This time Minotauro’s durability was not enough to avoid defeat / Photo: Josh Hedges
The end of the year will not be one Brazilian MMA fans will be celebrating. Wanderlei Silva’s being knocked out by Quinton Jackson, and the surprising defeat of Rodrigo Minotauro at the hands of Frank Mir made the 27th a Brazilian nightmare.
This was the second time in history Wand and Minotauro were defeated in the same event. The first occasion was on September 10 of 2006, when both were eliminated in the semifinals of the Pride open weight GP.
In the main event of the night, Rashad Evans maintained his unbeaten record in MMA and, with a technical knockout in the third round, took Forrest Griffin’s light heavyweight belt to boot.
In the first match on the main card, Cheick Kongo and Mustapha Al-Turk kicked off their bout in unsporting fashion. Shortly after recovering from a low blow, Cheick Kongo returned the favor, landing a knee on his opponent’s genital region in full. After Al-Turk recovered, the referee asked both to have a clean fight. That was when Kongo used his greater reach to strike Al-Turk, who was dropped and could do little to avoid the barrage of strikes raining down on him, losing by technical knockout a few seconds from the end of the first round.
To the sound of the electronic music that has accompanied him since his days in Pride, Wanderlei Silva, with a cleanly shaven head, entered the MGM Grand Arena followed by physical conditioning coach Rafael Alejarra and black belt Demian Maia.
Next came Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, wearing a chain around his neck and malicious sneer on his face, quite unlike the smiling Brazilian.
As was to be expected, the fight started off with standup exchanges, and both rivals measured distance with strikes not of great effect. With Wand in the center of the octagon, Rampage tried a feeble double leg attempt that was duly avoided by the Brazilian.
With 1:41 min on the clock, Wand went in for the attack but was surprised by a left hook mercilessly thrown by the American. Wand fell unconscious to the canvas, thus losing to his bitter rival for the first time in three fights.
Wand falls after struck in full by Jackson / Photo: Josh Hedges
In the fight that followed, CB Dolloway was nearly submitted by a tight guillotine from Mike Masssenzio, however, he managed to mount his adversary, obliging him to give his back and take an onslaught of strikes till the referee called an end to the action three minutes into the first round.
It was time for the first of two title disputes on the night. With his eyes on a unification bout with Brock Lesnar, likely to take place in June, Frank Mir was the first to enter the octagon.
Accompanied by Amaury Bitetti, Rodrigo Artilheiro and Luis Dorea, Rodrigo Minotauro made his way into the arena to cheers from the crowd.
After instructions from referee Herb Dean, Minotauro took to the center of the octagon. But it was Mir who started off best, finding his distance with strikes and taking his adversary to the ground not one minute into the fight. Having had things his way in the standup exchanges, Mir opted to let the Brazilian get to his feet. With both again standing, Mir carried on dominating the standing action and wearing the hapless Minotauro out.
1:51 min into the first, Minotauro suffered the first knockdown. And as is his custom, he held out until Mir brought the action back to the feet. The first round would end with a large advantage for theAmerican, who had managed yet another knockdown and laughed in his opponent’s face as the first period came to a close.
The outlook didn’t change a bit in the second, and a straight punch from Mir knocked Minotauro to the ground again. This time, though, there was no defending the barrage of strikes unleashed by the American. Herb Dean called an end to the action, decreeing the first knockout loss in Rodrigo Minotauro’s career.
In the final fight of the night, Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin went to war to decide who would hold the light heavyweight belt. Defending his title, Griffin started off the combat relying on his traditional low kicks. With a well-defined fight strategy, Evans kept his distance well throughout the first round, which played out without any action.
The fight would heat up in the first minute of the second. Throwing knees, Griffin pressed Evans up against the cage. Withstanding well, Rashad avoided greater damage and even provoked his opponent, blowing him kisses. The round would end with both trading strikes, but to little effect.
Slightly down in the cards, Evans turned the aggressor in the first minute of the third round. After managing to knock Griffin down, he let fly a series of strikes to his downed opponent. Griffin held out for a little bit, but with the hammer fists thrown by Evans landing in full, Evans was left defenseless and the technical knockout was inevitable.
UFC 92
MGM Grand Arena - Las Vegas - USA
Saturday, December 27, 2008
PRELIMINARIES
Patrick Barry defeated Dan Evesen by TKO (low kicks) at 2:36 min of R1
Brad Blackburn defeated Ryo Chonan by unanimous judges’ decision
Matt Hamill defeated Reese Andy by TKO (strikes) at 2:19 min of R2
Antoni Hardonk defeated Mike Wessel por TKO (strikes) at 2:09 min of R2
Yushin Okami defeated Dean Lister by unanimous judges’ decision
CARD PRINCIPAL
Cheick Kongo defeated Mustapha Al-Turk by TKO (strikes) at 4:37 min of R1
Quinton Jackson knocked out Wanderlei Silva at 3:21 min of R1
CB Dollaway defeated Mike Massenzio por TKO (strikes) at 3:01 min of R1
Frank Mir defeated Rodrigo Minotauro por TKO (strikes) at 1:24 min of R2 – interim heavyweight title
Rashad Evans defeated Forrest Griffin por TKO (strikes) at 2:46 min of R3 – light heavyweight title
