UFC 95:
Sanchez vs. Stevenson

Live from the 02 Arena in London, UFC 95 opened to the golden voice of the ‘Grand Ringmaster’, Bruce Buffer. If Led Zeppelin are in fact looking to replace vocalist Robert Plant, then I’d like to nominate Bruce for the gig: Nobody does it better than Buffer.

In earlier matches:
Mike Ciesnolevicz def. Neil Grove by heel hook – 1.03, Round One.

Junior Dos Santos def. Stefan Struve by TKO – 0.54, Round One.
Evan Dunham def. Per Eklund by TKO – 1.03, Round One.

Paul Kelly def. Christian Tony Mandaloniz by unanimous decision.

The Battles

Paulo Thiago (5’11” 169 lb) vs. Josh Koscheck (5’10” 170 lb)
– Welterweight
Referee: Marc Goddard

Paulo poked out jabs and leg-kicked; Josh flung hellfire overhand rights and powerful jabs.
3.32: Josh smacked Paulo in the mouth with an overhand right.
3.15: Josh inside leg-kicked and Paulo outside leg-kicked.
3.04: Paulo kicked and Josh countered with another overhand right.
2.56: He parked yet another wildcard right in Paulo’s face.
2.09: Koscheck pounded out a leg kick and was outgunning Thiago in the standup shootout.
1.32: The freak wave arrived! Thiago tagged Koscheck with a right uppercut and a left hook.
Koscheck protested the stoppage.

Result: Paulo Thiago by TKO – 3.29, Round One.

Demian Maia (6’0” 184 lb) vs. Chael Sonnen (6’1” 185 lb)
– Middleweight
Referee: Dan Miragliotta

They sparred.
4.17: Southpaw Demian shot in and Chael sprawled, but Demian pulled him into a loose guard.
3.57: Chael stood, then dropped down and g’n’ped.
3.02: They stood after both men struggled for dominance on the ground.
2.44: They clinched before Maia took Sonnen down. Maia rolled on top of Sonnen and began lining up a triangle. He rolled onto his back with the triangle in place and forced Sonnen to tap.

Result: Demian Maia by triangle choke – 2.37, Round One.

Nate Marquardt (6’0” 185 lb) vs. Wilson Gouveia (6’1” 185 lb)
– Middleweight
Referee: Leon Roberts

Round One
4.50: Nate attempted an inside kick.
4.34: He pulled up short with a leg kick.
4.13: Wilson leg-kicked and took a high kick on the mitts before absorbing one to the body.
3.47: Wilson leg-kicked and Nate returned it. The toe-to-toe continued.
2.00: Gouveia appeared to be getting the better of the stand-up challenge.
1.04: Marquardt took Gouveia down after turning up the pace. Gouveia pulled Marquardt into his guard and fitted him with a guillotine.
0.38: Marquardt’s head was free; he finished the round with g’n’p.

Round Two
Wilson excelled with his leg kicks against Keith Jardine at Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale, and he favored the strikes again here against Nate. They banged it out until 3.24 when the pair clinched.
3.13: They broke free.
3.08: Wilson stunned Nate with a right; however as he moved in on Nate to capitalize, Nate took Wilson’s back, then moved into half guard before winding up in full guard.
1.55: Marquardt dropped heavy-duty elbows on Gouveia.
1.16: They stood and Marquardt went for a guillotine.
1.07: They separated and Marquardt hammered up to the bell.

Round Three
The pair traded until 3.22, when Nate took Wilson’s back. Nate seemed to have more juice in the tank but was unable to take Wilson down.
2.35: They broke free.
1.59: Nate connected with a leaping knee, then cleaned up with strikes.

Result: Nate Marquardt by TKO – 3.10, Round Three.

Terry Etim (6’1” 206 lb) vs. Brian Cobb (6’1” 206 lb)
– Light Heavyweight
Referee: Kevin Mulhall

Round One
4.54: Terry came up short with a high kick.
4.45: He leg-kicked and followed with a higher kick.
4.40: Brian caught Terry’s next kick before Terry yanked his leg back.
4.25: Brian threw jabs and looked to take Terry down.
4.12: Etim leg-kicked.
4.00: Cobb caught Etim’s kick and swept him down before dropping into guard.
2.50: Kevin Mulhall stood them up. Etim used his reach advantage to pick Cobb off with leg kicks and jabs.
2.07: Cobb took Etim down again and slipped into guard.
1.11: Brian was unable to capitalize on the ground, so the ref stood them up. Terry continued to immobilize Brian’s lead leg with kicks.
0.25: They clinched and Terry swept Brian to the ground, then fell into guard. Terry retreated from guard and the pair stood as the hooter sounded.

Round Two
4.55: Etim leg-kicked.
4.52: He knocked Cobb to the canvas with a high kick off his lead leg. Etim pounded and Kevin Mulhall stepped in.
Cobb protested the stoppage.

Result: Terry Etim by TKO – 0.10, Round Two.

Dan Hardy (6’0” 170 lb) vs. Rory Markham (5’11” 170 lb)
– Welterweight
Referee: Kevin Mulhall

4.48: Dan inside leg-kicked and they exchanged jabs.
4.28: Dan inside leg-kicked.
4.23: Rory delivered a left hook.
4.17: Dan missed with a low kick.
3.54: Rory threw an overhand right and Dan countered with a left hook that put Rory down.

Result: Dan Hardy by KO – 1.09, Round One.

Diego Sanchez (5’11” 156 lb) vs. Joe Stevenson (5’7” 155 lb)
– Lightweight
Referee: Dan Miragliotta

Round One
Joe stands orthodox and Diego is in southpaw. Joe comes after Diego and Diego lets fly with a quick combo.
4.36: Diego shoots for Joe’s left leg and Joe sprawls.
4.31: Stevenson closes in and wears an uppercut.
4.08: Sanchez is counterstriking, picking Stevenson off with knees, jabs and uppercuts. He mixes it up with a variety of weapons and works the body and the head; Stevenson adopts a pure boxing approach.
3.39: Joe lands a combo before the elusive Diego moves out of range.
3.05: Diego high-kicks.
2.52: He delivers a right hook and a left hand.
2.37: Diego unloads more uppercuts and a high kick, leaving Joe in the dark, not knowing what’s coming next.
2.32: Joe tries for a takedown, but Diego wards it off.
Joe persists with pure boxing and Diego picks him apart with a mixed bag of MMA.

Round Two
4.39: Sanchez unbalances Stevenson with a left and a right hook, then catches him with a leaping knee.
4.32: Stevenson goes into damage control and attempts the takedown; he fails and Sanchez momentarily gets Stevenson’s back before they scramble to their feet.
3.58: Sanchez sends up high kicks.
3.22: They clinch as Stevenson locks on a guillotine; however Sanchez is able to hoist Stevenson into the air and dump him on the mats.
3.02: Not to be outdone, Sanchez goes for a guillotine that doesn’t work.
2.05: Joe leads with jabs, then pumps Diego with a right cross.
1.53: Joe lands another heavy right and Diego closes this segment with high kicks.

Round Three
Diego continues to unload body shots, uppercuts, head shots, knees and kicks. Joe stays with his boxing game. He’s hanging tough but it appears it will take a knockout punch for Joe to come up aces. It doesn’t happen.

Result: Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision.