UFC Fight Night 15 Results
by Robert Sargent
Entering Nebraska for the first time, the UFC put on an exciting night of fights at UFC Fight Night 15. Split decisions dominated the main card bouts, as Alan Belcher and Nate Diaz both emerged victorious with extremely close decision wins.
In the first fight of the main card telecast, hometown star Houston "The Assassin" Alexander dropped his third straight fight, losing by arm-triangle choke to Eric Schafer in round one.
Nate Diaz vs Josh "The Dentist" Neer
Easily Diaz's toughest fight to date in the UFC, Neer dominated the early parts of all three rounds, but a very game Diaz escaped numerous submission attempts and came back strong late in rounds one and three to walk away with a razor-thin split decision victory.Neer opened up round one with a solid leg kick, then went completely against his pre-fight game plan and slammed Diaz down to the canvas. Neer tried for a D'Arce choke, and Diaz escaped, so Neer went for a guillotine choke. Again, Diaz managed to squirm free. Diaz stood up and Neer took his back, in total control of the fight. Diaz used a standing Kimura switch to get Neer off of his back, and Neer replied with a hard left hook seconds later. Diaz, like his brother Nick, began firing away with weak, peppering punches, and Neer came back with an uppercut. Diaz used a textbook Judo throw to take Neer down and worked from side-control, but Neer managed to regain half-guard and even looked for a heel hook. Diaz went for a kneebar, then used a scramble to transition to Neer's back and then to mount. Diaz landed strikes from the top until the bell, stealing the incredibly close round.
Neer, seemingly aware that he'd had round one stolen from him, came out aggressively in round two, only to be taken down. Diaz used a kneebar to pass Neer's guard, but Neer showed surprising skill on the ground and escaped, then stood up and took Diaz's back. Neer looked for a rear naked choke, and almost locked it in, but Diaz once again showed his crafty side and evaded danger. From guard, Diaz looked for a triangle choke or an armbar, and Neer had to be careful to avoid being caught in the submissions. Neer stood up and landed an axe kick to Diaz's midsection and both fighters engaged in a lengthy scramble shortly before the bell, with Diaz using unique stepovers to avoid triangles and armbars. Neer takes the close round.
Round three began with Diaz throwing weak punches to the body and attempting a takedown. Neer defended and reversed position against the cage, but was taken down seconds later. Neer stood up, only to be taken down again. Diaz took Neer's back, but couldn't do anything to secure a finish and Neer rolled back over. Diaz briefly held mount, but opted to stand back up. After a moment, Diaz entered Neer's guard and attempted to land strikes, only to be reversed by Neer, who took Diaz's back yet again. Diaz managed to squirm free, only to eat shots to the body for his troubles. Shortly before the end of the round, Diaz scored another takedown, which sealed the deal in his favour.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 10-2-0.
Clay "The Carpenter" Guida vs Mac Danzig
Once again using a relentless offensive that spanned the entire 15 minutes, Guida handed Danzig his first loss in the UFC by dictating the pace of the fight from start to finish.Danzig scored with an early punching combination, then used his reach advantage and superior footwork to land jabs and short crosses. Guida opted for leg kicks, landing quite a few, then stuffed a takedown attempt from Danzig. Danzig landed a hard right hook, then a quick left-right combo, but was taken down to the mat. From the bottom, Danzig looked for a Kimura on Guida's right arm, then gave it up and got back to his feet. Guida scored another double-leg takedown, then yet another just seconds later. Unable to stay on his feet for more than a few seconds, Danzig instead looked for a guillotine choke and other submissions as Guida landed strikes from the top. Danzig got back to his feet before the bell, ending the very close round.
Early in the second round, Danzig landed a front kick to the face of Guida, which seemed only to make Guida angry, as he fought back with a hard right cross. Danzig attempted a trio of wild rights, to no avail, then landed a left hook. Guida scored a brief takedown and Danzig used the cage to get back to his feet. He landed a solid right hook, but could not take Guida down to the mat. Later in the round, Guida pinned Danzig up against the cage and used a side suplex to slam him to the ground. Guida took Danzig's back and looked to sink in a rear naked choke, but time expired in the round before he could secure the submission. Guida takes round two.
Danzig came out wildly swinging in round three, aware that he was likely behind on the scorecards. Guida attempted a takedown, but was met with a unique combination of dual hammerfists to the head and body from Danzig. Guida then managed to get Danzig down, only to be trapped in a Kimura and then an armbar. Guida escaped and scrambled to take Danzig's back, locking in one hook. Danzig rolled to his back and landed elbows to Guida's head from the bottom, as Guida planned out his next move. Danzig managed to work his way back to his feet, only to be met with more relentless offence from the never-tiring Guida. Danzig pulled guard with a Kimura attempt, but Guida escaped and landed punches from the top until the bell, winning the round and the fight.
Winner: Clay Guida by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 24-9-0.
Alan "The Talent" Belcher vs Ed "Short Fuse" Herman
Belcher, apparently unaware that his embarrassing loss to Jason Day at UFC 83 had all but made his UFC tenure irrelevant, continued his immature and cocky ways by taunting and showboating throughout this fight, before being given a gift by the judges in the form of an undeserved split decision victory.Both fighters traded wild strikes early in round one before Herman attempted a takedown. Belcher stuffed it, then came back with a stiff leg kick. Herman scored with a right, then a diving left hook, but Belcher fired back with a kick to the body. A quick flurry from Herman missed, but he landed a right cross seconds later as Belcher looked for a body shot. Herman scored a takedown and passed to half-guard, then looked for a D'Arce choke. Seemingly locked in, Herman appeared to let the hold go himself, then landed weak strikes as Belcher got back to his feet. Herman scored another takedown late in the round, despite Belcher holding the cage. Herman takes round one.
Herman began round two with a left hook, then looked to use his jab to set up a combination, but was rocked by a huge left hook from Belcher. Herman managed to perservere and threw wild punches of his own, but his legs were shaky from the punch. Belcher landed a quick punch to the body, then a vicious right cross to the jaw of Herman, which rocked him once again. Belcher turned to leg kicks as Herman tried to recover, and Herman came back with a looping right and a takedown. Belcher managed to work his way back to his feet, then scored with a Superman Punch just before the bell. Belcher takes round two.
The final round saw Belcher open up with jabs as Herman countered with a stiff right. From Belcher's corner, Rich Clementi screamed out, "No kicks, Alan! No kicks!" Belcher promptly responded by, in typical Belcher fashion, completely disregarding his corner's advice and throwing two kicks to the legs and body. Belcher landed a right and Herman rushed in for a takedown. Belcher used the cage to escape, but Herman's second takedown attempt was successful. Herman landed a few strikes from half-guard before Belcher got back to his feet, only to be taken down by a double-leg slam from Herman. In the final seconds, Herman landed strikes to the head of Belcher, then moved to mount and seemingly stole the round in the process.
However, two judges apparently saw things differently, awarding the vastly overconfident Belcher with a split decision victory that he really didn't deserve. The crowd rightfully booed the decision.
Winner: Alan Belcher by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 13-5-0.
Eric "Red" Schafer vs Houston "The Assassin" Alexander
Alexander, fighting in front of his hometown fans, was once again exposed as one of the most one-dimensional fighters in UFC history, as Schafer survived an early onslaught of punches and scored an impressive submission win late in round one.Alexander rocked Schafer early on with a pair of knees and a big right, but Schafer managed to hold on and pulled guard. Alexander landed punches from the top, then stood up and stuffed two consecutive takedowns. However, in true Alexander fashion, he was already gassed and only 90 seconds had elapsed. He managed to land some knees in the clinch, but was promptly taken down by Schafer. From there, the fight was academic, as Alexander's complete lack of ground game once again shone through. Schafer first locked on a guillotine choke, then unleashed a barrage of punches and elbows after Alexander rolled to his back. With his opponent offering zero resistance, Schafer locked on his patented kata-gatame arm-triangle choke with just seconds left in the round, forcing Alexander to submit.
Winner: Eric Schafer by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:53 of round one. He improves to 10-3-2.
Undercard Fights:
Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara defeated Joe Vedepo by KO (Head Kick & Punch) at 1:27 of round one. He improves to 13-7-0, 1 NC.Wilson Gouveia defeated Ryan Jensen by Submission (Armbar) at 2:04 of round two. He improves to 11-5-0.
Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon defeated Kyle Bradley by TKO (Punches) at 1:34 of round two. He improves to 17-4-0.
Jazon Brilz defeated Brad Morris by TKO (Punches) at 2:54 of round two. He improves to 16-1-1.
Mike Massenzio defeated Drew "The Massacre" McFedries by Submission (Kimura) at 1:28 of round one. He improves to 11-2-0.
Final IFL Middleweight Champion Dan Miller defeated Rob Kimmons by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:27 of round one. He improves to 9-1-0, 1 NC.
While it was the undercard of UFC Fight Night 15 that featured stoppage victories from beginning to end, the hotly-contested bouts on the main card provided the Nebraska crowd with an entertaining evening of mixed martial arts action.
