411's UFC 78: Validation Report 11.17.07
Posted by Larry Csonka on 11.17.2007
Rashad Evans wins the battle of The Ultimate Fighter show as he defeats Michael Bisping and puts the Light Heavyweight Division on notice!
Feel free to send in your thoughts on the show! If you do, please include your BEST and WORST fight, and score the PPV from 0-10!
As usual here are my PICKS for the forum contest, same as I used in the news column this past Friday. If I do badly, I do badly, no big deal. Just remember that I have picked a ton of upsets this year, and I take pride in that.
Akihiro Gono vs. Tamden McCrory
Gono, Decision
Luke Caudillo vs. Marcus Aurelio
Aurelio, Decision
Jason Reinhardt vs. Joe Lauzon
Lauzon, Submission, RD1
Chris Lytle vs. Thiago Alves
Alves, Strikes, RD2
Frank Edgar vs. Spencer Fisher
Fisher, Strikes, RD2
Ryo Chonan vs. Karo Parisyan
Parisyan, Decision
Joe Doerksen vs. Ed Herman
Herman, Submission, RD1
Thiago Silva vs. Houston Alexander
Alexander, Strikes, RD2
Michael Bisping vs. Rashad Evans
Evans, Decision
UFC 78 – Validation~!:
-LIVE from Newark, New Jersey!
-Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan are our announce team.
-Goldberg puts over the Ultimate Fighter Series and the fact that this is the first main event based off of the show. Rogan discusses how important the fight is for both men.
-They run down the card.
-We get a video package for Frank Edgar vs. Spencer Fisher.
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Frank Edgar (7-0) vs. Spencer Fisher (21-3):
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Dan Miragliotta is the official. They circle, jabs by Fisher. Good combo by Edgar, who is pushing. Edgar shoots and gets a great takedown. He looks to have a guillotine, Fisher escapes and Edgar into the guard. Edgar stands, up kicks by Fisher but Edgar back into the guard. Against the cage, and to their feet. A left and knee by Fisher, but Edgar sweeps the leg and takes him down again. Fisher pulls guard, they both stay busy, no clear advantage here. Fisher tries to control the posture of Edgar, who lands a few shots. Edgar lands some decent shots, more frequently now and Fisher gets away from the cage, keeps Edgar in the guard and they are busy. We have 90-seconds left in the round. Edgar lands more shots, cleaner and Fisher had an arm bar, Edgar escapes and to the feet they go. Fisher slips off a kick and Edgar back into the guard. Edgar stands, lands good shot and tries to get side control, but back into the guard he goes. Edgar gets some good elbows to Fisher, into half guard and gets body shots as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: Edgar got two clean and strong takedowns and did good damage from the top and easily takes the round 10-9.
ROUND TWO: They charge out for round two and another takedown by Edgar. Fisher pulls guard, Edgar works to pass and gets half guard but Fisher gets back full guard. Both are very busy throwing shots. Edgar stands and misses a diving shot but gets side control. Edgar works for a guillotine, but Fisher escapes. Edgar shoots, sprawl, but Edgar gets the second takedown of the round. Into the guard again, against the cage they go and Edgar in side control now. Fisher pulls him back to guard, Edgar gets some elbows and gets side control again. Fisher pulls him into half guard, some elbows and hammer fists land for Edgar and Fisher is cut over the left eye. Fisher gets him back to full guard, Edgar landing good shots now and then into north south. Fisher gets back to full guard, a minute left in the round and Edgar stands and drops a good elbow. They stay busy, finally starting to slow a bit as they have set an insane pace. Edgar gets side control, then the back and a hook in. Fisher escapes back to guard and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: More of the same as Fisher cannot get anything going on the feet. I will go with Edgar 10-9 again.
ROUND THREE: Round three begins and Edgar gets a takedown three seconds in. Into full guard and Edgar stands, gets side control and lands hammer fists and elbows. Edgar gets his back, both hooks and works for a rear naked choke. Fisher controls the choke arm, and to the feet they go. They trade shots, Edgar shoots and takes him down again. To the cage they work, good shots by Edgar and to the feet they go. They clinch, a big knee by Fisher and they separate. Edgar shoots, to the cage they go and clinch. Takedown again by Edgar, into the full guard as we have 90-seconds left in the bout. Fisher tried a triangle, Edgar gets his back and drags Fisher back down. They stay busy, Edgar stands and then gets side control as the fight ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: More of the same, Edgar dominates and gets the round 10-9 and the fight 30-27.
-The Result: Frank Edgar via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Joe Rogan is with Edgar. Joe says it is a huge victory for him. He agrees and says it was going to be hard, but he is happy. He talks us through the replay and thanks the crowd, his fiancé and such.
-Rampage is here.
-They hype UFC 79.
-We get a video package for Joe Doerksen vs. Ed Herman.
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT - Joe Doerksen (39-10) vs. Ed Herman (15-4):
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Kevin Mulhall is the official. They touch and here we go. Jabs by Ed, Doerksen throws right back, they clinch, takedown try stopped by Ed. They clinch and stay against the cage, trip by Ed and into the guard he goes. Body shots by Ed, he looks to pass and they go to the feet and against the cage. They get broken up and reset center. Doerksen is bleeding above the left eye, a combo and knees by Ed and they clinch. Ed sprawls and lands good shots. He gets top and then gets a good elbow to Doerksen. Doerksen is cut pretty bad by the eye, under the brow. Ed gets him against the cage, some good elbows land and he stays in the guard of Doerksen. To the feet they go, Ed takes him back down, side control as we have 90-seconds left. Mount by Ed, but back into the guard of Doerksen. Elbows by Ed, slides Doerksen to the cage and gets another elbow. Ed in control still, some short shots by Ed as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: Ed Herman dominated the round and easily takes it 10-9.
ROUND TWO: They did a lot of work on the cut of Doerksen in between rounds. Round two begins and Doerksen slips off of a leg kick. They clinch, Ed takes him down again, half guard and more elbows by Ed. Into the full guard of Doerksen, Ed lands another elbow and then a right. Ed keeps posturing up and landing clean shots. Half guard now, and they get stood up. That was early I thought. They both strike, jabs by Ed, clinch, a knee and Ed down, Doerksen gets the back and hooks in! Ed tries to stand with Doerksen on his back, down now and Doerksen lands some shots. He falls back and looks for the choke. Ed escapes beautifully and gets the back of Doerksen! Doerksen gets a leg lock now and Ed is able to get more back control. Knees by Ed, hammer fists now and then lands a lot of good rights. Hard knees by Ed now, into the half guard of Doerksen, who is looking tired. Elbows by Ed, misses a HUGE right and Doerksen gets a triangle off of it but the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: A hell of a round there. Ed was looking to dominate, but Doerksen made a great comeback and had the near submission at the end and I will give him the round 10-9, evening up the bout.
ROUND THREE: Final round begins and they trade some light shots. Jabs by Ed, drops Doerksen with a left hook and Doerksen is out after Ed drops another few shots.
-The Result: Ed Herman via RD 3(0:39) KO
Joe Rogan is with Ed and he says that is the first KO of his career. They always tease him, and then he pimps his shirt and boxing coach. He talks us through the replay.
-We see Bisping and Evans getting prepared in their locker rooms.
-Matt Serra is here.
-They then show Forrest starring in an episode of Law and Order.
-We get a video package for Ryo Chonan vs. Karo Parisyan.
WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Ryo Chonan (14-7) vs. Karo Parisyan (25-4):
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Kevin Mulhall is the official. They come out and leg kicks by Chonan. Karo catches a leg kick, a left hook lands and he gets a takedown. Half guard by Karo, lands some body shots and Chonan lands from the bottom. Karo works for side control, lands some good lefts from the top and is in the full guard. Chonan working hard from the bottom but Karo with an elbow quiets that. They get stood up, jabs by both and a left hook by Karo off of a leg kick by Chonan. They go against the cage, a big takedown by Karo and has Chonan against the cage in the full guard. Karo with good elbows and then rights. Karo postures up and gets a big right. To thier feet, clinch again and they separate. They trade shots, Karo trips up Chonan and dives into the guard. Karo controls and both stay busy. Karo stands, Chonan up and they clinch. Knees by Chonan, they stay clinched and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: Karo had control the entire round and was never in trouble. He takes the round 10-9.
ROUND TWO: Round two begins and they trade shots. Chonan wants to stand, Karo rushes him to the cage and they exchange and separate. Leg kicks by Chonan, they clinch and to the cage they go. They separate, Chonan gets a HUGE right and rocks Karo, but Karo takes him down but they are right back up. Knees by Chonan, and a good right by Karo. They trade jabs, clinch and separate. Jabs by Karo, catches a leg kick of Chonan and gets the takedown. Karo into the full guard of Chonan and gets some good elbows from the top. Karo controls, stands and Chonan grabs a single leg, against the cage, he lets go and Karo trips him and gets a takedown. Rapid-fire elbows by Karo, works for side control and then lands good lefts. More elbows by Karo and he is controlling a fight that the crowd is losing interest in from the sounds of it. Karo dominates and keeps landing shots from the top and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: Outside of one great shot, Karo dominated the round again and takes this one 10-9 and is up 20-18.
ROUND THREE: The final round begins and leg kicks by Karo. A little low and they take a quick break, but right back to action. Karo clinches, against the cage and Chonan gets a knee. Body shot by Karo, and they are separated. Body kick by Karo, but Chonan gets a few rights and to the cage they go. Under hooks by Karo, grabs the legs and trips Chonan down and lands more elbows. Karo with shots on top, keeping control and gets mount now. Chonan rolls out and gets into the guard of Karo. Karo with a beautiful scramble escape and lands a jab to Chonan. Chonan with a good knee to Karo, they trade jabs and a knee by Chonan. Karo misses a back fist, and then jabs at Chonan. Crowd is hating this round. They have slowed a lot here, throwing sloppy shots and a back fist slightly connects by Karo. They clinch to the cage, and a good elbow by Karo followed by a jab. They clinch, to the cage and then separate. Chonan rushes a bit, gets a leg kick and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: A bland round, while it wasn't great I don't think that Chonan did enough to take the round. I will go 10-9 for Karo, 30-27 overall.
-The Result: Karo Parisyan via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Rogan is with Karo. Karo apologizes for a boring fight. He has some personal issues right now and had a tough opponent. He apologizes again and says he will do better next time. He walks us through the replay.
-They hype the remaining bouts.
-We get a video package for Thiago Silva vs. Houston Alexander.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Thiago Silva (11-0) vs. Houston Alexander (8-1):
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Dan Miragliotta is the official. Round one begins as Alexander looks to stalk Silva. Clinch, knees by Silva. Alexander with knees, and they get separated. Silva gets a good shot on Alexander, a leg kick follows. Alexander catches a kick, gets a combo and they clinch. They trade knees, and Alexander takes down Silva. Silva gets a leg and reverses position. Alexander looks like he has a guillotine, Silva escapes and is in half guard. Silva gets mount and gets body shots. He tries to posture up and land shots, Alexander holds on but eats a few shots and a double hammer fist. Crowd wild for Alexander, but Silva keeps mount and Silva starts to land clean shots…and it is stopped! Silva was landing clean, and it seemed early, but on replay I think it was a good stoppage.
-The Result: Thiago Silva via RD1 (3:25) TKO
Joe Rogan is with Thiago Silva. Through the translator Silva says he wanted to go three rounds, but thanks to God he finished it in one. Silva puts over Houston and say she is a special guy and the crowd should appreciate him and what he has done. Silva was classy there.
-We see Bisping and Evans preparing backstage.
-Hype for TUF 6.
-Evans is winning the text poll 55% -45%.
-We get a video package for Michael Bisping vs. Rashad Evans.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Michael Bisping (15-0) vs. Rashad Evans (15-0-1DRAW):
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Dan Miragliotta is the official. Where's big John? They come out and a good combo by Evans. A good right follows, they clinch and are against the cage. Evans gets him down and lefts by Evans as Bisping gets to his feet. They are clinched again, a combo and shoot by Evans, but Bisping keeps it up. They get separated and another good combo by Evans, they clinch again and Evans wants a takedown. Knees by Bisping, but Evans back with a combo. Bisping gets a body kick and Evans gets the takedown from that. Evans stands and drops down with a good right. Side control by Evans, Bisping escapes and to the feet and clinch they go. Knees by Bisping, one minute left and Evans gets an elbow and takedown into side control. Half guard now by Bisping, but Evans with a good elbow. Bisping works hard to escape but Evans remains in control. Into full guard and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: Bisping worked hard, but Evans controlled and laded better shots. He easily takes the round 10-9.
ROUND TWO: Round two begins and Bisping is breathing heavy. Bisping out quickly with a kick, which misses and a leg kick by Bisping, but a HUGE slam by Evans! Into full guard goes Evans, Evans postures up and can't get anything. Bisping wants an arm bar, hammer fist by Evans and Bisping gets a shot from the bottom. A good right by Evans, and they get separated. They trade shots, Evans is breathing heavy now as well. A good combo by Bisping, and Evans answers back with a good overhand right. High kick blocked by Evans, who is breathing heavy still. They keep trading standing, Evans shoots but is stuffed. Leg kicks by Bisping, jab by Bisping and a right by Evans. 90-seconds left in the round and a good left by Evans. Hey clinch and knees by Bisping, gets another and Evans catches him and gets him against the cage. Bisping stops the takedown try and they clinch against the cage. Uppercut by Bisping, a kick and misses a right. They trade hard again and a body kick by Bisping, tries a takedown and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: Evans is VERY tired and Bisping looks to be getting stronger. It was a very close round, and I think Evans took the round 10-9, but I could see it for Bisping.
ROUND THREE: It could be totally even here, they come out and jabs by Evans. They are cautious here, lots of fakes and staying away. Evans catches a kick, tries the takedown and gets it. Hammer fists by Evans, in full guard now and Bisping tries to scoot back against the cage, does and Evans gets some good shots. Bisping turns it and Evans in on his back. Bisping gets his back, they stand and Evans remains up and standing. Center they go, they trade a bit and Evans misses a wild right. Evans with a solid combo lands, gets a right and a takedown with Bisping against the cage. 2-minutes left and Bisping about grabbed the cage, escapes to the feet and they clinch. Body kick by Bisping, a good combo again by Evans and Bisping pushes, Evens tries a takedown and Bisping gets some shots as he defends that. They trade, knees by Bisping and Evans tries a last takedown, gets side back and the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORECARD: An under whelming fight to be sure. Bisping worked hard to counter, but never did anything to win the fight. I will go Evans 10-9 and 30-27 overall.
Joe Rogan is with Evans. He says he felt it went in his favor, and Bisping fought a great fight. He says they started with hype, but it did get personal, but they are professionals and it is done. He thanks a list of people.
Joe is with Bisping now. He says the loss is worse than the controversial win. H e proved that he belonged and he thanks UFC for the main event fight. He thanks the fans and his team. Thinking back, he thinks he won, but Evans got good takedowns.
-BONUS BOUT~!
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Jason Reinhardt (18-0) vs. Joe Lauzon (14-3):
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Kevin Mulhall is the official. Reinhardt is 38 years old and making his UFC debut. Reinhardt dives in and misses a shot. Joe gets a clinch and knee, to the cage and Joe pulls him down and is in half guard. He passes, side control, into north south and then gets his back, a choke and that is all. Reinhardt threw the middle finger before tapping, that's classy.
-The Result: Joe Lauzon via RD1 (1:14) Submission
Joe Rogan is with Joe Lauzon. He says being able to train full time made all the difference. He walks us through the replay.
-Gono won submission of the night, as he took a man's arm home with him in the prelims.
-They discuss the show, putting over the undefeated fighters "validating" themselves and proving that they are for real.
Feel free to send in your thoughts on the show! If you do, please include your BEST and WORST fight, and score the PPV from 0-10!
INSIDE THE CAGE VIDEO RECAP
411 debuts a new fight feature as MMA fighter Paul Buentello brings us this special video feature, breaking down the fights from UFC 78! This was done out of town for Paul, and is limited due to him having a fight Friday night, but in the future it will continue to grow:
