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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC 179
OCTOBER 25, 2014
LIVE FROM RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims=====
-Tony Martin def. Fabricio Camoes via submission (kimura) at 4:16 of the first round.
Note: Really nice work from Martin. He got Camoes down, stayed patient as he progressed to the kimura, and eventually forced the tap.
-Gilbert Burns def. Christos Giagos via submission (armbar) at 4:57 of the first round
Note: Really slick transition to the armbar. Burns had significant control throughout the round, then found the arm near the end to force the tap.
=====Fox Sports 1 Prelims=====
-After a brief intro from Mike Goldberg and Brian Stann, it's time for our first televised fight of the evening.
PRELIM FIGHT ONE: FELIPE ARANTES VS. ANDRE FILI (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Both exchanged a few flurries right off the bat. Fili tried to press in, and both exchanged some hard strikes. Fili then took Arantes to the ground. Fili stod up as Arantes got to the cage. He dropped in with a couple of strikes. Arantes reversed things, shooting in for his own takedown. He completed it and passed to mount. He landed a few hard strikes, but Fili escaped and moved to top position. He landed some hard strikes, then dropped into side control. Arantes eventually moved to his feet. Fili came up bleeding after they separated. Fili pressed in with a short combo. He landed several big strikes with a flurry of knees in the center of the cage. Arantes threw a kick, it was caught, and he was taken down just before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Fili. Arantes had a few moments, but that was Fili's round clearly.
ROUND TWO: Fili pressed in with some hard kicks. Arantes pressed in and grabbed a body lock, working for the takedown. Fili reversed and got on top into half guard. He landed several strikes, but then Arantes reversed himself to regain position. As Fili tried to kick Arantes off, we got an acting job on Arantes' part to delay things as if he got hit with an illegal blow. As they restarted, Fili scored a takedown. Arantes turned things around again. Fili attacked from the bottom and wound up getting to his feet. He shot in and scored another takedown to get back on top. Arantes tried to attack. Arantes avoided a dominant spot from Fili, but the Hawaiian remained on top. He ended the round delivering strikes.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Fili. Arantes had the one nice reversal, but that was it, and Fili took back control from there.
ROUND THREE: Fili pressed in with strikes. They clinched, and Arantes tried to jump for a guillotine. He lost the hole, and Fili wound up on top. Fili passed nicely to side control. Arantes scrambled, Fili went for an ill-advised submission, and lost position. They eventually worked to their feet and separated. Fili attempted another takedown. Arantes wound up getting Fili to the ground. Fili attacked from the bottom, but Arantes avoided it. Fili used the opportunity to score another takedown in transition. He stood up and went for a big strike at the end, though Arantes tossed out an upkick.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-10. Tough round for which to find a clear winner. Both had some moments offensively, both had solid defense when they were on the ground.
WINNER: Fili via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**-) Not a terrible fight, and had some decent back and forth throughout the bout, but there wasn't a ton to this one.
PRELIM FIGHT TWO: WILSON REIS VS. SCOTT JORGENSEN (CATCHWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: After several fairly ineffectual exchanges, Jorgensen rocked Reis with a right hand. Reis recovered and they eventually separated. Both landed strikes. Reis closed distance and took Jorgensen down at the cage. He landed a flurry of strikes. He tried to set up an arm triangle choke. He had it locked in, and Jorgensen finally tapped. Wow.
WINNER: Reis via submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:28 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Really good win for Reis, really major loss for Jorgensen. Jorgensen's fall continues here, and it's going to be hard to bounce back from the stretch he finds himself in.
PRELIM FIGHT THREE: YAN CABRAL VS. NAOYUKI KOTANI (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Cabral pressed the pace early on, landing some strikes up against the cage. Midway through the round he scored a takedown and tried to work from half guard. Cabral continued to work from top position through the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cabral. Not a ton to the round, but clearly in the Brazilian's favor.
ROUND TWO: Cabral again pushed in, scoring an early takedown, and tried to take Kotani's back. Kotani eventually worked free. Cabral walked him down, then got him to the ground again. He took Kotani's back, working for a choke. He secured the rear naked choke and forced the tap.
WINNER: Cabral via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:06 of the second round
STAR RATING: (**) Solid performance from Cabral. He was just better than Kotani on all fronts, and proved as much with the finish.
PRELIM FIGHT FOUR: WILLIAM PATOLINO VS. NEIL MAGNY (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Patolino missed a swinging strike early on. Magny landed a leg kick. Patolino fired back. They clinched for a bit, eventually separating without much issue. Patolino landed a right hand. He continued pressing, and landed another right. Magny wasn't tossing out a ton of offense, allowing Patolino to press in. Magny connected on a couple of strikes. Patolino pressed back, though neither landed much before the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Patolino. Magny had very little offense through that opening round.
ROUND TWO: Patolino pressed in early, as Magny tried to fire on the outside. Patolino threw a few hard strikes at the fence. Magny dropped his hands and fired back. Patolino backed him up with a left hand. Magny landed back. Patolino again pressed Magny back to the cage. Magny tried to attack, but wound up downed to a knee as Patolino attacked. He worked back to his feet and scored a much needed takedown. He passed easily to the mount. He started delivering a lot of strikes from top position. Patolino defended, but Magny kept up the assault to the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Magny. The mount with all that offense gave him the edge in the round.
ROUND THREE: Patolino tried to be the aggressor on the feet, but Magny fired back. Magny scored a flurry of strikes and took Patolino down easily. Magny continued landing strikes as Patolino stopped doing much to defend. The assault continued until the ref stepped in.
WINNER: Magny via TKO at 2:40 of the third round
STAR RATING: (**) Impressive for Magny in that he's won five straight this year alone, but there just wasn't a lot of compelling action in that fight.
=====Pay-Per-View Main Card=====
-After some opening rundown from Mike Goldberg and Brian Stann, it's on to the opening bout on the pay-per-view card.
MAIN CARD FIGHT ONE: CARLOS DIEGO FERREIRA VS. BENEIL DARIUSH (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Dariush tried to back Ferreira up, landing a jab at the cage. They exchanged strikes. Ferreira landed a kick to the body. They traded strikes again. Dariush landed a hard kick to the body of his own. He went high with a kick. Ferreira fired back. Ferreira landed a couple of nice counter strikes as Dariush rushed in. They traded in another exchange. Dariush landed a hard leg kick. Ferreira rushed in and landed a body kick. Ferreira closed the distance, but had to thwart a throw attempt from Dariush. They battled for position on the cage. Ferreira landed a couple of hard strikes and Dariush backed away. Dariush scored a late takedown, but Ferreira attacked for a leg lock from the bottom. Dariush ended the round on top.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dariush. Competitive opening round, perhaps more than expected. Good work from Dariush overall.
ROUND TWO: Dariush pressed in early, scoring a takedown briefly before Ferreira got back to his feet. Dariush held back position standing. He let it go and landed a kick on the break. He got in another leg kick. Dariush landed a punch to the body. He got in a kick to the body. Dariush shot in again. Ferreira tried to hold it off, but in his sweep attempt he landed on his back. Dariush tried to advance as Ferreira tried to attack from the bottom. He got Dariush to stand up, but Dariush got back into his guard. Dariush stood up again and landed a couple of kicks before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dariush. He's in control here, no question. Ferreira needs a finish after two not great rounds.
ROUND THREE: Ferreira rushed in with an early flurry. He landed a few more hard strikes, avoiding counters from Dariush. Dariush tried to roll through with a takedown, but Ferreira got to his feet. Dariush stayed on him, though, and scored the takedown. Dariush worked from Ferreira's guard, but took some strikes from the bottom. The crowd booed with the Brazilian prone on his back. Dariush passed to half guard, then moved to side control. Ferreira got to his feet, but Dariush held the body lock, landed knees, and dragged him back down, keeping control to the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dariush. He controlled Ferreira throughout. Not much more to say from there.
WINNER: Dariush via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (*+) Not really a good fight. Dariush controlled things, and picked up a nice win over the favored Brazilian, but there just wasn't much to the fight at all.
MAIN CARD FIGHT TWO: LUCAS MARTINS VS. DARREN ELKINS (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Elkins tried to close the distance, and scored a quick takedown. Martins got to a knee, and worked to his feet. Elkins stayed on him, and finally backed off with a right hand. Martins landed a kick to the body. Elkins pressed forward again with a strike, and landed a kick to the body. He briefly clinched, then landed a couple of strikes. Elkins shot in again, but got held off. Elkins landed a few strikes in combination. Elkins clinched again and drove Elkins to the cage, landing knees to the body for a bit before backing away. Martins came forward and landed a short combo. Martins stuffed a shot. Martins landed a short combo again. Elkins fired back and landed a good left hand. Elkins pressed in with a few strikes and tried to complete a takedown. He got stuffed, but landed a few strikes on the break. Martins was hesitant to engage, then clinched at the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Elkins. Martins is off rhythm because of the wrestling of Elkins at this point.
ROUND TWO: Elkins again pressed in, clinching Martins at the cage and landing a few strikes. They traded shots in the clinch. Martins finally got separation after a minute of that. Elkins continued firing first as Martins just wasn't doing much of anything. Elkins pressed in for the clinch again. Martins fired a few strikes back, but he was still not getting the better of things. Martins finally backed Elkins off and landed an uppercut. He landed a hard strike, then pressed Elkins to the cage. Martins allowed Elkins to recover, shoot in himself, and clinch. Elkins landed a few strikes. Martins ate a few more with his back on the cage. Elkins stayed busy to the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Elkins. Bad gameplan or execution from Martins right now, because he's allowing Elkins to dictate everything.
ROUND THREE: Elkins pressed in with another clinch, landed a few strikes, but ate a couple of knees from Martins. Elkins failed on another takedown attempt, but held the clinch. Martins connected on a knee. Martins backed him off, but was well behind with just over three minutes left. Elkins again clinched to boos from the crowd. Elkins continued to employ the wall and stall game, but Martins wasn't doing anything himself. They were separated by the ref with two minutes left, and Elkins immediately went back to the grind on the cage. They were again separated due to inactivity. Martins running out of time. Elkins pressed Martins back and again got that clinch. Elkins landed a couple of punches, ate a right hand, and went back to the clinch. Martins landed a knee. The horn sounded. Terrible fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Elkins. I suppose. Bad round to end a bad fight. Wall and stall is the worst.
WINNER: Elkins via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (*-) The very definition of "skippable." Such an awful, boring fight. Wall and stall is the biggest plight on the sport.
MAIN CARD FIGHT THREE: FABIO MALDONADO VS. HANS STRINGER (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Stringer quickly scored a takedown into half guard. Stringer tried to work in some short strikes from the top and the crowd was quick to boo. Just a bad fight card tonight, as was sadly expected. Stringer continued to try to work with strikes from the top and knees to the body, but he wasn't getting in a ton of damage. More boos from the crowd. Maldonado tried to escape, but Stringer kept him on the ground. Maldonado escaped to his feet, but got taken down again rather quickly. Stringer ended the round on top.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Stringer. Really bad round to start things off.
ROUND TWO: Stringer pressed the clinch to start off, and spent a minute trying to grind Maldonado at the cage before they separated. Maldonado landed a couple of strikes. Stringer landed a few leg kicks. Stringer shot in again and scored a takedown. Maldonado reversed and got on top, landing a few strikes off the bat from the top. He postured up and threw strikes as Stringer just covered up. Stringer wasn't doing much of anything besides that, and the ref finally stepped in.
WINNER: Maldonado at 4:06 of the second round
STAR RATING: (*) Awful first round. Barely saved by that finish, which itself came because Stringer basically gave up.
MAIN CARD FIGHT FOUR: GLOVER TEIXEIRA VS. PHIL DAVIS (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: After a few early exchanges, Teixeira tried to close distance, and Davis shot in. Teixeira held it off and separated. He tried to chase Davis down with left hands. Davis avoided the kill shot and shot in, but got stuffed. Teixeira landed a few strikes. Davis fired back with a few. Teixeira landed a knee as Davis shot in. Teixeira tried to reverse as Davis stayed on the single leg attempt. Teixeira continued to defend. Davis briefly got him down, and they battled in the clinch. Davis got Teixeira's back standing and dragged him down. Teixeira tried to escape, but Davis held him down again, ending the round with a positional advantage.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Davis. I suppose. Teixeira was winning the round until the latter half control.
ROUND TWO: Teixeira tried to engage, but Davis popped in and out with strikes as he feigned takedown attempts. Teixeira landed a strike, then Davis drove in and took Teixeira down. Teixeira reversed it and grabbed a front headlock to the delight of the ground, working back to his feet. Davis landed a body kick. Teixeira went for a guillotine in a really dumb moment and gave Davis top position. Teixeira tried to get to his feet and break free, but Davis held body control. Teixeira finally turned into him and separated. Teixeira landed a few strikes, then took an eye poke. After the restart, Davis continued to stay out of range. Neither was connecting on much. Teixeira tried to rush in and got taken down again.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Davis. Well, really surprising fight thus far. Didn't think Teixeira would get controlled like this.
ROUND THREE: Teixeira opened with a hard combination. Davis drove in and stalled things up against the cage. It was only brief, as Teixeira got separation. Teixeira missed a couple of strikes and got taken down. Teixeira tried to get up, couldn't, and Davis continued to stay busy. Teixeira got to his feet, but Davis drove him to the cage. Teixeira stuffed him and landed a couple of strikes but Davis came right back at him. He separated with just over a minute left. Teixeira landed a couple of strikes. Davis shot in again and held control, dragging Teixeira back down. Ugly as hell, but it's worked here. Teixeira briefly got to his feet. Davis took him down again, holding on to the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Davis. What a bad fight, with a particularly baffling performance from Teixeira.
WINNER: Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (*) Awful fight, bad performance from the favorite, shockingly allowing Davis to control him throughout. Not sure what else to say there, just a bad fight.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: JOSE ALDO VS. CHAD MENDES (FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: Mendes came straight ahead with a leg kick and a strike behind it. Mendes tried to chase. He landed a hard leg kick. Aldo fired back with a combination. They traded strikes. Both landed hard strikes. Mendes landed a left hook that staggered and dropped the Champ, but Aldo popped up. Aldo landed a leg kick as Mendes moved in. Mendes backed Aldo up. Aldo landed a body punch. Mendes responded with a right. Aldo landed a body kick, but ate a few counter strikes. Mendes kept moving forward, keeping Aldo's back on the cage. They traded strikes. Aldo landed a short strike, then got in a knee. Mendes landed a hard left hook after taking a body strike. Aldo landed a couple of hard leg kicks. Aldo took an eye poke and things were halted. Aldo was fine, and they restarted. Mendes moved right in and they traded strikes. Aldo landed a hard knee. Mendes took him down, but Aldo got right back up. Aldo then knocked Mendes down! He followed up with some strikes and moved to mount. Mendes escaped and got to his feet! Mendes landed a right hook. Aldo landed a hard strike after the horn that knocked Mendes down.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Aldo. Mendes has survived longer than the first fight, but he took more damage there at the end. Split second thing, but could have been a point deduction.
ROUND TWO: After a few early exchanges, Mendes accidentally caught Aldo in the groin with a kick. They restarted with a loud crowd in Aldo's favor. Mendes landed a body kick as he moved in. Mendes missed a couple of strikes. The exchanges continued, though neither was landing a ton of significance. Aldo landed a hard body punch. After a few minor exchanges, Aldo landed another body punch. He connected with a light head kick. They traded a few strikes before the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Aldo. Mendes had a better round, but not quite enough to take the frame. Still, fairly close fight here.
ROUND THREE: Both fighters came out swinging. Mendes accidentally poked Aldo in the eye again, and things were halted. Mendes got a fervent warning, and was told if it happened again he'd get a point taken. Mendes started firing as they restarted. Aldo was game and responded with several strikes of his own. Things slowed down a bit. Annnnnd, my Comcast feed went out. Apologies for a delay here. Will catch up as quick as we can.
ROUND FOUR: We're in the fourth round as I have things back. Seems Aldo is up three by the commentary. Mendes tries to press the action. He missed a few strikes. Aldo tried to taunt a bit. Mendes landed a few strikes. He landed a hard kick to the body. Mendes landed a jab. Aldo was complaining, but he was getting hit by the punches to the eye, which opened a cut under his left eye. Mendes landed a punch, but Aldo countered with two. Mendes missed an uppercut. Aldo got in with an eye poke but they continued. Mendes landed a jab. Mendes landed a solid combination. He landed another. Mendes blocked several strikes. Aldo pressed in with a right. He threw a jumping knee that didn't find its mark. THey traded strikes. Mendes moved forward as the horn sounded.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Mendes. He landed a lot more offensively that round, but still probably needs a finish to take this one.
ROUND FIVE: Mendes immediately landed a right hand. He landed with a left. He connected on another left. Aldo fired back. Mendes landed a body kick. Mendes shot in and completed a takedown at the cage. The crowd did not like that. Aldo tried to work to his feet as Mendes tried to complete things. Mendes got in a knee to the body, but Aldo got to his feet. Mendes landed a strike before Aldo pushed him off. Aldo landed a hard knee as Mendes tried to take the leg. Aldo took Mendes' back, but Mendes got to his feet and separated. Mendes landed a nice short combo. He connected on an uppercut. Aldo landed a right. Mendes landed a strike. Both connecting on some legitimate combinations here. Mendes landed a nice left. Mendes shot in, but got stuffed, and Aldo landed a knee as Mendes got up. They traded strikes. Mendes pressed in again. He landed a knee to the body. They traded punches late. Both connected. Aldo landed a body kick at the horn.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Aldo. Mendes had some real solid output, but Aldo just simply did more damage here. Good fight, but not enough from the challenger to take the belt.
WINNER: Aldo via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
STAR RATING: (****) Just a great fight between two elite fighters battling it out from bell to bell. Aldo remains the best in the world, but Mendes gave him everything he could throughout, especially in that fourth round. Another great title defense from Aldo, and this was just a really good fight.
-That's our report for tonight, thanks for sticking around with us! We'll have more reaction to the event and more this week as we head into a very busy month of November.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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