UFC 116 is taking place in Las Vegas and Inside Fights' Will Cooling is blogging all the main-card bouts. Follow all the action.
Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
Round 1
Lesnar is noticeably the bigger of the two. Lesnar throw the jab, but Carwin clips him with a big punch. Lesnar shoots for the takedown, Carwin momentarily down but gets back to his feet quickly. Carwin unloads on Lesnar, connect with several hard punches that has Lesnar losing his compsure standing. Lesnar tries to go for the takedown but Carwin stuffs him. Carwin knocks Lesnar down and Carwin is looking to finish the fight. Lesnar is bleeding heavily and is in survival mode. Dominant ground and pound from Carwin, and this could be over anytime now. Lesnar back into half-guard and trying to work from the bottom. Lesnar is back on his feet and is content to run the clock down by holding Carwin up against the cage.
10-8 to Carwin.
Round 2
Carwin looks tired compared to the first round, breathing heavy. Lesnar gets the takedown, moves from half-guard to mount and then moves to side control to apply an arm triangle! He tightens the arm triangle and Carwin taps out at 2:19.
That is an incredible performance from the champion who overcame a terrible first round to secure a gutsy victory.
Brock Lesnar wins via submission due to arm triangle choke at 2:19 in the second round to become the undispusted UFC heavyweight champion.
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
Round 1
Akiyama catches a kick and takes Leben down, although Leben is quickly back on his feet. Leben throwing big punches and kicks but not connected with much. Akiyama is noticeably smaller and seems tentative. Leben connects with a big punch but soon takes a low blow. The fight is stopped to allow Leben to recover. Leben lands a couple of kicks, although Akiyama gets in a straight jabs. Akiyama gets the judo takedown but Leben keeps him in full guard. Leben twice goes for the armbar but Akiyama is able to escape, the second time Akiyama spins out into his own armbar attempt. Leben escapes and puts Akiyama back into half-guard. Akiyama working to get out of half-guard, possibly to secure an arm triangle. Leben back to his feet but Akiyama pushes him up against the cage. They break and Leben tries to push the action standing towards the end, but Akiyama again secures the judo trip.
Really good round for Akiyama who despite giving up a lot in size is clearly the more skilled fighter, Leben has no answer for his trips. 10-9 Aikyama.
Round 2
Both fighters seem tired in the early standing exchanges, some quality in there with Akiyama connecting with a nice spinning backfist and Leben with a superman punch. Then the intensity goes up a notch, with about a minute of nonstop slugging between the two fighters as they both connect with punch after punch. Akyiama trips Leben but the American is eventually able to get back to his feet. They grapple against the cage, with Leben trying to secure the standing choke. Akiyama escapes but Leben connects with several hard combinations with Akiyama visibly tired but refusing to go down.
The final exchanges were probably enough to secure the round for Leben. 19-19 going into the third round.
Round 3
Akiyama seems to be very tired, breathing heavy and moving nowhere near as fast as he was in the first round. Leben connects with several punches and kicks but Akiyama knocks him down and dives into guard. Leben goes for an armbar which causes Akiyama to stand in an attempt to slam him and so force a break in the submission attempt. What actually happens is that Leben's head gets caught behind his body, with his neck almost fully cranked. Leben was very close to tapping but Akiyama gave up the position. Akiyama working in half-guard, but arguably Leben is doing the most damage with 6-12 elbows and punches off the back. Leben goes for the triangle choke, Akiyama stands in an attempt to escape but eventually falls back down and taps at 4:30.
Great fight, really impressive performances from both fighters.
Chris Leben wins by submission at 4:30 in the third round.
Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown
Round 1
Lytle tries to push the action standing but Brown clinches up to frustrate him. They're pushed up against the cage, with Brown getting Lytle down with a nice trip although Lytle is straight back up. Crowd getting frustrated as the fight gets stuck against the cage. They break and Brown catches Lytle with a big head kick, goes back to controlling Lytle with the clinch. Lytle struggles for the takedown against the cage, but Brown takes it to the ground with a trip. Brown gets a tight d'arce choke but even though its on for a long time Lytle doesn't tap and is able to get back to his feet. Lytle is struggling to find the space to work his striking thanks to the holding of Brown. At the very end Brown knocks Lytle down with a glancing blow but almost gets caught in an armbar when he follows.
Good round, 10-9 to Brown.
Round 2
Brown doesn't continue the holding tactics that had so successfully frustrated Lytle in the first round, instead the two of them start the round with open boxing exchanges. Lytle hurts Brown with a big uppercut, and quickly applies a tight guillotine choke. Brown escapes but Lytle is still controlling the action from the top. Lytle moves to side control to secure the armbar for the submission at 2:02.
Chris Lytle wins by submission at 2:02
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
Round 1
They start with wild exchanges. Soszynski throws some leg kicks but Bonnar knocks him down with a big left hand. Bonnar dives onto Soszynski, but gets trapped in full guard. They struggle in the clinch against the cage, with both having strong attempts to take the other down. Although his takedown attempt fails Bonnar gets the better of the exchanges, punishing Soszynski with some nice Muay Thai combinations against the cage. Bonnar is looking very good standing, trying to vary his striking throwing some throwing some nice looking high kicks and a solid left jab. Soszynski rallies and starts pressing Bonnar and seems to hurt him with a late boxing flurry.
Very close round and very difficult to score, but I'd probably just give it to Bonnar 10-9.
Round 2
Soszynski seems to hurt Bonnar at the beginning of the round with several right hand-left hand combinations. Bonnar rallies and throws some wild punches of his own as they just slug it out. Soszynski clips Bonnar and tries to get the takedown against the cage, Bonnar stuffs it and connects with several hard shots. Bonnar gets the takedown but Soszyznski is able to frustrate Bonnar and quickly get back to his feet. Bonnar hurts Soszynski with a big Muay Thai knee to the head, and Bonnar swarms on "The Polish Experiment" with repeated shots to the head, eventually getting the TKO victory at 3.08. Bonnar looked really good here.
Stephen Bonnar wins by TKO at 3.08 in the second round.
George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Round 1
Sotiropoulos starts off with a very low boxing stance, with very high hands. Pushing the action with his boxing, working the jab and drops Pellegrino with a right hand-straight left combination. Sotiropoulous swarms trying to finish the fight, eventually trying to take Pellegrino's back. They get to their feet and Sotiropoulous is dominanting standing, with Pellegrino just not able to pick out the left hook. Pellegrino tries to shake off the damage by shooting for a takedown but can't establish top control due to Sotiropoulos' excellent guard. Standing again, Sotiropoulos lands a nice knee to the head standing, with Pellegrino once again going for a takedown. Sotiropolous dominants from the bottom, controlling Pellegrino in his guard and throwing some viscious 6-12 elbows. At one point Sotiropoulos seemed to be going for a triangle but Pellegrino escaped.
Dominant round for Sotiropolous, who leads on my scorecards 10-9.
Round 2
Pellegrino throws a kick but Sotriopoulos catches it and gets the takedown. Sotriopoulos controlling on the top but Pellegrino is putting up a very good fight, keeping the Australian in half-guard and throwing some hard 6-12 elbows. Sotriopoulos really punishing Pellegrino with some superior ground and pound although Pellegrino is eventually able to get back to his feet. Pellegrino is caught in the clinch against the cage and the fight grinds to a halt as Sotriopoulos struggles for the takedown.
They eventually seperate and Pellegrino connects with a very nice knee but its still Sotiropolous' round 10-9. Pellegrino's corner agrees, telling their fighter that he needs the finish.
Round 3
Sotiropolous is pushing the action standing, working Pellegrino over with his jab. Pellegrino is obviously hurt and seems to be unable to get any power or speed in his punches. Pellegrino is staggered by a big left hook and he responded by taking Sotiropolous down. Sotriopolous throws some nasty 6-12 elbows, and is actively controlling Pellegrino with his full guard. Sotriopolous eventually traps Pellegrino in his rubber guard, which Pellegrino eventually escapes by getting to his feet and slamming Sotripolous. They get back to their feet and a heavy-breathing Sotripolous tries to wind down the clock by pushing Pellegrino into the cage. Pellegrino almost steals the fight at the end with a big knee that drops Sotriopolous but the buzzer sounds before he can finish.
That's probably enough to give Pellegrino the round but not the fight, I have it 29-28 for the Australian. The three judges have it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for George Sotriopolous.
George Sotriopolous wins by unanimous decision
