The Ultimate Fighting Championship invaded the Versus television network for the first time tonight with UFC On Versus 1 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Brandon “The Truth” Vera and Jon “Bones” Jones.
Elsewhere on the main card, heavyweight contenders collided when Junior “Cigano” dos Santos knocked out Gabriel “Napão” Gonzaga, while Cheick Kongo stopped former title challenger Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello. MMARising.com has live play-by-play of the action.
Jon “Bones” Jones vs Brandon “The Truth” Vera
Round 1:
The fighters exchanged knees in a brief clinch before Jones threw Vera to the mat. Vera kicked him off and the fight returned to the feet. Another clinch followed and Jones landed a knee to the body. He slammed Vera down again and worked from Vera’s guard. Vera looked to set up an armbar, but Jones scored with a big left hand. Time was called after an illegal upkick from Vera. Referee Herb Dean penalised Vera one point.
The fight restarted in the same position and Vera landed another upkick – this time a legal one – that prompted Jones to fall back into his guard. Jones postured up and landed a left hand and then a brutal elbow strike. Vera immediately covered his face and rolled to the side as Jones teed off with more punches. The fight was stopped, giving Jones a huge victory, while Vera appeared to possibly have a broken orbital bone.
Winner: Jon Jones by TKO (Elbow & Punches) at 3:19 of round one. He improves to 10-1-0.
Junior “Cigano” dos Santos vs Gabriel “Napão” Gonzaga
Round 1:
Gonzaga threw a leg kick early on as dos Santos kept his distance. Dos Santos landed a nice right hand to the body and Gonzaga answered with a leg kick. He took dos Santos down very briefly, but dos Santos scrambled right back up to his feet. Another leg kick landed for Gonzaga and dos Santos replied with a one-two. A quick combination found the mark for dos Santos and Gonzaga just missed with a big head kick.
Leg kicks were exchanged and dos Santos targeted the body with punches again. Two hard right hands backed Gonzaga up. Seconds later, dos Santos floored him with a counter left hook. Gonzaga held on briefly, but dos Santos knocked him out cold with a barrage of punches on the ground. Excellent win for dos Santos.
Winner: Junior dos Santos by KO (Punches) at 3:53 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0.
Cheick Kongo vs Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello
Round 1:
Buentello opened the fight with a one-two and clipped Kongo with three more punches in close. Kongo clinched and tried for a takedown. He managed to get Buentello down and Buentello briefly looked for a Kimura from his back. He stood up and Kongo slammed him down again. Kongo landed short punches as Buentello tried to scramble up to his feet.
Kongo maintained control, but landed nothing damaging and Buentello stood up. Time was called by referee Herb Dean as Buentello’s finger appeared to have become wedged in his glove or dislocated. The cageside doctor managed to correct the problem and the fight continued, to the delight of the fans. Kongo scored another takedown and pinned Buentello against the cage on the ground. The fighters were separated and Buentello fell while throwing a punch. 10-9 Kongo.
Round 2:
Kongo began the second round with a variety of kicks and the fighters traded big punches. Kongo scored a takedown and Buentello turtled as Kongo landed short left hands. Buentello looked for a Kimura again, but Kongo easily evaded danger and rained down elbows to the leg. Time was called after an illegal knee to the face from Kongo as the bizarre event continued. Referee Herb Dean penalised Kongo one point.
Buentello recovered and the fight resumed. Kongo stepped forward with a three-punch flurry and took Buentello down. He punished Buentello with knees to the body, then stood and landed a big uppercut. Another takedown followed for Kongo and he smothered Buentello with short strikes in close. Buentello stood and ate a knee.
The fighters were separated after an inadvertent illegal knee from Kongo and he blasted Buentello with big punches that backed him up to the cage. More knees and punches scored for Kongo, but Buentello answered with a trio of desperation punches. Kongo took him down and struck until the fight was stood up. The round ended in a clinch. 9-9.
Round 3:
Kongo pressed forward with punches in the final round and took Buentello down. He landed short elbow strikes to Buentello’s leg, then took partial back control and punished him with more elbows to the upper thigh. Buentello tapped out to avoid further damage. Very strange fight.
Winner: Cheick Kongo by Submission (Elbows) at 1:16 of round three. He improves to 15-6-1.
Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara vs James “The Sandman” Irvin
Round 1:
Sakara landed a nice three-punch combo to begin the fight and Irvin answered with a leg kick. Sakara fell to the mat throwing a kick of his own, but got back to his feet. Sakara threw an overhand right and just missed with a spinning back fist. A punch-kick combo and a one-two found the mark for Sakara as Irvin looked to find his range. Irvin landed a nice leg kick and Sakara replied with a counter left hook. Two body shots and a short left hook scored for Sakara.
Sakara’s boxing continued to tell the story as he put together quick combinations and he landed a left hook to Irvin’s right eye. Irvin crumpled in the corner and referee Josh Rosenthal called a halt to the fight. The cageside doctor came in to check on Irvin. Replays showed that it was a legal punch and not a finger or thumb that struck Irvin. Though Irvin was fine to continue after a moment, Rosenthal correctly waved off the fight and awarded Sakara with the TKO victory.
Winner: Alessio Sakara by TKO (Referee Stoppage) at 3:01 of round one. He improves to 15-7-0, 1 NC.
John “Doomsday” Howard vs Daniel “Ninja” Roberts
Round 1:
Howard scored with a vicious leg kick to begin the fight, but Roberts took him down. A scramble followed and Roberts swept with a Kimura. He landed some big punches from the top and defended a leglock. Howard worked back to his feet and fought off a guillotine choke. He violently slammed Roberts to the ground, but Roberts went for an omoplata.
Howard powered out and stood over Roberts. He landed a single left hand from a standing position that knocked Roberts out cold. He followed with two more punches as referee Tom Johnson rushed in to stop the fight. Emphatic victory for Howard, who moves to 4-0 in the UFC.
Winner: John Howard by KO (Punch) at 2:01 of round one. He improves to 14-4-0.
Undercard Fights:
Clay “The Carpenter” Guida defeated Shannon Gugerty by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:40 of round two. He improves to 26-11-0 with the win.
Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko defeated Eliot “The Fire” Marshall by Split Decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 24-4-0 with the win.
Darren Elkins defeated Duane “Bang” Ludwig by TKO (Broken Ankle) at 0:44 of round one. He improves to 12-1-0 with the win.
Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub defeated Chase Gormley by TKO (Punches) at 0:47 of round one. He improves to 5-1-0 with the win.
Mike Pierce defeated Julio Paulino by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-3-0 with the win.
Jason Brilz defeated Eric “Red” Schafer by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-2-1 with the win.
Though the card was hindered by an injury to Duane Ludwig on the undercard and strange moments in two of the four televised bouts, UFC On Versus 1 proved to be a success and featured an excellent main event. Jon Jones took a big step forward in his career, while Junior dos Santos must now be on a short list of heavyweight title contenders.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)