UFC 91 featured the return of the briefly retired heavyweight champion Randy Couture, taking on the challenger Brock Lesnar in the first leg of a four-man heavyweight title tournament. The matchup was billed as ‘biggest in UFC history’ and so the undercard of this event was overlooked: the only bout besides the main event to receive any publicity was a #1 contender eliminator between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson for a shot at the lightweight title. Three other lightweight bouts took place in the preliminary portion of the event.
Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia (185 lbs)
The televised card began with a striker vs. grappler matchup, and the grappler Maia wasted no time bringing the fight to the ground. From there he easily passed Quarry’s guard and achieved mount, then back control, and finished with a rear naked choke forcing a tapout less than halfway through the first round.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Maia once again demonstrates impeccable jiu-jitsu, gaining his fourth victory in the UFC. Since there are no clear-cut contenders for Anderson Silva’s middleweight belt, undefeated Maia can make a good case for demanding a title shot. However he instead asks for Michael Bisping in the post-fight interview, stirring up rumors that he may become the coach on the next season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, opposite of Bisping.
Quarry suffers his second loss in the UFC, dashing any hopes of title contendership in the foreseeable future. Perhaps he can take on Kendall Grove in his next bout.
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks (HW)
In a heavyweight bout, UFC newcomer Hendricks clinched Gonzaga early and attempted a takedown but was stuffed. After the fighters traded knees from clinch, they separated and Gonzaga dropped Hendricks with a right hand, then followed it up with another one on the ground. Gonzaga waited for the refferee to stop the bout, then landed one more strike on Hendricks as Steve Mazzagatti finally stepped in.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Gonzaga is on a two fight streak, and with UFC dismissing Fabricio Werdum from his contract, Gabriel is once again near the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division. Gonzaga would make an intriguing matchup for Lesnar; in the meanwhile – assuming Cheik Kongo defeats Mustafa Al Turk at UFC 92 – Gonzaga should face Kongo to determine the #1 contender to the eventual winner of the heavyweight title tournament. Josh Hendricks looks like a dud in his Octagon debut.
Matt Brown vs. Ryan Thomas (170 lbs)
In a preliminary matchup, Ryan Thomas wanted no part of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ alum Matt Brown on the feet, and repeatedly took Matt down. Though Brown has shown his ground game to be a weakness in the past, he constantly worked submissions from his guard through the first round. In the second, Thomas took it to the ground again and was caught in an armbar. Thomas slammed Brown twice, but Matt held on and finished the hold, forcing Ryan to tap out.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Brown has shown great improvement in his grappling game, and is an exciting fighter with many interesting potential matchups in the welterweight division. Thomas has been submitted in both of his UFC bouts to date and may be on the way out.
Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory (170 lbs)
McCrory came out with a flurry, but was knocked off-balance and fell when the fighters traded kicks. McCrory seemed to be getting better of the standing exchanges, then Hazelett pulled guard and began working on an omoplata. Tamdan defended the submission but was one step behind when Hazelett switched to a reverse armbar, forcing McCrory to tap out. A beautiful submersion earned Hazelett the ‘submission of the night’ bonus.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Hazelett has quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous submission artists in the UFC, and is a legit threat to any welterweight. A fight with Dan Hardy would make for an interesting matchup for Dustin. McCrory falls to 2-2 in the UFC, and needs to work on his submission defense as both of his losses came via tapout. He can fight Roan Carneiro next – also a submission expert, but one who has been struggling in the Octagon in his past couple of fights.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos (155 lbs)
In the first of the three lightweight bouts on the undercard, Jeremy Stephens earned the ‘knockout of the night’ award with a brutal uppercut in the third round, after struggling with the newcomer dos Anjos in the first two rounds.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Stephens rebounds nicely from a close decision loss to Spencer Fisher, and has demonstrated great knockout power for a lightweight. Mac Danzig or Joe Lauzon would be good possibilities for his next bout. Rafael dos Anjos makes a spirited UFC debut; a bout with fellow Brazilian Thiago Thavares might be a fun matchup.
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson (155 lbs)
Though Florian was promised a title shot after his victory over Roger Huerta at UFC 87, he did not want to sit around and wait for BJ Penn to defend the lightweight title, and so Florian put his #1 contender status on the line against fellow ‘TUF’ alum Joe Stevenson. Florian handled Stevenson with surprising ease, binging the fight to the ground halfway through the first round and achieving first mount then back control, forcing Stevenson to tap with a rear naked choke. Very similar to the opening bout between Quarry and Maia.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Florian looked very impressive and is now guaranteed to challenge BJ Penn for the lightweight title, though he will have to wait until the fallout from the Penn-St. Pierre superfight has settled. Stevenson should be matched up with Tyson Griffin, who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk.
Champion Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar (HW championship bout)
Round 1: The fighters clinched almost immediately from the opening bell, with Lesnar landing knees to Couture’s body. Lesnar attempted a takedown; Couture defended one but was taken down on the second attempt. Lesnar briefly mounted Couture; Randy escaped and attempted a takedown of his own but was stuffed. Lesnar scored another takedown; Couture escaped again and the round ended in clinch just like it began. Round 10-9 Lesnar.
Round 2: Lesnar wobbled Couture with a huge standing elbow as the round began. After several even exchanges, Lesnar landed a right hand to Couture’s temple, similar to the punch that felled Georges St. Pierre in his first fight with Matt Serra. Couture fell and Lesnar pounced, finishing off the champion with a series of short hammerfists. Couture was not defending himself and so the ref stepped in to stop the bout, giving Lesnar a TKO win and the heavyweight title.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: With a dominant performance, Brock Lesnar blasted into the top echelon of heavyweights, and may very well take the #1 spot from Fedor Emelianenko, should he defeated the winner of the upcoming Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira bout and unifiy his championship with Nogueira’s interim title.
For Couture, the future looks murky. Though he claimed in the post-fight interview that he is not done and still feels like he is getting better with every fight, Couture’s physique showed his age and he may be getting to the point where the mind is still willing but the body not able. I don’t foresee him challenging for a title again; it would be best for Randy to finish up his career with a couple of superfights – perhaps against Mark Coleman, and a final rematch with Chuck Liddell.
Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley (155 lbs)
With time left in the broadcast, the remaining two preliminary fights (both 155-lbs bouts) were shown. In the official ‘Fight of the Night’, Gurgel chose to engage his opponent on the feet like he usually does, instead of utilizing his extensive jiu-jitsu background. Though Gurgel won the first round, Riley began to find his target in the second and third, winning the battle of high kicks that this fight turned into and winning a unanimous decision in an exciting bout.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Aftermath: Gurgel falls to 3-4 in the Octagon, suffering the first back-to-back losses in his career. An exciting performance will likely garner him another shot in the UFC, but the tendency to strike with all opponents instead of taking the fight to the ground remains highly detrimental to his career. Aaron Riley gets his first taste of UFC victory; he should next face Cole Miller who is also coming off a victory over Gurgel.
Mark Bocek vs. Alvin Robinson (155 lbs)
In the final preliminary bout, Bocek worked a jiu-jitsu clinic on Robinson for the better part of three rounds, finally forcing a submission with a rear naked choke halfway through the third.
Fight Grade: 3/5
Aftermath: Great performance by Bocek, though he remains one of the smaller lightweights in the UFC and will continue to struggle with larger opponents. Robinson falls to 1-3 in UFC; we may not see him back in the Octagon until he wins a few fights in lesser organizations.
Event Grade: 4.5/5
With all nine fights making the televised broadcast, a decisive finish in the main event, and no controversies, this turned out to be one of the best UFC shows in recent memory.