Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon vs Gabe “Godzilla” Ruediger

Round 1:
Lauzon pressed forward early on and landed a series of right hooks. He clinched and took Ruediger down, then moved to side-control. Ruediger rolled and Lauzon took his back while throwing punches along the way. Ruediger scrambled out and attempted a leg submission. Lauzon stood out of it and rained down big punches and elbows. He took Ruediger’s back and blasted him with big left hands. Ruediger stood and Lauzon slammed him down. He landed more big punches, then spun into an armbar. Ruediger quickly tapped out. Complete destruction by Lauzon.

Winner: Joe Lauzon by Submission (Armbar) at 2:01 of round one. He improves to 19-5-0.

Nik “The Carnie” Lentz vs Andre Winner

Round 1:
Lentz ate a stiff jab early on and clinched for a takedown, but Winner fought it off with hammerfists. Lentz backed him up to the cage and threw short knees to the body, then tripped Winner to the mat. Winner worked back to his feet, but Lentz took his back and scored another takedown. Winner stood again and Lentz kept him pressed up against the cage. Winner landed a nice knee to the body and finally broke free of the clinch.

Within seconds, Lentz clinched again and backed Winner up to the cage. Winner stayed on his feet and landed a knee. Lentz abandoned the takedown attempt and the fighters traded knees in close. Winner fought off takedowns and landed hard knees and elbow strikes over the top. Lentz remained focused on taking Winner down and eventually did so. Winner got back to his feet and cracked Lentz with a solid left hook. Very close round. 10-9 Lentz.

Round 2:
Lentz tried to punch his way into a clinch in round two, but Winner defended with a knee and shrugged him off. Winner landed a one-two and Lentz clinched. He backed Winner up to the cage and pinned him there. Winner tried to break free, but could not. Lentz picked Winner up, but Winner defended against the cage and regained his footing. Winner drilled Lentz with a hard right hook and Lentz returned to the clinch.

He managed to get Winner down very briefly, but Winner stood and wound up standing over top of Lentz. Winner tried to secure a rear-naked choke and then pulled guard with a partial guillotine, but Lentz easily escaped and the fighters got back to their feet. Lentz picked Winner up over his head and tried to slam him down. He briefly got Winner down before the bell. 10-9 Lentz.

Round 3:
Winner opened the final round with quick kicks to the head and body and he followed with a punching flurry. The fighters exchanged punches and Lentz took Winner down against the cage. Winner scrambled to his feet and Lentz took his back while standing. He dragged Winner to the mat and moved to side-control. Winner defended, but Lentz took his back again.

Lentz looked to move straight to mount, but Winner kept him in half-guard. Lentz postured up and landed four punches, then worked for an arm-triangle choke from a partial mount. Lentz threw hammerfists and tried to take Winner’s back again. He threw short, weak punches to the sides of Winner’s head and maintained back control. Lentz locked on a rear-naked choke seconds before the bell. 10-9 Lentz.

Winner: Nik Lentz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-3-2.

Dan Miller vs John Salter

Round 1:
The fighters exchanged punches early on and Miller just missed with a three-punch flurry soon after. He ducked under a combination from Salter and landed another flurry in return. Miller landed an uppercut-hook combo and Salter replied with a right hand counter. Both fighters landed hard punches in an exchange and Miller backed up. Salter lanted a left cross and Miller tagged him with a right. Salter caught a leg kick and took Miller down. Miller immediately worked for an armbar, but Salter evaded danger.

Miller continued to posture for submissions from his back, but Salter landed a hammerfist and stood up. He returned to Miller’s guard and Miller tried for a triangle choke. He worked back to his feet and ate an uppercut along the way. Miller landed a straight right and the fighters traded hooks. Miller backed Salter up with a combination, but Salter landed a nice right hook in reply. Salter scored with a one-two and stuffed a takedown. He took Miller down and fought off a guillotine choke. Very close round. 10-9 Salter, barely.

Round 2:
The fighters traded single punches in the second round and Salter sent Miller off-balance with a right hook. Miller regained his footing and both fighters landed leg kicks. Miller threw a one-two and Salter answered with a right hand. More punches were exchanged in close and Miller got the better of it. He followed with another three-punch flurry and used a power guillotine to counter a takedown from Salter. Miller rolled Salter over and he was forced to hastily tap out. Big win for Miller.

Winner: Dan Miller by Submission (Modified Anaconda Choke) at 1:53 of round two. He improves to 12-4-0, 1 NC.

Greg Soto vs “Slick” Nick Osipczak

Round 1:
Osipczak opened the fight with a lead left hook and a hard one-two. Soto scored a takedown and fought off a triangle choke attempt. He passed to half-guard, but Osipczak defended well and worked back to his feet. Osipczak clinched and landed a flying knee. He followed with a right cross and a big combination. More punches landed for Osipczak and he cut Soto near the left eye. 10-9 Osipczak.

Round 2:
Osipczak began the second round just as aggressively as the first and scored with punches, but threw a sloppy elbow strike and Soto took advantage. He clinched and slammed Osipczak to the mat, then tried for a rear-naked choke. Osipczak defended and regained guard, then tried unsuccessfully for an armbar. Soto moved to half-guard and scored with punches from the top. Osipczak regained guard, then scrambled to his feet. Soto landed a hard knee on the way. The fighters traded punches and Osipczak missed a right hook. 10-9 Soto.

Round 3:
Soto took Osipczak down right away in the final round and moved to side-control. Osipczak managed to regain guard and worked for an armbar, but Soto escaped and moved back to side-control. He landed knees to the body and secured an arm-triangle choke. Osipczak survived and Soto punished him with another big knee to the body. Soto moved to mount and rained down punches. Osipczak gave up his back and Soto landed more strikes. Soto tried for a rear-naked choke late in the round. 10-9 Soto. Almost a 10-8.

Winner: Greg Soto by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 8-1-0.

Mike Pierce vs Amilcar Alves

Round 1:
Pierce tried for a takedown early on and Alves stuffed it. Pierce landed knees to the thighs of Alves and slammed him to the mat. Pierce worked from the top in Alves’s guard and landed a handful of strikes. Alves battled back to his feet and was slammed down again. Alves stood once more and Pierce clinched against the cage. 10-9 Pierce.

Round 2:
Pierce scored another takedown in the second round and secured a front headlock as Alves tried to get back to his feet. Pierce used the headlock to push Alves to his back and Alves regained guard. Pierce pressed Alves up against the cage on the ground and landed short punches. Very little action occurred in the following minutes. 10-9 Pierce.

Round 3:
Alves landed leg kicks and a head kick in the final round, but Pierce took him down. Pierce tried for a straight armbar and Alves defended. Pierce remained relentless and attempted the hold a second time. On his third try, Pierce was successful in securing the far-side straight armbar and Alves was forced to submit.

Winner: Mike Pierce by Submission (Straight Armbar) at 3:11 of round three. He improves to 13-3-0.

While the co-main event predictably ended in a quick victory for Randy “The Natural” Couture against an overmatched James “Lights Out” Toney, UFC 118 will be remembered for the breakout performance from UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. Dominating former champion BJ Penn for five full rounds, Edgar showed that his first victory over the Hawaiian was no fluke and a rematch between Edgar and Gray Maynard appears to be next up for the UFC’s lightweight division.