UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans Results: Jones Topples Evans

UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans

Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia

– Facebook Prelims

Marcus Brimage over Maximo Blanco via split decision

Chris Clements over Keith Wisniewski via split decision

– FX Prelims

Mac Danzig (TUF 6 Winner) over Efrain Escudero (TUF 8 Winner) via unanimous decision

Anthony Njokuani over John Makdessi via unanimous decision

Matt “Immortal” Brown over Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision

Travis Browne over Chad Griggs via submission by arm triangle in Round 1

– Pay-Per-View Main Card

Mark Bocek defeated John Alessio via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28): The story of the fight was Mark Bocek implementing his game plan with superior wrestling and solid ground and pound in the first two rounds. Alessio picked up the pace in the third with some effective punches but Bocek’s grappling was just too much. One judge scored the third round for Alessio.

Eddie Yagin defeated Mark Hominick via split decision (29-28 across the board): First round saw Yagin drop Hominick with a right uppercut and connected with a left hook on the way down and landed some vicious ground and pound that produced a cut on Hominick’s left eye. Hominick got back up and connected with some body shots while Yagin was swinging for the fences. Yagin dropped Hominick in the second round with a right hook and landed some vicious shots to Hominick’s left eye. Hominick got back up and they engaged in the center of the cage where Hominick landed a solid shot to Yagin’s nose which is caused a lot of blood to pour out. It appears he is having a hard time breathing. The third round was the Mark Hominick show as he found his range and picked him apart with his superior striking while using good head movement to avoid Yagin’s wild clothesline haymakers. I scored it for Hominick but it could have gone either way as the second round was the difference-maker.

Michael McDonald defeated Miguel Torres via KO @ 3:18 of the 1st Round: McDonald pushed the pace by overwhelming Torres with strikes until he landed a vicious left hook that knocked the former bantamweight champion out and hit him with three more punches to seal the deal.

– They skipped entrances for the first three fights since there are six fights including a title fight.

Ben Rothwell defeated Brendan Schaub via TKO @ 1:10 of the 1st Round: Schaub went in for the kill right away as both fighters got into a wild firefight with neither man backing down. Rothwell connected with a right hook that knocked Schaub down and out. Post-fight interview Rothwell thanked the fans and said he would be nothing if it wasn’t for them.

Rory MacDonald defeated Che Mills via TKO @ 2:20 of the 2nd round: Rory MacDonald just obliterated Mills with strikes on the ground in the 1st round and Mills ended up with a bloody face and a busted cheekbone. The second round told the same story with MacDonald taking down Mills and taking his back to finish him with some vicious punches. This was hyped as MacDonald’s coming out party and he delivered in spades as Mills never had a chance.

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans:

Round 1: Jones kept Evans at bay by mixing up his strikes and used his reach to his advantage. Evans rocked Jones with a partially blocked right head kick with 17 seconds left in the round and attacked with caution and Jones caught him with a punch to the mouth right when the bell rang.

Round 2: Jones stayed in Evans’ range while they exchanged well-placed strikes. Jones connected with an overhand right and Evans walked away and make an ass wiping gesture. Jones connected with two elbows to the mouth that rocked Evans ad Jones went in for the kill. Evans tied him up against the fence while working body shots. The end of the round saw Evans catch a kick but Jones hits Evans with a left hook right at the bell.

Round 3: Jones did an amazing job of cutting off the cage and connecting with anything he wants while staying in Evans’ range. Evans attempted two takedowns but failed. Jones kept switching his stance throughout the round and is fighting with utter confidence. Jabs and elbows from Jones close out the round. Evans went to his corner taking some deep breaths.

Round 4: Jones lands some elbows to the head as a knot is starting to form over Evans’ right eye. Evans is breathing out of his mouth but connects with a stiff jab but Jones sticks his tongue out at him. Evans shoots for a takedown but Jones stuffs it and they clinch in the center of the cage and Jones connects with some shoulder shots to the jaw of Evans. The round ends with Jones shooting for the takedown. Evans’ walked back to his corner with his head down and dejected.

Round 5: This round was all Jon Jones with repeated jabs. Evans circles on the outside, but can’t find his range. The crowd is not happy with the pace but this is the Jon Jones show at this point. Jones connects with a mixture of jabs and low kicks. They clinch in the center of the cage and Jones hits Evans with more shoulder strikes. Jones sweeps Evans to the floor but Evans gets right back to his feet. Jones pulled guard from the stand up position in the closing seconds of the round but Evans couldn’t do anything with it.

Winner: Jon “Bones” Jones via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)

Post-fight interview: Jones said this was his most satisfying victory. He went on to say he threw a lot of elbows in the fight which you never do to a training partner and felt a lot stronger in his wrestling. Evans said Jones was pretty crafty and creative and he could not get his timing right. He did say he felt that Jones did some things better in practice than he did tonight in the fight.

Fight Stats: Jones landed 114 strikes with 71 of them to the head while Evans landed 48 strikes with 22 of them to the head

Fight of the Night: Eddie Yagin vs. Mark Hominick

Submission of the Night: Travis Browne

Knockout of the Night: Ben Rothwell

$65,000 to each fighter

Dana White confirmed at the UFC 145 Post Fight Press Conference that Dan Henderson will get the next shot at Jon Jones.

Rapid Rant on Zuffa Sponsoring Jon Jones for UFC 145 Bout

JonesWear — Jon Jones UFC 145 weigh-in shirt

There is nothing wrong with the UFC sponsoring Jon Jones for his upcoming bout with Rashad Evans on Saturday night. After all, their broadcasts are riffed with Tapout, Affliction, Muscle Pharm, Throwdown, and other fighter apparel.

Yes, these companies pay the UFC over $100,000 for the right to sponsor a fighter, but that is the price of doing business with Zuffa. This is their first time sponsoring a fighter, and it won’t be the last. In fact, Jones’ manager said in an interview that if it happens, Alistair Overeem will be wearing UFC gear, presumably in his next fight with Dos Santos.

This shroud of favoritism suggests the company wants Jones to win, and maybe they do, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Remember the last time Evans fought in Atlanta? He ruined a big-money fight between Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin with his sniper-like knockout over the Iceman. I don’t think it is anything personal, though; it’s just the business.

At Boxing events, you never see fans wearing WBC or WBA merchandise. The opposite occurs at UFC events, where that acronym has taken on a life of its own in combat sports. Why shouldn’t Dana White and the company capitalize on fighter apparel sales? It’s their company. It seems unfair, but history dictates that they will do what is best for them, and anyone who signs a contract with them knows this to be true.

UFC on FUEL TV 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva Predictions

The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its first venture into Sweden with an exciting card that will be seen by millions across Europe and maybe two hundred thousand people in the United States. I’m one of the many who doesn’t have Fuel TV so I won’t be able to watch it live. The eyes of the MMA world will be on Alexander Gustafsson, who many expect to emerge as a future challenger for the light heavyweight title and some even feel he is the heir apparent to Jon Jones’ crown.

Continue reading “UFC on FUEL TV 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva Predictions” →

Quick Rant on Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena

It’s official folks. Brock Lesnar will wrestle John Cena at Extreme Rules on April 29th in Chicago, Illinois. This will be Lesnar’s first WWE match in eight years and his first professional wrestling match in 4 ½ years. The WWE’s ineptitude to book talent the right way is staggering. You can’t book Lesnar like he is everybody else. The ratings have already suffered as they were down 3 points from last week . He has a presence unlike anyone on the roster and the legitimacy to boot. The company’s booking formula of everyone sounding and looking the same is bordering on obsolete.

Continue reading “Quick Rant on Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena” →

Quick Rant on CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho WrestleMania Match.

Message board vultures are crapping all over the Punk vs. Jericho match from WrestleMania because it wasn’t the Steamboat/Savage encounter they were expecting. It’s an awful hard position to be in when you are expected to surpass what is arguably the greatest match of all time. It’s not as if Jericho and Punk said “Hey, let’s not try our hardest and see what happens”. They wrestled for 30 minutes and the crowd didn’t get into it until the 16 minute mark. Sometimes, when you put a wrestling match together, it sounds really good in your head but doesn’t translate as well when it’s time to execute the plan. They were hindered by a lack of crowd response, poor placement on the card and that stupid no disqualification stipulation. The last 10 minutes were fantastic to watch but it fell short of being one of those classic Mania matches you will remember forever.

Continue reading “Quick Rant on CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho WrestleMania Match.” →

WTF Is Wrong With You TNA???

I try not to be one of those people who constantly bash TNA but their booking is at the height of idicoracy. Last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling was built around Sting trying to convince Dixie Carter to hire Hulk Hogan back to run the company. Sting must be suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dixie Carter must have the worst case of short term memory in human history. Why would remotely you consider having Hulk Hogan run your company after the year he just put you through? Oh, you don’t remember? Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

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My Wrestling Dream Matches

What is your wrestling dream match? Anytime, anywhere and any era. There is no right or wrong answer because it is what you want to see. Whether it’s a match that never happened or a contest that happened at the wrong time, fantasy booking or create a wrestler made on your favorite video game can makes dreams a virtual reality. Here are my seven dream matches and please, share your dream matches in the comment section as well.

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Tito Ortiz Confirms Retirement Fight at UFC 148 with Griffin

Tito Ortiz confirmed on his Twitter account that he will step into the cage against Forest Griffin at UFC 148 on Saturday, July 7th from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The two are 1-1 against each other with Ortiz winning a split decision in their first encounter at UFC 59 in 2006 and Griffin taking the second also via split decision at UFC 106 in 2009.

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Saga #1 Review

Eisner Award winner Brian K. Vaughn has produced an exquisite piece of writing that will undoubtedly raise the bar.

The story follows Marko and Alana, who are from opposing sides of an interplanetary war. The saga is narrated by the couple’s newborn child, which is an interesting twist that adds depth to the plot. Fiona Staples’ artwork is without question the best of the week and does a magnificent job of expressing the emotion of moments throughout the book.

The protagonists aren’t a super mushy couple, which is refreshing, but they still love each other, providing readers with some entertaining dialog.

The book is double-sized for only $2.99, and I would have gladly paid more.

I can’t believe I just typed that. I can’t believe I typed any of this. I’m simply at a loss for words at how much this book reeks of awesomeness.

Grade: A

Confessions of a Wrestling Superfan: Chapter 1: The Beginning at the Garden

To say I was a wrestling fan growing up would be an understatement. I’m that superfan who can answer any piece of wrestling trivia you can throw at me. I was hooked from the moment I saw my first episode of WWF Superstars on WLVI 56 Boston. Every wrestling figure of any kind was safely tucked away in my toy chest, and wrestling t-shirts were a normal part of my wardrobe.

Almost all of my friends were closet wrestling fans since it was taboo at the time. The slightest hint of being a wrestling fan came with public ridicule with the most popular remarks consisting of “I can’t believe you watch that stuff” and, of course, the dreaded “Don’t you know wrestling is fake?”.

Continue reading “Confessions of a Wrestling Superfan: Chapter 1: The Beginning at the Garden” →