The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 132: “Cruz vs Faber 2.” The main event featured a UFC Bantamweight Championship rematch between Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz and “The California Kid” Urijah Faber.
In other action, former PRIDE champ Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva faced fellow striker Chris “The Crippler” Leben, while “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz looked to retain his spot in the UFC when he faced Ryan “Darth” Bader. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s card.
UFC Bantamweight Championship
Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz vs “The California Kid” Urijah Faber
Round 1:
Cruz landed a nice right cross to open the fight and stayed out of Faber’s reach. A one-two also scored for Cruz and he managed to escape out of a takedown attempt after Faber secured back control. Faber landed a right hook and Cruz countered with a body kick. Faber missed with right hooks and ate a jab. He dropped Cruz for a split second with a right hand, but Cruz sprung back up to his feet. Cruz ducked under a left hook and landed a one-two.
Cruz caught a kick and landed a hard leg kick, then followed with an uppercut. He avoided a looping right from Faber and landed a glancing left. A leg kick and an uppercut landed for Cruz and Faber clinched. Cruz circled away and landed two uppercuts in close. Faber answered with a right hand and knees, then a standing elbow. Faber countered a flying knee with a right hand late in the back-and-forth round. 10-9 Faber due to the knockdown.
Round 2:
Faber landed a right hook early in round two and scored with a body kick soon after. Cruz answered with a kick of his own and a combination. A hard leg kick and a right hook scored for Cruz, but Faber stunned him momentarily with a counter right. Cruz continued to switch stances repeatedly and landed a lead left hook. Faber fought back with two front kicks.
A lunging flurry landed for Cruz and he avoided a counter right from Faber. He remained aggressive and fired off kicks to Faber’s body and head. Cruz jabbed and landed an uppercut, then mixed in more kicks. Faber staggered Cruz briefly with a right hook, but Cruz recovered and scored a quick takedown. Faber elbowed from the bottom and scrambled to his feet. He landed a left hook, but Cruz tagged him with a one-two. Another close round. 10-9 Faber.
Round 3:
Cruz connected with a solid right cross to open round three and both fighters landed left hands at the same time. Cruz attempted a flying knee and Faber countered with a one-two. Faber landed two punches in close and Faber blocked a head kick. Cruz landed a series of kicks to the body and head and avoided a takedown. He remained active with strikes, but Faber took his back and dragged him to the mat.
Cruz scrambled and wound up on top. Faber escaped to his feet and landed a hard right hand. Cruz pushed forward with a flying knee and mixed up his strikes again with leg kicks and punches. A right hand backed Faber up briefly and Cruz followed with another one soon after. Faber landed a right of his own and Cruz jabbed. Cruz clinched and Faber defended. 10-9 Cruz.
Round 4:
Cruz landed a right hook that looked to stun Faber in the fourth round and he followed up with punches in a combination. A huge right hand rocked Cruz and he fell backwards. Cruz stood and tried for a takedown, but Faber defended and got back up. Punches were exchanged in close and Faber landed a quick one-two after a takedown attempt. Cruz landed a knee, then a lunging one-two and another knee.
Cruz tried for a takedown and Faber had none of it. Two hard right hands landed for Cruz in close and Faber ducked under a third. Faber landed a one-two to the body and head and the fighters traded right hooks. Cruz shot in for a takedown and Faber stuffed it. He clinched and pressed Cruz up against the cage. Cruz reversed before the bell. Razor-thin round. 10-9 Faber, due only to the knockdown.
Round 5:
Cruz landed a big flying knee in the final round and kept the pressure on with punches and a head kick. He tripped Faber to the mat, but Faber stood. Cruz took his back and Faber scrambled out. Back in the centre of the cage, Faber landed a knee and countered a takedown attempt with a guillotine choke. Cruz ducked under a right hook and took Faber down for a split second, but Faber stood up.
A right hand scored for Cruz and he took Faber down briefly. Faber stood up against the cage and the fighters separated. Punches landed for both fighters to the body and Cruz landed a leg kick. Faber responded with a head kick and Cruz targeted the body again with punches. Cruz took Faber down twice in succession and landed a knee on the way up. Cruz clinched again before the bell. 10-9 Cruz.
The scoring of this bout could go either way, but this was a fantastic fight nonetheless.
Winner: Dominick Cruz by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 18-1-0 and remains the UFC Bantamweight Champion.
Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva
Round 1:
Silva landed a right hand to start the fight, but Leben hurt him with a counter left hook as Silva swarmed in with punches. Leben followed with uppercuts and Silva collapsed face-first to the mat. Leben unloaded with more punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Chris Leben by KO (Punches) at 0:27 of round one. He improves to 26-7-0.
Dennis Siver vs “Handsome” Matt Wiman
Round 1:
Hard leg kicks were exchanged right away and both fighters landed big punches. Wiman looked to clinch, but Siver shrugged him off. More power punches landed for both fighters and they returned to leg kicks. Siver began windmilling left and right hooks, but most grazed off of the top of Wiman’s head. Wiman clinched and took Siver down very briefly, then pressed Siver up against the cage.
Wiman dove under and tried to pick Siver up over his head, but Siver got his leg back and tried for a standing guillotine choke in the clinch. The fighters separated and Siver landed kicks to the leg and body. He took Wiman down and landed on top in half-guard. Wiman eyed a Kimura, but let it go and the fighters stood. Wiman was unsuccessful in his attempt to take the fight back down and Siver landed punches. Wiman tripped him before the bell. Very close round. 10-9 Siver.
Round 2:
Siver threw a front kick early in round two and Wiman countered by clinching for a takedown. The action slowed as Wiman struggled to take Siver down. Siver looked to secure a guillotine choke, then dropped to his knees to try to defend the takedown. Siver attempted to jump over Wiman’s head, but Wiman grabbed his leg and tripped him.
Wiman landed elbows from the top and cut Siver near the left eye. More short elbows landed for Wiman and Siver attempted to fight back with hammerfists from the bottom. Wiman opened another cut on Siver’s forehead and Siver began to bleed all over the place. A barrage of elbows scored for Wiman and he kept busy with more strikes until the bell. 10-9 Wiman.
Round 3:
After a brief exchange of punches, Wiman countered a kick from Siver and tried for a takedown in round three. Siver escaped the clinch and backed away. He attempted a head kick and missed with a spinning back kick. Leg kicks landed for Siver, however, and he followed with a left hook. Wiman answered with a leg kick of his own and a short left hand.
Siver avoided a takedown and both fighters landed looping right hooks to the temple. Wiman also scored with an overhand right and dropped down for a takedown. He eventually took Siver down and tried for a guillotine choke, but Siver got back to his feet. Wiman took him down again and attempted another guillotine. Siver stood and landed a big leg kick. Wiman took him down at the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Wiman, barely.
Winner: Dennis Siver by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 19-7-0.
“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz vs Ryan “Darth” Bader
Round 1:
Bader landed an overhand right early on and Ortiz fired back with a lunging one-two. Ortiz threw a looping right that struck Bader in the shoulder. Seconds later, Ortiz dropped Bader with a right hook and pulled guard with a guillotine choke. Bader tried to hold on, but could not and was forced to submit. Huge victory for Ortiz, who was one loss away from being cut from the UFC.
Winner: Tito Ortiz by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:56 of round one. He improves to 16-8-1.
“The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit vs Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim
Round 1:
Condit landed body kicks early on and Kim responded with a head kick. He tripped Condit to the mat, but Condit quickly swept and moved to mount. Kim scrambled and got to his feet. Condit threw a head kick and Kim walked him down. Condit landed a nice counter left hook and a leg kick. He avoided a left hand from Kim and landed another one of his own. Condit then flew in with a flying knee and Kim fell to the mat. Condit landed on top and unloaded with punches for the stoppage. Big win for Condit.
Winner: Carlos Condit by TKO (Flying Knee & Punches) at 2:58 of round one. He improves to 27-5-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)