Thiago Tavares Vs. Tyson Griffin
Thiago Tavares was the favorite coming into the octagon last night as he faced Tyson Griffin in a fast-paced and very strategical Lighweight match-up. Tavares, with an impressive 13-0 record, seemed almost unstoppable until Griffin showed him that there was always a first time for everything. Griffin dominated Tavares in almost every single takedown as he overmuscled him whenever the fight went to the ground. Tavares had a few rear naked choke attempts including a flying knee
to Griffin’s face in the second round that pretty much shook him,
but it just wasn’t enough to knock him out. Griffin took home the win
as the judges gave him the vistory via a Unanimous decision with scores
of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
Kazuhiro Nakamura Vs. Lyoto Machida
It was definitely not a good night for the PrideFC fighters that
were debuting at UFC 76-Knockout last night. We start off with
Kazuhiro Nakamura, the Japanese Superstar, who entered the cage with a
typical comical entrance as he tried to entertain the American crowd by
opening up a Japanese umbrella. As he stepped into the octagon,
everyone waited patiently to see how this newcomer was going to fight
against a very tough opponent with 50% of Japanese descent, Lyoto
Machida. Machida has always been known for his ground game, but he
stunned fans with his terrific stand-up fighting. Machida worked on
him throughout the fight with elbows and knees to the body, which
eventually put Nakamura on the ground. Machida had a few rear naked
choke attempts, but it was going to take a lot more to submit the
experienced PrideFC veteran Nakamura. Nakamura pushed the pace as he
defended many takedowns and had his shares of punches and knees on
Machida. However, Machida was able to dominate all 3 rounds and added
another win via a Unanimous decision to give himself an 11-fight
winning streak.
Jon Fitch Vs. Diego Sanchez
Coming in with a 13-fight winning streak, Jon Fitch added another
loss to Diego’s record, making it 2 consecutive losses. Sanchez didn’t
seem comfortable fighting with Fitch standing up as he tried to take
the game to the ground as his main objective every time. Fitch
defended himself very well, which made Sanchez work more throughout the
entire bout. As they went to the ground, Fitch was much more effective
with his punches, elbows and even a slam in the second round. It was
only in the third round where Sanchez had 2 clear chances of submiting
Fitch including a triangle choke, but Fitch was able to slip out and
take home the Split decision win with scores of 30-27 and 29-28 in his
favor. A third judge scored it 29-28 in favor for Sanchez, but it was
Fitch who took home the victory once again as he adds another win to
his record.
Mauricio Shogun Vs. Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin
stuns the world as he not only wins, but he also submitted the supposed
#1 Light Heavyweight contender in the world via a rear naked choke! A
terrible night for the Brazilian, Mauricio Shogun,
as he loses during his UFC debut. His brother Murilo “Ninja” Rua lost
his title last week to UFC veteran Robbie Lawler in an EliteXC
Middleweight Championship. It just hasn’t been good for the Brazilian
Chute Boxe team in the past few months including losses from the Rua
brothers and Wanderlei Silva.
Shogun was expected to win the match, but Griffin proved almost
everyone wrong. It seems that he was right when he stated in prior
interviews, where he consistently told everyone that he knew he was a
good match-up for Shogun. Shogun took down Griffin in many attempts as
he quickly worked on Griffin when the game went to the ground. Shogun
consistently punched and elbowed Griffin several times, opening his
forehead up creating a deep and nasty cut. It looked like it would
affect Griffin throughout the rest of the match, but it was quite the
opposite. Griffin began to gain more confidence and exchanged punches
with Shogun many times. Shogun, known for his cardio, would gas out
during rounds 2 and 3. Griffin also had many submission attempts
including a guillotine choke. Another upset for the Pride fighters
once again. We’ll definitely see Mauricio Shogun back in action again,
probably stronger than ever as he is a true warrior at only 25 years of
age. Many of us have never seen him lose in this fashion, but that’s
really how MMA turns out to be sometimes. You can only learn from
these losses and we’ll be sure to see Shogun back into the octagon very
soon. Congratulations to Forrest for a great win.
Chuck Liddell Vs. Keith Jardine
With betting odds all favoring Chuck Liddell,
it was just another upset for UFC 76-Knockout. Chuck desperately
needed a win as he recently lost his title to the current Light
Heavyweight Champion, Quinton Jackson. Keith Jardine
was also coming back from a devastating 48-second KO loss by Houston
Alexander. Both men needed the win, but there was only one winner at
the end of the night.
The Iceman looked great at the start as he quickly punched Keith
Jardine several times to the head and face. Chuck immediately damaged
his right eye with several punches and then opened the front part of
his head. Although Jardine’s face began to cover up with blood, it
just wasn’t enough to take him out. Chuck continued to work with
several jabs, but Jardine began to gain confidence as he would use a
repetitive strategy with a kick to the body followed by a punch to the
face. It just seemed to work every time, creating damage on the
Iceman. Jardine’s somewhat bizarre technique was good enough to win
the judge’s decision and the main event as well. Chuck now goes
through another rough loss as he attains a 2-fight losing streak for
the very first time in his career.
