Apr 1, 2009 - 9:19:29 PM By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
It's time to kick things off again with UFC Fight Night 18: Condit vs. Kampmann on Spike TV. The show starts shortly, so check back throughout the night for our on-going live report.
-They open with an "In Memory of Charles "Mask" Lewis" graphic. Very good to see.
-After the opening graphics, Mike Goldberg opens the show with a quick plug for the Ultimate Fighter tonight before going to Joe Rogan to discuss Carlos Condit coming into the UFC from the WEC. They hype up Martin Kampmann as well.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT ONE: JUNIE BROWNING VS. COLE MILLER (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Junie says a lot of people will tune in to see the loudmouth get his ass kicked but it won't happen. Miller called Browning a cartoon character and a "douche with stupid hair." Nice. Junie says Miller's going to find out he's better than what he's thinking. Miller said he thinks Junie's going to come out over confident and he's going to knock him out in the second round.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Both are in the cage as they get back from commercial and Bruce Buffer gets things underway. Miller comes in with a couple of quick jabs early. Straight kick from Miller pushes Junie back. Miller came in for an uppercut and tries to grab a thai clinch. Junie stops it and shoots in. Miller grabs an arm and tries to go for a kimura. Junie drops down and takes the back. Miller let go of the kimura and struggled out of the position he was in. Miller gets back to his feet. He comes in and lands a nice right hand. Junie comes in at him again and Miller gets in a guillotine. He drops down and locks it in. He forces Junie to tap and then stands up and throws out a few words to add insult to injury.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Miller via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:58 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Miller said he yelled "Who's overrated now" to Junie after the fight. He dedicated his win to Mask. He said he knew as soon as he showed his power Junie's inexperience would lead to that. Miller calls out the winner of Caol Uno vs. Spencer Fisher from UFC 99.
STAR RATING: (*+) Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about that fight, but that was a great performance from Miller. Him vs. Uno or Fisher would be a great next fight for him. In a way it's good to see Junie knocked down a peg from all his trash talking, but I still think he's got a lot of potential. Miller followed through on kicking his ass, though. Great performance.
-Mike Goldberg talked about Charles Lewis and they went to a video package on Mask. Awesome video, and another reminder of how good of a person in this sport was lost in that car crash. They showed the TapouT crew at cageside with a seat open between them.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT TWO: TYSON GRIFFIN VS. RAFAEL DOS ANJOS (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Dos Anjos says everyone expects him to take the fight to the ground but he wants to show off that he has a good stand up game.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Griffin throws an inside leg kick to start off and then tosses another. Big right from Griffin drives Dos Anjos back. Dos Anjos comes back with a shot and an inside leg kick. Another big right hand from Griffin. He throws a high kick and then they both traded punches. Great pace to start. Griffin tries to come in with a few shots again. Dos Anjos throws one back. Body shot from Griffin. Inside leg kick followed by another right. They both avoided a flurry. Dos Anjos gets in a nice right hand in a flurry. Dos Anjos lands a kick but eats a right hand that rocks him back to the cage. Griffin pounces and takes Dos Anjos down. Dos Anjos tries to grab a heel hook but Griffin spins out. Dos Anjos again tries to grab a leg. Dos Anjos gets Griffin contorted with his leg caught. That is nasty. He's trying to get more pressure on Griffin's knee. Dos Anjos gets back around and they stand again. Griffin's leg is messed up a bit. Griffin lands a shot. Griffin's left leg is locked up a bit after that. Dos Anjos lands a flying knee. Griffin has been slowed down considerably. He throws a high kick. He comes in with a combo and grabs a leg as the round ends. Great round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Griffin. Awesome first round with Griffin pushing the pace and rocking Dos Anjos, but Dos Anjos scored some points and did some damage to the left knee of Griffin. We'll see how he recovers from that. Great round.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Griffin presses to start again. Dos Anjos lands a big left that nearly drops Griffin. His leg is really locked up right now. Griffin keeps pushing forward. Nice right from Griffin. Another straight right lands. Body kick from Griffin after another right hand. Dos Anjos drops down to try a takedown but Griffin holds him off. Griffin coes in with a few shots, ducks out and comes back in with a few more. Another right hand from Griffin. Dos Anjos comes in with a left. High kick from Griffin. He misses an uppercut and eats a left. Dos Anjos throws a high kick but it's shrugged off. Big right hook from Griffin and he shoots in for a single leg. Dos Anjos tries to grab a kimura and almost pulled off Griffin's arm but he pulled out of it. Griffin throws a few body shots and misses up top. Nice body shot with a right to the head from Griffin. Dos Anjos comes in with a few shots. Griffin lands another hard right and follows up with some shots on the cage. Dos Anjos pulls him in for the clinch. Knee to the leg lands from Griffin. Dos Anjos throws an upwards elbow. Griffin with another hard combination as the round ends. Another great round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Griffin. He seemed to shake off some of the problems with the knee as the round went on and he's on another level in the stand up right now. Very good performance from Tyson Griffin right now, but Dos Anjos is holding his own.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Griffin stalks Dos Anjos down and lands a nice jab to right combo. He continues to press the action. Dos Anjos swings and misses on a big shot. They both trade in the middle as Dos Anjos lands a couple of nice shots in there. Griffin hits him with a couple of body shots. Good leg kick from Griffin. Dos Anjos throws a body shot and eats a big right. Inside leg kick again from Griffin. He does it again. Dos Anjos goes for a flying knee but Griffin shrugs him off again. Griffin comes in with a combo and lands another big right. Big leg kick from Griffin again and another flurry. Another inside leg kick. Dos Anjos with a left. They trade again. Dos Anjos gets in a big right after they had both missed a shot. Big right from Griffin again. High kick from Dos Anjos. Another right hand from Griffin. Dos Anjos lands a big left. They trade and both land a big shot. High kick from Griffin and he grabs a single and Dos Anjos goes for a kimura with :30 left. Dos Anjos pulls the kimura but Griffin gets the arm out and throws a few punches from the top to finish out the fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Griffin. Another good round, and surprise, surprise a Tyson Griffin fight goes to the judges. He may have been able to finish earlier were it not for the extended recovery from the knee lock but Dos Anjos gave a hell of an effort. It was a faulty gameplan on his part, though, as Griffin was on another level in the stand up game tonight. Great fight.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Griffin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Griffin said his muscles were stretched with that knee compression but he said he doesn't think anything major happened. He said he wants to beat his opponents where they are their weakest and he knew Dos Anjos was better on the ground.
STAR RATING: (***) There wasn't much on the line, and there was no major finish, but it was an awesome three round battle. Griffin was very, very good with his kickboxing tonight and worked out of some bad spots on the ground with the knee spot and the two kimura's Dos Anjos went for. Great performance from Griffin, though.
RAMIFICATIONS: Dos Anjos is now 0-2 in the UFC, so he's either on his way out or his next fight will determine that. Griffin gets back up a rung on the lightweight ladder, and he'll be ready for another near top level lightweight for his next fight.
[Commercial Break]
-We get a glimpse at what's to come on this season of the Ultimate Fighter.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT THREE: RYAN BADER VS. CARMELLO MARRERO (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Bader said he's going to run through Marrero and look toward his next fight. Marrero said it's his job to bring Bader back to reality. Bader said it's time to follow in the footsteps of Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Buffer called Bader the "season six" winner. Marrero threw a leg kick to start. Bader throws a right. Bader shoots in and drops Marrero. Nice takedown. Bader goes for a kimura and uses it to get to side control. Marrero almost gave up his neck as he tried to roll out but he dropped to his back and brought Bader into his guard. Bader jumped to side control and trapped Marrero's arm. He went for an armbar but Marrero was able to hold it off, ending up on top of Bader in Bader's guard. Bader's doing a good job of controlling Marrero. Marrero gets an elbow in. Bader kicked Marrero off and got back up. Marrero threw a kick and Bader took him down again. He passed to side control easily again. Marrero tried to get out and ate a right hand. Marrero got back to his feet again after a scramble. Bader shot in again and took Marrero down on the cage. Bader tried to work from Marrero's half guard Marrero had control of his body and didn't let him do much. Bader backs out and lands a right as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. Good round from Bader. Great takedowns and he was working well when he got it to the ground as well. He almost had it finished with that arm bar as well. Good start to the fight.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Marrero gets in a nice left jab early to start the round. He gets another one in. Bader lands a nice leg kick. Bader comes in with a leg kick and then stuffed Marrero's takedown attempt. They sprawled for a bit until Bader got into Marrero's half guard again. He postured up to land a couple of elbows and punches. Bader rolled around to the back of Marrero and threw a few punches. Marrero kind of turtled up a bit and Bader keeps throwing shots continually looking for a better position. He keeps putting on the punishment. Marrero tries to get up to his feet but Bader powers him back down. The fans don't like that the action has slowed and they start booing. Marrero pulls full guard but Bader keeps throwing body punches. He postures up and throws some more shots. Bader moves into full mount but Marrero went for a leg lock and got out of it. Bader threw a few shots again to finish off the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. Another all Bader round there, though considerably slower than the first. It was a lot of control from Bader there, ala Lesnar over Herring, but he wasn't doing much damage with it. He's winning the fight with control right now even if it's not the most exciting thing.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: They exchange leg kicks and a couple of punches early, though not much is landing in this first minute. Bader shoots in and gets another takedown. Bader clasped on an arm triangle and got into position for it but Marrero got out of it again. Bader got the mount and then the back again. He landed a hammer fist to the side of the head and Marrero spun back around to pull guard. After some inaction Dan Miragliotta stands them up with 1:40 left to go. Marrero gets a leg kick and lands a right hand. Bader goes for a takedown again but gets stuffed. Marrero tried to grab a thai clinch and throw a knee but he didn't get anything out of it. Bader shot in again and got Marrero to his knees at the cage. Marrero again pulled guard and Bader threw a couple of shots as the round ended to some loud boos.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. A couple of more chances for Bader in that round to finish but it seems like he was still a bit green on the submissions so he went back to the control game. It worked for him here, but it adds to pegging him as a "boring" wrestler with the fact that he wasn't doing a whole lot with his position at times in the fight. Still, another good showing from him and a win in the Octagon.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Bader via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Bader said he didn't think he fought to his potential in the fight. He said he needs to work on his stand up a lot. He also dedicated the win to Mask.
STAR RATING: (**-) It was a good fight, but with Marrero defending well on the ground it was just a control game for Bader and he wasn't able to do a whole lot.
-Joe Rogan spoke with Chuck Liddell via satellite. Chuck said he still thinks he can get back into the title picture, saying that he thinks he's cleaned up some of the mistakes that he's made in the past few fights. He said we'll see a different fighter out there at UFC 97.
[Commercial Break]
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: CARLOS CONDIT VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN (WELTERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Condit said this is the big time, and it's where he wants to be. Kampmann said he respects the fact that Condit was a Champion but now he's coming into the UFC. Condit said he's going to be able to go three rounds at a higher pace and break him down, and watch Kampmann crumble in front of him.
ROUND ONE: Kampmann comes in to start and eats a jab as he throws a right. Condit with a big shot to the body as Kampmann comes in. They clinch in the middle of the ring. Kampmann locks Condit's body and takes him down. Kampmann grabs onto a guillotine and tries to finish it. He had it in deep. Condit works his way out of it and into side control. Kampmann tries to kick Condit off and he eats a couple of shots. They grapple on the feet again and this time Condit gets the takedown. Condit tried to lock an arm but Kampmann uses that to change the position and get into Condit's guard himself. Kampmann tries to posture up and he grabs a heel hook. Condit pushes himself out and he gets into Kampmann's half guard. Kampmann tried to push Condit off but Condit dropped onto him. Condit landed a big knee as Kampmann got to his feet. He opened him up with that. Nice. They trade in the center with Condit landing a couple of nice body shots and a good shot landing from Kampmann. Condit with a right hand, a body shot and a flying knee to finish things off. Kampmann again goes for a takedown and almost locks in a guillotine as the round ends. Tremendous first round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Condit. Great back and forth first round. Kampmann had Condit in trouble early but Condit had more control throughout the round along with a takedown of his own and a big damage causing knee to the face. Great start.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Condit lands a right and a kick to the body. They trade high kicks. Condit grabs Kampmann and goes for a takedown but does not get it in. Kampmann forces Condit down to the ground right after that and Condit pulls guard. Kampmann tries to posture up and land a few shots. Condit defends very well here from the guard and avoids damage. Nice elbow from the bottom lands for Condit. Kampmann postures up and Condit pushes him off and gets up to his feet. Nice standing elbow from Condit and Kampmann lands a right to respond. Condit with another flying knee catches a forearm of Kampmann. Condit throws a straight kick to the face. Kampmann tries to grab a guillotine and pull guard but Condit pulls out of it and throws a few shots. Kampmann again goes for a guillotine as Condit tries to take him down. Condit gets out again and takes Kampmann's back. He almost locked in the choke. He tried to move to mount and Kampmann took back control and got into his guard. Kampmann tries to drop a shot but is really tired.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Condit. He barely edged out that round due to damage and defense, but it was really really close. This is an absolutely great fight right now.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Condit accidentally poked Kampmann in the eye right off the bat. They bring the doctor in to check him and he's good to go. Condit with a nice body kick. They trade shots and then clinch. Condit with a knee to the face and Kampmann gets a knee to the body. Kampmann with another takedown. Condit is actively working from the bottom all fight here. Kampmann gets an elbow in. Kampmann lands a really nice punch to the downed Condit, who responds with another elbow from the bottom. Kampmann tried to come down with a hard shot again. Condit gets himself back up but Kampmann takes his back. He gets it back down and takes the top again. Elbow from the bottom again from Condit. Condit is going for a kimura but can't lock it in. Kampmann stays on top again as Condit tries to out. Condit goes for a heel hook but Kampmann gets out. Condit gets back to his feet and secures a guillotine but the time runs out.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Kampmann. He controlled the action in that round well. This decision could go either way depending on how the first two rounds were scored, but Condit edged the fight on mine. Great fight either way.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Kampmann via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: A lot of people booing the decision. Kampmann said he thought he had him early but he gave Condit credit for being really tough.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was a great fight, but this was going to be a bit controversial for whoever got the nod. There was so much going on in the first two rounds it was really hard to judge who should get the edge, and obviously Kampmann did enough to get one of those to him on two of the judges scorecards. He took control in the third round and even though Condit was defending and being very active it wasn't enough to score him points there. This was really just everything we could have hoped for, an absolutely great fight between two very evenly matched fighters, and really it was almost a dead heat between them. Awesome stuff.
RAMIFICATIONS: Kampmann makes himself a contender in the welterweight division but Condit's not getting dropped far if at all. He very easily could have won this fight and in my opinion did enough to win the first two rounds, but I can see why Kampmann could have taken one of them. Condit's going to be a force in this division, as is Kampmann, and I can't wait to see them face off again down the road.
Well that's another live event in the books. Now it's time for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. Stay tuned for more thoughts on that show and this one as the week goes on, as well as live coverage of the next WEC event this Sunday from Torch Senior Columnist Shawn Ennis! Thanks again for sticking with us tonight here at MMATorch.com!
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