UFC 130: Ten Memorable Moments From UFC 130 Fight Night

UFC 130 is in the books and the results were as follows:

Rampage Jackson defeats Matt Hamill via unanimous decision (30-27 on all three cards)

Frank Mir defeats Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Travis Browne defeats Stefan Struve via knockout at 4:11 of Round One.

Rick Story defeats Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (29-28 on all three cards)

Brian Stann defeats Jorge Santiago via technical knockout at 4:29 of Round Two.

Demetrious Johnson defeats Miguel Torres via unanimous decision (29-28 on all three cards)

Tim Boetsch defeats Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27 on all three cards)

Gleison Tibau defeats Rafaello Oliveira via rear naked choke submission  at 3:28 of Round Two.

Michael McDonald defeats Chris Cariaso via split decision (27-30, 28-29, 29-28)

Renan Barao defeats Cole Escovedo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

What follows are ten memorable moments from fight night.

Brock Lesnar Has Surgery

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Some news came to light before UFC 130's pay-per-view portion got under way with UFC president Dana White announcing that Brock Lesnar had undergone surgery. Lesnar suffers from diverticulitis and the condition necessitated the removal of 12 inches of his colon.

White announced the news at the end of the televised preliminary card on Spike TV. He reported that Lesnar is aiming for an early 2012 return to the Octagon.

Cole Escovedo Making His UFC Debut

Cole Escovedo was the first WEC lightweight champion, capturing the title at WEC 5 back in 2002. He held that title until 2006 when he was defeated by Urijah Faber.

Following his next fight in the WEC, an August 2006 loss to Antonio Banuelos he would find himself out of the sport for almost three years due to staph infection.

Escovedo told Bleacher Report:

The staph infection was misdiagnosed; it was a simple staph infection that went misdiagnosed and untreated, so it turned into MRSA—which is an antibiotic-resistant strain of the infection—and it made its way into my spinal cord.

Once it got there, it kind of turned into a parasite; what that infection does—when it gets to that point—it latches onto an organ or a piece of tissue and it starts eating away at it like a parasite.

That’s essentially what it started to do to my spine, and eventually it got to the point where I was paralyzed from the waist-down and they had to do an emergency surgery on me to relieve the pressure and get the infection out of my spinal cord.

I pretty much lucked out; had I gone another 24 hours without the surgery, it probably would’ve made its way to my brain stem and I, pretty likely, wouldn’t be here talking to you.

Escovedo did return to fighting in 2009, but that was with smaller promotions, for him to make it  to the highest level of MMA is an impressive achievement.

While he did come out on the losing end of his bout at UFC 130 he should be applauded for the mere fact that he made it so far.

Gleison Tibau Uses His Strikes to Set Up the Submission

Gleison Tibau showed an improved striking when he met Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 130. He dropped Oliveira with a nice short uppercut in the second round and then moved to back mount. The strikes that Tibau landed earlier obviously had Oliveira concerned, as he left his neck exposed for the rear naked choke.

Once Tibau had the hold slapped on, Oliveira wasted no time tapping out.

“I think I proved tonight that I’m getting close to my peak,” Tibau said. “I showed everyone that I can strike, that I can finish guys with jiu-jitsu and that my game is coming together. I’m becoming a more complete fighter every day and I know that I’m heading toward the top of this division. I love the UFC and I want to fight as much as possible so that I can keep rising in this division.”

Tim Boetsch Drops to MIddleweight and Could Make an Impact

Following his loss to Phil Davis at UFC 123, Tim Boetsch took a good hard look at what he could have done differently to get the win over Davis. He came up empty, save one reason, his weight. So, according to an interview with Bloody Elbow radio, he made the decision to drop from 205 to 185 for his bout at UFC 130.

The cut looked like it made all the difference as Boetsch, who wrestled for Loch Haven University while in college, dominated Kendall Grove.

The concern that the weight cut would cause Boetsch to gas out as the fight went deep was unfounded, he took Grove down at will throughout the bout.

I felt great at this weight,” Boetsch said. “I did the cut twice and really had the system down. I knew when and how to rehydrate and I did the cut the right way. That’s why I felt so great in there tonight."

Boetsch could give some of the UFC's 185 pounders fits with his wrestling.

The Fight Between Demetrious Johnson and Miguel Torres

Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres faced Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson at UFC 130 in what was one of the more exciting fights of the night.

Torres spent a great deal of the fight on his back, but he was always active from that position looking to improve his position and seeking an opening for a submission.

Johnson was not as active from top position, but he was in top position, which, to most judges, indicates dominance.

This fight really could have been scored either way and it would have been a fair decision. As it stood, Johnson got the nod and with the win, the stock of the lightning fast fighter should soar.

After the fight Johson said, "I worked hard on submission defense for this camp, but I still made a lot of mistakes. I left my hands underneath and on the mat and gave him opportunities that I shouldn’t have. I think I have a lot of fights left in me to get better. Miguel Torres was really tough and in the third round, I think he got desperate and that made him dangerous. I’m going to just keep working on my game and finding ways to better myself.”

Brian Stann's TKO Victory over Jorge Santiago

Former US Marine Brian Stann would not be denied in his fight with Jorge Santiago.

Prior to the bout Stann told Fox Sports Net South, "I wouldn't want to fight me on Memorial Day weekend. It's important for me to fight on Memorial Day. I asked to fight on Memorial Day."

Stann got the better of the striking in the first round, dropping Santiago, the former Sengoku champion to the ground, but he was unable to finish him in the first round.

Stann did not have that problem in the second round as he dropped Santiago with a right and delivered a few more strikes before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.

Stann has scored two consecutive TKO's in the UFC and could be on the move toward the top of the middleweight division.

After the fight, Stann offered the following, “It means so much to win today. There are people who aren’t here anymore. They are the true heroes. I am here thanks to a lot of luck and I’m grateful to be fighting on the biggest stage on earth."

 The classy Stann continued, “The attention that’s bestowed upon me is misdirected. It belongs to the active military personnel and those who lost their lives fighting for this country. It was a tremendous honor to fight in front of these fans tonight and I’m really thankful to Jorge Santiago for being a great opponent."

Rick Story Delivers

Following his fifth straight victory in the UFC, Rick Story asked for a fight with the highly ranked Thiago Alves. The fight was granted and it could not have gone any better for the 26 year old Story.

Rick Story used a perfect game plan in this fight, he did not allow Alves space or time to deliver his powerful strikes.

Story controlled the first two rounds, keeping Alves against the cage and frustrating the more experienced fighter.

Alves did find some room for his strikes in the third round, but Story took those shots and handed Alves some of his own.

Story showed that he is not a fighter to be taken lightly.

After the fight Story said, "I was prepared for everything Thiago brought tonight and the end result is a victory for me.”

Alves, on the other hand didn't see things that way, "To be honest, I don’t think he won the fight,” Alves said. “I’m fair. If I thought he won the fight, I’d tell you. But tonight, I spent more time on top and landed the better shots. I’m really surprised the decision didn’t go my way.”

Travis Browne's Superman Punch

If you didn't see the punch that ended Stefan Struve's night at UFC 130, you missed a thing of beauty. Struve looked to land a knee, but Browne timed it perfectly and delivered a Superman punch that had the lanky Struve falling to the ground unconscious.

The well timed strike earned Browne the $70,000 knockout of the night bonus.

After the fight, Browne said, “I think I’m now in the mix in the heavyweight division. A few more wins and I think I can find myself in the top five of this division."

Roy Nelson Offers Nothing

Roy Nelson may want to rethink his current weightclass.

In his last fight he was dominated by Junior dos Santos and on Saturday night the result was no different when he faced Frank Mir.

The only positive that anyone can offer in regard to Nelson is that he can take a punch and in a sport where you are judged by wins and losses, well, that's not really a compliment.

The rotund Nelson was gassed by the third round and his punches resembled those of a drunk bar fighter, they were slow and sloppy and useless.

Nelson once looked like a promising fighter, but since he has started to step up and face top notch competition he has looked pedestrian at best.

After the fight Nelson joked that he had brought Dan Hardy in to help him with his wrestling.

He also said, “I trained with too many smaller guys for this camp and I paid for it tonight. His wrestling was something I wasn’t expecting and I just got tired. I’m looking forward to getting my gym time back so that I can work on getting bigger and stronger.”

While it's nice to see that Nelson has a sense of humor about things, he may be on his way to laughing himself out of the UFC.

Rampage Jackson Apparently Punches His Ticket to a Title Shot

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson did not look particularly special when he faced Matt Hamill in the main event of UFC 130. Sure he won, and yes he did display some nice takedown defense, but was it a special performance?

Regardless, it appears Jackson has punched his ticket to a title bout against current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

During his interview with Ariel Helwani, UFC President Dana White did not come right out and say that Jackson would be next in line, despite Helwani's best efforts to draw that out of him.

When asked if Rampage would get the shot, White said, "Who out there, I don't care what you thought of the fight, who out there doesn't think that Rampage is one of the best fighters in the world at 205 pounds?"

White went on to say that any fight depends on if Jackson's hands are injured. The conversation ended with Helwani asking White, "If he (Rampage) isn't ready, is it Machida?" To which White replied, "yeah."