411’s UFC Unleashed Report 07.22.08
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 07.21.2008
Babalu Sobral vs. Jason Lambert, Keith Jardine vs. Houston Alexander and THREE Brandon Vera fights.
This edition of UFC Unleashed on Spike TV featured five fights with big finishes. Decisions be damned.
Renato ‘Babalu' Sobral (27-8) vs. Jason Lambert (22-6) UFC 68: Uprising
March 3rd, 2007 in Columbus, OH
This fight was the opener on the famous UFC show where Randy Couture won the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Sobral was coming off a loss to Chuck Liddell about seven months prior and Lambert was coming off a loss to Rashad Evans about six months prior. Sobral only lost consecutive fights once in his career (in 2002, against Fedor Emelianenko and Kevin Randleman in Rings and UFC, respectively). Lambert was riding a three-fight winning streak in the UFC and he had a lot of confidence heading in.
Sobral was expected to win, certainly from the way Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan spoke of him. Babalu starts the fight by throwing a leg kick and charges at Lambert with a flurry of punches. Sobral takes Lambert down and throws overhand rights from the guard. Lambert tries to maneuver around, but Sobral takes his back and goes for the choke. For a few seconds, it appears that Sobral actually has a rear naked choke but Lambert is able to force his way out of the hold. The fight moves off the mat and Lambert seems energized after throwing several uppercuts. Lambert lands a big right as Babalu falls down and lies on his back. Lambert mounts and throws bombs as the round ends. Note that Sobral has a cut above one of his eyes although it doesn't look like it's bleeding heavily. Scoring the first, although Lambert had the big ending, Sobral dominated the majority of the round. Sobral earns the 10-9, but how did the damage at the end affect him?
Round two begins with Sobral tossing some knees, but Lambert gets the takedown. Back on their feet, Sobral again tosses some knees until Lambert takes him down into half-guard. Lambert lands body shots from the guard before the referee stands them up. On their feet, Lambert lands a BIG left and Sobral is DOWN and OUT! KNOCKOUT!
Jason Lambert def. Babalu Sobral via KO at 3:36 of the first round.
Of course, after this fight, Babalu fought David Heath at UFC 74 in what turned out to be his final UFC match. Babalu held a submission on too long and was fined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, then released by the UFC. He most recently defeated Mike Whitehead at Affliction's debut show. Lambert lost to both Wilson Gouveia and Luis Cane in the UFC earlier this year.
Keith Jardine (12-3-1) vs. Houston Alexander (8-1) UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson
May 26th, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV
The Dean of Mean fought a UFC newcomer in hip-hop artist Alexander. In fact, Houston Alexander was pretty much a part time MMA fighter before this fight. Jardine was coming off a big win over Forrest Griffin and arguably on pace for a title fight.
Keith Jardine pushes the pace early on and throws a right followed by a nice combo, which startles Houston Alexander for a moment. However, Houston is able to keep his composure and clinches Jardine. Alexander throws knees and rights and Jardine is in trouble. He takes some nasty looking shots all while struggling to stand. Finally, Alexander nails him with an uppercut and a right and Jardine is out cold, falling to the mat. This fight is over and Houston Alexander has shocked the world (well, perhaps not so much, but you get the picture).
Houston Alexander def. Keith Jardine via KO at :48 of the first round.
It is pretty funny that today, Alexander is seen as a guy who lost a lot of his luster. Jardine is still one of the names in a stacked UFC light heavyweight division. Jardine went on to defeat Chuck Liddell (the unthinkable), but lost to Wanderlei Silva this past May. After this fight, Alexander defeated Alessio Sakara with another quick knockout. However, he went on to lose to Thiago Silva and James Irvin in just as quick a fashion. In fact, his loss to Irvin tied the UFC record for shortest fight ever.
These next three fights present a showcase of Brandon "The Truth" Vera. The undefeated heavyweight made his UFC debut several months before by beating Fabiano Scherner.
Brandon Vera (5-0) vs. Justin Eilers (9-4-1) UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture III
February 4th, 2006 in Las Vegas, NV
Eilers was a Miletich student who was coming off consecutive losses to Paul Buentello and then-UFC Heavyweight Champion Andre Arlovski.
Eilers' comes out swinging but Vera clinches him before the ref breaks them up. Vera uses low and high kicks effectively before smashing Eilers with a HUGE high kick to the head. Eilers is knocked out quickly.
Brandon Vera def. Justin Eilers via KO at 1:25 of the first round.
After this loss, Eilers has yet to return to the UFC, competing in a variety of organizations around the United States. He has gone 10-1 over this time with his only loss coming against Pedro Rizzo. Eilers' next fight will be on EXC's Showtime show next weekend against Antonio Silva.
Brandon Vera (6-0) vs. Assuerio Silva (30-3) UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie
May 27th, 2006 in Los Angeles, CA
Assuerio Silva made his UFC debut in January 2006 with a loss to Tim Sylvia.
Assuerio looks like a huge guy even though he is listed as 5'10". Early in this fight, both men exchange kicks. Vera tries to close the distance with a nice jab combination. Vera accidentally pokes Silva in the eye and the fight is momentarily stopped. Silva looks pissed off and when the fight resumes, it looks like he has some extra motivation. Silva throws a kick that looks like it connected but Vera simply slipped and dropped to the mat. Standing, Silva picks Vera up and SLAMS him down. However, Vera grabs a guillotine and keeps hit. It's locked in and there is nothing Silva can do but tap. This fight is over.
Brandon Vera def. Assuerio Silva via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:39 of the first round.
After this loss, Silva did not return to the UFC until 2007 when he lost to Cheick Kongo. Today, he is riding a two-fight win streak through Pancrase and Jungle Fight.
Brandon Vera (7-0) vs. Frank Mir (9-2) UFC 65: Bad Intentions
November 18th, 2006 in Sacramento, CA
Mir returned from his motorcycle accident seven months before this fight. He lost to Marcio Cruz and defeated Dan Christionsin via decision, leading him to fight Brandon Vera.
In the pre-fight package, they hype the fact that Vera looked up to Mir as a kid. Well, I doubt that will play a role in the fight itself. Anyway, the fight begins and Vera takes it to Mir straight out of the gate. Vera lands several jabs and rights and a straight right stumbles Mir. In a clinch, Vera unleashes some nasty knees and Mir falls. In side control, Vera dismantles Mir with big punches until the referee stops the fight.
Brandon Vera def. Frank Mir by TKO (strikes) at 1:09 of the first round.
Mir has seen a lot of success since this loss to Brandon Vera. Mir has gone 2-0 inside the octagon since the loss, with wins over Antoni Hardonk and Brock Lesnar. He will be a coach on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. It will be his first UFC Heavyweight Title shot since 2004 when he broke Tim Sylvia's arm.
Vera has not had so much success, with consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum. He has since decided to compete in the UFC's light heavyweight division (in addition to the heavyweight division). He made his debut as a 205-fighter this past week where he defeated Reese Andy by decision.
