The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the Acer Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia tonight for UFC 127: “Penn vs Fitch.” The card was headlined by a welterweight contender’s bout between former two-time champion “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn and tough challenger Jon Fitch.
In the night’s co-main event, British standout Michael “The Count” Bisping faced Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera in a middleweight grudge match, while George Sotiropoulos took on Dennis Siver in a battle of rising lightweight contenders. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the Australian card.
“The Prodigy” B.J. Penn vs Jon Fitch
Round 1:
Penn clinched and looked for a takedown against the fence to open the fight. He landed knees to Fitch’s thighs and Fitch responded with knees of his own. Fitch reversed the clinch and looked for a takedown, but Penn defended. Fitch landed a three-punch flurry and dove for a takedown again, but Penn stayed on his feet. Penn spun out and picked Fitch up, then slammed him down.
Penn took Fitch’s back on the ground and secured a body triangle. He let it go and worked for a rear-naked choke. Fitch defended well and spun into Penn’s guard. He landed elbows from the top until Penn scrambled to his feet. The fighters exchanged knees to the body and Penn defended a Fitch takedown attempt. Short strikes landed for both at the bell. Close round. 10-9 Penn.
Round 2:
Fitch opened round two with a head kick and countered a flying knee from Penn by taking him down. Penn got back to his feet and Fitch continued to try to take the fight back down to the mat. Penn threw a knee to the body and a standing elbow. The strike caused Fitch’s nose to bleed and Penn reversed the clinch.
The fighters separated with an exchange of kicks and Penn looked for a takedown. He got Fitch down and took his back again. Penn tried for a rear-naked choke and Fitch replicated what he did in round one by spinning into Penn’s guard. Fitch punched from the top and landed some slapping hammerfists as Penn was pressed up against the cage. Fitch could not pass Penn’s guard, but managed to land numerous left hands until the bell. 10-9 Fitch.
Round 3:
Fitch opened the final round with a big right hand and scored a takedown. Penn battled back to his feet and Fitch tried to take him down again. Fitch took Penn’s back while standing and Penn rolled forward to the ground. Fitch struck from the top in Penn’s butterfly guard. He landed numerous punches and tried to pass to half-guard.
Penn retained his guard, but ate dozens of punches and elbows from a relentless Fitch. The onslaught continued as Fitch did not let up for a second. Punch after punch scored for Fitch and he briefly looked for an arm-triangle choke. Fitch let it go and resumed punishing Penn with punches, elbows and hammerfists all the way until the bell. 10-9 Fitch, if not 10-8. Dominant round.
Result: Majority Draw (29-28 [Fitch], 28-28, 28-28) after three rounds. Penn moves to 16-7-2, while Fitch is now 23-3-1, 1 NC.
Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera
Round 1:
Rivera looked to land right hands early on and Bisping missed with a counter one-two. Rivera landed a glancing right and Bisping took him down. Bisping tried to move to mount and grabbed the cage, but Rivera escaped out and stood. The fighters traded punches and Rivera landed a hard right cross. He stuffed a takedown and Bisping landed a leg kick. Bisping’s second effort was successful and he took Rivera down.
Bisping threw short elbows from the top and stood up. He landed two right hands and a blatantly illegal knee as Rivera remained down with both knees on the ground. The crowd booed as time was called to give Rivera a chance to recover. Rivera appeared to be very wobbly as he stood up, but he chose to continue. Bisping was deducted one point for the foul and the fight resumed.
Rivera landed a body kick and two punches. He just missed with a pair of lunging one-twos and Bisping landed a counter right hook. Rivera stuffed a takedown and fired off a body kick. Bisping set up a takedown with quick one-two combinations and managed to get Rivera down against the cage. Rivera kicked him off and stood up, but ate knees for his efforts. Rivera missed with overhand rights at the bell. Close round. 9-9 due to the point deduction.
Round 2:
After an exchange of leg kicks, Rivera staggered Bisping with a right hook. Bisping recovered and landed a right hand of his own. Another exchange followed and Bisping battered Rivera with a series of right hands and knees to the body. Rivera held on, but Bisping continued the assault with punches and elbows and Rivera dropped to his knees. More punches followed and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (Punches & Elbows) at 1:54 of round two. He improves to 21-3-0.
Dennis Siver vs George Sotiropoulos
Round 1:
Siver opened the fight with leg and body kicks, then sidestepped a takedown from Sotiropoulos. A right hook landed for Sotiropoulos and Siver continued to flash out kicks. Sotiropoulos caught a kick and tried to take Siver down, but Siver hopped on one leg and escaped the clinch. A nice one-two landed for Siver in close and he stuffed a takedown in impressive fashion. Siver threw more kicks to Sotiropoulos’s lead leg and he just missed with a quick spinning heel kick.
The fighters traded punches and Siver got the better of the exchange. Siver floored Sotiropoulos with a left hook and allowed him to stand. He dropped him with another left hook and pounced with punches, but Sotiropoulos recovered and got back to his feet. Left and right hooks landed for Siver and he easily defended a sloppy takedown. Siver landed a right hook and a grazing spinning back kick before the round came to a close. 10-8 Siver.
Round 2:
Sotiropoulos kept his distance in the second round and used feints to try to keep Siver guessing. Siver scored with a short left hook and followed with a right soon after. Siver continued to mix up his strikes with left hands and a variety of kicks. Sotiropoulos tried for a takedown, but met with no success and Siver punished him with punches and knees in close.
Siver easily shrugged off another takedown and landed a pair of grazing hooks. Sotiropoulos threw kicks and landed a nice right hook of his own. He began to score with jabs and short right hands, but failed again in an attempt to take the fight to the mat. More punches landed for Sotiropoulos, but Siver connected with a counter one-two. A big right hand backed Siver up and Sotiropoulos landed a kick to the body. Siver fired off a head kick at the bell. 10-9 Sotiropoulos.
Round 3:
Sotiropoulos landed a kick-punch combo in round three, but still could not take Siver down. Siver landed a front kick to the face, but Sotiropoulos shook it off. Siver scored with a pair of hooks, but Sotiropoulos began to dodge strikes with better head movement. Sotiropoulos caught a kick and nailed Siver with three punched and a head kick. Siver was unfazed, but Sotiropoulos stayed active with another combination and a body kick.
The fighters teed off in an exchange, with Siver landing liberally to the body. He followed with a leg kick and a stiff jab. Sotiropoulos walked Siver down with punches and a kick, but Siver countered with a spinning back kick and a right hook. A leg kick and a lead left hook landed for Siver. More leg kicks followed and Siver landed two hooks and a spinning back kick to the body. Close round. 10-9 Siver.
Winner: Dennis Siver by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-7-0.
Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs Chris “Lights Out” Lytle
Round 1:
Ebersole opened the fight with one of his trademark cartwheel kicks and Lytle countered with punches. More unorthodox strikes followed from Ebersole as Lytle picked his shots. Lytle stuffed a takedown and landed two right hooks to the body. He continued to press forward and landed punches to the head and body. Lytle pulled guard with a guillotine choke, but Ebersole worked free.
Lytle secured another guillotine choke and Ebersole spun to the side to escape. Lytle wound up on top and Ebersole secured a headlock from the bottom. He tried to use it to scramble to his feet, but Lytle pulled guard with another guillotine. Ebersole escaped and the fighters stood. Again, Lytle tried for a guillotine choke and then a triangle. He transitioned to a kneebar, but let it go. Ebersole cut Lytle and landed shoulder strikes at the bell. 10-9 Lytle.
Round 2:
The pace slowed in the second round as the fighters traded single leg and body kicks. Ebersole threw flashy strikes, but Lytle countered with right hands to the head and body. Ebersole looked for a takedown and Lytle stuffed it. He landed two punches in close and Ebersole quickly replied with a standing elbow. Lytle chased Ebersole backwards with punches and followed with a body kick.
Lytle continued to get the better of the striking exchanges, but Ebersole deflected many of Lytle’s strikes and nearly took him down. A huge knee floored Lytle, but he began to recover. Ebersole pounced with punches and attempted a Brabo Choke. Lytle got out and stood, but Ebersole took his back and landed hammerfists. Lytle stood and was hit with knees from a Thai clinch. Ebersole slammed Lytle to the mat and threw shoulder strikes late in the round. 10-9 Ebersole.
Round 3:
Ebersole opened the final round with another cartwheel kick and Lytle responded with punches. He stuffed an Ebersole takedown attempt and looked for a Kimura on Ebersole’s left arm. Ebersole took Lytle down, but Lytle secured a guillotine choke and rolled Ebersole over. Ebersole scrambled, but could not escape the choke. He finally worked free as Lytle’s arms tired. Ebersole stood and landed punches as Lytle got to his feet.
Ebersole landed a knee as Lytle looked for another Kimura. Ebersole kept him pressed up against the cage and threw hammerfists to Lytle’s thigh. Ebersole attempted to land knees from a Thai clinch, but time was called to replace his mouthpiece. Action resumed and Lytle landed a punch to the body and a leg kick. Ebersole countered with a one-two and clinched. Lytle tried to roll for a kneebar and Ebersole wound up on top in Lytle’s guard. Big elbows landed for Ebersole and Lytle began to bleed badly. 10-9 Ebersole.
Winner: Brian Ebersole by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 57-14-1, 1 ND.
Kyle “KO” Noke vs Chris Camozzi
Round 1:
The fighters traded punches early on and Camozzi landed a combination. Noke immediately countered with one of his own, punctuated by a knee, and took Camozzi down. He landed in mount, then took Camozzi’s back. Noke sunk in both hooks and locked on a rear-naked choke. Camozzi quickly tapped out, giving Noke a big win in his home country.
Winner: Kyle Noke by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:35 of round one. He improves to 19-4-1.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)