Event Title: UFC 95: Sanchez vs Stevenson
Event Date: 21 February 2009
Event Venue: O2 Arena
Event Location: London
Date submitted: 24 February 2009
Submitted by: Brian Elliot
In what was largely a night of fast and furious bouts in London, England, Diego Sanchez defeated Joe Stevenson via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 95. Sanchez won all three cards (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
The outcome - which means that Stevenson has lost three of his last four UFC bouts - was largely settled by Sanchez' speed, which allowed him to score points off consistent strikes to Stevenson's body and head. That particular facet of his game had been in question due to this being Sanchez' first bout since dropping down from the Welterweight division.
These advantages in quickness and dexterity were clear when Sanchez rocked Stevenson early on with an uppercut, and when he stuffed a takedown attempt, which looked positively pedestrian in comparison to Sanchez' sprawl. Even when Stevenson locked in his favored guillotine choke - albeit from a standing position - in the second round, the 27-year-old Californian was able to counter rapidly with a hard slam. An improved third round, in which he was the aggressor, was not enough to save Stevenson from the decision loss.
"It's my fault for anything that happened (in the match)," said Stevenson in the post-fight press conference. "I lost. I went into this fight reluctantly - Diego has been a friend for a while. But now I want a rematch; I want a second shot and not to leave it up to the judges. Now, I know what to expect."
Prior to the penultimate contest, Nottingham-born Dan Hardy received the biggest reaction of the entire evening - a stark contrast to that enjoyed by Rory Markham, at least somewhat caused by the Scottish bagpipe-theme that he entered to. There was justification for their fervent adoration in Hardy's performance, too, as he knocked Markham out with a left hook in what was almost the very first exchange of the bout. The official time was recorded at 1:09 of the first round.
"My intention was to draw him in to make mistakes," said Hardy. "He's an aggressive fighter who can put people to sleep. My intention was to keep him guessing, use fakes, and make him throw as he really commits to his punches. And that is what happened. I was expecting to knock him out with the right, actually, and the left hook followed on nicely."
In a bout that many had earmarked to decide the next challenger for Middleweight champion Anderson Silva's title, Nate Marquardt triumphed over Wilson Gouveia via TKO, at 3:10 at of the third round. The turning point of the contest was during the second round, when signs of fatigue began to show on Gouveia, and Marquardt punished him with several elbows on the ground, and some strong knees to the torso and head while standing. Then, in the third round, the Denver native delivered three consecutive high kicks, and then finished Gouveia with more strikes against the cage.
Moving up from the UFC-affiliated World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, Chael Sonnen was always going to have his work cut out against perhaps the premier grappler in all of the UFC, Demian Maia. His effort was valiant, however, until the Brazilian quite uniquely flipped him from against the cage to secure a mounted position, before effortlessly transitioning into a Triangle choke for the submission victory at 2:37 of the first round. After the bout, Maia also checked himself into the middleweight title hunt, requesting what would be a mouth-watering bout with the aforementioned Silva.
"If I have the chance, I want to fight for the title," Maia declared. "I deserve that fight. I feel prepared psychologically, physically, and technically."
In the first bout of the main card Paulo Thiago scored the most stunning upset in the Welterweight division since Matt Serra defeated Georges St Pierre in April 2007, as he knocked out perennial title contender Josh Koscheck after 3:29 of the first round.
Koscheck was stepping into the Octagon for the third time in four months, having stepped in at short notice to face Thiago Alves in October, and looked confident in throwing strikes in the formative moments of the match, but was soon caught with a right uppercut, before being finished by a rapid-fire left hook.
On the undercard, Terry Etim obliterated Brian Cobb (USA, 155lbs) with a barrage of kicks, on his way to a victory after just 10 seconds of the second round. Etim's leg kicks were his main weapons, and it was such a strike to Cobb's left leg that set up a left high kick to the chin, which floored "The Bandit". Several strikes on the ground then caused the referee to stop the contest.
Coming off his surprise victory over Fabricio Werdum, Junior dos Santos once again decided that attack was the best form of defence in his bout with the 6ft 11in Stefan Struve, attacking his opponent with punches at a pace that he simply couldn't handle. Though the Dutchman felt the stoppage was early, and made his complaints known to referee Dan Miragliotta, Dos Santos' shots were both a rapid and heavy, and warranted the conclusion at the 54-second mark.
UFC debutant Evan Dunham produced a sensational performance to defeat Sweden's Per Eklund via knockout after 2:14 of Round 1. Eklund, considered one of the top European fighters in the division, was badly rocked by a left hook, and when Dunham then attacked with punches on the ground, referee Marc Goddard quickly called a stop to the contest.
Famous for his ten-second knockout victory over James Thompson in 2007, the tide was unfortunately turned on home-countryman Neil Grove, as he succumbed to a heel hook from former IFL fighter Mike Ciesnolevicz in just 63 seconds of the first round.
The evening's action opened at a blistering pace, as Liverpool's Paul Kelly tore down the house with Troy Mandaloniz in a Welterweight contest. Mandaloniz - who was cornered by a fresh-faced BJ Penn - was cut badly over the left eye in the latter stages of round one, and then under the right in the second, but remained competitive before eventually being judged unanimously to have lost 30-27, 30-27, and 30-28.
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