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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
As always Mike Goldberg opens the broadcast and brings in Joe Goldberg to talk up Takanori Gomi for those that may not be familiar with him. Goldberg then runs down the rest of tonight's televised card here on Spike. The night will start out with a couple of European fighters squaring off after the break.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT ONE: ROSS PEARSON VS. DENNIS SIVER (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Pearson says he likes keeping things tight and making it messy and that's what he'll do tonight. Siver says he's going to break Ross, break him down and finish him. Pearson said he'll fight to the bitter end and he won't quit.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Pearson landed a jab early. Siver got in with a leg kick. Both fighters still feeling the other out here. Pearson catches a kick but can't capitalize. He pops in with a good right. Pearson nicely checks a kick and lands a quick combo. Pearson again gets in with a combo. Pearson lands a good leg kick. Siver responds well with a combo. They get in close and both fighters land some hard punches. Pearson gets in another hard jab. Good, even battle here thus far. Pearson backs off from a punch and lands a nice counter. He's doing a good job of avoiding and popping in with his own punches. Pearson again lands a jab. Pearson feints a punch and nearly cracks Siver with a head kick. Siver lands a good combo. Pearson lands two straight rights and stunned Siver a bit. Pearson nicely checks another leg kick. Pearson lands a good punch. Pearson lands a head kick but Siver keeps swinging. Pearson stays on Siver and takes his back and drags him to the ground. He gets both hooks in lands some good punches from the top. Siver rolls and gives Pearson the full mount but then scrambles and gets to his feet. He's bleeding pretty bad but then starts swinging punches on Pearson against the cage and lands a few! They trade punches before the round ends and this is a great start to the show.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pearson. Awesome start to the fight, but Pearson was landing more punches in that fight and had a good position on the ground.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Pearson starts the round out with a good leg kick and then pops in with a jab. He's doing such a great job of backing away from what Siver's throwing at him before countering. He lands a good body kick. Pearson cracks him with an overhand right. Siver tries to shoot in but Pearson stuffs it. Siver tries a high kick but it's blocked. Siver lands the spinning back kick to the gut but Pearson just motioned at him to "come on." Pearson gets in with a combo and then they trace punches. Pearson again lands the overhand right. Pearson lands a flying knee. Pearson's timing is excellent tonight. Another inside leg kick. Siver shoots and finally gets a takedown with a single leg. He timed that well. Pearson tries to scramble and gives up his back briefly before getting out and to his feet. They scramble some more and Siver gets to his feet as well. Pearson with another jab on the button. Overhand right lands. Inside leg kick puts Siver off balance a bit. Pearson lands another good leg kick. Pearson with a good two punch combo. His punches are hitting the mark really nicely in this fight. Siver tries a spinning kick but Pearson backs away. His head movement has been really good in this fight as well. He lands one more shot before the round ends.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pearson. He's just outclassing Siver in the striking department, avoiding much of what Siver can throw at him while landing a ton of punishment himself.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Pearson lands a couple of really good leg kicks early. Siver throws a number of punches and kicks but they all hit air. Pearson gets in with a combo. Pearson with another jab. Very good leg kick from Pearson lands. Pearson goes to the body kick and it's partially blocked. He gets in with a combo and Siver counters well. Pearson with an overhand right. Pearson with another jab. Pearson continues to use the jab and head movement here really well. Pearson gets in with a big right hand but then Siver shoots in and completes the takedown. Pearson closes his guard as Siver tries to pass. Pearson scrambles and gets to his knees and then gets back to his feet. Nice work from Pearson. Another jab from Pearson. Pearson with another leg kick. Pearson feints and then gets Siver's back when he gets in close. He slams Siver to the ground but Siver is able to scramble out and get back to his feet. Siver lands the spinning back kick. Pearson with a hard boy kick. He lands a jab. Siver tries the spinning back kick again but misses. Pearson lands a leg kick. He lands a combo, avoids the counter and lands another combo. Siver shoots in and Pearson scrambles out. He presses forward with one more flurry before the round ends. Great fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pearson. Siver had a takedown but that was about it in this round. Pearson was just much better on his feet tonight, though he showed plenty of respect for Siver's power and didn't over-engage to risk getting caught with something.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Pearson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
POST FIGHT: Pearson said he was happy for the win but not for letting it get to the judges. He gave Siver credit for not going away in this fight. He said range was the key for him in this fight.
STAR RATING: (***) That was a highly enjoyable fight to start this one off. Pearson was the better fighter on the feet but Siver was very much a game opponent and they had a very good fight tonight.
RAMIFICATIONS: I came away extremely impressed with Pearson and his head movement and footwork tonight. He worked the range beautifully against Siver and it won't be long before the Ultimate Fighter winner is competing with the top guys in the division. That was a great performance.
[Commercial Break]
-B.J. Penn is interviewed via satellite by Goldberg. Penn said he's ready to do this on April 10. He said he thinks Frankie Edgar has a lot of things going for him, and he complimented Edgar's hand speed, conditioning, etc., but said he just needs to go out and try harder than Edgar does on the 10th. He said he wonders how Edgar's going to try to use his jiu jitsu, but it's hard to tell how Edgar's jiu jitsu training is going to affect his performance.
FIGHT TWO: NATE QUARRY VS. JORGE RIVERA (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Rivera said this is going to be a slug fest, as neither fighter is going to run from the other. Quarry said he can see a rivalry developing here. Rivera said he needs to play to his strengths and Quarry. He said he hits a lot harder than Tim Credeur does, and if he hits him as many times as Tim did he'll knock him out. Quarry said this fight will be just as exciting as the last fight. He said it's not just winning, it's how you win.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Both guys come straight out to the center to start this one. Quarry lands a small combo and ends with a good leg kick. He pushes in with another nice leg kick. Rivera gets in a leg kick that almost gets caught. Rivera pushes in and Quarry ands a good jab. Quarry with a leg kick. Quarry pushes him back. Quarry again lands a leg kick. Rivera gets in a real nice jab. Rivera lands an overhand right. He gets in with it again. Quarry lands a leg kick. Again Quarry lands a hard leg kick. He lands another. Rivera pushes back and lands a right. He connects again on the overhand right. Quarry lands the leg kick again to the lead leg. Rivera pushes in and drops Quarry with a right. Quarry recovers and eats a knee on his way back up to his feet. He lands a knee to the body of his own and then cracks Rivera with a punch. We've got a fight here. Quarry lands the leg kick again. Rivera barely misses another overhand right. Rivera lands another combo and pushes Quarry back to the cage. He tags Quarry with some more punches and Quarry drops for a double leg. Rivera lands some more punches and Quarry tries to work his way back up. He gets back to his feet. Rivera backs off and starts unloading some bombs. RIvera is landing a ton of shots on Quarry and he's getting brutalized now. He's cut open and Rivers keeps landing punches as Quarry is on his knees. Quarry is just covering up and trying to survive now.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Rivera. If the first half would have been as dominant as the second for Rivera it would have probably been a 10-8, but Quarry got in with some kicks and punches early before Rivera kicked his ass in the second half of the round.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Quarry pushed forward with kicks and punches to start the round but Rivera was shrugging it off. Rivera backed away and as Quarry tried to chase him down he got dropped with a left after getting stunned with a right. Rivera lands some more shots on the ground and Mario Yamasaki comes in to stop the fight. Very good victory by Rivera.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Rivera via TKO at :29 of the second round
POST FIGHT: Rivera thanked Quarry for taking this fight. He said he's there for the fans, and he said every time he's on a card he wants the fans to say "I want to see that guy fight." STAR RATING: (**+)
RAMIFICATIONS: Quarry may be nearing the end of his career. He looked slow and overmatched at times while Rivera looked like the younger and crisper fighter. Rivera's got some very good power, and I underestimated him into this one, for sure. Great performance by Rivera, though, to keep him in the UFC for a while longer.
[Commercial Break]
-Dana White comes cageside to talk The Ultimate Fighter 11, and as always says there are great fights this season (you told us that for the heavyweights, Dana, you're making it hard to believe you). In regards to the rumors surrounding crazy stuff happening on the show, Dana plays coy and says you'll have to tune in to find out.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT THREE: ROY NELSON VS. STEFAN STRUVE (HEAVYWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Nelson says he needs to go and impose his will by beating him in the stand up game or bring him to the ground and submit him. Struve said he's going to use his kicks and reach to win this one. Nelson said he's going to go in, implement his gameplan and win easily. For more comments from Nelson, check out Jonathan Snowden's interview with him from earlier today at UGO.com.
[Commercial Break]
-The lights went out in the arena as Bruce Buffer was set to announce Nelson and Struve. That will help the timing of this show that's already running a bit behind.
[Commercial Break]
-With the lights still out, they throw it to a preliminary fight.
PRELIM FIGHT A: CAOL UNO VS. GLEISON TIBAU (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Tibau takes the center and walks Uno down early. He lands a big right that pushes Uno back early. He keeps Uno on the outside and Uno lands a low kick. Uno lands a good right as Tibau comes after him. Tibau catches a kick and brings Uno to the ground and gets his back. Uno gets to his feet with Tibau on his back and gets separation. Standing again Tibau landed a big right but Uno stayed up. Uno landed a good right. Tibau landed a good punch. Uno gets in with a short punch again. Uno tried to walk Tibau down but couldn't land any punches as Tibau did a good job of aviding damage. Tibau barely misses a counter after a body kick from Uno. He drops Uno with a punch and starts landing some more punches and Uno's in trouble. Uno recovers but Tibau then stands up and lands another big right to the side of the head. Uno rolls to his back and Tibau gets down on him. Uno rolls over and Tibau takes his back and unleashes a vicious flurry of punches and the ref steps in to stop it. That was a vicious end to the fight.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Tibau at 4:13 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**) Nice win for Tibau and a brutal defeat for Uno. That's a major setback for him, and after a loss and a draw coming into this fight he may be on the way out.
-The lights are back on and it's time for the heavyweight showdown.
ROY NELSON VS. STEFAN STRUVE
ROUND ONE: Nelson lands an overhand right early. Nelson eats a leg kick and nearly lands a right. Nelson lands an overhand right that drops Sturve like a freaking tree. Holy hell. He follows up with a number of punches on the ground and that's it. Wow, that was a brutal right hand from Nelson. All he had to do was get into Struve's range and he did just that. The reach advantage meant nothing there.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Nelson via KO at :39 of the first round
POST FIGHT: Nelson said the biggest thing was getting past the reach and Stefan has a long jab. He told the crowd to give it up to Stefan because at 25 he'll be a stud. He thought the win throws him right in the Title hunt. Rogan asked him who he wanted to face next and he laughed and said James Toney.
STAR RATING: (***) That was a brutal knockout and a statement from Nelson right there. He is absolutely climbing up the ladder toward a Title shot.
RAMIFICATIONS: Nelson is very much getting his name into the mix, and I actually now wouldn't mind seeing him against Junior Dos Santos. Struve is still so young that he's got nowhere to go than up.
[Commercial Break]
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: KENNY FLORIAN VS. TAKANORI GOMI (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Florian said he still considers Gomi one of the best in the world, and fighting the last Pride Lightweight Champion is a big deal for him. Gomi said he's going to come to the UFC and beat Kenny Florian. Florian said he's going to bring the fight to Gomi and knows he'll bring it as well, and he predicts a war. Gomi said his goal is to become the first Japanese UFC Lightweight Champion and Florian won't stand in his way. Florian said he's not going to let someone just come in there and take him out.
ROUND ONE: Florian comes out to the center and checks out the range with a jab. Both tried to get in with jabs but neither got through. Florian feinted nicely but couldn't get bck in after Gomi tried to counter. Florian landed a jab. Florian landed a good leg kick. Very tentative start to the fight here. Kenny lands an inside leg kick and blocks the counter right. Florian lands a couple of jabs. He lands a straight left on the jaw. They clinch briefly. Kenny again lands the jab. Florian lands an inside leg kick and Gomi switches stances. Gomi lands a punch to the body. Florian again pops Gomi's head back with the jab and Gomi circles around. Florian lands a good punch and starts tagging Gomi with jabs. Gomi tried to land a punch and Florian kept walking him down. He landed a few more jabs and kept pushing Gomi to the cage. He's picking him apart with the jab and getting him tot he cage. He throws a high kick that gets blocked. Florian again lands the jab three more times. Pops him back again. And again. Gomi shoots but it gets stuffed. Gomi lands a good two punch combo but Florian goes back to the jab. The round comes to a close with Florian barely missing a combo.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Florian. His jab was excellent in that round and he tagged Gomi multiple times throughout the round. Slow start but decent fight thus far.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Florian immediately walks Gomi down and lands a couple of jabs. Gomi lands a couple of body punches but Kenny keeps walking himdown. Jab lands again. He double taps Gomi with the jab. He gets in with a flurry and Gomi lands one right in response. Florian barely missed a big uppercut attempt. More very patient work here and it's still kind of tentative. Gomi lands a punch and Florian comes in, grabs the Thai clinch and delivers a knee. Florian keeps pushing the pace. They trade shots. Florian lands another jab. Gomi popped in with a combo to the body. Gomi lands another good body punch. Kenny thorws a high kick but it's blocked. Florian tries to get in close but Gomi backs him off. Florian with a few more jabs. Florian with a kick to the body. They get in close and Florian lands a few punches. Gomi landed a couple of good punches. Florian witha leg kick. Florian with a couple more jabs. He engages and they trade punches as the round ends. Much slower pace to that round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Florian. Much slower round, it got a bit boring in there as well as neither really wants to engage. Gomi hasn't figured out the jab yet.
ROUND THREE: Florian pushes in and clinches Gomi to the cage to start this round. Gomi turns him around but he grabs the Thai clinch and lands a knee before Gomi separates. They trade jabs and Gomi goes back to the orthodox stance briefly before moving back to southpaw. Gomi unleashes a big flurry and clipped Florian with a left. Florian stepped back and then shot in and completed a nice takedown. He landed some punches to the body. He postured up and landed a good elbow. Gomi held him in the guard but Florian dropped another elbow. Kenny moved to half guard and he started working for an arm triangle. Florian moved to the mount and gave up the arm triangle but Florian took his back as Gomi tried to roll out. He stayed on him and then locked in a tight rear naked choke. That was a quick application of that choke. Well done.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Florian via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:52 of the third round
POST FIGHT: Florian said he was surprised and honored to get this fight. He said the hard work paid off for this fight. He said he needed to get Gomi a little bit desperate to go for that takedown. He said it's not a good idea to turn your back on him.
STAR RATING: (**+) It was really slow until the final minutes, but it was quite a performance from Kenny Florian.
RAMIFICATIONS: Florian solidifies his standing as the best lightweight not named B.J. Penn. Gomi will get a lesser opponent his next fight out, but Florian might just be one win away from another chance at Penn.
-That's another fight in the books! Thanks for sticking with us tonight and be sure to check back later for fallout from this event plus Frank Hyden's Ultimate Fighter rundown report on tonight's debut episode of season 11.
Unaired Preliminary Card Results
Charlie Brenneman def. Jason High via Unanimous Decision
Gerald Harris def. Mario Miranda via TKO (punches) at 4:49 of round one
Yushin Okami def. Lucio Linhares via TKO doctors stoppage at 2:47 of round two
Nik Lentz def. Rob Emerson via Unanimous Decision
Jacob Volkmann def. Ronnys Torres via Split Decision
Andre Winner def. Rafaello Oliveira via Unanimous Decision
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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