UFC 107 sees the UFC debut in Memphis, Tennessee with Frank Mir versus Check Kongo and BJ Penn defending his Lightweight Title against Diego Sanchez topping the bill. Further down the card, Clay Guida faces Kenny Florian and Jon Fitch takes on Mike Pierce. Join Will Cooling at 8pm ET for live coverage of all the action.
Howdy fight fans, and welcome to our live coverage of UFC 107. Tonight we will see Cheick Kongo attempt to shut Frank Mir’s kooky mouth while Diego Sanchez attempts to out-muscle BJ Penn and take his lightweight title. We’ll also see Kenny Florian attempt to bounce back against the always exciting Clay Guida in what good be the sleeper hit of the night. Is may be the lack of sleep talking but this seems to be the best UFC card since UFC 101 and it should be a great night of fights.
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Round One
After UFC 106 and last week’s Ultimate Finale, its nice to see the Memphis crowd so pumped up. Struve is just freakishly tall although that creates its own problems in terms of packing on muscle when the weight limit is 265 lbs. Buentello must be hoping that his UFC return will go better than Phil Baroni’s did last month. Struve is younger, taller and has the greater reach and Buentello outweighs Struve.
Struve goes for a head kick straight away which is blocked. Buentello has Struve on the backfoot with some nice punches. Buntello tries to pin Struve against the cage but instead has to fight Struve’s attempt to pull guard and take the fight to the ground. That he does but after some boxing exchanges, Struve gets a nice uppercut straight through. Struve gets the fight to the ground and applies the body triangle. Struve is on top of Buntello and is trying to take Buentello’s back. He gets the back but seemingly can’t really get a tight choke applied while maintaining the body triangle. He lets go of the triangle reach allows Buentello to sweep him and finish the fight on top. Good round, 10-9 to Struve.
Round Two
It looks like Struve’s tired himself out a tad after keeping that body triangle applied for so long. Buentello gets the knockdown but wisely doesn’t risk getting entangled in Struve’s legs. Stand up and they’re exchanging again. Struve tries to drop down and get a leglock but can’t get it applied. Struve tries to rush in with a knee and Buentello hits a beautiful right hand to knock down the dutchman. Again Buentello doesn’t risk getting caught on the ground and now they’re just teeing off against each other. Crowd going crazy as both guys just let their hands loose, with both guys hitting and being hit. Great round and its level on my scorecard, 19-19.
Round Three
Struve goes back to his kickboxing and throws several nice leg-kicks against which Buentello has no counter. A nice one to the mid-section from Struve and he’s tieing Buentello up against the cage. Struve gets a nice elbow through. Struve seems very tired and now that Struve is fighting a smarter fight he’s struggling to make an impact. Struve seems content to play it safe and use the leg kicks to fight at a distance, however he should be careful as Buentello has the middle of the Octagon and is the one moving forward. Buentello catches one of Struve’s leg kicks and knocks him down with a nice punch. A few more boxing combination from Buenetllo. On my scorecard it was Struve’s round and therefore he takes the fight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the judges disagreed.
Judges scorecards are 29-28, 29-28, 28-28 for Stefan Struve. Struve is unhappy with his performance, says he thought the fight was a draw and indeed some of the crowd is booing the decision. Can’t see how that fight was a draw under the 10-point must system – Buentello’s second knockdown was excellent but it wasn’t like Struve was blown away in that round. And while Struve was close to being finished in that round, the first round was pretty much three minutes of the dutchman being *this close* to submitting the American. And Struve certainly dominated the third round by fighting tall against the tiring Buentello. Good fight though.
Clay Guida versus Kenny Florian
Round One
Man that is a superstar reaction for Clay Guida, if he manages to win this fight then they should throw caution to the wind and pull the trigger on a title fight. If Diego manages to win, they should have Dana say he was just joking last week and have them coach TUF 11. Pretty tepid reaction to Kenny Florian. Florian has the height and reach advantage. Big cheer for Guida and catcalls for Florian.
Both fighters feeling each other out and yes Guida looks frenetic when just feeling out a fighter. Florian throws a head kick and Guida gets a knockdown with a nice counterpunch. Guida tries to do some from top but Florian’s successfully blocks and gets back to his feet. Florian looks nervous and seems more defensive than in previous fights. Guida pushing forward and Florian gets a single-leg takedown but Guida shoots back up. They exchange and Guida drops down in an attempt to take the knee but Florian sprawls. They’re back up and Guida tries a throw but ends up giving Florian side control. Spins out of it and gets back to his fit but Florian gets a big takedown. They’re back up and Guida is cut thanks to a nasty elbow from Florian. The doctors want to have a look at the cut but they let it continue. Round ends. Good round with Florian doing enough in the second half to take it 10-9.
Round Two
Guida is obviously effected by that cut which is opened up again. Both fighters spend the opening minutes feeling each other out and then Florian gets a nice right hand through and Guida is down like a shot. Florian goes to finish with repeated shots to the head and gets the rear naked choke applied. Guida taps at 2.19. Fun fight.
Florian seemed oddly unnerved by the occasion early on but certainly gained in confidence as the fight progressed. His boxing certainly has improved, showing a better stance and timing when throwing. I don’t know where Guida goes after this. Once again his limitations as a fighter have been shown, he’s exciting but he’s going to struggle due to his lack of stand up skills. Due to his size he also seems to struggle to really dominant fighters on the ground to the extent that somebody with his wrestling skills should. It such a shame that the 145 lbs is stuck in the WEC ghetto because the obvious thing for Guida is to drop down in weight and try to put a run together.
Mike Pearce vs Jon Fitch
Round One
Pearce throws a kick which Fitch manages to catch and move into a takedown attempt. Fitch gets the takedown and gets the back of Pearce. He has both underhooks in and is trying to get the choke. Pearce is doing well to avoid taking a clean shot, Fitch moves one of his legs to get better leverage but Pearce is able to stand up and get a takedown of his own. Nice stuff from Pearce. Fight goes back to the feet and they exchange some nice punches with Fitch throwing a leg kick. Fitch shoots for the takedown but its blocked. Impressive stuff from Pearce to get out of what was a terrible position midway through but it was Fitch’s round 10-9.
Round Two
Fitch has a cut above his eye but they seemed to have stopped the bleeding. Pearce shoots for the takedown and gets Fitch up against the cage but its blocked. Fitch is getting the better of standing exchanges with some nice right hands. Pearce throws a leg kick and Fitch turns it into a takedown, takes his back and almost gets the rear naked choke locked on. Pearce however is able to get back to his feet. More standing exchanges. Fitch gets the takedown and again almost gets the back but Pearce is able to get to his feet. Both fighters are tied up in the cage. Round ends with another boxing exchange after a Fitch takedown attempt is blocked. Fitch’s round so its 20-18 on my scorecard.
Round Three
Fitch is pushing the action in an attempt to end the fight with a couple of takedown attempts which are blocked and some nice punches and body kicks. Pearce ties up Fitch against the cage, and Fitch responds with some nice Muay Thai needs to the head. Up against the cage again and Pearce lands a nice left hand. Fitch throws a head kick. Fitch shoots for the takedown and almost takes the back, but Pearce gets out. Round ends with Fitch shaken and waiting for the bell together, as Pearce gets some shots through including a nice left hook that clearly makes Fitch’s leg buckle. Pearce’s round but I have it 29-28 to Fitch. And indeed all three judges have it 29-28.
Nice reaction from the crowd for Fitch, although I’m not sure its the type of fight that the Tennessee fans wanted to see. Another victory for Fitch, and at some point he’s going to force the UFC to give him a rematch against GSP.
Cheick Kongo vs Frank Mir
Round One
Firstly an apology to Dana White and Joe Silva. I have been moaning for the past four months about how this was a lose-lose fight and that the obvious match to book was Mir-Nogueria II. But man, this fight has gone from stone cold to super-hot in just one week. And that is all thanks to the kooky antics of Frank Mir who has belittled the Frenchmen’s lack of ground skills at every opportunity. Its certainly put at the center what was always the USP of this match – one of the better grapplers in the UFC against a devastating striker who has limited ground skills. This could be an awkward styles clash or an interesting clash of styles. Either way I’m looking forward to this.
Slightly disappointing reaction for Kongo, who I’ve thought has been playing off Mir in a quietly effective way. Superstar reaction to Frank Mir with only limited boos. Kongo has the height and reach advantage although Mir significantly outweighs him. And Mir does indeed look huge. No touching of the gloves, and man that is an intense staredown.
They feel each other out and Mir lands a great left hand, using his superior boxing skills (yes, really) to get through and get the knockdown. He pounces on Kongo and applies the guillotine choke. Mir gets the hold on tight and while Kongo refuses to tap he passes out at 1.12. What a victory from Frank Mir who looked really impressive here. That is the best news Dana White has had since UFC 104’s buyrate came through. Mir is just such a great character and if he can actually keep winning until Brock gets healthy then Mir/Brock will the biggest UFC match of all-time…again.
The geniuses at ESPN UK go to commercial, so no play by play of Alan Belcher’s victory. To be fair to them, this is a pretty tight show and so there’s not the usual flab for them to go to commercial.
UFC Lightweight Title Fight: Diego Sanchez vs BJ Penn
Round One
The word is that Sanchez is trying to out-muscle BJ and was already weighing around 168 lbs last night. If that’s the case then the cardio advantage that most assume he’d have may not exist. However, when you look at the Guida fight and the fact that this is his first five-rounder that was always a dubious assumption It still seems so strange that Sanchez has never had a title fight. Of the two, BJ Penn actually gets the bigger reaction from a crowd who seem happy simply to see the bigger stars. Penn and Mir really show that losing in a big match, even a one-sided one, doesn’t hurt a fighter’s superstar aura in the eyes of the fans. Sanchez has the height and reach advantage, and in reality has the weight advantage (Sanchez got to 154 1/2 lbs on his second weigh-in attempt).
Big BJ chant as they start up. Penn lands a big right hand and Sanchez is down like a shot. Penn tries to finish the fight with a flurry of shots to the head and Sanchez is clinging on. Sanchez pulls guard and gets a few seconds to catch his breath. Sanchez shoots for a takedown but gets an uppercut for his trouble. Takedown blocked and Sanchez still doesn’t look right. Sanchez throws a couple of kicks, easily blocked. Sanchez throws some punches but none of them land. Sanchez tries to put together another combination but Penn gets a hard shot in. Big, big round for the champion but probably not enough for a 10-8.
Round Two
Sanchez tries to get some one-two boxing combinations going but its too predictable, then goes for a takedown but its blocked by Penn. Penn has the center of the Octagon and Sanchez is struggling to force himself back into this match. A couple of takedown attempts from Sanchez that fail and Penn gets some punches in that. Sanchez tries to hit the jumping high kick but it misses. Penn isn’t doing much this round but everything he is doing is fully showing his class. Sanchez ties Penn up against the cage. Difficult round to score as Sanchez was the busier fight but he was missing too much and not really having any impact. I’ll give it to Penn, so its 20-18 to Penn on my scorecard.
Round Three
Sanchez goes for a high kick but again its missed. Sanchez goes for the takedown and works it for a good couple of minutes but Penn never seemed in danger of being taken off his feet. Sanchez again goes for a kick but it misses. Sanchez goes for the single-leg takedown but Penn’s takedown defense is just too good. Penn turns it up a bit, landed a good elbow on Sanchez and some solid punches. Penn has Sanchez tied up against the cage and lands some nice shots. Sanchez turns it over and tries for the takedown but its blocked. Round ends with Penn landing some nice punches. Closer round than the first two but for all his work Sanchez just isn’t having an impact. 30-27 to Penn.
Round Four
The two fighters feel each other out and Penn gets a hard one-two combination through. Sanchez has a couple of takedown attempts but he just cannot get anywhere near to taking Penn off his feet. And its not as if Penn is working hard to block Sanchez. Penn is happy to let the rounds pass him by, keeping Sanchez at a distance and keeping the points ticking over with his Octagon control, takedown defense and boxing. However for all the gap in skill Sanchez has been the more aggressive fighter over the past two rounds so you never know. I have it 40-36 to Penn.
Round Five
Sanchez again tries to take down Penn but the best he can do is to pull Penn into his own guard. Penn is having known of that and is soon back to his feet. Penn peaks up the pace as he tries to finish the fight, landing a high kick and following it up with some nice punches including some big uppercuts. A huge cut opens up on Sanchez and its over due to a blood stoppage at 2.27. That is a very good performance from BJ Penn, who completely outclassed Sanchez throughout that fight. Penn really has shown his true class in his past two fights and its hard to see who can give him a close fight let alone defeat him at 155 lbs.
From the undercard, DaMarques Johnson has a nice victory Edgar Garcia via triangle choke after almost being choked out himself early on. That gets submission of the night.
And that’s UFC 107. A really good night of fight action, with all fights being enjoyable and the main events really delivering. I hope you’ve enjoyed our liveblog tonight and make sure to keep visiting Inside Fights for more analysis of tonight’s fight action.
