BJ Penn – Jon Fitch: UFC 127 Shocking Results
By Ben Bieker
Main Event:
B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn (16-7-1, #7 Welterweight) VS. Jon Fitch (23-3-0-1, #2 Welterweight) ends in a draw
Not much to say about a fight that ends in a draw except somehow Jon Fitch gets screwed out of fighting for the title again. I do think that Jon should have one. With numbers like 149-2 in the third round there is no denying he won. It is the way things go as B.J. clearly won the first and the second was really close. B.J. feigned talk of retirement after this fight, so I don’t know if it is best for him to fight Jon again, but it is probably best they do. It cannot be the main event when they do though. The sooner the better also.
Co-Main Event:
Michael “The Count” Bisping (21-3-0) def. Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera (19-8-0) by TKO at 1:54 of round 2
I don’t want to say much about this fight as I don’t think it should have continued after the illegal knee. All the credit goes to Jorge after he continued the fight when he didn’t need to. Given he came out good after the knee, and closed out the round strong. Even in the second he hurt Bisping, but he just seemed to stop moving. It wasn’t like eh got hit hard or anything he just stopped. I truly believe the knee gave him a concussion as it was thrown hard and hit him directly on the temple. Bisping wins again, but has yet to prove himself to me.
Next for Michael Bisping: Easy, if he wants to fight for the title he needs to beat someone who has had the title or at least fought for it. With most top dogs in upcoming fights, there is only two options for Michael. He needs to fight Chael Sonnen upon his return as they have been having a war of words, but more interesting for me would be Demian Maia as he could show what Michael’s ground game is all about.
Next for Jorge Rivera:
Dennis Siver (18-7-0) def. George Sotiropoulos (14-3-0, #8 Lightweight) by unanimous decision
George just came in with a bad game plan. Dennis kept saying he was going to try to submit George in this fight, but now I think that was all a show to bait George into a standup war, and it worked. From beginning to end Dennis battered George in the fight. I don’t know why George could not get the takedown, or go for it more often. He seemed to try once a round and give up. If he got it to the ground it would have been a different fight. I think it could have changed the whole thing. The problem is it didn’t hit the ground.
Dennis seemed to have trained his takedown defense relentlessly because he had B.J. Penn levels of foot hopping. He was able to drop George multiple times in the first round, for what I thought was a 10-8. The second round was questionable, but he definitely took the third round. He got the win and continued to show improvement. He may have started off his UFC career poorly with a 1-3 record, but after going 6-1 in his second run he is turning into a real contender.
Next for Dennis Siver: The winner of the Benson Henderson Mark Bocek fight would be a good matchup for Dennis. Those fighters are just outside of a title shot like Dennis as there are other fighters above them.
Next for George Sotiropoulos: I want to see his BJJ threatened and I think Carlos Olivera could give him fits.
Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole (47-14-1) def. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle (30-18-5) by unanimous decision
Chris showed the reason he belongs in the UFC with this fight. Given this may have been his last shot at title contention, and he may have done better against Carlos Condit but he is not done, not by a long shot. He showed the spirit and chin of a real fighter. Credit to Brian for delivering one of the hardest shots and wobbling Chris the most I have ever seen him wobbled in a fight. It wasn’t his night, but he will be back for more. Chris will not give up, and after a fight like that the fans still want to see him fight.
If that is not making the most out of your chance in the UFC then I don’t know what is. Brain came out and showed that records don’t mean anything in a fight. While his style is unorthodox hidden behind the cartwheels and arrows shaved into chest hair is a very competent, dangerous fighter. He may not have the best record, but he can give any fighter fits. With a division one record to back up that power and ground game there may not be many opponents that will want a fight with a fighter like Brain. Especially what he was able to do when taking a fight on short notice.
Next for Brian Ebersole: Carlos Condit, Lytle’s original opponent, would be a nice match for Brian. He deserves it too after this performance.
Next for Chris Lytle: I would be interested to see how a rematch between him and Matt Hughes would go. If Matt Hughes isn’t willing to fight anymore than a fight with the winner of Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson would be a slugfest for the fans.
Kyle “KO” Noke (19-4-1) def. Chris Camozzi (14-4-0) by submission at 1:35 of round one
Ground game was the factor that determined this fight, but I didn’t believe that Kyle would submit Chris this early. Given he didn’t have too many more fights than him, but this is the experienced I spoke of. Chris was just outclassed on the ground by a better fighter. It is good for a young fighter like him to get these losses as it shows what he has to work on to be a good fighter. From here Kyle moves onto bigger fights while Chris just needs to take many BJJ classes before he steps back into the octagon.
Next for Kyle Noke: Chris Leben would be able to test Kyle’s chin as it has been a problem in the past. Plus, he is competent enough on the ground not to get submitted in less than two minutes.
Next for Chris Camozzi: IF he wants a test on the ground again Kendall Grove would be a good match for him.
The UnderCard:
Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson (12-4-0) def. Spencer “The King” Fisher (24-7-0)
The rounds were essentially mirror images of each other. Fisher won the first, but Ross won rounds two and three with the same strategy. While Spencer was able to use punches and kicks to keep Ross at bay int he first, in the later rounds Ross used the same strategy for his good. In the third was the only differenced in which Ross was able to land some takedowns. It was a fun to watch, but not too entirely action packed.
Next for Ross Pearson: If Shane Roller gets past Thiago Tavares this Thursday that could make for a good fight down the road.
Next for Spencer Fisher: A 1-3 record is not good for your past 4 fights. He may get one more shot based on his tenure as a UFC fighter. I would not mind seeing him and Sam Stout going at it one last time for old time sakes.
Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson (11-1-1) def. James Te Huna (12-5-0) by submission at 4:27 of round 1
Alexander was not looking good at the beginning of this fight. James was able to take it to him for the first few minutes, but then it seemed like he gassed. James was also doing well when he was on top of Alexander, but once Alexander got a takedown of his own it was when the end was near. Alexander was able to transition easily to James’ back, and once he flattened him out he was able to submit him.
Next for Alexander Gustafsson: Kyle Kingsbury was impressive in his last fight and is on his own winning streak. Putting them up against each other would be a logical move, just like the Kyle Noke Chris Camozzi fight was.
Next for James Te Huna: On the flip side he could take on Ricardo Romero as both had decent wins in their debuts, but were stopped easily in their second fights.
Nick “The Promise” Ring (11-0-0) def. Riki Fukuda (17-5-0) by unanimous decision
Easily the most disappointing fight of the night, and that is rare when there is a draw. It is because even if the main event was scored a draw, I am more OK with that then with Nick winning this fight. The first round could have easily been Nick’s but the later rounds should not have been. Riki used effective and powerful striking against his foe, and with the added effect of his grappling and takedowns it should have a been an easy decision, but it wasn’t.
Next for Nick Ring: Winner of the Natal Sakara fight on this Thursday’s card would be appropriate.
Next for Riki Fukuda: Jorge would be an opponent for him if he continues to fight.
Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh (11-6-0) def. Tom Blackledge (10-7-0) at 2:45 of round 1
It may have not been the best performance, but Anthony got his first win in the UFC after four tries. While he may not get many more wins in the UFC, at the end of the day he can at least say he won one. The fight itself was not that good since it was just Anthony looking for a takedown the whole time, and Tom offering nothing in return. Once Anthony got the takedown it was the end as he was easily able to transition and submit Tom.
Next for Anthony Perosh: Tim Boetsch needs a fight to prove he belong sin the UFC.
Next for Tom Blackledge: it is becoming more common for fighters to be one and done in the UFC. His record, his performance, and his inability to even try to fight in this fight shows he does not belong in the UFC.
Tie Quan “The Mongolian Wolf” Zhang (13-1-0) def. Jason Reinhardt (20-2-0) by submission at 0:48 of round one
Not much to say about a fight that ends this quick. It played out exactly as I thought as Tie got the takedown and finished Justin. Tie looked good at featherweight though. He professed the drop was hard, but it was also needed after his last loss came from the size differential. He could have some interesting fights ahead of him as the UFC’s first Chinese fighter.
Next for Tie Zhang: Javier Vasquez would make for a good ground fight. Furthermore, it would be an opponent where Zhang could show some standup without the fear of being out worked.
Next for Jason Reinhardt: He should have stayed away from fighting after being gone for three years. He is likely done with the UFC after this performance.
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt (6-7-0) def. Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer (21-4-0) by knockout at 1:41 of round 2
Mark Hunt looked good in this fight. From the start he was catching Chris, and once he opened that cut it was the beginning of the end. Given Chris did take it down towards the end of the first round, but the amount of blood flowing out of his head was not a good sign. The second round opened and with one failed takedown attempt Chris was relegated to standing. That was a bad idea as Mark unloaded and Chris was out. Mark proved he has some crazy power because all the punches that looked like they hurt Chris the most came from such awkward angles. It just goes to show that power is truly the last thing that leaves a fighter.
Next for Mark Hunt: Pat Barry would be a good fight for the fans. Both do not like the ground game and this fight would allow them to not have to worry about it.
Next for Chris Tuchscherer: After going 1-3 you’re kind of out of turns in the UFC. Maybe Bellator is having another Heavyweight tournament he could join.
Curt “The War” Warburton (7-2-0) def. Maciej “Irokez” Jewtuszko (8-1-0) by unanimous decision
Curt saved his UFC career with this fight. He would have been out the door if he lost. Maciej, on the other hand, loses for the first time in his career. Maciej showed he needs to definitely work on his ground game as Curt is not even a high level fighter on the ground, and he was able to control him. Curt showed strength in his ground game though and with development he could get even better.
Next for Curt Warburton: Evan Dunham would need a decent comeback opponent and why not Curt.
Next for Maciej Jewtuszko: Paul Taylor would make for a good stand up battle.