Alan “The Talent” Belcher vs Patrick “The Predator” Côté

Round 1:
Belcher came forward throwing kicks and Côté just missed with a right hook. Belcher landed a stiff body kick, but time was called after an accidental low blow. Côté was given time to recover and the fight resumed. Belcher landed more kicks and Côté countered with a flurry. Côté moved in with four lead right hands, then a one-two, but Belcher snapped his head back with a jab. Another big kick landed to the body for Belcher. Two more kicks scored for Belcher.

Côté clinched and scored a takedown. He threw punches to the head and body. Côté moved to half-guard and looked to set up a Kimura. Belcher managed to escape and took top position. Belcher locked on an arm-triangle choke and had Côté in some trouble, but Belcher released the hold and worked from side-control. Côté scrambled, but Belcher kept him down until the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Belcher, barely.

Round 2:
Belcher returned to kicks in the second round and time was briefly called as Belcher did not have his mouthpiece in. Action resumed and Côté threw a nice combination. Two lunging left hooks found the mark for Côté and he stunned Belcher with a big flurry. Belcher recovered and fired back with punches and a knee. He clinched and pressed Côté against the cage. Côté threw an elbow over the top and both fighters scored with hard punches.

Côté took Belcher down, but Belcher used the cage to get back to his feet. Belcher picked Côté up and appeared to spike him on his forehead with a piledriver-like move. Côté seemed to be stunned and Belcher quickly took his back. He locked on a rear-naked choke and Côté was forced to submit. Côté complained about the spike.

Winner: Alan Belcher by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:25 of round two. He improves to 16-6-0.

Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen vs “Filthy” Tom Lawlor

Round 1:
Lawlor pushed forward aggressively with punches right away, but Doerksen countered with kicks and a hard left hook. The fighters traded punches and Doerksen landed a knee, but Lawlor countered with a right hook to the temple. Lawlor stayed on the offensive and fought through a combination from Doerksen. He dropped Doerksen with a left hook and staggered him again seconds after.

Lawlor teed off with punches against the cage, but Doerksen stayed strong and battled back with knees in a Thai clinch. He still appeared to be wobbly, but Lawlor seemed to tire. Doerksen, bleeding from beside the eye, scored with a combination. A body kick and punches over the top landed for Doerksen. He backed Lawlor up with another combination and Lawlor fell while throwing a punch. He grabbed onto Doerksen’s leg and held on until the bell. 10-9 Lawlor.

Round 2:
Lawlor was once again the aggressor in the second round and he put together a punching combination. Doerksen answered with a flurry of his own and a head kick. He backed Lawlor up with a right hand and landed another head kick. More punches followed for Doerksen as he began to take control of the exchanges. Lawlor’s face continued to swell up as Doerksen tagged him with quick strikes. Doerksen countered a takedown and took Lawlor’s back. He locked on a rear-naked choke and Lawlor tapped out right away. Huge win for Doerksen.

Winner: Joe Doerksen by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:10 of round two. He improves to 45-12-0.

“The Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis vs Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet

Round 1:
Goulet opened with a head kick and scored a takedown, but Davis immediately reversed and the fighters returned to their feet. Two glancing punches landed for Davis and Goulet staggered badly. He recovered and clinched, then backed away. Goulet punched his way into a clinch, but Davis pulled guard with a tight guillotine choke. Amazingly, Goulet somehow fought his way out of the choke after 25 seconds of danger.

Goulet worked from the top, but Davis used a front headlock to get back to his feet. The fighters separated and Goulet caught a kick. He took Davis down and threw punches from the top, but Davis defended well. Two hard punches found the mark for Goulet and he prevented Davis from standing by slamming him down two more times. Goulet threw punches and elbows until the bell. Good comeback for Goulet, who steals the round 10-9.

Round 2:
Davis dropped Goulet with a counter hook early in round two and followed with punches on the ground. Goulet recovered and got back to his feet. Davis threw a right hook to a now-bloodied Goulet, then floored him with a left cross. He followed with hammerfists on the ground and the referee stopped the fight. Goulet’s chin lets him down yet again.

Winner: Marcus Davis by TKO (Punches) at 1:23 of round two. He improves to 17-6-0.

Undercard Fights:

Johny Hendricks defeated TJ Grant by Majority Decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28) after three rounds. Grant opened the fight strong and took the first round, while the middle stanza was a razor-thin round that went in Hendricks’s favour on two scorecards. Grant was deducted one point in the final round for low blows, handing Hendricks the victory in the process. Hendricks improves to 8-0-0 with the win.

Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran defeated Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. Beltran bloodied Hague in the first round and handily won the opening five minutes, while the pace slowed in round two. The second and third rounds were back and forth until Hague unleashed a last-ditch flurry in the final minute. It was not enough, as the judges awarded Beltran with the win with three different scores. Beltran improves to 12-3-0 with the win.

Mike “Joker” Guymon defeated Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. Guymon took the relatively uneventful first round by scoring a takedown in the later stages and landing strikes from the top. Round two was a back and forth battle on the ground, with both fighters taking mount, but Guymon threatened with a rear-naked choke. He attempted more submissions and landed big elbows in the final round to take a clear-cut decision in a mild upset. Guymon improves to 12-3-1 with the win.

John Salter defeated Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald by TKO (Broken Leg) at 2:42 of round one. The action was fairly sparse in the first half of the opening round until Salter tried for a takedown near the midway point. MacDonald fell awkwardly in a similar fashion to Duane “Bang” Ludwig’s recent injury and it was later reported that his leg had been broken. The fight was immediately stopped as MacDonald screamed out in pain. Salter improves to 5-1-0 with the win.

It may have taken seven months longer than he would have liked, but Mauricio “Shogun” Rua finally captured the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 113 with a first-round destruction of former champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. The co-main event was marred by fictitious fouls and bad acting, and Paul “Semtex” Daley’s post-fight punch has earned him a one-way ticket out of the UFC.