john lawrence gets in the octagon on FOX…
The UFC on Fox 6 was another great free fight card for the UFC. While some fans are complaining about how the UFC saturated the market with 3 or more fights a month, I say as long as they are putting on good fights, keep them coming. This card had a very carefully thought out combination of up and comers and veteran fighters. There was a point in time where you were never going to see a title fight for free or get to see Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on a free fight card. The night shaped out to have some great bouts and personally can’t wait to see what else the UFC will bring in 2013.
The night on Fox started out with a featherweight matchup between Erik Kock and Ricardo Lamas. The fight started out a little on the slow side and the first round finished with Lamas definitely up on the judges’ cards. In the second, Kock slipped up and and they went to the ground. Lamas pounced on the attack and started in with brutal elbows. He continued the ground and pound until the referee put a stop to it about halfway into the second.
Winner by TKO: Ricardo Lamas
Not a bad way to start the evening at all. From here, we jumped up to the lightweight division for a battle between Anthony Pettis and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Any fan of fighting definitely knows these two names. Pettis is a virtual one man highlight reel and Cerrone is one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division. These two stepped into the octagon to fight and neither was going to back down. Both fighters looked good from the start, and it was pretty back and forth until Pettis turned it up. With a big kick to the body, the fight was over for Cerrone. He collapsed to the ground and was finished off with a few punches. This should clear the path for Pettis to be well on his way to a title shot.
Winner by TKO: Anthony Pettis
Now we move on to the most bittersweet fight of the evening. Any night that you get to watch Quinton Jackson fight, is a good fight night. The man is a legend. His resume is basically a who’s who of mma. He has held belts in both Pride and the UFC, and unfortunately, this is to be his last fight. For his last fight, he got to fight rising star Glover Texeira. Texeira is quickly making a name for himself and becoming known as a force to be reckoned with in the UFC. He is a proficient grappler with great striking and has not lost a fight since 2005. This fight was a fitting end to Jackson’s career in the UFC and he got to go out doing what he does best, standing and punching. This fight, for the most part, was two guys standing and duking it out. Texeira did have some great takedowns, but was unable to capitalize on them. Jackson landed some great strikes, but was unable to put Texeira away. The fight inevitably went to the judge’s cards and Texeira took the decision victory.
Winner by decision: Glover Texeira
This brings us to the main event of the evening, a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson. These are two of the fastest fighters in the world, and this fight showed nothing short of that. The first two rounds were fought at breakneck speed with Dodson knocking Johnson down twice in the second round. Johnson was able to shake it off and recover very well. Johnson was able to get a few takedowns, but it seemed Dodson got up just as fast as he was taken down. In the third, things slowed down about a millisecond as both fighters continued to strike virtually nonstop. An illegal knee stopped the fight momentarily in the fourth round, but when it restarted, the fight was all in Johnson’s hands. He was able to finally start outstriking Dodson and gain the upper hand. He pinned Dodson up against the cage and started landing devastating knees. Dodson was left bloodied, but was able to make it out of the round. In the fifth round Johnson led with a takedown and was able to control Dodson on the ground, but he eventually was able to get back to his feet. He didn’t fare much better there, as Johnson was able to get him up against the cage again and began raining down more knees. The decision was left in the judge’s hands who scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, and for some unknown reason, the last judge had it at 49-46 ( a slap in the face for Dodson’s effort). This was a great battle between two very exciting fighters and I really do hope we get to see a rematch.
Winner by unanimous decision: Demetrious Johnson
Results for preliminary fight card
TJ Grant def. Matt Wiman via KO
Clay Guida def. Hatsu Hioki via split decision
Pascal Krauss def. Mike Stumpf via unanimous decision
Ryan Bader def. Vladimir Matyushenko via submission (guillotine)
Shawn Jordan def. Mike Russow via TKO
Rafael Natal def. Sean Spencer via submission (arm triangle)
David Mitchell def. Simeon Thoresen via unanimous decision
Fight of the night: John Dodson and Demetrious Johnson
KO of the night: Anthony Pettis
Submission of the night: Ryan Bader
