UFC on FOX 2: Report

By Tim Hobscheid, Fightnews

In the main event, Rashad Evans earned a decisive victory over Phil Davis. Davis was aggressive throughout the fight, pushing forward and throwing a lot of punches, but Evans was true to his name. “Suga” was smooth on his feet and always a step ahead of the young Penn State wrestler. Throughout the build-up to this fight, Davis cited his wrestling pedigree and vowed that he would have the upper hand when the fight hit the ground.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Evans used a great sprawl to stay away from Davis’ shots and was able to use an improved transitional jiu-jitsu game to secure positioning. On three occasions, Evans was able to position Davis in a crucifix and work strikes to his head, but the finish proved elusive to Evans. That seemed to be the theme of the evening for Rashad Evans. He was always in control, but was never aggressive enough to pull out a stoppage. With the win, Evans finally earned himself another chance to fight former teammate, and current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones. The history between Evans and Jones is well-documented. The two have lost no love for each other and will undoubtedly bring lots of emotion into the impending title fight. After Evans’ victory, the UFC announced that the Light Heavyweight championship bout will be held in Atlanta on April 21st. Rashad will need to be better against Jon Jones. Jones is much more dangerous on his feet and will be more accurate with his strikes than Davis. Evans dominated Phil Davis, but he couldn’t finish him when he had the opportunity. If Evans can’t capitalize on similar opportunities against Jones, he will likely end up on the wrong side of a knockout.

Sonnen defeats Bisping

In the co-main event, Michael Bisping put on one of the best performances of his career. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to pull out the victory over Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen pressured Bisping from the onset, and took him down as expected, but Bisping did exactly what he claimed he would: he stood back up each time. Bisping was surprisingly strong in the clinch against the cage and hit Sonnen with a big punch in the first round that had Sonnen spinning. The first two rounds were both close, with Sonnen scoring takedowns and Bisping escaping and working a productive clinch game. In the third round, fatigue caught up with Bisping and Sonnen finally grabbed a takedown that he could hold onto and stayed on top of Bisping for the majority of the round. In the end, Sonnen’s takedowns and aggressiveness earned him the decision on all three scorecards.

With the victory, Sonnen is now in line for the next shot at Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen dominated Anderson Silva for four and a half rounds in their August 2010 title fight before Silva caught Sonnen with an Armbar. The rematch will likely be held in Brazil.
Weidmen defeats Maia

In the Fox broadcast opener, Chris Weidman earned a split decision victory over Demian Maia. A fight that was expected to be a major ground war turned into a standup battle, as Demian Maia neutralized Weidman’s early takedown attempts. However, Weidman was the aggressor in the standup battle and pushed his way to the split decision victory. Weidman was moved to the main card after an injury to Mark Munoz pushed Michael Bisping into the co-main Event and out of a fight with Maia. Weidman capitalized on the opportunity to promote himself to the major network audience and outworked Maia throughout this fight. Though Maia was successful in staying off of his back, he provided little offensive output in the standup game. Maia has been criticized as a one-dimensional fighter and his inability to mount any offense against Weidman will not quiet those voices. Weidman is now 4-0 in the UFC and widely regarded as one of the best Middleweight prospects in the UFC.

Chris Camozzi defeats Dustin Jacoby by Submission (Guillotine Choke), 1:08 of the 3rd Round

The UFC on Fuel prelims kicked off with a tough fight between The Ultimate Fighter alum Chris Camozzi and Dustin Jacoby. Jacoby started strong in his Octagon debut, but his movement began to dissipate as the fight progressed. Camozzi caught Jacoby with a leg sweep and moved quickly to secure a guillotine choke at 1:08 of the 3rd Round. After the fight, Camozzi indicated that he had broken or dislocated his finger in the 2nd Round. Camozzi showed great heart and kept a high pace that led to the submission finish.

Lavar Johnson defeats Joey Beltran by KO, 2:24 of the 1st Round.

Strikeforce and WEC veteran, Lavar Johnson, started his UFC career with an impressive knockout finish. Coming off of two losses in Strikeforce, Johnson took the fight to the “Mexicutioner” and ended it with four unanswered uppercuts. The finish is even more impressive, considering Beltran’s chin. This was the first UFC stoppage loss for Beltran who had previously pushed heavyweights Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione, and Stipe Miocic to decisions. Johnson’s powerful uppercuts earned him Knockout of the Night.

Michael Johnson defeats Shane Roller by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In the third prelim, Michael Johnson ground out a tough Unanimous Decision (29-28) over Shane Roller. Johnson was able to use his speed to throw combinations and counters at Roller, who tried desperately to take this fight to the ground. During the third round, Roller took Johnson’s back and appeared poised to end the fight with strikes; however, the onslaught caused Herb Dean to caution about strikes to the back of the head and allowed Johnson an opportunity to roll out of the position and end the fight on his feet. Though Roller ended strong, Johnson’s control and pacing during the first two rounds proved enough to garner him a unanimous decision.

Charles Oliveira defeats Eric Wisely by Submission (Calf Crush), 1:43 of the first round.

Charles Oliveira made a splash with submission wins over Darren Elkins and Efrain Escudero in 2010, but losses to Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone threatened to derail the hype train in 2011. Oliveira displayed an amazing ground game early in his career and he channeled those performances again in this fight against Wisely, securing his third Submission of the Night honor. Oliveira jumped for a leglock and Wisely rolled to push out. As he did, Oliveira caught his ankle in a triangle and grabbed onto a body lock from Wisely’s back. The pressure on Wisely’s calf and knee appeared to be excruciating. It was a beautiful leglock finish and demonstrated, once again, how much promise the 22 year old from San Paulo possesses.

Cub Swanson defeats George Roop by KO, 2:22 of the 2nd Round.

Cub Swanson notched his first UFC victory with a huge knockout win over George Roop. A beautiful straight right hand sent Roop’s mouthguard flying and Swanson followed him to the ground for the finish. Swanson has had a rollercoaster career in the WEC and UFC, but he looked very confident in pushing the action against Roop. Roop’s lengthy frame caused range issues early for Swanson, but he remained aggressive and finally capitalized with a series of punches that reminded everyone why Swanson was so highly acclaimed early in his career.

Mike Russow defeats Jon Olav Einemo by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Mike Russow earned a hard-fought decision over Jon Olav Einemo with a relentless ground attack. Working takedowns and top position for most of the fight, Russow stayed away from the dangerous submissions of Einemo to hammer out the win. The victory earned Russow a 4-0 record in the UFC. Russow, a Chicago native, was methodical in his approach, but it proved effective as he neutralized any offense provided by Einemo.

Evan Dunham defeats Nik Lentz by TKO (Doctor Stoppage), after Round 2.

In an incredibly fast paced fight, Evan Dunham and Nik Lentz displayed a ton of heart and aggression in closing the UFC on Fuel prelims. Early in the fight, the two looked closely matched, trading punching flurries and takedown attempts. However, Dunham took the upper hand near the end of the second round, bloodying Lentz’s nose and opening a cut near Lentz’s eye. Due to the damage to Lentz’s eye, the ringside physician called an end to the fight between the second and third rounds. Lentz didn’t leave empty handed though, as both he and Evan Dunham received bonuses for Fight of the Night.

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For more info on the UFC or UFC on FOX, visit www.UFC.com

January 29th, 2012

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