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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC ON VERSUS 2: JONES VS. MATYUSHENKO
AUGUST 1, 2010
LIVE FROM SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan open up the broadcast, running down the matchups set for tonight's four fight main card here on Versus. With Jon Jones back in the main event, fans are in for another entertaining card, and after four weeks with no major events in the U.S. it's great to have the UFC back.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT ONE: TYSON GRIFFIN VS. TAKANORI GOMI (LIGHTWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Griffin said he's expecting the most aggressive Gomi as he's seen in the past and he's expecting an exciting fight. Gomi said he's going to destroy Griffin and head home. He said his eventual goal is to be the UFC Champion and to take the belt to Japan.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Griffin landed a hard right early on. He gets in with a few more punches early as he walks Gomi down. He's popping in nicely with combinations. Gomi then dropped him with a huge right hand and Griffin goes out! The ref almost stopped it right there, but Griffin almost tried to get up and Gomi landed a couple of punches on the ground. Griffin was out, and when he landed face first he got woken back up, but the ref stopped the fight. He was not happy at all, but that was a beautiful two punch combo from Gomi.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Gomi via KO at 1:04 of the first round
POST FIGHT: Gomi said he worked really, really hard hoping to get this result. He said this is what he considers his start in the UFC. He said he didn't know how to fight the American style against Kenny Florian but now he thinks he's got the hang of it.
STAR RATING: (***) It was really short, but that was a shocking and picture perfect KO victory for Gomi. It's a huge win for him and a crushing loss for Griffin, who has never been finished, let alone knocked out like that before. And he was landing some punches and pressing the pace early, too. It's a tough pill for him to swallow, but he was out as he went to the ground and only regained consciousness when he hit the ground face first. It was a just stoppage.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT TWO: JOHN HOWARD VS. JAKE ELLENBERGER (WELTERWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: Howard said they both come out full force and there's going to be fireworks. Ellenberger said Howard's going to taste defeat in the UFC for the first time. He said Howard thinks he's better than he is, and that Howard hasn't fought a guy like him.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Ellenberger pushed forward early and missed his punch. Howard then connected on a counter punch and sent Ellenberger hightailing it across the cage. He then engaged and clinched him, pushing him to the cage. He tried to get a takedown but Howard held it off. He landed some good knees to the body as he pressed Howard against the cage. The crowd didn't like the clinchwork and started booing. Neither is doing much against the cage and they're finally separated by Herb Dean. Howard tried to pop in with a combination but missed. Ellenberger clinched again, but this time shot dropped down to shoot in and drove Howard to the ground. He landed an elbow in the guard. He tried to posture up as Howard held onto his wrists. Ellenberger kept Howard on his back, but was stood up as Howard had him neutralized. Howard landed a good leg kick and ate a body punch. Ellenberger landed a nice jab as Howard got another leg kick in. Ellenberger clinched and got another takedown, this time into half guard. He landed some good punches from the half guard as the round came to an end.
Penick's Analysis: 10-9 Ellenberger. The two takedowns and some ground and pound sealed it for Ellenberger, but Howard has landed some good strikes thus far.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Howard landed a big head kick early, but Ellenberger recovered. He got hit with another hard shot but then drove in for another takedown. Howard tried to work towards a triangle, but Ellenberger got out of it into half guard. Ellenberger landed some hard elbows to the face in the half guard. Howard got back to the full guard. Ellenberger landed a forearm and a few more elbows. Howard went for an armbar but ate a couple of punches for his efforts. He scrambled but Ellenberger stayed on him. He landed a few good punches as he kept Howard on his back. He added a couple of body shots as Howard's eye showed signs of damage. The fans started booing as Howard scrambled to his feet. He landed a knee and had Ellenberger hurting against the cage before Ellenberger shot in for another takedown. The crowd started booing again almost immediately as Ellenberger wasn't doing much. Just as that's typed he landed a huge right elbow to the face as Howard's eye is swelling shut. Ellenberger landed a few more punches as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Ellenberger. He's bringing the fight where he wants it, even if he hasn't done much with it yet. But Howard is landing some big shots and is keeping him on the run on the feet.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Howard's left eye is almost swelled shut. He runs forward off the bat and lands a big knee. He swings wildly but can't land much as Ellenberger swings back. Ellenberger backed off from a clinch and landed a nice right. Ellenberger started circling as the crowd again booed the fight. He shot in for another big takedown right into guard. Howard continued to tie Ellenberger up from his guard, and Herb Dean continued warning Ellenberger that he'd stand them up. That's just what he did and then Dean has the doctor come in to check Howard's eye. The doctor stops the fight, saying Howard can't see out of his eye. That's a nasty swell, and I understand why the doctor stopped it, but it sucks for Howard that he wasn't given the chance to land a KO blow in the last three minutes. Still, Ellenberger got the takedowns to keep the fight where he wanted it, and did the damage that caused the stoppage, so it's still a good win for him.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Ellenberger via TKO (doctor's stoppage) 2:21 of the third
POST FIGHT: Ellenberger said Howard was a warrior, but he got some good elbows on him to force that finish.
STAR RATING: (**-) There just wasn't much to that fight. Ellenberger had some nice takedowns and did some damage in the fight, clearly, but he wasn't advancing his position on the ground and the fight simply dragged for much of it's duration. The finish was extremely underwhelming as well with the doctor's stoppage.
[Commercial Break]
PRELIM FIGHT A: CHARLES OLIVEIRA VS. DARREN ELKINS
ROUND ONE: Elkins comes forward and shoots in early. He gets a big slam takedown, but Oliveira locks on a triangle into an armbar almost immediately and forces the tap. And it's over just like that. Awesome, awesome debut for Oliveira. That was excellent.
WINNER: Oliveira via submission (armbar) at :41 of the first round
POST FIGHT: Oliveira thanked the fans in San Diego and the UFC in English. He said he trained hard for the fight, and when he got the triangle on it was all over.
STAR RATING: (***) That was an awesome debut, and though it was only 41 seconds long it showcased some great technical jiu jitsu from Oliveira. That triangle was locked on so quickly, and he moved it to the armbar masterfully as well.
[Commercial Break]
-Chael Sonnen is interviewed via satellite. He said he had a message for Anderson Silva - "if you show up in Oakland on Saturday I'm going to beat you and end your career and Dana's going to fire you."
Sonnen said Silva's not in shape to go out and get in a fist fight with him, and he'll need to dance to get through the five rounds. He said Silva will be in a fight for the first time in his career.
FIGHT THREE: MARK MUNOZ VS. YUSHIN OKAMI (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
PRE FIGHT: According to Mike Goldberg, Okami is a Japanese "Juggernut." Munoz said he's going to be bigger, stronger and faster in the fight. Okami said it's going to be an exciting and crushing battle. Munoz said this is the biggest fight of his career to date.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND ONE: Okami takes the center. Munoz throws a right but it didn't come close to landing. Munoz circled on the outside as Okami walked him down. Munoz pushed him back with a good right. Okami went right back to stalking. He landed a right near the cage and looked like he may have been poked in the eye. He continues to stalk, however, and just wipes at his eye briefly. He lands a hard straight left and continues to keep Munoz backed up against the cage. He got in with the left again. Munoz threw a high kick and Okami avoided it. He connected on the left again and continued stalking Munoz to the cage. Munoz tried to shoot in but Okami sprawled. He let him back to his feet and went back to stalking. Okami landed the left again. Munoz pressed in with some punches and shot in again. Okami sprawled, but Munoz managed to turn him around and get him down. Okami worked his way back to his feet, however, and Munoz threw some knees to Okami against the cage before dropping for a single leg. Munoz separated with an uppercut but didn't connect. Munoz landed a punch. They traded shots and Okami came forward. Munoz shot in and Okami sprawled, landing a couple of punches before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-10. Okami pressed the pace early, Munoz in the second half. Very even with neither doing enough to definitively take it.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND TWO: Okami walked forward again to start the second. He landed a good two punch combo and missed on another combination. Munoz dropped for a single leg as Okami came at him against the cage. Okami sprawled again and Munoz continued to hold on to the single. Okami gets free and goes back to his feet. Okami comes forward again and backs Munoz to the cage. Okami lands a hard body punch before Munoz clinches him at the cage. He separates and continues to stalk Munoz down. Munoz knocked Okami down with a punch but Okami recovered and took Munoz down. Okami got to a sprawl and Munoz stalked him down. He landed a big right and another as he walked in. He connected again on the right and then shot in for a single leg. Okami sprawled and held off the attempt, however. Okami landed a couple of punches to the side of the head and then he threw Munoz to the side briefly. Munoz stayed on the single leg attempt and Okami landed some more punches. Munoz continues to go for the takedown attempt, and Okami continues to land punches as he holds it off. Munoz gets a body lock but Okami gets to his feet. Munoz got him down for a split second as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Munoz. He edged it because of some really hard punches landed and aggressiveness at the end of the round.
[Commercial Break]
ROUND THREE: Okami came forward with a combination and stuffed a takedown attempt again. He continued to stalk and they traded punches against the cage. Okami knocked Munoz down with three minutes left in the round, but Munoz was able to instinctively grab a single leg. Okami backs up and lets him up. Munoz pushed in but Okami came right back at him. Munoz missed a punch and Okami stalked him down. Okami landed a couple of punches and Munoz landed on a few counter punches. Okami connects on a couple more punches and Munoz tries to shoot in. Okami sprawled once again. Munoz stayed on the takedown attempt as Okami landed short punches. Munoz got to his feet but Okami grabbed a headlock and landed a couple of knees and punches to end the round and the fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Okami. He continued to press the action and landed some good combinations in the round. The fight overall was really ugly with only a few spurts of excitement throughout. Munoz's takedowns were not very good in this one.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Okami via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**-) The decision was correct. Re-evaluating that first round, Okami did enough to win with Octagon control for four minutes of the round. So I'd officially change that to a 10-9 his way, though this was far from a convincing win. I'm surprised Munoz was actually given the first round, as I didn't think he did enough to win, and barely enough to cancel out Okami on first look. But the fight itself wasn't good.
[Commercial Break]
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: JON JONES VS. VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
Jones said he's ready to keep this ride going to the top. Matyushenko said he needs to bring the fight to him and make him work for it. Jones said this isn't his first time being in there against a "better" wrestler. He said his goal is to win in devastating fashion. Matyushenko said he's been fighting against the best in the world and tonight we'll find out what Jones is made of.
ROUND ONE: Jones lands a hard jab as Matyushenko tried to pop in. Jones lands a hard leg kick shortly thereafter. He comes in with a spinning back kick to the body. Matyushenko got in close and Jones pulled off a trip takedown. He got to half guard and landed some hard elbows, and then moved to side control. He gets the mounted crucifix and starts throwing a huge flurry of elbows and Herb Dean stops the fight. This kid is just good. Those elbows were landing right to the ear and Matyshenko couldn't do much of anything, and it was a just stoppage by Dean. As an aside, the picture in picture commercials with the live video feed has been a nice touch tonight on the Versus broadcast.
[Commercial Break]
WINNER: Jones via TKO at 1:52 of the first round
POST FIGHT: Jones said he trained the hardest for this and didn't expect this to be as easy as it was. He said whoever the UFC gives him next he'll be ready, and he hopes Joe Silva and Dana White give him a big challenge in his next fight. He said he'll leave that up to Silva when Rogan asked him who he'd like to face. He finished with the "you stay classy, San Diego" line. The excellence from Jones continues.
STAR RATING: (**+) The fight itself didn't have much, but the way Jones made quick work of a veteran like Matyushenko was so impressive that it's just another fight for him that lives up to the hype.
That's another event in the books. Thanks for joining us here tonight, and be sure to stick with us throughout the week for the fallout from this card as well our lead in to next weekend's UFC 117 pay-per-view event. Also, be sure to join us at BlogTalkRadio.com at our new night and time this Tuesday, as we will bring our live call-in show from 9-10:30 PM ET.
UNAIRED PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
• Jacob Volkmann def. Paul Kelly by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Matt Riddle def. DaMarques Johnson by TKO (strikes) at 4:29 of the second round
• Igor Pokrajac def. James Irvin by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:29 of the first round
• Brian Stann def. Mike Massenzio by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:10 of the third round
• Rob Kimmons def. Steve Steinbeiss by unanimous decision
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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