posted December 29, 2008 at 11:11 EST in UFC / MMA Articles
UFC 92 THE ULTIMATE Recap
by Robby Maddux
Saturday's UFC 92—THE ULTIMATE concluded the online MMA betting season, and as promised, the dynamic event ended UFC 2008 with a bang, literally. All five fights on the main card resulted in a knockout or TKO. UFC 92 was arguably the best event of the year and a night that will be long remembered.
THE ULTIMATE card was extra sweet to MMA wagering fans that invested in the challenger ''Sugar'' Rashad Evans (-110), who beat Forrest Griffin (-130) to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion in the main event. It was the first time ever two former TUF contestants vied for a world title. And at 2:46 of Round 3, with a ground-and-pound TKO, Evans answered the question: Who's the greatest champion to ever come out of TUF?
Griffin clearly had the crowd of 14,103 in his corner for his first title defense after coming off back-to-back wins over No. 1 ranked light heavyweights Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton ''Rampage'' Jackson. While fans chanted his name, Griffin opened the bout firing on all cylinders with combinations of punches and numerous kicks to Evans’ right thigh that could be heard throughout the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
However, he was unable to land any big blows or hurt Evans in the first round. Griffin remained much the aggressor during the second round, landing his hardest punch of the fight that opened a cut over Evans’ left eye just prior to the bell sounding to end Round 2. Griffin was ahead after the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.
But in the third round, Evans was finally able to utilized his great takedown skills to put the champion on the mat for the first time in the fight, as he broke through Griffin’s guard with elbows and punches from the top. The onslaught of brutal strikes forced referee Steve Mazzagatti to call a halt to the fight, as Evans became the third fighter to claim a UFC title in the past two years to come from TUF series. Evans stays unbeaten at 18-0-1. Griffin, who suffered a broken hand in the fight, is now 16-5.
The co-main event and heavyweight interim UFC title fight also generated a new belt holder, as hefty BetUS UFC odds underdog Frank Mir (+225) upset veteran champion Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (-350). Mir took Nog's belt and earned a shot at the reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a bout to unify titles in the first half of the new year. The unification battle will be the biggest rematch of 2009. Mir submitted Lesnar in February of 2008 in Round 1, and now gets a chance to again beat the former WWE star turned UFC heavyweight champion thanks to a dominating victory over Nogueira.
Mir opened the fight with multiple kicks and a landing right uppercut before taking the fight to the mat. After some scoring ground strikes, Mir chose to let the Brazilian back to his the feet. Mir continued to punish Nogueira while standing, before dropping him with a straight left with under two minutes remaining in the first round. By the closing moments, the challenger seemed to have the belt around his waist as he put Nogueira down again just as the round came to an end.
In desperation mode, Nogueira came out aggressively in Round 2 but it quickly became apparent he was owned by Mir, who dropped Nog with two left hooks to the jaw. A follow up barrage of brutality forced referee Herb Dean to rescue Nogueira at 1:54 of round two, as Mir became the first fighter to post a TKO over the former PRIDE heavyweight champion and a future Hall of Famer. Mir improves to 12-3; Nogueira falls to 31-5-1, 1 NC.
After having his ass whooped twice by Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (-130) under the PRIDE banner, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (-110) got revenge on Saturday. It was a brutal ending to one of the UFC’s most hated rivalries.
Both fighters elected to do battle without the customary touch of gloves. Instead, when the bell rang to start the blood feud, each fighter opted to knockout or be knocked out in a hurry. Nearly immediately, the fierce rivals engaged with Jackson stalking and Silva looking to counter. Each man vowed to knockout his opponent so neither wanted to make a fight-ending mistake, but Silva did that very thing with under two minutes left in the opening round.
Silva came in wide with a left hook as Jackson countered with a left hook of his own that landed on the Brazilian's chin. Silva was out immediately, but Jackson landed three
vicious shots while Silva was on his back, two after referee Yves Lavigne had stopped the bout at the 3:21 mark. Something Jackson had waited over four years to accomplish. Jackson moves to 29-7; Silva drops to 32-9-1 with 1 NC.In addition to these three classic and historical bouts, middleweight hopeful C.B. "The Doberman" Dollaway (-175) beat Mike "The Master of Disaster" Massenzio (+135) in Round 1 via TKO after a flurry of unanswered blows, as referee Lavigne stopped the fight at 3:01. Dollaway goes to 9-2; Massenzio falls to 11-3.
Heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo (-375) emphatically stopped UFC newcomer Mostapha Al Turk (+235), moving up in the rankings with a fierce TKO beating causing
Mazzagatti to stop the bout at 4:37 to rescue the bloodied Al Turk in the opening round.
Kongo improves to 23-4-1; Al Turk drops to 6-4.
If you're an Octagon online betting fan, your next chance to get in on the money-making action is on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009 at UFC 93—FRANKLIN vs. HENDERSON.
