UFC: Silva vs Irvin Results
by Robert Sargent
UFC's hastily assembled July 19th card was filled largely with lacklustre fights, but culminated in a very dominating victory for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, in his debut at 205 pounds, with a quick knockout of James Irvin.
In an undercard bout that rescued the event from total mediocrity, former IFL star Rory Markham scored a highlight-reel head kick knockout over UFC newcomer Brodie Farber.
Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs "The Sandman" James Irvin
Silva's debut at light heavyweight was a crushing success, as he caught a kick from Irvin in the opening minute and promptly knocked Irvin out with a barrage of punches.Both fighters circled each other in the opening seconds, landing sparse punches and kicks. Irvin threw a hard leg kick, but Silva caught it and drilled him with a right cross to the face. Off-balance, Irvin fell to the mat, where Silva followed up with a relentless flurry of punches that forced the referee to quickly intervene. An impressive debut at 205 for Silva.
Winner: Anderson Silva by KO (Punches) at 1:01 of round one. He improves to 22-4-0.
Brandon "The Truth" Vera vs Reese Andy
Unlike with Anderson Silva's debut at light heavyweight, Vera's first 205-pound fight was anything but exciting, but he did enough to emerge with a decision victory over Andy, the former IFL standout.Andy scored a takedown early in round one, but Vera immediately got back up. From there, very little changed in the next 15 minutes. Neither fighter could do anything in the clinch and neither could do much to control their opponent. Vera attempted some flashy kicks in round one and scored a takedown, but never landed any solid blows. The weight cut seemed to have a significant effect on Vera, who badly lacked the aggression that had made him famous in the past.
In the end, Vera's slight advantage in strikes landed, coupled with Andy's inability to control him, resulted in Vera coming away with a hard-fought, albeit lacklustre, decision victory.
Winner: Brandon Vera by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-0.
Frankie "The Answer" Edgar vs Hermes Franca
Franca's return to competition after a one-year suspension did not go as planned, as he was soundly dominated from bell to bell by Edgar, who gets back on the winning track.Edgar scored a takedown early in round one and landed strikes to the downed Franca for the next two minutes. An elbow from Edgar created a huge knot on Franca's forehead, but Franca quickly caught Edgar in an omoplata and transitioned into a near-perfect armbar. Edgar narrowly managed to squirm and escape, tugging his arms out of danger. Back on the feet, Franca landed a knee and a right, then a pair of counterpunches, but Edgar scored another takedown and landed strikes from the top until the bell.
Edgar landed a quick flurry early in round two, then scored a takedown. From there, it was a repeat of round one, with Edgar landing numerous strikes from top position. Franca tried for occasional submissions, but Edgar easily evaded them and continued to punish his opponent. Edgar eventually took Franca's back and landed more punches, but Franca managed to regain guard. However, the round was all Edgar, and he scored another takedown before the bell.
Franca came out aggressively in round three, landing a big punch and a knee. Edgar scored another takedown and landed strikes from the top, reminiscent of the first two rounds. Franca got back to his feet, only to be taken down again. Edgar took Franca's back and landed knees to the body. After another takedown from Edgar, Franca tried unsuccessfully for an armbar and was met with more punches and elbows for his troubles. Franca tried for another armbar, but Edgar once again escaped. Franca landed a vicious knee that cut Edgar's nose late in the round, but Edgar survived for an easy decision victory.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0.
Cain Velasquez vs "Irish" Jake O'Brien
The highly-touted Velasquez kept his undefeated record intact, using his superior wrestling to control O'Brien on the ground and landing dozens of unanswered strikes that forced the referee to stop the fight.Velasquez used a hip toss to take O'Brien down early in round one, quickly moving to side-control. From there, Velasquez methodically trapped O'Brien's arms, using his legs and head. With his free arm, Velasquez unleashed dozens and dozens of rights to the face of O'Brien, forcing the referee to mercifully stop the fight.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by TKO (Unanswered Punches) at 2:02 of round one. He improves to 4-0-0.
Kevin "The Fire" Burns vs Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
In one of the most ridiculous outcomes in mixed martial arts history, Burns was awarded with a TKO victory in round three, when Johnson was unable to continue after being poked in the eye - for the fifth or sixth time - by Burns, despite two prior warnings from the referee.Both fighters landed strikes early on, then clinched against the cage. Burns landed some solid punches in an exchange and continued to be aggressive. After a brief stoppage for an accidental low blow, Johnson scored a big takedown, but was poked in the eye in the process. Johnson landed strikes from top position for most of the remainder of the round, but Burns nullified nearly all of the damage and landed elbows from the bottom. Johnson takes the close round.
Johnson landed a big knee and two punches early in round two that sent Burns reeling into the cage, then followed it up with a running knee to the face and a quick flurry. Burns held on, throwing back punches of his own, and Johnson landed another jumping knee. Johnson landed a quick combination, but Burns continued to come forward. Two more big punches landed for Johnson. Burns landed three consecutive eye pokes while pawing with his jab, and was warned by the referee. Burns landed a big head kick, but Johnson came back with a wild combo and a takedown. Johnson maintained top position until the final 15 seconds, then scored another takedown and took the close round.
The fighters exchanged leg kicks in round three, with Johnson catching a kick and scoring a takedown. Little transpired on the ground and the fight was brought back to the feet. Johnson scored another takedown and another stalemate ensued, with the fight returning to the feet again. After a brief exchange, Burns jabbed Johnson directly in the right eye with his fingers, dropping Johnson, who was in a considerable amount of pain as his eye swelled up immediately. Johnson could not continue.
In what can only be described as a complete farce, Burns, despite being warned twice previously for pokes to the eyes, was awarded with a TKO victory, even though he was behind on all scorecards and used an illegal tactic to "win" the fight. In a display of pure class, Johnson made no excuses and implored the crowd to stop booing Burns, saying that anything can happen in a fight. Johnson's eye was completely swollen shut from the eye poke.
Winner: Kevin Burns by TKO (Eye Poke) at 3:35 of round three. He improves to 7-1-0 with the "win."
CB "The Doberman" Dollaway vs Jesse "J.T. Money" Taylor
After getting a second chance, Taylor made his official UFC debut, but was quickly submitted with the extremely rare Peruvian Necktie submission, giving Dollaway a much needed victory.The fighters clinched against the cage early on, with Taylor unable to get Dollaway down. Dollaway used a hip toss to score a takedown of his own, but landed an illegal knee to the head on the ground and was warned. Following a brief rest period for Taylor, Dollaway stuffed a takedown attempt and moved to mount, then took Taylor's back. After rear naked choke and arm-triangle choke attempts failed, Dollaway got back to his feet. Taylor scored a takedown, then landed strikes from the top, but Dollaway escaped and took Taylor's back. Using his legs to keep Taylor in place, Dollaway locked his wrists under Taylor's chin and wrenched back, forcing Taylor to submit to the incredibly rare Peruvian Necktie submission. Highly impressive.
Winner: CB Dollaway by Submission (Peruvian Necktie) at 3:58 of round one. He improves to 7-1-0.
Rory Markham vs Brodie Farber
Despite getting rocked with punches early in round one, Markham came back with one of the craziest head kick knockouts in UFC history, putting an exclamation mark on his UFC debut.Both fighters came out swinging, with each possessing vicious knockout power. Markham landed a quick one-two, but Farber replied with kicks. Farber landed a big right, then came forward with a trio of rights that rocked Markham and sent him backpedalling. Farber landed a knee and three more looping punches, again sending Markham back. However, just as Farber came in for the finish, Markham unleashed a huge head kick that instantly knocked Farber out cold. Extremely impressive recovery by Markham, who makes an emphatic debut.
Winner: Rory Markham by KO (Head Kick) at 1:37 of round one. He improves to 16-4-0.
Undercard Fights:
Tim Credeur defeated Cale Yarbrough by TKO (Punches) at 1:54 of round one and improves to 10-2-0.Nate Loughran defeated Johnny Rees by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:21 of round one and improves to 9-0-0.
"Bad" Brad Blackburn defeated James Giboo by TKO (Flying Knee & Punches) at 2:29 of round two and improves to 15-9-1, 1 NC.
Shannon Gugerty defeated Dale Hartt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:33 of round one and improves to 11-2-0.
While the event was free and did feature a couple of solid fights, it was evident that this hastily assembled card was no match for the Affliction: Banned event on the same night.
