A collective gasp was heard and felt across the LG Arena when everyone realised that Barao was out to put a hurting on “One Punch”. The onslaught didn’t let up and it wasn’t long before the Nova Uniao product landed a game-changing knee to Pickett’s temple. Swiftly following up with a slick combination, putting the Londoner down hard.
Brad defended the choke decently but there was just too long left in the round for Barao to do what he does best – submit.
Renan Barao wins by Rear Naked Choke at 4.09 in Round 1
Papy comes out with the Jon Jones crawl but quickly gets to his feet and enters into the predictable stand up war we were yearning for. The first decent kick-boxing exchange of the night.
Some quality back and forth action before Alves clearly put Abedi on queer street with a sweet right hand. The ref lurched in to call a stoppage but backed off when the Swede proved he could somehow put up a defence. Abedi showed heart but squirmed to give up his back, allowing the Pitbull to sink in a choke and earn the first submission win of his UFC career.
The Hippo vs The Snake. Australia vs France. Either way it sounds like a novelty match up, and that’s probably the most interesting thing worth mentioning before the outset of Round 2.
Rounds 1 & 2
A great deal of smother and cover from Perosh but both fighters seem to falter in imposing their gameplan for while – at least until Perosh secured mount in the second. Perosh landed some hefty and hard blows from back mount before slipping in the RNC.
Perosh defeats Diabate by tap out at 3.09 in Round 2.
5 and 2 and fighting out out Honolulu, the American invader was never going to get much of a warm welcome in Birmingham. And he came a heck of a long way for what went down tonight.
Round 1
Etim. Punch, kick, arm-in guillotine, out. That was easy.
Round 1 How about a new record for fastest ever groin strike in the UFC? I think that just happened. Maguire looks relatively unphased however and took little time to recover. The Brit even wobbled Edwards before buckling completely himself. Surviving a blitz of hard strikes, Maguire covered up before prizing himself out of a tight guillotine.
The rapid first few minutes evolved into a more considered exchange, with each fighter seeking to dominate the other in the grappling department. Edwards surely takes the first with the knockdown and choke attempt
10-9 Edwards
Round 2
Maguire wore the more phased expression entering the second, with the American looking fresher, if only slightly.
Fast Eddy pushed the pace standing before Southpaw Brit took back control and a figure four body lock to boot. After a hard-fought and failed Rear Naked Choke attempt, the buzzer sounded as Maguire was poised to lock in an armbar.
10-9 Maguire
Round 3
Stalking one another in the opening moments of the third, it looked as though we would be treated to a stand up exchange. Maguire, however, worked his way into another body lock and tried once more to apply the RNC.
Edwards never looked to be down or out but it always seems Maguire was doing just enough. Plus – he looks just like Phil Baroni.
John “The One” Maguire earned a 30-27 scorecard from all 3 judges
Northern lad and no-nicknamed De Fries received a warm welcome as he entered the arena but was soon trumped by Liverpool’s Rob “The Bear” Broughton’s fan reaction. Fighting just marginally closer to home, Broughton has much to prove after his poor showing at high altitude against Travis Browne back in September.
Round 1
Tentative to engage on the outside, both Heavyweights spend a great deal of the first clinching up – attempting, at least, to inflict damage via dirty boxing in an ugly war of attrition. De Fries showed greater control, likely securing the round.
10-9 De Fries
Round 2
A more urgent Broughton entered the second with a more savvy gameplan, consistently working for subs and posing significant threats each time.
Not once but twice “The Bear” secured the crucifix position – the very same move that earned Nelson a swift win over Kimbo on TUF 10. But Broughton didn’t inflict enough damage to prompt Jim Rosenthal to stop the action.
Throw in a decent arm bar attempt and Broughton easily took the second.
10-9 Broughton
Round 3
A round apiece entering the final round, neither fighter hand enough in the tank to push the pace significantly. De Fries fought harder to take the fight to the mat and the four-striped purple belt looked busier during the final 5.
WiFi has just been fixed here in Birmingham so I’ll be uploading my take on the fights as they play out. Just wanted to let you guys know if you’re holding out for a tape delay.
A multitude of British fighters tipped the scales this afternoon in preperation for the biggest fights of their lives. For each combatent it’s hard to imagine having had a more crucial test this far, and on such a great stage. Each man competes tomorrow for greater recognition in their respective divisions - and a slice of hometown glory.
Mark Munoz wants to be the “Manny Pacquiao of Mixed Martial Arts”
Nice guys don’t always finish last. A statement redefined by The Filipino Wrecking Machine with three solid wins in his last three outings. Appearing calm and confident at today’s UFC 138 press conference, one thing was clear right off the bat: this fight is for number one contender status.
Munoz surely makes the better claim with Leben faltering recently against Stann, compared with his own impressive win-streak in an intriguing Middleweight division. Leben emphatically made his pitch to be at the top of the pile with a win on Saturday but the Filipino discussed his thoughts more discretely but was adamant nonetheless.
“This is for number one contender, I’d be surprised if it was anything else. With the run that I’ve had, I beat the last number one contender in Demian Maia and Chris Leben’s got a big win over Wanderlei Silva. I had a four-fight winning streak and my last loss was to Yushin Okami, who fought for the title.
“I’m right there, I’m at the top of the heap and there’s nowhere else for me to go. I want to be world champ and I’ve written that goal on my wall so I see it every day. I train accordingly and I think accordingly.”
