|
UFC 76
|
Main Event
Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine
|
|
|
|
Keith Jardine
|
Chuck Liddell
|
|
13-4-1 (UFC 5-2)
|
20-5 (UFC 15-4)
|
|
Birthplace: Butte, MT
|
Birthplace: Santa Barbara, CA
|
|
Fighting out of: Albuquerque, NM
|
Fighting out of: San Luis Obispo, CA
|
|
|
|
|
Keith Jardine wins by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
|
|
|
Fight Recap: Keith Jardine entered his UFC 76 fight against Chuck Liddell as a heavy underdog, but he was able to prove that he could fight with one of the greatest UFC fighters to ever enter the octagon. Jardine stunned Liddell and the entire crowd at the Honda Center in Anaheim with a split decision victory over "The Ice Man"
The fight started out with Liddell chasing Jardine all over the octagon with both fighters exchanging blows until later in the round when Liddell finished with a flurry of punches. In the second round, Jardine connected with a hard right to Liddell's jaw which dropped him to the canvas, but Liddell quickly recovered. Later in the round, Liddell evened the score with a right that dropped Jardine to his knees, but the two fighters ended up exchanging blows for the rest of the round. The third round belonged to Jardine. Liddell seemed to have shutdown in the third round and Jardine landed four hard left hands that won the fight for him.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: In the UFC, Liddell has now lost four times (Jeremy Horn, Randy Couture, Quinton Jackson, Keith Jardine); Liddell has lost two fights in a row (Jardine and Jackson)
|
|
|
|
Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
|
|
|
|
Mauricio Rua
|
Forrest Griffin
|
|
16-3 (UFC 0-1)
|
15-4 (UFC 6-2)
|
|
Birthplace: Curitiba, Brazil
|
Birthplace: Columbus, OH
|
|
Fighting out of: Curitiba, Brazil
|
Fighting out of: Las Vegas, NV
|
|
|
|
|
Forrest Griffin wins by submission at 4:45, 3rd round by rear naked choke
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: At the start of the fight, the crowd was split between Rua and Griffin, but by the end, Griffin again became the fan favorite. The entire fight was both fighters exchanging takedowns. The difference was when Griffin was on top in full guard, he was able to ground and pound Rua, until late in the third round, Griffin gained Rua's back and choked him out with only :15 remaining in the fight.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Rua made his UFC debut; Griffin has now won back to back matches
|
|
|
|
Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez
|
|
|
|
Jon Fitch
|
Diego Sanchez
|
|
20-2, 1 NC (UFC 7-0)
|
19-2 (UFC 6-2)
|
|
Birthplace: Ft. Wayne, IN
|
Birthplace: Albuquerque, NM
|
|
Fighting out of: San Jose, CA
|
Fighting out of: San Diego, CA
|
|
|
|
|
Jon Fitch wins by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: This fight started with Sanchez charging out of his corner to engage Fitch, but Fitch was able to control most of the fight on the ground on top of Sanchez. Sanchez was very close to winning by submission multiple times (two arm bars and a guillotine choke), but Fitch was able to escape and maintain control.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Sanchez has lost two straight matches, after going 19-0 to start his MMA career; Fitch is now 7-0 in the UFC
|
|
|
|
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Lyoto Machida
|
|
|
|
Kazuhiro Nakamura
|
Lyoto Machida
|
|
11-7 (UFC 0-1)
|
11-0 (UFC 3-0)
|
|
Birthplace: Hiroshima, Japan
|
Birthplace: Salvador, Brazil
|
|
Fighting out of: Tokyo, Japan
|
Fighting out of: Belem, Brazil
|
|
|
|
|
Lyoto Machida wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: Machida pretty much dominated this fight from beginning to end. He maintained control from the top the whole fight and gained the back of Nakamura multiple times, but he wasn't able to end the fight.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Nakamura made his UFC debut; Machida is a perfect 11-0 in is MMA career; Nakamura entered arena carrying a Japanese umbrella
|
|
|
|
Thiago Tavares vs. Tyson Griffin
|
|
|
|
Thiago Tavares
|
Tyson Griffin
|
|
16-1 (UFC 2-1)
|
10-1 (UFC 3-1)
|
|
Birthplace: Florianopolis, Brazil
|
Birthplace: Sacramento, CA
|
|
Fighting out of: Florianopolis, Brazil
|
Fighting out of: Las Vegas, NV
|
|
|
|
|
Tyson Griffin wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: This was a very close fight in which both fighters exhibited their wrestling skills with both creative takedowns and reversals on the ground. Griffin excited the crowd in the 2nd round when he was able to stand up with Tavares on his back and drop him backwards on his head.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Tavares was undefeated (16-0) in his MMA career coming into this fight; Griffin is a Sacramento native
|
|
|
|
Anthony Johnson vs. Rich Clementi
|
|
|
|
Anthony Johnson
|
Rich Clementi
|
|
4-1 (UFC 1-1)
|
36-12-1 (UFC 2-3)
|
|
Birthplace: Dublin, GA
|
Birthplace: Edison, NJ
|
|
Fighting out of: Los Angeles, CA
|
Fighting out of: Slidell, LA
|
|
|
|
|
Rich Clementi wins by submission at 3:05, 2nd round by rear naked choke
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: This was probably the most exciting match of the night. Both fighters stood and exchanged blows in the first round, including Johnson lifting Clementi and slamming him to the canvas on his back. But Clementi was able to take control in the 2nd round and submit Johnson with a rear naked choke.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Clementi has fought in 49 fights in his MMA career, compared to Johnson's five fights
|
|
|
|
Diego Saraiva vs. Jeremy Stephens
|
|
|
|
Diego Saraiva
|
Jeremy Stephens
|
|
9-6-1 (UFC 0-3)
|
14-2 (UFC 1-1)
|
|
Birthplace: Fortaleza, Brazil
|
Birthplace: Des Moines, IA
|
|
Fighting out of: Atlanta, GA
|
Fighting out of: Des Moines, IA
|
|
|
|
|
Jeremy Stephens wins by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: Stephens controlled this fight both standing and on the ground. On two occasions, he got caught in a guillotine choke, but was able to lift Saraiva from the ground and slam him to the canvas to escape the choke.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Saraiva falls to 0-3 in the UFC
|
|
|
|
Scott Junk vs. Christian Wellisch
|
|
|
|
Scott Junk
|
Christian Wellisch
|
|
6-2 (UFC 0-1)
|
9-2 (UFC 2-1)
|
|
Birthplace: Hilo, HI
|
Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary
|
|
Fighting out of: Kailua, HI
|
Fighting out of: Sacramento, CA
|
|
|
|
|
Christian Wellisch wins by submission at 3:19, 1st round by heel hook
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: Junk started the fight showing poor sportsmanship by refusing to touch gloves with Wellisch right after the fight started. But soon after, Wellisch was able to take Junk down and submit him with a heel hook that made Junk yell loud enough to be heard in his native Hawaii.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Junk made his UFC debut; Wellisch is from Hungary, but trains in Sacramento
|
|
|
|
Michihiro Omigawa vs. Matt Wiman
|
|
|
|
Michihiro Omigawa
|
Matt Wiman
|
|
4-5 (UFC 0-1)
|
8-3 (UFC 2-1)
|
|
Birthplace: Ibaraki, Japan
|
Birthplace: Denver, CO
|
|
Fighting out of: Tokyo, Japan
|
Fighting out of: Tulsa, OK
|
|
|
|
|
Matt Wiman wins by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
|
|
|
|
Fight Recap: Wiman dominated this fight from beginning to end both standing and on the ground. Omigawa finished the fight only to lose the decision, but when the final horn sounded, he had to be attended by the medical staff.
|
|
|
|
Fight Notes: Omigawa made his UFC debut
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photos courtesy of UFC.com
|
