We are live here at The Pearl at the Palms in arid Las Vegas, NV. And boy, oh boy, this is odd. There is no media here. Not really no media, actually, but almost no media. Everyone went to the Affliction show. In some ways I can’t blame them because Fedor is fighting and the Affliction card was announced earlier. Still, this kind of feels like the NFL media deciding to cover the XFL instead.
I’ll be back periodically throughout the show with updates, as always. First preliminary fight starts at 4:10 PDT.
Alright, let’s start things off with Shannon Gugerty vs. Dale Hartt. Tickets were being advertised today when I got to the Palms and there were scalpers combing the box office area looking to unload tickets below face value.
For those of you that have read my live event reports before, I have to add more play by play this time because Dave is at the Affliction show.
This is a fight at 155 and both of these guys are quick to strike to open. They go to the ground early and it's clear that Lister's Jiu Jitsu coaching has helped Gugerty. He gets mount and when Hartt turns over he sinks in a rear naked choke (RNC) for the submission victory in 3:31.
Next match is Brad Blackburn vs. James Giboo.
First round was all Blackburn. He looked pretty good on his feet. Not elite level at 170 pounds, mind you, but still quicker and more accurate than Giboo. Giboo did survive a couple of knockdowns so let's see what he has in round 2.
It's over. Mazzagatti mercifully stops it in the middle of round 2 (2:29). Second round was more of the same. Blackburn would maul him striking and then let Giboo stand up rather than going into his guard. It began to remind me of a Kimbo Slice Internet fight. Not in terms of quality, of course, but in terms of one guy being to much better that he just saps the will of the other. About a minute into the round it was clear that Giboo wanted to quit, but couldn't. He'd go for these pathetic takedown attempts and when Blackburn would back up he'd just sit there on his knees dejected.
Crowd is starting to fill in a bit. I doubt that they are sold out because they were advertising tickets on the billboard outside the hotel complex. There were also scalpers combing the box office area looking to unload tickets below face vale.
The arena itself is pretty nice, but it is clearly a concert hall. The ring is right in front of the stage, kind of like when WEC runs the Hard Rock Las Vegas or when XPW used to run The Palace in Hollywood. Ahh, XPW. Where else do you get pilled up wrestlers, porn stars, former Danzig members and Shane Douglas giving insane shoot interviews in the ring trashing WCW right after giving a backstage interview saying he wants his WCW job back? Those were the days, I tell ya.
We have a little break in the arena. You'll be happy to know that Arianny and Edith are both in the arena. And so are 5 other media members. Actually, that's not fair. There are more than 5. It is striking the difference between tonight and the last PPV, though. I suppose that makes sense because the show is on Spike TV, so you'd figure that most fans can follow the action on their own.
Jonny Rees vs. Nate Loughran at 185 pounds is next. Some loud Loughran fans accidentally let the condensation from their drink drip onto the Octagon Girls. I almost had to kick some ass.
Loughran won it with under a minute left in round 1 (4:21) with a Triangle choke. Rees was definitely the stronger guy, but sometimes that doesn't matter when you are a wrestler and your opponent is a jiu jitso (is that the right term for jiu jitsu practitioner? I say it is). Neither guy seems to want to stand so Rees got a takedown and stayed on top. He his some good blows and drew blood. Loughran almost got a triangle once but Rees powered out. I figured at this point Rees would be more careful. I was wrong. He got himself in an even tighter triangle and ended up having to submit. It was pretty dramatic and the crowd got hot with Rees caught in the hold for so long.
Dan Henderson is at ringside. Quite a line for pics. A few good looking women are at ringside as well. One appeared to wave at me, but that must have been a mistake. Now if Todd Martin had been with me, that would have been no mistake.
We just had a little break. Oh, man, did I have some fun. I put Dave Meltzer's bio in Kevin Iole's public folder. Oh boy. If I get frisky I may even drop the latest free Brian and Vinny show in there.
Alright, third fight. Brodie Farber vs. Rory Markham.
This was a f*cking great fight! It was all standing (1:37). Farber just kept tagging Markham with punches, mostly rights. Markham had no head movement at all and just kept backing up. But Farber was not strong enough to really get him in serious trouble. As this chase was going on Markham threw one perfect Cro Cop kick to Farber's chin and he dropped like a trash bag filled with cottage cheese. Huge pop and Markham just strutted away like, "yeah, I knew that was coming the whole time." KO of the night is ovah folks.
By the way, Markham has great calves. I know that sounds gay and all, but this guy is the Welterweight champion of sexy calves.
I have to make an observation now. Nobody likes to touch people more than Bruce Buffer. At first I just thought he was a perv because every good looking girl at ringside got a hand on her back or shoulder. But then he did it to Cecil Peoples. Just another reason to love the guy.
Tim Creduer vs. Cale Yarbrough is up next. Another middleweight fight. Last fight on the undercard.
100% stand-up win in round one for Creduer. He just had a left jab that Yarborough couldn't get out of the way of. Yarborough had decent strategy. He'd wait for Creduer to throw and then try to slip the jab and counter with an overhand right. Only problem was he kept getting hit instead of slipping and then the overhand right would whiff. After enough of this Creduer eventually started to hit combos. Yarborough got backed into the cage with combo punches, slumped down and the fight was stopped by Yamasaki in 1:54.
Great promo by Creduer. Why can't wrestlers do this? He just gave it straight that since he's a jiu jitsu expert, people don't think he can box. He said if people think he can't use his hands they've got another thing coming. The promo lasted all of 30 seconds but it was effective as hell.
You know, as I think about it I wonder if straightforward promos can work in pro wrestling anymore. The business has become so much about overblown stories and so little about worked athletic competition that the time for traditional promos may have passed.
Alright, that's it until close to 6 p.m. PDT. They have a break until then because the undercard has wrapped. Head over to Dave's play-by-play of Affliction in the meantime. One last interesting in-building note is that they're playing Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'" in the arena. I only find it interesting because Undertaker is at the competition's show tonight.
Baba O'Riley (Teenage Wasteland)!!! Still gives me goosebumps.
In other news, new World Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin is in the building. He was walking through the locker room/press area. Anderson Silva just got here about 15 or 20 minutes ago. He was busy chirping on the ol' Nextel as he came in. He looked calm but I have a feeling Irvin is taking him down. Reese Andy was also walking around. In the arena we have Roger Huerta at ringside.
I must say the attention being paid to Affliction is palpable among both press and UFC officials here. I guess you can look at this one of two ways. Maybe Dana made a great move because if he costs Affliction 50,000 or more buys then that's about $1 million gone from their pocket. On the other hand, it seems like putting this show against Affliction has caused the entire night to become super hyped. That could actually help Affliction's buyrate in some strange way. I guess either way we'll know more after the results come in and we see how the media treats Affliction's second card.
Jesse Taylor vs. C.B. Dollaway is up first. Both men are in ght ring. Fans seem to like C.B. live. Taylor has a real live presence, though.
C.B. Dollaway wins in round 1 (3:58). Dollaway is such a great wrestler. The guy just had amazing balance and a great ability to keep himself in good position. They only stood for a short while before going to the ground with Dollaway in the mount. Taylor immediately turned to his back but ended up getting out of trouble. There was a timeout in the round when Dollaway hit Taylor with a knee while on the ground. Taylor already looked winded at that point, but he managed to get a takedown. A big turning point was when Taylor missed a big right while Dollaway was on his knees. Dollaway got control with Taylor off balance and eventually worked for a Peruvian Necktie submission. To be honest I didn't even know if was called a Peruvian Necktie as I was watching it.
Tyson Griffin is at ringside for the main card. So far we have no decisions and no fights that have even hit round 3. And that video they are showing of Silva's entrance is what I ran into when I was trying to get some water at the press room. As mentioned before, Silva got here about 45 minutes ago.
Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns is next. By the way, it's becoming more and more clear that I'm the only non-Canadian in the world who enjoyed Patrick Cote's win over Ricardo Almeida at the last UFC. I suppose the fact that I like 2-1 baseball games is sort of a soothsayer of that.
ALright, on to the fight... Round 1 was pretty good. They started standing, which coming in was thought to be Johnson's strength. After some even exchanges early Johnson seemed to be doing better by keeping distance punching. Then he went for a takedown and was in Burns' guard for about 2 minutes. Burns did absolutely nothing but hold. Mazzagatti still gave Burns the standup, which is just a big pet peeve of mine. Nothing of note after the standup.
Johnson hurt Burns early in round 2 with punches. I was so glad that he did his proper job as an MMA fighter and went for the flying knee when Burns backed into the cage. Burns did eventually recover, though. Burns started hitting a couple of nice leg kicks, even. Johnson hit a nice counter right off a leg kick and that seemed to turn the tide. But then Burns hit a few punches and a grazing headkick. That caused Johnson to go for a takedown with under 2 minutes left. Nothing of note happened on the ground, though this time it seemed like Johnson who was resting. Mazzagatti did another sub 0:30 standup and this time Johnson got a round ending takedown.
We are really in the middle of a good fight. Johnson looks tired, though. Let's see what happens in round 3. Between rounds I overhead that Jamie Foxx is in the building. I'm guessing he's not here for Jake O'Brien.
Fight just ended with an eye poke on an uppercut. Nasty one, too. Round 3 had two takedowns by Johnson and two standups after little activity. They got on their feet and began exchanging. It was tough to see the eyepoke so Mazzagatti let the fight keep going when Johnson went down. Burns seemed to realize he poked him but after a couple of seconds he saw that Mazzagatti was not calling timeout so he threw a couple of punches on the downed Johnson and it was stopped. I'd guess the initial decision was a win for Burns, but that'd be unfair. In a way it'd be unfair to give Johnson a DQ win, also. Maybe they'll restart it. Let's see.
Major heel heat here for Mazzagatti. And Burns is now getting the brunt of it on the interview. Go with it, buddy. Tell the fans to shutup and show respect for a clean knockout. I do watch too much wrestling, don't I?
"Irish" Jake O'Brien vs. Cain Velazquez is next. I do love the heavyweights...
O'Brien has been pretty much a straight wrestler from what I've seen of him in the past. I am curious to see if he can do more.
No, he can't. About 90 seconds in Velazquez got Hughes/Newton position on him and just hit hard punches until it was stopped. Methinks we might have seen the last of O'Brien in UFC (at least for a while).
By the way, what's the problem with CBS Sports? They're burying my man Todd Martin's Affliction blog and my former boss Denny Burkholder's UFC blog. C'mon, former boss Dave Richard, you gotta use some of that fantasy football pull to get MMA stuff up there on the front page.
10 minute break. Maybe they are showing an undercard fight. I do have to ask why on earth they would have scheduled the way they did. Maybe having something on right at 7 p.m. PDT isn't as important for a PPV as it would be for live TV, but I'm still surprised to see Velazquez vs. O'Brien followed by a break. Maybe they want to find a good seat for Jamie Foxx.
As you might expect, this GSP interview is a pre-tape. I still say they are making a mistake by giving Fitch a title shot. I think most folks would rather see GSP vs. Penn or Silva. Hell, St. Pierre vs. Silva on this should would've really put a hurting on Affliction.
While we're waiting, let's take a little ad-hoc poll of the folks following this play-by-play. Which finisher would you least like to encounter? Here are your options:
1: Hughes/Newton (trapped with the other guy freely punching your face) 2: Cro Cop kick to the head 3: Eye poke (probably followed by punches from Chuck Liddell) 4: Yokozuna
Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your responses and I'll post results.
Alright, on to the lightweights. It's Hermes Franca vs. Frankie Edgar.
Pretty entertaining first round. Franca almost locked in an armbar (Fujiwara, I think) out of absolutely nowhere from the guard. Edgar did spend more time on top and hit a few decent elbows. Franca is having his kneeguards removed during the break. And here comes a shot of Edith...
Round 2 was more one-sided. But it is frustrating as a fan. Edgar appears to have no interest in finishing the fight. He's staying on top and hitting elbows and punches, but when he got Franca's back he just went for looping punches instead of maneuvering into position to end the fight. Right now it feels like we're gonna get a decision for Edgar, but who knows? I could be dead wrong.
Pretty good excitement at the end of round 3 and the crowd gives a nice ovation to the fight. It was really more of the same. Edgar got takedowns when he tried and was too strong for Franca. Franca tried submissions and tried looping punches and knees on his feet, but you'd have to judge it for Edgar. This fight is why I get frustrated with the concept of judging. If fights were ruled a draw when nobody finishes then there would've been more incentive for Edgar to finish.
Decision is coming. Also, I've spotted Jamie Foxx. There also may be a couple of NBA players here. I know the Summer League is going on right now. Paul Pierce is definitely holding court in one of the boxes with some bimbos in tow. Dana While just went over to him to give props, in fact. And yes, the NBA players and Jamie Foxx like Lil' Wayne. Who doesn't (besides Todd Martin)?
A little bit of L.L. for Reese Andy. You'd think "Mamma Said Knock You Out" would get old after a decade and a half or so, but it's still pretty good. No idea what Vera's music is, but Jamie Foxx's booth likes it. And thank goodness Chioma isn't here. When we saw Will Smith at the movie theater she couldn't stop smiling about the fact that he waved at her when she spotted him. Judging by the general look of these celeb booths I would've had to dress her in a burka to keep her away from trouble.
Pretty interesting first round. The crowd is into Vera, first of all. When Vera got the clinch early the crowd really popped. They wanted the knees. Vera also got a takedown later, though he really didn't do anything with it. Seems like he wants to stand and Andy wants it down. Let's see what happens in round 2.
Vera seems in control after round 2. He is keeping Andy at a distance and he got another takedown early in the round. Vera hasn't inflicted a lot of damage, but it is his fight right now. We could still see Andy pull something out here, though.
Crowd is booing hardcore as round 3 finishes. Vera did control the fight, but it felt like he was very cautious. It reminded me of Ortiz vs. Machida. In fact, how about Vera vs. Machida? That could be the first ever non-contact fight.
Vera wins and he gets booed. There is a journalist who shall go unnamed who's pretty happy about Vera looking bad right here. He tries to be charming? Does it work? He does get some light applause by mentioning Rampage. Wonder if he knows that Rampage is at Affliction tonight?
Alright, alright. Here we go. Main event time. I sense less buzz than for a large arena UFC, but I am expecting something big. In fact, I am expecting an upset. Something about Silva moving up seems too ambitious. Let's see if I'm an idiot.
I don't see any empty seats as we head towards the main event. Could be a few that are out of view, though. I also overheard that Barry Melrose is here. It will be sad seeing him coach in BF Tampa. I mean, what kind of demotion is that? L.A. to Tampa? Sheesh.
Will Silva move up and dominate like Roy Jones, Jr.? Or will he learn a hard lesson like Felix Trinidad? Whatever happens, I still would like to see St. Pierre vs. Silva.
No beer, no fag and no cane. But here comes the Sandman. Great, great entrance music. Crowd is up and Jamie Foxx is leading his suite in clapping along with Metallica.
DMX for Spider. And Dario Gallinari likes it. There is also a middle-aged white man looking hilarious trying to dance with the bimbos in Pierce's box. That just made my night. AND HE JUST GOT A FIST BUMP! I can't recognize who it was from, but it appears to be a member of Pierce's entourage. Damn, this is why Kevin Garnett's sitcom needed to be produced. Let's resurrect that.
Mediocre reaction for Irvin. Good, but not great reaction for Silva. I think part of it is the venue.
Oh, snap. That was quick. Silva hit him with a big right and decked him. This was a decimation.
The play-by-play goes like this: They trade low kicks early. They trade punches but neither man hits. Then Irvin tries a kick to the midsection and Silva grabs his leg. Silva, holding the leg, hits a hard straight right and Irvin goes down hard. He wasn't out yet, but he was covering up. Silva then threw punches and one of them hit right on the chin, sending Irvin to la-la land in 1:01.
Well, I'm an idiot. I was completely wrong about Irvin having a chance. But I (like all 6 of us on the floor level press area) did get a handshake from Dana White. I liked that because he still introduces himself ("Hi, I'm Dana White") and he has a wrestler-like weak handshake. As Dave Meltzer told me long ago, wrestlers usually have weak handshakes because they don't have anything to prove to anyone.
Alright. Time to wrap things up from here. The live show had to be a bit of a disappointment for UFC. Silva was darned impressive, but the match was so short and one-sided that it was in some ways unsatisfying. Then you had Vera and Edgar get one-sided decisions. The Johnson vs. Burns fight was super, but the ending felt unjust. O'Brien was outclassed badly and Jesse Taylor vs. Dollaway was a decent battle of wrestlers, but hardly a back and forth epic.
On a more positive note, the undercard was great. And UFC put on a well-paced show with some interesting matchups. I do wonder if they'll think twice about trying to put on shows like this head-to-head against other promotions in the future, though. I guess a lot of that will depend on the buyrate. At least they probably will never do this against EliteXC. I know that Spike and CBS are no longer part of the same congolmerate, but I'd guess that there's still some partnering somewhere that would prevent it.
I'm going to sign off now. As always, I appreciate the readership and you can email comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . I'm also going to try to keep up an archive of columns, show reports and podcasts at http://web.me.com/ben_miller {plug}
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