It was one of the greatest UFC PPV cards assembled in recent memory. In the end, fans were not disappointed. Almost every televised fight last night ended, not with a surprise winner, but in surprising fashion. Some ended with sudden knockouts or sudden submissions. Because the majority of the fights scheduled for the PPV ended so quickly, fans watching the show at home or in a bar got to see a few of the preliminary fights not scheduled for television. Usually we get one extra fight at the end if the PPV fights end early, but last night we got three times that many. A little more bang for the buck is always nice.
So let's get to the results.
BJ Penn def. Sean Sherk by KO at 5:00 in the third round to officially become the undisputed lightweight champion. For all the build-up to this fight and all the trash talk that happened between the two, this fight didn't quite live up to that hype. Sherk was out to get the title back that he never actually lost inside the Octagon. He lost it in court after testing positive for an illegal substance after his title defense in July of 2007. Surprisingly this fight never went to the ground. Both fighters stood up and went toe-to-toe with Penn landing a lot more shots than Sherk. Neither guy really had an decisive advantage or put together a barrage of consecutive blows to put the other into any type of trouble until late in the third round. It was then that Penn landed a shot that had Sherk stumbling backward toward the edge of the cage. When Sherk bounced off the cage, Penn was there to meet him with a knee to the face that sent him tumbling to the mat. Penn pounced and landed a barrage of shots. The round and fight ended in a very strange fashion. As Penn was landing the big blows the horn sounded to end the round. The referee ended up stopping the fight and apparently it was because Sherk said he was done. He definitely looked done as his face was a bruised and bloody mess, but the bizarre, quick ending had everyone stunned. Regardless of what truly happened at the end of the third round, Penn dominated the fight and now has the right to call himself the undisputed LW champ.
Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine by TKO at 0:36 in the first round. This by far was the most surprising finish of the night. Silva stated out quickly landing a barrage of shots that rocked Jardine and knocked him to the ground. Silva continued on the offensive and landed a few big punches to the face of Jardine while holding him down by the throat. Referee Steve Mazzagatti told Jardine to fight back and no sooner did he say that did Silva land a huge blow that knocked Jardine out cold. Mazzagatti stopped the fight as Jardine laid motionless. He would remain that way for a few minutes before being able to get up and walk out on his own power. The win by Silva puts him right back in the light-heavyweight title picture. On the contrary, the loss for Jardine puts him back behind the 8-ball when he was probably a win or two away from being named the No. 1 contender for the title.
Lyoto Machida def. Tito Ortiz by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 in the third round. Of all the fights on the card Saturday night, this one probably had the most intrigue surrounding it. Ortiz made it official in the post-fight interview that this was his last fight in the UFC. Unfortunately for him he will go out on a losing note as well as a frustrated one. Machida came into this fight undefeated in his MMA career. The win could move him into the No. 1 contender spot for the LHW title even though he was less than impressive last night. Machida ended up doing just enough to win, and just enough to take Ortiz out of his gameplan it seemed. Ortiz showed his frustration with Machida more than once during the contest as Machida bounced around the ring and never truly tried to take the fight to Ortiz. Machida landed kicks to the legs of Ortiz throughout the fight. It seemed that his strategy was to wear Ortiz down, which ultimately ended up working as he landed a couple of shots that knocked him down to the mat but Machida could never put him away. At one point late in the third round Machida knocked Ortiz down with a shot to the body. Machida saw the opening and went on the attack, but ended up finding himself in a triangle choke and arm-bar submission attempt at the same time. Machida was able to escape just before the round ended, but that attempt wasn't enough to get Ortiz the decision. Machida was just conservative enough to win and take minimal damage, but in the process he bored those watching. With the win, a fight between Machida and Wanderlei Silva isn't out of the question to decide the No. 1 contender for the LHW title now.
Goran Reljic def. Wilson Gouveia by TKO at 3:15 in the second round. Reljic, unlike many before him, had a very successful debut in the UFC. He came out quickly landing a flurry of punches that rocked Gouveia from the beginning. Gouveia was able to survive and mount some offense of his own in the first round. But it was the second round that belonged to Reljic. A left hook to the side of Gouveia's head sent him crashing to the mat. Reljic kept on the offensive until referee Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the fight. This was a very impressive UFC debut for Reljic and marked his eighth straight MMA win. The loss by Gouveia snapped a four fight winning streak.
Thiago Silva def. Antonio Mendes by Submission (strikes) at 2:24 in the first round. Mendes, like Reljic, was making his UFC debut Saturday night. He had a tall task ahead of him though as he was taking on the undefeated Silva. Mendes landed a kick to the head of Silva in the opening seconds of the fight that sent Silva to the mat. Just as Silva was able to get up and regain his composure, Mendes landed a big kick to the body that send Silva down again. Silva was able to get up again and after blocking a hip-toss attempt by Mendes, he was able to mount Mendes and began raining down shots to the head. In the midst of these punches Mendes tapped and the fight was stopped. The fight started out looking like an upset in the making, but it was not to be. Silva remains undefeated and continues to move up the ladder toward a LHW title shot.
Preliminary Bouts Rapid Results
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Rousimar Palhares def. Ivan Salaverry by Submission (arm-bar) at 2:36 in the first round.
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Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Kazuhiro Nakamura by TKO at 5:00 in the first round.
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Rich Clementi def. Terry Etim by Unanimous Decision (all three judges scored fight 29-28).
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Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Jon Koppenhaver by Submission (anaconda choke) at 0:56 in the first round.
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Dong-Hyun Kim def. Jason Tan by TKO at 0:25 in the third round.
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Shane Carwin def. Christian Wellisch by KO at 0:44 in the first round.
The next PPV event for the UFC will take place on June 7th at the O2 Arena in London, England at UFC 85: Bedlam. Originally this was supposed to showcase a main event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans. Because of an injury during training, Liddell had to back out of this fight. So the main event will now be between UFC legend Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves.
Prediction Results: 5-1 (Overall: 62-37)
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