UFC 110: The Liveblog From a Land Down Under

(Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

For those of you who have ever wished that you could spend a Saturday night reading live results from a UFC event sprinkled with more “Crocodile Dundee” references than are even remotely necessary, this is about to be an evening you’ll never forget.  UFC 110 goes down at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia tonight.  It’s actually Sunday afternoon there, so maybe that means they already know how all the fights turn out.  Man, I sure hope they don’t spoil it for us.  They probably will, though.  Bunch of criminals. 

Stick with us for commentary and intricate descriptions of Joe Rogan’s ice-related freakouts, and everything should work out just fine anyway.  Remember to hit refresh often to keep the page current, and remember, when you’re bickering with one another in the comment section, let’s keep the ad hominem attacks to a reasonable minimum. With both Bens indisposed tonight, Chad Dundas of The Rumble checks in to handle the particulars of the live blog.

So, here we go … 

As noted above, it’s Sunday afternoon in Sydney. Strangely, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan appear just as haggard and waxy-eyed in the future as they do in present-day. Jesus, High Definition doesn’t do these guys any favors. The opening remarks are typically rudimentary. They highlight the main events, including Wanderlei’s debut at 185-pounds and his recent facial surgery. Silva looks like a completely different person at the weigh-in. It remains to be seen how the weight cut will effect him tonight

And we go straight to the cage …

Anthony Perosh vs. Mirko CroCop

In his prefight comments, Perosh says he’s excited to fight for the hometown fans. CroCop appears to be about 50 years old and seems … what’s a nice way to say this … subdued about the prospect of squaring off against Perosh. The Aussie walks out to “Kickstart My Heart” and, yeah, it’s awesome. A UFC graphic describes one of his attritubes as “Durable.” He better hope so. CroCop comes out to Duran Duran.

Round 1
Herb Dean is the third man in the Octagon. Perosh tries an early two-punch combo and misses. CroCop is pressing forward. Perosh shoots with 4:30 left, CroCop fights it off and tries briefly for a guillotine, before pushing away and getting back to his feet. Goldberg calls CroCop “a true stalker.” Another takedown attempt for Perosh, but CroCop tags him with a couple of hard shots as he defends. Perosh is bleeding from the nose. With just over two minutes left, Perosh tries to pull guard, but CroCop ain’t having it. He lands the straight left. CroCop wings a couple of punches with just over a minute left. He lands another straight left with 40 seconds left. Perosh keeps shooting but he has no chance. The round ends with Perosh on his back and CroCop refusing to mess around with the ground game. 10-9 CroCop, easy.

Round 2

Round two begins with CroCop continuing to stalk Perosh. He lands an uppercut that pops Perosh’s head up. Perosh shoots again, but CroCop sprawls. Again, he invites Perosh to his feet. Another uppercut and a left hook from CroCop. Then a body kick. Perosh throws a couple of leg kicks and the crowd acts like they just won the America’s Cup. After another shot attempt, CroCop dishes out some punishment with Perosh turtled up on the mat. Perosh is desperate to get guard, but CroCop backs away. Things are devolving quickly here. Perosh keeps trying to shoot, then pull guard. CroCop finally agrees to go into Perosh’s guard with just over a minute left and blasts him with a huge elbow. Immediately, a gushing cut opens on Perosh’s forehead. Herb Dean has a doctor take a look at it right away. Perosh says he wants to continue and without much oversight, the fight continues. Perosh throws a low kick, but his forehead is leaking big time. CroCop tags him with a hook. Perosh goes back to guard and CroCop socks him with hard punches as the round ends. Perosh survives … at least until the break.

The cut forces a stoppage between rounds. Mirko CroCop def. Anthony Perosh via TKO (stoppage, cut), round two.

CroCop says he admires Perosh’s guts and was surprised he continued after the cut.

Keith Jardine vs. Ryan Bader

In prefight, Jardine calls Bader a bully, but says he loves to fight a bully. Bader comes out to a rock remix of the “Imperial March,” flanked by a bunch of guys from Arizona Combat Sports, all of whom look, well, like bullies. Jardine’s entrance music is a Johnny Cash/Cypress Hill mash-up.

Round 1
Jardine gets in a single nipple tweak before the start. Bader immediately throws the left hook they showed him practicing just before the fight. And again. They clinch against the fence after 30 seconds, Bader lands a couple of knees and tries winging the hook again as they separate. Bader lands a right hook. Jardine tries to come forward with a couple of combos, but Bader slips out of the way. Bader lands an easy double leg with 3 minutes left and moves to half guard. He cuts Jardine on the top of the head with an elbow. For the next two minutes, 30 seconds Bader lands short punches and elbows. Josh Rosenthall stands them up with about 30 seconds left in the round. Jardine lands a right hand and lands a leg kick just before the bell. 10-9 Bader.

Round 2
Bader finds a home for a couple of early jabs, but Jardine whips a leg kick that’s hard enough to bring a rueful smile to Bader’s face. After some time clinching against the fence, Bader tries a double leg, but Jardine fends it off.  Bader lands a right hand, but both guys seem a bit more tentative in the stand-up now. Jardine lands an overhand right and Rogan comments on how unorthodox he is. Awkward is more the apt description. He stuffs another Bader takedown with 1:30 left. And another one with 1 minute left. Bader maybe hurts him with a shot inside the last 45 seconds. 10-9 Jardine? A close round.

Round 3
Jardine’s corner tells him to take over the fight in the final round. Jardine grins at Bader early and shrugs off another takedown attempt. Bader checks a leg kick. And another one. Bader eats a kick to the face as he shoots, but it doesn’t seem to affect him. Jardine has managed to keep it on the feet for the majority of the fight. He lands a leg kick with three minutes left. Bader stuns him with a punch, whiffs a flying knee as Jardine moves backward, but then KOs Jardine with that damn left hook again.

Ryan Bader def. Keith Jardine via KO, round three.

Jardine seems to think it was a bad stoppage, but that’s just because he doesn’t remember what happened.

Preliminary action: Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster

Round 1
Foster throws an early high kick, ducks a hook from Lytle and then takes him down with ease. After a couple of seconds, Foster lets him up. Foster’s catching Lytle early, including a spinning hook kick straight out of your kid’s Tae Kwon Do class. Lytle bangs him with a hard counter left hook. In a scramble, Lytle rolls for a knee bar … and he gets it. Foster taps and then acts like something popped in his leg.

Chris Lytle def. Brian Foster by submission (knee bar), round one.

Lytle may well have Sub of the Night wrapped up with that one.

Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos

Goldy calls this one a match-up between two of the “greatest minds” in MMA. Whatever that means. G-Sot enters to a suitably thunderous ovation. Stevenson enters wearing a pirate shirt and a giant hat that makes him look eight years old.

Round 1
George tries to cut the ring off early and they trade punching combinations. Stevenson fights off a single-leg from George, but they wind up clinched against the fence. Stevenson powers to the middle of the Octagon and tries a lateral drop takedown, but ends up with George in his guard. The Aussie passes to half-guard. He continues to try to free his leg, but doesn’t seem to know he’s allowed to strike from this position. Stevenson is hanging on and hoping for a stand-up. Stevenson flirts with a sweep, forces a scramble to get full guard. Finally George throws some punches from the top. Stevenson lands an up kick and George passes to side control. Stevenson threatens an arm-triangle from the bottom, but George gets out and briefly achieves mount, then takes Stevenson’s back. The action is fast and furious on the ground.  George moves to north-south and tries a kimura, transitions to the arm bar and then gets full mount back as the round ends. 10-9 George.

Round 2
They come out throwing punches again and Stevenson lands an inside leg kick. George rocks Stevenson with a punch, but Stevenson pops up and seems to recover over the next minute or so. George is countering nicely on the feet. George paintbrushes Stevenson’s face again with a straight right. Stevenson gets a takedown with 2:44 left and George establishes the rubber guard. He tries for an omoplata, but it might not be deep enough. He rolls and locks it up tight, then uses it to pass to side control. Stevenson rolls and gets back to his feet, then gets another double leg. With one minute left in the round, Stevenson is in George’s full guard. George tries for a straight arm bar. Stevenson gets out of danger, but is still stuck in George’s guard. Stevenson drops back for a leg lock with 15 second left. He can’t get it. George tries for an Anaconda choke as the horn stands. 10-9 George.

Round 3
They spend the first minute dancing on their feet. George tries for a single and Stevenson counters with a guillotine, but can’t lock it up. They work back to their feet and now Stevenson is digging for a takedown against the fence.  They separate with 3:05 left. George peppers him with a jab and a straight right. Stevenson shoots again, but George sprawls and Stevenson bulls him against the fence. George tries to pull guard, but Stevenson rolls into half-guard. With 1:30 left Stevenson is digging for his guillotine again. George gets out and gets back to rubber guard, then full closed guard. Stevenson stands up and George lands an up kick.  The fight ends with Stevenson in George’s full guard. 10-9 Stevenson?

Official decision: George Sotiropoulos def. Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping
As Rogan notes, Bisping does indeed look pumped up for this fight, but it doesn’t seem that the Aussie crowd is as into Bisping as expected. It’s weirdly quiet as he makes his entrance. Rogan describes Bisping as a “love him or hate him” type of person, which seems like a generous way of saying even the way Bisping walks is infuriating. Wanderlei gets a nice reception, though he looks like a totally different person in the wake of his recent facial reconstructive surgery.

Round 1
The crowd boos Bisping during the introductions. Bisping has a slightly paunchy-looking Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in his corner. The Brit lands an inside leg kick early. Wanderlei lands a leg kick too. Bisping gets a takedown with 4:00 left, but Silva gets back to his feet, ducking knees. Bisping lands a middle kick. Silva seems to be looking for an opening. Bisping gets another takedown, but Silva gets up again. Halfway through the round, Silva lands a leg kick and comes forward with punches, but they don’t land. Silva lands a good right hand with 1:45 left. Bisping with another inside leg kick. Silva lands a pair of hard leg kicks. Bisping tags him with a right hand. Silva flurries with 10 seconds left. A solid, if slower than expected first round. 10-9 Bisping.

Round 2
Silva lands an inside leg kick to open round two. Silva catches a kick and sweeps Bisping’s other leg. He winds up in Bisping’s guard and tries to throw some big punches. Bisping looks for an arm bar, but Silva pulls out of it pretty easily. Silva stands and lands a kick to Bisping while he is down that looks dangerously close to the face, but nothing comes of it. Silva lands a hard right hand on the feet. With two minutes left, Bisping gets a good double leg slam and moves to side control. Silva pops up, though. Silva hits him with a body kick. Bisping touches him with a quick jab. Silva winging haymaker hooks that don’t quite land. Bisping gets another takedown with 20 seconds left, but Silva catches him in a guillotine and cranks the hell out of it until the bell. 10-9 Silva.

Round 3
Bisping’s corner assures him that he’s still ahead. Rampage tells him to knock Silva out. Thanks, Rampage. Silva comes out with another series of kicks. Bisping hits him with a good left hook. Siva pops a right hand into Bisping’s face. Silva comes away from an exchange slowed from a low blow. He takes some time to collect himself. After the restart, they exchange kicks. Silva throws another hard overhand right. Bisping with a good body kick and a knee after a takedown attempt that didn’t fly. Now Silva says he was poked in the eye. They take another moment for him to recover. They start again with 1:35 on the clock. Silva moves Bisping back with another flurry. They both try for takedowns in the last minute. Bisping flicks out another jab. Silva drops Bisping to the canvas with a flurry in the last ten seconds and referee Josh Rosenthall steps in at the bell. It looks like we’re headed to decision. 10-9 Silva.

Official decision: Wanderlei Silva def. Michael Bisping by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
The UFC throws out some more totally meaningless statistics before the main event. Did you know Nogueira has a 67 percent success rate on his arm bar attempts? No, seriously. Rogan says this is Velasquez’s chance to finally beat a legend. They’re really stretching this out …

Finally, Velasquez enters to some traditional tejano music, which seems to mystify the Australian crowd. Of all of the ugly walk-in T-shirts, Velasquez’s three-tone Dethrone shirt might be the ugliest. Nogueira walks the aisle to the same Rolling Stones jam as last time. Nogueira is the world’s most mature-looking 33-year-old. He’s clad in a surprisingly understated Affliction T-shirt.

Round 1
Cain lands a good leg kick after they exchange a flurry of punches. Nog sticks him with a right hand as Cain tries to throw a leg kick. Cain lights him up with a fast combo, but Nog doesn’t even flinch. Velasquez lands a punch, leg-kick, then throws a high kick that Nog blocks. Body punch, knee from Velasquez. Every time Nog throws punches, Cain clips him on the way out. Cain is out-quicking Nog here. Velasquez lands a right hook that drops Nogueira to the mat and follows up with punches until the ref steps in to stop it.

Cain Velasquez def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by TKO (strikes), round one.

That’s the end of the live broadcast and that’s it for me. Tap er light, PotatoNation.