The highly-praised UFC 124: ST-PIERRE VS KOSCHECK trailer, set to Jay Z's "Run This Town", marked a significantly different creative marketing strategy than had previously been utilized by the UFC to promote their fights. In the past, the UFC had mostly used a straightforward approach with smacktalking sound bites.
This UFC 125: RESOLUTION trailer is the most outside the box ad perhaps ever created by the UFC. This is a bold commercial that is sure to be polarizing, some will love it and some will hate it, but either way the UFC should be commended for brining a new creative flavor to their advertising.
WEC 53: HENDERSON VS PETTIS was held Thursday December 16, 2010 at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona near Phoenix. This event marked the final show for World Extreme Cagefighting, which will now be merged with the UFC.
In the main event, Anthony "Showtime" Pettis won a unanimous decision over Ben "Smooth" Henderson to become the final WEC Lightweight Champion. Pettis is now the new number one contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship and will fight the winner of Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard (UFC 125) to unify the WEC and UFC 155-pound titles. Ben "Smooth" Henderson, who had been undefeated in the WEC, will also move on to become part of the UFC's lightweight roster, but his WEC run has ended on a down note with him losing his title.
In the final round of their 5-round war, Anthony Pettis landed one of the most impressive kicks in the history of MMA. Pettis pulled a move straight out of THE MATRIX by wall-walking up the cage and delivering a Tony Jaa-esque kick to the face of Ben Henderson, who somehow amazingly remained conscious. Pettis served up a perfect highlight reel spot for the UFC to loop endlessly when it comes time to promote Pettis against either Frankie Edgar or Gray Maynard in the lightweight title unification bout. Here's video of the amazing flying head kick!
In the co-main event, Dominick "Dominator" Cruz retained his WEC Bantamweight Championship with a clean sweep unanimous decision win over Scott "Young Guns" Jorgensen. With this victory, Cruz becomes the first-ever UFC Bantamweight Champion. The WEC 135-pound title will now be retired to Cruz's mantle place for the remainder of eternity. Cruz's first UFC bantamweight title defense will likely be against Urijah Faber, the only fighter who has beaten the 17-1 Cruz.
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone used a triangle choke to earn his way into the UFC lightweight ranks. Cerrone's victim, Chris "The Polish Hammer" Horodecki, fell to 2-2 in the WEC, so it's unclear as to whether or not he'll be offered a spot in the UFC's stacked 155-pound division. Horodecki seems more fit to compete in the featherweight division, so there's a good chance he might make it into the UFC based on the condition that he drops down to the less-crowded 145-pound division.
In the opening televised fight, Kamal "Price of Persia" Shalorus outpointed Bart "Bartimus" Palaszewski to keep his undefeated record intact. Shalorus slowed down significantly as the fight went on, but did enough damage early in the fight to be awarded the split decision victory. Palaszewski is an exciting fighter and he barely lost this fight, so hopefully he gets a chance to prove himself in the Octagon. Shalorus hits like a truck and has Olympic-caliber wrestling; his poor conditioning at 38 years old, however, could be the thing that holds him back from ever becoming a top contender in the UFC.
In the night's biggest upset, the babyfaced Daniel "Danny Boy" Downes scored a unanimous decision win over the previously undefeated Tiequan "The Mongolian Wolf" Zhang. This stunning upset left all of us on the Madman Roundtable red-faced with our predictions. Specifically, I might've wrote something along the lines of having never before been more confident in a WEC pick than I was in picking Zhang. Gulp. There were high hopes in the Zuffa organization for the Chinese fighter, as the company looks to expand their business into China. Those hopes have at least temporarily been derailed by the unlikeliest of fighters. As unbelievable as it sounds, it appears we're going to be seeing Danny Downes compete in the UFC after all. Time to eat my shoe.
Jamie Varner most likely tapped away his chances at a UFC return. Varner is now 0-3-1 in his last 4 fights and almost certainly will not be offered a UFC roster spot. Shane Roller, on the other hand, can pack his bags for a trip to the Octagon after submitting Varner with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their preliminary bout.
Brad "One Punch" Pickett welcomed Ivan "Pride of El Salvador" Menjivar back to the major leagues by handing the Salvadoran a decision loss. Menjivar fought in the UFC in 2004, but retired from the sport for two and a half years after losing back-to-back fights in 2006. Menjivar made a successful return to MMA in June 2010 in a minor league fight, but stumbled in his return to the big stage against Pickett. Given Menjivar's training ties to UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and the limited number of bantamweight fighters making the transition into the UFC, there's a strong possibility that Menjivar will still make the UFC roster despite this loss.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland scored an impressive KO slam on American Top Team fighter Ken Stone that was the last of a string of 3 straight knockout finishes on the WEC 53 undercard. Team Alpha Male fighter Danny "Last Call" Castillo scored the Quickest Win of the Night with a KO of Will Kerr in just 85 seconds. To kick off the succession of knockouts, WEC newcomer Yuri "Marajo" Alcantara put WEC vet Ricardo "The Bully" Lamas to sleep with punches. This time it was The Bully who got bullied. The lightweight Alcantara will now take his impressive 24-3 record into the UFC along with fellow 155-pound fighter Castillo and 135-pound fighter Wineland.
In the opening fight of the night, Renan Barao, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo's training partner, caught Chris "Kamikaze" Cariaso in a rear-naked choke for a first round submission victory. After losing in his MMA debut, Barao has now gone an amazing 26 fights without a loss. With two impressive WEC wins under his belt, Barao will be entering the UFC with a ton of momentum and could very well be a UFC Bantamweight Championship contender within his first year in the promotion.
This event marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new era with 135 and 145-pound fighters in the UFC. After nearly a decade, from the original WEC event in the summer of 2001 to this final WEC event in the winter of 2010, it's been one hell of a ride to say the least. Rarely has a WEC event ever been boring. I could go on and on, but I'll keep it simple by saying thanks for the memories, WEC!
WEC 53: HENDERSON VS PETTIS
{Lightweight Championship}
Anthony Pettis (13-1) won by UD over Ben Henderson (12-2)
[25:00] - 5 Rounds - (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
{Bantamweight Championship}
Dominick Cruz (17-1) won by UD over Scott Jorgensen (11-4)
[25:00] - 5 Rounds - (50-45 all)
Donald Cerrone (13-3) won by SUB over Chris Horodecki (16-3)
[7:43] - 2:43 Round 2 - triangle choke
Kamal Shalorus (7-0) won by SD over Bart Palaszewski (35-14)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Daniel Downes (7-1) won by UD over Tiequan Zhang (12-1)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Shane Roller (9-3) won by SUB over Jamie Varner (16-5)
[3:55] - Round 1 - rear-naked choke
Brad Pickett (20-5) won by UD over Ivan Menjivar (21-8)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (29-28 all)
Eddie Wineland (18-6) won by KO over Ken Stone (9-2)
[2:11] - Round 1 - slam
Danny Castillo (10-3) won by KO over Will Kerr (9-3)
[1:25] - Round 1 - punches
Yuri Alcantara (24-3) won by KO over Ricardo Lamas (9-2)
[3:26] - Round 1 - punches
Renan Barao (25-1) won by SUB over Chris Cariaso (10-2)
[3:47] - Round 1 - rear-naked choke
Updated MMA win-loss records with total fight time in brackets.
UD = Unanimous | SD = Split Decision | SUB = Submission
MADMAN AWARDS
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson
KO OF THE NIGHT: Eddie Wineland (slam) over Ken Stone
SUB OF THE NIGHT: Donald Cerrone (triangle choke) over Chris Horodecki
QUICKEST WIN: Danny Castillo over Will Kerr in 85 seconds
BIGGEST UPSET: Daniel Downes (+240) over Tiequan Zhang
Zuffa awarded bonuses for WEC 53: HENDERSON VS PETTIS in the amount of $10,000 each. After every event, UFC officials award performance-based payout bonuses to at least 4 fighters, which is in addition to their fighter purses or salaries.
Fight of the Night honors went to WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and former champ Ben Henderson for their back-and-forth 5-round main event battle. This was the final WEC event ever. The promotion is now being absorbed into the UFC. The promotion, fighters and fans couldn't have asked for a better fight to close out the show for the WEC. Pettis and Henderson put an exclamation point on what was a tremendous 53-show run for World Extreme Cagefighting.
Knockout of the Night went to Eddie Wineland for his KO slam of Ken Stone in their preliminary bout. Because 3 of the 4 televised fight went the distance, including both 5-round title fights, there wasn't enough time left to televise any of the undercard fights. Given this was the last WEC show ever, this event really should've been given a 3-hour time slot instead of the 2 hours it was given. A majority of the preliminary bouts ended with finishes, including 3 knockouts in a row. Danny Castillo and Yuri Alcantara also scored KO's along with Wineland.
Submission of the Night went to Shane Roller for his first round rear-naked choke tapout of former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner. Roller choked out Varner in the most high-profile undercard fight, however, due to time constraints, this fight was only witnessed by the live audience in attendance at the Jobing.com Arena. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone missed out on the submission bonus despite the fact that his fight aired as part of the main televised card. Cerrone submitted Chris Horodecki with a triangle choke. Renan Barao was also eligible for the bonus for his opening fight submission victory over Chris Cariaso.
OFFICIAL WEC 53 BONUSES
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Anthony Pettis vs. Ben Henderson
KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT: Eddie Wineland
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Shane Roller
All 4 of these fighters are now each $10,000 richer, on top of their WEC 53 contracted salary, thanks to their performances on December 16, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona.
Rulon Gardner, an Olympic Gold Medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Sydney 2000 Summer Games, has an MMA record of 1-0 with a victory over the legendary Hidehiko Yoshida, also an Olympic Gold Medalist (Judo).
Rulon Gardner weighed in at 295 pounds for his 2004 fight with Hidehiko Yoshida. Gardner weighed in at a whopping 474 pounds for Season 11 of THE BIGGEST LOSER on NBC. Gardner is profiled at the 1:57 mark in the above sneak peek trailer.
Below is video of the second round of Rulon Gardner vs. Hidehiko Yoshida from PRIDE Shockwave 2004.
The Fighters Only 2010 World MMA Awards were held Wednesday December 1, 2010 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event aired live on Versus.com and then re-aired on the Versus television network on December 9, 2010.
Randy Couture was given a special achievement award for Outstanding Contribution to MMA.
Here is a complete list of the winners and nominees:
NEMESIS FIGHTING: MMA GLOBAL INVASION was held Saturday December 11, 2010 at the Barceló Convention Center in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
In what should have been apparent since the announcement and then delay of this sketchy event, which was originally supposed to happen in mid-November, MMA Global Invasion ended up being a complete clusterf-ck.
According to MMA Weekly, all of the fighters' checks have bounced, so no one who fought on this show has been paid. The contracted pay was said to be well above average, which speaks to the old adage about things being too good to be true for a reason.
In his blog, co-main event fighter Paul Buentello explained the situation that the fighters encountered when they arrived at the event in the Dominican Republic. Buentello said there was no athletic commission, no legitimate ringside doctors, and no timekeepers. Dodson-Moraga ended up going 7 (!) minutes over the 15-minute time limit due to inept timekeeping.
According to a Sherdog thread, two of the three judges were drinking alcohol and got increasing drunk and rowdy as the night went on. None of the judges could be seen writing down scores for any rounds. The promotion didn't even have enough gloves for all the fighters, so fighters scheduled later on the card had to wait for fighters from earlier on the card to be done competing, so they could use their worn gloves.
More details are sure to emerge this week about this fiasco, as the participating fighters tell their stories to the MMA media. Given the complete lack of professionalism and perhaps criminalism shown by the Nemesis Fighting promoters and their crew in the Dominican Republic, the legitimacy of the results is sure to be questioned. The fighters, however, showed up and did their part.
NEMESIS FIGHTING: MMA GLOBAL INVASION
Keith Jardine (16-9) won by UD over Francisco France (6-2)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds
Paul Buentello (29-13) won by UD over Kerry Schall (23-12)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds
Isaac Vallie-Flagg (10-3) won by KO over Alejandro Villalobos (8-3)
Round 3 - punches
Eliot Marshall (10-2) won by SUB over Chris McNally (4-4)
Round 1 - armbar
Terry Martin (21-8) won by TKO over Josh Martin (6-6)
[1:27] - Round 1 - punches
Chaun Sims (3-1) won by SUB over Oscar Sosa (5-1)
Round 3 - armbar
John Dodson (11-5) won by UD over John Moraga (6-1)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds
Mike Nickels (9-4) won by SUB over Kyle Seals (6-3)
Round 1 - armbar
Jose Tezanos (4-1) won by UD over Travis Marx (15-3)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds
Updated MMA win-loss records with total fight time in brackets.
UFC 125: RESOLUTION will be held New Year's Day, January 1, 2011 and will air on PPV. The main event features Frankie "The Answer" Edgar defending his UFC Lightweight Championship against undefeated Gray "The Bully" Maynard, the only fighter with a win over Edgar. The co-main event features a middleweight fight between Chris "The Crippler" Leben and former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian "All-American" Stann. The main card also features a showdown between light heavyweight Muay Thai specialists Thiago Silva and Brandon "The Truth" Vera, a welterweight bout between Stockton bad boy Nate Diaz and undefeated Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim, and a lightweight scrap between frenzied fighters Clay "The Carpenter" Guida and Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi.
UFC 124: ST-PIERRE VS KOSCHECK II was held Saturday December 11, 2010 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The main card aired live on PPV.
In the main event, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre continued his streak of winning every single round in every single fight since his first victory over Josh "Kos" Koscheck. While Koscheck was able to win 1 of 3 rounds against St. Pierre the first time around at UFC 74, this time he lost 5 of 5 rounds. St. Pierre used a persistent jab to swell up Koscheck's right eye, possibly breaking his orbital bone, and win a clean sweep unanimous decision.
In the co-main event, Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve answered Sean "Big Sexy" McCorkle's pre-fight trash talking with a first round TKO victory. McCorkle threatened Struve early with a kimura, but Struve was able to sweep McCorkle, mount him and rain down punches until the referee stepped in to stop the fight. UFC announcer Mike Goldberg confirmed this was officially the tallest fight in UFC history with Struve at 6'11" and McCorkle at 6'7".
Jim Miller improved his UFC record to a stellar 8-1 with a submission win over submission wizard Charles "Do Bronx" Oliveira. The veteran Miller turned the tables on Oliveira, using a kneebar to force the young fighter to tapout for his first career loss.
In only the third match-up ever of The Ultimate Fighter winners, TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig secured his UFC roster spot with an impressive knockout of TUF 3 winner Joe "Daddy" Stevenson. Danzig had lost 4 out of his last 5 fights and was facing UFC expulsion with another loss. Now Stevenson has lost 4 out of his last 6 fights and faces a similar fate. If Stevenson is not released from the UFC for this loss, he most certainly will be if he gets another chance and loses in his next fight.
Thiago "Pitbull" Alves and John "Doomsday" Howard opened the PPV with an exciting striking contest. Alves won by unanimous decision, but Howard showed a great deal of courage by hanging in there despite being overmatched by Alves. Howard has now lost back-to-back fights, but should get another Octagon bout considering he started his career 4-0 in the UFC and put on a good performance in this fight.
Two fights aired live on UFC.com in the hour preceding the PPV. Dan Miller and Joe "El Dirte" Doerksen engaged in a competitive 3-round fight that saw both guys with the upper hand at different points. In the end, Miller was awarded the split decision. Mark Bocek submitted Dustin "McLovin" Hazelett in the first round. Hazelett dropped down to lightweight for the first time in the UFC for this fight, but has now lost 3 straight fights in the UFC and will likely be released.
Sean Pierson and Matthew Riddle went to war in their preliminary bout. Although the final scorecards all read 30-27 in favor of Pierson, Riddle never stopped coming forward. Pierson was the more accurate striker, but both fighters left it all in the Octagon.
The undercard fight between Rafael "Sapo" Natal and Jesse "Water" Bongfeldt was controversially ruled a majority draw. Most observers and one judge saw the fight for Natal, however, two judges ruled the fight a draw, so a draw it will be in the record books.
In the first two fights of the night, John "The Bull" Makdessi and Ricardo "Big Dog" Almeida scored unanimous decision wins over Pat "Awesomely Awesome" Audinwood and T.J. Grant, respectively. Audinwood and Grant are now both in danger of being cut from the UFC with these losses.
UFC 124: ST-PIERRE VS KOSCHECK 2
{Welterweight Championship}
Georges St. Pierre (21-2) won by UD over Josh Koscheck (15-5)
[25:00] - 5 Rounds - (50-45 all)
Stefan Struve (21-4) won by TKO over Sean McCorkle (10-1)
[3:55] - Round 1 - punches
Jim Miller (19-2) won by SUB over Charles Oliveira (14-1)
[1:59] - Round 1 - kneebar
Mac Danzig (20-8) won by KO over Joe Stevenson (31-12)
[1:54] - Round 1 - punch
Thiago Alves (18-7) won by UD over John Howard (14-6)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (30-27 all)
Dan Miller (13-4) won by SD over Joe Doerksen (46-14)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Mark Bocek (9-3) won by SUB over Dustin Hazelett (12-7)
[2:33] - Round 1 - triangle choke
Rafael Natal (12-3-1) and Jesse Bongfeldt (21-7-1) ruled DRAW
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (29-28, 28-28, 28-28 - Majority Draw)
Sean Pierson (11-4) won by UD over Matthew Riddle (5-2)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (30-27 all)
Ricardo Almeida (13-4) won by UD over TJ Grant (16-5)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (30-27 all)
John Makdessi (8-0) won by UD over Pat Audinwood (9-2)
[15:00] - 3 Rounds - (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Updated MMA win-loss records with total fight time in brackets.
UD = Unanimous | SD = Split Decision | SUB = Submission
MADMAN AWARDS
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Sean Pierson vs. Matthew Riddle
KO OF THE NIGHT: Mac Danzig over Joe Stevenson
SUB OF THE NIGHT: Jim Miller (kneebar) over Charles Oliveira
QUICKEST WIN: Mac Danzig over Joe Stevenson in 114 seconds
BIGGEST UPSET: Mac Danzig (+235) over Joe Stevenson
12/11/10 - The UFC awarded bonuses for UFC 124: ST-PIERRE VS KOSCHECK 2 in the amount of $100,000 each, with 2 fighters getting $50,000 each due to splitting the Submission of the Night bonus. After every event, UFC officials award performance-based payout bonuses to at least 4 fighters, on top of their original salaries.
Fight of the Night was decided by the fans for the first time. The UFC polled the fans after UFC 124 via phone and the internet, and the main event fighters, Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck, were awarded Fight of the Night. At the UFC 124 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White said he disagreed with the fans' choice. White said he believed Sean Pierson and Matthew Riddle should have won the honor and the $100,000 prizes for their undercard fight that aired on tape delay during the PPV. White went so far as to joke to St. Pierre that he owes $100,000 to his training partner and good friend Pierson. In a more serious tone, White said Pierson and Riddle would be "taken care of," meaning they will be given private bonuses for their spirited 3-round preliminary card battle. White also said that this was the last time the fans will vote on Fight of the Night because "they blew it."
Knockout of the Night went to Mac Danzig for his faceplant knockout of Joe Stevenson. As Danzig was stepping backward, he landed a perfect left hand to the jaw of Stevenson, who immediately fell face first to the ground. Danzig had lost 4 out of his last 5 fights and was literally fighting for his UFC roster spot. Not only did Danzig save his job, he pocketed a cool hundred grand with a beautiful KO of Stevenson.
Submission of the Night was split between Jim Miller and Mark Bocek, with each fighter receiving $50,000. Miller scored an impressive kneebar submission win over Charles Oliveira, who himself was coming off back-to-back Submission of the Night honors in his first two UFC fights. Bocek locked up a triangle choke on Dustin Hazelett for the other half of the bonus. Like Oliveira, Hazelett had himself also previously won two Submission of the Night honors. Miller and Bocek were the only two fighters on the UFC 124 card to score submission victories.
OFFICIAL UFC 124 BONUSES
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT: Mac Danzig
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Jim Miller
SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT: Mark Bocek
Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck and Mac Danzig are each $100,000 richer, and Jim Miller and Mark Bocek are each $50,000 richer, all thanks to their UFC 124 performances on December 10, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
