UFC 107 took place in Memphis, TN – the home of Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who was supposed to take on Rashad Evans in the main or co-main event. As it were, ‘Rampage’ decided to take some time off from fighting and we ended up with the lightweight champion BJ Penn defending his title against Diego Sanchez in the main event, with a clash of heavyweights Frank Mir and Cheik Kongo getting the second billing.
Stefan Struve vs. Paul Buentello (HW)
Round 1: Struve leads with a high kick that misses. Buentello responds with a combination. Buentello catches a mid kick and Struve pulls guard, but Buentello backs out of it. Struve stands up and lands a huge uppercut then trips Paul down and lands into mount. Buentello gives up his back and Struve locks in a body triangle. Struve lands a few punches from the back then patiently works for a choke. Buentello defends well. Buentello eventually escapes and ends up on top guard, and they trade elbows as the round ends. Round 10-9 Struve
Round 2: Struve kicks, misses, and falls. Buentello lets him stand up. Struve pushes Buentello up against the fence. Buentello lands punches to the body and head. Struve dives down for a leg lock but Buentello evades. Struve is back up and launches a flying knee but gets swatted out of mid-air by Buentello’s counter. Struve is dazed but Buentello wants no part of ground game and lets him back up again. Struve clinches then unloads a flurry on Buentello against the cage. Buentello responds in kind and the last minute of the round is an absolute slugfest with both fighters trading punches with no regard for defense. Round 10-9 Buentello
Round 3: Struve continues with the leg kicks and knees to the body. Buentello responds with jabs and punch combinations but is getting picked apart by leg kicks. Buentello looks unsteady on his legs as Struve finds a rhythm, alternating leg kicks with occasional punches and knees. With less that a minute left, Buentello drops an off-balance Struve with a punch but lets him up again. Struve looks tired and Buentello unloads with a flurry to finish out the round. Round 10-10 draw
Stefan Struve wins a majority decision with the scores of 29-28, 29-28,28-28
Aftermath: This turned out to be an unexpectedly exciting fight. Stefan Struve earns the third consecutive win after losing his UFC debut to Junior dos Santos. The 6’11” Struve is certain to be a force in the years to come, but for now should get another couple of tune-up fights before jumping into title contention. Michael Russow would be a good next fight for Struve.
Paul Buentello comfortably returns to the gatekeeper position in the heavyweight division, after being absent from the UFC for a couple of years. I’d like to see him take on ‘TUF’ Season 10 winner Roy Nelson next.
Fight Grade: 4.5/5
Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida (155 lbs)
Round 1: After a brief exchange, Guida takes Florian down off a missed kick by Ken. Guida attempts to work his ground-and-pound but Florian defends well and jumps up to his feet. Florian gets a quick takedown, Guida back up and looks for a takedown of his own. Florian sprawls. Guida shoots again but Florian ends up on top of him with a sprawl. Florian lands an elbow, cutting Guida on the side of his head. Florian slams Guida. Guida escapes to his feet as the cut on his head is bleeding profusely. Referee briefly halts the action to have the doctor check out Guida’s cut. The fight is allowed to go on but the round is almost over. Round 10-9 Florian
Round 2: Guida is still bleeding and looks for an early takedown. Florian sprawls. They exchange and Florian drops Guida with a 1-2. Florian jumps on the fallen Clay’s back and locks in a rear naked choke; a tapout follows shortly thereafter.
Aftermath: A very dominant performance for Ken Florian – a great rebound coming off the loss to BJ Penn, showing that Florian is still one of the top lightweights in the UFC. He will have to work up his way back to a title shot, starting with a ‘TUF’ rematch with Diego Sanchez.
Clay Guida drops to a disappointing 5-5 record in the UFC. Despite batting .500, Guida usually delivers exciting fights and will likely be kept around as a gatekeeper. He should take on Gleison Tibau in his next bout.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce (170 lbs)
Round 1: An uneventful exchange starts the fight. Fitch takes Pierce down off a missed leg kick. Fitch takes Pierce’s back and sinks hooks in. Fitch looks for a choke; Pierce defends so Fitch settles for landing short strikes from the top. Pierce shakes Fitch off and gets back to his feet, then takes Fitch down with a huge slam. Fitch quickly gets back up and they stall out in clinch. Referee breaks them up and they trade punches, with both landing. Fitch edges out the close round. Round 10-9 Fitch
Round 2: They trade with nothing meaningful landing. Fitch takes Pierce down with a single-leg and quickly gets his back. Pierce shurgs him off and clinches. Fitch delivers knees to the body and head then takes Pierce’s back from the standing position. Pierce works himself free and they clinch and exchange knees. Boring round. Round 10-9 Fitch
Round 3: The pace picks up a bit as Fitch charges in with punches to set up a takedown, then lands more punches when Pierce sprawls out. Pierce pushes Fitch into the cage and they trade knees and body shots. Fitch lands a glancing high kick. Fitch scores a takedown and transitions to back control in a scramble but Pierce spins out of it. Pierce turns it on late in the round, rocking Fitch and unloading a flurry to steal the final round. Round 10-9 Pierce
Jon Fitch wins the unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards.
Aftermath: Jon Fitch grinds out a boring victory, showing that he is still one of the top dogs in the division, despite his difficulty with putting away lesser opponents. He should rematch Thiago Alves, with the winner inching their way back into title contention.
Mike Pierce gets thrown into the fire after an uneventful decision win over Brock Larson in his UFC debut. He hung tough with Fitch, and I would like to see him face the winner of the upcoming bout between Jake Ellenberger and Mike Pyle.
Fight Grade: 2/5
Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo (HW)
Round 1: The fighters engage quickly. Kongo swings and misses; Mir responds with a left hook that drops Kongo. Kongo quickly recovers and takes Mir down but gets caught in a guillotine. Kongo struggles but the hold is tight. Mir notifies the referee that Kongo is out; the ref verifies and stops the fight.
Aftermath: A shocking turn of events as Frank Mir becomes the first man to finish Kongo in the UFC. With a dominant showing Mir injects himself back into the title picture. While a rubber match with Brock Lesnar is foremost in Mir’s mind, with Lesnar still out of action Mir becomes one of the top candidates for the interim title, along with Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Cheik Kongo loses back-to-back fights for the first time in his career, dashing his hopes of title contention for good. He should be faced with Gabriel Gonzaga in the last-ditch effort to remain in the UFC.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia (195lb catchweight bout)
Round 1: The fighters circle then engage. Both men are swinging for the fences. Both are landing solid shots; Belcher begins to out-land Gouiveia, who eventually stops swinging back and just covers up and absorbs the punishment. Eventually Gouveia falls and the referee steps in to stop the bout.
Aftermath: Wilson Gouveia notified Belcher’s camp in advance that he won’t be able to make the contracted weight of 185 lbs, making this a catchweight bout. The middleweight division has not been kind to Wilson, with weightcutting issues and now two knockout losses in a row. However earning the ‘Fight of the Night’ may have staved off the inevitable end of Gouveia’s UFC career for at least one more bout – perhaps with Kendall Grove.
Alan Belcher continues to be a legit threat to most middleweigths, despite his at times inconsistent performance. He should be pitted against Rousimar Palhares, who also won his fight on the undercard of UFC 107.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Champion B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez (155 lbs championship bout)
Round 1: As promised, the fighters meet in the center of the Octagon and swing away. BJ Penn drops Diego with a right hook and pounces. Penn lands numerous shots on Diego, who is trying to survive on his knees. A case could be made for stopping the fight but referee Herb Dean lets it continue, watching closely. Finally Diego regains his senses and scrambles out of the bad position. Sanchez is more tentative now, winging kicks that don’t come close to their target. They close distance and Penn drops Sanchez again, though Diego recovers quickly this time. Total domination by Penn. Round 10-8 Penn
Round 2: After the beating he received in the first round, Sanchez is hesitant to engage. Penn stalks Sanchez. Diego rushes in throwing wildly at air then latches on to Penn’s leg looking for a single. Penn defends successfully. Diego repeatedly looks for a takedown but has no luck; every time they separate Diego’s shots miss by a wide margin. Penn lands accurate counters all while defending takedown attempts. Round 10-9 Penn
Round 3: Sanchez throws wild strikes to close distance and shoots for a takedown. BJ defends, punishing Diego with elbows and punches. Sanchez holds on to BJ’s leg but can’t get a takedown and Penn finally breaks free. Sanchez immediately shoots again, with the same futile results as before. A strike busts open Diego’s lip. Round 10-9 Penn
Round 4: Sanchez comes out swinging, whiffing a head kick that hits nothing but air. Penn counters, rocking Diego with a combination. Diego goes back to attempting takedowns but never comes close to completing. Much the same as the previous two rounds, with Diego desperately shooting singles and Penn getting in his strikes at every opportunity. Round 10-9 Penn
Round 5: Final round, and Sanchez is still desperately trying to get a takedown. He comes close to dragging BJ down but Penn gets back to his feet. With Diego’s back to the fence, Penn lands a head kick from close range. The kick splits Diego’s forehead in two, leaving a huge bleeding gash. Diego is hurt and Penn follows up with a combination of punches. Referee calls a break to check on Diego’s cut, and it is obvious that the fight will not continue.
BJ Penn retains the UFC lightweight championship title, defeating Diego Sanchez by TKO in the fifth round.
Aftermath: After completely shutting down and annihilating another tough opponent, BJ Penn stands in a league of his own at 155 lbs and the fans have to wonder if there is anyone in this weightclass that could even provide a challenge for Penn. UFC President Dana White promised that after one more title defense Penn will likely go up in weight to try his luck at 170 lbs once again. His final defense at 155 will most likely come against Gray Maynard or Frankie Edgar.
Diego Sanchez has not shown much as a lightweight this far. The logical next step for him is a rematch with his ‘TUF’ Season 1 finale opponent, Ken Florian.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Edgar Garcia vs. Damarques Johnson (170 lbs)
Round 1: The fighters circle and exchange. Johnson lands several punches, forcing Garcia to shoot for a takedown. Garcia completes the takedown and in a scramble locks in a Peruvian necktie choke. The choke looks tight but Johnson escapes and they go back to trading punches. Garcia lands a big flurry; Johnson is rocked and then dropped. Garcia pounces and eats an upkick to the face, then falls right into a triangle choke and quickly taps out.
Aftermath: Damarques Johnson earns the ‘Submission of the Night’ award in his first UFC bout since losing to James Wilks in the ‘TUF: US vs. UK’ finale. He should next fight Rory Markham, who was scheduled to take on Martin Kampmann in UFC 108 but was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Edgar Garcia is likely to be cut from the UFC after losing back-to-back fights in his first two shots in the Octagon.
Fight Grade: 4/5
With the exception of the Fitch-Pierce fight, which was a low point of the broadcast, this UFC delivered an excellent event beyond all expectations.