The Ultimate Fighting Championship entered the Acer Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia tonight for UFC 110: “Nogueira vs Velasquez.” The debut Australian event was headlined by a heavyweight clash between former PRIDE and UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and the still-undefeated Cain Velasquez.
In other main card action, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva defeated Michael “The Count” Bisping and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović stopped Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh. MMARising.com has live play-by-play of the action.
Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira
Round 1:
Nogueira connected with a nice combination to begin the opening round and Velasquez answered with leg kicks and a one-two. A hard leg kick and a flurry landed for Velasquez and he continued to put together punch-kick combos. Nogueira answered with a jab, but Velasquez drilled him with four punches and a knee.
Both fighters landed left hooks and Velasquez scored with more kicks. Velasquez dropped Nogueira with a one-two and followed with more huge punches on the ground. Referee Herb Dean dove in to rescue Nogueira. Huge win for Velasquez.
Winner: Cain Velasquez by KO (Punches) at 2:20 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0.
Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva vs Michael “The Count” Bisping
Round 1:
The fighters traded jabs and kicks to begin the fight and Bisping scored a takedown. Silva got up and punched his way free of a clinch. Silva blocked a kick and answered with a counter left hook. Bisping scored another brief takedown and both fighters landed strikes as Silva returned to his feet. Silva landed a lunging combination and Bisping replied with a solid right cross.
More punches were exchanged and Silva landed a right hook. Both landed kicks and Silva rushed in with a big flurry. Bisping answered with a right cross. Two punches and a leg kick found the mark for Silva and more strikes were exchanged in close. Silva stuffed two takedowns and landed a pair of big shots in the final seconds. Very, very close round. 10-10.
Round 2:
Both fighters began the second round aggressively and Silva put together combinations of punches and leg kicks. Silva caught a kick and tripped Bisping to the mat. Silva threw punches and an elbow from the top, then fought out of an armbar attempt. Silva stood up and landed a soccer kick to the body, then a quick one-two as Bisping got to his feet. Another leg kick landed for Silva and he followed with a trio of power punches.
More punches were exchanged and Bisping scored a slam takedown. He landed in side-control, but Silva scrambled to his feet. Leg and body kicks landed for Silva and Bisping replied with a stiff jab. Silva just missed with a looping right hook, but he connected with more kicks to the leg and body. Silva backed Bisping up, but Bisping landed a nice counter one-two and scored a takedown. Silva locked on a tight guillotine choke and Bisping barely survived until the bell. 10-9 Silva.
Round 3:
Silva began the final round with leg kicks and Bisping answered with a hard left hook. The fighters traded kicks and Silva landed a straight right hand. Bisping connected with a right cross and time was called after an inadvertent low blow from Bisping. Action resumed and Bisping landed a stiff kick to the body. Silva countered with leg kicks and two winging punches. Silva landed a looping right and stuffed a takedown.
Silva continued to back Bisping up with leg kicks and he fought off another takedown attempt. Stiff jabs landed for both and Silva scored with more kicks. Time was once again called after an eye poke from Bisping. The fight continued and the pace remained high with punches. Silva backed Bisping up and tripped Bisping to the mat. Bisping got to his feet and Silva floored him in the final seconds with a right hook. Again, Bisping was saved by the bell. 10-9 Silva.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 33-10-1, 1 NC.
George Sotiropoulos vs Joe “Daddy” Stevenson
Round 1:
Sotiropoulos pushed forward aggressively and landed a nice right hook, which set off a punching exchange. He landed another right hand and clinched, but could not get Stevenson down. Stevenson tried to throw Sotiropoulos to the mat, but wound up on the bottom. Sotiropoulos moved to half-guard and tried to posture up for elbows. Stevenson defended well from the bottom.
Stevenson tried to sweep and Sotiropoulos landed short elbows and punches from the top. A scramble ensued and Sotiropoulos landed punches from a standing position. Stevenson answered with an upkick and Sotiropoulos moved directly to side-control. Sotiropoulos escaped an arm-triangle choke from the bottom and teed off with strikes from mount. Stevenson gave up his back and Sotiropoulos tried for a Kimura and then an armbar. Excellent round. 10-9 Sotiropoulos.
Round 2:
An exchange of left hooks opened round two as the crowd cheered wildly. Sotiropoulos staggered Stevenson with a counter hook, but Stevenson quickly recovered. Short punches landed for both and Sotiropoulos tagged Stevenson with two counterpunches. Another big right hook scored for Sotiropoulos and he continued to outbox Stevenson. Sotiropoulos landed a nice combination, but Stevenson took him down.
Sotiropoulos used rubber guard from the bottom and worked into an omoplata, which he used to sweep. Sotiropoulos worked from side-control and Stevenson scrambled to his feet. Sotiropoulos looked to use rubber guard again and then moved into an armbar. Stevenson escaped and tried for a heel hook, but Sotiropoulos evaded danger and secured an Anaconda Choke right at the bell. Another great round. 10-9 Sotiropoulos, just barely.
Round 3:
Sotiropoulos rushed in with punches to begin the final round and he followed with a hard left hook. A right hook landed as well and he took Stevenson down. Sotiropoulos took top position, but Stevenson scrambled to his feet. Sotiropoulos tripped Stevenson to the mat again, but Stevenson once again stood up. The fighters separated and both landed right hooks. Sotiropoulos scored with hooks and defended a takedown.
Stevenson continued to try to get Sotiropoulos down, but he stayed on his feet against the cage. Stevenson picked Sotiropoulos up and slammed him down, then looked to work from half-guard. Sotiropoulos regained guard and rolled for an armbar, then drilled Stevenson with an upkick. The fight returned to the feet and Stevenson scored another takedown. Sotiropoulos kept Stevenson in place until the bell. Great fight. 10-9 Stevenson.
Winner: George Sotiropoulos by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.
“The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine vs Ryan “Darth” Bader
Round 1:
The fighters traded quick punches and Bader landed a lead left hook. He clinched and pressed Jardine up against the cage, but soon backed away. Bader landed a big right hand, but Jardine was unfazed. Another exchange followed and both landed punches and body kicks. Bader landed a winging overhand right and slammed Jardine to the ground. Bader worked from half-guard and looked to pass.
Jardine regained butterfly guard, but Bader moved to half-guard again. Jardine defended well and Bader was unable to do much of anything. He finally postured up and scored with a trio of short elbows. A stalemate followed and the fighters were stood up. Bader just missed with a wild haymaker and Jardine countered with a left hook. Jardine landed a leg kick at the bell. 10-9 Bader.
Round 2:
Bader opened round two with a stiff leg kick and Jardine answered with a right hand and a kick of his own. Bader rushed Jardine into the cage, but Jardine stayed on his feet. Jardine landed a knee to the body and Bader backed away. Bader missed with a right hook and Jardine tagged him with a one-two. Bader clinched against the cage again, but Jardine defended well.
Bader circled away again and connected with a pair of quick punches. Jardine replied with punches of his own and backed Bader up with a lead right hook. Jardine stuffed a takedown and threw a flurry of punches. He ducked under a big right hook from Bader and stuffed another takedown. Both fighters fell while throwing kicks and Bader clinched. He scored a very brief takedown just before the bell. Extremely close round. 10-10.
Round 3:
Bader threw a one-two early in the final round and Jardine smiled. Bader clinched, but could not get Jardine to the mat. Sparse punches were exchanged and Jardine scored with a pair of leg kicks. Bader took him down, but Jardine immediately got back to his feet. Jardine continued to throw leg kicks, but was rocked by a counter hook. Bader jumped in with a flying knee and floored Jardine with a left hook. Referee Josh Rosenthal jumped in to rescue Jardine.
Winner: Ryan Bader by KO (Punch) at 2:10 of round three. He improves to 11-0-0.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)