The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to Boston, Massachusetts for the first time tonight with an intriguing card at UFC 118: “Edgar vs Penn 2.” The event featured a rematch for the UFC Lightweight Championship between Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and “The Prodigy” BJ Penn.
Also on the card, worlds collided when former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture faced former four division boxing champion James “Lights Out” Toney in Toney’s MMA debut. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the event.
UFC Lightweight Championship
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs “The Prodigy” BJ Penn
Round 1:
Penn pushed forward very aggressively right away, but Edgar ducked under a one-two and took Penn down. Penn tried to transition into an armbar, but Edgar escaped and worked from Penn’s guard. Penn used feet-on-hips position to prevent Edgar from passing to half-guard. He scrambled and the fighters stood. Penn landed a left hand to the body and Edgar answered with a quick one-two. He followed with a flurry. Another quick combination landed for Edgar and Penn clinched.
Penn landed a knee to the body, but Edgar took him down. Penn stood and Edgar slammed him to the mat. He landed in side-control, but Penn regained guard. Penn stood and ate a knee on the way. Edgar jabbed and avoided an uppercut. Penn missed with a left hook and Edgar landed a right. A nice leg kick scored for Edgar and both fighters landed left hooks. Penn threw single punches and Edgar answered with flurries. A hard left landed for Penn and Edgar answered with a body kick. 10-9 Edgar.
Round 2:
Penn landed a head kick early in round two and followed with a leg kick. He sidestepped a combination from Edgar and landed a one-two. Left and right hooks scored for Pen and Edgar answered with a body kick. Penn landed another one-two and shrugged off a takedown, but ate a hard knee in the process. He was unfazed and fought off another takedown. Quick punches landed for both fighters and Edgar threw a front kick to the body. A flurry connected for Penn and he backed Edgar up with a left. Penn jabbed and Edgar took him down against the cage.
Edgar landed in Penn’s half-guard, but Penn used butterfly guard to get back to his feet. Edgar threw a combination and followed with a lead left hook. Quick jabs landed for Edgar and the fighters traded one-twos. Edgar flashed out a head kick and landed a leg kick. He avoided a counter left hook, but Penn connected with a one-two. A hard body kick landed for Edgar and he followed up with a combination to the body and head. Edgar landed more leg kicks in the final seconds. Very close round. 10-9 Edgar, barely.
Round 3:
The fighters exchanged punches right away in round three and Edgar clinched. He landed a grazing knee, but Penn backed away and scored with a hard leg kick. A one-two landed for Penn and Edgar answered with a solid one-two of his own. The fighters exchanged combinations and Edgar backed Penn up with a jab. He landed a left hook to the body and ate a knee from Penn. Edgar returned to body kicks and added a combination to the body seconds later. A big right hook landed for Edgar.
More quick punches and an overhand right scored for Edgar and Penn replied with jabs. Edgar faked a jab and landed a leg kick and a lead left hook. Edgar shot in for a takedown and Penn stuffed it, but Edgar made him pay with punches. Edgar rushed Penn up against the cage and landed punches in close. Penn broke free of the clinch with a right hand. He landed a right cross and countered a Penn one-two with a big right hook. Penn tried to target the body and was hit with jabs for his troubles. 10-9 Edgar.
Round 4:
Penn ducked under a combination from Edgar in the fourth round and took him down. He tried to move straight to mount and isolated Edgar’s legs. Edgar stayed calm and regained half-guard. He scrambled back to his feet and countered a jab from Penn with a solid right hand. Edgar sent Penn crashing to the mat with a hard leg kick. He worked from the top in Penn’s guard and Penn tried to defend by trapping Edgar in rubber guard. Edgar threw punches to the body and fought out of Penn’s rubber guard.
Edgar postured up and landed more damaging punches. A series of big punches scored for Edgar and he returned to Penn’s guard. Edgar passed to half-guard briefly and landed elbows. The fighters stood and Edgar landed a lead left hook and a combination. Another leg kick landed for Edgar and he followed with jabs. Both fighters landed left hooks at the same time. Edgar threw kicks to the head and body and Penn answered with a nice counter one-two. 10-9 Edgar.
Round 5:
Penn shot in for a takedown early in round five and got Edgar down. Edgar tried for a weak guillotine from his back and scrambled to his feet. Penn took his back and dragged him down again, but Edgar spun and reversed. He worked from the top in Penn’s guard. He threw short elbows from the top as Penn held on and tried to prevent Edgar from landing anything damaging. Edgar broke free and scored with elbows to the head and body.
A hard left hand and hammerfists landed for Edgar and he postured up. Edgar threw elbows and stood. Penn tried to stand up and Edgar used a guillotine choke to force him back down to the mat. More short elbows landed for Edgar, but Penn managed to get back to his feet. Edgar landed a jab and an uppercut in close. Penn threw a weak knee and Edgar tagged him with counterpunches. A flurry followed for Edgar and he caught a kick from Penn. Edgar stuffed a takedown and landed a hard knee. Penn stood and the bell rang. 10-9 Edgar.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) after five rounds. He improves to 13-1-0 and remains the UFC Lightweight Champion.
Randy “The Natural” Couture vs James “Lights Out” Toney
Round 1:
Predictably, Couture took Toney down within 15 seconds and moved straight to mount. He struck from the top with short punches and Toney answered with punches to the body from his back. Couture postured up and rained down a flurry as Toney tried to escape. Couture backed Toney up to the cage and landed more punches. Couture locked on arm-triangle choke and it appeared that Toney may have verbally submitted. The fight continued and Couture flattened Toney out. He secured another arm-triangle choke and Toney tapped out.
Winner: Randy Couture by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 3:19 of round one. He improves to 19-10-0.
Demian Maia vs “Super” Mario Miranda
Round 1:
Miranda opened the fight with kicks and Maia clinched. He took Miranda down against the cage and threw knees to the sternum. Miranda battled back to his feet, but Maia took him down again. Maia struck from the top and tried to take Miranda’s back. He did so, then sunk in both hooks. Maia threw hammerfists to try to set up a rear-naked choke. Miranada defended and tried to stand.
Maia took Miranda’s back in a scramble, then spun into an armbar. Miranda escaped and the fighters returned to their feet. Maia missed with a combination and both fighters landed leg kicks. Maia clinched and looked for another takedown. Miranda fought out of the clinch with an overhand right. He followed with leg kicks and ducked under a looping left from Maia. More kicks landed for Miranda and Maia replied with a body kick of his own. 10-9 Maia.
Round 2:
Miranda landed a leg kick to open round two and just missed with a right hook. Maia clinched and Miranda shrugged him off. Maia managed to get him down and locked on a guillotine choke. Miranda stood, but Maia tripped him to the mat. He landed in Miranda’s half-guard, then postured up and stood over Miranda. Maia kept Miranda down and threw hard punches with his left hand. Maia moved right to mount with Miranda pressed up against the cage.
Short right hands landed for Maia and he looked to set up an arm-triangle choke. Maia let the choke go and threw punches and elbows from the top. Maia postured up and scored with more punches, then looked to transition into an armbar. He abandoned the submission attempt and returned to punches and elbows. Maia spun for the armbar, but Miranda scrambled out and stood up. He landed hammerfists to a downed Maia before the bell. 10-9 Maia.
Round 3:
Miranda landed a lead left hook in the final round and ate a one-two in return. Maia took him down and quickly transitioned to back control. He flattened Miranda out, then secured a body triangle. Maia threw short punches from the top and Miranda defended well. Maia looked to set up a rear-naked choke and then an armbar, but Miranda fought out of it. Miranda escaped to his knees and got back to his feet.
An exhausted Maia struggled to get to his feet and flopped to his back again. He stood and the fighters traded right hands. Maia landed a nice right hook and clinched. He took Miranda down and landed in Miranda’s half-guard. Maia moved to mount and tried to set up an armbar. He got it, but Miranda spun free. Miranda unloaded with punches and elbows in the final few seconds. 10-9 Maia.
Winner: Demian Maia by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 13-2-0.
Gray “The Bully” Maynard vs Kenny “KenFlo” Florian
Round 1:
Florian stayed low early on and cautiously moved forward with jabs. Maynard appeared content to circle backwards and look for an opportunity. Florian flashed out a head kick that missed. Maynard threw a wild overhand right that came up well short. Florian began to open up with quick kicks to the body and legs. Maynard faked a shot and the fighters traded punches. Florian threw a high kick that was blocked.
Maynard missed with a right hook and was cracked by one in return. He lost his balance briefly, but recovered and landed a right hand to the body. Florian answered with a leg kick and a left cross. Maynard tried for a takedown and Florian defended. Maynard picked Florian up and slammed him down. Maynard landed three punches from the top and Florian answered with punches from his back. Very close round. 10-9 Florian, despite the takedown.
Round 2:
The second round began with both fighters cautiously circling until Florian attempted a head kick. Maynard landed a left hook behind the ear and a punching exchange followed. Maynard scored with a solid right hand and looked to set up an overhand right with jabs. Florian drilled him with a body kick and Maynard fired back with a right cross. The fighters traded punches and Maynard landed another hook behind the ear.
Maynard clinched and tried to take Florian down. Maynard eventually scored the takedown and landed in side-control. Florian elbowed from his back and Maynard landed one of his own from the top. Florian regained half-guard, but Maynard used the opportunity to rain down punches. Florian, but above the left eye, regained butterfly guard and struck from the bottom. Maynard landed short punches before the bell. 10-9 Maynard.
Round 3:
Florian scored with a lead right hook to the temple early in the final round and followed with stiff jabs. He threw a high kick and Maynard blocked it. A Superman Punch from Florian came up short and he missed with a spinning back kick seconds later. Another high kick landed to Maynard’s forearms and Maynard took Florian down. Maynard struck from the top, then stood over Florian. More punches landed for Maynard as Florian looked to upkick from his back.
Maynard pinned Florian against the cage and postured up, then threw a series of punches to keep the action going. Florian kept Maynard in butterfly guard and managed to work back to his feet. Maynard took him down again and Florian tried for an omoplata, then a figure-four armbar. Maynard escaped, but Florian locked on an omoplata on Maynard’s right arm. Maynard battled out and landed two hard right hands. He stood up and Florian followed. Florian tried for a knockout before the bell, but could not land anything. 10-9 Maynard.
Winner: Gray Maynard by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-0-0, 1 NC.
Nate Diaz vs “The Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis
Round 1:
Diaz taunted early on and landed a quick combination as Davis moved in. Davis floored him with a right hook and followed with punches, but Diaz quickly recovered and got back to his feet. Davis, already cut above the right eye, fought off a clinch and landed a combination. He connected with a left hook to the body and the fighters exchanged looping hooks. Both attempted left hooks and Davis landed. He followed with another one seconds later. Diaz answered with a head kick. Davis cracked Diaz with a left hook and a combination. Diaz clinched and landed punches, a knee and a leg kick.
Diaz clinched a second time and Davis broke free. More hard punches landed for both fighters and Diaz looked for a takedown. He gave it up and kneed Davis’s thighs. Quick punches landed for both fighters in close as Davis began to bleed more heavily. Davis landed a leg kick and a right hand. Diaz kept the pressure on with a lengthy flurry and Davis picked his shots with crisp counterpunches. Diaz was relentless with punches, but Davis landed the more damaging shots. The fighters punched all the way until the bell. Great round. 10-9 Davis by a small margin.
Round 2:
Davis landed a nice right-right-left combo to begin the second round and Diaz taunted again. Diaz answered with a quick flurry and clinched. Davis’s eyebrow began to bleed badly again, but he landed a knee to the body. Diaz answered with short left hands until Davis circled away. Diaz peppered Davis with a series of punches as Davis struggled to find his range. Diaz just missed with a knee in close and Davis countered with a one-two. Jabs and left crosses all found the mark for Diaz and Davis began to bleed from the nose.
Davis scored with an overhand left and Diaz clinched. More jabs landed for Diaz as the fighters separated. Davis threw a left hook to the body, but continued to be outstruck by Diaz by a sizeable margin. Diaz pawed away with punches as Davis bled all over the place and both fighters landed leg kicks. Davis tried to duck under combinations before throwing counterpunches, but Diaz sidestepped and clinched. He landed punches in close and tried to take Davis down. Davis tripped Diaz, but Diaz wound up on the top. 10-9 Diaz.
Round 3:
Diaz refused to touch gloves in the final round and immediately went to work with punches. Davis countered with a leg kick and a left cross. Diaz kept the pressure on with more quick, jabbing punches. He outlanded Davis by a considerable margin again and clinched against the cage. Diaz landed punches to the body and Davis backed away. Davis missed with a one-two and Diaz snapped his jaw back with a right hook counter. A straight left landed for Diaz and he battered Davis with a flurry.
Diaz landed a combination to Davis’s eye and Davis winced. His eye swelled up very badly, but he did not give up and fired back punches at Diaz. The fighters exchanged and Diaz scored a takedown. Diaz postured up and landed punches and elbows, then latched onto a guillotine choke from the top. He rolled Davis over against the cage and Davis had nowhere to go. Davis refused to tap and was choked unconscious. Solid win for Diaz in an excellent fight.
Winner: Nate Diaz by Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:02 of round three. He improves to 13-5-0.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)