Live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz headlined UFC 106 with a much anticipated rematch. Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck served as the co-main event of the evening.
The card as a whole turned out to be a solid one after it seemed to be doomed after Brock Lesnar’s championship bout with Shane Carwin was dropped from the bill. Karo Parisyan dropping out of his bout with Dustin Hazelett was just another reason to believe this card may fall short. However, the UFC showed its versatility by putting together a solid show with several great bouts.
While the main event of the evening did not feature the heavyweight champion, Forrest Griffin’s war with Tito Ortiz helped to fill the void. Unfortunately, Johnson’s bout with Koscheck was filled with unfortunate circumstances, including eye-pokes and knees to a downed opponent.
However, the live fights on Spike TV from the preliminary card, along with the three other main card bouts, delivered the fans several solid performances and remarkable finishes. Continue reading for the full main card results.
– The three round bout between Griffin and Ortiz left the fans wanting even more than they already did before the rematch. After three rounds, the decision was split, but the winner was Griffin, who successfully avenged his loss to “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”.
Griffin was taken down in both the first and second rounds, but avoided much significant damage, except for one elbow that cut him pretty badly. However, Griffin was able to roll with Ortiz on the ground, reversing several unfortunate situations.
Ortiz may have had some success on the ground, but the stand up portion was a completely different story, as Griffin completely dominated the striking battle. This was no more apparent then when the fight reached the third and final round.
The last five minutes of the fight consisted of Griffin putting on an absolute striking clinic. Avoiding takedowns and taking literally no damage, the original “Ultimate Fighter” outpointed Ortiz by a large margin, as the two went to a decision.
The decision was scored 29-28 for Ortiz, 30-27 for Griffin, and 29-28 for Griffin giving Anderson Silva’s last victim a split-decision victory. The win sends Griffin out of his two fight slide and back onto the winning ways.
– The co-main event of the evening between Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck was filled with controversy.
After several short exchanges on the feet, Johnson illegally kneed his downed opponent and, apparently, poked Koscheck’s eye. When the fight finally continued, Koscheck returned the favor, poking Johnson in the eye two times.
After much controversy and confusion, the fight continued, and Koscheck worked the fight to the ground where he absolutely dominated Johnson by taking his back and finishing him with a rear naked choke.
– On the subject of controversy, after Karo Parisyan dropped out of his fight with Dustin Hazelett, a welterweight bout between Paulo Thiago and Jacob Volkmann was moved to the main card.
Volkmann was dominated in the first with solid striking and ground skills courtesy of Thiago. However, even after clearly being rocked at the end of the round, Volkmann was able to stay in the fight.
However, while Volkmann was able to roll with Thiago on the ground, the Brazilian outpointed the NCAA Division One All-American wrestler in basically every aspect of the fight, leading to a unanimous decision victory.
– Making his long overdue debut with the UFC, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stepped into the octagon and did not disappoint after demolishing Luiz Cane with a first round technical knockout.
Nogueira displayed the solid striking skills he has always had, and Cane simply had no answer, as “Lil’ Nog” ran right through him. The American Top Team member took a big step back with such a dismal performance.
Nogueira picked up the Knockout of the Night bonus with a great debut in the octagon. The Brazilian has successfully jumped into the division’s top tier with a dominant victory.
– After being decimated by Johnny Hendricks at UFC 101: “Declaration”, Amir Sadollah displayed his resilience by destroying Phil Baroni for the majority of the fifteen minute fight.
“The Ultimate Fighter” winner of season seven displayed his muy-thai on his way to a unanimous decision victory, completely picking apart Baroni for the latter two rounds.
Baroni’s solid chin was shown again tonight. The beat down issued by Sadollah would have ended most fighters’ nights. However, “The New York Badass’s” return to the octagon proved a disappointment, as he finds himself on the losing end of a battle once again.
