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SAUNDERS KNOCKS OUT DAVIS WITH VICIOUS KNEE
Welterweight Ben Saunders (8-1-2) of Orlando, Fla., showed why he has some of the most devastating knees in the UFC, knocking out Marcus Davis (21-7) of Bangor, Maine, at 3:24 of the first round.
"I'm going on to the top of the world," Saunders said. "This was the most amazing fight of my career. I respect Marcus Davis' talent and experience and I hope I can be where he's at in 10 years from now."
Davis was trying to keep Saunders close and play the clinch game in the first round, but Saunders was able to land some damaging knees. Saunders significant height advantage was allowing him to really connect with knees. Saunders finally leveled Davis with a right knee to the chin. Davis was out before he hit the ground, but Saunders landed one final punch to his fallen opponent before referee Josh Rosenthal could step in and halt the beatdown.
"I've been working on my clinch a lot," Saunders said. "I didn't get to show it in the (Mike) Swick fight, but I'm happy I was able to put on a show for everyone."
GROVE WITHSTANDS ROSHOLT ONSLAUGHT, GETS SUB VICTORY
"The Ultimate Fighter 3" middleweight winner Kendall Grove (13-6) of Maui, Hawaii had his hands full with Jake Rosholt (6-2) of Las Vegas, but he eventually caught the former three-time NCAA national wrestling champion in a triangle choke to secure the victory in the first round.
"The triangle, that's my thing," said Grove, who dedicated the fight to his grandmother who recently died of cancer. "When I started with Jiu-Jitsu, that's what works for me with my long legs. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Rosholt needed less than a minute to lift Grove off the canvas and dump him on the ground for a takedown. Grove tried to stand up and the four-time All-American deposited him back on the canvas. Grove stood up on his second try, but Rosholt gave him a knee to the belly. Grove scored a takedown of hos own. Rosholt got back to his feet, kneed Grove to the body, followed up with some punches and a flying knee before taking Grove down again. Rosholt mounted Grove, but couldn't land anything because Grove rolled through and back to guard. That's when Grove caught the MMA neophyte in a triangle choke. Rosholt was forced to tap out.
THE UNDERCARD
FOSTER OVERWHELMS LARSON
Welterweight Brian Foster (15-4) of Granite City, Ill., got his first victory in the octagon, submitting Brock Larson (27-4) of Brainerd, Minn., under a barrage of punches at 3:25 of the second round.
"Yeah, that was part of my game plan to gound-and-pound him," Foster said. "I counted on him being strong, so I didn't come in so trigger happy --- I waited."
Larson scored the first takedown in the opening round, but Foster reversed him and began landing some big punches from the top position. Foster stood up in Larson's guard and came down with a hard right. Foster, a member of Matt Hughes' Hit Squad, mounted Larson and landed a series of power shots, but Larson was able to get back to guard. During a scramble, Larson pushed Foster off him, then landed an accidental kick to the face while Foster was on his knees. Referee Yves Lavigne stopped the action to let the ringside physician check out Foster. Larson had a point deducted and the fight continued with less than a minute remaining. Lavigne deducted another point from Larson for an illegal knee to the head. Replays appeared to vindicate Larson, but the point was deducted nonetheless.
Smith caught Larson coming in with a Superman punch and added a pair of right hooks in the opening minute of the second round. Smith landed a spinning back kick midway through the round, then slammed Larson to the canvas for a takedown into side control. Smith hammered Larson with punches before Larson pulled guard. Smith let him stand up where he could do more damage. Smith dropped Larson to his knees with a right uppercut, then landed six follow-up punches. Larson tapped out under the barrage of power shots. Smith celebrated with a back flip.
CAMOES BATTLES TO A DRAW WITH UNO
Lightweight Fabricio "Morango" Camoes (10-4-1) of San Diego fought Japanese icon Caol Uno (25-12-5) of Yososuka, Japan, to a 3-round majority draw in his UFC debut. Camoes had a point deduction the second round that ended up costing him the victory.
"I understand the game --- the ref took a point there," Camoes said. "I was making my debut against a legend and I'm happy with my performance."
Camoes, a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Royler Gracie, landed a right head kick in the opening seconds of the fight and continued land some dynamic strikes. Camoes took Uno's back during a scramble and locked in a rear-naked choke, but Uno was able to escape and get back to his feet. Uno ended up scoring a takedown in the final minute and got in a few decent shots.
Camoes swarmed Uno with punches to start the second round, connecting with a hard overhand right before dumping Uno on the mat with a hard takedown. Camoes went for a guillotine choke unsuccessfully and gave up top position. Camoes lost a point for hitting Uno with an illegal up-kick while Uno was on his knees. Camoes scrambled to his feet and tagged Uno with a combination of punches. Camoes scored another takedown, but Uno reversed him to get top position. Uno wasn't able to do any serious damage. Camoes got to his feet in the final seconds and again he landed some big punches.
Uno was faring better in the standup in the third round. He landed a leg kick that hurt Camoes, who seemed to be getting a little tired. Then Uno tripped him to the canvas for a takedown. Uno passed to side control and tried to take Camoes back before time ran out.
Judge Patricia Morse Jarman scored it 29-27 for Uno, while judges Glenn Trowbridge and Marcis Rosales had it 28-28. I had it a 28-28 draw on my card.
"Because a professional judge decided ---I cannot change (the decision)," Uno said. "Yes, I felt I won the fight. His standup was better than I thought it was going to be."
SOTIROPOULOS TAPS OUT DENT
Lightweight George Sotiropoulos (11-2) of Vancouver, Wash., showed off his excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts skills, submitting Jason Dent (19-11) of Mentor, Ohio, with an armbar at 4:36 of the second round.
"That's the way the fight was going," Sotiropoulos said. "I've showed my ground game a lot and that's what people expect from me, so I wanted to show my standup a bit. But I let the fight take its natural course, and it eventually got there."
Sotiropoulos had Dent mounted and was raining down punches for the final minute of the first round. Dent was defending himself, but he absorbed a lot of punishment. Sotiropoulos methodically broke down Dent again in the second round, maneuvering to the full mount with about 1:21 to go. This time, the Aussie transitioned to an armbar and got Dent to tap out.
"I went for the arm crush and I was holding the leg," Sotiropoulos said, "but he defended it, so I let go of the leg and went for the arm and got it."
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