| 02 March 2012
UFC Welterweight Main Event
Martin Kampmann (19-5) SUB RD 3 (Guillotine) Thiago Alves (24-8)
Time of Submission: 4:12 RD 3
For two and a half rounds Thiago Alves was beating the hell out of Martin Kampmann. In fact, as the third and final round was at its halfway point Alves looked as if he was going to finish Kampmann off with a flurry of punches that were landing flush on the head of the Dutch kickboxer. However, Alves made a crucial mistake and with Kampmann clearly hurt Alves shot in for a takedown but got caught with a guillotine that forced the Brazilian Top Team fighter to tap.
Prior to the exciting third round the fight was going exactly the way Alves had to have envisioned it. While the “Pitbull” was rocked early on by a Kampmann teep kick he was firmly in control of the tempo of the fight. However, all it takes is one careless mistake to unravel all the solid work a fighter has put into the fight. This is a lesson that Alves is now all too familiar with.
“Thiago caught me with some good shots I’ll be honest,” explained Kampmann. I felt I had to finish the fight. It was my window and I had to finish.
UFC Flyweight Tournament Semifinal
Joseph Benavidez (15-2) TKO RD 2 (Strikes) Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-4-6)
Time of Stoppage: 0:11 RD 2
Joseph Benavidez made his flyweight division debut an impressive one with a second round obliteration of Japan’s Yasuhiro Urushitani. You knew that Benavidez was going to use his wrestling to try and take the fight to the ground early on and Urushitani had some success in stopping Benavidez’s takedowns early in the first round. However, Benavidez was unfazed and eventually got the fight to the ground where he almost finished Urushitani in the first round with a rear naked choke. Urushitani would survive the round but it would be a short-lived reprieve. As the second round started Urushitani unleashed a head kick that was blocked by Benavidez who immediately threw a counter right hook that put Urushitani on his back and moments later out of the fight.
UFC Flyweight Tournament Semifinal
Demetrious Johnson (15-2) SD Ian McCall (11-3)
Scores: 29-28, 29-28, 28-29
I’m going to go on record as saying that the UFC’s new flyweight division is my new favorite division. To put it bluntly, these 125 lbs fighters don’t stop trying to kill each other every second of the fight. This was evident in the UFC’s flyweight tournament semifinal bout between Johnson and McCall. Both fighters fought hard every second of their three round bout. The fight pitted Johnson’s uncanny speed against McCall’s power. The fight was close that much is not debatable. However, the judges decision to give the fight to Johnson had the entire Sydney crowd chanting “Bullsh*t!” To an extent they may have been right. Granted, Johnson’s speed allowed him to throw more shots but McCall imposed his will on Johnson throughout the fight including a dominant third round that say him almost stop Johnson via ground and pound. It was a bum deal for McCall who should have gotten the nod in my opinion.
UFC Middleweight Fight
Costa Philippou (9-2, 1 NC) vs. Court McGee (13-1)
Scores: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
McGee, who won season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, entered tonight’s fight on an eight fight winning streak and seemed poised to make big noise in the UFC’s pretty shallow middleweight division. Unfortunately, Costa Philippou had been doing homework on McGee and his diligence shown bright in their fight as Philippou used constant lateral movement to prevent McGee from shooting in for takedowns. A former Golden Gloves champion, Philippou’s boxing game was far superior to that of McGee and with McGee unable to secure any takedowns Philippou was able to coast to a fairly easy, albeit not particularly exciting, decision victories.
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