Fight Report

UFC 80 should be renamed “concussion”. There were a lot of good KO’s as well as a disturbingly bloody main event. Check out the review below.

Fight #1 – Kendall Grove vs Jorge Rivera

Brutalized! Rivera assaulted Grove from the get go. He landed a right that sent Grove down then relentlessly pounded his face with hooks. Grove was getting battered on the ground so he tried to stand up. During the transition he left himself open and Rivera pounded his head from the side. Grove finally turned, ate a straight left and collapsed to the mat.

Winner: Jorge Rivera by KO at 1:20 of rd 1

Fight #2 – Jason Lambert vs Wilson Gouveia

Rd 1 – Great round for Lambert. He landed some good punches and elbows from Gouveia’s guard. Gouveia attempted a triangle and an Omaplata towards the end of the round but Lambert slammed his way out of it.

Rd 2 – What a turn around! After getting pounded in the first and the early part of the second, Gouveia landed a perfect left hook that dropped Lambert. Lambert crumpled to his side and Gouveia landed two more quick shots before referee Herb Dean stepped in.

Winner: Wilson Gouveia by KO at :37 of rd 2

Fight #3 – Marcus Davis vs Jess Liaudin

After catching a few leg kicks, Davis stepped in and landed a left hook that KO’d Liadin. The punch landed on the very back of Liaudin’s jaw and his toes began to curl even before he hit the canvas. Davis whaled away with a few more shots before referee Mario Yamasaki stopped it.

Winner: Marcus Davis by KO at 1:04 of rd 1

Fight #4 – Paul Taylor vs Paul Kelly

After a furious minute long duke-it-out session that saw both fighters score, the fight primarily became a ground battle. Kelly got the better of a Taylor using ground and pound and in round two opened a deep cut that bled profusely. Taylor showed great heart in finishing the fight.

Winner: Paul Kelly by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Fight #5 – Fabricio Werdum vs Gabriel Gonzaga

Rd 1 – Gonzaga scored well with leg kicks. He knocked Werdum down twice with effective leg striking. Werdum finally got Gonzaga down toward the end of the round, but it was more or less of a stalemate.

Rd 2 – Werdum turned the tide as Gonzaga appeared to gas. It started with a nice knee to the face that rattled Gabriel. Werdum followed him to the fence, beat him down to the canvas and then pounded his head from the side. Gonzaga was unable to move so the ref stopped the fight.

Winner: Fabricio Werdum by TKO at 4:34 of rd 2

Fight #6 – BJ Penn vs Joe Stevenson

Penn outclassed Stevenson plain and simple. He owned him standing and on the ground. In the first he opened a huge cut on Joe’s forehead and within minutes the Octagon looked like a murder scene.

When Penn finally scored the rear naked choke in round two, Joe’s face, BJ’s body and the area of the Octagon were completely covered in blood. While Stevenson grimaced it looked like he tapped due to being stabbed over and over again rather than to a rear naked choke.

It was an impressive win for Penn who immediately called out former Lightweight Champ Sean Sherk.

Winner: BJ Penn by tapout (rear naked choke) at 4:02 of rd 2

Fight #7 – Colin Robinson vs Antoni Hardonk

Hardonk destroyed Robinson. He landed a few low leg kicks and connected with a stiff left jab that sent Robinson down. Robinson tried to stand up and collapsed again. Referee Mario Yamasaki saved Robinson’s ass by stopping the fight.

Winner: Antoni Hardonk by TKO at 0:17 of rd 1

Fight #8 – James Lee vs Allesio Sakara

Lee was extremely determined to take Sakara down. Twice he pursued takedowns that lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Once he got them he was unable to keep Sakara down. After the second escape Sakara bent down and hammer fisted Lee in the side of the head to a TKO victory.

Winner: Allesio Sakara by TKO at 1:30 of rd 1

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 19th, 2008 at 2:57 pm and is filed under MMA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.