They opened with soundbites by Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout hyping their fight. Stoud said Fisher will have in the back of his mind he already lost to him, so he's going to lose again. Fisher said Stout doesn't really want a rematch. "He wants to take that fight and go; I don't blame him." (The MMA Torch Prediction Crew unanimously picked Fisher earlier today.)
The UFC: Ultimate Fight Night 10 opening aired with headshots and highlights of the participants on the card.
Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan introduced the show. Goldberg talked up the lightweights. He said Stout and Fisher will be fighting to step up the ladder in the 155 pound division. Rogan called it a "great rematch." He explained that Fisher took the first match on short notice and had to lose 20 pounds and he was hydrated and weak and it showed. Goldberg said Dana White told Fisher he didn't have to go through with the fight, but with a "warrior spirit," Fisher refused to step away from the fight. Goldberg noted that Stout has been training with Randy "The Natural" Couture. They shifted to hyping Jon Fitch vs. Roan Carneiro fight.
After the first commercial, they showed Stout and Fisher backstage prepping for their fight later.
Andrew McFedries (Iowa) vs. Jordan Radev ( Bulgaria)
Middleweight Division
PRE-FIGHT HYPE: Radev touted his world class wrestling and punching power. He added that he didn't travel 11,000 miles to lose. McFederies talked about picking apart his opponents weaknesses during a fight and his goal is to make Radev panic and get scared. Clips aired of McFedries powerful punches and ability to absorb punishment in his previous three UFC fights. Ref: Jorge Alonzo.
ROUND ONE: McFedries landed some punches in the opening several seconds, threw a high kick that grazed over Radev's head, then knocked him down with another right. He followed with three solid rights to the chin and decisively knocked out Radev. The ref could have stepped in sooner, actually. That was two punches too many. Goldberg said: "That is why no one wants to spar with McFedries." They replayed the entire fight from a different angle; they've got two hours to fill. It was a better angle.
RESULT: McFedries via KO in 0:33.
POST-FIGHT: They cut to a commercial before raising McFedries arm. After the break, Radev was still surrounded by medics as they announced McFedries as the winner. They would have liked to have Radev back on his feet by this point to show he was okay. He had a big smile on his face. Rogan interviewed him. He said he's happy and it's time to party and "get crazy." He said he was trying to avoid a shoot-in and was lacadasical at the start, but he seized an opportunity to punch him when his chin presented itself. As he thanked the fans for turning out, a stretcher was brought into the ring to carry out Radev. This is one of those situations where it's clear why UFC wants to have control over production of their fights on HBO or anywhere, because an independent production covering the sport would be focused on Radev at this point and his condition. UFC prefers not to focus on fighters who are knocked out this long.
RAMIFICATIONS: McFedries looked powerful enough that he can be a draw on a PPV undercard to try for title consideration.
After another break, they panned the crowd, but not the octagon, and shifted into hype for the next fight.
"THE GRINDER" Chad Reiner vs. Anthony Johnson
Welterweight Division
PRE-FIGHT: Johnson came in on short notice. Reiner, a former Marine, said this fight is big because he's still looking for his first win. Johnson said he was brought in to be a pushover, but he's not. He's undefeated in three pro fights. Johnson said: "When I spank your ass and send you back home to mama, you'll be crying, sayin' you got whipped by a black man." Not sure if race is at all relevant to the situation. Johnson has a six inch reach advantage. Referee: Troy Waugh.
FIRST ROUND: They exchanged punches early, and Johnson got the best of them and knocked Reiner down and out after a left hook staggered him and a second left hook knocked him out cold. The medical crew were getting quite a workout. Johnson threw kisses to the crowd. He had reason to celebrate that upset win, especially taking the fight on short notice. The MMATorch prediction crew picked Reiner unanimously, which accentuates that this was a clear upset.
RESULT: Johnson via knockout at 0:13. That's two vicious, decisive knockouts in the first 30 minutes.
RAMIFICATIONS: Reiner said he had to win and the pressure was on. It might be the last UFC chance he gets for a while.
Jon Fitch (San Jose, Calif.) vs. Roan Carneiro (Brazil)
Welterweight Division
PRE-FIGHT: Fitch has won 12 straight after going 6-2 t start hsi fight career. Fitch has a potential title shot in his future, said Goldberg, but losing to Carneiro would derail that. Fitch said Carneiro probebly didn't do the research he needs to beat him. Goldberg touted Carneiro's jiujitsu credentials. Fitch said he'll find out what kind of heart Carneir has, and "if he has a big heart, I'll just take it." Goldberg called Fitch "one of the best unknown fighters in the world." Fitch said he's not content with decisions. Referee: Troy Waugh.
ROUND ONE: Rogan said on paper, this is Fitch's most difficult fight, and also his highest profile to date. Carneiro passed Fitch's guard and went for an anaconda choke, his favorite choke. Fitch struggled patiently to slip out of position, but he locked it on eventually. Fitch slipped out just as Rogan had practically called the fight for Carneiro - and deservedly so. Rogan said what saved him is that Carneiro couldn't roll him. Fitch looked like he was being completely controlled physically and he was just doing everything he could to resist and not go where Carneiro wanted him to go. They locked arms against the fence and struggled for position. Carneiro finally took Fitch down for the second time in the fight. Rogan touted that Carneiro was able to take a decorated wrestler down twice. He rather easily passed his guard again and went for an anaconda choke again with 35 seconds left in the round. Fitch knew he just had to wait it out, take the loss in the round, and try to come back for round two with a new strategy.
ROUND TWO: Both men looked fresh at the start. Fitch had a look of respect for the challenge he faced, though. Fitch landed some punches to drop Carneiro. Carneiro showed life and blocked with his hands and survived. Fitch then got Carneiro's back and began to punch the side of his head. He applied a sleeper on Carneiro who tapped out immediately, as he barely defended himself at that point, resigned to losing either due to exhaustion or being hurt badly from the punches he took. He also knew he had no escape once it was applied.
RESULT: Fitch at 1:07 of round two. Carneiro looked pretty bummed out during the result announcement.
POST-FIGHT: Rogan interviewed Fitch, who said this was his biggest win because this was his best opponent to date. He said his corner shouted for him to double up on the jabs because he was having trouble with his range, and he took their advice and it worked. Fitch came across as a really nice, genuine person in the post-fight interview.
STAR RATING (**+): Nice comeback by Fitch from near defeat in round one.
RAMIFICIATONS: Carneiro appeared to not show much heart at the end, but in reality he took some stiff blows, was bleeding, and was ready to clock out at that point. Not the kind "heart" that Dana White rewards with high profile fights. Fitch surviving and beating a tough opponent on paper moves him another step toward a PPV fight to earn a title shot.
Jason Black (Iowa) vs. Thiago Tavares (Brazil)
Lightweight Division
PRE-FIGHT: Goldberg hyped Black as an urban legend getting a long-awaited and much-deserved UFC debut. Tavares said that Black is "the old man of UFC" at 34 years old, whereas he is just 22. "He cannot fight with me. I will show him he needs to fight in the old man's division in the UFC." Black said he'll get his first win in UFC and deliver Tavares his first loss. Goldberg said hardcore MMA fans have been talking about Black for years. Tavares said if he takes him to the ground, he will choke him out. "How does he think he can win this fight?" Good promo from Tavares. Tavares has a 4.5 inch reach advantage. Referee: John McCarthy.
ROUND ONE: Black swung and missed. Ravares took him down. Black got side control, but then stepped back after a few seconds to take it back to stand-up. Tavares shot in and slipped behind him and went for a quick choke. Black rolled back onto his back to save himself. Goldberg said Black's full time job is as a railroad switcher in Iowa. Tavares got side control. Black got an arm triangle from underneath and that slowed Tavares, but he didn't have the leverage of his bodywent to control it long. Tavares went for a full mount, but Black slipped out. He almost put on a guillotine, but Black impressively slipped out. Tavares positioned Black into a full mount again and just schooled him with a wide variety of approaches, but Black continues to have an answer for him, but was clearly constantly on the defense at this point. Black couldn't let his guard down for a tenth of a second without having to deal with something new from Tavares. Rogan said Black's weight cut was so drastic, it was frightening. He said Joe Silva he looked like Abe Lincoln with rabbies. Rogan said that could have really weakened him, since he's used to fighting ten pounds heavier. Tavares, with one minute left, took punches on his back, but Black didn't come across as someone who hadn't taken punches before. Tavares stayed active until the round ended. Round goes easilyl to Tavares, who looked impressive until that final five percent needed to finish the fight.
ROUND TWO: After the break, they showed Black's badly swollen right eye. Rogan couldn't believe it wasn't tended to already. Tavares looked fresh and ready for round two while sitting in his corner. Rogan compared Tavares to Vitor Belfort in appearance. There is a resemblance, but they're hardly twins. Black caught Tavares's high kick attempt and dropped him, but didn't move in on him. Tavares then carried Black across the ring and slammed him hard to the mat. Rogan said he was getting dominated. At 1:30, Black managed to maneuver himself on top as he went for a kimura. Tavares looked worried for the first time in the fight. He looked to his corner for advice. Tavares relaxed and stayed calm at this point and slipped into guard. He then caught Black in a triangle choke and forced a tapout.
RESULT: Tavares at 2:49 of round two.
POST-FIGHT: Rogan praised Tavares for beautiful jiu jitsu and great striking technique in the fight. "He has just served notice," said Roga. He isn't exaggerating. Impressive overall performance to be sure. Tavares told Rogan after the fight, "I have just one question: Who's next." He's going to be a character to be sure. He just laughed with glee as he watched the replay of his win.
STAR RATING (***-): Very entertaining fight, as one-sided as it was most of the way.
They showed ref John McCarthy chatting with Stout backstage, then Fisher shadow boxing backstage. Rogan noted that Stout's big weakness has been his ground game, but training with Couture can help that. Rogan plugged the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards that he was part of. Highlights aired. Chuck Liddell and Bill Goldberg were among the celebrities. Oh, and Pee Wee Herman. They hyped that Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia would air for the first time on free TV tommorow night as a lead-in for the Guys Choice Awards. And by "free TV," they meant cable that you pay for. If you didn't see that fight yet, watch it. While it's probably slightly overrated as a quality fight if you know the outcome ahead of time, if you imagine not knowing the outcome, it's a blast.
After a commercial, the time-filling began at 10:20 p.m. with 40 minutes left and just one live fight, so they went to highlight clips of the previous televised fights. Rogan touted Fitch as a real threat in the 170 pound division, a threat to a variety of styles.
The hype began for Saturday afternoon's UFC 72: Victory. Surprisingly little hype during this show for that PPV. No in-depth fight previews or fighter profiles. It's a lost opportunity, frankly. Not that they should turn Fight Nights into infomercials, but there's a happy medium. Get viewers excited for Saturday's fights outside of the familiar commercial that's played over and over for weeks.
Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout (London, Ontario) vs. Spencer Fisher (Iowa)
PRE-FIGHT: More promos aired from Stout and Fisher. Stout said he plans to throw bombs and knock him out. Goldberg said their first fight, Stout's debut at UFC 58: USA vs Canada, was nominated for Fight of the Year. We got full ring intros with music for this fight, but none of the undercard matches. Stout punched himself several times hard enough in the face during intros to probably knock me out. During pre-match staredown, Fisher got on his tiptoes and smiled. Stout stayed all business.
FIRST ROUND: Stout, as he said he would, came out swinging. Rogan said Stout says he's twice the fighter he was the first time he took on Fisher. Fisher scored with some strong punches and Stout showed a strong chin. Early on it was reminiscent of Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin. Fisher landed hard punches througout the opening minutes, and Stout no-sold them. Great chin. Stout was right in there with some kicks and punches, too, but none landed like a dozen of Fisher's did. Fisher did suffer a cut near his left eye. Lots of blood poured out within a minute. Stout scored with a high roundkick to the left non-cut side of Fisher's face. With 13 seconds left in the round, Stout landed his best punch of the fight. Fisher fired back and ropped Stout to his knees, but Stout popped up and was ready to fight as the round ended. They slapped hands in acknowledgment of a great first round. I'd give it to Fisher for landing more punches, but if all you saw was Stout's offense in edited form, you'd think there was no way he could have lost the round because he landed so many kicks and enough punches himself.
ROUND TWO: Good opening minutes. Stout landed some inside roundhouse kicks. Fisher landed a knockout blow that Stout again no-sold like a water balloon hit him instead of a fist. Just amazing looking chin. Fisher was just super-quick and threw punches from such a variety of angles. Stout picked his spots more, but looked really good, too. Rogan said this was the best Fisher has ever looked. Goldberg said training with Jens Pulver has helped his fight game. Stout was countering really nicely, but Fisher was landing more often. Stout threw a combination with one minute left. He kept distance with thrust kicks to Fisher's gut, but Fisher then came right back at him. He went for a takedown at 4:30, but Stout resisted effectively. Again, round goes to Fisher, but very competitive and no one appeared close to finishing it.
ROUND THREE: Before the round Fisher's corner told him to take him down. Stout didn't sit between rounds. His corner told him not to get emotional with him and told him he was winning every exchange. Rogan said he disagreed strongly with that. Fisher landed a hard, hard left hand that sent Stout back a few steps, but again Stout appeared nonplused within a second. Fisher, though, was landing a lot and appeared the fresher fighter. Stout just couldn't do damage with his punches. Stout landed a left on Stout's chin twice in the third minute out of the round. Fisher got more aggressive and finally dropped Stout to his knees briefly with a right. Stout acknowledged it with a nod and kept fighting. Fisher could smell a win, but just at that point, he appeared winded for the first time in the fight. Rogan declared it a great fight with 1:00 left. The crowd cheered. Stout threw a flurry of punches, but Fisher just covered and absorbed them easily. Stout went for some high kicks, but didn't have enough on them. Fisher raised his arms in victory during the final exchanges. They immediately hugged afterward and raised each other's arms. That round also goes to Fisher, but Stout looked anything but bad.
RESULT: Fisher via judges' decision 30-27 across the board. Right call.
STAR RATING (****-): Excellent fight. Only downside, and it's barely a downside, is that there was no ground fighting or any drama of a sense that someone was ever near being knocked out. One of the best fights of the year.
POST-FIGHT: Rogan interviewed Fisher, who broke down and cried during the announcement. He said the fight should have been a draw, but he added he was happy to win including getting the winning purse to share with his family. He dedicated the fight to his grandparents. He said he expects there to be a third fight. Goldberg noted that he lost both of his parents at age 15, and his grandparents raised him.
RAMIFICATIONS: UFC has a money rematch for PPV. Stout lost nothing by not winning. Fisher gained something for sure with that impressive showing.
Source: www.mmatorch.com
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