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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
PENICK'S UFC 97 PPV REPORT
APRIL 18, 2009
LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW
We're just a little bit away from UFC 97: Redemption, live on pay-per-view tonight. With Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva in action tonight we're sure to have plenty of action. Stick around with us here for our round by round coverage of the pay-per-view as it airs.
-They've again brought out the Fight Night like graphic updates for the presentation tonight. I like it. Goldberg and Rogan run down the main fights for the night to open the show. They throw it to a video on how important this fight is for Chuck Liddell with Dana White saying this could be the last time we see Chuck fight in the Octagon.
FIGHT ONE: LUIZ CANE VS. STEVE CANTWELL (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Cantwell says he's a younger, faster and more well rounded fighter than Cane has faced. Cane said he needs to knock out Cantwell to push toward the title shot he wants to earn. He says he wants to knock him out. Cantwell said Sunday morning people will be talking about his fight.
ROUND ONE: Cane stalks Cantwell down early. Cantwell throws a leg kick and eats a combination. Cane comes in with a couple of shots again. Cantwell throws a nice kick high but Cane still comes at him. Cane lands an uppercut and a combo. He comes in with another combo with a body kick and some punches. Cane with another combination. Cantwell throws a shot but eats a few more. Cantwell comes in for a clinch and Cane stalls him to the cage. Cane exits that with a few shots. Cane lands a few more shots and grabs a Thai clinch to throw a knee. He throws a nother combo. Nice jab lands from Cane. Cantwell throws another high kick that gets blocked. Cane lands a few more shots to the face in succession. Cantwell throws a combo that gets blocked nicely. Cantwell comes forward with another combo but doesn't land much. Cane is getting out of the way of his shots for the most part. Cane lands another combination. Cantwell gets him off with another combo. Nice body shot lands from Cane. Leg kick from Cantwell. He does it again but Cane checks it nicely. Cantwell throws a big overhand right that grazes Cane. Cane with another jab. Cane lands a few more shots in a combo. Cantwell with a nice body kick but he eats a couple more shots. Cantwell lands a right hand and throws a body shot. The round comes to a close with the two swuaring off.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cane. Cane pressed the action and landed a bunch of nice shots. Cantwell can't get comfortable yet and Cane is doing a very good job in selectively striking and landing combos.
ROUND TWO: Cantwell is pressing to start off this second round. He lands a nice left hand before Cane comes in with a nice combo to the face. Cane gets the jab in there nicely a couple more times. Cane keeps coming in with a right jab. Cantwell gets in a nice right. Cantwell pushes in and Cane lands a few shots. Cantwell gets in a right hand. Cane throws a body kick but it gets blocked. Cane gets in a nice right hand again. The action is a bit tentative here. Cane presses Cantwell down and lands a body kick and a combo. Cantwell landed a right as Cane was throwing shots. He comes in with a bit of a flurry and lands a nice body kick. Cantwell lands a nice right hand after a body shot. Cantwell gets in a kick to the face. He lands a knee to the face of Cane. He throws another high kick and he's doing some damage here. Cane comes back with a shot of his own. Cantwell lands another right hand. Cane lands a nice shot to the body. Cantwell lands a couple of punches to the face again. He throws another body kick. Cantwell with another high kick. He throws a right hand that lands as well. Cantwell lands a really nice right hook. Cantwell with a left hand as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cantwell. He found his rhythm about half way through the round and did more damage than Cane. He started pressing the action much more there as well. They're cancelling each other out a bit at the moment.
ROUND THREE: Cantwell throws the high kick off the bat. Cane stalks him down and lands a punch. Cane throws a big combo with a body kick and some punches, then he gets in another combo started by an uppercut. Cane again with another short flurry. Cantwell pushes in and they trade punches. Cane jumps in with a couple of shots again. Cantwell has another combo blocked by Cane. Cane presses with a left hand and gets in a knee to the head. Cane gets another combination finished off by a knee. Cane gets in a big left hand. He gets another knee to the body. Cane presses forward with another punch. Cantwell gets a combo in himself. Cane pushes him back with a few shots. Cantwell throws another head kick that gets blocked. Cane throws another few punches and comes in with another knee. He lands another couple of shots against the cage. He gets another knee in to the head. Cane with a couple more shots to the face as they trade punches. Cane throws a nice two kick combo. Cane with a right hand. They trade shots as the round comes to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cane. He was much more active and landed a lot more in that round, but Cantwell took the punishment and stayed in there the whole time. Give him credit, he was able to take the accumulation of damage there.
WINNER: Cane via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**) It's not a fight to go out of your way to see, but it was a good, evenly matched bout. Both guys looked good, but Cane was just much more active and landed on a lot more of his punches. You've got to give Cantwell a lot of credit for his performance, though, it was a lot more even than I was expecting.
RAMIFICATIONS: Cane still needs a couple of bigger wins if he wants to get towards a title shot, but he looked good in victory tonight. He didn't get the knockout he was looking for, but Cantwell was a game opponent tonight. Cantwell will be back and looking to rebound after this one. The young guy's got a bright future ahead of him.
FIGHT TWO: CHEICK KONGO VS. ANTONI HARDONK (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Hardonk says he wants to fight where he's confident. He's looking for a ko. Kongo said Hardonk can dream, but it's going to be a nightmare, because he's going to kick his ass.
ROUND ONE: Kongo throws an early leg kick. Hardonk threw a high kick but it missed. Hardonk stalks Kongo down to the cage. They trade punches on the cage. They both throw leg kicks that land. Hardonk continues to press Kongo down and he lands a leg kick. Kongo presses back out with a nice punch and gets Hardonk across the cage and he clinches. He throws a knee to the body. He throws a knee to the leg and Yves Lavigne separates them for inaction. Hardonk throws a kick that gets caught and Kongo drops him. Kongo throws kicks to the legs of Hardonk as he tries to hold him off. Lavigne stands him up again. Kongo throws a leg kick. Hardonk throws one of his own. Kongo gets in a few nice shots and gets Hardonk against the cage in the clinch again. Kongo throws some inside knees as he tries to get in position to drag him down to the ground. He gets the takedown on the cage. Kongo throws a couple of elbows. Kongo drops some hammerfists. Kongo postures up with some nice shots. He throws a few more as the round comes to the end.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Kongo. Cheick was more tentative than I was expecting but this round was entirely his. The takedown and ground and pound sealed it for him.
ROUND TWO: Kongo lands a body kick. Hardonk throws another body kick that is caught and Kongo puts him on the ground. This time he pounces and gets into Hardonk's guard. Hardonk tries to control Cheick's body from the guard. Kongo throws some hard body shots and some hammer fists. Hardonk's keeping his wits about him but he's eating shots. Kongo drops some more hammer fists and a couple of punches before Hardonk can stave him off for a minute. Kongo drops a big elbow. Kongo unloads with a bunch of shots. Hardonk is hurt bad and starts covering up and Kongo stands up to drop some more on him before the ref stops it.
WINNER: Kongo via tko at 2:29 of the second round.
STAR RATING: (**) Another solid fight. Not the most exciting one, and not anything that was must see here, but Kongo looked very good in dominating the ground and pound here.
RAMIFICATIONS: Kongo needs possibly one more fight to get a title shot, but he looked very solid tonight. Hardonk goes down a couple of rungs on the ladder.
FIGHT THREE: KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI VS. BRIAN STANN (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Krzysztof says he's going to beat Stann up and submit him, making him cry for his momma.
ROUND ONE: Soszynski clinches up Stann early and then they trade shots. Krzysztof lands a kick to the body. Stann lands an inside leg kick. He presses forward but can't land a shot. They clinch and trade punches in a little dirty boxing action. Krzyzstof grabs the Thai clinch and gets a knee in. Stann works his way out of it with an overhand right. Soszynski shoots in and gets the takedown up against the cage. Stann tries to get up and Krzysztof drops him again and gets right into the mount. Stann kicks him out of it but Soszynski gets side control. Stann works his way back to the feet but Soszynski dropws him down again. Krzyszstof grabbed the kimura and tried to work the submission. He let it go momentarily but then he regained it and torqued the arm, forcing Stann to tap.
WINNER: Soszynski via submission (kimura) at 3:53 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Soszynski said it's the best feeling ever. He said it comes close to his son being born or getting married. He said he always goes for the kimura no matter where he's at on the ground.
STAR RATING: (**) Great submission from Krzysztof, but there wasn't much else to the fight. Jason Bent called that finish on our audio preview last night.
-We get a preview of upcoming events, and the upcoming UFC Undisputed 2009 videogame.
FIGHT FOUR: CHUCK LIDDELL VS. MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: White calls this a "much bigger fight" for Shogun's career. Shogun calls it the fight of his life.
ROUND ONE: Shogun throws a nice leg kick early on. Shogun throws a high kick. Liddell comes in with a shot. Shogun throws another leg kick and Chuck throws a punch. Shogun lands a right hand. Liddell lands a couple of shots. Chuck pushes Shogun to the fence and lands a shot. Shogun lands a big punch. They slow it down a bit. Shogun lands another overhand right. He comes in with another leg kick. Chuck lands a short flurry. They trade shots again. Shogune gets another right hand in. Shogun ducks under a shot and takes Chuck down. Chuck got out and Shogun tried to grab a leg. Chuck again got up but Shogun almost took his back standing. Chuck got loose and threw a punch. Chuck pressed in with a right and Shogun tried to shoot in, but Chuck held him off and landed a few shots again. They separate. Shogun clips Chuck with a right and Chuck took Shogun down. He let him right back up though. Shogun caught Chuck with a left that dropped him and he pounced, landing a ton of hammer fists to finish the fight. Ok, that is probably the end of Liddell in the Octagon. Shogun looked great tonight.
WINNER: Rua via tko at 4:28 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Shogun said he'll be ready to fight whoever they want him to fight. Rogan talks to Chuck, who says things weren't firing right. He was despondent here, and he said he needs to go home and talk to everyone. Tonight didn't feel right to him.
STAR RATING: (***) Good back and forth, high energy feel to the fight, and Shogun looked awesome. He did what I thought Chuck would do, and that's have the performance he absolutely needed.
RAMIFICATIONS: Shogun looked as close to his former self as he has since coming to the UFC. I can't see Chuck having another fight in the UFC after that loss. It was the third time he's been knocked out in five fights, and it might be the end of the line for the "Iceman."
FIGHT FIVE: SAM STOUT VS. MATT WIMAN (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: They immediately trade punches in the middle here. Wiman gets in a nice high kick and a big right hand. Wiman shoots in and gets a takedown. Stout tried to fight out of it but Wiman got him down. Stout tried to walk up the cage but Wiman held him nicely. Stout finally got himself back to his feet and threw a knee in the clinch on the cage before they separated. Stout threw a nice combo with a leg kick to cap it off. Stout with another combo. Stout catches a Wiman kick and landed a punch. Wiman came in with a shot. Wiman landed a nice right hand. Stout got a left hand in. Wiman gets in a right and goes for the takedown again. Wiman went for a guillotine and lost it as he dropped down, leaving Stout in his guard. Stout backed off and landed a couple of shots as Wiman got up. Wiman came in with a superman punch. They trade shots again in the center of the Octagon. Wiman again went for a takedown but Stout sprawled out of that one. Wiman went for another combo. Stout landed a nice uppercut. Stout with a nice body kick. Wiman shoots in again and grabs a single leg on the cage and he takes him down again. He tried to take Stout's back but again ended up with Stout on top of him. They both stand again and they trade shots as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Wiman. Wiman got a few takedowns and was pressing the action a lot, but he just slightly edged out the round as Stout was doing really well himself. Great start to the fight.
ROUND TWO: They exchange shots again with Wiman getting the better of it to start. Wiman is the aggressor here still, landing shots as Stout throws kicks and shots of his own. Stout lands a left hook but Wiman recovered and took the back of Stout. He was too high, however, and ended up on his back with Stout in his guard. Stout tried to posture up and throw some shots. Stout stood back up and let Wiman up. They traded shots again> Stout got in a nice body punch. Stout threw a combo as Wiman threw a punch. Stout again gets a nice punch in. Stout with a body kick. Wiman gets a nice right hand shot in. Stout throws a high kick that's partially blocked. They trade again. Stout dropped Wiman with a body shot. Stout tried to capitalize but Wiman defended from his back nicely. Wiman's hurt. He got back up though and they traded shots again. Stout came at Wiman with some more shots. Stout is trying to get after the body of Wiman now. Wiman tried to push forward and shott in but Stout got out of it. He landed a shot to the face as Wiman looked up at the clock. Wiman survived the round as the buzzer sounded.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Stout. Stout dropped Wiman with that body shot and was more active in that round than Wiman was. Good second round, it comes down to the third.
ROUND THREE: Wiman charged right in from the outset of this round. They traded shots again. Stout threw a body kick. Wiman shot in for a takedown and Stout sprawled nicely. Wiman grabbed a single leg at the cage and Stout tried to fight out of it. Wiman got the back and got the body lock on Stout. Wiman throws some shots as he tries to work towards a choke. Stout turns toward the body triangle and gets himself turned into Wiman's guard. That was nice. Stout postures up and throws a few shots from the guard. He lands aa couple of elbows in there as well. He backs up and gets back to his feet. Wiman lands a right hand. Stout threw a kick but Wiman caught it and took him down. Wiman tried to work from the guard of Stout. Stout has the butterfly guard working here. Wiman gets an elbow in. He throws another elbow. Stout again tries to walk up the cage but Wiman picks him up and drops him again. Stout does get back to his feet and they trade shots to finish the fight. Good bout.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Wiman. He may sneak this decision out with the takedowns and control in that round. Stout just wasn't able to do enough to take that round. Good fight, though that first round could have gone either way.
WINNER: Stout via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: Stout said he knew Wiman was hurt but he respected his ground game so he didn't want to get caught in anything.
STAR RATING: (**+) Good fight between these two. I had Wiman winning that first round, but I can see how the other judges saw it for Stout. Either way, it was a fun lightweight bout for the card.
-Goldberg talks to Cung Le and the star of the new movie "Fighting." The Cung Le part is almost identical to his spot on the Strikeforce show last Saturday. They go to a trailer for the movie.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT SIX: ANDERSON SILVA VS. THALES LEITES (MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE BOUT)
PRE FIGHT: Leites says he believes in himself coming into this. He believes in his ground game, but knows it will be hard time on the ground. He says Silva's not unbeatable. Silva said he doesn't think of himself as unbeatable. He says it will be a great fight.
ROUND ONE: Tentative start to the fight with both fighters feeling the other out. No action almost a minute in here. Silva pops in with a jab and back to feeling each other out. Leites missed a jumping knee. Silva stalks Leites down to the cage and attacks with a punch. He barely missed it. Silva starts to close the gap a bit more but there's still almost no action half way through the round. Leites throws a hard inside leg kick and then tries to shoot. He throws a high kic after backing away. Silva throws a hard body shot against the cage. The crowd is really getting restless here. They both land a punch. Leites misses a knee again and Sivla throws a few body shots. Silva sweeps Leites with a kick. Leites tries to pull guard. He grabs a single and tries to take Silva down but Silva hops to the other side of the cage. Leites grabbed Silva's body against the cage and the round ends. The crowd booed that.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. There was almost nothing going on in that round. A body shot and the kick sweep give the Champ the nod. Really it was an even round.
ROUND TWO: Tentative again to start. Leites throws an inside leg kick. Silva misses a high kick and Leites takes him down and gets into half guard. Leites tries to get his leg out to pass but Silva holds him off. Silva moved the leg out and got full guard and held onto a body triangle from the bottom. He threw an elbow from the bottom. Leites tried to land a few shots and Silva landed a couple of elbows to the head. Leites stood up and Silva tried to kick him off. Anderson got himself back up to his feet. Great defense from the Champion on the ground. Silva lands a jab lightly. The crowd booes again as they are extremely tentative again. Silva again stalks down Leites and lands a couple of jabs. Leites tried to throw a body kick. Silva stalks Leites down, throws leg kick and then a body shot on the cage. Silva throws a high kick. The round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: Leites 10-9. In another round with not much going on you've got to give it to Leites with the takedown, even though he wasn't able to do anything there. This is very reminiscent of the Cote fight right now, and the crowd isn't happy with it.
ROUND THREE: Silva catches a kick and sprawls nicely on a takedown attempt. He stalks Leites down again. Leites landed a punch and Silva accidentally caught Leites with an eye poke but Lavigne didn't see it. Silva attacked as Leites got to his feet. Leites again went for a takedown and Silva sprawled again. He laid on his back until the ref stood him up. Silva threw some big leg kicks. Silva stalked Leites down still as the crowd started chanting for "GSP." Silva grabbed Leites and Leites dropped to his back so Silva walked off. Silva threw a leg kick and continued to stalk Leites to the cage. He threw a hard body shot. Silva came in with a big right and Leites dropped to his back and Sivla looked to the crowd with his hands raised in question of the drop. Silva threw a couple of kicks to the legs and did a jump kick to Leites. He then started throwing shots on Leites on the cage. He continues to throw shots and kicks at Leites at the cage. Leites dropped again. Silva threw another leg kick. He threw a jab and Leites dropped. The round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. I don't know what's gotten into Leites, but he can't stand with Silva and can't get him down so he's getting the crowd turning against him even more for every time he drops to his back.
ROUND FOUR: Silva threw a straight kick to the leg to start. He stalked Leites down and hit him with some more leg kicks over and over. Leites is trying to be the aggressor here now. Silva does a bit of shoulder shaking as he stalks down Leites. Silva gets in a right hand. He lands a head kick and then a straight kick to the leg. He keeps stalking Leites down here. Silva again with the kick to the leg. Leites again dropped to his back. Silva threw a kick from his back leg behind his front leg. He's just toying with Leites and the game is getting old here, as the crowd starts booing again. He punches him in the leg for the second time in the round. He keeps ducking and jiving around but neither is doing much again. Leites jumped in for a takedown and then dropped to his back. Silva just kicks his legs a couple of times. The round comes to a close again and an Anderson Silva fight is going to the fifth round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. I don't know if Leites actually threw a punch there in that round at all. Leites just doesn't know what to do and Silva needs to take him out already.
ROUND FIVE: Still not much going on to start this round, but Silva throws some shots intermittently. Leites tried to go for a single leg but Silva stuffed it. He got on top of Leites and tried to throw some punches. He backed away and made Leites stand up again. He threw a spinning side kick. Leites dropped again and Silva threw a bunch of shots before standing up again. The crowd starts chanting "bullshit," and deservedly so. Leites tried to come in again and Silva just threw him to the ground. A "GSP" chant starts up again. With twenty seconds left Leites dropped to his back again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. Again, Leites did nothing. I may need to rethink my scoring on the second round, as even with the takedown Silva didn't take any damage. This was a five round rout that was the least exciting title fight I think I've ever seen.
WINNER: Silva via unanimous decision.
POST FIGHT: Silva apologized to the fans and said he'll give a better performance next time. He said sometimes they can't come out and give a spectacular show. He said he knows he can't always give the public what they want and sometimes it just goes that way.
STAR RATING: (*) It was the exact opposite of the five round battle that Torres and Mizugaki had in the WEC earlier this month. I don't really know what to say about that, Leites was not on Silva's level and it showed, but Silva was content to just pick and choose some spots and not take any damage. That may have been the most boring title fight ever.
-Well, that's another fight in the books, and it was not the UFC's finest hours. With some decent fights, the death of Chuck Liddell's career and an awful main event this is a card that didn't live up to the minor billing that it had. Anderson Silva's stock has dropped a bit as a drawing card. They need to make the fight with GSP happen if he beats Alves. Well, thanks again for sticking with us at MMATorch.com, we'll have more to talk about as the week goes on. Good night, everyone.
[Anderson Silva Art Credit - Corey Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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