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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC 101 PPV REPORT
AUGUST 8, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, PA. AT WACHOVIA CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW
There's the gladiator opening, it's time for UFC 101!
-Goldberg and Rogan open up the show and run down the main event fighters. They run down the rest of the card as well before throwing it to the first fight.
FIGHT ONE: JOSH NEER VS. KURT PELLEGRINO (LIGHTWEIGHT)
-No pre-fight videos for this one tonight, right to the walk ins, I like it to get the show started.
ROUND ONE: Neer walks Pellegrino down off the bat and they exchange a quick flurry. Neer stalks Pellegrino some more. Pellegrino shoots in and Neer grabs a standing guillotine as Pellegrino picks him up. Kurt slips out as he slams Neer and gets into his guard. He moves to half guard but Neer pulls him back to guard. Pellegrino postures up and lands a punch. Neer tries to grab an arm but Pellegrino gets it loose. Neer lands an elbow from the bottom. Neer grabs an armbar but Pellegrino picks him up and drops him on his head. Pellegrino keeps Neer on the ground and moves to half guard again. Neer again goes for an arm and pulls guard. Neer is very active off his back here. Pellegrino again passed to half guard and threw a couple punches. Neer again gets his knee under Pellegrino and gets it back to his guard again. Pellegrino once again gets to half guard and starts landing a couple of elbows. He finishes the round throwing the short forearms and doing some damage to win the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pellegrino. He held top control the whole round and did some damage while Neer was trying to grab his arm throughout. Good work on the ground.
ROUND TWO: Neer again comes out and pushes Pellegrino back to the cage standing. He lands a good leg kick. Pellegrino landed a right hand and Neer got a good leg kick in. Pellegrino shot but it was shrugged off. Pellegrino landed a good combination and then shot in for a single leg. Neer tried to hold it off but Pellegrino pulled him to the ground and got into his guard. Neer landed a couple of elbows from the bottom. Neer is trying to work for a lot of stuff from the bottom. Pellegrino stands up and comes down with a shot. Neer looks frustrated that Pellegrino is staying on top of him but not doing enough. Pellegrino landed a good forearm to the face. He got in closer and landed a couple more elbows. Pellegrino throws some more short shots. Neer again tries to grab the triangle and Pellegrino tries to use that to pass and land some hammer fists. Neer rolled to his side and tried to grab a kimura. Pellegrino countered and took his back. He threw some heel kicks to the legs but Neer held off the shoke as the round came to a close. Neer's nose has been bloodied and the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pellegrino. Pellegrino again dominated on the ground, and he was patient and got his spot but didn't have enough time to do anything once he got Neer's back.
ROUND THREE: Pellegrino lands a good kick to start. Neer continues to control the pace of the feet. As I say that he throws a kick that is caught and Pellegrino takes him down again. Neer tries to get out of this spot with Pellegrino on him but Pellegrino keeps control. Neer goes for a leg and then an arm but Pellegrino pulls out of it again. Pellegrino dropped a big elbow. Pellegrino continued working with short punches. Neer tries to throw a couple of elbows from the bottom. Pellegrino stood up and slapped Neer across the face. Yeah, that happened. Neer again tried to push Pellegrino off as the boo birds began to come out in Philly. Pellegrino pulled out of another triangle attempt and moved over to half guard. Pellegrino threw some more short shots and moved to mount again with 40 seconds left. Neer got out and got on top but Pellegrino popped up to his feet. Neer threw some hard elbows as the round was coming to a close and cut Neer open as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pellegrino. Despite the last flurry of elbows, Pellegrino again smothered Neer throughout the round and will take the win here.
WINNER: Pellegrino via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**) It was a good battle on the ground with Neer going for submissions and Pellegrino powering out to keep control, but there wasn't a whole lot else to this one.
RAMIFICATIONS: Well, it was a big win for Pellegrino, and a setback for Neer, but both guys are still right in that "middle of the pack" spot in the lightweight division in the UFC. If Pellegrino can string a few like that together, he'll step up even more in competition on the way. Neer doesn't lose too much, he just couldn't get out of the top control of Pellegrino in that fight.
FIGHT TWO: KENDALL GROVE VS. RICARDO ALMEIDA (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Pellegrino pushed in quickly and got Grove clinched against the cage. Grove tried to grab the Thai clinch but Almeida got out. Almeida landed a good punch as he kept Grove clinched with his back to the cage. Grove grabbed double underhooks and got Almeida's back to the cage and then separated. Almeida faked a shot and landed a big overhand right. He backed out. He came in again with another good right hand. Grove came in and landed a knee as Almeida went for a single leg. Grove kept himself on his feet and Almeida again clinched him on the cage. Grove keeps himself standing. Almeida's really trying for this takedown and Grove does a great job holding off, but only for a time as Almeida gets him down. He pushes him back and lands an upkick before Almeida kicks his leg and drops with a right hand. Grove tries to throw some elbows and Almeida moved to half guard and then got side control. He tried to take Grove's back and he held him off. Almeida threw some hard knees to the body but Grove got himself back up. Almeida picked him up and slammed him and got into half guard with ten seconds left in the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Almeida. Two takedowns and some good knees to the body on the ground take it for Almeida.
Round Two: Almeida lands another big right with a fake shot and then shot in and got Grove down. Grove tried to grab a guillotine but Almeida popped out of it. Grove grabs an armbar that looks nasty but Almeida popped out of it. That looked bad. Almeida got back into Grove's guard. Grove grabs a body triangle from the bottom and throws some elbows from his back. Almeida threw some short punches to the body. Almeida passed to half guard but Kendall pulled him back. Almeida stood up, threw a leg kick and dropped down with a shot back into Grove's guard. Almeida again moved to half guard. Kendall tried to go for a knee bar and Almeida nearly took side control. Almeida pops out and lands some big shots to Grove on the ground. Grove walked himself back up and Almeida clinched him on the cage yet again. Grove turns it around and puts Almeida back to the ground. They separate and as Almeida comes in Grove lands an uppercut, then he grabs the Thai clinch and lands a good knee. Almeida gets another takedown as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Almeida. Grove had a good near submission and a good two shots at the end, but again Almeida controlled the round.
ROUND THREE: Almeida lands a good inside leg kick early as Grove tries to walk him down. Grove comes in and eats a big right from Almeida and he shoots in and gets Grove down again. Grove worked back up to his feet but Almeida held him against the cage. Grove landed a good knee to the body and separated with a good punch. Kendall lands a good punch again. Almeida tried to jump into an armbar as Grove grabbed a clinch. Kendall backed off and made Almeida stand up. Grove stalks a tired Almeida down to the fence. Grove lands a good knee as they separate off the cage. Almeida shot in and got another takedown. Grove needs to get something done here or he's going to lose this fight. Almeida tries to throw some short shots from Grove's full guard. Grove tried to roll into the armbar again but Almeida pushed him off. Kendall goes for an omoplata but can't pull it off. Almeida's just trying to hold onto this one now. Grove landed a good elbow from the bottom. Grove pushes Almeida off with 30 seconds left and started throwing wildly. Almeida landed a big right instead. Almeida tries to go for a takedown as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Almeida. It was the takedowns again, despite some good strikes landed by Grove.
WINNER: Almeida via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**) Similar fight to the first one, with one guy keeping top control but not a whole lot else to talk about. It wasn't a bad fight by any means, just average. Grove nearly finished it in the second though, and Almeida did a great job to get out of the arm bar.
FIGHT THREE: AMIR SADOLLAH VS. JOHNY HENDRICKS (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Sadollah comes out with a leg kick. Hendricks comes in for a punch and Sadollah throws a head kick. Sadollah pushes in and Hendricks dropped him with a couple of uppercuts on the cage and landed a flurry as Dan Miragliotta comes in and stops it. It may have been a bit of an early stoppage but Hendricks landed about twelve unanswered shots.
WINNER: Hendricks via TKO at :29 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: The crowd boos at the perceived early stoppage but that was a hell of a flurry from Hendricks. It's not his fault the ref stopped it. That was still a great performance from Hendricks. Hendricks said he came out and said all he can do is fight until the ref pulls him off and that's what he did. Looking at the replay, even though Joe Rogan is decrying the stoppage, Hendricks dropped Sadollah and landed a ton of unanswered shots, there's nothing more to it. If it was a little bit early he wouldn't have needed much more time from there.
Star Rating: (**) It didn't last long, and the semi-controversial "early" stoppage takes the enjoyment down a bit, but Hendricks is going to be a beast. That's a hell of a way to introduce yourself to the UFC audience.
FIGHT FOUR: AARON RILEY VS. SHANE NELSON (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Somehow the first prefight video we get is for this fight. Prelims must have gone long unless they decided to throw six fights on the main card. Interesting. They played off the first fight's controversial stoppage to lead in to this.
ROUND ONE: Riley lands a left after an early feeling out period and they clinch in the middle of the cage. Nelson releases with a good punch. Riley lands a hard shot and Nelson trips against the cage. Riley tries to jump on him but nothing comes of it. Riley lands a good kick to the body. He comes forward and clinches Nelson on the cage, landing a few good shots along the way. Nelson lands a good knee to the body before breaking away. Nelson landed a good left. Riley landed a leg kick but Nelson caught it. Riley somersaulted away from the takedown attempt and got back up. Riley pushed Nelson to the cage again but they separate. Nelson gets a good left hand punch in and attempts a high kick. Riley lands a good knee as they get in together in the middle. Riley pushes nelson to the cage with a good knee and steps back with a couple of hard elbows. Another knee from Riley before backing out with another elbow as well. Riley caught a kick from Nelson. He let it go and threw a high kick of his own. Nelson shot for a takedown and Riley stuffed it. Nelson lands a couple of jabs but Riley stays on him. He presses him on the cage as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Riley. He controlled the pace of the round and stayed on Nelson throughout the round. Well that was more than 5 times longer than their first fight.
ROUND TWO: Riley again stalks Nelson down to start. He lands a high kick and stays on him. Nelson throws a kick of his own. Riley comes in with a couple of punches and pushes Nelson against the cage, throwing a few punches and elbows. Riley again gets in with a couple of quick punches. Riley lands a good knee to the body. Nelson nearly trips over his own feet and Riley gets him to the cage again. Riley separates but then gets back on Nelson against the cage. A couple of shots, rinse and repeat here this round. Riley lands a big head kick as he separated and stays on him on the cage. He trips Nelson down and gets into his half guard. Riley lands a couple of short forearms and tries to pin Nelson's left arm. He stays on him with short punches and hammerfists. He goes back to the short elbows again. Nelson gets it to his full guard. Not much happens from here and they get stood back up with 40 seconds left in the round. Riley again presses forward and they each get in a quick flurry before the round ends. Riley threw Nelson to the ground at the buzzer.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Riley. He is absolutely controlling Nelson in this fight right now, and he is clearly winning right now. Let's see if he can finish.
ROUND THREE: It's Riley out pressing the action once again here. They exchange body shots in a middle of the cage clinch before separating. Nelson shoots in and Riley again shrugs it off. Riley continues to pressure Nelson to the outside. Nelson just falls to the ground with a half-hearted attempt to pull guard. Apparently a fight has broken out in the crowd and it's more exciting than Riley in Nelson's guard. Something major happened in the crowd as they go wild for the non sanctioned fight as Riley is just throwing short shots in Nelson's guard. This continues for awhile without much going on. Riley has stayed in this spot for about a minute and a half, getting no closer to finishing it. Riley continues throwing short, not too powerful shot to finish out the round and take this fight.
Penick's Scorecard: Riley 10-9. Rogan says if Riley loses this decision he'll burn his headset and run naked through the crowd. This was Riley's fight all the way, but he was never really close to finishing it.
WINNER: Riley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (**-) That's the third fight like this on this card, and we need to hope for the main events to save this show from being a very average card, better served for Spike TV than pay-per-view. This fight had no business being on pay-per-view.
FIGHT FIVE: FORREST GRIFFIN VS. ANDERSON SILVA (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Silva says he's always wanted to fight the best in his career and this is another great test. Forrest says once somebody does beat Anderson they'll say "oh, that's all I had to do, why didn't I think of that?" Silva says it's going to end with one of getting knocked out, that's a fact. Forrest said he guarantees he's not going to lose. Griffin comes out jogging to the cage to a massive reaction. Here we go! The crowd boos before Anderson Silva's music even starts. He comes out to a mixture of cheers and boos. Silva reacts with fake shock as the some of the crowd boos his introduction in the cage.
ROUND ONE: Silva bows in respect to Forrest and we are underway! Forrest comes right to the center of the cage. The crowd is all in the camp of Griffin here. Silva stays to the outside as the feel each other out here. Forrest throws a leg kick. Silva catches a leg kick ala Irvin but Forrest pops back and is alright. Forrest lands an inside leg kick. Forrest goes for a head kick and Silva blocks it. Silva pops forward and caught Forrest with a big left. Forrest went down but got back to his feet smiling. Silva lands a right hand. Forrest comes forward and they trade shots. Silva motions to Forrest to come at him. He's pissed off now. He held his hands down and as Forrest tried to throw a shot he dropped him with a huge right. He throws some shots on Griffin on the ground and lets him up. He holds out his hand in a handshake motion. Anderson kept his hands at his sides and as Griffin came in again Forrest dropped him with another barely thrown right hand and Forrest is out. Wow. Forrest ran to the back after the loss. I can't believe that just happened like that.
WINNER: Silva via KO at 3:23 of the first round.
PRE FIGHT: Silva's back in the good graces of the fans. Rogan said he thought Griffin had the perfect style for Anderson to highlight his skills. Anderson, in English, says Forrest is a good fighter and a good man. He thanked his crew. He says it's a big problem because 205 guys are bigger than him, but he wants to fight the best in the world. He gave a shout out to the Nogueira's.
STAR RATING: (****-) That was unbelievable from Silva. The level of dominance over his opponents is crazy, he made Leites look like a two fight professional and toyed with Forrest here with his hands at his sides. He's the best fighter in the world.
RAMIFICATIONS: Silva shoots back up to the top of the pound for pound rankings. No one's beating that Anderson Silva, not even GSP. That was bad form on Forrest's part running out to the back. As much as I'm a fan of Griffin, running out like that after such a bad showing was just not right. He's going to still be cheered for his next fight but that was an unbelievable showing of dominance from Silva, holding his hands at his sides, leaning back and throwing such a non-power punch for the final blow. I'm really in shock right now.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT SIX: B.J. PENN VS. KENNY FLORIAN (LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT)
PRE FIGHT: Kenny says he's going to "kill the beast" that is B.J. Penn. Penn says you're going to see the 22 year old prodigy, and he's fighting for himself now. Kenny says he may finish Penn in the first, and B.J., incredulous, says "did he really say this shit?" Kenny's got some boo birds in the crowd, I'm a bit surprised by that. Cheers outweigh the boos as he comes out to the cage. B.J. looks as in focus as he's ever been. He's got fans in this crowd as well. This is going to be a war. Hopefully.
ROUND ONE: B.J. comes straight at Kenny to start and takes the center. Kenny throws a high kick that's blocked and backs away. Penn caught a leg kick and dropped Kenny, but Kenny recovered as Penn clinched him at the cage. He backed away and landed a good elbow. Loud B.J. chant starts. Kenny's got his back on the cage here and he comes in to clinch in the center. B.J. lands a couple of good punches with some dirty boxing. Florian got a good elbow in. They separate again. Kenny with another high kick that gets blocked. Penn again came in at Florian and clinched him at the cage. They traded short punches with Kenny's back on the cage. Kenny throws a nice knee to the body. Penn responds with knees to the legs and body. Penn gets a good right in and they separate again. Kenny now takes the center. He pushes in on Penn and grabs him against the cage, trying for a takedown. Penn holds it off and Florian separates. Kenny throws a good inside leg kick and they're now feeling out a bit in the center of the cage. Kenny shoots in for a single leg and Penn holds it off again. They trade some more dirty boxing punches before separating again. They trade shots and Penn lands a big right. He tries to attack with a flying knee but Florian survives the onslaught as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Penn. Good start to the fight. B.J.'s got a good intensity, but Kenny's staying with him right now. Scary shot for Kenny at the end of the round there.
ROUND TWO: Kenny lands a really good leg kick. He lands another one and Penn misses a big right. Kenny pushes Penn to the cage again. He throws a knee to the body and lands a couple of good short punches. They separate again. Penn takes the center again. Kenny clinches in the center again but B.J. separates with a good left hand. Kenny again shoots for a single leg. Penn again holds him off. More dirty boxing from both on the cage. Kenny separates with an elbow. Kenny throws a straight kick and misses the superman punch. Penn hits him in the back of the head on accident as Florian went by him. Back to a bit of feeling out with Florian in the center. He shoots for the single leg again and presses Penn up against the cage again. He keeps his shoulder on the body of Penn. Penn connects with an uppercut and a left hook to get Kenny off of him. Kenny goes for the high kick again. Penn catches him with another short flurry. Penn back to the center. Kenny comes forward with a leg kick again. Kenny lands a straight left. Another inside leg kick as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Penn. He landed the more significant strikes but Kenny was pressing the action nicely. Very good round overall, tough to score.
ROUND THREE: Kenny again with a high kick early that gets blocked. Penn takes the center and walks Florian down. Kenny again presses in and gets Penn's back on the fence. Penn lands some good knees to the body. Kenny threw a couple of punches and knees on the cage. Penn lands a couple of shots again. Florian again shoots down for a leg and starts throwing a flurry of body shots before dropping for it again. Penn is trying to keep himself up and Florian stays on him. Kenny separates with an elbow again. Kenny misses a big left and Penn lands a couple of his own. Kenny now has hte center and he walks down Penn. The crowd starts to boo a little and Kenny lands a leg kick and shoots in for the single leg again. Penn lands a knee and lands a right hand. Kenny's got the center again and he shoots in again and presses Penn against the cage. The crowd is turning on his strategy. B.J. gets the switch and Penn lands a short flurry as Kenny gets back to his feet. Kenny lands a superman punch and gets tagged with a right as he tries another at the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Penn. Kenny's pressing but Penn is landing the better shots and holding off the takedowns. Kenny's going to need to do something here.
ROUND FOUR: Kenny is pressing forward in this round. He missed a shot and kept Penn off of him. He went back to the high kick. Florian shot in again and pressed Penn on the cage. Kenny backs off with an elbow and Penn lands a couple of shots. B.J. then takes Florian down with a slam. Penn gets into the half guard and throws a couple of shot. Kenny throws an elbow from the bottom and Penn starts throwing the short forearms. Kenny's got a big welt under his left eye now. Penn tries to pass out and get into the mount and Penn tosses a couple of big shots at him. Kenny's in trouble here. Penn throws another short forearm. Penn gets to the mount and Florian tries to cover up. Kenny's in big trouble as B.J. takes his back. He tried to grab an arm with his leg like the Stevenson fight. Penn throws some heel kicks to the stomach from Kenny's back and then tries to lock in the choke. Kenny tried to grab the top arm and held off tapping as long as he could but it was too much and B.J. Penn remains the UFC Lightweight Champion.
WINNER: Penn via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:54 of the fourth round.
POST FIGHT: Rogan honestly called Penn one of the "classiest" guys in the UFC. I'm sorry, no. Penn said he woke up this morning, said he's been in this thing for nine years and asked himself what he's doing here. Than he said he does it for the fans and he loves the fans. B.J. wouldn't answer Rogan's question, he just said "I love my fans, for everything else go to BJPenn.com. Kenny was near in tears as he walked his way to the back.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was a good, but not great title fight. Kenny fought a smart fight but B.J. Penn looked his absolute best. That was the B.J. Penn that can go down as the best lightweight ever if he comes to every fight in that shape and is that motivated. Like I said this week, we want to see B.J. fight. Let's knock it off with the rest of stuff outside of the cage and just fight.
Ramifications: Penn remains the best Lightweight in the world, Kenny drops back down the ladder. Sanchez vs. Penn will be a big fight next.
PRELIM FIGHT A: GEORGE SOTIROPOLOUS VS> GEORGE ROOP
ROUND ONE: Sotiropolous presses forward and uses good head movement as Roop tries to come forward. He tried to get a flying knee and Sotiropolous took him down, getting almost immediately to side control. Sotiropolous moves to the mount and Roop is in trouble. He lands a few shots as he moves higher and Roop rolls out of it and gets back to his feet. Roop throws a straight kick. Roop lands a kick. Sotiropolous throws a spinning back kick. Sotiropolous landed three huge shots that rocked Roop but he stayed up. Sotiropolous clinched him at the cage and took his back, dragging him to the ground. Roop rolls back to get Sotiropolous in his half guard. Sotiropolous again moves to side control. Sotiropolous went for a kimura and used it to take Roop's back. He got both hooks in and goes for a choke. Roop rolls out and Sotiropolous goes for an arm. Roop again gets out and almost lands in a triangle.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Sotiropolous. That was domination on the ground and the feet with some big shots. Good round for Sotiropolous, he's looking great on the ground.
ROUND TWO: Roop throws a high kick but it's blocked. Sotiropolous comes forward and lands a good combo. Roop tries to throw a knee again and Sotiropolous catches it. Roop comes in, Sotiropolous grabs a leg and takes him down. He moved beautifully to mount. Sotiropolous gets high in the mount again and Roop gets him off. Sotiropolous moves again to side control. He goes for the kimura and locks it on fiercely to get the win. Great performance from Sotiropolous.
WINNER: Sotiropolous via submission (kimura) at 1:59 of the second round.
STAR RATING: (***) Great passes and overall game shown from Sotiropolous there. That was just a really good showing from him with a great submission to finish it off.
UNAIRED UNDERCARD RESULTS:
-Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) at 3:37 of the third round.
-Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
-John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Well that's our card tonight, folks. Looking at the unaired fights, a very shocking win by Alessio Sakara over Thales Leites pushes Leites far down the ladder. I'm very surprised by that one. This was not the greatest show, but the performances of Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn saved it from being a bad event. George Sotiropolous sent the pay-per-view off with a stellar performance himself. Check back later for the fallout of this event, and tomorrow for our post-show audio review right here on MMATorch.com. Thanks for joining us here tonight!
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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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