Nate Diaz vs Rory Markham

Round 1:
Diaz pawed out with jabs and Markham replied with a leg kick. He circled free of a clinch from Diaz and the fighters traded punches. Markham just missed with a pair of head kicks and Diaz kept the pressure on with quick punches. Diaz began to take control with combinations and he backed Markham up with a one-two.

Diaz dropped Markham with a knee and followed with more punches. He took Markham’s back and secured a body triangle. Diaz teed off with punches until referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight. Big win for Diaz and a very impressive performance in his move up to welterweight.

Winner: Nate Diaz by TKO (Punches) at 2:47 of round one. He improves to 12-5-0.

Ricardo “Big Dog” Almeida vs Matt “The Immortal” Brown

Round 1:
Brown looked to push the pace early on, but Almeida clinched and pressed him up against the cage. He tripped Brown to the mat and prevented him from standing up, but Brown managed to scramble to a knee. Brown stood and was tripped again. Almeida tried to move to mount to set up a choke, but Brown got to his feet. The fighters stayed in the clinch as Almeida tried to get Brown down again and referee Dan Miragliotta separated them.

Almeida shot in again and Brown defended with elbows and hammerfists. Almeida answered with an overhand right, but could not get Brown down. Brown landed a pair of knees and Almeida threw a one-two over the top. He followed with three standing elbows and tried unsuccessfully to throw Brown to the mat. Almeida ended the round with a flurry. 10-9 Almeida.

Round 2:
Brown opened the second round with leg kicks, but Almeida caught one and took him down. Brown used the cage to get back to his feet and the fighters resumed clinchwork. Almeida tripped Brown and landed in side-control. He scored with elbows and Brown stood. Brown pressed Almeida up against the cage, but Almeida reversed. The fighters traded short punches in close until the referee separated them.

Almeida caught a kick and drilled Brown with a punch that sent him to the mat. He cut Brown with a big elbow and took Brown’s back, but Brown tried to scramble to his feet. Almeida secured a body triangle and locked on a rear-naked choke. A bloodied Brown held on momentarily, but was forced to submit. Good win for Almeida in his welterweight debut.

Winner: Ricardo Almeida by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:30 of round two. He improves to 12-3-0.

Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares vs Tomasz “Gorilla” Drwal

Round 1:
The fighters circled each other for the first 35 seconds and Drwal slipped while throwing a kick. That was all that Palhares needed and he dove right into a heel hook. Drwal immediately tapped out in great pain, but it took a second for Palhares to release the hold and it clearly did significant damage to Drwal’s leg.

Winner: Rousimar Palhares by Submission (Heel Hook) at 0:45 of round one. He improves to 11-2-0.

Jared Hamman vs Rodney “Sho Nuff The Master” Wallace

Round 1:
Wallace landed a pair of lead right hooks early in the first round and scored a takedown seconds later. Hamman kicked him off and stood up, but Wallace took him down again. The fighters scrambled and Wallace took Hamman’s back. Hamman spun and kneed Wallace in the ribs. Wallace answered with a knee of his own and blasted Hamman with wild, lunging punches. An uppercut rocked Hamman, but he recovered and landed a knee. Wallace scored a takedown, but Hamman rose to his feet.

Bleeding from above the eye, Hamman threw a knee in the clinch and used a judo throw to take Wallace down. Wallace stood and was plastered with a head kick. He collapsed to the mat and Hamman tried for an armbar. Wallace recovered and escaped. Hamman kicked him off and stood, but Wallace slammed him. Hamman stood and the fighters teed off with huge punches. Wallace got Hamman down for a second, but Hamman stood and more big punches were exchanged. Crazy round. 10-9 Hamman.

Round 2:
Hamman threw a head kick to begin the second round and Wallace replied with a one-two. He picked Hamman up and slammed him down. Hamman wall walked up and hip tossed Wallace to the ground. He landed punches and elbows from Wallace’s half-guard. Wallace scrambled and swept, but Hamman looked for a triangle choke. Wallace easily escaped and the fighters stood. Wallace scored another takedown. Hamman stood and was slammed down a third time.

Hamman elbowed from the bottom and kicked Wallace off, but Wallace took Hamman’s back and spun into a triangle choke. Hamman escaped and landed a big right hand. He dove into Wallace’s half-guard and threw punches to the ribs. Hamman stood and punished Wallace’s leg with kicks, then leapt in with another punch. He followed with elbows as Wallace held on. Hamman stood and landed two big punches before the bell. 10-9 Hamman.

Round 3:
Hamman took the fight to the mat in the final round and struck from Wallace’s guard. He pressed Wallace up against the cage and threw short elbows. Wallace worked up to his feet and ate a knee, but tagged Hamman with some good shots. He drilled Hamman with two more punches and slammed him to the ground. Hamman reversed and tripped Wallace. Hamman landed elbows from half-guard, but referee Kevin Mulhall stood the fighters up.

Wallace scored with more big punches, but Hamman weathered the storm and an exhausted Wallace fell to his back. Hamman dove into his guard and threw punches until Wallace scrambled to his feet. He tripped Hamman and locked on a Kimura, but Hamman spun out and punished him with knees to the body. Hamman landed punches before the bell. 10-9 Hamman, barely.

Winner: Jared Hamman by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.

Matt Riddle vs Greg Soto

Round 1:
The fighters traded kicks early on and Riddle scored with a combination. Soto answered with a takedown, but Riddle battled back to his feet. He clinched and pressed Soto against the cage, then landed knees to the body. Soto threw punches over the top, but Riddle maintained the clinch.

More big knee strikes landed for Riddle and he teed off with a barrage of wild punches. Soto pushed Riddle backwards and tried for a takedown, but Riddle stayed on his feet. He clinched and landed more knees to the body and leg of Soto, then took him down. Riddle maintained top control until the bell. 10-9 Riddle.

Round 2:
Soto opened the second round with a pair of left hooks and Riddle answered with a stiff kick to the body. Soto tried for a takedown and Riddle stuffed it. Riddle clinched and returned to kneeing the legs and body of Soto, then scored a takedown. He landed elbows until Soto regained butterfly guard and used it to create distance.

Riddle passed to half-guard and then moved straight to mount, but Soto scrambled and got back to his feet. Riddle drilled him with two knees to the face, then took Soto down again. Once more, Riddle tried to move to mount and Soto used the opportunity to stand. Riddle dropped Soto with a right hook, but Soto recovered and the round ended in a scramble. 10-9 Riddle.

Round 3:
Sparse punches landed for both fighters in the final round and Riddle eventually took the fight to the mat. He worked from Soto’s guard and postured up, but Soto blasted him with a brutal and illegal upkick from the bottom. Time was called to give Riddle a chance to recover. He appeared to be very woozy, but indicated that he wanted to continue.

However, Riddle then motioned to his corner and the commission and the fight was waved off. Riddle evidently had no recollection of being kicked and was in no condition to continue. As a result, he was awarded a disqualification victory that brought an unfortunate end to the fight.

Winner: Matt Riddle by DQ (Illegal Upkick) at 1:30 of round three. He improves to 4-1-0.

While the main event left a lot to be desired, Dan Hardy’s heart and refusal to give up showed that he was a deserving challenger, but he came up on the wrong end of a lopsided decision. In the co-main event, Shane Carwin shocked Frank Mir and will now move on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the UFC Undisputed Heavyweight Championship.