As with every major show we’ll be here to bring you live results and commentary on UFC 95. The real “live” blog will start with the beginning of the Spike TV broadcast 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 me for the show and share your thoughts as the event unfolds.
It’s 9:00pm Eastern and the Spike broadcast is starting.
Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago – Gets the show going tonight. Round 1 -Thiago’s striking looks a bit wide and wild early as Kos looks like he wants to land the big KO shot. Very nice leg kick from Paulo now. Big boos from the crowd. Overhand right lands hard for Koscheck now and Thiago takes it. Thiago’s left hand is low and is inviting the right hand from Kos. Another right hand lands for Josh. Left hook now. Thiago is throwing punches but he isn’t landing and he is leaving himself wide open for counters. Thiago lands a big shot and Koscheck drops to his back, the ref jumps in and stops it! I don’t think Kos was out at all there, he looked ready to defend himself but it was stopped. Paulo Thiago wins by knockout, round 1.
Demian Maia vs. Chael Sonnen – Round 1 – A few jabs land for Sonnen, Maia goes to his back and Chael tells him to stand up. Left lands for Maia but not too hard. Maia shoots and ends up pulling guard. Sonnen gets out but starts throwing punches and playing around in Maia’s guard. Now Maia has the full guard again but Sonnen decides to stand back up. They are against the cage and doing some “standing flat throwing punches” big takedown to the mount by Maia and he is in position for a triangle. Rolls over and Sonnen is forced to tap out. It’s getting to be a bit too common to say about him…but beautiful technique from Demian Maia. Demian Maia wins by submission (triangle choke), round 1.
Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve – Undercard action here. Round 1 – They’re standing for the first 30 seconds without much happening. Flurry of big shots by dos Santos and Struve is out. Junior dos Santos wins by KO, round 1.
Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia – Very exciting fight here. Round 1 – Goldy throwing out the meaningless “MMA stats” again (Gouveia lands 83% of his leg kicks!). High kick misses from Marquardt. They trade leg kicks. Superman punch attempts by Nate now. Wilson is stalking and finally lands a punch. Nice leg kick by Nate. Gouveia throws another flurry that forces Nate to back off. Nate is really circling A LOT early (but is landing kicks here and there). Push kicks and leg kicks from Marquardt now. Nate with a takedown into a one handed guillotine by Wilson with one of Nates arms in. Nate gets free and is in Wilson’s guard with twenty seconds left. Time runs out and Nate won it on kicks and a little bit of activity in the last ten seconds as he was on top. 10-9 Marquardt on my card. Round 2 – Gouveia with a good right hand and Marquardt answers with a knee. Right hand lands flush for Nate now. Right hand by Wilson knocks Marquardt stumbling, follows up with a left but in the action they end up on the ground with Marquardt on top in Wilson’s full guard. Big elbows from the top by Marquardt now. Wilson escapes to standing but Nate locks up a standing guillotine but lands a knee and lets go. Wilson looks a bit gassed here. Leg kick by nate. Big right hand by Nate and a big knee. He’s teeing off but Wilson is hanging in there. The round ends and if it wasn’t for the small flurry early it would have been a 10-8 round. As it is…10-9 Marquardt puts him up on my card 20-18. Round 3 – Right hand from Wilson lands and Nate gets away as Gouveia tries to follow up. Gouveia tries to attack and Marquardt slips and takes his back standing. They separate and are back to distance mid-cage. Wilson is pretty much entirely gassed but he is throwing shots. Big flying knee from Marquardt and he follows up with a high kick, some punches and another knee that drops a now bloody Gouveia to his butt and the fight is over. Nate Marquardt wins via TKO (strikes), round 3.
Terry Etim vs. Brian Cobb – Round 1 – Good leg kick from Etim. Huge leg kick from Etim now after avoiding a takedown. Cobb grabs a leg and drags Etim to the ground. Etim is looking for an armbar but can’t quite lock it down. They’re stood back up after a lack of action. Another big leg kick from Etim. Uppercut/left hand combo from Etim now. Cobb can’t hang with Etim on the feet at all. Another takedown from Cobb and again he just puts his chest in Etims chest and works punches to the body and again they’re stood back up. The round ends and it was all Etim. 10-9 Terry Etim on the BloodyElbow card. Round 2 – Big high kick as Cobb was leaning down and Etim follows up with some huge punches and the fight is over. Terry Etim wins by TKO (strikes), round 2.
Per Eklund vs. Evan Dunham – Round 1 – Left hand by Dunham rocks Eklund and Per shoots but ends up in a guillotine but he gets his head out. They stand briefly and Eklund pulls guard. Armbar attempts and Dunham escapes and they’re standing. Right hand lands for Per. Two punches land from Evan in return. Dunham is getting the better of things standing here. Left hand knocks Eklund stiff and Dunham pounces landing some big shots and it’s over. Evan Dunham wins byt TKO (strikes), round 1.
Neil Grove vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz – Round 1 – Mike pulls guard and Grove ends up playing the leg lock game but now it’s Grove looking for the leg lock and as they roll Mike grabs the leg and gets the submission win. Mike Ciesnolevicz wins by submission (heel hook), round 1.
Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham – Round 1 – They’re trading jabs early and Hardy has landed a few leg kicks. Hardy tagged Markham once and now Rory’s nose is streaming blood. Huge punch from Hardy puts Markham hard. Markham landed awkwardly and ate a few more knees and it is over. Dan Hardy wins by KO, round 1. Very impressive performance for Hardy. It was a counter left hook that landed flush on the temple.
Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson – Round 1 – Three punch combo by Sanchez doesn’t really land but a follow up jab does. Right hand from Stevenson lands as does a second. Knee to the body by Diego. Two punch combo lands for Joe now. Right hand from Diego now. Another straight right from Joe now. Right hand now for Diego. It’s that kind of “trade moments and punches” fight. Uppercut from Diego lands very solidly right after Joe was laughing at him. Another right from Joe. Left hand counter from Joe as Diego tries to get a combination going. Body/Head combo by Diego now. They’re trading punches for the last minute here. The round ends and it was close but Diego had the more powerful strikes and takes the round 10-9 on the BloodyElbow scorecard. Round 2 – Right hand lands and staggers Joe and a follow up knee. Stevenson shoots for a takedown and Diego takes his back but Joe stands up. It’s a lot of Sanchez flurrying here while Stevenson looks for single right hands. Diego with a big slam takedown to get out of a standing guillotine and now Stevenson is on top but a scramble and they’re back up. A lot of activity there and the crowd applauds the action. Knee/left hand combo from Diego now. Right hand to the shoulder by Stevenson. Right hand to the head by Sanchez. Not a lot to say here, it is a lot of the same stuff with each guy throwing punches occasionally but not overly damaging the other guy. Sanchez is much more versitile though and it is winning the fight for him thus far. They exchange big shots now and then go back to standing. My scorecard reads 20-18 Sanchez as the round ends. Round 3 – Both men are really going at it with punch combinations early in the round. Left hand lands for Joe. This has been the same as the second match. Joe tries to get the crowd into it for…some reason. A few big punches from each guy but not anything that is hurting the other guy. Takedown attempt from Diego and he ends up with Joe on his back standing. Stevenson lands a few punches and they separate. 30-27 on my card for Sanchez (but I came close to giving Stevenson the 3rd round). Official Scorecards: 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 all for Diego Sanchez. Diego Sanchez wins by unanimous decision. And the crowd boos.
Good free show. Everything but one fight made the broadcast and while there were no “great fights” it was a fun show.