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MAY 28, 2011
LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS, NEV.
AIRED ON PAY-PER-VIEW
As usual, I'll comment on the fights and also production and announcing related to the PPV broadcast. For a more detailed account of the blow-by-blow of the fights and another perspective, check out Jamie Penick's report elsewhere on the Main Listing.
1 -- JORGE SANTIAGO vs. BRIAN STANN -- Middleweight Fight
PRE-FIGHT: Lots of talk pre-fight about Santiago's return to UFC after not working hard enough and losing during his first stint? Rogan and Goldberg also talked about Stann, as a former Marine, being especially motivated to win on Memorial Day weekend?
ROUND ONE: Stann dominates the second half of the first after landing a punch to take Santiago down and then following up with several more.
ROUND TWO: Before the round begins, ref Herb Dean warns Santiago to close his fist when he punches to avoid eye-pokes? Santiago attempted a takedown, but Stann stuffed it? Santiago landed a spinning backlist, but Stann barely flinched. Santiago later went for a big flying knee, but missed. Rogan talked up Santiago's Japan fights to stress that he is better than he's looking here? Stann KO'd Santiago late with a punch that took Santiago down with a thud and several follow-up punches before Dean called for a stoppage at 4:29.
WINNER: Brian Stann at 4:29 via TKO.
POST-FIGHT: Rogan interviewed Stann in the Octagon afterward. He dedicated his win to the families who lost a soldier this week. Rogan asked about his steady improvement in technique since joining Greg Jackson's camp. Stann said it's tough to transition from Japan to UFC, and he thinks he'll be a good UFC fighter in the future. Gracious and nice. It prompted Mike Goldberg to break out "class act" very early tonight?
STAR RATING (**+): Good although largely one-sided. The spinning backlist and attempt at a flying knee were highlights for Santiago, but it was clear Stann didn't fear Santiago's power.
2 -- RICK STORY vs. THIAGO ALVES -- Welterweight Fight
ROUND ONE: Story controlled Alves against the fence the vast majority of the round? Some nice exchanges where both landed some punches? Story's corner told him "perfect" afterward. His trainer added: "We're not going to finish him in the second; we're going to finish him in the third. But get him ready for it"?
ROUND TWO: Alves takes Story down at 2:00, but Story wrestled his way to feet 30 seconds later and repositioned Alves against the fence. Rogan said he was taking a page out of Randy Couture's book? Rogan said at end of the round that desperation mode sets in for Alves, who is trying to keep his status as an elite welterweight after his loss to GSP?
ROUND THREE: Alves showed some life with a knee while being backed against the fence. Story held his ground, but Alves seemed to gain some confidence? At 4:10 Alves landed a knee while in the clinch and Story seemed to collapse in his arms briefly. Rogan and Goldberg agreed this would be an interesting five round fight, as Alves seemed to come on strong in the third, but not enough to offset losing the first two rounds. He really pushed hard in those closing seconds to give himself reason to stand proud in the end, but Story held up his end of things. Story approached Alves right afterward and they shook hands and smiled, knowing they had a good, competitive fight at the end?
WINNER: Rick Story 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. That makes sense, although some fans booed.
POST-FIGHT: Rogan interviewed Story as the boos continued. Story said he feels great and Alves is "tough as hell." He thanked his coaches for the gameplan and making work so hard to prepare? Story said he though Alves would be more prepared to block his takedowns? Rogan said, "You just moved up the ladder here tonight, kid." He said nothing but top contenders here on out. Story said that's what he was looking for?
IN ATTENDANCE: They showed Lil John and Warren Sapp in the crowd. Both were hamming it up.
PLUG: Ultimate Fighter Finale next Saturday night, with a push of Clay Guida in a featured match. Then a push for the June 11 Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos main event? Then in the fourth straight week, a plug for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix with a brief mention that it's live on Showtime, but without a Showtime logo on the screen. Goldberg noted that tickets are still available? It's going to be a busy four weeks, then a brief deep breath, and then July 4?
3 -- STEPHAN STRUVE vs. TRAVIS BROWNE -- Heavyweight Fight
PRE-FIGHT: The angle is Brown is undefeated and Struve is attempting to prove he belongs in the top tier of the division with a big win? Struve is 23, Brown 28. Struve is 6-11, Brown is 6-7. Struve outweighs Brown by only about ten pounds, though?
ROUND ONE: BrownE KO'd Struve at 4:08. Struve left himself wide open on an apparent set up for a knee or a kick, so Brown with lightning speed landed a Superman punch. Struve went down like a stack of Lincoln Logs. BrownE landed two hammer fists afterward before the ref could rush in to call it off. BrownE yelled barbarically a few times afterward in celebration? BrownE was aggressive from the start, but Struve hung in there until that final blow?
WINNER: Brown via KO at 4:11.
POST-FIGHT: Rogan interviewed Brown and said he trains to do that every day. Rogan said, after the slo-mo of the Superman punch: "It doesn't get any sweeter than that." Brown broke down in dedicating the fight to a Rick Martin in the crowd?
STAR RATING (**+) Almost all for the punch. Wow. What a perfectly timed and landed Superman punch. It helped that Struve was so tall that his collapse to the mat was just epic.
IN THE CROWD: Larry Fitzgerald and Brian Dawkins. I used to work at KFAN radio in the early 1990s with Larry's dad, Larry Sr., who was a sports talk show host long before Larry Jr. was a nationally known athlete. We were guests on each other's weekend shows at various times. Larry always landed the biggest national guests on his show at that time including Michael Jordan.
4 -- FRANK MIR vs. ROY NELSON -- Heavyweight Fight
PRE-FIGHT: The usual attention is paid to Nelson's unique physique. Rogan touted his conditioning going three rounds with Junior Dos Santos. He said his conditioning is actually good despite his body fat percentage. Rogan chuckled at Nelson coming out to Weird Al Yankovich's "I'm Fat" (a spoof of Michael Jackson's "Bad.")? UFC is now listing the fighters' Twitter accounts under their names during ring intros. Mir has 65,000 followers; Roy Nelson has 29,000 followers? Rogan said Mir has basically become a vegetarian and it's greatly improved his conditioning and ability to recover. Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, and Mac Danzig are vegetarians, and Kendall Grove at least tried going vegan but I"m not sure if he stuck with it. Rogan concluded, "A lot of fighters are resorting to that." Interesting use of the word "resorting" in that instance? Dan Hardy stood behind Nelson outside the Octagon cheering Nelson during ring intros? Nelson quickly offered a glove touch during ref instructions and there was no put-on animosity at all? Mir looked all business, though? Both men weighed in at 265. As Rogan noted, two "very different 265 pound bodies." Rogan said if Nelson changed his diet and got in decent shape, he could easily fight at 205?
ROUND ONE: Mir reversed position when Nelson shoved him against the cage early. Mir looked a little quicker and more effective early. Nelson again pushed him against the cage. If it was pro wrestling, I'd say they were calling the next spot? Mir threw a barrage of knees and punches against Nelson at 2:30. Nelson absorbed it as Mir smiled. As Goldberg noted, Nelson showed during the Dos Santos fight he can take a lot of punishment? Nelson landed a wild right, but then Mir ducked a second swing and then impressive judo tossed Nelson with a foot sweep. He moved to his back, but Nelson stood. Nelson shoved Mir against the fence again with 10 seconds left? Mir wins the round, but fun opening five minutes?
ROUND TWO: A minute in Mir ended up on top of Nelson on the mat in a loose half guard. Nelson gave up his back, but worked his way back to his feet by 1:45? At 3:30 both guys looked tired and moved back to center ring. They exchanged some punches and knees and kept at each other, with Nelson against shoving Mir against the cage? Rogan gave Nelson a hard time, saying he doesn't do himself a service by coming in with this much bodyfat. He said he's not a legitimate heavyweight, he's a light-heavyweight who loves food. It's not that he loves food. Vegetarians love food. It's his choice of food and quantity of food mixed with genetics. I bet Mir loves food as much as he ever did, he just chooses healthier options than Nelson? Another round to Mir, but it was less pretty? Nelson gasped for breath in his corner. Rogan said that tells everyone what they need to know about how this fight is going. His corner didn't have much to say to him, instead letting him just catch his breath?
ROUND THREE: Nelson was still gasping at the start of the round. They slapped hands and Mir smiled as they started the final round? Nelson looked like he was exhausted and had nothing left. His kicks were six inches off the ground and his punches were half-hearted? Mir took Nelson down on his back at 1:00. Rogan said he couldn't have been more wrong giving the grappling advantage to Nelson, noting that Mir has just dominated that aspect of the fight. Mir covered Nelson's mouth to thwart his breathing? Nelson's conditioning cheated the fans out of a good third round, although he was still resilient enough and Mir was tired enough pushing Nelson's weight around that Mir couldn't finish him? In the final minute MIr landed some heavy blows as he had Nelson on his back gasping for oxygen. Mir shifted to his back and Nelson stood again with 30 seconds left? I'm tempted to go 10-8 in that just because Nelson was so gassed, but Mir just didn't quite have the pace in his attack to justify it. But I could understand it since Nelson just had nothing left offensively, and just enough defensively to survive?
WINNER: Mir via judges' decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). So one of the judges did go 10-8. Nelson humorously raised his arms after the judges' scorecards were read as if his name was going to be announced. He was joking, of course.
STAR RATING (**): Dragged too much in the second half of the fight, but there was enough at stake and enough technique early to keep it above one-star in entertainment value and overall sense of relevance and something being learned by the fight - which is that Mir is a level above Nelson right now. MMATorch readers, in a poll we put up a few hours before the fight, picked Mir by a 52-48 margin, with 19 percent picking by decision, 18 percent predicting a Mir TKO, and 15 percent predicting a submission win for Mir.
POST-FIGHT: Mir told Rogan he punched Nelson a lot, but he's got a hell of a chin. Mir said he promised Rogan he wouldn't lose and he plans now to just keep getting better. He said he dreams of becoming champion again.
IN THE CROWD: Mike Judge and David Spade.
5 -- RAMPAGE JACKSON vs. MATT HAMILL -- Light-Heavyweight Fight.
PRE-FIGHT: Rogan said Hamill believes he's a superior grappler and has enough power to get Rampage's respect. Goldberg said Hamill wanted this fight and he and his camp feels they're ready for this. Rogan said the question is whether Rampage wants to do this anymore, and he's basically said as soon as acting pays more than MMA, he's gone. Rogan said that's not the best approach. He said the question about Rampage has been his training, not his effort once he's inside the Octagon? Rampage is just 32, Hamill is 34. Hamill has a three inch reach advantage. Rampage has a huge experience edge, but that also means more damage and wear and tear. Hamill is 11-2, Rampage is 31-8?
ROUND ONE: Rampage stuffed an early Hamill takedown attempt and then tried to land a couple punches, but Hamill backed off. Hamill threw a lot of kicks early aimed at Rampage's lead leg and body. Rampage looked to be picking his spots to land something big? Hamill tried several takedown attempts, but he forecast them enough that Rampage easily blocked them and then countered with punches. Rampage seemed to gain confidence as the round progressed? Rampage looked like he could have finished Hamill if he got aggressive and had 30 seconds more to work with?. Hamill's corner called for the cut man right away, but he was late getting to Hamill, which annoying his corner. Hamill had cut lip. Rampage had a cut above his right eye?
ROUND TWO: Hamill tried to come out aggressively with a head kick, but Rampage quickly fired back with punches that sent Hamill backward defensively? Rogan called Hamill's takedown attempts "sloppy"? Rogan said Hamill's only hope appears to be if Rampage slows down. That sounds about right? The crowd booed mid-round as both fighters began to Tito-Forrest-Round-3 it with a casual fight-not-to-lose approach? Rampage just showed no fear of Hamill at all. Hamill didn't even seem to be in Rampage's league and Rampage was just phoning in a win on points, almost bored with the process or on cruise control, as if he was also thinking about his post-fight nightclub plans. His corner pushed Rampage to finish him in round three?
ROUND THREE: More of the same, although even the fans lost their desire to put forth the effort to boo since the fight clearly wasn't going to change. Rogan said to sell himself for a UFC Light-Heavyweight Title fight, he needs to do more than breeze by Hamill, and that wasn't happening here? With 90 seconds left, Rogan and Goldberg guessed Rampage was taking a deep breath to ready himself for a big flurry at the end. That flurry didn't come. The boos rang out in the final 30 seconds. Rampage seemed to take Hamill's wind with a knee to the gut. Rampage threw a half dozen punches late, but Hamill clinched and looked up at the clock. Hamill dropped to the mat at the end as Rampage threw his arms up. Goldberg and Rogan gave Hamill credit for fighting all three rounds despite being discouraged with every takedown attempt and eating a lot of Rampage punches?
WINNER: Rampage Jackson via decision (30-27 by all three judges).
STAR RATING (*+): The starting point is one-star and this really never got far above that. Whatever bursts of offense Rampage showed were offset by stretches of boredom. Our MMATorch Poll put up a few hours before the fight card saw readers pick Rampage to win by TKO early (36%) or TKO late (25%), and by decision (13%), so in that respect Hamill did better than readers anticipated. Only 24 percent picked Hamill to win?
POST-FIGHT. Hamill looked dejected, but did shake hands with Rampage after the decision was read. Rogan interviewed Rampage who made a bug-eyed funny face and then said, "I didn't get taken down." He said he tried to take Hamill out, but he entered the right with a fractured hand but fought for the fans anyway. The crowd booed, as they always do when fighters offer up injury excuses. He said he tried to make it as exciting as he could, but Hamill was tough. He said he'd give himself a 5 out of 10. He said he wanted to try some new things, such as showing Rogan he could land some kicks. He said the first round at the bar is on him "only if you're a hot drill with double-Ds." The crowd continued to boo.
-PRELIM: They aired Gleison Tibau's win over Charle Oliveira from the prelims and the post-fight interview.
IN THE CROWD: Football players Sam Bradford, Marcedes Lewis, and Demarco Murray were shown.
-WRAP-UP: Rogan and Goldberg wrapped up the card and hyped next Saturday's free Ultimate Fighter Finale on Spike TV. Rogan said Nelson owes it to himself to get in better shape. He said Mir is a true heavyweight, whereas Nelson isn't. They did their best to spin positives from Rampage-Hamill such as Rogan noting Rampage's takedown defensive impressed him. Rampage limped backstage with an icepack on his fractured hand. Goldberg said Rampage is going to make another run at the title. Rampage vs. Jon Jones sounds like a fight that Rampage could get motivated for and it'd be a real test for Jones.
QUOTEBOOK
Joe Rogan on Jorge Santiago: "Like a lot of talented people, he didn't work hard."
Mike Goldberg on Jorge Santiago: "When asked about his return to UFC, he simply said, 'I'm home.'"
Joe Rogan on Roy Nelson: "People look at him and say, 'He's a professional athlete?' Hell, yeah. And he'll kick your ass."
Joe Rogan: "Conditioning, I give the edge to Frank Mir? If anything has been a problem with Roy Nelson's fight, it's quite frankly that Roy shows up for fights fat. That is his Achilles Heel."
Mike Goldberg on Roy Nelson: "He showed off his tremendous physique yesterday at the weight-ins." Rogan in response: "Tremendous is a good word."
Joe Rogan on Roy Nelson: "He's got at tremendous heart to go with that tremendous belly."
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