Sold-out crowd watch GSP and "The Iceman" defeat nemesis, regain their championship form

Octagonside by Albert Jimenez Howell     Photography by Chris Cozzone

It’s not often seen, but sometimes, fight cards live up to the hype.

Last night’s sold-out UFC 79: NEMESIS event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas is one such card.

In the main event, a battle of former welterweight champions vying for Interim honors until title-holder Matt Serra recovers from a lower back injury, Canadian Georges St-Pierre (15-2) closed the book on one of the greatest trilogies in UFC history, submitting nine-time champion, four-time All-American wrestler Matt Hughes (43-6) in the second round.

Hughes was originally scheduled to face Serra as an encore to the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter, in which the two appeared as coaches. However, Serra suffered a herniated disc in his lower back during training and had to pull out of the bout. Former champion St-Pierre, who was upset by Serra in April at UFC 69, stepped in to face Hughes for their rubber match rather than finish training for wrestling at the Olympic trials.

In their first match-up, at UFC 50 in 2004, Hughes won the vacant welterweight title with a first round submission victory over St-Pierre. At 2006’s UFC 65, St-Pierre evened the score with a second round TKO over Hughes to capture the 170-pound crown. Last night’s finale saw St-Pierre settling the score.

A leg kick landed for St-Pierre to start the action in round one. Hughes went for a takedown and St-Pierre stuffed Hughes. In response, St-Pierre scored a takedown of his own. Sunk in Hughes’ full guard, St-Pierre landed a series of left punches to Hughes’ head. A left elbow connected for St-Pierre. Then, a series of right punches to Hughes’ head scored for St-Pierre. More right punches landed for St-Pierre before he commenced to lift-and-mini-slam Hughes to the mat. Hughes who was bear-hugging his foe during the mini-slam session, finally loosened his hold. Seizing the opportunity, St-Pierre took Hughes’ back and attempted to set-up a rear naked choke but time expired in the round before St-Pierre could adequately soften up Hughes for the submission attempt.

With the combatants on their feet to begin the second stanza, and in an amazing display of strength and determination, St-Pierre manhandled Hughes, lunging him belly-to-belly forcefully to the mat, bulldog-style, as Hughes held on. Working from Hughes’ guard, St-Pierre returned to the ground-and-pound game. A right elbow connected for St-Pierre, followed by a few right punches to the side of Hughes’ midsection. Another elbow landed for St-Pierre as he attempted to pass Hughes’ guard and he continued to soften up Hughes with punches to the head. St-Pierre finally passed Hughes guard and took his opponent’s back, while Hughes did his best to defend against a rear naked choke. With St-Pierre continuing  to soften up his foe with strikes, Hughes rolled out to avoid absorbing additional punishment. On their feet, St-Pierre flipped Hughes over his hip and to the ground, and  wasted no time deftly sinking in the armbar.

The legendary Hughes was defenseless against St-Pierre’s submission and verbally tapped out at 4:54.

With the victory, St-Pierre was crowned the interim world welterweight champ, but in the Octagon, he told the cheering crowd that while he would add the belt to his collection, he would not consider himself the true champion until avenging his loss by beating the champion Serra.

Hughes, whose left eye was damaged to the point of being nearly closed shut, offered no excuses in defeat, saying that his opponent St-Pierre is the better fighter.

“When I fight Matt Serra again, you will see the difference,” St-Pierre said at the post-fight press conference.

“Next time, people will understand when I say that that loss was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Liddell-Silva a bout of beautiful brutality

Saturday’s co-main event featured a highly anticipated light heavyweight battle between Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (21-5) and Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1), recognized as the two most dominant light heavyweights in the history of MMA.

Liddell, the former UFC champion, and Silva the former PRIDE champion, had dreamed about squaring off for years and the hype leading up to the contest met expectations.

Although the bout did not end in knockout as the two combatants predicted, the three rounds were action-packed with big strikes landed by both competitors throughout the 15 minute fists-of-fury battle that saw Silva wobbled and Liddell floored.

For years conventional wisdom surmised that Liddell’s kickboxing counterpunching style would match up beautifully against Silva’s aggressive, straight-forward Muay Thai fighting style. Styles make fights, and it was understood that these two artistic strikers had the styles to make a fight that would live on for the ages. And, what Liddell and Silva delivered on Saturday night was nothing short of beautiful brutality.

Liddell entered the Octagon having dropped his last two fights, including a TKO loss to Quentin “Rampage” Jackson in their championship bout, and an unmotivated decision loss to Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine. Liddell, who has now suffered two TKO losses at the hands of Jackson, was now facing Silva—the man who twice kayo’d Jackson.

Although Liddell was 0-2 and Silva 2-0 against their common opponent Jackson, this had no bearing whatsoever on the result of Saturday night’s legendary fight. For it was Liddell, and not Silva, that emerged from the Octagon victorious.

Liddell, aided by visualization help from self-help guru Anthony Robbins, revitalized his MMA career with the tremendous win over Silva.

The first round was all stand-up with both men concentrating on their power punches and economical with their kicks. Although both men landed impressive strikes in the opening stanza, Liddell edged Silva by landing the cleaner shots.

Feeling each other out, each man missed with punches early on. An outside kick for Silva was the first landed strike of the bout. Liddell responded with a punch that forced Silva backwards to the cage. Liddell followed up by unleashing a barrage of punches. Silva demonstrated his blocking defense and keenly responded with a few of his own punches. An outside kick connected for Silva after Liddell hurt Silva with strikes to the head. The resilient Silva showed his solid chin early on absorbing huge strikes from his powerful foe.

Turning the tide a bit, Silva tagged Liddell flush with a strong strike, followed by an outside kick to the thigh. Liddell answered with a one-two punch combination. Silva returned the strikes landing punches of his own. And now it was Liddell demonstrating his resilient chin. A right connected for Liddell, flush to Silva’s jaw. After another punch exchange with an inside kick by Liddell, tagged his foe as the horn sounded to end the opening stanza.            

It was Silva bettering Liddell during their first fistic exchange of the second round. Two more exchanges saw Silva with an advantage over Liddell, giving the impression that the former Pride champion was growing stronger, not only turning the tide but appearing to seize control of the bout. Liddell slipped and Silva was on top of him with punches, but The Iceman recovered quickly before his adversary was able to inflict any serious damage.

A left hook by Silva rocked his combatant and Liddell was floored by Silva’s strike. But, strangely, Silva allowed his fallen foe to get back to his feet, unwisely allotting Liddell recovery time. With his opponent visibly shaken, Silva demonstrated too much respect for Liddell. A little less cautiousness and a little more finishing instinct would have served Silva well at this point in the bout.

Afterwards, Liddell brushed off the knockdown saying he was caught off-balance, but there was little doubt that it marked a missed opportunity for Silva when he chose not to pounce on his grounded competitor.

Liddell soon took back the fight, connecting with a sweet strike and drawing blood over Silva’s right eye. With Liddell rocking his foe with another power strike, the bleeding from Silva’s face was now flowing generously. In the final minute, Liddell scored a takedown and worked his ground-and-pound game.

Although Silva looked to be mounting a comeback, Liddell came on strong enough in the second half to end the round and win on two of the judges’ scorecards.

Following through where he left off in the previous round, Liddell took Silva to the mat once again. Back on their feet, it was a big right hand by Silva that tagged Liddell on the chin. Liddell responded with a straight right; Silva came back with two leg kicks. Liddell then went for a spinning back fist, followed up by straight punches. Liddell rocked his opponent forcing him to the cage, but Silva fought his way back by throwing punches.

Liddell looked great in the third round whereas Silva’s face was a bloody mess. An overhand right haymaker by Liddell forced Silva back to the cage yet again. Once again, Silva fought back, landing a couple of well-placed shots of his own. Chuck was marked up under his left eye, but was not nearly as visibly damaged as his formidable foe.

As the round and bout neared its end, Liddell scored his third takedown of the bout to seal the round, and the fight. It was a unanimous decision victory for Liddell with the scorecards reading 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27.

The bout marked the triumphant return to the Octagon for Liddell. Due to injuries sustained during the contest, Silva had to go to the hospital after the bout.

“It was a fun fight,” he said at the post-fight press conference.

“He is a tough man. I thought I would finish him several times but he kept coming.”

Sanchez beats UFC newcomer Palelei

Heavyweight Eddie Sanchez (10-1) bested UFC newcomer and PRIDE veteran Soa Palelei (8-2) over three hard-fought rounds before the referee stepped in to mercifully end the bout awarding Sanchez his third UFC win by way of TKO.

Palelei, who entered the Octagon boasting eight victories in his previous nine MMA bouts, with all of his wins coming by way of knockout or submission, had no answer for Sanchez’ stand-up striking. As the fight progressed, Sanchez was able to land his uppercuts on the inside almost at will. Nonetheless, Palelei was game, and absorbed a significant amount of punishment before the referee stopped the bout. 

To begin the action, Sanchez attempted to come in with punches but Palelei defended and pushed Sanchez to the cage. Palelei took Sanchez to the mat despite Sanchez’ aggressive defense against the takedown. Sanchez got back to his feet. The referee called a timeout after Palelei was tagged by a knee below the belt. Smartly, Palelei took the appropriate time to recover. With the action resuming, Sanchez pushed Palelei back to the cage. The two cagefighters exchanged knees before the referee separated the two contestants hoping to jump-start the action which at times during the bout was slow-paced. Again, Sanchez pushed Palelei back to the cage. Two knees by Palelei landed on the inside connecting to the midsection of Sanchez. Palelei missed with a wild punch and ended up on the ground due to the momentum from the missed punch, but he rapidly got back to his feet before Sanchez could take advantage of the mishap. Yet again, Sanchez backed Palelei to the cage. This time Sanchez landed a picturesque left hook under the chin of his opponent rattling Palelei before the first round ended. That landed punch was a foreshadowing of things to follow.

In round two, Sanchez tagged Palelei with an outside kick. Sanchez followed up the landed strike by rushing in with punches, but the hand strikes were blocked by the defensive-minded Palelei. The two men exchanged knees on the inside as they clutched each other on the cage. The referee broke up the fighters once again, hoping to stimulate more activity from the combatants. A short left hook by Sanchez caught his formidable foe on the side of the jaw. Palelei responded by tagging his opponent with an overhand right to the head. Palelei lunged in with two big rights Sanchez was able to avoid being hit flush. Sanchez took the contest to the mat and found himself in Palelei’s guard. Now back on their feet, the combatants exchanged jabs. A right uppercut by Sanchez connected under the chin of Palelei, who was now bleeding from the face. Another right uppercut landed for Sanchez whose adversary responded with a knee.

To begin the activity in round three, Sanchez landed a three-punch combination, rocking his competitor. Another right uppercut by Sanchez landed flush under the chin of Palelei. Sanchez rocked his adversary with another uppercut before Palelei responded with a knee. To slow Palelei down Palelei clutched. It was testament to the fact that Sanchez was winning the striking contest. Sanchez’ ability to land clean uppercuts was the story of this bout. After Sanchez hurt Palelei with yet another series of uppercuts on the inside, the referee decided to step in and call a halt to the bout.

The contest ended in anticlimactic fashion as the two men were still clutching when the contest was called off with Sanchez laboring to punch through Palelei’s blocking defense. Nonetheless it was a good stoppage. Palelei had absorbed enough punishment and was no longer in the fight. The official end came at 3:24 of the third round with Sanchez declared the winner by TKO.

Machida forces Sokoudjou to tap out

The technically-gifted and undefeated Lyoto Machida (12-0), who owns black belts in Shotokan Karate and BJJ, forced the highly-touted judoka Sokoudjou (4-2), who boasts KO victories over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in Pride bouts, to tap out in the second round of their light heavyweight contest.

The southpaw Machida tagged Sokoudjou with a lead left to begin the contest. The men exchanged strikes before Sokoudjou tripped Machida to the ground, scoring an impressive takedown. Machida rolled and assumed the top position. Working from Sokoudjou’s half guard, Machida attempted a kimura.

Sokoudjou deftly defended the submission attempt freeing his arm. Machida dropped two mean elbows to the head of Sokoudjou, while, working with his back to the mat, Sokoudjou labored to defend against Machida’s strikes. Machida dropped another elbow on his formidable foe before landing punches to the head of Sokoudjou. The referee stood up the two fighters with just over 100 seconds remaining in the round. Machida connected with a kick to the midsection of Sokoudjou, and an inside kick landed for Machida. Then, Sokoudjou took Machida to the mat again. Machida got back to his feet and the round ended.

In round two, an outside kick landed for Machida to commence the Octagon action. A high kick by Machida landed to the side of his adversary’s head while Sokoudjou labored, but could not land, the big punch as in he had in his previous knockout victories, Machida proving too elusive. A Machida straight kick to the head of his opponent was partially blocked but a subsequent straight left dropped Sokoudjou to the ground. Machida commenced to ground-and-pound his fallen foe and while Sokoudjou escaped immediate danger with a blocking defense, Machida now in half guard, landed a few well-placed elbows to the head.

Recognizing the opportunity to finish his opposition, Machida went for a submission and got Sokoudjou in an arm triangle. Unable to defend himself any longer, Sokoudjou tapped out of the bout.

The official end came at 4:20 of round two with Machida declared the winner by tapout due to arm triangle. Machida remained undefeated with the impressive submission victory.

After the win Machida said that he is ready for a title shot.

Clementi wins by tapout over Guillard

Lightweight MMA veteran Rich Clementi (37-12-1), cast member of the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, defeated Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard (39-8-3) in the first round by tapout due to rear naked choke.

An inside kick by Clementi landed to begin the action in the opening stanza. The two combatants exchanged strikes in the middle of the Octagon. Clementi landed an outside kick and Guillard rushed in punching with most of his punches being blocked by Clementi. Guillard rushed in again, and Clementi tripped Guillard, taking him to the mat. Guillard got back to his feet, but Clementi quickly took him down again. Back to their feet yet again, Guillard connected with two big right punches to the head of Clementi.

With the fighters on the ground once more, Clementi took Guillard’s arm attempting an arm bar submission. Guillard rolled out of impending trouble, or so he thought. Immediately, Clementi took Guillard’s back and sunk in the rear naked choke. Guillard tapped out.

Clementi’s post-fight celebration apparently offended Guillard, and he attempted to rush Clementi after the fight but was restrained by the referee.

The official end to the contest came at 4:40 of round one with Clementi declared the victor by tapout due to rear naked choke.

After the bout, Clementi commented about the bad blood between Guillard and himself saying, “The bottom line is that I showed what Melvin has known for six years, that I’m the better all around fighter.

“I’m glad that I can finally put the bad blood to rest while putting on a great show for the fans.”

Cane DQ'd, injured Irvin gets win

In a rather bizarre match, Luis Cane (7-1) placed a prohibited knee to the forehead of his grounded opponent James “The Sandman” Irvin (13-4) while still in the first round of their light heavyweight contest. At the recommendation of the ring doctor and despite the protest of Irvin, the referee called a halt to the bout and Irvin was awarded a disqualification victory.

Cane, who entered the Octagon boasting an undefeated record with all seven of his victories coming by way of knockout or submission, connected with a strike to the head of Irvin to begin the action in round one. Another strike up top connected for Cane before Irvin responded by tagging Cane with a forceful upstairs punch of his own. The men exchanged kicks and Cane slipped to the ground. Cane got back to his feet and then took Irvin down to the mat.

It was then that Cane caught Irvin with an illegal knee while Irvin was on canvas. Cane was penalized a point for the foul while Irvin remained on the mat recovering from the banned knee to the forehead. The ring doctor was invited into the Octagon to check on the condition of Irvin. On the advice of the ring doctor the referee waved off the bout.

Irvin, who was visibly upset when he was not allowed to continue the contest, argued against the stoppage but to no avail. Irvin was declared the winner by disqualification with the official time of 1:51 of round one.

Gamburyan earns tapout victory

The Ultimate Fighter 5 contestant Manvel Gamburyan (6-3) forced Nate Mohr (8-5) to tapout in the first round of their lightweight contest.  Gamburyan, who was injured during the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5, said after the fight that his shoulder has healed from that injury. He definitely showed at 100% in his fierce battle against Mohr, who entered the Octagon boasting five victories in his last six bouts.

Gamburyan came out as a man on a mission, beginning the bout strong and finishing stronger. Gamburyan rushed in on Mohr to commence the bout, connecting with a strike to the head. Gamburyan went for the takedown and Mohr was unsuccessful in defending the takedown. Gamburyan slammed Mohr to the canvas. Gamburyan, working from Mohr’s full guard, put the heel hook on his foe, forcing Mohr to tap out.

Gamburyan was declared the victor by verbal tapout due to heel hook at 1:31 of round one winner.

Mohr lay on the mat after the bout ended visibly in agony as the ring doctor cared to his injured leg. After the fight, Gamburyan spoke to Joe Rogan about his previous fight against Nate Diaz when he was injured during the Ultimate Fighter 5 finale, ending up losing by submission. Gamburyan promised to avenge his loss against Diaz.

Gamburyan also apologized to his opponent Mohr, who appeared seriously injured from the ankle lock and had to be assisted out of the Octagon and back to the locker room.

“I’m sorry,” he told Mohr. “I think I broke his leg.”

Lister wins decision

Grappler Dean Lister (10-5) won a unanimous decision victory over Jordan Radev (16-3), a former member of the Bulgarian Olympic Wrestling team, in their middleweight contest. The bout, which saw both men on their feet the majority of the time, did not pack as much action as one would expect from a stand-up competition but, nonetheless, Lister did what he had to do to not just to win the bout, but also to win all three rounds.

An inside leg kick connected for Radev to begin first round action. Lister answered with a knee to Radev’s chin. Another inside leg kick connected for Radev and Lister responded by throwing a few strikes which were blocked. This time a straight right by Lister landed flush to the face of Radev, who responded with an inside leg kick. Lister tagged Radev with a kick to the midsection followed by a high kick to the head, then followed up with a left punch and, a moment later, a right hand. Near the end of round one, Lister attempted a single leg takedown which was stuffed by Radev. The fighters exchanged punches with Radev nailing Lister with a straight left.

A Lister inside leg kick connected to begin round two. Radev held Lister’s leg after Lister’s kick attempt missed its mark. Lister fell to the ground but Radev choose not to engage Lister on the ground. Lister got back to his feet and the stand-up battle continued. Lister again invited Radev to the ground but Radev refused the invitation. Radev was content to trade stand-up strikes with the stronger Lister. A right kick by Lister tagged his competitor’s head. A left high kick by Lister was partially blocked and a right kick by Lister connected to the gut of Radev, followed by a right knee by Lister that connected to the chin of his foe. Finally with 30 seconds left in the second, Lister took Radev to the ground. Passing his foe’s guard Lister unleashed a flurry of ground-and-pound strikes and Radev was saved by the bell.

A right high kick by Lister connected to the head of his adversary to begin round three. Radev responded with punches that were blocked by Lister. Lister attempted a takedown but Radev escaped the takedown attempt, then blocked yet another. Lister invited Radev to the floor again but one more time, Radev refused the challenge to engage Lister on the mat. With less than 90 seconds left in the bout Lister finally took Radev to the floor for the second time in the competition. Radev held Lister in his half guard and finished the bout displaying his defensive abilities from his back.

In the end, all three scorecards read 30-27 a unanimous decision victory for Lister.

About the bout, Lister said, “The fight went more or less how I expected. I tried my best to finish the fight when I had him mounted but I ran out of time. I definitely think that if I had another minute I would have been able to finish him.”

Carneiro TKOs Desouza

Roan Carneiro (12-6) TKO’d his adversary Tony DeSouza (10-4) in the second round of their welterweight match-up.

An inside leg kick by Carneiro connected to start the action. A knee to the midsection hurt DeSouza, and but he was taken to the mat. In DeSouza’s guard, DeSouza attempted an arm lock but Carneiro deftly escaped danger. Carneiro attempted a rear naked choke but De Souza escaped and reversed positions taking the top. DeSouza landed some telling strikes as the two combatants scrambled before DeSouza found himself back in his adversary’s guard where Carneiro unleashed more than a few well-placed elbows from his back. DeSouza answered with a brutal punch to the face of Carneiro before the end of the opening stanza.

There was a brief trade of punches to begin the second round. Carneiro connected flush with a left jab. DeSouza rushed in and Carneiro took him down. DeSouza returned to his feet and Carneiro took him down again. Carneiro then took his opponent’s back, flattened DeSouza and softened him up with brutal strikes to the head. After Carneiro connected with an outrageous number of strikes and with no response from DeSouza, the referee correctly stepped in to call a halt to the bout. The official time of the TKO was 3:33 of round two for the victor Carneiro.

Afterwards, Carneiro, who moved to Florida to train with American Top Team following his last outing a loss to Jon Fitch, said, “I’m so excited that I was able to show my skills tonight.

“The fight went exactly how I had planned it in training.”

DeSouza was unimpressive in his return to the Octagon after a year-long layoff which included a stint as an assistant coach on season five of The Ultimate Fighter.

Bocek decisions Evans

The opening bout of the evening was a lightweight bout between the highly decorated grappler Mark Bocek (5-1) and Doug Evans (5-2).

Evans showed strong at the beginning of the opening stanza and at the end of the final round, but Bocek controlled the rest of the bout earning the decision victory. Evans’ stand-up game was strong in the first round helping him win the round. Bocek took Evans down about midway through the opening stanza turning the tide of the fight and he controlled the bout up until the end of the third round when he was put in a kimura hold.

Bocek appeared in danger but after the fight he said about his opponent’s kimura hold, “I have had world jiu-jitsu guys put me in kimuras all the time and I was fine.”

In the end, it was Bocek receiving the nod from the judges. All three scorecards read 29-28 for Bocek with all three judges giving Evans the first round, and Boceck the last two rounds.

Afterwards, Bocek spoke about going the distance with Evans:

“In the back of my mind, I knew it was going to be a difficult fight, but I was very well trained and I’m glad that now I know what it feels like to go three rounds.”

Bonus shots of the night