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SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
LIVE FROM NEW ORLEANS, LA.
-We haven't hit the Fox era quite yet, as we've got the same opening intro song and style, but it's time for the final "Fight Night" event on Spike TV. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan open up the broadcast and run down the fights scheduled tonight. Though it's gotten very little promotion this week, there are a few very entertaining matchups on tonight's card, and it should be a good event.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT ONE: ALAN BELCHER VS. JASON MACDONALD (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Belcher took the center early and walked MacDonald back. MacDonald tried to shoot in but was held up in the clinch and pushed back to the cage. MacDonald held off Belcher's advances and turned him around on the cage, dropping for a single leg attempt. Belcher stopped that and MacDonald went for a body throw. The throw didn't go quite as planned, but MacDonald pulled guard to get the fight down. Belcher landed an elbow. Belcher postured up and hurt MacDonald with punches and started opening up with the strikes. MacDonald is in trouble and Belcher continued the assault. MacDonald looked for a kimura but Belcher passed to side control. MacDonald regained half guard, but Belcher stood up and dropped a couple of big strikes. He passed to side control and continued his ground and pound assault. MacDonald could only cover up and the referee stood in to stop it. Big win in his return.
WINNER: Belcher via submission (strikes) at 3:42 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**) Very nice return to form from Belcher. He didn't show any ill effects from being out for 16 months, but the fight didn't really go long enough to test that at all. Still, that was a great display of striking from the guard, and MacDonald just had enough of it.
[Commercial Break]
FIGHT TWO: JONATHAN BROOKINS VS. ERIK KOCH (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Koch came right out to the center. Both tested the range early with pawing jabs. Brookins landed an early jab and closed the distance before shooting for a single leg. Koch held off the takedown attempt on the cage. He landed a knee to the head. Brookins landed a few hard knees and then an elbow in the clinch. Brookins got in another knee to the body. Koch landed a short forearm but couldn't shake Brookins off. Brookins dropped levels again and ate a knee. He continued to try for the takedown but was unsuccessful. Koch landed a couple more knees. Brookins landed two hard elbows in the clinch. Koch finally got off the cage and broke free. He landed a hard straight left. He got in a good kick to the leg. He hit Brookins with another hard left. He threw a kick high but it was blocked. Koch landed another hard leg kick. Koch grazed Brookins with another left. Brookins shot in for a single leg again but Koch held him off. Koch landed a few hammerfists to the ear. Koch turned Brookins around but got turned right back around as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-10. Brookins controlled the cage but was unsuccessful with his takedowns. He landed some strikes in the clinch but Koch had the better of the exchanges on the feet. Neither took that one clearly.
ROUND TWO: Koch again came to the center and landed a hard leg kick to start the round. He landed another kick and followed with a few strikes. He landed another short combo. Brookins grabbed a foot and pressed Koch to the cage. Koch broke free. He threw a kick high that was blocked. He landed a left. He got in with a right. Koch landed a short combo, backed off and landed another short left. He landed a couple of big lefts and Brookins shot in again. He couldn't get Koch down once again as he worked for the single leg. Brookins tried to drag him down but Koch landed on top of him. They both got up in the clinch. Koch landed a knee and held off the takedown attempts again on the cage. Koch spun Brookins around and landed a couple of knees. He backed away with a right and separated. Koch landed a hard leg kick. Koch landed a punch and got in a hard kick and held off yet another takedown attempt from Brookins. Brookins finally completed a takedown and put Koch on his back. Koch landed some strokes on the ground, kicked Brookins off and got up. Brookins shot right back in but Koch got to his feet and landed a couple elbows. The round ended in the clinch with Koch taking Brookins' back.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Koch. He out-struck Brookins, held off all but one takedown and did the only damage on the ground when he got put on his back. Good round for the 22-year-old.
ROUND THREE: Koch came forward to start the third. Koch landed a two punch combo and popped in with a third in the follow through. Brookins got in to a clinch and landed a knee but Koch separated. Koch landed a leg kick. Brookins shot in but Koch shrugged him off. Koch landed three hard punches as he walked forward. The crowd got a little restless. Koch landed a nice right in close. Another leg kick and a jab landed from Koch. Brookins again shot for the single leg but got held off. Koch briefly tried to set up a guillotine but went back to defending the takedown. Koch tried to separate but Brookins stayed on him. The crowd started booing the stalling on the wall. They separated and Brookins landed an elbow. Koch nearly landed a head kick. He landed a kick to the leg and a short two punch combo. Koch missed a big punch and Brookins ducked under it. Brookins tried to drop Koch but landed on his back and Koch popped up. Brookins couldn't do anything against the cage again and Koch turned him around. They separated and each landed a strike. The crowd booed as the round came to an end with Brookins failing on another takedown attempt.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Koch. He out-struck Brookins again, and Brookins did nothing against the cage. But of course the judges will probably give this to Brookins for the wall and stall.
Penick's Final Score: 30-28 Koch.
WINNER: Koch via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
STAR RATING: (*+) Not a good fight. Disappointing considering how excited many (myself included) were for it when it was announced. But Brookins couldn't get the fight to the ground, and Koch was tentative and didn't look particularly impressive outside of his takedown defense.
-We get a preview for the new season of The Ultimate Fighter. As an aside, we'll be revealing our TUF blogger for the season this week before the premiere episode, so stay tuned!
-After another commercial break, Jon Jones and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson join Joe Rogan "via satellite" for an interview between the two before their fight next week.
FIGHT THREE: COURT MCGEE VS. DONGI YANG (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: McGee landed an inside leg kick to start the fight. He landed a punch to the body as he circled on the outside. Yang tried to engage but McGee continued to land the first strike. McGee landed another inside leg kick. Yang popped in with a right. Both missed strikes in succession.McGee blocked a punch from Yang and missed one of his own. Yang landed a hard leg kick. McGee got in with one of his own. Each missed a few more punches. McGee landed a hard right as Yang backed out. McGee landed another right. McGee tried to reach in to set up a takedown and almost poked Yang in the eye. Yang landed a couple of hard leg kicks. McGee got in with a couple of his own in return. McGee missed a high kick. Yang landed a kick to the body. McGee landed another right against the cage. McGee continued to press the action. McGee landed a short combo as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 McGee. Yang got in some hard strikes, but McGee landed more strikes overall and pressed the action.
ROUND TWO: McGee landed a good leg kick. They exchanged hard punches in the center of the cage. Yang popped in and out with a nice right. McGee pressed in and got the clinch. McGee couldn't get him down and they separated. Yang landed a few short strikes. McGee landed a punch to the body. McGee landed a good right in close. Yang landed two hard punches. He landed another nice left and came back with a right hook. McGee threw a high kick that was blocked. McGee landed a couple more strikes. Yang landed a short jab. McGee shot in again but Yang held him off on the cage and separated quickly. McGee landed another short combo and it looked like Yang was tiring. Yang landed another short strike. McGee continued pressing. Yang landed a hard combo. McGee landed a right. He landed a head kick gratingly. McGee cracked Yang with two hard left hooks. He threw a couple of strikes and shot in as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 McGee. Yang was ahead early, but McGee turned up his attack in the last few minutes and took the round back.
ROUND THREE: McGee came straight ahead to start the third. They each missed a couple of punches early. McGee landed a short punch. Yang landed a couple of counter strikes in close. McGee landed a left hook. Yang popped McGee with a jab. McGee landed a hard leg kick. They exchanged punches in the center. Yang landed a leg kick of his own. Yang landed the knee. Yang rocked McGee with a big right hand and tried to jump in with a knee on the cage. He grabbed a body lock and briefly got McGee down. McGee shrugged him off and they stood up again. Yang landed a hard left. He threw a head kick but McGee backed off. McGee's hurting but still coming forward. McGee landed a kick. McGee grabbed a body lock but let it go at the cage. McGee landed a few short strikes. Yang landed a couple of strikes. McGee came right back at him. He missed a high kick. He shot in again and got stuffed. He grabbed a body lock and pressed Yang to the cage. He completed the takedown and almost had mount but Yang got out of it and got to his feet. McGee landed a few punches in combination. They traded punches. McGee completed another takedown and started throwing elbows. McGee locked on a guillotine that almost finished the fight but he lost the grip as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 McGee. Yang looked to take the round early with a rocking combination, but McGee's conditioning won out, and he nearly finished it with a late guillotine.
WINNER: McGee via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-28)
STAR RATING: (**) This was a decent back and forth fight. McGee pressed the action throughout, and each landed some good shots, as well as surviving when he was hurt in the third round. Then he nearly stopped it with a guillotine choke at the tail end of the fight. Good performance from McGee, and decent showing from Yang.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT FOUR: JAKE SHIELDS VS. JAKE ELLENBERGER (WELTERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Shields came out to the center and pawed in with jabs but wasn't landing. He got in close and Ellenberger threw him to the ground and backed off. Shields came in for another takedown attempt and Ellenberger got loose. Ellenberger cracked Shields with a right, then landed a huge knee that hurt Shields! Shields tried to cover up and Ellenberger started throwing punches and the ref stepped in! Wow. Huge, huge, huge win for Ellenberger.
WINNER: Ellenberger via TKO at :53 of the first round
STAR RATING: (***) Fantastic performance from Jake Ellenberger. He not only shrugged off more than one takedown attempt, but he handed Shields his first stoppage loss since 2000. Ellenberger is in the elite in the welterweight division, and with five straight wins in the UFC he could very well plug himself into the title picture in short order.
-Thanks for joining us for another UFC event! We'll have reactions to this event throughout the week and more as we go into next weekend's UFC 135 pay-per-view event.
Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_PPVs_6/article_10524.shtml
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