So, I’m a bit late to start typing this, as writing wasn’t my first objective when finding my seat. So, the first match was Jason Reinhardt vs Edwin Figueroa, I’ll just give a quick recap.
The first started with more walking around to the point that drew boo’s. It wasn;t that the tentative period was anything out of the ordinary, it’s that Jason was telling Edwin to come fight him, while not actually trying to engage. A few bombs were landed, then Edwin in the last minute got Jason down and pounded the happy feeling out of him. At that point Jason lost the will to fight and punch drunk walked to his corner as the round ended. From the start of round two you could see that Jason no longer wanted to fight. Round two started with Jason making the attempt at takedowns but not commiting, and for it he got flopped to the grounded. Mounted and punched to death.
End came from the ref jumping in, Jason stayed down a minute longer than people are confortable watching. Deflated is the word I want to use. But he did put up a great first round.
Bout 2
round 1
Danny Castillo and Jacob Volkman start circling and the and the first significant strike is a leg kick from Danny. A brief take down scuffle has Jacob securing a Darce choke on Danny. Jacob couldn’t get his arm trapped and across his neck so Danny waited the storm. Eventually getting rolling to the top, moving to the side and getting out. From there the men get back up and within a minute Danny lands a kick to Jacob’s ribs that gave me a sick feeling. The slap sounded like dried carrots snapping. Yet someone, Jacob shows no sights of wear. Round over.
Round 2
A take down by Danny has Jacob finding himself on his back. In between rounds a country gal of country proportions yelled Nice booty to one of the ring girls. I by all accounts, agreed. With Jacob on his back Danny finds himself dealing with his long arms as he attempts another Darce and then an arm in guillotene.
Scrambles and beuatiful escapes happen as they both go back and forth, until Jacob puts Danny in the crucifix position. This normally is how people die, see also Gary Goodridge Hightlights, and also, Jesus. However, Danny slips out of it perfectly, goes for the reversal. Danny is on body and Jacob is working submissions. Someone somehwere is yelling ‘on Danny C’mon. Danny is landing in one Darce choke, escaping and falling into another. He is riding them out, and the girl keeps yelling. Excellent escapes that can only be made better had Danny at some point put a thumbs up to let us know he was alrght. Ala, Hulk Hogan vs Brutus The Barber Beefcake. Round over.
Round 3
While the stand up may be lacking, Danny continues to land kicks occasionally that make my testicles shrivel. You;ll have to excuse me, but cage side seating leaves one close enough to hear the click of shin engage with flesh. Round three, and the fight might lack true stand up, but this fight on the ground is wonderful. Another kick lands as Jacob takes Danny down, Danny does the rub jump and drive shuffle, but eventually they fo down. From there Jacob attacks with another endless volley of Darce chokes. Whoever trains with this guy must hate life. You know what he’s doing, you know what’s coming and he nabs it time and time again. The girl yelling for Danny just shit herself as he escapes another choke. Jacob repeatedly asked the Darce choke question, and Danny continually comes up with the Darce escape answer. Excellent top control by Jacob. He holds a submission, Danny escapes and Jacob let’s him go no where, constantly keeping pressure. And then the round ends, and from behind me someone who doesn’t understand pressure and body control yells, “Do something”. The round comes to an end. And the woman who was yelling on behalf of Danny Castillo instantly starts drinking honey tea to sooth her lyrangitis ridden throat.
Jacob wins the fight on decision based on aggresive submission attampts and take down. A good fight for me, a bad fight for people who like stand up fights.
Cole Miller v. TJ O’Brien (Sean Smith taking over for a tic)
TJ “The Spider” O’Brien becomes the 4,000th Irish fighter to walk to a cage or ring accompanied by the sounds of the Dropkick Murphys. O’Brien is a wrestler from Iowa and Miller is a product of Ricardo Liborio’s American Top Team and represents by walking to the ring in a blue ATT Gi. Both fighters are lanky gentlemen and begin by exchanging some kicks and brief flurries that mostly miss. O’Brien makes a few lunging attempts that force Miller backwards but don’t seem to do any damage. Miller lands a nice right cross after a faked left hook and now O’Brien is backpeddling. Miller begins working his jab as the round begins to close. They exchange a few more times with both missing and the round ends.
Round 2
Miller comes out throwing a few low kicks and TJ responds with a high kick as round 2 starts. TJ comes in and Miller rounds to the side and lands a stiff left hook that sends O’Brien down. Miller stands over him as TJ uses his legs to try and keep him off. Miller passes and O’Brien lunges into him to try and reverse to a takedown. It doesn’t work out well for him. Miller snags a guillotine with the arm in. O’Brien presses in and is rolled to mount as Miller loses one hand on the guillotine but keeps his bottom hand deep. He uses his free hand to stop the roll and now has a one-armed mounted guillotine. O’Brien tries to fight it off but Miller has it deep and is in control. TJ taps to the guillotine.
Jimy “The Kid” Hettes vs. Alex “Bruce Leroy” Cacares
Ultimate Fighter fan favorite Alex “Bruce Leroy” Cacares will face fill-in and UFC newcomer Jimy “The Kid” Hettes. Personally, I think his knick-name should be “My parents shorted me an M” but thats just me. Bruce Leroy comes out with a Kung-Fu outfit straight from a Bruce Lee flick and James Brown’s “Superbad” booming from the speakers. Derek is excited because he is a Bruce Leroy fan and has the same Kung Fu outfit. They start with an exchange that Cacares wins and Hettes goes for a takedown and is thrown off. Hettes tries another and has Alex’s leg, trying for a footlock. Alex moves in and blocks the attempt and starts throwing some ground and pound down on him. Hettes reverses him and now he is in Cacares’ guard. Cacares controls his posture as Hettes tries to move into position to strike but is reversed. Cacares is now back standing and Hettes is in a modified De La Riva guard. Hettes gets a takedown from De La Riva guard and is back in top position over Alex’s guard. Jimy Hettes moves to pass but is rolled into an omoplata attempt and sweep as they both scramble to a stand up. Hettes drops for another footlock attempt and Cacares moves to stop it. Cacares escapes the footlock and ends up on bottom half guard as the round ends.
Round 2
After an active and technical first round, the second begins with Hettes landing a thumping judo throw and moves right into a d’arce choke attempt but Cacares escapes. Cacares stands and Hettes moves to take his back and does. Cacares rolls almost into an arm triangle, escapes but gives his back up again. Hettes is showing a tremendous ground attack. Hettes jumps for a arm-in guillotine but is shrugged off in a roll by Cacares. Bruce Leroy is showing a whole lot of poise and submission defense. Hettes lands another throw and tries to move to a crucifix position but Cacares escapes. Cacares tries to stand and Hettes again takes his back. This time, Jimy Hettes moves right for the Rear-Naked Choke and gets it in swiftly and solidly. Cacares went for a leg when giving up his back and the gamble didn’t work out. Bruce Leroy is forced to tap as Jimy Hettes wins his UFC debut via submission.
Next Bout *(Derek in again)
Round 1
Ronny Markes vs Karlos Vemola two guys not from Milwaukee, not even from the USA. Are about to get into a fight for all of our amusement. How they view this city is my real question. Having been on the outskirts while driving in my first impression. “Tore up” But hey, I’m an asshole. So, what can you expect.
No matter who wins this fight, Karlos won the entrance war. Opting out of the heavy metal and the hip hop garbage. Instead opting for what I’m sure is the theme from Terminator II…. And who doesn’t love Terminator II? No me. I fucking love that movie. The music then switches to o’ fortunata. And I again think. The Czech republic might be a small country that geographically was screwed when World War II started. But good heavens they know a thing or two about picking entrance songs.
A ref that I’ve never seen starts them up, he tells both fighters to back up, probably the only time he’ll be able to tell two men this big and intimidating to do anything ever again. A bit of a scuffle/flurry/grab ends with both men against the cage holding on and landing pot shots as they both look for dominate position. There off, Karlos driving him away and not standing in front of fist coming at his face. Ronny takes him down, Karlos opting to stand straight up as this happens. BOLD! Against the fence now, Ronny holding him down and into the crevices. Karlos sits back with his back against the cage. Fightst to stand, does so and gets lifted and put back down, not so much a slam, but certainly a put. Ronny making sure he stays in good positon, gets lifted and then puts Karlos down again. Ronny grabs the ankle and pulls it away as Karlos tries to get it under him to stand. Karlos grabs the head but is only burning calories he should be saving. Karlos stands again, Ronny grabs his legs. Karlos gets underhooks and there are up. Chest to chest against the fence. Karlos attempts a Judo throw that would have had me throw my computer misses, but still jumps to guard and attempts a guillotene. Ronny is in no danger, the crowd still excited. And the round ends.
Round 2
Both men relatively fresh, although Karlos looks distracted. Karlos employing Fedor style striking as he drops his head and throws hay makers. Karlos throwing what he can while he can and then….. on his butt. Karlos on his back against the fence. Karlos doing good using muscle to keep Ronny from passing, but Ronny isn’t employing what I’m guessing is a strong BJJ background. He is brazilain after all. If you are a BJJ coach in a flooded market. Move to Europe, there are some guys there who could benefit from a good instructor. Karlos stands again. Proving that he can probably squat a Ford Fiesta.
Down again. Back on the padded mat Karlos ponders if this is the same as a temperdic mattress. Apparently not, as he fights to get up again. Ronny doing a good job keeping on pressure, but a horrible job trying to finish the fight. One person boo’d. Then another. Ronny goes from kiskitame to reverse kiskitame to side control to end of round.
Round 3
If this were a BJJ match and he were working for points, he’d be winning. But it’s not. So, he just moved back and forth to the common person. Sitting cage side we are hoping someone tells Ronny’s corner that Praetorian is spelled wrong on their shirts.
Bummer.
Karlos again swinging for the fences and again on the ground. Little shots here and there, Karlos playing squiggling wiggling on the ground and Ronny not improving his position or attempting to finish the fight. Perhaps if Karlos hands him the submission he would go for it. But, no. OH SHIT! Ronny decided to try and pass. No in half guard. Somone behind me yelled no one is watching. In a room full of people watching. Amazing commentary from the guy 5 beers deep. Ronny now in side control. From this angle Ronny is handing Karlos the reverse triangle. A submission that I can promise you Karlos won’t go for. More side control. Karlos grabs Ronny and pulls him down. Doing what gravity is already doing. People Boo, and with 20 seconds left Ronny does not make any attempt to end the fight. And the last bell. A shower of nothing and faint claps amoungst ocasional boo’s.
Ed Herman v. Kyle Noke (Sean filling in again.)
Well, last fight was the first time I’ve ever seen a BJJ guy beat a wrestler via superior takedown skills so lets hope the unexpected continues. Ed Herman is an angry ginger coming off a KO of Crazy Tim Creuder. Kyle Noke is coming off a submission of the night effort. He’s Australian and comes out to the song “Land Down Under” which shows he is from a land down under and holds no fear of stereotypes. Herman’s walk out music is a country song that sounds as if someone, somewhere, has been treated to a Deliverance-style attack to it.
Round 1
Everyone is in love with the Anderson Silva-style front kick and Noke comes out with one at the start. Herman defends and takes him down with a judo trip. Noke gets up and then takes Herman down with a trip and Herman pulls guard. Herman works his guard actively and almost has an armbar. He closes a semi-triangle but Noke has his head out. Herman pulls him back to a high guard. Noke again escapes an attempted triangle and begins throwing some shots to Herman’s ribs. Herman keeps his guard high. Herman rolls Noke into an armbar but Noke won’t tap. Noke tries to escape and Herman rolls with him. Noke is fighting off this armbar hard. Noke escapes and has top Half-Guard. He throws some shots and begins trying to pass. Noke tries to stand and Herman goes for a footlock. Herman has the heelhook and Noke doesn’t realize as he gets rolled into a nasty heelhook. He’s going to feel that in the morning. He taps. The angry ginger, Ed Herman, wins via submission(Heelhook). Post-fight, Herman says he heard Noke’s knee pop. Let’s hope Noke is okay.
8 minutes before the curtain call. At that point the fighters in a different tax bracket take to the cage and throw fist a cuffs. Should I stop writing? Perhaps I should have an instant stream of some sorts. Not a twitter though, I don’t have a complex where I think I’m so important that people give a crap. Loud techino crap that can be heard in any puma store or night clv is playing. If you scan around the crowd enough you can see guys who are attempting to hook up at a UFC event dancing (kinda) in the seats. And you can see guys who are already hooked up with girls sit scowling as their girl dances around. Around that time, I realized why I don’t bring my gal pal to things like this. The Buffer is standing by the cage door texting. I actually can’t say anything bad about the guy, he’s extremely nice. So, insert your own thoughts as you see appropriate.
And the regular music starts. And the real show is about to start.
P.s. If you think Eddie Wineland wasn’t going to walk into the ring with Highway to the Danger zone playing, you were very very wrong.
This has to be the loudest I’ve ever heard this song played.
It feels right.
Benavidez comes out to Ted Nudget playing Stranglehold. I am currently a man torn between who I want to win.
Sure Top Gun is a fruity movie. Sure Dangerzone is a fruity song. But there comes a line when you cross fruity that it becomes the straightest thing you can do. Like teabagging your sleeping friend. Or stirring is gatorage with your ****. Doing that is the straightest thing you can do. And walking out to Dangerzone that loud. Same thing my friends. Same god damn thing.
Joseph Benavidez v. Eddie Wineland
Round 1
Men are in, Eddie charges to the other side of the cage but kinda stops when he gets there. Eddie feeling out with the jab, but not throwing it yet. Joseph lands some leg kicks but neither of them getting into the DANGERZONE yet! Jesus.
More kicks from the outside. Eddie patient. Joseph throwing more kicks, then sets up a big hay maker, not much on it. Probably hurt his hand more than did any damage. Joseph wades in and lands a punch, stumbles Eddie and then a one two, but doesn’t press. Then Joseph rips another kick. Perhaps Joseph training with Uriah who beat Eddie has helped. As he is just landing and getting away with no damage taken. Wineland bleedy something fierce. Nose and forehead. Looks like someone threw a tomato at Winelands face. No one yelled Waka Waka Waka though. Joseph is tagging and moving leaving Wineland nothing. Unless Wineland moves into the DANGERZONE! He is going to keep getting punched in el face-o by Joseph Benavidez.
Reply in betwene rounds. No question where the bloody nose came from.
Joseph punched him in the face.
Round 2
Eddie is lose, Joseph very ridgid in his stance. Yet Eddie is still waiting for his moment. Eddie catches him and Joseph walks away and does the “I don’t want to fight anymore, can we stop for a second” hand gesture. To which the Ref, like my father did to me while I grew up, Ignored. And the fight goes on. Eddie for some reason clinches on the cage when he should have been throwing a tiger fury amount of punches. Whatever happened to Joseph he is back to normal again. And Eddie is jabbing and uppercutting, only with Joseph a foot away. That’s a problem. Joesph goes for a takedown. Eddie defends. Someone yells “Punch him in his head” which I suppose is the name of the game. Eddie inching in. Joseph see’s this as a potential problem and shoots for a take down. A piece of bloody snot flies in front of us as they scramble.
Fantastic.
Standing. 30 seconds. In the last 10 seconds Joseph gets him down, nothing happens as Eddie stands back up.
Woops, Eddie did wing punches. But Joseph clinched him up after the eye poke punching thingy.
Round 3
Slower. Eddie is cleaned up. Blood snot still sitting slug dead on the floor. Joseph starting to drop his lead hand. Could be bad. He realized it, it’s back up. Joseph catches him with a punch, Eddie reels backwards into the cage. Jospeh jumps at him with a knee in the same style that the little monkey dude in Blood Sport used. Eddie defends his way out. They are throwing shots. Eddie looking mad. Joseph landing good kicks. Eddie looking for the big shot. But leaving himself open in the meantime. Getting caught again and again. Nice take shoot by Jospeh, he abandons and leaves Eddie sprawling in midair. Poof. Ground. And back up. Joseph landing, looks for a head kick. Eddie finally catches a kick and lands a punch. Arm fully extended before impact it doesn’t have enough zing on it.
Round closing. The room feels like something bad might happen. Eddie coming forward a lot. Jospch circling. Wild swing. Crowd cheering. All of us feel something could happen! And then Jospeh falls/gets kicked. Jumps back up, and it ends just like that Rocky movie where Apollo Creed and Rocky were just about to hit each other. And I’m left wondering…. Man… That could have been ugly within seconds.
CB Dollaway v. Jared Hamman (Sean filling in)
Jared Hamman is a former college football player and sports what appears to be a come-over. Kudos to him for trying to keep the hair dream alive while most balding MMA guys go for the shorn, Mr.Clean look. Ah, they used an old photo in the press clippings. He shaved his head. The dream is over. CB Dolloway is an Ultimate Fighter finalist fighting out of Arizona. He comes to the ring to the dulcet tones of Willie Nelson.
Round 1
They exchange some awkward looking kicks and Hamman lands some stiff punches. Dolloway goes for the takedown and gets it. Dolloway tries to take the back as Hamman stands up. Dolloway lands another takedown off the cage and gets his back. Hamman counters but is mounted. Dolloway goes for the arm triangle and Hamman defends. Dolloway tries to fix his angle and Hamman defends it well. Dolloway lets it go and lands some stiff strikes from standing to a downed Hamman. Hamman stands up and Dolloway shoots in and presses him against the cage. Dolloway jumps to take Hamman’s back and doesn’t get his hooks in. He is shrugged off and now Hamman is in Dolloway’s guard. Hamman throws elbows from guard, stands up and gets to top half guard. He moves to mount nicely. Now Hamman has Dolloway’s back but loses it. Dolloway lands a nice right that sends Hamman back reeling. He goes in for the kill but Hamman keeps some distance with his legs. The round ends with Hamman on his back against the cage defending looping punches by Dolloway
Round 2
Hamman has his marbles back and comes out firing. Dolloway gets clipped and starts moving back but Hamman follows. Hamman knocks him down and passes his legs to side mount against the cage. CB is getting kneed from side mount and trying to escape. Hamman stands and starts dropping shots on dolloway. Dolloway tries to pull him into guard but Hamman passes his legs again to side mount and begins working elbows. Hamman is bringing the pain. Elbows from side control. CB covers up and Hamman is dropping leather like its on sale. CB rolls into turtle position and Hamman rolls him back over and lands more ground and pound. CB tries to cage climb and succeeds but Hamman just rolls him back to side control and starts hitting him again. CB isn’t escaping this time as Hamman just keeps landing from side. The referee finally steps in and ends it. Jared Hamman wins via TKO(Referee Stoppage)
Hey world. I’m back to writing as Sean and I continue to hand the laptop back and forth like some sort of cheap dish rag. We have a lull in time, 18 minutes until the big show starts. Buffer tells me we should all do what we gotta do. So in the meantime, him and I will sit and talk about life and such. And please wait until the top of the hour for us to come back to updates. Next is Ludwig vs Sadollah which I can’t wait for a great Muay Thai fight. So, stop hitting refresh. Come back soon. Until then, this place will continue to be a club with it’s music selection. And I will continue to pretend I’m happy to be listening to it.
By the way, Ludacris ”Move Bitch” is not the song to play when a bunch of tapout shirt wearing tough guys have been slamming beers and watching fights. It’s a choice that has security looking around the room very cautiously. Balls. And the intro has started. And the speakers are loud. I’m pumped. Sean is pumped. It’s impossible not to be when your being spoon fed one of the best highlight reels ever made and the speakers have enough bass to vibrate your chest, people in low riders are jealous. Within the next few minutes the next fights will start, and me and Sean will continue being the Road Warriors as we play tag back and forth with who is writing this piece.
Duane Ludwig vs Amir Sadollah next. (Derek in)
Ludwig is walking out with Xtreme Couture gear and Greg Jackson guy’s in tow. I suppose he has everything covered. Also, Duane looks like a young thin J.K. Simmons, a phenominal talent.
Amir is walking out to techno. The ring girl are fans. And Amir. The list ends there. I’ve never wanted someone’s fight clearance to get over quicker. Both fighters in the ring. The crowd starts with the well deserved cheering, and I got that feeling in my belly that I’m about to watch a fist fight.
Round 1
Both fighters circling in and out. Ludwig landing little sharp clean shots. Teaching Amir that years of trainingdon’t equate to decades. Clinch and Amir breaks character and grabs for legs. And I either heard gloves against shorts, or I heart shorts rip. Sounded like Velcro tearing apart. Clinch still happening. Ludwig controlling it. Amir landing sharp knee’s. Amir drops for the legs again, Ludwig underhooks and peels him off his legs. Puts Amir’s back to the cage. Both of them throwing right down the center, one two’s directly into each other and Ludwig with the first high kick. It’s not k1 level, but Ludwig is starting to slowing pull into the lead of who is the better kick boxer. Ludwig catches him with a short hook and staggers him. Amir needs to stop playing this game and change the fights verticle position to a horizontal one. His pride is getting the best of him, as is Ludwig. Ludwig takes Amir back to Muay Thai 1 on 1 in this round. At this point, I’d like to say Thank you to a Mr. Joseph Del Real who teaches at The Fight Academy in Pasadena California. Without him teaching me Muay Thai, I’d probably think this fight were competitive, but anyone watching should know Ludwig is just taking Amir apart.
Round 2
Ludwig picks up where he lefts off, And like so many other fighter Amir throws a front teep to the face like Silva who took is from Buakawa. And like most fighters, he comes up short. Unless your Silva or Pramuk. That doesnt work as well. Amir moving better this round. Landing kicks. Whiffing a kick that leaves people saying… ooooooo……..Both men holding excellent stances, not breaking from there rythm. Truly two fears looking to find that point where gears come together. Those cogs are fist and shins. Amir taking larger chances with winding hard shots. Ludwig sticking to basics. Ludwig catches him again and Amir forgets how he got here. He stays up, keeps hiis hands up and is fine. TOUGH! Ludwig looking to counter. AND LUDWIG SHOOTS…. Why. I have no idea. Amir is sprawling down on him. And I’m getting mad as my Muay Thai fight has paused.
Back up, and landing. Ludwig goes old school throws an elbow. Ludwig still countering well. He’s making Amir miss and having him pay for it.
Round 3
Again with the teep, Ludwig smiles. Amir appling pressure. Takes Ludwig down who gets up and jumps away. Amir has that look of, now what on his face as he gets up. I had that look many times in life. Ludwig is getting sloppy. Letting Amir lands shots here and there. A hard head kicked is blocked, but rattles his equalibrium none the less. Ludwig doesn’t seem concerned. Amir with the pressure. Ludwig slowly coming apart for some reason. Amir shots and hits a wall named Ludwig, and abandons, still up. Amir landing nice teeps. Catches Ludwig with a straight. Amir starting to inch closer to ending the fight on shear energy. Ludwig needs to do something more than take occasinal shots. Head kick for Amir, and a hook gets through in an exchange. :45 seconds left. People love it. It sounds like thunder in this place. Ludwig gets Amir to the ground, Amir is getting up and the Thunder immediately dies.
Amir finished strong, but it was because of a Ludwig that stopped his relentless counter striking. A great fight that should have Ludwig taking the first two and seriously dropping the last round.
We all sit and wait to find out…..
Ludwig holds his own action figure as he waits. I didn;t know he even had one. Good for him.
And the winner is Duane Ludwig.
Charles Oliveira vs. Donald Cerrone. (Sean filling in)
It was a Joe Rogan action figure. The only UFC action figure I have is Don Frye. Its just a giant mustache in a bubbled UFC package. Charles Oliveira’s pre-fight talk says he is going to give 100% so, in any language, sports memes transcend. Cerrone comes out to Kid Rock, much to the joy of the crackers. Oliveira comes out to Brazilian Hip Hop. I’m sure the lyrics express the singer’s enjoyment of modern art. He is accompanied to the octagon by a Bradley Center security guy in a blue shirt that looks like the love child of Cecil Peoples and Cleveland from Family Guy. Mario Yamaski must have left his Gillette Microshaver in Virginia. He looks like he’s been partying in Milwaukee.
Round 1
They exchange briefly and it begins. Cerrone lands a hard kick to Oliveira’s groin region and we have a stoppage for Charles to find his goodies. They begin and Cerrone lands another low kick as they continue feeling each other out. Oliveira lands a couple kicks and Cowboy responds with his own. Cerrone drops Oliveira with a stiff body shot and knees him as he’s going down. Oliveira is in bad trouble and Cerrone pounces. Cowboy lands shots from standing to the downed Oliveira, who just tries to cover up. The Referee stops it. Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone wins by TKO(strikes).
Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson
Henderson comes out with a duel USA/South Korea flag. He’s a TKD black belt and, hot damn, he is proud of it. Miller comes out to Creedence Clearwater Revival and somewhere, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski nods his head in approval. Miller is rocking a goatee with a mustache that would make Don Frye proud. That’s two Don Frye mustache references for those keeping score.
Round 1
They feel out each other with two wild swings and we begin. Henderson has two huge angel wings tattooed on his back. He looks like he has a permanent Affliction shirt on. He lands a decent uppercut. He lands another decent shot and Miller ties him up. He presses Miller against the cage. Miller presses off and they are tied up mid-octagon.Miller jumps to an arm triangle and is hanging off Henderson. Henderson is holding him up with his back to the cage. Miller lets go and Henderson turns into him and they crash to the ground. Henderson has Miller pressed up against the cage and is trying for some striking but Miller kicks out and stands up. They are up against the cage again and Miller goes down. He’s now going for an armbar and Henderson escapes. Miller lands an upkick and Henderson sprawls on top of him. Henderson gets caught in an arm-in guillotine but defends it well. Henderson goes for some strikes from standing as Miller rolls and tries to grab a footlock. The rounds ends.
Round 2
Henderson throws a few front kicks that miss and then lands a nice low kick as we begin the Second. Miller lands a nice right cross and Henderson becomes more aggressive. Henderson ties him up and takes Miller down. Henderson pushes him against the fence and stands up to strike. Miller moves and Henderson is back down to stop him from escaping. Miller rolls to try again for a footlock. Henderson is keeping his base and staying on top. He begins landing shots on Miller. Miller is bleeding. Miller goes for the foot but doesn’t get it tight. Henderson escapes and they stand. Henderson shoots again quickly and its back to Henderson on top. Miller goes for another footlock. Henderson lands a thumping shot and Miller has to release the foot to defend. They are back to halfguard with Henderson on top. Miller grabs a kimura grip on Henderson’s arm. Henderson starts throwing punches into Miller’s ribs to loosen him up. Miller lets go of it. Henderson pushes him into the fence and Miller squirrels out and goes for his foot again. Great round by both fighters and the crowd lets them know it with a standing ovation.
Round 3
Henderson poses for the crowd as Round 3 begins. Miller lands a combo and comes out with some urgency. Henderson lands a nice low leg kick. Miller throws a right cross and Henderson lands a kick at the same time, sending Miller down for a second. Miller lands a decent right cross that knocks Henderson down but Henderson gets himself together and reverses Miller for a takedown. Henderson lands some Ground and Pound from top Half Guard. Henderson moves to mount. Miller gives his back up and Henderson has his hooks in.
Miller stands up and tries to thump Henderson off him. Henderson has a Rear Naked Choke but loses it. Miller is back to turtle with Henderson on top. Henderson goes for another choke then rolls Miller and begins landing punches to his face. Henderson moves to side control and Miller turtles and tiries to escape again but Henderson’s moving well and controlling the ground position. Henderson is gassed and is grinding Miller into the fence. Miller rolls out and stands up but is running out of time. Henderson moves for a guillotine but loses it. Miller gets up and lands a right cross as Henderson moves back. The horn sounds and the fight ends. Its going to be hard for Hardy and Lytle to top that for Fight of the Night. Great effort by both fighters.
Judge’s Decision for Ben Henderson. (Unanimous)
And now, for the final fight of the night, back to Derek
Hey people, you’ve missed a few great great fights. If the UFC were to suddenly put this on a PPV card, I’d be competely fine ducking out a few schilings for this thing. These fights are easily putting a lot of other cards to shame. Ben Henderson after his fight asked that his fighters get recognition, and requested that they be asked to fight for the UFC. If you are friends with Ben Henderson, you have a great friend. So, last fight. Hopefully either Sean or myself have kept you mildly entertained as you scrolled through our thoughts and jibber jabber.
Dan Hardy vs Chris Lytle next
Watching them come to the ring. Both men, comfortable. Confident. A perfect mixture of things for a good fight.
Round 1 is about to begin. Dan Hardy is being announced and boo’d. He clapped for himself, so I guess that’s good. And now I wait for them to swing, so that I may type about their swinging.
Lytle leads with a hard straight. Both swinging, some landing, some not more a feeling out. Lytle catches him with an uppercut and Hardy lands a good shot in return. Both men respect each other as after every striking volley they nod and smile at each other. Acknowledging each others efforts to do harm unto the other. Great boxing match so far, lots of hard hits and big smiles. Hardy is smart to mix in his legs. Hardy telegraphing shots by hopping into them. Lytle hasn’t done anything about it, so it’s fine. Lytle wiffing, and should be happy Hardy did nothing about his huge misses. Both of them looking for an interesting in the same as I guys spend so much time on the outside of the dance floor looking for an interesting approach. Just like creepy guys and these fighters, they are circling each other. Mean intentions. Lytle is leading with Jabs to the body and is looking dangerously close to getting caught on the way in by a looping uppercut. The round ends with me have no clear idea of who is winning or losing.
Round 2
Lytle still ducking in with his shots but starting to land with them. Lytle’s collo bone is red, like it’s bleeding. Hardy catches him Lytle clinches. And they are back to fighting. Lytle land a hard body shot that would have made most people puke. More exchanging and Lytle accidentlally pokes Hardy in the eye. Fighting again. Both men landuing HARD punches. Those fightings that you hear about taking years off a person’s life. This is one of those fights. Both men giving taking and then returning to the give and take. Although Hardy is starting to land the harder shots. Lytle starting to land more shorts. You decide who’s winning. Hardy starting to land more and Lytle shakes it off. LYTLE just punched Hardy so hard the lady who brought her kids started to regret that choice. Lytle leading in with his head down again. And both men right in the center rock’em sock’em robots style. Lytle is starting to inch ahead here. Lytle ends round two with a great punch to Hardy’s face. drops his hands and claps as the last few seconds expire. Could he have attacked, sure. But with a second left, both men appreciated the others handy work, and waited for the bell.
End of the round 2.
Round 3
More of the same give and take and the audience should be into this WAY more than they are. I suppose we are all in awe at the constant punishment these two are taking and giving. It is one of those few times, where violence is strangely beautiful. Not that it’s a barn burner. But it’s a Chess match of, my turn, your turn, my turn and now your turn. When someoen breaks that Rythm, we’ll know who the winner is. Lytle still inching into winner’s circle. But hasn’t shown an inch of giving up. Lytle see’s the prize in front of him, but it’s a bear trap to grab at that prize.
1 minte left and Hardy lands a hard shot. Hardy dives for the take down and might lose because of it. And Lytle switches the take down reverse the position. Gets on top and ends Hardy with a rear naked Choke. Chants of USA begin end as soon as someone tells the guy chanting that we actually came from that country.
Lytle wins by guilotene choke in the last round, in the last 30 or so seconds, had Hardy not shot it. That would not have happened. But, he saw his opportunity to change the tempo of an evenly matched fight. He reached into that bear trap.
It ripped his head off.
Thank you everyone so much for reading along with us if you have been. Please tune into the fights as they are free anyway. Both Sean and I cannot thank you enough for reading what turns out to be ten pages of our thoughts.
Again, I am truly greatful if you made it this far.
Chris Lytle has decided to step into the octogon and out for the last time. He is retiring as of tonight. He is trying to speak but the crowd is drowning him out.
He says that he loves fighting more than anything except his family. And it’s time he stops putting himself first and starts spending more time with them.
My heart breaks with joy for him, and I wish him all the best going forward.
See ya see ya,
Derek and Sean
