Brian Foster vs Matt “The Immortal” Brown

Round 1:
Brown pushed forward and landed a stiff leg kick, then just missed with a head kick in round one. Foster tripped him to the mat and landed punches, then stood. Brown followed and landed a right hook. He followed with a head kick and countered a knee from Foster by taking him down. Brown moved to mount and then to North-South position. Brown opted to return to side-control and Foster used the opportunity to scramble. He took Brown’s back, then tried for an armbar. Brown reversed and went for a Brabo Choke.

Foster escaped to his feet and landed a nice right hand. Three more big punches landed for Foster and he took Brown down. Brown swept and moved to mount, but was immediately shrugged off. He took Foster’s back and moved into an armbar. Foster remained calm and fought out of the hold. He punched from the top, then stood over Brown. A diving right hand landed for Foster late in the back-and-forth round. Very difficult to score. 10-9 Brown, just barely, though Foster landed the more damaging strikes.

Round 2:
Time was called twice early in the second round after a low blow from Brown, but the fight continued and Foster tripped Brown to the mat. He stood over Brown and kicked at his legs. Foster fell into Brown’s guard and landed elbows, then stood and scored with a hard left hand. Three more vicious punches and an elbow all landed for Foster and he pulled guard with a guillotine choke. Brown held on momentarily, but tapped out.

Winner: Brian Foster by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:11 of round two. He improves to 15-5-0.

 

Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz vs Aaron “A-Train” Simpson

Round 1:
Simpson opened the fight with a leg kick and a body shot in close, then clinched. A stalemate followed and Simpson backed away. Munoz landed two punches and backed Simpson up to the cage in a clinch. Simpson broke free with a knee. The fighters exchanged looping punches and both connected. Simpson stuffed a takedown and briefly took Munoz’s back on the ground before the fighters stood.

More hard punches were exchanged and Simpson slammed Munoz down. Munoz escaped to his feet and both fighters landed punches. Munoz clinched and landed a knee to the body, then a right hook. Simpson clinched to recover and Munoz reversed. Simpson used a leg trip to take Munoz down for a split second and the fight returned to a clinch. Simpson landed a solid knee and Munoz missed with a head kick. Simpson threw a jumping knee before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Simpson.

Round 2:
An exchange of kicks opened round two and Simpson caught a body kick from Munoz. He took Munoz down, but Munoz stood and landed a spinning backfist. Simpson drilled him with a body kick and the fighters teed off with punches. Munoz dragged Simpson to the mat and landed punches to the side of Simpson’s head. The fighters stood and Munoz was struck with a kick to the groin. Time was called, but he recovered and landed a big head kick. Simpson fired back with a one-two as Munoz bled badly from a cut on his upper forehead.

Munoz threw a head kick and Simpson took him down. As he was looking to advance position, the referee stood the fighters up in a quick and controversial move. Time was called seconds later after a knee from Munoz strayed low. Action resumed and Munoz landed two leg kicks. Simpson caught one and took him down, but Munoz returned to his feet and threw a combination. Three right hooks scored for Munoz and the fighters clinched. Another close round. 10-9 Munoz.

Round 3:
Munoz defended a takedown in the final round and took Simpson’s back on the ground. He unleashed a big flurry of punches including a left hook as Simpson stood. Time was called for what Simpson indicated was a poke to the eye. The fight continued and Munoz punched his way into a clinch. Short knees were exchanged until the referee separated the fighters far too quickly again. Once more, Munoz backed Simpson up with punches and clinched. Munoz landed a flurry and backed away.

Simpson tried for a takedown and Munoz stuffed it. A quick combination landed for Simpson and he clinched against the cage. Munoz punched free and landed a leg kick. The fighters exchanged punches and Simpson landed an overhand right. Simpson managed to trip Munoz to the mat and secured a front headlock. Munoz stood and both fighters unleashed heavy shots near the cage. Simpson seemed to get the better of it and Munoz clinched. Another big exchange ended the round, with Munoz landing most of the punches. 10-9 Munoz.

Winner: Mark Munoz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-2-0.

 

Dennis “Superman” Hallman vs Karo “The Heat” Parisyan

Round 1:
Parisyan landed a pair of combinations early in the first round and he clinched soon after. Hallman kneed and briefly looked for a standing guillotine choke. Hallman dropped Parisyan with a right cross to the temple just as Parisyan threw a left hook. Parisyan crumpled to the mat and Hallman finished the fight with hammerfists. Big win for Hallman.

Winner: Dennis Hallman by TKO (Punches) at 1:47 of round one. He improves to 66-13-2, 1 NC.

 

Edson Mendes Barboza Jr. vs Mike Lullo

Round 1:
Barboza countered an early leg kick with a one-two, then followed with a hard leg kick of his own. Another kick to Lullo’s lead leg scored for Barboza and Lullo tried for a takedown. Barboza stuffed it and violently slammed Lullo to the mat. Lullo worked back to his feet and Barboza resumed his assault with leg kicks. He took Lullo down, but Lullo worked for a gogoplata.

Barboza could not move as Lullo threw elbows and short punches while securing the hold. Barboza finally picked Lullo up and escaped to his feet. He landed more leg kicks as Lullo threw punches. More strikes were exchanged and Lullo fell after a kick from Barboza. Three more hard leg kicks landed for Barboza late in the round as Lullo began to favour his left leg. Close round. 10-9 Barboza.

Round 2:
Barboza connected with punches and more leg kicks in the second round. Lullo shot in for a takedown and Barboza stuffed it. He faked a leg kick and landed a head kick instead. Barboza rocked Lullo with a right hand and followed with kicks to the leg and body. The fight went to the ground and Lullo kept Barboza in his guard. He once again looked to use rubber guard to set up a gogoplata, but Barboza defended. Lullo threw elbows from the bottom, but Barboza escaped and stood.

Leg kicks from Barboza began to take their toll and Lullo fell. He stood and gingerly stood on his lead leg. Two more leg kicks and an uppercut followed for Barboza and he continued to batter Lullo’s leg. Lullo pulled guard and returned to rubber guard submission attempts. Barboz was unable to move, but Lullo could do little more than throw weak punches and elbows from his back. Barboza finally stood up and buckled Lullo with a leg kick. Two more leg kicks sent Lullo to the mat. 10-9 Barboza.

Round 3:
Two leg kicks sent Lullo to the mat in the final round, but he got up and tried to fight on. A third kick crumpled him to the mat and the fight was finally and mercifully stopped. Good win for Barboza in his UFC debut.

Winner: Edson Barboza by TKO (Leg Kicks) at 0:26 of round three. He improves to 7-0-0.

 

Paul “Tellys” Kelly vs TJ O’Brien

Round 1:
O’Brien landed a variety of kicks early in the first round, but Kelly nailed him with a stinging combination. More kicks followed for O’Brien and Kelly kept the pressure on with another flurry. Kelly caught a kick and sent O’Brien to the mat with a right hand. O’Brien stood and landed a chopping leg kick.

Kelly answered with lunging punches and clinched. The fighters separated and traded kicks. Kelly landed a one-two and fell into O’Brien’s guard. He landed a right hand and stood up. O’Brien followed and more kicks landed for both fighters. Kelly landed a one-two and a leg kick late in the round. 10-9 Kelly.

Round 2:
O’Brien landed more leg kicks in the second round, but Kelly dropped him with punches. He followed with more on the ground, but O’Brien recovered and stood up. O’Brien landed a nice right hand counter and took Kelly down. He landed right in mount and threw elbows as Kelly spun and gave up his back.

O’Brien tried for a triangle choke and Kelly used the opportunity to scramble to top position in side-control. He isolated both of O’Brien’s arms in a crucifix and unloaded with punches and short elbows. After dozens of punches and elbows, the fight was finally stopped. Big win for Kelly.

Winner: Paul Kelly by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 3:16 of round two. He improves to 11-3-0.

 

Nik “The Carnie” Lentz vs Tyson Griffin

Round 1:
Lentz landed a body kick early on and scored a takedown. He landed elbows and moved to side-control, but a North-South Choke attempt failed and Griffin scrambled back to his feet. Griffin tried for a takedown of his own, but Lentz countered with a guillotine choke. Griffin attempted a slam and the fighters scrambled. He retained top position until Lentz battled back to his feet. Griffin clinched and looked for takedowns as a stalemate ensued. Griffin finally managed to briefly take Lentz down, but Lentz stood before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Griffin.

Round 2:
Lentz missed with a head kick in the second round and the fighters exchanged hard punches. Griffin scored with a right hook as Lentz threw a leg kick and Lentz followed with a takedown attempt. More rights landed for Griffin until Lentz briefly took him down. Griffin attempted a takedown of his own and Lentz countered with a guillotine choke. The fight returned to the feet and Lentz tried to take Griffin down, but it was Griffin who tripped Lentz to the mat. Lentz looked for a Kimura and Griffin slammed him down late in the round. 10-9 Griffin.

Round 3:
The final round began with a leg kick from Lentz, but Griffin floored him with a counter right hook. Lentz stood and Griffin dropped him with another punch and a head kick. Lentz got up again and Griffin took him down. Lentz attempted an armbar from his back, but Griffin powered out with an elbow and dragged Lentz back down to the mat as he tried to stand up. Lentz finally got up and took Griffin down. Griffin countered with a guillotine choke, but Lentz worked free and moved to half-guard. Griffin stood and Lentz took him down late in the close round. 10-9 Griffin, barely.

When the judges’ scores were read, the arena was showered with boos, as Griffin appeared to have been robbed of a sure victory.

Winner: Nik Lentz by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 20-3-2.

 

A razor-thin main event ended in a clost Split Decision victory for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 123, as the charismatic striker bested fellow ex-UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida after three hard-fought rounds. The co-main event featured no controversy whatsoever, as “The Prodigy” BJ Penn emerged victorious in his trilogy bout with Matt Hughes with a first-round knockout win in just 21 seconds.