UFC 82 Recap

The UFC didn't disappoint this time as it pummeled us with some great fights. Here is a quick recap.

John Fitch Vs. Chris Wilson

John Fitch came into this fight with 14 straight wins. He entered the Octagon looking prepared, but I don’t think that he planned on UFC newcomer Chris Wilson putting up such a tough fight.

Round 1:
3 had failed takedowns. Wilson proved to have a great takedown defense. Wilson connects with Fitch, but then Fitch finally gets a takedown. Wilson gets up only to be taken down again. This round looked pretty even.

Round 2:
Another failed takedown by Fitch. The next takedown attempt was successful and Fitch kept Wilson on the ground for the remainder of the round, but he was unable to do any significant damage.

Round 3:
Fitch takes Wilson down and there is a lot of ground and pound, but Fitch couldn’t finish it. Chris Wilson actually got a triangle, but it was at the end of the round and the clock ran out.

The result:
John Fitch by unanimous decision and has his 15th straight win.

The meat of it:
This was a pretty boring and uneventful fight. It did show that Chris Wilson will be a formidable force in the near future.

Mark Coleman, gets inducted into the UFC hall of fame. Mark Coleman is the first ever UFC Heavyweight Champion. In a surprise announcement, Mark Coleman will battle Brock Lesnar in Minnesota in 5 months! Coleman, now 43 years old, hasn’t fought anyone in over a year. With 5 months to prepare, it is hard to say how this fight is going to go.

Evan Tanner Vs. Yushin Okami

After a two year hiatus, Evan Tanner gets back into the Octagon against Okami.

Round 1:
Tanner is almost immediately rocked by a hard left, but he recovered quick and got a take down against Okami. It looked as if Tanner was trying to shake off the ring rust after being away for a while.

Round 2:
Tanner gets his groove back and really starts pressing the action. Okami was putting together some great combos and connecting. Okami got Tanner in a clinch and then Okami threw a knee that finished the fight.

The result:
Okami is the winner by KO

Chris Leben Vs. Alessio Sakara

Chris Leben showed up looking a little more humble. Gone was the red hair. He had black hair this time and he was sportin’ a new tattoo.

Round 1:
This round was a slugfest! Leben showed that he was a much better fighter than he ever was against Sakara. He had great kicks and fast hands, much to the surprise of Sakara, who seemed to rely mostly on his boxing. Leben was relentless in his attack and he showed us all, once again, that his jaw is made of steel. The fight ended with a brutal TKO and Sakara took three hard shots on the ground, his hands down, not defending himself, before the ref stopped the fight. A stunned Sakara, not realizing how bad off he really was, couldn’t believe that the fight was stopped. This was a very exciting fight and well worth watching.

The result:
Leben by TKO

Heath Herring Vs. Cheick Kongo

This was another fight that didn’t disappoint. Personally I was surprised by the outcome of this fight.

Round 1:
Heath came out swinging and tags Kongo with a right, dropping him instantly. Then Kongo takes Herring down right away. After Herring gets up, Kongo gets a second takedown, and then a third! Finally Herring gets a takedown and they go back and forth with neither fighter having any distinct advantage. Round one ends however, with Kongo in the dominant position. Kongo clearly took the first round with his numerous takedowns and dominance of the Texas Crazyhorse.

Round 2:
Kongo gets another takedown early into round 2, but the fighters get stood up. Herring comes out swinging aggressively, but Kongo gets another takedown. Just when it looked like a repeat of round 1, Herring got the reversal and got side control, inflicting damage on Kongo by dropping knees over and over; 19 knees to be exact. This round was tough to call with no clear winner, although Herring looked a lot better than he did in the first round.

Round 3:
Herring and Kongo both came out swinging in the third. Kongo got his first takedown, and then a second, but Herring quickly reversed it and remained dominant for the remainder of round 3. Herring owned this round.

The result:
Herring by split decision

Anderson Silva Vs. Dan Henderson (main event)

Round 1:
Both fighters came out looking a little tentative, but the Spider, in his usual fashion, took it easy initially feeling Henderson out and trying to get Henderson’s timing down. After a little more than 2 minutes into the fight, Henderson got the takedown and started dropping hammerfists on Silva, while he was trying to disrupt Silva’s breathing with the other hand. This round looked really, really bad for Silva.

Round 2:
In the second round, there was a lot of exchanges of punches, interrupted by Silva getting the takedown. Henderson quickly escaped Silva’s hold and got up quickly, pushing Silva up against the cage. Silva got away from the cage and caught Dan with a knee. Silva moved in for the kill and got a body triangle and a textbook rear naked choke on Henderson. Henderson tapped out with less than ten seconds left in the second round allowing Anderson Silva to remain the UFC Middle Weight Champion of the World.

The result:
Silva winner by submission

Here is the video of Henderson Vs. Silva:

Silva
Uploaded by NIKO9211

Josh Koscheck Vs. Dustin Hazelett

Round 1:
There were some crazy exchanges by both fighters and they both got rocked by each other right away. Koscheck pushed the pace and went right for Hazelett’s leg and picked him up off of the ground, but Hazelett sunk in a guillotine, but Koscheck got out of it. There were more exchanges with some great kicks and punches. With around 30 seconds to go, Koscheck got a big takedown. Hazelett got a triangle on Koscheck, but time ran out on the clock.

Round 2:
The next round started out with some crazy exchanges. Koscheck landed a big right and then a head kick on Hazelett. Hazelett went down but Koscheck slipped and went down In the process, but he quickly jumped back up to finish Hazelett off and the ref stopped the fight.

The result:
Koscheck wins by TKO


by JP Berube aka MMA Commentator