Welcome to the UFC 127 "Penn vs. Fitch" pay per view live from Sydney, Austailia at the Acer arena. Here is a look at the card and what happened in a crazy night of fights...
John Sharp is the referee for the first fight of the main card. The middleweight exchange leg kicks and both miss when they go to the head. Camozzi rushes Noke into the fence and scores with a combination, but eats a flurry in return from Noke and then gets tripped to the mat. Noke hops straight into mount and punches away, then rides all over the twisting Camozzi. The Australian takes Camozzi’s back and flattens him out with hooks, slipping in the rear-naked choke for the tap at 1:35 of the first frame.
Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole
Round 1
Round 1
Steve Perceval is the referee for this clash of American welterweights. For his UFC debut, the Sydney-based Ebersole has shaved his chest hair into a large arrow, which points to his face. There is no touch of gloves as both men crouch low and stalk. Ebersole cartwheels forward and tries to plant his heels on Lytle’s face, but it’s blocked. Ebersole takes a right hand from Lytle and feigns shock as he walks it off around the perimeter. Lytle pushes forward from the center and drills a punch to the body of Ebersole, then goes up top with a right hand. Both men feint and get the other to flinch. Ebersole shoots and gets his head caught under Lytle’s left arm. He bucks and tumbles forward, but still can’t extract himself from Lytle’s guillotine. Ebersole winds up underneath with a headlock of his own, but Lytle gets free. As Ebersole stands, Lytle grabs the guillotine again and falls back to guard. This one doesn’t last long and the pair clinch against the fence with 60 seconds to go. Lytle pulls guard with another guillotine with 45 seconds left, then switches to a triangle. Neither stick and Ebersole, from guard, Mashes Lytle’s head into the mat with his chest. Lytle is cut underneath his left eye at the end of the round.
Round 2
Lytle lands hard right hooks and uppercuts while Ebersole jokes them off. Nice right hand by Ebersole, but his follow-up shot is stuffed. Lytle charges in and lands some uppercuts in close quarters, then drills one to the body of Ebersole. Out of nowhere, Ebersole connects with a huge, high right knee and Lytle's legs give way. He crumbles to the floor near the fence and Ebersole pounces. Lytle is hanging in there as Ebersole slaps on a brabo choke. Lytle escapes but he’s still badly hurt with a minute left on the clock. Back on the feet, Ebersole lands knees in the clinch and scores with a standing elbow. Lytle grabs at a guillotine and jumps guard, and Ebersole slams him to the floor. He grinds and mashes Ebersole into the mat with his chest to the end of the round.
Round 3
Ebersole tries his cartwheel kick again, and again it doesn’t land flush. Lytle scores with a combination and Ebersole drags him down. Lytle uses the cage to walk up and goes for another guillotine. Lytle pulls guard one more time, then gets on top when Ebersole tries to turn the corner. He gets Ebersole on his back and the choke looks tight, but Ebersole survives. Ebersole pops loose and puts Lytle’s back to the cage. Nice elbow over the top from Ebersole as they stand in the clinch. Referee Perceval calls for a break to replace Lytle’s mouthguard. When they resume, it’s Ebersole kneeing in the clinch, then dragging Lytle down with 45 seconds to go in the fight. Ebersole stands over Lytle, who upkicks and then gets his mouthpiece knocked out again when Ebersole dives through his guard. Lytle’s face is covered with blood when time expires.
Official scores: The judges’ scorecards read 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, all in favor of Brian Ebersole, who takes a unanimous decision in his UFC debut.
George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver
Round 1
Round 1
Leon Roberts returns to officiate this lightweight contest. Siver comes out with snapping leg kicks and then begins lobbing feet toward his opponent’s jaw. Sotiropoulos keeps his distance and tries to find his range, connecting with a few long right hands. Siver kicks to the body and Sotiropoulos sees his opportunity, grabbing the leg and shoving the German into the fence. Siver hops with it and stays upright. He clips Sotiropoulos with a right hand and then stuffs a shot from the Aussie. Cracking outside leg kick from Siver connect’s with Sotiropoulos’ left knee, which is covered with a thin brace. Siver misses on his trademark spinning back-kick, but he drops Sotiropoulos with a murderous left hook. Sotiropoulos survives and gets to his feet, only to be dropped again. The Australian grabs desperately for a leg and Siver lets him back up. Siver landing more punches and stuffs a shot from Sotiropoulos with 30 to go. A big overhand right smashes Sotiropoulos’ grill.
Round 2
Siver is going wild early, throwing windmill-style punches at Sotiropoulos, who appears to have regained his wits between rounds. Siver goes back to his crisper strikes and begins landing, but Sotiropoulos is using his jab to keep his distance now. Sotiropoulos can’t finish a takedown attempt and eats punches for his trouble. He goes for a single and gets limp-legged by Siver. Sotiropoulos begins throwing front kicks for distance while Siver lands clean with outside leg kicks. Sotiropoulos lands his best right hand of the fight and follows up with a left hook. Neither man gaining much ground in the final minute until Sotiropoulos corks Siver with a few combos in the last 20 seconds.
Round 3
Sotiropoulos catches a kick, but can’t spin Siver down. The Australian stands in the pocket now and pumps his left jab at Siver, who’s still working the leg kicks. Sotiropoulos catches another and, instead of trying to take Siver down, punches him in the face. A kick and one-two from Sotiropoulos has Siver going backward into the fence. Sotiropoulos shoots a single-leg from way out and gets stuffed, then eats a three- or four-punch combo from Siver. Sotiropoulos’ corner tells him he has to get a takedown. Siver finally lands his spinning kick, but not quite flush. The leg kicks really appear to be bothering Sotiropoulos with a minute left. Nonetheless, he’s putting his jab in the face of Siver, who connects with a right hand over the top and another side kick at the horn.
Official scores: The judges at cageside have it 29-28, 30-28 and 30-27 in favor of Dennis Siver.
Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
Round 1
Round 1
Marc Goddard is the referee for the middleweight co-main event, and he gets to work early, stepping between Bisping and Rivera as Bisping wanders into the Octagon and toward the American corner. There is no touch of gloves in the final instructions, nor as the fight begins. Both men rush to the center of the cage and meet, with Rivera firing first. His big right hand glances and Bisping returns fire with a one-two. Another right from Rivera and Bisping goes low, plowing Rivera down to the ground with a double-leg. Bisping grabs the cage as he attempts to mount and is warned. No matter, as they’re soon back on the feet with Rivera throwing up his arms. Rivera’s right hand finds its mark again, stumbling the Brit and prompting him to shoot again. Rivera stuffs this one, but falls to another attempt seconds later. Bisping scoots Rivera around in guard and lands short elbows. Bisping stands and drills his left knee into the forehead of Rivera, who is clearly grounded on both knees. Leon Roberts halts the action instantly and the doctors rush to check on Rivera, who was not knocked out cold, but does appear dazed. They ask Rivera to stand and he does. Roberts asks Rivera if he can continue, and Rivera asserts that he can. Roberts docks Bisping a point for the infraction and the action resumes with two minutes left in the opening round. Rivera clocks Bisping with a right hook. Bisping shoots and is stuffed. He throws hands for a minute, landing a few rights, and then finds success on another takedown attempt. He stands and throws downward at Rivera, who eats a few punches while scrambling back to his feet.
Round 2
A cracking right hand from Rivera sends Bisping backward to the canvas, but the Brit quickly regains his legs. He snaps a stiff left jab off in Rivera’s face. Now it’s a series of huge, wind-up right hooks by Bisping. Rivera is covering up on his feet and Bisping begins mixing it up, alternating punches and short elbows to the head and body. One big right hook drops Rivera to a knee, and a few more punches seal the deal, as Goddard calls it off at 1:54 of the second round. Bisping immediately rushes to Rivera’s corner, and then comes back toward Rivera, but Goddard gets between them. He has some words for Rivera -- “Go home, loser,” among them -- but the two do embrace after cooling down.
B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch
Round 1
Round 1
Herb Dean draws officiating duties for the welterweight main event. Penn and Fitch pace in their respective corners, staring one another down. Fitch grimaces and Penn motions a throat slash. At the onset, Penn rushes to clinch and looks for a takedown while he presses Fitch into the fence. Fitch stuffs and takes overhooks, landing a couple knees up the gut as Penn relents on his single-leg. Fitch reverses and drops for a single of his own, but Penn sprawls and hops against the cage while landing smacking shots to Fitch’s face. Fitch reshoots the single-leg and still can’t drag Penn down. They disengage and Penn goes for a takedown of his own, effortlessly flooring the former Purdue wrestler. Penn jumps onto Fitch’s back and locks up a body triangle, but Fitch goes to his knees and Penn loses it. The Hawaiian gets his hooks back in and rolls onto his back, digging his heels into Fitch’s guts from underneath. Fitch defends the choke and turns over, winding up in Penn’s guard, where Penn soon kicks him off and stands. Fitch goes back to the single-leg against the fence with 30 seconds to go, and again it’s not working. Penn lands a few short punches and Fitch closes the round with an elbow.
Round 2
Fitch kicks high and nearly gets knocked off balance. Instead, he comes forward and drives Penn down against the fence. Fitch drives his knee into Penn’s legs a few times before B.J. stands and retaliates with punches and elbows. Fitch gets back up and the pair clinch along the outside. The wrestler drops down and can’t execute; Penn answers with a hard, short elbow that bloodies Fitch’s nose. Penn reverses and gets his head caught momentarily. The fighters disengage with two minutes to go. Penn takes Fitch down and once again hops on his back. Penn gets his hooks and drops back, but same as in the first frame, Fitch powers out and spins into the ex-champ’s guard. Hard shots coming from Fitch on top, both to the face and body of Penn, who gets up just before the end of the round.
Round 3
Fitch opens up with a cracking overhand right and powers through, into Penn’s guard. He muscles “The Prodigy” into the fence, but Penn kicks him off and stands quickly. Fitch shoots again and brings B.J. down, and Penn is warned for grabbing the cage. Penn stands with Fitch on his back, drilling knees into Penn’s legs. Now Fitch shoves Penn to his knees, his face colliding with the canvas. Back in Penn’s open guard, Fitch gets busy with punches, but nothing powerful lands. The Sydney crowd jeers the grinding style with half of the final round done. Fitch is landing dozens of punches with no retaliation from Penn. They’re not the hardest and Penn does not appear to be in danger of being finished, but they’re certainly mounting. Penn throws up his legs for a triangle, but it doesn’t come. Fitch is throwing non-stop hammer fists and elbows from Penn’s closed guard in the last minute.
Official scores: Judge Barry Foley has it 29-28 in favor of Jon Fitch. However, judges Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee see it 28-28, making the bout a majority draw.
What a night it was on pay per view. The main event ended with some controversy and hopefully those guys will be back in a main event or something to see who is the better man.
Join us again this Thursday Night on KJE's Thursday Night Thunder for UFC "Sanchez vs. Kampmann"
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