Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Have a question for Sherdog.com's medical expert? Tweet The Fight Doctor via @FightMedicine.
Round 1Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Njokuani
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Njokuani
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Njokuani
Round 2
Njokuani digs a couple shots to Bowling’s ribs as he moves around
the outside, mixing in a couple leg and body kicks. Bowling answers
with a chopping leg kick of his own and swipes with a right hand.
Bowling comes in to jab and gets popped with a counter. He keeps
moving forward on Njokuani, who feints a couple knees to get
Bowling to think twice. Bowling charges in to strike again, and
this time Njokuani is waiting with a clean left hook. Bowling
collapses to the ground and Njokuani strides off, allowing Herb
Dean to wave off the bout at 2:52 of round two.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Masvidal
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Masvidal
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Masvidal
Round 2
Means catches Masvidal with a nice left straight early on. Masvidal
gets in on a single, puts Means on the cage and then takes him to
the floor. Means is active from his back, attacking with elbows as
he swings his legs around for a submission attempt. Masvidal stands
and gets popped with an upkick which affords Means time to stand.
Masvidal connects with a body shot and puts Means on the cage
again. Another takedown and now Masvidal is stacking up, landing
shots from on top and avoiding upkicks. Means throws up his legs,
maybe thinking armbar, but Masvidal slips them, forcing Means to
turtle. Masvidal stays on Means’ back as he stands; Means twists
around, only to be taken down again. Again, Means is busy from his
back with elbows, but now Masvidal is giving him some hard elbows
in return. Down to the last minute of the round, Means is stinging
Masvidal with elbows that have “Gamebred” cut open. Masvidal
postures up in the last 20 seconds and unloads with
ground-and-pound to close out the round.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Masvidal
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Masvidal
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Masvidal
Round 3
Means clips Masvidal with a left as they move around the outside,
then goes to the body, slaps with a right and dings Masvidal’s chin
again with the left. He catches the shooting Masvidal with a knee,
but Masvidal stays after the takedown and hits it against the
fence. Means drills him with a couple elbows before Masvidal turns
to take the back. Means is back on his feet and shoves Masvidal
away with just under three minutes to go. Means hits a standing
elbow, but Masvidal comes forward to hit a takedown. More elbows
from Means on the bottom, giving way to Masvidal’s postured-up
ground-and-pound. Means is going wild on the bottom, throwing
elbows with vicious intent as Masvidal holds him on the ground.
Masvidal stands and comes back down to Means’ open guard, allowing
Means to put off the fence and hit a sweep. Means briefly mounts
Masvidal with 10 seconds left, gets pushed off but still finishes
the fight throwing heavy elbows on top.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Means (29-28
Masvidal)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Means (29-28 Masvidal)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Means (29-28 Masvidal)
Official result: All three judges -- Derek Cleary, Edward Collantes and Steven Davis -- score the bout 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Jorge Masvidal.
Round 1Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Benavidez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Benavidez
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Benavidez
Round 2
Benavidez tags his man with a pair of right hands in the opening
moments of round two. One minute in, another overhand right sends
Uyenoyama stumbling backwards, but he comes back for more. A flurry
of punches and kicks from Benavidez allows Uyenoyama to grab a leg
and spin to take the back. Benavidez uses the cage to defend, then
turns and puts Uyenoyama on the ground. Benavidez wants Uyenoyama
back up, and they go back to striking with 2:30 remaining. The Team
Alpha Male fighter misses with a head kick, but his left hand is
still getting through. Benavidez is just picking apart Uyenoyama,
continually moving forward and catching him with speedy punches and
body kicks. One liver kick has Uyenoyama covering up and trying to
circle away. Benavidez keeps chasing him and adds a scorching left
hook to the liver that makes Uyenoyama collapse.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Jury
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Jury
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Jury
Round 2
Nijem catches a finger in his left eye and turns his back. Ref
McCarthy doesn’t step in right away, so Jury comes forward and
throws a kick to the body, drawing boos from the crowd. Nijem takes
a few seconds to recoup and the lightweights are quickly back to
work. Nijem is trying to work his jab while Jury swings power
punches, neither man landing clean. Charging in to throw an
overhand left, Nijem runs straight into a counter overhand right
from Jury. The punch has Nijem unconscious on impact, falling flat
on his back in the middle of the cage. Jury crashes down with one
additional right hand before McCarthy can intervene. It’s a
one-punch knockout for Myles Jury at 1:02 of the second round.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Larkin
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Larkin
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Larkin
Round 2
Larkin is buzzing Carmont’s head with high kicks, still moving
backward as the Tristar Gym representative lurches forward. Carmont
lands an inside leg kick, countered by a spinning oblique kick from
Larkin, then another. Larkin catches Carmont coming in with a
straight left, backs up and tags him with an uppercut as Carmont
shoots in. Keeping after the takedown, Carmont puts Larkin on the
cage with a single-leg. Larkin elbows Carmont in the head until
three minute in, when the Frenchman relents and they break. Larkin
keeps punishing Carmont with leg kicks, eats a jab, and leg-kicks
some more. Another takedown attempt from Carmont is denied by a
Larkin sprawl, but the second effort allows Carmont to finish the
double-leg and close the round on top.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Larkin
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Larkin
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Larkin
Round 3
Carmont trips his opponent to the ground briefly, but long enough
to try and take the back as Larkin stands. Larkin scrapes him off
against the cage, gets tossed to the ground and hops up again to
resume striking. Carmont ducks a wide punch to hit another takedown
in the middle of the cage. Larkin throws up his legs immediately,
but he loses the omoplata as Carmont turns to set in Larkin’s full
guard. Larkin pulls rubber guard and the action slows. Carmont is
in half-guard now, and Larkin grabs his arm from underneath to
crank a kimura. Larkin can’t get the tap, but does use the armlock
to sweep and escape to his feet. Forty seconds left now and Larkin
picks at Carmont with kicks, finishing with a flashy attempted
cartwheel kick that misses.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Carmont (29-28
Larkin)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Larkin (30-27 Larkin)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Carmont (29-28 Larkin)
Official result: All three judges -- Michael Bell, Derek Cleary and Edward Collantes -- score the bout 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Francis Carmont.
Round 1Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Brown
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Brown
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Brown
Round 2
Brown sticks Mein with a stiff right straight as they move to the
outside quickly. Brown swarms with knees which mostly go off Mein’s
forearms; one gets through, however, and it seems to have busted up
Mein’s nose. Mein is on his knees, spraying blood on the canvas
while Brown unloads with punches. Ref John McCarthy calls for Mein
to fight back; he doesn’t, and Brown finishes off the youngster
with thumping elbows to the body. Matt Brown scores an impressive
TKO win at the 60-second mark of round two.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Thomson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Thomson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Thomson
Round 2
Diaz moves in to clinch up and catches Thomson on the cup with a
low knee. Thomson grimaces and ref Mike Beltran pauses the action;
Diaz does not agree with the decision and walks off shaking his
head. When they resume, Diaz is clowning on Thomson with some
exaggerated high kicks. Thomson ties him up on the cage, now one
minute into the round, and bashes Diaz with a short elbow on the
exit. Diaz answers with a right hand, walks Thomson down and hits a
takedown of his own. Diaz stands and slugs Thomson with a left
before grabbing a guillotine, which is quickly slipped by Thomson.
They break and Diaz is streaming blood from his right eye now,
though he’s still the one moving forward. Thomson clinches up
again, lands more elbows inside before breaking off and taking a
short left from Diaz. Ninety seconds left now and Diaz wipes blood
away from his left eye. Thomson catches him leaning left and
smashes Diaz with a clean right high kick to the head. Diaz is out
on his feet, stumbling backwards and then falling down as Thomson
batters him with a flurry of punches. More and more punches land
for Thomson on the ground as Diaz just rolls around, trying to stay
in the fight. Diaz gets to his knees, but he’s not offering
anything in return, and ref Mike Beltran has seen enough. The ref
halts the bout at 3:44 of round two, just as Diaz’s corner was
throwing in the towel.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Round 2
Cormier leaps into the air with an athletic switch kick that misses
but draws an impressed look from Mir. They’re back on the fence
quickly, Cormier working more knees to the body in the clinch while
Mir just hangs there, unable to break loose. Cormier releases with
3:15 remaining in the round and backs out. He steps in and pops Mir
with a right before clinching up again. Mir tries some knees, can’t
score and eats a short elbow up top. Cormier lets him go again,
tries to tie up in the middle and gets the slip. Mir can’t resist
the next clinch attempt, and Cormier again pushes him to the
outside. Ref Herb Dean calls for action and Cormier obliges,
ripping a pair of hard right hands to Mir’s face as they disengage.
One minute left and Mir tries to come inside behind a long jab.
Cormier isn’t having it, stepping off to hit Mir with an uppercut
to the body and then putting him on the fence again. They break
with 15 seconds left and time runs out.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cormier
Round 3
Mir tries some high kicks which bounce off Cormier’s arms. They tie
up, for once with Mir on the outside, but Cormier quickly rectifies
that situation. Mir staggers off as “DC” releases and zaps the
ex-champ with a right hand. Cormier gives him time to recover,
though, and now Mir is coming forward, catching Cormier with a kick
to the body and a right before being clinched again. Mir lands a
knee to the body in the clinch; Cormier answers with a ripping
right to the ribs. Cormier catches a body kick, turns Mir around
and nearly captures his back. Mir spins out and Cormier has to
settle for a body shot and a left up top before pushing Mir into
the fence again. The ref calls for work again before breaking them
up with half the round remaining. Mir lands a left kick to the
body, tries to move in to add some more strikes and gets spun to
the ground. Cormier lets him up and clips Mir with an uppercut,
then clinches again. Mir’s back is still on the fence as the fight
enters its last minute, and now Dean calls for work again. Cormier
gets busy with right hands and uppercuts, breaking off to attack
and then grabbing hold of Mir again. They’re restarted with 30
seconds left. Mir sticks a right hand and backs Cormier against the
fence, his forearm across the wrestler’s throat just before time
runs out.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Cormier (30-27
Cormier)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cormier (30-27 Cormier)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Cormier (30-27 Cormier)
Official result: All three judges -- Michael Bell, Derek Cleary and Steven Davis -- score the bout 30-27 for the winner by unanimous decision, Daniel Cormier.
Round 1Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Round 2
Henderson swings and misses with a low kick; Melendez gives the
champ one inside, followed by a right hand. Henderson lands a left
straight in an exchange and has another low kick caught. Melendez
backs his man off with a shot to the body and the action slows as
Henderson moves around the outside. Henderson steps in with a knee
and defends a takedown as Melendez grabs the leg. They trade
positions and now it’s Henderson in the middle of the cage,
striking out on the challenger. Melendez catches a leg kick and
shoves Henderson backward, can’t capitalize as punches go off
Henderson’s arm. Down to the final minute and Melendez has reset in
the middle as he moves Henderson around the perimeter with leg
kicks and quick punches. Both men are landing in a furious exchange
in the middle, Henderson scoring with elbows and Melendez with
right hands. Henderson puts a jab in Melendez’s face, answered by a
right hand from Melendez to close out the round.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Henderson
Round 3
Henderson opens up with leg kicks and then backpedals to avoid
Melendez’s strikes. A kick to Melendez’s lead angle sweeps the
Strikeforce champ’s leg, but Melendez is right back up. Henderson
scores nicely in an exchange, but he eats a huge right hand from
Melendez as he comes in to strike. Henderson looks hurt briefly,
taking another right from the challenger, but he seems recovered
with 3:00 left as he shoots a double-leg on the fence. Melendez
stands and gets pushed against the fence, where Henderson lands
knees to the body and a few punches before releasing the clinch.
Henderson zaps Melendez with a straight left and shoots after
taking a hard combo from Melendez in return. Melendez denies the
shot, so Henderson walks him down and then moves in to throw. Just
as before, Melendez is quicker to the punch and picks Henderson off
with a right hand. They trade in the clinch momentarily before
breaking. Henderson counters a low kick with a standing elbow.
Melendez lands an insde low kick, but then has leg kicked out from
under him. Henderson falls down, too, and finishes the round
slugging at Melendez from on top.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Henderson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Henderson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Melendez
Round 4
The lightweights clash heads as they step to the middle and
exchange, and they’re warned to mind their heads by ref McCarthy.
Henderson scores with a hard leg kick inside and turns away
Melendez when he tries to tie up. Melendez lands a glancing
straight and denies Henderson’s shot. Melendez catches a body kick
but can’t bring down Henderson, who lands a knee to the body before
exiting. Henderson lands another kick to the bruised lead leg of
Melendez, then has a takedown attempt thwarted by the Cesar Gracie
protégée. Henderson lands a standing elbow, answered by a snappy
Melendez combo. Henderson is targeting Melendez’s thigh now, then
sweeps the leg and almost secures back control. Melendez slips out
and gets back to his feet, taking another slapping leg kick outside
with 60 seconds left in the round. Melendez is moving the champ
around the outside now, slugging Henderson with a pair of rights to
the body and then clinching to strike up top. The horn sounds and
this one is going to the final round.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Henderson
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Henderson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Henderson
Round 5
Henderson almost takes the leg out from under Melendez again. The
challenger stays up, dodges an uppercut but eats a left hand as he
backs off. Melendez pressures Henderson on the outside, clipping
with a right hook, then Henderson turns the tables and gets on the
outside. Henderson lands his inside leg kick-standing elbow
combination again before circling outside and forcing Melendez to
give chase. Another leg kick, another elbow and Henderson blocks an
uppercut from the challenger as the clock goes under two minutes
remaining. Melendez leaps in with a knee to the body, backs off and
allows Henderson to get off the fence. Melendez connects with an
uppercut in an exchange, then hits Henderson with a right as the
champ moves out. Henderson lands an elbow up top, countered by a
Melendez right to the body. Melendez sticks a jab, Henderson misses
with a spinning kick, and both men wait out the final few seconds
so they can throw their arms up as the final horn sounds.
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Henderson (48-47
Henderson)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Melendez (48-47 Melendez)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Henderson (48-47 Henderson)
Official result: Judge Wade Vierra scores the bout 48-47 Melendez, while Derek Cleary sees it 48-47 Henderson. The final judge, Michael Bell, scores the bout 48-47 for the winner by split decision and still UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson.
view original article >>