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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
-The shit talking commences between Gray Maynard and Nate Diaz to open up tonight's broadcast, and it's time for another Fight Night event on Spike TV!
-Mike Goldberg welcomes the television audience to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA, for tonight's card, and he brings in Joe Rogan to discuss tonight's main event, a rematch from the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. From there they run down the rest of the night's card.
FIGHT ONE: AMIR SADOLLAH VS. BRAD BLACKBURN (WELTERWEIGHT)
[Commercial Break]
PRE FIGHT: Blackburn says to him he's a fighter needs to beat a good striker to be considered a good striker. Sadollah said tonight's fight is huge and a big step up, and he's looking for challenges. Blackburn said he wants to make the most of his first guaranteed fight on television.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Blackburn landed his first kick low, but it didn't have a whole lot of force and Sadollah wasn't affected by it. Sadollah lands a couple of front kicks and jabs as he tries to keep Blackburn at bay. Blackburn gets in and unleashes a decent combo before Sadollah pushed him off. Sadollah popped in with a good jab. He gets in a good overhand right shortly thereafter. He lands a body kick and a high kick blocked. Sadollah again with another combo and he blocks against the counter. Good stuff from Sadollah here so far. He keeps Blackburn off with continued front kicks and he gets another left in. Sadollah with the straight left and the leg kick to end it. Blackburn gets in a left as Sadollah kicks the leg. Sadollah lands a really hard body kick and then goes for the clinch. Blackburn does a good job of keeping his hands busy to separate and get backed off from Sadollah. Sadollah changes levels for a combo. Blackburn backs him up and lands a few shots as Sadollah throws a couple of kicks to the body. Sadollah gets Blackburn to back off after attempting a knee from the Thai clinch. Sadollah lands a big two punch combo and rocks Blackburn. He pounces against the cage and tries to land a couple of knees as Blackburn tries to recover. Sadollah throws him to the ground but can't capitalize and lets him back up. He lands a front kick to the face and then clinches and they end the round in the clinch. Good start for Sadollah.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sadollah. Very good start for the season seven Ultimate Fighter. He's landed some really good punches and kicks and has blocked up nicely. He had a great last minute of that round as well.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Sadollah lands a good combo early. Blackburn throws in a couple of leg kicks and lands a punch. Sadollah gets in with a light superman punch. He lands another combo and then Blackburn closes the distance to clinch. He pushes Sadollah to the cage and throws a knee to the body. Sadollah gets separation but eats a closing shot to that clinch. Blackburn lands a couple of jabs. Sadollah lands a leg kick and then Blackburn again pushes in for the clinch. Sadollah lands a couple of knees up to the body with his back on the cage. Mario Yamasaki separates them after some inaction. Sadollah lands a couple more leg kicks. Blackburn catches one and throws him down but he gets right back up. Blackburn again pushes in for the clinch. Sadollah lands a couple of knees to the body again with his back on the cage. Blackburn backs off and lands a punch as he does. Sadollah again lands a punch and Blackburn goes right back to the clinch. Sadollah popped him with a short elbow. Sadollah lands another knee to the body and then gets separated again. Sadollah missed a punch and Blackburn countered nicely. They both exchanged shots in the middle of the cage. Sadollah popped in with a good straight left and then the front kick. They clinch in the middle of the cage and Blackburn lands a couple of short punches. Sadollah gets the front kick in. Blackburn comes forward and lands a couple of punches. Sadollah responds once again with one of his own. The round ends with both standing across from each other.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Blackburn. It could be a draw, but he pressed the action and seemed to land a bit more in that round. Much closer round there.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Blackburn comes forward and Sadollah lands a couple of punches. Blackburn tries to press but then Sadollah rocks him with a big knee to the jaw. Sadollah takes him to the ground and gets into his guard. He kind of let him stay in the fight here. He drops a couple of big elbows. Sadollah postures up and drops a big right down onto the jaw of Blackburn. Sadollah moved to side control with just over three minutes left. Sadollah tried to move to mount and got put back into guard. He lands another big elbow and then tries to push him toward the cage. He steps up and lands a right. He drops down with a couple more punches and then gets down into half guard. He continues to try to pass. Blackburn does a decent job of tying him up here. Sadollah drops another big elbow. He gets another elbow in as he pushes Blackburn further to the cage. Blackburn continued to hold on. Sadollah landed a big right and then started unleashing punches and stood up to land one more kick as the round came to a close.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sadollah. There was no doubt about that one. Sadollah is showing some really great ability over the course of his last couple of fights, but at the same time it's easy to tell that he's still learning and that he's only a four fight professional.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Sadollah via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Sadollah said he's really happy. He said he was really happy to fight in Virginia and thanked his coaches.
STAR RATING: (**) That was a great performance from Sadollah and a good fight overall. It wasn't anything special, but it was definitely another step forward for Sadollah, especially considering just how much experience his last two opponents boasted in comparison to him coming in. He's going to be a very good fighter for some time to come if he continues on this path.
[Commercial Break]
-We get a preview for UFC 109 on February 6th before Joe Rogan welcomes Randy Couture to cageside for an interview. Couture says this fight has been a long time coming, and they go way back in wrestling as they wrestled in '89. He talks about them set to match up 12 years ago before their paths went different directions and now they're getting it together.
FIGHT TWO: TOM LAWLOR VS. AARON SIMPSON (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Simpson says he's going to dominate Tom Lawlor and he's coming into knock out the "funny guy." Lawlor says he may joke around outside the cage, but he's all business inside the cage. Lawlor said he'd like to do to Simpson what he did to his teammate C.B. Dollaway in July.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Lawlor pushed forward early. Simpson threw the first shot and they exchanged shots. Lawlor lands the first hard shot, getting in with a right and following up. He shoots in for a single leg but eats a ton of shots as he tries to complete a takedown. He can't get it and stands back up. Simpson lands a shot. Lawlor gets in with another. Lawlor pushes him to the cage and unleashes a big combination against the cage. He continues to land shots against the cage but Simpson finally breaks away. Simpson lands a body punch. Lawlor counters a punch with a big right to the ear. Lawlor rocks him with that shot and starts landing a ton of shots on the cage. He stays on Simpson and lands a ton of shots on the cage. He lands another knee and Simpson is in a lot of troub le here. Lawlor with a big kenee and more punches on the cage. Simpson's got a hell of a chin here but he's getting his ass kicked by an awesome Tom Lawlor. Lawlor is playing it safe to avoid the right hand that Simpson does have. Lawlor continues to stalk. He lands a good counter left. Simpson lands a good leg kick and circles on the outside. Lawlor eats a leg kick and counters nicely with a left. Simpson has recovered here now. Simpson got in with a shot but ate another counter right. Lawlor lands a good right. Simpson engages and eats one more shot as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Lawlor. That would have been a 10-8 with a knockdown or takedown from Lawlor, as he unleashed a ridiculous number of shots against Simpson on the cage. To his credit, Simpson stayed in there and is still moving, but that was the most impressive round of striking in Lawlor's career.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: They engage early and trade shots. Simpson rushes in but eats a counter punch. Lawlor again lands a right. Simpson comes forward and Lawlor lands a bunch of punches. Simpson lands a straight left to the body. Simpson gets in with a leg kick. He comes forward and Lawlor again gets a good uppercut in. Simpson pushes Lawlor to the cage. He separates briefly and throws a couple of punches before dropping down to shoot for the takedown. He finally completes it. Lawlor gave up his back to get to his knees. Simpson landed a couple of punches and Lawlor got back to his feet. Simpson stayed on his back but Lawlor rolled through and pushed Simpson to the cage. He separated with a good right elbow. Simpson landed a good jab and Lawlor countered with a right. Lawlor lands another right and then drops down for a takedown of his own. Simpson moves right back to his feet. Simpson lands an uppercut in the clinch and eats an elbow. Simpson lands a few good body shots and then Lawlor got poked in the eye as they separated. It wasn't stopped and Lawlor just continued. He landed a good right andthen a left uppercut. Simpson pushed forward but missed his punches. Simpson pushed forward and Lawlor tried to lock on the guillotine but Simpson got out. Simpson landed a knee and pushed Lawlor back with a good flurry. He landed a good right and then came forward. Lawlor dropped down with a guillotine attempt but ran out of time as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Simpson. I've got to give him the edge to even it up with his aggressiveness and the takedown in that one. Lawlor caught him a couple more times, but he landed a bunch of shots of his own in that round as well.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Simpson came straight forward but ate a right hand from Lawlor. Lawlor again landed the right and then a few more shots. Simpson pushed forward and pushed Lawlor to the cage but got spun around. He spun it around quickly again and slammed Lawlor but Tom got right back to his feet. Lawlor then dropped down for a takedown and slammed Simpson himself to even those up. Simpson shot in and Lawlor tried to lock on a kimura. Simpson got out of it and into Lawlor's half guard. Simpson tried to pass to mount. Lawlor gave up his back and Simpson tried to lock the hooks in. Lawlor rolled out and got to his knees. Simpson stayed on him nicely, landing shots to the side of his head and staying on his back. He got the hooks in on his back again and Lawlor just looks really tired. Lawlor tries to get out the back and Lawlor stays on his leg, eventually working to his feet but Simpson takes him down. Lawlor holds onto the single leg, but Simpson spun out and took Lawlor's back. He stepped up again and let Lawlor get back to his feet. Lawlor pushed Simpson to the cage. Simpson started swinging and they started landing shots and Lawlor rocked him once more before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Simpson. That one was the only clear round for Simpson, but again he got tagged at the end. With how close the second round was and the possibility of a 10-8 for Lawlor in the first the scorecards will be very interesting for this one.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Simpson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: The crowd boos the decision. Rogan tries to get the crowd back on his side, and gets some cheers but a ton of boos stay on Simpson. Simpson said he was surprised by his power. He said he thought it would be a stand up war. He said if you've got kids get them to a wrestling practice right away. He left the cage to another round of boos.
STAR RATING: (***-) It lost steam in the third round, but it was a hell of a first round from Tom Lawlor before being unable to finish it off. It's an unfortunate loss, and an argument can be made for the second being his and a draw being called with a 10-8 first round, but the fact is he ran out of energy in the third and didn't finish Simpson when he had the chances in the first round.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT THREE: EFRAIN ESCUDERO VS. EVAN DUNHAM (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Dunham sayd he's going to prove people wrong that think he's the underdog tonight when he smashes Escudero. He says he'll smash Escudero off the pedestal he's been placed from winning The Ultimate Fighter. Escudero says he wants people to see him as a real UFC fighter and not just a reality show winner.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Dunham pushed forward and Escudero tried to shoot but was quickly stuffed. Escudero landed a good leg kick as Dunham continued to push him back. Escudero pushed forward with a body kick and pushed Dunham to the cage. After attempting a takedown he finally let it go and landed a punch as he separated. Dunham popped him with a good straight right. Both fighters exchange shots and Excudero lands a punch. Escudero again pushed forward and in a scramble took Dunham's back. He lnads a good knee to the body. Escudero separated again with a punch. Dunham came in but Escudero avoided the punch and countered with an uppercut. Escudero landed a big flying knee that hurt Dunham and he chased him. He lnaded a few shots and rocked him again. Finally he dropped him with a right and tried to land some more shots before Dunham pulled guard. He tried for an arm bar but Escudero pulled out of it. He pounded two shots on him and locked on a guillotine and rolled over with it. He didn't have it locked in tight and he had to let it go. Dunham got back up to his feet. He landed a body kick with thirty seconds left. Escudero just missed two big punches. They both went for flying knees and Escudero fell to his back. Dunham got down onto him and ended the round on top in a scramble. Good start to the the fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Escudero. He's going to have to be careful about letting Dunham back into this one after having him badly damaged, but that was a great sequence from Escudero.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Dunham pushed forward and landed a couple of punches as Escudero leaned back to avoid much damage. Dunham presses again and they exchange shots. Dunham throws a high kick that gets blocked and then lands a good straight left. Dunham again gets in with the left and Escudero swings wildly. Dunham again came in and got the better of an exchange. Dunham tagged Escudero with the left again. Dunham then brought out the flying knee but it didn't land flush. Escudero comes forward and lands a straight right. Dunham just misses a big power shot. Dunham lands a right but eats the counter shot. Escudero briefly pushes him back with a flurry. Dunham grabs a single leg and pushes Escudero to the cage. He stays with it and gets Escudero down. He lands a good short elbow and a few body punches. He postures up and starts landing a number of shots. Dunham stands and Escudero tries to throw the up kicks. Dunham dropped down with another right and he nicely transitions to the back and gets a body triangle locked on. He throws some body punches with thirty seconds left. Escudero tries to hold on as he eats shots from Dunham to the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Dunham. It's looking a lot like the Lawlor-Simpson fight, though a bit more enjoyable after the first. Very good performance from Dunham in the second.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Escudero lands and early leg kick and then Dunham shoots in. Escudero tries to lock a guillotine on and drops down. Dunham was able to break free from it though and he scrambles up and gets a body lock on Escudero against the cage. He gets Escudero down and immediately into side control. He moves right to the mount and Escudero gives up his back and Dunahm gets to the back and the body triangle, and then he beautifully moves to a triangle, and then an armbar. Escudero tries to hold on and not tap but that just forces Dunham to torque the arm worse to make him tap. Beautiful submission, but Escudero should have tapped earlier because he caused himself a lot more damage to that arm.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Dunham via submission (armbar) at 1:59 of the third round.
STAR RATING: (***+) Awesome fight. Escudero had some great striking in the first round, Dunham turned it around in the second and then Dunham just transitioned beautifully into that finishing sequence in the third. That was a lot of fun to watch and one of the more brutal arm submissions we'll see this year.
[Commercial Break]
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: GRAY MAYNARD VS. NATE DIAZ (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Maynard said he's been going through a ton of guys and he got the call from the UFC and he was more than happy to get Diaz again as it's his only loss. Diaz said "good luck trying to choke me out, white belt." Maynard said he doesn't want to choke him out, he wants to knock him out. Diaz says Maynard's been avoiding him. He wants to whup his ass so he doesn't need to hear about Gray Maynard anymore.
ROUND ONE: Diaz came straight out to the center of the cage and pushed forward. Diaz landed a left as he mouthed something to Maynard. Maynard swung for the fences with a right but it didn't hit his target. Both guys are taunting one another here a bit. Maynard again missed the right to counter as Diaz landed a left. Maynard connected on a right but not flush. He popped in again with a right. Diaz landed a couple of right hooks and then went to a leg kick. Maynard caught Diaz with a couple of shots. Maynard landed a good short combo. Diaz came back with a punch of his own. Maynard has taken over the stalking a bit. Diaz comes in and eats a punch as he tried to grab a Thai clinch. Maynard landed a good uppercut as Diaz came in. Diaz again came in close and Maynard landed a good knee and another right. Diaz landed a couple of good leg kicks and a two punch combo. Maynard came back with a good right and a leg kick of his own. Maynard engaged with a right and landed a shot. He hung his hands and goaded Diaz to swing. He avoided two punches and landed one of his own. Diaz landed another leg kick. Diaz again tries to use his reach with the right to get in close. He lands another leg kick and they exchange shots to end the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maynard. Close round, but Maynard connected on more of his punches in that one. Neither has done a whole lot yet, but it's still early.
ROUND TWO: Diaz again started talking as the round started. Maynard got a good right hand in. Diaz landed a good leg kick. Maynard again connected with the uppercut as Diaz came in. Diaz landed a good left. Diaz with a body punch and then a right hook as Maynard came in. Maynard gets in another right. He tags him with a hard right to the jaw as Diaz got in close. Maynard landed a good right to the body and Diaz threw his hands up again. Diaz came forward with a good combination. Maynard is just walking with his hands at his sides. He gets in with another right. Diaz lands a good hook. Maynard responds with another right. He drops Diaz with a big knee. He lets Nate get back up. Maynard popped in with another straight right. Diaz tries to get in but Maynard again counters with the right. Diaz lands a couple of straight rights. Diaz lands a good hook. Another jab and a straight left from Diaz. Diaz with another combo. Again he gets a good combo in and keeps Maynard off balance. Maynard lands a couple of punches as the crowd boos Diaz. Maynard with a short left. Maynard just misses a huge right. Diaz tries to clinch and gets shrugged off. Maynard again misses the right. Diaz throws a straight kick and another jab as the round ends to boos from the crowd.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maynard. Nothing Diaz is doing is having much of an effect right now, but Maynard has connected on a few good shots.
ROUND THREE: Diaz comes out the aggressor and lands a couple of shots early. They get in and clinch and both land a couple of shots. Diaz lands a head kick that doesn't have much behind it. The crowd boos the action in the cage. Diaz again comes forward. Diaz knocks Maynard off balance with a left. Diaz again lands a couple of counter punches. Maynard misses the right and Diaz tags him with a leg kick. They start swining wildly but neither connects. Diaz got in close and tried to clinch but Maynard knocked him back with a few punches. Maynard ducked away from a few punches and landed some rights as Diaz got in close again. Diaz pushed forward again. Maynard landed a few shots in a short flurry. Diaz lands another jab. Diaz lands a good combo after a leg kick. Maynard goes to the body shot. Diaz again pushed in and landed a good knee. He gets another jab and a couple of punches as Maynard comes in. Maynard lands a good right hand and goes to the ground with Diaz, but Nate gets back up. The crowd is booing as the round comes to a close and Maynard lands another right. He lands a knee and another right. Diaz lands a punch and the round ends to a mixture of boos and some slight cheers. Not a great fight by any stretch.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Maynard. Maynard again did the only significant damage of the fight in this round, despite Diaz pushing forward and landing numerous shots early there.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Maynard via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**-) That wasn't a really enjoyable fight, as both fighters were more concerned about trash talking and trying to goad the other into more of a fight. Maynard landed the only significant shots of the fight, but even those were few and far between. Really it was a definite Maynard victory, though it wasn't dominant by any means. I don't understand Diaz getting two rounds, as he really was only able to pour anything on in the third and I don't think he did enough to take that one.
That's another event in the books for the UFC! Check back throughout the week for more on all the action from this past weekend and even more.
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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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