The new year began with an early UFC pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Inside Fights' Will Cooling detailed all the action with his blog
of the main card.
Main card
Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
While this is a makeshift fight due to the many fighters that
have withdrawn from this event because of injury (and Evans'
strange decision to turn down the chance to fight Randy Couture at
UFC 105) it actually has several good stories behind it with Evans
seeking revenge after Silva's dominant victory over his teammate
Keith Jardine and both fighters seeking a rematch with the only man
to defeat them, the light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. The
stakes have been raised in the past few days after Quinton Jackson
said that he wouldn't face Evans if he loses Saturday.
Round 1
Evans goes on the offence, pushes Silva back on to the cage
by throwing some nice boxing combinations. Ties Silva up against
the cage. Evans takes Silva down, Silva gets back up only for Evans
to get a big takedown. Evans tries to control Silva on the ground
but Silva is able to get back up. They do nothing in the clinch but
then have some nice boxing exchanges with Evans showing superior
head movement while Silva goes close with some hard shots. Silva
goes for a kick but is taken down again. Evans gets side control
but doesn't do any damage.
They're back up and again Evans uses hard shots to the body
and head to set up a takedown. Silva struggles back up only to be
taken down again, he does however manage to end the round on his
feet. Really impressive stuff from Evans who is wearing Silva down
by using his boxing to compliment his wrestling.
Inside Fights scores it 10-9 to Evans.
Round 2
Evans takes control at the start of the round, pretty much in
the same way as he did in the first round. Ties Silva up in the
clinch for almost a minute but breaks when Silva throws a very nice
uppercut. They move back to the center of the octagon and Evans
gets the takedown.
Silva tries to set up a submission but Evans blocks and lands
a hard punch to the head. Evans is dominant with his boxing,
wrestling and speed being just too much for Silva. Silva lands a
couple of shots and seems to loosen up just after the 2-minute
mark. However, Evans counters with a big takedown. Silva gets back
to his feet but Evans ties him up against the cage.
Inside Fights scores it 10-9 to Evans.
Round 3
Early on Evans was in control with Silva unable to hang with
him in the clinch. Then Silva made a desperate change in tactics,
trying to goad Evans to become more aggressive by working the
crowd, putting his hands down and sticking his head out. These
seemingly bizarre actions were actually a stroke of genius as with
Evans forced to open himself up Silva was able to land a huge punch
in on Evans and so got the knockdown. For a minute it looked like
Silva was just one punch away from finishing Evans. However Silva
ran out of energy and had to take a step back and recover his
breath.
Evans used the break to recover and survived the round by
tying Silva up against the cage for the last minute.
Inside Fights scores it 10-9 to Silva.
All three judges give it to Rashad Evans 29-28. Evans uses
the postfight interview to call out Quinton Jackson.
• Evans wins by unanimous decision.
Paul Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett
This is a catchweight fight at 172 pounds because Daley
couldn't make weight. Strangely Daley was denied the usual
60-minute grace period to cut the extra weight because of health
reasons. Given that and his pained appearance at the weigh-ins one
has to wonder whether he will be at 100 percent in this fight. This
should be a good clash of styles, with Daley being an explosive
striker while Hazelett is stronger on the ground.
Round 1
Big USA chants from the partisan, American crowd. Hazelett
goes for a rolling single-leg takedown that is dodged by Daley.
Hazelett hits a nice body kick which provokes Daley to throw some
nice kicks in response. Daley looks a tad tentative and is not as
aggressive as usual but all of a sudden he lands a devastating
right-hand/left-hook combination with incredible torque in his
left-hook. Hazelett goes down and Daley lands some hard punches to
finish it at 2:24. Very impressive from the dangerous Brit.
• Daley wins by first-round stoppage.
Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout
Round 1
The UFC must surely be hoping that this fight goes the
distance — they only have three main card fights left with
less than an hour gone and its hard to see Daley or Silva being in
a 15-minute fight. Lauzon is looking to make an impact on his
return after a long absence due to injury while Stout will hope to
continue his return to winning ways.
Lauzon explodes at the start to successfully get the takedown
and almost gets the quick victory with an impressive armbar, but
Stout escapes. Big cut has opened up above Stout's right eye.
Lauzon gets another takedown but Stout gets some hard shots to the
head in before he goes down. Stout uses the cage to get up but the
fight goes to the ground again as Lauzon pulls guard. They're back
to their feet and Stout lands some nice combinations while Lauzon
seems to be tiring with his takedowns now being blocked. Stout ends
with some nice shots including a spinning back fist!
Difficult round to score as Lauzon was completely dominant to
begin with but once Stout was able to keep the fight standing he
took control. If pushed I'd give it to Lauzon due to the submission
attempt but its close.
Inside Fights scores it 10-9 to Lauzon.
Round 2
Lauzon legs seemed to have gone as he just doesn't have the
strength to get the explosiveness in his takedowns that he had at
the start of the fight. Stout is dominant on the feet landing some
hard punches and a nice head kick that knocks Lauzon down. Stout
tries to finish the fight but gets frustrated on the ground.
Lauzon tries to slow Stout down by tying him up in the cage
but he just doesn't have the energy to control the fight. Stout
lands another nice headkick, Lauzon responds with another takedown
attempt but that is blocked and has to pull guard to briefly take
the fight to the ground. They're back on their feet and Lauzon is
just being eaten up by Stout who is hitting him at will with nice,
vaired offence.
Lauzon pulls guard and the round ends with Stout landing some
heavy elbows from top position.
Inside Fights scores it 10-9 to Stout.
Round 3
Scrappy boxing exchanges to start the round with Stout
getting the better of it. Lauzon lands a nice kick to the upper
torso but just cannot land the takedown. Lauzon seems exhausted,
struggling to offer any offence other than weak, poorly set-up
takedown attempts that are inevitably blocked by Stout. Stout is
just more confident as the round progress, brutally pushing Lauzon
off after another takedown attempt. Out of nowhere, Lauzon gets a
takedown and manages to move to half guard and apply a gullotine
choke but Stout manages to escape and get back to his feet. Stout
ends the round with a flourish with some nice boxing combinations,
a flying knee and an attempted spinning back fist.
Inside Fights scores the round 10-9 to Stout.
The judges decision is unanimous with all three judges giving
all three rounds to Sam Stout, one judge giving him a 10-8 round.
• Stout wins by unanimous decision.
Duane Ludwig vs. Jim Miller
Round 1
Ludwig is a last-minute replacement for Sean Sherk and the
form book says that Jim Miller is the heavy favorite. Early
standing exchanges as the two fighters feel other out with both
putting together some nice kickboxing combinations. Miller hits a
right hook square on Ludwig's chin and gets the knockdown. Miller
quickly jumps on him, moves from side control to top position and
secures the victory at 2:31 via submission with a well applied
armbar. Impressive performance from Miller which showcased that not
only is he a tremendous grappler but has well developed standing
skills.
• Miller wins by first-round submission.
Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel
Round 1
Both fighters come in with the aggressive, heavy hitting
style that everyone expected. Some scrappy exchanges at the start
with Dos Santos putting together the best combination with a nice
set of punches that pushes Yvel back. Yvel gets a good counterpunch
in but it's clear that the veteran is struggling to contain the
power of the rising star. Both fighters try to mix it up with kicks
but neither are trying to control the distance so the kicks are
ineffective.
Yvel tries to get the upperhand but Dos Santos counters with
a hard left hook that knocks Yvel down. Dos Santos swarms with some
repeated shots to the head and finishes the fight at 2.07.
• Dos Santos wins by first-round stoppage.
Preliminary card
Martin Kampmann vs. Jacob Volkmann
• Kampmann wins by first-round submission.
Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon
• Miller wins by first-round submission.
Mark Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen
• Munoz wins by first-round submission.
Mike Pyle vs. Jake Ellenberger
• Ellenberger wins by second-round TKO
Rafaello Oliveira vs. John Gunderson
• Oliveira wins by unanimous decision.
