Welcome to InsideFights.com’s live coverage of UFC 162 headlined by Anderson Silva defending the UFC Middleweight Championship against Chris Weidman. I’m Ryan Frederick and I am cageside for tonight’s event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stay tuned for live play-by-play coverage of the night’s preliminary card on FX. We also have full coverage of the Facebook portion of the preliminary card in the event you missed it. Be sure to stick around for our coverage of the PPV main card as well. Enjoy the fights everyone.
Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Referee: Herb Dean
Round 1- Herb Dean makes an appearance this evening. Both men rush to the center of the Octagon and Barboza looks to unload with some right hands. Barboza with a leg kick and they get in close quarters for a moment. Barboza lands a huge leg kick that gets the crowd going. Oliveira shoots for a takedown but Barboza defends it with perfection and lands another big leg kick. Oliveira misses on a combination and Barboza misses a leg kick. Barboza has Oliveira working on his striking defense. Oliveira misses on another takedown attempt. Barboza with another leg kick. Oliveria misses another takedown as Barboza stuffs it with ease. Barboza with another leg kick that lands and then a punch to the face. Barboza attacks the legs again with more kicks. Oliveria misses on a winging left hand. Oliveria misses again on another takedown attempt. Barboza sees them coming a mile away. Barboza with a body kick and another leg kick. Oliveira misses a right hand. Oliveira grabs Barboza but Barboza pushes him off quickly. Oliveira misses a left hand. Barboza barely connects on another leg kick. Barboza then lands a big kick to the thigh of Oliveira. Barboza with another two leg iicks. Oliveira is having trouble checking them. Barboza with a big leg kick at the end of the round. Both men stumble at the end. The crowd roars at the end. 10-9 Barboza.
Round 2- They touch gloves to start round 2. Barboza lands a big body kick. Barboza sends Oliveira down with a punch. Oliveira stays down to try to get Barboza to come to the ground but can’t do it. Oliveira briefly knocks Barboza down but Barboza gets back up. Barboza just barely connects on a leg kick. Barboza attacks the lead leg of Oliveira again and he is starting to show some pain in that leg. Barboza knocks Oliveira down again with another leg kick. Barboza is going after that leg and again knocks Oliveira down with a leg kick. Herb Dean steps in to stop the fight as Oliveira has taken a lot of damage to that leg. Barboza with the TKO win!
Official Result: Edson Barboza def. Rafaello Oliveira by TKO (leg kicks) at 1:44 of Round 2
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Dave Herman
Referee: Kim Winslow
Round 1- Kim Winslow is in charge of this heavyweight bout. Herman coming in with three straight losses. Herman pushes Gonzaga off with a teet kick to start the fight. Gonzaga lands a big right hand that sends Herman down and with a few punches Herman is finished as Winslow steps in to stop the fight. Big, quick knockout win by Gonzaga as the Brazilian fans in the crowd go nuts and begin to chant.
Official Result: Gabriel Gonzaga def. Dave Herman by KO (punches) at:17 of Round 1
Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome
Referee: Steve Mazzagatti
Round 1- They take the center and Parke lands a big left hand to start. Both then land leg kicks. Parke misses on a big left hand but attacks the body of Tokudome. Tokudome lands a leg kick. Parke with another big left hand that lands. Parke misses on a front kick to the face. Parke lands another left hand that gets the crowd into it. Tokudome with a leg kick as Parke was looking to attack the body. Parke with another leg kick. Parke again lands that left hand and Tokudome is having trouble blocking it. Parke with a big leg kick again. Tokudome changes levels for a takedown but Parke stuffs it and they move against the cage. Parke looking for the takedown against the cage but Tokudome doesn’t go down. Parke gets him down though but they get right back up. Parke has the back of Tokudome and they go down to the ground. Tokudome ends up on top and is in the guard of Parke. Parke looks to sweep. Parke lands an elbow from bottom as he tries to create a scramble. Tokudome is holding him down from top but not doing much. Parke looks to transition to the back of Tokudome but can’t. Parke pushes Tokudome away with his forearm and they switch and Parke ends on top. Parke moves Tokudome against the cage but won’t have much time to work. The horn sounds and the round ends. 10-9 Parke
Round 2- Touch of gloves to start the second round. Parke lands that left hand ten seconds into the round. Parke with a check kick to the front of Tokduome’s leg. They trade in close quarters and Parke gets the better of the exchange. Parke lands a left hand and Tokudome is stunned. Tokudome goes for a takedown to recover and stays up. Parke makes him pay with some more left hands. Parke taking over at the moment. Parke lands the left hand and Tokudome staggers back to recover. Tokduome misses a takedown and Parke makes him pay with multiple left hands. Tokudome is in trouble. Parke lands a right jab. Parke lands the left hand again. He lands it again. Tokudome is having trouble keeping his hands up as he begins to fatigue. Parke scores a takedown and moves Tokudome up against the cage. Neither man is doing much on the ground at the moment. They get back to the feet. They separate and both land punches and Parke quickly takes the fight back down to the ground. Parke is in mount and Tokudome moves to his back and they scramble to a front headlock by Parke. Parke looking to lock in the guillotine choke. Tokudome has Parke’s leg and blocks any movement as they scramble back to the feet. Parke lands another big left hand and the round ends. 10-9 Parke. 20-18 Parke.
Round 3- They shake hands and bow to start the final round. Both land punches in close quarters. Parke switches up with a body punch. Parke grabs a leg of Tokudome and forces him up against the cage. Tokudome briefly lands a takedown but Parke ends up in the advantage position. Parke looks for a guillotine choke but Tokudome is defending. They battle for position on the feet and are clinched against the cage. Both land short elbows. Both men are starting to show signs of fatigue. Parke briefly gets a takedown but Tokudome rolls into the guard of Parke. Parke looking to create a scramble and get it back up, which he does. Parke misses on a left hand. Tokudome lands a head kick and Parke fires back with one of his own. Tokudome lands a head kick and is going on the attack. Tokudome scores a big takedown as he looks to steal the round. They get back to the feet though and Tokudome has Parke pressed against the cage. They split and get back to the center of the Octagon. Tokduome lands to the body of Parke. Tokudome misses on a combination. Parke grabs a leg and pushes Tokudome against the cage. Parke looking for the takedown with 20 seconds to go. Parke with the takedown with just under ten seconds. The horn sounds for the end of the fight. Close final round. 10-9 Tokudome. 29-28 Parke.
Official Result: Norman Parke def. Kazuki Tokudome by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Chris Leben vs. Andrew Craig
Referee: Yves Lavigne
Round 1- Yves Lavigne gets the assignment for the final preliminary bout as both men are looking to rebound from losses. Craig starts with a leg kick as Leben misses a left hand. They are going after it early as Leben pushes Craig against the cage and looks for the takedown. Leben with a foot stomp and some dirty boxing. Craig lands a knee. Leben looking for the takedown but Craig stuffs it. Leben with a knee to the leg and a foot stomp. They split up and both look to land big hands. Leben pushes Craig against the cage again and is looking for that takedown, which he does get. They get back to the feet and are battling in the clinch. Craig lands a knee to cause separation. Craig lands a kick and Leben lands a left hand that puts Craig against the cage and they clinch back up. Leben with some body punches. Craig lands a right hand as Leben comes forward and they are clinched back up. Both land knees and Craig goes for a right hand on the break. Craig misses a head kick as Leben blocks it. They battle back against the cage and Craig has Leben against it until they break. Leben with a left hand and then he literally pushes Craig against the cage. They go to the mat for a moment and Leben has Craig against the cage. Leben with some left hands to the body as they split up. They get clinched again and Leben is attacking the body with left hands before they separate again. Craig shoots for a big takedown but Leben defends it perfectly. The horn sounds as they battle against the cage. 10-9 Leben.
Round 2- Leben presses forward to start the round as Craig comes out a bit tentative. Leben misses on a big left hand. They trade before Leben pushes Craig against the fence. Leben looking for the takedown but Craig is defending it well. Leben attacks with left hands to the body and Craig lands a big knee as they break. Craig lands a left hand but Leben shakes it off. Leben pushes him against the cage and is looking for another takedown but Craig blocks it. They are in the clinch again and both are landing. They break. Both are throwing some hard punches but hardly any are landing. Leben blocks a body kick from Craig. Leben runs forward after Craig and pushes him against the cage once again. Craig lands a knee on the break. Both land leg kicks. Both then trade punches. Leben misses a leg kick and Craig catches him with a leg kick. They tie back up and Craig pushes Leben against the cage. They switch and Leben has Craig against the cage and goes after the body with punches. Craig misses a combination. Leben keeps applying pressure as Craig circles which may get him the round. Back against the cage and the crowd is starting to boo just a little bit. Craig lands a knee on the break. As the round ends both land some punches that don’t do much damage. Close round. 10-9 Leben. 20-18 Leben.
Round 3- Both look to land big as they come out strong for the final round. This fight could be either way and they start to fight like it. Both men are swinging hard. Craig knocks Leben down with a big right hand and is looking to end the fight from the top. Leben is in survival mode but gets back to the feet and the crowd goes wild. Leben survived a hectic flurry from Craig there and both men look exhausted. The crowd starts chanting for Leben. They both land at close range. Craig forces Leben against the cage as they look to get the advantage. Leben has Craig against the cage and is landing to the body before they break. Craig knocks Leben back down and gets on top. Leben looking to make something happen from his back. Leben looks to throw his legs up for a triangle but Craig blocks it. They scramble back to the feet and the crowd cheers. Leben with a leg kick as he tries to make a comeback in the round with 90 seconds left. Leben pushes Craig against the cage but they quickly break. Craig shoots in and scores a big takedown. Leben again looking to make something happen from his back. Craig tries to improve by pushing Leben more against the cage. Both men get back to the feet and they separate. Craig gets another takedown which will secure him the round as there is ten seconds left. It will be a matter of how the judges see this round. Very close fight between Leben and Craig. 10-9 Craig. 29-29 Leben.
Official Result: Andrew Craig def. Chris Leben by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
