The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, tonight with a New Year’s card at UFC 125: “Resolution.” The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard.
Also on the card, Chris “The Crippler” Leben looked to continue his rise back towards contendership when he faced former WEC champion Brian Stann, while Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim battled Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the first UFC card of 2011.
UFC Lightweight Championship
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs Gray “The Bully” Maynard
Round 1:
Edgar landed a leg kick and a grazing one-two to open the fight as he kept his distance to avoid takedowns. Another leg kick landed for Edgar and Maynard answered with a right hook. Maynard dropped Edgar with a left hook that forced Edgar to roll backwards. Maynard swarmed as Edgar stood and dropped him with more punches. A dazed Edgar tried to battle back to his feet as Maynard teed off. He did so, but with a bloodied nose.
A stunned Edgar shot in for a takedown and Maynard stuffed it. Maynard connected with a left hook, then a right that dropped Edgar again. Edgar rolled and got to his feet, only to be hit with another hook that sent him to the mat once more. Edgar landed a right of his own, but Maynard remained the aggressor. Two left hands scored for Edgar, but they had little effect. 10-8 Maynard.
Round 2:
Edgar seemed to be recovered in the second round and landed two leg kicks and a solid right hand. He continued to score with quick punches as Maynard appeared to have slowed down. A combination to the head and body landed for Edgar and he connected with three or more punches to every one punch counter from Maynard. A big right hand stunned Maynard, but he quickly recovered.
Edgar shrugged off a takedown and landed two jabs. More quick jabs found the mark for Edgar as the crowd began to get behind him. Edgar picked Maynard up and dumped him to the mat, but Maynard scrambled to his feet. A flurry, punctuated by a looping right hook, landed for Edgar and he followed with another hook seconds later. Great comeback round for the champion. 10-9 Edgar.
Round 3:
Quick jabs and leg kicks landed for Edgar in round three, as he continued to get the better of the striking exchanges. Edgar landed more punches and leg kicks as Maynard seemed content to throw one punch at a time. Maynard attempted a takedown and Edgar punched his way free. Maynard landed a weak one-two and caught a kick from Edgar, but could not take him down.
He landed a left hook and Edgar responded with a right. A hard right hook and a left uppercut scored for Maynard and Edgar’s nose began to bleed. Edgar countered with a one-two and body kicks. He followed with a front kick, but Maynard caught it and took him down. Edgar stood and fell down for a Kimura. He locked on a guillotine choke just before the bell. 10-9 Edgar, just barely. Razor-thin round.
Round 4:
Edgar landed an uppercut in the fourth round and took Maynard down. He secured a guillotine choke as Maynard stood, then blasted him with punches. The fighters separated and Edgar took Maynard down again. Edgar looked for another guillotine choke, then tried to take Maynard’s back. Maynard stood and Edgar landed kicks. He shrugged off a Maynard takedown and a second one soon after. Edgar landed a one-two and Maynard answered with a right hook.
Maynard’s punches were much slower and Edgar took advantage with a knee in close. Edgar got Maynard down to a knee against the cage and landed three big left hands as Maynard stood up. Punches were exchanged and Edgar connected with jabs. A four-punch flurry also landed for Edgar, but he was unsuccessful in trying to take Maynard down. Edgar closed out the round with a leg kick. 10-9 Edgar.
Round 5:
The final round began with an exchange of punches, as both landed quick shots and circled away. Edgar scored with a flurry, but Maynard cracked him with a counterpunch that backed him up. Edgar stuffed a takedown and landed a knee. He defended another takedown, but Maynard secured a front headlock and landed two knees of his own. The fighters separated and Maynard jabbed. A nice combination landed for Edgar and he stuffed another takedown.
Maynard responded in kind and Edgar tagged him with a three-punch combo. Maynard sent Edgar off-balance with a stiff jab, but Edgar fired back with a flurry of punches that included an uppercut. Maynard stuffed a takedown and landed a right hand. Edgar responded with another flurry and defended a Maynard takedown. Edgar attempted a guillotine choke and the fighters exchanged punches at the bell. Another razor-thin round. 10-9 Edgar, barely. This fight could go to either fighter.
Result: Split Draw (48-46, 47-47, 46-48) after five rounds. Edgar moves to 13-1-1, while Maynard is now 10-0-1, 1 NC. Edgar remains the UFC Lightweight Champion.
“The All-American” Brian Stann vs Chris “The Crippler” Leben
Round 1:
Leben opened the fight with punching combinations and Stann answered with a flurry and kicks. The fighters clinched and exchanged knees in close, with Leben scoring with uppercuts as well. Three uppercuts landed cleanly for Leben, but Stann held strong and replied with knees and looping left hands. Both fighters landed punches and broke free of the clinch. Leben caught a kick, but Stann rocked him with a big right hand.
More punches from Stann dropped Leben, but Stann could not finish on the ground. Leben stood and Stann floored him with more punches, including strikes to the body. Again, Leben battled back to his feet and was dropped by a knee. Stann unleashed a barrage of punches on the ground until referee Josh Rosenthal finally stopped the fight. Huge victory for Stann, who dedicated the win to a fallen Marine.
Winner: Brian Stann by TKO (Punches) at 3:37 of round one. He improves to 10-3-0.
Thiago Silva vs Brandon “The Truth” Vera
Round 1:
The fighters clinched immediately and exchanged punches and knees. Vera backed away and landed leg kicks. He followed with a knee and Silva clinched again. He took Vera down and landed in half-guard. Silva threw short punches with his left hand and used the strikes to eventually move to side-control.
Short elbows and more punches landed for Silva as Vera rolled to his side. Silva moved to North-South position briefly before raining down more short elbows from the side. A trio of elbows and a right hand landed for Silva, but Vera regained half-guard. Vera dropped back for a heel hook, then stood and landed punches to a downed Vera. 10-9 Silva.
The fighters went nose-to-nose and exchanged words after the bell.
Round 2:
Vera attacked right away with leg kicks and punches in the second round, but Silva fired back with knees to the body and a pair of head kicks that wobbled Vera. Silva clinched and Vera countered with knees. Silva took him down and struck from Vera’s guard as Vera answered with elbows from the bottom. Silva stood and moved into half-guard.
Silva continued to strike from the top with punches and elbows as Vera was unable to do anything from his back. The crowd grew restless as Silva looked to set up a Kimura, then reverted to punches to the body. Vera tried to escape to his feet, but Silva kept him down with elbows until the bell. 10-9 Silva.
Round 3:
Vera tripped Silva to the mat with a sweeping leg kick in the final round, then allowed Silva to stand. Both fighters landed kicks and Silva caught one from Vera. He clinched and backed him up to the cage. Silva took Vera’s back and dragged him to the mat. Vera got to his knees and Silva kept him pinned down against the cage. Silva maintained one hook and punched with his left hand.
Vera could do nothing as Silva punched away against the cage. He finally managed to stand up and Silva kneed him in the thighs. Silva dragged Vera back down again and tried for a rear-naked choke. He punched the sides of Vera’s head, then threw Mongolian chops and slaps. A frustrated Vera responded with a back elbow, but Silva drilled him with more strikes. Silva tried again for a rear-naked choke as a bloodied Vera defended. 10-9 Silva.
After the fight, the camera panned to Vera’s nose, which was clearly badly, badly broken.
Winner: Thiago Silva by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 15-2-0.
Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim vs Nate Diaz
Round 1:
Quick leg kicks and punches were exchanged early on until Kim secured a body lock and took Diaz down. He postured up in Diaz’s guard and rained down left hands. Kim stood and blasted Diaz with a big left, then moved to side-control and mount. Diaz scrambled back to half-guard, but Kim transitioned to the side again.
Back in guard, Diaz punched from the bottom, but ate a hard right hand for his efforts. Diaz tried to set up an armbar, then rolled for a leg, but Kim stood up. He returned to Diaz’s guard and Diaz went for a kneebar. Kim spun out and wound up on top in half-guard. Kim secured back control and landed knees to the body. Diaz moved into a heel hook, but Kim again spun out and stood up. 10-9 Kim.
Round 2:
Kim opened round two with leg kicks and a left hook. Diaz jabbed and targeted the body, but ate two more leg kicks in return. A winging right hook landed for Kim and Diaz began to put together quick combinations. Kim took him down with an impressive trip and Diaz punched from the bottom. Kim moved to half-guard and nearly passed to side-control, but Diaz regained butterfly guard.
Diaz threw short peppering punches from his back as Kim fired off single right hands from the top. Diaz kicked Kim off, but Kim promptly took him right back down. Kim managed to move to the side and took partial back control, but Diaz turned and a scramble followed. Diaz took Kim’s back briefly, then landed a right hook after the fighters stood. 10-9 Kim.
Round 3:
Leg kicks and hooks opened the final round for Kim and he followed with a right hook in close. Diaz took Kim’s back while standing and dragged him to the mat very briefly. Kim stood against the cage and shrugged Diaz off. Kim attempted a weak takedown and Diaz defended with a front clinch. He landed an illegal knee just as Kim brought his hand up from the ground. Time was called to give Kim a chance to recover, but Diaz was not penalised for the accidental foul. After the restart, Diaz took Kim down, but Kim reversed.
From Diaz’s guard, Kim tried to move to mount. He transitioned to back control against the cage and secured both hooks, but Diaz escaped and worked for a leg submission. Kim fought out and took back control as the fighters stood. Kim dragged Diaz to the mat, but Diaz reversed and the fighters stood again. Diaz landed a head kick and a knee to the body. He threw punches to the face and ribs as Kim turned away. 10-9 Diaz.
Winner: Dong Hyun Kim by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-0-1, 1 ND with the win.
Clay “The Carpenter” Guida vs Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi
Round 1:
Guida danced around the cage early on in extremely unorthodox fashion as Gomi jabbed. Finally, Guida landed a head kick and a follow-up one-two, but Gomi recovered immediately and circled away. Guida briefly got Gomi down, but Gomi returned to his feet and backed up.
Gomi threw single punches as Guida danced around and flashed out occasional kicks and looping right hands. Gomi jabbed and landed a grazing right hook. He stuffed a takedown, but Guida landed a head kick and took Gomi down immediately after. Guida moved to half-guard, but the round came to an end seconds later. 10-9 Guida.
Round 2:
Gomi stuffed a takedown in round two and landed a short right hook. He threw a big right hand that was blocked by Guida and the fighters traded punches. Guida shot in for another takedown and Gomi scrambled to his feet. Guida continued to try to get Gomi down, but could not keep him there. Gomi backed off and threw single left and right punches.
A quick head kick and a nice right cross landed for Guida and Gomi fired back with a left hook to the body. Guida scored with a one-two and Gomi drilled him with a flying knee. Guida caught it, however, and took Gomi down. Guida worked for a reverse arm-triangle choke, but Gomi escaped. Guida secured a guillotine choke from the top and rolled over. Gomi had nowhere to go and tapped out.
Winner: Clay Guida by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:27 of round two. He improves to 28-11-0.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)