UFC 143

So ESPN had a free weekend this weekend :D !!
That meant I got to watch the UFC on an actual TV for a change, and thankfully because I had no internet access to be able to stream anyways. The only downfall of this was that I didn't get to see the preliminary fights, which judging by play by plays and peoples tweets, was a big miss.

The fights I did get to see were mainly good, lacking many big finishes though.
Starting with Ed Herman v Clifford Starks with the first and only submission of the main card, (my pick) Herman finished 1.43 into round 2 after just losing the first round to Starks after a great 5min exchange.

Next up (I was right again when) Renan Barao made good use of his jab and mixed it up with kicks for the full 15minutes to beat Scott Jorgensen to a unanimous decision.

Josh Koscheck v Mike Pierce was a pretty even fight ending in Koscheck edging the split decision (chalking up another victory for me) , leading to the fight I was most hyped for - Fabricio Werdum v Roy 'Big Country' Nelson. After seeing Werdum compete in the 2011 ADCC in Nottingham I decided Is be backing the Brazilian.
First thing to mention in this contest was the apparent change to Nelsons appearance. It was quite obvious that he has made an effort to slim down his famous 'physique' and I think it made a big difference as I predicted Werdum would have been a little more dominant. Excitingly I thought it was all over, super early into the 1st, when Werdum took it to the ground looking for the rear naked choke but Nelson managed an escape and got to his feet. At this point Nelsons face is attacked by some big knees, making it clear he can take more than take a hit but the fight is paused for a doctor to check the bloody mess.
The round restarts and Werdum again connects with another knee, then they drop to the ground with Nelson this time defending the BJJ champs arm bar attempt.
The fight makes it to the third where Big Country grabs a standing guillotine, though it isn't on tight and as Werdum stands up bringing the round to a close still landing the more substantial shots. Winner by Unanimous decision, Fabricio Werdum!

Finally Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz step up to compete for the interim welterweight belt.
Which also went the distance, unfortunatly with a very unpopular result. For the full 5 five minute rounds Condit backed up and ran away from Diaz constantly throwing ineffective leg kicks, a typical product of Greg Jacksons camp.
At the end of the fight Nick Diaz proclaimed to Joe Rogan that he 'doesn't need this shit' and declared his retirement from MMA.
A huge disappointment to a lot of MMA fans and fighters alike and defiantly a sign that the judging system needs to be revised.
BJ retires after being beat by Diaz, Diaz retires after being beat by Condit...will Condit retire after his likely defeat by GSP?

UFC 141

Overall, yet again, another super exciting card!
This is the very first full live event that I've watched in the comfort of my very own flat :) but that didn't take away how agitated I get when watching.
In terms of my picks, things didn't go so good, starting off with the Facebook prelims...
I picked Manny, purely I guess because I liked him from TUF 5 and the fights I've seen of his have been good to watch, and unfortunately he lost (what I believe to be) a pretty close decision.
Next up was Efrain Escudero and Jacob Volkmann when yet again my pick lost! Lay on his back for most the fight only showing any slight dominance when he managed to get Volkmann in a guillotine in the final minutes of the last round which was somehow superbly defended. 2-0 to Jake in our personal betting stakes haha!
Bringing it back for me in the third fight of the night was Dong Hyun Kim with his unanimous decision over Sean Pierson who he really should of finished after having him super rocked with a front kick late into the second round.
Here was our break in the nights fights as we didn't get to view either of the Spike prelims of Anthony Njokuani vs. Danny Castillo or Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao, the latter of which I was really looking forward to with Ross being a fellow North Easterner (and the only Makam I'll ever support in anything! lol). After reading the Sherdog live play by plays I'm looking forward to getting to watch both fights in the near future.

Main event time! Full of surprises and somewhat disappointment.
Jim Hettes proved himself to be a one to watch in 2012 and had my eyes glued to the screen. Not only does he have awesome judo and ground skills but I think he proved his UFC.com pie chart rating of 1% Striking very wrong. With a domination of Nam Phan that I'm sure not many people expected, especially not me, I take my hat of to the young up and comer! I would very much like to follow his future after such an brilliant fight and  listening to his post fight interview with Ariel Helwani in which he seems like such a humble, down to earth guy.

Not much to say for the next fight. I thought Matyushenko stood an okay chance after his quick KO of Jason Brilz in his last fight, but it wasn't to be when the vet was ground and pounded until the ref stepped in at the end of the 1st.
Getting closer to the main event and another surprising yet exciting bout when Johnny Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch with one punch 12 seconds in! Being a fan of both I didn't know what to do, so I cried haha. Gutted for Fitch, but chuffed for Hendricks...not sure if he quite deserves the title shot hes asked for just yet though.
Now, a fight everyone was hyped for. You know when the 'Diaz' name is involved its going to be a brawl and Nate didn't disappoint. 3 rounds of back and forth slugging with Cowboy Cerrone making good use of his leg kicks although he failed to take the top position after sweeping Nate's legs which could of secured him more points. The official fight of the night and another of my picked making me happy! War Diaz!


This is it. The painful part to type so I'll not write much. Overeem's debut fight in the UFC and he defeated Brock. I though Brock would of managed to take him down and ground and pound but nope :/ Anyways, before the post fight interview with Joe Rogan I called that he was gonna announce his retirement. Which he did. Fair enough he may not be the most amazing fighter ever, but I find that alot of the unnecessary hate against him is because of his WWE background and I cried again to see another guy I like leave the UFC roster this year. At least we got MIGUEL TORRES back eh?!


Happy New Year all, roll on UFC Rio in two weeks! Yey!