1) Jonathan Goulet vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Round one: This crowd is going to be insane for GSP because the place is half-full and already going wild for Goulet, who is also Canadian. Hironaka looked for an early takedown and ate a hard knee to the face for his efforts. Goulet looks sharp in his standup and wants to keep the fight standing while Hironaka wants to take it to the ground. With a minute to go, Hironaka landed a brutal short right that wobbled Goulet, then followed with shots that dropped Goulet to the mat. Goulet was taking a hellacious beating as the round came to a close. Great start to the action.
Round two: After the great finish, Hironaka looks more confident in his striking and peppers Goulet early. Goulet's got a mouse under his right eye and Hironaka is bleeding from the nose. Goulet crumples up Hironaka with a shot at 3:30, but the Japanese fighter tries to cover up, then manages to get up off the canvas. Goulet stalks him into one of the octagon corners and finishes with a devastating one-shot knockout. The crowd is electric and immediately chants "Goulet! Goulet!" for their hometown hero.
Winner: Goulet by TKO
2) Cain Velasquez vs. Brad Morris
Round one: Velasquez is supposed to be the real deal, a wrestler who loves to trade leather. He shows that early when he hammers Morris with a shot that puts the debuting Australian on his back. Velasquez looks to finish but Morris does well to hang on. But Velasquez is an absolute animal and mauls Morris on the ground before the fight finally goes back to a standing position. There Velasquez connects on a leg kick and follows Morris to the ground where he finishes for the impressive TKO.
Winner: Velasquez by TKO
3) Rich Clementi vs. Sam Stout
In what is likely a first for any MMA show, The Eurythmics "Here Comes the Rain Again" was heard on the sound speakers when Clementi used it as his entrance song. Alrighty, then.
Round one: Clementi wanted the fight on the ground, and he got it there within a minute, looking for the rear naked choke, but he wasn't able to lock it in. Despite not locking in the hold, Clementi found himself in great position with full mount. Stout worked hard in fighting off such a seasoned jiu-jitsu grappler and eventually escaped to bring the fight back to a standing position. Clementi remained dogged and brought the fight back to the mat, where he looked for a kimura. Clementi had full mount and was raining down punches as the round ended.
Round two: Stout connected with his first hard shot early in the round, then stuffed a takedown to gain some momentum. His boxing bloodied Clementi's nose as the fight stayed standing for an extended period. Stout is known as the better striker, but the standup was a stalemate as the round continued and Clementi couldn't manage another takedown, though he came close with a standing guillotine that he tried to take to the ground before Stout escaped.
Round three: Clementi finally managed another takedown when he clinched and bullrushed Stout into a corner, but as he tried a guillotine, Stout escaped with no damage. Stout scored with a big hook midway through, but as he went to follow, Clementi clinched and gave himself precious recovery time. As the round wore on, Stout seemed the fresher of the two and landed the crisper shots, but it will be a tough decision for the judges.
Winner: Clementi by split decision
4) Ed Herman vs. Demian Maia
Round one: Maia is a ground fighter, and shows it by going for an immediate takedown. Herman fights him off for a while but Maia is tenacious and finally completes the move into half-guard. Herman, the physically stronger of the two, is able to power up and out. The fight goes to the ground again, and Maia tries the rarely seen and rarely successful omo plata. Herman works his way out in short order and finds himself on top. Maia stays busy and tries to roll into a kneebar, but Herman escapes that too. Maia lands a short elbow on the ground but Herman works out of trouble again. This time, Herman uses his top position for ground and pound as the round ends.
Round two: Maia went for an early takedown again, but this time Herman stuffed him and took the fight down to the ground on his own terms. Herman was probably emboldened by realizing his strength advantage, but Maia is crafty, and he locks Herman in a triangle. Herman tries to roll out but ends up on the bottom of Maia's triangle, getting choked out and eating indefensible punches at the same time. His body goes limp just as the referee stops the fight.
Winner: Maia by submission (Triangle choke)
After the fight, Georges St. Pierre was shown in his locker room and the place exploded. It will come unhinged when he actually appears in the arena. The atmosphere is definitely electric. Spring has sprung in Montreal, the Canadiens are close to advancing in the NHL playoffs, and GSP could be crowned king.
5) Jason Day vs. Alan Belcher
Round one: Belcher scored a takedown a minute in, but Day actually got in a considerable amount of offense from his back with elbows and short strikes. Belcher finally let him up but perhaps Belcher was dazed from the ground because he was quickly overwhelmed as Day unloaded with precision strikes from the clinch. He backed Belcher up with an uppercut and never let up with a series of shots that eventually forced a stoppage at 3:58.
Winner: Day by TKO
6) Joe Doerksen vs. Jason MacDonald
Round one: MacDonald tried a standing guillotine seconds after the opening bell, then the two went to the ground as MacDonald held it for an eternity to no avail. Doerksen finally escaped into side control and looked for a kimura. MacDonald looked like he was ready to tap but held on. Doerksen kept trying to crank it, and the arm was at a crazy angle, but MacDonald wouldn't tap. Both men showing incredible heart and stamina. MacDonald powers out as the round ends.
Round two: MacDonald got an early takedown and landed a series of elbows that bounced Doerksen's head off the mat and knocked him loopy, causing ref Steve Mazzagatti to stop the fight. MacDonald continued with a few extra shots after Mazzagatti stopped it, though it was hard to tell if he didn't realize the fight was over or if he was adding some more damage because of bad blood the two fighters have in their past.
Winner: MacDonald by TKO
Backstage sightings to report: actresses Mandy Moore and Minka Kelly (NBC's Friday Night Lights) are in the house. I'm a married man, but one word: wow.
7) Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig
Round one: Danzig is making his debut in the 155-pound weigh class after winning last season of The Ultimate Fighter in the 170-pound weight class. After a minute of standup work, Bocek tried a single leg takedown against the cage and after 40 seconds of after, finally dragged Danzig down. Bocek worked to pass guard but was unsuccessful. Danzig got up momentarily, but Bocek quickly took him back down. Bocek couldn't do much from the position, and Danzig escaped, then took Bocek down and landed several hard strikes.
Round two: Bocek got caught with a knee coming in from a takedown and he fell backwards. Danzig jumped on him but Bocek covered up well. Danzig stayed active and hurt Danzig with an elbow, then gained Bocek's back. Bocek defended well and eventually Danzig simply walked off and let him up. Danzig retained top position and inflicted damage for the rest of the round.
Round three: Bocek needs to get the fight on the ground on his terms and did so with a takedown, but Danzig countered with a gogoplata attempt. Bocek escaped and connected with short elbows. Danzig landed a solid knee that wobbled Bocek and put a deep cut over his left eye. The ref stopped the fight to look at the cut, and the fight continued. By this point, Bocek's vision is likely impaired. Danzig picked away from the outside with jabs and rights, then took Bocek down and quickly gained full mount. He flattened Bocek with punches, sunk in his hooks and secured the rear naked choke for the finish.
Winner: Danzig by submission (rear naked choke)
Charles McCarthy vs. Michael Bisping
Round one: Bisping looks lean and fast at 185. Bisping got a muay thai clinch and threw several knees and uppercuts. McCarthy blocked some of them, then taunted Bisping as they broke. These two do not like each other because of comments made to the press. Bisping did not look amused. The crowd has begun soccer chants, but stopped in their tracks when McCarthy picked up Bisping for a slam takedown. McCarthy looked for an armbar but Bisping stayed in tight, then escaped with a flurry of shots. With 30 seconds to go, Bisping got McCarthy in a muay thai clinch and machine-gunned what must have been around 70 punches and kicks as McCarthy tried to wriggle away but ultimately fell into the never-effective turtle shell defense. The round ended but McCarthy stayed put on the ground and the referee stopped the bout.
Winner: Bisping by TKO
9) Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes
Round one: Quarry is likely going to be the one to press the action standing. He's heavy-handed. Starnes is very cautious, keeping a distance and backpedaling in a way that would make defensive backs proud (and MMA fans unhappy). Not sure how he plans to win this fight if he's not planning to engage Quarry, but we'll see what happens. Uneventful round but not due to a lack of trying on Quarry's part. He's trying to engage but it takes two to tango.
Round two: I could leave this paragraph blank as a metaphor for what happened in this round, which was nothing. But I must note that Starnes tried one takedown (failed), and continued to backpedal without tripping. It's got to be frustrating to Quarry, who is continually moving forward but unable to catch him. Even Quarry, at the end of the round, gave a thumb's down gesture to the fans, who entertained themselves by chanting "G-S-P! G-S-P!"
Round three: Figure this out: You're Kalib Starnes. You've landed about 10 punches in two rounds and backpedaled the equivalent of a 5K. There is no way on God's green earth you are winning the fight. So what do you do in the third round? Oh yeah, continue backpedaling. Quarry was infuriated, at one point mocking Starnes while running in place in the ring. Starnes threw up his middle fingers, which was the most effective offensive move he made this evening. As the seconds ticked away, Quarry mocked him further by pretending to throw girlie-punches. Quarry won over the crowd with his sense of humor. The crowd gave Quarry a huge cheer while almost literally booing Starnes out of the octagon.
Winner: Quarry by unanimous decision
Second sign of fate for Serra: In his post-fight comments, Nate Quarry, who went from being booed to cheered, recites Rocky's famous "If I can change, we all can change" speech from Rocky IV. The crowd, failing to see the irony, cheers on a line from a movie Serra cites as inspiration for fighting GSP on his home turf. Again, I don't know what this means; I just report the facts.
10) Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter
Round one: Lutter looks for an early takedown, grabbing a leg and backing Franklin against the cage. Lutter eventually accomplished his goal and got Franklin's back. The ex-middleweight champ slipped away for a second and Lutter got half-mount. Lutter looked for a kimura, but Franklin scrambled free. Lutter stayed persistent and got full mount. As Franklin wriggled, Lutter grabbed an arm for an armbar, but Franklin squirmed away again and got to a standing position. Lutter tried another takedown, doggedly holding onto Franklin's leg. Franklin's balanced allowed him to hop to the cage, where he used it for support and stayed on his feet.
Round two: Lutter looks exhausted, and Franklin takes advantage with a well-placed knee that rocks him. He then follows with shots that drop Lutter to the mat. Franklin looked on the verge of ending it but Lutter hung on to his legs for dear life. You can see the fatigue on Lutter's face as Franklin peppers him with jabs, knees and straight shots, and you can clearly see the end coming. Franklin wobbles him again with a head kick, drops him with a barrage and finishes with a few shots sa the ref steps in.
Winner: Franklin by TKO
11) Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra
By the way, this Montreal crowd is awesome, explosive, energetic. Fans really make or break the atmosphere, and this one is electric. Sure they have their favorites, and they're dedicated, but you can't beat this setting. The crowd was so loud during GSP's introduction you could barely hear ring announcer Bruce Buffer over the sound system.
Round one: GSP scores the takedown within five seconds and goes into Serra's half-guard. Serra controls GSP well, not allowing any damage and getting it to a safer position in full guard. St. Pierre lands a flush elbow for his first real heavy shot midway through the round. St. Pierre works for and finally gets side control. Serra tries to get up but St. Pierre throws him back down. Serra finally manages to get back to his feet and they break with 40 seconds left. Serra has a welt under his right eye. With 20 seconds left, Serra throws a big punch, St. Pierre ducks it and scores an easy takedown. He connects with a few punches as the round ends. Big round for the challenger.
Round two: Carbon copy of round one. The two touch gloves, and St. Pierre gains the immediate takedown, putting Serra up against the fence. Serra gets up and escapes. Serra lands a standing shot in an exchange for his first real offense, but St. Pierre weathers a storm and takes Serra down again. St. Pierre rides Serra against the cage and lands scoring punches, not power shots but effective nonetheless. Serra spins to keep St. Pierre in his guard, but the explosive Canadian uses the opportunity to throw a series of shots, several which land flush and hurt the Long Islander. St. Pierre then throws a series of bone-rattling knees to the body until referee Yves Lavigne steps in to put an end to the action. It is all over and GSP is the welterweight champ. Montreal has crowned their king and the crowd erupts.
Winner: St. Pierre by TKO
Serra was very gracious in defeat, picking up St. Pierre and carrying him across the ring as the fans soaked in their hero's win. And after booing him every chance they got, the fans showed their respect for Serra with applause as he exited the ring.
I haven't gotten to actually see the event yet, but GSP rules!!
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Subject: UFC 83 Results 
Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:19 am
