UFC 132 Results: Live Updates Plus Post Fight Reaction and Commentary
By on June 27, 2011
17,361 reads
UFC 132 will take place on July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The fight card will close out a run of six straight weekends of UFC/Strikeforce fight cards.
The main event at UFC 132 will feature the promotion's first bantamweight title fight, as champion Dominck Cruz (17-1) looks to avenge the only loss of his career when he faces off against former WEC champion Urijah Faber (25-4). Cruz lost to Faber back in March 2007, falling via first round submission in a bout that saw Faber successfully defend his WEC featherweight title.
Also competing on the main card will be Wanerlei Silva (30-10-1-1). The "Axe Murderer" makes his return to the Octagon after a prolonged time away due to injury rehab. Silva will jump right back into the fray, facing Chris Leben (25-7). Silva has not fought since he defeated Michael Bisping in February 2010. Leben is coming off a loss to Brian Stann on New Year's Day 2011.
Also on the main card, Tito Ortiz (15-8-1) will look to win his first fight since defeating Ken Shamrock in October 2006. Ortiz is in a must win situation, as he has been informed by UFC president Dana White that this will be his last chance with the organization. Standing in Ortiz's way will be Ryan Bader (12-1), whose only loss came at the hands of current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Full UFC 132 Fight Card
Main Card (Pay Per View)
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben
Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader
Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman
Preliminary Card:
Melvin Guillard vs. Shane Roller
George Sotiropoulos vs.Rafael dos Anjos
Brian Bowles vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Brad Tavares vs. Aaron Simpson
Anthony Njokuani vs.Andre Winner
Jeff Hougland vs. Donny Walker
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as we provide you with pre-fight, in-fight and post-fight coverage of UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber.
Out of 27 career victories, 27-year-old Carlos Condit has finished 26 of them. Only one of his 27 victories did he go to a decision.
I do not think there is anyone out there with that kind aggression and killer instinct to show for on their record.
For my money, Carlos Condit is the most dangerous fighter in the welterweight division.
That finishing ability was on full display as Condit knocked out the previously undefeated Dong Hyun Kim in the first round at UFC 132.
That marks two first-round knockouts in a row for Condit, where he is the only man to have ever KO'd his opponent.
Then, stop to consider that he has just as many wins by submission as he does by knockout.
Since joining the UFC and dropping a controversial split-decision to standout Martin Kampmann, Condit appears to just be getting better and better with each outing.
It is at the point now where it is more difficult making an argument as to why he shouldn't be getting a title shot.
Yet despite his refinement and caliber, Condit proved against Dong Hyun Kim that he is very much still "The Natural Born Killer."
If Kim and Hardy cannot last a round in the cage with Condit, then who is going to get in his way?
The only fighters left for Condit to fight are the durable and elite welterweight stalwarts that are notoriously hard to finish, and I bet Condit is just chomping at the bit.
With his knockout of Shane Roller at UFC 132, Melvin Guillard has now won five straight fights since joining Greg Jackson's camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, Guillard is unquestionably near the front of the line for a lightweight title shot.
Since he began working with Jackson, Guillard has shown massive improvement inside and outside of the cage. After testing positive for cocaine in 2007, Guillard has cleaned up his lifestyle and is finally beginning to realize the potential that his outstanding athleticism has always provided him.
In becoming a better person outside of the fight game, Guillard has showed a new sense of focus and patience inside the Octagon. Guillard's talent has never been what has held him back from achieving massive success. Guillard's setbacks have always been a direct result of not having the right mindset.
Guillard has always been physically capable of competing at the highest level, but having put everything together, he now appears mentally ready to fight for the UFC lightweight championship as well.
Whether he is ready for a title shot or not, a win over Roller isn't going to be enough to make Guillard a top contender in the talent-rich lightweight division. Guillard is going to need at least one more big win in order to get a chance at becoming a champion.
A fight against the winner of an August bout between Jim Miller and Ben Henderson could be a possibility for Guillard's next fight. A win over either of those two fighters would make "The Young Assassin" more than worthy of becoming the top lightweight contender.
Less than 24 hours ago, many believed they were getting ready to see Tito Ortiz's final appearance in the Octagon at UFC 132. Ortiz had a legendary career, but having been winless since October 2006, UFC President Dana White made it no secret that UFC 132 would be the final chance for "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" to get back on track.
An astronomical underdog, Ortiz pulled off the unlikeliest of submissions to defeat Ryan Bader and remain employed as a UFC fighter. The win guaranteed Ortiz a 27th Octagon appearance, which will mostly likely come against an experienced light heavyweight contender.
Having been in the UFC for such a long time, Ortiz has fought most of the competition the 205-pound division has to offer. However, there are a couple of intriguing matchups Ortiz could still have available for his next fight.
Winner of Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
Many MMA publications still have Mauricio Rua ranked as highly as the second-best fight in the light heavyweight division. But Rua will have some proving to do before earning another title shot, as he was dominated by Jon Jones in his last fight.
If Rua is able to defeat Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 in August, Ortiz could serve as another stepping stone for the former Brazilian champion's path to another shot at the UFC light heavyweight championship.
A fight between Ortiz and Griffin would have even more leverage behind it than a fight between Ortiz and Rua. Ortiz and Griffin have already fought twice, but each fighter earned a split decision victory in those two bouts.
Assuming a title shot is not available for Griffin should he defeat Rua, a rubber match with Ortiz would generate plenty of buzz, as both fighters look to make unlikely runs to recapture a light heavyweight title.
Winner of Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira are also slated to meet in August at UFC 133. Although both fighters are coming off losses, the winner of this fight will be in a very similar position as Ortiz.
While a fight between Ortiz and Nogueira would be interesting, a bout between Ortiz and Franklin could be sold as two former champions looking to make one final run at greatness.
No matter which fighter it is, the winner of this fight between Franklin and Nogueira would appear to be the most likely opponent for Ortiz's next appearance.
Anthony "The African Assassin" Njokuani continued his stand-up brilliance with a throttling of Andre Winner at UFC 132.
Making his debut within the famed Octagon, this lightweight Muay Thai practitioner continued his dominant ways by unleashing an offensive attack that included a variety of unanswered leg kicks, knees, punches and elbow strikes.
Possessing an amazing stand-up game, Njokuani showed tremendous patience during the beginning of Round 1. Establishing his dominance early in the matchup against Winner, Njokuani picked up the pace at the end of the first period, and hurt Winner with a combination of head kicks and punches.
"The African Assassin" continued to pick apart Winner as the fight ensued. With excellent movement on his feet, Njokuani delivered precise strikes, devastating leg kicks and ultra-explosive combinations that found their mark on Winner.
Njokuani was eventually awarded an unanimous decision and picked up a victory in his inaugural UFC bout.
Prior to competing on the main stage at UFC 132, Njokuani claimed three "Knockout of the Night" honors within the WEC promotion.
Amassing a WEC record of 4-4, Njokuani has seemingly sewn up his fight deficiencies once exploited by his competition within the WEC and established a more well-rounded approach within the Octagon.
Continuing to evolve as a balanced fighter, the stand-up skills of this Nigerian fighter continue to impress. The future for this lightweight striker looks bright, so keep an eye on him. Njokuani will ultimately challenge the best in this division and could bide for a title shot one day.
Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Tito Ortiz came into UFC 132 on Saturday night with his back against the wall.
A loss would've ended one of the most storied careers in all of MMA. Ryan Bader strolled in against Ortiz as the heavy favorite.
As a top-10 light heavyweight, Bader had already bested respected veterans like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Keith Jardine and Eric Schafer.
Ortiz hadn't won a fight in nearly five years, and he was coming off a convincing decision loss to Matt Hamill. The majority of his fans even picked Bader to walk out of the MGM Grand Garden Arena with his hand raised.
Instead, fans saw Ortiz dominate Bader in vintage fashion. There was even a grave digging taunt at the end to play on some old-school nostalgia.
UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg were notorious for hyping up Chuck Liddell's fight entrance by commenting on the intense look in his eyes. The hearts of eager fans would elate in hopes that "The Iceman" would finally return to top form.
Unfortunately, the fights would usually end with Liddell face first on the canvas.
For at least one night, fans were spared the same letdown with Ortiz. It didn't take a Rogan comment for people to see the emotion pouring out of Ortiz during his ring walk. Over the years, people have always questioned his antics, but no one has ever questioned Ortiz's love and dedication to the sport.
He came into the bout facing a multitude of personal problems and the possibility of being cut from the promotion he's called home throughout his entire career. Entering to Eminem's song "I'm Not Afraid," Ortiz wasn't afraid to step into the cage and put everything on the line against a world class opponent.
Despite all of the skeptics and criticism, it took the former light heavyweight champion less than two minutes to reclaim his fading career. Fans watched in shock as Ortiz dropped Bader with a solid right hook and latched on the guillotine choke for the finish.
What does a win over Bader mean?
It means that Ortiz is far from being the washed up bum some would have you believe. He is often criticized for losing, but people fail to commend Ortiz for continuously stepping up against upper-echelon opposition.
It isn't like Ortiz is getting completely staunched by lower-tier light heavyweights. In his past six fights, four of those bouts were against former UFC champions.
A win over Bader won't put Ortiz in position to challenge for any titles, but it confirms one lone fact that most fans have refused to believe...
Ortiz is a very good fighter.
While the MMA world has seen the fall of many legends over the past couple of years, Ortiz's candle continues to burn bright with his UFC 132 victory. Surely, the vast majority expected to see "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy's" swan song and UFC President Dana White announce his UFC exit.
Didn't anyone ever tell you to expect the unexpected?
We waited for what seemed like a lifetime to finally see Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz square off at UFC 132 for the bantamweight title.
The bantamweight division is arguably the most entertaining division in all of MMA. Guys with great cardio, fast hands and crazy skills dominate this division, and you can always expect a good five rounds of action.
Both Faber and Cruz have become the face of this division, and with a couple more wins by Faber, they could be the trilogy the bantamweight division needs to become huge.
Faber and Cruz put on a great show as the first 135-pound main event in UFC and the first 135-pound title fight in UFC history. I thought the fight could have gone either way (I gave Faber a 48-47), and of course, one judge had to score it 50-45 to mess it up.
Cruz is now definitely the dominant force in the bantamweight division. Cruz has avenged his only loss and has won his last four title bouts. Those four wins come over Brian Bowles, Joseph Benavidez, Scott Jorgensen and now Faber.
That isn't padding your resume, that is about as great of a last four fights as you can get.
Faber use to be the posterboy of the lighter weight classes in the WEC and still is to an extent in the UFC. You have a guy whose personality outside the cage is chill, and inside the cage, he can beat you anyway he wants it seems like.
Faber is the former WEC featherweight champion for good reason and has made himself into a household name synonymous with the lighter division.
A trilogy between these two would be epic. It's not like Cruz completely dominated Faber (I don't find takedowns that last a nanosecond as dominant), and their second bout was great.
Faber pulls in a lot of sponsorship money from Form Athletics and Amp Energy Drink, now Cruz will be getting more shots at it.
With Faber slowly going past his prime, he's the veteran no one can hate. Cruz is just entering the prime of his career, which is a scary thought considering his style of fighting and how amazing it is.
After last night Faber and Cruz proved one thing, having a bantamweight fight as the main event can be super entertaining. In the first bantamweight main event in UFC history, both fighters have stepped up and become the big name fighters the division needs to thrive.
Photo: MMA Fighting
Was Dominick Cruz rubbing salt in the wound on Urijah Faber after defeating him at UFC 132? If we look at the evidence, the answer may surprisingly be a resounding, "Yes."
Following the announcement of the judges' unanimous decision for Cruz in the UFC 132 main event, some were confused when Cruz's corner was immediately there to present him with a new belt in his martial arts career. Not everyone follows Cruz's career as closely as those close to the champion himself, so many were surprised when he was presented with a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
That's right. Not a black belt. A blue belt.
Normally, this kind of presentation is something that is done within the gym itself. While the blue belt is prestigious, it is not really even close to the level of a black belt.
Even if you look aside from the fact that Cruz is the top 135-pound fighter in the world and he is only now a blue belt, there is actually more humor involved in this situation than first meets the eye.
You see, immediately after his UFC debut where he defeated Eddie Wineland, Urijah Faber's corner presented him with his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It was kind of an odd situation as these types of in-cage presentations are usually reserved for black belt promotions. Of course, there is no official rule whatsoever about this, it’s just more of a common sense type of thing.
Nevertheless, just about everyone had forgotten about Faber’s brown belt promotion. That is, until tonight when Cruz was given his blue belt in a very similar presentation.
In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the blue belt is the second-lowest ranked belt, coming only after the white belt which is what students are given on their first day of class. So to present this distinction to a world-class fighter like Dominick Cruz in the cage, after a main event victory at a UFC event, almost has to be a shot at Urijah Faber.
It's like Cruz's camp is saying, "Oh, your guy is a brown belt? Well our guy is a blue belt, and he just beat you..."
After all, not only would the team have to decide that Cruz was worthy of the promotion after the fight, but they would have had to have brought it with them as they traveled to Las Vegas for the event.
The only logical explanation for this very odd situation is that the champion was taking one final shot at the challenger. Perhaps this feud isn’t done quite yet.
A huge knockout victory over Shane Roller tonight at UFC 132 capped off what is now a five-fight winning streak in the UFC for Melvin Guillard. A former Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant, Guillard has now pushed his way up into serious title contention in one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC.
An excited Guillard talked to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani after the fight.
“I come to knock guys out, man. I’m a finisher. I’m the No. 1 fighter in the UFC at lightweight, that’s a finisher,” he exclaimed. “All the other guys are not really finishing fights.
“Most guys are inconsistent finishers, I go in for the kill.”
After a rough patch that saw him lose two fights in a row in 2007, Guillard has since bounced back by winning eight of his past nine fights. His game plan has been a big reason for that streak as he has become more experienced.
“I’m just mentally patient and physically fierce,” he shrugged. “When the opening is there, I capitalize.”
Now riding the biggest hot streak of his UFC career, Guillard’s confidence is at an all-time high. He appears ready to fight anyone in the division.
“I’ll knock anybody out in this weight class,” he declared.
But he doesn’t want to be given a title shot immediately.
“I want to earn it, man. I don’t want anybody giving me anything. Nobody has ever given me anything in my life,” he explained. “Right now, I really want to fight Jim Miller. He’s my ticket to a title.”
“If I fight anybody else, I won’t feel like it’s right. I feel like Jim Miller’s my No. 1 contender fight.”
Of course, Miller is currently scheduled to fight former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson in August, in what many believe is a No. 1 contenders fight for the 20-2 lightweight. As such, Guillard will have to wait his turn and understands that a loss for Miller could mean a less valuable victory for Guillard himself, if the two eventually do fight.
“If Ben beats Jim, then that kind of ruins it [for me] because if I fight anybody else, I might not get that call... If I beat a guy like Jim Miller and knock him out, I’ll definitely get a call [to fight for the title].”
Guillard and Ben Henderson are good friends, but business is business.
“I’m not saying I want to see Ben Henderson lose, but from a business aspect, I might need him to take that ‘L’ so I can get the ‘W’.”
Dominick Cruz defeated Urijah Faber tonight in the first bantamweight championship fight in the
UFC’s history, winning a tightly contested judges’ decision and evening the score between the two men at 1-1.
The former WEC featherweight champion, Faber, fought hard but was unable to score enough points on the judges’ scorecards to be crowned the new champion. Still, he believed going into the decision that he had the fight won, he told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
“I’m an optimist, I felt like, yeah, I did enough,” he explained. “Three times, I feel like, I put him down and that scores usually pretty big on the cards. I took some of his best punches and kind of walked through.”
“I felt like I definitely had a chance to get the victory,” he added.
Faber was outnumbered in total strikes throughout the fight, but did land more power punches, according to CompuStrike.
“I did a lot of standing right in front of him and just kind of taking what he had, which was kind of my gameplan,” Faber admitted. “I wanted to not react to his movement and get distracted, stay calm and block his kicks and his punches, then fire back with some heavier punches.
"But I guess when it goes to a decision, you need to rack up those points also, and I must not have done that.”
When asked about an immediate rematch, Faber stopped short at saying that he believed he deserved an immediate fight with Cruz, but did agree that the division seems to be somewhat in limbo after he lost to the champion.
“That’s not up to me. I’ll fight anybody. I’ve never turned a fight down. Any time they’ve wanted me to fight somebody, I’m game. I’m always game to take an opportunity to fight for the title.
"I really feel, in my heart, that there’s not a lot of people out there that can hold a match to me, let alone beat me. Dominick beat me tonight on the judges’ cards, but I feel like we were neck and neck in that fight.”
The former 145-pound kingpin is now 0-4 in his last four title fights with two losses to Mike Brown, one to Jose Aldo and his loss tonight to Dominick Cruz.
UFC 132 saw one of the most impressive knockouts in recent memory when Chris Leben was able to defeat one of his idols, Wanderlei Silva, in the semi-main event.
But the event may also be memorable for another reason as former middleweight No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen continued his verbal tirade on the organization by challenging yet another Brazilian fighter, Anderson Silva’s friend and fellow Black House member Lyoto Machida.
This came as somewhat of a surprise as Sonnen had been openly bashing Wanderlei in the media for the past few weeks leading up to this event.
“I was cheering for Chris [Leben],” Sonnen admitted tonight to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “I don’t have any ill-will towards Wanderlei; I hope he’s okay.”
Sonnen was in attendance and witnessed Silva get knocked out of the fifth time in his last eight fights.
“He can’t do this work,” Sonnen bluntly stated. “But I certainly hope he’s okay.”
“The only guy that would’ve finished him quicker is me.”
When asked if he would like to be the next to fight Silva, Sonnen shook his head and dismissed the idea entirely.
“No, it doesn’t make sense,” he explained. “Wanderlei is going to need to do something else. I don’t have any interest in getting in there with him. I don’t want to be the next guy to force him to have a flashlight shined in his eyes.”
But he did have his eyes set on a fight, surprisingly one outside his own middleweight division. For whatever reason, Sonnen apparently wants to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
“There’s a karate guy at 205 pounds. I might stop there on my way back to 185. For a tune-up fight, take out Machida.”
Machida is coming of a huge win over Randy Couture at UFC 129. Though the fight against Sonnen would certainly be one that fans would look forward to, it’s hard to say that it would be a great fight for Machida to take if he hopes to move back up the ranks in the light heavyweight division.
With Sonnen having been off for nearly a year at this point and moving up in weight classes, it’d be difficult for matchmaker Joe Silva to give Machida much credit if he were to defeat the loud-mouthed 185-pounder.
That said, expect to hear much more about this potential fight in the coming weeks.
Tito Ortiz’s submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132 creates an interesting problem for the UFC, Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva. The truth is that nobody gave Tito a realistic shot to win this fight including the odds-makers who had him as a 4:1 underdog.
Even Matt Hughes was getting a few good laughs over Ortiz’s chances of winning at the UFC 132 Q and A. Dana probably believed that he wouldn’t have to deal with Ortiz after tonight and he could finally hand him his walking papers and be done with him.
Tito’s victory creates a little bit of a dilemma for the company because no one really knows where Ortiz is ranked in the light heavyweight division and it also derails the development of Ryan Bader. Just like any other sport, building prospects is an important part for any organization and Tito was thought to be easy prey to get Bader back on track after his loss to Jon Jones.
It will certainly be interesting to see what the UFC decides to do with both men at this point. Bader has now lost two fights in a row and a third would put him in danger of no longer being a can’t miss prospect a la Brandon Vera, Todd Duffee and Houston Alexander.
It will be even more interesting to see what the UFC does with Ortiz. A win may have saved his job, but probably isn’t enough to catapult him into the upper echelon of the division.
An interesting option could be to fight the winner of Rich Franklin and Lil Nog or maybe pair him up with Phil Davis if he happens to get past Rashad. One thing you can bank on is that Dana certainly won’t be giving Ortiz any easy fights.
With all that being said, Ortiz definitely deserves credit for tonight’s victory because he showed his complete game. Tito's hands never really instilled any fear in opponents but he was able to rock Bader with a solid right hand, he showed a little of his patented ground and pound, and quickly switched to a guillotine.
Overall, it was quite an impressive performance and it will be interesting to see how he looks his next time out.
Bleacher Report's Nick Caron:
Loser: Takeya Mizugaki
The back-and-forth win-loss-win-loss for Takeya Mizugaki continued tonight as the Japanese fighter dropped his record to 14-6-1 in his career; but only 3-4 in the WEC and UFC.
Mizugaki has done well against some of the fighters perceived to be “gatekeepers,” but has not fared as well against the top-level competition, including tonight when he was dominated by Brian Bowles. His other losses have come against Urijah Faber, Scott Jorgensen and Miguel Torres.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the Japanese fighters have struggled mightily, recently, particularly against American wrestlers. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the majority of them are not keen on cutting weight and thus are generally smaller than their opponents come fight time.
Winner Brian Bowles:
Former WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles earned his second win in a row by defeating Takeya Mizugaki tonight.
At one point, Bowles was considered arguably the greatest 135-pound fighter on the planet when he defeated former pound-for-pound great Miguel Torres at WEC 42 to become the bantamweight champion.
The win was somewhat shocking at the time given Torres’ long-time dominance over the division, but Bowles has been proving his worth since coming to the UFC with back-to-back wins over Damacio Page and now Mizugaki.
Bowles may be ready to earn his title back.
4 Comments
Loading comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete