The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina tonight with a solid card at UFC Fight Night 21. The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between former two-time UFC title challenger Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian and final PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi.
Also on the card, Roy “Big Country” Nelson made quick work of Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve, while Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera stopped Nate “Rock” Quarry. MMARising.com has play-by-play from the event.
Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian vs Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi
Round 1:
The fighters circled for the opening minute and traded single jabs. Florian threw a combination and Gomi ducked under. Florian responded by evading a one-two from Gomi and landed a stiff leg kick. More jabs scored for both fighters and Gomi countered a leg kick with a right hook. Florian continued to keep Gomi on the defensive with jabs and both fighters landed big left hands at the same time. Florian followed with a combination and a knee in close.
Florian landed a leg kick and more jabs. Gomi threw a left to the body. Three jabs snapped Gomi’s head back and Florian remained the aggressor. The fighters traded punches and Florian backed Gomi up with jabs to the nose. Gomi threw a body kick and Florian answered with a kick-punch combo. Seven more jabs found the mark for Florian and he stuffed a takedown. Gomi landed a left hook and a leg kick, but ate even more jabs from Florian. 10-9 Florian.
Round 2:
Gomi was more aggressive in the second round and countered Florian’s jabs with quick counterpunches to the head and body. Florian kept his distance and jabbed, then dove in with a pair of flurries. Gomi ducked under an uppercut and replied with a right hook. He began to land jabs of his own and Florian backed up. Florian clinched and landed a knee. Gomi threw single hooks and Florian put together combinations.
Florian looked to clinch, but Gomi punched his way free. More jabs landed for Florian and Gomi struggled to find his range. He missed with three lunging punches, but connected with a hard left hook to the liver. Florian was unfazed and fired off a head kick. Florian landed a combination and Gomi answered with a big one-two. He missed with a wild lead right hook and Florian kept the pressure on with quick punches at the bell. 10-9 Florian.
Round 3:
Quick punches landed for both fighters in the final round and Gomi looked to turn up the pace with combinations. Florian evaded and jabbed, but Gomi drilled him with a left hook. Florian responded with a takedown and landed short strikes from Gomi’s guard. He looked to set up an arm-triangle choke and used it to pass to mount. Gomi scrambled and gave up his back. He tried to roll to escape, but Florian locked on a rear-naked choke and Gomi was forced to submit.
Winner: Kenny Florian by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:52 of round three. He improves to 13-4-0.
Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve
Round 1:
After a power outage in the arena delayed the start of this bout, the fight began and Nelson immediately pushed forward. Struve landed a pair of leg kicks, but Nelson responded with a right hook. He collapsed Struve to the mat with a second massive right hook and followed with punches on the ground. Struve, with his nose appearing to be broken, turtled and referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight. Impressive win for Nelson.
Winner: Roy Nelson by TKO (Punches) at 0:39 of round one. He improves to 15-4-0.
Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Nate “Rock” Quarry
Round 1:
Quarry opened the fight with a punching combination and followed with leg kicks. Rivera threw a leg kick of his own, but caught a left hook in close. Quarry resumed kicking and landed a punch-kick combo. Rivera cracked him with a pair of big right hands, but Quarry stayed on his feet. Quarry landed another combination and more leg kicks. Rivera backed him up with two right hooks and floored Quarry with a lead right hand.
Quarry recovered and returned to his feet, but ate a knee and more punches on the way. He broke free of a clinch with an elbow and circled away. Rivera battered Quarry with more punches and dropped him against the cage. Quarry tried to stand, but Rivera bloodied him with big shots. Another big right hand landed for Rivera and he teed off with punches. Quarry collapsed to his knees and was nearly finished, but held on. Rivera punched until the bell. 10-8 Rivera.
Round 2:
Quarry pressed forward with kicks and punches in the second round and seemed to know that he was well behind on the scorecards. Rivera rocked him with a right hook and dropped him with a right-left combo. Quarry turtled and referee Mario Yamasaki wisely stopped the fight. Great win for Rivera.
Winner: Jorge Rivera by TKO (Punches) at 0:29 of round two. He improves to 18-7-0.
Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs Dennis Siver
Round 1:
Siver kept his distance with quick kicks to the head and body early on and both fighters landed left hooks. Pearson caught a kick and landed a lunging left. Quick punches were exchanged and Pearson scored with a combination and two kicks. The fighters unloaded with power punches and Pearson circled away. Siver landed a nice body kick and Pearson cracked him with a one-two. Both fighters landed jabs and Pearson opened a cut below Siver’s left eye.
Siver answered with a solid combination, but Pearson fought if off and threw a punch-kick combo. More punches found the mark for Pearson and he drilled Siver with a vicious head kick. Siver held strong and fired back punches, but lost his mouthpiece. Pearson took Siver down and worked for a rear-naked choke as Siver bled heavily from the nose. Pearson briefly moved to mount, but Siver reversed and stood, then landed a barrage of punches. Good round. 10-9 Pearson.
Round 2:
An exchange of kicks and left hooks opened the second round and Pearson landed a body kick and a looping right hook. Siver tried for a takedown and Pearson stuffed it. Siver threw his patented spinning back kick to the liver, but Pearson managed to partially block it. A quick one-two and a flying knee landed for Pearson as he began to take control of the fight.
Siver scored a takedown and tried to pass to side-control. He took Pearson’s back in a scramble, but Pearson escaped and landed a knee as the fighters stood. A stiff jab and a right cross landed for Pearson and he continued to keep Siver at bay with leg kicks. Pearson landed a one-two and Siver missed with a spinning hook kick. Both threw punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Pearson.
Round 3:
The final round began with both fighters throwing quick jabs and Siver landed a combination. Pearson countered with punches and a leg kick. He landed an overhand right and Siver immediately answered with two of his own. The fighters traded leg kicks and Siver missed with two head kicks. Pearson jabbed and ducked under a left hook. He avoided another hook from Siver and drilled him with two hard punches.
Siver scored a takedown and worked from Pearson’s guard. Pearson worked back to his feet and blocked a knee on the way. A quick one-two and a big leg kick scored for Pearson and he clinched seconds later. Pearson tripped Siver to the mat, but Siver got back to his feet and threw another spinning back kick. Pearson jabbed and sidestepped a spinning back kick, then avoided a takedown in the final seconds. 10-9 Pearson.
Winner: Ross Pearson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0.
Gleison Tibau vs Caol “Uno Shoten” Uno
Round 1:
Uno opened the fight with a stiff leg kick and was sent backwards by a counterpunch from Tibau. The fighters traded punches and Tibau caught a kick. He tripped Uno to the ground and took his back. Uno worked back to his feet and spun out of a clinch. Tibau landed a one-two and backed away. Uno scored with another leg kick and Tibau fired back a quick flurry. Both landed punches in a fast-paced exchange.
Uno looked to punch his way in close, but Tibau pushed him away. A big left hand staggered Uno and Tibau dropped him with a left hook and an uppercut. Uno scrambled and hung on as Tibau battered him with hammerfists and took his back. A big punch landed for Tibau and he rained down powerful left hands. Uno rolled to his stomach and Tibau unleashed a series of vicious lefts and rights until the referee stopped the fight. Uno was very woozy when he got up.
Winner: Gleison Tibau by TKO (Punches) at 4:13 of round one. He improves to 21-6-0.
Undercard Fights:
Andre Winner defeated Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-1 with the win.
Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann defeated Ronys Torres by Split Decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 10-2-0 with the win.
Nik “The Carnie” Lentz defeated Rob “The Saint” Emerson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-3-2 with the win.
Yushin “Thunder” Okami defeated Lucio “Spartan” Linhares by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Cut) at 2:47 of round two. He improves to 24-5-0 with the win.
Gerald Harris defeated Mario Miranda by TKO (Punches) at 4:49 of round one. He improves to 15-2-0 with the win.
Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman defeated Jason “The Kansas City Bandit” High by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0 with the win.
Capped off by another big victory for former title contender Kenny “KenFlo” Florian, UFC Fight Night 21 was an excellent night of action and suffered minimally from the freak power outage prior to the co-main event. TUF 10 winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson once again showed why he was the first and only IFL Heavyweight Champion as he quickly dispatched of Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)