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Jul 3, 2010 - 8:27:32 PM

KELLER'S UFC 116 BLOG
JULY 3, 2010
LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS, NEV. AT THE MGM GRAND

LIVE ON SPIKE TV

A - SETH PETRUZELLI vs. RICARDO ROMERO

-Seth didn't seem thrilled with Bruce Buffer's pronunciation of his last name: Seth Petru-chelli." Rogan corrected him right away. You know, when you have one job, and that's to announce the names of the fighters, how about getting it right? Oops.

-Steve Mazzaatti was booed by the early-arriving fans.

-Rogan again, as he said during weigh-ins, said Petruzelli single-handedly stopped EliteXC. He explained himself, saying Seth exposed Kimbo Slice when EliteXC was trying to be the next big promoting organization.

-Fun first round. Romero's corner told him that Seth was gassed and had nothing left. Seth really did try to finish the fight after that left uppercut at 4:10 that almost finished Romero. They congratulated each other for a great battle in the opening five.

-Impressive tapout win for Romero. Pettruzelli also looked good enough to be brought back and get another chance in UFC. That was one of the most frantic tapouts you'll ever see in MMA, and one of the most urgent screams in pain, also.

-The director did it again. After the tapout, they were at a close-up of Petruzelli finally getting up and they cut away at that climactic moment to show a replay of what we just saw. What is going through their heads when they decide to cut away from something live that is compelling to show a replay that they could go to anytime?

INTERVIEW: Rogan interviewed Shane Carwin, who was wearing a t-shirt that appropriately said "Dethrone." Carwin said this is a "fight for the ages" and "the heavyweight we've been missing for a decade or so." Rogan said he and Lesnar are the opposites. Carwin said he doesn't care how Lesnar portrays himself. He said he respects everyone and treats everyone well, but how Lesnar acts is his business.

-Rogan said Carwin is the perfect opponent for Lesnar. Rogan said while Carwin is so relaxed, Lesnar scared him when he interviewed him because he's so intense. That interview aired after the break.

INTERVIEW: Lesnar stared at Rogan as he asked his first question as if he was seriously debating whether Rogan would taste better raw or cooked. Lesnar was actually soft-spoken and respectful, but there's always that feeling around Brock that if you ask the question the wrong way, he may lose control, rip your head off, and only regret it five seconds later after thinking it through, but by then it's too late.

B -- CHRIS TUCHSCHERER vs. BRANDAN SCHAUB

-Tuchscherer has been training with Brock Lesnar. Schaud trains with Shane Carwin. Nice storyline there.

-I kind of groaned when Mike Goldberg said this could be a "preview" of the Lesnar-Carwin fight later, but it may very well turn out to be as Carwin's guy beat Lesnar's guy the way Carwin might beat Lesnar - with an early KO thanks to superior power and striking. But... if Lesnar was watching that, he may have gotten a wake-up call of sorts regarding how not to approach fighting Carwin. This fight might be a rare prelim fight that could actually changed the course of the main event if only by planing a seed in Lesnar's head of "what can happen" if he approaches Carwin the way his guy approached Carwin's guy here.

C -- GERALD HARRIS vs. DAVE BRANCH

-The powerbomb KO's Branch in the end. When the announcers give credit to fighters, as was the case with Harris here, for not punching his opponent when it's obviously he has the fight won even if the ref hasn't stepped in yet, I always think of it as a veiled shake of the finger to Dan Henderson and his shameful extra punch he threw at Michael Bisping after he clearly had him KO'd.

INTERVIEW: Rogan inteviews Dana White for the final hard pitch for ordering the PPV. White joins the chorus of UFC voices saying this is the first real heavyweight title fight UFC has ever had. Besides seeming like a real slap at the career of Randy Couture and some of his battles (a surprise at least coming from UFC), it also may be related to the Fedor streak being over and that taking that monkey off their back. There's no doubt about this: More people than ever see Lesnar-Carwin as a battle for the no. 1 spot in the MMA Heavyweight Division without an asterisk because of Fedor or Cro Cop or someone else from Pride considered better. Unlike every other UFC Heavyweight Fight in history, no matter the quality of the fighters, there isn't that overwhelming cloud of it being the Division II Pro Heavyweight Title.

-Dana and Rogan also talked about the Vegas betting odds evening out at fight time, after Lesnar had been a heavy favorite just a couple weeks ago. UFC couldn't stop talking about Vegas odds when Vegas first opened betting on their events, but eventually they moved entirely away from it for a variety of (good) reasons. But that was worth mentioning and does, from a marketing standpoint, make the fight even more compelling to the casual viewer on Spike TV who wasn't sure Carwin was for real because he simply hadn't heard much of him before.

QUOTEBOOK

Joe Rogan on Petruzelli's sledgehammer fists: "That's out of a Hulk comic book!"

Joe Rogan to Shane Carwin: "You two as characters are so completely differently, totally different. Really polar opposites. You are one of the nicest, friendliest, easiest-going guys anyone could every run into. Brock Lesnar, on the other hand, plays up being a heel, a WWE heel."

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