut and Parke clinched. He separated. Parke's left eye was swelling up bad. Parke landed a kick. Santos fired back. Parke got in a couple of strikes and clinched. They were separated as action didn't progress. Parke landed a hard left and Santos returned fire. Santos landed a hard left. He ducked in for a shot but got stuffed. They clinched and Santos tried to take Parke down, to no avail. They traded strikes in the clinch. Parke landed a knee to the body. The crowd got a little restless and the action was restarted. Parke got in a kick high but it was blocked. Santos landed a nice counter right. They clinched in the center and traded strikes. Parke went for a late takedown but couldn't complete it.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Santos. Had more offense overall, though Parke is definitely scoring.
ROUND TWO: They traded kicks early. Santos got in a nice uppercut and a right hand. He landed the left hook. They traded strikes in the center and then clinched. Santos had the better of that exchange. They clinched at the cage but not much happened and they were separated. Parke landed a couple of strikes. Santos shot in and got stuffed. Parke drove him to the cage and landed some knees. Parke went for a takedown. The ref stopped the fight and took a point for grabbing the shorts with no warning. Wow, that was... not good. Parke landed a couple of strikes as they restarted. They traded strikes in the center. Santos went high with a kick that was partially blocked. Santos stuffed another takedown attempt and it was back to the cage clinch and the crowd started booing quickly. Parke landed a nice left and Santos fired back a right. They traded strikes in a short exchange. Parke came right back into the clinch. Parke landed a nice elbow. Parke ducked down for a takedown but Santos held him off. Parke landed a couple of uppercuts. Parke continued throwing out strikes. Santos stuffed another takedown attempt to the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 9-9. That was Parke's round and he unfortunately had a point taken without a warning.
ROUND THREE: Parke came out swinging, but then it was quickly to the clinch on the cage. He tried to stay busy, but he wasn't doing a ton offensively. Santos couldn't break free of the clinch as Parke continued staying busy enough to avoid the separation. They were separated again. Park came right back to the clinch and pressed Santos to the cage to boos. Parke wasn't having much success here, and Santos held off another takedown attempt. They were separated again. Parke came right back in again. They started trading strikes. This time it was Santos shooting in and Parke turned him around. More of the same here. This round is awful. Parke turned around and took Santos' back standing. Parke briefly got Santos down but Santos popped up at the horn. Bad fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Parke. Santos did nothing whatsoever that round, which is ridiculous because he essentially just gave it away.
STAR RATING: (*-) Terrible fight. Santos gave away a win by letting Parke just control things in the clinch in that third round. Speaking of that round, the wall and stall going on was the worst in a very long time. Really bad fight.
MAIN CARD FIGHT FIVE: CEZAR "MUTANTE" FERREIRA VS. C.B. DOLLAWAY (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Dollaway landed a couple of hard strikes early but Ferreira continued moving in. Dollaway landed a big strike. Ferreira then came in. Dollaway stayed back at the cage then delivered a huge knockdown blow in a counter. Ferreira went down but the ref gave him time, so Dollaway got on top and landed a bunch of strikes and the ref had to step in. Wow.
WINNER: Dollaway via TKO at :39 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**-) Not much to a 40 second fight, but absolutely fantastic counter combination from Dollaway to send Ferreira down. He then attacked smartly as the ref let Ferreira continue and scored the quick stoppage.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT SIX: MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA VS. DAN HENDERSON (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Shogun took the center and had Henderson backing up early. Chogun threw a leg kick and Henderson tossed out the overhand right. Shogun blocked it. They both slowed it down. They were feeling each other out for a bit. Shogun blocked another right hand from Henderson. He landed a hard outside leg kick. He landed one to the inside. Henderson rushed in with a couple of strikes that were blocked. Henderson landed a hard outside leg kick. They both swung wildly and missed, but Henderson scored with an uppercut in the center to break out of the short exchange. Henderson nearly scored a takedown but Shogun scrambled back up. They both swung wildly, but again, neither landed. Shogun got in with a nice jab. Shogun landed a nice kick and blocked the punch thrown by Henderson. They traded jabs. Shogun got in a knee to the body in the clinch as Henderson rushed in, but they quickly separated. Shogun landed another big kick. Henderson rocked him with a left. Shogun covered up and Henderson fired shots. Shogun then knocked him down! He landed some big strikes and Henderson was hurt bad. Henderson was allowed to continue but Shogun stayed on top. The horn sounded with Shogun in the mount but there seemed to be some confusion and they cut to commercial.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Shogun. Want to lean 10-8 given how close he came to finishing, but Henderson had him rocked first.
ROUND TWO: The fight continues. The crowd couldn't hear the horn at the end of last round, thus the confusion. Henderson missed a big right early. Shogun landed a big kick. Shogun landed a hard right, but Henderson fired back as Shogun went for a takedown. Henderson held it off on the cage and landed some short strikes in the clinch. Henderson got loose after a short clinch battle. Shogun landed a couple of jabs. They traded big strikes in a nice exchange. Henderson went for a takedown and got sent off balance head first to the cage. He tried to grab a head lock but Shogun shrugged it off. Shogun knocked Henderson down with an uppercut. Shogun got into Henderson's guard, but Henderson covered up. Henderson tried to defend off his back as Shogun looked to pass. Henderson landed an elbow from the bottom. Henderson continued trying to tie up to get a stand up. That finally happened with 40 seconds left. Shogun landed a hard jab. We're going to a third round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Shogun. He's doing much more damage in this fight thus far. Really good start for him.
ROUND THREE: Shogun landed a couple of early jabs, avoiding Henderson's counter-right. Henderson rushed in but Shogun defended and countered himself. Shogun landed a jab. Henderson missed the overhand right again as they each swung wildly. Shogun landed a jab. Henderson ducked in for a shot. Shogun stuffed it, but then Henderson knocked him down! Shogun was out, but then grabbed for his leg in desperation. Henderson landed a bunch of strikes on the ground, a few of which were to the back of the head, but Herb Dean stepped in. Shogun sat up after the stoppage and immediately fell back. Good stoppage from Dean there, Shogun was done.
WINNER: Henderson via TKO at 1:31 of the third round
STAR RATING: (***+) Not the classic five round brawl of their first fight, but still incredible drama. Henderson got saved by the bell in the first round, he nearly got stopped in the second round, and then he lands a ridiculous right hand in transition that just destroyed Shogun's face in the third. Absolute craziness.
-That's our event tonight. Thanks for joining us here; we'll have live reports for two events next week with Bellator 114 on Friday night and WSOF 9 on Saturday to close out the month of March, so make sure to follow us throughout the week and join us next weekend!
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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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