Photo by Ken Pishna via MMA Weekly

View full size photo »

Amir Sadollah took a unanimous decision over MMA legend Phil Baroni at UFC 106.

Two generations of MMA met in the opening bout of the PPV. Phil Baroni, a one-time star of the UFC's dark ages when few pay-per-views were sold, faced Amir Sadollah a product of The Ultimate Fighter show that brought the UFC to mainstream popularity.

In the first round, Baroni came out swinging, catching Sadollah with a hard right hand but was failed to drop Sadollah in the critical first exchange. In the clinch, he caught Sadollah with repeated hard uppercuts that snapped the younger fighter's head back. But Sadollah answered with knees to the head and body.

With 2:33 left in the first. Baroni got a take down and attempted to batter Sadollah on the ground. But, stymied, he let Sadollah up with 1:45 left in the round. The two traded up against the fence with Baroni getting cut by a combination of punches and knees. At the end of the first round Baroni was a bloody mess.

Between rounds, Baroni's coach Javier Mendez shouted at his fighter to avoid the clinch and stay in boxing range. But less than a minute into the second round. Baroni found himself backed up to the cage, eating knees and punches. But Baroni was game and punched Sadollah back. Sadollah answered with straight kicks and quickly found his way back to the clinch. Half-way through the round, a visibly tired Baroni was eating punches, knees and kicks and answering with visibly weaker punches. A straight kick, flying knee combination at the 1:40 mark hurt Baroni.

After the second round, Mendez told Baroni that he had to "take him out" to get the win. Sadollah's corner instructed him to "keep f**king kicking him". Sadollah followed the advice immediately with leg kicks and straight kicks. He followed up with brutal elbows to the face up against the fence, cutting Baroni's forehead badly. Sadollah buckled Baroni with brutal series of strikes, but Baroni hung on gamely. to survive the fight.

Photo by Ken Pishna via MMA Weekly

View full size photo »

In a battle of boxing vs Muay Thai, the sweet science came up short as the 6'3" Ben Saunders used his length and powerful knees to make short work of boxer Marcus Davis.

Both fighters were coming in off a loss, Davis dropping a decision to #1 welterweight contender Dan Hardy and Saunders being beaten out by Mike Swick.

In the first, Saunders found himself forced against the cage by the smaller Davis. The first time they clinched up, Davis fired off a barrage of uppercuts, but quickly found himself eating knees from the taller Saunders. By the mid-way mark of the first, Davis' face was bloodied and battered. A minute later, Davis was on the wrong end of a brutal series of knees and flat on his back and out cold.

Photo by Ken Pishna via MMA Weekly

View full size photo »

In the first fight of Spike TV's live undercard broadcast, Rosholt, the decorated wrestler came out early shooting for the takedown. He got Grove down early, but being in Grove's guard proved to be a dangerous place to be as Da Spyder earned his nick name by trapping Rosholt's arm and forcing the tap out by triangle choke with 3:59 left in the first round.

Rosholt had escaped from a poor position only moments earlier when Grove got a take down and forced the wrestler onto his back. Cracking Grove with a left, Rosholt shot for another take down and briefly had mount position on the lanky Grove.

But the Hawaiian was able to quickly reverse fortunes by grabbing onto the Oklahoman's wrist and working first for an arm bar and then locking in a triangle choke and getting the tap out.

This is a major step back for the highly touted blue chip wrestler and a big step towards redemption for Grove, a former The Ultimate Fighter winner.

View full size photo »

As with every major show, BloodyElbow.com will be here to bring you live results and commentary for Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley v. Bears.  The live blog will start with the beginning of the Showtime broadcast (at 11PM ET) so make sure to make Bloody Elbow your home for this event.

As always we have our one rule: NO SPOILERS! In the interest of not ruining anything from the undercard that may make the broadcast we ask that you do not discuss the results of the undercard in the comments until either the broadcast ends or the fight makes the air.

So again, join us for the show and share your thoughts as the event unfolds.

The broadcast is live, first fight up shortly.

Kevin Casey vs. Chad Vance - Round 1 - Casey says he is all and only BJJ and he closes the distance quickly.  They are grappling and Vance is way too hesitant to pull the trigger on his strikes and they tumble to the mat.  Casey quickly takes Vance's back and is working to punch and work for the choke.  It's in and Vance has to tap.  Kevin Casey wins by submission (rear naked choke), round 1.

Aaron Rosa vs. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante - Round 1- Rosa comes forward with combination punching but Feijao clinches him and pushes him against the cage.  Feijao uses a nice trip to get to the ground and Rosa stands right back up but does eat punches on his way.  The ref restarts them after a lack of action and Rosa lands a punch and again they clinch against the cage.  The round ends and I guess it was 10-9 Feijao, but it was a snoozer.  Round 2 - Rosa with a leg kick.  Rosa with an overhand left.  They clinch up again and Rosa pushes him away.  Overhand right and a flying knee to the body by Feijao.  How he gets Rosa to the ground.  Some punches and Rosa gets full guard.  Elbow by Feijao which is illegal in Strikeforce, they're stood up due to the foul.  Feijao lands a knee that hurts Rosa and puts him down followed by a flurry of punches and the fight is over.  Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante wins by TKO (strikes), round 2.

Bobby Voelker vs. Erik Apple - Round 1 - Apple drops him with a series of punches early and keeps pounding but Voelker survives well and they go back to standing.  As Voelker pushes off he eats another punch.  Now Apple charges and pushes Voelker against the fence again.  Overhand right by Apple and they separate.  Voelker lands a punch of his own and then eats another.  Now Apple charges in for the takedown and ends up in Voelker's half guard.  Voelker scrambles and stands up.  They're exchanging shots and Apple is hurt, he dives for a takedown and doesn't get it but does recover.  They clinch against the cage and Voelker uses a trip takedown to end up on top.  Voelker landing some big shots now!  Big turnaround.  The round ends and Voelker stole it in the last minute with the longest sustained offense of the fight.  10-9 Voelker on the BE card.  Round 2 - They're trading big shots and Voelker is getting the best of it and hurts Apple a little bit.  Trip takedown by Voelker again to end up on top.  Apple eats more shots as he stands back up.  Voelker hurts him with a shot and pounces with a flurry of shots!  The fight is over!   Great comeback for Voelker.  Wow!  Bobby Voelker wins by TKO (punches), round 2.

Kim Couture vs. Kerry Vera - Round 1 - Kim lands a right and then Kerry blasts her with a series of shots.  Vera with a knee early.  Another knee lands hard.  Jab by Couture.  Couture eats a few more punches as she charges in.  Vera lands a series of hard shots now and she is dominating the round.  Kim with a right hand.  Jab by Couture again.  Big hook connects for Vera now.   Vera unloads on Couture against the cage and Couture is rocked and almost goes down a few times before finally crumbling.  Kerry Vera wins by KO, round 1.

Tyron Woodley vs. Rudy Bears - Round 1- They're striking and Woodley gets in close and gets the quick takedown.  Woodley with a move to full mount.  Bears is looking to scramble out and does so without really taking any damage.  Woodley with knees from the clinch.  High kick by Bears is blocked.  Woodley takes him back down.  Woodley looking for an arm triangle from half guard, he jumps to side control and finishes the submission.  Tyron Woodley wins by submission (arm triangle choke), round 1.

UFC 106's main event light heavyweight tilt will feature the return of what many consider to be one of the most influential fighters among the casual fanbase the UFC has ever produced. Tito Ortiz (15-6-1, 14-6-1 UFC) will finally make his return to the ranks of the UFC following a year-and-a-half layoff due to a contract dispute, free agency talks with other promotions, an appearance on The Apprentice, and back surgery. His return match-up will be a rematch of his  controversial split decision victory over Forrest Griffin (16-6, 7-4 UFC) back at UFC 59. Ortiz will not only get the opportunity to prove that he's finally back to 100% healthy for this fight, but he'll also be thrown into the mix immediately with the chance to redeem himself of his past loss.

Ortiz will enter this contest riding a 0-2-1 record in his last three appearances in the Octagon. His loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 was easily his worst performance of the three encounters, but many fans still give Ortiz credit for nearly submitting Machida in a triangle choke late in the fight. Ortiz's draw with Rashad Evans, another eventual champion, was mostly blamed on the fact that Ortiz grabbed the fence at one instance during the fight while fending off a takedown. He was deducted a point, and thus the fight was ruled a draw.

Ortiz has blamed the lackluster performances on an ailing back that has bothered him for a number of years and taken the wind out of his sails in terms of explosiveness in his wrestling ability. While it's a debate among some fans whether Ortiz is simply making excuses for his losses, Ortiz did have back surgery to repair his back and has mentioned that it will be at 100% for his bout with Forrest Griffin.

He's also taken it upon himself to improve his skill-set from its mostly one-dimensional form of takedowns and ground and pound to a much more dynamic skill-set in which he can be dangerous in different areas. He trained with Cleber Luciano, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Judo, for this fight. You may remember Luciano as one of Christiane "Cyborg" Santos' trainers. Ortiz also employed the services of famous boxing trainer Freddie Roach to improve his techniques in the boxing department for this fight.

Continue reading this post »

With UFC 106 looming on Saturday evening, many fans will be itching for some relevant MMA action to get them in the mood for the big event tomorrow. Fortunately for us, Strikeforce has come through to fill your need. The fifth installment of Strikeforce's Challengers series (ShoMMA) will take place this evening from the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, and it will air live on Showtime at 11 PM EST (Delayed on the West Coast).

The card will be headlined by a welterweight bout between Missouri wrestling standout and two-time NCAA D-I All-American Tyron Woodley and Kansas City-native and Chinese Kenpo black belt Rudy Bears. Also featured on the card will be a women's bout featuring the same names as the main event from UFC 105. Brandon Vera's wife, Kerry Vera, will battle Randy Couture's former wife, Kim Couture, in a 135 lb. women's division contest. It will only be Vera's second fight and Couture's third fight professionally. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante will also make his return against Aaron Rosa on this card.

 
Welterweight: Tyron Woodley (5-0) vs. Rudy Bears (10-3)

Woodley's NCAA credentials should be the deciding factor in this fight. He has the ability to be a dominating force on the floor, and his submission game is good enough to get him through some of the lower-echelon fights at this stage in his career. There was some criticism of Woodley in the Zach Light fight as Light gave up some pretty bad positions in the first round, and Woodley was unable to sink in submissions that were there for the taking. Regardless of those faults, Woodley is still a rather green competitor who should hopefully show some improvement in this bout.

Bears has a solid Brazilian jiu-jitsu background coupled with the accolades of being a kickboxer who has won regional ISKA events and titles. He'll be looking to pummel Woodley with strikes early, but he should be adept enough to ward off some attempts by Woodley on the ground. The problem is that Woodley's strength and wrestling should be able overcome Bears' jiu-jitsu tactics on his way to a dominating victory. Tyron Woodley should improve his record to 6-0 in this contest.

Women's Division (135 lbs.): Kim Couture (1-1) vs. Kerry Vera (1-0)

I'm really not sure what to say about this fight. Kim Couture looked absolutely awful against both Kim Rose and Lina Kvokov in her previous professional bouts. She actually broke her jaw in half in one of those match-ups and was commended for her toughness. While she definitely showed she was a tough competitor, a jaw breakage doesn't inspire confidence in anyone thinking she'll win against an adept puncher like Vera.

Kerry's debut against Leslie Smith was quite impressive in comparison to that of Couture's debut. She was very quick with her feet, throwing quick lefts and rights and mixing overhands, some decent kicks, and good technique in her delivery. While she didn't show tremendous power, she did manage to land significantly more than her opponent.

Kerry should take this via decision and batter Kim Couture with punches. I don't see how Couture can handle Vera's speed unless she's improved substantially over the last year.

SBN coverage of Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears

Continue reading this post »

One of the highly-anticipated battles that will take place at UFC 106 will be a welterweight showdown between rising star Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-2, 5-2 UFC) and UFC veteran and The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 contestant Josh Koscheck (13-4, 11-4 UFC). The bout will feature the Sanshou striking prowess and wrestling of Johnson versus Koscheck's NCAA Division I wrestling pedigree combined with a newfound powerful striking game, a recipe for fireworks. Johnson enters the contest with three straight victories with his most recent coming only a month ago at UFC 104 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Koscheck crushed Frank Trigg in his last outing at UFC 103 in only 1:25 via TKO.

On paper, this is a pretty even match-up with Johnson's striking background and training with Sanshou expert Cung Le as his distinct advantage in the stand-up department. There is, however, a huge disparity in their perceived wrestling ability. Johnson was a national champion in college at Lassen Community College while Koscheck was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American with one NCAA title at Edinboro University. On paper, Koscheck obviously has a huge edge in terms of wrestling talent over his competition.

Unfortunately for Koscheck, MMA has a strange way of making these wide gaps in backgrounds become less of an issue due to the striking aspect of the sport. Johnson's length and strikes could make it a difficult task for Koscheck to explode for takedowns, but if Koscheck can manage to pull down Johnson -- he should be able to win the ground war with his better wrestling skills. If Johnson can tag him with strikes before that happens, Koscheck may be hindered from shooting to avoid that type of damage, which would completely nullify Koscheck's offense.

Johnson does have some physical gifts that will pose problems for Koscheck in a scramble for takedowns however. He cuts down heavily from around 185-195 while walking around well over 200 pounds. At fight time, he'll likely balloon to 180-190, and Koscheck will have to deal with that added wieght and the length of Johnson. After all, Johnson is nearly 4" taller than Koscheck.

Koscheck's heavy-handed striking ability will probably be nullified by Johnson's reach and kicks. He has a lot of power, and it'll be a huge mistake for Koscheck to try to wade through his reach to pummel his chin. It wouldn't surprise me if he tried though, but I think Koscheck's ultimate means to win this fight come in his conditioning and wrestling.

Continue reading this post »

The sport of mixed martial arts definitely takes some aspects of its inner workings from the pro wrestling world. Fighters playing the role of "heel" in the lead-up to fights, but then hugging each other after a three-round war is a frequent occurrence in this sport, and the back-and-forth jawing between competitors within the MMA community and through the media is always a way to create a little hype for an upcoming bout. One of the absolute best in the business in terms of showmanship and being able to trash-talk his way into relevance is PRIDE and UFC veteran Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni (13-11, 3-5 UFC). He'll get one more crack in the UFC as he's tapped to take on The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah (1-1, 1-1 UFC) in a welterweight match-up.

Baroni enters the contest following a loss to fellow UFC veteran Joe "Diesel" Riggs back in June at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Riggs was able to easily outwork Baroni in the later rounds, and his stand-up skills were much more honed than that of "The New York Badass". Baroni did, however, show some slightly improved conditioning, and he may have potentially tipped off a slight change in his workout routine that could benefit him in this match-up.

Sadollah's second professional bout took place at UFC 101 against a beefy NCAA D-I wrestler in Johny Hendricks. Surprisingly, Hendricks showed quick, powerful striking to down Sadollah early and finish him off in only 0:29 seconds. It was a huge disappointment for Sadollah, but he's a rather green mixed martial arts fighter at this point with only two total professional bouts, both being on the biggest stage in MMA.

Stylistically, Sadollah has all the advantages with the exception of power punching. He holds a black belt in Sambo, which gives him some advanced submission capabilities, and he also has a white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a color that will probably increase quickly with his experience in Sambo. He trains at Xtreme Couture with some of the best athletes in the sport, and he should be the all-around better fighter.

Continue reading this post »