UFC on Fox 8: Johnson vs Moraga
KeyArena, Seattle, EUA
27 de julho de 2013

Demetrious Johnson x John Moraga
Rory MacDonald x Jake Ellenberger
Robbie Lawler x Bobby Voelker
Liz Carmouche x Jessica Andrade

Card preliminar

Michael Chiesa x Jorge Masvidal
Tim Means x Danny Castillo
Mac Danzig x Melvin Guillard
Brendan Schaub x Matt Mitrione
Yves Edwards x Spencer Fisher
Ed Herman x Trevor Smith
Julie Kedzie x Germaine de Randamie
Aaron Riley x Justin Salas
John Albert x Yaotzin Meza

(L-R) Georges St-Pierre punches Nick Diaz in their welterweight championship bout during the UFC 158 event at Bell Centre on March 16, 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

MONTREAL — UFC 158 came to a close with hometown hero, Georges St-Pierre still in possession of his welterweight title belt. Despite Nick Diaz’s head games and aggressive approach leading up to the fight, all judges scored the bout 50-45 in favor of the current champion.

The fight was heavily leaning towards St-Pierre after the first round when most of the time was spent on the ground. Takedown attempts were all successful and Diaz was pushed to turtle position where St-Pierre controlled.

When the two fighters stood up, St-Pierre willingly stayed on the feet to exchange kicks and punches while maintaining an appropriate distance. He claimed the right distance for Diaz, who was more like a kickboxer, standing either too far or close.

Diaz woke up a bit after the first and second rounds, coming back with some punches of his own in the third and fourth round but it wasn’t enough to dominate in the judges’ eyes. The fifth round claimed its owner to the current champion when Diaz resumed his failed takedown defenses and the ground was once again where the fight was controlled.

The closing of the match garnered a surprising hug and mutual respect that could not be described by St-Pierre when asked at the post-fight press conference. Diaz looked as though he had a change of heart after the fight, giving respect to the title-defender. He turned back into fighting mode, however, when he said he wanted a rematch.

“I’m trying to retire and I don’t want to fight any of these young kids, but I will fight GSP again,” said the once again unsatisfied Diaz.

No plans have been made towards the possibility of a rematch.

(R-L) Johny Hendricks reacts after the conclusion of his welterweight bout against Carlos Condit during the UFC 158 event at Bell Centre on March 16, 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Fight of the night goes to Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit

In a split decision win, Johny Hendricks took the slight lead over Carlos Condit in what was an endless effort by both. Going the distance for most fights does not always entail an action-packed bout but Hendricks and Condit never stopped moving.

Hendricks has been wrestling since he was five years old, proving such experience in his successful takedowns on Condit. The two were consistently going to the ground by Hendrick’s double legs due to Condit’s ability to get back up. Hendricks could not hold Condit down but the constant takedowns and attempts to control were enough to put him in the lead for the judges to decide.

Hendricks’ heavy-handed punches met Condit’s chin, but the damage was minimal. On the same side of the coin, Condit’s flying knees, swift punches, and high and low kicks were no match for Hendricks’ chin.

After the fight, Hendricks took the opportunity in his post fight interview with Joe Rogan to call out Georges St-Pierre, a behavior not previously seen from the “Bigg Rig.” The win over Condit gave Hendricks the first place in line to fight St-Pierre, as confirmed by UFC president Dana White at the post press conference. White had no immediate plans for the date of the GSP-Hendricks title fight.

Of Condit’s skill in the octagon, Hendrick’s gives praise.

“Much respect to Carlos,” he said. “I am banged up. I hit him very hard, big shots, but he kept coming and coming. He’s an awesome fighter.”

Jake Ellenberger drops Nate Marquardt in the first round 

Nate Marquardt dropped weight to come back strong from his nearly two-year absence from the UFC, but he ended up dropping from Jake Ellenberger’s strong hand at 3:00 in the first round.

Ellenberger managed to hit Marquardt while he was against the cage which dropped him to the ground where he ended the fight with a flurry of punches before the ref called it quits.

The actions was back and forth but Ellenberger remained standing in attempts to avoid his assumed wrestling style and fight Marquardt more on his playing field. The success of this match-up put Ellenberger much closer to a possible title shot later on down the line and place him as a threat once again.

“He kicked me hard to the leg and one to the body and I thought ‘Okay, we going to end this fast.'” said the ecstatic victor. “I saw he squared up whenever he kicked so I threw hard every time he did that. This is no doubt the biggest KO of my life, and it puts me right there for a title fight or No. 1 contender fight.”

Chris Camozzi vs. Nick Ring

Chris Camozzi pulled a split decision win over Nick Ring in a scorecard of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

This bout was the least entertaining of the night, judging by the lack of cheers by the Montreal crowd. The fight went the full distance of three rounds, however the action was quite the same throughout each.

Both fighters had exhausted their energy by the finish, but the display of mixed martial arts was at a near standstill. The two led the rounds in striking but remained rather even through and through.

With not much to say regarding the toughness of the fight, winner Camozzi commented, “It was a tough fight. He fought in a weird style which was hard to figure out. I did more damage and I think that’s what the judges went on.”

Mike Ricci vs. Colin “Freakshow” Fletcher

Mike Ricci pulled the win over Freakshow Colin Fletcher by judges’ decision, all three giving him 30-27 scores. Fletcher danced a lot, using spinning kicks that rarely made contact. Ricci pushed the pace a bit more and maintained solid on the ground when he achieved takedowns.

Fletcher is known for his submission wins, having his last six wins in that fashion. At one point Fletcher was inverted, possibly looking for a kneebar but had no success as Ricci maintained his base well.

“He was so hard to figure out,” said Ricci. “I was trying to land to the head but he’s so unorthodox I couldn’t get him so I went for the body just to make sure I landed something. I was in control every time we went to the ground, though.”

Preliminary Bouts (on FX):

Patrick Cote def. Bobby Voelker by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Darren Elkins def. Antonio Carvalho by TKO at 3:06, Round 1
Jordan Mein def. Dan Miller by TKO at 4:42; Round 1
John Makdessi def. Daron Cruickshank by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Preliminary Bouts (on Facebook):
Rick Story def. Quinn Mulhern by TKO at 3:05; Round 1
T.J. Dillashaw def. Issei Tamura by TKO at 0:26, Round 2
George Roop def. Reuben Duran by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Patrick Cote weighs in during the official UFC 154 weigh in at New City Gas on November 16, 2012 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Canadian standout Patrick Cote will play host in his homeland and fight Bobby Voelker at UFC 158 in Montreal, UFC officials told GRACIEMAG.com on Friday.

The contest will be Cote’s welterweight debut after spending much of his carer at middleweight, as well as Voelker’s UFC debut following a recent stint in Strikeforce.

Cote (18-8) was last seen fighting Alessio Sakara at UFC 154 last month. The fight ended with Sakara being disqualified for landing numerous strikes to the back of Cote’s head. The two were scheduled to rematch at UFC 158, but, as reported by GRACIEMAG.com earlier this week, Sakara is experiencing issues with his kidneys and had to withdraw from the contest.

Voelker (24-8) is the latest Strikeforce fighter to transition over to the UFC, following names like Dan Henderson, Ronda Rousey and a list of others. “Vicious” last fought more than 17 months ago when he beat Roger Bowling by TKO in the third fight of their trilogy.

UFC 158 is headlined by welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defending his title against Nick Diaz, and takes place at the Bell Centre on March 16.

For more UFC and MMA coverage,

visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section

AKA-trained former bodybuilder ready to take on Ribeiro. Photo: Publicity.

Jackson, Mississippi (Nov. 16, 2010) – Feeling like he wasn’t getting the competition he craved, former college wrestler turned competitive bodybuilder Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox decided to give Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) a try five years ago. He’s been hooked ever since.

Now, Wilcox finds himself in the biggest fight of his career, taking on lightweight (155 pounds) star and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro in the headlining fight of a Strikeforce Challengers event on Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Mississippi, Live on Showtime® at 11 p.m. ET/PT, (delayed on the West Coast).

Wilcox (9-3), a 31-year-old former NCAA wrestling star, has won his last four starts. In his most recent outing on March 26, he registered a unanimous decision over Shamar Bailey at Strikeforce Challengers in Fresno, California, the city where his family currently resides.

A member of San Jose, Calif.’s Team AKA, one of the most fearsome fight teams in the world that also plays home to Strikeforce superstars Josh Thomson and Cung Le, Wilcox wrestled for Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and is from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Wilcox recently fielded six questions from Strikeforce’s director of communications, Mike Afromowitz:

What do you think about Vitor Ribeiro? He thought he beat Lyle Beerbohm (he lost a split decision May 15) in his last fight. What did you think?

I think it could have gone either way. I think he looked good. I know he’s a four-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion and he’s 20-4. I’m not underestimating him in the least. I know people think there won’t be a lot of striking; that we’re both going to want to get it to the ground. Wherever he wants to take it is fine by me. I have faith in my ground game and I’m working with Dave Camarillo at AKA, just an incredible Jiu-Jitsu coach.

What’s it like training at the AKA gym in San Jose?

It’s been awesome. It’s one of the top gyms in the world. I don’t see myself training anywhere else. Going into my fights I don’t get too nervous because I’m training against such high-level guys and some world champions. The gym is so complete. You don’t have to travel to get high-level boxing or high-level wrestling. It’s all right there. That’s why I love it so much.

Who’s the toughest guy you ever fought?

Each opponent has had his strong points. They’ve all been tough. I don’t take any of them lightly. If I had to pick one I would say the (Daisuke) Nakamura fight (which Wilcox won by unanimous decision on Dec. 19, 2009). I had to take the fight on two weeks notice. He was such a high-level opponent.

In your first professional fight in 2006 you beat Bobby Voelker, another Cincinnati fighter (who scored a major victory over previously undefeated Roger Bowling last Oct. 22 on Strikeforce Challengers on Showtime). Does that seem like a long time ago?

That was also a tough one. I was just a wrestler back then. Everything he could throw at me he did. People after that fight were like, ‘Wow, wait till you get that chin.’ I don’t know. I just want to keep moving forward. That was my first fight. Bobby’s had some success recently with Strikeforce which is great. We’re kind of on the same path. He’s a great kid. I like Bobby a lot.

Is there any opponent you’d like to face? Where do you see yourself in the sport in a year?

I see myself wearing that belt. Each fight is one step closer to that belt. That’s what I see myself going after and being a world champion. Whoever they put in front of me is fine. Whoever has the belt at the time is who I want to fight and who I want to beat.”

What do you like to do in your free time?

I just really like to hang out with my three-year-old daughter Natalie and being with my family. I’m up here in San Jose training and they are down in Fresno so I go down on weekends and see them a lot. Just being with my little girl and my wife Leslie is what makes me happy. Just hanging out and spending time with the family.

Photos: Esther Lin / Strikeforce

Shane Del Rosario (white & black trunks) scored a first round TKO (strikes) over Lolohea Mahe in the first round of the Strikeforce Challengers main event, Friday on Showtime from Comcast Arena at Everett in Everett, Wash.

Undefeated Sarah Kaufman (yellow) defended her  women’s welterweight world title with an impressive third round body slam knockout of Roxanne Modafferi in Friday’s co-main event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGVx2bpH0to

Bobby Voelker (white) shocked the crowd and local favorite Cory Devela with a hard-fought, split decision victory.

Mike Kyle (black) submitted previously once-beaten Abongo Humphrey (red) with a rear naked choke in the second round of their light heavyweight match.

Fan favorite Caros Fodor (white trunks) defeated Thomas Diagne via unanimous decision in the opening fight of the Challengers telecast.

Friday’s fights will re-air in the United States on Tuesday, July 27 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHO 2 and will be available On Demand from July 26 until August 8.

Complete STRIKEFORCE Challengers Results:

Shane Del Rosario def. Lolohea Mahe – TKO (strikes) – Round 1 (3:48)

Sarah Kaufman def. Roxanne Modafferi – KO (body slam) – Round 3 (4:45)

Bobby Voelker def. Cory Devela – Split Decision – 29-28 Devela, 29-28
Voelker, 29-28 Voelker

Mike Kyle def. Abongo Humphrey – Submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2
(3:28)

Caros Fodor def. Thomas Diagne – Unanimous Decision (30-27, three times)

Preliminary Card:

Brent “Mankill” Knopp def. Ryan Hayes – TKO (punches) – Round 2 (:55)

CJ March def. Taurean “Black” Washington – Unanimous Decision

Drew “The Eternal Fire” Brokenshire def. Jordan Macklin – Submission
(Guillotine choke) – Round 1 (2:26)

“Psycho” Scott McDonald  def. Doug Kay – Submission – Round 1 (2:09)

Brewster The Rooster” Inman def. Quincy Spruill – Submission – Round 1
(3:57)

Jamen “Chainsaw” Olney def. Jordan Currie – Unanimous Decision

John Elam def. Frankie Orr – Split Decision

Wendel Horton def. Keith Mortuiccio – TKO (1:43)