February 27 2011. Venue Acer Arena – Sydney, Australia
The crowd is red hot tonight in Australia. It’s obvious why UFC 127 was the quickest sell-out in UFC history as these people love it. Some notes on the show are Brian Ebersole replacing Carlos Condit due to Condit suffering a knee injury. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are our commentators tonight.
Chris Camozzi vs. Kyle Noke
Round one: Considering Chris Noke is a local Australian, it’s no surprise why he’s the favourite tonight. Both men begin trading low kicks. Noke hits Camozzi with a knee, easily taking him down. Noke managed to get the full mount. Noke eventually spins over to get Camozzi’s back and starts going for a choke. Noke puts Camozzi in a body triangle and Camozzi taps out.
Noke showed some great ground work. That was a very impressive win and a great opener for the PPV.
Kyle Noke via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:35
Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole
Lytle is such an exciting fighter and when you mix it with Brian Ebersoles unique style, you’ve got yourself a hell of a fight. You can tell Ebersole is a bit of a character already as he came out wearing boxing headgear. Ebersole has quite the experienced record. Both guys are experienced fighters from the Indiana area, yet somehow have never crossed paths. Ebersole has been fighting in Australia for a number of years now, so it’s no surprise he gets a positive reaction from the crowd.
Round one: Ebersole comes out of the gate with a bizarre cartwheel kick. Lytle seems to have seen it coming and avoids it. Lytle manages to land some rights on Ebersole landed some rights. Ebersole attempts a takedown and Lytle stuffs it. Lytle keeps throwing rights and connects a few. Ebersole throws a kick but Lytle catches it. Lytle starts landing a few more body punches. Lytle catches Ebersole with a guillotine when he attempted a takedown. Ebersole gets a nice escape but Lytle now finds himself on top. In a weird moment, both men try guillotining each other at the exact same time. Lytle gets the advantage but Ebersole manages to get out. Great submission defence from Brian Ebersole. As both men stand up, Lytle is clearly bleeding from the left eye. Ebersole continues with his unique striking as he uses his shoulders to bounce off of Lytle in the mount. Ebersole lands an elbow late in the round. It appears Ebersole thought the round ended a few seconds early as he began walking away before the break. That came off a little strange but so far, he’s making a name for himself.
A very close round, but I’d have to give it to Lytle.
Round two: Ebersole starts off the round with a body kick. Lytle manages to get a punch/kick combo in and lands a right. Ebersole lands a low kick, but Lytle shakes it off. Ebersole pulls off a spin kick and lands it. Both men go for wild punches but miss. Lytle lands a nice uppercut, but Ebersole counters with an elbow. Lytle begins landing some hard punches. You can tell Ebersole has the charisma of a star. The crowd has really begun taking to him. He lands a body kick on Lytle, and then goes for a takedown but Lytle sprawls. Lytle’s now throwing some big punches and manages to get a nice body punch. Ebersole goes for another takedown and manages to get it. Ebersole lands a brutal knee to the chin of Lytle and Lytle drops down. That would have knocked out most men but luckily Lytle’s known for his good chin. Ebersole goes for a D’arce choke but eventually he lets go. Lytle’s up for a few seconds but Ebersole manages to get him down once again. He lands some hard elbows and tries going for the legs. Both men are up but Ebersole shoots in and gets the takedown again. He’s racking up points. Ebersole begins doing his odd shoulder strikes while on top again. This guy has an unorthodox style, but it’s clearly working.
That was easily Ebersole’s round.
Round Three: Ebersole starts the round off again with a cartwheel kick but again Lytle blocked it. Lytle starts landing punches and kicks. Ebersole shoots in but Lytle sprawls out of the way. Ebersole again takes him down and has Lytle against the cage. Lytle then goes for a guillotine but Ebersole gets out and begins going for his back. Again Lytle goes for a guillotine after being taken down, but Ebersole’s submission defense is great. Eventually the guillotine got Lytle the top position but not for long. Ebersole gets the takedown again is pinning him down. Ebersole moved in for a takedown and begins punching the thigh. Ebersole lands some nasty elbows. Hard elbow by Ebersole but then the Ref called for a break. Both men began trading punches. Another easy takedown by Ebersole who now has Lytle’s back. Lytle attempts to drop down for a kneebar but Ebersole has none of it. He’s then beating on him late in the round.
Ebersole’s round easily, so he has this fight.
Brian Ebersole by unanimous decision
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Ebersole. Ebersole really came out of this a star. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dana White brings him back soon. His unorthodox style mixed with his personality can be a breath of fresh air in the division.
George Sotiropolous vs. Dennis Siver
Sotiropolous is the biggest Australian star tonight and it’s clear from the fan reaction to him. The crowd is absolutely going crazy for him. This fight could be a big step forward for him but should be tough.
Round One: Siver starts off throwing a high kick. George tried a takedown but Siver got away with ease. George lands a punch and Siver gets back with a low kick. Siver goes for another kick but George catches his leg and is now trying to get him with a takedown. Siver has got some great balance and defense as he gets away. Siver now delivers a series of punches to George. George shoots in again for a takedown and Siver stuffs him again! Siver attempts his lethal spin kick but luckily George avoids it. Both men begin trading punches back and forth. Siver clearly has the advantage here and drops down George with a left. George looked hurt but is back up. Again Siver lands a shot and George goes down. This may be stopped soon as George looks hurt. He has to survive the last minute of the round. Another big left is landed by Siver. You can tell George’s takedowns are getting weaker as the round goes on. Siver manages to land a spin kick but it wasn’t strong enough to do a lot of damage.
This was definitely Siver’s round as the crowd sounds angered.
Round Two: Both men start the round swinging but are missing. Siver threw his whole body into a punch and nearly fell over. Big left by Siver but it didn’t land very well. George just can’t take him down. This could be bad for George as that’s his calling card. George tried another takedown and Siver again blows it off. Siver lands another right that hurts George. George attempts a single leg but Siver easily powers out of it. Both start exchanging punches and George gets a shot in that Siver reacts to. George is on a roll with punches now. I think Siver’s getting tired but he managed to block another takedown attempt. Another shot is landed on Siver as he`s getting tired. George lands a hard kick.
I’d have to give this one to George.
Round Three: The crowd is going crazy over this fight. I don’t blame them at all. George managed to get a single leg but Siver powers out and avoids the takedown. Both men are going a slower pace than earlier. Siver stuffs another takedown and both men begin trading kicks. They’re trading punches again and Siver clearly has the advantage. With 2 minutes left, George tries another takedown and once again he can’t get it. Siver lands a good left. Siver gets another spin kick in followed by a right hand. I got to give this round to Siver based on his striking and takedown defense. The crowd is eating this fight up. Siver lands two more punches and lands another low kick. GS landed a few punches. Both land a few punches in the exchange and Siver ends it with a spin kick.
Siver had to of won this round.
Dennis Siver by unanimous decision
Scores: 29-28, 30-28 and 30-27 for Siver.
Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
This fight has a lot of heat behind it. Both camps had words for each other and neither fighter likes the other. Rivera has great knockout power in his right, but is outclassed by Bisping everywhere else. Both men were yelling at each other during the weigh-in and that’s how they started before the bell rang.
Round One: Rivera starts off by landing a few good punches. Bisping goes for the takedown right away and gets it. Bisping has been holding the fence to get the position which he knows is illegal. Bisping lands some shots to Rivera. Rivera begins taunting and says to Bisping “Is that all you got?” Both men are trading punches and Rivera is just daring him to punch him. Rivera with a right and tries a takedown but can’t get it. Bisping manages another takedown and lands several punches on the ground. Bisping throws an illegal knee. He clearly meant to do it, so I don’t think anybody’s buying it as an accident. Rivera is hurt. This was very close to being a DQ and I can only assume Bisping let his emotions get the better of him. We’re shown a replay and it was just a vicious knee. Rivera is up and wants to continue. The guy has guts. Bisping has one point deducted and it’s not the kind that could be debated. Rivera recovers quite well and lands a kick. He stuffs a takedown attempt from Bisping. Bisping is turning up the aggression and manages to get his third takedown this round. He gets Rivera with a few punches on the ground but Rivera’s back up and missing with some rights.
That was Bisping’s round, but due to the point being taken away, I’d call that even.
Round Two: Both men start the round trading low kicks. Rivera surprisingly dropped Bisping with a right but he gets back up. Bisping forces Rivera into the cage and lands a good right and left jab. Bisping continues landing more punches to Rivera. He’s hurting him with the rights. Bisping lands some knees and Rivera’s hurt. Rivera is clearly getting tired and is taking shots. Bisping puts him down with some rights.
Such a great fight. Bisping then called him a loser after the fight and then spits at Rivera’s camp. This is incredibly disrespectful. Rivera tries to hug Bisping and tell him something but he has none of it. He keeps telling him to apologise but then starts swearing at him. An incredibly stupid move by Bisping. Bisping is now telling Joe Rogan he wants to apologize for losing his cool. I say a little too late there Mike. Dana won’t be happy with this, and I hope there’s some sort of punishment for his uncalled behaviour.
Bisping defeated Rivera via TKO (strikes) at 1:54 of round 2.
B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch
It’s now main event time. Fitch is out first and boy is he ripped. He’s got to be one of the incredibly fit guys in the sport and continues to change his pre-fight diet and training. BJ is coming off an incredible 1st round KO of Matt Huges while Fitch continued his win-streak by defeating Thiago Alves at UFC 117 by decision. Both men are hoping for a rematch against Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, which may be in question after April. This fight will really be a clash of styles and should be interesting to watch.
Round One: Penn surprises everybody moving in for a takedown but it’s blocked by Fitch. Fitch manages to land a knee up close. Both men begin throwing knees from the clinch. Penn again goes for a takedown on Fitch. This isn’t what most expected. Fitch manages to turn him and throws a knee. Now Fitch attempts a takedown on a swinging Penn. Penn is blocking these takedowns well. Fitch began shoving Penn into the cage and throwing punches. Penn surprisingly takes down Fitch and gets his back. Penn now has the double body triangle. This could be bad. Fitch reverses it and is on top throwing elbows. Penn manages to push him off with his feet. Fitch gets Penn against the cage and is throwing knees. Penn defends another takedown attempt. Penn is doing a damn good job defending. Fitch lands a knee while in the clinch.
The round ends and I’ll have to give it to Penn.
Round Two: Penn starts off with a high knee but it allows Fitch to get the takedown. Fitch is now tying up Penn’s legs and starts kneeing his thighs. Penn is back up trading punches and blocks another takedown from Fitch. Fitch is landing some body punches and his elbow is noticeably bleeding. After a brief exchange, Penn gets a takedown and has his back. He’s going for a choke but Fitch smartly spins to the top and lands body punches. Elbows and punches are thrown from Fitch. He’s getting some good clean punches in.
This round definitely has to go to Fitch based on his control and punches.
Round Three: This round will decide it. Fitch starts off landing a punch and getting a takedown. More elbows and body punches to Penn. Penn gets him off but is taken down again and repeats with elbows and punches. Fitch now landing head shots and is really taking it to BJ. Fitch is landing a barrage of punches and continues to lay into Penn from the top. Fitch has really dominated this round. Penn hasn’t gotten anything in during this round. Round comes to an end with Fitch looking strong.
This is definitely a round for Fitch so the decision should be interesting. The crowd is booing Fitch but this was one of his better performances.
Penn and Fitch fight to a majority draw Scores: 29-28 Fitch, 28-28 and 28-28
Interestingly enough, Penn said that he thought he lost the fight. It was close, but I’d still have given it to Jon Fitch. A good show with lots of decisions but close fights.
