UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin Live Blog, Results

Welcome to live coverage from cageside (about 8 feet from the octagon) for UFC 116.

Stay tuned for many, many live updates throughout what may be UFC's biggest card of the year.

Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar

Carwin enters the octagon to "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor". Maybe a perfect entrance song for this fight. The 100% full MGM Grand is standing - just waiting for what is about to take place.

Lesnar out to "Enter Sandman". As always, he does not look happy.

Crowd is vociferously pro-Carwin.

Round 1

Lesnar and Carwin cautiously circling each other. They clearly respect each other's power. Lesnar goes for a takedown but Carwin brushes him off. The sound of Lesnar running across the cage is loud. Carwin with a right. Lesnar is staggered. Lesnar is hurt. Carwin drops Lesnar. Lesnar is down. The fight is close to being over. Carwin throwing bombs from mount. Lesnar somewhat defending, but Lesnar is dazed. The ref is watching closely. Lesnar trying to stay in the fight. Lesnar is bleeding over the left eye. More shots from Carwin. Lesnar doing very little from the bottom. Lesnar covering up. Carwin may be tiring. The ref is giving Lesnar tremendous leeway. 99% of fights would have been stopped. Lesnar bleeding bad. Lesnar gets back up. Lesnar gets back up. Lesnar goes for a weak double against the cage but is really just holding on with 40 seconds left. Lesnar makes it to the end. Unbelievable. 10-8 Carwin.

Round 2

Lesnar looks to be somewhat clear, but he is not fully back. Lesnar fires a right but misses. Carwin's mouth is open. He is clearly tired. Lesnar with the takedown. Lesnar in half-guard. Lesnar throwing short punches to the ribs. Lesnar to mount. Lesnar switches to an arm triangle choke. The choke is tight. Carwin taps. LESNAR WINS. LESNAR WINS. Incredible isn't even the word. Tell everyone you know to watch this. Without a doubt, Lesnar deserves to be recognized as the best heavyweight on the planet.

Lesnar wins by submission at 2:19 of the second round

Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Judging by Jay Silva's quotes earlier, a win by Chris Leben will get him a big fight (maybe he takes Akiyama's spot against Wanderlei Silva?).

Just spoke with Anthony Johnson. He definitely has no love lost for Josh Koscheck. In fact, he believes GSP will "smash Koscheck easily".

Round 1

Akiyama  with the quick ankle trip, but Leben gets back up. Akiyama looks very crisp early. Hopefully for Akiyama, his cardio holds up. Crowd is behind the Crippler with "Leben" chants. A small contingent fires back saying "Aki". Akiyama tries a hook but Leben counters with a straight left. Akiyama with a kick to the groin. For the mental image, Leben is "shaking it out" in order to recover. He's ready to go in about 20 seconds. Akiyama with the takedown to mount. Leben goes for an armbar, but Akiyama reverses into his own attempt. Leben is struggling to hold on, and he breaks free. Akiyama to side mount. Lebens escapes, and they are back on their feet. Leben glances up at the clock with 15 seconds left. Akiyama with the late takedown. Akiyama looks like the superior fighter, but Leben has come back from worse. Akiyama 10-9.

Round 2

Leben charges out looking for the big shot. Akiyama stays composed. He looks more talented, but Leben is still very dangerous. Leben connects with a left hook. Akiyama staggers but fires back. This is a battle. Akiyama goes down, but he is back up. Leben glances at the clock. Akiyama connects. Leben connects. Leben is tiring fast. Akiyama with the takedown. Leben needs the break. Akiyama taking it slow as well. Akiyama connecting with short punches on the ground. Fighters back up. Leben tries a standing guillotine. It looks tight. Akiyama gets out. Leben is cut under the right eye. Both fighters exhausted but firing away. Leben gets the advantage. Fantastic round. Standing ovation. If you are not watching this fight, order the pay-per-view now. Leben 10-9.

Round 3

Both fighters get a well-deserved round of applause to start the third. Big hand shake to start. Leben connects with a couple of jabs and a high kick. Akiyama still coming forward. Akiyama connects with a right that drops Leben. Akiyama in mount. Leben with a quick transition to an armbar attempt. Akiyama shakes free. That was close. Either Leben has been working on his jiu-jitsu or Akiyama desperately needs to. Akiyama into half-guard. Crowd chanting "Leben". Akiyama now in full guard. Both fighters looking to be offensive on the mat, but they do not have much left. Leben is more active from the bottom, but Akiyama is on top. Will be interesting to see the scoring if it goes to the end. Leben with a Triangle attempt. Its tight. Akiyama taps. Leben wins by impressive submission.

I don't know how many fight of the night bonues they can give out, but this one is the winner. There should be at least three. Leben also likely to get submission of the night.

Leben wasted no time calling out Wanderlei Silva.

Chris Leben wins by submission at 4:40 of round 3.

Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle

Round 1

Both fighters are known for their striking. They open the fight accordingly. Neither man getting a distinct advantage, but they are showing a willingness to throw bombs. Brown connects with a knee, but Lytle pushes him into the cage. Somewhat suprisingly, there is a lot of dirty boxing and Brown gets the takedown. Brown looking for a d'arce choke. It looks tight, but Lytle has never tapped before. Finally, Brown lets go when Lytle does not give up. Lytle's mouth is open and he does look tired, but he is still throwing back. Brown looks very good against the veteran Lytle. Brown 10-9.

Round 2

Lytle starts the round throwing with more purpose. He appears frustrated with how the first round went. Brown keeps to the more technical style. Lytle gets the takedown. He is going for a guillotine, but transfers to mount. Lytle then transfers to half-guard in order to lock in a reverse armbar. Brown is defending well, but he is visably grimacing. Brown taps out.

Lytle wins by submission at 2:02 of round 2

Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzyzstof Soszynski 

Bonnar comes out to his familiar entrance song of Eminence Front. In an unrelated note, he really needs a win here.

Round 1

Exciting start. Bonnar and Soszynski wildly trade to open. Bonnar, somewhat surprisingly, goes for the takedown. He has Soszynski stacked up and pressed against the cage, but there isn't enough room for Bonnar to do any real damage. Soszynski gets out of it and back to his feet. He connects with some good punches, but Bonnar is not hurt. Bonnar does, however, have a cut under his right eye. Soszynski connects a few more times, and the cut opens more. Bonnar is still not visibly hurt, and he is firing back. Soszynski rocks Bonnar, and Bonnar throws back with purpose. Bonnar now has two cuts - one under each eye.

Round 2

Soszynski connects with more punches, but Bonnar stays in the pocket. Bonnar hurts Soszynski. Soszynski recovers. This is not the most technical fight, but it is a classic nonetheless. Soszynski looks tired. Still, he comes back and hurts Bonnar. Bonnar with the takedown and into half guard. Back to the feet. Bonnar catches Soszynski with a knee. Soszynski is hurt. Bonnar firing down punches. Soszynski turtles. The ref stops it. Bonnar wins.

Bonnar wins by TKO at 3:08 of round 2.

New front-runner for fight of the night.

Bonnar wins at 3:08 of round 2

Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos

Round 1

Both fighters exchanging jabs to start. Sotiropoulos connects with a right that drops Pellegrino, but Pellegrino recovers and gets back up. For some reason, chants of "U.S.A." start in the crowd. I didn't know we had issues with Australia. Sotiropoulos getting the better of the stand-up so Pellegrino gets the takedown. Sotiropoulos gets the "mission control" position, but Pellegrino breaks out. Pellegrino without much offense. Sotiropoulos 10-9.

Yes, Eddie Bravo is in the corner of Sotiropoulos.

Round 2

Sotiropoulos goes for and gets the quick single leg takedown. Pellegrino is active throwing strikes from the bottom, but Sotiropoulos usses that to sneak into half-guard. Pellegrino looking to scramble, but Sotiropoulos maintains control on the mat. Sotiropoulos gets to half-guard. Pellegrino gets to his feet, and the two are stuck against the cage. Pellegrino looks to the ref hoping for a stand-up. None given, but he does break free. Sotiropoulos 10-9.

Sotiropoulos has shown he is the better grappler and the more technical striker. It looks Pellegrino's best chance is to land a power shot.

Round 3

Sotiropoulos connects with a jab. Pellegrino has some blood on the bridge of his nose. Pellegrino gets the takedown. Sotiropoulos is very active looking for submissions but does not come very close. After a scramble, the fighters return to their fight. Sotiropoulos pushes Pellegrino up against the cage. With 30 seconds left, Sotiropoulos looks content to let time run out. Pellegrino pushes Sotiropoulos off and connects with a right hand that drops Sotiropoulos. Just as he had a big advantage, time runs out. Pellegrino 10-9.

George Sotiropoulos wins by decision. Judges scores were 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Carwin got a decent applause in the building for the opening montage. Surprisingly, the reaction to Lesnar was more silence. I expect that to change throughout the night. It already has. The second time Lesnar appeared on screen he was booed pretty loudly.

Both Steve Austin and Jim Ross have just entered the house.

Chris Tuchscherer vs. Brendan Schaub

For the record, I will be using "CT" instead of Tuchscherer - no way to pull that one off consistently.

CT coming to the cage. He looks like a combination of very strange and very angry. Let's see if he can also be very good.

Arena is now about 90% full and people are filing in.

Round 1

Schaub's hands look much quicker to start. CT will need to use his wrestling to get the fight to the mat. Schaub with a big over hand right sends CT down. A few hammer fists on the ground, and the fight is done. Schaub is the one with the very quick win. Impressive performance. Hopefully, CT's teammate Mr. Lesnar can defend the right hand better than that.

Schaub wins by KO at 1:07 of Round 1

Ricardo Romero vs. Seth Petruzelli

Petruzelli with a disappointingly uneventuful ring entrance.

Here we go. Petruzelli returns to national television (insert comment here).

Round 1

Petruzelli looking to strike. He fights off a Romero takedown and connects with rights. Petruzelli is really unloading, but Romero weathers the storm. Romero does not look very confident. Petruzelli continues to look for the big shot. Romero is looking to dodge and take Petruzelli down. Romero finally gets the takedown on what may be his seventh attempt. Petruzelli quickly reverses and is landing shots from the mount.

Romero gets another takedown and gets the full mount. He has 90 seconds to get something done. Instead of throwing down strikes, Romero goes for an unsuccesful kimura. Romero switches to an armbar but Petruzelli gets out and delivers a vicious right hand. Petruzelli then connects with a double axe-handle shots to the side of Romero's head. Romero somehow gets Petruzelli down and goes for a rear naked choke. Wild finish to the round. Petruzelli 10-9.

Round 2

Romero gets Petruzelli down, but Petruzelli connects with a few elbows and Romero is bleeding bad. Romero switches to side control and locks in a reverse armbar. Petruzelli taps. He looks hurt. His arm may be broken.

Great fight. Definite leader for fight of the night.

Romero wins by tapout a 3:05 of the second round.

Goran Reljic vs. Kendall Grove

(not on Spike)

After Grove's disparaging comments about Spike, he could definitely use an impressive performance here.

Round 1

Round opens with both guys circling. Grove looks content to stand and trade instead of using his submissions. Reljic gets Grove down, but Grove unleashes an upkick that knocks Reljic to the mat. Reljic is able to quickly recover. Grove gets the close nod due to the kick 10-9.

Round 2

Reljic takes Grove down but doesn't get much done. Groves tries to sweep, but Reljic breaks out and remains on top. Crowd is voicing their desire for a stand-up. We're at 5:47pm with one round to go. This needs to hurry up before Spike goes live. Yamasaki orders the stand up. Reljic gets the round because Grove didn't do anything offensively. 10-9 Reljic.

Round 3

We're at 5:50pm with one round to go. This will cut it very close for Spike to get started on time. Don't be surprised if there are no entrances for Ricardo Romero or Seth Petruzelli - which could be very disappointing.

Third round opens with both guys looking to stand. Grove looks a little more agressive. Not too much offense. Reljic backs Grove into the cage, but he isn't really looking to advance. Reljic finally gets Grove down into north-south position. He looks to be trying for a strange choke, but Grove easily pushes him off. Another round where it's just difficult to give it to Grove.

The judges disagree:

29-28 Reljic, 30-27 Grove, 29-28 Grove. Grove by split decision.

Dave Branch vs. Gerald Harris

If you've never seen Branch before, well, join the club. With a quick check, I can see that Banch is 6-0 with 3 KOs. No one of note on his record. Harris is best known for his short stint on the Ultimate Fighter, and his phone call to Dana White on mmajunkie.com that got him back in the UFC.

Round 1

Both guys look to want to stand and bang. Branch connects and staggers Harris into the cage. Harris is able to quickly recover. Harris goes for (and gets) a big slam on Branch into the mount, but he can't advance from there.

A close one, but Branch 10-9.

Round 2

Harris gets Branch down into full guard. Brnach does not look to have much in the way of submissions from his back, but he is able to scramble back to his feet. Harris now wants to wrestle while Branch wants to box. Harris sneaks in a decent right jab, but neither fighter is hurt much. Due to the takedown, Harris 10-9.

Round 3

Branch pushes Harris against the cage and in unison, the crowd boos. Herb Dean looks closely then finally breaks it up. Branch goes for and missies a high knee. Harris pushing Branch up against the cage. Branch tries to pull guard for some reason. Very bad idea. Harris catches Brnach and jumps forward firing Branch ito the mat. Fight over. Knockout.

At 2:35 of round 3, Harris wins by KO.

Clubhouse leader for knockout of the night.

Forrest Petz vs. Daniel Roberts

Round 1

Roberts with the early takedown, but Petz scrambles back to his feet. Both guys circling but nothing being thrown. Roberts pullies Petz up against the cage which seems to be the early theme of the night. Petz breaks free. Both guys look very tentative tonight. Roberts takes Petz down and get his back. Both hooks in. Choke looks very close, but Petz hangs on to the end of the round. Roberts 10-9.

Round 2

Roberts with another takedown. He switches to the back and gets both hooks in. He can't lock up the choke, and Petz scrambles out. On the feet, Petz starts throwing big shots - knowing he can't win a a ground battle. Regardless, Roberts takes him down for a second time this round. Roberts changes position and goes for a guillotine. Can't get the submission. Roberts 10-9.

Round 3

Petz is gaining more confidence on his feet, but he's unable to land anything too damaging. Roberts is circling while looking for the takedown. Petz is able to keep the fight standing, but he's unlikely to come back without a knockout. He is still not able to connect with anything more than a jab. Roberts finally times a strike and gets inside for the takedown. Roberts transitions to full mount but Petz holds on like a kid with his favorite teddy bear.

The takedown helps, but probably not enough to take the round. 10-9 Petz. 29-28 Roberts.

Two judges score it 29-28 for the winner Daniel Roberts. One judge 29-28 for Petz.

Arena is maybe 1/2 full at this point, but people are coming in.

Quick hitter: Just spoke with Jay Silva. He made note that a loss here would not hurt Chris Leben much because Leben was doing Silva a "favor". He added that Ryan Jensen is another guy always willing to take a fight on short notice.

Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola

Heavyweights about to collide. From the looks of these two, it could be a short night.

Or maybe not - Madsen bullies Vemola against the cage looking for a takedown. Vemola is able to block it. Vemola responds with a fast arm-drag attempt (see: Ricky Steamboat) but Madsen blocks it half-way through to end up on top. Vemola scrambles out.

Madsen gets Vemola down and he is on top in half-guard. Vemola locks down on Madsen's head so Madsen cannot get much offense going - a few shots to the ribs but not much else.

First round ends without much taking place. A close round, but I'll take Madsen 10-9.

Round 2

Madsen takes Vemola down in a similar fashion to round 2. Nothing really happening. Vemola again clutches Madsen's head. It's only round 2 of the first fight, and the crowd is already booing. The ref finally stands the fighters up to the delight of the crowd. The fighters lock up against the cage for another 30 seconds then the ref breaks it up.

For two heavyweights hoping to make an impression... well, maybe they actually are.

Mercifully, the bell sounds. Madsen gets the slight nod for the takedown, but they probably should cut that round from the DVD. Madsen 10-9.

Round 3

Madsen takes down Vemola (again), and Vemola grabs onto Madsen's neck (again). If Vemola doesn't do something quick, he may have a very short UFC stay. Vemola attempts a kimura from the bottom, but it looks like he may just be stalling and hoping for a stand-up. The ref finally obliges.

Vemola goes for a standing guillotine, but Madsen pushes him off. Madsen ends up on top again. The ref wastes no time in standing them back up. And then the bell sounds. Madsen 10-9. 30-27 Madsen overall.

Side note: Robbie Lawler was in Madsen's corner.

All three judges agree. 30-27 Madsen.