Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović vs Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh
Round 1:
Filipović just missed with an uppercut early on and he continued to push the pace with punches and a head kick. He stuffed a Perosh takedown and blasted him with hammerfists. Filipović dragged Perosh to the ground briefly with a guillotine choke, then stood up. Filipović rocked Perosh with a pair of punches, but Perosh held strong. Now bloodied, Perosh clinched and tried for a takedown.
Two big left hands scored for Filipović and he easily avoided a takedown. Another hard left cross landed and Filipović battered Perosh with hammerfists on the ground. Back on the feet, Filipović walked Perosh down and connected with more punches and a liver kick. Perosh shot in for a takedown and Filipović sprawled out. Filipović landed a one-two at the bell. 10-9 Filipović.
Round 2:
Filipović landed punches in round two and sprawled to defend a takedown. The fight returned to the feet and Filipović scored with a nice combination. A vicious body kick landed to the liver of Perosh, but he finally began to land some effective offence with a pair of kicks in reply. Perosh tried unsuccessfully for another takedown. Filipović defended and landed punches.
Back on the feet, the fighters traded knees in a clinch. Perosh continued to dive for takedowns and Filipović stuffed them. Filipović landed punches and worked from Perosh’s guard. Filipović landed a big elbow that opened a huge gash on Perosh’s forehead. Time was called, but Perosh opted to continue. Filipović landed a combination and battered Perosh with punches on the ground, but Perosh made it to the bell. 10-9 Filipović.
In between rounds, the doctor stopped the fight due to the severity of the cut. Though Perosh mounted very little offence, he showed considerable heart in battling through the second round.
Winner: Mirko Filipović by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Cut) at 5:00 of round two. He improves to 26-7-2, 1 NC.
“The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar vs Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski
Round 1:
Soszynski rocked Bonnar with a flurry of punches right away and he looked to land knees in a Thai clinch. Soszynski was poked in the eye, but the referee instructed the fighters to continue. Soszynski staggered Bonnar with another left hook and followed with a one-two, but Bonnar recovered and tried for a takedown. Soszynski broke free as Bonnar bled from the nose. The fighters traded punches and Soszynski landed a hard one-two.
More huge punches landed for Soszynski, but Bonnar stayed on his feet. Bonnar scored a brief takedown, but Soszynski stood up. Bonnar slammed him down again and landed in side-control. Soszynski scrambled to his feet and both landed big punches in close. Soszynski landed a hard leg kick and battered Bonnar with punches, which led to a clinch. Bonnar answered with a combination and a right hook. 10-9 Soszynski.
Round 2:
A trio of punches from Soszynski opened round two and both connected with quick strikes. Uppercuts landed for both and Soszynski scored with a head kick. The fighters continued to throw hard shots and Soszynski clinched against the cage. Bonnar attempted a judo throw and Soszynski fought free with a flurry. Another clinch saw both land knees to the body.
An exchange of jabs ended with a body kick from Bonnar, but Soszynski sent him off-balance with a counter hook. Soszynski landed a one-two that opened a cut below Bonnar’s left eye. Bonnar answered with a punch-kick combo and was met with a one-two for his troubles. Bonnar clinched and Soszynski cracked him with punches. A trio of right-left combos scored for Soszynski and Bonnar replied with a left hook. Close round. 10-9 Soszynski.
Round 3:
Soszynski landed a left hook immediately in the final round and the fighters clashed heads, which opened a huge gash on Bonnar’s forehead. Bonnar began bleeding all over the place, but he clinched and tried for a desperation takedown. The referee called a timeout and the doctor waved off the fight due to the cut.
Soszynski was deemed the winner by TKO, but the fight’s result may be overturned as it was clear that the cut was caused by an inadvertent clash of heads. Regardless, excellent fight.
Winner: Krzysztof Soszynski by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Cut) at 1:04 of round three. He improves to 19-9-1.
Chris “Lights Out” Lytle vs Brian Foster
Round 1:
Lytle just missed with a wild looping right hand and Foster slammed him to the mat. The fight returned to the feet and Foster landed a glancing spinning heel kick to the head. The fighters traded punches and Foster just missed with another spinning heel kick. Lytle blasted him with a big left hook and Foster clinched. Lytle rolled into a kneebar. Foster tried to defend, but was quickly forced to submit in great pain. Very impressive win for Lytle.
Winner: Chris Lytle by Submission (Kneebar) at 1:41 of round one. He improves to 28-17-5.
CB “The Doberman” Dollaway vs Goran Reljic
Round 1:
Little transpired in the opening minute until Reljic scored with a pair of leg kicks. Dollaway tried for a takedown and pulled guard. Reljic punished him with punches until Dollaway worked back to his feet. An exchange of punches saw both fighters land and time was briefly called after an accidental eye poke from Dollaway.
The fight resumed and Reljic landed another hard leg kick. Dollaway clinched and tried for a takedown, but a stalemate followed and the fighters were separated. Dollaway managed to take Reljic down for a matter of seconds on two occasions, but Reljic got back to his feet and strikes were exchanged in close. 10-9 Reljic.
Round 2:
As in round one, Reljic scored with leg kicks in the second stanza and Dollaway answered with a takedown. He tried to move to half-guard and fought off an armbar from Reljic. The fight returned to the feet and Dollaway landed a head kick. Reljic replied with a pair of kicks to the body.
Reljic landed a big right hand and scored a takedown, but Dollaway reversed and struck from the top. He landed some solid punches and avoided another armbar attempt from Reljic. The fighters stood and Reljic landed a hard hook to the body to close out the round. 10-9 Dollaway.
Round 3:
Dollaway opened the final round with a one-two and a takedown, but Reljic worked for a Kimura from the bottom. Dollaway defended and a scramble followed, with Dollaway taking top position. The fighters stood and Reljic rushed forward with kicks and punches.
Dollaway scored a takedown, but Reljic reversed and looked to move to mount. He settled for elbows from side-control, but Dollaway escaped and struck from Reljic’s guard. He fought free of Reljic’s rubber guard and landed weak strikes until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Dollaway by a slim margin.
Winner: CB Dollaway by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-2-0.
James Te Huna vs Igor Pokrajac
Round 1:
Pokrajac dropped Te Huna right away and looked to swarm with punches on the ground, but Te Huna recovered and swept. He landed punches and elbows from Pokrajac’s guard, then followed with a big right hand. The referee stood the fighters up.
Pokrajac used a punching combination to try to set up a takedown, but Te Huna defended and both teed off with punches in an exchange. Pokrajac got the better of it, but Te Huna slammed him to the ground and blasted him with punches and elbows until the bell. Good round. 10-9 Te Huna.
Round 2:
Te Huna clinched early in round two and slammed Pokrajac to the mat. He landed punches from the top until the referee stood the fighters up. Pokrajac connected with a big knee, but Te Huna took him down again. Te Huna mounted little offence and the fight was stood up.
The fighters traded power punches in an exchange and Pokrajac got the better of it, but he was unsuccessful in a takedown attempt. Te Huna landed knees in close, but Pokrajac floored him with a combination. He followed with more punches on the ground to steal the round, but Te Huna survived until the bell. 10-9 Pokrajac.
Round 3:
Te Huna began the final round with a powerful hook and scored a takedown. He worked from half-guard and then passed to mount. Pokrajac gave up his back and managed to scramble to his feet. He took Te Huna down briefly, but Te Huna stood up and answered with a takedown of his own.
The pace slowed as Te Huna landed weak strikes from Pokrajac’s guard. Pokrajac tried to work back to his feet, but was drilled with a big right hand. Te Huna teed off with punches on the ground until the referee stopped the fight. Great battle and a big win for Australia’s Te Huna in his UFC debut.
Winner: James Te Huna by TKO (Punches) at 3:26 of round three. He improves to 12-4-0.
While two former PRIDE legends emerged victorious at the UFC’s debut card in Australia, heavyweight star Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira was not so fortunate. UFC 110 saw a passing of the torch from the world-renowned Nogueira to undefeated rising star Cain Velasquez, who stopped Nogueira in emphatic fashion.