The TUF’ers took center stage in the UFC’s first trip to New Jersey in six years.
Fight #1 – Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar vs Spencer Fisher
Rd 1 – A good one for ‘The Answer’. He scored a couple of takedowns and did some moderate damage while in Fisher’s guard. Spencer attempted a quick armbar halfway through the round.
Rd 2 – More of the same but with more guard passing by ‘The Answer’. He also cut Spencer and threw in some fancy wrestling moves like ‘The Cradle’.
Rd 3 – ‘The Answer’ completed his domination with more takedowns, guard passing, and punishment.
Winner: Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Fight #2 – Joe Doerksen vs Ed ‘Short Fuse’ Herman
Rd 1 – After losing to Doerksen earlier in his career, ‘Short Fuse’ was looking for some payback. He showed good takedown defense and landed some good blows when in top position. He also cut Joe with a jab early in the round but it didn’t threaten the fight.
Rd 2 – Doerksen won this round off several sub attempts including a rear naked, and a super-tight triangle that might have finished Ed if there were five more seconds left in the round.
Rd 3 – Both guys came out trading and Herman caught Doerksen with a perfect left hook to the jaw that concussed him. ‘Short Fuse’ connected with two more blows while Joe lay on the mat.
Winner: Ed ‘Short Fuse’ Herman by KO at :39 of rd 3
Fight #3 – Ryo Chonan vs Karo Parisyan
Rd 1 – Karo decked Chonan with a wide left hook then jumped into his guard and tried to stay busy. After a forced standup, Karo scored another takedown by grabbing Chonan’s leg.
Rd 2 – Karo stepped up his dominance by being more aggressive in Chonan’s guard, particularly with short elbows. He also scored another takedown by grabbing Ryo’s leg as he kicked.
Rd 3 – This time we saw Karo in full mount, and Ryo reverse him, Chonan’s time on top was brief as Karo scrambled out immediately. The two finished slowly on their feet, which drew boos from the crowd.
After the fight Karo apologized for the boring fight and said he had some issues in his personal life.
Winner: Karo ‘The Heat’ Parisyan by unanimous decision (30-27 on all three cards)
Fight #4 – Houston Alexander vs Thiago Silva
Excellent performance by Silva. He wisely stayed away from Houston’s bombs while standing, and when the fight hit the ground he went to work. Within minutes he had Alexander mounted and let his hands go until Houston was knocked out.
Winner: Thiago Silva by KO at 3:25 in rd 1
Fight #5 – Rashad Evans vs Michael Bisping
Rd 1 – Most of this round took place on the ground with Rashad in top position. Bisping did a good job neutralizing his attack but it made for a dull round.
Rd 2 – This was a better round. Rashad scored a big takedown early but didn’t do much until the forced standup. Bisping was busier in the second half of the round but he didn’t sit down on his punches. Conversely, Rashad threw far fewer blows but he landed five hard right hands. Bisping landed a very good knee to Rashad’s mid-section and scored a takedown of his own as the horn sounded. This was a very close round.
Rd 3 – Another very close round. Both guys were wiped out but Rashad somehow found enough energy to score some more takedowns. Bisping managed to reverse Rashad but ultimately he spent more time on his back than on top. Rashad finished the fight by taking Michael’s back.
On the whole, there wasn’t a lot of damage inflicted in the fight, rather it was more of a draining position battle.
Winner: Rashad Evans by split decision 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29
Fight #6 – Joe Lauzon vs Jason Reinhardt
Lauzon kicked the living crap out of the 18-0 Reinhardt. He roughed Jason up standing, tossed him to the ground then moved at will to wherever he wanted. Lauzon took Jason’s back and slapped on a rear naked choke with blinding speed, and Reinhardt either had to tap or go directly to sleep. He opted for the tap.
Winner: Joe Lauzon by tapout (rear naked choke) at 1:14 of rd 1
