The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 130: “Jackson vs Hamill.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and TUF 3 alum Matt “The Hammer” Hamill.
In other action on tonight’s card, Las Vegas natives Frank Mir and Roy “Big Country” Nelson squared off in a pivotal heavyweight battle, while Gleison Tibau clashed with the returning Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira at 155 pounds. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for all fights on the UFC 130 card.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs Matt “The Hammer” Hamill
Round 1:
Hamill landed kicks early on and pushed forward with a combination. He looked for a takedown, but Jackson stuffed it and scored with punches in close. Jackson blocked a head kick and Hamill missed with a second one. Jackson countered a leg kick with a quick flurry. Both fighters landed right hooks and Hamill remained aggressive, but Jackson sidestepped Hamill’s punches and answered with a left hook. The fighters continued to trade single kicks and punches.
Jackson scored with a counter left and avoided a running flurry. Hamill landed a leg kick and a quick combination, but Jackson drilled him with a counter right and a knee to the body. Jackson stuffed another takedown attempt and punished Hamill with punches. Hamill landed a one-two and attempted a takedown, but Jackson rocked him with punches and knees and Hamill was forced to retreat. More punches and a leg kick landed for Jackson as the round came to a close. 10-9 Jackson.
Round 2:
Hamill, bleeding from above the eye, missed with a head kick in round two. Jackson landed a three-punch combo, then easily stuffed a takedown and threw knees to the body in a clinch against the cage. More knees scored for Jackson as Hamill attempted another takedown. Jackson landed an uppercut and fought out of a takedown with hard punches and knees. Jackson clinched against the cage, but the fighters soon separated.
Hamill missed with punches and Jackson connected with a lead left hook. More punches were exchanged in close and Hamill landed two jabs and a leg kick, but appeared to be tired. Hamill continued to jab, but met with no success in his efforts to take the fight to the mat and the crowd grew restless. Hamill landed a leg kick and attempted a head kick, but Jackson rocked him with knees and followed with punches to the body. 10-9 Jackson.
Round 3:
Hamill attempted a Superman Punch in the final round and Jackson walked him down with a right hook and more punches in return. Jackson defended a takedown and Hamill threw an uppercut in close. Hamill landed a leg kick and a one-two. He began to target the body with straight punches, but they had little effect and Jackson answered with a hard punch of his own. Hamill clinched against the cage, but was unable to do anything and Jackson broke free.
Three big punches landed for Jackson and Hamill retreated before attempting a takedown. Jackson scored with a knee to the body and just missed with a combination of punches. He countered a leg kick with a short left hook. The pace slowed as Jackson threw a knee to the body and backed Hamill up to the cage. The crowd booed as the fighters battled for position, and Jackson landed a knee to the body and a combination before the end of the fight. 10-9 Jackson.
Winner: Quinton Jackson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 32-8-0.
Frank Mir vs Roy “Big Country” Nelson
Round 1:
Mir opened the fight with punches to the body, but Nelson clinched and pressed him up against the cage. Mir landed a knee and looked for a takedown, but Nelson reversed and punched Mir’s ribs. Mir responded with a knee to the body and just missed with one to the head as the fighters separated. The fighters exchanged punches and Mir landed another knee. Nelson blocked a head kick and landed a right cross.
The fighters clinched again and Mir landed a series of knees to the body and head. Nelson backed away, but not before eating more knees. Nelson landed a right cross and Mir replied with knees, which began to take their toll. After a clinch against the cage, Nelson landed looping punches. Mir answered with a left cross and tripped Nelson to the mat. He landed on top in mount, but Nelson was able to scramble to his feet and the round ended in a clinch. 10-9 Mir.
Round 2:
Nelson opened round two with an overhand right and Mir countered with a leg kick. Mir mixed in more kicks and landed uppercuts in close. He backed Nelson up to the cage and took him down. The fighters exchanged weak punches and Mir looked to take Nelson’s back in a scramble, but Nelson got back to his feet. Mir backed him up to the fence once more. Nelson landed an uppercut and Mir resumed his assault with knees.
Mir scored another takedown, but was unable to land anything damaging on the ground. Mir could not hold Nelson down for long and the fight returned to the feet. The fighters clinched against the cage until an exhausted Nelson managed to circle free. Mir connected with a leg kick and a knee, but Nelson countered with a right hook and clinched. Little transpired in a lengthy clinch before the bell. 10-9 Mir.
Round 3:
Mir landed a knee and kicks early in the final round as both fighters appeared to be fatigued. Mir scored a takedown and worked from the top, but the pace slowed way down. Nelson battled to his feet and ate a knee. Mir landed more knees and took Nelson back down once again.
Mir landed punches and short elbows on the ground until Nelson stood. A clinch ensued until Mir took Nelson down for a third time. This time, he postured up and landed some solid elbows from the top. Mir mixed in knees as well and Nelson scrambled up. Mir scored with punches and attempted a takedown before the bell. 10-9 Mir.
Winner: Frank Mir by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) after three rounds. He improves to 15-5-0.
Travis “Hapa” Browne vs Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve
Round 1:
After an early exchange of leg kicks, Struve missed with a Superman Punch and clinched. Browne landed a standing elbow and reversed, then pushed Struve up against the cage. The referee separated the fighters after a lull in the action and Struve landed punches. Browne answered with strikes to the body and leg kicks, and he ducked under a punch from Struve. Punches to the head and body scored for Browne and he tripped Struve to the mat.
Struve secured a Brabo Choke in a scramble and rolled into an Anaconda Choke, but Browne managed to escape. Browne stood and Struve followed. Browne pushed forward with punches, then dropped Struve like a rock with a devastating Superman Punch for the knockout victory.
Winner: Travis Browne by KO (Superman Punch) at 4:11 of round one. He improves to 11-0-1.
Ricky “The Horror” Story vs Thiago “Pitbull” Alves
Round 1:
Story missed with punches early on and Alves countered with a nice right hand. Story took him down against the cage, but Alves managed to battle back to his feet. Story landed knees to the thigh and worked for another takedown. He threw more hard knees, but Alves spun and countered by taking him down. Story quickly rose to his feet and punched his way into a clinch.
More short knees scored for Story in close until the fighters were separated. Story threw two left hooks and avoided a knee, then backed Alves up to the cage once more. The fighters battled for position and Story looked for a takedown, then landed some solid punches in close. Alves landed punches in return and circled out. Both fighters landed hard punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Story.
Round 2:
Alves landed a leg kick and a right hook in the second round, but Story countered with a body kick. Story clinched and scored a brief takedown, but Alves worked back to his feet. Story clinched against the cage and landed short knees. He took Alves down a second time, but Alves used the cage to stand back up. Alves then scored a takedown of his own and punched from the top, but Story escaped to his feet.
Alves stuffed a takedown and Story backed him up to the fence. Little transpired in a lengthy clinch and the fighters were eventually separated. Alves connected with a right hook, but Story countered a head kick with a right of his own and Alves lost his balance. Story rushed in with punches and took Alves down. Alves stood and a clinch followed. The fighters traded big punches late in the round. 10-9 Story.
Round 3:
Alves opened round three with punches and landed a right cross, but Story countered with a nice combination to the head and body. Alves attempted a jumping knee and Story threw another flurry of punches. Alves threw a leg kick and looked to land a combination of his own, but Story ducked under and attempted a takedown. He backed Alves up to the cage, but Alves circled out and scored with a combination. Story targeted the body with punches and Alves landed a hard left hook in reply.
Story walked forward with more punches and ate a second left hook. It appeared to have little effect and the fighters teed off in a big exchange. Alves landed a knee in close and fought off a takedown. He attempted a takedown of his own, but could not get Story down and the fighters again exchanged heavy shots. After a brief clinch, Alves landed a one-two and two hard right hooks, then a knee. Story blocked a head kick, but Alves landed a combination and another knee. As in the first two rounds, the fighters traded hard punches to close out the fight. 10-9 Alves.
Winner: Ricky Story by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-3-0.
“All-American” Brian Stann vs Jorge “The Sandman” Santiago
Round 1:
Santiago circled early on and the fighters traded punches. Stann landed a leg kick and a combination, then threw another leg kick. Santiago fell while attempting a takedown, but got back to his feet and more leg kicks were exchanged. The fighters remained content to throw leg kicks and single right hands until Santiago landed a solid kick to Stann’s head.
Stann landed a left hook and a kick-punch combo, then dropped Santiago with a left hook a moment later. He dove in with punches on the ground, but Santiago managed to survive. More punches and elbows scored for Stann as Santiago tried to hold on against the cage. Stann postured up and landed hammerfists and bigger punches. Santiago finally scrambled back to his feet, but not before eating more hard shots. 10-9 Stann.
Round 2:
After a brief exchange of strikes, Santiago attempted a takedown in round two, but Stann stuffed it and maintained a clinch. Santiago landed a knee and the fighters separated. Stann landed a pair of leg kicks and Santiago fell, but he quickly got back to his feet and landed a right hook. Stann landed a right of his own and countered Santiago’s strikes with crisp punches in return.
Stann landed a leg kick and a big flurry, but Santiago answered with a spinning backfist that partially landed. The fighters traded single punches and Stann scored with a leg kick and a combination, then avoided a flying knee. More leg and body kicks landed for Stann and he floored Santiago with a right hook. Stann followed with a barrage of punches on the ground and the fight was stopped.
Winner: Brian Stann by KO (Punches) at 4:29 of round two. He improves to 11-3-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)