UFC 106 was originally supposed to be headlined by the heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar making his first defense of the unified title against the undefeated Shane Carwin, and Tito Ortiz making his UFC return against the veteran Mark Coleman. When Lesnar fell ill and Coleman injured himself in training, both of the featured matchups fell apart, leaving a rematch between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin as the main event.
The undercard was dominated by welterweights, with five of the matchups taking place in the 170 lbs division, and highlighted by a bout that had potential title shot implications in the light heavyweight division – Luiz Arthur Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. As has been the case with the past few UFC pay-per-view events, four of the undercard bouts were televised on Spike prior to the main card.
Preliminary Card (Spike TV)
Jason Dent vs. George Sotiropoulous (155 lbs)
Round 1: A mostly even exchange on the feet takes place for the first half of the round, with Dent effectively negating George’s reach advantage. Sotiropoulous shoots for a takedown midway through the round, and quickly passes to side control then mount. Dent gives up his back attempting to escape but George maintains control, going back to mount and landing elbows that Dent has no answer for. Dent covers up, waiting out the end of the round. Round 10-9 Sotiropoulous
Round 2: Dent is looking to keep it on the feet after having some success in striking exchanges, but Sotiropoulous catches a kick and down they go. Sotiropoulous transitions to guard, side control, north-south, back mount. Dent briefly escapes to his feet but gets dragged back down. George gives up mount to look for an armbar. Dent defends; Sotiropoulous uses a triangle-like setup to force Dent’s elbow to hyper-extend, and Jason has no choice but to tap out.
Aftermath: A beautiful display of jiu-jitsu from Sotiropoulous, ending with a slick submission, earns George his fourth straight win in the Octagon. He should next take on Thiago Tavares, who has been held back from fighting by persistent injuries. Jason Dent needs to go down to WEC’s 145 lbs division, as he just does not have the size to be competitive at lightweight.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt (185 lbs)
Round 1: Rosholt wastes no time taking Grove down. He is not able to control Grove on the ground, and Kendall frees himself after a brief scramble. They clinch and this time Grove gets the takedown. Grove attempts some ground-and-pound but Rosholt quickly gets back to his feet. Rosholt with another takedown and passes into mount; Grove gives up his back then regains guard. Grove throws his long legs up and locks in a triangle. Rosholt sits back down and quickly taps.
Aftermath: A solid win keeps Kendall Grove afloat in the UFC. Grove’s next fight should be a step up, against someone like Aaron Simpson. Jake Rosholt seems to be the prototypical wrestler with a lack of submission defense – something he needs to improve on very quickly to remain in the UFC. A matchup with Dennis Kang would be a good next step.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders (170 lbs)
Round 1: The fighters close distance and clinch. Saunders lands knees to the body and legs of Davis. Davis has no answer to the knees from plum clinch. Davis breaks free and looks to throw hands but Saunders clinches again and continues his assault with knees. Saunders lands a knee to the face and Davis is bleeding. Saunders lands two more knees to the head – the second knocks Davis out cold. Saunders follows up with two punches before the referee has a chance to step in and stop the fight.
Aftermath: Ben Saunders makes a nice comeback from his prior loss to Mike Swick, demonstrating that he has one of the most dangerous thai clinches in his weight class. I’d like to see him face Matt Brown or Amir Sadollah. Marcus Davis remains a gatekeeper, and should fight Phil Baroni next – a guaranteed slug fest.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster (170 lbs)
Round 1: After an initial striking exchange Larson scores a takedown. Foster escapes to his feet and takes Larson down in turn. Foster tees off with punches from the top. Foster briefly gets full mount and pounds away. Larson is able to escape and lands an up-kick that appears to have injured Foster’s eye; Foster was also on the ground when the kick landed and so the referee deducts a point from Larson for the illegal kick. Foster is able to continue and they start back up; they clinch and Larson lands several knees to Foster’s head. One knee lands as Foster has his hand touching the ground, making it a three-point position and therefore illegal. Referee stops the fight and takes another point away from Larson. They start back up again but the round is almost over. Round 10-7 Foster
Round 2: Foster is tagging Larson with combinations, forcing him to back up. Foster lands a superman punch and a spinning back kick. Foster slams Larson down and punches away then allows him to stand back up. Larson shoots for a takedown and gets caught with a big punch coming in. Larson is on all fours and Foster flurries away from the top; Larson has had enough and taps out.
Aftermath: After losing his UFC debut to Ricky Story, Brian Foster awed the fans in his second fight in the Octagon, beating up and stopping a tough veteran despite taking two illegal blows in the first round. He should be pitted against John Hathaway or Jake Ellenberg next. Brock Larson has come up short in most of his UFC bouts, and with two consecutive losses he should face Yoshiyuki Yoshida in a fight for Octagon survival.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni (170 lbs)
Round 1: Baroni comes out swinging and rocks Sadollah with a flurry. Amir remains calm and clinches up with Baroni, pushing him against the fence and landing a series of knees. Baroni responds with a combination of body punches then takes Sadollah down. Sadollah attempts an armbar, it’s not there so he kicks Baroni off and stands up. Back to clinch and both fighters are landing. Amir’s knees are on target; he lands several that rock Baroni and force him to look for another takedown. Sadollah shrugs it off and lands more knees. Round 10-9 Sadollah
Round 2: Baroni looks battered and tired, and this time it’s Amir who comes out aggressive, tagging Baroni with punches and knees. Baroni is wobbling against the fence but does not go down, and fires back with an occasional punch. Amir is picking Baroni apart with leg kicks, then moves in back to the clinch and punishes him with knees. Baroni somehow managers to remain standing and swing back, but only lands a couple of solid punches in the entire round. Baroni’s face is a bloody mess by the end of the second. Round 10-9 Sadollah
Round 3: Sadollah lands a couple of hard leg kicks to start the final round. Baroni regains a second wind and fires back, but it doesn’t last long. Sadollah uses a superman punch to close the distance then punishes Baroni with elbows and knees from clinch. Baroni is severely gassed and in survival mode. Baroni absorbs massive punishment throughout the round but remains on his feet. Round 10-8 Sadollah
Amir Sadollah wins a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Aftermath: Amir Sadollah delivers a solid performance and wipes out the controversial stoppage loss in his bout with Johny Hendricks from the fans’ memories. A rematch with Hendricks is a good possibility for his next bout, or someone like Paul Taylor. Phil Baroni’s UFC return goes pretty much as expected, which is to say not well. He will never be a contender but could deliver some enterntaining fights against the likes of Marcus Davis or Chris Lytle.
Fight Grade: 5/5
Luiz Arthur Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Noguiera (205 lbs)
Round 1: They circle and trade leg kicks, until Noguiera stuns Cane with a left hand, then another. Cane is badly hurt and has to turn his back and run. Nogueira gives chase and floors Cane with another huge overhand left. Noguiera follows up with more punches to his fallen opponent as the referee stops the fight.
Aftermath: A very impressive UFC debut for Noguiera, brutally knocking out one of the top contenders in the division. This puts him in title contention in the near future, and he should face the winner of Rashad Evans – Thiago Silva bout for the next title shot. Cane suffers the first knockout loss of his career. He should be pitted against Keith Jardine or Brandon Vera for a chance to rebound.
Nogueira earned the official ‘Knockout of the Night’ award for his performance.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Jacob Volkmann vs. Paulo Thiago (170 lbs)
Round 1: Thiago leads off with a partially blocked head kick. Thiago clinches with Volkmann and trips him to the canvas, landing in side control. Volkmann regains guard and works back to his feet. Thiago with another trip takedown and this time briefly mounts Volkmann, but Jacob is able to escape once again. The action slows down as it’s a stalemate in clinch by the fence. Volkmann breaks free with a nice elbow, but Thiago responds with a hook-uppercut combination to drop Volkmann at the bell. Round 10-9 Thiago
Round 2: They trade kicks, and Thiago catches a mid-kick from Volkmann but fails to capitalize on it. Volkmann shoots a takedown. They are tied up against the fence and Volkmann is on the verge of having mount, then back control, but Thiago keeps escaping from dangerous positions. Thiago sweeps and unloads from side control as the round ends. Round 10-9 Thiago
Round 3: Thiago drops Volkmann with an uppercut early in the round, and jumps in to finish, but Volkmann recovers quickly. Volkmann gets up and shoots for a takedown. Thiago sprawls but Volkmann drags him down off a scramble and gets his back. Volkmann works his way into the crucifix position and is looking to finish the fight but Thiago escapes. Volkmann locks in a d’arce choke from the bottom half-guard, it looks tight but Thiago slips out and pounds away with elbows and hammerfists from the top. Round 10-10 draw
Paulo Thiago wins a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Aftermath: Both fighters impressed the audience in a back-and-forth battle. A solid UFC debut for the unfortunately-nicknamed Jacob ‘Christmas’ Volkmann should be followed up with a bout with Rory Markham. Paulo Thiago should continue fighting top-of-the-line competition: a rematch with Koscheck, or a bout with Mike Swick would make for interesting fights.
Fight Grade: 4/5
Anthony Johnson vs. Josh Koscheck (170 lbs)
Round 1: Johnson leads off with kicks, but it’s Koschek who lands the first significant strike with a right hand. Johnson fires back and Koscheck looks for a takedown but can’t complete. In a scramble, Johnson knees Koscheck in the head as Josh is on his knees. Confusion ensues, as Koscheck appears to have injured his eye somewhere in the exchange, though the replays show Johnson’s knee hitting mostly Koscheck’s forearm. Nevertheless Koscheck is given time to recover as referee Mario Yamasaki deducts a point from Johnson for a knee to the head of a downed opponent. A doctor is called in to check on Josh; after some arguing between the doctor, Koscheck, and Yamasaki, the fight is allowed to continue. The fighters trade then Koscheck gets a takedown and gets Johnson’s back. Anthony escapes as the round ends. Round 10-8 Koscheck
Round 2: They trade jabs and kicks, and this time Anthony Johnson is the one to complain about an eye poke. They restart after a brief timeout, but in the very next exchange Johnson is poked in the eye again. This one is blatantly clear on the replay, but no points are deducted. They restart again and Johnson rocks Koscheck with a hook but gets taken down. Koscheck passes guard, softens Anthony up with elbows and opens a cut on his head, then takes his back. All the fight seems to have gone out of Johnson, and the end is inevitable as Koscheck sinks in a rear naked choke and Johnson taps out.
Aftermath: Josh Koscheck calls out Dan Hardy in his post fight interview, claiming that he and not Hardy should get the next title shot. However, Hardy will face St. Pierre next, and Koscheck should fight another top contender in the meanwhile – likely a rematch with either Paulo Thiago or Thiago Silva.
Anthony Johnson showed that despite great physical attributes, he still has ways to go to be able to hang with the division’s elite. He made the contracted weight this time around, which is certainly a step in the right direction. He should next face Matt Brown or Ben Saunders.
Both fighters won the ‘Fight of the Night’ award – to the tune of $70K each, with Koscheck taking home an addition $70K for the ‘Submission of the Night’
Fight Grade: 5 4/5 1 point deduction for the eye pokes
Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin (205 lbs)
Round 1: Griffin throws leg and body kicks. Ortiz tries to punch. Neither man land anything significant until Ortiz shoots for a takedown and completes. Ortiz lands several elbows but Griffin ties him up. Griffin threatens a kimura and gets back to his feet. Griffin scores with kicks and knees. Ortiz goes for another takedown but is stuffed. Griffin scores with light punches and kicks, while Tito’s striking is largely ineffective. Round 10-9 Griffin
Round 2: Griffin is looking to throw more kicks and gets taken down. Ortiz lands good elbows and punches from guard. Ortiz passes into half-guard then Griffin escapes to his feet. Griffin knocks Tito’s mouth guard out with a slapping kick to the face. The action is briefly halted to retrieve the mouthpiece. Ortiz gets another takedown and opens a big cut on Griffin’s forehead with a series of elbows. Griffin sweeps and answers with elbows of his own from within Tito’s guard. Round 10-9 Ortiz
Round 3: Ortiz looks like there’s nothing left in the tank, and Griffin comes out with a renewed energy. Griffin peppers Ortiz with a wide variety of punches and kicks, not doing much damage but scoring points. Ortiz attempts a half-hearted shot which Griffin easily sprawls out of. Griffin continues to pick apart Ortiz, who is little more than a human punching bag at this point. Ortiz wakes up and lands a couple of punches at the end of the round, but this round was all Griffin which should give him the nod in a close fight. Round 10-9 Griffin
Forrest Griffin wins a split decision with the scores of 30-27, 29-28, 28-29
Aftermath: The comeback of former champion Tito Ortiz was unspectacular, and it’s not likely Ortiz will ever return to the elite level of competition. He would be better off in legends-type bouts; perhaps against either Randy Couture or Mark Coleman after they face off. Forrest Griffin also did not show championship form in the rematch. Rich Franklin would be a good matchup for Griffin, though there is some talk of an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ season coached by Griffin and Ortiz, with a rubber match at the conclusion. The score of 30-27 from one of the judges makes me think he fell asleep while watching this bout.
Fight Grade: 3/5
This was one of the more enterntaining UFC events in a while – despite all the injuries and reshuffling prior to the event, all the fights really delivered. Three of the preliminary fights televised on Spike were re-broadcast during the PPV to fill time, which dragged down the event a bit for those who watched the prelims.
Event Grade: 4/5