...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Cue the gladiator, it's time for UFC 110. Wanderlei is the first to comment in the black and white previews, saying he wants to hurt and cut Bisping tonight, and he wants to close Bisping's mouth. Bisping says he's not an easy fight for anybody. Velasquez says he's going to win the fight tonight, and this is his opportunity to beat a legend. Nogueira says that every fighter remembers their first loss and Velasquez will remember tonight. Quick trash talk snippets are over, it's time for the event!
Mike Goldberg introduces the broadcast from a packed Acer Arena as the camera pans the sold out crowd. Joe Rogan joins him as always on commentary and they run down what's in store from this first Australian card.
FIGHT ONE: MIRKO CRO COP VS. ANTHONY PEROSH (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Perosh says the crowd is going to go nuts and he's going to use that energy to win this one. Cro Cop said he's eliminated some mistakes and he'll have a big Croatian contingent in the crowd as well. He said victory is most important for him, that's his purpose here tonight. Cro Cop gets some boos in his introduction from the Aussie crowd.
FIGHT ONE: Cro Cop walks Perosh down from the get go. He misses an uppercut. The camera's a bit tilted tonight from a couple of angles. Perosh shot in after Cro Cop missed a punch. Perosh held onto a single leg and Cro Cop landed a number of hammer fists. Perosh shot in again and Cro Cop sprawled with a guillotine. He let him go and they stood up. Cro Cop continues to stalk. Perosh lands an inside leg kick. Cro Cop lands a left that sends Perosh back. Perosh falls against the cage and eats a few hard punches before Cro Cop lets him back up. Cro Cop connects on another straight left as Perosh comes in and tries to clinch on the cage. They separate again and Cro Cop begins the stalking. Cro Cop keeps using the left and Perosh drops to his back. Cro Cop let's him back up. He lands the left again that buckles Perosh. He drops a couple of punches on the ground but eventually lets Perosh stand again. Cro Cop back to stalking. Perosh continues to back up as Cro Cop lands another left. Perosh threw a right that didn't even affect Cro Cop. Cro Cop lands a good body kick. Cro Cop again gets in with the left and sprawls on another takedown attempt and lands some hard punches to the side of Perosh's head. Cro Cop lets him stand as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Cro Cop. He's taking the patient route in this one and is making sure to not make any mistakes. Perosh doesn't look like he's going to have much to offer in this fight after that round.
ROUND TWO: Cro Cop comes straight forward and keeps Perosh back pedaling. Cro Cop again lands a good punch and then sprawls on another takedown attempt. He lands a couple of punches before Perosh tried to get to his back and Cro Cop stood up. Cro Cop stalked and landed a good uppercut. Another one lands. Cro Cop lands a good body kick. Perosh gets an inside leg kick in. He lands two more and then tries to shoot in but again Cro Cop sprawls. Cro Cop lands a punch to the side of the head. He throws some more punches and then gets side control briefly before Perosh goes back to his knees. More punches to the side of Perosh's head. Perosh is just rolling on the ground and is completely out of his league here. Granted that's what will happen when you fight a guy heavier than you on a day's notice. Cro Cop lets him stand again. Cro Cop went to unload a punch and Perosh shot in. Cro Cop again sprawled and this just isn't really much of a fight here. Cro Cop is content to throw short punches here on the ground. Finally Cro Cop gets into his guard and lands an elbow and Perosh is bloodied badly. Herb Dean halts the fight to have the doctor's check it. The cut is on his forehead, and he's going to continue despite Dean saying he can't clean out his eye. Perosh throws a kick that goes low but Cro Cop shrugs it off. Cro Cop again knocks him down with a punch and starts unloading punches. Big shots landing from Cro Cop here. Perosh rolls and holds on to stay alive here somehow.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Cro Cop. Perosh is doing nothing here and this is not even competitive. The doctor's stop the fight from the corner after the round anyway.
WINNER: Cro Cop via TKO (cut) at 5:00 of the second round.
POST FIGHT: Cro Cop said he appreciated Anthony's courage and guts to step in for this fight. He said he showed what Croatian courage means. He said he was shocked Perosh wanted to continue after that cut.
STAR RATING: (**-) Cro Cop played it safe here against an outclassed opponent and pretty much just beat him up for ten minutes. It wasn't spectacular, it wasn't special, but he got that win back under him and did what he needed to do here.
RAMIFICATIONS: The fight didn't really answer any questions about Cro Cop and his fighting future. Perosh can barely be considered a heavyweight, he was completely overmatched on a day's notice and Cro Cop just beat up a guy he should have beaten up. A quick TKO or KO victory might have satisfied people more, but either way this fight was only going to say something about his career if he lost it.
FIGHT TWO: KEITH JARDINE VS. RYAN BADER (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Bader says this is a huge fight for him. Jardine said if you're undefeated in this sport you just haven't fought the right guys. Very true statement. Bader said he's going to go in and implement his gameplan. He said he'll use everything he's learned to go in there and beat him. Jardine said Bader's a bully and he likes fighting bullies. He predicts a war.
ROUND ONE: Jardine came in quick but got pushed off. Bader walked him down and landed a left. Bader landed a hook as Bader pushed in and clinched him against the cage. Bader landed a right as he separated. Both circled around each other. Bader landed a good right counter. Jardine tried to push forward with a combo but didn't land anything. They both swung in and landed simultaneously. Bader threw an ugly body kick. Bader keeps the center as Jardine circles. Bader lands a good right over the top. Jardine pushes in and Bader times it perfectly to shoot in and complete a big takedown. He's in half guard. Bader breaks from an attempted sweep and lands a good short elbow. Bader throws some elbows and a few punches as he looks to pass. He continues to work short punches and elbows and then Jardine gets him to butterfly guard. Bader gets back to the half guard and he lands some more short forearms. Jardine grabs a hold of Bader's body and gets back to a butterfly guard and stalls enough to get a stand up with 30 seconds left. Jardine lands a combo. He gets in another right as Bader steps in. Bader lands a big punch. Jardine lands a leg kick as the round ends. Solid first round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. He looked decent in his stand up and held top control while landing short shots on the ground for much of the round.
ROUND TWO: Bader again was the one moving forward to start off the round. Jardine moved in and ate a jab. He got in with a good leg kick. Bader exploded in and pushed Jardine to the cage but Jardine held off the takedown. Bader landed a few knees to the thigh while holding a single leg. He gave the leg up and clinched on the cage. Jardine landed a knee to the body and pushed Bader off. Bader misses an overhand right . He tries to shoot in again and Jardine holds it off against the cage. Bader stays on him, trying to complete the takedown, and he lands a couple of knees to the thigh and then the body as Jardine separates again. Bader landed a right. Jardine tried to lure Bader in and kept motioning for him to come forward. Jardine landed a couple of good short combos. He pushed in with another good right hand. Jardine landed a left and Bader missed the counter right. Jardine again stuffed a takedown attempt. Jardine with a jab. The crowd starts to boo. Bader lands a kick but falls after. He pops up and clinches against the cage. He separates and then completes a takedown with seconds left. Jardine got to his feet at the buzzer.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bader. He pressed the action throughout, the stand up exchanges were fairly even and he added a late takedown to edge it. Razor thin round that could be a 10-10. Jardine's leg kicks worked well in that round, though.
ROUND THREE: Bader shot in for a shot in the first minute and landed a knee to the body but it was stuffed again. Jardine tried to land a leg kick and Bader checked it. Bader is pressing but neither is doing much of anything. Jardine again has a leg kick checked. He lands a good kick as Bader shoots in. Bader gets a takedown but Jardine pops right back up. Jardine landed a punch and had a combo blocked. Bader staggered Jardine with a right and then rushed in with a flying knee that gets blocked. He winds up and knocks him out with a left! Huge power from Bader and the ref gets in before any more damage can be done. Jardine is upset with the stoppage but he went limp. Big win for Bader.
WINNER: Bader via KO at 2:10 of the third round.
POST FIGHT: Bader said you can't really train for Jardine as he can't be emulated. He said he was only worried about what he was going to do. He then got a big pop from the crowd by thanking the Aussie fans.
STAR RATING: (**+) The finish brought this one up from extremely average. There just wasn't anything to the second round and Jardine kept Bader in check on the ground in the first, but man does Bader have some power in his hands. That was a flat footed left that he uncorked to Jardine's chin and it was lights out.
RAMIFICATIONS: Bader takes a big step up the light heavyweight ladder with that one. He's going to have trouble against some of the better strikers in the division, and his takedowns aren't where you'd think they'd be at this point, but he's taking plenty of steps right now. He just gets better with each win and he'll get a good test in his next fight. I'd like to see him against a guy like Luiz Cane.
PRELIM FIGHT A: CHRIS LYTLE VS. BRIAN FOSTER
ROUND ONE: As predicted this fight makes the broadcast, let's hope it's as good as many were thinking it'd be. Lytle misses a big overhand right early and eats a punch. Foster takes a kick and then shoots in for a big pickup slam. Lytle gets himself back up quickly though. Foster throws a spinning heel kick to the head but it gets blocked. Lytle again misses a right and eats the counter. Lytle lands the right hook. Foster again misses a kick and tries to throw another one. A lot of air getting punched and kicked here. Lytle lands a good left hook and swings some more shots that miss. Foster shot in and as he tried to take his back going down Lytle rolled through and grabbed a knee bar. He got Foster down and cranked the leg and forced the tap! Foster's hurting badly there. The replay showed that Lytle torqued the knee far past how it should bend. Ouch.
WINNER: Lytle via submission (kneebar) at 1:41 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Lytle said what people don't know is he's been doing ground longer than stand up and thinks he's got an underrated ground game.
STAR RATING: (**+) Big submission victory for Lytle. That was a beautiful roll through by Lytle to get to that position and a nasty tweak of the knee to force the submission. Surprising way for that one to finish but completely satisfying for fans.
FIGHT THREE: JOE STEVENSON VS. GEORGE SOTIROPOLOUS (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Stevenson said his goal is to devastate Sotiropolous and silence the crowd. Sotiropolous said the crowd will go nuts and he knows they'll be behind him. He said he really thinks Stevenson is looking past him and he'll prove him wrong. Stevenson said he'll close the distance with his hands and take it on the feet until he gets an opportunity to bring it to the ground and go for the submission.
ROUND ONE: Stevenson gets some cheers from the crowd, which is somewhat surprising from Sotiropolous' hometown crowd. George takes the center and tries to walk Stevenson down. Stevenson circles on the outside. Sotiropolous gets a good right in. Stevenson comes in and Sotiroplous tries to get a single leg. Stevenson holds it off nicely and Sotiropolous pushed him to the cage. Stevenson tries to drop down and winds up with Sotiropolous in his guard. Sotiropolous moves to half guard. He continues to try to improve his position as Stevenson holds onto his left leg. Stevenson is doing a good job of keeping that leg in check and he might get a stand up here. Sotiropolous lands a punch and Joe rolls over trying to sweep. Sotiropolous lands a couple of punches and then stands after a scramble. Sotiropolous lands a number of hammerfists to the gus and then eats an upkick. Sotiropolous drops to side control and Stevenson almost locks in an arm triangle from his back. Sotiropolous gets out and then gets to mount. Another scramble gets Sotiropolous to the back. He goes for a kimura and then an armbar and ends the round in Stevenson's mount. Great round for the Aussie.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sotiropolous. That first round performance is exactly why I had Sotiropolous as my upset of the night. Great top game, but Joe "Daddy" is staying right in it with a great upkick and a near submission of his own.
ROUND TWO: They traded shots early and the crowd is loud chanting right now. High energy for this one. Sotiropolous rocked Stevenson with a left. Stevenson got back to his feet immediately though. Sotiropolous with another two punch combo and then another jab. Sotiropolous with a counter now. Stevenson lands a right, Sotiropolous comes right back with one of his own. Another punch lands and then he gets a body shot in. He lands another right and then ducks under a punch. Another short combo to the body. Stevenson shoots in and drives for a takedown. Sotiropolous goes for the rubber guard and gets the arm trapped in an omoplata. Sotiropolous gets the omoplata and transitions to side control. Stevenson scrambles and gets backed to his feet. Sotiropolous tried to pull guard but just wound up with Stevenson in his guard. He rolled over and went for an armbar. He pulled Joe's legs out from under him and Stevenson dropped back into his guard. Stevenson drops for a leg lock but Sotiropolous scrambles out and goes for an anaconda choke but the round ends. Awesome fight so far by Sotiropolous.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sotiropolous. Stevenson got the takedown but the ground action was all Sotiropolous. He controlled the stand up as well. If he gets through this round it's his by decision, but he can finish this fight.
ROUND THREE: Sotiropolous pushes forward immediately and lands an early combo. He connects on a good left hook to the jaw. Sotiropolous with a good right. He catches a kick from Stevenson and completes a takedown. Stevenson scrambles and moves back to his feet and pushes Sotiropolous to the cage. Stevenson tries for a trip but Sotiropolous stayed on him and got back on top. Stevenson got back to his feet but he got pushed to the cage. He gets separation. Stevenson lands a jab but eats a counter. Sotiropolous lands a body punch. He connects on a right and continues to push the pace. Stevenson shoots and Sotiropolous sprawls. Stevenson tried to stay on him against the cage and he got a takedown. Sotiropolous rotated and Stevenson dropped onto him in half guard with a minute and a half left. Sotiropolous got right back to guard. He rolled and landed two upkicks and tried to push Stevenson off. He grabbed a leg, scrambled and got back to his feet. Stevenson shot in again and got the takedown again. Sotiropolous held onto him in the closed guard and the crowd started going crazy as the round wound down to the end. Biggest win of Sotiropolous' career, if Stevenson gets the nod it's a travesty.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Sotiropolous. Stevenson did nothing with either takedown and ate more damage on the feet. Sotiropolous had the performance of his career tonight.
WINNER: Sotiropolous via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT:The crowd exploded for Sotiropolous when the decision was announced. Great energy from this crowd. Sotiropolous said it was a really close fight and he ran down the fight's action. He said he didn't feel in danger but did feel the attempts from Stevenson. He said he knew some spots were deep but didn't hurt and he knew he could get out. He thanked his fight team and his sponsors.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was so much fun to watch. The ground action in the first round was superb, and really just seeing Sotiropolous step up and fight the way he did with his hometown crowd providing the soundtrack was awesome. Great performance by him, and he's going to get another step up in competition in his next fight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Sotiropolous proved tonight that he can hang with the big boys. With Frankie Edgar getting the shot against B.J. Penn, I say move Sotiropolous to a bout with Gray Maynard. Hey, some improvement on his stand up could make him a viable challenger to B.J. He may not truly stand a chance to win, but some more fights like that and he'll make an argument for it. Stevenson remains a gatekeeper to the elite in the division after that.
FIGHT FOUR: WANDERLEI SILVA VS. MICHAEL BISPING (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Bisping said Silva won't revitalize his career against him. Wanderlei said all fights against him are tough. He said Bisping doesn't have the power to knock him out, Bisping said if he thinks that he's mistaken. Wanderlei said he's going to give his fans a great knockout. Bisping said they're both going to take each other's heads off and he looks forward to the challenge.
ROUND ONE: Bisping started the fight moving forward. They both throw kicks that hit air. Bisping lands an inside leg kick. Wanderlei lands a kick to the body. Very tentative start here. Bisping shoots ina nd gets a takedown. Wanderlei tries to get back to his feet and Bisping drops him down again. He works his way back up and eats a knee from Bisping before landing a punch to get separation. Silva blocks a high kick from Bisping. Bisping with another inside leg kick. Silva is now in the center as bisping circles on the outside. Bisping again gets a takedown but Silva pushes back up to his feet. Bisping hit him with a couple of shots on the way up. Silva simply hasn't done much in this round to this point. Bisping lands a solid right to the face. Silva barely misses a big overhand right. Silva gets a right in. Silva lands an inside leg kick. Bisping returns the favor. Silva misses it again. He pushes forward and lands a couple good outside leg kicks. Wanderlei lets fly a big combo. Bisping lands a big right hand. Silva lands a kick to the body. He walks Bisping down and pushes in but can't land a punch. Bisping shoots in but gets stuffed. Silva walks him dowwn late and rocks him with a left. He tries to unload another but the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Bisping. It was too little too late for Silva at the end of the round, but could be a sign of things to come. Bisping kept a good pace in the round and had a couple of takedowns and landed a few shots, but Silva's coming for him now and rocked him twice.
ROUND TWO: Silva pushed forward early. He landed an inside leg kick and tried to follow with a punch. He landed another good leg kick to Bisping's lead left leg. Silva catches a kick and trips Bisping's leg out from under him and dropped into his half guard. Wanderlei postures up and throws some punches as Bisping gets back to guard. Bisping tried to grab an armbar but Silva stayed aggressive and continued working. Bisping held his head down. Silva stood up and landed a kick to the body as Bisping moved back to his feet. Bisping tried to press the action. Silva again lands the inside leg kick. Silva with an overhand right after a kick from Bisping. He lands another punch. Bisping shoots in and gets a big takedown to side control. SIlva scrambles out beautifully and gets right back to his feet. Silva with a body kcik. Bisping lands a good jab. Wanderlei misses the overhand right. Wanderlei pushes forward and lands a couple of inside leg kicks. He has a body kick blocked and goes back to the leg. He pushes in and kncoks Bisping's mouth guard out. Bisping shoots in for a takedown and Silva locks in a guillotine and tries to wrench it. He holds onto it for fifteen seconds as the round ends. He nearly finished it there.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. He just came the closest to winning the fight of either of them and after a pretty even round it's enough to take it.
ROUND THREE: Silva leads with a couple of inside leg kicks. Bisping tried to walk him down but Wanderlei pushed him back. Bisping lands a good left hook. Silva with the inside leg kick again. He's going back to the leg but not much else. Lands the right hand. Quick jab lands by Silva. Bisping lands a right. Bisping lands a kick low and Silva is given time to recover. Bisping lands a good body kick after they restart. Silva lands another leg kick. Bisping lands a couple of jabs. They exchange punches. Silva is now the aggressor. He lands a good right. Bisping shoots but Silva stuffs it. Silva with the lef kick again. Silva drops his hands and slightly taunts Bisping. They exchange punches again. Bisping lands a body kick and then shoots but gets stuffed. Silva with a jab. Silva with a body kick. Bisping then pokes Silva in the eye with a thumb. Two illegal blows by Bisping in this round. Silva gets checked but he continues with a minute and a half left. Silva lands a right. He lands a kick to the leg. Wanderlei wildly pushes in and lands a couple. He pushes Bisping back and is just barely missing these punches. He catches another kick and trips Bisping but allows him to get back up. Bisping lands a jab. They exchange punches again. Bisping with a two punch combo. SIlva pushes forward and rocks Bisping with a huge punch and knocks him down. He lands two more punches as the round comes to an end. Wow, what a finish.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. The final ten seconds won it after an even round. The right hand to the jaw dropped Bisping and had Silva had five more seconds the fight would have been stopped. He came the closest to winning this fight in the second and third, and should earn the decision based on that.
WINNER: Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
POST FIGHT: Silva said this fight was for everyone that has bad moments in their life, but they need to believe in working hard and they can get back. He said now he's looking pretty after the nose job and thanks the Australian crowd. The crowd boos Bisping as Rogan goes to talk to him. He said it was a pleasure to step in there with Silva. He said he felt the decision went to Silva from the knock down at the end and he apologized to his fans back in England. He congratulated Wanderlei again and was very graceful in defeat.
STAR RATING: (***) Very good and very even fight. It was extremely exciting in spurts and really came close to being able to go either way. Silva sealed it for himself with the near submission in the second and knockdown at the end of the third, but Bisping held in there the entire way.
RAMIFICATIONS: Silva gets a desperately needed win here and continues his historic career now at 185 lbs. As Rogan said to Bisping after, it's simply a setback for him. He can climb back from the loss for sure. Silva looked very good in some moments and tentative in others, but in the end he did enough to get his second win in this stint in the UFC.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: CAIN VELASQUEZ VS. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Velasquez said his whole goal of being in the sport is to be the best, and Nogueira is just another guy in his way up the ladder. Noegueira said his experience in jiu jitsu will make the difference in this fight. Velasquez said he doesn't give up either. He said every fight's going to get tougher and he's definitely ready for that. Nogueira said he's got a lot of tricks for this fight and Velasquez is going to have a tougher fight than any of his others.
ROUND ONE: Nogueira comes out to the center and they both trade punches. Velasquez lands a leg kick and has a high kick blocked. Velasquez lands a combination and backs out. He throws a high kick but it's blocked and he backs out. Good outside leg kick lands by Velasquez. He comes in close and lands a good combination. Bogueira hasn't done anything yet. Good punch and leg kick combo by Velasquez. Nogueira gets in a couple of jabs. Nogueira gets in close and Velasquez lands a good combination with a knee to the body mixed in. Nogueira again comes in and Velasquez gets the better of the exchange. Velasquez knocks Nogueira down and then follows it up with five punches on the ground and it's over. Ok, crow eaten. incredible performance by Velasquez. I'm not going to underestimate him again. Hell, forget next month's Carwin-Mir fight, I want to see what Velasquez can do against Lesnar.
WINNER: Velasquez via KO at 2:20 of the first round.
POST FIGHT: Velasquez thanked Nogueira, saying he looked up to him. He thanked all of his trainers in helping him for this fight in the stand up game. He said the plan was to push the pace wherever and keep him off balance the whole fight. He said he tried to keep focus and tried to beat him to the punch. Nogueira said Velasquez was an upcoming guy but now he's one of the best fighters in the heavyweight division. He said he had extremely quick hands.
STAR RATING: (***+) The shocking quickness with which Velasquez was able to do what he just did knocks this up a notch in the main event slot. That was simply an unbelievable performance out of Velasquez, and there's no question about it he was just much faster and on point than Nogueira. That was better than Mir's win over Nogueira last year.
RAMIFICATIONS: Velasquez is ready for a Title shot. Plain and simple. He may have to wait if the Carwin-Mir winner is given the shot but he can challenge Lesnar for the Title with no complaints after that win. Nogueira may not ever see a Title shot again, but he's still plenty young despite his mileage that he'll be around for a while still here.
PRELIM FIGHT B: STEPHAN BONNAR VS. KRZYZSTOF SOSZYNSKI
ROUND ONE: Soszynski charges in quickly and lands a quick combo and gets the Thai clinch against the cage. Bonnar tries to separate and poked Soszynski in the eye on the way out. The referee had them start up right away. Soszynski tags Bonnar a few times and then Bonnar clinches him against the cage. Bonnar drops down for a double and then a single leg. Sozysnski holds it off and Bonnar landed a combo on his way out. Bonnar is bleeding here. Soszynski pushed in with another combo. They traded leg kicks. Bonnar lands a right but eats a two punch counter. Soszynski lands a leg kick. Soszynski again comes in and lands a few good combos. Bonnar throws a straight kick. Bonnar catches a leg and gets a takedown. Soszynski gets back up but Bonnar stays on him and takes him down into side control. Soszynski scrambles and gets back up to his feet. He lands a good uppercut in an exchange. He lands a body shot and Bonnar comes forward and gets the clinch. He lands a couple of punches and backs out. Soszynski again moves forward with a big combo and then gets the clinch himself. Bonnar got loose and unleashed a good combo of his own. Bonnar lands a big counter right of his own and they trade shots as the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Soszynski. Bonnar started coming back late but Soszynski controlled most of the round.
ROUND TWO: Bonnar lands an early right and a couple of jabs as well. Bonnar with a good right and leg kick. He's looking much better thus far to start the second. Soszynski pushes in and BOnnar lands a good uppercut. Soszynski lands a good high kick. Bonnar gets him to the cage and lands a combo but eats a few punches that force him to back off. Soszynski grabs a clinch and pushes Bonnar to the cage. Bonnar spins him around and tries to get a takedown but Soszynski holds it off and they exchange punches. Bonnar went for a trip but couldn't get it. They trade knees in the clinch. Bonnar lands some good short elbows. Bonnar lands a couple of jabs and Soszynski lands a body kick. Big left from Soszynski lands. Bonnar lands a front kick. Bonnar stalks and lands a good right. He gets pushed back with a couple of punches. Bonnar keeps moving forward. Soszynski lands a two punch combo. He lands a good right to the jaw and Bonnar clinches. He lands a couple of knees to the body. Soszynski turns Bonnar around on the cage. He lands two big shots as he separates. He lands a bunch more shots in a combo. Bonnar lands a couple of punches. Soszynski again lands a few shots. Bonnar tries to throw a spinning back kick. Bonnar lands a right. Bonnar trips up Soszynski late and lands a couple of shots at the end of the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Soszynski. More of the same but Bonnar was able to land a bunch more in that round than the first.
ROUND THREE: Soszynski staggers Bonnar with a left early and cuts him. Bonnar shoots in for a single leg. He is cut open really bad here. He can't complete the takedown and they trade shots in the clinch with Bonnar bleeding profusely. Soszynski lands a few shots and they halt the bout to look at the cut. The cut came from a headbutt but the referee said it was from a punch. The fight is called.
WINNER: Soszynski via TKO (cut) at 1:04 of the third round.
POST FIGHT: Bonnar disagrees with the decision and Rogan continues to tout that it was a headbutt in the post fight interview. Soszynski said he had never been in a street fight before and just got into this sport when he was 25. He gave the crowd an "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" to close it out.
STAR RATING: (**+) It was sloppy and has a controversial end but it was a bloody brawl and fun to watch for awhile. Unfortunate loss for Bonnar and big win for Soszynski that may get overturned at some point with the stop on an illegal blow.
UNAIRED PRELIM RESULTS:
-James Te Huna def. Igor Pokrajac via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 3:26
Thanks for joining us once again, make sure to check out our Postgame LiveCast on BlogTalkRadio.com beginning right now!
NEW: JOIN US RIGHT AFTER UFC 100 FOR A LIVE POSTGAME CALL-IN SHOW
MMATorch supervising editor Wade Keller, editor-in-chief Jamie Penick, and senior columnist Shawn Ennis will be hosting a live post-UFC 110 show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch immediately after UFC 110 tonight for 60 minutes starting at 1 a.m. ET.
You can listen online and join the chat room live. You can also call (646) 716-8090 to listen or participate. (Listening is just fine if you don't want to necessarily participate in the show.)
We will be on the air for a full hour.
Our live pregame show is available in the archive section of our show page at BlogTalkRadio. Listen to our pre-show discussion now, and then join us live or on delay in the archives for the post-game show.
IN-HOUSE NOTES
-Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes: click here (http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mma-torch-2010-ufc-news-roundtables/id253731019).
-Our podcast is updated several times a week including PPV Previews, Post-PPV Roundtables, Special Interviews, and the weekly Audio Choke Show.
-App Users: Just click on the "iTunes" link in the lower right corner of your home screen and then search "MMATorch".
-If you like what we do, please rate our App and our Podcast in the iTunes Store. Some five-star ratings can move our App to a four-star average! Help our Podcast rating stay at five-stars! Write a review while you're there, too.
-Web visitors, you can show added support for what we do and get an ad-free version of this site with some exclusive content by becoming a VIP member for just $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year. The VIP site has been newly redesigned. Here's the sign-up page: http://mmatorch.com/amember/signup.php. Thanks to our dedicated members for helping us continue doing what we do here at MMATorch every day, your top independent source of MMA news not affiliated with a major corporate sports media entity.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
