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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
SPIKE TV PRELIM CARD
-Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan open up the Spike broadcast here, running down the two fights set to air here on this broadcast. It's another four hour night of fights, and it's time to get under way!
FIGHT ONE: COLE MILLER VS. DAN LAUZON (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Lauzon said the UFC is where he wanted to be from day one, and he's planning on knocking him out. Miller said he's going to get in his face and take him out.
ROUND ONE: Miller comes out swinging and lands a few, sending Lauzon back. He exchanges a few shots and then backs off. Lauzon drops Miller with a left but can't completely capitalize. Miller gets back to his feet and lands a good knee in the clinch and a couple more punches. He grabs back for the clinch and tries to lands a jumping knee. Lauzon blocks it and lands a knee to the body before pushing him backwards. Lauzon catches a kick and lands four punches to Miller. Miller comes forward with a good right and then gets pushed aside by Lauzon. Lauzon then grapples Miller to the ground and gets his back. Miller gets out and then goes for an inverted triangle, but he holds onto an arm and contorts it to get the tapout. Nice submission by Miller.
WINNER: Miller via submission (kimura from an inverted triangle) at 3:05 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Miller said he didn't remember getting dropped. He said he can attribute all of his success to ATT. He said he can't promise to win every fight but he will fight every fight.
STAR RATING: (***) Exciting fight and a beautiful submission to start off the 2010 MMA schedule. It was a bit sloppy at times but the finish was excellent.
PRELIM FIGHT A: MIKE PYLE VS. JAKE ELLENBERGER
ROUND ONE: Pyle lands a short punch early and Ellenberger lands one of his own. Ellenberger rushes in and gets Pyle to the ground. Pyle traps the right arm of Ellenberger from his guard. Ellenberger tries to get loose to land a punch. Pyle is doing a great job of keeping control from his back here, and Ellenberger is getting very frustrated. Pyle continues to work nicely from the bottom, trying to find an opening to throw up a submission attempt. Ellenberger bounces out and lands a punch, but then Pyle lands a couple of punches and elbows from the bottom. Ellenberger finally steps back out of the guard and let's Pyle back up. Ellenberger lands another shot and goes right for the takedown and gets him down and into the half guard. Pyle goes for the kimura from the bottom and tries to yank on it. Ellenberger does a good job of getting out of it and sticking in half guard. Pyle again holds control. Ellenbeerger gets out and lands a ton of shots late as the round comes to a close. He may have cracked a rib.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Ellenberger. After being neutralized for much of the round he unleashed the most damage late to finish the round off strong.
ROUND TWO: Pyle tries to shoot in early but Ellenberger holds it off. He then drops Pyle with a shot and unleashes a ton of shots to his downed opponent to force the stoppage. Good finish by Ellenberger.
WINNER: Ellenberger via TKO at :22 of the second round
POST FIGHT: Ellenberger said it's the greatest feeling in the world. He said he stuck to his gameplan and came out with the victory. He said he was just trying to keep his head high and avoid the submissions. He said he likes to lay hands on guys and he finished him off.
STAR RATING: (**+) Another nice finish here. It was a great chess match style first round in Pyle's guard, and then Ellenberger finished it off in vicious style.
FIGHT TWO: MARTIN KAMPMANN VS. JACOB VOLKMANN (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Volkmann comes out circling and both feel each other out early. Volkmann throws an early punch but Kampmann counters. He comes in close and eats a couple shots while exchanging. He grabs a clinch and Kampmann backs away to get free. Volkmann lands a couple of good shots as he comes forward but Kampmann catches him with a right and drops him. Volkmann immediately recovers and gets back to his feet. He pushes forward again and lands another shot charging in. Kampmann lands a punch and tries to clinch but eats a right as he backs out. Volkmann again gets a right in. He pushes forward with a couple of shots and then gets dropped by a counter from Kampmann. Kampmann drops down into Volkmann's guard against the cage. Kampmann drops a good elbow. Kampmann steps up and tries to drop down with shots as Volkmann holds him off with some upkick attempts. Kampmann drops down and lands a hard right. Kampmann again steps back. He gets in half guard and lands a big shot. He drops a bunch more on him and then Volkmann tries to roll out. As he does, Kampmann slaps on a nasty guillotine and Volkmann is forced to tap. Excellent win by Kampmann.
WINNER: Kampmann via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:03 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Kampmann said he got caught with too many punches. He said he shouldn't have been punched like that but he picked up the win.
STAR RATING: (***) Another very good one round fight. Volkmann tagged Kampmann with a few shots but got hit by a number of counters and then Kampmann had a great submission to end it. Volkmann showed the inexperience in his stand up but had a decent showing of himself here.
PRELIM FIGHT B: MARK MUNOZ VS. RYAN JENSEN
ROUND ONE: Munoz comes out to the center and pushes forward first. Jensen avoids it nicely. Jensen lands an inside leg kick and avoids the next shot by Munoz. Jensen went for a flying knee and got taken down by Munoz. Munoz gets to side control and then gets to the side of Jensen. Jensen got himself back up and landed a couple of really good shots as he came forward. He tries to go for a takedown but gets held up on the cage. Munoz then drags Jensen down. Munoz postures up and drops a number of hammerfists. Munoz is all over Jensen with shots and Jensen rolls over and tries to cover up. He looks like he's trying to tap and Munoz keeps landing shots. Finally, he clearly gets a hand free to tap and Munoz picks up the W. Big finish from Munoz.
WINNER: Munoz via tapout (strikes) 2:30 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: He said he's been making his weaknesses his strengths in training. He said he's got pretty good ground and pound and knows he can rely on his heavy hands on the ground.
STAR RATING: (**+) Another very good performance on this card. We've gotten four of these five undercard fights on this broadcast already, and they are absolutely giving us some great action in the fights that have been left over after all the injuries to this one. Good stuff.
-Joe Rogan is backstage with Dana White to talk about the Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel fight that will open the pay-per-view. He also touches on the Daley vs. Hazelett and Evans vs. Silva bouts from the pay-per-view card.
-There's more time to kill so they go to an interview with Rashad Evans and continue to waste time to get to the pay-per-view broadcast.
MAIN PAY-PER-VIEW CARD
-Cue the gladiator, it's time for another UFC pay-per-view. We've gotten four of the ten fights already, so expect some repeats during the pay-per-view broadcast with three first round finishes and one only twenty two seconds into the second round.
FIGHT THREE: JUNIOR DOS SANTOS VS. GILBERT YVEL (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Dos Santos says after he beats Yvel it will put him into title contention. Yvel says he's going to knock Dos Santos out.
ROUND ONE: Both fighters engage early and land short jabs. Yvel misses a shot and Dos Santos connects with two before stepping back. Yvel throws a spinning back kick that hits Dos Santos in the gut. Dos Santos lands a couple of body shots as Yvel comes in. Dos Santos pushes forward and lands a couple of shots and Yvel responds with a counter. Lots of power in this one. Dos Santos lands a kick and Yvel a left punch. Yvel lands a body kick. Dos Santos lands a jab to the mid section. Yvel throws a high kick that Dos Santos blocks. Dos Santos smiles. Dos Santos engages and drops Yvel with a huge counter left. Dos Santos immediately gets on him with some ground and pound. He keeps throwing shots as Yvel tries to cover up but Herb Dean comes in and stops it.
WINNER: Dos Santos via TKO at 2:07 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Dos Santos says he loves all this. He loves the fans and loves his life, and this is his home. He said he noticed as Yvel was coming in he was trying to counter and he knew he could get that left hook in.
STAR RATING: (***) That was exactly what was advertised. Yvel was close to landing a couple of big ones, but it was Dos Santos connecting on the dropping shot and finishing him off in quick fashion. Big win for Dos Santos to put him right in the Heavyweight Title mix.
FIGHT FOUR: JIM MILLER VS. DUANE LUDWIG (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Miller takes the center right off the bat. Ludwig lands a straight right early. Miller lands an inside leg kick. Miller pops in with a jab. He comes in again and lands a nice punch and kick combination. Ludwig lands a shot and Miller counters nicely> Miller dropped Ludwig with a shot and then got down to side control and immediately passed to mount. Ludwig rolled out and Miller grabbed an arm. Ludwig defended it nicely for a bit and then Miller got it on tighter to force the tap. Great performance from Miller.
WINNER: Miller via submission (armbar) at 2:31 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Miller thanked Ludwig for stepping up on short notice and all the fans for dealing with the injury situation on the card.
STAR RATING: (**+) There hasn't been a bad fight on the card yet, and we have yet another great performance out of Jim Miller in a first round finish. Only one fight thus far has gone past the first round, so the fighters are definitely giving a ton of bang for fans' bucks.
-With time available, they are replaying the Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon bout.
-They show Takanori Gomi at cageside, the UFC's newest lightweight acquisition.
FIGHT FIVE: JOE LAUZON VS. SAM STOUT (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Stout says he's coming at him. Lauzon said no matter what Stout does he's going to make him pay. Stout says he's trying to stack up wins to get a Title shot in the lightweight division.
ROUND ONE: Lauzon immediately clinches and brings Stout to the ground. He gets right into half guard. He drops a short elbow. He postuers up to land a shot. He cuts Stout open with a shot and then quickly rolls through to grab an arm. He nearly ripped the arm off but Stout stayed calm and got out of it and back to his feet. Back standing, Lauzon stayed the aggressor. He shot in for a single leg, and Stout landed a couple of shots before Lauzon again grabbed the leg and pulled him down. Stout worked to the cage and got back up. Lauzon shot in again, but this time got held off and he pulled guard. Stout landed a good short forearm. Stout finally steps up and backs off. Lauzon misses a two punch combo. Stout lands a good counter. Stout stuffed a takedown attempt and landed a counter. Stout is gaining some confidence in his counters and combos here. He lands a good uppercut as Lauzon comes in. Lauzon lands a good right. He lands another straight right but gets hit with an inside leg kick. Stout again with the inside leg kick. Lauzon landed a leg kick that Stout almost caught. Stout tried to land a spinning back fist and Lauzon landed one more straight right as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lauzon. Stout almost stole it with some good work on the feet late, but Lauzon had a near submission early and some good ground work early as well.
ROUND TWO: Lauzon gets stuffed again with a takedown attempt early. Stout lands a good body shot. Stout came forward with a couple of good leg kicks. Stout landed a high kick that rocked Lauzon, but Lauzon recovered and shot in for a single leg. Lauzon finishes the takedown. Stout tries to walk up the cage but Lauzon tried to stay on him. Stout got back to his feet finally. He landed a good punch. Stout again landed a knee but Lauzon pushed forward and clinched him from behind. Stout got out of the position and separated. Stout landed a good straight left. Lauzon gets in with a right. Stout lands a good combination. Stout again with a good kick to punch combo. Two short elbows land from Stout. He lands another hard body shot and hits him again with a high kick. He goes back to the body shots and Lauzon shoots in. Stout held it off and got Lauzon on his back. He let Lauzon stand back up with a minute left. Stout lands a good body kick. Lauzon again with a takedown attempt but he winds up on his back with Stout in his guard. Stout lands a good elbow. He lands one more before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecards: 10-9 Stout. Lauzon's getting beat up here now after a good start. He's looking really gassed and the long layoff has to be affecting his cardio right now.
ROUND THREE: Lauzon closes the distance immediately and lands a shot before trying to clinch. Stout holds him at bay and he tries to come forward again. He shoots in again but gets shoved aside. Stout lands a good right. Lauzon has just nothing left. Stout landed a good punch-leg kick-punch combo. Stout with a good body kick. Stout in again with a combination. Lauzon tries again for a takedown but Stout avoids it. Stout lands a good left hook. Back to the inside leg kick and a punch. Lauzon tries again for a takedown and gets thrown off by Stout. Stout again with a combination. Stout continues to land counters and combinations as Lauzon idly walks forward into it. Lauzon catches a kick and completes a takedown with two minutes left. He gets into guard and lands a couple of short elbows. He passes to half guard and gets to mount. He tries to get a choke on and Stout gets himself up and to his feet. Lauzon tries for some sort of throw but again gets tossed aside. Stout tags him with some short punches. Stout again with a partially blocked combo. He lands another big uppercut and stuffs a takedown. He goes for a flying knee but it gets blocked, and then he just barely misses a spinning back fist. He stays on him and lands another two shots as the round comes to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Stout. After a great start by Lauzon, Sam Stout took this fight over and picked a gassed Lauzon apart on the feet. Lauzon just had nothing after the first few minutes and then the late spurt in the third.
WINNER: Stout via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Stout said he's pumped right now. He said it was a great fight and he had a lot of fun doing it. He thanked his trainers and then all of his fans in Canada.
STAR RATING: (***-) It was a good fight, but Lauzon was so gassed after the first round that it just seemed like Stout should have been a bit more aggressive in the second and third. He picked him apart, but didn't get in with anything major there. It was definitely one of Stout's better performances, though. The layoff definitely had an effect on Lauzon in this one.
-Yet another Spike TV replayed fight, as they are re-airing the Kampmann vs. Volkmann fight now.
FIGHT SIX: PAUL DALEY VS. DUSTIN HAZELETT (WELTERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Daley says there aren't many people that can knock someone out with one punch, but anytime you get in there with him he can knock someone out. Hazelett says he's going to beat this guy and there's nothing he can do to me.
ROUND ONE: Hazelett did a barrel roll somersault forward at Daley to start off. Haven't seen that one before. He then took the center as Daley looked for a spot on the outside. He came forward and Hazelett pushed him off with a straight kick. Hazelett landed a high kick that Daley partially blocked. Daley threw a high kick that hit the body. Daley landed a good leg kick. Hazelett again got a foot up to avoid Daley coming forward. Hazelett again threw a high kick and then a straight kick. Both are very tentative here. Hazelett again lands a good straight kick. They both come in swinging and miss, and then Daley lands the left coming out of it and Hazelett goes down hard. Daley lands three more shots and it's all done. Hazelett is still out cold on the mat. Not what I expected from Hazelett tonight.
WINNER: Daley via KO at 2:54 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Daley said he wasn't surprised that Dustin tried to stand with him, as all fights start standing. He said Hazelett's a great fighter, and he apologized for his actions after the fight, though I didn't see what he did.
STAR RATING: (***) Another first round finish here tonight. I honestly didn't think Hazelett would be so willing to stand with him there, and he didn't even attempt to get it to the ground. Great knockout for Daley, but that's a clear example of why you can't try to fight to another fighter's strengths like that if it's opposite of your own. Good win for Daley and he's quickly climbing up the ranks of the UFC's welterweight division.
-We get another replay from the Spike broadcast, with Mark Munoz against Ryan Jensen now airing.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT SEVEN: RASHAD EVANS VS. THIAGO SILVA (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Evans said there's nothing funner than letting those hands go. Silva said Evans doesn't stand a chance against him.
ROUND ONE: Evans comes straight out swinging and clinches Silva against the cage. Evans dropped down for a double leg and got Silva down. Silva stood back up but then Evans picked him up and slammed him down. Evans then moved to the mount. Silva nicely spins out and scrambles back to his feet in the clinch. He lands a good knee as he gets back to his feet. Evans lands a couple of punches as Silva finally separated. Silva landed a good jab as Evans came forward. Silva threw a knee as Rashad shot in, but Evans took him down immediately and got into side control. He tried to got to north-south position and Silva scrambled again to his feet. Evans popped forward with a jab and continued to stalk Silva down. Silva landed a couple of inside leg kicks. Evans came forward again and landed a good combination. Silva pushed him back with a shot, but Evans came right back in and got the clinch again on the cage. Silva landed a knee to the body. Evans backed off with a good combo. He came back in with a big body punch combo and got another takedown. Silva again worked back to his feet. Evans is wearing him down nicely here in this first round. The round comes to an end with both of them standing.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Evans. Very good first round. He had some good takedowns and some nice combinations, but it wasn't anything majorly dominant. It will come back in his favor the way he was wearing Silva down, though.
ROUND TWO: Evans again came out the aggressor and quickly pushed Silva back with a combo to get to the clinch. Silva lands a couple of short punches with his back against the cage. He finally gets separation. Rashad again quickly shot in and got a single leg and got Silva down again. Silva rolled out again and got to his feet, but Evans stayed right on him and picked him up and slammed him. Silva scrambles nicely by grabbing a leg and he gets back to his feet. Silva stands in the middle as Rashad walks around the outside. Evans again sets up a shot with a punch and he drives Silva to the cage. Silva holds off the takedown this time. Evans tries to trip him up and Silva lands a good right to get Evans off of him. Silva gets in with another right, though it was just a grazing shot. Silva lands a kick to the body. Evans again shoots in really fast and drives Silva all the way back to the cage and takes him down. Evans lands a couple of punches as Silva works back up to his feet. Evans ends the round in the clinch pushing Thiago's back to the cage.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Evans. Silva is getting very frustrated here, as Evans is fighting an extremely smart fight and taking him down left and right. He's not keeping him there but he's wearing him out.
ROUND THREE: Evans again used a combo to try to set up a shot, but Silva stuffed the takedown attempt well, holding it to the clinch on the cage. Silva broke free but ate a left from Evans. Silva popped in with a left. Evans again got to the single leg and got a takedown but could not keep Silva down. Silva lands a left. He gets in with an inside leg kick. Silva raises his hands and plays to the crowd to get Evans to engage and exchange with him. Evans lands a right and Silva sticks his hands out with his arms down. Silva is trying to goad Evans in. Silva gets in with a shot and rocks Evans. He lands two more and Evans recovers and clinches on the cage. Evans is in trouble here as he gets back to his feet. Silva stays on him and lands another shot. Another big right uppercut lands. He dances around and gives Rashad time to recover here. He stands with his arms at his side and mocks Evans some more. He starts walking around the outside with a minute left and the crowd boos. Silva lands another jab and Evans pushed forward to get the clinch with thirty seconds left. Evans dropped to a double leg but Silva held it off. Silva pushes Evans off as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. Not enough from Silva to get a 10-8 and a draw here. That was really stupid on his part to allow Evans to recover. He did not do nearly enough to pull this out, as thirty seconds of a good fight does not win it for you if it doesn't end the bout.
WINNER: Evans via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: A mixed reaction from the crowd welcomes the winner's interview. He said he got back to his old strategy and stuck with the gameplan and kept up with it. He said he didn't realize how hard the hit was until he tried to step back and he didn't know where his legs where at. He called out Rampage to set up their meeting later this spring.
STAR RATING: (**+) It was not the most exciting main event ever, but it had a couple of good spots. I can't believe Silva let Rashad off the hook there, I really can't. He had Evans on the ropes and did not go in for the kill and was far behind on the cards after Evans stuck to a great gameplan. It's a good win for Evans and it sets up his showdown with Rampage.
-Looks like we won't see the Rafaello Oliveira vs. John Gunderson bout, as they are re-airing Mike Pyle vs. Jake Ellenberger. For the record, Oliveira defeated Gunderson by unanimous decision.
It was a good night of fights for those that decided to purchase the event. You knew what you were getting into ordering this event, and if you did you shouldn't be disappointed with a night of good TKO and submission finishes, and another brutal finish by Paul Daley, who continues to impress in the welterweight division. Thanks for sticking with us for our round by round coverage here tonight, and make sure to check back throughout the week for fallout coverage from the event as we head into Fight Night 20 a week from Monday!
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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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