As usual, UFC Fight Night delivers. Tonight, down in the city that is still mopping up from the Super Bowl (Tampa Bay, FL for all non-US residents), the UFC put on another great free show after making all of us diehards shell out for two PPVs last month.
It was a night of wall to wall action and quality finishes. In fact, only one fight went to a decision and that was part of the un-aired undercard. This was the type of show that really shows you the depth of the UFC and put on display some of the bright young stars coming down the pipe.
Two of those prospects, Cain Velasquez and Anthony Johnson, look like absolute studs. I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing both of them showcased on PPV cards soon.
While the main event was a terrific battle, the showstopper had to be the undercard fight between Matt Grice and Matt Veach. They displayed the skill and tenacity that the UFC is looking for in all their fighters, and I would expect to see both of these fresh faces in the Octagon again soon.
With that said let's get to the results and see how I faired on my picks:
Steve Bruno v. Matt Riddle: Riddle wins via unanimous decision. I was way off on this one.
Nick Catone v. Derek Downey: Catone wins via submission (keylock) in the second round. Again, I was off the mark... not a good start.
Rich Clementi v. Gleison Tibau: Tibau wins by submission (guillotine) in the first round. Wow, 0-3, this is not my week.
Jake Rosholt v. Dan Miller: Miller beats Rosholt by submission (guillotine) in the first round. 0-4... I've got nothin'.
On a side note I was kind of happy to see that Rosholt got put in his place. I saw his last fight in the WEC where he was getting all this hype and I was not impressed. This just goes to show that the UFC can be a very humbling and truthful experience.
Kurt Pellegrino v. Rob Emerson: Pellegrino wins by submission (rear naked choke) in the second round. Finally! I got the pick right but not the prediction. It's a start!
Matt Grice v. Matt Veach: One word folks: WOW! This fight HAS to win fight of the night. The stoppage was controversial I'm not denying that. In fact I was even upset.
I thought if the ref stopped the fight when he did then he should've stopped it sooner when Grice had Veach in the exact same position. Controversy aside though you have to give it up for how both guys battled.
Both guys were trading heavy leather and both guys got rocked. Veach was able to recover (with a generous and/or hypocritical opportunity from the ref) and get back into the fight. He landed a great shot that sent Veach to the mat where he was able to take him out for the TKO victory in the first round.
I got the pick wrong but actually got the prediction right - so close! Back in the red though...
Luigi Fioravanti v. Anthony Johnson: I expected this fight to be closer, as I thought Luigi was a step up in competition for Johnson. However, that certainly did not turn out to be the case.
Johnson again used his superior athleticism and well rounded striking game to punish and frustrate Luigi who is a solid striker in his own right. In fact Luigi became so frustrated he even tried to shoot on Johnson which was just an exercise in futility.
Johnson eventually landed some great shots and hurt Luigi enough to win the fight by TKO in the first round. I got the pick right but not the prediction.
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