The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its second appearance on the Versus network tonight with “UFC On Versus 2” from the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The card was headlined by light heavyweight star Jon “Bones” Jones taking on Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko.
Also on the main card, middleweight standout Yushin “Thunder” Okami took on wrestling powerhouse Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz, while Jake Ellenberger faced John “Doomsday” Howard at 170 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.
Jon “Bones” Jones vs Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko
Round 1:
Matyushenko looked to jab early on and Jones landed a spinning back kick to the body. He took Matyushenko down, but Matyushenko secured an armlock from the bottom. Jones escaped and moved to a crucifix position. He landed elbows and passed to side-control. Again, Jones moved to a crucifix and absolutely teed off with elbows until referee Herb Dean rescued Matyushenko from further damage. Impressive stoppage for Jones.
Winner: Jon Jones by TKO (Elbows) at 1:52 of round one. He improves to 11-1-0.
Yushin “Thunder” Okami vs Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz
Round 1:
Munoz missed with a wild right hand early in the fight, but landed one soon after. Okami answered with a lead right hook and pawed out with jabs. A big one-two landed for Okami, but Munoz was unfazed. Two more punches connected for Okami and Munoz circled to the side. Munoz missed with a head kick and Okami fired off another one-two. Munoz shot in for a takedown and Okami stuffed it.
Okami secured a front headlock, but allowed Munoz to stand. A left cross landed for Okami and Munoz rushed forward with a flurry. He managed to take Okami down, but Okami scrambled right back to his feet. Munoz clinched against the cage and threw knees to the legs. Okami threw hammerfists and broke free of the clinch. A knee to the body scored for Okami and he stuffed another takedown. Close round. 10-9 Okami.
Round 2:
Okami backed Munoz up with a one-two in the second round, but Munoz answered with a body kick. More punches landed for Okami and Munoz dove for a takedown. Okami stuffed it and got back to his feet. Straight lefts found the mark for Okami and he drilled Munoz with a right hand to the body. The fighters clinched briefly, but separated seconds later. Munoz dropped Okami with a right hand, but Okami recovered and took Munoz down.
A scramble ensued and Okami worked from the top in side-control, but Munoz got to his feet and landed two flurries of power punches. Okami held strong and defended a takedown. Okami landed hammerfists to the sides of Munoz’s head and added short punches as Munoz refused to release his grip on Okami’s leg. Munoz tripped Okami to the mat for all of one second just before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Munoz.
Round 3:
Okami pushed forward with punches in the final round and landed a nice lead right hook. He stuffed a takedown and kept the pressure on with punches. Munoz fired back with a looping left, but ate a one-two. He dove for a takedown and Okami stuffed it once again. Back on the feet, Okami teed off to the head and body and Munoz answered with a three-punch combo. Munoz shot for another takedown and the crowd grew restless.
Okami stepped free of Munoz’s grip and dropped him with a counterpunch while backing up. Munoz recovered and the fighters returned to their feet. Munoz, bleeding from near the eye, ate more punches from Okami. A left cross backed Munoz up to the cage and he dove for a takedown. Okami defended and threw hammerfists, then tried briefly for a guillotine choke. He continued to throw short punches and hammerfists, then locked on a guillotine before the bell. 10-9 Okami.
Winner: Yushin Okami by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 25-5-0.
Jake Ellenberger vs John “Doomsday” Howard
Round 1:
Ellenberger immediately pushed forward with punches, but was cracked by a hard counter one-two and backed away. Howard clinched and Ellenberger pressed him up against the cage. He landed knees to the body and tried for a trip takedown. Ellenberger landed more knees until referee Herb Dean separated the fighters. Howard threw big, looping hooks, but missed the mark and Ellenberger took him down.
Ellenberger looked to posture up in Howard’s guard and threw short elbows with his free hand. Howard stayed calm as Ellenberger peppered him with left hands. Ellenberger landed a hard elbow and Howard regained butterfly guard in the process. The fighters were stood up and Ellenberger landed a stiff leg kick and jabs. Howard punched his way into a clinch, but was taken down again. Ellenberger struck from the top until the bell. 10-9 Ellenberger.
Round 2:
Howard staggered Ellenberger with a vicious head kick to open round two and followed with a hard one-two, but Ellenberger took him down. Howard tried for a guillotine choke and then a triangle, but Ellenberger passed to half-guard. Ellenberger threw short elbows, but Howard regained guard. Ellenberger used an elbow and hammerfists to fight out of an armbar attempt, then returned to short elbows. Howard gave up his back briefly, then spun and trapped Ellenberger in his guard again.
Ellenberger postured up this time and battered Howard with two punches and an elbow. Howard’s left eye immediately began to swell up very badly. He scrambled to his feet and blasted Ellenberger with two knees and a combination. Ellenberger weathered the storm and took Howard down again. More elbows landed for Ellenberger and he briefly tried for a guillotine late in the round. 10-9 Ellenberger.
Round 3:
Howard, with his left eye extremely swollen, connected with a flying knee and punches in the final round, but Ellenberger stayed on his feet and circled away. Howard clinched and tried for a takedown, but Ellenberger easily defended. Howard walked Ellenberger down, but Ellenberger slammed him to the mat. Ellenberger struck from the top with short punches and elbows and referee Herb Dean stood the fighters up.
Time was called for the cageside doctor to check Howard’s eye, which had continued to swell due to what appeared to be a fractured orbital bone. The doctor waved off the fight, giving Ellenberger the TKO stoppage victory.
Winner: Jake Ellenberger by TKO (Doctor Stoppage – Eye Injury) at 2:21 of round three. He improves to 23-5-0 with the win.
Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi vs Tyson Griffin
Round 1:
Griffin landed a pair of right hands early on and Gomi answered with lefts to the body. A quick flurry landed for Griffin and Gomi connected with a right to the ribs. A vicious right hook to the jaw floored Griffin face-first on the mat. Gomi threw a handful of short punches as the referee dove in to save Griffin. Huge win for Gomi.
Winner: Takanori Gomi by KO (Punch) at 1:04 of round one. He improves to 32-6-0, 1 ND.
Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira vs Darren Elkins
Round 1:
Elkins opened the fight with a pair of missed combinations, but scored a takedown early on. Oliveira immediately countered with a triangle choke attempt from his back. Elkins postured up to defend, but Oliveira tightened the choke and rolled Elkins to the side. Effortlessly, he transitioned into an armbar and Elkins tapped out. Extremely impressive victory for Oliveira.
Winner: Charles Oliveira by Submission (Triangle Armbar) at 0:41 of round one. He improves to 13-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann defeated Paul “Tellys” Kelly by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-2-0 with the win.
Matt Riddle defeated DaMarques Johnson by TKO (Punches) at 4:29 of round two. He improves to 5-1-0 with the win.
Igor Pokrajac defeated James “The Sandman” Irvin by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:29 of round one. He improves to 22-7-0 with the win.
“The All-American” Brian Stann defeated Mike Massenzio by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:10 of round three. He improves to 9-3-0 with the win.
Rob “The Rosedale Reaper” Kimmons defeated Steve “The Hooligan” Steinbeiss by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 23-5-0 with the win.
Capped off by a dominant performance by rising light heavyweight star Jon “Bones” Jones, UFC On Versus 2 was an excellent event that also featured a number of upsets. In his second UFC bout, former long-time PRIDE champ Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi made short work of one-time title contender Tyson Griffin and got his career back on track.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)