UFC on FOX 4: 'Shogun vs Vera'

[ajmcstyles]

Edit. Ignore

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

First time in a while I've seen an eye poke draw blood. Shame. I think it should have been ruled a DQ win for Prado. They mentioned that it was an unintentional foul- who, besides Josh Koscheck, intentionally fouls their opponent? Fights end in DQ for illegal groin strikes and upkicks, it's the same principle, the fighters don't mean to do it, but it's still illegal.

 

Good fights so far though, even if I'm 1-4 in my fight picks tonight New season next week luckily.

[ajmcstyles]

Edit ignore

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Damn good fight, probably the best of the prelims, maybe tied with Gamburyan/Omigawa. Nice to see Phan get the win, he needed it. Brings me to 2-4 tonight (well, this morning here).

 

I had a little "aha!" moment in this fight. Seeing the size difference, I was thinking, "If I was Phan, I'd get some help from Chad Mendes for this one," thinking of the McKenzie fight. Moments later: "Phan went to train with Team Alpha Male...". Aww yeah

[ajmcstyles]

I wonder if Dana managed to light a fire in everyone because those prelims was amazing now for the main card.

[lambyUK]

Whilst I don't care, i'm sure you both may get a warning of live discussion from a mod.

[ajmcstyles]

Oh yeah sorry I forgot I got getting carried away with this show. My apologises mods. I should follow the rules.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Oh that's right. Personally, any discussion is good discussion in my book, at least it's not one word posts of "Damn!" and "Awesome!" But rules are rules, sorry mods, I'll save it for later.

[ajmcstyles]

All the fights are over now so I'm guess its ok for a talk about the show?

 

Phil De Fries Submitted Oli Thompson (Via Facecrack/RNC) - (Prelim fight)

Only covering this since it was Brit Vs Brit. De Fries had the perfect game plan against the former British strongest man. It might of been a boring game plan to tie him up against the fence for a round but it easily tired Thompson. So in the second De Fries threw straight right rocked Thompson and he was all for the taking in which De Fries got the submission. Oddly enough Joe Rogan said De Fries was a amateur level in terms of striking which could be something for De Fries to work on specially now we know he does have serious power in the right hand. His game might of been alright when he was fighting over here but the UFC is a whole different ball game.

 

Mick Swick KO'ed DeMarques Johnson - possibly KOTN

What a great fight a brawl in the fight round. , caught the kick ran forward shoving Johnson to the floor, swick with 3 punches from standing guard he was out cold. Truly a superb opener for FOX 4

 

Joe Lauzon Submitted Jamie Varner (Via Triangle) - Possibly FOTN & SOTN

This was better than the first fight. I thought J-Lo was done after he got rocked several times in the first round but what surprised me was Lauzon's ability to block like he did a few slipped through but those elbows would of cut him up bad if he didn't block them. The third round Varner tried to pin Lauzon for the round but his superior BBJ skill came into play, both kind of scrambling on the knees but somehow Lauzon put Varner in a triangle out of no where took a while to sink it in but it worked.

Lauzon could be in line for a title shot if he can pull off another impressive win like that but he does questionable Chin maybe a fight against Gray Maynard would be in order.

 

Lyoto Machida Ko'ed Ryan Bader - Could also be KOTN

Missed most of it since some youth lit a fire near my house so I had to call the local firestation to come and put it out since the back of my house is a wooded area. What I did see was Bader seemed lost his will and just thought fuck it do was Shogun did. Unfortunately for Ryan Bader, Lyoto learnt from his mistakes took a step back and delivered a straight right ko'ing Bader. Bader really need to work on his speed possibly drop some of the muscle he is a powerhouse but hes kind of slow specially for the likes of Machida

IMO if Lyoto gets a shot at the LHW title and comes up short then he needs to drop to 185. But with his skills could squeeze a win from Jones via points if he gets in then out in double quick time or Avoid the H-Bomb (depending on whos champion and I'm hoping it Henderson).

Lyoto easily got the most impressive win out of the two main events

 

"Shogun" Rua TKO'ed Brandon Vera

A back and forth fight for the first three rounds. I was shocked that they gassed by the middle of round two. No offence but Vera should retire he doesn't have that much of a chin compared to the top contenders, he struggles to work off his back or any defensive position really. Vera downfall I felt was holding onto that choke at the start he gassed his arms and Shogun knew that, so he purposely made himself room to breathe but let Vera gas his arms. "Shogun" Rua really needs to work on his cardio and looking at him at the end of that fight could get to 185 if he really wanted too or give it a go, like Rashard he would be a monster at 185. It was nice to see Vera attack the knees at one point and the legs which he stopped for some reason in the 3rd, some more strikes he could of seriously done damage and could of taken Shogun down but what the hell.

Shogun was not really impressive enough to get a title shot compared to Machida.

 

Prelim's was actually worth the

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Okay... *ahem* let's proceed.

 

Holy fuck that was a great card. Not one fight from the prelims to the main event sucked.

 

Swick vs. Johnson: Swick looks as great as ever, sure he got put in a difficult spot by DaMarques, but that guy is no slouch himself. Clean, crisp KO after a fun first round. One thing I loved about this fight (and it pervaded the night's proceedings) is that it showcased mixed martial arts as a whole, not just standing and banging, or "two dudes hugging". Swick's power and striking prowess is still intact, and it makes for a great story. I got a laugh from Rogan saying, "This isn't Mike Swick at his best, it'll take a few fights" and seconds later he scored the KO- which won KOTN. In other commentary related slip ups, Goldberg had a cracker on the prelims, "Phil Davis choked out Tim Boetsch with a kimura".

 

Lauzon vs. Varner: This was crazy! Varner had some cardio problems, and Lauzon is notorious for that himself, but both guys gutted it out and showed well rounded skills. The finishing sequence leading to the triangle was great technique. I thought Lauzon would catch the sub, but I thought they would set a frantic pace and end it in the first. I was wrong, they set a solid pace (it did slow at times, can't really call it frantic) for almost 3 full rounds. I'd put it close to Zombie/Poirier in terms of FOTY status personally. Dana just announced at the post fight presser that this got FOTN and SOTN. So $100 000 in bonus money for Lauzon.

 

Both guys acquitted themselves well (another theme of the night) and a loss shouldn't hurt Varner's standing in the least, after all he was expected to lose. The win for Lauzon solidifies his spot on future Fox and PPV cards, don't know if it's all too significant in terms of rankings or anything though.

 

Bader vs Machida: Bader was the only guy to not look good in defeat here, but then again Machida's style does that to people. Even with a full training camp, Bader seemed perplexed as to how to deal with it. Machida fought in a very Anderson-esque fashion, seemed very cocky and clowned Bader a lot. Perfect KO.

 

Shogun vs Vera: I'll be damned, even Vera looked good in defeat. Not as good as Rogan and Goldberg made out, but still much better than what I thought would happen, which was Shogun eating him for breakfast in the 1st. Neither guy's gas tank was great, but considering the way he looked and moved, I thought Shogun was just tentative given the stakes. I know, he's had the big fights before for titles and such, but I think he feared being over aggressive and letting Vera capitalise. A loss to Vera would be far more embarrassing than a loss to Henderson or Jones. I think that's why he opted for the wrestling approach. Even with all his credentials, Vera really seems like a fish out of water in any grappling situation. Not only he does he not do much to counter or attack, his facial expressions read like he's almost scared. I will say I think Vera's chin is just fine, he took some hard punches and knees against the fence. And the choke was a nice moment for him, but I don't think he was gassed at that point, it failed because he didn't have full guard.

 

Great fight card for Fox, Dana must be over the fucking moon with how it went.

[METAL ON METAL]

Fantastic show from top to bottom, for which Dana must really be thankful after the past month. Probably show of the year for me.

 

Great to see Swick looking fantastic (I had picked Johnson to win) after all the shit he's been through, devastating finish as well.

 

 

Oh and Dana's said they're going to do Davis/Prado 2 on the Browne/Bigfoot FX show in October. Such a shame for Prado, especially as he was edging the fight. I know who I'm putting money on for the rematch.

 

 

Of all the shows to have an absolute cracker I'm sure Dana must be over the moon it happened on FOX, it'll be interesting to see what ratings it gets - as it could be a minor version of the whole Bonnar/Griffin 'ring your mates' thing.

[wandshogun09]

No offence but Vera should retire he doesn't have that much of a chin compared to the top contenders

 

Eh? Vera's chin is fine. That's the first time he's ever been KO'd. Jones stopped him with the elbow but that was stopped more due to the orbital bone injury and Vera tapped. The Werdum stoppage was dodgy as fuck. This was the first time Vera has ever been proper knocked out and Shogun is one of the most dangerous, heavy handed strikers at 205. No shame in that. Vera gained more in losing that fight than he did in any of his UFC wins (bar maybe the Mir win) in my opinion.

 

Anyway, as others have said, amazing card. One of the best this year by far. Right up with 146 for me, maybe better.

 

Shogun vs Vera

What a fucking fight. That's 9 rounds of war Shogun has fought in his last 2 fights. He's fucking awesome but it can't be good for him.

 

I'm guessing Shogun will get some criticism because Vera was able to give him a rough fight, but like I said from the day the fight was made, Vera was always a tough style match up for Shogun. There was no easy route for Shogun in this one. Despite Vera's inconsistency, his strengths matched up well with Shogun's and it made for a hell of a fight.

 

Was surprised and very impressed with Shogun's ability to put Vera on his back. That's something Randy had fits with and Shogun did it easier than I expected. Shogun's offensive wrestling is underrated. He gave me a few scares in there, seemed to tire and get tagged a fair bit in round 2 and 3 but that's Shogun. The man will put himself in harm's way every time if he thinks he can land a bomb back.

 

Great, great fight. Absolutely chuffed as fuck that Shogun proved me wrong. Vera's gone up in my estimation though. He fought his arse off. I'd like to see him get another name next, maybe Forrest Griffin or Little Nog. Could be fun.

 

Got a feeling Shogun will be fighting Gustafsson next.

 

Machida vs Bader

This went how I expected. Nothing against Bader but I've never really bought into him. He had nowt for Machida for me. A very slim puncher's chance and that's it. Machida was too good for that. He looked fantastic. Great movement, speed, accuracy. He looked like the Machida pre-Shogun who everyone was scared to fight.

 

Really looking forward to Machida vs Jones/Hendo. I think he'd probably beat Hendo and like I've said before I'd give him a decent shot at Jones.

 

Incredible KO.

 

Lauzon vs Varner

This was an absolute corker. I picked Varner on points via Lauzon fading. Got that wrong. What a performance from Lauzon, and Varner looked really good as well.

 

Was anyone else getting really fucked off with Rogan constantly banging on about Varner's cardio in this fight? He looked a bit winded later on but nowhere near as bad as Rogan was making out to me. It's all he was going on about, even while Varner was throwing some great combos full power he was going "Varner is exhausted Mike, look at his mouth wide open". Jesus Fuck man, give it a rest. Anyone would think he was Coleman-level gassed.

 

Anyway sod that. This was a blinding fight. Well deserving of the bonus money and all the praise being heaped on it. I fucking loved the finish as well. The transition from the back into the triangle from Lauzon was beautifully done. One of the best submissions of the year for me.

 

I'd rank this top 3 in the FOTY talk so far along with Zombie/Poirier and Marquardt/Woodley.

 

Swick vs Johnson

I've always been a bit critical of Swick and always said he was overrated/striking was sloppy etc. But fair's fair he looked great in this fight. Especially considering the layoff and all the shit he's dealt with. His striking looked better to me as well. He wasn't just flailing arm punches, he did a bit but not so much as he did earlier in his career. And he connected with some really nice straight punches. He's defo improved his striking.

 

DaMarques looked solid too. Real good groundwork in round 1 and landed some hard shots himself on the feet. The KO was out of nowhere. Looked brutal. Really enjoyed this fight.

 

Didn't catch all the prelims but what I saw was decent

 

Phan vs Miller

This was better than decent. Really fun three rounds. Glad Nam won I thought he took rounds 1 and 3 fairly clearly so I was a bit surprised one judge had Miller winning.

 

Why the fuck does Cole Miller seem to have forgot that he's a great grappler though? His BJJ is quality (see his cracking and forgotten fight with Jorge Gurgel) but his last couple of fights he's just stood and brawled it out. Both fights I think he could have won had he grappled.

 

Entertaining fight though all the same.

 

De Fries vs Thompson

Only caught round 2 of this but nice to see De Fries getting a decisive and impressive win. Showed he can do damage on the feet and was able to show his BJJ off. Good way to bounce back from the Stipe KO. If he can tighten up his boxing technique he could have a decent little run.

 

Yahya vs Grispi

Rani Yahya's north-south was sweet. Haven't seen one of them for ages. Yahya's a bit of a dark horse. He's been around forever and had a fair few really good wins but he's been a bit inconsistent. When he's on he's great to watch though.

 

What the fuck's happened to Grispi? He was on the cusp of a title shot a year or so ago and now his career's on it's arse. He can't catch a break at all.

 

Real shame about Davis/Prado. Glad it sounds like that's getting re-scheduled soon. I think Rogan might have been right about there being some translation issue there and Prado didn't understand the ref fully.

 

Moraga's KO of Ulysses Gomez was vicious as well. Very impressive finish.

 

Fantastic show top to bottom. Just what you'd want on FOX and exactly what they needed to wash away the sour taste left by UFC 149.

 

Bonuses were

 

Fight Of The Night - Lauzon vs Varner

Sub Of The Night - Lauzon

KO Of The Night - Swick

 

I knew Swick would get a bonus somehow. Thought Machida's KO was way better though personally.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Great, great fight. Absolutely chuffed as fuck that Shogun proved me wrong. Vera's gone up in my estimation though. He fought his arse off. I'd like to see him get another name next, maybe Forrest Griffin or Little Nog. Could be fun.

 

Got a feeling Shogun will be fighting Gustafsson next.

 

Fine by me. Dana was asked about that at the presser, and while he didn't say a definite yes to it, he didn't seem opposed to it. Shogun is the perfect fight as far as ranking/name value for Gustaffson, and for Shogun, he can take out a highly regarded prospect and prove that he hasn't been bypassed by the "new breed".

 

Vera vs. Little Nog is a good shout. I'm still hoping Dana caves and gives Bonnar the 3rd Forrest fight for them both to retire on. It'd be a great way of bringing their careers full-circle. Would love to see it as a Fox headliner as a nod to the first fight helping UFC with their TV exposure in the first place.

 

Was anyone else getting really fucked off with Rogan constantly banging on about Varner's cardio in this fight? He looked a bit winded later on but nowhere near as bad as Rogan was making out to me. It's all he was going on about, even while Varner was throwing some great combos full power he was going "Varner is exhausted Mike, look at his mouth wide open". Jesus Fuck man, give it a rest. Anyone would think he was Coleman-level gassed.

 

Yeah that irked me too. Especially considering Lauzon was just as tired, and Rogan all but ignored it (he might have mentioned it later). Faber's right about him creating his storylines as a commentator. It'd be a good thing if the stories weren't inaccurate or misleading.

 

Swick vs Johnson

I've always been a bit critical of Swick and always said he was overrated/striking was sloppy etc.

Not going to lie, I winced at the first big shot Swick cracked Johnson with.

 

What the fuck's happened to Grispi? He was on the cusp of a title shot a year or so ago and now his career's on it's arse. He can't catch a break at all.

He's got to be cut now surely? 0-3 in the UFC, with the last 2 being stoppages. He's like the FW Vera, so much early promise, clearly very talented, but he's just fizzled out for whatever reason.

 

Real shame about Davis/Prado. Glad it sounds like that's getting re-scheduled soon. I think Rogan might have been right about there being some translation issue there and Prado didn't understand the ref fully.

Yeah, agreed. Apparently it'll be on the Browne/Bigfoot card in October. Was looking forward to seeing how Davis responded to his first loss, looks like he's taking on the Ric Flair tactics of fighting.

 

Moraga's KO of Ulysses Gomez was vicious as well. Very impressive finish.

Missed this one, not happy. Got sent to Maccas to get breakfast, and I thought, being a flyweight fight, it would go the distance. Damn

 

I knew Swick would get a bonus somehow. Thought Machida's KO was way better though personally.

Yeah, being one of the TUF 1 boys has that advantage. Plus, I know Machida's not on "Anderson Silva money", but I'm guessing he still gets paid a shitload more than Swick. Swick was still a deserving winner of the bonus, and it'll help him and his family a lot more than it would Machida's.

[Snake Plissken]

People on Twitter are complaining once more that ESPN cut off the Main event 10 minutes before it finished once more, I think that this only affects the BT Vision customers, can anyone else having issues with this?

[Art Vandelay]

Not really ESPN's fault - they showed the full thing, but the broadcast ran long. People should always record the show after, just incase.