The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey tonight for UFC 128: “Shogun vs Jones.” The card was headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship matchup between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and fast-rising star Jon “Bones” Jones.
In the night’s co-main event, former WEC Featherweight Champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber made his UFC debut when he took on Eddie Wineland in a bantamweight bout, while Miller brothers Jim and Dan were both in action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the solid card.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon “Bones” Jones vs Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Round 1:
Jones opened the fight with a flying knee right away and shrugged off a clinch from Rua. He slammed Rua to the mat and landed an elbow from the top. Rua tried for a triangle choke and Jones powered out. Rua then looked to roll for a kneebar, but Jones kept him in place. Jones elbowed from the top in Rua’s half-guard.
Rua scrambled back to his feet, but ate a knee to the body and one to the face that wobbled him. Big punches and a leg kick followed for Jones, as well as a knee in a Thai clinch. Jones landed more knees and kept Rua backing up. Rua recovered and connected with a one-two and a right hook. He tried to roll for a leglock, but lost the position and Jones ended the round on top. 10-9 Jones.
Round 2:
Jones opened round two with a front kick to the face and ducked under a lunging left hook. A spinning back elbow and a straight left hand both scored for Jones and he mixed in more kicks. The fighters clinched and traded knees to the body. Rua backed away and just missed with a looping two-punch combo. A nice left cross backed Rua up and Jones continued to make use of his reach advantage.
Jones caught a kick and tripped Rua to the mat. He punched from the top and Rua tried to isolate Jones’s arms. Rua’s eyes began to swell as Jones kept the pressure on with elbows to the face and body. Jones moved to half-guard and landed short punches and hammerfists. He continued to punish the champion with strikes, then spun for a kneebar as the bell sounded. 10-9 Jones.
Round 3:
Punches were exchanged in the final round and Rua took Jones’s back. He dropped for a kneebar and nearly took top position, but Jones reversed and wound up in Rua’s half-guard. Rua regained guard, but Jones made him pay with big punches and elbows. More huge elbows and a knee to the body rocked Rua, but he narrowly managed to make it back to his feet. Rua retreated to the cage and Jones crumpled him to the mat with a left hook to the liver.
Winner: Jon Jones by KO (Punch To The Body) at 2:37 of round three. He improves to 13-1-0 and becomes the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
“The California Kid” Urijah Faber vs Eddie Wineland
Round 1:
Faber immediately closed the distance and clinched, but Wineland landed a knee to the body and backed him up to the cage. Faber attempted a hip toss, but Wineland stayed on his feet. Wineland tripped Faber briefly and landed a hard right hand. Faber stood and took Wineland down, but Wineland instantly sprung back to his feet. Wineland clinched and attempted another trip. He took Faber’s back and slammed him to the ground.
Faber scrambled up and missed with a head kick. Wineland jabbed and Faber scored with a solid right hook. Faber picked Wineland up, but Wineland reversed in mid-air. He spun out of a second takedown attempt a second later and returned to the centre of the cage. Wineland countered a leg kick with a big right hand, but Faber fired back two of his own. Close round. 10-9 Wineland.
Round 2:
Faber landed kicks to the body to open round two and Wineland missed with a three-punch flurry. Faber scored a takedown and landed elbows from the top in Wineland’s guard. He postured up and threw more elbows, then picked Wineland up and slammed him back down. More short elbows found the mark for Faber and he rained down right hands as well.
Wineland pushed Faber off and nearly got back to his feet, but Faber kept him down. Faber punished Wineland with even more elbows, but Wineland did well to tie Faber up to defend many of the strikes. Wineland blocked elbow strikes and tried to posture for a triangle choke, but Faber powered out. He slammed Wineland back down and landed two solid elbows. 10-9 Faber.
Round 3:
The fighters exchanged punches early in the final round and Faber landed a right hook. He followed with a left to the body and clinched. Wineland defended a takedown with knees and circled away. Another takedown was stuffed by Wineland and he muscled Faber up to the cage. The fighters separated and Faber landed a big uppercut.
Wineland appeared to be okay, but Faber continued to score with right hands. He put together combinations, then took Wineland down. Faber worked from the top with more short elbows as he did in the second round. Wineland blocked as many of the strikes as possible, but Faber kept him down until the end of the round. 10-9 Faber.
Winner: Urijah Faber by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 25-4-0.
Jim Miller vs Kamal “Prince of Persia” Shalorus
Round 1:
The fighters traded big punches right away and Miller landed a hard body kick. An uppercut followed for Shalorus and both continued to fire huge power punches. Leg kicks landed for both, but punches remained the tactic of choice and each fighter connected repeatedly. Miller began to target the body as Shalorus’s left eye swelled up. A nice leg kick landed for Shalorus and Miller answered with one of his own.
Miller caught a kick and landed a knee and an uppercut. He followed with a head kick that landed flush, but Shalorus was unfazed. Miller scored with a kick and a knee to the body, then tried to pull guard with a guillotine choke. He lost the position and Shalorus wound up on top. Shalorus threw short punches to the body, but the fighters were quickly stood up. Miller landed hooks and a head kick to close out the round. 10-9 Miller.
Round 2:
Shalorus landed a body kick to open the second round and was immediately hit with a one-two counter. A leg kick and punches followed for Shalorus and he targeted the body with a right hook. Miller attempted a flying triangle choke, but Shalorus escaped and backed away. Miller landed a leg kick and tripped Shalorus to the mat. Within a second, he instantly transitioned to Shalorus’s back and secured a body triangle.
Miller worked for a rear-naked choke, but Shalorus defended and tried to spin into Miller’s guard. Miller switched to a neck crank and threw punches to try to set up the choke again. Miller could secure one-arm neck cranks, but was unable to get his bicep underneath Shalorus’s chin. Shalorus defended all the way until the bell. 10-9 Miller.
Round 3:
Miller snapped Shalorus’s head back with a left hook in the final round and followed with a left cross soon after. He added knees to the body in close and sidestepped Shalorus’s looping punches. Time was briefly called after Shalorus was struck in the groin, but action resumed and Miller landed a combination. He stuffed a takedown, as well as a throw from Shalorus.
A huge uppercut and a devastating knee dropped Shalorus to his back against the cage. He rolled over and turtled as Miller battered him with hammerfists. Referee Kevin Mulhall stopped the fight as Shalorus bled everywhere from what appeared to be a badly broken nose. Very impressive win for Miller.
Winner: Jim Miller by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 2:15 of round three. He improves to 20-2-0.
Nate “The Great” Marquardt vs Dan Miller
Round 1:
Marquardt pushed forward with punches early on and Miller looked for a takedown. Marquardt defended with a front choke, but Miller escaped back to his feet and tried to take Marquardt down again. Marquardt hopped around the cage, but eventually fell to the mat. Marquardt sat up against the cage as Miller tried to pull him away. The fighters stood and Miller countered a takedown with a guillotine choke.
Marquardt managed to work his way free of the hold and punched from the top in Miller’s full guard. A short elbow also landed for Marquardt as Miller looked to employ rubber guard. The fighters were stood up and Marquardt landed a nice right hand. Miller tried to counter another takedown with a guillotine, then switched to a Kimura. Marquardt landed punches before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Marquardt by a small margin.
Round 2:
Marquardt landed a lunging combination and a grazing head kick in the second round. Miller fired right back with a hard one-two that backed Marquardt up. A right hook to the body scored for Marquardt, but Miller bloodied Marquardt’s lip with counterpunches. A right hook, a head kick and a flying knee all landed for Marquardt, but Miller caught the knee and took Marquardt down. Marquardt scrambled to his feet against the cage and both landed knees.
Marquardt backed away and was clipped by a right hand counter as he moved forward with a combination. Another nice counter right found the mark for Miller and both fighters connected with one-twos at the same time. Two right hooks snapped Miller’s head back and Marquardt took him down. Miller locked on a tight guillotine choke, but Marquardt managed to escape. Marquardt elbowed from the top until the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Marquardt again, barely.
Round 3:
Two punches and a head kick opened the final round for Marquardt and he connected with a right hook seconds later. Miller, bleeding from beside the left eye, fired back with a one-two and Marquardt quickly answered with a leg kick. Marquardt landed a right cross, but ate a pair of counter right hooks from Miller. Marquardt stuffed a takedown and used a front headlock to keep Miller in place.
Marquardt spun out and wound up in Miller’s guard. Marquardt landed elbows from the top and postured up, then scored with punches to the body and to Miller’s damaged eye. He pressed Miller up against the cage and landed more short strikes as Miller was unable to set up any submissions. In the final seconds, Miller attempted a triangle choke, but Marquardt easily avoided danger. 10-9 Marquardt.
Winner: Nate Marquardt by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 31-10-2.
Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub vs Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović
Round 1:
Schaub closed the distance and landed uppercuts early on and Filipović circled away. Filipović scored with hooks over the top and clinched. Schaub reversed, but time was called after he landed illegal punches to the back of Filipović’s head. The fight resumed in the centre of the cage and Schaub scored a takedown. Filipović landed an upkick as Schaub stood up. Schaub dove into Filipović’s guard with a right hand that missed.
Filipović tied up Schaub’s arms, but Schaub managed to break free and landed four hard punches. Filipović swept and the fighters got back to their feet. Schaub attempted a trip takedown and Filipović stayed on his feet. Schaub landed knees to the body, but could not get Filipović down and both fighters landed punches in close at the bell. 10-9 Schaub.
Round 2:
Filipović landed a glancing head kick in the second round, but Schaub took him down. He tried to pass Filipović’s guard, but could not. Schaub landed a trio of punches and time was called after an inadvertent illegal upkick from Filipović. The fight continued on the feet and Schaub threw knees to the body in a clinch against the cage. More knees and an uppercut landed for Schaub.
Filipović reversed briefly and fired off two uppercuts, but Schaub used a pair of knees to put Filipović back against the cage. Schaub’s nose began to bleed badly and he was docked one point for illegal punches to the back of the head. After the restart, Filipović fired off a head kick and Schaub backed him up to the cage. Schaub landed a right hook and tried for a takedown. Filipović broke free with an uppercut and an elbow. 9-9.
Round 3:
Time was immediately called in the final round after Schaub was kicked in the groin. He recovered and action continued with two punches from Filipović. Schaub took him down, but Filipović worked back to his feet. Another takedown followed for Schaub and he looked to posture up to land right hands. Filipović kept him in his full guard, but Schaub managed to land a few short elbows.
The fight returned to the feet and Filipović landed a left cross. A bloodied Schaub clinched, but Filipović shrugged him off and threw a head kick. The fighters battled for position and Schaub attempted a takedown. Filipović stuffed it and briefly looked for a guillotine choke before the fighters stood up. Just as Filipović threw a leg kick, Schaub drilled him with a massive right hook. Filipović fell face-first to the ground. Impressive knockout win for Schaub.
Winner: Brendan Schaub by KO (Punch) at 3:44 of round three. He improves to 8-1-0.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)