ANAHEIM, Calif. – The title fight between reigning UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez was scheduled for five rounds, but challenger Cain Velasquez needed less than one.
Velasquez patiently defended a furious start by Lesnar right out of the gate, as the champion roared across the cage landing several knees, including a flying knee, before taking Velasquez to the ground.
“We expected him to come out, go hard in and go for the takedown,” Velasquez said. “We were ready for that. We worked on positions, on worst-case scenarios.”
Velasquez quickly popped back up to his feet, and after a second take down was nullified by the ability of Velasquez to get back to his feet, it was apparent that Lesnar would have trouble controlling the challenger both on the feet and on the ground.
Velasquez quickly turned the tables on Lesnar by getting a take down of his own, and once there, punishing Lesnar with brutal ground and pound, as the champion turtled and covered up. Lesnar survived the first onslaught, making his way back to his feet, but Velasquez relentlessly stalked his bleeding prey, landing a brutal knee, getting another take down and then finishing off Lesnar with huge punches from the top, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the action, just 4:12 into the fight.
It was a career-defining win for Velasquez who moves to 9-0 (7-0 UFC), and one in which the newly crowned champion was prepared to go a full 25 minutes to achieve.
“I trained for a five-round fight,” Velasquez said. “I’m always ready for that. You can’t expect an early stoppage.”
He may not have expected an early stoppage, but his destruction of Lesnar proved he is capable of putting away anybody in the world at Heavyweight, and just 9 fights into his undefeated career, the sky is the limit for Cain Velasquez.
Shields edges Kampmann in lackluster debut
Jake Shields (26-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) survived his UFC debut at welterweight, but just barely. The weight cut to 170 appeared to play a big role in the lackluster performance, as Shields has most recently fought at middleweight, coming over from Strikeforce as their 185 pound kingpin.
Martin Kampmann was ready for everything that Shields threw his way on the ground, even escaping full mount on several occasions, and taking very little damage from the bottom throughout the bout, but was unable to keep any significant distance and spacing enough to get off in his stand up game.
Despite Kampmann being unable to land anything significant on the feet, coming into the final round, the fight was still pretty much up for grabs.
Kampmann was the fresher fighter coming out for the third round, and as he took control of the center of the Octagon, Shields desperately shot in for repeated take downs trying to get the fight back onto the ground.
Kampmann was able to stuff all of the take down attempts, and even went for a submission of his own, looking for a d’arce choke as Shields continued to try to maintain control of the ground game.
The submission attempt may have cost Kampmann the fight however, as Shields, totally depleted of energy, managed to reverse Kampmann and put him on his back, eventually locking up a body triangle and going for a half-hearted rear naked choke as the bell sounded on the fight.
In the end, Shields was awarded the split decision victory on the judges cards much to the disagreement of Kampmann, and many of the booing fans in the crowd.
Diego Sanchez overwhelms Thiago with a “nightmarish” pace
Diego Sanchez was humbled beyond belief in his loss to B.J. Penn. He then lost to John Hathaway, and some fans wondered if “The Nightmare” would ever be the same again.
Sanchez showed tonight that not only is he the same, but that he is better than ever.
Paulo Thiago got off to a tremendous start in the bout, avoiding the very aggressive Sanchez’s explosion out of the gate, but after a winning performance in the opening round, it would be all Sanchez for the rest of the bout.
After the slow start, Sanchez turned up the heat in the second, coming forward and getting a quick take down almost immediately. Thiago remained offensive from his back, looking for a kimura on several occasions, but it was Sanchez that landed the big strikes from the top.
After a scramble saw both fighters make their way back to their feet, Sanchez remained relentless, wrapping up a double leg on Thiago, elevating him, then walking him across the cage for a huge slam, erupting the crowd into a frenzy.
Sanchez continued to pour it on, punishing Thiago with strikes from the top, and although Thiago tried desperately to create enough space to escape, “The Nightmare” had an answer, continuously transitioning from dominant positions, to ground and pound, before going back to retaining a stifling top control game.
By the third round, Thiago appeared to be totally spent, as Sanchez continued to bring the punishment in the form of ground and pound, before locking up a very tight body triangle and looking to finish the fight. Thiago remained offensive from his back going for several submissions of his own, but Sanchez was never really threatened as the fight wore on.
It was a dominating finish and overall performance for Diego Sanchez as the judges rewarded him with the unanimous decision victory. With the win, Sanchez moves to 22-4 overall, and 11-4 in the UFC.
Matt Hamill punishes Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz is famous for his legendary ground and pound, but tonight, it was the student that had something to teach.
For much of the fight, Matt Hamill was content to stand and land his jab, but once Hamill decided to take the fight to the ground, Ortiz had no answer.
Hamill bruised and battered Ortiz both on the feet and on the ground, and by the time the third round started, Ortiz was bloodied, but still in the fight.
With the fight on the line, and with both guys doing little to determine a clear winner, Hamill struck with a quick and easy double leg take down, driving through the legs of Tito Ortiz and putting him on his back.
Once on the ground, Hamill continued to punish Ortiz with big right hands, mixing up the attack with short, grinding elbows.
By the time the fight was over, Ortiz was bloodied and battered, as Hamill was awarded the unanimous decision victory over his former The Ultimate Fighter coach.
Brendan Schaub dominates Gabriel Gonzaga
Brendan Schaub took a big step up in his career by facing the very dangerous Gabriel Gonzaga, and he proved that he was more than ready for the challenge.
Schaub continuously beat Gonzaga to the punch with a very effective leaping jab that kept the former Heavyweight top contender off balance the entire fight. Schaub also found a home for his right hand, following up on his jab, dropping Gonzaga on more than one occasion in the bout.
Gonzaga briefly found the answer for the speed and timing of Schaub, landing brutal and stinging leg kicks in the second round, but inexplicably, just as quick as the kicks landed, Gonzaga stopped throwing them.
The third round was pretty much a carbon copy of the first two, with Schaub continuing to land his jab, and winning the exchanges in the pocket.
When the scores came in, it was all Schaub, as all three judges scored the bout 30-27.
The win moves Schaub to 7-1 overall, and 3-1 in the UFC.
I didn’t think Shields’ debut was lackluster, just think he had a very tough weight cut. I thought he did good considering everything.
The weight cut is part of the game Jack. Would you say “I didn’t think he was lackluster, he just looked hungover”?