Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens vs “The Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis
Round 1:
The fighters circled for the opening 30 seconds, then clinched and Stephens landed knees to the body. They separated and Davis landed jabs as Stephens just missed with a big right hand. Stephens landed a leg kick and clinched again. He threw knees to the thighs, but Davis took him down. Stephens threw punches to the body from the bottom as Davis moved to half-guard.
Stephens scrambled out and stood. Davis tried to trip him to the mat again, but Stephens stayed up. The fighters separated and Stephens landed a leg kick. Davis responded with a left cross. Big punches landed for both, and it was surprisingly Stephens who staggered backwards. He recovered as Davis clinched against the cage. Stephens began to bleed from beside the eye as the round came to a close. 10-9 Davis.
Round 2:
Stephens just missed with a looping uppercut in round two. He landed a right hook and a leg kick soon after. Davis targeted the body, but Stephens connected with another right hook. Davis landed two punches in close and clinched very briefly. The fighters exchanged punches and Stephens missed with a spinning backfist. He clinched and backed Davis up to the cage. Stephens looked for a takedown and Davis defended.
Davis reversed and tripped Stephens to the mat as Stephens countered with a Kimura. Davis moved to side-control to defend, but Stephens regained half-guard and then full guard as he torqued back on Davis’s arm. Davis threw punches to the body and Stephens released the Kimura. He switched to a guillotine attempt briefly, but Davis easily escaped. Both landed elbows and short punches as the round ended. 10-9 Davis, just barely.
Round 3:
Davis opened the final round with a jab and Stephens looked to close the distance to land power punches. Stephens missed with wild hooks, but connected with a right hand. Davis easily stuffed a takedown and both fighters landed lefts. A looping hook scored for Davis and he followed with another soon after.
Stephens fired back with a one-two, but Davis was unfazed. Davis looked to set up left crosses with leg kicks, but missed the mark. Two right hooks landed for Stephens and Davis ducked directly into a massive looping right hook. The punch almost came from below like an uppercut. Davis collapsed backwards and Stephens dove in with an extra punch that was academic.
Winner: Jeremy Stephens by KO (Punch) at 2:33 of round three. He improves to 19-6-0.
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier vs Josh “The Fluke” Grispi
Round 1:
Grispi looked to land varied kicks early on, but Poirier kept him on the defensive with counter leg kicks. Grispi continued to push forward with body kicks and hooks, then jumped into a standing guard. He let it go and returned to his feet as Poirier pressed him against the cage. Poirier scored with a series of knees and a right hook that backed Grispi up. A big flurry appeared to stun Grispi and he dove for a weak takedown. Grispi wound up on the bottom and Poirier stood and backed away.
Grispi stood and ate kicks to the legs and body; the last of which knocked Grispi down. Poirier punched from a standing position, then backed away and allowed Grispi to stand. Poirier flurried with a lengthy series of punches that forced Grispi to shoot for a desperation takedown again. In a scramble, Grispi worked for a Kimura from the bottom. Grispi got Poirier’s arm behind his back, but Poirier escaped danger and punched from the top. 10-9 Poirier. Could easily be a 10-8.
Round 2:
Poirier opened the second round with a knee to the body as Grispi attempted a takedown. Poirier remained on his feet and reversed the clinch against the cage. A standing elbow and uppercuts backed Grispi up and Poirier followed with another flurry. Grispi tried to get Poirier down and did so on the second try, then attempted a guillotine choke from the top. Poirier reversed and fought off an armbar before battering Grispi with hammerfists.
The fighters stood and Poirier landed a one-two. In a clinch, Poirier landed knees to the head and body. Grispi tried to take the fight to the mat, but wound up on the bottom again. Poirier punched from the top, but Grispi locked on a triangle choke. Poirier slammed his way out and backed away. Grispi slowly stood and Poirier nailed him with knees and punches. The fight was nearly stopped before the bell, with Grispi wilting against the cage. 10-9 Poirier.
Round 3:
Poirier landed punches and knees that led to a clinch against the cage in the final round. More knees followed for Poirier and he scored with a pair of left hooks as Grispi backed up. Grispi tried for a takedown and once again wound up on the bottom. Poirier stood and Grispi followed. Poirier landed more knees from a clinch and stepped out of a submission attempt as the fight hit the ground. He stood and backed away, then punished Grispi with more knees.
Grispi finally scored a takedown and landed on top. He moved to half-guard and threw short elbows. Poirier regained full guard as Grispi landed two more short elbow strikes. Grispi moved to side-control and appeared to be looking for a North-South Choke, but Poirier escaped all the way back to guard. Little transpired until the bell. 10-9 Poirier, despite Grispi’s takedown. Grispi could do nothing on the ground.
Winner: Dustin Poirier by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0.
Brad Tavares vs “The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni
Round 1:
Tavares opened the fight with a series of leg kicks and Baroni replied with one of his own. Baroni landed a lunging left hook that dropped Tavares near the cage and he swarmed with punches to the body. Baroni attempted a guillotine choke and Tavares escaped. Short punches from the top landed for Baroni until Tavares managed to battle back to his feet.
The fighters clinched and exchanged knees to the body in close. Time was called briefly after Tavares was struck in the groin. Action resumed and Tavares landed a one-two and a head kick. Baroni wobbled and backed up. Tavares followed with a huge right hook, a knee and a flurry that crumpled Baroni against the cage. Tavares teed off with punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Brad Tavares by TKO (Punches) at 4:20 of round one. He improves to 7-0-0.
Diego “The Gun” Nunes vs Mike Brown
Round 1:
Nunes opened the fight with a leg kick and a spinning back kick, which prompted Brown to try for a takedown. Nunes stuffed it, but Brown backed him up to the cage and landed a series of knees to the thigh. Nunes tried to escape the clinch, but Brown punished him with big punches and took his back. Nunes scrambled, but Brown slammed him to the mat.
Nunes stood and ate a huge left hook that staggered him. Brown rushed in and tried for a takedown, but Nunes countered and recovered. He landed a hard leg kick and Brown drilled him with a right hook. A rejuvenated Nunes threw a flying knee and added more knees before the bell sounded to end the round. 10-9 Brown.
Round 2:
Nunes, with his left eye swollen shut, opened round two with a leg kick. As in the opening stanza, he followed with a spinning back kick and another leg kick. He kept Brown at a distance with leg and body kicks, but Brown managed to clinch. Nunes scored with knees and the fighters separated.
Nunes landed unorthodox punches and more leg kicks, then sprawled out of a takedown. Brown picked Nunes up and tried to slam him down, but Nunes held onto the corner post to defend. The fighters broke free of the clinch and Nunes landed a spinning back kick. He added knees to the body in a clinch late in the round. 10-9 Nunes.
Round 3:
The final round began with kicks from Nunes to the body and head of Brown, and he followed with an axe kick. Nunes kept his distance and landed another hard leg kick, then sprawled out of a takedown. The fighters clinched against the cage and both landed knees to the body. Nunes reversed and put Brown against the cage.
More knees to the body scored for Nunes, but Brown circled free and landed a knee of his own. Nunes threw two more spinning back kicks and Brown blocked the second one. Brown scored a takedown and Nunes got back to his feet. He threw a head kick just before the bell ended the excellent fight. 10-9 Nunes.
Winner: Diego Nunes by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 16-1-0.
Daniel “Ninja” Roberts vs Greg Soto
Round 1:
Soto landed a nice right hand early in the fight and defended a takedown with a front headlock. He secured a modified guillotine choke and rolled Roberts over. Roberts scrambled all the way out, but ate a pair of knees on the way up. Soto missed with lunging left hooks and Roberts took him down against the cage.
Roberts tried for an arm-triangle choke, then threw elbows from the top. Soto answered with a big elbow from the bottom, but Roberts locked on a Kimura and rolled Soto over against the cage. Soto had nowhere to go as Roberts wrenched back on his arm and was forced to submit.
Winner: Daniel Roberts by Submission (Kimura) at 3:45 of round one. He improves to 12-1-0.
Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann vs Antonio “Mandingo” McKee
Round 1:
After an exchange of jabs, McKee missed with a lead right hook but landed a nice kick to the body. He followed with a one-two and tried for a takedown. Volkmann stuffed it and McKee backed him up to the cage. Volkmann took McKee down and landed in half-guard.
McKee scrambled and got back to his feet. He backed Volkmann up to the cage again, but Volkmann reversed and circled away. McKee missed with wild punches late in the uneventful round. 10-9 Volkmann by a slim margin.
Round 2:
The fighters pawed out with jabs in the second round, but very little transpired for the opening minute. Volkmann took McKee down and secured back control in a scramble. He tried for a rear-naked choke, but McKee defended well.
Volkmann continued to try for chokes, but McKee defended for nearly two minutes. McKee began punching backwards and some of the strikes landed. He scrambled and spun out of the choke, then wound up on top in Volkmann’s guard. 10-9 Volkmann.
Round 3:
The final round began tentatively as well until Volkmann threw a wild right hook that missed horribly. The crowd began to boo as basically nothing transpired for the first two minutes of the round. Volkmann finally landed a right hook and McKee answered with a left.
McKee landed a one-two to the body, then a lunging lead right hook to the face. He picked Volkmann up and slammed him down to the mat. Volkmann backed up to the cage and used it to stand up. McKee dragged him back down to the mat and the round ended to a chrous of boos. 10-9 McKee.
Winner: Jacob Volkmann by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.
While the main event of UFC 125 ended in a Draw, the card was a stellar beginning to 2011 for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard battled over five hard-fought rounds for the UFC Lightweight Championship, which Edgar retaining after the bout was ruled even. In the night’s co-main event, “The All-American” Brian Stann took a big step up the middleweight ranks with a crushing victory over Chris “The Crippler” Leben.