It took me a day to recover - which is why this wrapup blog wasn't up on Sunday - but I think I'm over it. Hopefully, there won't be too many expletives in this blog; but if there are, feel free to navigate to another page. I'm sure most of the people already have, but if you're still here, let's get started with the wrapup.
Rob Kimmons (21-3) def. Rob Yundt (6-2) by guillotine in the first - Yundt was shown respect when he was given a second opportunity in the UFC after losing in his debut on late notice to Ricardo Almeida, but I'm not sure that he'll get a third chance without having to work his way back.
Dean Lister (11-5) def. Jeremy Horn (79-18-5) by guillotine in the first - Lister got his retribution in his rematch with the submission master, and Jeremy Horn looks very old even though he's only 32. He's now lost two straight since making his return to the UFC, and he may be relegated once again to the smaller MMA circuit.
Matt Brown (7-6) def. Matt Arroyo (3-2) by TKO in the second round - This was one of my upset picks on this card, and that is because there is something about Brown that just impresses me, especially at 170 pounds. Most of Brown's losses are to known opponents, and now that he has a win over a game Arroyo, he should be invited back to the UFC, especially if he keeps his fights from going to a decision.
Drew McFedries (7-3) def. Marvin Eastman (15-8-1) by TKO in the first round - With these two explosive fighters in the cage, I didn't expect this fight to go past the first round. And it barely went past the first minute. Both fighters came out aggressive and both were caught with some big shots early, but McFedries was able to capitalize on his amazing power before the ref stepped in to stop the fight.
Dustin Hazelett (11-4) def. Josh Burkman (9-6) by arm bar in the second round - This fight earned Fight of the Night honors, and it wasn't by default. It was one of the most exciting fights in the UFC so far this year, as both fighters displayed some advanced mixed martial arts skills on top of the will to win. Burkman came back from the brink of being submitted many times in the first round to use some ground and pound tactics while in Hazelett's guard. The second round was spent standing for the most part, but Hazelett took down Burkman with less than 30 seconds remaining and got an impressive arm bar from a Wizard position to win the fight. UFC commentator Joe Rogan went as far as to call it "the sweetest I've ever seen." You can currently see this fight for free on UFC.com.
Matt Riddle (1-0) def. Dante Rivera (10-3) by unanimous decision - Riddle came out as the bigger, stronger fighter and dominated the much more experienced Rivera, 33, in the clench and on the ground for 15 minutes. Riddle, 22, looks to have a solid future in the UFC after earning his first pro win.
Spencer Fisher (21-4) def. Jeremy Stephens (13-3) by unanimous decision - Spencer Fisher clearly won this back and forth battle, and Stephens was not as impressive as he was in his UFC debut. Stephens, 22, seemed to have no answer for the little offense that Fisher provided, except for the end of the fight, where he clearly felt the pressure of losing and caught Fisher in a guillotine for the last 20 seconds of the fight. The future of both of these fighters should be interesting.
Diego Sanchez (19-2) def. Luigi Fioravanti (13-4) by TKO in the third round - Diego couldn't take down the well-versed Fioravanti, but he came into this fight with a secret backup plan - drastically improved striking. Luigi looked decent against a truly evolved Sanchez, but Diego caught him late in the third with a punch and a knee before finishing it.
Amir Sadollah (1-0) def. C.B. Dolloway (6-1) by arm bar in the first round - I guess I was wrong about C.B. He came out in this fight and made the same mistake that he made in his first go-round with Amir in the TUF house. While working his ground and pound, C.B. left himself open and Amir took his arm and submitted him with an arm bar. Not willing to accept the deja vu moment of repeating his mistake, C.B. complained about the stoppage of the fight, although he clearly tapped. It was only once, but that's all it takes.
Kendall Grove (9-5) def. Evan Tanner (32-8 ) by split decision - Even thought he couldn't finish the extremely tough Tanner, Grove came out and did what he had to do to get back into the win column for the first time in more than a year. Tanner came into this fight with an impressive lumberjack beard, but he is a long way from his days as the UFC middleweight champion. In fact, both is career in the UFC and in MMA are in jeopardy. He won't make the Hall of Fame, but he was a damn good fighter.
Next up on July 5:
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