Today’s morning commute features Bellator 77 results, GSP quotes, Demian Maia wants to fight Diaz and Fitch, Matt Riddle testing positive for marijuana and more. Of course the history lesson is another good one, going back to UFC 50 in 2004. Use the player below or download it for later listening.

There’s nothing wrong with a fun fight. And that’s what we got out of UFC 153. The card featured several changes from the onset, giving us Anderson Silva vs Stephan Bonnar as a main event.

Jon Fitch said he was not only fighting for the victory, but also for fight of the night honors. That’s exactly what he got in his battle with Erick Silva. Fitch put Silva on his back like he has to so many other opponents, but Silva was able to escape and nearly finish Fitch with submissions. It was an amazing back and forth fight and well deserving of the fight of the night award.

In pre-fight interviews Dave Herman said that jiu-jitsu didn’t work as he had never been submitted before. Antonio Nogueira proved him wrong and submitted him with an armbar late in the second round. It wasn’t the first submission he went after, but it was the one that Herman couldn’t get out of and was forced to tap to.

Rony Jason looked amazingly better against Sam Sicilia than he did at UFC 147 which served as The Ultimate Fighter Brazil finale. Both fighters were able to hurt the other with massive right hands but in the end it was Jason who was able to earn the technical knockout with punches and elbows.

Quick Results:
Anderson Silva defeated Stephan Bonnar by TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:40 -
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Dave Herman by submission (armbar) - Round 2, 4:31
Glover Teixeira defeated Fabio Maldonado by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
Jon Fitch defeated Erick Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Phil Davis defeated Wagner Prado by submission (anaconda choke) – Round 2, 4:29
Demian Maia defeated Rick Story by submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:30
Rony Jason defeated Sam Sicilia by TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:15
Gleison Tibau defeated Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Diego Brandao defeated Joey Gambino by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sergio Moraes defeated Renee Forte by submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:10
Chris Camozzi defeated Luiz Cane by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In an interview done with MMAJunkie, Chris Weidman revealed that if he cannot get the title shot with current champ Anderson Silva, then he wants the next best thing; a fight with another top contender. The fight on his radar? UFC 152’s Michael Bisping versus Brian Stann. Both of whom are considered top five in the UFC’s middleweight division, and a fight that until Weidman entered the title picture, many were considering to be a number one contender fight.

Weidman first started getting recognized as someone to watch out for in the UFC’s middleweight division after his short notice victory over Demain Maia at UFC on Fox 2. With just eleven days notice he cut a massive amount of weight and was able to control and out punch Maia for fifteen minutes.

He then headlined UFC on Fuel TV against Mark Munoz. Munoz was returning from an injury that force him out of a UFC on Fox fight giving Weidman the opportunity to fight on that card. Weidman was firing on all cylinders and then some in route to a second round knockout. With the impressive win and a loss from UFC new comer Hector Lombard, Weidman was suddenly the man who was next to challenge the champ.

Bisping and Stann for their part have held nothing back with hyping up their fight at UFC 152. Bisping even going so far as to say that it was at one point “the real main event on the card”. Bisping is 4-1 in his last five fights and many argued that he won his fight against Chael Sonnen. Stann is also 4-1 in his last five fights, finishing all four of his opponents.

UFC 148 took place this Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM grand, and the UFC delivered on what may turn out to be the biggest event in the company’s history. Over 15,000 fans filled the arena for the United States’ largest UFC box office of 7 million dollars and according to President Dana White all metrics point to this being the largest pay per view buy rate in company history.

The main event featured the biggest rematch in UFC history that pitted Champion Anderson Silva against Chael Sonnen.  The first round looked similar to the first four rounds of their first fight, but it was Anderson SIlva who figured out Sonnen’s timing and began landing strikes that rattled and dropped him in the second round. Sonnen was finished seconds later by technical knockout and Silva defended his title for the tenth time and extending his winning streak to fifteen(both UFC records.) Silva was awarded the knockout of the night bonus for the finish as well ($75k.)

In the co-main event it was the rubber match between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. The third fight looked much like their first two fights, but it was Forrest Griffin who was able to squeak out two rounds and get the unanimous decision win. The fight was also awarded the fight of the night honors($75k.) Ortiz made it official, and retired after the fight. Tito had a big day, as he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame earlier in the afternoon.

Main Card
Middleweight Championship Title Bout
Anderson Silva 184 lbs vs. Chael Sonnen 185 lbs
Anderson Silva defeats Chael Sonnen by Technical Knockout at 1:51 of round 2

Light Heavyweight
Forrest Griffin 204 lbs vs. Tito Ortiz 204 lbs
Forrest Griffin defeats Tito Ortiz by Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)

Middleweight
Cung Le 185 lbs vs. Patrick Côté 185 lbs
Cung Le defeats Patrick Côté by Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

Welterweight
Dong Hyun Kim 170 lbs vs. Demian Maia 170 lbs
Demian Maia defeats Dong Hyun Kim by Technical Knockout (Strikes) at :47 of round 1

Featherweight
Chad Mendes 146 lbs vs. Cody McKenzie 145 lbs
Chad Mendes defeats Cody McKenzie by Technical Knockout (Punch to the body) at :31 of round 1

Bantamweight
Ivan Menjivar 136 lbs vs. Mike Easton 135 lbs
Mike Easton defeats Ivan Menjivar by Unanimous Decision (30-27×2, 29-28)

Preliminary Card on FX
Lightweight
Gleison Tibau 155 lbs vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov 155 lbs
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Gleison Tibau by Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

Lightweight
Melvin Guillard 155 lbs vs. Fabrício Camões 156 lbs
Melvin Guillard defeats Fabrício Camões by Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

Middleweight
Constantinos Philippou 186 lbs vs. Riki Fukuda 185 lbs
Constantinos Philippou defeats Riki Fukuda by Unanimous Decision (30-27×2, 28-28)

Lightweight
John Alessio 156 lbs vs. Shane Roller 155 lbs
Shane Roller defeats John Alessio by Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)

Preliminary Card on Facebook
Lightweight
Rafaello Oliveira  156 lbs vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo 156 lbs
Rafaello Oliveira defeats Yoislandy Izquierdo by Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)

The UFC 148 weigh ins took place today in Las Vegas, Nevada for the biggest UFC pay per view of the year. All fighters made weight for the event, and all bouts will take place as scheduled. The talk is over, the fight has been sold, and the only thing left for the fighters to do is fight. Things got animated in the stare down when Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva bumped into Chael Sonnen, and they were immediately separated. Below are the full weigh in results for UFC 148.

Middleweight Championship Title Bout
Anderson Silva 184 lbs
Chael Sonnen 185 lbs

Light Heavyweight
Forrest Griffin 204 lbs
Tito Ortiz 204 lbs

Middleweight
Cung Le 185 lbs
Patrick Côté 185 lbs

Welterweight
Dong Hyun Kim 170 lbs
Demian Maia 170 lbs

Featherweight
Chad Mendes 146 lbs
Cody McKenzie 145 lbs

Bantamweight
Ivan Menjivar 136 lbs
Mike Easton 135 lbs

Preliminary Card on FX
Lightweight
Gleison Tibau 155  lbs
Khabib Nurmagomedov 155 lbs

Lightweight
Melvin Guillard 155 lbs
Fabrício Camões 156 lbs

Middleweight
Constantinos Philippou 186 lbs
Riki Fukuda 185 lbs

Lightweight
John Alessio 156 lbs
Shane Roller 155 lbs

Preliminary Card on Facebook
Lightweight
Rafaello Oliveira  156 lbs
Yoislandy Izquierdo 156 lbs

UFC 148 is just days away, and everyone is compiling all of the numbers to try and figure out just who really does have an advantage and who doesn’t. Our own John Petit compiled a list of all the important stats and numbers for this event to show just who is better where.

Chad Mendes vs Cody McKenzie
Two stats jump off the page right away in this featherweight battle: Mendes is coming in a huge favorite at -500 and McKenzie has a massive height and reach advantage. Mendes being the favorite isn’t that much of a surprise, especially considering the fact that his last fight was against Jose Aldo for the title. McKenzie’s height and reach will be a factor for Mendes as he stands six inches taller and has a six inch reach advantage. Mendes, a wrestler, typically grinds his opponents down with his dominant wrestling skills holding a 57% accuracy in his takedown attempts and never being taken down by any of his opponents. McKenzie doesn’t need to take his opponents down as he has one of the best defenses for a mistake from a takedown: his guillotine. It is no secret that McKenzie loves the submission and has been able to hit it from nearly anywhere winning twelve fights with the submission out of thirteen.

Dong Hyun Kim vs Demian Maia
Maia had a fairly successful run as a middleweight, even earning himself a title shot against Anderson Silva. But after losing his last fight to Chris Weidman, it was time to make a change and fight at welterweight. The odds makers aren’t sure what to do with this fight as it is very close to even with Kim coming in the slight favorite at -135. Kim not only holds a four inch reach advantage over Maia, his striking accuracy inside the octagon is greater than Maia’s. Maia does hold a slight edge in striking defense, but it isn’t at the same portion that separates the two while attacking. Maia’s strength lies in his ability to submit his opponent and that plays a reason why he sometimes gives up the takedown, so he can put his opponent in his world. Surprisingly, Kim has the edge when it comes to actual takedowns and has shown he is even more difficult to take down.

Cung Le vs Patrick Cote
Cote, another former middleweight title contender, is coming in the favorite over Le at -260. Neither fighter has a winning record inside the UFC, though for Le, he has only had one fight for the promotion. Le’s last five fights resulted in him winning 3 and dropping two, while Cote is 4-1 riding a four fight win streak into the fight. Le’s southpaw stance and ability to land spinning kicks, almost at will all play into is his slight edge in striking accuracy, but it’s also why he is so difficult to hit where he holds a major advantage over Cote in the defense department. Neither fighter has been known for their takedowns and even though Le is favored in both defending as well as completing his own takedowns, it shouldn’t be a factor in this fight. What will be a factor is Cote’s reach advantage and how he plans to use the five inch reach to keep Le on the outside.

Forrest Griffin vs Tito Ortiz
Ortiz is going to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame before the fight as this is likely his retirement fight. This will be the third time the two meet, each having won a previous encounter. Griffin is coming in the favorite at -320, likely due to the fact that while his last five he is sporting a losing record with 2-3, Ortiz’s record is worse at 1-4. Griffin holds an advantage in reach and takedowns, while Ortiz is able to land more punches than Griffin.

Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen
Silva is coming in the heavy favorite at -270 and should be. He holds the advantage in height, reach, streak, shorter fight time, striking accuracy and takedown accuracy. The two spots where Sonnen does hold an advantage, takedown defense and striking defense are by a slim margin. Silva has won fifteen straight fights, and holds the record for most successful title defenses and wins in the UFC. But one also should look at the numbers from the first fight. Sonnen was winning the fight for twenty-three minutes. He outland Silva in significant strikes 89 to 29 and landed 251 strikes to Silva’s head while Silva was only able to retaliate with 52 of his own. In the grappling department, Silva took Sonnen down a single time, while Silva was taken down three times with Sonnen attempting seven times. Once on the ground, Sonnen held the advantage in position and sweeps.

This article is based on the UFC by the numbers stat sheet compiled by John Petit. All stats and percentages are just for the Zuffa fights. To be added to his distribution list contact him on twitter @scream13 or at facebook.com/jmerrilpetit

UFC 148 is beginning to shape up nicely and is looking like a brilliant card. The event is set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, July 7.

With the main event being the rubber match for the bantamweight title between champion Dominick Cruz and long time rival Urijah Faber, the card already has drawing power. With the score tied at 1-1 between the current The Ultimate Fighter coaches this bout looks set to be an explosive affair. Especially when you consider the bitter relationship between the two now being fuelled as they spend more time together than they ever have before during the filming of the reality show. Urijah Faber is the only man to have ever beaten Cruz and is looking to get the belt which he feels he deserves and should be the rightful owner of. Cruz has changed a lot as a fighter since that loss to Faber, which took place at WEC 26 in 2007 in the featherweight division. He will be bringing a ten-fight win streak into this fight.

When you add to the main event the recent additions of Cung Le vs. Rich Franklin; Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz 3 (in what is set to be Ortiz’ retirement match), Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim and Michael Bisping vs. Tim Boetsch, this card could end up being the biggest event of the summer.

San Shou icon and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le looks to rebound after a TKO loss to the legendary Wanderlei Silva with a win over another legend of the sport in the always tough fan favourite Rich “Ace” Franklin. Rich returns to his natural home of middleweight for the bout after fighting at light heavyweight in his previous fights. Franklin is a former middleweight champion and is also looking to get back to winning ways after a loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 126. Neither fighter has ever lost two in a row in their professional careers and will be looking to keep that record intact.

Tito Ortiz will look to finish his career in style by winning the trilogy with “The Original Ultimate Fighter” Forrest Griffin. These two are almost certainly future UFC hall of famers with both guys helping build the sport and the UFC to what it is today; albeit by totally different methods. Tito was the loudmouthed punk who would trash talk everybody and anybody and do the “Gravedigger” routine at the end of fights, who the fans would love to hate. While Forrest Griffin made history and became a huge favourite for his performance in The Ultimate Fighters original season, finishing it off with a legendary match in the finale with Stephan Bonner. The Griffin-Bonnar one fight is what many believe is the greatest ever MMA fight. Both are still big draws and this is a bout both have wanted for some time to settle the score once and for all. Win, lose or draw both guys will give it their all as always and the fans will no doubt be left with a nostalgic feeling as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” enters the Octagon for the final time.

Tim Boetsch scored the biggest win of his career in a spectacular come from behind knockout of Yushin Okami at UFC 144 and immediately asked for a top contender to cement his place in the upper echelons of the division. His request was granted with British star Michael Bisping who recently lost a close number-one-contender match against Chael Sonnen. While UFC matchmaker Joe Silva doesn’t usually like to match up a recent winner with a recent loser, Bisping showed a great display against Sonnen and in a win here will most likely go straight back to the front of the pecking order.

Demian Maia makes the drop to welterweight and is met by the ‘Stun Gun’ Dong Hyun Kim. Kim had opened his professional career with a 16-0 record before losing to current interim title holder Carlos Condit. The Korean has since bounced back with a decision win over Sean Pierson whilst Maia enters looking to get back to winning ways after a decision loss to middleweight prospect Chris Weidman.

Another matchup recently announced for the card is a bantamweight fight between the always impressive Renan Barao and Jeff Hougland. Barao is on an unbelievable 29 fight unbeaten streak after losing his first professional bout and is thought to be next in line for a bantamweight title shot. Hougland enters on the back of a nine fight win streak and a recent UFC debut win.

The only other match announced at this time is a middleweight bout between Constantinos Phillipou and DEEP veteran Riki Fukuda.

Stay tuned to MMARecap as more fights are announced.

On Saturday night at the United Center in Chicago, IL, the Ultimate Fighting Championship held a triple-header fight card for free on FOX. All three fights had title implications; some more significant than others; like the co-main event featuring Chael Sonnen vs. Michael “The Count” Bisping. The winner of this fight would be guaranteed a title shot at the current middleweight champion (185 lbs.) and pound-for-pound king, Anderson Silva in Brazil later this year.

With the injury to Mark Munoz, who was originally scheduled to face Sonnen, Bisping felt prepared enough to challenge Sonnen on only ten days notice. Many fans expressed their opinion that this was a much better match-up and the true number-one contender would emerge from this fight. Sonnen opened from the odds makers as a four-to-one favorite over The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner and in some cases a five-to-one. I felt that this was a gross mistake to count out Bisping’s ground game.

The two most important questions were answered with-in fourteen seconds of the fight. “Can Sonnen take Bisping down?” and “Can Bisping escape from the bottom?” The answer to both questions was ‘yes.’ This was a very tough fight to score because of this. Most of the first two rounds were spent in the clinch position with takedown attempts and dirty boxing.

According to FightMetric.com, the official stats website of the UFC, Sonnen attempted seven takedowns in the fight and scored on four of them with in the fifteen minutes allotted for the fight. Bisping only scored with one takedown out of three attempts. In the striking department, Sonnen out landed his opponent by 33 in total strikes. In round one, Sonnen out struck his opponent by 20 total strikes and gained advantages ground position on Bisping by scoring two takedowns out of four attempts. Round one clearly went to Sonnen.

Undeniably, the second round went to “The Count.” He controlled the action by pinning Sonnen against the cage for most of the round. He also out struck Sonnen in the amount of significant strikes landed and strikes to the head.

The third and final round went to Sonnen with his dominant top game after securing a takedown with in 12 seconds. From there he controlled the round for over four minutes of the five minutes allowed per round. Sonnen was able to take the back of Bisping early on in the round, but was unable to score a submission due to the defense of Bisping. From there Sonnen switched position into the mount, but again was unable to do significant damage or secure a submission. Small chants of “USA” broke out towards the end of the fight. I’m not sure if they were routing for Sonnen or just showing their distain for Bisping.

Official Result…
Chael Sonnen wins by Unanimous Decision. (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). I’m not sure how one judge gave the second round to Sonnen. Maybe they don’t like Bisping or they went on a hotdog run during that round. Either way, they need a talking to.

Next training session…
Sonnen has controlled most of his opponents in the Octagon when he takes the fight into his world. Somehow Bisping was better at getting back to his feet than anyone else, including the Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen needs to identify how Bisping repeatedly escaped and close that gap in his game.

Bisping needs to control the distance more when on the feet to avoid getting close to wrestlers. During the open workouts on the Wednesday prior to the fight, he was displaying spinning heel kicks, push kicks and high kicks that would keep any sensible fighter at bay.

Next Possible Opponents…
Sonnen will challenge Anderson Silva in Brazil over the summer for the Middleweight Championship of the UFC.

Bisping has been sent back down the rankings and will need at least two victories before he can challenge for a title. Since Demian Maia and Bisping lost on the same night and were originally scheduled to fight each other, they can fight to see who belongs in the upper tier of their division.

UFC on Fox 2 took place on Saturday January 28th at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The preliminary fights aired on Fuel TV with the three-fight main card airing on Fox. MMA Recap was on hand and cageside for the event to capture all of the action.

Chris Camozzi and Dustin Jacoby opend up the night of fights. The first round was a great back and forth battle between the two fighters. Early in the round Camozzi had Jacoby guessing as he landing some massive shots. But Jacoby stayed the course and started to find his range, frustrating Camozzi. With ten seconds left in the round, Camozzi landed a big right that buckled Jacoby to earn him the round. Round two featured more striking by both fighters. Camozzi looked to try and counter Jacoby, but was a little off in his timing as Jacoby was landing more. Round three both fighters came out swinging with Camozzi taking the center of the octagon to start. Jacoby landed a beautiful combo led off with a body shot. Camozzi landed a leg kick that swept Jacoby’s feet out from under him. Camozzi rushed in and grabbed a standing guillotine.

Joey Beltran declined to touch gloves with Lavar Johnson which means one thing; he’s going to lose the fight. Johnson nearly finished the fight in the first fifteen seconds with a body shot that hurt Beltran but Beltran recovered from within the clinch. The two fighters jabbed at each other to set up a powerful shot and both connected with more than one. But Johnson landed a big right and then followed it up with several uppercuts and a left hook that sent Beltran to the canvas.

Shane Roller’s gameplan from the start was to take Michael Johnson down. Unfortunately he was unable to get Johnson down and ate a lot of punches through out the first two rounds. Even with all the punches he was eating, Roller continued to press forward. In the third round, Roller was able to take the back of Johnson and wanted to finish the fight with a rear naked choke. Unable to get the choke while holding a body triangle, Roller switched to punching Johnson. Some of his punches were to the back of the head and Herb Dean stopped the fight to warn Roller. After the restart, Johnson was able to escape the bad position and saved himself from losing the round by 10-8. Once on the feet, the two traded punches till bell’s end.

Charles Oliveira scored the first calf slicer submission on Eric Wisely. After a kick thrown by Wisely, Oliveira caught it to put Wisely on his back. Oliveira worked standing punches to Wisely till he was able to pass to side control. He quickly worked for a heel hook and Wisely tried to roll out of it. Oliveira continued attacking the leg, and put Wisely in a the submission forcing Wisely to tap. The crowd didn’t know what they saw, but they loved the crazy submission.

George Roop had a serious size advantage over Cub Swanson and he looked to use it early. Roop threw a variety of kicks to keep Swanson at bay, but Swanson stayed the course to try and get inside and land his punches. Roop stumbled Swanson but he quickly recovered and swarmed Roop rocking him in return. Roop attempted a takedown, but Swanson reversed and scored a big takedown. Swanson started to find his way under Roop’s punches and edged Roop out for the round. The second looked to be much of the same but Swanson landed a right hook over top of Roop’s jab that sent Roop to the floor. Swanson followed up with big bombs forcing Big John to step in and stop the action.

Heavyweights Mike Russow and John-Olav Einemo were up next. The crowd was heavily behind Russow the Chicago police officer. Russow took Einemo down immediately to start the fight, but couldn’t do much with it. The two fighters exchanged punches with Russow using his strikes to try and set up another takedown. The takedown came and he worked most of the round from within Einemo’s guard. With less than ten seconds left, Einemo swept Russow and was in the mount, but time expired and he couldn’t do much with it. The second round was much the same with Russow taking Einemo down and trying to pass his guard but unable too. Einemo threatened a little with setting up some submissions, but Russow defended well. Einemo started to land some heavy shots including two big knees that forced Russow to shoot for a takedown. Einemo worked for a triangle but Russow escaped and wound up on top. Russow worked elbows and was trying to pass guard when the fight got stood back up. Einemo landed another massive knee before Russow took the fight to the ground and finished the fight in that position.

The last of the preliminary fights to air on FuelTV featured lightweights Nik Lentz and Evan Dunham. The two fighters quickly stepped to the center to throw massive shots. Lentz nearly had a D’Arce but he couldn’t get the position right and Dunham escaped. Lentz shot for a takedown, and Dunham worked a guillotine to counter it. Lentz escaped, and battled for position over Dunham. The fighters stood and worked a short game inside the clinch before separating. Dunham worked for a takedown of his own and got it, but Lentz controlled well from the bottom. Dunham worked punches and elbows to end the round. Dunham came out on a mission to start the second round and immediately got a takedown. Dunham tried to pass to side control, but Lentz wouldn’t give up. The two fighters stood and Lentz scored with some uppercuts before separating. Dunham working for a guillotine and can’t get it, and the two fighters start throwing punch after punch that were landing to the crowd’s delight. Dunham with another takedown and he worked several punches before working a modified choke. The choke wasn’t working so he opted for elbows instead. Lentz started to sit up and Dunham with a straight right. Lentz is badly bloodied up, but still coming forard as the round ends. Reply showed his eye is badly swollen and the doctor is called in to look at it. The doctor waved off the fight as Lentz’s eye was shut.

Kicking off the main card on Fox, Chris Weidman stepped in on eleven day’s notice to fight Demian Maia. Maia looked to use his improved boxing against Weidman, and Weidman was happy to oblige. Weidman landed more strikes through out and at the end of the round secured it with a takedown. The second round was a close round to call as Maia started to find his range and did more damage in the first half. Near the end of the round Weidman scored a takedown and if there was enough time he probably would have finished his guillotine he had locked in. By the third round both fighters were visibly gassed. Weidman continued to land punches and when Maia did attempt a takedown, Weidman easily defended. Maia ate a couple of knees but the action was not enough to satisfy the Chicago crowd as they booed at the conclusion of the fight. What looked to be a clear cut unanimous decision for Weidman either 30-27 or 29-28 was not as one judge scored it for Maia giving Weidman the split decision victory.

It was more difficult to tell if the crowd was pro Chael Sonnen or anti Michael Bisping based on their entrances, but once inside the cage fighting, it became very clear they were for Sonnen. The first round Sonnen immediately took the fight to the ground but Bisping was quick to get back up. The two traded punches with Bisping throwing crisper strikes, but Sonnen landing the more damaging ones. The second round Sonnen seemed to have slowed down a bit as he couldn’t find a home for his punches. Bisping used the opportunity to land his punches and attempted some fancy spinning kicks. Most of the round however was spent against the cage and surprisingly the Chicago crowd didn’t object to it. The third round Sonnen took Bisping down and the crowd went crazy. As he was able to get Bisping’s back the noise level erupted even more. The loudest ovation however came when Sonnen mounted Bisping as it was next to impossible to hear anything. Bisping was able to escape, but it wasn’t enough as the round ended. The judges were all in agreement with who won giving the fight to Sonnen.

In the pre-fight build up for Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, Evans stated that it would be Davis that would shoot first for the takedown. And while that was true, it was Evans who actually scored the first takedown. The five round battle was not much to the crowd’s delight as it consisted mostly of Evans throwing combos and avoiding Davis’s takedown attempts. When Evans would take the fight to the ground, he was impressive in securing a crucifix not once, but three times through out the fight. All three times he nearly finished with punches and elbows, but Davis was somehow able to escape. Both fighters were extremely exhausted at the end of the twenty-five minute battle and Evans solidified his status as the number one contender for the light heavyweight title to challenge Jon Jones.

Quick Results
Chris Camozzi defeated Dustin Jacoby by guillotine at 1:08 of round 3
Lavar Johnson defeated Joey Beltran by TKO at 4:24 of round 1
Michael Johnson defeated Shane Roller by unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Charles Oliveira defeated Eric Wisely by calf slicer at 1:43 of round 1
Cub Swanson defeated George Roop by TKO at 2:22 of round 2
Mike Russow defeated John-Olav Einemo by unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Evan Dunham defeated Nik Lentz by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 of round 2
Chris Weidman defeated Demian Maia by split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
Chael Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping by unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
Rashad Evans defeated Phil Davis by unanimous decision 50-45, 50-45, 50-45

UFC on Fox 2 open workouts took place at the Chicago Boxing Club in Chicago, Illinois.  MMA Recap was on hand to interview several of the fighters competing on Saturday’s card.

Tiki Ghosn

Shonie Carter

Rashad Evans

Phil Davis

Phil Davis taking questions

Mike Russow

John Danher

Demian Maia

Chris Weidman